Topical Studies
Christ, Humanity of
(From Forerunner Commentary)
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Romans 8:3 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
Christ came as a human being and had to deal with life as we do. He had the same time, space, and constraints as we do. He became tired and had to eat. Was He not subject to the futility of this world? Was He not subject to decisions made by others beyond His control? Was He not subject to persecution? Was He not subject to pain? Did He not get caught in other people's dilemmas? Did the court system treat Him in an advantageous way? No, He received an unjust trial. He did not receive the decision He deserved, and His life was taken away as a result. On the stake, He suffered pain unjustly. He had to deal with things the same way as we do. What this does for us is—because of God's calling and the response we have made—God adds to the gift. He not only gave His Son, but now He gives His Spirit. We find in verse 11 that, if we have that Spirit, we have the beginnings, the down payment, on immortality, on eternal life. We become sons and daughters of this great God. We are drawn into a Family, which is not only a family in the normal sense, but we also become brothers and sisters of Christ in another, equally important area. It has something to do with the fact that He, too, was subject to the same kind of sufferings we are—the unfairness of life.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Ecclesiastes and the Feast of Tabernacles (Part 1)
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Philippians 2:5-7 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
Can anything that has some part removed from it still be as much as it was before? In the Word's case, He surrendered a level of existence never experienced by any human being, since only God lives at such a level in terms of both quality and length. We should not forget that what He gave up included immortality. If this is the case, was He as fully God as a human as He was before? Of course, the other side of this picture is His humanity. In Philippians 2:5-7, Paul is saying that God exchanged one form of expression for another. Therefore, He never ceased being what He originally was, just the expression of what He was changed. Therefore, He was not a man in the strictest sense of what a man is—as we are. He was the Word of God manifest in the flesh and nature of a man. Can we then say He was fully man?
John W. Ritenbaugh
Fully Man and Fully God?
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Colossians 2:6-10 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
In verse 8, the word translated as "basic principles of the world" refers to elementary things. Compared to Christ, in terms of being, every other being is lesser because he or she is created. In terms of teaching, every other instruction is elementary, basic, even demonic. In terms of salvation, no other is able to save human beings. In verses 9-10, Paul again emphasizes Christ's primacy and superiority, including the facts that He is divine and over demons in authority. He adds in verses 11-15 that, for Christians, Jesus has already defeated the principalities and powers, along with their purposes, through their conversion. As Colossians 1:16 states, Christ's rank extends back to the very beginning, as the One used to create all things. Thus, He is the God (John 1:1) referred to in nearly every place in the Old Testament where God is mentioned. This is especially important to grasp. John 14:10 aids us in understanding His operations as a man: "Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works." Matthew 26:52-53 clarifies this through an example: "But Jesus said to him, 'Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?'" While He was human, His power as a God-Being was suspended as part of His emptying Himself to become a man (Philippians 2:5-8). He thus operated on the same level as all other men, except for the innate power He possessed due to His divine nature, enabling Him to live by faith sinlessly. Better than all other men, He understood the purpose God is working out, and He believed it. Notice to whom He said He could turn in time of need.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Power Belongs to God (Part Two)
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