Day 24: The Son Eternal God Redeeming Lord

Scripture
“In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” John 1:1 ESV

“For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.” Colossians 2:9 ESV

Confessional Summary
Westminster teaches that the Son is “very and eternal God, of one substance and equal with the Father.” He took on human nature in the fullness of time to redeem His people (Westminster Larger Catechism 10; Westminster Confession of Faith 8.2). The Nicene Creed also affirms the Son as “God from God, Light from Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made,” and “of one substance with the Father.”

The Belgic Confession speaks the same way. It calls the Son true God, of one and the same essence with the Father, and it confesses that His divine and human natures are united in one person for our salvation (Belgic Confession Articles 10 and 19).

The Scots Confession confesses Jesus Christ as true God and true man. It grounds our deliverance from death and judgment in the fact that our Mediator is no mere creature (Scots Confession Chapter 7). The French Confession likewise declares that the Son is eternal, of the same essence with the Father. He became man while remaining true God so that salvation rests on His divine power and not on human strength (French Confession Articles 14 to 15).

The Reformed confessions insist on the Son’s full deity because the gospel collapses without it. Only God can save. Therefore the Savior must be God.

Reflection
John opens with words that leave no room for a reduced Christ. “The Word was God.” Before Bethlehem, before miracles, before parables, Scripture places Jesus on the Creator side of all that is. He is not the highest of God’s servants. He is God come near.

Paul presses the same truth with equal force. The whole fullness of deity does not merely rest upon Christ. It dwells in Him bodily. God’s fullness in a true human life. This is why the cross is not only a sorrowful death or a moral example. It is God Himself taking up our cause, bearing our guilt, and breaking the power of death.

This doctrine also exposes a common instinct. Many want Christ admirable but not authoritative, helpful but not holy, comforting but not commanding. But if Jesus is God, faith is not mere admiration. Faith is repentance and trust. It is bowing to Him as Lord and clinging to Him as Redeemer.

Here is where steadiness grows. If Jesus is truly God, He is not overcome by sin, weakness, fear, or slow sanctification. He is able to forgive completely, and He is able to finish what He began. Hope rests not on the strength of human effort, but on the strength of the Savior.

Application
Identify one place where you have been treating Christ as an adviser rather than a King. Stop excusing delay. Obey what you already know He has said. When fear rises, anchor your mind in Christ’s identity, not in your present circumstances. Say it aloud. “The Word was God. In Jesus the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.” Then act in faith.

Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, true God and redeeming Lord, I confess how easily I try to reduce You to a safe figure I can manage. Restore the weight of Your deity in my worship and the gladness of Your lordship in my obedience. Forgive my sin, strengthen my faith, and keep me near to You. Amen.