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NASB | Colossians 2:9 For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Colossians 2:9 For in Him all the fullness of Deity (the Godhead) dwells in bodily form [completely expressing the divine essence of God]. |
Subject: Could Jesus sin? |
Bible Note: 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 |