The Doctrine of Sin

No single meaning attaches to the usage of the word flesh in the Bible, except insofar as it is associated with human identity and experience and is to be distinguished from spirit. That the word may be liable to multiple interpretations is stated more or less directly at 1 Corinthians 15:39, when Paul says that all flesh is not the same, "but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds." The statement at John 1:14 that the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us refers to Jesus' human nature, hence to divine participation in human experience. If such participation is worth God's time--and the Incarnation suggests that this is the case--then that must mean the flesh as human nature is not irredeemably evil. Indeed, the purpose of human life is to find its way to God, even if that involves sacrifice of human preferences, including a preference for life. That is in the background of 2 Corinthians 4:11: "For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in o

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as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil (Hebrews 2:14). Hebrews 2:17 emphasizes the special quality of Jesus' human nature, linking it to the divine mission of the Redemption: Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people (Hebrews 2:17). Hebrews 2:18 refers to another aspect of being born in the flesh, which is that it is morally vulnerable, but the example and presence of Jesus in human experience supply the potential to resist temptation. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted (Hebrews 2:18). The temptation to which human beings are vulnerable gets to the doctrine of sin because human beings not infrequently yield to temptation, as it were dying in the flesh and giving themselves over to the devil cited at Hebrews 2:14. However, in his human aspect of taking part in flesh, Jesus is also uniquely humanity's high priest, a kind of conduit between humanity to God. The Redemp
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Approximate Word count = 1817
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)

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