The Holy Lord Jesus Christ

The Holy Lord Jesus Christ I. Jesus Christ is the ultimate man. EPH 4:13. A. It is His image to which God has predestinated us to be conformed. ROM 8:29. B. A summary of failure in Christian living is when we strive to conform to other models of man. C. Jesus Christ was not defined by: 1. good looks. ISA 53:2. 2. comedy or partying. ISA 53:3. 3. a fancy home. MAT 8:20. 4. material wealth. 2CO 8:9. 5. praise of men. JOH 5:42-44. 6. high acclaim. PHIL 2:7. 7. the “right” friends. MAT 11:19. 8. personal agenda. JOH 4:34. 9. activism. MAT 12:19. 10. empire. JOH 18:36. II. Above all other things, Jesus Christ was defined by His holiness (freedom from all contamination of sin and evil; conformed to the will of God; entirely devoted to God). He is unique in that He never sinned. 1PE 2:22. A. Other men in Scripture spoke the word of God and prophesied. B. Other men in Scripture worked miracles. C. Other men died in faith and for their faith. D. Jesus Christ is the only man Who lived the entirety of His life without sinning. 1. This is what makes Him the greatest man and should inspire our admiration of Him. 2. It is this holy aspect of Christ's image which we are called to imitate (1PE 1:15-16); we are not called to imitate His infinite knowledge and power. E. Men love and respect achievers. We glory in great accomplishments. 1. That Jesus Christ lived sinlessly in this world, destroyed sin and death, and entered glory victoriously carrying His elect with Him is the greatest achievement of all. 2. It is in this that we should glory. GAL 6:14. F. The entire gospel message is founded upon the sinlessness of Jesus Christ. What if Christ had been a sinner? 1. He would not have been God since God is without iniquity (DEU 32:4; JAM 1:13) and if Christ were not God, He would not be our Savior. ISA 43:11. 2. He could not have redeemed us since His sufferings and death would have been only for His own sins; He would not qualify to be our substitute, per 1PE 3:18. 3. He would have been like those spoken of in PSA 49:6-9 that cannot “...by any means redeem his brother...” 4. He would not have risen from the dead since death would have had a legitimate claim upon him contrary to ACT 2:24, and we would yet be in our sins. 1CO 15:3. 5. He could not have ascended to exaltation in glory since that was conditioned upon His sinlessness. HEB 1:8-9. 6. He could not be our “...advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1JO 2:1). 7. His blood could not speak for us in glory, per HEB 12:24 nor cleanse us from sin presently, per 1JO 1:7 since it would not be the precious blood “...of a lamb without The Holy Lord Jesus Christ 8-11-13 Page 1 blemish and without spot. 1PE 1:19. III. Consider the sinlessness of Jesus Christ in the light of the following passages. A. 2CO 5:21 declares that Christ knew no sin. 1. He had no personal experience with sinning Himself. 2. If someone had ever confessed a sin problem to Him, He could not have answered, “I know” as if He personally succumbed to the problem also. B. HEB 4:15 declares that Christ was tempted like we are, yet without sin. 1. Christ was tempted from without, even over such a simple thing as a bite of fresh bread. MAT 4:1-3. 2. But Christ was never tempted from within. Inwardly, the devil had nothing in Him . (JOH 14:30), a fact no other man could claim. 3. Christ had all the human desires that we have but those desires were kept under the complete control of His personal holiness. He never once opened the door to sin as did Adam. 4. We have all yielded to sin under the weight of some infirmity. Christ is touched with the same feelings of infirmities but He never let those become an occasion to sin. C. 1PE 2:21-23 declares that He did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. 1. Christ never had to ask forgiveness for something he said or did. 2. He never had a vain thought nor uttered an idle word. JER 4:14; MAT 12:36. 3. He never let an injustice against Him be a justification for a “repayment in kind.” 4. Christ could suffer and not sin, fully entrusting the matter to God and maintaining His holiness under intense pressure. 5. Again, His sinlessness is set forth as our example to follow. c/w 1JO 2:1. D. 1JO 3:5 declares that in him is no sin. 1. He has no sin in His nature and no sin in His conduct. 2. Contrast that with ourselves, of which it is said that in our flesh “...dwelleth no good thing” (ROM 7:18). E. HEB 7:26-28 sets forth the sinlessness of Jesus Christ from several aspects. 1. Christ is holy. a. This describes Christ's sinlessness Godward. b. His human nature is in no way tainted by sin. He was not shapen in iniquity and conceived in sin as we are. PSA 51:5. c. From His conception, Christ was a “holy thing” (LUK 1:35). d. He was always devoted to and conformed to the will of God. JOH 4:34; 5:30; 6:38; 8:29. e. This devotion to God's will went all the way to the cross. PHIL 2:8. 2. Christ is harmless. a. This describes Christ's sinlessness manward. b. Christ never tempted, enticed, polluted, corrupted or hurt anyone by anything He said or did. c. No one was ever the worse for having come into contact with Him. 3. Christ is undefiled. a. His sojourn in this perverse, corrupt world never contaminated Him one bit. b. He was as undefiled while in this world as He is now in glory. 4. Christ is separate from sinners. a. He lived among sinners but was never a sinner Himself. The Holy Lord Jesus Christ 8-11-13 Page 2 b. This always distinguished him from everyone else. (1) He did not fit in with the crowd. He was different. Follow Him and you will be different also. (2) He never empathized with sinful men by sinning like they did so as to identify with them. It was enough that He was tempted as men are tempted. c. The gospels carefully declare that Jesus was distinguished from the malefactors who were crucified with Him. LUK 23:32-33. (1) He was numbered with the transgressors. MAR 15:28. (2) This was only because He “...bare the sin of many” (ISA 53:12). d. Christ's sinlessness qualified Him to fully and finally put away our sins by the sacrifice of Himself, something which sin-ridden priests could never do. HEB 9:26; 10:10-12. e. He IS NOW separate from sinners, made higher than the heavens. (1) He “...bare our sins in his own body on the tree...” (1PE 2:24). (2) Christ only bare our sins to the cross, no further. (3) Having “...put away sin by the sacrifice of himself” (HEB 9:26), He no more bears those sins in His body. (4) This is why John said, “...in him IS no sin” (1JO 3:5). (5) Christ was raised from the dead to bear sin no more and to die for sin no more. ROM 6:9-10. (6) Thus, Christ will appear the second time without sin. HEB 9:28. The Holy Lord Jesus Christ 8-11-13 Page 3