Hebrews 4:11-16
We’re going to learn more about our Lord and our Great Savior, Jesus Christ, today. The Bible says directly that Jesus is God manifest in the flesh.
1 Timothy 3:16
And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
We’ve been learning in Matthew Chapter 1 about the generation of Jesus Christ. We know for sure that Jesus is the Son of God, and we know that He is God. He’s not the Father or the Holy Spirit. He’s the Son of God, but He’s also the one God with the Father and Holy Spirit.
Great is the Mystery of Godliness
Hey, without controversy, GREAT IS THE MYSTERY of godliness. “God was manifest in the flesh.” We know Jesus was made of this same flesh that we have.
In Matthew Chapter 1, we’ve seen some not so great people in the physical line of Jesus Christ. We saw Judah with his daughter in law who played the harlot against him, but he was looking for a harlot. We’ve seen Rahab the harlot. We’ve seen Ruth a Moabite. The Moabites came from incest between Lot and his daughter.
We saw king David who committed adultery and had the husband killed who was fighting in the war for David the king. Jesus was made of the seed of David according to the flesh.
Romans 1:3-4
Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; 4 And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:
Jesus was made of the seed of David according to the flesh.
We are given all the people in the physical lines of Jesus Christ in Matthew Chapter 1, through Joseph the husband of Mary, and in Luke Chapter 3, through Mary. One of the points of giving us all the names of those people is to show how unrighteous they were. They were all sinners in the flesh just as I am a sinner in this flesh.
If I had to pay for my own sins, where would I go when I died? I would end up burning in hell in torments. And that goes for all of us. That goes for every name in the Bible except for Jesus Christ.
Was The Flesh of Jesus Different Than Our Flesh?
Listen, many people will teach that the flesh of Jesus Christ was different than the flesh that we have here. They will say that Jesus had divine flesh or a different flesh than what we have. They are confused and are preaching confusion. We’ll go with the truth here.
But, please hear this, the flesh that Jesus Christ came in was the same flesh that we have.
There isn’t some different type of flesh. It’s this same flesh. There isn’t some God flesh. He came in the flesh. He is God manifest in the flesh. And what does this flesh do to us? Let’s see.
Romans 7:18-19
For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. 19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
This is the Apostle Paul. He was better than us. He was a better man than me by far. He says, “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing.” He says, I want to do good but I do evil. Why? If we choose to walk after the flesh, we go after the lusts of the flesh, we obey our flesh, and we sin.
What’s an example? Men love women. Men will lust after women. A married man sees another woman that isn’t his wife. And he wants her. That’s a lust of the flesh. He is enticed. And he goes after her in lust. He sins greatly. Why? Because he allowed the lust of the flesh to get him. He obeyed that lust of his flesh.
James 1:13-16
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: 14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. 16 Do not err, my beloved brethren.
Sin brings forth death. This flesh of mine, because of the sin I’ve chosen to commit, is dying, because I couldn’t resist the temptation. I get sick. I’m aging. My hair has turned from brown, to gray, to white and it’s even falling out. Why is my flesh dying? Sin. I’m not perfect.
Every Man is Tempted When He is Drawn Away of His Own Lust
Every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed. When lust is conceived, it bringeth forth sin.
For example, instead of being drawn away from the good of his wife to that woman that isn’t his wife, he should get away from her, go home to his wife, and love her. It’s far better. Don’t let things of this world, of the lust of the flesh, entice you. Resist the temptation.
For example, you might see something you want really bad in a store. You lust after it, and you decide to take it and walk out of the store with it. God says to not steal, and He’s serious. It’s better to get a job, work for it, and go purchase it. You’ll enjoy it that way far better. You’ll be happier because you worked for it.
So, we have this sinful flesh. We are tempted because of this flesh.
1 John 2:16-17
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
Hey, please listen. Jesus was made of the flesh. He is the Word in the Bible.
John 1:1-3
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Jesus is God. All things were made by Him. Skipping down to verse 14 in John Chapter 1.
John 1:14
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
Jesus is God Manifest in the Flesh
We know Jesus is God, and we know He came in this same flesh that we have today.
Matthew 1:23
Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
Jesus is God in the flesh. The Bible doesn’t say He was Gid in some different type of Godly flesh. Let’s see what the Bible says, and the Bible, the word of God, will prove that Jesus was in this same flesh as us.
Let’s look closely at a Scripture we read today.
Hebrews 4:14-16
Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. 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. 16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Jesus is our high priest. Why is Jesus such a great high priest? He knows exactly what it’s like to be exactly like us in this flesh. He knows what our infirmities feel like. The Bible specifically says Jesus was “in all points tempted like as we are.”
Jesus was tempted. Yet Jesus was without sin. We’ve been tempted. And we’ve sinned.
Jesus didn’t stay in heaven. He came as God manifest in the flesh and lived a perfect life even though He was tempted in all points just like we are tempted. Jesus had this flesh. How do we know for sure that Jesus had this flesh? Let’s look at the Scriptures.
Matthew 4:1-3
Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. 2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. 3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
Jesus was tempted of the devil. Jesus had this same flesh and fasted for forty days and forty nights. He had no food for 40 days. He was hungry the Bible says. God doesn’t get hungry, but God in the flesh does get hungry because the flesh gets hungry.
The Tempter Came to Jesus
The tempter came to Jesus. Jesus was tempted with food, with tempting God, and with worshipping Satan. Jesus resisted the flesh and never sinned.
Obviously, though, Jesus was hungry.
Matthew 21:18
Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered.
Now, who here has been really hungry and then ate way too much because they lusted after the food? I’ve done that many times. It’s sin. Jesus didn’t even do that after 40 days without food. He resisted the temptation to turn stones into bread and to eat.
Matthew 8:24
And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep.
Jesus slept. Right there at the end of that verse. “But he was asleep.” God doesn’t sleep, but God manifest in the flesh does sleep. Jesus didn’t have an advantage over us. He had the same flesh.
Luke 8:23
But as they sailed he fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy.
Hey, look there. Jesus fell asleep. Why did He go to sleep? He was tired. His flesh wasn’t some different type of flesh. He was tired. It’s not a sin to be tired from working hard.
John 4:6
Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.
It was the sixth hour, or 6 pm, when women would come to the well to get water. It was evening. Jesus had worked hard all day long. The Bible says Jesus was wearied with his journey. He worked hard. He was tired. He wanted to sit down. And He did sit there on the well. He rested.
Jesus rested. Jesus slept. Jesus wept.
John 11:35
Jesus wept.
God doesn’t cry, but God in the flesh does cry. It’s okay to cry. I cry. Some men will teach their sons not to cry. Well, Jesus cried. And He’s the greatest man to ever live. He wept.
Luke 2:52
And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.
Jesus Increased in Wisdom and Stature
Jesus increased in wisdom and stature. How is that possible? Jesus is God. Muslims will try to use this verse to say, “See, Jesus can’t be God because He increased in wisdom. Doesn’t God have all wisdom?”
Jesus is God manifest in the flesh. The same flesh that we have. He didn’t get an advantage. He was just like us in this flesh, and He didn’t sin. That verse just proves how much greater Jesus was than us. He increased in wisdom and still never sinned while He was increasing in wisdom.
That verse proves He didn’t have some divine type of flesh that’s different than ours.
Luke 22:41-44
And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, 42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. 43 And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. 44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
This was the night he was betrayed. He’s in the Garden of Gethsemane. He’s in agony. His sweat was as it were great drops of blood. He was in that much agony. He knew what was coming. Torture and pain in the flesh. He didn’t deserve any of this.
He is the perfect man in the flesh. He is God manifest in the flesh. As a man, he has a body, spirit, and a soul. We are made in His image.
He prays to His Father in heaven, “If thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.”
Jesus is God. God has one will. But Jesus is God manifest in the flesh. He was made in the likeness of man.
Philippians 2:6-8
Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Jesus is equal with God. He is God. But He came in the flesh. He was made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion as a man. In the form of a man. This means He was in this same flesh.
He’s God, but Jesus humbled Himself. He had a will as a man. That perfect man knew what was coming. He has the will of God. He knew what He had to do. But He had the will of a man. He humbled himself, as God in the flesh, and became obedient unto death.
Jesus Obeyed the Will of God
What was He obedient to? What did He obey? He obeyed the will of God. God’s will was for Jesus Christ, God Himself, to take on the sins of the whole world, die, and pay the penalty for sins.
His will, as God manifest in the flesh, was different than the will of God. You can see this here. The Bible never says the Holy Spirit had a different will than the Father. Why? Because the Holy Spirit didn’t come in the flesh. Jesus was made of the flesh. Watch this next Scripture closely. This is a parallel passage to Luke Chapter 22 that we just read a few minutes ago.
Remember, Jesus was in agony, as a man. His sweat was as it were great drops of blood.
Matthew 26:37-39
And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. 38 Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. 39 And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
Jesus was very sorrowful and very heavy. He was hurting. He has a soul. “My soul is exceeding sorrowful.” He knows better than you and I what it feels like to have pain and sorrow. We’ ourselves, have given Him pain and sorrow our entire lives. We did that to Him.
He prays, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.” What Jesus was about to suffer for the whole world, all men and women, all sinners of all time, was going to be horrible. A nightmare.
Hey, when death comes close to you, when it hits you as a reality, it’s scary. It’s horrible. Jesus was about to be tortured more than any man ever has or will be tortured. The Bible tells us this in the prophets.
Isaiah 52:14
As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men:
Again, his visage, or his face or the look of his face, was so marred or disfigured. He was despised and rejected of men. Do you know what that feels like? He is our Creator. His own creation despised Him. We rejected Him. And yet, He continued on for us. And He endured more than any man ever has or will.
Isaiah 53:3
He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
So, many of you have had some really tough times in your life, but understand that you’ve had nothing like the Lord Jesus Christ. Not even close. A man of sorrows. Acquainted with grief. Why? Because of you and I. He was beat, whipped, mocked, spit on, scourged, the hairs were plucked off his face, and they put a crown of thorns on his head.
They drove nails through his hands and his feet. He was tortured there.
Jesus Prayed For Another Way In His Flesh
Jesus knew what was coming that night in the garden. He prays to His Father, “If it be possible, let this cup pass from me.” Is there any other way, Father? As God, Jesus knew there wasn’t any other way. But He was God manifest in the flesh. He had the will of a man just as we have our own will. He asked, He was without sin, “Is there any other way?”
This absolutely 100% proves He was made of the flesh and in that same flesh as you and I.
Luke 22:42
Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.
See what Jesus says right there. He says, “Nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.” Obviously, as the man that He was, in this same flesh, He had a different will than His Father in heaven. Jesus says, “Not my will, but thine, be done.” He was obedient to the SINGLE and ONLY WILL of the one true God.
We’ve clearly seen today that Jesus was most definitely 100% in this same flesh. And yet, He never sinned. But, let’s look at the greatest point of all in the entire Bible that shows Jesus wasn’t made of some different type of flesh than us. He wasn’t made of a divine flesh or a Godly flesh. He was in this same flesh. Let me show you the greatest proof of that in the entire Bible.
Mark 15:34
And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
Jesus is hanging there on that cross, God manifest IN THE FLESH, and He’s about to die. He cries out, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” That’s very sad. Everyone forsook Jesus. He was there all alone. See, in your life, God promised to never leave you. You are never alone. But Jesus, right then and there, was all alone. God forsook Him because of our sin.
Moving down to verse 37 in Mark Chapter 15, the same chapter.
Mark 15:37
And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost.
Don’t miss that. Jesus cried with a loud voice. He was hurting badly. Why? He was in this flesh. He was dying. The Bible says that Jesus gave up the ghost. Ghost equals spirit. Spirit equals life. We have body or flesh, spirit or ghost, and a soul. A man, I have body, spirit, and soul.
Jesus, as a man, has a body, a spirit, and a soul. When the spirit or life leaves the body, the body or the flesh dies.
The Body or Flesh of Jesus Died
The flesh of Jesus Christ, as soon as He gave up the ghost or the life within Him, died. His body died right then and there. The Bible says His soul was not left in hell. As God manifest in the flesh, Jesus died right then and there.
The flesh, the body of Jesus, had no more life within it. His body died. They buried His body in a tomb for three days and three nights. His body was dead.
If Jesus had some different type of flesh than us, a divine flesh, He wouldn’t have died. But He did. We know that He did. He died, He was buried, and He arose from that dead in that same body but now a glorified body. NOW A BODY THAT CAN’T BE CORRUPTED AND CAN’T BE KILLED. A new body. A new flesh.
After Jesus arose from the dead, Thomas didn’t believe. He said, “Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
John 20:27-28
Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. 28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.
Jesus is God. Thomas says so right there. My Lord and my God. Jesus is God manifest in the flesh. Jesus wasn’t in some different type of flesh than us. He was born of the virgin Mary. Came just like we did into this world. He grew up and was perfect in this same flesh.
He was tempted in all points as we are. He got hungry. He got tired. He slept. He wept. He cried. He was in agony. He was in pain. He knows it all better than we do. No one has been through anything like Jesus suffered. He sweated drops of blood. We hurt Him so much.
But He loved us so much that He went to that cross, doing the will of God, becoming obedient unto the death of the cross, and He took our place there. We deserve it because of all the sin we commit in our lives. But He took it all for us. He died in our place in this same flesh.
I want you to remember that today. And don’t ever forget it. When you’re having trouble, remember Jesus Christ. He took it all. He conquered it all. He arose from the dead, from death and hell, and He paid your penalty fully.
Believe that, know that He can save you, and He’ll save you right now forever.
Jesus is God in the flesh. He is our great high priest who knows what we’re going through. He came and He lived this life in the flesh just as we are in that same flesh. Hey, let’s do our absolute best for Him because He gave us all He had. He gave us the best. Let’s give Him the best we’ve got. Let’s live this life for Him.
Let’s pray.
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