Why did God present Jesus to live in our midst? It is a great mystery that He appeared in the body, but He did so that we would be saved, and that we would have fellowship with Him. He lived to show that He was obedient to the Father even unto death. He wanted us to see Him as a living sacrifice, and that He was the example for us to live in the same way that He did.
Jesus had a body in that God was chosen to live with us and be amongst His creation. He would no longer come down in a cloud or as a pillar of fire but as the One who would live with us.
1 John 1:1-3
1 What was from the beginning,
what we have heard,
what we have seen with our eyes,
what we have observed
and have touched with our hands,
concerning the Word of life—
2 that life was revealed,
and we have seen it
and we testify and declare to you
the eternal life that was with the Father
and was revealed to us—
3 what we have seen and heard
we also declare to you,
so that you may have fellowship along with us;
and indeed our fellowship is with the Father
and with His Son Jesus Christ.
Jesus appeared before us–came to us in the likeness of sinful man; yet, He never sinned. That is an important difference between Him and our own bodies.
2 Corinthians 5:21
He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
1 Peter 2:22
He did not commit sin,
and no deceit was found in His mouth.
He looked like us, but He was not who we are.
Romans 8:3
What the law could not do since it was limited by the flesh, God did. He condemned sin in the flesh by sending His own Son in flesh like ours under sin’s domain, and as a sin offering.
In order to be a sin offering, He had to be without blemish, and in Jesus’ instance, without sin.
Hebrews 7:27
He doesn’t need to offer sacrifices every day, as high priests do—first for their own sins, then for those of the people. He did this once for all when He offered Himself.
Some of us have a hard time understanding that Jesus was God because He was in the likeness of a human being.
John 14:8-9
8 “Lord,” said Philip, “show us the Father, and that’s enough for us.”
9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been among you all this time without your knowing Me, Philip? The one who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
Do you have to be convinced that Jesus is truly God? When you look at Jesus, His attributes, His words, His abilities, and what He represents, you have seen the love of God for His people.
2 Corinthians 5:16
From now on, then, we do not know anyone in a purely human way. Even if we have known Christ in a purely human way, yet now we no longer know Him in this way.
2 Corinthians 5:16 (NIV)
So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.
John 15:13
No one has greater love than this, that someone would lay down his life for his friends.
Jesus was in His body because He shared in our humanity. Even though He was able, for example, to walk on water, but He also experienced hunger and thirst, and He also experienced pain.
Hebrews 2:14-18
14 Now since the children have flesh and blood in common, Jesus also shared in these, so that through His death He might destroy the one holding the power of death—that is, the Devil— 15 and free those who were held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death. 16 For it is clear that He does not reach out to help angels, but to help Abraham’s offspring. 17 Therefore, He had to be like His brothers in every way, so that He could become a merciful and faithful high priest in service[a] to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For since He Himself was tested and has suffered, He is able to help those who are tested.
Luke 2:52
And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and with people.
Only in the body could Satan be defeated. Jesus defeated Satan and sin with His eternal sacrifice of Himself.
Hebrews 2:14-15
14 Now since the children have flesh and blood in common, Jesus also shared in these, so that through His death He might destroy the one holding the power of death—that is, the Devil— 15 and free those who were held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death.
Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
1 Corinthians 15:55-56
55 Death, where is your victory?
Death, where is your sting?
56 Now the sting of death is sin,
and the power of sin is the law.
Matthew 10:28
28 Don’t fear those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul; rather, fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Jude 1:9
Yet Michael the archangel, when he was disputing with the Devil in a debate about Moses’ body, did not dare bring an abusive condemnation against him but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”
Matthew 4:1-11
4 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil. 2 After He had fasted 40 days and 40 nights, He was hungry. 3 Then the tempter approached Him and said, “If You are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
4 But He answered, “It is written:
Man must not live on bread alone
but on every word that comes
from the mouth of God.”
5 Then the Devil took Him to the holy city, had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written:
He will give His angels orders concerning you,
and they will support you with their hands
so that you will not strike
your foot against a stone.”
7 Jesus told him, “It is also written: Do not test the Lord your God.”
8 Again, the Devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 And he said to Him, “I will give You all these things if You will fall down and worship me.”
10 Then Jesus told him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written:
Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only Him.”
11 Then the Devil left Him, and immediately angels came and began to serve Him.
Jesus Christ showed us how to overcome the enemy in the body if we are to only follow Him. Satan can only tempt the flesh and not the soul. All that is necessary is to resist Him with God’s Word.
Jesus Christ died for us in order that we would live. Our sins were on His body, and He made us righteous before God.
1 Peter 2:24
He Himself bore our sins
in His body on the tree,
so that, having died to sins,
we might live for righteousness;
you have been healed by His wounds.
Jesus fulfilled the sacrifice that was referred to in the Old Testament
Leviticus 16:20-22
20 “When he has finished purifying the most holy place, the tent of meeting, and the altar, he is to present the live male goat. 21 Aaron will lay both his hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the Israelites’ wrongdoings and rebellious acts—all their sins. He is to put them on the goat’s head and send it away into the wilderness by the man appointed for the task. 22 The goat will carry on it all their wrongdoings into a desolate land, and he will release it there.
2 Corinthians 5:21
He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Without Jesus Christ paying the penalty for sin, we would experience eternal separation from God because of our sin, which leads to death. Eternal separation from God is to experience an absence of God. Thankfully, Jesus paved the way for our eternal fellowship with God through His bodily sacrifice. We are able to overcome sin (to die to sin) because of what Jesus did for us. You are healed in Him because His body took our punishment (yours and mine) that we would have the privilege to eternal life with God. We no longer need to fear death, the wages of sin, because we have faith and trust in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.
Akron Alliance Fellowship 