Focus on Jesus NO ADVANTAGE OVER US
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. Heb. 2:17.
Jesus was born God. He was also born a man. Sometimes we debate about how much of a man He was, how human He was. Was He just like us, or not? In The Desire of Ages, page 117, we discover three ways in which Jesus was like us. He became a man, after four thousand years of degenerating human nature. The race had been diminishing in terms of physical strength. Jesus was shorter than Adam. He got tired, when perhaps Adam wouldn't have. The race had also been degenerating in mental power. Inherently, Jesus wasn't as smart as Adam. Apart from God, Adam would have been smarter than Jesus. It sounds almost sacrilegious to say it, but it's the truth. Jesus accepted the weakness of humanity in terms of mental power.
The third way in which Jesus was weaker than Adam was in moral strength. He didn't have the willpower and backbone to control His actions, apart from God, that Adam would have had. He wasn't inherently worth as much as Adam in grit and determination and willpower. Jesus accepted all these weaknesses that were passed on by the great law of heredity (The Desire of Ages, p. 49). But it made no difference so far as what we see produced in the life of Jesus, because He wasn't depending upon willpower. He wasn't depending upon His weak human nature. He was depending instead upon God's power. And that's the difference.
The law of heredity doesn't mean that sin is passed through the genes and chromosomes. In other words, just because a man is a drunkard doesn't mean that his son will have a weakness for drink. But a man who is a drunkard can pass on physical, mental, and moral weakness, and because of that, his son can be more susceptible to the problem of sin, no matter what form it takes.
Satan will never be able to charge God with giving Jesus an advantage in overcoming sin, because Jesus accepted not only human nature as Adam was created but the weakness and decay that resulted from sin. He lived life as we must live it, by depending upon the power of God to sustain Him. He had no advantage over us.
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. Heb. 2:17.
Jesus was born God. He was also born a man. Sometimes we debate about how much of a man He was, how human He was. Was He just like us, or not? In The Desire of Ages, page 117, we discover three ways in which Jesus was like us. He became a man, after four thousand years of degenerating human nature. The race had been diminishing in terms of physical strength. Jesus was shorter than Adam. He got tired, when perhaps Adam wouldn't have. The race had also been degenerating in mental power. Inherently, Jesus wasn't as smart as Adam. Apart from God, Adam would have been smarter than Jesus. It sounds almost sacrilegious to say it, but it's the truth. Jesus accepted the weakness of humanity in terms of mental power.
The third way in which Jesus was weaker than Adam was in moral strength. He didn't have the willpower and backbone to control His actions, apart from God, that Adam would have had. He wasn't inherently worth as much as Adam in grit and determination and willpower. Jesus accepted all these weaknesses that were passed on by the great law of heredity (The Desire of Ages, p. 49). But it made no difference so far as what we see produced in the life of Jesus, because He wasn't depending upon willpower. He wasn't depending upon His weak human nature. He was depending instead upon God's power. And that's the difference.
The law of heredity doesn't mean that sin is passed through the genes and chromosomes. In other words, just because a man is a drunkard doesn't mean that his son will have a weakness for drink. But a man who is a drunkard can pass on physical, mental, and moral weakness, and because of that, his son can be more susceptible to the problem of sin, no matter what form it takes.
Satan will never be able to charge God with giving Jesus an advantage in overcoming sin, because Jesus accepted not only human nature as Adam was created but the weakness and decay that resulted from sin. He lived life as we must live it, by depending upon the power of God to sustain Him. He had no advantage over us.
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