Jesus has two distinct natures, one divine and the other human. Jesus is the Word who was God and was with God and was made flesh, writes Bishop Tutai Pere of the Apostolic Church.

Hebrews 12:2, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith – Ma te akara tamou kia Iesu I te tumu e te akaoti I to tatou Akarongo”.

1. “He is Creator God in John 1:1 – 5, Ko te Atua Aia tei anga I to te ao katoatoa”.
2. He upholds all things by the word of His power in Hebrews 1:3, E te mou ra Aia I te au mea katoa nei I Tana tuatua mana”.
3. In Him is life; and the life was the light of men, John 1:4, Tei roto Iaia te ora; e taua ora ra, to te tangata ia marama”.
4. “The government shall be upon His shoulder, Isaiah 9:6, Ei runga I Tona ra pakuivi te A’u vai ei”.

Who then is this Jesus? Koai tika ra teia Iesu?

Jesus is the most radical and revolutionary yet most loving and self-sacrificing person who ever lived. He is God in human flesh. He is not half God and half man. He is fully divine and fully man.

The prophet Isaiah 7:14 writes, “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel, which being interpreted, is God with us (Mt. 1:23)”.

In other words, Jesus has two distinct natures, one divine and the other human. Jesus is the Word who was God and was with God and was made flesh (John 1:1,14).

Both a human and divine nature reside simultaneously in the person of Jesus. The divine nature was not changed when the Word became flesh (John 1:1,14). Instead, the Word was joined with humanity: “For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Col.2:9 and 10), And ye are complete in him, who is the head of all principality and power”.

Jesus’ divine nature was not altered. Jesus is neither just a man “who had God within Him”, nor is he man “who manifested the God principle”. He is God in flesh, “… the radiance of God’s glory and exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by His powerful word (Heb. 1:3) “the express image of his person (singular)”. Jesus’ two natures are not “mixed together”, nor are they combined into a new God-man nature. They are separate yet act as a unit in the one person, Jesus.

Observe the following how the two natures co-exist:

a) As God, Jesus Christ is: The Creator of all things (see Colossians 1:16); worshipped (Mathew 2:2,11); prayed to (see Acts 7:59); Knows all things (see John 211:17); Called God (see John 20:28; Hebrews 1:8); The Son of God (see Mark 1:1); the Word of God (John 1:1); Knower of all things (Jn 21:17); Giver of eternal life (John 10:28).

b) As Man, Jesus Christ: worshipped the Father (see John 17); was called man (see Mark 15:39; John 19:5); was called the Son of Man (see John 9:25-37); was the Lamb of God (see John 1:29); was tempted (Mat.4:1); grew in wisdom (Luke 2:52); was the complete manifestation of the invisible God (see Mark 1:1); became the Head of the Church (see Eph.1:22; Col.1:18).

c) All the ‘I Am’ titles belong to Jesus Christ: In John’s Gospel, unlike the synoptic Gospels of (Mathew, Mark and Luke), the Apostle John presents seven formal and direct “I AM” references to Jesus, such as, “I AM the bread of life (6:35), I AM the light of the world (8:12), I AM the gate/door of the sheep (10:7,9), I AM the good shepherd (10:11,14), I AM the resurrection and the life (11:25), I AM the way and the truth and the life (14:6), I AM the True vine (15:1,5), I AM the living water (4:10-14). The words I AM echoes loud and clear also of God’s response to Moses’ question in Exodus 3:13-14, “Suppose … the Israelites ask me, who sent you and what is his name? What shall I tell them? God said to Moses, say this to My people, “I AM WHO I AM has sent me to you”. John wanted his Jewish audience to know that Jesus was more than human, as in 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”; in Chapter 8:58, after he claimed “Before Abraham was, I Am”, the Jews picked stones to cast at him, Jesus passed through the midst of them. And Malachi though he wrote of the God of Israel at Chapter 3:6, yet knew not who Jesus was, “For I AM the Lord, I change not”. Precisely what the writer of Hebrews 13:8 also wrote, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and for ever”.

d) All the Jehovah titles and Bible names of God belong to Jesus Christ: Saul of Tarsus a Pharisee, a Rabbi, a Law Keeper and Jehovah worshipper – while out on a mission to arrest and imprison the Jesus Name believers and followers, when struck down by a great light, fell off his horse and lay blind on the road heard a voice saying unto him, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou Lord? And the Lord said, “I Am Jesus whom you are persecuting … Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do”.

e) God’s saving name is Jesus Christ: The Name above all Names (Phil.2:9), The One Name under heaven, given among men, whereby we Manuia must be saved (Acts 4:12). “At the name of Jesus Christ, every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father”.

Have a blessed Jesus weekend – Iesu te akapumaana mai I to tatou au Tumatetenga ravarai, tiaki ma te paruru mai I to tatou Ipukarea Manea, kia vai Au ua rai, ruperupe, puapinga e te meitaki maata.

Kia Orana e Kia rava! Amene!