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Could Jesus sin?

Today’s feedback raises a common issue to do with the incarnation—could Jesus sin? Another takes a look at the concept of a single designer in the light of the Trinity.

Narindra R. from Madagascar writes in response to The Incarnation: Why did God become Man?

Wikimedia commons/David Shankbone

Very good article, but your statement “He was incapable of sin” confuses me. What would have been the point for the Holy Spirit to bring Him to the desert to be tempted? Why would the devil have bothered tempting Him? Wouldn’t it have been a loss of time? Also, He looks like on the verge of giving in to temptation in the garden of Gethsemane. You pointed out yourself that He was subject to temptation, but what is the point of temptation if there is no possibility of sin.

I always thought that Jesus, by taking human nature, had the same ability as Adam before the Fall to choose freely between obeying the Father or disobeying Him, and that’s also why His sinless life on Earth was satisfactory for the Father and why His perfect work at the Cross of Calvary gives us the right to come to the throne of grace, as per Heb. 4:14–16. Can you correct me, please?

Dear Narindra R.

That’s a fair question, which a few others have asked as well.

If Jesus could sin, it would go against His divinity. Because His divine nature never left him, contrary to the Kenotic Heresy, for Him to have sinned would have implicated His divinity in the act. That should settle the question of “peccability” (from Latin peccare to sin) vs. “impeccability”; the latter has always been the teaching of the Church.

The question of whether He did sin is different, and the answer should be even easier: no, and this doesn’t seem to be doubted by the correspondent either. But it doesn’t follow from either that the temptations were not real, since Satan was acting on His human weakness (cf. Hebrews 4:15). But the reason that they did not work is that even in His humanity, He kept obeying God’s law and resisting temptation. He was strengthened by the Holy Spirit, knowledge of the Scriptures available, and communion with God the Father in prayer, and the prayers of His disciples (which He asked for). We are supposed to follow His example (1 Peter 2:21).

Systematic theologian Dr Bruce Ware has good information on this in his lectures on the Incarnation under The Impeccability of Christ, and also has a helpful section on the Kenosis doctrine. There is a further consideration: in the Resurrection bodies, of which Christ was the first fruits, we will also be incapable of sin. See also this discussion of the Power of Contrary Choice.

Regards,

Jonathan Sarfati, Ph.D.


Joel T. from Australia writes:

Ancient diagram of the Trinity
Ancient diagram of the Trinity; redrawn by artist Debra Bosio Riley—the chosen colours are important, because the additive primary colours of light combine to form white light (see this picture).

Dear CMI,

I’ve come across an argument that I don’t know exactly how to respond to, namely this (paraphrased for clarity):

1. Creationists claim that unity in nature (creation) is evidence for a single, as opposed to many, designer
1a. By analogy of human designers, unity in design is evidence for one designer.
2. But, humans often design in teams and create unity in what they design.
3. So, (1a) is no evidence for (1).

It’s just so simple that I don’t know where to begin. I accept premise (2), and, by browsing your site, (1) and (1a) seem to be true. But then I am compelled to accept (3), which makes what I initially thought to be a strong argument immensely weak.

So, how do you respond?

Thanks,
Joel.

CMI’s Dr Jonathan Sarfati responds:

Dear Mr T.

Thank you for writing to CMI.

I fail to see (3) as a problem. First of all, the atheists don’t believe in design—whether by teams or by one. Second, the team still has a unity. The one God is a team of three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Regards,

Jonathan Sarfati, Ph.D., F.M.

Published: 16 March 2013

Helpful Resources

Creation, Fall, Restoration
by Andrew S Kulikovsky
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The Genesis Account
by Jonathan Sarfati
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