XXXVIII - 4(05) “Watchman, what of the night?” "The hour has come, the
hour is striking and striking at you,
The Doctrine of the Incarnation -V Other Sources (1888-1915) Page 2 S.S. Lessons Page 6
CCT in USA Page 7
Editor's Preface Pages 2
through most of 6 are devoted to the reproduction and refinement of Chapter 5
of the manuscript — An Interpretive History of the Doctrine of the Incarnation
as Taught by the Just as
we were nearing the completion of this issue of WWN, we received in the mail
key pages from the 1st Quarter's Sabbath School Lesson Guide. As noted in the
"Other Sources" the Sabbath School Lessons (now called "Study
Guides") are key avenues to convey truth and to set forth just what the
Church believes on a given doctrine. What was written in the two lessons of the
Study Guide echoes the thinking of The final article notes that the new ecumenical council
being formed — Christian Churches Together in the Page 2
The Doctrine of the Incarnation as Taught in Adventism - V
The first
Sabbath School Lesson Quarterly was published by the Pacific Press in 1889.
This issue was preceded by three lesson pamphlets in 1888 and 1889, each of
which contained lessons for six months (Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia,
art. " In a
lesson for the 2nd Quarter of 1896 which discussed the subject of the
Incarnation, this note was found: Christ
was not only born a man, but was born under the law, both to be judged by the
law, and to be dealt with according to the law in His own person; and as man's
representative, to satisfy the law for all of man's transgressions of it. ...
In order to meet man where he was after the fall, Christ emptied Himself of all
His glory and power, becoming just as dependent on the Father for life and daily
strength as sinful man is dependent upon Him (Senior Quarterly, 2nd Qrt. 1896, p. 11). A lesson during the 4th Quarter of the same year contained this observation:
Christ in
His humanity lived a life of dependence upon the Father. This He did, not of
necessity, but of choice, that He might be a perfect example to us. He did not
exchange His divinity for humanity, but, clothing His divinity with humanity,
He emptied Himself, and did not avail In 1902,
a lesson was studied which associated the incarnation of Christ with the
tabernacle constructed at
The Divinity tabernacled in the flesh of
humanity. Not
the flesh of sinless man, but such flesh as the children of earth possess. That
was the glory of it. The divine Seed could manifest the glory of God in sinful
flesh, even to absolute and perfect victory over every tendency of the flesh
(Ibid., 2nd Qrt., 1909, p. 8). Six weeks later a note in the Quarterly contained the comment: Page 3 Jesus was
God acting in sinful flesh on behalf of the sinner. He made Himself one with
humanity. He took upon Himself the woes, the needs, and sins, of humanity, so
that He felt the consciousness and keenness of it as no other soul ever felt
it (Ibid, p. 20). Among the topics for the First Quarter of 1913 was a study on the relationship between the Incarnation and the priesthood of Jesus Christ. The first note read:
It is very important that we should have a clear understanding of the relation of the incarnation of Christ to His mediatorial work. He was made priest "after a power of endless life," in order that He might minister grace, mercy, and power to the weak and erring. This is accomplished by making such a close union with those needing help, that divinity and humanity are brought into personal relation, and the very Spirit and life of God dwell in the flesh of the believer. In order to establish this relation between God and sinful flesh, it was necessary for the Son of God to take sinful flesh; and thus was bridged the gulf which separated sinful man from God (Ibid,, In Qrt., 1913, p. 14).
Note No. 3 concluded the lesson study for the Sabbath. It stated:
By assuming sinful flesh, and voluntarily making Himself dependent upon His Father to keep Him from sin while He was in the world, Jesus not only set the example for all Christians, but also made it possible for Him to minister to sinful flesh the gift of His own Spirit and the power for obedience to the will of God (Ibid., p. 15).
In this lesson not only were the positive aspects of the Incarnation in relationship to the mediatorial work of Christ presented, but also the false mediatorial system of the Roman Catholic church was discussed. The Dogma of the Immaculate Conception was declared to be a denial of Christ's true incarnation. It was observed that "this denial of the perfect union of Christ with sinful flesh opens the way for a series of substitutionary mediators whose duty it is to bring the sinner into saving touch with Christ" ibid., 1st Qrt., 1913, p. 14).
The
lessons for the 2nd Quarter of 1913 continued the general theme of the
Sanctuary and Christ's mediation. It was pointed out that By the dogma
of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, The
student was referred to Note #5 which quoted a Roman source as saying that a
belief which considered Christ as assuming sinful flesh was
"revolting." The note concluded - "Thus by shutting Christ away
from the same flesh and blood which we have ..., modern
During
the last Quarter of 1913, the book of Romans was the subject of the Christ
was, therefore, of the royal line through His mother. But He was more than
this; He was the same flesh as the seed of David, in and through which for
generations had flowed the blood of sinful humanity, -
Solomon, and Rehoboam, and Ahaz,
and Manasseh, and Amon, and Jeconiah,
and others. The Son of God took this same flesh in order that He might meet
temptation for us, and overcome with divine power every trial we must meet.
Christ is our Brother in the flesh, our Saviour from
sin (Ibid., 4th Qrt., p. 6). The study
of the book of Romans reached into the first quarter of 1914. In the lesson
which included Romans 8:3-4, this note is found: Page 4 What the law in sinful man could not do, God did by sending His own Son. That Son took the flesh of sinful man, and overcame where man failed, overthrew sin in the flesh; and so He can come into the flesh of those who will open their hearts to receive Him, with the same power, and conquer sin there (ibid., 1st Qrt., 1914, p. 16).
The
editorial portrayed the risks that confronted Christ in His acceptance of
fallen human nature. Even as a child, He would be subject to Satan's
temptations, but in spite of the risks to His Godhead, "accepted the
conditions which sin had imposed upon the human family." The Desire of
Ages was quoted in support of this position: Into the
world where Satan claimed dominion God permitted His Son to come, a helpless
babe, subject to the weakness of humanity. He permitted Him to meet life's
perils in common with every human soul, to fight the battle as every child of
humanity must fight it, at the risk of failure and eternal loss (p. 49). Reaction was quick in coming from the readers. Within a month another editorial appeared answering questions which the first editorial engendered. One asked about the risk which Christ accepted in the light of the foreknowledge of God. To this question, the editor replied:
Our
correspondent practically raises the old question of free will and
foreordination. His position is that God knew before He sent His Son into the
world that He would not fail, and therefore there was no risk of failure. In
the same way Christ must have known the outcome of His mission to this
earth.... In coming
to these conclusions our correspondent looks at the question from the
standpoint of the divinity of Christ, and does not give due weight to the
considerations which arise from the humanity of Christ. God sent forth His Son
into the world as a man, subject to the conditions and experiences of humanity.
As a man Jesus sustained the same relation to the foreknowledge of God as is
sustained by every man. The foreknowledge of God did not limit His freedom as a
man. His freedom as a man did not interfere with the foreknowledge of God. As a
man endowed with the freedom of choice, [with] the second Adam, there was the
same possibility of failure as there was with the first Adam in his sinless
state. Otherwise there would be neither force nor comfort in the statement that
He was "in all points tempted as we are." Otherwise the agony and the
bloody sweat, and the cry, "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken
Me?" would have been merely as acting of a part, and Christ's experience
on this earth would have been the same sort of an example of trust in God as is
the villain in the play who knows that the revolver is loaded with blank
cartridges, and that he will be all right again as soon as the curtain falls.
As a man Christ knew, through faith in God's word, that His Father was able to
keep Him from falling, just as any man may know it who will believe God. In the
fullness of this faith Christ committed Himself to His Father's keeping power, and
was not disappointed. The same privilege is offered to every man (Editorial,
R& H,
A second
editorial appeared in December because of continued reaction from the field
(ibid., I notice
that this Scripture does not say that God sent His own Son 'in sinful flesh,'
but `in the Page 5 likeness
of sinful flesh.' To me this seems a very different statement. How could one in
sinful flesh be perfect, be holy, be unblemished (free from stain)?" In replying
to this question, the editor indicated there were two ways to answer it. One
was to introduce "positive proof in support of our view." The other
would be to reason from consequences which "would follow from the
position taken by our correspondent." The editor decided to use both
options. As "positive" proof Hebrews 2:14-17 was introduced with
these conclusions: The
natural and legitimate conclusion from this declaration would be that the flesh
and blood of Jesus were same as the children had.... The
mission of Jesus was not to rescue fallen angels, but to save fallen man. He
therefore identified Himself with man, and not with angels, and He became
"in all things" like unto those whom He professed to help. The flesh
of man is sinful. In order to be "in all things" like unto man, it
was necessary that Jesus should take sinful flesh. The next text cited was the text used in the original editorial - Romans 8:3. The editor compared the wording with Philippians 2:7 where Christ came in the likeness of men, and then asked - "Do we not rightly conclude that Jesus was really a man when we read that He was made 'in the likeness of men'? - Most certainly. The only way in which He could be 'in the likeness of men' was to become a man. ... Is it not equally clear that the only way in which God could send His Son 'in the likeness of sinful flesh' would be for that Son to have sinful flesh?"
Turning
to the consequences of rejecting the fact that Christ accepted the fallen
nature of man when He assumed humanity, the editor wrote: If the
Son of God did not dwell in sinful flesh when He was born into the world, then
the ladder has not been let down from heaven to earth, and the gulf between a
holy God and fallen humanity has not been bridged. It
would then be necessary that some further means should be provided in In answering the second part of the reader's question - "How could one in sinful flesh be perfect, be holy"? - the editor well stated:
This
question touches the very heart of our Christianity. The teaching of Jesus is,
"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father
which is in heaven is perfect." And through the apostle Peter comes the instruction, "Be ye holy; for I am
holy." None will deny that we have sinful flesh, and we therefore ask how
it will be possible to meet the requirements of Scripture if it is not possible
for one to be perfect or holy in sinful flesh. The very hope of our attaining
perfection and holiness is based upon the wonderful truth that the perfection
and holiness of divinity were revealed in sinful flesh in the person of Jesus.
We are not able to explain how this could be, but our salvation is found in
believing the fact. ... It is the crowning glory of our religion that even
flesh of sin may become a temple for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. During this period - 1888-1915 - publications from two different publishing houses of the Church taught the same fundamental doctrine in regard to the Incarnation of Christ. Uriah Smith, while serving as associate editor of the Review & Herald, released a book - Looking unto Jesus. In this book the following comments are found noting the nature of the humanity which Christ assumed as the Son of man:
... He
humbled Himself, and took upon Him the form of a servant, by consenting to take
the fashion of puny, mortal, sinful man. In the likeness of sinful flesh, He
reached down to the very depths of man's fallen condition, and Page 6 became obedient unto death, even the ignominious death of the cross (p. 23).
He came
in the likeness of sinful flesh to demonstrate before all parties in the
controversy that it is possible for men !n the flesh
to keep the law. He demonstrated this by keeping it Himself. On our plain of
existence, and in our nature, He rendered such obedience to every principle and
precept, that the eye of Omniscience itself could detect no flaw therein. His
whole life was but a transcript of that law, in its spiritual nature, and in
its holy, just, and good demands. Thus He condemned sin in the flesh, by living
Himself in the flesh and doing no sin; showing that it was possible for man
thus to live (p. 30). In 1911,
the Pacific Press published a book - Questions Answered - compiled by the
editor, Milton C. Wilcox, gathered from the "Question Corner" of the
Signs of the Times. One question asked was concerning the text in Hebrews
2:14-17. In answering this question, the editor noted the steps in Christ's
sacrifice "to break the power of sin, unify God's broken creation, and
save man." Commenting on the step, "in the likeness of men," he
wrote: In this
step the eternal Logos "became flesh," the same as we; for He was
"born of a woman, born under the law," under its condemnation, as a
human, having the flesh with all the human tendencies; a partaker of the
"flesh and blood" of humanity; "in all things" "made
like unto His brethren","suffered being
tempted." And He met all the temptations even as you and I must meet them,
by faith in the will and Word of God. There is not a tendency in the flesh of
humanity but what dwelt in His. And He overcame them all (p. 31). In 1915,
a revised Bible Reading for the "Wherefore in all things it behoved Him to be Note: In His humanity Christ partook of our sinful, fallen nature. If not, then He was not "made like unto His brethren," was not "in all points tempted like as we are," did not overcome as we have to overcome, and is not, therefore, the complete and perfect Saviour man needs and must have to be saved. The idea that Christ was born of an immaculate or sinless mother, inherited no tendencies to sin, and for this reason did not sin, removes Him from the realm of a fallen world, and from the very place where help is needed. On the human side, Christ inherited just what every child of Adam inherits, - a sinful nature. On the divine side, from His very conception He was begotten and born of the Spirit. And all this was done to place mankind on vantage-ground, and to demonstrate that in the same way every one who is "born of the Spirit" may gain like victories over sin in his own sinful flesh. Thus each one is to overcome as Christ overcame. Rev. 3:21. Without this birth there can be no victory over temptation, and no salvation from sin. John 3:3-7.
"A
Body You Have Prepared for Me"
This
title and representation of a Roman Catholic nun in habit prefaced Sabbath
School Lesson #4 in the Study Guide for the 1stQuarter, 2005. The one
sending me pages from both lessons #4 Page 7 and
#6 questioned, "A nun representing Mary?" This is a logical deduction
inasmuch as Lesson #4 discussed the Incarnation. But it goes a step further.
The title is a text from Hebrews 10:5, which was a key verse used by the
"Holy Flesh" men of Lesson #6
was captioned, "The Passion WEEK." The one sending me these pages
commented with insight - "Catholic terminology" - and observed,
"I find no Spirit of prophecy use of the word, 'passion' pertaining to
Christ's sufferings and death." Then in the introductory paragraph to this
lesson is to be found the assumption, "We adore the cross." Adoration
is basic in Romanism. They "adore" the images of the Virgin Mary as
well as the crucifix, and by the use of this terminology deny that they are
CCT in
the
This
title stands for "Christian Churches Together in the
What does this "something new" involve? The Catholic News Service
(CNS) for Nov. 18, 2004, in reporting the decision of the US Catholic Bishops to
join this new national ecumenical forum,
noted the comments of Bishop Stephen Blaire of Bishop
Fabian Bruskewitz of This Space
Page 8
Each issue of WWN is sent out in two mailings, one as "Bulkmail" to readers in the USA, and the other as a "Periodical" for readers overseas and Canada. The Bulkmail is folded and stapled thus leaving page 8 for mailing label and return address. The periodical mailing requires that the issue be placed in an envelope, and contain the information given in the above paragraph. Thus page 8 is left blank unless some additional data is placed on it. We try to place relevant material that would be of interest to our readers overseas and Canada who receive the periodical mailing. This becomes at times a difficult decision due to the volume of data received from the Web-master, readers, and found in publications which the Library receives. Besides this, the Library has documentation from the past which is relevant to the present. This brief explanation will seek to illustrate the picture or problem, however, it may be perceived.
On January 6, 1895, Pope Leo XIII released an Encyclical Letter in which he stated:
Paul M. Weyrich of the Free Congress Foundation tells of a telephone conversation he had with Karl Rove, President Bush's political guru. He asked Rove to tell the president that he had mastered the art of Catholic governance. To this Rove replied, "That's pretty good for a Methodist." The American Society of Tradition Family and Property indicates privately "that Bush is more Catholic" than any Catholic who could be elected as President in this country. That says something when the Democrats chose a Catholic for their candidate. Weyrich continued to comment:
If you examine Bush's speech to the Republican delegates in Philadelphia, that speech had a deeply Catholic tone to it. And likewise Bush's inauguration speech, brief as it was, also had a Catholic overlay to it. This is far more than the work of a speechwriter. It obviously reflects some of Bush's strongly held views. In an article in the New Republic April 3, 2001, Ryan Lizza tells of Bush's speech to commemorate the opening of the John Paul II Cultural Center at Catholic University. Then he commented: "Bush has courted the Catholic vote more doggedly than any modern president, explicitly - and often eloquently - placing "compassionate conservatism" within the context of the Catholic tradition of aiding the underprivileged and protecting the sanctity of life." The same article further stated that the "President makes a point of meeting with local bishops wherever he travels, but especially on visits to swing states. He has made Catholic leaders fixtures at White House events, and his political staff holds a weekly conference call with conservative Catholics."
Another pre-election report stated that "Bush was so eager for a meeting with Pope John Paul II that he flew overnight to Rome to cram in a visit before the Pontiff - who said that he couldn't rearrange his schedule - left Rome the next day." He had, according to the report, his knuckles rapped by the pope over the war in Iraq. The question was asked, "Why would Bush subject himself to this?" The answer: "Bush badly needed Catholic votes." There is no mistaking the surge of Catholic votes for Bush, along with those of the Evangelicals, which speaks volumes.
WEBSITE
E-
Originally published by Adventist Laymen's Foundation of Mississippi/Arkansas
Wm. H. Grotheer, Editor
Adventist Laymen's Foundation was chartered in 1971 by Elder Wm. H. Grotheer, then 29 years in the Seventh-day Adventist
ministry, and associates, for the benefit of Seventh-day Adventists who were deeply concerned about the compromises of fundamental
doctrines by the Church leaders in conference with those who had no right to influence them. Elder Grotheer began to publish the monthly "Thought Paper," Watchman, What of the Night? (WWN) in January, 1968, and continued the publication as Editor until the end of 2006. Elder Grotheer died on May 2, 2009.
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