Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: math1h3@jetson.uh.edu Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: Jesus as a human Message-ID: Date: 26 Jul 90 06:44:56 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: University of Houston Lines: 74 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu Vincent Paul Mulhern made some comments on Jesus's humanity, and questioned whether Christ is still human. After reading a few exchanges between him and our moderator, I'd like to comment on why Jesus's humanity is important to us. First, his humanity when he was here on earth is important to us, because in his death on the cross, he atoned for our sins as our substitute. He died as one of us, he lived and was tempted as one of us, and he lead a holy life as one of us. All of this is important for our justification, for God's law demands perfect holiness, and that we have no sin. Only Christ, our substitute, can supply these. If he was not human, then he could not substitute for us in this way. Thus he called himself the 'Son of Man,' meaning, that he is the 'Seed' promised to Adam and Eve, who crushed Satan with his heel, See particularly Romans 12:5-19, particularly v. 19: "For just as through the disobedience of one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous." Similarly it is important that we believe he was (and is) true God for that gives his sacrifice the value that enables it to atone for our sins. All of this the church dealt with in its first few centuries. Thus the Apostle's creed makes a point that Jesus was 'born of the virgin Mary', and the Nicene Creed confesses that he was 'of one substance with the Father' and 'only-begotten'. These creeds came into being because false teachers rejected Christ's humanity, at one point, and his Godhead, at another. That he is still 'true man' in his resurrected state is a comfort to us, because we have a savior who is still one of us, who understands our needs. This is also important to our belief that one day, we will also rise from the dead, and have bodies like his. Finally, we should not let his glorious nature lead us to think that he is not human, but rather this should help us to comprehend how far we have fallen from our original, created design. Christ's humanity should serve as a guide for what our humanity should be. Thus, 'Son of Man' also means that he is the 'New Adam'. Also in Colossians 3:9,10 Paul writes: "Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator'. Christ's humanity shows us the image of the Creator in which we are being renewed. This putting on the new self is the same thing that Christ talked about when he said, "unless a man is born again, he cannot enter the kingdom of God," and "Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit." In application, we might say that we should not excuse our sin, saying we are 'only' human: that is an attitude that blames God for his creation. Christ's humanity shows us that the humanity God created was in fact good. Rather we should repent our sins, and ask God for Jesus' sake to forgive us. David H. Wagner A confessional Lutheran "Let us ever walk with Jesus Follow his example pure, Flee the world, which would deceive us And to sin our souls allure. Ever in his footsteps treading, Body here, yet soul above, Full of faith and hope and love, Let us do the Father's bidding. Faithful Lord, abide with me; Savior, lead, I follow Thee. "Let us gladly live with Jesus; Since he's risen from the dead, Death and grave must soon release us. Jesus, Thou art now our Head, We are truly thine own members; Where Thou livest, there live we. Take and own us constantly, Faithful Friend, as Thy dear brethren. Jesus, here I live to Thee, Also there eternally. --Sigismund von Birken, 1653 'Lasset uns mit Jesu Ziehen', v.1,4 Translation: J. Adam Rimbach, 1900 My opinions and beliefs are not likely to coincide with any held by The University of Houston.