August 21 Daily Devotional

28 Jul August 21 Daily Devotional

A SERIES OF DEVOTIONS BASED ON PAUL’S LETTER TO THE COLOSSIANS

JESUS CHRIST IS TRUE GOD AND TRUE MAN

Colossians 2:9-10 “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority.” 

Martin Luther in his explanation to the second article of the Apostle’s Creed in answering his question, “What does this mean?” states, “I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord. . .”  John says of Jesus in 1 John 5:20 “He is the true God and eternal life.” The writer to the Hebrews says Jesus is “unchangeable” (Hebrews 13:8.)  Jesus says of Himself, “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to Me” (Matthew 28:18) and in verse 20 He is present everywhere.  All of these attributes are the same assigned to Yahweh.

At the same time the Holy Scriptures speak of Jesus as truly a human being from the Angel’s announcement to Mary that she would conceive Jesus in her womb by the power of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:18-24) and to St. Paul who wrote to Timothy that Jesus was truly a man (1 Timothy 2:5.)  Jesus, as true man, experienced all the experiences of a human being including hunger (Matthew 4:2,) weeping (John 11:35,) thirsting (John 19:28,) sleeping (Mark 4:38,) etc.

Today’s devotional verse says, “For in Him (Jesus) the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.”  The divine (true God) and human natures were united in Jesus.  The Small Catechism says it was necessary for Jesus to be true man in order for Him to “act in our place under the Law and fulfill it for us (Galatians 4:4-5)and especially it was necessary in order that He could suffer and die in payment for our sins on Calvary’s cross. (Colossians 1:22)

Jesus had to be true God in order to “fulfill God’s Law” that His life, suffering and death, might be a sufficient ransom for all people and (that) He might be able to overcome death and the devil for us. (Small Catechism, pages 126-127)

As true God and true man “. . . in Christ you have been brought to fullness” and  “He is the head over every power and authority.”  “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ. . .”

Prayer:  Thank you, Heavenly Father, that through Your Holy Word of truth you reveal to us that Your Son, Jesus Christ, is in every way true God and at the same time also true man who has redeemed us, purchased, and won us from sin, death, and eternal death.  Praise be to You!  Amen.

Crown Him with many crowns, The Lamb upon His throne;

Hark how the heav’nly anthem drowns All music but its own.

Awake, my soul, and sing Of Him who died for thee,

And hail Him as thy matchless king Through all eternity.

Crown Him the virgin’s Son, The God incarnate born,

Whose arm those crimson trophies won Which now His brow adorn:

Fruit of the mystic rose, yet of that rose the stem,

The root whence mercy ever flows, The babe of Bethlehem.

Drown Him the Lord of love Behold His hands and side,

Rich wounds, yet visible above, In beauty glorified.

No angels in the sky Can fully bear that sight,

But downward bend their wond’ring eyes At mysteries so bright.

Crown Him the Lord of life, Who triumphed o’er the grave

And rose victorious in the strife For those He came to save.

His glories now we sing, Who died and rose on high,

Who died eternal life to bring And lives that death may die.;

Crown Him the Lord of heav’n, Enthroned in worlds above,

Crown Him the King to whom is giv’n the wondrous name of Love.

Crown Him with many crowns As thrones before Him fall;

Crown Him, ye kings, with many crowns, For He is king of all.

(LSB 525)