Could Christ Have Sinned When Tempted?

Some would say that Christ had to be able to sin or His temptations were not real.  Scripture is clear that Christ never sinned although He was tempted in all the ways like we are tempted (Heb. 4:15).  Christ's temptations were very real while on this earth (Luke 4:2).  Christ's human nature and his divine nature coexisted during His earthly ministry and they worked harmoniously together. I believe that Scripture teaches that Christ could not have sinned, because that is a direct violation of the divine character of God--He would then cease to be God.

James 1:13 says that God cannot be tempted with evil (and certainly Christ is fully God).  Does this pose a difficulty for us since Christ had many temptations while on this earth?  Is this a contradiction? The Bible tells us that Jesus was tempted and that He was fully man.  Scripture also tells us that Jesus is God and that God cannot be tempted by evil.  How do we reconcile this?  We must understand that at the incarnation Christ became fully man.  The two natures worked together and He was fully tempted as a man but yet in another sense He could not sin because of His divine nature.  Jesus' human nature never existed apart from His divine nature.

Here are some points to help process the temptation of Christ:

• Christ was tempted in every way as we are, yet He never sinned nor could He sin. (Heb. 4:15)
• If Jesus Christ could have sinned, then He could still sin today since He is the same in essence yesterday, today, and forever. (James 13:8)
• If Christ could sin, then the Father and the Holy Spirit could sin as well--they are all God and they are all One. (Col. 1:9)
• Jesus was not conceived in sin nor did He have a sinful nature; He was conceived of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 5:12)
• Christ did not have to experience sin in order to understand it.  Christ, in His body, understood the pain of temptation and He relates to us today in order that He can sympathize and petition the Father on our behalf. (John 17:20-23; Hebrews 4:15)
• The “impeccability” (meaning Christ could not sin) of Jesus Christ is important because it supports His divine character and attributes.   

God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) always works within His nature and character and because He does, He cannot sin.  His own righteousness defines what sin is and what He could never do. The uniting of the human with the divine will never be experienced by us and I would be careful suggesting that Christ could violate His own nature.  Christ can do anything and everything that is consistent with who He is.  Christ followed the Father's will all the way to the cross--sinning during the journey would have been not only a violation, but a failure for Jesus Christ. (John 6:37-40)