The earnest student of Scripture needs nothing more than the testimony

of the Book itself that the centre and focus of revelation is the Person and

Work of the Son of God.  It is, therefore, not a surprising thing, seeing the

nature of man, the character of the enemy and the acknowledged immensity of

the subject, that endless controversy has raged around the Person as well as

the Work of Christ.  There is always the tendency in debate, to over -

emphasis, and the truth suffers at the hands of its friends as well as at the

hands of its foes.  In other published articles and books, The Berean

Expositor has given its testimony to the basic doctrine of the Deity of

Christ, Who is called 'God' in the most explicit terms in the New Testament

Although this is so, it is also true that for us men and for our salvation a

'Kinsman -Redeemer' is of absolute necessity -- no other way of restoration

is known or permitted in the Word of God, and a Kinsman -Redeemer

necessitates that Christ should be 'man', and in the most explicit way, He is

so called in the New Testament.  Take, for example, the great doctrine which

Paul calls 'the testimony for its own peculiar seasons' (1 Tim. 2:6); there

the manhood of Christ is stressed, as the R.V. indicates, reading:

'For there is one God, one mediator also between God and men, Himself

Man, Christ Jesus'.

There are fifteen passages in which the true humanity of Christ is

affirmed by the use of the word 'flesh' (sarx), and it is our intention in

this study to review some of these passages in the light of their contexts,

and to endeavour as grace shall be given, to arrive at a clearer

understanding of this great theme.  This theme is not only fundamental to

Redemption, it is evidently of such importance as to be the centre of Satanic

attack, and therefore, while avoiding as we would the plague any complicity

with the Prince of darkness, we may learn from this fact how important our

study must be.  John in his first and second Epistles writes as follows:

'Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they

are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that

Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: and every spirit that

confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God:

and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it

should come: and even now already is it in the world' (1 John 4:1 -3).

'For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that

Jesus Christ is come in the flesh.  This is a deceiver and an

antichrist' (2 John 7).

The controversies that arose in the early church were centred mainly

around the mystery of the Person of Christ, and those who sought to defend

the faith, too often put out their hand to stay the ark of God, and by undue

emphasis opened the door for further error.  'The Arians denying

the Deity of Christ: the Apollinarians maiming and misrepresenting that which

belongs to His human nature; Nestorians, by rending asunder and dividing Him

into two persons; and the followers of Eutychus, who confounded in His person

those natures which should be distinguished.  Four things concur to make

complete the whole state of our Lord Jesus Christ, His Deity, His Manhood,