1John 4:2,3 Acknowledging Jesus' Human Nature
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1John 4:2,3 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.
At the time there were gnostic Christians, docetists, who thought it too degrading to reckon Jesus sharing in the human nature. Yet as to the physical nature of his flesh, this conflicts with both the historic facts and fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith. What was considered most essential? Paul writes, "What I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures." 1Cor 15:3,4 But if Christ did not have a physical body he could not have died. And so he could not have atoned for sin. "Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death— that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death." Heb 2:14,15
But there's more than having a human nature than simply being physical and subject to death. Much of the New Testament associates the word "flesh" ("sarx") with the sinful nature. In fact the NIV commonly translates the Greek word for "flesh" as "sinful nature". Human nature is synonymous with the sinful nature. There are a vast number of Christians today that reckon, just like the docetists of old, it too degrading for Jesus to have shared in our sinful nature. Yet it says, “in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.” Heb 2:17 And that especially includes being subjected to human sinful nature, else he could not sympathize with us as our high priest. “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.” Heb 4:15
The spirit of antichrist is to put a different "Jesus" in the place of the Biblical Jesus. So when people say they believe in or preach "Jesus", make sure they're referring to the Biblical Jesus and not some alternate "Jesus".