First of all, we need to understand that nowhere in the Bible it is written Jesus came in ‘our flesh’. There are some commonly heard phrases and terms, which we assume are written in the Bible, this is one such term.
But just because there is no such term, does not imply that such a teaching itself is wrong. Therefore we need to examine carefully from the Word of God to see what it says about this teaching.
As mentioned in the previous articles, in God's Word the term flesh has been used in various aspects like ‘mankind’, ‘human’, ‘human body’, ‘corrupted soul’, ‘old heart’, ‘sinful nature’ etc. ( for further study on the biblical meaning of flesh, please check this link https://www.christcrucified.info/issues.html#issue1)
Therefore, it is important to clarify what we mean when we say Jesus came in our flesh.
As we have seen, when sin entered, it had three main effects on human beings.
First, man's heart became the throne of Satan and the focal point of sin. Out of the human heart, sin flowed out. (Gen: 5:6)
Second, the sinful nature flowing out of the heart made man’s soul (mind, thoughts, desires, and will) sinful (Mark 7:16). This corrupted soul of man is commonly referred to as ‘flesh’ in the New Testament.
Paul understood the condition of his sinful flesh when he mourns that “For I know that nothing good dwells in my flesh, only sin”
Romans 7: 15-18 “For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.”
This indwelling sin in the heart of the fallen man produces lusts in his flesh.
Romans 7:5 “For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death.”
Romans 7:8 “But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of lusts.”
The lusts coming from a corrupted flesh makes man to be enticed and commit sin.
James 1:14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own lusts and enticed.
Third, having been enticed by the sinful desires, when a person commit sin, when he submits himself as a slave to sin; he gives birth to sin and the inner sin of man manifests itself in an outward display of sinful acts. If he continues in sinful acts, ultimately it will end up in spiritual death.
James 1:15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
Galatians 5:19 “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like;”
Romans 6:19 “you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness.”
When a person is born again, a heart transplant happens in him, where God removes the sinful heart and a new heart is implanted, where Christ lives through His Spirit, but there still exists a soul/flesh which is already corrupted by the sin from sinful heart/old man.
(For detailed reading, please refer to the Article “What is flesh? What is the difference between the old man and flesh? )
While considering the question, whether Jesus came in our flesh, The most important thing we need to understand here is that Christ, the eternal God, even when He emptied himself and came to earth as a man, He was different from everyone in the world, in all these three things.
Jesus was the perfect man with a Body, Soul (desires, thoughts, and emotions) and spirit.
However, Jesus Christ did not have a sinful heart. Instead, the holy heart of Jesus was the throne where God the Father dwelt. (John 14:10)
The soul of Christ was not corrupted by sin, but Christ submitted his soul continuously to the will of God (John 8:38).
Therefore the body of Jesus Christ was not polluted but completely manifested the works of God who dwelt in His heart. (John 14:10-11)
Therefore, when we say that Jesus came in our flesh, if we mean that Jesus came as a fallen Man (with a sinful heart), or as a born-again man (whose sinful heart is removed but a soul corrupted by sin still exists), then it is completely a wrong teaching.
Jesus came as a perfect Man, in the sinless nature of Adam before the fall. That is why in the Word of God Jesus is referred to as the Last Adam and as Second Man.
In the sight of God, there are only two perfect men, the first man Adam made without sin from earth, and second Man Jesus born, from heaven, who was without sin.
1 Corinthians 15: 47 “the first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven.”
Why is it a serious teaching error to say that Jesus Christ came as a fallen man (sinful in the heart), or exactly as a born-again man (sinful heart has been removed but a corrupted soul still exists)?
The reason being that if Jesus came in any of these ways, He could not redeem the fallen man. Bible clearly teaches that.
John 1:29 “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
1 John 3:5 “And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him, there is no sin.”
John clearly says that for Jesus to take away sins, He should be without sin in spirit and Soul. No one in this world qualifies for this, not even the holy and old John who was with Jesus for many years, because as John himself clarified, even after being redeemed, sin (in the soul) exists in all.
1 John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
This sinful nature has been passed on from fallen Adam to all men. But Jesus did not fall in that category of all men because He was born through a virgin by the power of the Holy Spirit and not as the product of the physical union of a man and a woman.
Luke 1:35 “And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.”
Jesus had to be without sin, and in sinless nature in order to be a sacrificial lamb for our sins. So the sinless nature of Christ is the basic doctrine of God's Word, the first requirement for redemption of the sinful man, and the prerequisite for Jesus to be the sin-offering.
1 Peter 1:18-19 “knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”
Therefore, to say that Jesus came in our flesh (sinful nature, soul corrupted by sin), and that He was tempted by the lusts of the flesh as we are, or that His holiness was not from above but was a result of a conquering the lust of His flesh, through continuous battle, is a serious teaching error.
The holiness of Jesus was from above, and not one that he obtained by conquering the lust of His flesh one by one until he was completely holy. Christ came down from heaven as the sinless, holy Lamb of God.
But Jesus to be the sin offering for us, through the eternal Spirit kept Himself without blemish, and at the end voluntarily offered Himself as a blameless sacrifice.
Hebrews 9:14 “how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”
We need to know the nature of Jesus, as the Word of God reveals Him. It’s important that we carefully consider this truth and not read our own ideas or misconceptions, as this affects our eternal life. That is why the Word of God encourages us to look unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.
A question may arise that how can a man without sin be tempted? It is possible and we have the example of Adam. Adam was also created without sin, yet when he was tempted, he failed. Here Jesus came as second man and was also tempted but He overcame sin and satan.
Jesus was NOT tempted as God, since God cannot be tempted. Jesus was NOT tempted as a sinful man, through the sinful lusts from inside, because as we saw there was never a sinful nature pulling Him to sin from the inside. Jesus was tempted because He emptied himself of the special privileges of God and became a complete perfect man with a human will. He was tempted by His free will,exactly like we are. But He denied His will and endured triumphantly every testing and overcame Satan and lived a life completely submitted and depended on God the Father
The Word of God does not mention anywhere that Jesus came in our flesh, but it does say that ‘Christ came in the flesh’, ‘Word became flesh’, ‘God was manifested in the flesh’ ( 2 John 1:7, John 1:14, 1 Timothy 3:16).
These verses have often been misinterpreted, to teach that Jesus came in our flesh (soul corrupted by sin). This happens because of the lack of understanding of God’s word and the misconception that in God’s word, flesh always refers to the soul corrupted by sin.
We need to know that in the Word of God, flesh is used not only to refer to the soul corrupted by sin but also for ‘mankind’ ‘man’ ‘man’s body’, ‘soul’, ‘old heart’, ‘sinful nature’, in different situations.
When trying to understand the meaning of any word, it is important to know the entire meaning and the context in which the particular word has been used in the Word of God
A few examples
Matthew 24:22 “And unless those days were shortened, no flesh (man) would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.”
John 17: 2 “as You have given Him authority over all flesh (mankind), that He [a]should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him.”
Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh (body) I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
2 Corinthians 10:3 “For though we walk in the flesh (body), we do not war according to the flesh.”
Hebrews 2:14 “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,”
So when the Word of God says that ‘Jesus came in the flesh’, ‘Word became flesh’, ‘and ‘God was manifested in the flesh’ it means that Jesus came in the human body like us. He came as the Complete Man with Human Body, Human Soul and Human Spirit.
However, what makes Jesus different from all men (fallen, born-again) of the earth is that He was without sin in His body, soul and spirit.
Jesus born as unblemished lamb, Jesus kept Himself without blemish, and at the end offered Himself as an unblemished sacrifice.
It is neither written, nor is there such a teaching in the Word of God that Jesus came in our flesh.
Brother Jinu Ninan
If you are interested in learning more about this important Biblical truth, please visit the Bible teaching website at www.ChristCrucified.info