Jesus Christ is the heir and Son of God (Heb 1:2). He is the image of the invisible God, the physical vessel which contains the whole fullness of deity (Col 1:15; 2:9). Not only is He the image of God, but the “exact imprint” of His nature (Heb 1:3). Yet He is distinct from God the Father. He is submissive to God in all things, doing His Father’s will, implying that He and the Father are individuals (John 5:30). The relationship between Christ and His Father God, not to mention the tertiary layer of complexity the Holy Spirit adds to the Trinity, is “God’s mystery, in [which is] hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col 2:2-3). 

The mystery of Christ deepens. He is human “in every respect” (Heb 2:17). We wrestle with such a thought when the chasm between the divine and the earthly seems unsurmountable. The dichotomy, however, is necessary. Hebrews explains that the duality of Christ is the primary reason He can serve as the propitiation for our sins. He is the eternal high priest, mirroring the Levitical priesthood, a unique subgroup of Israel designated to mediate between God and men. But unlike the Levites, Christ need not offer supplication for His own sin. Though man, He is unpolluted, sinless, the second Adam who did not fall. Continuing the Old Testament law’s pattern of reparations and the “eye for an eye” principle, one man’s death paid for the sins brought into the world by one man (Rom 5:18).

Understanding the mystery of Christ cannot be separated from what He accomplished on the cross. The sinless man was crucified, in doing so bearing our iniquities and becoming the sacrifice for our sins. The unexplainable, unprecedented gift of salvation unfurled new layers of Christ, those that only His actions can reveal. He is love in the highest and truest sense, because love means laying down one’s life for one’s friends (John 15:13). He is the man of sorrows, the despised bearer of our iniquities and He who feels the pains of this world to the fullest extent (Isa 53:3). He is preeminent in all things and holds all things together (Col 1:17-18). He calls us to worship Him out of gratitude for the cross, but first out of an understanding of reality: He is Creator God, and all else is created. Any response to Jesus other than worship denies the very essence of truth.

Untangling the mystery of Christ is a lifelong commitment and remains impossible on this side of eternity. Our earthly minds cannot extrapolate towards infinity. So perhaps, when all analogy and analysis fails, we should simply return to what was said in Job: “Behold, God is great, and we know Him not” (36:26).

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Raediance wishes you a merry Christmas! May your hearts be filled with the joy of Christ as we celebrate the Incarnation.