Throughout history words and their meaning evolved and develop. One that has changed meanings is the word excellent. The root word is “excel” today means to go beyond, to project, surpass, outdo, to be chosen, prime, and admirable. It is where we get the word “excelsior” which means to go still higher and ever upward. However, during the times of the writing of the Word of God it had an entirely different translation. During that time it had such a profound and deep definition that it could scarcely be used in its proper context. During that age when referring to a person as excellent what you were actually saying is, “You are many things.” With this in mind, I want to use this paper to define, sketch, and make clear the meaning of the Excellency of Jesus Christ. His Excellency would be how in His uniqueness He brings many extremes to Himself. His Lordship takes Him to both ends of the spectrum and even to a few ends that we cannot even see.
First, we will take the one thing about Jesus the Bible attributes the word and title “excellent” to on four different occasions. And that is His Name. His Name brings many extremes to the moment and it transcends time and space.
A name is restricting in that it explains you to people. It tells them not only who you are but where you are. My name explains that I am here and not there. In Exodus the third chapter we find a nervous Moses asking God for His name. In the Old Testament, nobody knew the name of God. They gave Him titles that coincided with experiences they had with Him, thus there are sixteen Jehovah titles. So, when Moses asked God to get specific about His name so he could give it to Pharoh to bring some credibility to his request of turning the Israelites lose Moses was actually asking God to bring into one word that transcends time and space. Moses was asking God to bring to the moment one name that would tell people where He was. How do you give a name (that explains that you are here and not there) to the One that is everywhere? Excellency comes to the moment when Moses asks God, “Can You bring into one word everything there is to know about You?” We know that God responded, “I AM that I AM.” Thus God creates a brand new tense. He did not say “I was,” or “I will be,” rather I AM. Not necessarily past, present, or future but eternally present. The utmost extremes in the concept of time brought to one word and moment that is the excellency of His name.
Next, we have the excellency of the God-man. Two features about Him that cannot possibly get any further apart suddenly thrust together in Jesus Christ, the God-man. That is excellent. There is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5). He calmed the storm, raised the dead, healed and cleansed the leper, cursed the fig tree, and multiplied loaves and fishes. All were attributed of God. He also slept in the back of the boat and wept over the death of His friend Lazarus. All were marks of a man. Although asleep in the back of the boat like a man, He spoke to the storm saying, “Peace, be still.” like God. He wept at the funeral of Lazarus like a man, but said with loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.” like God. He hung on a cross and was thirsty, was in pain, bled to death and died like a man, but three days later He got up from the grave like God.
He is The God-Man
The two natures of Jesus Christ form what theologians call the “hypostatic union.” Put simply, it means that Jesus is fully man and fully God at the same time.
He is God-perfect in all His ways. He was made flesh and came to earth to solve the problem of human sin. He was unjustly
