By Gary Ray Branscome
One of Satan’s first
attacks on Christianity was a denial of Christ’s humanity. Those who held that
heresy acknowledged that Christ was God, but claimed that He was a phantom
person who did not have a body of flesh and blood. However, if Christ did not
have blood, then His blood could never cleanse “us from all sin” (1John 1:7).
That heresy arose at the time of the Apostles, and the Bible condemns it. The
words, “Do not believe every spirit… because many false prophets have
gone out into the world… Every spirit who does not confess that Jesus
Christ has come in the flesh is not of God: and this is the spirit of the
antichrist,” tell us to regard those who deny Christ’s humanity as
antichrists (1John 4:1,3). The words, “Those who
know God accept what we say; those who are not of God will not accept what we
say,” tell us that those who deny Christ’s humanity are “not of God” (1John
4:6). That heresy is again condemned in the words, “Many deceivers have gone
out into the world, men who will not admit that Jesus Christ has come in the
flesh. Such is a deceiver and an antichrist. Beware of them, so that you
do not lose the things that we worked for, but receive your reward in full.
Whoever transgresses, and does not continue in the doctrine of Christ, does not
have God… Do not receive him into your house, or bid him God speed, for
he who bids him God speed is a partaker of his evil deeds” (2John 7-11).
That denial of Christ’s humanity was dangerous, and a
serious attack on the Gospel, because a phantom Christ could never feel pain,
and, therefore, could never truly suffer or die for our sins. The Muslim denial
that Christ died on the cross merits the same condemnation, for it also
undermines the Gospel.
Throughout history Satan has inspired a multitude of other
attacks on what the Bible says about Christ’s humanity. Some have denied that
Christ had a human soul, others that He had a human will, others have claimed
that He was not truly human, but brought His body from heaven. None of those
views come from the Bible, but are fantasies dreamed up by a heart
that is, “Deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked” (Jeremiah
17:9). That holds true for all of the other
stories invented to get around what the Bible says. Of such fantasies Dr. John
Theodore Mueller had this to say:
In whatever matter
Holy Scripture has definitely spoken the Christian theologian must suppress his
own views, opinions, and speculations and adhere unwaveringly to the divine
truths revealed in Holy Scripture. In no case is he permitted to inject into
the body of divine truth his own figments and fabrications,
and at no time must he allow his reason the prerogative of doubt, criticism, or
denial, but every thought must everywhere be brought into captivity to the
obedience of Christ, 2Corinthians 10:5. [Christian Dogmatics. (Page 39)]
In testifying to Christ’s humanity the Bible
ascribes to Him: a) manhood, b) human flesh, c)
human descent, d) human (though miraculous) conception in the
womb, e) human constituent parts, f) human emotions, g) human physical wants,
h) human suffering and death.
.
a) Manhood: The words, “There is one God,
and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,” say
that Christ is a man (1Timothy 2:5); as do the words, “But now you seek to
kill me, a man who has told you the truth” (John
b)
Human flesh: The words, “Since the children have flesh and blood, He
in the same way took on flesh and blood; so that through His death He might
destroy him who holds the power of death, that is, the devil,” tell us that
He had human flesh (Hebrews 2:14); as do the words, “Look at my hands and my
feet, and see that it is really me: handle me, and see; for a spirit does not
have flesh and bones, as you see me have” (Luke 24:39).
c)
Human descent: The words, “For they are Israelites… and of them as
concerning the flesh Christ came,” tell us that Christ was an Israelite “as
concerning the flesh” (Romans 9:4-5). The words, “The lineage of Jesus
Christ, the descendant of David, the descendant of Abraham,” say the same
thing (Matthew 1:1). When the Bible says, “The promises were made to Abraham
and his seed. God did not say, And to your seeds, as
referring to many; but, And to your seed, referring to one which is
Christ,” it is telling us that Christ was a descendant (seed) of Abraham
(Galatians
d)
Human (though miraculous)
conception: The words, “You will
conceive in your womb, and bring forth a son, and will name him JESUS,”
tell us that Mary conceived Christ in her Womb (Luke
e)
Human constituent parts: The words, “But He was speaking
of the temple of His body,” tell us that Christ has a body (John
f) Human emotions: The words,
“After looking around at them in anger,
being grieved because of the hardness of their hearts,” tell us that Jesus
felt anger and grief (Mark 3:5). And, the words, “Jesus… said to them, My soul is extremely sorrowful,” tell us that He
experienced sorrow (Mark
g) Human physical wants: The
words, “After fasting for forty days and
forty nights, He was hungry,” tell us that Jesus experienced hunger
(Matthew 4:2). The words, “Jesus,
knowing that all was now complete, said, I thirst,” tell us that Jesus
experienced thirst (John
h) Human suffering and death:
Because of His great suffering Jesus called out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). And,
the words, “Jesus said, It is finished:
and He bowed His head, and gave up the ghost,” tell us that Jesus died
(John
Over the centuries Satan
has inspired a multitude of heresies aimed at undermining what the Bible says
about Christ’s humanity. However, all of those heresies contradict something in
the Bible. For example, the claim that Christ brought His body with Him from
heaven not only contradicts all of the passages that tell us that Christ is the
descendant (seed) of Eve, Abraham, David and Mary, or “The Son of man” (Matthew
9:6), it also contradicts all of the passages that tell us Christ was conceived
by Mary (or a virgin). Isaiah wrote, “A virgin will conceive” (Isaiah
“Those who know God
accept what we [the inspired writers of Scripture] say,
those who are not of God will not accept what we say. That is how we can
distinguish the spirit of truth from the spirit of error” (1John 4:6).
Furthermore, because the
words, “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,” tell us that
Christ took our humanity (flesh and blood) upon Himself in order defeat Satan,
those who deny that He was truly human call into question the atonement. As it
is written, “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His
Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that
were under the law” (Gal4:4-5). “Surely He has taken on himself our
pains, and carried our sorrows: yet we regarded him as condemned, struck down
by God, and afflicted, but He was wounded for our transgressions, He was
bruised for our iniquities: the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him;
and by His stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:4-5).
Those who argue that
miracles such as a virgin birth are impossible because they would violate the
“laws of nature” are extremely foolish. They are foolish because intelligent
beings override the laws of nature all of the time. The laws of nature will
never assemble wood, steel and plaster into a house. On the contrary, the laws
of nature will cause a house to decay and fall apart. As intelligent beings, we
cause the wood, steel and plaster to do what they never would do on their own. And,
if we can override the laws of nature so can God! [See Luke 1:34-35.]
The words, “Behold, I
was formed in iniquity; and sinful when my mother conceived me,” the words,
“Just as sin entered the world by one man, and death by sin; so death passed
upon all men, because all have sinned:” and the words, “We all…
were by nature the children of wrath,” tell us
that all men born in the natural way are sinners (Psalm 51:5, Romans
The words, “I am the LORD, I do not change,” tell us that God never changes (Malachi 3:6).
Therefore, when Christ became man, God did not change. Instead, the words, “Since
the children have flesh and blood, He in the same way took on flesh and blood,”
and the words, “Took upon him the nature of a servant, and was born as a man,”
tell us that without changing His nature, God took on flesh and blood (Hebrews
2:14). That is why the Athanasian Creed says that
Christ, “While being both God and Man is not two individuals or two Christs, but one individual, one Christ. One, not by conversion of Deity into flesh, but by taking manhood
into God; One altogether; not by mixing divinity with humanity, but by uniting
the two in one person”.
Because Christ is both true God and true man united in one
person, He is both the branch that came out of David, and God. As it is written, “I
will raise to David a righteous Branch… and this is the name by which He
will be called, The Lord [Jahweh] Our Righteousness” (Jeremiah 23:5-6).
“All the fullness of God dwells in Christ bodily” (Colossians 2:9). [See
John 14:9.]