“Think of your best friend… “ whom you have every cause to love and prize as your own soul. Think of him wrongfully getting into the hands of the authorities. Imagine him dragged before them by a jeering and relentless mob, who think it fine sport to insult him, and who are unrestrained in their murderous ferocity by the officers of the law. Imagine him spit upon and hustled; blind folded and smitten; undressed and scourged. Realize the bitterness of a mock trial; imagine him, above all, condemned, and dragged again by the surging mob, in the company of convicted thieves, amid buffetings, to an eminence outside the city, and there impaled in the cruelest manner possible to a piece of carpentry with nails, as a murderer or a felon.” Robert Roberts

Is the knowledge of Christ’s Nature important to know? Who was Jesus? What was his nature? Why did he have to die? Errors taught relating to Christ’s nature

Is the knowledge of Christ’s Nature important to know? Who was Jesus? What was his nature? Why did he have to die? Errors taught relating to Christ’s nature

2Jn 1:7-10 For many deceivers are gone forth into the world, even they that confess not that Jesus Christ cometh in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist. Look to yourselves, that ye lose not the things which we have wrought, but that ye receive a full reward. Whosoever goeth onward and abideth not in the teaching of Christ, hath not God: he that abideth in the teaching, the same hath both the Father and the Son. If any one cometh unto you, and bringeth not this teaching, receive him not into your house, and give him no greeting:

Is the knowledge of Christ’s Nature important to know? Who was Jesus? What was his nature? Why did he have to die? Errors taught relating to Christ’s nature

Act 2:22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God Jesus was a Man Luke1:35 “And the angel said unto her (Mary), …that holy thing that shall be born of thee shall be called THE Son of God” He was the Son of God 1Ti 2:5 For there is one God, one mediator also between God and men, the man, Christ Jesus, Heb 4:15 For we have not a high priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but one that hath been in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Is now our High Priest and Mediator

1. He grew and developed He was born a babe (Luke 2:7) He increased in wisdom Luke 2:52 And Jesus advanced in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. He died 2. He was dependent on God John 5:30 I can of myself do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is righteous; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. John 14:28 Ye heard how I said to you, I go away, and I come unto you. If ye loved me, ye would have rejoiced, because I go unto the Father: for the Father is greater than I.

3. He was constantly referred to as a Man 1Co 15:21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. Luk 4:4 And Jesus answered unto him, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone. 4. God is not a Man Num 23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie, Neither the son of man, that he should repent: Hath he said, and will he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and will he not make it good?

"We worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity; neither confounding the persons; nor dividing the substance. For there is one Person of the Father; another of the Son, and another of the Holy Ghost. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, is all one: the Glory equal, the Majesty co-eternal. Such as the Father is, so is the Son, and such is the Holy Ghost. The Father uncreate, the Son uncreate, and the Holy Ghost uncreate. The Father incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible, and the Holy Ghost incomprehensible. The Father eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Ghost eternal. And yet there are not three eternals, but one eternal. Also there are not three incomprehensibles, not three uncreated: but one uncreated, and one incomprehensible. So likewise the Father is Almighty, the Son Almighty and the Holy Ghost Almighty. And yet there are not three Almighties, but one Almighty. So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God. And yet there are not three Gods: but one God. So likewise the Father is Lord, the Son Lord, and the Holy Ghost Lord. And yet not three Lords but one Lord. For like as we are compelled by the Christian verity to acknowledge every person by himself to be God and Lord; so we are forbidden by the Catholic religion to say, There be three Gods, or three Lords. The Father is made of none; neither created, nor begotten. The Son is of the Father alone: not made, nor created, but begotten. The Holy Ghost is of the Father and of the Son; neither made, nor created, nor begotten, but proceeding. So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons: one Holy Ghost, not three Holy Ghosts. And in this Trinity none is afore, or after other, none is greater or less than others; but the whole three persons are co- eternal together; and co-equal. So that in all things as is aforesaid: the Unity in Trinity, and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshipped. HE THEREFORE THAT WILL BE SAVED MUST THUS THINK OF THE TRINITY."

Jesus DAVID

“Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ: that, whether I come and see you or be absent, I may hear of your state, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one soul striving for the faith of the gospel.” Philippians 1:27 God cannot be seen: “No man hath beheld God at any time” 1John 4:12 Man can be seen: Therefore Jesus was a Man “Come, see a man, who told me all things that ever I did: can this be the Christ?” Which better characterized Jesus? John 4:29

“….and if I send them away fasting to their home, they will faint on the way; and some of them are come from far.” Mark 8:3 God does not fatigue: “Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard? The everlasting God, Jehovah, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary; there is no searching of his understanding. “ Isa 40:28 Man Fatigues: Therefore Jesus was a Man “Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. “ John 4:6 Which better characterized Jesus?

“but each man is tempted, when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed.” James 1:14 God cannot be Tempted: “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God; for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempteth no man” James 1:13 Man Can be Tempted: Therefore Jesus was a Man “For we have not a high priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but one that hath been in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. “ Heb 4:15 Which better characterized Jesus?

“In peace will I both lay me down and sleep; For thou, Jehovah, alone makest me dwell in safety. “ Psa 4:8 God does not sleep: “Behold, he that keepeth Israel Will neither slumber nor sleep. “ Psa 121:4 Man Sleeps: Therefore Jesus was a Man “And behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the boat was covered with the waves: but he (Jesus) was asleep.” Mat 8:24 Which better characterized Jesus?

“For dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.“ Gen 3:19 God cannot die: “Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” 1Tim 1:17 Man Dies: Therefore Jesus was a Man “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also that are fallen asleep in Jesus will God bring with him.” Which better characterized Jesus? 1Th 4:14

Is the knowledge of Christ’s Nature important to know? Who was Jesus? What was his nature? Why did he have to die? Errors taught relating to Christ’s nature

Adam created good, but capable of death. When he disobeyed in Eden, he was condemned to death. Because of this all his descendents are condemned to death (sin nature). Did he require a blood shedding sacrifice for his own salvation because of his partaking of Adam’s mortality, otherwise known as “law of sin in the members”, “the Diabolos”, “Sin in the Flesh” This is THE LINK, between him and us Sin was condemned and put to death in his flesh by the crucifixion of his Sin-Body on the tree.

“Concerning his Son, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh.” Rom 1:3 “God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh” Romans 8:3 “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same” Hebrews 2:14

Is the knowledge of Christ’s Nature important to know? Who was Jesus? What was his nature? Why did he have to die? Errors taught relating to Christ’s nature

“The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” Eze 18:20 Did Christ personally sin? 2Co 5:21 Him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; that we might become the righteousness of God in him.

In the beginning, Man was made “very good” Gen 1:31 And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good…” God gave man a simple law: Gen 2:16 And Jehovah God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: Gen 2:17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

The Temptation…..and then the Fall Consequences of the Transgression: Gen 3:14 And Jehovah God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, cursed art thou above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: Gen 3:15 and I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: he shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Gen 3:16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy pain and thy conception; in pain thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. Gen 3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in toil shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Gen 3:18 thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; Gen 3:19 in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

Adam’s sentence transferred to all his descendents. Rom 5:12 “Therefore, as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin; and so death passed unto all men, for that all sinned: ” 1Co 15:22 “For as in Adam all die” Rom 5:15 “Through the offense of one, many are dead” The human body became a “Body of death” which requires redemption Rom 7:24 “Who shall deliver me from the Body of this death” 1 Cor 15:53 “this mortal (body) must put on immortality”

What else are we told about Human nature? Is it good or not? Rom 7:18 “In me (that is in my flesh) dwelleth NO GOOD THING” “Sin dwelleth in me” Rom 7:20 “The Law of Sin which is in my members” Rom 7:23 Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts” Matt 15:19 “He that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption (Gal 6:8) “To be fleshly minded is death….the fleshly mind is enmity against God….so that they that are in the flesh Cannot please God” Rom 8:6-8

Prone to Sin: Jer 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and it is exceedingly corrupt: who can know it? Mar 7:20 And he said, That which proceedeth out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, evil thoughts proceed, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, covetings, wickednesses, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, railing, pride, foolishness: all these evil things proceed from within, and defile the man. Rom 7:18 For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me, but to do that which is good is not. For the good which I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.

“Sin” is used in two general ways 1. Transgression to God’s laws 2. Physical animal nature which is the cause of all its disease and death. This physical nature was a result of the transgression in the garden. “Inasmuch as this evil principle pervades every part of the flesh, the animal nature is styled “sinful flesh” …that is “flesh full of sin”, so that “sin”, came to stand for the substance called “man”. Sin is a synonym for human nature…..therefore flesh is considered “unclean” EI p 126

PROBLEM: Adam’s sin caused all men to have sinful flesh: Which is prone to sin Which is transferred to all our children Which causes us to die The Solution: PLAN of Salvation: To Destroy the sinful flesh A member of the human race, who has the sinful flesh with all its desires, must live a perfect life, obedient to all God’s ways, not giving into the desires of the flesh. That man must then publicly condemn Sin by destroying it in a blood-shedding sacrifice. This would not be a punishment for Sin, but just the opposite….. A Victory over Sin and a public showing of the righteousness of God.

Mosaic laws: Set of laws given by God to Israel after they left the Egypt. If God had a plan from the beginning, what was the purpose of these laws? They were a tool to teach, pointing forward to what needed to be done: The putting off or destruction of the flesh: They pointed foward to the Solution: The sacrifice of Christ. Heb 10:1 For the law (Mosaic Law)having a shadow of the good things to come, not the very image of the things, can never with the same sacrifices year by year, which they offer continually, make perfect them that draw nigh. Else would they not have ceased to be offered? because the worshippers, having been once cleansed, would have had no more consciousness of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance made of sins year by year. For it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins.

Christ had no personal sins, but he did have this Sinful Flesh. This is what Christ conquered and destroyed. His death made it clear that it was the his “Body of Sin, sin’s Flesh” that was being put to death

It is an uncleanness, not a guilt. It does not require forgiveness, but cleansing. It motivates God’s pity, not his wrath. It is a misfortune, not a crime. This is why even though Christ had sinful flesh, it did not alienate him from God, or make him a “child of wrath” What can alienate us is actual transgression to God’s commands (personal sins)…..this Christ did not do.

Computer chip has a defect, a virus A) This virus, will eventually and always make the computer turn off(sinful flesh). b) This virus (if left unchecked) is likely to fatally corrupt its programing and cause errors (sin). Once the computer dies it can be rebooted if none of its software was corrupted. If the computer dies without any of its programs corrupted, then the virus is also recognized and eliminated. But if ANY of its software was corrupted prior to the computers death, it cannot be restarted, unless the computer chip gets a patch.

Christ did not “deserve” the punishment of death in that he did not personally sin. God’s appointed way, was a blood shedding death It was the only way, because this is what God appointed. The animal sacrifices of the mosaic law, typified what needed to be done….ie destroy sinfull flesh. Christ actually did this in himself as well as for himself.

How about us? We have all sinned….how are we to be saved (released from the chains of death?) Christ’s crucifixion destroyed his sin in the flesh…..this was the “one great offering”. He did it for himself, but it opened a way that we might share in his victory. When we are baptised into Christ, we identify ourselves with what he accomplished in his death and resurrection. That’s why it is so important for us to understand exactly what Christ’s sacrifice accomplished. This cleansing result isn’t the end of our journey, but the beginning…. Mat 10:22 “And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake:but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.”

“This perishing body is “sin”; and left to perish because of “sin. “Sin,” in its application to the body, stands for all its constituents and laws. The power of death is in its very constitution, so that the law of its nature is styled the “law of sin and Death”. In the combinations fo the elements of the law, the power of death resides, so that “to destroy that having the power of death” is to abolish this physical law of sin and death, and instead thereof, to substitute the physical “law of the spirit of life”, by which the same body would be changed in its constitution, and live forever” Eureka 1:248

Is the knowledge of Christ’s Nature important to know? Who was Jesus? What was his nature? Why did he have to die? Errors taught relating to Christ’s nature

1. False doctrine of the Trinity 1Ti 2:5 “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man, Christ Jesus” “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is ONE LORD” Deut 6:4 “Why callest thou me Good – There is none good but ONE, that is God” Mark 10:18

2. Sacrifice of Christ: representative, not substitution Christ was one of us, he represented us, and had our same nature. He was not a substitute (ie one that dies instead of us). Some believe that Christ’s sacrifice was a penalty being payed because of our sins, so that we can go be free. Where would be the justice in this, if someone would die who didn’t sin, so that we should never die who have sinned.

3. The false idea that Christ did not have to offer for himself (Stricklerism) “Christ redeemed and saved himself, and – at first, only himself. Then, having “obtained eternal redemption”, the salvation he won for himself was, in God’s mercy, and as planned from the beginning, extended to all who make themselves part of him.” GVG

“He was so torn in body that he could not carry his cross. He was brought to the place of torture and death, where he was laid on the cross, and crude nails were driven thru his hands and feet…. “Think of it: not a few minutes; not even just an hour – but six long hours he suffered the agonizing torture, and the mocking abuse: yet having the power to come down from the cross at any moment: what a triumph of will and obedience! Why did God permit this? Yea, why did He contrive and arrange it? It was because of love. It was God’s terrible testimony to the evil destructivenss of sin, and the measure of his love in seeking to save men from its deadly grip- “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotton Son, that whosever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” John 3:16 By this, a way was opened up, by which man could approach God thru Jesus, and be made nigh by his shed blood, their sins washed away. Do we fully appreciate what he has done for us – and ever thankful? Or are we so small mindfully obsessed with our own petty troubles, and our even pettier pleasures & pursuits, that they largely fill our minds and time, and we cannot look up and see Jesus as he hangs on the cross. What else on earth can have any importance, when we contemplate this?  G. A.Growcott