Jesus came to earth to show the way of righteousness. He showed us how to live in view of the Kingdom of God. He came to atone for our sins. He came to teach us the truth. He came to give us new life by making us born-again. He also showed us how to do it all in the confines of humanity.
Jesus Did His Work as a Human
Philippians 2:1-11 tells us a profound truth about Jesus. He existed from eternity past. He has the very nature and essence of the Father. Yet, when He came to earth, He did something very different. He completed his mission as a man. That has profound meaning for us. It means, we have an example of a human being partnering with the divine that proves living for heaven is within our grasp.
I know some theologians are very insistent on the semantics of Jesus being the “God-Man.” He is God-Man without a doubt. That was agreed upon at the Council of Chalcedon in the 5th century. Yet the Son of God coming in human flesh and living a human life empowered by the divine is the first, but not last instance of a human living in partnership with the power of God.
Paul alludes to Jesus as the “First-born of all creation.” He is the “Second Adam.” This leads us to understand the Jesus’ coming in the flesh is on the same par with the creation of Adam. Where Adam was the first of humankind, Jesus is the first of the rebirth of humankind. Adam had the chance to live perfectly and failed to. As a result, every human that came after him was bound by Adam’s failure, since it was a corruption of nature, not just an isolated action. Jesus had the chance to live perfectly and succeeded. The result is that every human that follows Christ is unbound from Adam’s failure, since it is a remaking of nature.
What a Second Adam Means for Us
In Hebrews it says we do not have a high priest that is unsympathetic to our experiences, because he was tempted in every way a human could be tempted, yet kept his resolve. Jesus fulfilling a righteous obedience to the heart and law of God means he did what Adam could have done but failed to do. For those of us on this side of the cross, that means a profound change in our nature. We now have forgiveness for our sins and a remaking of our sin nature. This then enables us to be indwelt by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit empowers us to live holy and loving lives unto God in Jesus’ name.
Now we can live righteous lives out of the nature that Jesus has recreated in us by his death and resurrection. We can be whole, holy, loving, and just in the eyes of our heavenly Father. Jesus as the second Adam means a second chance to live as we were created to live, in perfect harmony and unity with God, each other, and nature.
Jesus took off his titles and his “omni’s” as he came to earth and walked as a real human being. Now that He has resurrected, He has put all that back on, being unified with the Holy Spirit and the Father. Yet His human example endures in the church. We are now called to walk as Jesus walked. Pray as Jesus prayed. Live a life of resurrection empowered by the Holy Spirit, just as Jesus did. The scripture tells us “The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead dwells inside you.” That is the source of living a life in imitation of Jesus. It is only through the power of the Holy Spirit that our lives can honor God. That is made possible by Jesus’ sacrificial work on the Cross and subsequent resurrection. It is in light of all this that Jesus bid us “Go forth into all the world and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. And lo, I am with you, even until the end of the age.”