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Could Jesus have sinned when tempted and what is the Origin of Sin?
You guys probably already touched on this one in the past, but I could not find it, so here is an old question that is fun to discuss.
I have my stance and will tell you soon what that is, but I am interested in hearing your biblical opinions first.
How did sin come about? How was sin created?
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Ginnybee on
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Well....this calls for what I might brand a split-infinitive, or an obstruction of thought, lol. The answer lies somewhere in the middle of yes and no.
Yes, Jesus could have sinned because He was in the flesh, precisely distinguishing His sole purpose, which was to make a choice (in our place). At the same time, the choice Jesus would make was already known by God. Jesus' decision was not a surprise. Instead, His choice was made evident to God before the plan of salvation was put into motion. So there you have my answer, yes and no.
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Permalink Reply by David Velasquez on
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hahaha it had to be you, it had to be you. hahaha great answer!
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Permalink Reply by Leonard T on
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Hey Dave,
Jesus is full God and full man. This recognition is important to the question asked. His flesh is human flesh. His flesh* would be tempted, and according to Scripture was tempted, just like we are tempted (Heb. 2:18). Thus the temptation of the flesh was real and would have a draw even for Him toward fulfilling the lust of the flesh. If this were not so then the temptation could not be a temptation to Him. The difference is that His Spirit, being God, never wavered and was sufficient to defeat the flesh in every instance. I believe that His victory over the flesh, unlike many of our battles, was instantaneous. He did not linger in the battle, but subdued the flesh at the moment of temptation. This unique experience is what the Bible talks about when referring to Him as our High Priest who understands what we go through (Heb. 4:15). He experienced the temptation, but never failed. Therefore, He can empathize with us up to the point of temptation, but never through the experience of sinning.
Key thought for us to remember: Though Jesus was clothed in the flesh He was never not God. Thus He always acted in accordance with His true nature, the nature (attributes) of God (Jn. 5:19)
Now the question is could He have sinned? Jesus, being God, is a freewill being and can choose to do whatever He wishes to do, but at the same time being God He is bound by who He is and cannot operate outside of His character, thus as God He cannot sin, for all His actions are actions of righteousness because He is righteous (1 Jn. 2:9 and 1 Jn. 3:7).
* In this context referring to His humanity or human nature.
My two-cents.
Lord Bless,
LT
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One of the biggest problems when studying God's attributes or anything that pertains to God is the fact that with our finite minds we have the tendency to always want to bring God and/or Jesus to our level. Yes, Jesus was fully man, but unlike any other man ever. He had no biological father and existed in a previous state. He was fully man in body and able to be tempted, but unable to sin in the final analysis. So why temp Him in the dessert and why say He was tempted at all, well so He could relate to us in the act of being tempted, but as God he cannot sin. JESUS WAS NOT JUST ANY OTHER MAN. HE WAS GOD WITH US. EMMANUEL, THE ANNOITED ONE.
I am basically stating the same thing as you all, i think. In the final analysis Jesus could not sin, but he could sin hahaha for he was tempted. This is one of those things that remind us that God is transcendent. There are things we can analyze and have fun discussing, but very hard to define. He had the capacity to sin, but would never chose to sin. But i do not want to box any one into what i think they are saying, so feel free to discuss.
LT brought up something extremely beautiful, he said: "I believe that His victory over the flesh, unlike many of our battles, was instantaneous. He did not linger in the battle, but subdued the flesh at the moment of temptation."
Wow! Simple but deep. We have the same capacity: 2 Cor 10:4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 6 And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.
This is what our Lord was able to do in a heartbeat AND SO CAN WE, WE CAN GO DAYS WITHOUT SINNING, HOW LONG CAN WE GO WITHOUT SINNING, NO MAN KNOWS....
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Permalink Reply by Rory Roybal on
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No, because Christ is God, and because of the way temptation and sin work.
"Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death" (James 1:13-15).
The reason temptation can work with us is because we are drawn away by our own desire, and baited. In other words, we already have something corrupt inside us that the temptation can appeal to. We then desire what we are tempted by, and can proceed to sin.
With Christ, however, it was different. He said:
"Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me" (John 14:30).
Christ couldn't sin because he had no sin nature or corruption inside Him for temptation to attract or take hold of. It was like baiting a trap with something that has absolutely no allure to the One it was trying to catch and destroy.
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Sounds great Rory, but how about Eve then? She did not have a sinful nature and sin appealed to her.
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Hey great question David!
So let me ask you one in return ... Lucifer did not have a sin nature and moreover did not have any external temptation, so how did sin appeal to him?
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Not fair Rory,
You are answering my question with a question hahaha and the hardest question I have ever encountered at that. Hahahaha But it’s all good beloved I will give it my best shot with the help of St. Thomas Aquinas, Augustine, RC Sproul, MacArthur and of Course the word.
I see you are occupied with the issue of origins and I am game bro. I am glad you want to go back to the start, but give me a minute to finish my Sunday without losing my mind with the question. LOL
Blessings….
OHHHH anybody want to jump in and give it their best shot, please do, by all means… :)
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Permalink Reply by Carla on
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Hi David and Rory...
my two cents....
The question(s):
how about Eve then? She did not have a sinful nature and sin appealed to her.
and
Lucifer did not have a sin nature and moreover did not have any external temptation, so how did sin appeal to him?
God created us with a free will. I understand that this is the same with the angels. Sin appealed to satan because he wanted to be God.
Isa 14:12 "How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations!
Isa 14:13 "But you said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north.
Isa 14:14 'I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.'
sin appealed to eve because she wanted to be like God also:
Gen 3:2 The woman said to the serpent, "From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat;
Gen 3:3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.' "
Gen 3:4 The serpent said to the woman, "You surely will not die!
Gen 3:5 "For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
Gen 3:6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.
Jesus never sinned .... He never had to strive to be God, or want to try to be God.....OR even want to be like God.. He is God already...
For anyone else it is sin to attempt to presume the position of God which has already been assigned...but for the One who holds this position...He cannot sin! Jesus cannot deny who He is!
perhaps it is not so simple as this....but like I said...my two cents!
Blessings, Carla (still learning ...correct me where I am wrong)
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Alan,
Does the Bible say that or substantiate that view?
Lord Bless,
LT
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Hi Alan,
As Carla mentioned, some of Satan's thoughts and motives are mentioned in Isa. 14 and Ezek. 28, but there is nothing in the Bible about bowing to man or jealousy of man, although some Christians banter the latter idea about.
Blessings,
Rory
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