The Human Jesus? Part 2 of 2.

Now look at a few claims made by The Human Jesus documentary.

God was born in human form in order to experience humanity for himself.

False. The purpose of God was not so he could overcome his ignorance and learn how it felt to be human. The purpose of Christ is explained in his own words, Matthew 20:

²⁸ "just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

Believing Jesus was God was the backdrop for the blood of martyrs.

False. This is probably the most unlearned comment in the documentary. It isn’t Bible believing Christians that are killing those who oppose them; it is always those who follow religious beliefs that persecute those who will not abandon the truth. Those behind the ecumenical movement are the ones claiming that biblical Christianity is a threat and must be eliminated. Rick Warren, a product of Fuller, said, “I'm saying some people are going to have to die or leave. Moses had to wander around the desert for 40 years while God killed off a million people before he let them go into the Promised Land. That may be brutally blunt, but it's true. There may be people in your church who love God sincerely, but who will never, ever change.”

Some in his circle are already beating the drums of war saying that Bible believing Christians will have to be eliminated before the world can enter into the next era of enlightenment. Persecution comes from those who depart from the authority of the word, not those who live in obedience to it.

It is also ironic that Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love God with all their heart, but in the Fuller doctrine, people who love God sincerely will never change and are a threat to the movement. If the people in your congregation are showing that they love God, they are on the right track. Asking them to change is the real threat.

Trinitarians created their doctrine by taking the Hebrew word ‘echad’ - which means ‘one’, and making it mean plurality.

False. This is a fabricated straw man. The doctrine does not come from the word echad. The doctrine comes from the scriptures I cited in my study. It is God who called himself Yahweh, called the Spirit, Yahweh, and called the Redeemer he sent, Yahweh. To see the passages in both the Old and New Testaments that teach the Father, Son, and Spirit, go to http://exchangedlifediscipleship.blogspot.com/2010/04/love-of-god-that-overcomes-condemnation_20.html.

People who worship Jesus have abandoned God and exalted Jesus to divinity.

False. Unless we receive Christ, we cannot receive God. John 3:13-16

¹³ "No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.
¹⁴ "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
¹⁵ "that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
¹⁶ "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Trinitarians place believing in the Trinity as a necessity and litmus test for salvation.

False. Believing that Jesus is who the Bible claims, yes, but placing the doctrine of the trinity as the litmus test of salvation is false. Like with all beliefs in all walks of life, you can probably find people who believe such things, but that doesn’t make it a biblical doctrine or a representation of Christianity. There are Oneness Christians who believe that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are roles, or offices of God. While this contradicts several passages of scripture, it does not mean that someone who believes in the oneness of God can’t be saved.

Unless someone understands the Trinity on a basic level, many of the things Jesus taught and the epistles teach are unclear. It’s not a question of salvation, but about believing the word of God. If someone can’t believe that Jesus is who he said he was and who the Bible reveals, they can’t be saved for as Acts puts it, “There is no other name, under heaven, given among men, by which we must be saved.” If someone doesn’t believe this truth, they cannot be saved.

Because man seeks another way, they attempt to discredit Jesus, yet the Bible says,

John 10:6-11

⁶ Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them.
⁷ Then Jesus said to them again, "Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
⁸ "All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.
⁹ "I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
¹⁰ "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
¹¹ "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.

John 8:23-24

²³ And He said to them, "You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.
²⁴ "Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins."

This is the litmus test for salvation. If we do not believe that Jesus has come in the flesh, paid the penalty for our sins, and completed the work of salvation on our behalf, we cannot be saved. He that confesses the Lord shall be saved. Not confesses a false Jesus reconstructed in man’s image, but the one who believes in the Lord who came down from heaven to redeem us from our sins. Confession is not merely words, but a profession of the heart of the work of God, and their surrender to it.

Jesus, being a strict monotheist, did not believe in the Father, Son, and the Spirit.

This is so false it is almost comical. Only someone who hasn’t read the gospels could be compelled to believe this statement.

Matthew 28:19

¹⁹ "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

John 15:26

²⁶ " But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.

John 16:5-11

⁵ " But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, 'Where are You going?'
⁶ "But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.
⁷ "Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.
⁸ "And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
⁹ "of sin, because they do not believe in Me;
¹⁰ "of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more;
¹¹ "of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

All of these statements came from the mouth of Jesus. In case it is unclear, the Helper is the Holy Spirit. Jesus clarifies this in John 14:26. Apparently Jesus fully acknowledge the Father, Spirit, and of course, himself.

Jesus was just a man that God raised from the dead because of his obedience. Jesus is saying, “I did it, you can to.”

This is the heart of the debate. In order to exalt man, Jesus must be reduced to man’s level. The overarching theme is that man wants to be exalted, not humbled. Without reducing Jesus to mere human form, there can be no unified religion, for all world religions are focused on man’s merits, or his ability to achieve his own perfection. It is man’s quest for personal enlightenment, which, by the way, requires man to deny his own limitations and sinful human nature. It is the lie, told at the Garden of Eden. Satan declared, “God has not said…and, You can be like God.” The Bible says that God sent his only begotten son, but this false belief claims that he is like anyone else, only more enlightened.

Strangely absent was any theologian who attested to the virgin birth. Also absent was any theologian who testified to Philippians 2:5-8

⁵ Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
⁶ who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,
⁷ but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.
⁸ And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
⁹ Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,
¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,
¹¹ and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Why didn’t The Human Jesus interview theologians who respect the authority of scripture?

Another weak effort to prove their point was to interview unlearned church goers and make them look stupid by having liberal theologians try to corner them with questions they couldn’t answer. Their strongest evidence was interviewing random people who don't have knowledge of the scriptures, and don’t know why they believe these doctrines.

Where are the conservative theologians? Why didn’t they interview those who respect biblical authority? The ‘experts’ in the movie generalized Bible believing Christians and theologians into stereotypes they could reprove with false assumptions, but they carefully avoided exploring scriptural doctrines. I think the reason is clear. In order to refute scripture, they would have to present it to the audience, and that would admit the Bible teaches these things. The theme of the movie was intended to persuade the audience that the Bible doesn’t teach the things historical Christianity is founded upon. Therefore, they have to pretend it doesn’t exist in the Bible, otherwise they would have to admit they don’t believe the scriptures.

Jesus is only a human that God has exalted.

See the above scriptures. Jesus testified many times that he was sent into the world by the Father, and in John 8, he clearly states that he is not of this world, but came from above. If anyone does not believe that Jesus is who he claimed to be, they cannot be saved and will die in their sins. This isn’t my words. Nor is it tradition as the movie claims. This isn’t from a creed written in the 300s. This is the words of Jesus Christ.

So the question at hand is not, what do the theologians say. The question is, do you believe the scriptures? Do you want the Jesus of the Bible, or do you want a false Jesus, reconstructed into the image of fallen man. The word ‘reconstructed’ was taken directly from the movie. The theologians of Fuller Theological Institute are openly acknowledging that they are reconstructing Christianity into an ecumenical movement that will include all religions, and welcome anyone who will put aside any beliefs that threaten the consensus of the whole. Salvation is not found through consensus, but through faith in the completed work of Christ. Consider these passages of scripture:

John 1:1-5

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
² He was in the beginning with God.
³ All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
⁴ In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
⁵ And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

Colossians 1:13-17

¹³ He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,
¹⁴ in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.
¹⁵ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
¹⁶ For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.
¹⁷ And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.

Let me conclude by explaining the meaning of firstborn. This passage says that Jesus is the image of the invisible God, he created all things, and nothing was created without him. Yet he is called the firstborn over all creation. Firstborn is a position of honor.

In the Old Testament, the firstborn received a double inheritance and took over the spiritual leadership of the family. Usually it is given to the firstborn male child, but there are times when the firstborn is given to another. For example, Esau was the firstborn, but since he despised his birthright, it was given to Jacob. When Jacob was old, he blessed his grandchildren and declared that they would receive the inheritance with their father’s brothers. Joseph was the son, but his children were counted into the inheritance of Joseph’s brothers. The younger son, Ephraim, was counted as the firstborn over all the brothers. He was the youngest son of Joseph, and by far the youngest among his adoptive brothers, yet God declared, “For I am a Father to Israel, And Ephraim is My firstborn.”

By God’s declaration, Ephraim was given preeminence over his brothers and declared to be the one honored as the firstborn over the twelve tribes of Israel. In the same sense, Jesus, who was the creator of all things, was born of a virgin, humbled himself, became obedient unto death and was given a name above every name (Philippians 2:9). He was declared to be the firstborn over all creation. It is a position of honor. It is an acknowledgement that the name of Jesus Christ is above every name.

The choice we face is to bow to that name, or stand upon our own name. In the end, every knee will bow. We, who are born of the Spirit through his salvation will bow in victory and rejoice. Those who rebel will bow in defeat.

Man can deny the value of Christ, but even those who deny will one day acknowledge him as Lord and Christ – the mighty God, Emmanuel, God with us. As we can see from scripture, there is no denying the divinity of Christ. To deny does not change the fact that he existed in the form of God, humbled himself to fulfill the law and pay for our debt, and we will die in our sins unless we believe that He is who the Bible claims him to be.