Not the Man

The center of Christianity is Jesus Christ. In Him the kingdom of God has come near to this world. In a man life from above has been revealed.

The reaction from the kingdom of darkness has been to distort the humanity of Jesus Christ. The reason is straightforward. If Jesus was not really a man like us, then He did not prove that a man can have life. If we cannot live, then all we can do is muddle through. The kingdom of darkness is afraid of the light of life; it does not want the light of the world shining in its domain. It is vital to the kingdom of darkness to deny the humanity of Jesus Christ in one way or another. It is a signature of darkness.

"By this you know the Spirit of God; every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; and this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world." I John 4:2-3

The signature of antichrist is to deny that the man Jesus was the Christ sent from God.

"Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son." I John 2:22

Either the spirit of the antichrist supports the view of Jesus as a man, but denies that He is this One sent by God, or the spirit of the antichrist fabricates a Jesus that is not fully man. The first position is easily accepted by those who have little interest in Jesus anyway. The second position is more subtle. For those who have come to believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the spirit of the antichrist works using a more believable lie.

If Jesus was only God, but not man, then His life proves nothing. Of course God can be perfect; He is God. If Jesus was infinite in mind, in power, and in compassion, then following Jesus is pointless. We could not follow this Jesus. Whatever He says is great for Him, but we are not that strong. This is the more believable lie.

This is what we see in our culture.

The Jesus in the art of the Middle Ages is thin, pale, otherworldly. He is detached from this world. This Jesus is holy because He has the form of man, but not the substance of man.

The Jesus of today is infinitely faster, stronger, smarter. He is the ultimate CEO of the world. He is in charge of everything; everything is part of His plan. He was this way when He walked the earth; He is this way today. This Jesus saves because He is strong. He had the form of a man, but He never was as weak as a man.

This modern Jesus is just as much a denial of the humanity of Jesus as the Jesus of the Middle Ages. Jesus Christ emptied Himself; He was tempted in all things like we are. The real Jesus was like us. This Jesus has something meaningful to say to us.