Was Jesus Christ Born Under the Law?
by Earl L. Henn (1934-1997)
Forerunner, "Ready Answer," February 1995
https://www.sabbath.org/index.cfm/library/article/id/558/born-under-law.htm
What were these false prophets teaching? The end of the first century witnessed many heretical teachings. One of these
heresies,
Gnosticism, taught that Jesus Christ was not really a flesh-and-blood human being but a spirit that was manifested as a human being. This was undoubtedly one of the things John was alluding to when he wrote,
By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. (
I John 4:2-3)
However, there is also a deeper meaning to these words that John was inspired to write. The Holy Spirit inspired John to use
the Greek perfect participle for the words "has come" in the above verses. The perfect tense implies not only the historical fact of Jesus Christ having been born as a flesh-and-blood human being but also the present continuance of this fact. John is saying that Jesus Christ is still human in the sense that He is living His life over again in human beings who submit to Him through the power of the Holy Spirit.
The message of this scripture is simply this: A teacher is of God if he teaches that Jesus Christ is coming—living His life over again in the flesh of every true Christian—and that a Christian must follow Him wherever He leads and emulate Him in every way. But a teacher who teaches that one does not have to follow Christ and that it is not necessary for Christ to live in the flesh of His disciples is not of God. John says that this false teaching stems from the spirit of antichrist (verse 3).
As in the days of the apostle John, modern-day Christians must beware of the same false teachings and of the subtle arguments that some present to draw true Christians away from the truth of God. No, Jesus Christ was not
born under the law. He did not keep the ceremonial law, but He did keep the spiritual law of God. He did not do anything that we are not supposed to do. Conversely, everything that He did we must do. He set a perfect example for us to follow in all respects.
The true Christian knows that, despite the many confusing, conflicting teachings in this world and the subtle arguments of would-be deceivers,
one will never go wrong following the example of Jesus Christ.
