Moral Perfection and Christ

The other day I had a friend ask me a question about the impeccability of Christ, and whether we downplay the humanity of Christ in appealing to this doctrine.  For those who aren't familiar with theological terminology the question of the peccability of Christ has to do with whether or not Christ could have sinned.  Usually this is a debate among Christians who all agree that Christ did not sin, but the question is whether or not Christ could have sinned.  In some sense we are asking whether in an alternate universe it would be theoretically possible that Christ could sin.  It may seem like a non-issue, but there can be some serious implications that develop from this question depending on which side you take.

I'm not going to go into the whole argument on the impeccability of Christ here.  Instead I am going to assume the position of Christ being impeccable, that is that Christ not only did not sin, but that Christ could not have sinned.  If you want to read the whole argument for the impeccability of Christ there are multiple websites that give a very good analysis of the doctrine (a simple search in any good search engine can get you to multiple discussions on the matter).  For now, whether you agree or disagree with the doctrine I want to address the specific question that was sent to me: how does the impeccability of Jesus Christ impact our understanding of his humanity?

There is a concern that due to the impeccability of Christ we could end up minimizing the humanity of Christ as we apply his righteousness to ourselves, fighting temptation, etc.  However, I think this would only be the case if we divide Christ in these areas instead of considering the whole counsel of Scripture.  If we allow all of Scripture to speak to us and we consider the fullness of Christ then we are never in danger of falling away from the clear teaching of Scripture.  In this area, applying the righteousness of Christ and thinking about fighting temptation should not detract from the humanity of Christ, but rather should bring that humanity into focus.

Yes, we have a truly righteous savior because of the divine nature of Christ.  Because he truly was the righteousness of God he was able to live perfectly, never falling into temptation as Adam did.  And because he was righteous and of infinite worth he allows all those who have faith in him to participate in that righteousness.  No mere man could ever offer this righteousness to others, because, as Job says, if we are righteous, our righteousness affects only us, not God.  Yet, the righteousness of God in its infinite value can be applied to all men through the atoning sacrifice of the perfectly righteous Christ.

At the same time we are able to fight sin not merely because of the presence of Christ, which we ought never denigrate, but also because he promised, and sent, the Holy Spirit, who is the very person of God living in us.  As the Spirit indwells us he fills us with power to resist temptation, whether we walk in that power or not depends on whether we follow in obedience to Christ in crucifying the human nature that lives within us.  Thus we must rely totally on God in bringing us out from sin, so that the divinity of Christ is well seen as we think on these things.

But, that is only one aspect.  On the other hand we have passages such as Hebrews, as you quoted in your text.  In Hebrews 2 we see that the righteousness of Chris is applied to us not because he is God, but because he is our high priest.  As our high priest he must be fully human, for if he were only God then how would he have any connection to the fallen state of humanity to redeem us?  By becoming human and suffering as a man Christ brought humanity into perfection, something that was necessary and that could only be done by God joining to man in perfect unity.  Now we have a high priest who is like us in every way, that is being totally human, yet without sin in any way, that is being totally God.  Thus we need both his humanity and his divinity if we are to walk in his righteousness.

Likewise when we come to him to ask that he would give us strength to fight sin, he knows our every temptation.  God cannot be tempted by Sin, as James 1 makes clear.  Since God cannot be tempted by sin, while yet being omniscient, how could we say that God knows our sufferings of temptation so as to be merciful to us and respond to our cries with such grace?  But, because Christ is fully man he knows our sufferings, he has experienced temptation, and thus he is able to be merciful to us, responding in grace because of the great love with which he loved us.

So while Christ is impeccable and eternally unable to sin, yet at the same time this does not take away from his humanity.  If it were not for his impeccability would we not always have to worry that our high priest might yet sin against God?  For Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever, meaning that his nature never changes.  But, knowing that our brother will never sin against God we have the eternal comfort of a redeemer who testifies on our behalf at the throne of God, interceding for those who would otherwise deserve only the judgment of God and hell thereafter.  And because of his humanity we know that we never need to fear being rejected by him, for he was made as one of us that he might call us brothers.

So we have a great hope in Christ and a wonderful participation in the righteousness and power of God because of Christ's divinity and his humanity.  We ought always remember that there is no separation of Christ's nature, for while he is fully human and fully God he is also only one, not two Christ's divided by nature.  We must remember it is because of both of these natures we participate in the divine blessings.  And we must remember that it is by means of both natures that we can come and offer praise and blessing to him who lives forever and ever.  We come not in our own humanity, but rather in the robes of righteousness given us by the Son of God; humanity reborn, dressed in divine clothing as given by our merciful Father.