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.