THE NATURE OF CHRIST'S HUMANITY

Although the book of Hebrews has been greatly ignored

 

by Christian scholars andlaymen alike, it contains some of
the most important,basic doctrines in the Bible. Spiritual subjects that are scarcely mentioned by other writers have been fully explained by the author of Hebrews.

 

Perhaps the reason for its general neglect is twofold.

First, it leans very heavily upon Old Testament imagery

 

and typology. Many modem Christians seem to feel that

it doesn’t fit in with the tone of gospel freedom

 

enunciated in Paul’s other epistles.
Secondly, the book may be shunned because it

 

contains some very clear statements that seem to
conflict with positions held by the majority of Protestant

 

Christians. Three of those areas of controversy are

 

woven throughout the book of Hebrews. Although at

 

first glance they may seem to be quite unrelated to

 

each other, these three subjects are very closely tied

 

together. The nature of Christ’s humanity, the high

 

priestly work of Jesus in the heavenly sanctuary, and

 

the subject of perfection are interrelated themes of truth

 

in the book of Hebrews.
 
The first two chapters are devoted in general to the

 

position and nature of Christ before and after His

 

incarnation. Chapter three begins to talk about the role

 

of Jesus as the true High Priest in contrast to the

 

earthly ministry of human priests. That theme carries

 

through the next ten chapters, and within those

 

chapters the term “perfect,” or forms of it, are used

 

nine times.

Now let us try to discover how these three major

 

threads of doctrine—Christ’s human nature, His

 

priesthood, and the perfection of God’s people—are

 

really part of the same great truth.

Many scholars have puzzled over Paul’s extended

 

explanation in chapter two of Christ’s total assumption

 

of man’s fallen nature. He makes unequivocal

 

statements that go far beyond any other inspired

 

description of the incarnation. Verse 11 tells us that

 

“he that sanctifies and they who are sanctified are all of
 

 

one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them

 

brethren.” In other words, Christ took the same kind of

 

body that His human brothers possessed. The Sanctifier

 

(Christ) and the sanctified (man) are all of the

 

same physical nature, and can truly be called brethren.

 

The point is enlarged in the next verse, “Forasmuch

 

then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood,
he also himself likewise took part of the same.” Verse

 

14. Then comes the strongest statement of all, and one

 

that could be made only by a person speaking under

 

the direct inspiration of God, “Wherefore in all things it

 

behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he

 

might be a merciful and faithful high priest.” Verse 17.
Paul dares to say that it was almost an obligation for

 

Jesus to become, through this physical birth, just like

 

the human family whom He had come to save. Such

 

audacity was undoubtedly rooted in his perfect

 

assurance that he was setting forth the very thought of

 

God.

 

Please notice how the foundation is being laid for the

 

chapters that follow. Here we find the theological

 

rationale for the high priesthood of Christ in the

 

heavenly sanctuary. He had to be a man in order to be

 

“a merciful and faithful high priest.” He must of

 

necessity pass through our experiences in order to

 

represent us properly before the Father. “For we have

 

not an high priest which cannot be touched with the

 

feelings of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted

 

like as we are, yet without sin.” Hebrews 4:15.

 

There are some who deny that the holy nature of Jesus

 

could ever be tempted by any of the allurements or

 

provocations of this world. Let such be reminded that

 

Jesus emptied Himself of His divine form when He came

 

among men. There is no question about His perfect

 

sinlessness, but He took upon Himself not “the nature

 

of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.”

 

Hebrews 2:16.

 

Could that nature be tempted? Of course it could. We

 

know it because we have that nature also. We cannot

 

and dare not probe into mysteries that are not revealed,

 

but we can be certain of those things that are revealed.

 

He was tempted in the same points in which we

 

struggle against the evil one.

As a partaker of our flesh and blood, He was no

stranger to the sorrows, trials, and disappointments that

 

commonly afflict our lives. In no way did He use His

 

divine power to evade the infirmities of human nature.

 

Yet, He did not sin by even a thought.

 

Did His sinless experience separate Him so far from us

 

that we can never hope to gain the same victory over

 

sin? No. There are scores of assurances in the Bible

 

that we may overcome as He overcame. We may have

 

the “mind of Christ” (Philippians 2:5), be filled with “all

 

the fullness's of God” (Ephesians 3:19), and partake of

 

the divine nature of Christ (2 Peter 1:4).

 

The pure and holy aversion to sin that resided in our

 

blessed Lord from the moment of His birth may be

 

experienced by every converted, Spirit-filled Christian

 

through faith in God. Jesus repeatedly acknowledged

 

His total dependence on the Father for everything He

 

said and everything He did. He deliberately limited

 

Himself to the works that were made possible by

 

prayer, faith, and surrender—avenues that are also

 

open to every one of us. ________

 

The House of Bethany.