Chapter 8: A Summary of the Nature of Christ
Let us now summarize the nature of Christ at different points in time…
Before the Son of God came to earth as the man Jesus Christ He was fully God. He had Spirit, the knowledge of good and evil (KGE), and the ability to live forever. All the fullness of deity dwelt in Him.
To become man, He emptied Himself of that which made Him fully divine. Whatever infinities existed in Him became finite – finite to the extent found in man. He was no longer intrinsically good but could now be tempted to sin. Also, He could no longer live forever.
When He became man – that is, at the time of His conception – He was spirit, and had a flesh through which He could be tempted, and He had the indwelling Holy Spirit. He was God in identity but not in capability.
At some point after that, at the age of accountability, He acquired the knowledge of good and evil. At this point, He was just like any born again human being.
At some point later He was baptized in the Holy Spirit for the purpose of fulfilling His ministry. His ministry included being the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. For this, the power of the Holy Spirit was given to Him without measure.
He lived the rest of His life on earth as man in this state, performing all sorts of miracles and casting out demons – all this through the power of the Holy Spirit. He was crucified on the cross, during which He was forsaken by God, and paid for the sins of man, through the infinite power of the Holy Spirit paying an infinite debt in a finite amount of time.
His physical death (i.e. the shedding of His blood) resulted in a new covenant for the forgiveness of sins. On the third day, God raised Him up, thereby certifying that He was sinless, and that His payment for the sins of man was valid. He was raised as having Spirit, the knowledge of good and evil, and the ability to live forever. During this time He was seen by many. He no longer had flesh and therefore could no longer be tempted, and His body was not bound by the Laws of Physics. In this form He ascended into heaven.
At some point later, He was glorified by the Father, who was pleased to allow the fullness of deity to once more dwell in Him. At this point He was fully God and equal to the Father in all respects. The transfiguration was a vision of Him in this form. This is also the form that the apostle John saw Jesus in the Book of Revelation.
The table below summarizes the states of Jesus Christ and of Man at different points in time.
| Time / Event | State of Jesus | State of Man |
|---|
| Before He became man | S + KGE + LF + fullness of deity | |
| Conception | S + F + HS | S + F |
| Age of accountability | S + F + KGE + HS | S + F + KGE |
| Born again | Happened at conception | S + F + KGE + HS |
| Resurrection | S + KGE + LF | S + KGE + LF |
| Glorification | S + KGE + LF + fullness of deity | |
Legend:
S = spirit
F = having flesh i.e. the ability to be tempted
HS = having the indwelling Holy Spirit
LF = having the ability to live forever
KGE = having the knowledge of good and evil
This ends our discussion on the nature of Christ. I hope that this book has been a blessing to you.
Let us now come back to what I discussed in the very first chapter. After reading this book you have a decision to make. You have to choose between what is true but not popular and what is popular but not true. Your choice will reflect on whose side you are on. May God give you the grace to do what is right.
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