Practical Theology | The Human Side of Jesus

“Where Jesus’ humanity is concerned, He was made of flesh and blood and was like us in every respect except for one: He was without sin. Only Jesus can save us from sin.”

The Bible’s account of Christ’s birth isn’t a charming story about a baby and a manger. It is a theological manifesto about the nature of God. Contemporary religion in the New Testament era had many myths about gods who took on human form or people who were elevated to divine status. But the gospel account of the birth of Jesus was radically different.

Some of the earliest doctrinal controversies the church faced revolved around the human nature of Jesus. One heresy was Ebionism, which arose during the second century within Jewish Christianity and taught that Jesus was merely human. Those who held this view also preached that Christians must observe the Mosaic law to be saved.

In the third century, Adoptionism taught that Jesus Christ was an ordinary man by nature who was exalted to a divine status. This view taught that Jesus Christ was “from below” but was indwelt by God. Others went to the opposite extreme asserting that Jesus was divine but only appeared to be human. This view was known as Docetism, from the Greek word meaning to “seem,” reflecting the Greek philosophical assumption that physical matter was evil.

Philippians 2:6–8 refutes these errors when it says that Jesus Christ was “in very nature God” and that He was “made in human likeness.” This is the distinctive truth of the Christian doctrine of the incarnation. Jesus was God when He was born in Bethlehem. He did not merely appear to be human. He made Himself nothing “by taking the very nature of a servant.” When verse 8 says that Jesus was “found in appearance as a man,” it is not contradicting the church’s assertion that Jesus was genuinely human. He didn’t just look like a man. Jesus was a man. At the incarnation, humanity became an aspect of Jesus’ “nature” or “form” (v. 7). Paul uses the same word as in verse 6 to say that Jesus was God “in very nature.” Where Jesus’ humanity is concerned, He was made of flesh and blood and was like us in every respect except for one: He was without sin. Only Jesus can save us from sin (Heb. 4:15).

For Further Study

To learn more, read Christ the Eternal Son by A. W. Tozer (Moody Publishers).

BY Dr. John Koessler

John Koessler is Professor Emeritus of Applied Theology and Church Ministries at Moody Bible Institute. John authors the “Practical Theology” column for Today in the Word of which he is also a contributing writer and theological editor. An award-winning author, John’s newest title is When God is Silent: Let the Bible Teach You to Pray (Kirkdale). Prior to joining the Moody faculty, he served as a pastor of Valley Chapel in Green Valley, Illinois, for nine years. He and his wife, Jane, now enjoy living in a lakeside town in Michigan.