IS GOD BORN IF HE CAME AS A HUMAN BEING?

Friday, August 26, 2016
IS GOD BORN IF HE CAME AS A HUMAN BEING?

Essentially, God—as God—is neither born nor has ever been born. What was born of Mary was only the humanity of Jesus, which was conceived to cover or veil His Divinity, whose existence has been from eternity. Therefore, Mary did not give birth to the Divine Nature itself, but rather to the human nature that carried Divinity. To say that Mary gave birth to God Himself would be to imply that God had a beginning of existence—that He began to exist when Mary gave birth to Him—and thus that God has an age and a starting point, which contradicts the teachings of the Holy Scriptures.

Psalm 102:24–27

I said, “O my God, do not take me away in the midst of my days; Your years are throughout all generations.
In the beginning You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.
They will perish, but You remain; they will all wear out like a garment.
Like clothing You will change them and they will be changed.
But You remain the same, and Your years will never end.”

To strengthen this understanding, we can examine Jesus’ own words in His debate with the Jews when they opposed His statement about His relationship with Abraham. The Jews reminded Him of His age since His birth from Mary and used that as a basis to question His claims. Let us read Jesus’ response:

John 8:55–58

“Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.”
Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?”
Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”

This declaration of the Lord Jesus revealed that His existence, in the divine dimension, could not be confined within human measurements of time, for in truth, He existed even before Abraham.

Thus, in this context, it is not accurate to call Mary “the Mother of God,” for the word mother itself implies the act of giving birth or nurturing. To claim that Mary was the parent or nurturer of God is blasphemous—it contradicts the Scriptures and dishonors their truth.

Examples of God assuming human form

It surprises me greatly when people strongly reject the idea that God could take on human form, yet they readily believe various folk stories about evil spirits taking human form.

For example, there is a story told in Dar es Salaam:
A young man once met a beautiful girl on the road and fell in love with her. After some conversation, she agreed to visit his house. When they arrived and sat in the living room, the young man asked her to hand him the TV remote that was a short distance away. To his horror, instead of standing up, the girl’s arm stretched unnaturally long to reach and grab the remote. Terrified, the young man bolted out the door, fainting in fear.

Many people tell this story believing that the girl was a jinn who had taken human form. What amazes me is that they can believe an evil spirit could transform itself into human likeness, yet vehemently deny that God could assume humanity to redeem mankind. Think again—and change your perspective.

The Lord Jesus took on humanity to draw near to humankind and ultimately bring salvation. As the Apostle John declared:

John 1:14

“And the Word became 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.”

Thus, Jesus’ incarnation and dwelling among us should be received with gratitude, for it brought glory to humanity—unlike the demonic manifestations people often glorify. The Greek word used for “dwelt” is eskenosen, meaning “to pitch a tent” or “to tabernacle among us.”

Interestingly, even the Qur’an contains an illustration of transformation from one form to another for a divine purpose. When the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary, he changed form so as not to frighten her:

Qur’an 19:17

“And she took a veil to screen herself from them. Then We sent to her Our Spirit, and he appeared before her as a well-proportioned man.”

If, according to Islam, an angel could appear as a man, how could God be incapable of taking human form?

Therefore, the truth is that the Lord Jesus took on human nature to veil His glory, which no human could endure to see. The Apostle Paul summarizes this mystery beautifully:

2 Corinthians 5:18–19

“Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.”

Thus, it must be understood that the humanity of Jesus carried within it the full authority of Divinity—an eternal authority that existed long before His human birth through Mary.

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If Jesus is God, why did He say, “I am going to the Father”?

This question often arises among scholars of faith. How could Jesus, who is God, refer to the Father as if to another being?

The key lies in understanding the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, in which God exists as three Persons—Father, Son (the Word), and Holy Spirit—yet remains one Being. Jesus sometimes referred to the Father to express relational distinction, not difference in essence.

John 16:25

“Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about My Father.”

Jesus admitted that some of His statements about the Father were figurative or parabolic. Eventually, He would reveal the truth plainly.

John 10:30–33

“I and the Father are one.”
The Jews picked up stones to stone Him.
Jesus said, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of these do you stone Me?”
They replied, “We are not stoning You for any good work, but for blasphemy, because You, a mere man, claim to be God.”

The Jews understood perfectly that Jesus’ words declared His divinity.

John 14:7–9

“If you really know Me, you will know My Father as well. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him.”
Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”
Jesus answered, “Have I been with you so long, Philip, and still you do not know Me? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father.”

Here, Jesus revealed clearly that to know Him is to know the Father, and to see Him is to see the Father—affirming His divine identity.

Therefore, Jesus is God—one with the Father and the Holy Spirit—three distinct Persons, yet one divine essence.

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Why did Jesus cry, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

This statement from Matthew 27:46 has puzzled many scholars: if Jesus is God, to whom was He crying?

When understood deeply, these words do not diminish His divinity. Rather, they express His full participation in human suffering. Having taken on true humanity, Jesus could feel pain, abandonment, and anguish as humans do.

Philippians 2:7–8

“But He 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.”

In His human role, Jesus expressed human emotion. Yet this did not negate His divine nature—it fulfilled the divine plan of redemption.

Moreover, Jesus’ cry fulfilled prophecy.

Luke 24:44

“Everything must be fulfilled that is written about Me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms.”

In Psalm 22:1, David had prophetically written:

“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

Thus, Jesus was quoting Scripture, fulfilling David’s prophecy concerning the Messiah.

James 5:13 teaches:

“Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms.”

By uttering Psalm 22 from the cross, Jesus was praying and singing a psalm in the midst of His suffering—fulfilling divine principle, not denying His divinity.

Therefore, the cry, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”, was both a human lament and a divine fulfillment of prophecy.

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Dr. Max Shimba
Shimba Theological Institute
www.maxshimbaministries.org