Post by ResLight on Dec 13, 2014 21:06:32 GMT -5
{Acts 17:31} because he has appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by means of a man whom he has ordained, of which he has given assurance to all men, in that he has raised him from the dead." -- RLIV.
This scripture is often presented by trinitarians and others as proof that Jesus is still a man; and many also offered this scripture as proof of the claim that Jesus has two natures, one nature alleged to be that of the Supreme Being, and and another nature being that of a human being.
We should first note that "he" who appointed the day, ordained Jesus, and raised Jesus from the dead, is identified in context as being "God" -- only one person -- in harmony with John 17:1,3 and 1 Corinthians 8:6. The "God" of Acts 17:24 is therefore only one person, and it is this same unipersonal "God" who has appointed a day in which the world is to judged, and who who gives that guarantee to all men of that judgment by raising the one whom He ordained out of death.
Jesus, of course, sacrificed his body of flesh to pay for our sins. (Luke 22:19; John 6:51; Hebrews 10:10) The scriptures thus speak of the days of his flesh as being in the past. (Hebrews 5:7) He is no longer a human being (man) which is defined in the Bible as being "a little lower than the angels." (Psalm 8:4,5; Hebrews 2:6-8) Jesus, however, has been exalted far above the angels; he is now longer "a little lower than the angels". If Jesus still has his body of flesh and bones in heaven, then Jesus never completed his sacrifice for our sins, and we have no redeemer.
See my studies:
What Did Jesus Sacrifice?
Is Jesus Still A Little Lower Than the Angels?
Jesus Has Come in the Flesh
Jesus' Appearances in the Locked Room
Since a man, as meaning a human being, is a little lower than the angels (Psalm 8:4,5; Hebrews 2:5-8), this does not describe Jesus as he is now, for he has been highly exalted far above all dominion, including that of the angels. (Ephesians 1:3,17-23; 1 Corinthians 15:27; Colossians 2:9,10; 1 Peter 3:22) Furthermore, Hebrews 5:7 lets us know that Jesus is no longer in the days of his flesh. Indeed, since Jesus came to give his flesh for the life of the world (John 6:51), he no longer has any need to be a human being of flesh. Indeed, since the condemnation upon Adam would have been eternal had it not been for Jesus' sacrifice, Jesus, as a human being must remain dead for all eternity in order to be the satisfaction of paying the wages of sin. (1 Corinthians 15:21,22; Romans 5:12-19; 6:23) Thus, Peter wrote: "Christ also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring you to God." (1 Peter 3:18) And then Peter says that Jesus had been "put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit." Jesus did indeed give his body of flesh and its blood on our behalf (Luke 22:19; Hebrews 10:10).
Thus, whatever Paul meant by the word "man" as applied to Jesus in Acts 17:31, we can be certain that Paul was not saying that Jesus is still a human being in heaven. Indeed, elsewhere, Paul kept the glory of the celestial and the glory of the terrestrial separate from each other; the glory of the fleshly he associated only with the terrestrial glory. He never associated the glory of the fleshly body with the celestial glory; thus the crown of glory (Psalm 8:5; Hebrews 2:7) that belongs to "man" is the terrestrial glory, not the celestial glory. This was indeed the crown of glory that Jesus had when he became flesh (John 1:14; Hebrews 2:9), which glory Jesus sacrificed in the death so that he "tasted death for every man".
The word "man" [Greek transliterated, Aner, Strong's #435] does not always mean human being. In Luke 24:4, two angels are referred as "men". This word also describes the church as becoming a "full grown man". (Ephesians 4:13) Thus, some claim that by "man" in Acts 17:31, Paul was referring to the whole man of Jesus, that is, Jesus as head and the church as body. While this may be, more than likely, however, Paul was simply being accommodating in Acts 17:31, using "man" in the sense of a person, not that he had meant to say that Jesus is still a human being.
See my study:
Jesus Died A Human Being - Raised a Spirit Being
Eventually, God willing, I will repost this at:
jesus-rlbible.com/?p=6311
