"By the which will" (the nature of Christ)

"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: that the righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." (Rom. 8:3,4).

I'm trying to understand the nature of Christ. Why do I think it's a salvation issue? Because I believe that the divine nature, which is a gift from God, is the key to obedience, as I will show in Christ's incarnation. The way He was incarnated is the same way we obtain the victory over sin, temptation, and weaknesses. Christ's incarnation teaches us how we are made children of God. Using Jesus' very existence as a man, the Father made for us a lesson book to navigate the way to heaven. So, this is very salvational!

On the internet an SDA pastor, Alex Ortega, speaks on the nature of Christ. His stance is firm that Jesus had a sinless nature, period. In no way did He had no bent to sin. His body was built that way--immaculate. We, with Paul, "groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body" (Rom. 8:23), but not Jesus. He was born with a perfect body. He had Adam's nature before his fall.

The ramifications of this view are that if Jesus had a body less pristine He couldn't be our Mediator before the infinitely pure God. Therefore, because He is infinitely pure, He can give us the grace to overcome sin. So, the saints will have overcome sin before Jesus returns. I used to be in that camp until yesterday. But wait. Don't think I'm in the opposite camp that claims that Jesus had the fallen nature of Cain! Please no. There's a third option. Please stay with me on this.

The brethren from the other camp have been labeled apostates who believe that Jesus didn't have a sinless nature. They believe that Jesus' nature was Adam's after his fall, so that sinners can be comforted by being able to identify with Jesus. But the concept incredibly lowers the standard of preparation for the latter rain, for the great tribulation, and, most all, for the powerful second Advent of Jesus. 

"Jesus couldn't be human if He were sinless. He would be a non-human, a super-hero, fictional, mythical. And, if He had Adam's nature before the fall then how could He truly identify with us unless He experienced our guilt and shame from our incessant failures under temptations?"

"Thus we couldn't trust Him to represent us before the Most High. And He couldn't truly represent us. He couldn't cover all the bases for the failures of our sinful flesh. His propitiation for us would come short of a full knowledge of our sinfulness, and God would have to wink at His Son's attempt at representing us." 

"Jesus wouldn't be an all-sufficient High Priest; and we wouldn't be complete in Him. We could never have certainty of salvation. We have Christ's justification provision, which infers that we will be sinning until the second coming. So, no one has the right to rob us of our hope in the mercy seat at any point before Jesus returns."

But this essentially disclaims Jesus' promise for power to keep us from falling. Doesn't this argument make itself a fulfillment of the last days church, "Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof" (1Tim. 3:5)?

From the other side of the aisle with it's flip side of the issue, the accusation arises that this view is only an excuse to sin, to live for the world without any renunciation of sin.

Maybe it is making excuse for sin, but is the other side of the aisle getting a bit miffed and Pharisaical because the post-fall-Jesus adherents aren't playing church right? Are the pre-fall-Jesus adherents sure their indignance is righteous? Are we seeing a repeat of Puritan history and maybe of Pharisee history? Are we beginning to see the fulfillment of Ellen White's statement from Healthy Living, 1169, page 280 (Review and Herald 1890, No. 7), "The modern church repeating the history of ancient Israel. 'The trials of the children of Israel, and their attitude just before the first coming of Christ, illustrate the position of the people of God in their experience just before the second coming of Christ.'"

But, there is a danger with the "Adam nature after the fall" belief. And it is not a small danger. It leaves them preaching peace and safety, deceiving others and themselves. The old world order, which Noah established, is wrapping up. "The time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none; and they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they possessed not; and they that use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away." (1Cor. 7:29-31). The resurrection of the modern tyrannical Roman Empire has been ongoing for a century, and is almost complete. We are seeing how the iron legs and feet of Nebuchadnezzar's dream (Daniel chapter 2) reach all the way down to the great, destructive Stone from heaven. The issues of overcoming the world's delusions and overcoming sin need to be uppermost in every Adventist mind.

The "Christ-Adam-nature-after-the-fall-no-need-for-victory-over-sin" stance also disregards Ellen White's warning from Great Controversy, p. 425,

"Says the prophet: 'Who may abide the day of His coming? and who shall stand when He appeareth? for He is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers’ soap: and He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.'  Malachi 3:2,3. Those who are living upon the earth when the intercession of Christ shall cease in the sanctuary above are to stand in the sight of a holy God without a mediator. Their robes must be spotless, their characters must be purified from sin by the blood of sprinkling. Through the grace of God and their own diligent effort they must be conquerors in the battle with evil. While the investigative judgment is going forward in heaven, while the sins of penitent believers are being removed from the sanctuary, there is to be a special work of purification, of putting away of sin, among God's people upon earth. This work is more clearly presented in the messages of Revelation 14.

When this work shall have been accomplished the followers of Christ will be ready for His appearing."

Then the author finishes off with Malachi 3:5, a warning of punishment upon false teachers. This Great Controversy quotation is clear and cutting, and all SDAs need to study it.

If the saints can keep sinning until Jesus comes, then when would the heavenly sanctuary ever be cleansed? Prayers would keep coming in for mercy, and the sanctuary would continually be defiled. Jesus could never finalize the Day of Atonement. Our Saviour could never close up the Investigative Judgment. He could never leave the sanctuary to deliver His people from the time of trouble such as never was. His endangered children would be destroyed while standing firmly awaiting their Saviour. Satan would exult.

This "Christ-Adam-nature-after-the-fall-no-need-for-victory-over-sin"

teaching is not Adventist but Evangelical, which also preaches peace and safety. In light of the heavenly sanctuary this "sin til Jesus comes" teaching is a deadly heresy. It subtly removes all fear of God and any motivation to prepare for Judgment Day.

This is how I view the two camps on the nature of Christ and His victory being ours by doing as He did. But, although I have been an Adventist almost all my life, I've been outside the Adventist loop. I have never lived in an Adventist community. The congregations I've been part of have been small. So I may not understand all the nuances of both sides of the Christ's nature discussion. Therefore, I haven't heard the detailed, minute dissections of scripture on this point. 

Being outside the inner circle, I tend to look at issues differently, maybe that means I'm somewhat unbiased. As an outsider, my conclusions are often different, sometimes far from mainstream. I can only hope that Jesus has been my instructor.

In Romans 8:3,4 Paul's explanation should have worked to clear up all discussion concerning what God did with His Son in order to make fallen man's redemption possible. God sent His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, (the exactness of that likeness to be determined). But, just like the ancient Jews, and the post-apostolic apostatizing Church, we have muddied the waters in our opposing efforts to make truth match our flawed personal experience in spiritual things. We all want to know that we made no mistakes in doctrine, and have nothing to correct. The stubborn heart wants to be able to say, "No going back to the drawing board for me! No having to wrap my head around (what it calls) another attempt to reinvent the doctrinal wheel."

So, misconceptions persist, and truth stands afar off. And we are under the displeasure of God.

"Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?

Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock....

Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet.

And as for My flock, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet; and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet." (Eze. 34:2,3,18,19).

Are we repeating ancient Israel's mistakes? We are muddying present truth like they did, and now truth is obscured, aiding the evil one to reap a larger harvest for the lake of fire.

The two Christ natures' vehement discussions have created a wide gulf between the two camps, which Satan is using to destroy God's last church. Hopefully this post won't make matters worse.

This post will look at verse 3 of Romans 8. A word that I believe is creating most of the ruckus is the word, "likeness". "God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, condemned sin in the flesh". "Well", theologians and lay-theologians might ask, "How close to identical is 'likeness'?" "Was Jesus like me in all respects? That couldn't be if He condemned sin in the flesh. He couldn't condemn sin with my sinful flesh." "If He was like sinful flesh, was He sinful? Was His flesh sinful?" So it has ended in the question, "Was His a likeness to Adam before or after the fall? Was He a sinless or a sinful 

human?" Can there be a third option?

I looked up the Strong's number for "likeness" in that verse to get other texts where it was used in scripture. It is G3667, homoioma, "a form", "resemblance". It occurs 6 times in the New Testament, 5 of the 6 being Paul's uses of homoioma. And I will copy/paste them below. But the object of my focus was, How closely do the other verses indicate identicalness or exact likeness in their contexts? Would the subjects for comparison be identical twins or fraternal twins? So, here are the verses; you decide for yourself.

"Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to (G3667) corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things." (Rom. 1:22,23).

"Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude (G3667) of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of Him that was to come." (Rom. 5:14).

"For if we have been planted together in the likeness (G3667) of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection." (Rom. 6:5).

"For what the Law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness (G3667) of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh." (Rom. 8:3).

"But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness (G3667) of men." (Phil. 2:7).

"And the shapes (G3667) of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men." (Rev. 9:7).

Let's look at these six verses for their exact likeness or lack thereof. First Revelation 9:7, since it is least likely to apply to the Christ nature issue. Revelation 9:7 is highly symbolic, as would be expected from Revelation. John saw the destroyers of the sealing (see Rev. 9:3,4) morph from a prophetic figure that indicated their insatiable devouring of all desire for faith among the group God was trying to seal, seen in real life by the voracious appetite of locusts. Possessing the characteristic of a consuming appetite, the locusts then morph to a figure indicating relentless, satanically driven haste, as in horses racing to battle, or like an ancient cavalry sweeping over the world. The message is reasonable, even if the figurative picture calls up the strangest images. Nevertheless, the use of G3667, as a shape identical to a horse, can be assumed to have exact likeness.

So,  we can check the box for Revelation 9:7 using homoioma to indicate exactness and leaning toward Romans 8:3 speaking of Christ's nature exactly being Adam's sinful nature after the fall. Please be patient with my method for processing the truth on the Christ nature issue.

The next text is Romans 1:23. Disregarding the bulk of Romans 1:23, G3667 is talking about the heathen using their arts to carve stone and wood into the form of men and the animal kingdom. Sculpting got increasingly lifelike over the centuries in the ancient world until, during the Greek and Roman Empires, the likeness of the statues was exquisitely exact.

So, in conclusion, Romans 1:23 comes close to using G3667 "likeness" as exact and identical, especially in Paul's time. But the Greek and Roman idols still had the ages old problem: they had eyes but could not see, ears but could not hear, feet but could not walk. They had no life in them. They were only partially like real people. So, Romans 1:23 homoioma fails at perfect identicalness but it appears that Paul's denunciation intended exactness. And, again, this reflects on the likeness of Jesus to our sinful flesh, per Romans 8:3. So, if Paul's concept of homoioma (G3667) in Romans 1:23 mirrors his concept of homoioma in his Romans 8:3 "likeness to sinful flesh" statement, then homoioma makes Jesus' nature exactly like sinners.

Romans 5:14 says that the descendants of Adam didn't sin to the degree that Adam did at his fall. So, unless I read it wrongly, immediately I see no reason to question Adam's fall being tremendously greater than his descendants' trips over temptation, since we fall from weakness into sin, but Adam fell from sinless strength into sin. Therefore, Paul's intent was for a  perfect contrast in the similitude between the conditions of Adam and his descendants. The contrast was exact (homoioma), therefore exactness is expressed, implicating exact likeness of natures between Jesus and human flesh in Romans 8:3.

Romans 6:5 is a comparison of the Christian's and Jesus' death to self, specifically when He died on the cross. Here the identical likeness of the two natures comes through. The principle, "in our sphere", applies here. "We may be as perfect in our sphere as God is in His sphere." Testimonies for the church, vol. 4, pg. 454.

Now, obviously the Christian's and Christ's spheres are different. But that doesn't mean that the Christian's death to self will be less accepted by God than was Christ's death to self. But the Christian will strive for a closer likeness to Christ's example of death to self as He continuously strove for His Father's death to self. "I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straightened until it be accomplished!" (Luke 12:50).

The Christians' death was as intense in their sphere as Christ's was intense in His exceedingly greater sphere. This is what Hebrews 2:11 is about. "For both He that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause He is not ashamed to call them brethren." Death to self is a major experience if it is real and genuine, inspired by and imparted from the glorified Christ in heaven. 

Other than the Son of God Himself, His closest model, Paul, was the quintessential example of taking up his cross and dying to self. For Paul, the death to self was an utter renunciation of our claims to anything. All was laid on the altar to be given up or retained according to God's requirement. Jesus gave us that example in Gethsemane and on Golgotha. He took the whole plasma of God's wrath for us. No one else can do that without cursing God and dying. No one loves the whole human race like the Son of God from whose handiwork they came. No one has such love that infinite obstacles couldn't, and still can't, prevent Him from struggling with superhuman exertion to save them from the wrath to come. Only the Son can welcome the Father's hot lightning and thunderous voice in the soul if it would mean saving His precious human race from the same destructive, anxious agonizing and eternal death.

And the Father did it that way, and Jesus wanted it that way, so that Their children could know without the slightest doubt that the Son of God has walked a mile in their moccasins through the valley of the shadow of death.

I think no one would disagree that Romans 6:5's use of G3667 implies an identical comparison between subjects, even though the spheres are desperate.

So far, with G3667 we have witnessed  an almost unanimous comparison of identical subjects, leading to a conclusion that Jesus had Romans 8:3's implied pulls and bents to sin.

For the moment we will skip over Romans 8:3's use of homoioma and reserve it's analysis for the final conclusion.

Lastly, Philippians 2:7 is a close relative to Romans 8:3, and we will treat Romans 8:3 as saying the same thing as Philippians 2:7. Jesus was made in the likeness of men. Hebrews has a lot to say on Christ's likeness to sinful humanity.

"But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man. 

For it became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. 

For both He that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, I will declare Thy name unto My brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto Thee. And again, I will put My trust in Him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given Me.

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; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

For verily He took not on Him the nature of angels; but He took on Him the seed of Abraham.

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. 

For in that He Himself hath suffered being tempted, He is able to succour them that are tempted." (Heb. 2:9-18).

In every way Jesus was made like those who He came to redeem. And He came to redeem not only the straight-laced "Jews by nature", but also the in-the-gutter "sinners of the Gentiles". (Gal. 2:15). As confirmation of a broad range of sinful characters who Jesus came in our likeness to save, we need only look at the twelve sinful yet energetic men He gathered around Himself to train for leading His Earth-bound movement after His return to His Father. But also there's John 3:16 and Revelation 22:17. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." "Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely."

I. e. the Father didn't put His Son into a sinless Abraham or Enoch. Otherwise Jesus would have taken on the nature of angels. But neither was He put into an unsealed Abram, or He would have taken on an non-justified human conscience. He can never force the presence of His Spirit in an unconverted descendant of Adam. There would be nothing that harmonizes with His Spirit. This is the meaning of "separate from sinners". The new presence of Christ's Spirit in an unwilling conscience would cause a constant irritation until it would end in the brain's or body's disease and death, as it was with King Saul and Judas Iscariot, the religious leaders (and as He showed in His destruction of the image of Dagon). Christ illustrated this by a parable. "No man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish." (Luke 5:37).

God will send "the Spirit of His Son"(Gal. 4:6) only into those who have surrendered to the Schoolmaster crying, "Abba, Father". Abraham did that often.

Although the Spirit of the Son was put into a faulty body from sinful Miriam, yet in the same thought the writers of Hebrews said, "For such an High Priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens." (Heb. 7:26). So, the "body" that Thou "hast ... prepared Me" (Heb. 10:5) was unlike the angels' in that it was lower than theirs, that is, not sinless and excelling in strength. Hebrews 2:16 says that He didn't come with the nature of the unfallen, holy angels. He was the Son of man, our Mediator, yet separate from sinners. Meaning what? That He was different from sinners? In what way was He different from His children? In what way was He the same? How can Jesus take on Himself the nature of sinful Abraham, yet be separate from sinners? Hebrews 2:16,17 and Hebrews 7:26 are mutually exclusive. How can we resolve this difficulty?

We have yet to read from any scripture that says Jesus had a bent or propensity to sin. Is it even possible to know what Jesus had in His nature? Maybe. But we do know what came out of it. Sinless, spotless, unselfish love. He was the long awaited Prince of Peace. And out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks and actions take place, for sinfulness or sinlessness.

But--the argument goes--if we can't understand the mysteries of His nature--sinless or not--how can we trust Him to feel for us and represent our cases fully before God?

Here's a solution that is workable. Putting it all together: From conception Jesus inherited His mother's sin nature, weakened by 4,000 years of sin. And, He was conceived by the power of the Most High overshadowing Miriam. Thus, "that holy thing" inherited His Father's dominating divine nature, having been bound infinitely tightly to His Father for eons, since His beginning. Every other child of Adam, made in God's image, has inherited both parents' genetics, which would include mental power, and physical and spiritual power, also.

No child inherits only one parent's genes. One parent will dominate in some aspects of his being, and the other parent will dominate in other aspects. In the personality, the character, the spirituality, the intellect, the imagination, the artistic and mechanical skills and other science and art interests, the body size and shape and features, predisposition to certain diseases, et cetera, there will be dominant or recessive gene expressions in the child's genetic makeup that will create resemblances to characteristics of both parents. Elementary so far. Not hard to follow.

I think this begins to explain what the Son of God took on Himself. The body that His Father prepared for Him was a result of the lineage of Adam through Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, Nathan, all the way down to Miriam. No one in that lineage was sinless. Job, who was not in that lineage, was not sinless, per Job 32-42.

A lot of sin happened in that line. But  those sins were confessed and repented of. The descendants were saints by Christ's justification. Their hearts were redeemed; their lives were transformed. They bore the fruits of His Spirit. They lived surrounded by the holy environment of God's Law and grace, and rural country living that was filled with husbandry. Only "the redemption of (their) body" (Rom. 8:23) tarried.

Into such an unredeemed body, but redeemed conscience, God had the rights to incarnate His Son. "When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under ('the curse of' (Gal. 3:13)) the Law, to redeem them that were under ('the curse of') the Law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." (Gal. 4:4,5, cf 3:13). Miriam was not immaculate, but was under the curse of the Law, and needed deliverance from "the chastisement of our peace (Isa. 53:5), just like the rest of us whose peace is constantly chastened.

But, if Jesus inherited Mary's fallen nature, weakened by 4,000 years of sin, doesn't that mean Jesus inherited a fallen human nature? It would only make sense that He would. Wasn't He born of a sinful woman? Wasn't He was born under the curse of the Law? He must have inherited Miriam's nature. He was made like His brethren in all respects, wasn't He? We have a fallen nature. He was given the fallen nature that passed down through all the generations since Adam.

Sadly, as crack babies inherit their drug abused mothers' dependency on toxic substances, the Father subjected His Son to the wiles of a wretched body of death. The Father permitted His Son to witness His mother's dependence on self and her pulls of sin. But then how could her zygote be "that holy thing"? How could He be our Representative to God? A mediator doesn't represent only one party, but both. Nevertheless, the Godhead of two is one. And that oneness between God and His human Representative, I believe, is the ticket into understanding the mysterious nature of the God-man Jesus Christ, and the insight we need for our sanctification and sealing.

I believe three biblical texts clarify the inner workings of our unique Son of man.

1) "Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one." (Gal. 3:20).

2) "For there is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." (1 Tim. 2:5).

3) "No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him." (John 1:18).

Putting those scriptures all together, what do they say? They tell me that God took a risk by His incarnsuated Son inheriting a big liability from Miriam. It affected Him negatively in His whole physical, mental, and spiritual strengths. The Son was now lower than the angels. Without His constant choice to depend on His Father's strongest SPIRIT, His nature could succumb to Satan's spirit that was stronger than His inherited human spirit.

Nevertheless, His tie of loving union to God was never once broken because of His Father's infinitely perfuse communion. Therefore, never for a moment was His obedience to His loving Father affected by Miriam's heirloom of sin. Even as a zygote until the dawning of His intelligence, the Son was kept by the sovereign will of Him who took no blame for the great controversy. Therefore, Satan could accuse the Father of no foul play by His action of taking the right, at the moment of conception, and without His Son's consent, to surround His Baby with the pure air of sin-free heaven. It was the action of love--the Law of the kingdom--doing what every loving parent should do in their sphere.

Since the controversy erupted, it had been only by unmerited tolerance that God had received Lucifer's grievance against His divine government. Lucifer could accept it or not, but the Sovereign King would never, never ever abandon His only begotten Prince and break His tie to "the Desire of Thine eyes", "whom Thou lovest" (Eze. 24:16; Gen. 22:22. These heart sentiments and bold maneuvers to protect His vulnerable Child are a message to His fallen offspring who will unite with the Son of God/Son of man who will identify with Him, and choose to make His fallen, yet sinless, nature theirs.

As His divine-human Son developed from infancy to childhood to young adulthood, God wholly approved of all His ways. Inadequate though His works were for Him to be the Propitiation, they were the outgrowth of an undying, burgeoning love for His dear Abba. Even while His Son still could not recognize Him as His Father until age 12, the Holy Father could, in the most  restful joy, recall similar blessedness in eternity past and impute perfect righteousness to Him, over and over again repeating, "This My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." 

The angelic hosts looked on in joy, approving the King's innocence before mighty Lucifer' libel, and learning of the pre-dawn era of peace that existed prior to their heavenly kingdom. The King could personally train up and instruct His maturing Beloved. He wove into His Son's lessons His embrace every day, every moment, constant, continuous. Even during the incarnation event and afterwards, His Prince never left His bosom.

From conception onward, despite His  sin inheritance, the divine nature that Jesus inherited from God was so deeply imbedded in Himself that Satan couldn't draw His attention away to poison Him with any doubts about God's character. Just as we all inherit predispositions to disease, and yet by maintaining a healthy lifestyle and making correct choices those diseases never manifest. We don't even know they exist; they have no bearing on our life. So it was for Jesus. 

As Adam ruled over Eve (Gen. 3:16) the sinless nature of the Most High ruled over Miriam's sin nature heirloom to Jesus. He had the sins of 4,000 years existing in the spiritual hormones and bents of His spiritual chemistry. Yet, His dominating Father's divine nature kept sin's foul, polluted parleying from making a peep, never coming close to rising above the blessed background of the divine orchestral harmony within the Spirit of the Son. Satan couldn't get even a toe hold in the Messiah; the Father made sure of it, in cooperation with His own diligent effort. And as He grew, increasingly He must choose to keep His loving Father in Him so that His human nature would remain silent and submitted to the Divine nature.

Never for a moment did Jesus' love ever flag on His Father's abounding love for Him. His changeless love for Father only strengthened at the very end when the planned for, and fully expected, wrath of His Father was pounding Him like Niagara Falls. He stood like Atlas, upholding a world of sinners while being pummeled into the dust. From womb to tomb, He had been surrounded by His Father's presence. Now the Father's Mount Everest-like, and His own Citadel-like, rock-solid connection could not diminish. Notwithstanding His agonizing, propitiatory self-sacrifice, His Abba remained everything to Him.

In conclusion, Jesus most certainly had our sin nature in full bloom, with all the trappings of bents and pulls to sin--just like His brethren. All that Hebrews 2 said to back up Philippians 2:7 is brought to bear on Romans 8:3. "God sending His own Son in the (identical human) likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh," His dependence on His Father's bosom giving the victory over His flesh nature. "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same." (Heb. 2:14).

Jesus' dependence on His dominating Self-existent One kept at bay all the stored up evils that were inherent to the seed of Abraham. God had trained up His divine-human Son in the way He should go, and He would not depart from His Father's strong rearing. So when He was fully developed and ready for combat with the evil one, the Son went on His predestinated mission to save Adam's world that had fallen under the brutal, self-indulgent reign of Satan.

Today Christ's spiritual body no longer has the spiritual liability from Miriam. That aspect of His humanity was burned to soot, leaving a spirit body. But His ministry continues at His Father's throne. And, as He announced before His incarnation, and again in Gethsemane, upon ascension to finish His work of reclaiming the human race, He reiterated His oath when He took the book from His Father's right hand, "I come to do Thy will, O God." (Heb. 10:9, cf Rev. 5:6). 

Therefore, His Father's Gethsemane willpower is the same power to be given for our victory. For the last scripture continues with, "By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." (Vs. 10). 

The dominating, almighty will of the Father, and the all-merciful sacrifice of the Son, united with our utmost desperation, will constrain our victories over sin.

In every way Jesus was made like His brethren. That is our hope that enters within the veil whither He went. But no one has known the Father like the only Begotten; therefore no one yet, beside the Son, has been sinless.

This concept of sinless and sinful natures that were blended in Jesus is not confusing. Neither does it do damage to either group of the theological divide. It only unifies them if they will join forces by widening their big pictures to include each other's premises. And it also unifies their listening audiences around the prospect of being brought under our loving Father's dominating nature, His powerful will, all for discomfiting all the armies of the alien, and for copying Jesus' secret of victory for today's sealing and tomorrow's blotting out of sin. This is the biblical science, the science of salvation. "By the (Father's) will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ." (Vs. 10).

We need to unify around a practical science of salvation, not only intellectual science. We have only a little while left before the big, final trouble hits like a relentless hurricane. Righteousness by faith by Jesus is the answer. Righteousness to the third power. And He will give us His divine nature, as His Father gave Him His. 

"Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy." (Jude 24,25).

"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me. 

I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing.

If a man abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be My disciples.

As the Father hath loved Me, so have I loved you: continue ye in My love.

If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love; even as I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His love.

These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full." (John 15:4-11).

Thus, we too will be kept from falling, just as Jesus was kept by His Father. We will increasingly understand His conception, birth, and growth, through His Father's love, which is the only way to our new birth, our justification and the witness of the Spirit of Christ, our sanctification, our sealing, and the blotting out of our sins. And the more fully we comprehend it all, the more fully we will take part in it all.

It is "by the which will" that "we are sanctified". (Heb. 10:10). As they read the straight Testimony of Jesus and let the Father's dynamic will fortify their mind, He will fully control His 144,000 final remnant generation. And they will be glad for it.

No longer depending on the altar of sacrifice and justification for sins committed, their transformed tastes will love everything about Jesus' Father, their Father. They will depend on the altar of incense. As their faith and hope enters within the veil of the heavenly sanctuary, and they will live a Christian life without committing known sin. They in Him, and He in them. Like King Saul, constrained by the goodness of God to lay prostrate on the ground all night, filled with the fullness of God and praising Him, they will have the oil of joy after a long life of mourning. Like their Master in the heavens, they will have the oil of gladness above their fellows, they with Him in the bosom of His Father, and He and His Father in their bosom. The embrace restored between God and Adam. The glory of Eden, the first dominion,given back. Then shall the end come. And they will be fully prepared for it.