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I. The flesh:
А. Christ as the very God became flesh — John 1:1, 14:
1. To be a man partaking of human blood and flesh with the human nature — Heb. 2:14.
2. In the likeness of the flesh of sin — Rom. 8:3.
3. Tabernacling among men.
4. Full of the glory of the only begotten Son of God.
5. Full of grace (God gained by us) and reality (God realized by us).
6. As the Word who is God becoming the last Adam — the last man — 1 Cor. 15:45.
7. In this flesh, Christ becoming the seed of David, the seed of Abraham, and the seed of the woman — Matt. 1:1; Rom. 1:3; Gal. 4:4.
8. Suffering — 1 Pet. 4:1.
9. Offering up both petitions and supplications with strong crying and tears to God to save (resurrect) Him out of death and being heard because of His piety — Heb. 5:7.
10. The Spirit of God confesses that Christ came in the flesh in the teaching of the apostles, but at the end of the first century, when the apostle John was still in his ministry, Docetism intermixed with Gnosticism denied that Christ came in the flesh — 1 John 4:2-3; 2 John 7.
11. After His resurrection Christ showed His disciples that He still had the resurrected flesh and bones (Luke 24:39; Acts 2:31) of God’s new creation (whereas in His incarnation He became the flesh of God’s old creation), which will be His body of glory when He comes back (Phil. 3:21).
B. Christ’s ministry in the flesh:
1. As the Word becoming the flesh, He brought God into man, making God one with man — John 1:1, 14.
2. Manifesting God — 1 Tim. 3:16.
3. Condemning sin — Rom. 8:3b.
4. Being put to death for our sins, the Righteous on behalf of the unrighteous — 1 Pet. 3:18.
5. Abolishing the law of the commandments in ordinances to create in Himself as the element the Jewish believers and the Gentile believers into one new man — Eph. 2:15.
6. Reconciling all things, whether the things on the earth or the things in the heavens, to God — Col. 1:20-22.
7. In John 6:51-56 blood and flesh refer to Christ’s humanity (Heb. 2:14); Christ’s blood being separated from His flesh indicates death; and eating and drinking denote receiving. Christ’s death through the shedding of His blood ministers to His believers eternal life and makes Him one with them (John 3:14-15).
8. Initiating for us a new and living way to enter into the Holy of Holies through the splitting of His crucifixion — Heb. 10:19-20; Matt. 27:51a.
In the previous chapter we saw that there is a difference between Christ as the man and as the Son of Man. The man is simple with no relationships or involvements. When Christ came to visit Abraham, He was a man in humanity, without any involvements. When He came to wrestle with Jacob, He was simply a man without any involvements. But Christ as the Son of Man coming to seek and save sinners is full of involvements. Psalm 80:17 uses both of these terms for Christ. On the one hand, Christ was the man; on the other hand, Christ was the Son of Man. As the Son of Man in His humanity, He was one with the children of Israel.
In the previous three chapters we have seen the humanity of Christ in the prophecy concerning the eternal economy of God in the Old Testament. In the following set of three chapters we want to see the humanity of Christ in the fulfillment of God’s eternal economy in the New Testament.
John 1:1 and 14 reveal that Christ as the very God became flesh.
Christ became a man partaking of human blood and flesh with the human nature (Heb. 2:14).
Romans 8:3 says that God sent His own Son in the likeness of the flesh of sin. Christ did not become sinful flesh but came in the likeness of the flesh of sin. According to John 3:14, He was the reality of the bronze serpent lifted up by Moses in the wilderness (Num. 21:4-9). The bronze serpent had the form of the serpent but was without the serpent’s poison. In the same way, Christ was made in the likeness of the flesh of sin, but He did not participate in any way in the sin of the flesh (2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15).
As the very God who became flesh, Christ was the real tabernacle. The tabernacle was God’s dwelling place on this earth among men. The incarnated Christ became God’s dwelling place among men, the tabernacle of God.
The incarnated Christ was full of the glory of the only begotten Son of God.
He was also full of grace (God gained by us) and reality (God realized by us). Christ Himself is the grace to be gained and enjoyed by us and the reality to be realized and experienced by us.
As the Word who is God, Christ became the last Adam, the last man (1 Cor. 15:45).
In this flesh Christ became the seed of David (Rom. 1:3; Matt. 1:1a), the seed of Abraham (v. 1b), and the seed of the woman (Gal. 4:4). The seed of David implies Christ’s human nature. By incarnation, the first step of Christ’s process, God was brought into humanity. In the Bible flesh is not a positive word. Nevertheless, the Bible declares that the Word became flesh. The gospel of God concerns God who became flesh; according to the flesh, He became the seed of man. Galatians 4:4 says that Christ was born of a woman. The Son of God was born of the virgin Mary (Luke 1:27-35) to be the seed of woman, as promised in Genesis 3:15.
Christ became flesh to suffer, to be crucified (1 Pet. 4:1).
In the days of His flesh in Gethsemane, Christ offered up both petitions and supplications with strong crying and tears to God to save (resurrect) Him out of death, and He was heard because of His piety (Heb. 5:7). God answered His prayer by raising Him from the dead.
The Spirit of God confesses that Christ came in the flesh in the teaching of the apostles, but at the end of the first century, when the apostle John was still in his ministry, Docetism intermixed with Gnosticism denied that Christ came in the flesh (see 1 John 4:2-3 with footnote 31, Recovery Version, and 2 John 7).
After His resurrection Christ showed His disciples that He still had the resurrected flesh and bones (Luke 24:39; Acts 2:31) of God’s new creation (whereas in His incarnation He became the flesh of God’s old creation), which will be His body of glory when He comes back (Phil. 3:21). In the night of His resurrection, Christ came back to the disciples. The disciples thought that He was a spirit or a ghost. However, He told them to touch Him. This was not His original flesh but the resurrected flesh and bones of God’s new creation. His physical body was of God’s old creation. His resurrected body is of God’s new creation. His resurrected body will be His body of glory when He returns. At that time we also will be transfigured to be the same in body as He is; that is, we will be conformed to the body of His glory.
As the Word becoming the flesh, He brought God into man, making God one with man (John 1:1, 14).
First Timothy 3:16 says that Christ was God manifested in the flesh.
Christ came in the likeness of the flesh of sin to condemn sin (Rom. 8:3b). Sin is in the flesh of sin. Christ died not only for the sins in our conduct but also to condemn the sin in our nature.
Christ was put to death for our sins, the Righteous on behalf of the unrighteous (1 Pet. 3:18).
On the cross He abolished the law of the commandments in ordinances to create in Himself the Jewish believers and the Gentile believers into one new man (Eph. 2:15). He created the one new man in Himself as the element.
Colossians 1:20-22 reveals that through His death Christ reconciled all things, whether the things on the earth or the things in the heavens, to God. Hebrews 2:9 says that He tasted death on behalf of everything.
In John 6:51-56 blood and flesh refer to Christ’s humanity (Heb. 2:14). Christ’s blood being separated from His flesh indicates death, and eating and drinking denote receiving. Christ’s death through the shedding of His blood ministers to His believers eternal life and makes Him one with them (John 3:14-15).
Through His death He initiated for us a new and living way to enter into the Holy of Holies through the splitting of His crucifixion (Heb. 10:19-20; Matt. 27:51a). Christ’s crucifixion split the veil, that is, the human flesh. That veil had cut off the way for people to enter into the Holy of Holies to contact God directly. But since Christ split the veil through His death, the new and the living way is opened for us.
