Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Creation and Morality


First Quarter 2013 Adult Sabbath School Lessons
Creation and Morality
For the week of Feb. 2, 2013
 
Creation and Morality

There is a quote from Ellen White that will give context to this week’s lesson: “Upon all created things is seen the impress of the Deity.  Nature testifies of God” (Education, p.99).  We are also created by God so the impress of Deity should be seen in us, in other words we should testify of God.  Our lesson takes us step by step revealing how we were created in His image.  This similarity should also include our morality.  If we are created in His image and He is moral, we ought to be moral.  Ellen White adds in the same place of the above quote that the power to sustain nature is the power that also has jurisdiction of the soul – heart and mind.  It is His power that makes us moral agents.  So, what is morality?  Our lesson never defines morality, but it does illustrate it.   

One definition of morality is that it is a doctrine or system of moral conduct and the conformity to those ideals.  Moral is defined as relating to principles of right and wrong behavior.  While neither word is found in the King James Version, Adventists do make a distinction between the moral, ceremonial and health laws as found in scripture.  For us the moral law is the Ten Commandments.  So, it is no surprise we have measured morality against the ten edicts written on those tablets of stone: do not make images to worship, cease secular work and go to a church on the Sabbath, honor your parents, do not kill, lie, nor steal, and do not commit fornication or adultery.  Other standards of morality were added, such as: do not drink alcoholic beverages, do not eat unclean foods, do not smoke, do not listen to worldly music, do not gamble, do not go to the theatre, dress simply and modestly, and do not frequent places of ill repute.  Anyone that engaged in any of these practices was considered immoral. 

However, in recent years our concept of morality seems to have changed.  Today some of these rules appear to have been relaxed; so it’s acceptable to many to engage in the following behaviors as long as they are done in moderation and do not appear to harm anyone else.  It is alright to drink the occasional glass of wine.  It is now OK to be physically intimate before marriage, as long as you love each other, and hopefully there will be no telltale pregnancy.  It is OK to cohabitate, but a low profile must be kept, and plans must have been made to marry.  The common rational is, “I do not see why that is wrong” or “I do not see a problem with that.”  What is interesting is that our lesson’s topic, although about morality, does not touch any of this.  Instead, it ties morality to God, by using two very familiar parables to illustrate His character.  Let’s go over them briefly and see how they reveal morality. 

The first parable is that of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30 - 37).  If we recall, Jesus was answering the question, “who is my neighbor?”  He began by narrating the story of a man lying on the ground by the side of a road badly beaten, and robbed.  A Priest on his way to serve in the temple, upon seeing the wounded, beaten man, crossed the street to avoid him, and continued on his way.  Later, a Levite also passed by and he also crossed the street.   Remember each man worked in the Temple, and was considered to be doing God’s work.  Caring for the wounded man would not only have made them late, but ceremoniously unclean, and therefore unfit to “do God’s Work”.  A Samaritan – considered a sinner of the worst kind (and therefore immoral) –stopped by to help.  This Samaritan took the man to a safe place, made sure he was well cared for, and his resulting bill met, before departing.  So, Christ asked the question, “Who was the true neighbor?” In other words, “who truly did God’s work: Those who worked in the temple and avoided the wounded and needy or the one who stopped to help?”  The Pharisees and the Priests answered, “He that shewed mercy on him.”  They would not say, “the Samaritan.”  The Priest and the Levite did the temple’s work, but not God’s work.  It is here that Christ establishes a contrast between immoral and moral.  In God’s eyes the priests were immoral because they were calloused, and the Samaritan was moral, because by living out mercy, he demonstrated benevolent love. 

The second parable is that of the Sheep and the Goats in Matthew 25.  We start reading in verse 34 and continue through verse 36,

"Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me."

The sheep seem not to know what Jesus is talking about.  They reply in verses 37-39,

"…Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?"

To which the Lord replied in vs. 40,

"…, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."

Notice some parallels: the sheep and the Samaritan helped others in need.  They had mercy on others.  As we move on in the story, the goats were given the opposite message.  Let us read the dialogue in Matthew 25:41 - 43 for His response to them --

"Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungry, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not."

Verse 44 is the goats’ response to Christ:

"Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?"

Matt 25:45 records his final response to them –

"Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me."

From this we see, that while the goats professed to do God’s work, they, like the Levite and the Pharisee, did not truly possess mercy toward others.  Therefore, in God’s eyes, they were immoral. Which of the two groups (goats and sheep) were actually acting in the image and likeness of God?  It was the merciful ones. 

The Prophet Micah says that what is good, what the Lord requires of us, among other things, is to love mercy (Micah 6: 8). Zechariah says that God’s desire is for us to show mercy and compassion (Zechariah 7: 9). This, friends, because it fulfills the law of love, written on the heart as opposed to cold tables of stone, is true morality.

Friday, January 25, 2013

Creation, A Bible Theme


First Quarter 2013 Adult Sabbath School Lessons
Creation, A Bible Theme 
For the week of Jan. 26, 2013
 
 
Creation, A Biblical Theme
 
One of the most powerful series of public evangelistic meetings ever witnessed in modern times took place in the small town of Armidale, Australia, some 107 years ago. Ellen White wrote of this experience in a Review and Herald article dated January 7, 1896: 
 
"The evening discourses, given by Elders Prescott, Corliss, and Daniel’s, all presented the truth as it is in Jesus Christ. Hardly a discourse was given during the whole meeting that could be called a doctrinal sermon. In every sermon Christ was preached, and as the great and mysterious truths regarding his presence and work in the hearts of men were made clear and plain, the truths regarding his second coming, his relation to the Sabbath, his work as Creator, and his relation to man as the source of life, appeared in a glorious and convincing light that sent conviction to many hearts. With solemnity the people said, 'We have listened to truth tonight.'"
 
These were no ordinary meetings, she observed in a letter to her son Edson, dated November 18, 1895:
 
"God has said in the heavenly courts to His heavenly intelligences, 'Let there be spiritual light to shine amid the moral darkness of accumulated error and fables, and reveal truth. The Messenger of the covenant has come, and the Sun of Righteousness to arise and shine forth upon the the eager listeners.' "
 
Ellen White observed that while no sermon during the series could be termed a doctrinal sermon, the doctrines were indeed presented, as they are in Christ.
 
With these thoughts in mind, will you pause with me in prayer? 
 
Kind Father, this quarter people from nearly every nation, tribe, tongue, and people on earth are studying the creation account individually and collectively. One hundred seven years ago heaven said, 'Let there be spiritual light to shine amid the moral darkness . . . and reveal truth.' Today we are asking that once again, through the power of the Holy Spirit, you permit spiritual light to shine from heaven into our minds, that we might comprehend the truth of the Creation story as it is in Jesus. And I pray that when it shines, it will not be as before, when He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.
 
Every story has a context, or setting, in which the story took place. Like all other stories, the creation story also has a setting which is revealed through a careful study of the Word.
 
Before the Creation of our world, there was darkness. Why? God did not say, "Let there be darkness." He said, "Let there be light." And he divided the light from the darkness.
 
1 John 1:5 says, "God is light and in him is no darkness at all" and Ephesians 6:12 says that we wrestle against "principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."
 
Thus, the setting for the Creation of our world was an atmosphere of darkness, brought on by Lucifer who had deceived nearly one half of the heavenly host. After the Father called a special meeting of the heavenly host to explain more fully Christ's relation to Himself and explaining their plan to create our world, Lucifer was filled with discontent.
 
"Concealing his real purposes, [Lucifer] assembled the angelic host. He introduced his subject, which was himself" The Story of Redemption p. 14. There was contention among the angels, which led to war, and "Michael and his angels fought with the dragon;  . . . So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him" Rev. 12:7-9, excerpts.
 
Hence it was that within a short time of Day One of Creation, Satan was cast to the earth with his angels. 
 
"And God said, 'Let there be light' " Gen. 1:3. Let the character of God be revealed in contrast to the character of Satan.
 
"For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" 2 Cor. 4:6.
 
Hence, on Day One of Creation God not only commanded physical light to shine on our planet in its embryonic form, He revealed Christ, the Creator, the self-existent one, equal with God from the days of eternity past. Christ and the Father were one.
 
Day One reveals God at work in the birthing room of our planet. As He laid the unsightly granite rock foundations of our earth and caused water to flow through these channels as a river of life to the ends of the earth, the Scripture reveals He was thinking of us: 
 
"My frame was not hidden from you, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them. How precious also are your thoughts to me, O God!" Psalm 139:15-17.
 
How precious, indeed! As Christ was constructing the foundation of our earth, He was thinking of us!
 
Paul says, "For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ" 1 Cor. 3:11. 
 
We have yet only begun to consider how Christ is revealed in Creation, but just as the original granite rocks contain hidden treasures -- microscopic halo evidences that "He spoke and it was done, He commanded and it stood fast" Ps. 33: 6, 9, so the Word of the Lord stands sure. And before Jesus comes, His power as Creator and Redeemer will be proclaimed with a loud voice:
 
"Fear God and give glory to Him,  . . . and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water" Rev. 14:7.
-Patti Guthrie

Friday, January 18, 2013

The Creation Completed


First Quarter 2013 Adult Sabbath School Lessons
The Creation Completed
For the week of Jan. 19, 2013
 
 
For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. Hab. 2:14
 
They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. Isaiah 11:9
 
___________________________________________________________________
 
From the beginning, it seems God’s purpose was to first create space, and then fill it with activity and life. He being the source of all that is good and right, all things would be dependent on Him, "for in Him we live and move and have our being.” Acts 17:28
 
Christ would be the active Word in creation who would create the spaces, and then create the meaning and purpose for the all that inhabited those spaces.
 
“For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.” Col. 1:16,17.
 
On Day One, He would create the great divide between light and darkness. Two great contrasting spaces in which to place the sun, moon and stars on Day Four. And perhaps a heads-up to Lucifer, who was to comprehend that even the darkness he had “created” by rejecting the light of God’s love would be ruled by that light and that light reflected in those who chose to live in His love.
 
On Day Two, He would separate the water - above and below  - ready to fill with swooping and swimming creativity in action on Day Five. And somewhat of a preamble to the prophetic pictures later to come of the battle between the people of earth who would identify with the God of Heaven and the people who would take the part of Leviathan, the king of pride (see Job 41 and Isaiah 28:1).
 
On Day Three, He would bring the land out of the water, for filling on Day Six with all the land animals, and the amazing image of God Himself found in mankind!  The land was also a portent of the beachhead that Christ would make in restoring the liberty of all humanity to rise above the white-capped chaotic confusion into which they would soon be plunged.
 
And in the very end of time, land would be the symbol (Rev. 13:11) of a place where God’s called out remnant would use the brief time and space provided by liberty found in the United States of America to project the glory of the Lord (“the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” 2 Cor. 4:6) to the whole world.  
 
And finally, all of the space and filling of that space during the first six days of creation was to culminate in the Sabbath. 
 
The Sabbath - a sign of the creative power that created and sustained all that mankind could see - including himself. Exodus 20:8-11.
 
The Sabbath - a sign of God’s creative power to redeem all that was lost by Adam’s fall. Ezekiel 20:12, Deut. 5:15.
 
The Sabbath - made for man, because man needed a reminder, both before and after the fall, of his relationship of complete and total dependence on God for all things. And appropriately enough, part of that end-time three-angels message which would blanket the earth, amplified by the mighty fourth angel of Revelation 18:1.
 
 
Now, the very personal question for each of us. God has created the space in us to be inhabited by Himself in the Person of Christ the Word by the Agency of the Holy Spirit. Will we really believe in Creation? Will we truly keep the Sabbath?
 
_____________________________________________________________________
 
From A.T. Jones:

The word says, "Be ye clean." He said, back yonder, "Let there be light; and there was light." He said to the leper, "Be thou clean;" and "immediately" he was clean. He says now to you, "be ye clean," and what now? Every one of you—what do you say? [Voice: "It is so."] Then for your soul's sake put yourself upon that creative word. Recognize the creative energy in the word of God which comes to you in the Bible; for this word of God in the Bible is the same here to you to-day that it was when it spoke into space the worlds on high, and brought light out of darkness, and cleansing to the leper. That word spoken to you to-day, if received, creates you new in Christ Jesus, that word, spoken into the dark waste and void space of your heart, if received, produces there the light of God; that word spoken to-day to you, afflicted with the leprosy of sin, if received, immediately cleanses you. Let it. Let it.
 
How shall I be clean?—By the creative energy of that word, "Be ye clean." Therefore it is written, "Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you." John 15:3. Are you? Will you from this moment be a creationist? or will you go on being an evolutionist? 
 
See what a blessed thing this is. When you read the word, receive the word, and think upon the word, what is it to you all the time? O, it is creation! The creative energy is in you producing the things which the word speaks; and you are living in the very presence of the power of creation. Creation is going on in your life. God is creating, in you, righteousness, holiness, truth, faithfulness,—every good and gracious thing. 
 
And when this is so, your Sabbath-keeping will amount to something, because the Sabbath is a memorial of creation,—the sign that he who observes it knows the Creator, and is acquainted with the process of creation. But as certainly as you are an evolutionist, your Sabbath-keeping is a fraud. 
 
Unless you recognize the word of God day by day as a creative energy in your life, your Sabbath-keeping is a fraud; because the Sabbath is a memorial of creation. It is "a sign between me and you, that [by which] ye may know that I am the Lord your God," the Creator of all things. 
In the second chapter of Ephesians, eighth to tenth verses, we read: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." ....
 
There are only the two ways. There is no half-way ground. Every man and woman in the world is either a creationist or an evolutionist. Evolution is infidelity, it is death. Creation is Christianity, it is life. Choose Creation, Christianity, and Life, that you may live. Let us be creationists only, and creationists forever. And let all the people say, Amen.
(Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, February 21, 1899)
-Todd Guthrie

Wednesday, January 09, 2013

Creation: Forming the World


First Quarter 2013 Adult Sabbath School Lessons
Creation: Forming the World 
For the week of Jan. 12, 2013
 
 
The issue of Creation is most perfectly understood when it is discussed in relation to the reason why God brought man into creation.  We can indulge in endless discussions of the age of the earth, of whether or not organic matter existed in some form before this planet existed, and miss the real essence of the Biblical message.
 
Isaiah 43:7:  Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.

Mankind was created to reflect the glory of God, and to be in fellowship with their Creator in a loving relationship. All of creation was a backdrop to this reality, and to provide for the physical, material, and spiritual needs of man. When God looked at creation and stated that it was “very good,” He was not merely enjoying the aesthetic beauty of it all, but was rejoicing in the reality that it was all in har- mony with His goal of creating what He desired would be a state of loving relationship, and constant uplifting of His creation, in love.

Isaiah 45:18 tells us that He created the world to be inhabited, and not only by human beings, but by loving human beings who enjoyed the world being inhabited by their God, as well as each other.  The creation story reveals a Creator who longs for fellowship with His creation.  Creation is the chosen arena in which God expresses His love for those He created. 

The condition, “without form and void,” became a creation for inhabitation, in which mankind could grow in their capacity to know and to express their love for God and each other.  As the moon reflects the sun, man was and is still meant to reflect the holiness, love, beauty and matchless charms of God’s character.  As a potter molds His clay, God still wants to mold us into His image.  “By beholding, we become changed.”  “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.”  Hebrews 12:2.  Jesus is recreating us in holiness and love.

The Creation story tells us that creation is effective at the Word of God, the divine fiat.  His word is effective to bring about His will, and His word is the expression of His character, thus, all of creation is the expression and outworking of divine love.  He first created light, and light is associated with God, with righteousness and holiness, with health, and with insight and discernment.  All truth is from God, and is reflected, in truth, by those who receive that light.  All of the creative processes of life are dependent upon God, and upon light, thus showing the importance of seeking, continually, for divine illumination.
 
God provided all that man would need.  Even the creation of the firmament would provide the hydration and healthy atmosphere in which man would experience a healthy environment.  The division of land and water shows the total control that God has over His creation, and the perfect symmetry, organization, and thought that went into His provision of a home for man, a home that we will inhabit again someday, when the “Meek shall inherit the earth,” and we will “reign as Kings and Priests on the earth.”  The order and perfection of creation, studied in reverse in terms of the effects of sin, shows us that all of creation is dependent upon our loving response of loving obedience, loyalty, trust, and full dependency upon God for the continuance of our home, and we will eventually learn the lesson so well, that sin will never reoccur.
 
The evils and destruction that has taken place in the history of this created world is not the result of God, whose love could only provide, sustain, uplift, develop, and reflect His love.  Sin is the opposite of creation.  Love always creates, it never destroys.  The lesson of creation is the lesson that our recreation is dependent upon relying on that love to remake us in holiness, and to restore all that sin has taken from us and from our world. 
-Thomas Cusack

Wednesday, January 02, 2013

Jesus, Creator of Heaven and Earth


First Quarter 2013 Adult Sabbath School Lessons
Jesus, Creator of Heaven and Earth
For the week of Jan. 5, 2013
 
 
Our Sabbath School lessons for this first quarter of the New Year entitled “Origins” is about God’s power in creation, redemption and sustenance. Throughout the quarter we will examine Christ’s redeeming power, His cohering and sustaining grace as the actual effective exercise of His creative energy as God. Creation, redemption and sustenance is by Christ. These meet in Him (John 1:1‑3, 14, 10; Eph 3:9; Heb1:1‑3; Col 1:13-17).

Jesus taught a literal Creation and this by God’s power, and not by the process of evolution. The Darwinian theory of evolution is opposed to creation. Belief in creation and in evolution cannot be held by a Christian logically. Think of the outgrowth and consequences of evolution. If God initiated evolution, and its survival of the fittest, until death is finally abolished in the drawn out process of evolution, it follows that there was no need for Christ to come and to die in order to abolish death “the last enemy” (1 Cor 15:26). According to the dogmatic theory of evolution the deaths of innumerable millions of creatures occurred billions of years before Adam and Eve sinned.

Either the Creation account of man followed by his choice to sin producing death, or evolution took place before sin is true. There is no middle ground here. If evolution is true, it follows that death did not enter through one man’s sin as Scripture insists (Rom 5:12). If the evolution theory of death before sin is true, then Jesus died in vain. This is so because according evolution dogma death is not the result of sin. If this is true, the death of Christ because of man’s sin and consequent death makes no sense. Evolution not only makes a mockery of the cross, it sweeps it aside along with the gospel, the entire reason for Christianity’s existence and especially the third angel’s message of redemption.

In the Bible redemption is joined by an inseparable connection to Creation. It takes nothing less than creative energy to redeem us. The power by which Jesus saves us from sin is the power by which He created the worlds. In Rev 14:6, 7 the everlasting gospel and creation are connected. The same is true in Col 1:14‑16 where forgiveness, redemption and creation are linked. Likewise, verses 16 and 20 in Rom 1 teach that the power of God in the gospel is the power that creates. The gospel is Christ crucified, buried, and raised from the dead (1 Cor 15:1-4). The cross – Christ crucified – is the creative power of God applied to men for salvation (1 Cor 1:18, 23,24). The everlasting gospel, as the creative power of God, will be preached in all the world. It will destroy the powerless theory of evolution. This is because the dogma of evolution is devoid of strength or resources. It lacks the authority and the capacity to act. It is dead. But the gospel is filled with the life of God.

 Any gospel that leaves out creation is “another gospel,” which is no gospel at all. It is powerless. Any gospel that does not preach the creative power of God, as seen in the things that He has made to live, is no gospel at all. The gospel saves us, and comforts us, and sustains us by the power of creation.

Creation and redemption have the same purpose regarding man. In the beginning man was created in the image of God (Gen 1:26, 27). Then sin entered. Was God caught off guard, when this occurred?  Was the plan of redemption an afterthought? Never. Christ was “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” and before that “was foreordained” to die for us (Rev 13:8; 1 Pet 1:18-20). As soon as there was sin there was the cross of the crucified  Christ. Christ was made to be sin itself – the curse – in order to redeem us form it (2 Cor 5:21; Gal 3:13).

The plan of redemption is simply the carrying out of God's original plan of creation – that you and I should be made in the image of God (Rom 8:29). Redemption is brought about through God's creative power of the cross. Redemption is a new creation. Coming to Christ, uniting with Christ, being in Christ, by faith, makes you and me new creatures (2 Cor 5:17). How is this brought about?

Christ created the worlds through the power of His word (Psa 33:6, 9; Heb 11:3). He re-creates us anew by the power of that same word. This is the new birth (James 1:18; 1 Pet 1:23). His word is full of life and exceedingly powerful (Heb 4:12). David realized the close relationship between creation and redemption when he prayed “Create in me a clean heart, O God” (Psa 51:10). God promises is to give us a new heart in answer to this kind of prayer (Eze 36:25‑28). This is the creation of righteousness and true holiness within us (Eph 4:23,24), as E.J. Waggoner noted:

“The word of God which speaks righteousness has the righteousness itself in it, and as soon as the sinner believes, and receives that word into his own heart by faith, that moment he has the righteousness of God in his heart; and since out of the heart are the issues of life, it follows that a new life is thus begun in him; and that life is a life of obedience to the commandments of God. Thus faith is indeed the substance of things hoped for; because faith appropriates the word of God, and the word of God is substance – The Gospel in Creation.” (E.J. Waggoner, “The English Present Truth,” February 9, 1893).

Not only did Christ create the universe, not only does He re-create us; He upholds all things, including us, by His powerful word (Heb 1:1‑3). In Christ “all things consist” or hold together (Col 1:17). There is enough creative glue, in Christ, to hold the cosmos together. His creative power in creation, redemption and continual sustenance of the universe is the identifying mark of His deity. And then to think that Christ, the unmade God, our Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer became a human being in order to save us is beyond our comprehension.

The successive steps of humanity were experienced by Jesus. Conceived in the womb of His mother fulfilled the first condition of His human existence, because in that act of conception was His becoming a human being. The embryo that was conceived was nourished in the womb of Mary. When the usual period of human gestation ended “the days were completed for her to be delivered,” (Luke 2:6), the birth of Jesus followed—“she brought forth her firstborn Son” (Luke 2:7). This conception, gestation and parturition of His humanity were the circumstances of His birth establishing His humanity. Though not humanly generated, He was truly of the material substance of his mother, Mary. And being found in the nature of our humanity He continued to humble Himself even to the death of the cross in order to redeem us (Phil 2:6-8). This is the powerful and glorious gospel that has been entrusted to us and that which the heavens declare (1 Tim 1:11; Rom 1:16, 20; Psa 19:1-3). This, the gospel in God’s creative work, is the glad tidings of “Jesus, Creator of Heaven and Earth.
-Jerry Finneman