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ArticleThe Sinlessness of Christ
There are a number of striking testimonies to the sinlessness of Christ to consider:
1. The Testimony of the Scriptures:
The Lord Jesus was:
2. The Testimony of Saints
Peter, Paul and John each gave a unique testimony to the sinlessness of Christ:
3. The Testimony of the Saviour
A number of statements of the Lord Himself give clear testimony to His sinlessness:
4. The Testimony of Satan:
Christ’s arch-enemy gave eloquent testimony to the Lord Jesus, not only by failing to tempt Him to sin in the wilderness but also by speaking of Christ (through his demons) in the following terms: “We know Thee who Thou art, the holy one of God.” (Luke 4:34)
5. The Testimony of Sinners:
During the events surrounding the crucifixion a number of testimonies to Christ’s sinlessness were received from unexpected sources:
6. The Testimony of the ‘Shadows’ (Col 2:17, Heb 8:5, 10:1)
Numerous Old Testament pictures are painted by the Holy Spirit that illustrate the sinlessness of the Saviour, such as:
The entire sacrificial system bore testimony to the perfection of the coming Messiah in that in typical form is demanded that each and every sacrifice be a perfect specimen. Animals with defects were unacceptable (Deut 15:21).
Not Able to Sin or Able Not to Sin?
A vital question is – could Christ have sinned? Among those who agree that He never sinned, there is disagreement as to whether He was not able to sin or simply able not to sin. Many, even professing evangelicals, hold that Christ must have been able to sin else He could not truly sympathise with us nor could His temptations been in any sense real. These are greatly mistaken notions for the following reasons:
“What about death?” say the critics. God cannot die yet Jesus, who was God, did die. So though God cannot sin, Jesus who is equal with God could have sinned. But wait. Death was a bodily thing which, while it severed His spirit from His body, did not affect the union of His humanity and His deity one iota. In contrast to death, if Christ had committed sin that clearly would have affected His character and nature. Christ can die and still be God. Christ cannot sin and still be God. Therefore Christ could not have sinned.
It is not that Christ’s divine nature upholds His human nature – that would make Christ two persons. Natures do not act – persons do – and Christ, who was God manifest in the flesh, could not sin. It was an impossibility. It is important to note that if Christ could have sinned while on earth He can sin now. If His humanity was truly capable of sin as some say, Christ is just as human now in heaven as He was on earth, so He must be able to sin now. Perish the thought!
What was the Nature of the temptation?
If Christ was not able to sin, in what was was He tempted in the wilderness when He confronted Satan? The usual Greek word for ‘tempt’ (peirazo) carries two meanings: to test or to tempt. Bearing that in mind it is clear that while God can be ‘tempted’ (Num 14:22, Psa 78:18, 1 Cor 10:9), He cannot be tempted with evil (James 1:13). Similarly Jesus can be ‘tempted’ (Matt 4:1, Mark 1:13, Luke 4:2), but cannot be tempted with sin (Heb 4:15). Remember the lawyer who stood up and ‘tempted’ Christ with a question? (Luke 10:25). Even believers are told not to ‘tempt’ Christ (1 Cor 10:9). The word used in Luke 10:25 and 1 Cor 10:9 (ekpeirazo) is the same word Christ quotes to Satan in the wilderness, “Thou shalt not tempt the Lord Thy God” (Matt 4:7).
In what way was His temptation real? The scripture says that Christ “suffered being tempted” (Heb 2:17-18). That is, the presence of Satan was a grief to Him (Matt 4:10), as were the testings of men (Mark 3:1-5). The constant unbelief Christ was greeted with was a test to Him (Mt 16:1, 19:3, 22:18, 22:35, Mk 8:11, 10:2, 12:15, Lu 11:16, 20:23, Jn 8:6). At the end of His earthly sojourn the Lord Jesus said to His disciples, “Ye are they that have continued with me in my temptations” (Luke 22:28). By temptations here the Lord meant His trials, testings, humiliations and assaults from the power of Satan. So, there was real testing but no conflict within. He knew frequent and genuine testings and trials, but never once was there even the flicker of a response to sin or a mental conflict as to whether or not He should or would sin.
The most frequently quoted verse relative to this issue is, “He was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Heb 4:15). Many take this verse to mean the Lord was tempted to sin in every way that we are but He never actually sinned. That is, they read the words ‘yet without sin’ as ‘yet without sinning’. There are two things to note here. Firstly, ‘sin’ is a noun and should not be translated ‘sinning’ (which is a verb). Secondly the word ‘yet’ is not in the Greek text. It has been added by the translators but was actually not needed. The words “without sin” (Gk: choris hamartias) signify the entire absence of sin. They are used once more in Hebrews 9:28 where we read “unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” Clearly to translate this as “without sinning” would make a nonsense of the verse. ‘Without sin’ simply means ‘apart from the question of sin’. At Christ’s second advent it will not be a question of sin and its atonement – that was dealt with at His first coming. Likewise, in Heb 4:15 the scripture is saying that Christ was tested in every area like us, but not in relation to the sin question at all. The verse is not speaking of the outcome of the test, but the extent of the test.
What was the point of the temptation?
It was initiated by God (Matt 4:1) as a demonstration of His sinlessness, not to see if He would sin, but to show that He could not. Just as an engineer who has designed a bridge may be the first to drive a truck over it not to see if it will collapse but to demonstrate that it cannot. An unconquerable city may be attacked. The fact that it is unconquerable does not make the attack less real.
The Lord’s battle with Satan in the wilderness is typified by David’s battle with Goliath. The Lord Jesus took 5 stones into the valley but only used 1. The law was in His mouth (the Pentateuch) but He only quoted from one of the five books of the law, Deuteronomy. He stunned the devil with the stone in the wilderness, but cut off His head at the cross. There are numerous parallels between the David and Goliath incident and the life and death of Christ:
David Christ
1 Sam 16:13 David anointed Matt 3:16 Lord anointed
1 Sam 17:28 David rejected by brothers John 7:5 Family reject Christ
1 Sam 17:40 David fights Goliath Matt 4:1 Christ confronts Satan
1 Sam 17:16 40 days Matt 4:2 40 days
1 Sam 17:49 Stunned Goliath (1 stone) Matt 4:4 Stunned Satan with 1 book
1 Sam 17:51 Slew Goliath with own sword Heb 2:14 Used death to destroy Satan
It is also instructive to compare the events surrounding the fall of man in the Garden of Eden with the triumph of Christ in the wilderness as follows:
Scripture Gen 3 Matthew 4
Person First Adam Last Adam (Christ)
Animals Tame beasts Wild beasts (Mark 1:12)
Surroundings Perfect garden Barren desert
Temptation Food issue: fruit Food issue: hunger
Outcome Disobedience Obedience
Angelic ministry Cherubim bar entrance Angels minister
The temptation of the Lord in the wilderness also has striking parallels as to its threefold nature:
Gen 3:6 Matt 4:3 1 John 2:16
Temptation of Eve Temptation of the Lord Temptation of believers
1. Good for food 1. Stones to bread 1. Lust of the flesh
2. Desire to be wise 2. Cast Thyself down 2. Pride of life
3. Pleasant to eyes 3. Kingdoms of world 3. Lust of the eyes
There is more to the three temptations of Christ than at first meets the eye:
1. Stones into bread:
In the first temptation Satan tempted the Lord to ‘take things into His own hands’. Rather than merely challenging the Lord’s power (are you powerful enough to perform such a miracle?), Satan was actually tempting the Lord to act independently of His Father. “If you are the Son of God” means “If, as You claim, You are the eternal Son of God, what are You doing starving in the wilderness. Strike out on Your own and exert yourself. Stop being the ‘dependent servant’.” So, Christ actually proved He was the Son of God by not turning the stones into bread – the opposite of Satan’s challenge!(The Lord shows His ‘power’ shortly after this incident by turning water into wine at Cana in Galilee).
2. Cast Yourself down:
Standing on the pinnacle of the Temple, Satan tempts Christ to ‘throw things presumptuously into God’s hands’ – to use God to His own advantage. Why not make a spectacle of Yourself and wow the crowds below into seeing You as the Messiah by leaping off the temple and letting the angels of God catch You and deliver You safely to the ground? Again this grab for fame would have involved stepping outside the Father’s will and was not entertained for a moment by the submissive servant of Jehovah.
3. Bow down and worship:
The final scene involved a temptation to ‘give things illegally and disloyally into Satan’s hands’. Satan tried to tempt the Lord Jesus into obtaining the kingdom by worldly means and to be used for worldly purposes. However, the Old Testament had repeatedly spoken of suffering before glory, of a cross before a crown. Responding to Satan’s third approach would have meant a total repudiation of the Son’s purpose, who came not to do His own will but the will of the Father who sent Him. Blessed sinless Saviour!
Without a trace of Adam’s sin
As Man unique in origin
All fair without all pure within
Our blessed Lord.
Without a waver in His ways
Steadfast and true through all those days
Subject of everlasting praise
Our blessed Lord.
Without a flaw from first to last
Through all His perfect path He passed
Till by an evil world outcast
Our blessed Lord.
Without a fault among His foes
As round Him clouds of darkness close
Still fragrance to His Father flows
Our blessed Lord.
Without a murmur, suffering so
The righteous wrath of God to know
The righteous love of God to show
Our blessed Lord.
Without the law O God we raise
Our voice in voluntary praise
Of Him who fills our heart, our gaze
Our blessed Lord.
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