(21) How Can I Know Jesus Better? (BC 19)

Every true Christian wants to know Jesus (Phil. 3:10). And part of knowing Jesus is understanding the relationship between his natures and his person. Being truly God and truly man, what kind of person is he? The church has spoken on this matter in a somewhat technical way. But this ancient analogy can help: As in humans "the reasonable soul and flesh is one man, so God and man is one Christ." In Christ God and man unite.
Still, we have questions: How can Christ be a single, unified person if he has two distinct natures? Is he sort of human, sort of divine? Or sometimes human and sometimes divine? How do Christ's divine and human natures relate to each other? Does one overpower the other? Is Christ more human? More divine? Or you might wonder, why does it matter? Don't these questions unduly complicate the simplicity of Jesus as a loving Savior?
Accurate understanding often enhances appreciation. We can all enjoy the simple beauty of star-gazing, especially as it reminds us of God's covenantal promise to grow a vast family of redeemed people (Gen. 15:5). But knowing something of the vastness of the universe enhances rather than detracts from our appreciation of the heavens. So, with a deeper understanding of the relation between Jesus' one person and two natures we can find him even more lovely