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That Jesus was really a man. Here it may be observed,

I. That He was really man BECAUSE HE HAD A HUMAN BODY. It was formed and fashioned in His mother's womb by the great Parent of all flesh. So it was, says the inspired writer, that while His mother was at Bethlehem, "the days were accomplished that she should be delivered."

II. He was really man BECAUSE HE HAD A HUMAN SOUL AS WELL AS A HUMAN BODY. This is necessarily implied in what is said of Him in the text. He "increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man." Here both His wisdom and piety are asserted; and we know that these are properties of the soul, and not of the body.

III. That Christ was properly a human person will appear, if we consider THE STATE AND CIRCUMSTANCES IN WHICH HE WAS PLACED WHILE HE LIVED IN THIS WORLD. For —

1. He was fixed in a state of dependence.

2. He was placed under law, which implies that He was a human moral agent, and accountable to God like other men. We are told that "when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law."

3. That Christ was placed, like all other men, in a state of probation from His birth to His death.I now proceed to improve the subject.

1. If Christ was really man, then the Arian notion of His pre-existence before He came into the world is entirely unscriptural and absurd. The Arians suppose that Christ was the first and noblest of created beings, and existed before the foundation of the world. For it is absurd to suppose that Christ had both a human soul and a super-angelic soul, and that both these were personally united with the Second Person in the Trinity, and so constituted Him a Divine Person. The true scriptural doctrine of Christ's divinity is founded upon the true scriptural doctrine of Christ's having a human body and a human soul, which was personally united with the second person in the Godhead. It is necessary, therefore, to believe the real humanity, in order to believe the real divinity of Christ. It has been found by observation and experience, that the denial of Christ's humanity directly leads to the denial of His divinity.

2. If Christ had a human body and a human soul, then we cannot account for the early depravity of children through the mere influence of bad examples, or bodily instincts and appetites. He was an infant, but He did not sin in infancy. He had a frail, mortal body, but it did not corrupt His heart. He lived in a wicked world, where He saw many bad examples, but they did not lead Him to follow them. He was a free moral agent, but He never chose to sin.

3. If Christ was really a man, then there is no natural impossibility of men's becoming perfectly holy in this life.

4. If Christ was really man, then God is able to keep men from sinning consistently with their moral agency.

5. If Christ was really man, then there is no absurdity in the doctrine of the final perseverance of saints.

6. If Christ was really man, then there is no reason to suppose that men possess a self-deter. mining power, or a power to act independently of the Divine influence and control.

7. If Christ was really man, then His conduct is a proper example for all men to follow.

8. If Christ was really man, then He is well qualified to perform all the remaining parts for His mediatorial office. In particular, to perform the part of an intercessor.

9. If Christ be really a man, then they will be unspeakably happy, who shall be admitted into His visible presence, and dwell with Him for ever.

(N. Emmons, D. D.).

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KJV: And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.

WEB: And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.