Though the Bible enjoins us to gather together to worship God (Matthew 18:20), just going to church will not provide all you spiritually need to know. Bible study and prayer, outside of the church setting, is essential every day in order to develop your relationship with Jesus and strengthen your faith. Successful study of the many topics of the Bible is dependent upon being willing to allow the Holy Spirit to show you what truth is.
“An understanding of Bible truth depends not so much on the power of intellect brought to the search as on the singleness of purpose, the earnest longing after righteousness.
“The Bible should never be studied without prayer. The Holy Spirit alone can cause us to feel the importance of those things easy to be understood or prevent us from wresting truths difficult of comprehension. …
“We are living in the most solemn period of this world’s history. The destiny of earth’s teeming multitudes is about to be decided. Our own future well-being and also the salvation of other souls depend upon the course which we now pursue. We need to be guided by the Spirit of truth. … We should now seek a deep and living experience in the things of God. We have not a moment to lose.” Reflecting Christ, 116
Too many, including Adventist ministers and laymen, while studying a particular subject, conclude and then doggedly dig in on what they believe to be true rather than on what the Holy Spirit might be trying to show them. It is essential that, before opening the Bible or Spirit of Prophecy to study a subject, that we ask the Holy Spirit to give us open minds and hearts to what He will show us.
Mrs. White addresses this determined refusal to accept evidence of something other than what a person, after their own study of a subject, has decided is truth. Let’s look at this in the context of our ongoing study of the nature of Christ.
The following is a well-known quotation, a favorite of revivalist Adventist preachers when speaking on Christ’s human nature.
“It would have been an almost infinite humiliation for the Son of God to take man’s nature, even when Adam stood in his innocence in Eden. But Jesus accepted humanity when the race had been weakened by four thousand years of sin. Like every child of Adam, He accepted the results of the working of the great law of heredity. What these results were is shown in the history of His earthly ancestors. He came with such a heredity to share our sorrows and temptations, and to give us the example of a sinless life.” The Desire of Ages, 49
All will agree that, based on evidence found in the Bible and Inspiration, the Son of God took man’s nature. We have already studied that in relation to humanity, there are two different meanings to the word nature. Nature can be used to mean humanity in general, or it can be used to mean a single individual. When speaking of humanity, nature is referring to the physical aspects of man’s being. But if you are speaking of an individual, nature refers to the disposition or condition of his mind, therefore, his character.
When Mrs. White says that the Son of God took man’s nature, that He accepted humanity, she is speaking of humanity in general, therefore, the aspects of Christ’s nature under discussion in the above paragraph is His physical nature and not the disposition of His mind or His character. Jesus’ physical nature was “weakened by four thousand years of sin,” just as is the physical nature of all humans.
The word weakened means to “lessen the strength of or to deprive of strength or debilitate or to enfeeble.” This would be a common aspect of both man’s and Jesus’ physical nature.
“Sin is the cause of physical degeneration; sin has blighted the race, and introduced disease, misery, and death.” Pacific Health Journal, February 1, 1902
The word degeneration means “growing worse or losing good qualities from the virtue or worth of ancestors, a decay of the natural good qualities of the species, a falling from a more excellent state to one of less worth either in the natural or the moral world.” In the natural world, plants and animals degenerate when something grows to less its normal size or loses some of the valuable qualities that belongs to its species. In the moral world, man degenerates when he declines in virtue or other good qualities.
“Earthly treasures must pass away; but nobility of character, moral worth, will endure forever.” Fundamentals of Christian Education, 69
Returning to the article found in the Pacific Health Journal, February 1, 1902, we find a detailed explanation of the effects of sin.
“Since the fall, the tendency of the race has been continually downward, the effects of sin becoming more marked with every successive generation. But so great was the vitality with which man was endowed that the patriarchs from Adam to Noah, with a few exceptions, lived nearly a thousand years. …
“Since the flood, the average length of life has been decreasing. Had Adam possessed no greater physical force than men now have, the race would before this have become extinct.”
Each generation of man has physically degenerated more and more as a consequence of sin. When Jesus took on humanity and accepted the results of the working of the great law of heredity, He accepted the physical degeneration, but He did not take on the condition of our moral (spiritual) nature, one that was defiled with sin.
“Christ who knew not the least moral taint or defilement of sin, took our nature in its deteriorated condition.” Manuscript Releases, Vol. 16, 115
Remember, when man sinned in the garden of Eden, his character was no longer governed by the principles of righteousness on which God’s laws are based. His character, instead, became subject to the principles of selfishness, which is the basis for everything the devil does. Jesus’ body and all the other physical aspects of humanity were subject to the degeneration caused by sin. Unlike man’s moral nature which is selfish, Christ’s moral nature is pure.
As a practical example, a person might have dark brown hair, but with a little help from their hairdresser, they can change the color to red. Now, is that person no longer a brown-haired person? What happens as the hair begins to grow out? While the part of the hair that was colored is still red, the new-growth hair is still dark brown. That’s the way it is with our nature and sin. We are selfish by nature, and we can do as many good things as we can, we can even repent and ask the Holy Spirit to transform us, however, being selfish is still what the natural man is inside. Except Jesus wasn’t. His moral nature, His character, was completely free from sin.
“By taking upon Himself man’s nature in its fallen condition, Christ did not in the least participate in its sin.” Manuscript Releases, Vol. 17, 25.
He took man’s ruined physical condition, his fallen nature (referring to man in general), but He did not in the least participate in the sin, nor was His moral nature (referring to an individual) selfish.
Remember, what we have studied previously regarding Christ’s nature. The foundation of Satan’s government is selfishness. “All sin is selfishness.” Manuscript Releases, Vol. 3, 331. But Jesus came to this world as the embodiment, the physical representation, of God’s law. His every word, action, and thought were an outworking of God’s law. Jesus’ moral nature was righteous. God was with man in the person of His Son. Sin cannot exist where God is, so Jesus could not have had our selfish nature. And anyone who digs in and insists that Christ had our moral nature (referring to an individual), is saying He was selfish and sinful like us. Neither the Bible nor the Spirit of Prophecy supports this.
“He voluntarily assumed human nature. It was His own act, and by His own consent. He clothed His divinity with humanity. He was all the while as God, but He did not appear as God. … He was God while upon earth, but He divested Himself of the form of God … . He walked the earth as a man.
“He humbled Himself, and took mortality upon Him. As a member of the human family He was mortal, but as a God He was the Fountain of life to the world.” The Review and Herald, July 5, 1887
“He might have helped His human nature to withstand the inroads of disease by pouring from His divine nature vitality and undecaying vigor to the human. But He humbled Himself to man’s nature.” Ibid.
“The divine nature, combined with the human, made Him capable of yielding to Satan’s temptations. Here the test to Christ was far greater than that of Adam and Eve, for Christ took our nature, fallen but not corrupted, and would not be corrupted unless He received the words of Satan in the place of the words of God.” Manuscript Releases, Vol. 16, 182, 183
He came to share our sorrows and temptations. Isaiah described Him as a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. What is the cause of our sorrow? Sin is the source of our sorrow. Inspiration says that Jesus came with such a heredity, and, according to the 1828 dictionary, the word such means “the same as what has been mentioned.” He came as a member of the human race to show them how, though ruined by sin, to live a sinless life.
“The human nature of Christ was like unto ours, and suffering was more keenly felt by Him; for His spiritual nature was free from every taint of sin. Therefore His desire for the removal of suffering was stronger than human beings can experience. How intense was the desire of the humanity of Christ to escape the displeasure of an offended God, how His soul longed for relief, is revealed in the words, ‘O My Father, if this cup may not pass away from Me, except I drink it, Thy will be done.’ ” The Signs of the Times, December 9, 1897
Take just a moment to consider this: Jesus came to this world in a body ruined by the effects of sin, all the while His moral nature was holy and righteous. Imagine how Jesus suffered! A holy gift, wrapped in a degraded package.
Jesus, for our sake, became a real man; one who could suffer our kinds of temptation, who sought relief from the suffering that was imposed upon Him because of our sins.
God’s prophet links the sorrows and temptations of Jesus to the expression “the likeness of sinful flesh,” thereby explaining more fully what Paul meant when he wrote Romans 8:3. “Christ, the second Adam came in the likeness of sinful flesh. In man’s behalf, he became subject to sorrow, to weariness, to hunger, and to thirst. He was subject to temptation, but he yielded not to sin. No taint of sin was upon Him.” Selected Messages, Book 3, 141, 142
The taint of sin is the natural selfishness of sin that the first Adam, the father of the race, entailed upon all his posterity. Yielding to temptation is committing sin. Jesus did not, by any word, action, or thought, commit sin nor was His spiritual nature tainted with sin.
“In His earthly life, Jesus of Nazareth differed from all other men. His entire life was characterized by disinterested benevolence and the beauty of holiness. In His bosom existed the purest love, free from every taint of selfishness and sin. From the beginning of His ministry, men began more clearly to comprehend the character of God.” The Signs of the Times, September 23, 1908
After four thousand years of sin, Jesus took upon Himself the physical degeneration of the race that He might know what it is like to experience the sorrow that I experience, the weariness that I experience, the hunger that I experience, the thirst that I experience, and even the death that I will experience. And while suffering all these miserable things, He was tempted, in every way, like we are, yet He did not sin.
Paul discusses these things in detail in Hebrews. “Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: ‘Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me.’ ” Hebrews 10:5
When God sent His Son into the world, He came in a body especially prepared in the likeness of sinful flesh—both physically and mentally. “So Christ was to come in ‘the body of our humiliation’ (Philippians 3:21, R. V.), ‘in the likeness of men.’ In the eyes of the world He possessed no beauty that they should desire Him; yet He was the incarnate God, the light of heaven and earth. His glory was veiled, His greatness and majesty were hidden, that He might draw near to sorrowful, tempted men.” The Desire of Ages, 23
This inspired reference “the likeness of men” is found in Philippians 2:7. The word likeness is the same word used in Romans 8:3. His moral nature is also described in this short paragraph. Mrs. White also writes that Jesus was the incarnate God. The word incarnate means “in the flesh.” Jesus was God in the flesh. This is what Paul is talking about when he wrote, “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh.” 1 Timothy 3:16, first part. Mrs. White is saying here that Jesus was still God even though He was a man. She describes the incarnate God as the light of heaven and earth. “I am the light of the world.” John 8:12
Jesus was first the light of heaven, but when He took man’s nature, His light, the outward manifestation of His glory, was veiled, completely hidden from man’s sight. Mrs. White wrote that it would have been an almost infinite humiliation for Christ to take man’s nature when Adam stood in innocence in Eden. (See The Desire of Ages, 49.) This has a special significance. “The white robe of innocence was worn by our first parents when they were placed by God in holy Eden. They lived in perfect conformity to the will of God. All the strength of their affections was given to their heavenly Father. A beautiful soft light, the light of God, enshrouded the holy pair.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 310, 311. Adam and Eve did not need physical clothing. The robe of light that surrounded them was a symbol of their spiritual nature: pure, holy, and righteous innocence.
“Had they remained true to God it would ever have continued to enshroud them.” Ibid., 311. This robe of light that enshrouded the holy pair was a symbol of their inward spiritual condition of innocence. Jesus also wore this white robe, this garment of innocence, but it was veiled. He lived in perfect conformity to the will of His Father, just as Adam and Eve first did in the garden of Eden. All the strength of His affection was given to His heavenly Father.
What happened to the beautiful, soft light that enshrouded the holy pair when they sinned? “But when sin entered, they severed their connection with God, and the light that had encircled them departed. Naked and ashamed, they tried to supply the place of the heavenly garments … .” Ibid. Interestingly, though they were able to fashion for themselves fig-leaf garments, they were still ashamed to appear before God. No longer enshrouded by their heavenly garments, they were naked, deprived of the godly dignity they had worn both inwardly and outwardly, they were humiliated, degraded, and ashamed.
The light that surrounded the holy pair prior to their fall was only a reflection of the far greater light that surrounded God. For Jesus to have taken even this garment of light would have been an infinite humiliation for He is the light of heaven, the source of all light, far surpassing every other light.
“With His divinity clothed with humanity, He stood before the people, presenting to them their true condition.” The Review and Herald, July 17, 1900
It is important that we read carefully what the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy say about Jesus’ nature. He came in the likeness of sinful flesh, not in sinful flesh. Sinful flesh represents the carnal mind. Likeness means “in the form of.” Likeness is not sameness. Jesus did not come with a carnal mind. He came in the likeness of the physical nature of man so that He would be able to suffer, as we do, misery and death while being tempted. However, it should be noted that the physical aspect of His human nature does not deny the reality of the part that His human mental and spiritual nature also played in His suffering.
“He had not taken on Him even the nature of the angels, but humanity, perfectly identical with our own nature, except without the taint of sin. A human body, a human mind, with all the peculiar properties, He was bone, brain, and muscle.” Manuscript Releases, Vol. 16, 182. The taint of sin is the naturally carnal mind that we inherit from Adam. The human spiritual nature of Christ was free from every taint of sin, however, every single son and daughter of Adam inherits the carnal mind from him and the condition of the spiritual nature of the natural man is described as “By nature we are alienated from God.” Steps to Christ, 43. This is our natural nature.
Was Jesus by nature alienated from God? It would be blasphemy to say that.
“The Holy Spirit describes our condition in such words as these: ‘Dead in trespasses and sins;’ ‘the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint;’ ‘no soundness in it.’ We are held fast in the snare of Satan, ‘taken captive by him at his will.’ God desires to heal us, to set us free. But since this requires an entire transformation, a renewing of our whole nature, we must yield ourselves wholly to Him.” Ibid. That may sound harsh, but friends, there is no other way to be saved except to be completely transformed. Transformation comes only by an utterly complete surrender to God because He doesn’t use force.
Putting together everything we have studied to this point, we find that when God sent His own Son in the likeness, the form of sinful flesh, He came in the body of our humiliation. He accepted the results of the working of the great law of heredity after four thousand years of sin. Sin is the cause of physical degeneration, misery, and death. He was found in the external condition of our nature in its deteriorated condition, able to share our sorrows and temptations.
There are many Adventist people who changed the words of scripture and substituted the word same for the word likeness in Romans 8:3. As a result, many Adventist ministers have said that Jesus came in sinful flesh. For more than 40 years, I have researched the Spirit of Prophecy to find even a single quotation by Mrs. White that says that Jesus came in sinful flesh. I have found not one scripture, not one statement of Inspiration that says He came in sinful flesh. Those who change the words of the Scriptures and say that Jesus took the same sinful flesh that we have, are unwittingly saying that Jesus took a carnal mind. This is blasphemy. Christ’s nature was “fallen, but not corrupted” mentally or spiritually. (See Manuscript Releases, Vol. 16, 182.)
“Jesus Christ is our example in all things. He began life, passed through its experiences, and ended its record, with a sanctified human will. He was tempted in all points like as we are, and yet because He kept His will surrendered and sanctified, He never bent in the slightest degree toward the doing of evil, or toward manifesting rebellion against God.” The Signs of the Times, October 29, 1894
Jesus began life with a sanctified human will and kept it sanctified. He never had our natural bent to evil, no tendencies or propensities, inherent or cultivated, toward sin as some people have taught.
Friends, the plan of salvation is not just about forgiveness. Jesus Christ came to this world and became one flesh with us in order that we, by being united to Him, might become one spirit with Him. That is the experience that everyone must have if they are going to be in the kingdom of heaven.
The apostle John wrote, “We know that when He appears we will be like Him.” 1 John 3:2
Peter wrote, “Unto us are given exceedingly great and precious promises, that you might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” 2 Peter 1:4
Everyone who is taken to heaven will be a partaker of the divine nature. Everyone will reflect the light of Jesus’ character. Everyone will be wearing His robe of righteousness.
“The salvation of the human soul requires the will power to be subject to the divine will power, which will can’t be forced, but there must be cooperation of the human and divine agencies.
“Man cannot possibly work out his own salvation without the ordained divine power, and God will not do for man that which He requires man shall do for himself, through his own earnest willing cooperation. …
“The Lord has in His heavenly counsels set forth methods and agencies whereby His grace shall be at work through various influences for the saving of the soul of the sinner. But all these facilities will be ineffectual and powerless without the sinner’s consent … . It is a united work, a union of the divine and human, dependent upon grace, and concurring with grace in willing obedience.” Manuscript Releases, Vol. 10, 332
“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” 2 Corinthians 3:18
Pastor John J. Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by email at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.