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Preparing a Study Plan before starting this Study Guide will assist you in completing it within a designated timeframe. It also helps in developing the discipline required for studying God’s Word effectively.

Proverbs 16:3:

Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.

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Keep a record as you progress through your Study Guide, including the Personal Responses for each section, for future reference and goal setting.

Content

• Preface

• INTRODUCTION: WHY THE GENUINE HUMANITY OF JESUS MATTERS

• THE WORD WAS MADE FLESH

• MADE OF A WOMAN – MADE LIKE UNTO HIS BRETHREN

• THE MAN CHRIST JESUS

• A REAL HUMAN BODY AND PHYSICAL LIFE

• HE GREW IN WISDOM AND STATURE

• A REAL SOUL, EMOTIONS AND HUMAN EXPERIENCE

• TEMPTED YET WITHOUT SIN

• HE LEARNED OBEDIENCE THROUGH SUFFERING

• HE SUFFERED AND DIED IN THE FLESH

• THE SPIRIT WITHIN HIM WAS THE ETERNAL SPIRIT OF GOD

• THE LAST ADAM – A QUICKENING SPIRIT

• GOD REVEALED THROUGH GENUINE HUMAN WORDS, WORKS AND CHARACTER

• CONCLUSION: GENUINE HUMANITY – INDWELLING DEITY

Important Points

• COGMA does not claim to be infallible or the authority.
• Infallibility and authority belong only to God and His Word.

COGMA therefore strongly advises that you prayerfully study the content of each Study Guide with the heart of a Berean (Acts 17:10–12).

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PREFACE

The previous Study Guides established two important truths. There is one true God, and that one invisible God was manifested and made known in Jesus Christ. We have also seen that Jesus Christ now dwells within the born-again believer by His Spirit. This Study Guide now turns to another question that must be understood just as carefully: What does Scripture mean when it presents Jesus Christ as genuinely and completely human?

The answer is important because the Deity revealed in Jesus Christ must never cause us to weaken His humanity. Jesus did not simply appear to be human, nor was His humanity only a physical body through which God spoke. He possessed complete and genuine human life.

Jesus was truly born and grew in wisdom and stature. He experienced hunger, thirst and weariness, and He knew sorrow, compassion and distress. He was tempted, yet without sin. He learned obedience through the things He suffered, and He was put to death in the flesh.

These human experiences help us understand many passages that would otherwise be misunderstood. His prayers, obedience, suffering and death do not require us to divide God into separate divine persons. They belong to the genuine human life through which the one eternal God was revealed.

Scripture also speaks directly of His soul. Jesus said, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful.” His sorrow was not an appearance. It belonged to the genuine human experience of the man Christ Jesus.

At the same time, we must preserve another truth just as clearly. Scripture does not require us to construct a separate created human spirit of human origin within Jesus Christ. Paul distinguishes the first Adam, who was made “a living soul,” from the last Adam, who was made “a quickening spirit.” The Spirit within the man Christ Jesus was the eternal Spirit of God Himself.

This does not make His humanity incomplete, nor does it reduce the Son to the physical body alone. The Son is the complete and genuine human life of Jesus Christ through whom the one eternal God was revealed. His body, soul, mind, emotions, will, physical needs, development, suffering and human experience were real.

Both truths must therefore remain together. Jesus Christ was truly man, and God was in Christ. His genuine humanity did not diminish the Deity revealed through Him, and the indwelling Deity did not make His humanity unreal.

The purpose of this Study Guide is therefore specific: to examine the complete humanity of Jesus Christ from Scripture while preserving the identity of the Spirit who dwelt within Him. The one invisible God did not reveal Himself through an illusion of humanity. He revealed Himself through the genuine human life of Jesus Christ.

INTRODUCTION: WHY THE GENUINE HUMANITY OF JESUS MATTERS

Scripture leaves no doubt that Jesus Christ was truly man. His humanity was not an appearance, a temporary disguise or simply a physical body used by God. He entered genuine human life and experienced what belongs to humanity, yet without sin.

Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 2:5:

“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;”

Paul deliberately calls Him “the man Christ Jesus.” This does not weaken the truth that God was in Christ. It helps us understand how the one invisible God revealed Himself and accomplished redemption through genuine humanity.

The humanity of Jesus Christ matters because many of His words and experiences can only be understood correctly when we recognise that He lived as a real man. He was born, grew, became hungry and thirsty, experienced weariness, felt sorrow and compassion, prayed, obeyed, suffered and died. These were not actions performed to create the appearance of humanity. They were genuine human experiences.

Scripture also speaks directly of His soul. As He approached His suffering, Jesus said, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful.” We should allow that statement to carry its natural force. Jesus experienced genuine human sorrow and distress.

At the same time, the genuine humanity of Jesus must not be defined by adding something Scripture does not require. Scripture does not require us to construct a separate created human spirit of human origin within Jesus Christ alongside the eternal Spirit of God.

Paul gives an important distinction when he speaks of Adam and Jesus Christ. The first Adam was made “a living soul,” while the last Adam was made “a quickening spirit.” The Spirit within the man Christ Jesus was God Himself, the eternal Spirit.

This distinction helps us preserve both truths without weakening either one. Jesus Christ possessed complete humanity: a real body, soul, mind, emotions, will, physical needs, development, suffering and human experience. Yet the divine Spirit dwelling within that genuine humanity was not another created human spirit. It was the Father, the eternal Spirit, the one true God Himself.

This also means that we must not reduce the Son to the physical body of Jesus. The Son is the complete and genuine human life of Jesus Christ through whom the one eternal God was revealed.

THE WORD WAS MADE FLESH

The foundation for understanding the genuine humanity of Jesus Christ is found in one of John’s clearest statements. The One who had been revealed as the Word truly entered human life.

John wrote in John 1:14:

“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”

John does not say that the Word appeared to be flesh. He does not describe an outward appearance of humanity or a temporary human disguise. He says plainly, “The Word was made flesh.” The humanity of Jesus Christ was therefore real.

The Humanity Was Not an Outward Appearance

The words “made flesh” must be allowed to carry their full meaning. Jesus Christ truly entered human existence. The life He lived among humanity was not God acting out the appearance of birth, growth, hunger, sorrow, suffering and death. Those experiences belonged to genuine human life.

This is important because it would be possible to affirm the Deity revealed in Jesus Christ so strongly that His humanity becomes weakened. If Jesus only appeared human, then His human experiences would no longer be genuine. His hunger would only look like hunger, His sorrow would only appear to be sorrow, and His suffering would become an outward display rather than something truly experienced.

Scripture does not present Jesus in this way. The Word was made flesh, and John then says that He “dwelt among us.” Jesus Christ entered the ordinary world of human life. He could be seen, heard and touched, and He lived among people as a real man experiencing the conditions of human existence.

The life was real because the humanity was real. At the same time, the expression “made flesh” must not be reduced to the idea that the Son was simply a physical body. Scripture presents the Son as the complete and genuine human life of Jesus Christ.

His humanity included far more than flesh in the narrow sense of bodily tissue. He possessed a real human body, soul, mind, emotions, will, physical needs, development, suffering and human experience. When John says that the Word was made flesh, he is describing the entrance of the Son into complete human life.

God Did Not Cease to Be Spirit

The statement “the Word was made flesh” does not mean that the eternal God ceased to be Spirit or became confined within a human body. God remained the eternal, invisible Spirit.

The previous Study Guides have established that God was in Christ and that the Father dwelt within Him. Those truths do not need to be proved again here, but they help us preserve the Scriptural balance. The humanity was real, and the God revealed through that humanity was real.

We should therefore avoid two opposite errors. We must not describe Jesus as an ordinary man separated from God, as though God remained elsewhere while Jesus represented Him from a distance. Neither should we describe His humanity as though it were only an outward shell worn by Deity.

Scripture teaches something far greater. The one invisible God revealed Himself through genuine human life. The human life did not replace God, and God did not make the human life unreal.

This is why the language of John is so important. He does not say that the Word simply entered a body. He says, “The Word was made flesh.” The revelation of God took place through genuine humanity.

“And Dwelt Among Us”

John writes as someone describing a reality experienced among people. The Word “dwelt among us.” Jesus Christ lived within human history, and His humanity was not distant, theoretical or symbolic. People encountered Him as a real man living a real human life.

John continues with the words “and we beheld his glory.” The glory of God was being revealed through a life that could actually be observed. The invisible God made Himself known through genuine human life without ceasing to be the eternal Spirit.

The humanity therefore matters. When Jesus later grew in wisdom and stature, that development was genuine. When He became hungry or weary, those physical needs were genuine. When He experienced sorrow, His emotion was genuine.

When He was tempted, His human experience was genuine, though He remained without sin. When He obeyed through suffering, that obedience belonged to real human life. When He died in the flesh, His death was real.

All of these truths rest upon the foundation John gives us here: “The Word was made flesh.” The humanity of Jesus Christ was not added as an appearance around Deity. It was the genuine human life through which the one eternal God revealed Himself.

This gives us the foundation for the next step. If the Word was truly made flesh, how did that human life enter the world? Scripture answers that Jesus Christ was “made of a woman” and “made like unto his brethren.”

Those statements take us even further into the reality of His complete humanity.

MADE OF A WOMAN – MADE LIKE UNTO HIS BRETHREN

John tells us that “the Word was made flesh.” Scripture then shows us how that genuine human life entered the world. Jesus Christ did not simply appear among humanity as a mature man. He was born into the human family.

Paul wrote in Galatians 4:4:

“But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,”

Paul’s words are simple and direct: “made of a woman.” Jesus Christ entered human history through genuine human birth.

Made of a Woman

The birth of Jesus was not an appearance of birth. He truly entered the human family through a woman and began His earthly life in the ordinary condition of human infancy. The Son did not arrive upon the earth already fully grown. He was conceived, born and passed through the stages of human life.

This matters because genuine humanity includes genuine entrance into human existence. Paul does not describe Jesus as One who only looked human or temporarily assumed a visible form. He says that He was “made of a woman.” The expression places Jesus Christ fully within human history.

He belonged to the human family, experienced human development and lived within the conditions of human life. The One through whom God revealed Himself therefore possessed genuine humanity from the beginning of His earthly life. His humanity was not something added later for a particular part of His ministry. He was genuinely human from birth.

At the same time, this genuine human birth does not mean that Jesus Christ was simply another ordinary man separated from God. The foundation already established remains: God was in Christ. Here, however, our concern is more specific. The manhood was real, and the Son entered human life through real birth.

He Partook of Flesh and Blood

The writer of Hebrews develops this truth even further.

The writer of Hebrews wrote in Hebrews 2:14-17:

“Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.”

The language could hardly be stronger. Human beings are “partakers of flesh and blood,” and concerning Jesus Christ the writer says, “he also himself likewise took part of the same.” Jesus did not remain outside the human condition while only appearing to share it. He truly partook of flesh and blood.

The words “also himself likewise” emphasise the reality of His participation. The humanity of Jesus Christ was therefore not symbolic, partial or incomplete. He shared genuine human flesh and blood.

He could hunger because His body was human. He could become weary because His body was human. He could suffer and die because His body was human. These experiences were possible because the Son truly entered human life.

Made Like Unto His Brethren

Hebrews then gives another important statement: “in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren.” Again, Scripture does not describe a distant divine figure appearing human from the outside. Jesus Christ was “made like unto his brethren.”

This does not mean that He shared human sinfulness, because Scripture clearly states that He was “without sin.” His likeness to humanity must therefore be understood as genuine participation in human life, not participation in sin.

He shared human birth, flesh and blood, physical needs and human development. He experienced emotion, temptation, obedience, suffering and death. Yet He remained holy.

Sin is not what makes humanity genuinely human. Jesus Christ shows us that complete humanity can exist without sin. His humanity was real precisely as Scripture describes it: He was like His brethren in human life while remaining without sin.

His Humanity Was Necessary

Hebrews also explains why this genuine humanity mattered. He was made like unto His brethren so that He might be “a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.” His humanity was not incidental to redemption.

He had to be truly man in order to suffer, obey and die in relation to humanity. He could not represent humanity through an appearance of human life. The birth, the flesh and blood, the suffering and the death all had to be real.

The man Christ Jesus truly entered the condition of those He came to redeem. This is why Scripture places such importance upon His being “made of a woman” and “made like unto his brethren.” These expressions establish that Jesus Christ belonged fully within human life.

Yet this complete humanity must remain joined to the truth already established concerning the Spirit within Him. He was not an independent man separated from God. The humanity was genuine, and God was in Christ.

The next section will therefore take this truth one step further by examining the direct biblical expression:

“the man Christ Jesus.”

THE MAN CHRIST JESUS

We have seen that Jesus Christ was made of a woman and made like unto His brethren. Scripture now gives us an expression that states His humanity with unmistakable directness.

Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 2:5:

“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;”

Paul does not hesitate to call Jesus “the man Christ Jesus.” This description is not a denial of the Deity revealed in Him. It establishes the reality of the humanity through which the one God made Himself known and accomplished redemption.

Scripture Calls Him a Man

The wording of Paul is important because it prevents us from treating the humanity of Jesus as secondary, symbolic or incomplete. Jesus Christ was not simply God appearing in the outward shape of a man. He was truly man.

The manhood of Jesus belonged to His actual existence in human history. He was born into the human family, possessed genuine flesh and blood, developed through the stages of human life and experienced the realities that belong to humanity. When Scripture speaks of “the man Christ Jesus,” it requires us to take His human life seriously.

His human body was real, and so were His mind, emotions, will, physical needs and human experiences. Scripture also speaks directly of His soul. All of these belong to the complete humanity of the man Christ Jesus.

At the same time, the Son must not be reduced to the physical body alone. The Son is the complete and genuine human life of Jesus Christ through whom the one eternal God was revealed.

The Mediator Is the Man Christ Jesus

Paul places the expression “the man Christ Jesus” directly within his teaching about mediation. He says there is “one God” and “one mediator between God and men,” and then identifies that mediator as “the man Christ Jesus.” His humanity is therefore essential to His mediatorial work.

A mediator stands in relation to those who need reconciliation. Jesus Christ could truly stand in relation to humanity because He was genuinely man. He did not represent human beings from outside the human condition. He entered it.

He was born as a man, lived as a man, obeyed as a man, suffered as a man and died in the flesh. This does not mean that Jesus was an independent man separated from God. The previous Study Guides have already established that God was in Christ. Here, however, Paul directs our attention specifically to the genuine man through whom that work was accomplished.

His humanity was not incidental to redemption. The writer of Hebrews expresses the same necessity when he says that “in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren.” Jesus Christ could not stand as the representative of humanity through an appearance of manhood. His relationship to humanity was real because His humanity was real.

The One who would reconcile, suffer and die truly shared the human condition of those He came to redeem. It was therefore as a genuine man that He fulfilled His mediatorial work.

His Humanity Was Complete

Calling Jesus “the man Christ Jesus” also helps us avoid the idea that His humanity consisted only of a body occupied by God. A human body by itself is not complete human life. Jesus Christ possessed genuine human experience in its fullness.

He thought, chose, loved, sorrowed, prayed, obeyed, suffered and responded within real human life. This is why Scripture can speak naturally of His growth, hunger, weariness, compassion, temptation, obedience and death. These statements do not need to be explained away in order to protect His Deity. They belong to His humanity.

Neither should these human experiences be used to divide the one God into separate divine persons. The man Christ Jesus lived genuinely before God, while the eternal Spirit dwelt within Him. Both truths must remain together: the humanity was genuine, and the indwelling God was genuine.

The Man Through Whom God Was Revealed

The title “the man Christ Jesus” therefore gives us an important foundation for the rest of this Study Guide. We are not examining a divine appearance that only looked human. We are examining the real human life of Jesus Christ.

His body could become tired, His mind could develop in wisdom, His emotions could be moved with compassion and sorrow, and His will could be exercised in obedience. His flesh could suffer, and His human life could be put to death. Yet through that genuine human life, the one invisible God was revealed.

This is why His humanity must never be weakened in an effort to affirm His Deity, and His Deity must never be weakened in an effort to affirm His humanity. Scripture preserves both. Paul says there is “one God,” and in the same verse he identifies the mediator as “the man Christ Jesus.”

The one God accomplished His saving purpose through genuine humanity. The next section will examine one of the most visible parts of that humanity: the real human body and physical life of Jesus Christ.

A REAL HUMAN BODY AND PHYSICAL LIFE

Scripture does not present the body of Jesus Christ as symbolic, imaginary or temporary in appearance. His body was genuinely human and experienced the physical needs and limitations that belong to human life. Jesus could be seen and touched, became hungry and thirsty, grew weary through physical exertion and needed sleep. These experiences do not weaken the revelation of God in Jesus Christ. They demonstrate the reality of the humanity through which God revealed Himself.

His Body Was Real

After His resurrection, Jesus directed His disciples to the physical reality of His body.

Jesus said in Luke 24:39:

“Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.”

Jesus deliberately distinguished His physical body from spirit. He told the disciples to look at His hands and feet and said, “handle me, and see.” His body could be seen and touched, and He said plainly that He had “flesh and bones.”

The body of Jesus Christ was therefore not an illusion or a spiritual appearance pretending to be physical. He possessed genuine human flesh, and that body belonged to the real human life of the man Christ Jesus.

At the same time, His complete humanity was more than the body alone. His genuine human life also included His soul, mind, emotions, will, development and human experience. Here, however, the physical body itself gives us unmistakable evidence that Jesus Christ truly entered human life.

He Experienced Hunger and Thirst

A genuine human body requires food and water.

Matthew wrote in Matthew 4:2:

“And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.”

Jesus genuinely experienced hunger. The eternal Spirit does not require food for survival, but the human body of Jesus did. After fasting, He experienced the physical need for food that belongs to genuine human life.

This was not an appearance of hunger designed to make Him look human. Matthew says plainly that He was “an hungred.” His physical need was real because His humanity was real.

John records the same physical reality concerning thirst.

John wrote in John 19:28:

“After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.”

The words are simple: “I thirst.” Jesus experienced genuine bodily thirst. Hunger and thirst belong to the physical condition of human life, and they show that Jesus did not live outside ordinary human need while only appearing to participate in it.

He possessed a body that required food and water. The physical life was real.

He Became Weary and Needed Rest

Jesus also experienced physical exhaustion.

John wrote in John 4:6:

“Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.”

Jesus had travelled and became “wearied with his journey.” His body experienced the limitation of human strength. The eternal Spirit does not become exhausted from walking, but the man Christ Jesus did.

His physical strength could be used, and His body required rest. John does not hide or explain away this weariness. He records it naturally because it belonged to the genuine human life of Jesus.

Mark gives another example.

Mark wrote in Mark 4:38:

“And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?”

Jesus slept. Sleep belongs to the ordinary physical need of the human body, and after activity and exertion the body requires rest. Scripture does not treat this as a contradiction of who Jesus Christ was. His need for sleep belonged to His humanity.

The fact that God was revealed through Him did not make His human body unreal. The humanity through which God made Himself known remained genuine in every physical respect.

Physical Limitation Does Not Diminish the Revelation of God

These passages help us maintain an important Scriptural balance. Jesus could become hungry, thirsty and weary, and He could sleep, without ceasing to be the One through whom God was revealed. Later, He could suffer physically and be put to death in the flesh.

None of these things diminish the Deity revealed through Him. They establish the reality of His humanity. If His physical needs were not real, then part of His humanity would be an appearance, and Scripture does not allow that conclusion.

Jesus Christ entered genuine human physical life. The hands through which He touched others were human hands, the feet that carried Him from place to place were human feet, and the body that became hungry, thirsty and weary was a human body. The voice through which He spoke was a human voice.

The humanity through which God revealed Himself could therefore be seen, heard and touched. This is why the physical life of Jesus matters. The invisible God did not reveal Himself through an unreal human form. He revealed Himself through genuine human life.

The next section will take us from His physical life to another equally important evidence of His humanity. Jesus did not remain unchanged through childhood as though He only appeared to develop. Scripture says:

“Jesus increased in wisdom and stature.”

HE GREW IN WISDOM AND STATURE

We have seen that Jesus Christ possessed a real human body and entered genuine physical life. Scripture also shows that His humanity developed through time. He did not simply appear among humanity with the outward form of maturity. He grew.

Luke wrote in Luke 2:52:

“And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.”

This statement is simple, but it is extremely important. Jesus increased in both wisdom and stature. His human development was real.

He Grew in Stature

The word stature points us to physical development. Jesus was born into the human family and passed through the ordinary stages of human growth. The body of the child developed towards maturity. This was not an appearance of growth while nothing actually changed.

His humanity unfolded through time. The eternal Spirit does not grow taller, pass through childhood or develop physically. God is eternal Spirit, yet the man Christ Jesus truly increased in stature.

This distinction helps us understand the Incarnation correctly. The fact that Jesus grew does not weaken the truth that God was in Christ. It shows that the humanity through which God was revealed was genuine.

The one God did not reveal Himself through a body that only looked human. He revealed Himself through a genuine human life that began in birth and developed towards maturity. Physical growth therefore belongs to the evidence that the Son was completely human.

He Increased in Wisdom

Luke also says that “Jesus increased in wisdom.” The eternal God does not need to become wiser. God does not begin with limited knowledge and then gain wisdom through the passing of time. Yet Scripture says that Jesus increased in wisdom.

The statement belongs to His genuine humanity. The man Christ Jesus experienced human development of mind and understanding. His human life was not fixed at one level from infancy onward. He developed as a genuine human being.

This does not mean that the Spirit within Him was developing into God or becoming more divine. The Spirit within the man Christ Jesus was the eternal Spirit of God Himself. The development belonged to the humanity.

This distinction allows Scripture to speak naturally about Jesus without forcing every human experience into the nature of the eternal Spirit. When Luke says that Jesus increased in wisdom, we do not need to explain the words away. We recognise who was growing: the man Christ Jesus.

Genuine Humanity Lived Through Time

Human life is experienced progressively. A child is born, grows physically, develops understanding and passes through different stages of life. Jesus Christ genuinely entered that human condition.

His human life was not placed outside time. He was born, grew and developed, and He later experienced hunger, weariness, sorrow, temptation, obedience, suffering and death. Each of these experiences took place within a real human life lived through time.

This helps us understand why Scripture can speak of Jesus in ways that would be inappropriate if every statement were applied directly to the eternal Spirit. The eternal Spirit does not increase in stature, grow in wisdom, become hungry or grow weary. The man Christ Jesus did.

The distinction is not between two Gods or two divine persons. It is between the eternal Spirit of God and the genuine humanity through which that God was revealed. The humanity developed, while the indwelling God remained eternal.

Growth Does Not Mean Sinfulness

Human development must not be confused with sinfulness or moral failure. Jesus could grow in wisdom without ever being sinful, and He could develop physically without there being anything morally wrong with an earlier stage of His life. Growth belongs naturally to genuine humanity.

Jesus therefore did not need to sin in order to prove that He was truly human. His humanity was genuine and holy. This becomes especially important when we later examine His temptation, because Scripture says that He was “tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”

His humanity was real without sin, and His development was genuine without failure in holiness.

The Man Christ Jesus Was Not an Appearance

Luke’s statement gives us powerful evidence: “Jesus increased in wisdom and stature.” That could only be said meaningfully of a genuine human life.

The Son was not simply a divine appearance moving through the stages of human existence without truly participating in them. He was born into human life and developed within it. His growth in stature was real, and His increase in wisdom was real.

This is another reason the genuine humanity of Jesus Christ must never be reduced to His body alone. Development involved the whole human life. The man Christ Jesus lived, grew and matured, while the Spirit within Him remained the eternal Spirit of God Himself.

Both truths remain together. His development belonged to genuine humanity, not to the eternal Spirit. Jesus Christ was truly man, and God was in Christ.

The next section will move from His development to another equally important part of genuine humanity: His soul, emotions and human experience.

A REAL SOUL, EMOTIONS AND HUMAN EXPERIENCE

We have seen that Jesus Christ possessed a real human body and passed through genuine human development. Scripture also shows that His humanity included real inward experience. He knew sorrow, grief, compassion and anguish, and Scripture speaks directly of His soul.

This is important because genuine humanity is more than physical flesh. Jesus did not simply possess a human body while every inward experience belonged only to the eternal Spirit. The Gospels present Him as a complete human life with real emotions, real responses and a real soul.

“My Soul Is Exceeding Sorrowful”

As Jesus approached His suffering and death, Matthew records the depth of His distress.

Matthew wrote in Matthew 26:37-38:

“And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.”

Jesus did not say that He only appeared sorrowful. Matthew says that He “began to be sorrowful and very heavy,” and Jesus Himself said, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful.” Scripture therefore speaks directly of the soul of Jesus Christ.

His humanity must not be reduced to a physical body, because Jesus Himself speaks of His soul and describes the sorrow He experienced. That sorrow was genuine. He knew the weight of the suffering that lay before Him, and His distress belonged to His real human experience.

At the same time, acknowledging His soul does not require us to construct a separate created human spirit of human origin within Him. Scripture speaks of His soul, while the Spirit within the man Christ Jesus was the eternal Spirit of God Himself. These truths are not contradictory. They preserve the complete humanity of Jesus Christ without dividing the Spirit within Him from the one eternal God.

Jesus Wept

The Gospels also record His grief openly.

John wrote in John 11:33-35:

“When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept.”

The brief statement “Jesus wept” carries great weight. His tears were not an acted demonstration designed to make Him appear compassionate. He was genuinely moved by the sorrow around Him.

John also says that Jesus “groaned in the spirit, and was troubled.” That language records the depth of His inward response, but it must not be isolated to create a separate doctrine of a created human spirit within Him. It belongs within the wider Scriptural testimony concerning His complete humanity and the eternal Spirit of God dwelling within Him.

The scene at Lazarus’ tomb therefore reveals real human grief. Jesus encountered suffering, saw people mourning and responded with genuine emotion. His humanity was not emotionally distant or untouched by the world around Him.

He Was Moved With Compassion

The emotions of Jesus were not limited to sorrow over death. Scripture repeatedly records His compassion towards people in need.

Matthew wrote in Matthew 9:36:

“But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.”

Jesus was “moved with compassion.” Compassion involves a genuine response to the condition of another person. Jesus saw the multitudes, recognised their need and was inwardly moved.

This compassion belonged to His genuine human experience. Yet because God was in Christ, the compassion expressed through that human life also revealed the heart of the God who dwelt within Him. We do not need to choose between real human emotion and the revelation of God. The emotion was genuinely human, and through that genuine human response the character of the invisible God was made known.

Real emotion is not a defect in humanity. Sorrow, grief and compassion do not make a person less holy, and the presence of strong feeling does not imply sin. Jesus could experience deep anguish while remaining completely obedient to God.

This is especially important because some descriptions of strength can make emotion sound like weakness. Scripture does not present Jesus that way. His tears, compassion and sorrow belong to the perfection of His human life, not to a failure within it.

His emotions were therefore neither uncontrolled passions nor empty displays. They were genuine responses within a holy human life. Jesus could be deeply moved while remaining entirely faithful to God.

He Wept Over Jerusalem

Luke records another occasion when Jesus wept.

Luke wrote in Luke 19:41:

“And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,”

Again, His emotion was not artificial. His sorrow was connected with what He saw and understood concerning the people before Him. The Gospels therefore present a man whose humanity included deep feeling.

He could rejoice, show compassion, experience grief, be troubled and weep. These experiences were not evidence that God was absent from Him. They were evidence that the humanity through which God was revealed was real.

Complete Humanity Includes Inward Experience

The humanity of Jesus Christ must therefore be understood as complete human life. He possessed a real body, but He was not only a body. He possessed a mind and will, experienced emotion, and Scripture speaks directly of His soul.

He experienced sorrow, grief, compassion, distress and the inward responses of genuine human life. This is why the Son must never be reduced to the physical body alone. The Son is the complete and genuine human life of Jesus Christ through whom the one eternal God was revealed.

Neither should these human experiences be transferred directly to the eternal Spirit as though God in His eternal nature became limited, distressed or subject to human weakness. The experiences belong to the man Christ Jesus. The humanity was real, the emotions were real, and the soul was real.

The Spirit dwelling within Him was the eternal Spirit of God Himself. This Scriptural balance allows the Gospel record to speak naturally. We do not have to explain away the tears of Jesus, His sorrow, His compassion or His inward distress, because they belong to the complete humanity Scripture presents.

The next section will examine another important part of that genuine human experience. Jesus Christ did not only feel sorrow and compassion. He was also “tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”

TEMPTED YET WITHOUT SIN

We have seen that Jesus Christ experienced genuine human emotion, sorrow and distress. Scripture also teaches that His humanity included another reality common to human experience: temptation.

The writer of Hebrews wrote in Hebrews 4:15:

“For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”

This verse holds two truths together. Jesus was genuinely tempted, and Jesus was completely without sin. Neither truth should be weakened.

He Was Tempted Like as We Are

The writer of Hebrews does not present the temptation of Jesus as an appearance. He says that He “was in all points tempted like as we are.” Temptation therefore belonged to the genuine human experience of the man Christ Jesus.

This is important because genuine humanity does not mean living outside every pressure, trial or testing that human beings experience. Jesus truly entered human life. He knew hunger, weariness, sorrow and suffering, and Scripture also says that He knew temptation.

The fact that He was tempted does not mean that He possessed sin. Temptation and sin are not the same thing. A person may be confronted with temptation without yielding to it. The temptation presents the opportunity for disobedience, but sin takes place when that temptation is accepted and acted upon.

Jesus experienced the testing, but He did not yield. His humanity was therefore real without being sinful. He faced the reality of temptation without allowing temptation to govern His will or conduct.

This helps us avoid a serious mistake. We must not assume that sin is necessary in order for humanity to be genuine. Sin does not define true humanity. Jesus Christ was fully human and yet remained holy.

His temptation proves the reality of His human experience, while His sinlessness proves the perfection of that humanity.

“Touched With the Feeling of Our Infirmities”

Hebrews also says that Jesus can be “touched with the feeling of our infirmities.” The writer is not describing a distant figure who cannot understand the pressures of human life. Jesus Christ entered genuine human experience.

He knew physical weakness, weariness, sorrow, suffering and temptation. Because His humanity was real, His experience of these things was real. This does not mean that He experienced sinful failure, because the verse immediately protects that truth with the words “yet without sin.”

His sympathy with human weakness is therefore not based upon sharing human sinfulness. It is based upon having genuinely lived within human limitation and testing while remaining completely obedient. The holiness of Jesus does not make His humanity less real. It reveals humanity without sin.

Temptation Did Not Produce Sin

The final words of Hebrews 4:15 must remain just as strong as the first part: “yet without sin.” Jesus was not sometimes sinful and later victorious. Neither was He inwardly corrupted while outwardly appearing obedient. Scripture states plainly that He was without sin.

The humanity of Jesus Christ was therefore genuine and holy. This distinction matters because some may imagine that a person cannot truly understand temptation unless that person has sinned. Scripture does not say that.

Jesus experienced temptation without ever becoming sinful. In fact, yielding to temptation ends the resistance. Jesus endured the testing without surrendering to it. His victory does not lessen the reality of the temptation. It shows the completeness of His obedience.

The man Christ Jesus passed through genuine human testing and remained faithful.

His Sinlessness Does Not Make Him Less Human

We should also be careful not to define humanity by the fallen condition of humanity. Human beings are familiar with sin because sin has become part of human experience, but sin is not what makes a human being human.

Jesus Christ demonstrates this clearly. He possessed a real human body, experienced human development, possessed a real soul and knew genuine emotion. He experienced hunger, weariness, sorrow and temptation, yet He remained without sin.

His humanity lacked nothing because sin was absent. Rather, His life shows genuine humanity lived in complete obedience to God. This is essential to the way we understand the Son.

The Son was not a divine being pretending to face temptation. Neither was He an ordinary sinful man who gradually overcame corruption. He was the man Christ Jesus, genuinely tempted and completely without sin.

Genuine Temptation and Perfect Obedience

The temptation of Jesus prepares us for the next part of His human experience. Temptation places obedience under testing. Jesus did not obey in a world where obedience cost nothing. He obeyed within genuine human conditions that included pressure, suffering and testing.

His obedience was therefore not theoretical. It was lived. This is why Scripture can later say that He “learned he obedience by the things which he suffered.”

That statement does not mean that Jesus moved from disobedience to obedience. It means that the man Christ Jesus experienced obedience through the actual circumstances in which obedience had to be lived. Hebrews 4:15 gives us the foundation for understanding that truth.

He was tempted and tested, and He experienced genuine human weakness and pressure. Yet He was “without sin.” Both sides of the verse must remain together.

If we deny the reality of the temptation, we weaken His humanity. If we weaken the words “without sin,” we contradict Scripture. Jesus Christ was truly man, and His temptation, holiness and obedience were all real.

The next section will examine how that obedience was experienced through suffering. Scripture says:

“Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered.”

HE LEARNED OBEDIENCE THROUGH SUFFERING

We have seen that Jesus Christ was genuinely tempted and yet remained without sin. Scripture now takes us further into His human experience by showing that His obedience was lived through real suffering.

The writer of Hebrews wrote in Hebrews 5:8:

“Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;”

These words must be understood carefully. Scripture does not say that Jesus moved from disobedience to obedience. The point is that the man Christ Jesus experienced obedience through the actual circumstances in which obedience had to be lived.

Obedience Was Experienced in Real Human Life

The eternal Spirit does not need to learn obedience. God is not placed under authority, tested by circumstances or gradually taught how to obey. Yet the man Christ Jesus truly lived within human conditions.

He faced pressure, suffering, temptation, weakness and sorrow. Within those real human circumstances, He obeyed. This is what gives force to the words “learned he obedience by the things which he suffered.”

The learning was not the correction of sinful behaviour. It was the lived experience of obedience through suffering. There is a difference between knowing what obedience is and experiencing obedience when it costs something, and Jesus Christ entered that experience fully.

His obedience was not theoretical. It was expressed through actual human circumstances. His humanity was therefore not a passive shell through which God acted while the man Himself experienced nothing. Jesus Christ genuinely lived, chose, obeyed and suffered as man.

He Became Obedient Unto Death

Paul gives the same truth in another passage.

Paul wrote in Philippians 2:7-8:

“But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”

Paul connects obedience directly with the genuine humanity of Jesus. He was “made in the likeness of men” and “found in fashion as a man.” Paul then says that “he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death.”

The obedience belonged to the man Christ Jesus. He did not face suffering as an untouched observer. He experienced what obedience required within genuine human life and continued faithfully even when that obedience led to death.

This does not mean that His will was sinful and had to be conquered. It means that His human obedience was real. He lived in submission to God through circumstances that involved suffering, weakness and ultimately death.

Paul’s words also show that obedience continued to its furthest earthly cost. Jesus did not obey only while the path was easy. The same human life that obeyed in ordinary circumstances remained fully obedient when suffering intensified and death itself lay before Him.

Suffering Made the Obedience Real in Experience

Hebrews joins obedience and suffering together for a reason. Jesus did not learn obedience in comfort alone. He learned it “by the things which he suffered.”

Suffering placed obedience within real conditions. The man Christ Jesus knew what it meant to continue faithfully when obedience was costly. His faithfulness was expressed while He was rejected, tested, opposed and brought to suffering.

This is another evidence of genuine humanity. If His suffering were only an appearance, then the obedience connected with that suffering would also lose its reality. Scripture presents both as real: the suffering was real, the obedience was real, and the humanity was real.

This helps us understand why the Gospel record speaks so naturally of the prayers, sorrow, temptation and obedience of Jesus. These things do not divide God into separate divine persons. They show the genuine human life through which the one God was revealed.

The Eternal Spirit Did Not Learn Obedience

This distinction must remain clear. The words “learned he obedience” must not be applied directly to the eternal Spirit as though God Himself needed instruction or development. The eternal Spirit is God, while the man Christ Jesus lived through human circumstances and experienced obedience through them.

This is the same distinction we have already seen in His growth and physical life. Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, became hungry and weary, and experienced sorrow and temptation. The eternal Spirit did not become subject to those human limitations.

In the same way, Jesus learned obedience through suffering because the genuine human life of the Son was lived through real experience. The divine Spirit within Him remained the eternal Spirit of God Himself.

Perfect Obedience Within Genuine Humanity

The obedience of Jesus therefore shows us something important about His humanity. Genuine humanity does not require rebellion against God. Jesus was truly human and perfectly obedient.

He was tempted without sin, suffered without turning from God, and experienced the cost of obedience without becoming disobedient. His human life remained faithful through every circumstance.

This preserves the balance of Scripture. We do not weaken His humanity by saying that He never sinned, and we do not weaken His holiness by saying that His obedience was genuinely tested. Both are true.

The words of Hebrews should therefore stand with their full force: “Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered.” The Son lived real human obedience through real human suffering.

That suffering would ultimately reach its fullest physical expression in death. The next section will therefore examine another essential evidence of His genuine humanity: Jesus Christ was “put to death in the flesh.”

HE SUFFERED AND DIED IN THE FLESH

The obedience of Jesus Christ ultimately led Him into suffering and death. Scripture does not describe that death as an appearance or symbolic event. The man Christ Jesus truly suffered, and His genuine human life was truly put to death.

Peter wrote in 1 Peter 3:18:

“For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:”

Peter carefully identifies where the death took place when he says that Christ was “put to death in the flesh.” Those words are essential to understanding both the genuine humanity of Jesus Christ and the eternal nature of the Spirit who dwelt within Him.

The Suffering Was Real

Jesus Christ did not pass through suffering untouched by it. His body could experience pain, His soul could experience sorrow, and He could feel distress, weakness and suffering. These experiences belonged to the genuine human life of the Son.

If the humanity of Jesus had only been an outward appearance, then His suffering would also have been an appearance. Scripture presents neither His humanity nor His suffering in that way. Peter says that “Christ also hath once suffered for sins.” The suffering was real because the man was real.

This agrees with everything we have already seen. The same Jesus who became hungry and weary, who wept, who experienced temptation and who learned obedience through suffering could also experience the physical pain that led to death. His suffering therefore belongs within the same consistent Scriptural testimony concerning His genuine humanity.

“Put to Death in the Flesh”

Peter then gives the clearest statement: “being put to death in the flesh.” The man Christ Jesus truly died. His death was not symbolic, nor was it simply the appearance of death while no genuine human life was lost.

The flesh that had been born, grown, hungered, become weary and suffered was truly put to death. This is why the genuine humanity of Jesus Christ was essential to His saving work. Death belongs to mortal human life, and Jesus could truly die because He had truly entered that human condition.

The writer of Hebrews had already said that the children are “partakers of flesh and blood” and that Jesus “also himself likewise took part of the same.” His participation in flesh and blood made genuine death possible. He did not represent humanity from outside the human condition. He entered it, shared flesh and blood, suffered and died.

The Eternal Spirit Remained Immortal

At the same time, Scripture gives us another truth that must remain equally clear.

Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 1:17:

“Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

God in His eternal Spirit nature is “immortal.” The eternal Spirit cannot cease to exist. Therefore, when Peter says that Christ was “put to death in the flesh,” we must preserve the distinction Scripture itself gives us.

The genuine humanity of Jesus Christ could die, while the eternal Spirit remained God. This does not divide Jesus Christ into two separate persons, nor does it make His death unreal. It allows Scripture to speak exactly as it does.

The Son was the complete and genuine human life of Jesus Christ. That human life was truly put to death. The Spirit within the man Christ Jesus was the eternal Spirit of God Himself, and God in His eternal nature remained immortal.

God Did Not Cease to Exist

The death of Jesus Christ must therefore never be explained as though the eternal God ceased to exist. God did not stop being God at Calvary, and the eternal Spirit did not pass out of existence. Peter does not say that God in His eternal Spirit nature died. He says that Christ was “put to death in the flesh.”

This distinction protects both the reality of His death and the eternal nature of God. If we deny the reality of the death, we weaken the humanity. If we say that the eternal Spirit ceased to exist, we deny the immortality of God. Scripture requires neither conclusion.

The man Christ Jesus truly died in the flesh, while the eternal Spirit remained God.

His Humanity Was Necessary for Redemption

The reality of His death also shows why His genuine humanity was necessary. Jesus had to enter human life in order to suffer and die in relation to humanity.

The writer of Hebrews wrote in Hebrews 2:17:

“Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.”

He had to be “made like unto his brethren.” His humanity was therefore not an incidental part of redemption. Because He was genuinely man, He could truly obey, truly suffer and truly die.

The saving work was accomplished through real human life. The humanity through which God revealed Himself was also the humanity through which suffering and death were experienced. This allows us to hold the whole Scriptural testimony together.

Jesus Christ was truly man. His suffering was real, His death was real, and He was “put to death in the flesh.” Yet God in His eternal Spirit nature remained immortal. The humanity was real, and the indwelling God was real.

This brings us to the next major question in this Study Guide. If Jesus Christ possessed complete humanity, who was the Spirit within the man Christ Jesus? Scripture gives a clear answer: The Spirit within Him was the eternal Spirit of God Himself.

THE SPIRIT WITHIN HIM WAS THE ETERNAL SPIRIT OF GOD

We have established that Jesus Christ possessed complete and genuine humanity. His body was real, His soul was real, His emotions and human experiences were real, and He could suffer and die in the flesh. We must now identify the Spirit who dwelt within that genuine human life.

This point is essential. Scripture does not require us to construct a separate created human spirit of human origin within Jesus Christ alongside the Spirit of God. The divine Spirit within the man Christ Jesus was the eternal Spirit of God Himself.

The Father Dwelt Within Him

Jesus identified the divine One dwelling within Him.

Jesus said in John 14:10:

“Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.”

Jesus does not describe the Father as remaining outside Him while another divine Spirit occupied the man Christ Jesus. He says plainly, “the Father that dwelleth in me.” The Father is the eternal Spirit. Therefore, the Spirit dwelling within the genuine humanity of Jesus Christ was the Father, the one true God Himself.

This truth must remain joined to everything we have already established concerning His humanity. The Father dwelling within Him did not make His body, soul, mind, emotions, will or human experience unreal. The humanity remained complete and genuine.

At the same time, His genuine humanity does not require us to place another created human spirit beside the eternal Spirit of God. The man Christ Jesus was real, and the Father dwelling within Him was real. Both truths belong together.

God Was in Christ

Paul expresses the same truth directly.

Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:19:

“To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.”

Paul does not say that God simply worked near Christ, assisted Him from a distance or placed one part of Himself within Him. He says, “God was in Christ.” This statement identifies the divine presence within Jesus Christ.

Because God is Spirit, the Spirit within the man Christ Jesus was not another created spirit existing alongside God. The divine Spirit within Him was God Himself. This helps us understand why Scripture can speak so naturally about the genuine human experiences of Jesus without dividing God into separate divine persons.

The man Christ Jesus could grow in wisdom, hunger, thirst, become weary, experience sorrow, be tempted without sin, learn obedience through suffering and be put to death in the flesh. These experiences belonged to His genuine humanity. The eternal Spirit within Him remained God.

All the Fulness of Deity Dwelt in Him

Paul makes the divine indwelling even stronger when he describes the fulness present in Jesus Christ.

Paul wrote in Colossians 2:9:

“For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.”

Paul does not say that a limited measure of Deity dwelt within Jesus Christ. He says “all the fulness.” The word translated Godhead speaks of Deity, so all the fulness of Deity dwelt bodily in Jesus Christ.

This means that the divine Spirit within Him was not a lesser spiritual life or a created spiritual component added to His humanity. The one true God dwelt within Him in fulness. The body was genuinely human, the human life was complete, and the indwelling Spirit was the eternal God.

These truths must never be set against one another. We must not weaken the humanity in order to affirm the Deity. Neither must we weaken the Deity by constructing a created human spirit of human origin as though the eternal Spirit of God were only one spiritual presence among others within Jesus Christ.

The Scriptural testimony is direct. The Father dwelt in Him, God was in Christ, and all the fulness of Deity dwelt bodily in Him. The Spirit within the man Christ Jesus was therefore the eternal Spirit of God Himself.

The Eternal Spirit Was Not Limited by the Human Body

The genuine human body of Jesus had real physical limitations. It could become tired, experience hunger, suffer pain and be present bodily in one place at a time. The eternal Spirit dwelling within Him was not subject to those physical limitations.

God did not cease to fill heaven and earth because He dwelt in Christ. The one omnipresent God was fully present and revealed in Jesus Christ without being confined to the dimensions or limitations of His human body. The limitations belonged to the humanity, not to the eternal Spirit.

When Jesus became weary, the eternal Spirit did not become exhausted. When Jesus was hungry, God did not cease to be self-sufficient. When Jesus suffered physically, the eternal Spirit did not become a mortal physical being. When Jesus was put to death in the flesh, the eternal God did not cease to exist.

The humanity was subject to the conditions of genuine human life, while the Spirit within Him remained the eternal God. This is another reason the Incarnation must be understood without confusing the humanity with the eternal Spirit and without dividing them into different divine persons.

The Son Is More Than a Human Body

If we say that the Spirit within Jesus was the eternal Spirit of God, we must not then reduce the Son to the physical body alone. The Son is the complete and genuine human life of Jesus Christ.

His humanity included His body, soul, mind, emotions, will, physical needs, development, suffering and human experience. The Son lived a real human life before God.

The distinction is therefore not between an eternal divine person called the Father and another eternal divine person called the Son. The Father is the eternal Spirit, while the Son is the genuine human life through whom that one eternal God was revealed.

This is why Scripture can record Jesus praying, obeying, suffering, being tempted and dying without requiring us to divide the one God. Those experiences belong to the genuine humanity of the Son. The same Jesus could say, “the Father that dwelleth in me.”

The distinction is real, but it is not a division of God into separate divine beings. It is the Scriptural distinction between the eternal Spirit and the genuine humanity through which that Spirit was revealed.

The Humanity Was Real – The Indwelling God Was Real

We can therefore hold the Scriptural balance without weakening either truth. Jesus Christ was genuinely human, possessing a real body, soul, mind, emotions, will, physical needs, development and human experience. He experienced temptation, obedience and suffering, and He died in the flesh.

Yet the Spirit within that genuine man was not a created human spirit of human origin. The Spirit within Him was the Father, the eternal Spirit, the one true God Himself.

This is what allows us to understand Jesus Christ without reducing Him either to an ordinary man separated from God or to Deity only appearing to be human. The humanity was not an illusion, and the indwelling God was not partial.

Jesus Christ was truly man, and God was in Christ. The next section will examine one of the most important Scriptural statements for preserving this distinction. Paul contrasts the first Adam with Jesus Christ and says:

“The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.”

THE LAST ADAM – A QUICKENING SPIRIT

We have established that Jesus Christ possessed complete and genuine humanity while the Spirit within Him was the eternal Spirit of God Himself. Paul gives us an important statement that helps preserve this distinction.

Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:45:

“And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.”

Paul deliberately contrasts the first Adam with Jesus Christ. The first Adam was “made a living soul,” while the last Adam was “made a quickening spirit.” These words must be allowed to stand with their full Scriptural force.

The First Adam Was Made a Living Soul

Paul begins with Adam and says, “The first man Adam was made a living soul.” This language agrees with the biblical account of humanity. Adam was a created man who received life from God, and his life was human life.

Paul uses Adam as the first side of the contrast. The important point for this Study Guide is not to develop everything Scripture teaches concerning Adam, but to recognise the distinction Paul himself establishes between the first Adam and the last Adam.

The first Adam is described as “a living soul.” The last Adam is described differently. Paul does not repeat the same expression. He says, “the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.” That difference is significant.

The Last Adam Was Made a Quickening Spirit

Jesus Christ is identified here as “the last Adam,” and Paul says that the last Adam was “made a quickening spirit.” The word quickening carries the thought of giving life.

The contrast is therefore powerful. The first Adam was a living soul, while the last Adam is described as a life-giving Spirit. This statement must remain in harmony with everything Scripture has already established concerning Jesus Christ.

Jesus possessed genuine humanity. Scripture speaks directly of His soul. His body was real, and His mind, will, emotions and human experience were real. Yet Paul does not require us to add a separate created human spirit of human origin within Him.

Instead, he says, “the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.” The Spirit within the man Christ Jesus was the eternal Spirit of God Himself.

Scripture Speaks of His Soul

This distinction does not remove or weaken the soul of Jesus Christ. Jesus Himself said, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful.” We must preserve that testimony.

His soul, sorrow and distress were real, and His humanity was complete. Therefore, the correct conclusion is not that Jesus lacked a soul because He is called a quickening Spirit.

Neither is the correct conclusion that His humanity consisted of body, soul and a separate created human spirit alongside the eternal Spirit of God. Scripture gives us a different pattern.

The man Christ Jesus possessed genuine human life, including His soul, while the Spirit within Him was the eternal Spirit of God. This is why the language of 1 Corinthians 15:45 is so important. Paul does not describe the last Adam as another created human spirit. He identifies Him as “a quickening spirit.”

The Spirit Was Not of Human Origin

If we create a separate human spirit within Jesus Christ, we introduce something that this passage does not require. The Spirit within Him was not produced by human generation, nor was it a created spiritual component added alongside the Spirit of God.

The Spirit within the man Christ Jesus was God Himself. This agrees with the wider testimony already established. Jesus said, “the Father that dwelleth in me.” Paul said, “God was in Christ,” and he declared that all the fulness of Deity dwelt bodily in Him.

These statements identify the divine Spirit within Jesus Christ. The Father, the eternal Spirit, was not standing outside the man Christ Jesus while another created human spirit occupied the human life. God Himself dwelt within Him.

This is what distinguishes the man Christ Jesus from ordinary human life. The humanity was completely genuine, but the Spirit within that humanity was the eternal Spirit of God Himself.

“Quickening” Points to Life

Paul does not call the last Adam simply a spirit. He calls Him “a quickening spirit.” The emphasis is upon life.

The first Adam received life, while the last Adam gives life. This fits the larger revelation of Jesus Christ as the One in whom divine life is manifested and through whom life is given.

The expression therefore points beyond the existence of the man Christ Jesus to the life-giving nature of the Spirit within Him. The Spirit was not a created human spirit possessing only the life of a man. The Spirit was the eternal life-giving Spirit of God.

This does not make the humanity unreal. It explains the unique identity of the One living within that genuine humanity.

Both Truths Must Remain Together

We must therefore resist two opposite errors. We must not deny the genuine humanity of Jesus Christ by treating Him only as Spirit. He was truly man, possessing flesh and blood and a real soul. He grew, hungered, became weary, experienced sorrow, was tempted, obeyed, suffered and died in the flesh.

Neither must we add to that humanity a separate created human spirit of human origin and place it beside the eternal Spirit of God. Paul gives us the controlling distinction: “The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.”

The humanity of Jesus Christ was complete, and the Spirit within Him was the eternal Spirit of God. The last Adam is therefore not simply another man possessing life in the same way as the first Adam. He is “a quickening spirit.”

This truth prepares us for the final major section of this Study Guide. If the one eternal God dwelt within genuine humanity, how was that God made known through the actual human life of Jesus Christ? Scripture shows that God was revealed through His words, His works and His character.

GOD REVEALED THROUGH GENUINE HUMAN WORDS, WORKS AND CHARACTER

We have established that Jesus Christ possessed complete and genuine humanity and that the Spirit within Him was the eternal Spirit of God Himself. We can now bring those truths together and consider how the invisible God was actually made known through that human life.

The humanity of Jesus did not hide God. It became the genuine human life through which God was seen, heard and known.

God Was Revealed Through His Words

Jesus explained the source of the words He spoke.

Jesus said in John 12:49-50:

“For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.”

The voice speaking was a genuine human voice. Jesus possessed a real human mind and lived a genuine human life, yet He spoke in complete dependence upon the Father who dwelt within Him. His words therefore revealed the truth of the invisible God.

Jesus was not simply a teacher who learned information about God and then passed that information to others. The Father dwelt within Him, and Jesus said that what He spoke came from the Father. The human voice was real, and the divine truth expressed through that voice was real.

God made Himself known through genuine human speech.

God Was Revealed Through His Works

Jesus also explained the source of His works.

Jesus said in John 14:10:

“Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.”

The works of Jesus were carried out through genuine human actions. The hands that touched the sick were human hands, the feet that carried Him among the people were human feet, and the voice that spoke was a human voice. Yet Jesus said, “the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.”

The power therefore did not come from an independent man acting apart from God. The works revealed the one God dwelling within and working through the man Christ Jesus. His humanity did not prevent God from being revealed. It became the visible human life through which the invisible God made His power known.

When Jesus healed, the power of God was revealed. When He delivered those who were oppressed, the authority of God was revealed. When He responded to human need, the compassion of God was revealed.

The actions were genuinely human, while the God working through that genuine humanity was the eternal Spirit.

God Was Revealed Through His Character

God was revealed not only through what Jesus said and did, but also through the character expressed in His human life. Jesus showed compassion, mercy, love, holiness, service and obedience. These were genuine expressions within His human life.

Jesus had already said, “the Father that dwelleth in me.” The character expressed through His genuine humanity therefore revealed the character of the God who dwelt within Him. His humanity was real, yet through that humanity the invisible God was being made known.

Matthew gives a clear example of His compassion.

Matthew wrote in Matthew 9:36:

“But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.”

Jesus was genuinely “moved with compassion.” The emotion was human and real. Yet through that genuine human compassion, the heart of the invisible God was being revealed.

God was not distant from human suffering. His compassion became visible in Jesus Christ. The same was true of mercy, service and love. When Jesus responded with mercy, served others and loved people, the character of God was made known through genuine human life.

Jesus Did Not Copy God From the Outside

There is an important distinction here. Jesus did not observe God from a distance and then attempt to reproduce God’s character through external imitation. The Father dwelt within Him.

Paul says, “God was in Christ.” The life of Jesus was therefore not an external copy of God. It was the genuine human expression of the God who was present within Him.

This is why His humanity must remain completely real. His eyes were human, His voice was human, His hands were human, and His emotions were human. His thoughts, choices and actions belonged to genuine human life.

Yet through that complete human life, the invisible God made Himself known. The humanity was not competing with the Deity. The humanity was the genuine life through which the indwelling God was revealed.

This brings the central truth of this Study Guide into clear focus. Jesus Christ was truly man. His birth, body, growth, soul, emotions, temptation, obedience, suffering and death were all genuine.

Yet the Spirit within Him was the eternal Spirit of God Himself. The one invisible God therefore made His truth known through the words of Jesus, His power known through the works of Jesus, and His character known through the life of Jesus.

The humanity was completely real, and through that genuine humanity God was truly revealed.

God's Life and Light Revealed Through Genuine Humanity

The previous section has shown how the character and love of God were expressed through the genuine human life of Jesus Christ. The same principle applies to the life and light of God.

John wrote in 1 John 1:2:

“(For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)”

John says that “the life was manifested.” The eternal life belonging to the invisible God was made known through Jesus Christ in a life that could be seen, heard and touched. The life was genuinely human, yet through that human life the eternal life of God was revealed.

John also wrote in 1 John 1:5:

“This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.”

Jesus declared in John 8:12:

“Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”

John says that “God is light,” and Jesus says, “I am the light of the world.” The holiness, truth and purity of the invisible God were therefore made known through the visible human life of Jesus Christ. His humanity did not produce another light beside God. It was the genuine human life through which the God who is light revealed Himself.

Jesus brought these truths together in John 14:6:

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

Jesus did not simply point towards life or teach truth from a distance. The Father dwelt within Him, and God was in Christ. The life and truth belonging to the one invisible God were revealed through the man Christ Jesus.

The life, light, truth and character of God were expressed through the complete and genuine humanity of Jesus Christ.

The human life was real, and the God revealed through that human life was real. The one invisible God made His life, light and truth known through the genuine human life of Jesus Christ.

CONCLUSION: GENUINE HUMANITY – INDWELLING DEITY

This Study Guide has examined one central truth: Jesus Christ was truly and completely human, while the Spirit dwelling within Him was the eternal Spirit of God Himself. Both truths must remain together if we are to understand the Scriptural testimony concerning Him.

Jesus Christ did not simply appear to be human. He was made flesh, born of a woman and made like unto His brethren. Scripture calls Him “the man Christ Jesus.” He possessed a real human body, experienced physical need and limitation, grew in wisdom and stature, and lived a genuine human life through time.

His humanity also included real inward experience. Jesus spoke of His soul, experienced sorrow and compassion, wept, faced temptation and remained without sin. He learned obedience through the things which He suffered and was ultimately “put to death in the flesh.” None of these experiences were appearances. They belonged to the complete humanity of the Son.

At the same time, Scripture does not require us to construct a separate created human spirit of human origin within Jesus Christ. Paul contrasts the first Adam, who was made “a living soul,” with the last Adam, who was made “a quickening spirit.” The Spirit within the man Christ Jesus was the eternal Spirit of God.

Jesus identified that indwelling Spirit when He said, “the Father that dwelleth in me.” Paul confirmed the same truth when he wrote, “God was in Christ.” He also declared that “all the fulness of the Godhead” dwelt bodily in Him. The humanity was real, and the indwelling God was real.

This explains why the human experiences of Jesus do not require us to divide the one God into separate divine persons. His hunger, weariness, sorrow, temptation, obedience, suffering and death belonged to genuine humanity. The Father who dwelt within Him remained the eternal Spirit.

Through that genuine human life, the invisible God was made known. The words of Jesus revealed the truth of God, His works revealed the power of God, and His compassion, mercy, holiness and love revealed the character of God. His humanity did not hide the Father. It was the genuine human life through which the Father was revealed.

We therefore do not need to weaken His humanity in order to affirm His Deity, nor weaken His Deity in order to affirm His humanity. Jesus Christ was genuinely man, and the Father dwelling within Him was the eternal Spirit.

The Son was the complete and genuine human life through whom the one true God revealed Himself fully and personally to the human family. This is the Scriptural balance we must preserve: genuine humanity and indwelling Deity – Jesus Christ truly man, and God in Christ.

SUBMISSION TO COGMA FOR APPRAISAL

Instructions