The Doctrine of Impeccability

The Doctrine of Impeccability Outline I. Definition and Description II. Documentation III. Non Posse Peccare IV. Posse Non Peccare V. Virgin Birth VI. Prototype Spiritual Life VII. Kenosis I. Definition and Description A. To be impeccable means to be free from fault or blame, to be flawless. B. Our Lord was totally free from sin, which means He was perfect or flawless. C. Christ remained free from all 3 categories of sin in the human race: 1. Old sin nature 2. Adam s original sin 3. Personal sins D. Because of the Virgin Birth our Lord did not have an old sin nature like we are born with. 1. He did not have an old sin nature because He did not have a human father (Luke 1:35). 2. Adam s original sin created the sin nature and this sin nature has been passed down to the whole human race (Rom. 6:12). 3. We are all born spiritually dead as a result of Adam s original sin in the garden (Rom. 6:23a)! 4. God imputes Adam s original sin to every member of the human race at the moment of physical birth. 5. God imputes Adam s sin to our genetically formed sin natures. 6. There was no sin nature in Christ for God to impute Adam s original sin. E. Therefore, 2 categories of sin were already eliminated from our Lord s life by the time He was born: 1. Old sin nature 2. Adam s original sin F. The Lord Jesus Christ was found to be without sin in His humanity (John 8:46a; 2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 7:26; 1 Pet. 2:22; 1 John 3:5). G. Our Lord only had to contend with personal sins! H. In His humanity was tempted in all things as we are (Heb. 4:15). I. In His humanity was tempted to act and live independently from God the Father s plan for His life (Luke 4:1-4; Matt. 16:21-23). J. He was tempted not to go to the cross (Luke 22:39-44). K. To be qualified to die for our sins, Jesus had to be perfect! L. He had to be free from personal sins Himself (1 Peter 1:19)! M. He would be disqualified to be our Substitute if He committed one personal sin! N. He would not be the Perfect Sacrifice for our sins if He sinned once! O. Only someone not sentenced to death can take the place of the condemned! P. Only the just can take the place of the unjust! Q. The doctrine of impeccability is summed up in 2 Latin phrases: 1. Non Posse Peccare means not able to sin, and describes the deity of Christ 2. Posse Non Peccare means able not to sin, and describes the humanity of Christ! R. This phrase refers to the humanity of Christ, who possessed the ability to resist sin (Heb. 4:15)! 1

S. As God, our Lord was neither temptable nor peccable for deity cannot sin nor be tempted to sin (James 1:13)! T. As a man our Lord was both temptable and peccable! U. Therefore, we can come to this conclusion that Christ was temptable but impeccable! V. Jesus Christ in His hypostatic union could be tempted, but He could not sin! Deity Of Christ Cannot be tempted Cannot sin Humanity of Christ Can be tempted + Can sin The God-Man Cannot sin Not able to sin Can be tempted able not to sin Prototype Divine Dynasphere + Impeccable The Impeccability of Christ III. Documentation A. John 8:46a, Which one of you convicts Me of sin? B. 2 Corinthians 5:21, He (Christ) who never knew sin experientially (Christ was impeccable), on behalf of us (as our Substitute), was made (the representative of) sin in order that we might become the very righteousness of God in Him. C. Hebrews 4:15, "For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin." D. Hebrew 7:26, For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens. E. 1 Peter 1:19, But with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. F. 1 Peter 2:22, Who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth. G. 1 John 3:5, And you know that He appeared in order to take sins; and in Him there is no sin. IV. Non Posse Peccare A. The 1st reason why the Lord Jesus Christ was impeccable was that He was God. B. As God He was not able to sin (James 1:13). C. The Latin phrase for this doctrine is non posse peccare. D. The Lord Jesus Christ is infinite and eternal God (John 1:1-2; John 8:58; 10:30a; Col. 2:9a; Rev. 1:8). E. He has the same divine essence as God the Father and God the Holy Spirit! 2

F. He possesses all the attributes of deity: 1. Sovereignty (Matt. 28:18a; Col. 2:10b). 2. Perfect righteousness (John 8:46a; 2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 7:26; 1 Pet. 2:22; 1 John 2:21b). 3. Justice (John 8:16a; 2 Tim. 4:8; Psa. 9:8; Deut. 32:4; Rev. 15:3b). 4. Love (John 13:34; Rom. 5:8; Eph. 3:19; 1 John 4:9-10). 5. Eternal life (1 Tim. 1:17; 1 John 5:11). 6. Omniscience (Luke 11:17; John 2:24-25; John 6:64). 7. Omnipresence (Matt. 18:20; Prov. 15:3) 8. Omnipotence (1 Cor. 1:23-24; Rev. 1:8). 9. Immutability (Heb. 13:8). 10. Veracity (John 1:14; 14:6a). G. The Lord Jesus Christ is the Creator and Sustainer of the universe (Col. 1:16-17). H. The Lord Jesus Christ has authority to forgive sins (Matt. 9:6). I. The Lord Jesus Christ has the power to raise the dead (John 5:21; 6:40). J. All judgement belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ (John 5:22), and receives worship from both men and angels (Psa. 99:5; Phil. 2:10; Rev. 5:13-14). K. In His Deity always occupied a place of equality and fellowship with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit! L. The Lord Jesus Christ as God was equal with the Father (John 10:30, 37-38; 14:9; 17:5, 24-25). V. Posse Non Peccare A. The Lord Jesus Christ in His humanity was able not to sin. B. The Latin phrase for this doctrine is posse non peccare. C. He was able not to sin in His humanity through the function of the prototype spiritual life with its 2 power options and 3 spiritual skills. D. He was able not to sin through the utilization of 8 problem solving devices: 2. Faith Rest 3. Grace Orientation 4. Doctrinal Orientation 5. Personal Sense of Destiny 6. Personal Love for God the Father 7. Impersonal Unconditional Love for all mankind 8. Sharing the Happiness of God E. He did not have 10 problem solving devices because He did not need Rebound because He never sinned and He was not occupied with Himself. F. He was able not sin as a human being through the utilization of the 2 power options: 2. Metabolized doctrine G. He was able not to sin as a human being through the utilization of the 3 spiritual skills: 2. Metabolized doctrine 3. Applicaiton of 8 problem solving devices H. The Lord Jesus Christ condescended to the human race by adding to His undiminished deity, a perfect, sinless humanity. I. He had human emotions and human limitations! J. This condescension allowed Him to experience the human condition with all its limitations and emotions except for sin. K. It also enabled Him to die for the sins of the world and rise from the dead since deity can not die. 3

L. Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary defines condescend, "to descend to a less formal or dignified level, to waive the priveleges of rank." M. Webster's New Universal Unabridged Dictionary defines condescend, "to waive dignity or superiority voluntarily and assume equality with an inferior." N. The Lord Jesus Christ voluntarily waived His superiority of rank with its privileges and dignity as the second Person of the Trinity by assuming equality with inferior humanity in Hypostatic Union. O. Christ's humanity was foreordained in eternity past (1 Pet. 1:20). P. The Old Testament prophets wrote of a human Messiah (Gen. 3:15; Isa. 7:14). Q. The Old Testament wrote of a suffering human Messiah (Psa. 22:6-8; 14:18; Isa. 52:14; 53:3-5), and a triumphant Messiah (Isa. 63:1; Zech. 14:9, 16-17)! R. In His humanity, He was able to fulfill the Old Testament prophesies concerning the suffering Messiah and will be able to fulfill the future glorious Millennial reign of the Messiah. S. He will save Israel at the end of the Tribulation and will physically reign over all the earth for a thousand years (Isa. 63:1; Zech. 14:9). T. The Lord Jesus Christ is trichotomus in His humanity! U. He has a human body like ours but without a sin nature (John 1:14; Heb. 10:5; 1 John 1:1; 1 John 4:2-3). V. He has a human soul (Matt. 26:38a; Isa. 53:11a)! 1. Volition 2. Self-consciousness 3. Mentality 4. Conscience 5. Emotion. W. He also has a human spirit (Luke 23:46; John 13:21; 19:30). X. The Scriptures use the following titles when stressing our Lord s humanity: 1. "The Son of Man" (Matt. 24:30; Mark 26:64; Luke 5:24; 6:5; John 1:51; 3:14; 8:28). 2. "The Son of David" (Matt. 1:1; Mark 10:47; Luke 1:32; 18:39; Rev. 22:16). 3. "The Man Christ Jesus" (1 Tim. 2:5). 4. "Jesus" (Acts 2:32; 8:35; Rom. 3:26; 1 Thess. 4:14; Heb. 2:9; 6:20). Y. Our Lord as a human being: 1. "Wept" (John 11:35; Heb. 5:7). 2. Slept" (Mark 4:38). 3. Became "hungry" (Luke 4:2). 4. Was "thirsty" (John 19:28). 5. Prayed" (Luke 21:41-42; Heb. 5:7). 6. Ate" and "drank" (Mark 2:16; Luke 5:30). 7. Was "weary" (John 4:6). 8. Was in "agony" (Luke 22:44). 9. Had to "grow" physically and mentally (Luke 2:40). 10. Had to "learn" Bible Doctrine (Luke 2:52). 11. Had to learn obedience (Heb. 5:7). 12. Was "tempted" (Luke 4:2; Heb. 2:18; 4:15). 13. Was a Man of "sorrows" (Isaiah 53:3). 14. Was "despised" and "forsaken" of men (Isaiah 53:3). 15. Rejoiced" (Luke 10:21). 16. Died" physically (John 19:33). 17. Died" spiritually (Matt. 27:45-46). Z. Our Lord in His humanity rapidly advanced through the 3 stages of spiritual adulthood with its accompanying 3 categories of suffering for blessing: 1. Spiritual self-esteem (Luke 2:4) 4

2. Spiritual autonomy (Luke 2:52) 3. Spiritual maturity (John 1:14) VI. Virgin Birth A. Our Lord also was impeccable because of the Virgin Pregnancy. B. He had no sin nature because He did not have a human father. C. In His humanity, He did not have the principle of sin which is the old sin nature. D. The humanity of Christ was accomplished through the Virgin Birth (Isa. 9:6-7; Micah 5:2; Luke 1:30-35)! E. Isaiah 7:14, "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel." 1. Immanuel is a proper name and means "with us is God." 2. A virigin would give birth to Immanuel, therefore, signaling a miraculous birth. 3. Virgin is the Hebrew word `almah. 4. `Almah means a "young woman who has not had sex yet with a man, but is at the age to be married." F. The angel Gabriel prophesied to Mary that the Child s name would be called Jesus (Luke 1:31). 1. Jesus (Iesou) is a Greek form of a Hebrew name, Joshua, meaning "Jehovah our salvation." 2. It is from the Hebrew name Jehoshua which is taken from two famous Jewish names: a. Joshua, the successor of Moses b. Jeshua, the high priest of the Jews upon their arrival back from the Babylonian exile. 3. Joshua was originally named Hoshea which means "saving," but was altered by 4. Moses (Num. 13:16) into Jehoshua, "Jehovah our salvation," therefore, we get the expression, Savior. G. The promised Savior would have a totally unique birth from other men: 1. He is the "only begotten from the Father" (John 1:14, 18; 3:16, 18; Acts 13:33; Heb. 1:5; 5:5; 1 John 4:9) 2. The promised Messiah would have no human father, but instead would be born of the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35). H. Because He would have no human father, therefore, His Father would be God (Heb. 1:5; 10:5)! I. Joseph, who married Mary, was not the natural father of our Lord. J. He was excluded from sitting upon the throne of his great ancestor King David because of the Coniah Curse (Jeremiah 22:24-30), therefore, he had no part in the birth of Jesus. K. Coniah Curse: 1. David had two sons, Solomon and Nathan. 2. God used Nathan's line and not Solomon's. 3. Mary was in the line of Nathan. 4. Joseph was in the line of Solomon. 5. Coniah was in the line of Solomon. 6. Coniah's line was cut off, therefore, excluding Joseph from taking part in the birth of the Messiah. 7. Nathan's line would be used to produce the humanity of our Lord, and not Solomon's. Mary was in Nathan's line. L. The marriage of Mary and Joseph made our Lord the "adopted" son and "legal heir" of Joseph. M. This reflects God's Divine Sovereignty, Omniscience and Omnipotence! N. Our Lord's claim to the Davidic Throne could be proven through the Temple Register. 5

O. Both Mary and Joseph's ancestory could be traced all the way back to David through the Temple Register. P. Mary and Joseph would not have gone to Bethlehem, David's birth place, when Caesar. Q. Augustus gave the command to have a census taken unless they were of the House of David (Luke 2:1-5). R. No one, not even our Lord's enemies, the Pharisees and the Saduccees, contended with our Lord about His Davidic ancestory since the records were in the Temple Register. S. Those records were destroyed when the Roman general Titus destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple in A. D. 70. T. These records can now only by found in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. U. The Old Testament prophets as well as the New Testament writers clearly state, that the child to be born of a virgin, would be God Himself: 1. "The Son of God" (Luke 1:35) 2. "The Son of the Most High" (Luke 1:32) 3. "Mighty God" (Isaiah 9:6) 4. "Eternal Father" (Isaiah 9:6) 5. "His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity" (Micah 5:2)! V. The Virgin Birth is a tremendous act of Grace on the part of God towards mankind. W. God alone produced the body of our Lord: 1. "The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will accomlish this" (Isa. 9:7) 2. "The Lord Himself will give you a sign" (Isa. 7:14) 3. "The Holy Spirit" came upon Mary and "the power of the Most High" produced the body of our Lord (Luke 1:30-35). X. Mary's womb was only the vehicle for the formation of the human body of our Lord which was not contaminated by Adam s old sin nature. VII. Prototype Spiritual Life A. The humanity of Christ was able not to sin through the function of the prototype spiritual life with its accompanying 2 power options and 3 spiritual skills. B. God the Father provided the humanity of Christ with a unique spiritual life. C. This unique spiritual life was utilized by the humanity of Christ through the function of the 3 spiritual skills: 2. Perception, metabolization and application of Bible doctrine 3. Application of 8 problem solving devices D. The unique spiritual life functions only on divine power. E. It functions under 2 categories of divine power which can also be classified as the 2 power options: 2. Bible doctrine F. Our Lord was the first human being to operate in this unique spiritual life provided by God the Father from eternity past! G. He had the prototype! H. Webster s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary defines prototype as, an original model on which something is patterned, a first full-scale and usually functional form of a new type or design of a construction (as an airplane). I. Only the prototype unique spiritual life explains the impeccability of our Lord! J. He was tempted in every way that we are, as well as in unique temptations that no one else will ever face, i.e., the temptation to use His deity (Matt. 4:1-4)! K. He never violated His Kenosis but consistently relied upon the power of God the Holy Spirit inside the unique spiritual life! 6

L. The unique spiritual life gave Him the power to reach the Cross fully qualified to bear our sins! M. The Father gave this unique spiritual life to His Son as a gift! N. The plan of the Father gave our Lord a mission which was to purchase the salvation of mankind (Mark 10:45) and to defeat Satan in the angelic conflict! O. The Father provided all the support necessary for Christ to accomplish His mission! P. The unique spiritual life can be likened to a sophisticated new jet fighter and like a jet fighter, it needs power to run on! 1. The unique spiritual life is the most powerful weapon ever designed! 2. It is more powerful than any nuclear bomb! 3. This weapon is now available to you and I! 4. This weapon runs on only 1 type of Power: Divine omnipotence 5. It cannot run on human power! 6. Our Lord was the test pilot for this new sophisticated jet fighter! 7. As a test pilot, our Lord put the unique spiritual life through the most gruelling tests and it passed all these tests with flying colors! 8. The unique spiritual life is fully operational meaning that it is ready to be used by other pilots such as you and I! 9. Our Lord used the prototype (original model) unique spiritual life, and you and I can use the operational type! 10. But before you and I can become jet fighter pilots, we need to study and train so that we can effectively used this new jet fighter! 11. No one can just get in a jet fighter plane and fly it! 12. You have to study and train to be able to use it properly! 13. We have to learn how to operate this sophisticated new jet fighter called the unique spiritual life! 14. Our training manual is the Bible and Bible Doctrine is our instructions! 15. Our Pastor-Teacher is our commanding officer who trains us on how to operate it (Eph. 4:12)! 16. If you don t learn Bible Doctrine, you will never get off the ground! 17. You will never get the chance to become an Invisible Hero in the Angelic Conflict if you don t have positive volition towards Bible Doctrine! 18. Our Lord used this invisible weapon to defeat Satan and the kingdom of darkness! 19. In order to fight invisible warfare, our Lord needed to have an invisible weapon that runs on invisible power. 20. As an unglorified Man, our Lord was personally weaker than Satan (Heb. 2:7), but Jesus applied the power of the unique spiritual life to resist the genius of Satan! 21. Our Lord during the Great Power Experiment of the Hypostatic Union always operated in the unique spiritual life. Q. He always relied upon the power of God the Holy Spirit inside the unique spiritual life. R. He learned and applied Bible Doctrine inside the unique spiritual life. S. The doctrine of the unique spiritual life makes clear or explains the doctrine of kenosis by showing what Christ voluntarily chose to do, not just what He voluntarily chose to restrict! T. We as Church Age believers are to follow His example and operate in our very own jet fighter called the unique spiritual life. VIII. Kenosis A. The Lord Jesus Christ was able not to sin through the function of Kenosis which contends that the humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ in Hypostatic Union voluntarily restricted the independent use of His divine attributes. 7

B. The doctrine of the Kenosis takes its name from the Greek verb kenoo, which looks like this in the Greek, κενοω. C. Philippians 2:5-8, Everyone keep on thinking this (according to humility) within yourselves, which was also in (the mind of) Christ Jesus, Who (Christ Jesus) although existing from eternity past in the essence of God never regarded existing equally in essence with God an exploitable asset. On the contrary, He denied Himself of the independent function of His deity by having assumed the essence of a slave when He was born in the likeness of men. In fact, although He was discovered in outward appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by having entered into obedience to the point of spiritual death even death on a Cross.. 1. Kenoo means to deprive or deny oneself of a rightful function, to debase or humiliate oneself. 2. Our Lord denied Himself of the independent function of His deity! 3. He didn t walk around asserting His deity any time it was convenient to solve a problem! D. The Kenosis explains how the supreme God of the universe stooped to become a man and suffer the humiliation of the cross! E. Although Jesus Christ was rich (God), yet for your sake He became poor (true humanity), that you through His poverty (true humanity) might become rich (have eternal life and the perfect righteousness of God) (2 Cor. 8:9)! F. God the Son as co-equal, co-infinite, and co-eternal with God the Father and God the Holy Spirt, voluntarily subjected Himself to the plan of the Father. 1. Hebrews 10:7, Then I (the deity of Christ, 2nd Person of the Trinity) said, Behold, I have come (in the roll of the book it is written of Me) TO DO YOUR WILL, O GOD (the Father). 2. Following the Father s plan for the Incarnation, Christ voluntarily denied or deprived Himself of the independent use of His divine attributes from the virgin birth until His resurrection! 3. Not once did He ever surrender any attribute of His divine essence! 4. God can never become less than God! G. The Father s plan called for our Lord to be the Messiah, Annointed One, who would come to save fallen mankind (John 11:27)! H. In order to do this, the plan called for our Lord to take on the form of a slave, being made in the likeness of men (Phil. 2:6-7)! 1. By doing this, He would serve both God and man. 2. Christ served God by revealing God to man (John 1:18)! 3. He served man by redeeming mankind! 4. By redeeming mankind I mean that He purchased man s freedom from slavery to sin (John 8:31-36; Eph. 1:7; 1 Pet. 1:18-19)! I. In order to become a servant Christ had to cover His preincarnate glory, a glory which was before the world was created (John 17:5)! J. Our Lord was called upon to enter into hypostatic union with sinful humanity and restrict the expression of His deity. K. He could not independently express His deity for this would prevent Him from executing the Father s plan! L. The Father s plan called for Him to use His humanity and not His deity! M. Our Lord was tempted over and over again by the kingdom of darkness to independently use His deity apart from the Father s plan (Matt. 4:1-11)! N. Our Lord came to execute the mission given to Him by the Father, which was to use His humanity to die for the sins of the world! O. He did not use His deity to bring glory to Himself! P. His mission was the cross! Q. He had to deny Himself of His deity to carry out this mission! 8

R. He voluntarily denied Himself the independent use of His divine attributes in order to operate in and fulfill the Father s plan for His life. S. He used His human volition to deny Himself of the use of His deity! T. The Kenosis teaches us what true humility is! U. Having humility is not having no confidence, in fact, it is having confidence but in who God is and what He has done for us! V. True humility refers to obedience to the Plan of God and using what God has given us to execute that Plan! W. Hebrews 5:7-9, In the days of His flesh (humanity), He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His respectful submission to the Father s plan. Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect (execution of the plan of God at the Cross), He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation. X. We are to have the same attitude of humility that the humanity of Christ had! Y. He executed God s Plan for His life by using what God had given him! Z. The Kenosis reveals the thinking of our Lord s humanity (Phil. 2:5)! AA.God the Son voluntarily submitted to the plan of the Father and, as a man, demonstrated an attitude that we are to have! 9