A Bible lesson by Ivor Jefferies
Stuart Olyott memorably summarizes Scripture’s teaching on the Person of Christ by using the numbers 1 2 2 3:
The Son of God is 1 Person: the Lord Jesus Christ.
He has 2 natures: truly God and truly man.
He experienced 2 states: humiliation and exaltation.
He fulfills 3 offices: Prophet, Priest and King.
In this lesson we’ll focus on the human nature of Christ.
1. Where do we first catch a glimpse of the Son of God in human form?
Read Gen. 18:1-8, 33, 32:24-30, Jos. 5:13-15, Judges 13, Ezek. 1:26, Dan. 3:24-25, 7:13, 10:5-7, Isa. 6:1.1
2. How do the Old Testament appearances of the Son of God differ from the incarnation?
Read John 1:1, 14, Phil. 2:6-7.
3. How did God create a human nature for his Son, and why did He do it this way?
Read Matt. 1:18-25, Luke 1:31, 34-35, Gal. 4:4, Heb. 10:5, 7:26.
In trying to defend the sinlessness of Christ, Roman Catholics say that Mary did not have a sinful nature. Yet the Bible clearly says that every human being inherits the guilt and sinful nature of Adam (Rom. 5:12, 18-19).
Others have said that God created a sinless embryo in heaven which He then planted into Mary’s womb, thus ensuring that Jesus would not be touched by Adam’s sin (Ps. 51:5). But if this were true, Jesus would not truly be the Son of Mary. Besides, the Bible clearly says that Jesus was conceived in Mary’s womb (Luke 1:31). Although no one knows exactly how God performed the miracle of the Virgin Birth, we know that Jesus is truly God and truly man, and that his human nature is without sin.
4. In the 1st century a false teacher named Cerinthus said that Jesus wasn’t truly human, but simply appeared to be so.2 How does the Bible disprove this heresy?
Read Luke 2:7, 40, 52, Matt. 4:2, 8:24, 13:54-56, 26:48, Mark 13:32, 14:34, John 4:6, 19:5, 28, 30, Heb. 5:7, 2:14, 18, 1 John 4:2-3.
5. Why did the Son of God have to become a real human being?
Read Heb. 2:17, 10:5-7, 1 Cor. 15:20-22, Phil. 3:20-21, 1 John 2:6.
6. Is Jesus still a man today, and how does this comfort you?
Read Luke 24:36-43, John 20:27, Rev. 5:6, 1:7, Acts 1:11, 7:55-56, Job 9:32-33, 1 Tim. 2:5, Heb. 4:15.
1 John 12:41 tells us that Isaiah saw Christ upon the throne.
2 Henry Bettenson, Documents of the Christian Church (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1963 [1943]), 37 and N.R. Needham, 2000 Years of Christ's Power: Part 1 (London: Grace Publications Trust, 1997), 65-6. This heresy is known as Docetism, a name derived from the Greek word dokeō, which means “to appear”.