Jesus Christ, God In The Flesh

Last time we sought to answer the question, “Why did God become man?” Why would the Son of God leave all that He had in heaven and come to earth? Why did He do it?

We learned three reasons why God became man:

He did it so that you and I could relate to God, who is invisible to us.

Secondly, Jesus invaded time because God the Son became a man to fulfill Old Testament prophecies.

Thirdly, Jesus invaded time so that He would become a man so that men could become the sons of God.

Since Jesus Christ is the center of Christian doctrine and truth, who He is becomes of surpassing importance. This means that the doctrine of the Incarnation, which reveals who He is, is the foundation on which all of Christian doctrine is built.

This is clearly seen when you take some time to analyze the central tenets or teachings of the historic Christian faith.

For example,

* God’s existence: Without the Incarnation, talking about or knowing God personally is mere speculation. 2 Corinthians 4:6 says we have the knowledge of the glory of God which shines in the face of Jesus Christ.

* The Trinity: The other two members of the Trinity (Father and Holy Spirit) are only really understood and appreciated in light of the person and nature of Jesus Christ, who is The Son.

2 Cor. 13:14 - The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.

* Atonement: Only Jesus Christ, who is the God-man, is able to reconcile a holy God with sinful humanity. 2 Cor. 5:19 “… God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them…”

* Resurrection: a bodily resurrection, which conquers death, is only possible for the God-man.

1 Cor 15:17 “…if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.”

* Justification: Our state of righteousness before God rests totally in our faith (personal trust) in the person and work of Jesus Christ. 2 Cor. 5:21 “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

The doctrine of the Incarnation touches and affects virtually every single area of Christian theology.

Needless to say, if you are going to change the identity of Christ, if you are going to distort who Christ is, you are also going to destroy the very essence of the Christian faith.

Now we all might agree together that Jesus became a man but this affirmation of belief seems to beg the question, “What kind of man did He become?” After all, last week we learned that a true celebration of Christmas has to be a celebration of the incarnation.

A literal definition of the word “incarnation” means in the flesh. We also learned that a theological definition of the word incarnation is “God's becoming human,” or “the union of divinity and humanity in Jesus of Nazareth.”

The Bible teaches that the incarnation refers to the truth of God, who without in any way ceasing to be the one God, revealed Himself to humanity for its salvation by becoming human. Jesus, the Man from Nazareth, is the incarnate Word or Son of God.

Jesus is the God-man. He is fully God and fully man. He is very God and very man. He is most certainly God and most certainly man.

Today we are going to look and learn what kind of man He is as we examine (1) The Proof of His Humanity, (2) The Affirmation of His Humanity (3) The Perfection of His Humanity and (4) The Sinless Character of His Humanity.

The Proof of His Humanity

Jesus referred to Himself as a man. Shouldn’t that be enough?

In speaking to the Pharisees and Scribes He said:

(John 8:40 NKJV) “But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this.

The witnesses in the New Testament recognized Him as fully human.

For example, Peter in Acts 2:22, in his sermon at Pentecost, declared that Jesus is “a man approved of God among you…”

In John 9 when the Pharisees questioned the man whose sight was restored by Jesus they asked, “How were your eyes opened?” He answered and said, "A Man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, 'Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.' So I went and washed, and I received sight."

The genealogies of Jesus in Matt. 1:1-17 and Luke 3:23-37 serve as testimonies to His natural human ancestry).

He grew and developed along the lines of normal human development (Luke 2:40).