Christians believe Jesus had the attributes of both Man and God during His time on earth. He was 100% God and 100% man, or truly God and truly man. By being God, who is holy and divine, He could have no sin in Him. However, some have speculated that Jesus could have had an inclination towards sin when He took on the form of a mortal man (who is born with original sin).

How do we reconcile this?

In order to describe Jesus’ ability to sin or not, theologians use two terms: ‘peccability’ and ‘impeccability.’ Those who consider Christ to be peccable argue that He could have sinned but choose not to. In contrast, proponents of Christ’s impeccability assert that He was not only sinless but also incapable of sinning.

Belief in Christ’s impeccability (His utter holiness and separation from sin) is biblically supported by the following verses:

• • • 2 Corinthians 5:21 says that He “knew no sin”;
    • Hebrews 4:15 states that He “has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin”;
    • Hebrews 7:26 describes Him as “holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners”; and
    • 1 Peter 2:22 affirms that He “committed no sin.”

Jesus’ sinlessness is central to the Christian faith, particularly in His role as the sacrificial Lamb becoming the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. As 2 Corinthians 5:21 explains, He was made to “be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him,” highlighting His role in atoning for human sin.

How, then, could Jesus be tempted if He could not sin?

To understand Jesus’ experience of temptation alongside His divine nature, consider the analogy of a well-armored knight. In His human nature, Jesus was like a knight exposed to the battleground of temptation. However, His divine nature acted as impenetrable armor, shielding Him from the possibility of succumbing to these temptations. Just as a well-armored knight can engage in battle yet remain unharmed due to the protection of the armor, Jesus faced real temptations in His human experience, but His divine nature provided absolute protection against sin.

Because of Christ’s divine nature, He could not have sinned. He is omniscient (all-knowing), so He would have known all the consequences of sin, and He is omnipotent (all-powerful), so He can resist sin.

It should also be noted that when Hebrews 4:15 says Christ was tempted in “all points”, it does not necessarily mean “every” kind of temptation. The reference to “all points” is best explained chronologically. He was tempted in the way a child, an adolescent, and a young man would have been tempted.

Some people have also questioned the authenticity of the ‘test’ (as stated in Hebrews 4:15) since Jesus could not have sinned. However, we must understand that Christ is entirely different from us because we experience the process of temptation when we are tempted. But the Bible is silent on Jesus experiencing the process of temptation (in that there was some internal battle going on with Him on any level). The temptation would have come, but it never had a foothold, the door was barred and shut.

Ask yourself this, can you take an elementary test and pass it? Of course, you can, but does that make the test illegitimate? No, it does not. Similarly, Jesus could have been given a test by satan and passed it because He is God.

Furthermore, we should avoid comparing the temptation of Christ to us because He was most likely tempted to the extent that we aren’t. In that, the longer we resist temptation, the harder it is for satan to work, but Christ, who never gave in, was tempted and tested to the fullest extent possible, and He passed every test.

As God, Jesus is not able to fall into sin, but could still be attacked and hurt enough to empathize with us as we go through trials and tribulations. He would have been tempted, but sin would have never gained a foothold in Him because he was clinging to holiness, virtue, and righteousness.

The fact that Jesus was tempted was not meant to demonstrate that He was sinful but to prove that He was sinless.