Jesus came in the flesh.
1John 4:2
Hallelujah! May the grace and peace of our Lord be with us all this week. Today’s message is one of the most essential aspects of our faith, and I will deliver it briefly, so I ask that you listen carefully. Today, I would like to speak about our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, based on the testimony of the Apostle John. According to John’s testimony, Jesus came to this earth in the flesh. In 1 John 4:2, it says, “This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.” Therefore, we know that any spirit that denies Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not from the Holy Spirit. In 2 John 1:7, it also states, “Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Such a person is the deceiver and the antichrist.” So, first, what does it mean that Jesus came in the flesh? Second, what is the faith of the antichrist that denies Jesus Christ came in the flesh? Third, how should our faith be, which acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh? I hope to share these reflections with you today in a concise yet profound manner.
First, what does it mean that Jesus came in the flesh? God is Spirit, so He does not possess a physical body. Nevertheless, to confess that the Son of God, Jesus, came in the flesh means that Jesus is truly human, just like us. In 1 Corinthians 15, humanity is divided into two groups: those who belong to the first Adam and those who belong to the last Adam, Jesus Christ. Both are human and thus have physical bodies. God created the first man, Adam, in His own image. Before Adam sinned, he bore God’s image and had fellowship with Him. However, when Adam disobeyed by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he lost this image and could no longer have fellowship with God.
Referring to Jesus as the “last Adam” implies that, like the first Adam, He had a physical body. To confess that Jesus came in the flesh means to believe that Jesus was human, sharing in the same nature as us. Therefore, it suggests that Jesus could also have sinned like the first Adam. Some might feel outraged, thinking this statement is blasphemy against the Son of God. But that is not the case. The fact that Jesus, who became man, did not sin is evidence that He was always in the Father, had fellowship with Him, and obeyed His Word. While sin could tempt Jesus, it could never master Him. Jesus was completely without sin. Even so, the world falsely accused Him of religious and political crimes and crucified Him. The sinless One died as though He were a criminal. At that time, many people, hearing only slanderous accusations that Jesus had committed blasphemy, joined in the call for His crucifixion.
But why should we be concerned with the death of Jesus on the cross? The reason He came into this world was to save us from our sins. In other words, it was to make those whose eyes were opened to discern good and evil blind again. Jesus Himself explained the purpose of His coming in this way: “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind” (John 9:39). And He continued, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains” (John 9:41). All people are descendants of the first man, Adam, and like Adam, they have sinned, causing their eyes to be opened. As a result, according to God’s Word, their spirits have died. They lost the image of God and could no longer have fellowship with Him.
God, in His mercy, made a way of salvation for us. That way was to remove our sin and declare us righteous. However, because God is just, He could not declare us righteous without the payment of the penalty for our sins. And that penalty is death. Nothing else could pay the price for sin. Moreover, the only one who could pay the price for all humanity’s sin is God Himself, who created all people. Therefore, God, in His power and wisdom, chose to become man through the virgin Mary. That person is our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus was born in the image of God, just like Adam, with a physical body. He had fellowship with the Father and obeyed His Word. While the first man, Adam, disobeyed God’s Word out of his own desire, the last Adam, Jesus, obeyed the Father’s Word even to the point of dying on the cross. However, the suffering and death He endured on the cross were the punishments that I deserved because they were the penalty for my sins. In this way, God fulfilled His justice concerning human sin, and this includes the payment for my sins. Those who understand God’s love and justice through the cross come out of darkness into light and move from the power of Satan to the authority of the Son. May we all belong to this transformation in the name of the Lord.
When Jesus died on the cross, it was the punishment for my sins, and thus, it is as if I have died. This is why the early Christians declared, “I have been crucified with Christ.” When we also make this confession, we can recognize our own sins through the cross. What are those sins? The sin of hating and condemning the innocent, which is a sin of murder. Peter stated plainly, “This Jesus, whom you crucified, God has raised.” “You” refers to those who judged that it was right for Jesus to be crucified based only on rumors and who slandered and condemned Him. When these people heard Peter’s sermon, they admitted their sin of slandering and condemning Jesus. They cried out, “What shall we do?” and repented. The same applies to us. We, too, have slandered and judged our brothers based on what we have seen and heard, passing judgment on good and evil. But in 1 John 3:15, it says that hating a brother is the same as committing murder. The issue is that this is also the sin of crucifying Jesus. Why? Because Jesus said, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” When this truth becomes clear, we also cry out, “What shall we do?” and come to a place of repentance. May we all reach such repentance in the name of the Lord.
Second, what is the faith of the antichrist that denies Jesus came in the flesh? Those who do not acknowledge that Jesus came in the flesh often argue this way: “Because Jesus is God, He is without sin and could not sin. However, we, as human beings with flesh, cannot help but sin. Yet, because God is love, He sent His only begotten Son into the world to die on the cross in our place, as we deserve death due to our sins. Therefore, they say, salvation comes simply by believing this, and thus, we become God’s children and will enter heaven.” Such a belief makes the Christian life seem very easy, as it implies that how one lives does not matter.
The problem with this view is that we must examine whether the belief that “we cannot help but sin because we are human beings with flesh” is truly from the Holy Spirit. Before we are born again, we cannot help but sin because we are slaves to sin. However, when we are born again by the Holy Spirit, we are set free from being slaves to sin, and thus, we do not continue to sin. As evidence, 1 John 3:6 states, “No one who lives in Him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen Him or known Him.” Therefore, to claim that one is born again by the Spirit yet insist that we must sin because we have flesh is to directly contradict the Word of God. Such a claim is clearly not from the Holy Spirit. Those who hold to this belief are often unafraid to judge and criticize others, blinded by their own arrogance, believing their eyes are enlightened. A common characteristic of such individuals is that while the Holy Spirit within them should keep them blameless, their lives often reveal acts of immorality or greed.
Spots and blemishes refer to sins like sexual immorality and greed. In 2 Peter 2:13-14, there is a warning regarding these “spots” and “blemishes,” linking them to the behavior of false teachers who have strayed from the way of the Lord: “They have eyes full of adultery, never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed—an accursed brood.” 2 Peter 3:14 also exhorts us, “So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless, and at peace with Him.” This verse emphasizes the importance of living a pure life, free from sins such as sexual immorality and greed. Therefore, those who fall into the faith of the antichrist become unconcerned with being alert and preparing for the Lord’s return. Instead, they may become false teachers or follow such teachings, developing eyes full of lust and becoming consumed by greed. Yet, they mistakenly believe they are saved through Christ.
Third, what should our faith look like as we confess that Jesus Christ came in the flesh? We, too, have been guilty of the sin of eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil by judging and slandering others. Therefore, we need the grace of atonement. How do we receive this grace of atonement? First, when we approach the cross of Jesus, we must confess that we are among those who crucified Him. When we ask the Lord for forgiveness, He, with the authority of the High Priest, sprinkles His blood—the blood of the Lamb—on our hearts. Then we receive the grace of atonement. Once we receive this grace, it is as if our eyes that once judged and criticized others become blind. Being unable to see, we can no longer judge or criticize others. Thus, like the Apostle Paul, we declare, “Shall I go on sinning? By no means!” This means that every sin has been washed away from our hearts.
Furthermore, the Apostle John said, “No one who is born of God will continue to sin because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning because they have been born of God” (1 John 3:9). This does not mean that the sinful nature within us has been completely removed. It means that sin can no longer control us who believe. To explain this in an analogy: we cannot prevent seagulls from flying over our heads on the beach, but we can stop them from landing on our heads—we can chase them away. In the same way, sinful thoughts may fly around in our minds, but we must prevent them from nesting there. If we do not receive the grace of atonement, we allow sin to make its nest, and we end up sinning. However, those who have received the grace of atonement can drive it away. That is why they do not continue to sin.
The problem is that many Christians understand the concept of the grace of atonement theoretically but have never truly experienced it. Now, I want to share with you the secret to experiencing the grace of atonement in a real way. The true impact of the grace of atonement is felt when we are at the foot of the cross. Yet, with our physical eyes, we cannot see the scene of Jesus’ crucifixion. In Galatians 3:1, however, the Apostle Paul says, “You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes, Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified.”
Logically speaking, it is highly unlikely that any of the Galatians saw Jesus crucified with their own physical eyes. Galatia is located in what is now central Turkey, more than 800 miles from Jerusalem in a straight line. Therefore, like us, the Galatian believers were not physically present at the scene of the cross. Yet, Paul boldly proclaimed as if they had clearly seen it: “Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified before your very eyes.” This proclamation is the same for us today. The event of the cross is, in a sense, a past event in time, but in the realm of the spirit, it is a present reality. The spiritual realm transcends time and space. That is why we must come to realize that it was indeed I who nailed Jesus to the cross.
Why do we say that it was I who nailed Jesus to the cross? As I have repeated, if we do not cover our brother’s sin and instead judge them, we are breaking the greatest law of love—to love one another—because love covers a multitude of sins. Furthermore, if we hear false, malicious words spoken about a brother who has done no wrong, and we fail to discern this and join in slandering and condemning him, we are committing a murder in our hearts. Thus, when we judge or criticize others, we are, in effect, crucifying Jesus again. Jesus said, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”
If we sincerely repent of such sins now, the Lord’s cross and our recognition that we deserve to be crucified for our own sins will align. This is the secret to experiencing the grace of atonement. Then, as we are born again through the Holy Spirit and realize that the Holy Spirit dwells within us, we will desire to walk with the Lord daily, cherishing His Word and prayer.
Now, let’s summarize today’s message. We have seen that Jesus came in the flesh and therefore shared the same human nature as us. This means that, like Adam, Jesus could have sinned, but He did not because He was always in fellowship with the Father and, through the Holy Spirit, perfectly obeyed the Father’s Word. Next, the faith of the antichrist, which denies that Jesus came in the flesh, uses human weakness as an excuse to tolerate sin, distorting both God’s justice and love. The evidence of this distortion is seen in their fruits—immorality and greed. Lastly, our faith, which confesses that Jesus Christ came in the flesh, is a faith that acknowledges that it is we ourselves who nailed Him to the cross. When we do this, we recognize the severity of our sins and sincerely repent. Then God causes us to be born again by the Holy Spirit, so that we may live as God’s children, walking in fellowship with the Lord, always living in the light, and leading many souls to Him in preparation for His return. May we all bear fruit in such faith, in the name of the Lord.
Let us pray together. We give thanks and praise to You, Father, for Your justice and love that saved us. We confess that we have sinned by exposing our brothers’ sins and harboring hatred, thus crucifying the Lord on the cross. Now, let us live each day confessing that we have been crucified with Christ. So it is no longer we who live, but Christ who lives in us, as we live by faith in the Son of God, who loved us and gave Himself for us. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.