Dogmatics I.2 Section 13.2

Hello Barthmaniacs.
The previous section covered thought on Jesus as the objective reality of revelation. This time, with this reality attended to in Scripture already in place, we ask the necessary "how" to get us to know Jesus as the objective possibility of revelation, adding credibility to the already established reality. As Barth does from time to time, he provides us with an easy summary at the end of the chapter which I will simply expound on, giving a short summary of the contents of each point.

(1) the possibility "in the condescension whereby God in Jesus Christ becomes identical with a reality different from Himself." (p.44) -- That God condescended into humanity asserts that God can break the boundary between heaven and earth, between God and not-God, gives God ultimate freedom whereby anything is possible. (2) Jesus is identical with God's Son or Word (p.44) -- That it took the work of the whole Godhead (Trinity) to condescend, but since the revelation of God to us is embodied in His Son, we find a fully divine person Jesus who is (as revelation) God's Word. (3) Jesus makes himself known in a way somewhat understandable to us (p.44) -- The Word is revealed to us in created form, signifying God "veiled" so that revelation can be "unveiled" (for more, see Dogmatics I.1). God delves into creation in a tangible way. (4) Jesus exists without losing divinity (p.44) -- That Jesus was simply God's "veiling" and not abandonment or lessening of His divinity. The basis of this idea is that God must remain God at all times to ...well... remain God. The divinity can be (and is) veiled, once again, so that revelation can be unveiled, but no change in essence occurs. (5) In the very flesh of Jesus Christ (man-ness) (p.44) -- page 40 is really a wonderful page - I won't dilute it by summarizing it, so you'll just have to read it. But the gist of section 5 overall is this: Because in recognizing the "other" on earth (some other objective human being) it is at the same time the most familiar thing and the most foreign thing. Human interrelatedness is at once a mystery and a fact - a veiling and an unveiling. Therefore Jesus becomes flesh (man) because of its dual-natured connection to ourselves.

Thus, it is possible to know Jesus as the reality of revelation testified to in the New Testament. Jesus is the objective possibility of revelation.
If anyone wants me to clarify or expound further on any of this, let me know.
Russell