Eternity Past
Before the days of His flesh, in what (for discussion purposes) we shall call Eternity Past, was it possible that the Son of God was with the Father in the form of spirit? If so, did the Son share the same attributes as the Highest God? Let’s look at some scriptures that seem to indicate this pre-existence was possible.
John 17:5
And now, Father, glorify Me along with Yourself and restore Me to such majesty and honor in Your presence as I had with You before the world existed. (AMP)
Philippians 2:6-8
6 Who, although being essentially one with God and in the form of God [pos-sessing the fullness of the attributes which make God God], did not think this equality with God was a thing to be eagerly grasped or retained,
7 But stripped Himself [of all privileges and rightful dignity], so as to assume the guise of a servant (slave), in that He became like men and was born a human being.
8 And after He had appeared in human form, He abased and humbled Himself [still further] and carried His obedience to the extreme of death, even the death of the cross! (AMP)
These scriptures seem to indicate that according to the plan of salvation, the appointed time came for the Son of God to willfully limit Himself of His Glory and His Divine attrib-utes and willfully laid aside all those attributes that made Him equal with God.
In other words He, Jesus Christ, chose not to use His Godly powers while in the flesh, and in doing so, He made Himself of no reputation, took upon Himself the form of a servant, and was found in fashion as a man. Is it possible that the Son of Almighty God was willing to conceal His glory and leave His divine attributes behind (heaven) in order to be born a perfect human sacrifice for the sins of all mankind?
The way I see it, in this seemingly deliberate and willful act of obedience to the Father, the Son of God stepped from the limitlessness and security of eternity into the confines of the time and space of this fallen world. Accordingly, He was willing to humble and subject himself to the cruel and savage treatment He received during the days of His flesh in order to obtain the gift of salvation for mankind.
In obedience to the Father’s Will, He was conceived by the Holy Spirit Then after nine months in His mother’s womb, He was born a helpless infant, totally dependent upon His mother Mary and stepfather Joseph. He grew up as other children, along with His brothers and sisters, under the authority of His earthly parents in Nazareth.
The Lord Jesus willfully emptied himself to become man, so that He could save us from an eternity in Hell, and freely give eternal life to all who will confess Him as Lord.
Oh, what Faith! Oh, what Love! Oh, what Hope! Jesus, the Son of God, became the Son of Man to dwell among us in the flesh and to declare to us the Father God. This began the days of His flesh where He was fully human and having stripped himself of the divine attributes he shared with His Father.
Fully Man with Sinless Blood
John 1:1-5
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 The same was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
But how is it that the Son of God, Who is the Word made flesh, was born into this world without sin? The answer to this question may be found in the epistle to the Hebrews.
Hebrews 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;
This verse is telling us that the children are partakers of flesh and blood. The word “partakers” is from the Greek word koinoneo, which means to share in common, to be a partaker of or in anything in common with others.
It is interesting that another Greek word is used to describe what part the Son of Man took. The verse does not say that He partook, koinoneo, of the same, but that He took part, metecho, of the same.
The Lord Jesus was born into this world with pure, sinless blood, which He inherited not from fallen Adam, but from His Heavenly Father. Jesus is the promised seed of Abraham, and He is the only human born of a woman without the original sin of Adam. The flesh He took part of was from the line of David through His mother Mary. And so He was born fully human in order to be made like unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God.
Jesus Christ Fully Man and Tempted in All Points
Because He was fully human He was subject to temptation in all things and yet was without sin. Some might say that because He had sinless blood, it was easier for Him to resist sin. I believe the opposite of this is true. Sinless blood did not lessen the pressure of His temptation. To the contrary, sinless blood made His temptation all the more intense.
“There is a degree of temptation that we may never experience simply because, no matter what our spirituality, we will succumb before we reach it. But Jesus Christ had no such limitation. Since He was sinless, He took the full extent of all that Satan could throw at Him. He had no shock system, no weakness limit, to turn off temptation at a certain point. Since He never succumbed, He experi-enced every temptation to the maximum. And He experienced it as a man, as a human being. In every way He was tempted as we are, and more. The only dif-ference was that He never sinned. Therefore, when we come to Jesus Christ we can remember that He knows everything we know – and a great deal that we do not know – about temptation, testing, and pain”. Mac Arthur, John F., The Mac Arthur New Testament Commentary (Chicago Moody Press) 1983
During His forty days of fasting in the wilderness, the Lord was being tempted by the devil in three major categories. These include all areas in which all men everywhere are tempted.
Is it possible that being tempted in all points does not necessarily equate to the Lord going through the same daily battles of temptation to which we are all subject? How could He have been tempted in all points as we are without going through the daily trials and temptations of life? The answer to these questions may be discovered in the accounts of His temptation in the wilderness.
We find the Lord was being tempted for forty days, and yet did not succumb to any of the temptations to sin. The evidence of the manner in which He was tempted is given in the gospels of Matthew and Luke. Both Matthew and Luke agree on these three areas of temptation.
In comparing the various accounts of the Lord’s temptation in the wilderness we find three points or categories:
1. If you are the Son of God, command these stones be made bread.
2. If you are the Son of God, cast thyself down.
3. Worship me, and I will give you all the power and glory of the world.
These points or categories are delineated in I John 2:16, “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.”
In understanding “all that is in the world” we must ask a question: What does the word all indicate here?
The context of this passage deals with loving not the world, neither the things that are in the world: “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of the Father…”
The three major points or categories which are not of the Father are:
1. The lust of the flesh.
2. The lust of the eyes.
3. The pride of life.
The following chart may help in understanding how the Lord was tempted in all points or categories:
Under these three points fall “all that is in the world” which is not of the Father. If they are not of the Father, they must then be in the category of sin.
Further evidence that Jesus was not tempted on a daily basis is also found in Luke 4:13, “And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.” When the devil had ended all the temptations, He left Jesus for a season and went away. The Greek word for “season” here is kairos, which means an opportune point of time at which a thing should be done.
Luke 4:13
And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time. (RSV)
These scriptures indicate and are proof that Jesus was not tempted on a day-to-day basis. The scriptures declare that the devil left Him for a season only to return again at some opportune time.
This now begs the question: “What was this opportune time for the devil to return in order to tempt the Lord Jesus?” Once again, let us go to the Word of God to find the answer to this important question.
kingdomlink.wordpress.com
As He Is continued. . .
Eternity Past
Before the days of His flesh, in what (for discussion purposes) we shall call Eternity Past, was it possible that the Son of God was with the Father in the form of spirit? If so, did the Son share the same attributes as the Highest God? Let’s look at some scriptures that seem to indicate this pre-existence was possible.
John 17:5
And now, Father, glorify Me along with Yourself and restore Me to such majesty and honor in Your presence as I had with You before the world existed. (AMP)
Philippians 2:6-8
6 Who, although being essentially one with God and in the form of God [pos-sessing the fullness of the attributes which make God God], did not think this equality with God was a thing to be eagerly grasped or retained,
7 But stripped Himself [of all privileges and rightful dignity], so as to assume the guise of a servant (slave), in that He became like men and was born a human being.
8 And after He had appeared in human form, He abased and humbled Himself [still further] and carried His obedience to the extreme of death, even the death of the cross! (AMP)
These scriptures seem to indicate that according to the plan of salvation, the appointed time came for the Son of God to willfully limit Himself of His Glory and His Divine attrib-utes and willfully laid aside all those attributes that made Him equal with God.
In other words He, Jesus Christ, chose not to use His Godly powers while in the flesh, and in doing so, He made Himself of no reputation, took upon Himself the form of a servant, and was found in fashion as a man. Is it possible that the Son of Almighty God was willing to conceal His glory and leave His divine attributes behind (heaven) in order to be born a perfect human sacrifice for the sins of all mankind?
The way I see it, in this seemingly deliberate and willful act of obedience to the Father, the Son of God stepped from the limitlessness and security of eternity into the confines of the time and space of this fallen world. Accordingly, He was willing to humble and subject himself to the cruel and savage treatment He received during the days of His flesh in order to obtain the gift of salvation for mankind.
In obedience to the Father’s Will, He was conceived by the Holy Spirit Then after nine months in His mother’s womb, He was born a helpless infant, totally dependent upon His mother Mary and stepfather Joseph. He grew up as other children, along with His brothers and sisters, under the authority of His earthly parents in Nazareth.
The Lord Jesus willfully emptied himself to become man, so that He could save us from an eternity in Hell, and freely give eternal life to all who will confess Him as Lord.
Oh, what Faith! Oh, what Love! Oh, what Hope! Jesus, the Son of God, became the Son of Man to dwell among us in the flesh and to declare to us the Father God. This began the days of His flesh where He was fully human and having stripped himself of the divine attributes he shared with His Father.
Fully Man with Sinless Blood
John 1:1-5
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 The same was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
But how is it that the Son of God, Who is the Word made flesh, was born into this world without sin? The answer to this question may be found in the epistle to the Hebrews.
Hebrews 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;
This verse is telling us that the children are partakers of flesh and blood. The word “partakers” is from the Greek word koinoneo, which means to share in common, to be a partaker of or in anything in common with others.
It is interesting that another Greek word is used to describe what part the Son of Man took. The verse does not say that He partook, koinoneo, of the same, but that He took part, metecho, of the same.
The Lord Jesus was born into this world with pure, sinless blood, which He inherited not from fallen Adam, but from His Heavenly Father. Jesus is the promised seed of Abraham, and He is the only human born of a woman without the original sin of Adam. The flesh He took part of was from the line of David through His mother Mary. And so He was born fully human in order to be made like unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God.
Jesus Christ Fully Man and Tempted in All Points
Because He was fully human He was subject to temptation in all things and yet was without sin. Some might say that because He had sinless blood, it was easier for Him to resist sin. I believe the opposite of this is true. Sinless blood did not lessen the pressure of His temptation. To the contrary, sinless blood made His temptation all the more intense.
“There is a degree of temptation that we may never experience simply because, no matter what our spirituality, we will succumb before we reach it. But Jesus Christ had no such limitation. Since He was sinless, He took the full extent of all that Satan could throw at Him. He had no shock system, no weakness limit, to turn off temptation at a certain point. Since He never succumbed, He experi-enced every temptation to the maximum. And He experienced it as a man, as a human being. In every way He was tempted as we are, and more. The only dif-ference was that He never sinned. Therefore, when we come to Jesus Christ we can remember that He knows everything we know – and a great deal that we do not know – about temptation, testing, and pain”. Mac Arthur, John F., The Mac Arthur New Testament Commentary (Chicago Moody Press) 1983
During His forty days of fasting in the wilderness, the Lord was being tempted by the devil in three major categories. These include all areas in which all men everywhere are tempted.
Is it possible that being tempted in all points does not necessarily equate to the Lord going through the same daily battles of temptation to which we are all subject? How could He have been tempted in all points as we are without going through the daily trials and temptations of life? The answer to these questions may be discovered in the accounts of His temptation in the wilderness.
We find the Lord was being tempted for forty days, and yet did not succumb to any of the temptations to sin. The evidence of the manner in which He was tempted is given in the gospels of Matthew and Luke. Both Matthew and Luke agree on these three areas of temptation.
In comparing the various accounts of the Lord’s temptation in the wilderness we find three points or categories:
1. If you are the Son of God, command these stones be made bread.
2. If you are the Son of God, cast thyself down.
3. Worship me, and I will give you all the power and glory of the world.
These points or categories are delineated in I John 2:16, “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.”
In understanding “all that is in the world” we must ask a question: What does the word all indicate here?
The context of this passage deals with loving not the world, neither the things that are in the world: “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of the Father…”
The three major points or categories which are not of the Father are:
1. The lust of the flesh.
2. The lust of the eyes.
3. The pride of life.
The following chart may help in understanding how the Lord was tempted in all points or categories:
Under these three points fall “all that is in the world” which is not of the Father. If they are not of the Father, they must then be in the category of sin.
Further evidence that Jesus was not tempted on a daily basis is also found in Luke 4:13, “And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.” When the devil had ended all the temptations, He left Jesus for a season and went away. The Greek word for “season” here is kairos, which means an opportune point of time at which a thing should be done.
Luke 4:13
And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time. (RSV)
These scriptures indicate and are proof that Jesus was not tempted on a day-to-day basis. The scriptures declare that the devil left Him for a season only to return again at some opportune time.
This now begs the question: “What was this opportune time for the devil to return in order to tempt the Lord Jesus?” Once again, let us go to the Word of God to find the answer to this important question.
Share this:
Leave a comment
Filed under Various Comments