March 17

Jesus never stopped being God

And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man. ~ Luke 2:52 ESV

Jesus did not stop being God or give up His divine attributes when He became man. Instead, He took on a human nature—an addition rather than a subtraction—and willingly submitted the use of His divine attributes to the Father’s will (John 5:19, 30; 8:28; Philippians 2:5-8). As a result, there were moments when His omniscience was evident (Matthew 9:4; John 2:24-25; 4:17-18; 11:11-14; 16:30) and other times when it was intentionally veiled by His humanity in accordance with the Father’s will (Mark 13:32).

Luke 2:52 states, “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.” This verse does not deny Jesus’ divinity but instead highlights His humanity. The Bible teaches that Jesus is fully God and fully man (John 1:1, Colossians 2:9), and in His earthly life, He willingly took on human limitations (Philippians 2:6-8). His growth in wisdom demonstrates that He experienced human development, learning as He matured, just as any human would. This does not contradict His divine nature but rather affirms the mystery of the Incarnation—God the Son taking on human flesh. His increasing favor with God reflects His perfect obedience to the Father’s will, showing that as the Messiah, He lived in complete righteousness. Therefore, rather than denying His deity, Luke 2:52 underscores the reality that Jesus, while fully God, also lived as a true human, growing in wisdom and favor as part of His earthly mission.

Consequently, Christ experienced the natural process of human growth—intellectually, physically, spiritually, and socially.

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