IS JESUS CHRIST ONLY A MAN?
I wrote this in 1988 in Osaka.
IS JESUS CHRIST ONLY A MAN?
Q. Who is Jesus Christ?
A. Jesus Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary at Bethlehem and spent His early life in Nazareth. Hence, the title, Jesus of Nazareth (Matthew 1: 1, 23). Jesus started preaching repentance toward God and performing miracles after He was baptized by John the Baptist (John 3: 13-17). Later He was crucified on the cross at Golgotha and was buried. After 3 days He rose again showing Himself to His disciples and was seen by more than 500 believers before He ascended to heaven (I Corinthians 15: 3-8).
Q. Is Jesus Christ just a man?
A. No. He is the Eternal God who became man. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God...And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth” (John 1:1,2,14). Paul testifies that “Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness” (Philippians 2:6,7). While He lived as a man, He never ceased to be God. While on earth, He remained God and never lost His essential deity. But it must be also emphasized that He lived and put on the very nature of man (Philippians 2:7). He got tired and had to rest (Mark 4:38), was hungry (Mark 11:12) and died (I Cor 15:3). He is perfectly God (Titus 2:13) and perfectly man (Heb 4:15).
Q. Did Jesus Christ as a man have a sinful nature like us?
A. No. The sinful nature of man came as a result of Adam's transgression. Adam sinned and his descendants inherited his sinful nature (Romans 5:12). Any man with a human father has a sinful nature. But Jesus Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1: 18-23). Therefore He did not inherit Adam's sinful nature. He has a holy nature like that of the Holy Spirit's.
Q. Why did Jesus Christ come to earth?
A. He came in order that He might reveal God (John 17:6) and redeem sinful men (Mark 10:45; I Timothy 4:10; I John 2:2). “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). “But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him” (Romans 5:8,9). He came because He loved men.
Q. What must I do knowing that He loves me so much?
A. Recognize your sinfulness and turn away from sins “for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Believe that Christ's sacrifice on the cross is the full payment for your sins (Romans 3:24,25). Confess that He is your Lord: “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation“ (Romans 10: 9,10). Doing these will mean that you are giving Jesus Christ full control of your life which He really deserves. “And that He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them, and rose again” (2 Cor. 5: 15).
IS JESUS CHRIST ONLY A MAN?
Q. Who is Jesus Christ?
A. Jesus Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary at Bethlehem and spent His early life in Nazareth. Hence, the title, Jesus of Nazareth (Matthew 1: 1, 23). Jesus started preaching repentance toward God and performing miracles after He was baptized by John the Baptist (John 3: 13-17). Later He was crucified on the cross at Golgotha and was buried. After 3 days He rose again showing Himself to His disciples and was seen by more than 500 believers before He ascended to heaven (I Corinthians 15: 3-8).
Q. Is Jesus Christ just a man?
A. No. He is the Eternal God who became man. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God...And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth” (John 1:1,2,14). Paul testifies that “Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness” (Philippians 2:6,7). While He lived as a man, He never ceased to be God. While on earth, He remained God and never lost His essential deity. But it must be also emphasized that He lived and put on the very nature of man (Philippians 2:7). He got tired and had to rest (Mark 4:38), was hungry (Mark 11:12) and died (I Cor 15:3). He is perfectly God (Titus 2:13) and perfectly man (Heb 4:15).
Q. Did Jesus Christ as a man have a sinful nature like us?
A. No. The sinful nature of man came as a result of Adam's transgression. Adam sinned and his descendants inherited his sinful nature (Romans 5:12). Any man with a human father has a sinful nature. But Jesus Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1: 18-23). Therefore He did not inherit Adam's sinful nature. He has a holy nature like that of the Holy Spirit's.
Q. Why did Jesus Christ come to earth?
A. He came in order that He might reveal God (John 17:6) and redeem sinful men (Mark 10:45; I Timothy 4:10; I John 2:2). “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). “But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him” (Romans 5:8,9). He came because He loved men.
Q. What must I do knowing that He loves me so much?
A. Recognize your sinfulness and turn away from sins “for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Believe that Christ's sacrifice on the cross is the full payment for your sins (Romans 3:24,25). Confess that He is your Lord: “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation“ (Romans 10: 9,10). Doing these will mean that you are giving Jesus Christ full control of your life which He really deserves. “And that He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them, and rose again” (2 Cor. 5: 15).
posted by Pids Nogales | 11:16 AM
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