Lesson for May 26, 2019
The Integrity of God
The Third Imputation: Personal Sins to Christ
Jesus Christ is the unique Person of the universe. He is the only Person in history to be both fully God and fully man. The term for this unique union is Hypostatic Union and is derived from the Greek word hupostatis meaning same essence. In the case of Christ, it is both divine and human essence in one Person, forever. He is the God-Man. (Hebrews 1:1-4) Christ was born without a sin nature (no human father). He is superior to man because He is God. He is superior to sinful humanity because He is sinless. Even though His two natures are united in one Person, they retain their separate identities. The attributes of one do not belong to the other. Deity remains deity, and humanity remains humanity.
Without a sin nature, without Adam’s original sin and without personal sin, Jesus Christ is the only Person in history qualified to go to the Cross and pay the penalty for sin. Christ also had to be human in order to be our prototype. He lived an impeccable (sinless) life in God’s power system (the filling of God the Holy Spirit), the same system that is available to us as believers. (I Timothy 2:5)
The plan, formulated in eternity past, called for a sin-bearer to “bridge” the gap between God and man. This sin-bearer had to be uniquely qualified, however. He had to have no sin of his own, He had to be equal with both parties involved and He had to be willing to bear the sin of the entire human race. Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Trinity, agreed to execute the plan. Therefore, Jesus Christ became a man, lived a sinless life and became our sin-bearer. (Romans 5:8; II Corinthians 5:21)
It was necessary for Jesus Christ to become humanity in order to die physically, so that we, like Him, could have a resurrection body and conquer death. It was necessary for Jesus Christ to become a human being in order to be the mediator between God and mankind (a mediator must have an affinity with both parties). It was necessary for Jesus Christ to become a human being in order that He could be our High Priest.
God prepared a person to be the mother of the humanity of Christ, Mary. Mary was a wonderful Jewish believer and especially chosen by God to give birth to the Messiah. Mary was the mother of the humanity of Christ, not the “Mother of God.” God also prepared a man to take care of His Son while He was growing up, Joseph. Joseph, like Mary, was a Jewish believer and a person of integrity. (Matthew 1:18-25) Though Joseph was not the biological father of Jesus Christ, he was the father (guardian) of Christ while He was growing up. We can only conjecture as to Joseph’s role in the earlier training of Jesus, as we are not given a great deal of information about Christ’s youth. We do, however, see Jesus at the age of twelve in the Temple conversing with and confounding the Jewish scholars. (Luke 2:41-52)
We can learn some things about Mary and Joseph from several statements that were made about them and several statements that they made. In Luke, the angel said that Mary was “highly favored,” that “the Lord was with her” and that she was “blessed among women.” Also, in Luke 1:38, Mary confirmed her obedient attitude toward the Lord. Mary was a faithful believer who knew and quoted the Word of God according to Luke 1:46-56. We can also learn something of Joseph. Matthew 1:19, calls Joseph “a just man.” The Greek word for just is “dikaios” and means righteous. Joseph was a believer who performed righteous acts (acts in accordance with God’s will). Joseph was a man of integrity and he was obedient to the Lord, according to Matthew 1:20-25, 2:19-23. It was into this family of integrity that Jesus Christ was born and was raised.
From humble beginnings this unique Person grew to manhood and began an amazing journey. Part of His journey from age thirty to age thirty-three was recorded for us by four of His followers, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. We are very fortunate to have been given this record. It is this record of Christ (Anointed One) that not only teaches us how we are to treat one another, but it also gives us the greatest love story of all time. (Genesis 3:15; II Samuel 7:5-17; Isaiah 7:14)
This love story is between the Creator of the universe, Jesus Christ, and His creations, mankind. Because of His great love, Jesus Christ laid down His life for you and me. However, the story of Christ’s death on the Cross is not the end. Not willing that anyone would perish and spend eternity separated from God, Jesus Christ voluntarily became our sin-bearer. (II Corinthians 5:21)
Though our personal sins do not condemn us, they still must be dealt with by the justice of God. God dealt with our sins by imputing them to Christ on the Cross and judging them. Therefore, sin is not the issue in salvation – accepting God’s gift of eternal life by faith in Christ is the only issue. (John 3:17; Romans 5:18; II Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 2:8-9)
We must remember that Christ was perfect, without a sin nature or personal sin. It is this uniqueness that qualified Him to be our substitute and pay the penalty for our sins. Christ is the “Second Adam,” in that He was born perfect, as Adam was created perfect. By a single act of disobedience, Adam introduced sin into the human race. By a single act of obedience, Christ paid the penalty for that sin for mankind and satisfied the righteousness and justice of God. (John 3:16; Romans 5:15)
However, the substitutionary death of Christ on the Cross is of no value unless appropriated by faith. It is God’s desire for every person to know Christ as Savior and share in the fantastic temporal and eternal blessings that accompany salvation. These blessings are only for the believer and are only potential. If God accomplished the most at salvation (by sending His only Son), how much more can He accomplish in our lives both now and in eternity? (Romans 5:16-17; I Corinthians 2:9; II Peter 3:9)
The righteousness and justice of God had to be satisfied. The only way to satisfy the righteousness and justice of God with regard to sin was through a sin-bearer. Everyone is responsible for their own sin and must pay the penalty of eternal separation from God unless they can find someone else to pay that penalty for them. This is exactly what Jesus Christ did on the Cross. Because Jesus was sinless from birth, He was qualified to pay this penalty. Jesus Christ became our sin-bearer, our substitute, and made the payment for sin on our behalf.
The Old Testament practice of the kinsman redeemer is a perfect example of how Christ becomes our sin-bearer and redeems us from the Law and from sin. The biblical concept of the kinsman redeemer found in the Book of Ruth and other places in the Old Testament is a perfect illustration of the sin-bearer. The Biblical definition of the word “redeemed” is “to be purchased from the slave-market of sin.” There are three Greek words for redemption: “agorazo” meaning to buy, “exagorazo” meaning to buy out of or remove from sale and “lutroo” meaning to release on receipt of ransom or payment. Christ has redeemed us from the slave-market of sin and from the Mosaic Law. (Romans 7:14)
There are several definitions for sin in the Word of God: “falling short of God’s righteousness” (Romans 3:23), “transgression,” which is overstepping God’s law (Psalm 51:1-4). “Trespasses,” which is deviation from God’s righteousness (Ephesians 2:1), “disobedience,” which is rebellion against God’s law
(I Timothy 1:9-10), and unbelief in Christ as Savior (the only unpardonable sin) (John 8:24). Christ redeemed us from all sin: inherent sin, Adam’s original sin and personal sin.
By His taking on humanity, Jesus Christ became a “kinsman” to all mankind. (John 1:1-3,14) In order to meet the purchase price, Christ had to be perfect (no sin of His own to pay for). He was born of a virgin therefore He had no sin nature and He lived a sinless life, which qualified Him to meet the purchase price for our sin. (Matthew 1:23, I Timothy 3:16; Romans 5:8; II Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 2:9-11, 4:15: I Peter 1:18) Christ was also willing to redeem us. He was obedient to the Father’s plan for salvation and gave His life freely. Christ as an impeccable human being in Hypostatic Union even restricted the use of the power of His deity (doctrine of Kenosis) and used the power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish all of this for us. (Philippians 2:5-8; Romans 5:19, Luke 22:42, 23:46)
The Hypostatic Union
Jesus Christ is the unique Person of the universe. He is the only Person in history to be both fully God and fully man. Once again, the term for this unique union is derived from the Greek word “hupostatis”meaning essence. In the case of Christ, it is both divine and human essence in one Person, forever. He is the God-Man. (Hebrews 1:3)
Christ was born of a virgin therefore He was born without a sin nature. He is superior to man because He is God and because He is a sinless human being. He is the only way to God, qualified to be a substitute for all of us. Even though His two natures are united in one Person, they retain their separate identities. The attributes of one do not belong to the other. Deity, remains deity and humanity, remains humanity. Because of this unique union, Christ is the perfect mediator between God and man. He is the only One in history qualified to go to the Cross and pay the penalty for sin. Christ was also our prototype, in that He lived an impeccable (sinless) life under the control of God the Holy Spirit. (I Timothy 2:5)
Jesus, as a man, is seated at the right hand of the Father at this very moment. Deity is omnipresent and does not sit; only His humanity sits. And it is His humanity that will return to earth at the Second Coming. Theologically we say that Jesus is undiminished deity and true humanityin One Person forever. He is undiminished deity in that He is as much God as the Father and the Holy Spirit in essence, attributes and character. He is true humanity in that our Lord possesses a body, a soul and a spirit. (Acts 5:31; Hebrews 1:3, 4:15,10:5; I Peter 2:24; Matthew 26:38; Mark 2:8; Luke 23:46; I John 3:3)
Kenosis
Christ voluntarily restricted the function of His deity. This doctrine takes its name from the Greek word “kenoo,” which means to deprive oneself of a rightful function. This doctrine explains how Christ, the Creator of the universe, could leave Heaven and become a man. II Corinthians 8:9 tells us that even though Christ was rich, for our sakes He became poor.
We must remember that Jesus Christ is coequal and coeternal with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. He voluntarily subordinated Himself to the Father’s plan of salvation. This means He also deprived Himself of the exercise of His divine attributes. At no time did Christ “empty Himself” of His deity. He was never less than God. He simply restricted the use of His divine attributes voluntarily. (Colossians 2:9)
Jesus was born as a man and had to learn the Scriptures the same way that we do, under the control and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was the One Who empowered Him and sustained Him throughout His life on earth. As a man, Christ suffered in the same ways that we suffer but much greater, of course. The ultimate humiliation was suffering the divine judgment from God for our sins. (Matthew 24:36; John 8:56, 16:14; Philippians 2:8)
Christ glorified the Father by executing the Father’s plan, not by glorifying Himself. However, the limitation of kenosis ultimately glorified Christ because He was able to execute the plan perfectly, without sin. As a testimony to the fact that God is completely satisfied with the Son, Christ is now seated at the right hand of the Father. This impeccable life was our prototype to demonstrate to us the fact that we too can execute God’s plan. (John 19:30; Philippians 2:5-8)
Impeccability
Christ remained free from the three categories of sin: the sin nature, Adam’s original sin and personal sins. The sin nature is passed down genetically from the father, but Christ had no human father. The virgin birth of Christ assured that He would have no sin nature. (I Corinthians 15:22)
Without a sin nature, Adam’s original sin could not be imputed to Christ since it had no home or target as it does with the rest of humanity. Therefore, these two categories of sin were not present in Him when He was born. Christ was born physically and spiritually alive, whereas, we are born physically alive but spiritually dead (separated from God). (Romans 6:12)
Christ did, however, have to face the avoidance of personal sin. As deity, He was not able to sin and as humanity, He was able not to sin. This means that the possibility of committing personal sin existed. Christ was tempted to sin in His humanity, not in His deity. God cannot be tempted to sin, but Jesus, as a man, could be tempted to sin. How could Christ accomplish the amazing task of a sinless life? The only way He succeeded in not sinning was by residing in and relying upon the power and the control of God the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ, our Savior has paved the way for us to execute the victorious Christian Way of Life. (James 1:13; Hebrews 4:15; I John 3:5; Matthew 4:1-4)
“Able not to sin” emphasizes Christ’s free will to make the right decisions to obey God. Satan’s temptations of Christ were real and intense. And remember that Christ in His humanity was personally weaker than Satan, yet He was able to resist him by the power of the Word of God and the filling of the Holy Spirit. (Hebrews 2:7)
The filling of God the Holy Spirit is much more powerful that Satan, all his demons and this world system. Christ tested and proved the spiritual life under the control of the Holy Spirit. We cannot be sinless as Christ was, but we can use the same power system that He used. And God has also given us the Rebound recovery system, something that Christ did not need, in order that we might utilize this power system to our maximum advantage. We, therefore, have no excuse for not living in the same spiritual environment in which Christ lived. We can acquire wisdom, make good decisions from a position of strength, develop a personal sense of destiny, increase our capacity for love, happiness and blessing, have complete control over our lives and bring glory and honor to God by a life of virtue and integrity.