What if God was One of Us? (October 25, 2023)

“What if God was one of us… 

just a stranger on the bus?  

trying to make his way home” ... Joan Osborne crooned.

Listen to this podcast here:  https://www.pastorwoman.net/podcast/episode/24a5a3ea/what-if-god-wa...

The fact is, Joan . . . he was. (song on podcast)

In the last Morning Briefing, "Does God Exist?" [https://conta.cc/47jzOqn] from my own viewpoint, looking solely at the created world, I talked about why I believe, without doubt, that God exists.

God reveals himself through nature, through his created works.

Take another look at Paul’s writing to the Roman Christians on the existence of God-- “They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.  But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness.”1  Interesting how Paul notes that God's justice elicits a response to our stubborn denial of him.*

Besides God's revealing himself in his creation . . . this we know:

In the fullness of time,

      God revealed himself to us through Jesus Christ,

             God in the flesh.

                    God became one of us.

Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would be born of a virgin.2  Because we are familiar with them, we let those words roll right off our tongue without giving them much thought, but friends, when was the last time you heard of a virgin giving birth to a baby?  It was a totally outlandish claim for the prophet to make, except it came true!  Think of Isaiah claiming that the Jews’ long-awaited Messiah would be born of a virgin . . . you can imagine people scoffed at him, much as they did Noah when he began building an ark in an area of the world that seldom saw rain.  Unbelievably, Jesus was indeed born to a Jewish virgin some 700 years after Isaiah’s prediction.  God came down and took on human flesh, and loved us.

Jesus began his public ministry, and performed many miracles that were documented by other non-Biblical writers of the day—particularly Jewish historian, Josephus.  He trained a ragtag group of 12 men to carry on his work, and told them he would be leaving them. Then, they looked on as he was mocked, tortured, and brutally crucified.

After three days in a dark tomb,

Jesus Christ rose from the dead, just as he said he would.  

How could that be?  

He was God incarnate,

and death could not hold him.  

After, He appeared to more than 515 different people—individually, in groups, indoors, and outside.  And when one of his own, Thomas, doubted it was really him, he invited him to touch his nail-torn hands, and look at his mangled feet, where the nail had been driven through them.3  Yes, Jesus was flesh and blood.

The truth of God has been made known to us through Jesus Christ, God Incarnate.  John wrote, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”4   Paul succinctly described Jesus' coming to earth two ways, "...God was manifest in the flesh..."5  "...For in him [Jesus] dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily."6 From the New Living Translation, those descriptions are "Christ was revealed in a human body," and "For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. [The New Living Translation was translated from the original languages Hebrew in the Old Testament, Greek in the New Testament, in contemporary language of our day. I find it oft clarifies the meaning of the scripture.]

After returning to the Father, Jesus depended on the remaining eleven disciples and their friends to carry the truth about himself to the world—truth of the existence of a loving Creator God, the redeeming work he had completed on the cross, and the coming of the Holy Spirit to his followers.  They told the world what they had seen and experienced of Jesus Christ, Son of God.

Those witnesses told how Jesus loved – after all, he came from love . . .

They told of his miracles, of restoring life--but then, he was the Creator.

They recalled his masterful teaching--no wonder, “The Word was made flesh!”

So, what if God was one of us?  He was, and he revealed the Father to us by his coming.  Yet, Jesus reveals himself to us as individuals – He will be found by us. “You will seek me and find me, when you search for me with all your heart.”7  

God exists, without a doubt. He is not just a far-off God, sitting in an ivory tower; no, God is alive. He is always at work, and he desires to know you--and even more incredible than that, God desires to be known by you.

Christine

Romans, #5

PastorWoman.net

1 - Romans 1.19,20,18   New Living Translation

2 - Isaiah 7.14- Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

3 - John 20.24-29, https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2020%3A24-29&...

4 - John 1.14

5 -1 Timothy 3.16

6 - Colossians 2.9

7 - Jeremiah 29.13