Jesus Christ's Human Parentage,
Human Limitations,
Human Relation to God, Human in all Things
III. Human
Parentage
(1)
Luke 2:7—“And
she brought forth her
firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger;
because there was no room for them in the inn.”
Acts 2:30—“Therefore,
being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of
the fruit of his loins,
according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne.”
Acts 13:23—“Of
this man’s seed hath God
according to his promise raised unto Israel a saviour, Jesus.”
Rom. 1:3—“Concerning
his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made
of the seed of David according to
the flesh.”
Gal. 4:4—“But
when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son,
made of a woman,
made under the law.”
Heb. 7:14—“For
it is evident that our Lord
sprang out of Juda;
of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood.”
FIRST PROPOSITION:
Jesus Christ had a human parentage and human ancestry. He was Mary’s son and
David s seed.
Mary was as truly the mother of
Jesus Christ as God was His
Father.
IV. Human
Limitations
(1) Physical
Limitations
(a)
Jno. 4:6—“Now
Jacob’s well was there. Jesus, therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat
thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.”
Jesus Christ
was weary. Compare
Is. 40:28—“Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God,
the Lord, the Creator of the
ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is
weary? there is no searching of his
understanding.”
(b)
Matt. 8:24—“And
behold there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was
covered with the waves: but he was asleep.”
Jesus Christ
slept. Compare Ps.
121:4, 5—“Behold he that keepeth Israel shall neither
slumber nor sleep. The
Lord is thy keeper; the Lord is
thy shade upon thy right hand.”
(c)
Matt. 21:18—“Now
in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered.”
Jesus Christ
hungered.
(d)
Jno. 19:28—“After
this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture
might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.”
Jesus Christ
thirsted.
(e)
Luke 22:44—“And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was
as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”
Jesus Christ
suffered physical agony.
(f)
1 Cor. 15:3—“For
I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ
died for our sins according to the scriptures.”
Jesus Christ
died.
FIRST PROPOSITION:
Jesus Christ was subject to weariness, hunger, thirst, agony and death—to the
physical limitations of human nature.
(2) Intellectual
and Moral Limitations
(a)
Luke 2:52,
R.V.—“And Jesus advanced in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and
man.”
Jesus Christ
advanced in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man. He was subject
to human conditions of physical, mental and moral growth.
(b)
Mark 11:13—“And
seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find
anything thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the
time of figs was not yet.”
13:32—“But
of that day and that hour knoweth no man; no, not the angels which are in
Heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.”
SECOND PROPOSITION: The knowledge of
Jesus Christ was subject to limitations.
(Compare Luke
2:52.)
Note
1.—His knowledge was self-limited. (Phil.
2:5, R.V. “Emptied
himself.” Must not press this verse too far. The context shows an emptying of
glory rather than of attributes.)
Note
2.—Jno. 3:34—“For
he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit
by measure unto him.” As a teacher
Jesus
was divinely and fully inspired so that he spoke “the words of God.”
Note
3.—The indwelling Divine Nature often burst through the veil of flesh (see
passages under Chapter I), but
as a man
he was a real man in his mental make-up.
(b)
Heb. 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.”
Heb. 2:18—“For
in that he himself hath suffered
being tempted,
he is able to succor them that are tempted.”
(Comp.
Jas. 1:13—“Let
no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for
God can not be tempted
with evil, neither tempteth he any man.”)
THIRD PROPOSITION:
Jesus Christ was tempted. He was subject to the essential moral limitations of
human nature.
Note
1.—A carnal nature is not an essential part of human nature. It does not
belong to human nature as God made it. It is what has become part of human
nature by sin.
Note
2.—Heb. 2:14—“Forasmuch
then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself
likewise took part of the
same: that through death
he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.”
Phil. 2:5–8—“Let
this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who being in the form of
God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God. But
made himself
of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the
likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and
became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”
Jesus
Christ in His moral
limitations was self-limited. He voluntarily placed himself underneath the
essential moral limitations that man is under in order to redeem man. Wondrous
love!
Note
3.—He was tempted “without sin.”
GENERAL PROPOSITION:
Jesus Christ was subject to the intellectual and moral limitations essential
to human nature.
(3) Limitations
of Power
(a) Mark 1:35—“And
in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed
into a solitary place, and there prayed.”
John 6:15—“When Jesus therefore perceived that they would
come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a
mountain himself alone.” (Comp. Matt. 14:23—“And when he had sent the
multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to
pray: and when the evening
was come, he was there alone.”)
Luke 22:41–45—“And he was withdrawn from them about a
stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed,
saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless, not
my will, but thine, be done. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven,
strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his
sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. And when
he rose up from prayer, and was come to his disciples, he found them sleeping
for sorrow.”
Heb. 5:7—“Who in the days of his flesh, when he had
offered up prayers and supplications
with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death,
and was heard in that he feared.”
FIRST PROPOSITION:
Jesus Christ prayed (25 times mentioned). He obtained power for work and for
moral victory as other men do, by prayer. He was subject to human conditions
for obtaining what He desired.
(b)
Acts 10:38—“How
God anointed Jesus of
Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power:
who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil;
for God was with him.”
SECOND PROPOSITION:
Jesus Christ obtained power for His divine works not by His inherent Divinity
but by the anointing of the Holy Spirit. He was subject to the same conditions
of power as other men.
(b)
Jno. 14:12—“Verily,
verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he
do also; and greater works
than these shall he do;
because I go unto my Father.”
THIRD PROPOSITION:
Jesus Christ was subject to limitations in the exercise of power during the
days of His humiliation.
GENERAL PROPOSITION:
Jesus Christ was subject to human conditions for the obtaining of power and
human limitations in its exercise. This was during the days of His
humiliation.
IV. Human Relation
to God
Jno. 20:17—“Jesus
saith unto her, touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go
to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father and your Father;
and to my God and your God.”
FIRST PROPOSITION:
Jesus Christ called the Father “My God.”
Jesus Christ
bore the relation of man to God the Father.
V. Human in All
Things
Heb. 2:17, R.V.—“Wherefore it behooved him
in all things to be made like
unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in
things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.”
FIRST PROPOSITION:
Jesus Christ was made “in all things” like unto His brethren, subject to all
the physical, mental and moral conditions of existence essential to human
nature.
GENERAL PROPOSITION:
Jesus Christ was in every respect a real man. He became so voluntarily to
redeem man. (Phil.
2:5–8; 2 Cor. 8:9.)
He partook of human nature that we might become partakers of the Divine
nature. 2 Pet. 1:4—“Whereby are given unto us
exceeding great and precious promises; that by these ye might be partakers of
the Divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through
lust.”
Question:
How shall we reconcile the Bible doctrine of the true Deity of
Jesus Christ with the Bible
doctrine of the real human nature of
Christ?
Answer:
That is not our main business. Our first business is to find out what the
various passages mean in their natural grammatical interpretation. Then if we
can reconcile them, well; if not, believe them both and leave the
reconciliation to increasing knowledge. It is a thoroughly vicious principle
of interpretation that we must interpret every passage in the Bible so that we
can readily reconcile it with every other passage. This gives rise to a
one-sided theology. One man becomes a one-sided Calvinist and another a
one-sided Arminian, and so on through the whole gamut of doctrine. Our
business is to find out the plainly intended sense of the passage in hand as
determined by usage of words, grammatical construction and context. Remember
that in many cases two truths that seemed utterly irreconcilable or perfectly
contradictory to us once are now, with increased knowledge, seen to
beautifully harmonize. Truths that still seem to us to be contradictory
perfectly harmonize in the infinite wisdom of God, and will some day, when we
approach more nearly to God’s omniscience, perfectly harmonize in the infinite
wisdom of God, and will some day, when we approach more nearly to God’s
omniscience, perfectly harmonize in our minds. How fearlessly the Bible puts
the Deity and manhood of Jesus Christ
in closest juxtaposition.
Matt. 8:24–26—“And,
behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was
covered with the waves:
but he was asleep. And he
saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and
rebuked the winds and the
sea; and there was a great calm.”
Luke 3:21,
22—“Now
when all the people were baptized, it came to pass that
Jesus also being baptized,
and praying,
the heaven was opened. And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a
dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said,
Thou art my beloved Son;
in thee I am well pleased.”
Jno. 11:38,
43,
44—“Jesus,
therefore, again groaning
in himself cometh to the
grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. And when he had thus spoken, he
cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And
he that was dead came forth,
bound hand and foot with grave-clothes; and his face was bound about with a
napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.”
Luke 9:28,
29,
35—“And
it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and
John and James, and went up into a mountain
to pray.
And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment
was white and glistening. And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying,
This is my beloved Son:
hear him.”
Matt. 16:16,
17,
21—“And
Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for
flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in
heaven. From that time forth began JESUS to show unto his disciples, how that
he must go unto Jerusalem, and
suffer
many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and
be killed,
and be raised again the third day.”
Heb. 1:6—“And
again, when he bringeth in the first-begotten into the world, he saith, And
let all the angels of God worship him.” (Compare
Heb. 2:18—“For
in that he himself hath suffered
being tempted,
he is able to succor them that are tempted.”)
Heb. 4:14,
15—“Seeing
then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens,
Jesus, the Son of God,
let us hold fast our profession. For we have not a 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.”
Torrey, R. A. (1898). What the Bible
teaches a thorough and comprehensive study of what the Bible has to say
concerning the great doctrines of which it treats (90). New York,
Chicago [etc.: Fleming H. Revell company.
