We need no proof of the Manhood of Christ, as we can read about it for
ourselves in the Gospels. We can see from the records therein
contained that Christ was man like as we are. But there was one most
important difference between us and Him. He is the only man who was
ever free from the taint of sin. He alone could fearlessly ask the
question:--"Which of you convicteth me of sin"?
But the fact that He was sinless does not imply that He was never
tempted. Had He been entirely free from temptation, His manhood would
have been so utterly different from ours that it would mean little or
nothing to us. But He was not so free. This we have on His own
authority, as the account of His temptation in the wilderness can only
have come from Himself. And there can be no doubt that He was tempted
not only on that occasion but constantly throughout His earthly life.
As the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews says, "He was in all points
tempted like as we are, yet without sin."
But the sinlessness of Christ does not if rightly understood repel us,
or prove any barrier between us and Him. It is not an abstract belief
about Him, but is exhibited in His life as a man, thereby showing of
what manhood is capable if the human will be brought into perfect
harmony with the divine will. We know ourselves that the closer we
bring our will into agreement with the Divine will, the less liable we
are to fall before temptation, and we also know that the nearer we draw
to Christ, the easier it becomes to will for ourselves what God wills
for us. The sinlessness of the Son, Whose will was always in perfect
agreement with that of His Father, has always been the inspiration of
the saint, and at the same time the great attraction of His personality
to the sinner.