Lesson #3
Section 1---
p 10 -- Introduction -- In Lesson #2, we discovered that the Council of God is composed of three Beings, namely, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Each of these Three carry the full authority and nature of God. In this lesson we shall study the relationship of Jesus Christ to the Council of God, and His identification with humanity.
John 1:1-2, 14 -- In the beginning WAS the word ... the same WAS in the beginning with God ... The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.
Note - No matter at what point in the remote past I accept as the point of beginning, the Word WAS. Not only this, but He was in the beginning with God. In other words, one can conclude there never was a time when the Word, which became flesh, was not. The preexistent Christ has always been!
Hebrews 1:8 -- Unto the Son ... Thy throne, 0 God.
Note - Here is language that cannot be mistaken. The Father asserts the Son's position in the Council of God. The Son too, is God.
John 8:57-58 -- Before Abraham was, I AM.
Note - In this discussion with the Jewish leaders, Jesus declares plainly His preexistence; not merely the fact that He existed before Abraham, but that in that preexistence, He was the I am - the self-existent One; and the I AM, - the ever-existent One. The question then arises - If Jesus Christ existed in the beginning with God as the I AM, how then is He the SON of God?
Psalm 2:7 -- 1 will declare the decree ... Thou art my Son.
Note - To assume that this text applies to Jesus Christ in regard to the question of His Sonship, would be to place a private interpretation on this verse. But by comparing Scripture with Scripture, we find its meaning.
Hebrews 1:5 -- This day have I begotten Thee ... I will be to Him a Father and He shall be to Me a Son.
Note - Here Psalm 2:7 is quoted and applied to Jesus Christ in contrast to the angels. Further, the promise made by God to David (II Samuel 7:14) concerning His relationship to Solomon is noted to describe the Heavenly Father-Son relationship. Also in Hebrews, Christ's position as a Son is associated with His position as priest after the Order of Melchisedec - a "called" position. (Hebrews 5:5-6, 10) All of this was done so that we might understand the privilege of sonship to which we have been called. (Hebrews 2:10-11)
Section 2-- The Redeemer
p 11 -- Note - The Possessor of Life voluntarily laid it aside and accepted death. As one beholds the price of his redemption, he sees that the purchase was made by no inferior Being, but by One equal with God. It was the sacrifice of Deity that was made on Calvary! Jesus Christ stooped low in becoming man's Substitute. What a sacrifice this is. How little we give up, when asked to surrender all for this Gift!
Hebrews 2:14-17 -- As the children ... He took part of the same ... behoved Him in all things to be made like unto His brethren.
I Timothy 3:16 -- Great is the mystery of Godliness: God was manifest in the flesh.
Note - God came all the way to meet man in his need. He who was in the form of God, accepted our likeness and nature after four thousand years of sin. He took our flesh, and our blood. Yea, in ALL THINGS He was made like unto us, except in this experience, He did not sin. How this could be is called a mystery. Another, and perhaps a greater mystery, is why man, in the light of such a redemption, should stubbornly cling to his own way.
Section 3 -- The Creator
John 1:1-3 -- All things were made by Him.
Ephesians 3:9 -- God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.
Colossians 1:14-16 -- By Him were all things created ... visible and invisible.
Note - From the invisible atom to the mightiest star, all is the handiwork of man's Redeemer. The hand that spaced the heavens, and formed from the dust of the earth, man in His own likeness, is the same hand that was nailed to the cross of Calvary for man's redemption.
Section 4 -- The Lawgiver
Nehemiah 9:12-15 -- Thou camest down also upon Mount Sinai.
Note - Who is this - "THOU"? Who is the One that led the children of Israel from Egypt to the promised land? Who is the One who appeared to Moses in Mount Sinai? Again, we must use the Bible method of interpretation as outlined by the Holy Spirit - comparing one Scripture with another.
I Corinthians 10:1-4 -- That Rock was Christ.
Note - It was Jesus Christ Himself, who amid the glory and flame of Sinai, proclaimed the Law of the Council of God - even the Ten Commandments. Thus Jesus is OUR Creator, Lawgiver, and Redeemer. In future lessons we shall note Him as our High Priest, and Coming King. The Bible from beginning to end is the revelation of Jesus Christ, the Alpha and the Omega, the one and only true way to the Father.
Section 4 -- Our Relationship To Jesus
p 12 -- John 14:15 If ye love Me, keep my commandments.
Note - His commandments are the Father's, and the Father's are His - even the Ten Commandments. In keeping them we show our love to Him. How can we do less when He has done so much for us? In another lesson we shall study the provision made so that we can keep the commandments.
Lesson #3 -- QUIZ (Fill in the blanks)
1. -- "In the beginning ___ the Word, and the Word ___ with God, and the Word ___ God. The same ___ in the beginning with God." Text: ___.
2. -- Jesus told the Jewish leaders that before Abraham was, ___. This statement made by Jesus certified His claim to be the self- ___ One, and the ever- ___ One.
3. -- Jesus Christ is the Son of God by ___ and not by ordinary generation as far as His preexistent relationship to God is concerned. He was ___ to be a Son even as He was also ___ to be a High Priest.
4. -- In becoming our Redeemer, Jesus Christ took upon Himself our ___ and blood, becoming in ___ ___ like unto His brethren.
5. -- At the creation of man, the "US" in the desire, "Let US make man in our image," was God the Father and ___ ___.
6. -- The "THOU" that came down on Mount Sinai and spoke the Ten Commandments is confirmed by Paul to be ___ ___. Give two texts: ____ ___.
7. -- When we think of Jesus in relationship to the dust of the ground, we think of Him as our ___ ; when we think of Him in relationship to the Cross, we think of Him as our ___; and when we think of Him at Mount Sinai, we recognize Him as our ____.
Concepts For In Depth Study
p 13 -- THE INCARNATION -- The term, Incarnation, is used to denote the union of divinity with humanity in Jesus Christ. What this means in truth hinges on two concepts:
1) Who was He that came in the flesh having existed in some previous form?
2) What was the nature of the flesh He assumed?
The answer to the first question is given by Jesus Christ himself. He said without equivocation - "Before Abraham was, I AM." (John 8:58) 1
Paul answers the second question. He wrote - "God [sent] His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh." (Rom. 8:3) 2
From these two basic questions arise other questions, to which, answers can be found. Did the "I AM" come as fully God and fully man? This question can be quickly answered in the negative. If Jesus came as fully man, then He came as sinner, for man is a sinner. But Jesus "did no sin." (I Peter 2:22) If Jesus came as fully God, He could not have given His life, for God cannot die. But Jesus did die. 3 (I Corinthians 15:3) This leaves the alternate concept - Jesus was truly God and truly man. What does this mean, and what is involved in this formulation of truth?
We come now to that mysterious reality which we cannot define, and only describe in various word symbols. How does one define himself? What is the real basic self identification? You can say - a person who is alive. But how do you differentiate between live persons? How can you distinguish one individual from all others? We end up with only a name, and when we hear that name, we perceive in our mind a person, we cannot in reality define. We give characteristics.
Does the Reality - Individuality - that was the preexistent I AM, require that this Reality be synonymous with immortality, or did He exist in an immortal form? The Bible states - "God is spirit." (John 4:24 Greek) 4 Is "spirit" equivalent to immortality? The angels are called "ministering spirits" (Heb. 1:14), yet this does not make them immortal.
This brings us a fundamental question - What makes God, God? This is not theoretical nor abstract. Is God, love, truth, righteous, merciful and gracious? (I John 4:8; Deuteronomy 32:4; Psalm 119:137; Exodus 34:5-6) Is God omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, immortal? Do the latter produce the former; or do the latter flow from the former? Who would want to live in a universe where omnipotence, omniscience, existed eternally in one who was hateful, a liar, unrighteous, and full of vengeance?
What was the purpose of the Incarnation besides providing a means of redemption for man? Was it not to show the character of God - His real Self - as a God of love, truth, and righteousness. Was the issue at stake whether He was all-powerful, or whether His character could remain untarnished in a fallen human nature? If the latter, then that which would be truly God would be manifest in the flesh. And it was! (John 1:14) He emptied Himself of "the form of God." (Philippians 2:7 RV) 5 Divesting Himself of omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, and immortality, the I AM became flesh and blood. (Heb. 2:14)
p 14 -- Now what kind of flesh did He assume, or take upon Himself - that mysterious preexistent Identity? Since He was not a sinner, He did not take a flesh that had sinned, but a flesh like unto sinful flesh - a flesh with a potential that could sin. All the forces and imbalances that reside in human nature because of sin, and which in us lead to sin, He accepted. But in that very nature, the preexistent I AM sinned not. Herein is the glorious victory of the Incarnation. (Romans 1:1,3; 8:3-4; II Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 2:14-17) ~~~~
1. -- There is light and glory in the truth that Christ was one with the Father before the foundations of the world were laid. This is the light shining in a dark place, making it resplendent with divine, original glory. This truth, infinitely mysterious in itself, explains other mysterious and otherwise unexplainable truths, while it is enshrined in light, unapproachable and incomprehensible." (Review, April 5, 1906)
2. -- The phrase "in the likeness of sinful flesh" is literally in the Greek - "in likeness of a flesh of sin." The part of the phrase - "in likeness" (en 'omoiomati) is also used by Paul in Philippians 2:7 - "in the likeness of men." Was Jesus a real man? Yes, but fully men? - No. This applies equally to Romans 8:3. Did Jesus take the real flesh of sin - man's fallen nature? Yes, but was it a flesh that had sinned in Him? - No. It was truly a fallen flesh with all the potential that could lead to sin, even as Jesus was truly man having divested Himself of "the form of God."
"The great work of redemption could be carried out only by the Redeemer taking the place of fallen man. ...
"When Adam was assailed by the tempter he was without the taint of sin. He stood before God in the strength of perfect manhood, all the organs and faculties of his being fully developed and harmoniously balanced; and he was surrounded with things of beauty, and conversed daily with holy angels. What a contrast to this perfect being did the second Adam present, as He entered the desolate wilderness to cope with Satan, single-handed. For four thousand years the race had been decreasing in size and physical strength, and deteriorating in moral worth; and, in order to elevate fallen man, Christ must reach him where he stood. He assumed human nature, bearing the infirmities and degeneracy of the race." (Spirit of Prophecy, Vol., 2, p. 88)
3. -- Jesus Christ laid off His royal robe, His kingly crown, and clothed His divinity with humanity, in order to become a substitute and surety for humanity, that dying in humanity He might by His death destroy him that had the power of death. He could not have done this as God, but by coming as a man Christ could die." ( Bible Commentary, Vol., 7, p. 925)
4. -- "Think of Christ's humiliation. He took upon Himself fallen, suffering human nature, degraded and defiled by sin. He took our sorrows, bearing our grief and shame. He endured all the temptations wherewith man is beset. He united humanity with divinity: a divine spirit dwelt in a temple of flesh. He united Himself with the temple." ( Bible Commentary, Vol. 4, p. 1147)5. -- "The Scriptures teach us, that He who was with God before the creation, from love to men put on flesh, and took the form of a servant, not all the while having on Him the whole fulness of His divine nature, but having really and actually emptied Himself of this fulness and glory, so that there was not only a hiding, but an absolute kenosis, a putting off of it. Therefore His subsequent exaltation must be conceived of as belonging, not to His Humanity only, but to the entire undivided Person of Christ, now resuming the fulness and glory of the Godhead (John xvii.5). and in addition to this having taken into the Godhead the Manhood, now glorified by His obedience, atonement, and victory." (Henry Alford, The Greek New Testament, Vol. IV, p. 13: Moody Press Edition)
Quiz Answers
Lesson #3 --
(1) was, was, was, was, John 1:1-2.
(2) I AM, existent, existent.
(3) decree, called, called.
(4) flesh, all, things.
(5) Jesus Christ.
(6) Jesus Christ. Neh. 9:12-15; 1 Cor. 10:1-4.
(7) Creator, Saviour, Lawgiver.
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