JESUS CHRIST: GOD-MAN - Vital Christianity

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Jesus demands unrivaled love from His followers. His statement is a Hebrew form of
exaggeration to make a strong point. It is not that He is saying that His disciples are to literally
hate everyone but Himself, if this were so, He would be contradicting the rest of Scripture, but
that their love for Him must be so much greater than their love for anyone or anything else
that by comparison it would seem as hatred. Throughout Scripture only God Himself demands
such love (e.g. The Greatest Commandment—Mt 22:34-40; Mk 12:28-31).
Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf, the Moravian leader whose burden was twofold:
worldwide evangelization and the unity of the church, when asked what inspired him so greatly
that he would give up the trappings of nobility and a comfortable, influential life to lowly service
to a Christian community answered:
"I have but one passion, 'tis He, 'tis only He.'"2
Such intense, personal heart-devotion to Jesus Christ is what Jesus Himself demanded of
His followers. Such is the normal Christian life.
● He was to receive equal honor and glory as God the Father:
". . . that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not
honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent Him" (Jn 5:22-23).
The equality of honor is expressed strongly with both a positive and negative statement.
So little did the Jews misunderstand Jesus in regard to His claim to be equal with God (v. 18), so
little does He disavow claiming that equality (v. 19), that here in the clause, "just as they honor
the Father," He asserts that equality in the clearest possible way.
Jesus was not ignorant of the warning:
"I am the Lord; that is My name! I will not give My glory to another or My
praise to idols" (Isa 42:8).
Yet Jesus claims such honor and glory for Himself. In fact such honor is constantly due
the Son as evidenced by the Greek grammar (durative present timosi—"honor").
Similarly Jesus stated boldly:
"Father, the time has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son may glorify You. . . .
And now, Father, glorify Me in Your presence with the glory I had with You
before the world began" (Jn 17:1,5).