Saviour of the World

Sad to say, the Seventh-day Adventist Church today is polarized over the issue of the human nature of Christ. One camp affirms that Jesus came in a "sinless" nature—the spiritual nature Adam possessed before the Fall. Another group, what the present editor of the Adventist Review correctly referred to as a "more insistent group" July 22, 1993), maintains that Jesus came in the "fallen" nature humanity assumed after sin entered Eden.

One thing is clear: whatever consensus the church may reach on this vital issue will affect the gospel it proclaims to the world. William Johnsson, editor of the Adventist Review, has written, "The stakes in this debate are high. This isn't some abstract theological discussion—it's about our salvation; it's about the very gospel God calls us to proclaim" (ibid.).

Because the issue of Christ's human nature is so closely intertwined with implications for our salvation, it is imperative that we study one in the light of the other. That is the only way we will ever come to a correct biblical consensus on the human nature of Christ. When we deal with this subject as a separate topic, we miss the whole point of why He became a man, and we come to all kinds of false conclusions. That is why this book will attempt to analyze carefully what constitutes the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and how that gospel is linked with the nature of our Saviour's humanity.

I believe that Satan is fully aware that "the humanity of the Son of God is everything to us" (Ellen White, Selected Messages, 1:244). He knows that a correct understanding of Jesus' humanity will play a vital part in the proclamation of the everlasting gospel in these last days. That is why he has produced a counterfeit teaching within Adventism on this topic of Christ's humanity. He has done this in order to blind the eyes of God's people and turn them against the matchless charms of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, thus preventing the world from being lightened with God's glory.

What is Satan's counterfeit teaching on this subject? It is not the "sinless nature" view of Jesus' humanity—the view that teaches He took on the spiritual human nature of Adam before the Fall. Although I believe this view presents major problems when considered in the light of the full and complete gospel, I do not believe it is Satan's counterfeit. Rather, I believe, the "sinless nature" view of Jesus' humanity is a reaction to Satan's counterfeit. I believe Satan's counterfeit on this topic is the view of that "more insistent" group mentioned above—the view that Jesus assumed the "fallen" human nature of Adam after sin entered our world.

As taught by some of the major independent ministries in Adventism today, the post-Fall view of Jesus' human nature is placed in the setting of Christian living, rather than in the context of the good news of the gospel. It is this emphasis, I believe, that makes a satanic counterfeit out of the teaching that Jesus assumed fallen human nature. You see, when the emphasis of Christ's humanity is focused primarily on Jesus as our Example, rather than as our Saviour, legalism becomes the inevitable result. The reasoning runs this way: "Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit, lived a sinless life in our sinful humanity. Therefore, God expects us, especially the last generation of Christians, to do the same in order to make it to heaven." Such a teaching of perfectionism has led many into despair and robbed them of the joy and peace Christ brought to the human race through His gospel.

Further, the legalism resulting from this wrong emphasis on the post-Fall view of Christ's humanity has produced wrong motivations for Christian living—fear of punishment or desire for reward. "Such religion," says Ellen White, "is worth nothing" (Steps to Christ, 44).

At the same time, this wrong emphasis has also turned many against the post-Fall view of the human nature of Christ. They see the fruits this view can produce when the emphasis is on Jesus as our Example—how it has robbed many sincere Adventists of the joy and peace of salvation—and consequently, they want nothing to do with it.

The legalism produced by this emphasis has also resulted in Pharisaism— a critical spirit that is unwilling to tolerate or respect anyone who does not see things in the same way I do. The result is fragmentation of the church, the very thing Satan delights in.

Yet, it is true, I believe, that Jesus took on our fallen human nature when He came to be one with us. According to the clear teaching of the New Testament, the primary reason Christ assumed our human nature was so that He could be the Saviour of the world (see Hebrews 2:14-17). Only after we have received Him as our Saviour, only after we have experienced the "peace with God" (Romans 5:1), that comes through justification by faith alone, does Christ present Himself to us as our Example (see 1 Peter 2:21; Philippians 2:5). His role as our Saviour must always precede His role as our Example. That is why this book will present the post-Fall view of the humanity of our Saviour in the light of the gospel, the truth as it is in Christ.

The experience of salvation is based on a foundation that has already been laid—the holy history of Christ our righteousness (see 1 Corinthians 3:11-13). Therefore, all truth pertaining to our salvation must be studied within the context of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is an extremely important point to keep in mind if we are to come to a correct understanding of the humanity of our Saviour—or, indeed, of any biblical truth. Unless this approach to studying any doctrine of the church is kept in the forefront, the doctrine loses its significance.

When Jesus commissioned His disciples to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature (see Mark 16:15), what message did He expect them to carry? What was the gospel they were to preach? The answer can be summed up in one sentence: Christ and Him crucified. This is what constitutes the good news of the gospel and the central message of the New Testament (see 1 Corinthians 1:17, 18; 2:1, 2). Unfortunately, there is a great deal of confusion within Adventism today as to what constitutes the gospel. So we must first deal with this problem—what the gospel actually is—before we can discuss why it was necessary for Christ to assume our sinful nature at the incarnation.

As a church, we have given the word gospel a very broad meaning. As a result, many Adventists are confused regarding the relationship between justification, which is the imputed righteousness of Christ, and sanctification, which is the imparted righteousness of Christ. The Bible describes three phases of salvation that are related yet distinct. These three phases of salvation are:

• the gospel
• the fruits of the gospel
• and the hope of the gospel.

I believe it is the failure to see the relationship and distinction between these three aspects of salvation that has produced the confusion in our midst regarding what the gospel actually is. As a result, for many Adventists, the gospel is not "good news," but good advice. The following is a brief description of these three phases of salvation, showing the relationships between them, as well as the distinctions.

The gospel

This is the unconditional good news of the salvation Christ obtained for all humanity by virtue of His holy history—His birth, life, death, and resurrection (see Romans 5:6-10). It is referred to as the objective fact of salvation and is a finished or completed work to which we have made, and can make, no contribution whatsoever (see Romans 3:28, 5:18; Ephesians 2:8, 9). It is therefore, entirely the work of God. That is why the apostle Paul describes it as "the righteousness of God" (Romans 1:17; 3:21). It is this holy history of Christ—His birth, life, death, and resurrection—that constitutes the good news of the gospel and saves sinful human beings from sin now and in the judgment. When received by faith, the gospel becomes justification by faith or righteousness by faith. Each of the above four facts constituting the gospel message—the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Christ— is vital to our salvation. By Christ's birth, God united the sinless, divine nature of His Son to our corporate, sinful human nature that needed redeeming. This not only qualified Christ to be mankind's legal substitute and representative, but it also made our sinful human nature, which was spiritually dead, alive spiritually, in Christ (see Ephesians 2:5).

By His life, which He lived for thirty-three years in our corporate humanity, Christ fully and perfectly met the positive demands of the law on behalf of the human race He came to redeem. But because the human nature He assumed in the Incarnation was our corporate, sinful humanity that stood condemned and needed redeeming, His perfect obedience was not enough to save fallen humanity. Consequently, having satisfied the positive demands of the law by His obedience, Jesus took our corporate humanity to the cross and surrendered it to the wages of sin. In doing this, His death met the justice of the law on behalf of all mankind.

On the cross, the collective, or corporate, life of the fallen human race died forever in Christ. This death was the second death, the death that comes as a result of the just demands of the law. But the incredible good news of the gospel is that God so loved the world that He gave the eternal life of His only begotten Son to the human race. As a result, the human race was resurrected in Christ as a redeemed humanity (see John 3:16; 2 Timothy 1:10; 1 John 5:11,12). That is why Paul declared to the Corinthian Christians, "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17). This, in a nutshell, is what constitutes the fantastic good news of the gospel.

Every subjective experience in the believer's life is based on this finished work of Christ. So it is important, at this point, to note what Christ actually accomplished in this gospel. The Bible clearly teaches that the reason God sent His Son into this world was to save mankind from sin (see Matthew 1:21; John 1:29; 3:17). But sin, as we will discuss in more detail in the next chapter, is a multiphased problem. All Adventists are aware that sin is "the transgression of the law" (1 John 3:4, KJV), and that transgression of the law results in guilt and punishment. But the Scriptures also define sin as a state of being—a force or law or principle that resides in the flesh, our sinful human nature (see Romans 7:17, 20, 23). Furthermore, the corruption and physical infirmities of our humanity are also part and parcel of our sin problem from which we need to be redeemed as well (see Romans 8:23; 1 Corinthians 15:53-57).

By His birth, life, death, and resurrection, Christ redeemed fallen humanity from every aspect of our sin problem. Thus justification, sanctification, as well as glorification have already been accomplished in Christ for all mankind (see I Corinthians 6:11). The good news of the gospel is that Christ has obtained salvation full and complete for every human being! Through the incarnation, we who were spiritually dead were made spiritually alive in Christ (see Ephesians 2:5). Based on this fact, believers can experience the new birth (see Titus 3:5).

By His perfect life and sacrificial death, Christ rewrote mankind's history and changed our status from one of condemnation to one of justification to life (see Romans 5:18). Then, having reconciled the sinful human race to God on the cross (see Romans 5:10), Christ took this redeemed and glorified humanity to heaven, in His own self, to intercede for us at God's right hand as our great High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary (see Romans 8:34; Ephesians 2:6; 1 John 2:1,2).

But since this holy history of Christ is God's supreme gift to mankind, and in view of the fact that God created man with a free will, the objective gospel Christ obtained for each person demands a human response (see John 3:16-18). Those who respond and accept the gospel message by faith, stand perfect in Christ—perfect in performance, in justice, as well as in nature. This is what justification by faith is all about—God's looking at the believer as he or she is in Christ. This is what entitles all believers to eternal life and heaven, both now and in the judgment. So while the gospel itself is unconditional good news to all human beings, experiencing that salvation is conditional and will be enjoyed only by those who believe (see Mark 16:15, 16).

When we understand what the objective gospel actually is and what it has accomplished, it becomes clear that unless Christ totally assumed our sinful human nature that needed redeeming, none of this could be realized. As the church fathers in the first five centuries of the Christian era often stated: "That which was not assumed by Christ could not be redeemed or healed."

Those who teach that Christ's human nature was like the spiritual nature of Adam before the Fall, must present a Saviour who redeemed humanity only from the guilt and punishment of sin, since, in this view, that is what He bore vicariously on the cross. Such a Saviour may satisfy our egocentric desires to be saved and give us assurance, but He gives no hope to Christians who sincerely desire to live the victorious life and who are struggling with the law of sin in their bodies.

If Christ in His earthly mission did not save humanity from every aspect of sin, He ceases to be our complete Saviour. The gospel is robbed of its full power of salvation. Here is where the 1888 message of righteousness by faith, that most precious message God gave this church over a hundred years ago, parts company with the evangelical gospel, the so-called new theology.

Of course, some Adventists who take the pre-Fall view of the human nature of Christ do believe and teach that the flesh and its cravings for sin can be totally overcome through the power of the indwelling Spirit. But if the Holy Spirit does this in the believer, apart from the finished work of Christ— the gospel—then we are making the Spirit a coredeemer with Christ. Scripture nowhere presents such an idea; the Holy Spirit's part in the plan of salvation is to communicate to us the good news of the gospel, that is, to make real in our experience what Christ has already obtained for us through His birth, life, death, and resurrection (see John 16:8-11; 2 Corinthians 13:14). We must also keep in mind that Christ had to fully identify Himself with the human race He came to redeem in order for Him to lawfully be our substitute and representative in His work of redemption, as well as to be our faithful and merciful High Priest. By uniting, in Mary's womb, His own divine life with our corporate sinful human life that needed redeeming—through the operation of the Holy Spirit—Christ became the second Adam (in Hebrew, adam means "mankind"), and earned the right to be the Saviour of the world. Then by His life, death, and resurrection, He totally and completely redeemed mankind from every aspect of sin. This is the full and glorious gospel that I believe God raised up the Advent movement to proclaim to the whole world before the end can come.

The Fruits of the Gospel

The second phase of salvation is known as "the fruits of the gospel." This is a subjective experience produced by the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer who has accepted the gospel by faith, experienced the new birth, and who is walking in the Spirit (see Galatians 5:16, 22, 23). In saving us from sin, Christ not only saved us from death to life, from condemnation to justification, but He also saved us from sinful living to a life of good works (see Titus 2:11-14; 3:8; John 14:12). The gospel is not only the means of our justification and acceptance into heaven; it is also the basis of holy living and good works here and now (see Ephesians 2:8-10).

Scripture refers to this holy living, or fruit bearing, as sanctification. Sanctification, like justification, also comes to us by faith. These fruits do not contribute one iota towards our justification, or entitlement to heaven. Instead, they witness to the salvation we already possess in Christ by faith and, therefore, indicate that we are fit for heaven. Although sanctification is certainly good news, we must never equate it with the gospel. Sanctification is the fruit of the gospel. Failure to distinguish justification from sanctification has produced the spiritual insecurity common among so many Adventists. We need to keep in mind that the believer's justification is based on a finished work, the gospel, but sanctification, as a subjective experience, is an ongoing process that will continue as long as life will last.

Through the gospel, the believer stands perfect in Christ; this is the basis of his or her assurance. Good works—sanctification—are not the basis of assurance, but they prove that the believer's faith is genuine and not a sham (see James 2:14-26). A genuine justification by faith must express itself in behavior. Therefore, it will always produce good works (see Matthew 13:23) even though these works may not be apparent to the believer himself (see Matthew 25:37-39).

That is why the New Testament teaches that we are justified by faith alone (see Romans 3:28; Galatians 2:16; Ephesians 2:8, 9), but that we will be judged and rewarded by our works (see Matthew 7:21; 25:34-40; John 5:28-30; Romans 2:5-8; 2 Corinthians 5:10). The works are not the means, but the evidence, of justification by faith (see James 2:20-22). Justification is entirely God's doing. It is a finished work which we receive by faith alone. Sanctification, on the other hand, involves our human cooperation putting faith into practice; it is an on-going process of "walking in the Spirit," that continues throughout the lifetime.

According to the New Testament, faith is more than a mental assent to truth. It involves a heartfelt obedience to the gospel, that is, the good news of what God did for our corporate humanity in Christ (see Romans 6:17; 1:5; Galatians 5:7; 2 Thessalonians 1:3-8; 1 Peter 4:17). Such obedience of faith means a total surrender of the will to the truth as it is in Christ. Thus, in justification by faith, we acknowledge and identify with Christ's holy life as well as with His death to sin. This is the true meaning of baptism (see Romans 6:3-11). Without this faith obedience, justification by faith becomes merely a sham (see James 2:14-26). Christianity, unlike any other religion, involves more than just following a set of do's and don't's; it involves actually participating in Christ (see 1 Corinthians 10:16-18).

All Christians must confess, with Paul, "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" (Galatians 2:20). This is what it means to put faith into practice.

The Hope of the Gospel

This third phase of salvation refers to the ultimate reality of the gospel in our lives—the reality which will be experienced by all believers at the second coming of Christ when "this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality" (1 Corinthians 15:53). The Bible calls this experience glorification. The experience of conversion and the process of sanctification do bring about a change to the Christian's character, but not one iota of change to the flesh, the believer's nature. The nature remains sinful throughout the Christian's earthly existence or until the second advent whichever occurs first. That is why Paul can speak about Christians groaning and waiting patiently for the redemption of their bodies (see Romans 8:22-24; Philippians 3:20, 21).

We said earlier that the experience of sanctification must not be equated with the gospel, rather it is the fruit of the gospel. Likewise, the glorification believers will experience at the second advent must not be equated with the gospel, rather it is the hope of the gospel. The gospel is the good news of salvation for all mankind, but the second advent is not good news for everyone. It is the blessed hope only for believers who are rejoicing in the gospel and who will be glorified when Jesus appears (see Titus 2:13). For unbelievers, it is the great day of God's wrath (see Revelation 6:12-17).

That is why we have to make a distinction between the gospel as an objective truth for all humanity and salvation as a subjective experience for those only who respond in faith. The gospel is the unconditional good news of salvation for every person; salvation, as an actual experience is conditional, limited to those who respond in faith.

In fact, the New Testament makes it clear that all three experiences of salvation—justification, sanctification, and glorification—are conditional. Faith (see John 3:16) is the condition for experiencing the "justification to life" that Christ obtained for all by His obedience (see Romans 5:18). "The just shall live by faith" (Hebrews 10:38).

Walking in the Spirit (see Galatians 5:16; Romans 13:14) is the condition for experiencing the sanctified life Christ accomplished for sinful humanity in His holy history (see 1 Corinthians 1:2; 6:11).

And finally, our faith must endure unto the end (see Matthew 10:22; Hebrews 10:38, 39). This is the condition for receiving a glorified body like that with which Christ was resurrected and which He took to heaven.

As long as we stand under the umbrella of justification by faith, we have full assurance of salvation. But the experience of salvation is subject to these conditions. That is why the Bible nowhere teaches "once saved means always saved." This is a heresy resulting from the false doctrine of double predestination—the idea that God has predetermined some to be saved and others to be lost. If so, this false doctrine teaches that those whom He has predestined to be saved cannot be lost because God is sovereign; what He chooses will happen.

When we look at these three phases of salvation that the Holy Spirit communicates, we can rejoice in the fact that God left no stone unturned when He sent His beloved Son to redeem all humanity from sin. Viewing this perfect and complete salvation, Christ could cry on the cross, "It is finished" (John 19:30). This is the context in which we must examine the question of the human nature Christ assumed at the incarnation in order to be the Saviour of the world.

Key Points in Chapter One Salvation Defined

1. The issue of Christ's human nature is closely intertwined with implications for our salvation. Whatever view we take on the human nature of Christ will affect the gospel we proclaim to the world.



2. Because Satan knows the importance of understanding Christ's human nature, he has produced a counterfeit teaching on this topic within Advent-ism.



3. This counterfeit is not the teaching that Christ took on sinless human nature—the nature Adam had before the fall, although such a view poses serious problems in terms of the full gospel.



4. Satan's counterfeit teaching on this issue is to place the correct view of Christ's humanity—the idea that He assumed fallen human nature—within the context of Christ as our Example, rather than in the context of Christ as our Saviour.



5. The New Testament clearly teaches that the primary reason Christ assumed our human nature was so that He could be the Saviour of the world (see Hebrews 2:14-17). Only after we have received Him as our Saviour, does Christ present Himself to us as our Example.



6. Emphasizing the humanity of Christ as our Example leads to legalism, perfectionism, and despair. Emphasizing the humanity of Christ as our Saviour leads to peace, joy, assurance of salvation, and victory.



7. The Bible describes three related, but distinct, phases of salvation: (1) the gospel; (2) the fruits of the gospel; and (3) the hope of the gospel. The failure to understand the relationship and distinction between these three phases of salvation has produced confusion regarding what the gospel actually is.
1. The gospel is the unconditional good news of the salvation Christ obtained for all humanity by virtue of His holy history—His birth, life, death, and resurrection. It is a finished or completed work to which we have made, and can make, no contribution whatsoever (see Romans 3:28, 5:18; Ephesians 2:8, 9).
2. The "fruits of the gospel," or sanctification, is a subjective experience produced by the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer who has accepted the gospel by faith, experienced the new birth, and who is walking in the Spirit (see Galatians 5:16, 22, 23). Good works are not the basis of assurance, but they prove that the believer's faith is genuine (see James 2:14-26). A genuine justification by faith must express itself in behavior.
3. The hope of the gospel refers to glorification, the ultimate reality of the gospel in our lives, which will be experienced by all believers at the second coming of Christ.



8. As an experience, all three phases of salvation—justification, sanctification, and glorification—are conditional.
1. Faith (see John 3:16) is the condition for experiencing the "justification to life" that Christ obtained for all by His obedience (see Romans 5:18).
2. Walking in the Spirit (see Galatians 5:16; Romans 13:14) is the condition for experiencing the sanctified life Christ accomplished for sinful humanity in His holy history (see 1 Corinthians 1:2; 6:11).
3. Our faith must endure unto the end (see Matthew 10:22; Hebrews 10:38, 39). This is the condition for receiving a glorified body like that with which Christ was resurrected and which He took to heaven.



9. Unless Christ totally assumed our sinful human nature that needed redeeming, He could not completely redeem mankind from every aspect of sin.