by Tom Wacaster
How
refreshing to know that God “has granted unto us his precious and
exceeding great promises” (2 Peter 1:4). The Bible is filled with
promises for strength, material sustenance, spiritual guidance, and
forgiveness of sins. Someone has said that there are enough promises in
the Bible for us to read and meditate on a different one every single
day of the year. In addition to the promises, God’s word is replete
with statements pointing out the ability of God to fulfill His promises.
The Old Testament demonstrates the omnipotence of our God through
recorded miracles, prophesies made and fulfilled, etc. These all
declare with force that our God CAN provide.
As we study the New Testament and examine the life of Christ, it is obvious that Jesus possesses a dual nature - He is human and He is divine. The uniqueness of that makeup will perhaps never be fully appreciated by man, at least not in this life. The dual nature of Christ helps us to understand the willingness of God to give us those “great promises,” and to appreciate as never before the ability of God to provide His creatures with intended blessings. From a portion of Matthew 7:7, we read the words of our Savior: “Ask and it shall be given unto you.” One of the greatest blessings we have as God’s children is the privilege of prayer and the power available through this designated avenue of communication with our Creator. But despite the fact that the promises are given in God’s word so many fail to receive the fullness of those promises simply because they do not ask (James 4:2). The lack of prayer in the lives of so many Christians is due in part to at least two gigantic misunderstandings. One of these is man’s misconception of God’s empathy for His children, and the other is lack of faith in the effectiveness of prayer. May I suggest to you that our understanding and believing in the dual nature of Jesus actually helps us to hurdle these two obstacles to healthy prayer life.
Think for a moment about the human nature of Jesus. The “son of man” has experienced the feelings peculiar to man. The Hebrew writer tells us that “we have not a high priest that cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities; but one that hath been in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15). He has suffered the loss of a loved one, and wept tears of sorrow (John 11:35). He has been discouraged over the hardened hearts of those whom he taught (Matt. 23:37-39). He has faced the temptations of Satan, and come forth victorious (Matt. 4:1-11). This human nature of Jesus assures me that God CAN and DOES know how I feel. When we are tempted to accuse God of not knowing how we feel, or lose sight of God’s pity for us, may we remember that the human nature of our Lord enhances God’s empathy for us. What motivation to keep on praying as we ought.
Now consider the divine nature of Jesus. It is absolutely necessary that I believe in this characteristic of my Master. The Jehovah’s Witnesses deny the divinity of Jesus, and as we study this point the force of that denial will become apparent. There are abundant passages which testify to the divinity of Jesus (see John 1:1-3, Col. 1:15-18, etc.). No man has ever seen the Father. We have, however, seen the power of God demonstrated in the life of Jesus. The miracles He performed and the teaching He proclaimed are not the product of humanity, but of divinity. “No man can do these things except...” (John 3:1-3). Even the Pharisees recognized the implicit teaching of Jesus’ divine nature and sought to put Him to death because He made Himself “equal with God.” When Jesus declared, “Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do,” it is the divine nature of Christ that gives me the assurance His promises will be fulfilled. He who healed the sick, cast out demons, raised the dead, and walked on water can surely provide. If Jesus is NOT divine (as per the JW’s) then Jesus was a liar and a fraud and the promises He has given mean absolutely nothing. But beloved, IF Jesus IS divine, then my faith in the power of prayer with God’s ability to provide ought never waver. It is my conviction that the absence of prayer in the life of a child of God is evidence of a lack of faith in God Himself, and as such, is sinful (Heb. 11:6).
May God help us to fully appreciate the power of prayer as we reflect upon the dual nature of Jesus Christ our Lord.
As we study the New Testament and examine the life of Christ, it is obvious that Jesus possesses a dual nature - He is human and He is divine. The uniqueness of that makeup will perhaps never be fully appreciated by man, at least not in this life. The dual nature of Christ helps us to understand the willingness of God to give us those “great promises,” and to appreciate as never before the ability of God to provide His creatures with intended blessings. From a portion of Matthew 7:7, we read the words of our Savior: “Ask and it shall be given unto you.” One of the greatest blessings we have as God’s children is the privilege of prayer and the power available through this designated avenue of communication with our Creator. But despite the fact that the promises are given in God’s word so many fail to receive the fullness of those promises simply because they do not ask (James 4:2). The lack of prayer in the lives of so many Christians is due in part to at least two gigantic misunderstandings. One of these is man’s misconception of God’s empathy for His children, and the other is lack of faith in the effectiveness of prayer. May I suggest to you that our understanding and believing in the dual nature of Jesus actually helps us to hurdle these two obstacles to healthy prayer life.
Think for a moment about the human nature of Jesus. The “son of man” has experienced the feelings peculiar to man. The Hebrew writer tells us that “we have not a high priest that cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities; but one that hath been in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15). He has suffered the loss of a loved one, and wept tears of sorrow (John 11:35). He has been discouraged over the hardened hearts of those whom he taught (Matt. 23:37-39). He has faced the temptations of Satan, and come forth victorious (Matt. 4:1-11). This human nature of Jesus assures me that God CAN and DOES know how I feel. When we are tempted to accuse God of not knowing how we feel, or lose sight of God’s pity for us, may we remember that the human nature of our Lord enhances God’s empathy for us. What motivation to keep on praying as we ought.
Now consider the divine nature of Jesus. It is absolutely necessary that I believe in this characteristic of my Master. The Jehovah’s Witnesses deny the divinity of Jesus, and as we study this point the force of that denial will become apparent. There are abundant passages which testify to the divinity of Jesus (see John 1:1-3, Col. 1:15-18, etc.). No man has ever seen the Father. We have, however, seen the power of God demonstrated in the life of Jesus. The miracles He performed and the teaching He proclaimed are not the product of humanity, but of divinity. “No man can do these things except...” (John 3:1-3). Even the Pharisees recognized the implicit teaching of Jesus’ divine nature and sought to put Him to death because He made Himself “equal with God.” When Jesus declared, “Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do,” it is the divine nature of Christ that gives me the assurance His promises will be fulfilled. He who healed the sick, cast out demons, raised the dead, and walked on water can surely provide. If Jesus is NOT divine (as per the JW’s) then Jesus was a liar and a fraud and the promises He has given mean absolutely nothing. But beloved, IF Jesus IS divine, then my faith in the power of prayer with God’s ability to provide ought never waver. It is my conviction that the absence of prayer in the life of a child of God is evidence of a lack of faith in God Himself, and as such, is sinful (Heb. 11:6).
May God help us to fully appreciate the power of prayer as we reflect upon the dual nature of Jesus Christ our Lord.