You should act more like your older brother. Have you ever heard someone tell the story of a well-intentioned mother speaking to her younger child? She means well and wants the best for her baby, but she expresses by holding up the older brother as an example of how things should be done. Is it always wrong to do this? I don’t think so. Does it usually help the younger sibling? Almost never.

Similarly, we can treat Jesus like this. We read the Bible, listen to a sermon, talk to one another within the church and somehow hear something about Jesus that sounds like: You should act more like your older brother.

Jesus is our older brother. Jesus is our example of life lived perfectly, meaning life that is always pleasing to the Father and always without sin. But does the example give us daily power to live up to that standard? A mere example does not. Jesus, however, is not a mere example.

Jesus is perfectly God and perfectly Man. Because this is true we can rest assured that Jesus is not only our example, but united to Him by the Holy Spirit we have power available to help us live up to his example.

Do you wonder, though, how to talk about Jesus in a way that is more helpful than a mere example?

How do we talk about him as perfectly God and perfectly man?

First, admit this: it’s difficult. People have been attempting to do it well for centuries.

Second, admit this: we need to ponder this. It’s what we do when we’re in a good relationship.

You think about your good friends. You take online quizzes together about your personalities. You tell your friend why certain clothes look good on them and why others do not. You consider what would be the best Christmas gift for them and why. This all adds richness and depth to your relationship. Over time you ask deeper questions about how your friend responds to particular joys and pains of life. This adds the kind of richness that builds trust.

This is the trust that makes someone a “3am friend.”

What’s that?

It’s who you would you call at 3am if you needed a friend. A 3am friend is someone you know and deeply trust.

How do we talk about Jesus, our ultimate 3am friend?

A good summary of what the Bible teaches about Jesus is to say that Jesus is the God-man. He is perfectly human and perfectly God. He has two natures – divine and human – in one person.

The divine and human natures of Jesus, according to the Chalcedonian Creed, are united unconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, and inseparably. What does that mean and how does it add richness and depth to our relationship with Jesus?

The two natures of Christ aren’t too close together and they aren’t too far apart.

Let’s look at the Chalcedonian words:

Unconfusedly – This means that the divine isn’t mixed up with the human nature. Have you ever tried to make purple Play-Doh by mixing red and blue together? The human and divine natures in the one person of Christ are not confused like that. That would be too close together.

Unchangeably – To continue with the above analogy, red Play-Doh doesn’t become blue and blue Play-doh doesn’t become red. Neither are the two natures of Christ changed into one another. This is another example of too close together.

Indivisibly – Did the divine knowledge of Jesus affect his human knowledge? Did the human voice of Jesus call forth divine miracles? We see in Scripture the two natures working in one person. It is not that his human nature is working and the divine nature is inactive. It is not that the divine nature is working but the human nature is inactive. There is no division.

Inseparably – These two natures are not separated in either into two persons or two agencies. You may hear someone say, “The human nature of Jesus spoke, but the divine nature of Jesus caused the sea to be still.” This is to separate the natures. Jesus spoke and caused the sea to be still. Jesus spoke to the blind man and made him to see.

The mystery of two natures in one person is a lot to consider. Yet it helps us to summarize what the Bible teaches. It keeps us from saying things like, “Jesus loved his enemies, but Jesus was God. I can’t be expected to be like Him.” Instead we see Jesus, the God-man, perfectly human and perfectly God taking our sin upon himself and redeeming our humanity. Jesus, the God-man, risen from the dead is who we trust to give us the freedom and power to live a godly, humble, and obedient life. He is our ultimate 3am friend.

In Him,

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