Christ's Humanity

Introduction

As we consider the human part of Christ’s life, may we in no way diminish His divinity. He was human in the sense that He felt pain, hunger, and sorrow. His body became weary from work and travel. He was subject to the elements of the weather, and He grieved at the death of those close to Him. He experienced a wide range of human emotions—sadness, happiness, acceptance, and rejection—all without sinning.

Key Verse

No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him (John 1:18).

Lesson Scripture

Studying the Lesson

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” With these words, the Genesis record declares that God is the Creator. This is the infallible account of how the world, including mankind, came into existence. Long before Jesus came to earth in a human form, God created man in His image and likeness. But man, though created perfect, failed to live up to his Creator’s design. He partook of the forbidden fruit and introduced sin to the human race. Now humanity was unable to meet God’s standard. After Adam and Eve’s fall in the garden, the human family brought upon themselves a complete separation from God.

Our redemption could not come from corruptible flesh—it could have no part in the saving plan of salvation. The first man Adam was not born in corruption but was created perfectly with a new body that had never sinned. He was a new man, fresh from the hand of the Creator. He walked and talked with God in holiness and purity. However, he was made of the dust of the earth with a free will to choose his destiny. We believe that when Jesus was born, He likewise came with a new body for He said of Himself, “I am the living bread which came down from heaven” (John 6:51).

Jesus was not made of the dust of the earth nor conceived of corruptible seed. His body was specially prepared to house the Son of God. “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost . . . But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost” (Matt. 1:18–20).

Why did a merciful God not merely forgive and pardon mankind for his sins? It is noteworthy that any attribute of God cannot compromise another of His attributes. God is merciful, but He is also holy and just. His mercy cannot overrule His holiness and justice. Sin brings death, so someone had to die to satisfy the judgments of God. Before the foundations of the world were laid, there was already a plan in place to redeem man from his fallen estate. God would need to send a Redeemer. His righteous standard could only be satisfied by sending Jesus, the second person of the Godhead, to meet the demands of that righteous standard.

Jesus Christ, who came in the likeness of sinful flesh, is the Word of God. God is love, and Jesus demonstrated that love. God is holy, and Jesus taught man to be holy. The life of Jesus in the form of human flesh is a living example of the words that proceed from the mouth of God. Jesus is all that God taught that man could be. He lived perfectly, in the form of a human, according to God’s holy standard.

“Christ’s first coming was in the likeness of man, the eternal Word becoming flesh and dwelling among men, so He might become acquainted with man’s infirmities, his grief, and his sorrow, and so He might truly take his place at Calvary. In becoming flesh, He did not relinquish His claims of divinity. With His human hand He grasped mankind, and with the divine, the Father’s hand, [thereby] He is bringing them both into reconciliation.” 1

Practical Truths for Today

Calvary is the centerpiece of God’s wonderful plan of salvation. It is here that God and men are reconciled. The born-again Christian rejoices as he sings of Calvary where he found peace. Calvary is very precious to God because He desires to be reconciled with His fallen children. He longs to restore mankind to the fellowship that He enjoyed with Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. The Bible points us to this sacred truth: “To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation” (2 Cor. 5:19). Death came upon all mankind because of sin; therefore, Jesus became our substitute and died in our place for our sins. In His death He became “the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2).

Before Jesus went to Calvary, He went to Gethsemane. Perhaps the deepest struggle between His divine and human nature occurred in this garden. He said, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt,” and “the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Here He won the victory over His flesh and said, “O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done” (Matt. 26:39–42).

We can expect Gethsemane experiences in our lives even as Jesus who went before us and taught us by example to surrender our self to the will of the Father. We can expect that our flesh will have to yield often. Jesus told His disciples, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me” (Matt. 11:29). He became one of us so He could show us the way. “Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps” (1 Pet. 2:21). He has so much to teach us.

As long as we live, our flesh will seek to collaborate with the devil and the world to destroy our soul. Satan, the archenemy of God, severely tempted and tested Jesus in His humanity. Although Jesus could not fail, by faith we believe that He was “in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15). He felt the pressure of temptation. Some think that because He could not fail, His temptations were not real; however, the record affirms that He was sorely tested, and we believe that He understands our temptations very well.

“Besides this we also declare that whoever does not recognize and confess the eternal divinity and true humanity of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is Antichrist (1 John 5:10), for he does not believe the record that God gave of his Son” 2

Questions

1. What truths can we learn from the humanity of Jesus?
2. What are ways that Jesus, having been tempted in the flesh, can help us overcome temptation?
3. What blessings should we expect to receive when, in the Communion service, we partake of the bread and the fruit of the vine, which are emblems of Christ’s flesh and blood?
4. 1 Reuben J. Koehn (1907–1995), Selected Editorials, p. 389
5. 2 Dietrich Philip Hand Book, p. 114
6. Unsubscribe

Source: COGICM Daily Bible Readings (Daily Bible Readings, PO Box 124, Glenn, CA 95943).