THE HUMANITY OF CHRIST

 

THE HUMANITY OF CHRIST

1 Timothy 2:5 it says, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus.”

John 1:4, “And the Word was made flesh (human nature) and dwelt among us”.

John 1:1  “In the beginning was the Word,   and the Word was with God and the Word was God.”

 

The Bible does not explicitly address the question of whether Jesus Christ has two natures or only one. Understanding that Christ has two natures is the most biblically and theologically consistent position.  Theologians have been grappling with the implications of the Biblical passages which describe and speak about the Lord Jesus Christ.

According to the New Testament, Jesus really is a man, born into the human race, yet He is also fully God. This conclusion is supported by Scripture.

That Jesus is God, is unmistakably affirmed in John 1:1 which states that the Word (meaning Jesus Christ) is God. “In the beginning was the Word,   and the Word was with God and the Word was God.”

That Jesus is a man is affirmed in Matthew and Luke who both tell of Jesus’ human birth of the Virgin Mary and recite His human lineage. It is difficult to understand and explain, this but that is what the New Testament teaches. Jesus is God who entered the human race as a man.

John’s Gospel establishes the fact that Jesus is God and man in one person. By presenting Jesus Christ as the Word (Logos) through which all things were created, Jesus is God and the revealer of God the Father.

The only way to adequately explain the biblical data is to say that Jesus is one Person with two natures—a human nature and a divine nature. He is both God and Man. His two natures are inseparably united (not mixed) in what theologians term the “hypostatic union.” The New Testament affirms that Jesus Christ, who walked the earth, died on a cross, and rose again, was fully a member of the human race with a fully functioning human nature (without sin). At the same time, Jesus was fully God. He willingly humbled Himself and gave up His glory and the right to use His divine attributes apart from the direction of God the Father, but He never ceased to be God. Jesus Christ is fully man and fully God—He has the nature of both. He is a man, but He is more; He is also God. He is God, but He has forever joined Himself to a human nature. A shortened way to express this is to refer to Jesus as the God-Man. He is the Man who is also God, and He is God who became a Man.

Let’s look at the passages of Scripture which show the humanity of Christ our Lord.

1 Jesus was given human names. Matthew 1:21, “Thou shalt call his name Jesus. In 1 Timothy 2:5 it says, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus.” Here Jesus is referred to by name as the man Christ Jesus. The phrase “Son of man” is mentioned several times in the New Testament which emphasizes his humanity.

2 Jesus had human ancestry. This is clear from the account of the Lord’s birth. Jesus was born from the lineage of David and the genealogy in Matthew 1:1-16 traces the ancestry from Abraham to Christ.

3 Jesus possessed physical nature. John 1:4, “And the Word was made flesh (human nature) and dwelt among us”. And here is a most astounding declaration stated in Hebrews 2:14, “And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God; and this is that spirit of antichrist…” Thus, to test a demon possessed person, ask   this question: “Has Jesus Christ come in the flesh?” And they will answer with an emphatic “no”.

Jesus grew up physically. Luke 2:40, “And the child (Jesus) grew and waxed strong in spirit”. He increased in wisdom. Luke 2:52. He learned obedience Hebrews 5:8. He asked and debated with the Jewish scholars. Luke 2:46. He worked as a carpenter. Mark 6:3, “Is not this carpenter, the son of  Mary….He suffered, He was tempted. Jesus was so human that many did not believe him.

4 Jesus showed the real attributes of being human. He hungered, Matthew 4:2. He thirst, John 4:7; John 19:28. He became weary. John 4:6. He sleeps. Matthew 8:24. He showed love. Mark 10:21, John 11:36.He had compassion. Matthew 9:36. He expressed anger and grief. Mark 3:4; John 2:16. He was troubled in spirit and groaned. John 11:33, He wept. John 11:35; Luke 19:41.

5 Jesus possessed body soul and spirit. Jesus had a human body John 1:14; Matthew 26:12; Luke 23:52-56. Jesus had a soul. ”My soul is exceeding sorrowful “ Matthew 26:38. Jesus had a spirit which returned to the Father. Luke 23:46 “Father into thy hands I commend my spirit”

6 Jesus died. The biological culmination of life is death. Man is born to die. Hebrews 9:27, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die…Jesus was in the prime of life when he was crucified on the cross of Calvary. Luke 23:33. Jesus came to earth to die and death was the major proof of his humanity. Hebrews 2:9, “But we see Jesus who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.”

Jesus was human that he so identifies with us, and exactly knows and experienced the full extent of our humanity. He was human like us in all aspects except for two things: He did not possess the sin nature or original sin; and He was sinless for He never committed any sin.

That is why he is the perfect sacrifice for our sins.

CHRISTMAS ONCE AGAIN

CHRISTMAS ONCE AGAIN

In the  town of Nazareth nestled among the hills of Galilee was the home of Joseph and Mary who were known as the earthly parents of Jesus.

Now Joseph was of the lineage of David and so when a Roman decree was sent out to the people to be taxed, he had to go to Bethlehem, the city of David to have his name enrolled. This was a toilsome journey as people travelled in those times.

Mary who was pregnant with child went with her husband as they climbed the hill on which Bethlehem stood. She longed for a comfortable place to rest, but the inns were already full. The humble couple had to find shelter in the crude building where cattle was kept. Joseph and Mary did not possess  much of earth’s riches, but they had the love of God. They were children of the Heavenly King who was about to give them a wonderful honor. Angels had been watching their journey.

There in the lowly shed, Jesus the Messiah, the Savior was born and laid on the cattle trough. In that cattle trough which served as a cradle, laid the Son of the Highest.

All Christians regardless of denomination, affirm the doctrine of Incarnation. This doctrine is supported by the Holy Scriptures. 

Theologians describe the Incarnation as a mystery. Lecerf said, "The presence of mystery is the footprint of the divine.”

The most staggering historical fact of all time is the virgin birth of our Savior. God became flesh to submit to mortality. The infant born in Bethlehem was and is God. Christians believe in the amazing mystery that Jesus Christ was truly God made man. In the highest act of condescension Christ  took humanity without loss of Deity so He was fully and truly Divine as He was human. The plurality of persons within the unity of God and the union of Godhead and manhood in the person of Jesus Christ.

The Word was made flesh. God became a man. The Almighty appeared in human history as an infant, helpless like any newly born child.

St. John declares this mystery, with a touch of poetry:

In the beginning was the Word. (Word Eternal)

And the Word was with God. (Word a distinct Person)

And the Word was God (Word Divine)

All things were made by Him. (Word Creating)

In Him was life. (Word animating)

And the Life was the Light of men. (Word revealing)

And the Word became flesh. (Word Incarnate)

This is mainly the reason why Christians celebrate the human birth of our Lord.

I say with pride and am deeply touched by the way Filipinos celebrate the birth of our Lord . We mark this occasion as a special holiday. We cease from our labor.  We go to our churches and reflect  on the virgin birth, families gather and are reunited to celebrate with joy, surrounding the dining  table full of  food on Christmas eve,  praying and thanking God for the Blessings received and the greatest gift who is the Christ of Christmas. 

Merry Christmas! 

WHERE WOULD CHRISTMAS BE?

In one of my Sunday school classes, we were dealing with the question why God’s chosen people the Hebrews despite the awesome revelation given to them and the manifestation of God’s power in their lives as a nation, often revert  back to paganism and the worship of idols, forsaking the true and living God of their fathers.

When I asked an old wizened member of the class why the seemingly hard to explain absurdity for these people,  to  habitually fall in the repetitive cycle  of  faith,  disobedience, punishment, and repentance, he said this is not really hard to explain. Not even surprising. We see the same cycle repeat itself in the present times. In fact this condition adequately describes the state of fallen man. 

In the case of the Israelites, he said, their descent to idolatrous practice, turning their back from God, by  following the gods of their neighbors may be objectively judged as irrational, but it was actually a question of faith which waxed cold.  This wise Christian said, it is far easier for man to worship different types idols which he can see, touch or feel, or, which might represent what he falsely conceives as god, or gods, than to be steadfast and faithful to the Invisible Almighty God whom he cannot see, in the physical realm.

Dallas Willard,  Professor of Philosophy at the University of Southern California has aptly described this condition:

       

“Our faith may easily fall victim to our mind’s tendency to spatialize everything. If we think of God as being literally outside the physical realm, then it will seem as if He is utterly out of reach for us, and we, out of reach for Him. The edge of the unknown Universe is now thought to be something like forty six to forty seven billion light years away. Beyond that even light waves, travelling at the speed of 186,284 miles per second can never reach us! How then can we reach God or He us if He is out there? “

       

“The material world in which we are placed by God permits Him to be nearer to us even than our own eyes, ears and brain are near. It is in Him that we live and move and have our being.(Acts 17:28)  So I shall hasten to remind you that God does not have to go through special intermediaries of any sort to reach us-though on some occasions He obviously chooses to do so.”

Christianity is a religion of revelation. It is a faith founded on the Biblical fact that God has come, revealed Himself, and walked on this earth, became flesh and lived an earthly life. God Himself in the person of Jesus Christ true God and true man. This is admittedly  the greatest mystery of the ages. 

Where would man be without this great and surpassing revelation?

Perhaps he would still be worshipping the spirit of his ancestors. Or the moon or the sun or the crocodiles or the carved images or perhaps he would end up worshipping himself. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshipped and served created things rather than the Creator-who is forever praised. Amen(Romans 1:25).

And where would Christmas be without the Christ?

Merry Christmas! my wise old friend said.

Happy Holidays! a visitor from North America said.