“The body is a most important medium through which the mind and the soul are developed for the upbuilding of character.”
Prophets and Kings, 488
Hebrews 10:5 tells us that Christ came in a human body, “A body You have prepared for Me.” He came in this way to show that He has the power to unite humanity and divinity in those who are willing to be sanctified.
Christ not only had a real physical body like man, but He also had a real human mind, the mental nature of man that was united with the mind of God. Did Jesus Christ also have a human spiritual nature? To answer this question, we need to look at five items.
- What is the grace of God?
- What is the spiritual nature?
- What is spiritual life?
- What is the glory?
- What do the crown and the throne represent?
What is the grace of God?
The grace of God is linked to the Holy Spirit. “The Holy Spirit comes to the soul as a Comforter. By the transforming agency of His grace, the image of God is reproduced in the disciple; he becomes a new creature. Love takes the place of hatred, and the heart receives the divine similitude.” The Desire of Ages, 391
“Cherish the grace of the Holy Spirit, else you will stand as hindrances in the way of the work of God. Make straight paths for your feet, lest the lame be turned out of the way.” Evangelism, 404
“Christ in the fullness of His grace is there [in the communion service, the foot washing service] to change the current of the thoughts that have been running in selfish channels. The Holy Spirit quickens the sensibilities of those who follow the example of their Lord.” The Desire of Ages, 650. So, the grace of God is the transforming agency, through the work of the Holy Spirit, to recreate in the heart of man the love of God so that the divine similitude, the image of God, will be manifested in the human character.
What is the spiritual nature?
“ ‘Sanctify them through Thy truth; Thy word is truth.’ Every moment of our probationary time is precious; for it is our time for character-building. We should give most diligent heed to the culture of our spiritual nature.” The Review and Herald, February 24, 1891. “The spirit, the character you have manifested has not been at all after the Pattern I have given you in My life and character, when I was upon the earth.” Ibid., October 16, 1894. “Our personal identity is preserved in the resurrection, though not the same particles of matter or material substance as went into the grave. The wondrous works of God are a mystery to man. The spirit, the character of man, is returned to God, there to be preserved. In the resurrection, every man will have his own character.” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Vol. 6, 1093. Spiritual nature is related to character.
What is spiritual life?
“Our Redeemer thirsts for recognition. He hungers for the sympathy and love of those whom He has purchased with His own blood. He longs with inexpressible desire that they should come to Him and have life. As the mother watches for the smile of recognition from her little child, which tells of the dawning of intelligence, so does Christ watch for the expression of grateful love, which shows that spiritual life is begun in the soul.” The Desire of Ages, 191
However, we find in the parable of the rich man recorded in Luke 12:16–21, there are those who have never had this experience. “In living for self, he has rejected that divine love which would have flowed out in mercy to his fellow men. Thus he has rejected life. For God is love, and love is life. This man has chosen the earthly rather than the spiritual, and with the earthly he must pass away.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 258
“Aside from Christ man cannot in spirit and in truth keep one of the commandments of God, but in Christ Jesus the claims of the law are met, because He transforms the nature of man by His grace, creates in the heart a new spiritual life, implants a holy nature, and men become Christlike in character.” Manuscript Releases, Vol. 14, 86. It is impossible for us to keep the law because, “The law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin.” Romans 7:14. “To be carnally minded is death.” Romans 8:6. “By nature man has no love for God.” The Review and Herald, March 12, 1901
Spiritual life is divine love, and when the divine love of God has come into and fills the heart, selfishness is eradicated. It is the grace of God that creates in the heart this spiritual life.
What is the significance of the word heart?
“God has bought us, and He claims a throne in each heart.” Special Testimonies to Ministers and Workers, Series A, 39
“God is the owner of the body.” The Youth’s Instructor, September 14, 1893
Does God own your body? He’s bought your body and your soul and your life at a price. “… and when the body, purchased at infinite cost, is made to serve the customs and practices of this world, by following the fashions of this degenerate age, the testimony is borne to the world that pride and sin reign in the heart, that Christ does not abide in the soul temple. The Lord Jesus will not be made to serve with your sins. He claims the undivided throne of the heart, and would banish from the life every worldly, unsanctified action, whose influence would tell against the fact that you are His sons and daughters.” Ibid.
The heart is the throne in the temple of man where his spiritual life is created.
Let’s Review
- The spiritual nature relates to the character.
- The character consists of the thoughts and feelings.
- Spiritual life is the divine love of God implanted in the heart by grace through the power of the Holy Spirit which is necessary if I’m to be like Christ.
What is the glory?
“Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same.” Hebrews 2:14, first part. Paul is writing here about Christ. Jesus possessed a real, literal human nature that possessed more glory than Moses. The glory of God is His character. “Our lives may seem a tangle; but as we commit ourselves to the wise Master Worker, He will bring out the pattern of life and character that will be to His own glory. And that character which expresses the glory—character—of Christ will be received into the paradise of God. A renovated race shall walk with Him in white, for they are worthy.” The Desire of Ages, 331
“Before men and angels Satan has been revealed as man’s enemy and destroyer; Christ, as man’s friend and deliverer. His Spirit will develop in man all that will ennoble the character and dignify the nature. It will build man up for the glory of God in body and soul and spirit. ‘For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.’ 2 Timothy 1:7. He has called us ‘to the obtaining of the glory’—character—‘of our Lord Jesus Christ;’ has called us to be ‘conformed to the image of His Son.’ ” Ibid., 341
Jesus was crowned with the brightness of His Father’s glory—His Father’s character: “… being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person.” Hebrews 1:3
What then is our conclusion? The glory and the character conformed to the character of Christ, depending on the context, are synonymous terms.
What do the crown and the throne represent?
“In the kingdom of God, position is not gained through favoritism. It is not earned, nor is it received through an arbitrary bestowal. It is the result of character. The crown and the throne are the tokens of a condition attained—tokens of self-conquest through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The Acts of the Apostles, 543
The crown and the throne are symbols of self-conquest.
When was Jesus crowned with glory? “Then the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And, behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.’ Then said Mary to the angel, ‘How shall this be, since I do not know a man?’ And the angel answered and said to her, ‘The Holy Ghost will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One [Thing, KJV] who is to be born will be called the Son of God.’ ” Luke 1:30–35 KJV
“She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and to His throne.” Revelation 12:5. The word of God states that He was called that Holy Thing or Holy One at conception. In Him was life; not the kind of life that you and I have, but a life that has no beginning or end. “In Him was life, and His life was the light of men.” John 1:4. This life is the divine love of God that was in Christ the man from the moment of conception.
“The human nature of Christ was like unto ours. And suffering was really more keenly felt by Him, for His spiritual nature was free from every taint of sin. The aversion to suffering was in proportion to its severity. His desire for the removal of suffering was just as strong as human beings experience.” Manuscript Releases, Vol. 11, 345
Jesus’ human nature was not only physical and mental, but also spiritual. However, the question that brings division among Adventists today is whether Jesus took the nature of Adam before his fall or after it.
Before the Fall or After
There is no division regarding the fact that Jesus took the deteriorated condition of man’s physical nature after the Fall. Steps to Life Ministry has received mail from all over the country since we began publishing this Mystery of Godliness series, and I have yet to find anyone who contradicts that. Remember, Hebrews 2 says that Jesus took part of the same flesh and blood as the children. So, the question we must address is Was His human mental or spiritual nature any different from any other man who has been born into this world?
Now when you ask that question among Adventists, some will say Yes, it was, and others will say No, it was not. So, we must be very careful that we search and study the Scriptures and Inspiration to find the truth about Jesus’ spiritual nature.
“Men estimate character by that which they themselves are capable of appreciating. The narrow and worldly-minded judged of Christ by His humble birth, His lowly garb, and daily toil. They could not appreciate the purity of that spirit upon which was no stain of sin.” The Desire of Ages, 196
Those who do not appreciate the purity of His spirit use the following texts as absolute proof that there was no difference between the human nature of Christ and the human nature of Adam and his posterity after the Fall. In every way, Christ’s physical, mental, and spiritual natures were the same as ours.
“…God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh.” Romans 8:3
“For as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same.” Hebrews 2:14
However, in our previous studies of this subject, we found that Romans 8:3 clearly stated that when God sent His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, Jesus took the fallen or ruined physical nature of man which is the result of sin.
Likeness, as found in Romans 8, means “in the form of.” So, Jesus took the physically deteriorated body of man which made it possible for Him to die. But it was also seen in Romans 8 that the term sinful flesh is referring to the carnal mind, the lower, corrupt mental nature of man. “So then, they that are in the flesh cannot please God.” Verse 8
The person who has the carnal mind, who is in the flesh, cannot please God. However, we find that the Bible records two occasions where God the Father testified out loud—verbally and publicly—that He was well pleased with Jesus. Both occasions occurred while Jesus was living in this world as a man.
“When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’ ” Matthew 3:16, 17
“And He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. … While he [Peter] was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!’ ” Matthew 17:2, 3, 5
Are Matthew and Paul contradicting each other? Paul has written that it is impossible for those who live in the flesh to please God. Yet Matthew writes that Jesus, who came to this world in the flesh, by God’s own words, pleased Him. That which seems to be a contradiction is made plain when the word flesh is appropriately defined according to the context in which it is used.
Let’s look at the context of the expression flesh and blood in Hebrews 2:14. Is it the same sinful flesh that we inherit from Adam? Was the human nature that Jesus took identical to ours?
“Christ’s perfect humanity is the same that man may have through connection with Christ. As God, Christ could not be tempted anymore than He was not tempted from His allegiance in heaven. But as Christ humbled Himself to the nature of man, He could be tempted. 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.” Manuscript Releases, Vol, 16, 181, 182
Ellen White talks about this repeatedly. She says that Jesus’ nature was identical to ours, then adds a qualifier so you don’t get mixed up. She says His nature was identical with ours except without the taint of sin. The humanity that Jesus took was perfectly identical to our own except for that one thing. And it was this difference, the fact that His humanity was not tainted with sin that made His suffering greater than any man will ever have to experience.
Jesus became a man so that He could suffer being tempted. Do you understand what this meant for Jesus?
“Human nature was to Him a robe of suffering; and when the crisis came, when He yielded Himself a victim to Satan’s rage, when He hung agonizing upon the cross, dying the cruelest, most ignominious of deaths, the hosts of evil exulted, but man was saved.” The Signs of the Times, August 17, 1891
“Would that we could comprehend the significance of the words, ‘Christ suffered, being tempted.’ While He was free from the taint of sin, the refined sensibilities of His holy nature rendered contact with evil unspeakably painful to Him. Yet with human nature upon Him, He met the arch apostate face to face, and single-handed withstood the foe of His throne. Not even by a thought could Christ be brought to yield to the power of temptation. Satan finds in human hearts some point where he can gain a foothold; some sinful desire is cherished, by means of which his temptations assert their power. But Christ declared of Himself, ‘The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in Me.’ The storms of temptation burst upon Him, but they could not cause Him to swerve from His allegiance to God.” The Review and Herald, November 8, 1887
What is the power of temptation?
“Feeling the terrible power of temptation, the drawing of desire that leads to indulgence, many a man cries in despair, ‘I cannot resist evil.’ ” Counsels on Health, 439. Desire is the terrible power of temptation.
“It was a continual pain to Christ to be brought into contact with enmity, depravity, and impurity; but never did He utter one expression to show that His sensibilities were shocked or His refined tastes offended. Whatever the evil habits, the strong prejudices, or the overbearing passions of human beings, He met them all with pitying tenderness.” The Ministry of Healing, 165. This is about as close to an incomprehensible statement as you could read.
“Prophecy had declared that the ‘Mighty One,’ the holy One from Mount Paran, was to tread the winepress alone; ‘of the people there was none’ with Him. His own arm brought salvation; He was ready for the sacrifice. The fearful crisis was past. That agony which none but God could endure, Christ had borne.
“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
Jesus’ desire for the removal of suffering was stronger than anything we will experience, therefore, His temptations were greater than we will ever experience. He could have, at any time, chosen to exercise His divine power and be free from all His pain. But had He done that, the entire human race would have been lost. He suffered being tempted to save us.
“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. Jesus took our ruined physical nature so that He could die.
“He is a brother in our infirmities, but not in possessing like passions. As the sinless One, His nature recoiled from evil.” Testimonies, Vol. 2, 202. Not all passions are evil. But the passions referred to in that statement are evil because Christ did not possess evil passions.
The humanity of Christ was identical to ours except that it was untainted with the natural sin of selfishness. His faculties, the powers of His mind, were not perverted because Satan could not touch His mind unless He yielded to Satan rather than following the will of God. This is why Jesus could say, “The prince of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.”
What do we conclude when we read these things? “That He might accomplish His purpose of love for the fallen race, He became bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh. ‘As the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same.’ …
“Through the agency of the Holy Spirit, a new principle of mental and spiritual power was to be brought to man, who, through association with divinity, was to become one with God.” The Signs of the Times, September 24, 1902. Jesus became one flesh with us so that we might become one spirit with Him.
“Christ, the Redeemer and Restorer, was to sanctify and purify man’s mind, making it a power that would draw other minds to Himself.” Ibid. When Christ has sanctified and purified our minds, then our mind will be used by Him to draw other minds to Himself. “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.” Ibid., October 29, 1894
One of the most powerful texts explaining the true nature of Christ as a man is found in James 1:13. “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.” So, if someone says that Christ was tempted with evil, then they deny Jesus’ divinity.
Jesus brought His divinity into humanity giving us an example of what God meant when He said, “ ‘And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed.’ ” Genesis 3:15
When Jesus prayed for those whom He sanctifies, those whom He is not ashamed to call His brethren, He explains the purpose of sanctification. “That they all may be one, as you, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one.” John 17:21, 22. The glory, the character that the Father gave to Jesus, is the glory that Jesus wants to give to you and me.
“To human eyes Christ was only a man, yet He was a perfect man. In His humanity, He was the impersonation of the divine character. God embodied His own attributes in His Son—His power, His wisdom, His goodness, His purity, His truthfulness, His spirituality, and His benevolence. In Him, though human, all perfection of character, all divine excellence, dwelt.” The Youth’s Instructor, September 16, 1897
Though Jesus took upon Himself the form of sinful man, clothing His divinity with humanity, He was holy even as God is holy. If He had not been—having no stain of sin—He could not have been the Saviour of mankind. He was the sin bearer needing no atonement. One with God in purity and holiness of character, He could make propitiation for the sins of the whole world.
“In Christ dwelt the fullness of the Godhead bodily. This is why, although He was tempted in all points like as we are, He stood before the world, from His first entrance into it, untainted by corruption, though surrounded by it. Are we not also to become partakers of that fullness, and is it not thus, and thus only, that we can overcome as He overcame?” Our High Calling, 364
“Christ came to this earth, taking humanity and standing as man’s representative, to show in the controversy with Satan that he was a liar, and that man, as God created him, connected with the Father and the Son, could obey every requirement of God.” Manuscript Releases, Vol. 16, 115
God wants to put the principles of His own character in your mind, to make you a new creature. This is why Jesus came. Will you let Him?
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.