“What MANNER of MAN is this?”

The message the Lord has given me today titled: “What manner of man is this?”  It's on my heart to address what happens occasionally when I share stories from Scripture depicting Christ and the miraculous supernatural events that He performed here on earth.  There are times when I am overcome with emotion and even brought to tears.  I feel impressed to share with you what I believe is going on in the Spirit when those manifestations occur. 

In my last message, as you may recall, I shared from Luke 17, the story of Jesus healing the 10 lepers.  It had been approximately 1500 years since God gave Moses the instructions on how to reinstate back into society those who would be healed of leprosy.

But when I stated that those Mosaic rituals were never used because not one Israelite was healed of leprosy during that 1500 year period.  I was immediately overcome with such overwhelming emotion I could hardly speak, as the revelation flooded my heart that Jesus was not only a man but was very much God who had come in the flesh.  This is the phenomenon that we often speak of when truth becomes so real that it drops from our head into our heart.  It hit me that God was so big that when He gave Moses those directions, He knew full well that they would sit unused on ancient scrolls waiting for this very moment in time when Jesus would be asked by these ten lepers to heal them. 

This message also delt with the GLORY and how when we give thanks to God, not only does thanking Him increase His GLORY, but as His children and according to the law of sowing and reaping, God causes a greater measure of His glory to be released back upon us so we may rejoice together with Him.

I believe there continues to be a huge lack of understanding concerning what God was really doing for mankind when He brought the human and the Divine together in the person of Jesus Christ, His Son.

That misunderstanding became pronounced every time Jesus, the man, did miracles which only God could perform.  Here is one example:

Mark 4:35–41  35 On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.”  37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling.  38 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”

39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.  40 But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful?  How is it that you have no faith?”  41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be (What manner of man is this? KJV), that even the wind and the sea obey Him!” (NKJV)

It’s interesting the Spirit pointed out that the disciples “feared exceedingly,” but NOT DURUNG the storm—AFTER the miracle occurred.  They did not say, “What manner of STORM was this,” but “What manner of MAN is this?”  The disciples knew Jesus primarily as a man, but He was also very much God which they could only see occasionally.  I call that the “God part.”  I’ve discovered that whenever the “God part” comes to the surface, there is an accompanying reaction in our human flesh.  This is the case when we witness or experience miracles and moves of God in real time, but also even when we experience them vicariously through Scripture.  I believe The Holy Spirit produces these manifestations and human reactions.  They can best described as “presence” or “GLORY!”  Remember, “GLORY” encompasses God's honor, majesty, and power.  The term originates from the Hebrew word "kabod," meaning weight or importance, and the Greek "doxa," meaning opinion or reputation. 

Examples of the GLORY falling in the Old Testament

On Mount Sinai, when the GLORY of God came in the form of cloud the people were afraid to approach (Exodus 24:16). 

In Solomon’s Temple, when the Ark of the Covenant was brought in, the people worshipped and the priests could not minister because of the overwhelming presence of God's glory (2 Chronicles 7:1-3). 

The prophet Isaiah had a vision of the Lord seated on a throne, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim were calling out, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty."  Isaiah was overwhelmed by the sight of God's glory and felt deeply convicted of his sin (Isaiah 6:1-4}.

Examples of the GLORY falling in the New Testament

Luke 5:1–11  1 So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, 2 and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets.  3 Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.

4 When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”  5 But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless, at Your word I will let down the net.”

6 And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.  7 So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.  8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”  

9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; 10 and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.”  11 So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him. (NKJV)

Conclusion:

Jesus came to earth to free us from the fallen sin nature of Adam.  As “son of man,” Jesus carried the “human part” of Adam, without the sin nature which followed the fall.  As the “Son of God,” He carried the “God Part” or the sinless nature of His Father.  People who thought they knew Him only knew the “human part” of Jesus until after His baptism in the Holy Spirit with John the Baptist.  After that, the “God Part” began to manifest the Glory of God at times with powerful teachings, signs, wonders and miracles.  This provides our example of what our life as born-again believers who are baptized in the Holy Spirit is supposed to look like.

Eventually, Jesus took the sin nature of Adam upon Himself (the “human part”) and put it to death on the cross.  On the third day, He was resurrected from the dead and became solely the Son of God.  When we participate in His resurrection now, we move into manifesting the Glory of God in the earth.  John had a great understanding of our God identity as children of God: 

1 John 3:1–3  1 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed (lavished, NIV) on us, that we should be called children of God!  Therefore, the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.  2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is (fully God).  3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself (the human part), just as He is pure (the God part). (NKJV)