How Is Jesus the Mediator between God and Men?

Summary

Summary prepared by Acts 2:38 Life from the transcript below — the preacher’s words follow in full.

One God: singularity — not mere unity

• The question posed (in the host's frame): 1 Timothy 2:5 reads: for there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. Now, if we take that verse at face value, it seems to indicate two points: number one, that there is a definite distinction between God and Jesus Christ; and number two, that Christ Jesus is a man, and not God. How do we make sense of this verse? And what does it mean, that Jesus is the mediator between God and men? His answer: this is a very important passage of Scripture. In fact, if we can understand this, I think we can have an accurate understanding of the doctrine of God, in the New Testament. So let's break it down. The first part of 1 Timothy 2:5 says: there is one God. Now, that is the same teaching as the rest of the Bible — the teaching established very strongly in the Old Testament — going back to Deuteronomy 6:4: here, O Israel (as the opening word is heard) — the Lord our God is one Lord. He's — the Lord — is one. The New Testament doesn't contradict the Old Testament. It's all truth. New revelation cannot contradict prior revelation. And so First Timothy is built on this foundation: there's only one God. And so, whatever we understand the next part to mean, it can't mean that there's a second God. And I would argue: it can't even mean there's a second person. Whatever you mean by 'person' — if you mean, by person, someone with a distinct personality, or will, or character, or body, or manifestation, apart from the socalled first person — then you're still violating the concept of one God, as taught throughout the Old Testament. For example: if you look at the book of Isaiah, it doesn't merely say, you know, 'one' in the sense of unity. Some people say: well, one God means there could be multiple persons, but they're in agreement, or they're united, or they cooperate. Well — if you read Isaiah, that excludes this idea of a mere unity of multiple persons. Because God says: I'm alone; I'm by myself; there's none like me; there's none before me; there's none after me; there's none beside me; I'm the first; I'm the last. And so you have terms that don't simply mean agreement, or unity — but singularity, or uniqueness, or Oneness. And so, when the Bible says there's one God, it means one in that sense. That would exclude multiple persons — much less, multiple gods. So, whatever we understand the second half of First Timothy to mean, it can't mean more than one God — or even more than one divine person, as if persons could be in the Godhead. The Godhead is not an abstract substance, that persons can be in. The Godhead is personal. God is a personal being, who loves us, who hates sin, who grieves over our failures, and who rejoices when we repent. So he's a personal God. There is one God.

Scriptures: 1 Timothy 2:5; Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah (book-only)

The mediator: God came in the flesh as a sinless human

• But then: there is one mediator between God and men — the man Christ Jesus. So, the mediator: a mediator is someone who reconciles two parties. So what's going on here? God is holy. He created us in holiness. But we fell into sin. So, by our sin, we broke fellowship with God. So this is the whole — the message of all of Scripture: how can sinful humans be reconciled to the holy God, so that we can have fellowship with him again, and fulfill his original purpose in creating us, and how can we inherit eternal life, which he planned for us? So: God can't make himself sinful, in order to have fellowship with us sinners. We can't make ourselves holy, in order to have fellowship with the holy God. So it seems like there is this unbridgeable gap, that we could never have fellowship with God. But the beautiful message, from Genesis to Revelation, is that: what we could not do, God did for us. So: God came in the flesh, as a sinless human. So Jesus Christ was both God and man, at the same time. He was not only a man. He was absolutely — as the Scripture says — a man. He was human. But Colossians 2:9 says: in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. So, bodily — yes, he was a man; yes, he was a human. But he was the Godhead — which means, the one God: the totality of God, the sum total of God's nature, character, and attributes. Not just an agent of God; a junior God; a second person; one of three — but the fullness of God. And to underscore even more: all the fullness. And you have many other passages: 1 Timothy 3:16 — the same book — God was manifest in the flesh. Titus (chapter 2, verse 13, delivered fused as '213'): we're looking for the appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. So we find many other passages: John 20:28 — Thomas confessed Jesus: you are my Lord and my God. So Jesus was a true human — but not only a true human. He is both God and man, at the same time.

Scriptures: Colossians 2:9; 1 Timothy 3:16; Titus 2:13; John 20:28

The meeting place: God in Christ, reconciling the world to himself

• So going back to 1 Timothy 2:5: here's how God has bridged the gap. God came in the flesh, as a sinless human. So Jesus is the only sinless human who's ever lived. So, as a sinless human, he can have fellowship with God. In fact, God is in him. God is in Christ. So you might say: the mediator is not a different person. But think of 'mediator' in the sense of: meeting place. In Jesus, you have the Spirit of God, in a human identity, united as one person. So you actually have God and man reunited, in the physical body and person of Jesus Christ. So then, if we believe on Jesus Christ, and we obey his gospel — apply it to our lives — we have fellowship with Jesus. But by having fellowship with Jesus, we have fellowship with God, in Christ. And so that's how he's the mediator, that brings us back into relationship to God. So yes, I do understand that when you say 'mediator', that can imply: well, he must be a different person from God. But think of it in this sense: he is both God and human — so he's a mediator, according to the flesh. And another Scripture, that will help put this in perspective: it's not one person bringing us back into relationship with some other person. But 2 Corinthians 5:19 explains it: that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself. So Jesus is not a second person, bringing us back to some different person. But Jesus is God in extension; God in expression. He's the image of the invisible God — Colossians 1:15. When you've seen Jesus, you've seen the Father — John 14 (verse 9, delivered fused as '149'). So: God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself. So Jesus is how God is bringing back sinful humans, into fellowship with himself — not someone else.

Scriptures: 2 Corinthians 5:19; Colossians 1:15; John 14:9

The thought experiment: a second person could not mediate

• Now think of it this way. Let's suppose the alternative. The doctrine of the Trinity says that they're three divine, co-equal, co-eternal, consubstantial persons. They have the same substance, but they're different persons. They're exactly equal in every way. They're equal in holiness; they're equal in power, etc. Okay. Think about that. If that were true, then our problem — as I've already stated: we sinful humans are separated from our heavenly Father, our Creator, by our sin — that would be the first person. But under that scheme, the second person could not be the mediator. Why? Because he's equal to the first person. He's just as holy as the first person. We would have just as much of a gap, between us and the second person, as between us and the first person. So the second person couldn't be the mediator. We, in fact, would need a mediator to get back into fellowship with the second person, just as much. So the point of that thought experiment is to show: that's going the wrong track. The mediator is not a second divine person. That doesn't solve anything. The mediator is a true human, who's like us in every way — except for sin. And so then, when you go back to the text, it's very clear: one mediator between God and men — the man Christ Jesus. So already knowing that Jesus is God manifest in the flesh — because you see that in the whole New Testament — once you know that, when it says 'the man Christ Jesus', it is emphasizing: only looking at him according to the flesh. Not looking at the totality of who he is — but just looking at his humanity. In his humanity, he reconciles us to God. In his humanity, he brings us back into God.

The mystery of godliness — the Savior had to be both

• And so that's the beautiful truth: that Jesus Christ is both God and human, at the same time. That's the miracle of the Incarnation. And 1 Timothy 3:16 (cited earlier) says: great is the mystery of godliness — God was manifest in the flesh. There's no mystery about how many gods there are — there's only one. There's no mystery about the multiple persons in the Godhead. The Bible never, one time, says 'three persons', or 'Trinity', or gives us any idea to believe that God can be reduced to a human person, or multiple persons. But the mystery is: how could the infinite God come in the form of a finite human? How could he, the infinite God, come into the unborn child in the womb, to the baby in his mother's arms, to the child being led by Joseph and Mary, to the teenager, to the young adult who died on the cross? That boggles our mind. But yet we know it's true, because the Bible proclaims it true. And this is — only when we understand the Incarnation, do we understand the atonement. Because our Savior had to be both God and man, at the same time. Only God can forgive sin. So Isaiah 45, for example, says: God's the only savior. Mark chapter 2: the Jews rightly questioned — who can forgive sins, but God only? So only if Jesus is truly God, does he have power and authority to forgive our sins. But only if Jesus is truly human, can he take our place. Can he be our kinsman redeemer? Can he take the penalty of our sins? Can he be our substitute sacrifice? Can he shed blood for us? Can he die for us? So in order to be our Savior, Jesus had to be both God and human, at the same time. And you see the humanity emphasized here, in 1 Timothy 2:5: there's one God — but the one God didn't save us just by being the one God. The one God saved us, because he made a plan of salvation. He came in flesh, as Jesus Christ, the Son of God. When we say Jesus is the Son of God, we're emphasizing his true humanity: God, as he is manifest in the flesh, as the Son of God. He was able to die. His Spirit didn't die. His divine mind didn't go unconscious. But according to the flesh, he laid down his human life. And that's what 1 Timothy 2:5 is saying: he laid down his life for us — that he would provide the atonement for our sins, and that we might be restored to fellowship with God. So it's a beautiful description of the Incarnation, and the atonement — which is the very basis of our salvation.

Scriptures: Isaiah 45; Mark 2

Scripture index: 1 Timothy 2:5; Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah (book-only); Colossians 2:9; 1 Timothy 3:16; Titus 2:13; John 20:28; 2 Corinthians 5:19; Colossians 1:15; John 14:9; Isaiah 45; Mark 2.