The doctrine of the continuing humanity of Jesus Christ

by hooberus 8 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

hooberus
The watchtower teaches that Jesus Christ is no longer human. The scriptures however show that Jesus Christ is still a human.
- It was a "man" (Acts 17:31) / "Son of man" (Matthew 17:9) whom God hath raised from the dead.
"Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead." Acts 17:31
"And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead." Matthew 17:9
- It is a man /son of man linked to Gods "right hand" (compare Psalm 110:1 prophecy).
"Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself." Psalm 80:17
"And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God." Acts 7:56
- The mediator is (present tense) . . . . "the man" Christ Jesus.
"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time." 1 Timothy 2:5-6
- The "man" will bear the glory and sit and rule rule upon his throne. The "Son of man" will sit upon the throne of his glory.
"And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD: Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both." Zechariah 6:12-13
"When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:" Matthew 25:31
- The scriptures state that it is a "man" / "son of man" who God will put all things under his feet. This is applied to Jesus Christ in 1 Corinthians 15:27; Ephesians 1:22; Hebrews 2:6-8
"What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:" Psalm 8:4-6 "For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith, all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him." 1 Corinthians 15:27 "And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church," Ephesians 1:22
Deputy Dog

hooberus
Good sciptures. They go well with the question "What came down from Heaven?" (Text John 6:22-59)
This gets the Jws to think about the dual nature of Jesus, whithout arguing over the Deity right out of the box. I learned this from Wilbur Lingle a few years ago.
D Dog
XQsThaiPoes

I don't Believe Christ the Risen is human. It is illogical from him to rise to heaven as a human and continue on as a human. What you are arguing is when he became a spirit. When he raised from the earth or when he raised from the dead. Also can you explain how these matters beside being a neat trivia. I notice it is important to many but as a JW I can fanthom why.
hooberus

I don't Believe Christ the Risen is human. It is illogical from him to rise to heaven as a human and continue on as a human.
It is scriptural, which is more important than human logic.
What you are arguing is when he became a spirit. When he raised from the earth or when he raised from the dead.
Jesus died as a man, was raised as a man, ascended as a human, and is a man in heaven.
Also can you explain how these matters beside being a neat trivia. I notice it is important to many but as a JW I can fanthom why.
A correct understanding of the resurrection of Jesus Christ is vital. The watchtower actually teaches that "the man Jesus is dead, forever dead" whereas the Bible teaches that the man Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, and is our mediator in heaven at the right hand of God the Father. Also many of the "arguments" that the watchower uses to try to disproove the diety of Jesus Christ evaporate if He is still human. Therfore a correct understanding of his continuing humanity will affect a persons concept of his deity. The watchtower has Jesus being neither human, nor God, but instead an angel, wheras the scriptures have him being both God and man (this thread deals with him being man).
hooberus

Some Biblical texts supporting the resurrection of Christ's flesh:
Luke 24:39-40
"Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet." Luke 24:39-40
Acts 2:30 (KJV)
"Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;" Acts 2:30 KJV
Acts 2:31-32
"He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses." Acts 2:31-32
2 Timothy 2:8 (compare with Romans 1:3)
"Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel:" 2 Timothy 2:8
"Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;" Romans 1:3
hooberus

The watchtower teaches that Jesus Christ is no longer human. The scriptures however show that Jesus Christ is still a human.
It was a "man" (Acts 17:31) / "Son of man" (Matthew 17:9) whom God hath raised from the dead.
"Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead." Acts 17:31
"And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead." Matthew 17:9
It is a man /son of man linked to Gods "right hand" (compare Psalm 110:1 prophecy).
"Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself." Psalm 80:17
"And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God." Acts 7:56
No angel can sit at God's right hand
"But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?" Hebrews 1:13
The mediator is (present tense) . . . . "the man" Christ Jesus.
"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time." 1 Timothy 2:5-6
The "man" will bear the glory and sit and rule rule upon his throne. The "Son of man" will sit upon the throne of his glory.
"And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD: Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both." Zechariah 6:12-13
"When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:" Matthew 25:31
The scriptures state that it is a "man" / "son of man" who God will put all things under his feet. This is applied to Jesus Christ in 1 Corinthians 15:27; Ephesians 1:22; Hebrews 2:6-8
"What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:" Psalm 8:4-6 "For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith, all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him." 1 Corinthians 15:27 "And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church," Ephesians 1:22 "For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak. But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him? Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands: Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. 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." Hebrew 2:5-9 The world is not in subjection to an angel "For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak. But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him?" Hebrews 2:5-6
Satanus

Now of course, i don't believe any of this. But, in my christian phase, it was easy to see that the scriptures teach as hoob says. The wt chooses not to believe it's bible. It's just another strike against their claim of being christian.
S
hooberus

The Watchtowers main text that they appeal to for a denial of the resurrection of the flesh of Jesus Christ:
1 Peter 3:18
"Because Christ also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God; being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; in which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison," 1 Peter 3:18-19 ASV
1 Peter 3;18 says that Christ was "made alive in the spirit." It does not say that he was made alive as "a spirit."
The phrase "being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit" from 1 Peter 3:18 does not mean that Christ was not raised in the flesh. Compare with Romans 8:8-9 where believers with their bodies of flesh are said to be "not in the flesh, but in the spirit"
"Because Christ also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God; being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; in which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison," 1 Peter 3:18-19 ASV

"So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness." Romans 8:8-10
There is a verse which uses the Watchtowers exact phrase "a spirit"
Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet." Luke 24:39-40
Satanus

The 'flesh and blood' part was an expression that he used to refer to the great unwashed masses, who weren't in the club. Cults always have an exclusivist attitude. If paul were alive to see how his religion succeeded, would no doubt be flabbergasted.
S

The doctrine of the continuing humanity of Jesus Christ

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