Christ KNEW, 1

Christ KNEW, before His incarnation, that when He will be a human being He would risk to sin at every moment. But He came, voluntarily.

He knew that to sin would mean Death!  Eternal Death! But He came, voluntarily.

He knew that Satan would be constantly behind Him trying to make Him sin. From His boyhood until His last breathe on the Cross. But He came, voluntarily.

He knew, before His incarnation, that it would be necessary for Him to be constantly on guard in order to preserve His purity. He would be subject to all the conflicts which we have to meet, that He might be an example to us in childhood, youth, and manhood. Temptations even stronger temptations for Him. He knew that He would not have a Mediator! Only ONE sin and He would be lost, for Eternity! But He came, voluntarily.

The apostle Paul was once in a shipwreck. In fact, he said, “Men, I perceive that this voyage will end with disaster and much loss, not only of the cargo and ship, but also of our lives” (Acts 27:10). Unfortunately, these men (like so many of us) trusted in their own inventions and met with near disaster. David wrote, “For I will not trust in my bow, nor shall my sword save me” (Psalm 44:6).

If I were the devil I would do my best to divide and fragment the thinking of the church of Jesus Christ. I would try to get God’s people confused as to who they are and why they are here. I would try to get them preoccupied with other things. I would try to get them to live independently, to think like the world thinks, to think like the natural man thinks in the futility of his mind (Eph. 4:17-18). In other words, I would like to keep people away from serious involvement with the Word of God. I would want to keep their relationship to God’s Word superficial and secondary.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Neither are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isa. 55:8-9).

We are also told to “be of the same mind toward one another” which means essentially that we must develop and maintain the mind of Christ or God’s thoughts. We are to “stand firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel” (Rom. 12:16; Phil. 2:5; 1:27). But if my thoughts are contrary to God’s, then I must exchange my thinking with God’s and for that process, He has given us His inspired, inerrant, and authoritative Word. So what is our need? We are to study the Scripture, but for that to be effective, we also need to develop the art of biblical meditation.

AUP organized an outing today. Hundred of students went door to door to talk with people, take surveys and distribute "The Great Hope" which is a remake of "The great Controversy". I went with Pastor M. Cadalig. Here on the picture is some people of my group taking a survey from parents whose students attend the local Adventist school.

And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. Luke 4:1.

Why was it that at the beginning of His public ministry Christ was led into the wilderness to be tempted? It was the Spirit that led Him, and He went, not in His own behalf, but in our behalf, to overcome for us. There was no compulsion about it. He was led by the Spirit, His humanity to be proved, as one who had undertaken to stand at the head of the fallen race.

Christ had been, and was then, in perfect harmony with the Father. He was to be tried and tested as a representative of the race. He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to meet the foe in personal encounter, to overthrow him who claimed to be the head of the kingdoms of the world.

Pastor Cadalig asked me to present my ideas on the literal fulfillment of the time periods of Daniel 12. It was received positively and there were many questions from the students to which God helped me to answer. I am very happy that finally this view can have an hearing. I remember especially when I was asked to stop teaching the Bible after I mentioned my ideas during Sabbath hours to a group of Adventists. This was in Zasovskaia, Russia, in July 2006.

            During the 1888 General Conference, resolutions were proposed that “nothing should be taught in the college contrary to what has been taught”... She [Ellen White] noted that she “felt deeply, for I knew whoever framed that resolution was not aware of what he was doing”...

            Such a resolution would not only perpetuate errors then taught... but would also slam the door against the Spirit of God who might have further light for honest truth-seekers. 

            Herbert Douglas, MOTL, 423.