Christian Counseling Certification Article on Jesus Christ: Glorify Him

Jesus is the central aspect of life. He plays such a key role because without Him there is no redemption. Christ the New Adam took upon sin and undid the curse of Adam through His sacrifice on the cross. Hence in everything, Christ is present. Christ makes all new.

Jesus Christ is an amazing miracle within Himself. He is the Word made Flesh as stated in the Gospel of John and that alone warrants adoration and worship yet many do not understand the true inner workings of Christ and can become confused.

Jesus is both God and Man, perfectly unified in person. He deserves to be glorified

First and foremost, it is important to emphasize the importance of Jesus Christ. The Fall of Adam sent the temporal world spiraling out of control into spiritual darkness. Reparation needed made due Adam’s sin but no sacrifice was pure enough. A sacrifice that possessed both perfect priest and perfect victim were needed to be given to God.

Christ offered Himself as that sacrifice by merely being born, but permitted Himself to remain obedient even to death to fulfill the necessity of sacrifice. The Last Supper would have sufficed as the Perfect Sacrifice but the evil of humanity sought His life in a bloody sacrifice. Christ did not demand His own end but accepted the will of the Father and hence as history showed, He was crucified.

However, to be a perfect priest and sacrifice Christ had to be both God and man. He had to be perfectly both. From a Divine standpoint, His essence as the Word, was divine and eternal while from a human standpoint, He was created and not eternal.

His Body was perfectly human. The Divine Word did not create a shell to inhabit, or create the illusion of being human, but literally shared and occupied a Body with Jesus. The Divine Word did not overtake or possess but became one with the human soul and body. This hypostatic union was made possible by Mary saying yes to God’s will.

When looking at this miracle, Christ was both God and man, completely and fully, two natures but perfectly fused as one person. Hence Christ’s humanity while created, became interconnected with the Word in such a way that Christ the Person was completely God. One element was eternal, while another was finite, but together in union, represented one person and one God.

Due to this, we worship Jesus as a person. We do not reserve worship only for His divine element but His entirety.

Because of Christ’s entirety of both God and man, He could then properly represent humanity as High Priest and as Divine offer Himself as the perfect sacrifice to the Father. This is why it is so critically important that we understand that Christ is both fully human and fully God but yet one person.

This supernatural mystery of the Incarnation and Hypostatic Union show the great love Christ has for humanity and His central role in the redemption plan. This love was so perfect that many even contend, the incarnation was impossible to prevent even if Adam had remained faithful. Through Christ’s humanity, the Logos can touch us in different ways than just as a pure spirit and Deity. As a human, He can love us in every possible way.

Jesus became human not only to redeem us but also to love us at the most human level

So many heresies have confused these concepts, either dismissing His divinity (Arius) or reducing His humanity (gnostics) or misunderstanding how His natures interacted (Nestorianism and Monophysitism). These heresies miss the importance of God’s perfect love for us as well as the Christ’s role as the New Adam.

So we can confidently declare that Christ is Divine for the “Word Became Flesh”. He is the Alpah Omega as declared in Revelations and He was eternal before, as He stated, than even Abraham. We can also confidently declare Christ is human for He was indeed born in a manager, and was indeed crucified.

The Incarnation and Redemption saw the birth and death of a man and the resurrection of a God. For this reason, we glorify Christ and bend our knee. Christ is our King, Priest, Redeemer, but also our Friend and most Beloved.

If you would like to learn more about Jesus Christ, one should read the Gospels, as well as study Christology. This will enrich one’s understanding but also one’s love of Christ.

Please also review AIHCP’s Christian Counseling Program and see if it matches your academic and professional goals. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification in Christian Counseling