…continued…
'But we
are not the only ones who see this difficulty in the Trinitarian views of the
atoning sacrifice. Their own expressions
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H. Waggoner
betray a
sense of the weakness of their position, and of the necessity of something more
than a human offering for the redemption of man.
Dr.
Barnes, as quoted, says that “the divine nature in the person of Christ” could
not suffer, nor die; yet, in speaking of the nature of the Atonement, he says:—
“If it be
a part of the doctrine of the Atonement, and essential to that doctrine, that
the Redeemer was divine, that he was ‘God manifest in the flesh,’ that there
was in a proper sense an incarnation of Deity, then it is clear that such an
incarnation, and the sufferings of such an one on a cross, were events adapted
to make an impression on the universe at large, deeper by far than would be
done by the sufferings of the guilty themselves.”
“All must
feel that it was appropriate that the Eternal Father should command the sun to
withdraw his beams, and the earth to tremble, and the rocks to rend—to spread a
universal pall over the world—when his Son expired on the cross.”
“He had
descended from Heaven, and had taken upon himself the form of a servant. He had
subjected himself voluntarily , shame,
and contempt; he had been bound, and scourged, and publicly rejected; he had
submitted to a mock trial and to an unjust condemnation; he had borne his own cross to the place of
crucifixion, and had voluntarily given himself up to be put to death in a form
that involved the keenest torture that man could inflict.” Pages 255-257.
If it were
true that the divine nature—that which “descended from Heaven”—could not suffer
and die, such remarks as the above are only calculated to mislead; and it must
appear to all that they betray a consciousness, on the part of the writer, that
if the sacrifice was only human, as he had elsewhere said, the offering lacked
in dignity, and the Atonement in efficacy.
The Manual
of Atonement, as quoted, says he could only die as man; that in his divine
nature he could neither suffer nor die; and yet uses the following words:—
“It was
sin that drew Christ from the skies, and influenced him to lead a life of
suffering in this world. It was sin that wounded his
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sacred
head—that agonized his soul in the garden—that led him to Calvary—that nailed
him to the cross, and drew out his heart’s blood as a sin-atoning sacrifice.”
Page 138
Who would
not suppose from the above that the very Christ that came “from the skies” died
on the cross? Why is this language used? Evidently to make an impression of the
enormity of the sin, and the value of the sacrifice, which could not be made by the death of a human being. That
object might be accomplished without any contradiction, by allowing what the
Scriptures plainly teach of the death of the Son of God. Dr. Scott, who says
his death was only in his human nature, further says:—
“‘I am he
that liveth;’ the ever-living, self-existent God, to whom as mediator it was
given to have life in himself, and to be the life of men; and who had also been
obedient to death for sinners; but behold he was alive as the first-fruits of
the resurrection, to die no more.”– Note on Rev. 1:18.
“This same
person, who created and upholds all worlds, as the high priest of his people,
purged away the guilt of their sins, by himself, and the sacrifice of his death
upon the cross.”– Note on Heb. 1:3.
If it was
given to the “self-existent God” to have life in himself, by whom was it given?
Here is a plain declaration that “the ever-living, self-existent God” died for
sinners, which we cannot believe, and Dr. Scott did not believe, for he
contradicted it elsewhere. The self-existent God could not purge away our sin
“by himself,” but the Son of God could “by himself” (as Paul says, Heb. 1:3),
and the self-existent God could by his Son; for God was in Christ reconciling
the world to himself. Dr. Clarke, in his Commentary, says:—
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H. Waggoner
“Considering
him (Paul) as writing under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, then we have
from the plain, grammatical meaning of the words which he has used, the fullest
demonstration (for the Spirit of God cannot lie) that He who died for our sins,
and rose again for our justification, and in whose blood we have redemption,
was God over all.”—Clarke on Col. 1.
In view of
the remark from the same author, which we before quoted, that the suffering or
punishment due to our sins was borne in the human body, the above is a most
remarkable statement. In the former quotations he said that the divine nature
was not the Son of God; that the Godhead dwelt in a human body, and it was the
human body that endured the punishment due to our sins; and in the latter
quotation he says that “he who died for our sins, and rose again for our
justification, and in whose blood we have redemption, was God over all.”
Can it be
possible that he thought that the human nature, in distinction from the divine
nature which dwelt therein, is God over all? We very well know that he thought
the divine nature which dwelt in the human was God; and if the human nature,
which died for us, was also God, then he certainly has presented to us two
Gods, namely, a divine God and a human God! And each one is God over all. We
think he has fallen into the same inconsistency which was manifested by the
Manual of Atonement, by Dr. Scott, and by Dr. Barnes. Each said that divinity
or the divine nature could not suffer nor die, and each said that the
pre-existing divinity suffered and died. Dr. Scott even said that the
self-existent God died as our mediator. We believe that the doctrine of the
trinity lies at the foundation of these errors on the part of these able
authors. The Bible is not, and should not be made, responsible for such
inconsistencies. They are not at all necessary to an understanding of the Bible or the doctrine of the
Atonement. On the contrary, they prevent an understanding of the truth, and
cause the teachings of the Scriptures to appear confused and uncertain in the
eyes of all who trust in the wisdom of the wise of this world. Dr. John Harris,
in his first volume on Theological Science—the Pre-Adamite Earth—has very
forcibly stated the truth concerning the pre-existence and manifestation of the
Redeemer. He says:—
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“For en
arch [in the beginning] even then He already hn [was]. The assertion of his
pre-existence is included alike in en arch and in hn. For when every created
thing had yet to be, He already was. He comprehends every being in himself.”
Page 31.
And of the
manifestation of this pre-existent one he further says:—
“His
disciples subsequently declared that the life had been manifested, and that
they had seen it; that that which was from the beginning they had handled and
seen, even the Word of Life.” Page 34.
Now, when
the disciples also declare that that Word which they saw and handled was put to
death on the cross, and rose from the dead, we cannot avoid the conclusion that
that which was from the beginning, which was before all things, actually died
for man.
Of course
we cannot believe what men say about his being co-equal with God in every
respect, and that the divine Son of God could not suffer nor die. These are
mere human words. But that the Word, or Logos, was the Son of God, that he was
before all things, that he was made flesh, that he was seen and handled of men,
that he was put to death, that he was raised from the dead—these are the words
of inspiration. “What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the Lord.” “The mystery
of godliness,” the mystery of the incarnation, is great indeed. It is to be
doubted whether a finite mind will ever be able to comprehend it. This does not
speak against it as a fact; for we may accept a fact revealed, when we cannot
comprehend the nature of the fact. We may believe that a certain star is
thousands of millions of miles from the earth, but the human mind can have no
just conception of such a distance. We believe in the being of the omnipotent
God, but we cannot comprehend his being. We believe that he who was glorified
with the Father before the world was, was made flesh, and dwelt among men; in
whom, as the Methodist Discipline justly expressed it, were two natures joined
together in one person, never to be divided; who truly suffered and died for
us.
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What a
sacrifice for guilty man! What an offering to the immutable law of Jehovah!
What a vindication of the mercy and justice of the Father! “Here’s love and
grief beyond degree; The Lord of glory dies for men!” “O the depth of the
riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his
judgments, and his ways past finding out!” See 1 Cor. 2:8; Rom. 11:33.
(To be
continued)
(Excerpt
from-) THE ATONEMENT PART SECOND:
THE
ATONEMENT AS REVEALED IN THE BIBLE
(1884)
BY ELDER J. H. WAGGONER
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