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Fully God and Fully Man
One of the classic works in Christian literature is Anselm’s Cur Deus Homo (“Why did God become Man?”). Here, the great teacher of the church works through the problem of sin, coming to the conclusion that it is impossible for man to redeem himself and were man to be redeemed, only one who needs no redeeming could redeem others.
The Heidelberg Catechism tackles this same matter in two questions — why does the mediator need to be man and why does he also need to be God? And, much like Anselm, the framers of the Catechism argue that since it was man who sinned, it is only proper and fitting that man make satisfaction for his sins. Yet, man cannot do that because he is tainted with sin. So, we are in a fix. Only God is without sin of his own and thus only God is able to sinlessly represent man and only God has the power to satisfy the demands of the Law for the elect. Thus, God took on flesh and came as both fully-God and fully-man (except for sin) to make satisfaction for his people.
Sometimes people object, suggesting that God could simply have pardoned the people of their sins as he pardoned the Israelites after their making of the golden calf. Then again, the only reason God pardoned the Israelites is because they were “in Moses” (see 1 Corinthians 10:2). In other words, Moses was their mediator in this matter and Moses serves as a foreshadow of the coming Christ. Further, Moses’ mediation extends only to the earthly consequences of the Israelites’ sin, not to eternal consequences. An eternal man is the only one who has the power to satisfy the eternal consequences of the Law.
The Only Mediator Between God and Man
“For there is one God and one mediator between God and man — the man Jesus Christ who gave himself as a ransom for all — the testimony of a unique appointed time.”
(1 Timothy 2:5-6)
So, is there salvation outside of Christ? No. It is a logical impossibility. No human can do it because humans are sinful and no animal can do it on our behalf. Only God is capable of interceding for a fallen man and so to do just that, God took on flesh — Jesus the Christ. To mediate for others, you must also be able to identify with those for whom you mediate (hence Abraham could not effectively mediate for Sodom — see Genesis 18:22-33).
The one who mediates between God and man must be both fully God and fully man. He must be powerful enough to take on the penalty of man and thus be God, but must be able to suffer and die as a man, meaning he must be man. It is the great and the only solution to our weak and fallen condition. Nothing else will satisfy the demands of the law. Moses could not do it, Abraham could not do it, Buddha could not do it, Mohammed could not do it, Joseph Smith could not do it, none other than Jesus the Christ could do it. And he did it for all sorts of people — for all who come to Christ in faith and repentance.
Notice something about the Apostle Paul’s words above. This is the testimony for Christians, but it was given at a distinct and unique appointed time. Such is a reminder that Christianity is a historical faith…were the events recorded within somehow not to have happened, the whole of our theology as Christian would be for naught. That testimony was in time and space and such must never be compromised by the church.
The Preacher's Study 