who's the man?

working on something lately (obviously on paper, not on this blog) that has been eye opening. at least opened my eyes. the folks more in tuned with God might have realized this all along.

i have always known the story of christ. (and when i say always, i mean always. thank you mom and dad for never letting a moment pass when we didn't recognize christ as our savior.) i have until recently always considered christ walk on this earth as other worldly. he made it easy because he was God's son. he was a third of the trinity so he could never have been truly tempted by the junk this world throws around at us.
i think many of us might view christs walk the same way. we appreciate his sacrifice but we believe he only did what he was sent here to do. and that's a huge "only". the ultimate sacrifice is definitely recognized!

here's where recent study has led me, although it is incomplete:

hebrews 2:9 jesus made little lower than angels
2:14 jesus shared in our humanity
2:17 jesus made like his brothers in every way
2:18 jesus suffered just like we suffer
4:15 jesus understands temptation ( yet he lived without sin)
5:8 jesus learned obedience from what he suffered

Philippians 2:6-11 who, being the very nature of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. and being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death- even death on a cross! therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name above every name, that at the name of jesus every knee shall bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that jesus christ is lord, to the glory of God the father.

jesus chose to leave heaven and take on the likeness of man. he came to this earth as a man and suffered the life of a man. jesus the man faced all of our temptations and understands our weaknesses. he walked our walk and for one thing, HE WAS JUST A MAN.

the one thing that makes him different from us is substantial. Jesus did it all, faced it all without selling out. by faith, he lived on this earth as a vessel of his father. no temptation caused him to waver, even the prospect of being sacrificed on a cross. there is a huge difference between christ and me. its not that he was GOD, nor is it that he lived without sin. the difference is FAITH.

jesus didn't practice his faith as i do. christ lived his faith and became the author and perfecter of it. (hebrews 2:12)

he was a man as i am man. he is the son of God as i am a son of God.