Often in conversation with someone, I’ll point out a scripture where Christ did something – calling someone a fool, for example (Matthew 23:19), or refusing to heal someone (Mark 7:27-28), or name-calling (John 8), or any of a dozen other seemingly-uncharacteristic things, to prove a certain point; almost invariably their response is “Well, yeah, but HE was Christ! HE could do those things, but WE CAN’T!”
Here, for example, is an exact quote from one of those discussions, where my opponent stated that “Christians don’t have the liberty to apply Christ’s attitude and His expressions used then because, as Creator with the then office of Savior, He had a much different role and responsibility as well as duty than we have now, in whole.”
Do you agree with that statement? Think about it; it’s important. Did Christ have responsibilities and abilities that you and I lack? Was He “special”? Was He exempted from any rules that you and I have to obey? Was He granted special powers that are inaccessible to us mortals?
I cannot express how important this question is. And how spiritually crippling a wrong answer is. But don’t worry – the truth is out there… somewhere. So let’s go hunt for it.
Christ’s attributes can be conveniently divided into four categories;
- Powers to perform miracles
- Possession of the holy spirit “without measure”.
- Susceptibility to temptation
- Responsibility to condemn sin, and the authority to judge right and wrong
Let’s take them one at a time, and see if, in any of these things, Christ had responsibilities, powers, or rights that are beyond our reach.
1. Powers to perform miracles
Christ came “teaching the kingdom of God” and “healing the sick”. And as He wandered through Judea and Galilee He healed people frequently of terrible illnesses, often in quite dramatic ways. He, of course, did this partly to establish His own credibility as the son of God, and partly because He had the ability and felt sorry for the people.
Hebrews 2:3-4 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?
So the major (if not primary purpose) of the miracles was to show that God was “bearing witness” to the word of Christ and the Apostles. That He was “signing His name” (pardon the pun), to their words. And when Christ sent the apostles out with what’s called the “Great Commission”, He commanded them to preach the gospel to every creature, and promised that “these signs shall follow them that believe” (Mark 16:17), and mentions several signs, including “they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover (verse 18).
Mark 16:20 And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.
So it seems, in the areas of miraculous powers, Christ didn’t exceed the Apostles, and by extension and potentially, the rest of us. But as it actually happened, Christ’s ability to work miracles was INFERIOR to the apostles! Christ promised as much when He said…
John 14:12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and GREATER WORKS than these shall he do; BECAUSE I go unto my Father.
Now before you get all excited, I didn’t say that you and I are better than Christ; I said that our ability to work miracles is POTENTIALLY BETTER THAN HIS! Although, really, it’s not me who said that, but rather Christ, Himself. There is of course a perfectly logical explanation for all of this. See, Christ didn’t heal anyone. Not ONE PERSON! Did you know that? He said so, Himself…
John 14:10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.
Christ may have been the catalyst – the person who asked, or commanded, or did a certain thing – but HE HAD NO MORE POWER TO HEAL SOMEONE OF HIS OWN SELF THAN YOU OR I DO! He HAD to go through the Father to get the power to heal someone, JUST AS YOU AND I!
But UNLIKE Him, WE HAVE A MEDIATOR! Someone to argue our case before the Father, and to overlook certain of our flaws when we are ignorant of them, and so we can do GREATER works that He COULD BECAUSE HE WENT TO HIS FATHER! (John 14:12)
So instead of Christ being “SPECIAL”, He actually had a HARDER time of it than we did, and we have far LESS excuse than Him for not performing powerful miracles!
2. Possession of the holy spirit “without measure”
“Oh, if only God had given ME the holy spirit without measure, as He gave it to Christ, then maybe I could have done some of those miraculous things Christ did…!”
I’ve heard that. Doesn’t seem fair does it? God just DUMPS a truckload of the holy spirit on Christ, and only gives YOU a tiny piece of it. Seems downright unfair. Certainly looks as if Christ was “special” on this point.
But… well, let’s ask the question, to whom does God give the holy spirit?
Acts 5:32 And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.
So to receive the holy spirit you have to obey God. But to keep the holy spirit, you have to like it – and not argue with it constantly!
Acts 7:51 Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.
And if you resist the spirit, it will simply leave; it knows when it’s not wanted.
1 Thessalonians 5:19 Quench not the Spirit.
So it could be said that the more you obey the spirit, the more of it you have. Logical enough, isn’t it? Since we know that some people have, historically, had more of it than others, and since God gives it to those “who obey him”, then the better you obey him, the more of it He’ll give you.
And if this is the case, then it’s a simple matter to explain why Christ had the spirit without measure – He had it without measure, because He had OBEDIENCE without measure!
2 Corinthians 5:5 Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.
You were given the earnest of the spirit WHEN AS YET YOU HAD ONLY GIVEN GOD THE EARNEST OF OBEDIENCE! When your OBEDIENCE is FILLED (2 Corinthians 10:6) , and you obey without measure, then will God give YOU the holy spirit without measure too!
But, you might object, He had it from birth! Well, so did John (Luke 1:41). So did David (Psalms 22:10). So, apparently, did Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:5) and Jacob (Romans 9:13).
These men failed to have the spirit without measure because their obedience wasn’t without measure! David and Bathsheba, for example, prevented David from having that spirit without measure.
But you may object yet again saying “But everyone sins! So no one can have it without measure!” Everyone HAS sinned. That does not mean that everyone will sin again. You may – I may – And if we do, God will pull back His spirit accordingly (Psalms 51:11), or if our sin is bad enough, and our repentance not genuine, He may remove it altogether.
But if that happens, IT DOES NOT MEAN that we were UNABLE to have the spirit without measure, it simply means that WE FAILED TO BE OBEDIENT WITHOUT MEASURE! So Christ did NOT have a “leg up” on the rest of us – He simply was BETTER AT IT than the rest of us!
3. Susceptibility to temptation
But all of that aside, Christ definitely had one huge advantage over us. He was God, and God can’t be tempted. You know that, right? Actually, that’s wrong. So very wrong. It’s an easy mistake, but it’s still wrong.
James 1:13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
God cannot be tempted with evil! It said so, right there! Therefore, Christ couldn’t be tempted with evil, right? No! That is the whole point of this article. When Christ was here, HE WAS NOT GOD! He was A MAN!
Hebrews 2:16 For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.
He didn’t even have the power of an Angel, but he took on himself the nature of Abraham!
Hebrews 2:17-18 Wherefore in ALL THINGS it behoved him to be made LIKE UNTO HIS BRETHREN, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.
He was made like YOU AND I! And He was tempted, JUST AS YOU AND I ARE!
Hebrews 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in ALL POINTS tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
And not just tempted – but tempted IN ALL POINTS JUST LIKE WE ARE – YET WITHOUT SIN! Now it’s time to ask you where the greatest temptation in life comes from? The devil? Your spouse? Your family? Your church?
All good answers, but all wrong. Your biggest temptation is your own nature that WANTS to sin. When you see something that looks fun, even though it’s wrong, you WANT to do it!
James 4:5 Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?
Our spirit WANTS to do those things! And that is not sin – not yet.
James 1:13-14 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, WHEN he is drawn away of HIS OWN LUST, and enticed.
TEMPTATION – in the context being spoken of here and in Hebrews – is that temptation which comes FROM YOUR OWN HEART! And EVERY MAN is tempted with this! And if Christ came, and was tempted in EVERY POINT AS WE ARE, EXCEPT THIS POINT, then HE WAS NOT OUR SAVIOR!
Christ’s heart, if He was to be a valid High Priest to us, had to be tempted to sin! In other words, His heart had to actually WANT to sin! HOWEVER. And here is the important part! HOWEVER, HE DID NOT GIVE IN TO THAT DESIRE FOR A SECOND! And THAT is how He managed not to sin!
Verse 15 Then WHEN LUST HATH CONCEIVED, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
EVERY MAN and every woman ever born, including Jesus Christ, have had that spirit in them that “lusted to envy”. And THAT WASN’T A SIN! That was a DESIRE to sin, that had to be overcome! But if you GIVE IN to it, and it continues, THEN (only then!) it brings forth sin!
James 4:5-7 Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
And here is the rest of that verse, showing HOW to handle this problem so that your LUST TO ENVY does not BRING FORTH SIN! SUBMIT yourselves to God’s will, and resist the devil and (by extension) your carnal nature, AND THEY WILL FLEE FROM YOU!
So EVEN IN THIS, Christ had NO special treatment! He had EVERY disadvantage and setback that you and I have had to overcome!
I realize that some of this sounds a bit blasphemous at first. But take a look at the scriptures and see if that isn’t exactly what they say. It is vital that you understand that Christ was tempted like you, that He had to overcome His nature just as you do, that He was a real person with REAL problems. But a real person with real problems WHO FOUND REAL SOLUTIONS THAT ARE NOT OUT OF YOUR GRASP!
1 Corinthians 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
Christ was an incredible man; as is to be expected, since He was the son of God. But if you set Him up on a pedestal that is so high you can’t even see Him, how can you learn to be like Him? Unless He is real to you, unless He went through the same struggles and trials that you have, and FOUND AN ANSWER, then you will never be motivated to emulate Him – you will instead merely exalt and worship Him. And by itself, that’s just not enough.
4. Responsibility to condemn sin, and the authority to judge right and wrong
But here, for certain, is a place where Christ was “special”. After all, as the ruler, and CREATOR of the universe, HE certainly had the AUTHORITY to make judgment calls that we dare not make!
Or did He?
Philippians 2:7-8 But [Christ] made himself of no reputation, and took upon him 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.
Does that sound like He came here with AUTHORITY to make judgments? Do “humble” “servants” have authority over the universe? Most definitely not. A servant can only speak His master’s will, and can only command the universe through His master’s name.
Verses 9-10 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and GIVEN him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
But NOW, God has HIGHLY exalted him, and made him MORE than a SERVANT, a literal God to whom EVERY KNEE SHOULD BOW, throughout the universe! But if He, as a mortal human, HAD THOSE THINGS ALREADY, God NEEDN’T HAVE GIVEN IT TO HIM!
So as a mortal, He wasn’t in charge of, nor had authority of Himself, OVER ONE SINGLE THING!
Hebrews 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
Jesus was even made lower than the ANGELS – whom He had created! And
Hebrews 2:16-17 For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in ALL THINGS it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
If Christ was “special”, somehow different or better or endowed with superior skills, abilities, or exempted from any laws or trials as a human, THEN HE WAS NOT MADE LIKE UNTO US IN ALL THINGS, and HE CANNOT BE A MERCIFUL HIGH PRIEST, and if He cannot be a faithful High Priest, HE CANNOT MAKE A RECONCILIATION FOR US, and YOU WILL DIE IN YOUR SINS!
CONCLUSION
Fortunately, He wasn’t special. And if Christ did it, we can do it – and maybe even improve on it.
1 Peter 2:21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:
Christ was our example. If Christ took a certain step, we, too, can take that step. If Christ called someone a fool then we, too, can call someone a fool (if they deserve it). If Christ silenced a storm then, barring disobedience on our part, there is nothing keeping us from doing it just as powerfully and just as well as He did it. In fact, since He is on our side, with His help we are able to do it better than He could have done it.
John 13:15 For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.
1 John 2:6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.
Christ was our perfect example. He didn’t have a leg up on the rest of us. And, through Paul, He commanded us to have the same mind as He had; the same mind that enabled Him to call the Pharisees fools, and sons of the devil.
Philippians 2:5-6 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
Do you think it robbery to be equal with God? To say that, as a man, you can be righteous, and fulfill the commands of God? To say that you will, one day, be the son of God, and verily be a God yourself? Then this mind isn’t in you