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Here is one of those arcane theological arguments that is a lot of heat and no light. For those who must have all their theological ducks perfectly in a row, we suppose it's important.
As is too typical for these types of people, the author will not quote any verses at all. We are left to do that for him, to see if his assertions are backed up by the references he gives.
As an aside, it is terribly dangerous to discuss the nature of God as if He is a Being operating in the space-time continuum. His eternal nature means we cannot demand that He conform to a time point.
And we note that this Bible teacher will never quote the Bible.
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Someone recently asked me if Jesus is limited for all eternity by the human nature he took on. This led to a discussion of where Jesus is now and what he is doing – which I hope will answer the question about the limitations of Christ’s human nature. So here goes in 500 words…
At the time of his incarnation Jesus took on a human nature – a second nature – in addition to (not instead of) his divine nature. This second nature is a permanent addition, so Jesus will now always be both fully God and fully man. ("Human" is the term he will use later.
His undocumented statement is part of the case that is yet to be proved.)
Jesus is described in 1 Timothy 2:5 as currently “The man Christ Jesus.” (Let's quote the whole verse:
Thus, from the time of his conception, and for eternity to come, Jesus is no longer just spirit, but has a human body. (This conclusion does not follow from the verse.)
Now his is a glorious body – as ours will be after our resurrection – but it is a body. (Philippians 3:21). (A body, yes, but a transformed one. That begs the question, is it a human body? Let's quote the verse:
In addition, Jesus prayed to the Father, And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. Jn. 17:5 This doesn't sound to us like he's returning to heaven as a human.)
While Jesus was on earth, he was subject to the limitations of being human. We know that Jesus became flesh (John 1:14), that could be touched (1 John 1:1), which got hungry (Mark 11:12), tired (John 4:6) and thirsty (John 19:28). Jesus showed emotions (John 11:33) and he had a mind (Luke 2:25) and a human will (John 6:38). He was subject to temptation (Luke 4:1-12). And we know that after his death and resurrection he still had a human body with flesh and bones, (Luke 24:39) (Again the author inserts the word "human." But the verse does not say "human:"
Then in Acts 1:9 the disciples saw Jesus ascend into heaven and the angels promised that he would return in the same way (Acts 1:14). The physical manifestation of his being is in one place in a titular, or rather “titled” sense (the right hand of the Father, Heb 1:3) and in a locative sense (the location of heaven) until he returns physically to earth (Acts 3:21).
But the Holy Spirit of Jesus is also omnipresent. And Paul does not seem to have a problem with referring to Jesus as living in us (Gal 2:20 and Rom 8:10). Jesus himself says that he will be with us (Matt 28:20), even though he said that he was leaving so that the Spirit would come (John 15:7). So while Jesus is in heaven in his human body, he is omnipresent through the Holy Spirit.
So this brings us to the question of whether Jesus is limited in some way. There is nothing in Scripture that indicates that Jesus is in any way limited or disadvantaged by his human nature, either now or in eternity to come.
Right now in heaven he continues to do his powerful work:
• He is upholding the universe by the word of his power (Heb 1:3)
• He is building his church (Matt 16:18)
• He is interceding for us (Heb 7:25, Rom 8:34)
• He is preparing a place for us (John 14:2)
In conclusion, Jesus’ condescension into human form was great, he is forevermore both fully God and fully man, but Jesus is not diminished in any way and is not any less God than perfect God.
Hope that helps. (Not really. Although the author does a pretty good job noting that Jesus is not limited, he does not document the claim that Jesus' glorified body is an unchanged human one. We are not trying to suggest that Jesus is some sort of spirit, or that His spiritual nature is separate from deity, or any of the numerous heresies of past centuries. We are simply questioning the nature of the resurrected body.
The resurrected body cannot die:
Human bodies lack an eternal destiny:
But again, this kind of theological parsing is not profitable. In the final analysis, having the "right" answer is not relevant to living a holy life of obedience and worship.)
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Jordan Peterson asks this provocative question: what does an omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent Being lack? The answer is… limitations.
Someone recently asked me if Jesus is limited for all eternity by the human nature he took on. This led to a discussion of where Jesus is now and what he is doing – which I hope will answer the question about the limitations of Christ’s human nature. So here goes in 500 words…
At the time of his incarnation Jesus took on a human nature – a second nature – in addition to (not instead of) his divine nature. This second nature is a permanent addition, so Jesus will now always be both fully God and fully man. ("Human" is the term he will use later.
His undocumented statement is part of the case that is yet to be proved.)
Jesus is described in 1 Timothy 2:5 as currently “The man Christ Jesus.” (Let's quote the whole verse:
1Ti. 2:5-6 For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all men — the testimony given in its proper time.This mediation is an event in time. The verse does not speak to the state of Jesus at any other time but that time.)
Thus, from the time of his conception, and for eternity to come, Jesus is no longer just spirit, but has a human body. (This conclusion does not follow from the verse.)
Now his is a glorious body – as ours will be after our resurrection – but it is a body. (Philippians 3:21). (A body, yes, but a transformed one. That begs the question, is it a human body? Let's quote the verse:
Ph. 3:20-21 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body."Transform" is μετασχηματίζω : to change in fashion or appearance. SOMETHING changed, but we don't actually know what. We cannot say that these glorified bodies will be soley or precisely human. However, we can say that Jesus is "the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being..." Heb. 1:3], and if we are to be like Him, our radiance will also be the radiance of God's glory.
In addition, Jesus prayed to the Father, And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. Jn. 17:5 This doesn't sound to us like he's returning to heaven as a human.)
While Jesus was on earth, he was subject to the limitations of being human. We know that Jesus became flesh (John 1:14), that could be touched (1 John 1:1), which got hungry (Mark 11:12), tired (John 4:6) and thirsty (John 19:28). Jesus showed emotions (John 11:33) and he had a mind (Luke 2:25) and a human will (John 6:38). He was subject to temptation (Luke 4:1-12). And we know that after his death and resurrection he still had a human body with flesh and bones, (Luke 24:39) (Again the author inserts the word "human." But the verse does not say "human:"
Lk. 24:39 Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.and he ate food to prove this. (Luke 24:42).
Then in Acts 1:9 the disciples saw Jesus ascend into heaven and the angels promised that he would return in the same way (Acts 1:14). The physical manifestation of his being is in one place in a titular, or rather “titled” sense (the right hand of the Father, Heb 1:3) and in a locative sense (the location of heaven) until he returns physically to earth (Acts 3:21).
But the Holy Spirit of Jesus is also omnipresent. And Paul does not seem to have a problem with referring to Jesus as living in us (Gal 2:20 and Rom 8:10). Jesus himself says that he will be with us (Matt 28:20), even though he said that he was leaving so that the Spirit would come (John 15:7). So while Jesus is in heaven in his human body, he is omnipresent through the Holy Spirit.
So this brings us to the question of whether Jesus is limited in some way. There is nothing in Scripture that indicates that Jesus is in any way limited or disadvantaged by his human nature, either now or in eternity to come.
Right now in heaven he continues to do his powerful work:
• He is upholding the universe by the word of his power (Heb 1:3)
• He is building his church (Matt 16:18)
• He is interceding for us (Heb 7:25, Rom 8:34)
• He is preparing a place for us (John 14:2)
In conclusion, Jesus’ condescension into human form was great, he is forevermore both fully God and fully man, but Jesus is not diminished in any way and is not any less God than perfect God.
Hope that helps. (Not really. Although the author does a pretty good job noting that Jesus is not limited, he does not document the claim that Jesus' glorified body is an unchanged human one. We are not trying to suggest that Jesus is some sort of spirit, or that His spiritual nature is separate from deity, or any of the numerous heresies of past centuries. We are simply questioning the nature of the resurrected body.
The resurrected body cannot die:
He. 7:15-16 And what we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, 16 one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life.But we know that human bodies are not indestructible.
Human bodies lack an eternal destiny:
Ro. 8:11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.The glorified body is different:
1Co. 15:40-43 There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. 41 The sun has one kind of splendour, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.42 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power...
Ph. 3:20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.We do not think Jesus is eternally human. We believe He was changed by the power of the resurrection, and we also we be changed in the same way.
But again, this kind of theological parsing is not profitable. In the final analysis, having the "right" answer is not relevant to living a holy life of obedience and worship.)
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