I hear Christians teach that Jesus was able to perform amazing miracles and effectively preach the Kingdom of God because He was God. The effect of taking away the humanity of Jesus is to remove the power of God in our lives. Jesus lived His life, not as God (even though He was God), but as a man teaching and demonstrating the power and authority given to man by God. As He was crucified as a man, He also lived His life exactly as a man. Yet, He did it without ever experiencing sin. Could He have sinned? Absolutely He could have, just the same as any other man. He was tempted to do so in the same way any other man is tempted, but avoided sin the same way it is possible for other men to avoid sin - by studying the scripture, prayer, fasting and obeying the Father.
He performed miracles as a man the same way men perform similar miracles today. Men today do not perform miracles with their own power, but rather through faith in God and the power of God. Jesus' miracles were no different. Again, it was his studying of the scripture, prayer to the Father, fasting, and obeying the Father that gave Him the faith to heal the sick and raise the dead. He went on to tell His disciples they too would do what He did and do even greater miracles than He did.
Yes, the effect of taking away the humanity of Jesus is to remove the power of God in our lives. He did what He did, as a man empowered by God, demonstrating we to as men, when empowered by God, can do the same.
Yes, the effect of taking away the humanity of Jesus is to remove the power of God in our lives. He did what He did, as a man empowered by God, demonstrating we to as men, when empowered by God, can do the same.
The following is my edited version of Gerald D. Benbow's essay taken from the Is Jesus The "Second Adam"? website. I have provided the link to Mr Benbow's essay because I, for the sake of space, edited away the first half of his writing, but I strongly suggest you read his entire essay. Mr Benbow begins the essay by explaining the relevance in understanding the difference between the "first" Adam, the "second" Adam, and the "last or third" Adam. He also shows the importance in understanding who's blood actually flowed in the "first" Adam's veins, and who's flowed in the "last" Adam's veins.
One note before we get to Mr. Benbow's essay: He did not write about the possibility of Mary being a surrogate mother to the baby Jesus. I couldn't help but think the practicalities of that possibility which in my mind would support his message concerning the way Jesus lived and died as a man. In other words, if the DNA of Mary was included in the DNA of Jesus, simply because it was her ovum that was fertilized by the Holy Spirit, then Jesus would be half man and half God - a hybrid of sorts. On the other hand, if Jesus was actually all man and at the same time all God (two separate natures) He could not be the actually blood son of Mary. I hold that Jesus was called the Son of Man because He was born as a man from a woman (albeit without sin) but with a sinful nature. At the same time He could be called the Son of God because He was the result of a fetus implanted into Mary's womb by the Holy Spirit. Jesus' blood was God's blood, just as the "first" Adam's blood was God's blood. Please read Mr Benbow's entire essay! But I digress.
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My edit of Mr. Benbow's essay:
Because Almighty God is both fair and just, the "Last Adam" would have to be another man. God Himself wouldn't just come to Earth and defeat the Devil. He could, but He wouldn't. Why? Because it was a being of the "human category" who lost the dominion of Earth, and in order to be fair, just, and legal, another being of the "human category" must be the one to recapture the control and dominion of the planet, Earth. To go about it in any other way would not be fair, just, or legal. God gave the dominion of Earth to man, and man willingly turned it over to the Devil, therefore it would require a man to repossess it.
THE SON OF MAN
But from the moment that the Word of God became flesh in the womb of the virgin, Mary, until He physically died on that cross, Jesus lived His entire physical life on Earth as 100% man. Even though Jesus was God during the time he lived here on Earth, He laid all of His deity aside and lived out His entire physical life as a pure 100% man would do, and not as God. Now find Philippians chapter two:
Philippians 2:6-8 "Who (Christ Jesus), being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him (Himself) the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."
You see, Jesus came to us as man, not as God. He ate, He slept, He got tired, He showed emotions, He cried, He became angry, etc. He was only in the form of God (Vs. 6). And if you search the scriptures, you will find that He never performed any miracles until after He had been baptized and filled with the Holy Ghost, which is a requirement for man, not God. For the first twenty-nine years of His life He performed no miracles. Why? Because He was a human being and human beings do not perform miracles. Only God Himself or the Spirit of God operating from within and through a yielded human being perform miracles. So we believers must first be filled with the Spirit of God before God will perform any miracles through us.
One of the Church's failures today is its inability to see the humanity of Jesus. All during the time He walked here among us that He consistently referred to Himself as the "Son of Man"? It wasn't until after His resurrection that the Scriptures refer to Him as the "Son of God". Every miracle Jesus Christ ever performed during His physical lifetime, He did so as mere man - - not as God. You say you're having difficulty accepting that? Well, let's go to the Scriptures again, and keep in mind that these Scriptures we're about to read are referring to events which happened on the other side of the cross from where we are today - - - ie. prior to His crucifixion :
John 5:19-20 - "Then answered Jesus and said unto them (the Jews), ‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He seeth the Father do: for what things soever He (the Father) doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.'"
John 8:28-29 - "Then said Jesus unto them (the Jews), ‘When ye have lifted up (crucified) the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am He (the Messiah), and that I do nothing of Myself; but as my Father hath taught Me, I speak these things. And He (the Father) that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please Him.'"
Now when Jesus says that He can do nothing of Himself, does that sound like something Almighty God would say? No! Certainly not! He was speaking as the "Son of Man"- - as a flesh and blood male human being! He was demonstrating to us how we are to listen to the Father for our instructions on a daily basis. Today, on this side of the cross, two thousand or so years after Jesus completed His sacrificial assignment, was resurrected, and sat down at the right hand of God the Father, He says this:
John 15:5 - "I am the vine; ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without (apart from) me you can do nothing".
WHAT ABOUT THE CHURCH ?
Today, as 100% mankind, you and I, the church, find ourselves here on Planet Earth just like Jesus was before He was crucified. And just like Jesus, the Son of man, we can also do nothing of ourselves. Just as the Father was in Jesus, we too must be "in Him" - - "in Christ", washed in His perfect sinless blood. And, just as His physical body was present on Planet Earth before He acquired His glorified spiritual body of flesh and bone when He was resurrected, (see Luke 24:39), we also now find ourselves on Planet Earth prior to receiving our glorified spiritual bodies of flesh and bone when the resurrection of the Church occurs (see 1 John 3:2).
We must also understand that, although Jesus is now seated at the right hand of God, He is also still on the Earth today! What? You didn't know that? Please understand that today, we believers, the Church, are His Body on Earth. Today we are like gloves on the hands of God. Through us, He can work miracles and many other wonderful works. He even imparts to us His very mind. His Love has also been shed abroad in our hearts! And our physical bodies are the Temples of His Spirit.
JESUS CALLS
Today He's still in the business of calling people who will let Him deliver them out of their "Adamic Nature". He's not calling the equipped, He's equipping the called in order to bring it to pass. Through His gift of faith we even have the ability to partake of His divine nature. Just listen to the words of the apostle Peter as the Holy Spirit inspired him to write the following:
2 Peter 1: 3-4: "His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these (great and precious promises) ye might be partakersdivine nature having escaped the corruption (degeneration caused by the Adamic nature) that is in the World through lust."
Jesus really is the Messiah , the Christ, the Son of the living God and it's a blood thing. Through His blood we can now have freedom from sin, sickness, and death. Jesus is the only Truth, the only Life, and the only Way to the Father.
Jesus actually felt every pain on that cross just like you and I would have felt had we been there instead of Him! He died a terrible death and the blood that drained out of His Body - - - God's blood.
By Gerald D. Benbow
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