Grace Bible Church
Basic Training in Doctrine
The Doctrine of the Humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Person of Christ is unique because of the addition of His perfect humanity to that which from all eternity has been His undiminished Deity.
The Bible provides a complete set of scientific documentation proving that Jesus Christ is true humanity.
Test #1: Does Jesus Christ possess a body that is truly human?
1 Tim 3:16 By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness:
He who was revealed in the flesh, was vindicated in the Spirit,
Seen by angels,
Proclaimed among the nations,
Believed on in the world,
Taken up in glory.
Jesus had eyes that wept, legs, spittle, a back that was beaten, hands and feet that were pierced by Roman nails, a face that was spit upon, a head that bore a crown of thorns, and blood that poured from His side.
It was not like the human nature provided Christ’s body while His deity consisted of His soul and His spirit. The humanity was complete and included both material and immaterial aspects, Matt 26:38; Luke 23:46.
Jesus had a human soul.
The humanity of Christ had a human will, which He surrendered completely to the will of His Father.
Jesus also had a human spirit.
Luke 23:46“>LUK 23:46 And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.” Having said this, He breathed His last.
Test #3: Does the Old Testament hold out the expectation of a human Messiah matching the description of Jesus Christ in the New?
The Old Testament looks forward to the Messiah as a human being. This is put forth in two ways: (a) typology, and (b) prophecy.
A type is a shadow on the pages of Old Testament of history by a truth whose full embodiment of anti-type is found in the New Testament revelation.
1 Cor 10:4 and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ.
Many Old Testament types of Christ are human beings: Adam, Abraham, Isaac, Joseph, and David to name a few. This is a direct representation of the human nature of Christ.
God and angels do not bleed, so that when an Old Testament type such as the sin-offering includes the shedding of blood in connection with the Messiah, a human being is represented.
Jesus Christ is the promised Messiah, and many Old Testament Messianic prophecies foretell of the human qualities of that Messiah.
Test #4: What names were given Him?
Jesus is the name provided for the humanity of Christ.
The name Jesus is identified with His human life, His body, His death, and His glorification (which followed His obedience to death in redeeming the human race).
Paul calls Him “the man Christ Jesus” in 1TI 2:5.
He was also the Son of David, a title that linked Him to His ancestor David and to the royal promises to be fulfilled ultimately by Messiah.
One additional name in the New Testament is special, because this is a title that our Lord gave to Himself often. It is the name “Son of Man”.
The title “Son of Man” focused on His lowliness and humanity (MAT 8:20); on His suffering and death (LUK 24:7); and on His future reign as King (Matt 24:27).
LUK 24:7 saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.”
He is called the Son of Man about twice as often as He is called the Son of God in the New Testament.
LUK 22:43 Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him.
The angels had been in the company of the Second Person of the Trinity before the First Advent. They shouted out with joy when He laid the foundation of the earth (JOB 38:4-7).
It wasn’t news that this Jesus Christ was God. The incredible news was that the Son of God was now a man!
Test #5: What about His ancestry? Did He have a human mother?
Details of His human ancestry are carefully preserved in the canon of scripture, particularly the Gospel accounts.
He was born of the virgin Mary, and was made of the seed of David according to His flesh, ROM 1:3.
The names of His brothers are given, and His genealogy on both sides of the family is given in detail, MAT 1:1-17; LUK 3:23-38.
Mark 6:3 “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?” And they took offense at Him.
Test #6: Is He described as having a human appearance?
Test #7: Did He exhibit the characteristics and limitations that mark the human race?
Mark 11:12 On the next day, when they had left Bethany,
He became hungry.
John 19:28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, to fulfill the Scripture, said, “I am thirsty.”
John 4:6 and Jacob’s well was there. So Jesus, being wearied from His journey, was sitting thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
ISA 40:28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth Does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable.
He slept!,
MAT 8:24
God neither slumbers nor sleeps, PSA 121:4.
LUK 1:80 And the child continued to grow and to become strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel.
He experienced love and compassion (Matt 9:36).
He was moved by human sympathy and wept
(John 11:35).
He craved human sympathy Himself! (MAT 26:36-40)
HEB 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.
God cannot be tempted, JAM 1:13.
He died, John 19:30, MAR 15:37.
But God cannot die.
He consented to be subject to human limitations as part of the mystery of what is known theologically as kenosis.
He did not renounce His divine powers, but he did voluntarily restrict the independent function of His deity.
One of the strongest evidences of the fact that He is truly human was His experience of human suffering.
HEB 5:8 Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.
Jesus Christ called Himself a man, John 8:40.
The Bible says that Jesus was a man, PHI 2:7-8.
Test #2: Does Jesus Christ have a human soul, spirit, and will?