Johann
Well-known member
Disagree-
Your argument conflates two separate but related theological ideas: the inherent sinlessness of Christ and the nature of humanity’s relationship with sin after the Fall.
While Hebrews 2:17 does affirm Christ's full humanity, it does not necessitate that He inherited a sin nature.
1. Christ's Humanity Was Sinless: Hebrews 4:15
Scripture: *“For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin (χωρὶς ἁμαρτίας, chōris hamartias).” (Hebrews 4:15)
Key Point: The Greek phrase chōris hamartias (“without sin”) explicitly affirms that Christ, though fully human, did not have sin in any form—neither sinful actions nor a sin nature.
Interpretation: While Christ was made like His "brethren" (Hebrews 2:17) in terms of shared humanity (i.e., flesh and blood), He was without the inherited corruption of sin passed down from Adam (Romans 5:12). His incarnation involved the assumption of true human nature, but without the sinful propensity that characterizes fallen humanity.
2. The Virgin Birth Prevented the Transmission of Sin
Scripture: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore, the Holy One (τὸ γεννώμενον ἅγιον, to gennōmenon hagion) who is to be born will be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:35)
Key Point: The term hagion ("holy") emphasizes the sinless nature of Christ from conception. Unlike all others born through natural procreation, Christ's humanity was uniquely preserved from the transmission of Adam's sin through the miraculous work of the Holy Spirit.
While Christ was fully human and shared in the same physical and emotional experiences as us (e.g., hunger, weariness, sorrow), His conception by the Holy Spirit ensured that He did not inherit a sin nature. This sets Him apart from all other human beings, who inherit Adam's fallen nature (Romans 5:12-19).
3. Humanity's Sin Nature Post-Fall: Romans 5:12
Scripture: “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.” (Romans 5:12)
Key Point: The Greek phrase δι’ ἑνὸς ἀνθρώπου (di' henos anthrōpou, “through one man”) refers to Adam's act of disobedience, which brought sin and death to all his descendants. This passage establishes the doctrine of original sin: humanity inherits a corrupted nature predisposed to sin.
The universality of sin (πάντες ἥμαρτον, pantes hēmarton, “all sinned”) demonstrates that all humans are born into a condition of sinfulness. Christ, however, is the exception, as His divine origin and sinless conception separate Him from Adam’s lineage in terms of guilt and corruption.
4. Christ’s Sinlessness Did Not Require a Sinful Nature
Scripture: “For He made Him who knew no sin (τὸν μὴ γνόντα ἁμαρτίαν, ton mē gnonta hamartian) to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)
Key Point: The Greek phrase mē gnonta hamartian (“knew no sin”) signifies Christ's perfect sinlessness, both in nature and in deed.
Christ's ability to represent humanity as a substitute for sin does not necessitate that He share in humanity’s sin nature. Instead, His sinlessness qualified Him as the spotless Lamb (1 Peter 1:19) who could bear humanity's sins vicariously.
5. A Sinless Christ and a Sinful Humanity Are Consistent with Redemption
Scripture: “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.” (Romans 5:19)
Key Point: The Greek term κατεστάθησαν (katestathēsan, “were made”) refers to humanity being constituted as sinners through Adam's disobedience. Christ, as the second Adam, reverses this through His obedience.
The argument that Christ's sinlessness negates humanity's sin nature is flawed.
Rather, Christ's role as the second Adam demonstrates that His sinless humanity was necessary to undo the effects of Adam's sin on those who believe (1 Corinthians 15:22). This does not negate that all other humans are born with a sin nature.
Hebrews 2:17 affirms Christ's full humanity but does not imply that He inherited a sin nature. The New Testament consistently portrays Christ as sinless, a truth upheld by His miraculous conception and the absence of inherited corruption (Luke 1:35, Hebrews 4:15). Humanity, in contrast, inherits Adam's fallen nature, as evidenced by Romans 5:12-19 and Ephesians 2:3, where Paul describes humanity as "by nature children of wrath."
The distinction between Christ and the rest of humanity lies in His unique origin and mission as the sinless redeemer, not in a shared sin nature.
Sin enters the human experience in Adam’s sin. That sin is an intruder, entering the human experience in Adam’s sin, is clear historically from Genesis. That sin enters human history in Adam’s sin is also clear theologically from Romans 5:12: “Sin came into the world through one man.” Although clarity concerning the reason(s) for Adam’s sin remains out of reach, Scripture does indicate that Adam’s sin not only results in his own punishment but also has dire consequences for all humanity. Adam sins not merely as the first bad example but as the representative of all humanity. Recall Romans 5:12–21 and the contrast between Adam’s representation of us and Christ’s representation. In Adam, there is sin, death, and condemnation. In Christ, there is righteousness, life, and justification. In Adam, there is the old era, the dominion of sin and death. In Christ, there is a new reign, marked by grace and life (cf. 1 Cor. 15:20–57).
Sin is universal—no one escapes. That the fall of Adam results in universal human sinfulness is suggested by Genesis 3–11 and emphasized by Romans 5:12–21. In particular, verse 19 clarifies, “As by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.” This can also be seen through Paul’s insistence that no one is exempt, for all have sinned and fall short (Rom. 3:23); there are none righteous, not even one (3:10–18).
Sin produces universal human guilt and condemnation. Romans 5:12–21 displays this, particularly in verses 16 and 18: “The judgment following one trespass brought condemnation” (v. 16); “One trespass led to condemnation for all men” (v. 18). Paul’s teaching in Ephesians 2:1–3 speaks similarly: we were all “by nature children of wrath” (v. 3). Humans are universally guilty, in that state by nature (by birth, see Gal. 2:15), and thereby stand condemned under the wrath of God.
Sin begets universal human death. This is evident from Genesis, including God’s warning in 2:17: “Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die.” It is evident from God’s judgment upon Adam: “By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (3:19). The new entrance of death is also clear from the banishment of Adam and Eve from Eden and from participation in the Tree of Life (vv. 22–24). That Adam’s sin results in the universality of human death is also manifest in Romans 5:12–21. Death enters human history through Adam’s sin (v. 12) and spreads to all (v. 12). Indeed, the universality of death clarifies that sin was in the world before the law was given (vv. 13–14). Paul puts it starkly, “Many died through one man’s trespass” (v. 15); “Sin reigned in death” (v. 21); and later, “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (6:23).
Sin brings universal corruption. The corruption of all is directly related to the domain of sin and death just mentioned. Indeed, Romans 5:12–21 conjoins Adam’s sin, humans constituted as sinners, universal guilt, universal death, and the domain of death. The domain of sin and death is the macro-environmental condition in which life occurs; the particular human corruption is a part of the personal and individual aspects of the domain of sin and death.
Sin results in the reality of human suffering. As sin enters through Adam, so do its effects, suffering included. And just as God is not the author of sin, so is he not the author of suffering. Suffering is not a part of God’s good creation but is sin’s byproduct.
Sin creates shattered relationships at every level. As noted, God created a good cosmos with good human beings who had good relationships with God, themselves, one another, and creation. But sin entered the picture and brought disruption and estrangement in each human relationship, with God, self, one another, and creation.
The Good News
Indeed, “the biblical story sheds much light on sin. But clearly, sin is only the backdrop, never the point. It emerges in God’s good creation as a temporary intruder, causes much havoc, and holds many in its clutches. But it is no match for the work of God in Christ. Through his sinless life, sin-bearing death, sin-defeating resurrection, and sin-crushing second coming, sin and its offspring of suffering and death are given the death blow. Sin abounded, but grace super-abounds” Morgan, “Sin in the Biblical Story,” in Fallen: A Theology of Sin, 162).
Sorry @TomL-the "sin nature" isn't something that gets "surgically removed" from the believer. Romans 6, 7, and 8 teach us how to deal with it and what steps to take in our walk of sanctification.
J.
