That Jesus had a complete human nature and a complete divine nature at the same time is the teaching of Scripture, but we cannot separate these two natures in His earthly life. It is apparent that Jesus was human in will, mind, spirit, soul, and body, but it is equally apparent that He had the fullness of the Godhead resident in His flesh. From our finite view, humanity and deity were inseparably joined in His one Spirit.
The divine Spirit could be separated from the human body by death, but His humanity was more than a human body-the shell of a human- with God inside. He was human in body, soul, and spirit, with the fullness of the Spirit of God dwelling in that body, soul, and spirit. Jesus differed from an ordinary human (who can be filled with the Spirit of God) in that He had all of God"s nature within Him. He possessed the unlimited power, authority, and character of God. Furthermore, in contrast to a born-again, Spirit filled human, the Spirit of God was inextricably and inseparably joined with the humanity of Jesus. Without the Spirit of God there would have been only a lifeless human that would not have been Jesus Christ. Only in these terms can we describe and distinguish the two natures in Jesus; we know that He could act and speak from either role, but we also know that the two natures were not actually separated in Him. With our finite minds, we can make only a distinction and not a separation in the two natures that blended perfectly in Him.
Although Jesus had a complete human nature, He did not have the sinful nature of fallen humanity. If He would have had a sinful nature, He would have sinned. However, we know He neither had a sinful nature nor committed sinful acts. He was without sin, He did not sin, and sin was not in Him ( Hebrews 4:15; 1Peter 2:22; 1John 3:5). Since He did not have a human father, He did not inherit a sinful nature from fallen Adam. Instead, He came as the last Adam, with an innocent nature like Adam had in the beginning (Romans 5:12-21; 1Corinthians 15:45-49). Jesus had a complete, but sinless, human nature.
The Bible does indicate that Jesus had a human will as well as the divine will. He prayed to the Father, saying, "Not my will, but thine, be done" (Luke 22:42). John 6:38 shows the existence of the two wills; He came not to do His own will (human will) but to do the Father"s will (the divine will).
That Jesus was a human in spirit seems evident when He spoke on the cross, "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit" (Luke 23:46). Although it is difficult to distinguish between the divine and human aspects of His Spirit, some references seemingly focus on the human aspect. For example, "he sighed deeply in his spirit" (Mark 8:12), "waxed strong in spirit" (Luke 2:40), "rejoiced in spirit"(Luke 10:21), "groaned in the spirit"(John 11:33), and "was troubled in the spirit"(John 13:21).
Jesus was human in soul, for He said, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death" (Mathew 26:38; see Mark 14:34), and "Now is my soul troubled" (John 12:27). Upon His death, His soul visited hell (Greek hades[/i]- the grave or the underworld of departed souls), just as all souls did before Calvary (Acts 2:27). The difference was that the Spirit of God in Jesus would not let His soul stay in hell (Acts 2:27, 31); instead He conquered hell (again hades[/i]) and death (Revelation 1:18).
The human soul and spirit of Jesus were inseparably bound to the divine Spirit, so that He had one Spirit, not two. Otherwise Jesus could have lived as a man even with the eternal Spirit taken away from Him. This did not and could not happen, since Jesus is God in flesh, and as God He never changes (Hebrews 13:8).
If we do not accept that Jesus was fully human, then the scriptural references to His temptations lose meaning (Mathew 4:1-11; Hebrews 2:16-18; 4:14-16). So does the description of His struggle and agony in Gethsemane (Luke 22:39-44). Two passages in Hebrews point out that since Jesus was tempted as we are , He qualifies as our High Priest, understands us perfectly, and helps us in our infirmities: "In all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren" (Hebrews 2:17). "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"(Hebrews 4:15). Hebrews 5:7-8 says, "Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong cry6ing and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered." These verses do not present a picture of someone unaffected by the emotions of fears and doubts. Rather, they describe someone who possessed these human weaknesses; He had to subdue the human will and submit to the eternal Spirit.
As a genuine human, Christ prayed, cried, learned obedience, and suffered. The Spirit of God was in control and God was faithful to His own plan, but as a human Jesus had to obtain help from the Spirit and had to learn obedience to the divine plan. Surely all these verses of Scripture show that Jesus was fully human- that He had every attribute of humanity except the sinful nature inherited from the Fall. If we deny the humanity of Jesus, we encounter a problem with the concept of redemption and atonement. Not being fully human, could His sacrifice be sufficient to redeem us? Could He really be a true substitute for us in death? Could He qualify as our Kinsman Redeemer?
__________________ And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
That Jesus had a complete human nature and a complete divine nature at the same time is the teaching of Scripture, but we cannot separate these two natures in His earthly life. It is apparent that Jesus was human in will, mind, spirit, soul, and body, but it is equally apparent that He had the fullness of the Godhead resident in His flesh. From our finite view, humanity and deity were inseparably joined in His one Spirit.
The divine Spirit could be separated from the human body by death, but His humanity was more than a human body-the shell of a human- with God inside. He was human in body, soul, and spirit, with the fullness of the Spirit of God dwelling in that body, soul, and spirit. Jesus differed from an ordinary human (who can be filled with the Spirit of God) in that He had all of God"s nature within Him. He possessed the unlimited power, authority, and character of God. Furthermore, in contrast to a born-again, Spirit filled human, the Spirit of God was inextricably and inseparably joined with the humanity of Jesus. Without the Spirit of God there would have been only a lifeless human that would not have been Jesus Christ. Only in these terms can we describe and distinguish the two natures in Jesus; we know that He could act and speak from either role, but we also know that the two natures were not actually separated in Him. With our finite minds, we can make only a distinction and not a separation in the two natures that blended perfectly in Him.
Although Jesus had a complete human nature, He did not have the sinful nature of fallen humanity. If He would have had a sinful nature, He would have sinned. However, we know He neither had a sinful nature nor committed sinful acts. He was without sin, He did not sin, and sin was not in Him ( Hebrews 4:15; 1Peter 2:22; 1John 3:5). Since He did not have a human father, He did not inherit a sinful nature from fallen Adam. Instead, He came as the last Adam, with an innocent nature like Adam had in the beginning (Romans 5:12-21; 1Corinthians 15:45-49). Jesus had a complete, but sinless, human nature.
The Bible does indicate that Jesus had a human will as well as the divine will. He prayed to the Father, saying, "Not my will, but thine, be done" (Luke 22:42). John 6:38 shows the existence of the two wills; He came not to do His own will (human will) but to do the Father"s will (the divine will).
That Jesus was a human in spirit seems evident when He spoke on the cross, "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit" (Luke 23:46). Although it is difficult to distinguish between the divine and human aspects of His Spirit, some references seemingly focus on the human aspect. For example, "he sighed deeply in his spirit" (Mark 8:12), "waxed strong in spirit" (Luke 2:40), "rejoiced in spirit"(Luke 10:21), "groaned in the spirit"(John 11:33), and "was troubled in the spirit"(John 13:21).
Jesus was human in soul, for He said, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death" (Mathew 26:38; see Mark 14:34), and "Now is my soul troubled" (John 12:27). Upon His death, His soul visited hell (Greek hades[/i]- the grave or the underworld of departed souls), just as all souls did before Calvary (Acts 2:27). The difference was that the Spirit of God in Jesus would not let His soul stay in hell (Acts 2:27, 31); instead He conquered hell (again hades[/i]) and death (Revelation 1:18).
The human soul and spirit of Jesus were inseparably bound to the divine Spirit, so that He had one Spirit, not two. Otherwise Jesus could have lived as a man even with the eternal Spirit taken away from Him. This did not and could not happen, since Jesus is God in flesh, and as God He never changes (Hebrews 13:8).
If we do not accept that Jesus was fully human, then the scriptural references to His temptations lose meaning (Mathew 4:1-11; Hebrews 2:16-18; 4:14-16). So does the description of His struggle and agony in Gethsemane (Luke 22:39-44). Two passages in Hebrews point out that since Jesus was tempted as we are , He qualifies as our High Priest, understands us perfectly, and helps us in our infirmities: "In all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren" (Hebrews 2:17). "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"(Hebrews 4:15). Hebrews 5:7-8 says, "Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong cry6ing and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered." These verses do not present a picture of someone unaffected by the emotions of fears and doubts. Rather, they describe someone who possessed these human weaknesses; He had to subdue the human will and submit to the eternal Spirit.
As a genuine human, Christ prayed, cried, learned obedience, and suffered. The Spirit of God was in control and God was faithful to His own plan, but as a human Jesus had to obtain help from the Spirit and had to learn obedience to the divine plan. Surely all these verses of Scripture show that Jesus was fully human- that He had every attribute of humanity except the sinful nature inherited from the Fall. If we deny the humanity of Jesus, we encounter a problem with the concept of redemption and atonement. Not being fully human, could His sacrifice be sufficient to redeem us? Could He really be a true substitute for us in death? Could He qualify as our Kinsman Redeemer?
EXCELLENT POST... real nice. you hit the mark on many points.. I'd like to submit that Jesus' Will, was Gods' will.period.His Diety mandated that. His ability to Obey was perfected @ birth, since again, his Deity mandated it. there was only 1 conflict written about concerning his youthful days...and that's when M&J left him @ the city, where he was later discovered impressing the Pharisees...he got a tad smartmouthed when his Mom inquired about the matter, but that was necessary to leave no doubts as to the action & who was behind it....God.
next smnartmouth remark was made to Gentile woman looking for crumbs...this,too, was necessary to drive home the point to ALL, that the Jews were, and still are,number one on Gods' list. He came for the Jews 1st... made that PLAINLY clear in a couple scriptures,and wanted US to remember that, in case we get too egotistic. we're accepted as "step-children" in name, with all the entitlements due the bloodchild...and we WERE chosen by Him for his Church...........but that's different.
A Complete But Sinless Human Nature
