The second Person of the Trinity, God the Son, became flesh as John 1 tells us. God became a man in Jesus Christ. He lived a human life, went through our human struggles, and even faced human temptation. He suffered real human pain and faced a real human death and was able to die in our place because He truly was one of us.
But then He rose from the dead. Was He still really human? Was He a ghost?
What about when He ascended into heaven? Is He still human up there? Why would He be? Don't we all become angels up there or are we just spirits without bodies?
After the Resurrection
Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have." When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, "Do you have anything here to eat?" They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence. -- Luke 24:39-43
Was Jesus really human after the resurrection? That's actually a really good question. The people who saw Him after He rose were wondering the same thing! So to prove it, Jesus let them touch Him and He even ate a meal with them. He had a real, flesh and blood human body after He rose.
After the Ascension
After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven." -- Acts 1:9-11
Jesus went up into heaven with a human body. He didn't ditch the body on the way up there. On top of that, the angels tell the disciples that He will return in the same way they just saw Him. With no other reason in the Bible to believe that Jesus is getting rid of His body, it seems that when He returns it will indeed be in the same way: As a man.
In Heaven Now
There is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. -- 1 Timothy 2:5
Paul wrote that line after the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. He refers to Jesus as the mediator between God and men and goes out of His way to make the point that Jesus is a man. The Bible seems to be indicating that Jesus is still human in heaven now.
When He Returns
Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. -- Philippians 2:5-8
Here, Paul is describing the resurrection of the dead upon Jesus' return. Jesus will raise our bodies and change them to be glorious. These bodies will not age, die, or get sick. These bodies will be glorious. What will our new bodies be like according to Paul? They'll be like Jesus' body.
Conclusion
God the Son became flesh two thousand years ago. It was a forever decision. Jesus is still human today, will be human when He returns, and will dwell with us forever among us as one of us. It encourages me to know that God is so close to me. God is forever connected with us in our humanity. I don't need to view God as some distant Spirit being who just doesn't know how to relate to me. Jesus is still human and because of that, He intimately knows and understands my struggles, emotions, and life. He is still the perfect mediator between me and God, because He is like a brother to me. It fills me with joy to know that in Heaven, He will actually be able to hug me and walk with me. And I will actually be able to look upon the scars that saved me.
Here are some questions to consider. Do I feel like God is distant, cold, or unable to relate to me? How does knowing that Jesus is fully human change that?
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