Lesson 3 – The Incarnate Nature of Jesus Study on the Godhead Lesson 3 – The Incarnate Nature of Jesus

Review of Lesson 2 John 1:1-2, 14a 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. … 14 And the Word became flesh… John teaches that the Word was Jesus, and the Word (Jesus) was God but then became flesh. Before He became flesh, however, He existed from the beginning (indicating the eternality of Jesus). There is no doubt that Scripture teaches that: Jesus was God Jesus had all the attributes of Deity (God) prior to his incarnation So what? The question is not, “Is Jesus God?” The answer to that question MUST be resoundingly answered “Yes”. The question is “What was, and is, the effect of the incarnation of Jesus upon his Deity?” To properly answer this question we must study what scripture teaches us regarding the incarnate and resurrected Jesus.

The Incarnate Nature of Jesus Philippians 2:5-7 5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Philippians 2:5-7 teaches that Jesus “emptied” Himself when He became a man (“taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.”) So, the question of “What was, and is, the effect of the incarnation of Jesus upon his Deity?” then becomes “What did the Holy Spirit, through Paul, communicate to us when He states that Jesus ‘emptied’ Himself?” First, let’s agree that this verse quite clearly states that Jesus and the Father (“God” in this verse) shared equality before Jesus’ incarnation. It also says that Jesus did not see this “equality” as something to be “grasped” (or “held onto”), but “emptied himself”.

The Incarnate Nature of Jesus The Greek word translated “emptied” is a middle form of “kenow”, meaning “to make himself empty” So, what did Jesus “empty himself” of? What is the only thing spoken of in the verse which he “grasped” previously but “did not regard” as worthy to be “grasped”? The verse clearly states that Jesus’ equality with God is what He emptied Himself of and did not grasp any longer. What does this mean? Was He no longer God after He emptied Himself? This can’t be as Hebrews 13:8 and Colossians 2:9 contradict this idea Hebrews 13:8 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Colossians 2:9 9 For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form,

Jesus emptied himself Philippians tells us that Jesus emptied Himself of His equality with God Hebrews and Colossians tell us that Jesus is still God How can we have these passages agree? The simplest way is that Jesus is still God but He gave up the privileges and advantages that go along with Deity In other words, He gave up the independent exercise of His divine attributes

Jesus’ Temptations There’s one rather common question that comes up in this discussion: “If Jesus is God, how was He tempted?” James 1:13 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. This passage in James states that God cannot be tempted. So how did Satan tempt Jesus if He is God in the flesh? In giving up his ability to independently exercise His unbounded moral purity (holiness), Jesus could now be tempted It’s important to realize that Jesus not being able to independently exercise His unbounded moral purity does NOT mean that He wasn’t holy – it simply means that He could be tempted to sin just as we are This is the one aspect of this theology that I struggle with in regard to what is meant by Jesus emptying Himself and giving up equality with God