Blog do MySpace | de TOV Rose

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrLzYw6ULYw

julho 14, 2008 - segunda-feira

The Good-O-Meter
Modo atual:

contemplativo

12:27

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www.EntertainmentChaplains.org

janeiro 25, 2008 - sexta-feira

Are YOU Getting in the Way of the Vision?
Modo atual:

realizado

Are YOU Getting in the Way of the Vision?

I am often asked advise about this subject. The person typically asking doesn't usually know how to ask the question, or they've asked using different terminology or words. It is usually a musician, actor or model, but quite often it is the leader of a floundering non-profit, or a small business owner. The unspoken or unrealized question is, "Am I getting in the way of my vision?"

Here's an example:

I have a wonderful friend with this amazing God-given vision to help people through their non-profit organization. They spend hours working on projects that appear to advance the God-given vision. These were usually people asking for serious help, the very kind of help that my friend offers through the non-profit.

People want to help you accomplish the vision, but you have to let them!
God had brought several individuals who shared the Vision. My friend accepted them warmly and they even began volunteering their time to help people. In fact, after a short time of training, a few of them could do most of what my friend could do. After a while these volunteers became frustrated and thought about leaving. Why? They were begging my friend to stop doing so much of the work and to LET THEM HELP!

"These are…also anointed to serve the Lord of all the earth." Zechariah 4:4

Unfortunately, my friend wasn't very good at listening. My friend wanted so much to help individuals that they lost sight of the bigger picture, GOD's VISION. My friend had an "I have to do this myself" mentality that they just couldn't seem to shake. My friend would sort-of give the volunteers something to do. What I mean by "sort-of" is that my friend would give two or more of the volunteers the exact same work to do, when it only took one person to do that work--or my friend would agree to pass off the work, but then do it themselves.

At one point some of the volunteers began coming to me hoping I could help my friend understand them. They really wanted to help my friend ease the work load, so that my friend could do the one thing EVERYONE ELSE KNEW NEEDED TO BE DONE: be the leader, not the worker; and build the business side of the non-profit.

Actually, they approached several people besides me, hoping all of us could try and get through, using the "strength in numbers" approach. After several months of trying, my friend still wasn't listening.

Then there was the other really big problem:
Every time an opportunity appeared that would allow my friend to Be The Leader and Build the Business Side of the Organization, something came up:
1) Someone else would come along with an immediate cry for help that my friend just couldn't pass onto one of the very well qualified volunteers
2) A family crisis' came along (something really horrible and troubling of course)
3) The water (electric, phone/internet), was going to be turned off
4) They became very sick and unable to work
5) The property manager was going to throw them out for lack of payment on the rent.

This kind of thing would happen every time, without exception.

EVERY TIME

As time went on my friend found themselves with less and less finances to continue, more and more weariness, and they were ill with successively more serious illness.

EVERY TIME!

"A double minded man is unstable in all his ways." James 1:8

I think this Bible verse illustrates the problem pretty well. My friend was double minded. They couldn't choose which they wanted to do more, follow the leading and call of God, or listen to fear. It was really fear that was keeping my friend from succeeding. Fear of what, you ask? Perhaps a number of things such as fear of success, fear of doing something they'd never done in the past, fear of people, or fear of letting other people down. One thing was certain; my friend was going two directions that were polar opposites. One would bring success, the other would bring failure. My friend was trying to go both directions at the same time. My friend was trying to follow a big God-given Vision, but was pulled down by day-to-day problems.

One day my friend came to me asking for prayer concerning both finances and illness. It seemed like I had the perfect opportunity. I had to tell them something they didn't want to hear. Have you ever been in that position? When it comes you have two choices, you can keep your mouth shut and watch a friend and the vision slowly fall apart, or you can risk loosing the friendship and speak up (again, and again and again, ad-infinitum).

What my friend needed was a good lesson about Distraction, and how there is an intentionality behind Distraction. It is a purposeful response to God's opening of doors to bless us and advance the vision. Its purpose is to keep us from fulfilling our God-given vision in life (Read that again).

When you have a God-given vision to help people, enemies come along. They often appear as wonderful opportunities to help others. The Enemy (some call him Satan), will come at you with wonderful things that need to be done; people to help; serious projects to be completed, crisis' that must be dealt with--NOW!

There is an appropriate observation noted in the Bible that certainly applies to such Distractions found in 2 Corinthians 11:14 (New International Version), "And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light."

These things happen at exactly the moment when other God-given opportunities come along. The kind of "open doors" that often look small and insignificant, but when walked through will bring an organization, individual or band the visibility needed to really be what God intends.

The fruit of following Distraction are exactly what my friend experienced:
Illness
Lack of Finances
Exhaustion from helping other people with no real help coming to their organization in return

What was my friend NOT doing right?

1) Praying. There is a right way to pray. My friend was very good at DOING, but didn't do a good job of simply stopping and praying for God to prosper what they were doing and leading them. My friend would ask for prayer for individuals that were being helped, or for financial problems, illness, etc., but when prayers for "open doors" to advance the organization were answered the friend would find some good reason not to follow through. This meant my friend needed to pray that they would be given the wisdom and strength to follow through, too.

2) Distraction. When you make a decision to do something or say you are going to do it, You Must Do It. There were so many times when my friend made a commitment to speak to someone who wanted to do something that would give their organization media attention, or would bring in much needed income. Every time there was such an opportunity my friend went down under the weight of solving all the "crises" that came along. When it was time for the meeting, my friend sent an e-mail or made a brief call (or asked someone else to do it), asking to meet another time, or explaining that they were too ill (usually true), to meet.

3) Listening to Good Counsel: My friend had SEVERAL people trying to help, but would only listen occasionally (that's being gracious). When it came to this issue, my friend had closed ears and refused to listen, and only asked for help to do the very things that my friend alone HAD TO DO in order to prosper the organization. In other words, my friend listened to either exhaustion or fear and wanted someone else to do the work for them, do the meeting for them, do the interview for them, make the phone call for them, write the letter for them, do the television show for them. Those wanting the meeting WANTED MY FRIEND, not someone who advises or helps my friend.

If it is your organization, there is no one better equipped to share the vision. There is no one better at being the spokesperson than YOU.

When you are staring your own organization and there is very little help, you do need to do most of the work yourself. However, as organizations start to grow and you do begin to have help, you have to learn to let go of the one thing you love doing most--and SHARE it. You need to let other people share the burden.

Here's a little secret about God-given visions. Ready?

It isn't about you.
It is NOT your vision.
It is NOT your work.
It is NOT for you.

It is for GOD.
It is GOD's Vision, and God intends for other people to join you in accomplishing HIS VISION.

Maybe God wants to help Thousands of people at a time through the organization He has called you to build for Him. God wants to help more than the ONE person at a time that YOU are helping. By refusing to step up to the plate and LEAD, and let others do the grunt work, you are actually being selfish.

YOUR JOB is sharing the vision with others so that they will in turn accept the call to JOIN YOU in accomplishing GOD's Vision. If you selfishly refuse to walk through every open door God is giving you to prosper and bring visibility to what you are doing, then God will find someone else who is willing to take up the challenge and be the leader.

Which brings me back to where I started:

Are YOU Getting in the Way of the Vision?

________________________________________________________________________

This article may be reproduced for teaching purposes but not for commercial resale

The Invisible Ingredient by TOV Rose is feature of www.TOVRose.com

The Entertainment Industry Chaplains -

Box 211125, Saint Paul MN 55121-1125 USA

When writing about this article, refer to ARTICLE 01004

www.TOVRose.com

The Entertainment Chaplains never sells, rents, or shares your email address.

For more information, please contact chaplains@thechaplains.org

4:52

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www.EntertainmentChaplains.org

novembro 16, 2007 - sexta-feira

The Invisible Ingredient, by TOV
Modo atual:

aborrecido

The Invisible Ingredient, Acticle 01000

By TOV – The Entertainment Industry Chaplain

I was cleaning the kitchen this morning, after making an oatmeal breakfast for the family. Take note guys this really is the way to a woman's heart, especially when she and both your kids are sick. She was thumbing through a magazine when her eye fell upon a new Dodge Caravan advertisement.

No offence to Dodge, I'm sure they have many professionals working on their advertising for family-friendly vehicles, but maybe they should try talking to people "like us" more often. This two page glossy ad sure was pretty. Nice pictures.

The two largest of the six make sure you see a "mommy" with smiling face in the driver's seat, while the kids are watching Nickelodeon—live—thanks to a new partnership with Sirius Satellite Radio, called, "Sirius Backseat TV," (I have to throw a bone over to Sirius, some good people over there). I mean, this van is really nice! It has Halo/LED Lighting*! The "*" takes you to a note at the bottom that says, "Available" Wow! That almost sold me right there.

Then there was the picture below that with "Jordan", "Buried in another comic book!"

The Multi-Media system is something I might really be interested. No kidding.

Let me get back to the part about the two kids watching television. It really disturbed me. I'll be the first to admit, I've had the portable DVD playing going on long trips. It can often be a wonderful distraction, especially since children need attention and can get a little grumpy on long trips (any parents out there "feelin' me"?). The caption over the picture is what really bothered me though:

"6-hour trip to Grandma's and never heard a peep out of them!"

What exactly is being sold here? Kids with headphones in a picture, and happy smiling "mom" driving the car (their ain't no "dad" in the picture, yet another message from big business that dad's are worthless oafs who can't even be bothered to drive their kids to see Grandma, but hey don't worry your favorite nanny the television will keep them company).

What a sad, sad thing to sell people: Silence.

Wasn't it a few years ago people were still chastizing previous generations for holding to the philosopy that, "Children should be seen and not heard"? Seems we're back to it again in this generation. Is that hypocritical? Where's the conversation? Where's the interaction?

What I get out of this is a message that kids are better off watching television in silence while mom gets to play with her on-board computer (hopefully while watching the road). There's no need for interacting with my kids. Why bother? It doesn't matter that kids learn adult interaction by, ah—interacting—with adults—like their parents—on long trips to Grandma's house.

How about the slogan sound bit that is written next to the Dodge Emblem in BOLD letters announcing, "Grab Life," when the real message here is, "Keep your kids' brain cells melting away as you have your own private silence party and abdicate your responsibility, in yet another area of your life, to have a positive impact on your family."

Then there's the one picture with, "Grandma, Granddaughter…and Grand Caravan!" I tell you, the thought of that great silent partner taking care of my family really brings me a lot of comfort right now.

Simply Amazing. I'm sold. Let's go get one, my love. Oh, don't forget the headsets.

This article may be reproduced for teaching purposes but not for commercial resale

The Invisible Ingredient by TOV Rose is feature of www.TOVRose.com

The Entertainment Industry Chaplains - PO Box 211125, Saint Paul MN 55121-1125 USA

When writing about this article, refer to devotional 01000

www.TOVRose.com

The Entertainment Chaplains never sells, rents, or shares your email address.

For more information, please contact chaplains@thechaplains.org

4:23

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novembro 1, 2007 - quinta-feira

Hookers for Jesus
Modo atual:

sossegado

When I need encouragement I reach out and talk to friends Annie Lobert. Here's why:

12:25

1 Comentários

4 Kudos

www.walkonthewaterbooks.com

outubro 29, 2007 - segunda-feira

Don’t Give Up
Modo atual:Determined

Don't Give Up

by Dr. Larry Ollison

Let me ask you a question. When you have a problem in your life, and you've done everything spiritually you know to do, what do you do then? When you have prayed and when you have confessed the confession of faith and it seems like nothing has changed, what do you do?

This seems to be a question often asked to those of us in the ministry. As a pastor of a growing church, this is a question that continually arises. So, what's the answer? What do we do when it seems like we've done all we can do and there is no manifestation of our deliverance?

This answer may seem simple, but here it is. Don't give up. When you know that you know that what you are believing for is God's will for you and promised in His Word, then do not quit doing what God has told you to do. Continue to believe God's Word and continue to confess His promise in the face of what you see and what you feel.

Second Corinthians 5:7 says, "For we walk by faith, not by sight." As believers it is disastrous to react on what we see, hear, or feel. Instead of reacting to the senses produced by the world, we must act according to the Word spoken by God. His Word brings deliverance and the words of the world bring destruction. When you feel like giving up, quit going by what you feel. Stand in faith and remember that Jesus said, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes." (Mark 9:23).

Remember, you can do all things through Christ because He strengthens you to do the impossible.

All rights reserved. Used by permission.
This article may be reproduced for teaching purposes but not for commercial resale
The Cutting Edge Devotional by Dr. Ollison is a daily feature of www.CFAITH.com
The Cutting Edge Devotional - PO Box 880, Osage Beach, MO 65065 USA
When writing about this devotional, refer to devotional 0322

www.larryollison.com

4:29

2 Kudos

outubro 20, 2007 - sábado

The Customer Always Comes First?
Modo atual:

contemplativo

..> ..>

The Customer Always Comes First?
Original Acticle: http://www.TovRose.com/

Not long ago someone I know took a second job at the local area in-door shopping mall selling high calorie pastries at a popular shop found in malls and terminals in many big cities. The employee was someone I've known for many years and had a great reputation for being dependable, a hard worker who was loved by customers and really lived by the adage, "The Customer Always Comes First."

What Happened?

It was the typical story of a blue-collar manager with the "Jerry Springer Guest" world-view.

The manager had LOTS of experience in management, but came from an experience of abuse. This person was abused sexually as a child, abused as a spouse, abused by friends, abused drugs and alcohol, abuse after abuse, and then more abuse. Believe it or not, a majority of people today have some sort of abuse experience they can point to that negatively shaped their lives. Everyone touches and shapes the life of someone else (and managers shape the lives of those they manage), and that shaping can be for better or for bad.

"Jerry Springer Guest" manager had several positive management role-models in their employment history, but couldn't overcome the "default mode" of abuse that was learned through past experiences and became part of their psyche. This forty-plus year old person would only develop relationships with young, immature (often High School age), kids, and listen to gossip and advice from those with said High School immaturity—and act on it in decision making. What they usually had in common were the cigarettes or drugs they all used, or else came to the manager for relationship advice, because the person was "cooler than my parents." Cool doesn't always mean—wisdom.

Sounds like the makings of a horror story, eh?

Let's just say that my good friend didn't survive the hot 19 year old blonde's gossip (as a side note, I like to define gossip as, "Murder with the Tongue"). After all, who was the 40 year old manager going to believe? My friend who had known and worked with this manager several times over 20 years or the immature gossiper who had a reputation around the mall for getting people fired?

In case you might be wondering, most managers in restaurant and mall settings seem to fall into the general category of "bad managers." Why? They never had a good Role Model, or else they simply couldn't overcome the "default mode." It is amazing that something so simple could be such a great mystery facing most leaders in corporate leadership and the badly trodden down underlings known as "employees"

Most "bad managers" aren't very good because they haven't had any training, and when they do have training they haven't learned to change their "default mode" when stressed.
Stress = Default Mode.

The "default mode" usually comes from Family and upbringing, and other bad experiences with key people in your life. Most families are dysfunctional. Most families have secrets, and most families have some form of abuse going on. Children imprint on their strongest example, for better or worse. As human beings, we tend to take on the dominant traits of the people who have HURT US. In other words, for most people, your "default mode" is based on your negative experiences, not your good experiences.

I know there are lots of people out there suddenly in denial of this basic principle of Human Nature. So many of us are trained to "look on the bright side," "give the benefit of the doubt," and all that other positive spiritual mumbo-jumbo, but the truth can be told in low-level (and mid-level and high level), jobs across the world.

If you don't believe me, just go take an informal poll at your local McRestaurant.

Back to the original statement, "The customer always comes first?" This is a BAD premise for building customer loyalty and business practice. If the customer comes first, where does that leave your employees? Good managers (or those who have overcome the "default mode"), know this to be true:

If you treat your employees with respect, kindness and teach them the by example of integrity, then your employees will "imprint" on you. They will reflect what you are showing them and that reflection will be seen by your customers.

Your customers will want to be around such employees. They will keep coming back.

So, what comes first? You.

Change your default mode.

..> ..>


	Report to moderator 66.41.179.178

Name: - TOV (Pronounced: like "stove" no "s" no "e")
The Entertainment Industry Chaplains
PO Box 211125
Saint Paul MN 55121
E-MAIL: Chaplains@TheChaplains.org
Los Angeles: 310-574-2895
Manhattan: 917-720-8128
Nashville: 615-673-4159
Saint Paul: 651-686-5600
Fax: 845-698-5600
Web/MySpace: http://www.EntertainmentChaplains.org/
BIO on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tov_rose
BLOG: http://tovrose.com
Linkedin.com: http://www.linkedin.com/in/chaplaintov

9:47

2 Kudos

The Big Problem facing Corporate Management Today

outubro 18, 2007 - quinta-feira

The Big Problem facing Corporate Management Today
Modo atual:

contente

..> ..> ..>..>

« on: Today at 11:43:33 am »

The Big Problem facing Corporate Management Today
Posted by TOV at 10/18/2007 9:50 AM and is filed under Corporate Managment
Original Aricle Link: http://www.tovrose.com/
The Big Problem facing Corporate Management Today

Something has happened in the last few decades that Fortune 500 Corporations like Coco Cola and Tyson Foods have woken up to, but most of the rest of Corporations in the Western World have missed.

How many man hours are lost every year to employees missing work? How many of your employees are sick with chronic or terminal conditions? How many have serious family problems that always seem to interfere with productivity?

Especially in the United States, there has always been a corporate cultural rule that says to employees, "Leave your personal life at the door." However, in the real world it isn't possible. Take a look around the typical office on any given day and you'll find considerable lost time every year due to "informal counseling sessions," where on employee discusses his/her problems with another. Employers have bought into the belief that there needs to be a "separation of church and business," just as the media, politicians with a social agenda, and propaganda specialists have sold the myth of a "separation of church and state," concerning government.

It has left employees languishing in a literal no-man's land of separation. Separation from those they spend most of their time with—other employees—because at work they shouldn't take time to speak with their fellow employees.

With Employee Care (employee benefits), taking such a large chunk of a corporation's budget every year, in a addition to lost man-hours due to on-the-job conversations and missed work, what are employers to do?

Many have gone down the road of employee and management training and found it lacking. Many larger companies now have contracted with outside counseling services that provide crises lines and referrals.

These really are just band-aids, however.

What The Coco Cola Company and Tyson Foods realized was this: Most people no longer attend religious services. These same employees are very spiritual and find most of their social network in the workplace, whereas previous generations found their social networks and support at church, or in their communities.

They decided to tackle to problem and provide employees with something usually associated with the military. They provided employees the ability to speak with people at work whom they had little time to speak with outside of work: Ministers

You did read that right. They outsourced to ministers who were invited into their companies to spend time with employees. It became an Employee Benefit. On-site employee care that turned out to be the best thing they ever did.

Employee loyalty suddenly went up. Workers began knocking on their doors wanting to get in, turnover rates dropped. Why?

They, like many other companies today discovered a need. Employees need social interaction at deeper levels and they found a way to meet a fundamental, basic need. They provided Chaplains.

7:01

4 Kudos

setembro 15, 2007 - sábado

Good People Do NOT Go To Heaven

It started with a statement.

It became a conversation.

It turned the world upside down.

4:54

1 Comentários

6 Kudos

setembro 11, 2007 - terça-feira

Is God Jesus?
Modo atual:

curioso

..>

Is God Jesus?

« on: September 07, 2007, 02:21:55 pm »

There are many questions asked in the world and many books to answer them quite a few on this subject alone. Many people have asked how I can believe Jesus is God. I propose that this is the wrong question.

The question I propose is perhaps deeper and more profound. There are few people in the world and it's religions who deny the existence of God. There are many in fact who say they love, honor and serve God, yet doubt the story of Jesus. This probably will not sway those whose minds are made up. However, for those who are still questioning, perhaps this will add a dimension of interest or answer. So I propose the following question: "Is God Jesus?"

Further, what if the New Testament (which was written by Jewish people of the first century who followed Jesus), is not an allegory, but a simple truth? What if God in fact is Jesus? What if everything you may have heard to the contrary is simply a ploy and deception by some angelic being to deceive you into denying the one thing that will save you from an eternity in an unquenchable, unbearable torment in a place few today dare speak about: Hell.

What if there is more to this life than simply--this life? What if there really is an eternity for those who love God and an equally true and tormenting eternity for those who reject God? These are questions few today are truly willing to face and those who ask such questions are more often looked upon with scorn and rejection as fanatics. Even so, what if? What if the only sure way out of the snare and trap of lies, deceptions and confusion of religions and opinions in this world, is to accept a preposterous truth? God is Jesus.

Most people today are so open-minded that their brains are in danger of falling out, or have so little discernment (try looking that one up), that they accept without question things that are told them. Those who don't ask questions are in danger of ignorance. Those who choose not to face a question--whether because they've already made up their mind without seriously considering the evidence, or cultural taboo--these have chosen ignorance.

If you've never asked the question, perhaps you should? If you've rejected it, maybe you might reconsider the issue from the fresh perspective of your currenty life and another voice?

Many have faced this question and made a choice. Some have said yes. Others have said no. For the record, I am convinced. Yes. God is Jesus.

What about you?

How can Jesus be God and man? By John Piper
Original Article: http://www.christianworldviewnetwork.com/article.php/2490/John_Piper

Equally amazing to the doctrine of the Trinity is the doctrine of the Incarnation--that Jesus Christ is God and man, yet one person, forever. As J.I. Packer has said: "Here are two mysteries for the price of one--the plurality of persons within the unity of God, and the union of Godhead and manhood in the person of Jesus. ...Nothing in fiction is so fantastic as is this truth of the Incarnation," writes contemporary theologian J.I. Packer.[1]

The early church considered the Incarnation to be one of the most important truths of our faith. Because of this, they formulated what has come to be called the Chalcedonean Creed, a statement which sets forth very what we are to believe and what we are not to believe about the Incarnation. This creed was the fruit of a large council that took place from October 8 to November 1, 451, in the city of Chalcedon and "has been taken as the standard, orthodox definition of the biblical teaching on the person of Christ since that day by" all the major branches of Christianity.[2] There are five main truths with which the creed of Chalcedon summarized the biblical teaching on the Incarnation.

1. Jesus has two natures -- He is God and man.
2. Each nature is full and complete -- He is fully God and fully man.
3. Each nature remains distinct.
4. Christ is only one Person.
5. Things that are true of only one nature are nonetheless true of the Person of Christ.
A proper understanding of these truths clears up much confusion and many difficulties we may have in our mind. How can Jesus be both God and man? Why doesn't this make Him two people? How does His Incarnation relate to the Trinity? How could Jesus have hungered (Matthew 4:2) and died (Mark 15:37) when He was on earth, and yet still be God? Did Jesus give up any of His divine attributes in the Incarnation? Why is it inaccurate to say that Jesus is a "part" of God? Is Jesus still human now, and does He still have His human body?

Jesus has two natures -- God and man
The first truth we need to understand is that Jesus is one Person who has two natures a divine nature and a human nature. In other words, Jesus is both God and man. We will look at each nature accordingly.

Jesus is God

The Bible teaches that Jesus is not merely someone who is a lot like God, or someone who has a very close walk with God. Rather, Jesus is the Most High God Himself. Titus 2:13 says that as Christians we are "looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus." Upon seeing the resurrected Christ, Thomas cried out, "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:28). Likewise, the book of Hebrews gives us God the Father's direct testimony about Christ: "But of the Son He says, 'Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever" and the gospel of John calls Jesus "the only begotten God" (John 1:18).

Another way the Bible teaches that Jesus is God is by showing that He has all of the attributes of God. He knows everything (Matthew 18:20; 28:20; Acts 18:10), is everywhere (Mt 16:21; Luke 11:17; John 4:29), has all power (Mt 8:26, 27; 28:18; Jn 11:38-44; Lk 7:14-15; Revelation 1: Cool

, depends on nothing outside of Himself for life (Jn 1:4; 14:6; 8:58), rules over everything (Mt 28:18; Rev 19:16; 1:5) never began to exist and never will cease to exist (John 1:1; 8:58), and is our Creator (Colossians 1:16). In other words, everything that God is, Jesus is. For Jesus is God.

Specifically, Jesus is God the Son

In order to have a more complete grasp of Christ's incarnation, it is necessary to have some sort of understanding of the Trinity. The doctrine of the Trinity states that God is one being, and this one God exists as three distinct Persons. This means, first of all, that we must distinguish each Person of the Trinity from the other two. The Father is not the Son or the Holy Spirit, the Son is not the Holy Spirit or the Father, and the Holy Spirit is not the Father or the Son. They are each a distinct center of consciousness, a distinct form of personal existence. Yet, they all share the exact same divine nature/essence. Thus, the three persons are one being. The divine being/essence is not something that is divided between the Persons, each Person receiving one-third. Rather, the divine being is fully and equally possessed by all three Persons such that all three Persons are each fully and equally God.

How does the fact that God is three Persons in one Being relate to the incarnation? To answer this, let's consider another question. Which Person became incarnate in Jesus Christ? All three? Or just one? Which one? The Biblical answer is that only God the Son became incarnate. The Father did not become incarnate in Jesus, and neither did the Holy Spirit. Thus, Jesus is God, but He is not the Father or the Holy Spirit. Jesus is God the Son.

The truth that it is only God the Son who became incarnate is taught, for example, in John 1:14, which says "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." In context, the word is God the Son (cf. vv. 1, 18, and 3:16). Thus, it wasn't the Father or the Holy Spirit who became man, but God the Son.

Likewise, at Jesus' baptism we see the Father affirming "Thou art My beloved Son, in Thee I am well-pleased" (Luke 3:22). He did not say, "You are me, and with myself I am well-pleased." Rather, the Father affirmed that Jesus is the Son, His Son, and that Jesus is well-pleasing to Him. In this same verse we also see that the Holy Spirit is distinct from the Father and the Son, for the Holy Spirit is present in "bodily form like a dove."

Why is it important to know that Jesus is specifically God the Son? For one thing, if we do not understand this we will be mistaken about the very identity of our savior. Further, it greatly affects how we relate to our triune God. If we think that Jesus is the Father and/or the Holy Spirit, we will be greatly misguided and confused in our prayers. Last, it is considered heresy to believe that the Father became incarnate in Jesus.

Jesus is man

It should be obvious that if Jesus is God, then He has always been God. There was a never a time when He became God, for God is eternal. But Jesus has not always been man. The fantastic miracle is that this eternal God became man at the Incarnation approximately 2,000 years ago. That's what the Incarnation was--God the Son becoming man. And its this great even that we celebrate at Christmas.

But what exactly do we mean when we say that God the Son became man? We certainly do not mean that He turned into a man, in the sense that He stopped being God and started being man. Jesus did not give up any of His divinity in the Incarnation, as is evident from the verses we saw earlier. Rather, as one early theologian put it, "Remaining what He was, He became what He was not." Christ "was not now God minus some elements of His deity, but God plus all that He had made His own by taking manhood to Himself."[3] Thus, Jesus did not give up any of His divine attributes at the Incarnation. He remained in full possession of all of them. For if He were to ever give up any of His divine attributes, He would cease being God.

The truth of Jesus' humanity is just as important to hold to as the truth of His deity. The apostle John speaks strongly anyone that denying that Jesus is man is of the spirit of the anti-Christ (1 John 4:2; 2 John 7). Jesus' humanity is displayed in the fact that He was born as a baby from a human mother (Luke 2:7; Galatians 4:4), that He became weary (John 4:6), thirsty (John 19:28), and hungry (Matthew 4:2), and that He experienced the full range of human emotions such as marvel (Matt. 8:10), weeping, and sorrow (John 11:35). He lived on earth just as we do.

Jesus is a sinless man

It is also essential to know that Christ does not have a sinful nature, and neither did He ever commit sin -- even though He was tempted in all ways (Hebrews 4:15). Thus, Jesus is fully and perfectly man, and has also experienced the full range of human experience. We have a Savior who can truly identify with us because He is man, and who can also truly help us in temptation because He has never sinned. This is an awesome truth to cherish, and sets Christianity apart from all other religions.

Each nature is full and complete
Having seen the biblical basis that Jesus is both God and man, the second truth that we must recognize is that each of Christ's natures is full and complete. In other words, Jesus is fully God and fully man. Another helpful way to say it is that Jesus is 100% God and 100% man.

Jesus is fully God

We saw earlier that each Person of the Trinity is fully God. The three Persons of the Trinity are not each one-third of God, but are each all of God. Thus, Jesus is fully God since He is God the Son incarnate. This means that everything that is essential to being God is true of Jesus. Jesus is not part of God, or one-third of God. Rather, He is fully God. "For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form" (Colossians 2:9).

Jesus is fully man

It is also important to recognize that when we say that Jesus is man, we do not simply mean that He is partially man. We mean that He is fully human -- everything that belongs to the essence of true humanity is true of Him. He is just as truly human as the rest of us.

The fact that Jesus is truly and fully human is clear from the fact that He has a human body (Luke 24:39), a human mind (Luke 2:52), and a human soul (Matthew 26:38). Jesus does not just look like a man, He does not just have some aspects of what is essential for true humanity but not others, but possess full humanity.

It is helpful to be aware of the false views concerning Christ. For if we have a grasp of what we are not to believe, it will give us a fuller picture of what we are to believe. One of the false views that was rejected at the council of Chalcedon taught that "the one person of Christ had a human body but not a human mind or spirit, and that the mind and spirit of Christ were from the divine nature of the Son of God."[4] Since this view did not believe that Jesus has a human mind and spirit, it in effect denied that Christ is fully and truly man. Rather, it presented Christ as a sort of half-man who has a human body, but whose human mind and soul were replaced by the divine nature. But as we saw earlier, Jesus is just as fully human as the rest of us, for just as He has all of the essential elements of Godhead, He has all the essential elements of human nature a human body, a human soul, a human mind, a human will, and human emotions. His human mind was not replaced by His divine mind. Rather, He has both a human and divine mind. For these reasons, it can be misleading to use phrases such as "Jesus is God in a body" or "Jesus is God with skin on."

Jesus will be fully God and fully man forever

For most people it is obvious that Jesus will be God forever. But for some reason it escapes a lot of us that Jesus will also be man forever. He is still man right now as you read this and will be forever. The Bible is clear that Jesus rose physically from the dead in the same body that had died (Luke 24:39) and then ascended into heaven as a man, in His physical body (Acts 1:9; Luke 24:50-51). It would make no sense for Him to have done this if He was simply going to ditch His body and stop being man when He arrived in heaven.

That Christ continued being man, with a physical body, after His ascension is confirmed by the fact that when He returns, it will be as man, in His body. He will return physically. Philippians 3:21 says that at His Second Coming, Christ "will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory." This verse is clear that Jesus still has His body. It is a glorified body, which Paul calls "the body of His glory." And when Christ returns, He will still have it because this verse says that He will transform our bodies to be like His. Both Jesus and all Christians will then continue living together in their bodies forever, because the resurrection body cannot die (1 Corinthians 15:42) because it is eternal (2 Corinthians 5:1).

Why did Jesus become man, and why will He be man forever? The book of Hebrews says that it was so that Christ could be an adequate Savior who has all that we need. "He had to be made like His brethren in all things, that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people" (2:17). First, notice that Jesus became man so that He could die for our sins. He had to be human in order to pay the penalty for humans. Second, this verse says that because Jesus is human like us, He is able to be a merciful and faithful high priest. His humanity enables Him to more fully sympathize with us and identify with us. I cannot help but believe that it is very destructive to our comfort and faith to not know that Jesus is still man and in His body. For if He is not still man in heaven, how could we have comfort knowing that He can fully sympathize with us? He can sympathize and be a faithful high priest and know what we are going through not just because He was once on earth as a man, but because He continues forever as that same man.

Each nature remains distinct
The truths of Christ's two natures full manhood and full Godhood are pretty well understood and known by Christians. But for a right understanding of the Incarnation we must go even further. We must understand that the two natures of Christ remain distinct and retain their own properties. What does this mean? Two things: (1) They do not alter one another's essential properties, and (2) neither do they mix together into a mysterious third kind of nature.

First, it would be wrong to think that Christ's two natures mix together to form a third kind of nature. This is one of the heresies that the early church had to fight. This heresy taught that "the human nature of Christ was taken up and absorbed into the divine nature, so that both natures were changed somewhat and a third kind of nature resulted. An analogy to [this] can be seen if we put a drop of ink in a glass of water: the mixture resulting is neither pure ink nor pure water, but some kind of third substance, a mixture of the two in which both the ink and the water are changed. Similarly, [this view] taught that Jesus was a mixture of divine and human elements in which both were somewhat modified to form one new nature."[5] This view is unbiblical because it demolishes both Christ's deity and humanity. For if Christ's two natures mixed together, then He is no longer truly and fully God and truly and fully man, but is some entirely different kind of being that resulted from a mixture of the two natures.

Second, even if we acknowledge that the natures do not mix together into a third kind of nature, it would also be wrong to think that the two natures changed one another. For example, it would be wrong to conclude that Jesus' human nature became divine in some ways, or that His divine nature became human in some ways. Rather, each nature remains distinct, and thereby retains its own individual properties and does not change. As the council of Chalcedon stated it, "...the distinction of natures being by no means taken away by the union, but rather the property of each nature being preserved..."[6] Jesus' human nature is human, and human only. His divine nature is divine, and divine only. For example, Jesus' human nature did not become all knowing through its union with God the Son, and neither did His divine nature become ignorant of anything. If any of the natures underwent a change in its essential nature, then Christ is no longer truly and fully human, or truly and fully divine.

Christ is only one Person
What we have seen so far about the deity and humanity of Christ shows us that Christ has two natures -- a divine nature and a human nature -- , that each nature is full and complete, that they remain distinct and do not mix together to form a third kind of nature, and that Christ will be both God and man forever.

But if Christ has two natures, does this mean that He is also two people? No, it does not. Christ remains one person. There is only one Christ. The church has historically stated this truth in this way: Christ is two natures united in one person forever.

At this point we find another heretical view to beware of. This view, while acknowledging that Jesus is fully God and fully man, denies that He is only one Person. According to this view, there are two separate persons in Christ as well as two natures. In contrast to this, the Bible is very clear that, while Jesus has two natures, He is only one Person. In other words, what this means is that there are not two Jesus Christ's. In spite of the fact that He has a duality of natures, He is not two Christs, but One. While remaining distinct, the two natures are united together in such a way so as to be one Person.

To put it simply, there is a certain sense in which Christ is two, and a different sense in which Christ is one. He is two in that He has two real, full natures one divine and one human. He is one in that, while remaining distinct, these two natures exist together in such a way as that they constitute "one thing." In other words, the two natures are both the same Jesus, and thus are one Person. As the Chalcedonean creed says, Christ is "to be acknowledged in two natures...conc urring in one Person and one Subsistence, not parted or divided into two persons, but one and the same Son, and only begotten, God, the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ..."

Evidence that Christ is Only One Person

We will look at three pieces of the biblical teaching that while Christ has two distinct and unchanged, He nonetheless remains one Person.

1. Both natures are represented in Scripture as constituting "one thing," that is, as united in one Person. We read in John 1:14, "And the word became flesh and dwelt among us." Here we see the two natures: the Word (His deity) and flesh (humanity). Yet we also see that there is one Person, for we read that the Word became flesh. "Became" requires that we acknowledge a unity of the two natures such that they are one thing--that is, one Person. For in what sense could John write that the word became flesh if they do not constitute one Person? It surely cannot mean "turned into" flesh, for that is against the Scriptural teaching on the distinctness of the natures. Additional Scriptures relating to this line of evidence are Romans 8:3, Galatians 4:4, 1 Timothy 3:16, Hebrews 2:11-14, 1 John 4:2,3.

2. Jesus never speaks of Himself as "We," but always as "I"

3. Many passages refer to both natures of Christ, but it is clear that only one person is intended It is impossible to read the following passages, which clearly affirm Christ's two natures, and yet conclude that Christ is two Persons. "For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh..." (Romans 8:3). "But when the fulness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law..." (Galatians 4:4). "...who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped [that is, exploited to His own advantage], but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men" (Philippians 2:6-7).

Having seen that Christ is two natures in one person, and having also seen what is involved in this, we will now examine one of the major implications of this, which should help us to complete the picture and our understanding.

Implication: Things that are true of one nature but not the other are nonetheless true of the Person of Christ

As we have seen earlier, the fact that Christ is two natures means that there are things that are true of His human nature that are not true of His divine nature. And there are things true of His divine nature that are not true of His human nature. For example, His human nature hungered, but His divine nature could never be hungry. So when Christ hungered on earth, it was His humanity that hungered, not His divine nature.

But the truth that we are now in a position to understand, is that by virtue of the union of the natures in one Person, the things that are true of and done by only one of Christ's natures, are nonetheless true of and done by the Person of Christ. In other words, things which only one nature does can be considered to have been done by Christ Himself. Likewise, things that are true of one nature but not the other are true of the Person of Christ as a whole. What this means, in simple terms, is that if there is something that only one of Christ's natures did, He can still say, "I did it."

We have many instances in Scripture which demonstrate this. For example, Jesus says in John 8:58, "...before Abraham was born, I am." Now, Christ's human nature did not exist before Abraham. It is Christ's divine nature that eternally exists before Abraham. But since Christ is one Person, He could say that before Abraham was, He is.

Another example is Christ's death. God cannot die. We should never speak of Christ's death as the death of God. But humans can die, and Jesus' human nature did die. Thus, even though Jesus' divine nature did not die, we can still say that the Person of Christ experienced death because of the union of the two natures in the one Person of Christ. Because of this, Grudem says, "by virtue of union with Jesus' human nature, his divine nature somehow tasted something of what it was like to go through death. The person of Christ experienced death."[7]

Have you ever wondered how Jesus could say that He did not know the day or hour of His return (Matthew 24:36) even though He is omniscient (John 21:17). If Jesus is God, why didn't He know the day of His return? This is solved by our understanding that Christ is one Person with two natures. The answer is that in regards to His human nature, Jesus does not have all knowledge. Thus, in His human nature He really did not know the day or hour of His return. But in His divine nature, He does have all knowledge and thus in His divine nature He did know when He would return.

Here comes the most fascinating part. Since the two natures are united in one Person, the fact that Christ's human nature didn't know when He would return means that the Person of Christ did not know when He would return. Thus, Jesus the Person could truly say, "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone" (Matthew 24:36). At the same time, by virtue of His divine nature, we can also say that the Person of Christ did know when He would return. Knowledge and ignorance of the time of His return are both true of the Christ, but in different ways. In His human nature, the Person of Christ was ignorant of when He would return. In His divine nature, the Person of Christ did know when He would return. Thus, Christ Himself both knew and did not know when He would return.

Conclusion
We have seen the biblical evidence for the fact that Christ is God the Son, He has both a divine and human nature, that each nature is full and complete, that each nature remains distinct, that Christ is nonetheless one Person, and that things which are true of one nature are true of the Person.

The relevance of these truths to us should go without saying. For they go to the very heart of who Christ is. Knowing these truths will greatly affect the way you view Christ and will make the gospel accounts of His life come more alive. As such, this understanding will deepen our devotion to Christ.

Second, having this richer understanding of the Incarnation of God the Son should greatly enhance our worship. We will have great marvel and gladness at the fact that the eternal Person of God the Son became man forever. Our recognition of Christ's worth will be heightened. And our faith in Him will be strengthened by having this deeper understanding of who He is.

The union of Christ's deity and humanity in one Person makes it such that we have all that we need in the same Savior. How glorious. Because Jesus is God, He is all-powerful and He cannot be defeated. Because He is God, He is the only adequate Savior. Because He is God, believers are safe and can never perish; we have security. Because He is God, we can have confidence that He will empower us for the task that He commands us for. And because He is God, all people will be accountable to Him when He returns to judge the world.

Because Jesus is man, He has experienced the same things that we do. Because He is man, He can identify with us more intimately. Because He is man, He can come to our aid as our sympathetic High Priest when we reach the limits of our human weaknesses. Because He is man, we can relate to Him--He is not far off and uninvolved. Because He is man, we cannot complain that God does not know what we are going through. He experienced it first-hand.

Finally, we need to be ready to defend the truth of Jesus' deity, Jesus' humanity, and their joining inconfusedly in one Person . Therefore, consider committing to memory many of the verses which teach that Jesus is both God and man, and be able to explain the relationship between Christ's two natures to others.

May we look forward to the day when we see Him face to face, and until then may the joyful hope of this day inspire in us a great diligence in serving and worshiping Him.

Notes
1. J.I. Packer, Knowing God (Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1993 edition), p. 53.
2. Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (InterVarsity and Zondervan Publishing, 1994), p. 556.
3. Packer, p. 57.
4. Grudem, p. 554.
5. Grudem, p. 556.
6. Chalcedonean Creed, quoted in Grudem, p. 557.
7. Grudem, p. 560.

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