WAS JESUS LIKE ME?
It was imperative that he should be made like his brothers in every respect, if he were to become a High Priest both compassionate and faithful in the things of God, and at the same time able to make atonement for the sins of the people. Heb. 2:17, Phillips.
You are asked if you believe that Jesus is really like us. That is, did He have the fallen nature of all humanity, that of Adam after the Fall? Or was Jesus protected from these effects of sin? Was He, as the second Adam, like Adam was before the Fall?
Now, before you vote, you should consider the following. If you say that Jesus was like Adam was after the Fall, that He really did identify with humanity, then you are faced with a problem. Doesn't having a sinful nature imply that He found sin to be appealing (though we all agree that He didn't give in to those urges)? And it means for us the best victory we can hope for in this life is an ongoing struggle against sinful desires.
But if you vote for Jesus being like Adam was before the Fall, you haven't escaped all the problems, either. It suggests that, though He was the spotless Lamb, He really isn't that relevant to us in our struggles against sin. He wasn't burdened with this inherited anchor of a sinful nature as we are. To be holy in His character, then, was vastly easier for Him. The best we can hope for is to be covered with God's declaration of legal righteousness.
There Is, however, a third option. As we have affirmed many times, the problem of sin isn't located in physiology or inheritance. It has to do with one's relationship to God! Jesus maintained that same loyal, unbroken relationship with His Father that Adam had before the Fall. As regards the real sin problem, Jesus was like Adam was before the Fall--perfect and sinless.
At the same time, we can acknowledge that His physical and emotional being bore greater consequences from the sinful choices of others than did Adam's. Thus He could indeed be made like His brethren in every way, yet without sin (Heb. 4:15), because He never broke the relationship!
The hope for each one of us is that, while still burdened with a sin-damaged humanity, we can have the same faith relationship with the Father that Jesus had.
It was imperative that he should be made like his brothers in every respect, if he were to become a High Priest both compassionate and faithful in the things of God, and at the same time able to make atonement for the sins of the people. Heb. 2:17, Phillips.
You are asked if you believe that Jesus is really like us. That is, did He have the fallen nature of all humanity, that of Adam after the Fall? Or was Jesus protected from these effects of sin? Was He, as the second Adam, like Adam was before the Fall?
Now, before you vote, you should consider the following. If you say that Jesus was like Adam was after the Fall, that He really did identify with humanity, then you are faced with a problem. Doesn't having a sinful nature imply that He found sin to be appealing (though we all agree that He didn't give in to those urges)? And it means for us the best victory we can hope for in this life is an ongoing struggle against sinful desires.
But if you vote for Jesus being like Adam was before the Fall, you haven't escaped all the problems, either. It suggests that, though He was the spotless Lamb, He really isn't that relevant to us in our struggles against sin. He wasn't burdened with this inherited anchor of a sinful nature as we are. To be holy in His character, then, was vastly easier for Him. The best we can hope for is to be covered with God's declaration of legal righteousness.
There Is, however, a third option. As we have affirmed many times, the problem of sin isn't located in physiology or inheritance. It has to do with one's relationship to God! Jesus maintained that same loyal, unbroken relationship with His Father that Adam had before the Fall. As regards the real sin problem, Jesus was like Adam was before the Fall--perfect and sinless.
At the same time, we can acknowledge that His physical and emotional being bore greater consequences from the sinful choices of others than did Adam's. Thus He could indeed be made like His brethren in every way, yet without sin (Heb. 4:15), because He never broke the relationship!
The hope for each one of us is that, while still burdened with a sin-damaged humanity, we can have the same faith relationship with the Father that Jesus had.
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