THE MAN: CHRIST JESUS
TEXT: I TIMOTHY 2:5-6
The Bible presents Jesus as both God and Man. In our text, “Man” represents the true, human nature of Jesus. “Christ” represents His Divine nature. In 451 A.D. the doctrine of the two natures of Jesus Christ was declared by the Council of Chalcedon to be what the Bible teaches about the nature of the 2nd Person of the Godhead. The Council aimed to defend the doctrine that Jesus was and is at the same time, truly God and truly man.
In 325, the first ecumenical council (First Council of Nicaea) determined that Jesus Christ was God, "consubstantial" with the Father, and rejected the Arian contention that Jesus was a created being. This was reaffirmed at the First Council of Constantinople (381 A.D.) and the First Council of Ephesus (431 A.D.). The Council of Chalcedon, attended by over 520 bishops or their representatives, made it the largest and best-documented of the first seven ecumenical councils. They met to deal with several heresies regarding the nature of Christ and the doctrine of the Trinity.
The Council issued the Chalcedonian Definition, which rejected the notion of a single nature in Christ and declared that He has two natures in one person and hypostasis. In theological terms, this is called “The Hypostatic Union,” from the Greek word hypostasis (which means substantive reality). This means that two distinct natures (divine and human) co-exist truly and in reality, in the single person of Jesus Christ.
The Definition stated: We all teach harmoniously [that He is] the same perfect in Godhead, the same, perfect in manhood, truly God and truly man, the same of a reasonable soul and body; homoousios (same in being, same in essence) with the Father in Godhead, and the same homoousios (same in being; same in essence) with us in manhood ... acknowledged in two natures without confusion, without change, without division, without separation.”
These churchmen saw clearly what the Bible taught about Christ’s two natures.
As God, Jesus was worshiped. The Wise Men came looking for the baby Jesus and the Bible says they came to “worship Him” (Matt. 2:2 and 2:11). Also, after Jesus walked on water and calmed the stormy Galilee, the disciples worshipped Him (Matt. 14:33), yet as a man, in the whole of chapter 17 of John’s Gospel, Jesus the Man, is worshipping the Father.
When He appeared to His disciples after the resurrection Thomas called Him, “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28), and Heb. 1:8 declares, “But to the Son He says: “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.” But Jesus was also called a man in Mark 15:39 and John 19:5. He was called or called Himself the Son of God twenty-nine times in the four Gospels, yet twenty-nine times just in the Gospel of Matthew alone, Jesus referred to Himself as the Son of Man. As God, He was prayed to by others, yet as a man, He prayed to the Father.
Peter declared that Jesus knows all things in (John 21:17) but just like all human beings, the Bible says Jesus “…increased in wisdom and stature, and favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52). Colossians 2:9 says that all the fullness of God dwells in Him, meaning deity was present in totality in Jesus’ human body. But He said to His disciples after the resurrection, “Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself: handle Me and see; for a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see Me have” (Luke 24:39). Jesus did not pretend to be a man. He has two distinct natures in one Person -- not 50% God and 50% man, but one, Holy person -- Divine and human, not mixed, but united without the loss of each separate identity. Very God of Very God and very man of very man.
Throughout my Christian life, I have always thought of, referred to, prayed, and preached about faith IN Christ, which is necessary for salvation, and a required belief if one is to call him or herself a Bible-believing Christian. Still, I was struck recently by the thought of the faith OF Christ. While I have always recognized the full humanity of Jesus, I had never really thought, except in passing, about the fact that as a man, Jesus also had to live by faith. I found quite a bit on this topic, and just purchased the book, “Knowing Christ,” by Mark Jones, one chapter of which deals with the faith of Christ. I also found sermons on this subject by Prescott Jernigan, Thomas C. Hall, and James M. Campbell, an essay by Stephen Wellum on the two natures of Christ, and information at “Gotquestions.org. I’ve drawn on these,” and others and have asked the Lord to help my understanding. I pray it is a blessing to you also.
I. JESUS IS THE ORIGINATOR OF OUR FAITH
A. Heb. 12:2 says that Jesus is the author and the finisher of OUR faith. Jesus is usually presented as the object of our faith, which He is, but rarely is He thought of as the example of faith.
B. In Gal. 2:16, Paul writes, “…a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law…”
C. Prescott Jernigan pointed out that Paul refers to the faith OF Jesus numerous other times in his writings. I typed “faith of” into the Bible Gateway search bar and came up with references to the faith OF Jesus in Rom. 3:22, Gal. 2:20, Gal. 3:22, Php. 3:9, Eph.3: 12, and Eph. 4:13. I am amazed that I had never noticed this before!
D. That is why Paul wrote that faith is “…not of ourselves. It is the gift of God, not works, lest anyone should boast” (Eph. 2:8-9). We can only have that faith because Jesus exercised it perfectly in His life.
E. Heb. 2:10 refers to Jesus as “the captain of our salvation,” who, to bring us salvation, was made perfect through sufferings. Then verse thirteen refers to the faith of Jesus, saying, that to accomplish His task on earth, He had to have faith in the Father, saying, “I will put My trust in Him.”
F. Mark Jones writes of Christ’s ability to trust, saying, “Faith for Jesus was His act, just as it is for us, but the power to trust came from God, just as it does for us.”
G. Jesus lived by faith in the scripture and faith in the Father so that we can live by faith in Him.
II. EXAMPLES OF CHRIST’S FAITH IN HIS DAILY LIFE
A. Jesus had (and has) a divine will AND a human will, but in His earthly life, He always had to practice conforming His divine will WITH His human will BY FAITH!
B. In Luke 2:52, we read that as He grew from childhood to manhood, “Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.”
C. In Mark 13 when Jesus was teaching about the fact of His second coming, He had to exercise faith in His future when He said, “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (vs 32).
D. In a prime example of conforming His human will to His divine will, we read in Luke 22 where He prayed, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done.”
E. Wellum says, that Jesus “…lived, acted, and faced every temptation as a true man to redeem us… but Jesus did not sin because of His reliance on the Spirit at work in Him. From conception, the Spirit sanctified, gifted, and empowered Jesus in His humanity so that He obeyed for us as a man.”
F. His faith in who He was, and His Father’s plan was tested by one problem after another. He was tempted by the devil (Matt. 41-11); He became angry at the hardness of heart of the Pharisees (Mark 3:5); He was rejected and falsely judged by His family, “And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind” (Mark 3:21); and in His hour of greatest need, He was betrayed by one of His disciples, and deserted by the others.
G. As He was facing His last and greatest test that would end in His death on the cross, His belief that the Father would justify Him was unshakeable. He offered the cup to His disciples and said, “…this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom” (Matt. 26:28-29).
H. Mark Jones writes, that in all His “…dangers, troubles, sufferings, and anxieties…Jesus gave Himself to the Father out of faith, and the Father gave Himself to Jesus out of grace. The two were bound together by the person of the Spirit.”
III. THE LAST AND GREATEST TEST OF HIS FAITH
A. The greatest test of His faith took place in several locations in the city of Jerusalem – in the Garden of Gethsemane, in the court of the Sanhedrin, at the judgment hall and common hall of the Roman Procurator, Pontius Pilate, at the Roman whipping post, and finally at Calvary, known as “The Place of a skull.”
B. Knowing what Isaiah 53 said, that He would be “wounded for our transgressions…bruised for our iniquities…” and brought “…as a lamb to the slaughter…” Jesus had to face this trial through faith.
C. He knew Psalm 22:14-15 said, “I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaves to my jaws; and You have brought me into the dust of death.” He had to have faith that God would preserve Him through it all.
D. He knew they would part His garments among them and cast lots for His clothing; that he would be called “…a worm, and no man, and be despised by the people.” He had to have faith.
E. Knowing that the Jews would ridicule Him and mock Him, He had to have faith that the Father would vindicate Him in the end.
F. If there ever was a time that Jesus would have had doubts as a human being, it would have been during that night preceding His crucifixion and the day of His death. But His faith held steady. After He prayed that 3rd prayer in the Garden, it never crossed His mind again to find some other way.
G. The greatest test of His faith would come on the cross and He knew He was facing death. Matt. 27:46 says, "And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, El-e’, El-e’, lay-ma’, sä-bäkh-thä'-ne: My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"
H. This is the only time in scripture that Jesus refers to His Father, as God, and not as Father. Jesus, the God-man, reverted to the language of His childhood and quoted Psalm 22:1 in His native tongue, which was Aramaic.
I. He was forsaken by God because He was made to be sin for us. His cry came from the depths of grief and sorrow that no human being can or will ever know. This is a mystery no human can fathom. His faith was tested, but He died believing in God’s promises.
J. Christ finished everything that was set out for Him to do. His life of faith prepared Him to face death by faith, and He was enabled by faith to say at the end: "It is finished…Father, into thy hands I commend My spirit: and having said thus, He gave up the ghost” (Luke 23:46).
Closing:
Mark Jones wrote that Christ’s “…faith adds a luster to His Holy life that should cause Christians to stand in awe of one who never wavered so that we might attain to faith ourselves…Jesus gives us faith because He first lived by faith…Jesus is the greatest believer who ever lived.” He lived a life of perfect faith, never sinning, even one time.
I have a much greater appreciation now for Hebrews 4:15, “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” J. Vernon McGee of “Through the Bible,” commented on this verse and said, “We have a Great High Priest who is always available, and He does understand. He does not understand us theoretically, but down here He was tested, and He was “touched with the feeling of our infirmities.” He knew what it was to hunger. He knew what it was to be touched with sorrow—Jesus wept! He was “touched with the feeling of our infirmities …yet without sin.”
Jesus lived by faith. He also had faith in what the scripture said would happen after He died – that He would rise again! Through His life of perfect faith and submission to the Father, never sinning even once, Jesus accomplished salvation for all who by grace through faith are enabled to believe in Him for salvation. He requires faith, but He will grant the faith we need to believe on Him for salvation and to keep us throughout all eternity.
If you don’t know my Jesus, I want to tell you, He is wonderful. He is marvelous! No one can love us like He can. He will keep you and take you right on up to glory with Him to live forever in His presence.
