BASIC CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE (ENGLISH) // MODULE - 5 // THE PERSON OF JESUS CHRIST //

 

Module 5: The person of Jesus Christ

 

Jesus Christ was fully God and fully man in one person, and will be so forever. The scriptural material supporting this definition is extensive. We will discuss first the humanity of Christ, then his deity, and then attempt to show how Jesus’ deity and humanity are united in the one person of Christ.

A.    The Humanity of Jesus Christ

1.      Virgin Birth.

The doctrinal importance of the virgin birth is seen in at least three areas.

a.      It shows that salvation ultimately must come from the Lord (Gala 4:4-5)

b.      The virgin birth made possible the uniting of full deity and full humanity in one person. (Gala 4:4; John 1:16)

c.      The virgin birth also makes possible Christ’s true humanity without inherited sin.(Luke 1:35)

2.      Human Weaknesses and Limitations.

A.     Jesus Had a Human Body

B.     Jesus Had A Human Mind

C.    Jesus Had a Human Soul and Human Emotions

D.     People Near Jesus Saw Him As Only a Man

3.      Sinlessness

The sinlessness of Jesus is a fundamental belief in Christian theology. Jesus Christ is believed to be without sin, perfect in every way, and fully God and fully man. Here are some key aspects of Jesus’ sinlessness:

·       Biblical teachings: The Bible affirms the sinlessness of Jesus Christ. In Hebrews 4:15, it states, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.” This verse emphasizes that Jesus was tempted in every way yet remained sinless.

·       Fulfillment of prophecy: Old Testament prophecies, such as Isaiah 53:9, anticipated the sinlessness of the coming Messiah. Jesus’ fulfillment of these prophecies further underscores His sinless nature.

·       Temptation and victory: Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11), but He resisted every temptation and did not sin. This demonstrates His victory over temptation and His sinless nature.

·       Perfect obedience to God: Jesus lived a life of perfect obedience to God the Father. In John 8:29, Jesus says, “And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” His perfect obedience reflects His sinlessness.

·       Sacrificial atonement: Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross is central to Christian belief. His sinless nature qualifies Him to be the perfect sacrifice for the sins of humanity, as He was without sin Himself.

·       Overall, the sinlessness of Jesus is a key aspect of Christian doctrine, highlighting His unique role as the Saviour of the world who was able to bridge the gap between God and humanity through His perfect sacrifice.

 

B.     The Deity of Christ

 

To complete the biblical teaching about Jesus Christ, we must affirm not only that he was fully human, but also that he was fully divine. Although the word does not explicitly occur in Scripture, the church has used the term incarnation to refer to the fact that Jesus was God in human flesh. The incarnation was the act of God the Son whereby he took to himself a human nature.

1.     Direct Scriptural Claims

A.     The Word God (Theos) Used of Christ –  In all of these passages the word “God” is used in the strong sense to refer to the one who is the Creator of heaven and earth, the ruler over all. These passages include John 1:1; 1:18 (in older and better manuscripts); 20:28; Romans 9:5; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 1:8 (quoting Ps. 45:6); and 2 Peter 1:1.18.

B.     The Word Lord (Kyrios) Used of Christ – the word Lord (Gk. Kyrios) is used simply as a polite address to a superior, roughly equivalent to our word sir (see Matt. 13:27; 21:30; 27:63; John 4:11).

 

2.     Evidence That Jesus Possessed Attributes of Deity

A.     Jesus demonstrated his omnipotence when he stilled the storm at sea with a word (Matt. 8:26–27), multiplied the loaves and fish (Matt. 14:19), and changed water into wine (John 2:1–11)

B.     The omniscience of Jesus is demonstrated in his knowing people’s thoughts (Mark 2:8) and seeing Nathaniel under the fig tree from far away (John 1:48), and knowing “from the first who those were that did not believe, and who it was that would betray him” (John 6:64).

C.    The divine attribute of omnipresence is not directly affirmed to be true of Jesus during his earthly ministry. However, while looking forward to the time that the church would be established, Jesus could say, “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matt. 18:20). Moreover, before he left the earth, he told his disciples, “I am with you always, to the close of the age” (Matt. 28:20).

D.     Jesus also possessed the divine attribute of immortality, the inability to die. We see this indicated near the beginning of John’s gospel, when Jesus says to the Jews, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19).

E.      Another clear attestation to the deity of Christ is the fact that he is counted worthy to be worshiped, something that is true of no other creature, including angels (see Rev. 19:10), but only God alone. Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honour and glory and blessing!” (Rev. 5:12). Then he hears “every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all therein, saying, ‘To him who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might for ever and ever!’” (Rev. 5:13). Christ is here called “the Lamb who was slain,” and he is accorded the universal worship offered to God the Father, thus clearly demonstrating his equality in deity.

 

C.  The atonement: Understanding Christ’s sacrifice for our sins.

Was there any other way for God to save human beings than by sending his Son to die in our place?

 Before answering this question, it is important to realize that it was not necessary for God to save any people at all. When we appreciate that “God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of nether gloom to be kept until the judgment” (2 Peter 2:4), then we realize that God could also have chosen with perfect justice to have left us in our sins awaiting judgment: he could have chosen to save no one, just as he did with the sinful angels. So in this sense the atonement was not absolutely necessary.

But once God, in his love, decided to save some human beings, then several passages in Scripture indicate that there was no other way for God to do this than through the death of his Son. Therefore, the atonement was not absolutely necessary, but, as a “consequence” of God’s decision to save some human beings, the atonement was absolutely necessary. This is sometimes called the “consequent absolute necessity” view of the atonement.

1.Christ’s Obedience for Us

2.Christ’s Sufferings for Us

a. Suffering for His Whole Life. Jesus not only suffered in the time of crucifixion but in his entire life he suffered. ( Mathew 4:4-11; Isaiah 53; Hebrew 5:8).

b. The Pain of the Cross

(1)Physical Pain and Death: We do not need to hold that Jesus suffered more physical pain than any human being has ever suffered, for the Bible nowhere makes such a claim. But we still must not forget that death by crucifixion was one of the most horrible forms of execution ever devised by man. Many readers of the Gospels in the ancient world would have witnessed crucifixions and thus would have had a painfully vivid mental picture upon reading the simple words “And they crucified him” (Mark 15:24). A criminal who was crucified was essentially forced to inflict upon himself a very slow death by suffocation.

(2) The Pain of Bearing Sin: More awful than the pain of physical suffering that Jesus endured was the psychological pain of bearing the guilt for our sin. In our own experience as Christians we know something of the anguish we feel when we know we have sinned. The weight of guilt is heavy on our hearts, and there is a bitter sense of separation from all that is right in the universe, an awareness of something that in a very deep sense ought not to be. In fact, the more we grow in holiness as God’s children, the more intensely we feel this instinctive revulsion against evil.

(3) Abandonment: The physical pain of crucifixion and the pain of taking on himself the absolute evil of our sins were aggravated by the fact that Jesus faced this pain alone. In the Garden of Gethsemane, when Jesus took with him Peter, James and John, he confided something of his agony to them: “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch” (Mark 14:34). This is the kind of confidence one would disclose to a close friend, and it implies a request for support in his hour of greatest trial. Yet as soon as Jesus was arrested, “all the disciples forsook him and fled” (Matt. 26:56).

(4) Bearing the Wrath of God: Yet more difficult than these three previous aspects of Jesus’ pain was the pain of bearing the wrath of God upon himself. As Jesus bore the guilt of our sins alone, God the Father, the mighty Creator, the Lord of the universe, poured out on Jesus the fury of his wrath: Jesus became the object of the intense hatred of sin and vengeance against sin which God had patiently stored up since the beginning of the world.

New Testament Terms Describing Different Aspects of the Atonement:

The atoning work of Christ is a complex event that has several effects on us. It can therefore be viewed from several different aspects. The New Testament uses different words to describe these; we shall examine four of the more important terms.

The four terms show how Christ’s death met the four needs that we have as sinners:

1.     We deserve to die as the penalty for sin.

2.     We deserve to bear God’s wrath against sin.

3.     We are separated from God by our sins.

4.   We are in bondage to sin and to the kingdom of Satan.

These four needs are met by Christ’s death in the following ways:

 (1) Sacrifice: To pay the penalty of death that we deserved because of our sins, Christ died as a sacrifice for us. “He has appeared once for all at the end of the age to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself” (Heb. 9:26).

(2) Propitiation: To remove us from the wrath of God that we deserved, Christ died as a propitiation for our sins. “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10 NASB).

 (3) Reconciliation: To overcome our separation from God, we needed someone to provide reconciliation and thereby bring us back into fellowship with God. Paul says that God “through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself” (2 Cor. 5:18–19).

 (4) Redemption: Because we as sinners are in bondage to sin and to Satan, we need someone to provide redemption and thereby “redeem” us out of that bondage. When we speak of redemption, the idea of a “ransom” comes into view. A ransom is the price paid to redeem someone from bondage or captivity. Jesus said of himself, “For the Son of man also came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).

D. The Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus

Resurrection:

§  The resurrection of Jesus is a fundamental belief within Christianity, signalling the victory of Jesus over death.

§  According to the Bible, Jesus was crucified, died, and was buried in a tomb.

§  On the third day, Jesus rose from the dead, appearing to his followers and proving his divinity.

§  The resurrection is seen as a central event that provides hope for believers in the promise of eternal life.

Ascension:

§  After his resurrection, Jesus spent 40 days with his disciples before ascending into heaven.

§  The ascension of Jesus is described in the Bible as taking place on the Mount of Olives.

§  Jesus was lifted up into heaven in the presence of his followers, who witnessed his departure.

§  The ascension of Jesus symbolizes his return to the Father and his exaltation as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Significance:

§  The resurrection and ascension of Jesus are key events in the Christian faith, demonstrating his victory over sin and death.

§  The resurrection confirms Jesus’ identity as the Son of God and provides assurance of salvation to believers.

§  The ascension marks Jesus’ transition to his heavenly throne, where he intercedes on behalf of believers.

§  These events are celebrated in the church calendar, with Easter commemorating the resurrection and Ascension Day honouring Jesus’ ascension.