Knowing God, p. 54 “If Jesus had been no more than a very remarkable, godly man, the difficulties in believing…his life and work would be truly mountainous. But if Jesus was the same person as the eternal Word…it is no wonder if fresh acts of creative power marked his coming into this world...”
“But what about the virgin birth, and the miracles Jesus performed, and the resurrection of Christ…?” What one is really faced with is the “staggering Christian claim…that Jesus of Nazareth was as truly and fully divine as he was human” (p. 53). Many people raise questions regarding the events of Jesus’ life, yet, as J.I. Packer clearly shows, what really is on the forefront is the fact that Jesus is God. The author describes how preposterous it would be if Jesus were not divine. Of course his virgin birth, the miracles, and the resurrection would be outlandish if Jesus were not God! But Jesus is God, the Second Person of the Trinity. It would be “truly mountainous” to believe that a mere, although remarkable, man would have said and done what Jesus did. If one truly believes that Jesus is God, the “fresh acts of creative power” are expected. Jesus claimed to be the Son of God and He did things that only the Son of God could do. We must continually look to Jesus of Nazareth, who was as “fully divine as he was human” (p. 53). I am awed that Jesus Christ, Son of God, became a man. How do we approach Jesus - his life, his words, his work…? Do we, as we read the Gospels, realize and treasure that we are reading about God come down to earth? More importantly, do we believe in the Son of God? Of the purpose of his book, John writes, "Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." (John 20:30-31)
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