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Content

• Preface

• INTRODUCTION: WHY THE PRAYER LIFE OF JESUS MATTERS

• WHY JESUS PRAYED IF HE IS GOD

• JESUS LIVED A LIFE OF DEPENDENCE

• GETHSEMANE: THE HUMAN WILL YIELDED TO GOD

• “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAST THOU FORSAKEN ME?”

• “FATHER, INTO THY HANDS I COMMEND MY SPIRIT”

• WHAT THE PRAYER LIFE OF JESUS REVEALS

• ONE GOD AND ONE MEDIATOR: THE MAN CHRIST JESUS

• THE MEDIATOR REVEALS GOD AND BRINGS MAN TO GOD

• THE TITLE “SON” AND THE REAL HUMAN LIFE OF CHRIST

• CONCLUSION: THE MAN CHRIST JESUS

Important Points

• COGMA does not claim to be infallible or the authority.
• Infallibility and authority belong only to God and His Word.

COGMA therefore strongly advises that you prayerfully study the content of each Study Guide with the heart of a Berean (Acts 17:10–12).

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PREFACE

The previous Study Guide established that Jesus Christ possessed complete and genuine humanity while the Spirit within Him was the eternal Spirit of God Himself. His body, soul, mind, emotions, will, physical needs, development, suffering and human experience were real, yet the Father who dwelt within Him remained the one true God.

We now turn more closely to the man Christ Jesus and to several passages that can only be understood correctly when His genuine humanity and the indwelling Deity are kept together. Scripture presents Jesus praying, depending upon God, submitting His human will, suffering and standing as mediator between God and humanity. These experiences do not reveal another divine person beside God. They belong to the genuine human life through which the one eternal God revealed Himself and accomplished His saving purpose.

Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 2:5:

“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;”

Paul begins with the declaration that “there is one God,” and then identifies the mediator as “the man Christ Jesus.” His mediating work therefore directs our attention to His genuine humanity. The One who prayed, trusted, obeyed and submitted Himself to God truly lived as man, while the Father, the eternal Spirit, dwelt within Him.

This gives us an important key for understanding the prayers of Jesus. His prayers do not require us to divide God into separate divine persons. They reveal the man Christ Jesus living in fellowship with and dependence upon the one eternal God who dwelt within Him.

The same truth helps us understand Gethsemane. When Jesus said, “not my will, but thine, be done,” He was not describing two divine wills competing with one another. His genuine human will was brought into perfect submission to the divine will of the Father.

This Study Guide will therefore examine why Jesus prayed, how He lived in dependence upon God, what His prayers reveal, and why Scripture identifies Him as the one mediator between God and men. We will also consider the meaning of the title Son and how His genuine human life relates to the one eternal God revealed in Him.

Throughout this Study Guide, both truths must remain clear. Jesus Christ was genuinely man, and God was in Christ. His prayers and dependence do not weaken the Deity revealed through Him, and the indwelling Deity does not make His humanity unreal.

The man Christ Jesus lived before God in perfect obedience, and through that genuine human life the one true God revealed Himself and reconciled humanity unto Himself.

INTRODUCTION: WHY THE PRAYER LIFE OF JESUS MATTERS

The prayer life of Jesus Christ raises an important question: If the one true God was revealed in Jesus Christ, why did Jesus pray? The answer must begin with the genuine humanity Scripture attributes to Him.

Jesus Christ did not simply appear to be human. He lived a complete human life before God, possessing a real body, soul, mind, emotions and will. His dependence, prayer and obedience therefore belonged to genuine humanity and must not be explained as though they were conversations between separate divine persons.

Paul gives us an important foundation in 1 Timothy 2:5:

“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;”

Paul places two truths together. There is “one God,” and the mediator is “the man Christ Jesus.” This distinction helps us understand why Jesus could pray, obey, trust and submit Himself to God without requiring another divine person beside the one true God.

The Father was the eternal Spirit dwelling within Jesus Christ. Jesus said that it was “the Father that dwelleth in me,” while Paul declared that “God was in Christ.” The prayers of Jesus must therefore be understood within this Scriptural relationship between His genuine humanity and the eternal God who dwelt within Him.

Prayer belonged naturally to His human life. Jesus withdrew from the crowds to pray, sought God before important decisions and lived continually in dependence upon the Father. His prayer was not a performance designed to make Him appear human. The man Christ Jesus genuinely lived before God.

This also explains why His prayers sometimes contain expressions of dependence, sorrow and submission. In Gethsemane, Jesus faced the suffering that lay before Him and prayed, “not my will, but thine, be done.” Those words reveal a genuine human will brought into perfect submission to the divine will of God.

His dependence does not diminish the Deity revealed in Him, and the indwelling Deity does not make His dependence unreal. Both truths must remain together if we are to understand the Gospel record as Scripture presents it.

The prayer life of Jesus therefore gives us important evidence concerning His genuine humanity. He was not an independent man separated from God, nor was He a divine appearance whose human experiences were only outward. He was the man Christ Jesus in whom the one eternal God dwelt and through whom God accomplished His saving purpose.

As we examine His prayers, dependence and human will, we must therefore keep one controlling truth before us: Jesus Christ was genuinely man, and God was in Christ. That foundation will allow us to answer the question clearly: Why did Jesus pray if He is God?

WHY JESUS PRAYED IF HE IS GOD

We have established that Jesus Christ was genuinely man and that the one true God dwelt within Him. We can now address an important question: If Jesus Christ reveals the one true God, why did He pray? The answer is found in His genuine humanity.

Jesus did not pray because He was a second divine person speaking to another divine person. He prayed because the man Christ Jesus truly lived before God in dependence and obedience. His prayer life belongs to the reality of His humanity.

Prayer Belonged to His Genuine Humanity

The writer of Hebrews wrote in Hebrews 2:17:

“Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.”

Jesus was “made like unto his brethren.” His humanity was complete and real. He possessed a genuine human body, soul, mind, emotions and will, and He experienced human life without sin.

A genuine human life is lived in dependence upon God. Jesus therefore prayed because He truly lived as man. His prayer was not an outward performance designed to make Him appear human.

At the same time, His humanity must never be separated from the truth that the eternal Spirit dwelt within Him. Jesus Christ did not possess a separate created human spirit of human origin alongside the Spirit of God. The Spirit within the man Christ Jesus was the eternal Spirit of God Himself.

The Father Dwelt Within Him

Jesus explained where the Father was.

Jesus said in John 14:10:

“Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.”

Jesus said, “the Father that dwelleth in me.” The Father was not another God standing beside Jesus Christ. The Father was the eternal Spirit dwelling within His genuine humanity.

Paul expressed the same truth in 2 Corinthians 5:19:

“To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.”

Paul says plainly, “God was in Christ.” Therefore, when Jesus prayed, we must not imagine two divine persons separated from one another. The man Christ Jesus lived in fellowship with and dependence upon the one eternal God who dwelt within Him.

Prayer Does Not Divide God

The prayers of Jesus must remain within the foundation Scripture has already established: there is one God, and God was in Christ. The One who prayed was truly man. The God upon whom He depended was the eternal Spirit who dwelt within Him and, as the omnipresent God, was not confined to His human body.

Jesus truly prayed, depended upon God and obeyed. His humanity was not an appearance, and His prayer life shows that the humanity of Jesus Christ was genuine.

Luke gives us a simple example.

Luke wrote in Luke 5:16:

“And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.”

Jesus deliberately withdrew from the crowds to pray. He lived His human life in genuine fellowship with God. Prayer belonged naturally to the life of the man Christ Jesus.

His Dependence Was Genuinely Human

Jesus also spoke openly about His dependence.

Jesus said in John 5:30:

“I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.”

These words do not describe a lesser God depending upon a greater God. They describe genuine humanity living in complete dependence upon the eternal Spirit.

Jesus possessed a real human will, but that will was never independent or rebellious. He sought “the will of the Father.” His humanity was real enough to possess a genuine will, and His obedience was complete enough for that will to remain perfectly submitted to God.

Jesus said in John 8:29:

“And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.”

His prayer, dependence and obedience therefore belong together. Jesus lived as a genuine man in complete submission to the Father who dwelt within Him.

The Man Christ Jesus Is the Mediator

Paul gives us another important key.

Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 2:5:

“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;”

Paul begins with “there is one God,” and then identifies the mediator as “the man Christ Jesus.” The distinction is not between two Gods or two divine persons. It is between the one eternal God and the genuine man who stands as mediator between God and humanity.

As mediator, Jesus represented humanity before God. His prayer, trust, obedience and dependence therefore belong naturally to His genuine human role. We can hold both truths together without contradiction: Jesus prayed because He was genuinely man, while the Father dwelling within Him was the one eternal God.

His prayers do not weaken the Deity revealed in Him, and the indwelling Deity does not make His human dependence unreal. The Scriptural explanation is therefore clear: the man Christ Jesus prayed because He truly lived before God, while the one true God dwelt within Him.

His prayer life does not divide God. It confirms the reality of His genuine humanity.

JESUS LIVED A LIFE OF DEPENDENCE

We have seen that Jesus prayed because He genuinely lived as man before God. His dependence upon God was not occasional or limited to moments of crisis. Prayer, fellowship, submission and obedience were woven throughout the whole pattern of His earthly life.

The Gospels repeatedly show Jesus withdrawing to pray, seeking the will of God and ordering His human life according to that will. This dependence did not describe one divine person relying upon another divine person. It belonged to the genuine human life of the man Christ Jesus.

He Withdrew to Pray

Luke wrote in Luke 5:16:

“And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.”

Jesus deliberately separated Himself from the crowds in order to pray. His prayer was not a public performance or an outward religious ceremony. The man Christ Jesus truly lived in fellowship with God.

This shows that His human life was not lived independently. The Father, the eternal Spirit, dwelt within Him, and Jesus lived consciously before God in prayer and dependence. The presence of the indwelling Deity did not remove the reality of His human fellowship with God.

Mark records the same pattern.

Mark wrote in Mark 1:35:

“And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.”

Before the activities of the day began, Jesus went apart to pray. He did not treat the Deity dwelling within Him as a reason to avoid genuine human dependence. His humanity was real, and prayer belonged naturally to the life He lived as man.

He Prayed Before Important Decisions

Luke gives another important example.

Luke wrote in Luke 6:12-13:

“And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles;”

Before choosing the twelve apostles, Jesus continued all night in prayer. The decision belonged to His earthly ministry, yet He did not proceed from independent human judgement. The man Christ Jesus sought the will of God.

His actions flowed from a human life lived in submission to the Father who dwelt within Him. Prayer therefore was not reserved only for suffering or emergency. It belonged to His ordinary pattern of life.

His Dependence Was Continual

Jesus described this relationship of dependence in His own words.

Jesus said in John 8:29:

“And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.”

Jesus said, “the Father hath not left me alone.” These words must be understood together with His statement that the Father dwelt within Him. The Father was not another God accompanying Jesus from a distance. The eternal Spirit dwelt within the genuine humanity of the Son.

Jesus also said, “I do always those things that please him.” His dependence therefore was not partial or occasional. His whole human life was lived in harmony with the will of God. He prayed, trusted, obeyed and acted from a life fully yielded to the Father.

“I Can of Mine Own Self Do Nothing”

Jesus made this dependence even clearer.

Jesus said in John 5:30:

“I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.”

The words “I can of mine own self do nothing” do not mean that Jesus was a lesser God depending upon a greater God. They describe the genuine human life of Jesus Christ refusing independent self-direction.

Jesus also said, “I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father.” He possessed a genuine human will. That will was not sinful or rebellious, but it was truly human, and it remained perfectly submitted to the divine will of God.

This agrees with what Jesus had already said concerning His works: “the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.” The humanity did not act independently of God. The man Christ Jesus yielded completely, while the indwelling Father worked through Him.

Perfect Humanity Lived in Dependence Upon God

The dependence of Jesus was not weakness. It was the expression of perfect humanity living as humanity was meant to live: under the rule of God, in fellowship with God and in obedience to God.

Paul identifies Him in 1 Timothy 2:5 as “the man Christ Jesus.” His prayer, trust, obedience and dependence therefore belong naturally to His genuine human life and to His role as mediator.

For the born-again believer, this truth must never be reduced to an outward attempt to imitate Jesus through human effort. The same Jesus Christ now dwells within His people by His Spirit. His life within produces prayer, trust, submission and obedience as believers learn to walk according to the life they have received in Him.

The whole testimony therefore remains consistent. Jesus Christ was truly man, and the Father dwelt within Him. His humanity lived in complete dependence upon the one eternal God.

That dependence would be seen with particular clarity when suffering and death stood directly before Him. In Gethsemane, His genuine human will would be expressed and perfectly yielded to the will of God.

GETHSEMANE: THE HUMAN WILL YIELDED TO GOD

We have seen that Jesus Christ lived a genuine human life in complete dependence upon God. Nowhere is that dependence seen more clearly than in the Garden of Gethsemane, where suffering and death stood immediately before Him. Gethsemane does not reveal two divine persons with competing wills. It reveals the genuine human will of the man Christ Jesus brought into perfect submission to the divine will of the one true God.

His Sorrow Was Real

Matthew wrote in Matthew 26:37-38:

“And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.”

Jesus said, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death.” His sorrow was genuine. He was not displaying distress for the benefit of those around Him. The man Christ Jesus truly felt the weight of what lay before Him.

He knew that arrest, rejection, humiliation, suffering and death were approaching. His humanity did not pass through those events untouched. He entered the experience with real sorrow and distress.

Jesus possessed a real soul, mind, emotions and will, and Gethsemane brings that inward human experience clearly into view. His desire to avoid suffering was not sinful. A genuine human being naturally recoils from pain and death, yet His sorrow never became rebellion against God.

“Not My Will, but Thine, Be Done”

Luke recorded the prayer of Jesus in Luke 22:41-42:

“And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.”

The words “remove this cup from me” express the reality of His human feeling, while “nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done” expresses complete surrender. Jesus possessed a genuine human will. That will naturally recoiled from the suffering before Him, but it remained perfectly submitted to God.

Matthew records the same prayer in Matthew 26:39:

“And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.”

Jesus said, “not as I will, but as thou wilt.” These words do not reveal two divine wills belonging to two divine persons. The will expressed in “I will” belongs to the genuine humanity of Jesus Christ, while the will of the Father is the divine will of the eternal Spirit.

The contrast is therefore between genuine human will and divine will, not between two competing divine wills within God.

The Father Dwelt Within Him

Jesus had already explained where the Father was.

Jesus said in John 14:10:

“Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.”

Jesus said plainly, “the Father that dwelleth in me.” The Father was not another God standing at a distance from Jesus Christ. The Father is the eternal Spirit, and that eternal Spirit dwelt within the genuine humanity of the Son.

Therefore, when the man Christ Jesus prayed, “not my will, but thine, be done,” His genuine human will was being submitted to the will of the one eternal God who dwelt within Him. Scripture presents one Jesus Christ possessing complete and genuine humanity, while the one eternal God dwelt within and revealed Himself through that human life.

He Learned Obedience Through Suffering

The writer of Hebrews connects the prayers and suffering of Jesus directly with obedience.

The writer of Hebrews wrote in Hebrews 5:7-8:

“Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;”

Notice the expression “in the days of his flesh.” The prayers, supplications, strong crying and tears belonged to the genuine human experience of Jesus Christ. Hebrews does not present an untouched divine figure appearing to suffer. It presents the Son living through real human suffering.

His strong crying, tears, sorrow and obedience were genuine. The eternal Spirit did not need to learn obedience because God does not move from disobedience to obedience or gradually discover what submission means. The man Christ Jesus, however, experienced obedience through the real conditions of human life and suffering.

The words “learned he obedience” therefore do not mean that Jesus had previously been rebellious. They mean that obedience was lived and experienced under pressure. Gethsemane shows what that obedience looked like when suffering became immediate.

He Became Obedient Unto Death

Paul connects the obedience of Jesus directly with His genuine humanity.

Paul wrote in Philippians 2:8:

“And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”

Paul says that Jesus was “found in fashion as a man” and then says that He “became obedient unto death.” His obedience belonged to the genuine human life He lived. Jesus did not face suffering as an untouched observer. He experienced what obedience required within real human life.

His distress was real, but so was His willing obedience. Jesus was not carried unwillingly towards the cross while resisting the purpose of God.

Jesus said in John 10:17-18:

“Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.”

Jesus willingly laid down His life. Gethsemane therefore does not reveal rebellion followed by reluctant surrender. It reveals genuine human sorrow together with complete obedience.

Gethsemane Does Not Divide God

The foundation remains unchanged. There is one God, the Father is the eternal Spirit, the Father dwelt within Jesus Christ, and God was in Christ. Jesus Christ also possessed complete and genuine humanity.

When those truths remain together, the prayer becomes clear. “Not my will, but thine, be done” does not reveal two divine persons with separate divine wills. It reveals the genuine human will of Jesus Christ yielding perfectly to the divine will of the one God.

His humanity was real enough to feel sorrow and recoil from suffering, while His obedience was complete enough to choose the will of God without rebellion. His complete humanity remained real throughout the struggle, and the indwelling God remained the eternal Spirit without change.

Gethsemane therefore gives us one of the clearest pictures of perfect humanity under the rule of God. The man Christ Jesus faced suffering honestly, prayed earnestly and remained perfectly yielded.

The Garden now prepares us for the cross. There, the reality of His human suffering would be expressed in another solemn cry: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

“MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAST THOU FORSAKEN ME?”

We have seen in Gethsemane that Jesus Christ faced suffering as a genuine man and brought His human will into perfect submission to God. On the cross, His genuine humanity is revealed again in one of the most solemn cries recorded in Scripture.

Matthew wrote in Matthew 27:45-46:

“Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

These words do not describe one divine person being abandoned by another divine person. God was in Christ, the Father dwelt within Him, and this cry came from the genuine human suffering of the man Christ Jesus.

Jesus Was Quoting Psalm 22

The words Jesus spoke did not begin at the cross. He was quoting the opening words of Psalm 22, a Psalm that prophetically describes suffering associated with the crucifixion.

David wrote in Psalm 22:1:

“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?”

Jesus entered fully into the suffering expressed in that Psalm. His cry was therefore both genuine and Scriptural. He was not reciting words without feeling their meaning. The man Christ Jesus was experiencing real sorrow, rejection, physical agony and approaching death.

His body had been beaten and crucified, and He had been mocked and rejected. The suffering was not symbolic or outward. The cry came from a genuinely suffering human life.

God Had Not Ceased to Be in Christ

The cry must not be interpreted as though the eternal Spirit had departed from Jesus Christ or as though God had become divided at the cross.

Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:19:

“To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.”

Paul says, “God was in Christ.” The cross belonged to that work of reconciliation. God was not absent from Christ at the very moment the work of reconciliation was being accomplished through Him.

Jesus had also spoken beforehand about the abandonment He would experience from His disciples.

Jesus said in John 16:32:

“Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.”

Jesus knew that His disciples would scatter and leave Him. Yet He said, “I am not alone, because the Father is with me.” Human companionship would fail Him, but the Father had not ceased to be the eternal Spirit dwelling within Him.

The Experience of Forsakenness Was Real

There is an important distinction between the genuine human experience expressed in the cry of Jesus and an actual division within God. The man Christ Jesus entered deeply into suffering, rejection, shame, pain and death. His cry expresses the depth of that experience.

The suffering was real because His humanity was real. Jesus had already said, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death.” On the cross, that sorrow reached its most intense expression, yet the one God remained undivided.

He Bore Our Sins in His Body

Peter wrote in 1 Peter 2:24:

“Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”

Peter says that Jesus bore our sins “in his own body on the tree.” He entered the suffering required for redemption through His genuine humanity. His body suffered, His soul knew sorrow, and the man Christ Jesus truly went into death.

Paul also wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:21:

“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

Jesus “knew no sin.” He did not become personally sinful at the cross. The sinless man Christ Jesus became the sacrifice through whom reconciliation was accomplished.

He bore sin without becoming a sinner. He entered the consequences of human sin while remaining completely holy. The darkness surrounding the crucifixion also underlines the solemnity of what was taking place.

Jesus was not acting out a lesson or presenting an illustration of suffering. He was genuinely suffering and dying. Throughout the whole terrible ordeal, the saving work of God was being accomplished through the real suffering of the man Christ Jesus, while the eternal God remained unchanged in His nature and purpose.

Psalm 22 Does Not End in Abandonment

The opening cry of Psalm 22 must not be separated from the rest of the Psalm.

David wrote in Psalm 22:24:

“For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard.”

The same Psalm that begins with the words “Why hast thou forsaken me?” later declares, “when he cried unto him, he heard.” The Psalm therefore moves from the experience of terrible suffering to the assurance that God heard the afflicted one. Its own testimony does not end with abandonment.

This helps us understand the cry of Jesus without weakening either His suffering or the presence of God in Christ. The anguish was real, but God had not abandoned His saving purpose or ceased to be present in the man through whom reconciliation was being accomplished.

His Trust Continued to the End

The cross does not reveal one God abandoning another God, nor does it reveal one divine person separating Himself from another divine person. It reveals the man Christ Jesus entering the deepest human suffering while remaining faithful to God.

His words from Psalm 22 express real distress, but His final prayer still expresses trust. He did not die in unbelief or rebellion. His human life remained yielded to God through suffering and unto death.

The cry therefore confirms the same truth we saw in Gethsemane. Jesus Christ did not escape genuine sorrow, rejection, pain or death. He entered them fully, and His humanity, suffering and obedience remained real.

God remained in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself. This prepares us for His final recorded prayer from the cross: “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.”

“FATHER, INTO THY HANDS I COMMEND MY SPIRIT”

We have seen that the cry, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” came from the genuine suffering of the man Christ Jesus. His final recorded prayer from the cross now shows that His trust in God remained complete as He entered death.

Luke recorded in Luke 23:46:

“And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.”

These are not words of unbelief, defeat or rebellion. They are words of trust. The man Christ Jesus had lived in dependence upon God throughout His life, and He remained yielded to God at death.

His Final Prayer Echoed Scripture

The words of Jesus echo Psalm 31:5:

“Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O LORD God of truth.”

Jesus died with Scripture upon His lips. The same human life that had prayed, obeyed and trusted God continued in that dependence to the end. His final prayer therefore agrees with everything we have already seen: Jesus did not move from trust to unbelief at the cross, but remained surrendered to God through suffering and unto death.

What Did Jesus Mean by “My Spirit”?

We must allow the words of Luke 23:46 to stand as Scripture gives them without using this verse by itself to construct something the wider testimony of Scripture does not require. Jesus said, “I commend my spirit.” Scripture also speaks directly of His soul, for Jesus said, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful.” His humanity was genuine, including a real body, soul, mind, emotions, will and human experience.

However, Luke 23:46 must not be used by itself to construct a separate created human spirit of human origin within Jesus Christ alongside the eternal Spirit of God. The verse records the real words of the man Christ Jesus as He entrusted Himself to God at death, but its wording must be understood within the whole Scriptural testimony concerning who He was.

Paul gives an important controlling distinction in 1 Corinthians 15:45:

“And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.”

The first Adam is described as “a living soul,” while the last Adam is described as “a quickening spirit.” We have already established from Scripture that the Spirit within the man Christ Jesus was not another created spirit existing beside God. The Father, the eternal Spirit, dwelt within Him.

Therefore, when Jesus said, “Into thy hands I commend my spirit,” we should not force that expression into a separate body-soul-human-spirit construction that Scripture itself does not require. We receive the words as Scripture gives them and interpret them in harmony with the fuller testimony concerning the genuine humanity of Jesus Christ and the eternal Spirit who dwelt within Him.

God Was Still in Christ

Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:19:

“To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.”

The final prayer of Jesus does not mean that God had ceased to be in Christ. Paul says plainly that “God was in Christ” accomplishing reconciliation. The humanity truly entered death, while the eternal Spirit remained God.

The cross did not divide God, and the eternal Spirit did not cease to exist. Peter gives us the distinction in 1 Peter 3:18:

“For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:”

Peter carefully says that Christ was “put to death in the flesh.” The death was real because the humanity was real. Yet God in His eternal Spirit nature remained immortal.

“It Is Finished”

John records another statement spoken immediately before the death of Jesus.

John wrote in John 19:30:

“When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.”

Jesus said, “It is finished.” These were not words of failure. His earthly work had reached its appointed completion, and His obedience had continued through suffering and unto death.

Paul wrote in Philippians 2:8:

“And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”

The man Christ Jesus remained obedient all the way to death. His final prayer therefore belongs to the same pattern that marked His whole human life: dependence, surrender, trust and obedience.

He Trusted God to the End

The final prayer of Jesus brings the whole pattern together. In ordinary life He prayed, in Gethsemane He said, “not my will, but thine, be done,” and on the cross He cried from the depth of genuine human suffering. At the point of death, He still entrusted Himself to God.

His humanity remained real to the end, and His obedience remained complete. The one true God remained in Christ accomplishing His saving purpose. Luke 23:46 therefore does not require us to construct a separate created human spirit within Jesus Christ, but shows the man Christ Jesus facing death in complete trust while the eternal Spirit remained the one true God.

We have now followed the prayer life of Jesus from His ordinary life, through Gethsemane and to the cross. These passages together reveal one consistent truth: Jesus prayed because He genuinely lived as man before God, and His dependence upon God remained perfect to the end.

WHAT THE PRAYER LIFE OF JESUS REVEALS

We have now considered the prayer life of Jesus in ordinary life, in Gethsemane and on the cross. When these passages are read together, they present one consistent picture: Jesus prayed because He truly lived as man before God. His prayers reveal genuine humanity, complete dependence, perfect obedience and continuing trust in the one eternal God who dwelt within Him.

His Humanity Was Genuine

The prayers of Jesus belong naturally to His genuine human life. He possessed a real body, soul, mind, emotions and will, and He experienced sorrow, distress, suffering and the need to seek God in prayer. His humanity was not an appearance. Jesus did not pray to create the impression that He was human, but because the man Christ Jesus truly lived before God.

At the same time, His genuine humanity must not be turned into a doctrine of a separate created human spirit of human origin within Him. The Spirit within the man Christ Jesus was the eternal Spirit of God Himself.

God Was in Christ

Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:19:

“To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.”

Jesus was genuinely human, yet Paul says plainly, “God was in Christ.” His prayers must therefore not be interpreted as conversations between two Gods or two separate divine persons.

Jesus Himself said in John 14:10:

“Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.”

The Father was the eternal Spirit dwelling within Him. The One who prayed was genuinely man, while the One dwelling within Him was the one true God. These truths belong together and must not be separated.

His Prayers Reveal Dependence and Obedience

Jesus said in John 5:30:

“I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.”

His humanity did not live according to independent self-will. He sought the will of God and remained completely yielded to Him. His dependence was not weakness, but the expression of perfect humanity living under God’s rule.

The writer of Hebrews connects His prayer life directly with obedience.

The writer of Hebrews wrote in Hebrews 5:7-8:

“Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;”

The words “in the days of his flesh” are important. His prayers, strong crying, tears and suffering belonged to genuine human experience. The eternal Spirit did not need to learn obedience. The man Christ Jesus lived obedience through the actual circumstances of human life.

His dependence therefore belonged to His humanity. He prayed, trusted and obeyed as a genuine man living in fellowship with God, while the Father, the eternal Spirit, dwelt within Him.

His Prayers Reveal Perfect Trust

The prayer life of Jesus remained consistent to the end. He prayed regularly, submitted His human will in Gethsemane and continued to trust God at the cross. He did not move from dependence to independence, nor did suffering produce rebellion in Him. His human will remained completely submitted to God even when obedience led to death.

Paul identifies Him in 1 Timothy 2:5:

“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;”

The mediator is “the man Christ Jesus.” His prayer, dependence and obedience therefore belong naturally to His genuine human life and mediating work. The distinction is not between two divine persons, but between the one eternal God and the genuine man who stood as mediator between God and humanity.

Christ Within Produces the Life of Dependence

The prayer life of Jesus also shows us what a human life fully yielded to God looks like. Yet the born-again believer is not called to reproduce that life through external imitation or human effort. Jesus Christ now dwells within His people by His Spirit.

The same Christ whose human life was marked by prayer, dependence and obedience now lives within the believer. His life within produces the desire to seek God, submit to His will and walk in obedience. The Christian life is therefore not an attempt to copy Jesus from a distance, but the expression of His indwelling life through those who have been born again.

The whole testimony fits together. Jesus Christ was truly man, and God was in Christ. His prayers reveal genuine humanity, real dependence, perfect obedience and complete trust. They do not divide God into separate divine persons.

The man Christ Jesus prayed, trusted and obeyed, while the Father, the eternal Spirit, dwelt within Him in fulness. His prayer life therefore strengthens, rather than weakens, the Scriptural revelation of genuine humanity and indwelling Deity.

ONE GOD AND ONE MEDIATOR: THE MAN CHRIST JESUS

We have seen that the prayer life of Jesus reveals His genuine humanity and His perfect dependence upon God. We now come to a passage that gives us an important key to understanding how Jesus Christ stands between God and humanity without dividing the one God into separate divine persons.

Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 2:5:

“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;”

Paul places two truths together with great clarity. First, “there is one God.” Second, there is “one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” Whatever we say about the mediating work of Jesus Christ must preserve both statements.

The Mediator Is the Man Christ Jesus

Paul does not identify the mediator as another God standing beside the one God. Neither does he say that one divine person mediates between humanity and another divine person. He identifies the mediator according to His genuine humanity: “the man Christ Jesus.”

This is important because mediation is connected directly with the real human life of Jesus Christ. He could represent humanity because He genuinely entered human existence. He shared our flesh and blood, lived under the conditions of human life, obeyed, suffered and died.

The writer of Hebrews wrote in Hebrews 2:14:

“Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;”

Jesus truly partook of “flesh and blood.” His mediating work therefore cannot be separated from His genuine humanity. His obedience mattered because He obeyed as man, His suffering mattered because He suffered as man, and His death was real because He truly entered human life.

There Is One God

Paul begins the verse with the words “For there is one God.” That declaration governs everything that follows. The existence of a mediator does not introduce another God, nor does it require us to divide the one God into separate divine persons.

The Father is the eternal Spirit, the one true God. Jesus Christ is the genuine man in whom that one God was fully revealed and through whom God accomplished reconciliation.

This is why the distinction in 1 Timothy 2:5 must remain exactly where Scripture places it. The distinction is between God and men, with the man Christ Jesus standing as mediator. Paul does not describe two divine persons standing on opposite sides of the mediation. He begins with one God and identifies the mediator as man.

God Was in the Mediator

The mediating work of Jesus Christ must also be understood together with another statement from Paul.

Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:19:

“To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.”

The man Christ Jesus was not separated from God. Paul says plainly, “God was in Christ.” This means that the mediator was the genuine man in whom the one true God dwelt and through whom God was accomplishing reconciliation.

Jesus did not stand between humanity and a God who was absent from Him. The one eternal God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself. Notice the direction of Paul’s words: he does not say that Christ was reconciling God to the world. He says that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself.

The saving work therefore begins with God and is accomplished by God through Jesus Christ.

His Humanity Makes Mediation Possible

A mediator represents and stands between parties. Jesus Christ could stand for humanity because He genuinely shared human life.

Peter wrote in 1 Peter 3:18:

“For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:”

Peter gives the purpose clearly: “that he might bring us to God.” Jesus could bring humanity to God because He truly stood in our place as man. He was “put to death in the flesh.” His sacrifice was not symbolic, and His humanity was not an outward appearance.

His suffering, obedience and death were all part of the genuine human life through which His mediating work was accomplished. This also helps us understand why His prayers, dependence and obedience are so important. A mediator who represents humanity must truly live as man before God.

Jesus therefore prayed, trusted, obeyed, suffered and remained faithful unto death. These experiences do not make Him another divine person. They establish the reality of the humanity through which He stands as mediator.

The Mediator Does Not Divide God

Sometimes the very word mediator is assumed to require two divine persons: one divine person who mediates and another divine person to whom He mediates. Paul’s own wording does not allow that conclusion.

He says “there is one God” and “one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” The mediating distinction is therefore rooted in the genuine humanity of Jesus Christ. The Father is the eternal Spirit, while the Son is the complete and genuine human life in whom that one God was revealed.

The one God did not send another God to reconcile humanity. God Himself was in Christ accomplishing reconciliation.

He Represents Humanity Before God

The man Christ Jesus stands as the representative man. His obedience was not simply an example observed from a distance. He actually lived the obedient human life required of the One who would stand for humanity before God.

His faithfulness continued through temptation, sorrow, suffering and death. He did not fail where humanity had failed. His human will remained submitted to God, and His obedience continued even when that obedience led to the cross.

This is why Scripture repeatedly connects His genuine humanity with His saving work. The mediator had to be truly man because He was representing humanity before God. Yet His humanity was never separated from the indwelling Deity.

The same Jesus who stood for humanity was the One in whom the Father dwelt and in whom all the fulness of the Godhead was revealed.

One God Accomplished Reconciliation Through Him

The truth can therefore be stated clearly. There is one God, and there is one mediator. That mediator is “the man Christ Jesus.”

The one God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself. The saving work was therefore God’s own work accomplished through the genuine humanity of Jesus Christ for the sake of humanity. Jesus Christ did not stand as another God beside the Father. He stood as the genuine man through whom the one God revealed Himself and accomplished reconciliation.

His mediation therefore preserves both truths that must remain together: the humanity was genuinely human, and the Deity dwelling within Him was genuinely God.

This prepares us to look more closely at what His mediating work accomplishes. The mediator works in two directions: He reveals God to humanity, and He brings humanity to God.

THE MEDIATOR REVEALS GOD AND BRINGS MAN TO GOD

We have seen that there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. We can now look more closely at what His mediating work accomplishes. Scripture presents that work in two directions: Jesus Christ reveals God to humanity, and through Him humanity is brought to God.

These two aspects belong together. Jesus Christ can reveal God because the Father, the eternal Spirit, dwelt within Him. He can represent humanity because He genuinely became man and lived within the conditions of human life.

He Reveals God to Humanity

John wrote in John 1:18:

“No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.”

John says concerning the Son, “he hath declared him.” The invisible God was made known through the genuine human life of Jesus Christ. His words, works, holiness, compassion, love and truth revealed the One who cannot be seen with natural eyes.

The mediator therefore does more than speak about God. In Jesus Christ, the invisible God was revealed to humanity. The One whom no man had seen in His eternal Spirit nature made Himself known through a genuine human life.

Jesus made this especially clear when Philip asked to see the Father.

Jesus said in John 14:9:

“Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?”

Jesus did not direct Philip towards another visible divine person. He said, “he that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” This does not mean that the human flesh of Jesus was itself the eternal Spirit. The Father is the invisible eternal Spirit, and that one God was fully revealed through the complete human life of Jesus Christ.

Paul expressed the same truth in 2 Corinthians 5:19:

“To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.”

Jesus did not discover God from a distance and then explain Him to humanity. God was in Christ, and the Father dwelt within Him. The genuine human life of Jesus Christ therefore revealed the God who was present within.

He Brings Humanity to God

The mediator not only reveals God to humanity. He also brings humanity to God.

Peter wrote in 1 Peter 3:18:

“For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:”

Peter states the purpose clearly: “that he might bring us to God.” Jesus Christ could represent humanity because He genuinely shared human life. He obeyed, suffered and was “put to death in the flesh.” His mediating work therefore depended upon the reality of His humanity.

The writer of Hebrews wrote in Hebrews 2:17:

“Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.”

Jesus was “made like unto his brethren.” Genuine representation required genuine humanity. He did not stand for humanity from outside human existence. He truly entered human life and stood before God as the man Christ Jesus.

His Obedience Belonged to His Mediating Work

The mediator did not simply possess a human body. He lived a complete and obedient human life before God.

Paul wrote in Philippians 2:8:

“And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”

His obedience continued through suffering and reached its fullest expression in death. The One who represented humanity before God remained faithful where humanity had failed. His human will remained yielded to the divine will of God, even when obedience led to the cross.

The cross therefore stands at the centre of His mediating work. The just suffered for the unjust, the sinless man gave His life, and God was in Christ accomplishing reconciliation. His suffering and death were genuine because His humanity was genuine.

Reconciliation Was Accomplished in Christ

Paul says that God was in Christ “reconciling the world unto himself.” Notice the direction of the reconciliation. God was not being reconciled to humanity. The world was being reconciled unto God.

Human sin had separated humanity from fellowship with God. Through Jesus Christ, God accomplished the work by which humanity could be brought back to Himself. The one God was therefore both revealing Himself through Christ and accomplishing reconciliation through Him.

The mediator does not compete with God or stand beside Him as another divine being. The mediation belongs to the genuine humanity of Jesus Christ, while the Deity dwelling within Him is the one true God. The man Christ Jesus represents humanity, while God Himself was in Christ accomplishing the saving work.

He Is the Way to God

Jesus said in John 14:6:

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

Jesus is “the way” because He is the one mediator. Through Him the invisible God is revealed, and through Him humanity is brought to God. No other person occupies this mediating place.

There is one God, one mediator and one way by which humanity is reconciled to God. The mediator is the man Christ Jesus, the genuine man in whom the one true God was fully revealed.

This is why Jesus Christ is completely sufficient. He reveals God because the Father dwelt within Him, and He represents humanity because He truly became man. Through the same genuine human life, God made Himself known and accomplished reconciliation.

His mediating work therefore never requires us to choose between His humanity and the Deity revealed in Him. Both truths remain together. Jesus Christ stood for humanity before God, while the one true God dwelt within Him and worked through Him.

The mediating work of Jesus brings the whole truth together. The invisible God is revealed to humanity, humanity is brought to God, and both are accomplished through the man Christ Jesus.

Before we conclude this Study Guide, one further question must be made clear. If Scripture repeatedly speaks of Jesus as the Son, what does that title tell us about the genuine human life through which the one eternal God was revealed?

THE TITLE “SON” AND THE REAL HUMAN LIFE OF CHRIST

We have seen that Jesus Christ is the one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. Before bringing this Study Guide to its conclusion, we must establish clearly what Scripture means when it speaks of the Son. This title is essential to understanding the prayers, obedience, suffering and mediating work we have examined.

Scripture gives us a clear foundation. The Father is the eternal Spirit, while the Son is the complete and genuine human life of Jesus Christ through whom that one eternal God was revealed.

The Son Was Born

The angel explained to Mary how the Son of God would come into the world.

Luke recorded in Luke 1:35:

“And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”

Notice the order of the verse. The Holy Ghost would come upon Mary, the power of the Highest would overshadow her, and “that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” Scripture therefore connects the title Son of God directly with the genuine human life brought forth through the miraculous conception and birth of Jesus Christ.

Paul gives the same emphasis in Galatians 4:4:

“But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,”

The Son entered human history “made of a woman.” Jesus Christ was genuinely born into the human family and lived under the real conditions of human life.

The Word Was Made Flesh

John gives us the divine side of this revelation.

John wrote in John 1:14:

“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”

John had already declared that “the Word was God.” He then tells us that the Word “was made flesh.” The one eternal God was therefore made known through genuine human life in Jesus Christ.

The humanity had a beginning in history, but the God revealed through that humanity is eternal. The Son must therefore not be understood as another eternal God or divine person existing beside the Father.

The Son Was the Man Christ Jesus

Paul gives one of the clearest statements concerning the human identity of the mediator.

Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 2:5:

“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;”

Paul begins with “there is one God” and then identifies the mediator as “the man Christ Jesus.” He does not introduce another God between humanity and the Father. The Son is the genuine man in whom the one God was revealed and through whom God accomplished reconciliation.

This explains why Scripture can speak of the Son praying, obeying, suffering and submitting His will to God. These things belong to His genuine human life.

The Son Is More Than a Physical Body

At the same time, the Son must never be reduced to the physical body of Jesus Christ. His humanity was complete and genuine. He possessed a real body, soul, mind, emotions and will, and He experienced real human development, physical need, sorrow, temptation, suffering and death.

Jesus said in Matthew 26:38:

“Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.”

His words “My soul is exceeding sorrowful” show that His humanity cannot be reduced to flesh alone. The Son is the complete human life of Jesus Christ, not simply the body through which God appeared.

We must also preserve the Scriptural distinction concerning the Spirit within Him. Scripture does not require us to construct a separate created human spirit of human origin within Jesus Christ. The Spirit dwelling within the man Christ Jesus was the Father, the eternal Spirit, the one true God Himself.

The Son Could Obey

Once the genuine humanity of the Son is understood, His obedience becomes clear.

The writer of Hebrews wrote in Hebrews 5:8:

“Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;”

The eternal God does not need to learn obedience. The man Christ Jesus lived obedience through the actual experiences of human life. He faced suffering, temptation and real human decisions, yet remained perfectly submitted to God.

His obedience confirms that the Son truly entered human life. The same principle explains Gethsemane, where His genuine human will was perfectly yielded to the divine will of God.

The Father Dwelt in the Son

Jesus said in John 14:10:

“Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.”

Here the essential distinction remains clear. The Son was genuinely human, while the Father was the eternal Spirit dwelling within Him. The humanity was real, and the indwelling Deity was real.

Paul confirms this in 2 Corinthians 5:19:

“To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.”

The Son was not separated from God or another God beside the Father. God was in Christ. The one eternal God was revealed through the genuine human life of Jesus Christ.

This Foundation Explains the Passages That Follow

This understanding prepares us for several passages that will be examined more fully in the next Study Guide. Scripture says that the Son learned obedience, could do nothing of Himself, grew in wisdom, experienced human limitation, was sent by the Father and came down from heaven.

Those statements must be understood within the foundation already established. The Son is the complete and genuine human life of Jesus Christ, while the God revealed in Him is eternal. This distinction allows the passages to speak naturally without dividing the one God into separate divine persons.

The title Son therefore preserves the reality of the Word made flesh. Jesus Christ was truly man, yet the Father, the eternal Spirit, dwelt within Him in fulness. His genuine humanity explains His prayers, obedience, suffering and mediating work, while the indwelling Deity explains how the one invisible God was fully revealed through Him.

The testimony comes together clearly: the Son is not another God beside the Father. Jesus Christ is the genuine man in whom the one eternal God was revealed and through whom God accomplished reconciliation.

CONCLUSION: THE MAN CHRIST JESUS

This Study Guide began with Paul’s declaration that “there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” That statement has governed everything we have examined. Jesus Christ was genuinely man, while the Father, the eternal Spirit, dwelt within Him in fulness.

His prayer life therefore does not reveal one divine person speaking to another divine person. It reveals the man Christ Jesus living before God in genuine dependence. He prayed regularly, sought the will of God and remained completely submitted to the Father who dwelt within Him.

In Gethsemane, Jesus said, “not my will, but thine, be done.” His words reveal a genuine human will yielding perfectly to the divine will of God. His sorrow was real, His suffering was real, and His obedience remained complete.

On the cross He cried, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” His suffering was not an appearance. He entered fully into rejection, pain and death as a genuine man, yet Scripture still declares that “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself.” The one God had not become divided.

His final prayer, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit,” continued the same pattern of trust and dependence. This expression must be understood within the whole testimony of Scripture and must not be used to construct a separate created human spirit within Jesus Christ. The Spirit within the man Christ Jesus was the Father, the eternal Spirit, the one true God Himself.

His genuine humanity also explains His mediating work. Paul does not identify the mediator as another God. He calls Him “the man Christ Jesus.” Through His genuine humanity, Jesus represented humanity before God, while God was in Christ revealing Himself and accomplishing reconciliation.

The mediator therefore works in both directions. Jesus Christ reveals God to humanity, and through Him humanity is brought to God. The same genuine human life through which God was made known is the life through which reconciliation was accomplished.

The title Son must also remain within this foundation. The Son is not the physical body of Jesus alone, nor is He another eternal divine person beside the Father. The Son is the complete and genuine human life of Jesus Christ through whom the one eternal God was revealed.

The truth of this Study Guide can therefore be stated clearly: Jesus Christ was truly man, and God was in Christ. His humanity explains His prayer, dependence, obedience, suffering and mediation, while the indwelling Deity explains how the invisible God was fully revealed through Him.

These truths must always remain together. Jesus Christ was genuinely man, and the Father dwelling within Him was the eternal Spirit. In the man Christ Jesus, the one true God revealed Himself and accomplished His saving purpose.

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