Results 1 - 8 of 8
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Could Jesus sin? | Col 2:9 | ebrain | 181452 | ||
Greetings Tim. I have never said that Jesus ceased to be fully God, only that He has two natures, one which is Divine, and one which is human. Perhaps what follows will help you to understand. When Jesus came to earth some 2000 years ago, He not only came to offer Himself as a sinless sacrifice to pay for our sins, and thus enable God to forgive as many as will accept this fact. but also to demonstrate by His life just how we humans were, and are intended by our Father God to behave towards He who made us in His own image. By His life, I mean the attitude of (Not My will, but thine be done) that Jesus continually adopted towards His Father, thus enabling the Father who indwelt the Son, see Jhn 14:10 "Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. The Father communicates Himself through the body of the man Jesus to all people with whom He came into contact at that time, and through Scripture now to us. This is the reason why you, if you are a Christian are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, in order that you might allow the other resident within yourself to have right of way in your life, and to do just what He wants to do in and through you. Remember Jesus said, "He who has seen me has seen the Father", Jhn 14:7 "If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him." not that the Father is a human being, Jesus is here referring to conduct and behavior, what He the Father did, and what He said, see Jhn 1:18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son,* who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. Jesus also said, Jhn 15:3 "You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Jhn 15:4 "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. Jhn 15:5 "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. Note "without Me you can do nothing" Why do you suppose that Paul said Gal 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. Phl 1:21 For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain Col 1:27 To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which* is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Gal 4:19 My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you, There is only one person in this whole universe who can live the Christian life to perfection,,, that person lives inside you, and that's why Jesus said what He said at, John 5:19. John 5:30, John 11:41b - 42, John 14:7-10. Ask Him in prayer, why He did things this way, and He will tell you as He told me many years ago, "Because it's the only way you can do it". Have an enjoyable holiday. Edwin. |
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2 | Could Jesus sin? | Col 2:9 | DocTrinsograce | 181458 | ||
Dear Edwin, I think we need to be extremely cautious here. Some of what you are saying is dangerously close to the error known as the kenosis theory, and others sound like Nestorianism. The thinking that surfaces in error and heresy come easily because they often seem to make sense to human reason. That's why they tend to surface over and over in history. Look what the Church stated so clearly in the fifth century: "Therefore, following the holy fathers, we all with one accord teach men to acknowledge one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, at once complete in Godhead and complete in manhood, truly God and truly man, consisting also of a reasonable soul and body; of one substance [homoousious] with the Father as regards his Godhead, and at the same time of one substance with us as regards His manhood; like us in all respects, apart from sin; as regards His Godhead, begotten of the Father before the ages, but yet as regards His manhood begotten for us men and for our salvation, of Mary the Virgin, the God-bearer [Theotokos] one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, ..." Now note this part in particular: "...recognized in two natures, without confusion, without change, without division, without separation; the distinction of natures being in no way annulled by the union, but rather the characteristics of each nature being preserved and coming together to form one person [prosopon] and subsistence [hypostasis], not as parted or separated into two persons [prosopa], but one and the same Son and Only-begotten God the Word, Lord Jesus Christ; even as the prophets from earliest times spoke of Him, and as our Lord Jesus Christ Himself taught us, and the creed of the Fathers has delivered to us." --Chalcedonian Confession (451 AD) We must take care to go just as far as the Word of God (His self-revelation) goes, but no further. To that end we can be grateful to the faithful elect of the Church who, with the help of the Holy Spirit, have wrestled with these ideas for so many centuries. In Him, Doc PS May your holidays be blessed and joyful. |
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3 | Could Jesus sin? | Col 2:9 | ebrain | 181468 | ||
Greetings Doc. What makes you think that the Biblical interpretations of fallen human beings in the 5th Century are to be preferred to those of fallen human beings in the 21st Centuary? Whenever I read Scripture, I adopt an attitude towards God as outlined at Jhn 7:17 "If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority. It is as a result of my adopting this attitude towards what I read that I believe the Holy Spirit will reveal the truth of what that passage has to convey, and that He will not confirm error. Thank you for your seasonal wishes. Edwin. |
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4 | Could Jesus sin? | Col 2:9 | DocTrinsograce | 181470 | ||
Dear Edwin, You asked, "What makes you think that the Biblical interpretations of fallen human beings in the 5th Century are to be preferred to those of fallen human beings in the 21st Centuary?" (sic) Much every way, sir! Rather than getting too sidetracked from the question at hand, I will try to answer and yet remain in context. First, the errors that I cited are not from the Spirit at all... at least not from the Holy one! Though God providentially uses heresies to further the truth (1 Corinthians 11:19). I'd encourage to keep in mind the admonitions of 1 Timothy 4 and Jude. Second, the Church sacrificed life and freedom for these doctrines. A far cry from the comfort and safety of the Internet! Third, the Church rendered these careful considered responses out of entire lives of full-time learning. (In the case of Chalcedon, those folks actually spoke the language of the New Testament!) Their authority has been tested by many centuries of scholars. Another far cry from a bunch of part-time, arm-chair, lay yahoos who get together to pontificate in an electronic forum! ;-) Fourth, your use of John 7:17 has nothing whatsoever to do with the topic at hand. Consequently it weakens rather than strengthens your argument. Fifth, your use of John 7:17 is out of context. The Holy Spirit will not abuse Scripture in that fashion. (See Post #158836 for a good list of such common interpretational mistakes.) Sixth, the Holy Spirit does not contradict Himself. God cannot lie (Numbers 23:19). Seventh, although taken by itself it is an ad hominem argument, these errors and heresies -- including the one "God told me so" -- are hallmarks of many past and present cults. However, we want to carefully distance ourselves from such (Romans 16:17; 2 Thessalonians 3:14). I could go on... but time constrains... Nevertheless I am reminded of a quote: One of your countryman, Charles Spurgeon, the Prince of Preachers, wisely encouraged young seminarians, "Of course, you are not such wise-acres as to think or say that you can expound Scripture without assistance from the works of divines and learned men who have labored before you in the field of exposition. If you are of that opinion, pray remain so, for you are not worth the trouble of conversion, and like a little coterie who think with you, would resent the attempt as an insult to your infallibility. It seems odd, that certain men who talk so much of what the Holy Spirit reveals to themselves, should think so little of what He has revealed to others." Odd indeed! In Him, Doc |
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5 | Could Jesus sin? | Col 2:9 | ebrain | 181473 | ||
Hi Doc. Thank you for your post. As I have said many times before, I have no problem in accepting the Deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, the problem that I have is with the teaching that although Jesus was also truly a human being, He was never at any time less than God. This being the case therefore, please answer the three questions bellow. Luk 22:42 saying, "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done." How can God say "not My will"? Jhn 5:30 "I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me. How can God say "I can of Myself do nothing"? Phl 2:9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, How can Jesus be given the name that He already has? Every blessing. Edwin. |
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6 | Could Jesus sin? | Col 2:9 | DocTrinsograce | 181474 | ||
Dear Edwin, Yes, these questions have often been brought up in the last 20 centuries. They even began to surface in the apostolic era. They were first articulated in gnosticism, then Arianism, followed by Nestorianism, and then Monophysitism. They are echoed today most commonly by Mormons and Russelites, but are also taught to some extent in the Eastern Church. Regarding Luke 22:42 and John 5:30, you asked, "How can God say...?'" "Can?" Apparently He is able, without issue, to do so, for He does so! How could the perfect sacrifice be said to be perfect if we didn't have these expressions of His will in complete and total submission to the righteousness and holiness of God through the law? The purity of gold, for example, remains uncertain until tested. Might I suggest that you turn your questions around? (Remember, we want to take the whole of Scripture into account, not pick and choose verses to reflect our own ideas. The former is God centered, the latter is self centered.) Instead of finding ways to embrace error, embrace the truth. In light of the truth as expressed in the rest of Scripture (and summarized very well in the Nicene Creed and Chalcedonian Confession), ask what are we to understand from these utterances of our Lord Jesus? Relative to Philippians 2:9 you asked, " How can Jesus be given the name that He already has?" (sic) Why can't God have bestowed on Him the name eternally? Do you suppose that the Son graduated into His position at some point in time? "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 Spirit is of the Father and of the Son; neither made, nor created, nor begotten, but proceeding." Athanasius points out that these aspects o God are eternal, rather than temporal. Time is an artifact; a created thing. As God's creatures we are subject to time and, apparently, always will be. God is not. Humans necessarily speak and think in chronological and causal terms. But we cannot fit God into something less than His creation! When dealing with the fundamental nature of our Triune God, only His self-revelation will lead us to the truth. In Him, Doc |
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7 | Could Jesus sin? | Col 2:9 | chris4him | 181478 | ||
Hi Doc, you seem to have a very sound grasp on the diety of Jesus Christ. When I think of the only sinless man who ever lived. I reflect on John chapter 1 knowing Jesus is the word of God Who was with God in the beginning and was God and through Him (The Word) all things were made. in verse 14 it says that same Word became flesh and dwelt amoung us (He became a man). So the real question is could God sin? Because scripture tells us that He is God, and if He could sin, there would be no hope of salvation for any of us. I like 2cor5:21 He (God) sent Him (Jesus) Who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousnes of God in Him. Thank you, Chris |
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8 | Could Jesus sin? | Col 2:9 | DocTrinsograce | 181485 | ||
Hi, Chris... Yes, you're right in your assertions regarding Christ's alleged ability to sin. Another thought along the same lines: If Christ might have sinned, God promising would have been nothing more than hopeful wishing. Instead we are assured of the iron-clad dependability of every promise of God (Deuteronomy 32:4; Isaiah 65:16; 2 Corinthians 1:20, etc.). God's will cannot be thwarted. Thank you for your comments. In Him, Doc |
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