Doctrine of Jesus Christ: A Brief Essay by Michael Longson

Introduction

         The doctrine of Christ contains several themes.  To understand these themes better, I will break them down into their respective categories and address each in brief.  The basic themes that require addressing when discussing the doctrine of Jesus Christ are His divine nature in contrast to His human nature and His impeccability.

The Divinity of Christ

          The Gospel of John makes the Biblical stance on the divinity of Christ clear.  John, who spent three and one-half years with Jesus in close personal association, viewed Jesus as Jehovah God in the flesh.  He recognized in the first chapter of his Gospel that not only were the Father and Son separate persons in function and purpose, but that they were both one entity, God, without separation.  John acknowledges that Jesus (John refers to Him as the Word) pre-existed creation and was not only with God in the beginning, but God was in actuality the Word Himself.  He later elaborates that the Word took on flesh that we might see the glory of the Father in the flesh, learning how to live in goodness and love.

The Humanity of Christ

         The humanity of Christ is seen in the flesh that was taken on by the divine Christ, flesh born of the Virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit.  In all ways that we can comprehend, the Bible makes it clear to a discerning reader that Jesus had a body flesh and blood prior to the resurrection.  He walked, he ate, he grew tired, he slept, he cried and he loved.  All these are completely human emotions and physical states.  Jesus clearly had a physical body.  As a result of this physical body, Jesus experienced temptation.  This aspect of his human nature leads us now into the next aspect to consider in the doctrine of Christ.

The Impeccability of Christ

           In His human form, Jesus would have experienced many physical needs.  Shortly after Jesus was immersed in the Jordan River, the Holy Spirit drove Him to the desert to allow Him to be tested by Satan.  After spending forty days without food in the desert, Jesus would be at His most vulnerable.  Even faced with a forty day fast, when Satan placed the bait in front of Jesus’ hunger ravaged body, He resisted.  The Bible says that Jesus was tempted in all ways, yet was without sin.  He experienced all the same temptations and test in the world that we do, yet He passed through victorious, without stumbling.  There was no sin nature within Jesus to drag Him down.  Jesus, born of the Holy Spirit, did not receive the inherited sin nature passed down from the father ever since the time of Adam.  Therefore, Jesus was a sinless sacrifice who triumphed over all the daily temptations we face even today.

Conclusion

         It is nearly impossible to discuss or understand the nature of Jesus without considering these topics.  Only the divine Christ could meet the sinless perfection to cover over all the sins of all time.  Because of Christ and His sacrifice, we can go before God the Father on the basis of Christ’s work and sacrifice.