The Doctrine of Christ

LESSON EIGHT Christ the Son of Man

1. The first time that the title, “the Son of man,” appears in the New Testament, it is applied to Jesus as a homeless wanderer. Matthew 8:20. TDOC 21.1

2. The last time the same title appears, it is applied to Jesus as a king. Revelation 14:14. TDOC 21.2

3. As Son of man he came to save the lost. Luke 19:10. TDOC 21.3

4. As Son of man Jesus claimed authority to forgive sins. Matthew 9:1-8. TDOC 21.4

5. As Son of man he sowed the seed of truth in the world. Matthew 13:37. TDOC 21.5

6. As Son of man he was betrayed. Matthew 17:22; Luke 22:48. TDOC 21.6

7. As Son of man he was crucified. Matthew 26:2. TDOC 21.7

8. As Son of man he rose from the dead. Mark 9:9, 31. TDOC 21.8

9. As Son of man he ascended to heaven. John 6:62. TDOC 21.9

10. As Son of man he is in heaven. Acts 7:56. TDOC 21.10

11. As Son of man he watches over his church on earth. Revelation 1:12, 13, 20. TDOC 21.11

12. As Son of man he will come in the clouds of heaven. Matthew 24:30; 25:31. TDOC 21.12

13. As Son of man he will execute judgment. John 5:27. TDOC 21.13

14. As Son of man he will receive the kingdom. Daniel 7:13, 14. TDOC 21.14

NOTES: Christ’s genuine humanity

“An essential element here is genuine humanity. Of this essential element of Christ’s person, this one title, Son of man, used about eighty eight times in the Gospel, is most expressive.” TDOC 21.15

“His was a real and a true humanity, one which must pass through the various stages of growth like any other member of the race.” TDOC 21.16

“It is the same King’s Son who today dwells in the palace of ‘his Father, and tomorrow, out of love to his rebellious subjects in a remote corner of the kingdom, renouncing his princely glory, comes to dwell among them in the form of a servant, and is known only by the dignity of his look and the star of royalty on his breast, when the mean cloak is opened for a moment, apparently by accident.” TDOC 22.1

“As Son of man he was compassed about with all the sinless infirmities that belong to our nature. He has needs common to all, need of food, of rest, of human sympathy, and of divine assistance. He is subject to Joseph and Mary, he is a worshiper in the synagogue and the temple; he weeps over the guilty and hardened city, and at the grave of a loved one; he expresses his dependence on God by prayer. Nothing is more certain than that the Gospel narratives present the Lord Jesus as a true man, a veritable member of our race.” TDOC 22.2

Christ’s divinity and his manhood

“How full his own mind was of the overwhelming wonder of the fact that He, whose majesty he has been setting forth in such deep words, should veil his eternal glories and limit his far-reaching energies within a fleshly body. He would point the contrast between the divine dignity of the eternal Word, the Creator and Lord of the universe, and the lowliness of his incarnation. On these two pillars, as on two solid piers, one on either continent, with a great gulf between, the divinity of Christ on one side, his manhood on the other, is built the bridge by which we pass over the river into the glory.” TDOC 22.3