(44-45) penalty, “Dying, thou shalt die,” pronounced against the first man, must be met before the world could be blessed. Why not let any man die? Because all were under the sentence of the original condemnation, and none could be a ransom-price or qa substitute. lHlence the necessity for a specially born babe, different from any other babe. In what way was this One differently born? The Bible explains to us very distinctly that he was not begotten of an earthly father. Although Joseph wag espoused to Mary, yet this child was not the child of Joseph. The Bible explains that this child was specially begotten by divine power, in the mother, though she was still a “virgin” when she brought forth the child. This is the Scriptural proposition; and while it may not seem clear to some, yet the Word of God standeth sure. If the Redeemer was not perfect then he could not be the Savior of the world. The promised redemption implied that Jesus would be perfect; it implied that he would be as the first man was before he sinned. “For since by man came death, by man shall come also the resurrection of the dead”; “Ag all in Adam die, even so shall all in Christ be made alive.” So this one must be, as the Apostle declares, “holy, harmless, undefiled and separate from sinners.” (Heb. 7:26) He must be entirely distinct and separate from humanity so far as sinful features were concerned. If we had time it would be interesting to go into the scientific features—of how a perfect child could be born from an imperfect mother. If we can have a perfect life germ we can have a perfect child from an imperfect mother. If a breeder of stock wishes to raise the standard of his stock, he selects a fine bull, a male goat, or a male ram, and thus he improves the entire herd. And go, if we had perfect fathers, we would soon have a perfect race. But there is no father who can produce a perfect child. Hence it was necessary in this case (and the Scriptures declare it was accomplished) that God should beget this Son by power from on high. Therefore, that which was born of the “virgin” was separate and distinct from all humanity, His life came not from an earthly father, but from his Heavenly Father. WHO WAS HE THUS BORN? It is written that before he became flesh Jesus had an existence; ag he declared, “Before Abraham was, I am.” Again, in one of his prayers he said, “Father, glorify thou me with the glory that I had with thee before the world was.” ‘The Revelator tells us that “He was the beginning of the creation of God,” and Paul says that “by him all things were made.” And so our Lord Jesus was not only the beginning, but also the active agent of the Father in all the creative work in the angelic world and in the creation of humanity, and in all things that were created. The whole matter is summed up by the Apostle John. We will give a more literal translation of “In the beginning was the Word.” [This expression, Word, in the Greek is Logos. The thought behind the word Logos is that in olden times a king, instead of speaking his commands directly to his people, sat behind a lattice work, and his Logos, or messenger, or word, or representative, stood before the lattice work, and gave the message of the king to the people in a loud tone of voice. The king himself was not seen by the people—the Logos was the one seen. So this is the picture the Scriptures give us of how Jesus was the express representative of the Heavenly Father, the one through whom the Heavenly Father made himself known—the Word, or the Logos. So we read in the first chapter of John], “In the beginning was the Logos, and the Logos was with the God, and the Logos was a god. ‘The same was in the beginning with the God. By him were all things made, and without him was not anything made.” In other words, Jesus was the direct creator of all things. He was the divine Power, Agent, Word, Messenger, the Logos of Jehovah. He did all the great work of creation; but he himself was the first of God’s direct creation, the first-born of all creatures, that in all things he might have the preeminence—the first place. When the time came that our Heavenly Father made known his great purpose that he would bless the world, he gave opportunity to this first-begotten one—this one begotten of the Father—to be the servant | in this great work he intend. ed to accomplish for mankind. Consequently, the Scriptures state that “for the joy set before him he endured the cross, despising the shame.” And now he has sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. He has this great reward because of his obedience even unto death, the death of the cross. The Apostle speaks of him as having been rich, but for our sakes becoming poor, that through his poverty we might pe made rich. He tells us how he left the glory which he had with the Father and humbled himself to the human nature. THE WATCH TOWER Brooxryn, N. Y. Why? Because, as already stated, it was necessary that some one should become man’s Redeemer, an ange] could not redeem man, neither could an animal redeem man. The divine law 1s “an eye for an cye; a tooth for a tooth; a man’s life for a man's life.” This was to teach us a great lesson: that perfect human life having been condemned to death, it would require a perfect human life to redeem it. It was therefore necessary that Jesus should become the “Man Christ Jesus,” in order “that he, by the grace of God, might taste death for every man.” WHAT RESULTS HAVE FOLLOWED The results that have followed have been that he himself proved his own faithfulness. “‘Being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross’—the most ignominious form of death. It pleased the Father thus to prove him, not only by death, but by the most ignominious form of death—dying as a culprit, being crucified between two thieves. What a terrible ignominy to die thus! It would be ignominy enough for us in our imperfection, but for him, perfect, “holy, harmless, undefiled and separate from sinners,” it must have been a cause for deep and poignant sorrow. Having completed the laying down of his life, at the end of the three and a half years, he cried, “It is finished!” What? Not his work, for much of that lay betore him! He merely finished this part of the work, finished laying down his life a ransom-price. What next? After his death came his resurrection; and we read that “God raised him from the dead on the third day.” According to the Seriptures he was raised up from death a glorious being—‘sown in corruption, raised in incorruption; sown in dishonor, raised in glory; sown in weakness, raised in power; sown a natural body, raised a spirit body”; “Wherefore God hath highly exalted him and given him a name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, those in heaven, and those on earth, and those under the earth; that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”’— Phil. 2:10. But we see not yet all knees bowed to him. Why not? The Scriptures tell us that before he begins his great work for the world of mankind, he first does a work for the elect, the church, those who desire to walk in his footsteps, to gather out of the world a bride, to be co-workers with him in all the great work of the Father. ‘This is the only work yet in process of accomplishment, and this has been going on now for over eighteen centuries. We see how he gathered out the saintly ones from amongst the Jews, “Israelites, indeed, in whom there was no guile.” Not finding enough to make the desired number, he proceeded to gather them from all nations, kindreds, tongues and peoples. The ‘Apostle tells us that when this bride class is united with him they shall be parts of the seed of Abraham; as we read, “And if ye be Christ’s then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs of the promise.” (Gal. 3:29) This statement relates to the promise made to Abraham, that through him and his Seed al] the families of the earth shall be blessed. Thus we see the work that Christ is accomplishing now. The invitation to become the bride of Christ is a very special invitation and those who would be his must walk in the “narrow way.” If they will sit in his throne, they must sutter with him. If they suffer with him they shall also share his glory. So “the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that shall follow,” were not only to be accomplished in our Lord Jesus, personally, but he was an example for all the church who are justified through faith in his blood. They have a share with him in his sufferings, and will share in his glory; they have also a share in the first resurrection; as the Revelator declares, “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection, on such the second death hath no power; but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand vears.”—Reyv. 20:6. Saint Paul says, “I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord,” “that I might know him and the power of his resurrection” (the special resurrection) to the divine nature. How? By being made comforteble to his death; for, “If we suffer with him we shall also reign with him.” WHAT ABOUT THE FUTURE? All the families of the earth are to be blessed, as originally promised in Eden: “The seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent’s head.” Also, as St. Paul states in the 16th chapter of Romans. “The very God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly.” So, then, the next thing in order in the outworking of God’s plan will be to bruise Satan and destroy sin. ” [4964]
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