(Excerpt)
LEAVENED
BREAD -- Part 2
We
Christians have had a Passover Lamb sacrificed for us -none other than Christ
himself! So let us "keep the feast" with no trace of the yeast of the
old life. .. but with the unleavened bread of unadulterated truth! I Cor. 5:7-8
(Phillips)
The second
section of the "statement of consensus" drawn up by the theologians
and administrators at Palmdale, California, April 23 -30, 1976 was entitled -
"The Humanity of Jesus Christ in Relation to Righteousness by Faith."
(1)
In setting
forth the God-man as revealed in Jesus Christ, the study group is to be
commended on their use of the phrase - "truly God and truly man" in
contrast to the phrase found frequently in the study of Christology -
"fully God and fully man." I would hope that this distinction
indicated that they recognized that when the Pre-Existent Son laid aside the
glory which He had with the Father, (2) that glory included His omnipotence,
omniscience, omnipresence, and immortality. (3) When we recognize this
distinction clearly, we have arrived at the basis of an understanding of what
constitutes the "divine nature" which finds its source in God, even
as the external aspects of "the form of God" which Michael surrendered
in becoming Jesus Christ. It is this "divine nature" which must be
received by every born again child of humanity if he should reflect the image
of Jesus fully, and be a son of God. Yet in a clear perception of this vital
distinction between "the form of God" and "the divine
nature" which Jesus had, and which we must receive, no one perceives of
himself in this experience as becoming a demigod. It is indeed the beginning of
a genuine appreciation of the relationship between the humanity of Jesus Christ
and Righteousness by Faith.
Having
begun well, the study group immediately enters into a fatal compromise with
truth. After quoting Romans 8:3, Hebrews 2:14,17, and 2 Cor. 5:21,
(((Rom
8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh,
God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned
sin in the flesh
Heb
2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he
also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might
destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil
Heb
2:17 Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his
brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things
pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
2Co
5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we
might be made the righteousness of God in him.))))
they
state:
Not all
Christians view these passages alike. For example, for some they mean that
Jesus did not commit sin either in word, deed, or thought; for others they mean
that Jesus not only committed no sin but was without the inherited tendencies
to sin common to fallen humanity. (4)
Reducing
this language to the parlance of the laity, it is saying simply that some view
these Scriptures to mean that even though Christ took upon Himself the fallen
nature of Adam, He did not commit sin in word, deed, or thought, while others
reject the idea that Christ took fallen humanity, and instead believe that He
was "exempt from the inherited passions and pollutions that corrupt the
natural descendants of Adam." (5) In other words, Jesus bore the
"sinless nature of Adam before [the] Fall." (6) Or to state the
matter very bluntly, the choice is between the historical position of the
Seventh-day Adventist Church, and the "new look" which developed
within the church as a result of the fatal Barnhouse-Martin dialogue of the
1950's, and which has been expressed in the publications just quoted.
p 2
And to
what conclusion did the study group come? - "Whichever of these views
Christians may hold of Christ's humanity, we believe that the central concept
is to recognize Jesus as the Saviour of all mankind, and that through His
victorious life, lived in human flesh, He provides the link between divinity
and humanity." (4)
So now you
can hold whatever view you wish in regard to the nature that Christ assumed in
the Incarnation and still be a good Seventh-day Adventist. This is an
adulteration of truth -leavened bread - and to accept the second position makes
it totally impossible to reflect the image of Jesus fully without accepting the
basic tenet of the Holy Flesh doctrine -the eradication of the fallen nature.
(7)
In
arriving at pure unadulterated truth -unleavened bread -in regard to the
humanity which Christ assumed in the flesh, one may start at either the point
of His pre-existence, and work forward, or he may look at the Cross and see the
fullness of the condescension and the completeness of the victory. Let us
briefly do both.
We are
told that "Christ was one with the Father before the foundations of the
world were laid. . . .This truth, infinitely mysterious in itself, explains
other mysterious and otherwise unexplainable truths." (8) This Being did
not cease to be at the Incarnation; He only exchanged one form of existence for
another -from "the form of God" to the form of a "servant"
(9) It was a slave form that He took to appear as a man. In Him was no sin, but
in the form which He took upon Himself, all that makes us slaves, except for
the commission of sin, He accepted and experienced.
This is
clearly stated: Think of Christ's
humiliation. He took upon Himself fallen, suffering human nature, degraded and
defiled by sin. ...He united humanity with divinity: a divine spirit dwelt in a
temple of flesh. He united Himself with the temple. (10)
By
experiencing in Himself the strength of Satan's temptation, and of human
sufferings and infirmities, He would know how to succor those who should put
forth efforts to help themselves. (11)
In the
womb of Mary was prepared by divine stimulation a body of our humiliation. And
what went into this body which "a divine spirit" took upon Himself,
we are not left in doubt. The prescription
reads: Christ was to take humanity upon Him,
not as it was when Adam stood in his innocence in Eden, but as weakened and
defiled by four thousand years of sin. He was to come as the Son of man, like
every child of Adam, accepting the results of the working of the great law of
heredity. What these results were, what was the inheritance bequeathed to Jesus
in His human nature, Scripture reveals in the history of those who were the
earthly ancestors of our Saviour. With such a heredity, Jesus came as one of
us, to share our sorrows and temptations, and to give us the Example of a
sinless life. (12)
This is
the only way a true Example could be given; any other way would not have given
an example that could be followed by man in the fallen nature of Adam. In other
words, it is impossible to relate the concept that Christ took the nature of
Adam before the Fall with a true perception of righteousness by
faith except that the concept of righteousness by faith be limited to
justification alone. And this is what the study group did, thus opening the
door to give status to the non-historical position of the Church in the matter
of the Incarnation. They served up leavened bread.
p 3
-- There is a difference between Jesus Christ and all the other children
of Adam, and this difference arises because of the mystery of the preexistence
Let us reiterate. "The Lord Jesus Christ, the divine Son of God, existed
from eternity, a distinct person, yet one with the Father." (8)
Thus at Bethlehem, this self identity, or Divine Ego, was not created, nor
bequeathed to Him by natural generation. He had ever been. In that
"painful process" (13) by which the Eternal Son became a Son of man,
the "Divine Ego" [I use this terminology for the want of a better
vehicle of expression] assumed humanity - the humanity of the fallen sons and
daughters of Adam. The Spirit of Prophecy states simply as noted previously
-"A divine spirit dwelt in a temple of flesh." (10) This temple in
the Bible Is defined as "the likeness of sinful flesh." (14) The
servant of the Lord states -"He took upon Him our sinful nature."(15)
And we are further informed that the words -"flesh",
"fleshly" and "carnal lusts" - embrace the lower corrupt
nature, and have "their seat in the body." (l6) But this flesh cannot
act of itself contrary to the will of God, unless the individual gives consent
for these cravings of the body to manifest themselves.
Our
identity or "ego" was received by natural generation, and we are
powerless of ourselves to resist the strong movings of the flesh to do evil.
Jesus Christ on the other hand recognized the constant necessity for the divine
power of the Holy Spirit for victory, and ever kept His "Ego"
submitted to the revealed will of God,. Thus He didn't even in one instance
yield to the impulses of His human flesh that called for expression. When this
clear distinction is understood, then we come to realize that our
"ego", or self, must be crucified, for only in such an experience can
the Holy Spirit work in us to the complete conquering of the impulses of our
flesh to do evil. When "self" is surrendered fully, completely, and
unreservedly, then the image of Jesus can be fully revealed in us. This is the
basic relationship between the experience of Jesus Christ in humanity and
righteousness by faith which is to be our experience.
Now let us
fix our eyes upon the Cross of Calvary. From Bethlehem to Golgotha, Jesus
descended "step by step, to the level of fallen humanity." (17) On
the Cross, "when He bowed His head and died, He bore the pillars of
Satan's kingdom with Him to the earth." (l8) The power of Satan's kingdom
is founded upon only one thing - sin. (19) But Christ in His own body brought
the pillars of sin upon which that kingdom rests down to the earth with Him.
These twin
pillars are the weakened hereditary nature of man, and the cultivated
tendencies to sin which have become in man's habit patterns. For thirty years
the Son of God as the Son of man demonstrated that the weakened hereditary
nature was no excuse for sin. He condemned sin in the flesh -His flesh. But the
question remained - Could He carry the weight of the load of man's accumulated
transgression remain faithful and true? Could He sense the need of man chained
in the habit patterns of sin? No wonder all heaven looked on with amazement as
the cup trembled in the hand of the divine Sufferer! Yet He drank it to the
last bitter dregs!
In His
closing hours, while hanging upon the cross, He experienced to the fullest
extent what man must experience when striving against sin. He realized how
bad a man may become by yielding to sin. He realized the terrible consequence
of transgression of God's law; for the iniquity of the whole world was upon
Him.(13)
Though the
darkness covering the Cross hid from Christ the sustaining presence of the
Father, and though He was unable to see through the portals of the tomb, Jesus,
p 4
by faith,
grasped the pillars of Satan's kingdom and brought them down, even as Samson in
his blindness grasped the two central columns of Dagon's temple, and brought
that temple of the devil crashing in a heap of stones. Even as it cost Samson
his life, so it cost the Son of God His life. He resisted unto blood - His very
own blood - striving against sin.
The
picture of a complete Saviour - a Saviour who for thirty three years cumbered
with the fallen nature of the descendants of Adam did not sin in word, thought,
or deed; and who on the Cross accepted the realization of the depths of the
cultivated sins of fallen man -was the heart of the message of 1888. Hear A. T.
Jones saying: 0, He is a complete Saviour. He is a Saviour from the sins
committed, and a Conqueror of the tendencies to commit sins. In Him we have the
victory. (20)
AND -
Christ in us through the indwelling Spirit is our hope of glory.
(1) Review & Herald, May 27, 1976 -
Statement on "Christ Our Righteousness", pp. 4-7
(2) John
17:5 Joh 17:5 And now, O Father,
glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before
the world was.
(3) See Desire of Ages, pp. 335-336 for
"omnipotence" laid aside; Matt. 24:36 for "omniscience"
laid aside; Desire of Ages,
p. 669 for "omnipresence" laid aside; and B.C. Vol. 5, p. 1127, col. 1 for His having laid aside,
"immortality."
(4) Review & Herald, op. cit.,
p. 5
(5) Questions on Doctrine, p.
383
(6)
L. E. Froom, Movement of Destiny,
p. 497
(7)
See ALF Manuscript -The Holy Flesh
Movement, Chapt. IV -"Threads of the Fabric"
(8) Ellen
G. White, Review & Herald,
April 5, 1906
(9)
Philippians 2:6-7
Php
2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal
with God:
Php
2:7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a
servant, and was made in the likeness of men
(10) Ellen
G. White, Youth's Instructor,
Dec. 20, 1900 (4BC:1l47)
(11)
Ellen G. White, Review &
Herald, March 18, 1875
(12)
Pre-pub1ication Draft of Desire of
Ages, p. 49 (Andreasen Collection #2)
(13)
Ellen G. White, Ms. 29,
1899 (7 Bible Commentary :915)
(14)
Romans 8:3 Rom 8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak
through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and
for sin, condemned sin in the flesh
(15)
Ellen G. White, Review &
Herald, December 15, 1896
(16)
Ellen G. White, Adventist Home,
pp. 127-128; Christ Object Lessons,
p. 346
(17)
Ellen G. White, Our High Calling, p.
17
(18)
Ellen G. White, Youth's Instructor,
April 25, 1901 (5BC:I108)
(19) Ibid., June 28, 1900 (7 Bible Commentary:924)
(20)
A. T. Jones, General Conference
Bulletin, 1895, p. 267
COMMENT ON
"THE 1888 ERA"
The third
section of the Statement of Consensus briefly notes the issues involved in our
sad history of 1888. This is probably the first time since Elders R. J. Wieland
and D. K. Short submitted their landmark manuscript on 1888 (1) that a group of
church administrators and theologians in an official statement have admitted
that the real issue regarding 1888 was not the Reformation doctrine of
Justification by Faith, but
p 5
was indeed
the rejection of "the 'beginning' of the latter rain and loud cry."
(2) While there will be readers who will conclude that real progress has been
made in setting the record straight regarding our rebellion at Minneapolis, a
total picture of what was written still reveals that the study group did not
come to grips with the magnitude of that rebellion and insubordination, nor
faced up to the basic issue of repentance which that experience demands. The
servant of the Lord wrote: All the universe of heaven witnessed the
disgraceful treatment of Jesus Christ, represented by the Holy Spirit. Had
Christ been present before them, they would have treated Him in a manner
similar to that in which the Jews treated Christ. (3)
Besides
this, there is the "vote" issue that must be settled.(4) Whether the
official record has been kept hidden, or was destroyed to cover up what was
done, we do not know; but this must be clarified and publicly altered. The
tragedy of this third section by the study group is the affirmation - "We
take our stand not only with the messengers whom the Lord used in 1888 to
proclaim the most precious message of the righteousness of Christ, but with all
who may have faithfully presented it in the years since." (2) Who all are
covered in the last clause is not spelled out, but it is evident that the first
clause means Elder A. T. Jones and Dr. E. J. Waggoner. To make such a statement
following what was agreed to in the previous two sections is nothing short of
attempted deception. Anyone who has read, or will take the time to read
Waggoner's Studies in Romans as
given at the 1891 G. C. Session knows that he did not understand the message of
Paul in Romans to be "the specialized meaning of justification" which
this study group declared it to be. Also anyone familiar with the 1895 studies
which Elder A. T. Jones gave at the General Conference, or the position
Waggoner wrote out in his book, Christ
and His Righteousness finds it utterly impossible to harmonize this
position with the permissive conclusions on the Incarnation drawn up by the
study group at Palmdale, California. (6)
The
affirmation of standing with Jones and Waggoner is mere lip service without the
corresponding evidence, in fact evidence to the contrary. Would to God that
every laymen reading this Statement of Consensus will have the "first
love" of the Ephesian period of the Church that "tried them that
called themselves apostles and [were] not, and ... found them liars." (7)
(1) R.
J. Wieland & D. K. Short, 1888
Re-Examined. Written in 1950
(2) "Christ
Our Righteousness", Review
& Herald, May 27, 1976, p. 6
(3)
Ellen G. White, Special
Testimonies, Series A, No. 6, p. 20
(4)
See Thought Paper, "Ellen G. White Vs Ellen G. White Estate", March,
1976, p.5
(5)
E. J. Waggoner, Studies in Romans,
#10. Cmp with Statement of Consensus, p. 4
(6) A.
T. Jones, "The Third, Angel's Message" #13, G. C. Bulletin, 1895, p. 232: Commenting on John
1:14 - "This world does not know any other flesh of man, and has not known
any other since the necessity for Christ's coming was created. Therefore, as
this world knows only such flesh as we have, as it is now, it is certainly true
that when 'the Word was made flesh,' He was made just such flesh as ours is. It
cannot be otherwise." Waggoner wrote: "The fact that Christ took upon
Himself the flesh not of a sinless being, but of sinful man, that is the flesh
which He assumed had all the weaknesses and sinful tendencies to which fallen
human nature is subject, is shown by the statement that He 'was made of the
seed of David according to the flesh.''" Christ and His Righteousness, pp. 26-27
(7)
Revelation 2:2
Aug. 1976
- "Watchman, What of the
Night? " Thought Paper. Adventist
Laymen's Foundation. (Excerpt)
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