Jesus Broken

Now that we understand Jesus a little better, do we understand ourselves a little better? We should. You and I are human, and Jesus is the model human. We need anointings and so did Jesus. He got his anointings to show us how to get ours. Jesus is our model in every way.

It was as a man that Jesus became what he is now, the Messiah--the King! It was as a man that Jesus overcame temptation, death, and condemnation. He overcame those obstacles to inspire us to overcome them too.

In our last lesson, we saw that our bodies are jars of clay. Jesus, like you and me, had a mortal body. In fact, he had the same frail human nature you and I have now. And since he came to mankind in that nature, and bore the sins of the human race on his shoulders at Calvary, he had to be broken.

Every time Christians break bread in the Lord's Supper, we remember Jesus was broken. We remember that his body was broken for us at Calvary. We recall that a man was sacrificed for men. A jar of clay was broken so that we could put our pieces back together again.

What We Must Believe

Do you believe with all your heart that Jesus came to this World fully human? Did a mortal come to mortals? Was the baby born in Bethlehem a real baby, or was he "the God-man" so many Evangelical preachers speak of?

What does "Jesus was the God-man" mean, anyways? It means that he must have had the divine nature. But that's wrong. It's extremely wrong! It's the same theology as the Catholic "divine child." The "divine child" doctrine of Catholicism has led to grotesque idolatry.

The heresy of Gnosticism snuck into the Church early on, as early as the times of the Apostles. The Gnostics taught that the child Jesus had miraculous power. Gnostics promoted this "divine child" doctrine through writings like the "Infancy Gospel of Thomas" and the Muslims picked up on it later. You can see it in the Quran itself (see 5:110).

The "divine child" and "God-man" teachings have always been false. The Bible hasn't changed, and it tells us that Jesus was ‘like us in every way’ (Hebrews 2:17). In spirit, soul, and body Jesus was like us.

Sure, Jesus was conceived by a Holy Spirit miracle, but from the moment he was conceived, Jesus was human 100%. The Spirit made sure that Jesus was constituted exactly like you and I are constituted. He didn't have supernatural power or supernatural understanding.

You must believe in the Jesus of the Bible to be saved.

He Came in the Flesh

Jesus came to humanity in the human nature. That was the whole purpose of God in making sure Jesus was born of a woman--to assure you and I that Jesus had the human nature.

Jesus, as the Word who was with the One True God from the Days of Eternity, already had the divine nature! Of that divine nature Jesus 'emptied himself' (Philippians 2:6). The unique thing about Christmas was not that the baby had the divine nature, but that the Word became flesh!

And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us (John 1:14; NASB).

Jesus came to man in the form, nature, and likeness of man. To mortals he came as a mortal. To those with the sin nature, he came '... in the likeness of sinful flesh...' Why? The Scriptures say that it was 'to be a sin offering.'

And the Scriptures go on to say:

And so he condemned sin in the flesh' (Romans 8:3).

His Own Spirit

Know yourself and know the Lord Jesus. Study the nature of man by studying the man Jesus. And while you're at it, test yourself to see if you really know Jesus. If you think you understand Jesus, then answer the question: “What part of Jesus’ being did the Holy Spirit anoint?”

If you answer “his spirit,” then you understand Jesus.

But most Christians don’t ever reflect on whether Jesus had his own spirit or not. Most never think about it. Rather, most people relegate Jesus to the category of "mystery." They guard within their hearts the notion--a lie--that Jesus was much different than we are. The Catholic church promotes this idea with their doctrine of the "Holy Family"!

The problem is that the Word of God never promotes the idea that Jesus was different from us. Never is the Bible vague on the matter. The Bible gives us clear revelations of what Jesus was like, and what his upbringing was like.

The root of all heresies to ignore that Jesus came in the human nature of sin. The lie of all lies is to deny that he came in the flesh. If a pastor does not honor this truth, he is a false teacher.

The Antichrist

The Antichrist will become the most influential man ever. In the history of the World, no person has ever reached the level of popularity the Antichrist will reach. His popularity will surpass that of history's most renowned people:

• Alexander the Great

• Julius Ceasar

• Christopher Colombus

• George Washington

• Napoleon Bonaparte

  
  

  

  
  

• Abraham Lincoln

• Mahatma Ghandi

• Winston Churchill

• Socrates

  
  

• Leonardo da Vinci

• Michaelangelo

• Galileo Galilei

• William Shakespeare

• Isaac Newton

• Albert Einstein

• Walt Disney

• Martin Luther King, Jr.

• Nelson Mandela

• Donald Trump, and even...

  
  

  Jesus Christ!

  
  

And that's the point, right? The Antichrist's popularity and fame will surpass that of all religious leaders. He will become greater than Moses, Martin Luther, John Calvin, the Pope, Muhammed, Buddha, Confucius, and even our Lord Jesus.

In fact, the Antichrist's very aim is to eclipse Jesus as Christ. It's his goal. That's why he will sit in the Temple, call himself "God," and restructure the governments and social fabric of the World. He'll be an imposter--a fake Messiah.