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Was Christ Subject to an Age of Accountability? www.bibleone.net
Preface
This study originates from an inquiry made by a Christian friend who inquired as to whether or not Christ as a child was subject to an “age of accountability” and therefore could have done wrong prior to it. The inquisitor based his query on the prophetic passage of Isaiah 7:14-16:
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. Curds and honey He shall eat, that He may know to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the Child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land that you dread will be forsaken by both her kings. (Isaiah 7:14-16)
His focus was on the phrase “For before the Child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good.” This phrase he believed applied to Jesus Christ, meaning that the “age of accountability” specifically applied to Christ.
He entertained this proposition after being exposed to a secular television program that portrayed certain historical non-canonical works, in which are recorded various acts by Christ in His childhood years that could be interpreted as emotionally reactive and inappropriate. His acceptance of these fanciful accounts of the early life of Christ created a dilemma in his belief system, which he reconciled by deciding that Jesus Christ behaved as totally human prior to the age of accountability but was unaccountable for such actions because they occurred prior to the “age of accountability.” In other words, Christ was capable of doing “wrong things,” which were not sin because He had not reached the age of accountability.
This study/commentary will attempt to (1) define the “age of accountability,” (2) present the correct interpretation of Isaiah 7:14-16, (3) present various scriptural proofs that Jesus Christ never once sinned, and (4) present the correct view of God’s unassuming nature during His incarnation as Jesus Christ.
Age of Accountability
Whereas some may define the age of accountability as the time one understands right from wrong and therefore sins, this would be incorrect. Whether one knows the difference between right and wrong makes no difference in the matter. Sin is sin regardless of the perpetrator’s comprehension of the matter (1 John 3:4; 5:17). Understanding God’s law does not make wrongdoing to be sin, it only illuminates or reveals that it is sin (Romans 3:20; 5:20; 7:7; Galatians 3:19). The stark truth is that everyone sins from birth (Psalms 58:3; Romans 5:12; 1 Corinthians 15:22a). What matters is whether or not God will hold the person accountable for the wrong he does. Prior to the age of knowing the difference of right from wrong, which is contingent upon a person understanding the law of God, God will not count one’s sins against him (Deuteronomy 1:39; John 9:41; Romans 4:15; 5:13; 7:8; 1 Corinthians 15:56). But once the age of accountability (understanding right from wrong in accordance with the law of God) dawns upon the person, he will be accountable for all his wrongdoings (Romans 7:9-11).
But the question at hand, undergirding the thesis of this study, is not whether or not Christ was accountable for His actions, but whether He sinned at all, at any age. For Christ to be the perfect Lamb of God, the only kind of sacrifice suitable to take away the sin of mankind (i.e., a lamb without blemish and without spot—1 Peter 1:19; see also Hebrews 9:14), He never must have been tainted by sin.
Isaiah 7:14-16
It is not uncommon for biblical prophecies to have one level of fulfillment in the immediate future, and a final fulfillment many years later in the person and work of the Savior Jesus Christ. This is the case with this passage of Scripture. The Hebrew word (almah) rendered virgin in verse 14 may also mean “a young woman of marriageable age.” The Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible made in the second century B.C., translates this word with the Greek word (parthenos)—a word that specifically means “virgin.”
The “immediate future” application of this passage has the prophet Isaiah consoling King Ahaz of Judah. A coalition of two kings, King Rezin of Aram and King Pekah of Israel, was opposing Ahaz. Isaiah tells Ahaz not to fear, for the plans of his enemies would not succeed. As a sign to Ahaz, a son would be born of a woman, and before that boy reached the age where he could tell right from wrong (age of accountability) the two kings would no longer be a threat to Ahaz.
But the use of a very specific (limited) portion of this passage in Matthew (1:23) makes it clear that Isaiah’s words find their “ultimate (prophetic) fulfillment” in the virgin birth of Jesus, a sign to people of all ages that God was with them.
In a detailed word study on the Hebrew word almah in comparison with the Greek word parthenos in the Key Word Study Bible, AMG Publishers, 1991, the following portion is recounted here:
First of all, there is no discrepancy whatsoever between Is. 7:14 and Matt. 1:23! The absolute authority and inspiration of the Bible is quite sufficient to settle the question for the Christian. Matt. 1:18 states that God’s instructions came before Mary and Joseph came together (sexually). And that this conception was from the Holy Spirit (see also Matt. 1:20). It is interesting to note that the angel of the Lord who appeared in a dream to Joseph convinced him that Mary was still acceptable, because a miraculous conception had already been predicted by Isaiah. Matt. 1:23 was not merely a comment made by Matthew. It was part of the angel’s message. Again, Matt. 1:25 reports that Joseph “did not know” (KJV) Mary until after she gave birth to Jesus.
The point being that in the “immediate future application” of this passage, the phrase: “For before the Child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good” is relevant; but as to the “ultimate (prophetic) application” of it as it applied to Christ, it has no relevance. This is made clear by Matthew’s purposeful exclusion of the phrase when he quoted Isaiah 7:14.
Scriptures Pertaining to Christ and Sin
When it comes to the matter of whether or not Christ ever even once sinned, it is best to allow God’s Word to speak for itself in this matter.
For He [God] made Him [Christ] who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)
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. (Hebrews 4:15)
For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens. (Hebrews 7:26)
How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (Hebrews 9:14)
But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. (1 Peter 1:19)
Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth. (1 Peter 2:22)
And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. (1 John 3:5)
God’s Incarnate Nature as Jesus Christ
God’s Word is quite clear that Jesus Christ was God incarnate, i.e., God in human flesh (John 1:1; 14; Colossians 2:9; 1 Timothy 3:16), yet as God the Son (the second person of the triune Godhead) He voluntarily subjected Himself to God the Father (the first person of the triune Godhead).
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. (Philippians 2:5-8)
Although God the Son was indeed God, He voluntarily submitted Himself to God the Father by accepting various human limitations as the Son of Man, i.e., physical body (Luke 24:39), natural growth (Luke 2:40), hunger (Luke 4:2), sorrow (Matthew 26:37), weariness (John 4:6), sleep (Luke 8:23), poverty (Luke 9:58), and limited knowledge (Matthew 24:36). Although Christ, being God, could do all miraculous deeds, He chose to live His life under the influence of the Holy Spirit, the third person of the triune Godhead (Matthew 3:16; Luke 3:22; John 1:32).
A Final Note and Conclusion
Whereas John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit (the third person of the one Godhead) even from his mother’s womb (Luke 1:15), Jesus Christ emerged from the womb of his earthly mother Mary in “the form of God” and “equal to God” (Philippians 2:6). In this state it is inconceivable, indeed impossible, that He could have done anything contrary to His holy nature.
Therefore, it is the conclusion of this whole matter that Jesus Christ never sinned and was never subject to an “age of accountability.” |