Book Review: Bruce Ware´s The Man Christ Jesus

In order to comprehend Jesus as the Christ, one must ponder many details ranging from the very nature of Jesus as God and man to His declaration of coming again in the future. Bruce Ware expounds upon eight of these topics within The Man Christ Jesus, gifting the reader with theological concepts wrapped in common language and helpful analogies. Examination of these eight points, chapter by chapter, will guide the reader into a deeper enlightenment regarding the state of Jesus as God and the Christ—leading one to a greater since of awe and mystery for the unique purpose of salvation and worship. Therefore, Jesus Christ must first be understood as God and human—the God-man.

The conception of Christ exemplifies the very existence of Jesus as God and man. For through the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, Jesus came into the natural world. This wholly unique occurrence in history united the divine and human natures together (Ware, 16). Nevertheless, one must wonder how the divine and human natures can coexist, if in fact a man is God. The answer lies within Philippians 2:5-8 which states,

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Paul states that Jesus is God by using the term morphē, to describe Christ’s inner essence being the same as God’s. In fact, Paul states that Jesus possessed equality (isa) with God, showing that Jesus was God, as only God can be equal with Himself (18). Paul then states that Jesus t...

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...its the return of Jesus, to judge the living and the dead—receiving those that are His into heaven and rejecting those that are not into Hell (144).

After thoroughly reading and analyzing The Man Christ Jesus this author has found himself thinking intently over the concept of Christ’s growing faith. As this author grows older, and wiser, he often thinks about the trials of the God-man—wondering if such suffering was realistic or anthropomorphic. Ware’s logically consistent and rational argument for Christ’s suffering and growth in obedience, forces this author to reflect upon his past as to notice any events that may be used by God for the purpose of His will in the present and future. Nevertheless, the whole of these truths presented by Bruce Ware should enlighten any reader, and his applications should be applied by all for God’s greater glory.