8.3 The Nature of Jesus

The word ‘nature’ means ‘fundamental, essential being'. We have shown in Study 1 that the Bible speaks of only two natures - that of God, and that of man. By nature God cannot die, be tempted etc. It is evident that Christ was not of God’s nature during his life. He was therefore of human nature. From our definition of the word ‘nature’ it is evident that Christ could not have had two natures simultaneously. It was vital that Christ was tempted like us (Heb. 4:15), so that through his perfect overcoming of temptation he could gain forgiveness for us. “We have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like us” (Heb. 4:15) expresses a truth negatively. It suggests that even in the first century there were those who thought that Jesus “cannot be touched ...