"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:14).
How could someone who is spirit, having lived for all eternity in the
past, become human? Was Jesus a human being just like us? And when He
was a human being, was He still God?
Jesus was prophesied to be "God with us" (Matthew 1:23). Jesus was
a human being and He was also God. There was never a time when He ceased
to be who He always was. His identity did not change. When He was in
the womb of Mary, He was God. When He was a baby boy lying in the manger,
He was God. When He was a youngster growing up in Nazareth, He was God.
And when He was dying, He was God.
As a spirit being, prior to His human birth, He was infinite in knowledge,
power and presence. As God He would know everything and have unlimited
power to act on any object, anywhere. But if He was human, He could
not do everything. He would be limited to the normal abilities any normal
human being would have. He could not have been both infinite and finite
simultaneously.
A physical body with physical limitations
When Jesus became flesh He was still God in terms of His identity,
but He was nevertheless a human being in every sense of the word.
Jesus had a physical body. His closest disciple attests that He was
a physical person: "That which was from the beginning, which we
have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon,
and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life-the
life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness" (1 John 1:1).
John is establishing the humanity of Jesus Christ when he says they
heard, saw and touched Jesus.
