“That these promises had reference to Jesus Christ, who was to be raised up in the condemned line of Abraham and David, and who, though wearing their condemned nature, was to obtain a title to resurrection by perfect obedience, and by dying, abrogate the law of condemnation for himself and all who should believe and obey him.”
Article VII of the B.A.S.F.
In the last issue of the Tidings consideration was given to the circumstances surrounding the birth of Jesus in the line of Adam, Abraham and David. Association with these covenants of promise, linked with the Lord’s ancestors, can only be achieved by union with Christ through the act of baptism.
We should now like to bring our attention to bear on the matter of Christ’s having been raised up in the “condemned line”. What is meant by this phrase and in what sense did Jesus bear “our condemnation” (Article IX) ?
Adamic Condemnation
This term, of course is not to be found in the Scriptures, and, inasmuch as there are several views as to just what is involved in such a phrase, it will be best that we define exactly what we mean by its use. There were several changes brought about by the sins of Adam and Eve which placed them in a condition quite unlike that of their novitiate. The first alteration occurred immediately upon partaking of the forbidden fruit. “And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.” (Gen. 3:7) They suddenly were aware of inflamed passions, and experienced strange feelings to each other. They obviously knew that they had sinned, and their conscience suffered because of it. Before the transgression we are told, “And they both were naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.” (Gen. 2:25) Now, no longer possessing a good conscience towards their Creator, and quite ashamed of their act they sought to hide from God. Their deed had caused a breach in their relationship to the Almighty, and they became deeply conscious of sin and its defilement.
The next change came about when the Lord pronounced upon the man the sentence of death. This judgment in all likelihood took place the very day of the transgression, thus, in complete agreement with the Lord’s warning to Adam in Gen. 2:17; ” . . . for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” Adam was told that he would eventually succumb to death, in which he would return to the ground from whence he had been taken. In other words, Adam and Eve became dying creatures.
They were expelled from the garden, and forced to eke out a living from the cultivation of the ground. It was not until Adam and Eve had been driven from their first home that Adam “knew Eve, his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain . . . ” An irrevocable law was implemented from the very beginning of the creation—a law that was binding on our first parents and their descendants. In the first chapter of Genesis, this law is repeated several times; i.e. Vs. 11, 12, 21, 24 and 25. The ordinance, simply stated, was that every thing should bear after his kind. This principle became operative upon the offspring of Adam and Eve. Inasmuch as no children were born prior to their defilement with sin with its resultant sentence of death, the children of the first pair were born with precisely the same physical nature as their parents. Paul succinctly expresses the natural course of the law in Rom. 5:12; “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned;” All of Adam’s posterity inherit mortality and the tendency to transgress. So strong is this sin-producing power in the descendants of Adam, that the apostle can say that “through Adam’s sin all sinned, and therefore all die through him.” (Ltr. to the Romans—J. Carter, page 55) Adamic condemnation, as we use it, simply means the physical properties which we inherit from Adam. Just as righteousness cannot be imputed, so guilt cannot be transferred from one person to another. The only condemnation we inherit from Adam are mortality with its sorrows and sufferings, and the tendency to sin. We inherit these curses, not because we sin, but because we are the offspring of parents who themselves possessed them.
In the Article before us, Jesus is said to have worn the “condemned nature” of Abraham and David, which simply means that He was a partaker of their nature. The very nature of sin necessitated the involvement of Jesus in the flesh and blood nature of those He came to redeem. This was made possible by His having been born of a mortal mother, though at the same time being the Son of God. “But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law.” (Gal. 4:4) When the angel, Gabriel announced to Mary that she was to become the mother of one who was to be called the Son of God, she asked in her bewilderment, “How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?” Though Mary was espoused to Joseph, she, as yet was not married to him. How then, could she possibly have a child? The angel then proceeded to inform this virgin in Israel as to the means by which his words would be fulfilled. “The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:30-35) Through this means, Jesus would be born wearing the condemned nature of all mankind.
Sin Condemned
In the eighth chapter of Romans, Paul explains the manner in which God has condemned sin. In Verse 3: “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin (as an offering for sin), condemned sin in the flesh.” Without lingering over the full meaning of this verse, it will be noted that the apostle declares that God accomplished something which the law (of Moses) could never do: and this was to condemn sin. The manner in which the Father did this was first, to send His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh; and second, through a sacrifice for sin, condemn it. Taking these statements in the order in which they occur, how was Jesus in the “likeness of sinful flesh”? The writer to the Hebrews by adding several words together, establishes beyond all question the true nature of Jesus in the days of His flesh: “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise Took Part of the Same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil.” (Heb. 2:14) Having been born of a woman, Jesus possessed the identical nature of His mother, with its mortality and proneness to sin. The truth of this fact will be readily perceived if we bear in mind the many temptations which confronted the Lord, and the declaration of Paul; “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” (Heb. 4:15) Since all temptation stems from the flesh and the lusts which reside therein, Jesus must, of necessity, have been a bearer of our condemned nature. Only by appearing in the sin nature of mankind could the Master come to grips with the enemy, and thus destroy him.
In reference to the fashion in which sin was condemned, it will be noted that Jesus Himself, in never yielding to its influence, virtually condemned it. He overcame and conquered the flesh of sin with which he was burdened, and, by perfect obedience to His Father attained a title to resurrection. In Romans 8:3, Paul says that God condemned sin. If we should question as to where sin was condemned, the apostle answers “in the flesh”. The flesh, of course, was that of His Son, who stood as a representative of all mankind. The sin principle had to be the object of condemnation not because it was evil in itself; but rather because sin nature invariably produces sin in Adam’s offspring. Furthermore, it had to be done in the flesh of one who himself was sinless that resurrection from the dead might follow. We must bear in mind as we consider these things that the death of Jesus upon the cross was in the form of a sacrifice (for sin). As He hung, impaled upon the torture stake, flesh was exposed as fit for nothing but death. As Jesus had declared, “It is the spirit that quickeneth; The Flesh Profiteth Nothing . . . ” (Jo. 6:63) In Christ’s death we see God’s provision for a sin offering. We behold the Father’s utter condemnation of sin. The word translated “condemned” in Rom. 8:3 is a strong word implying the sentencing of its object to death, and leaving as a condemned criminal awaiting execution.
Death Conquered
The condemnation of sin was only the initial step in the redemption of God’s people. Before Jesus could become the author of eternal salvation to all that obey Him, He had Himself to be perfected. This was accomplished by His own resurrection from the dead on the third day, and His subsequent glorification and appearance before God. Due to His faithfulness in doing all of God’s will, Peter declares, ” . . it was not possible that he should be Holden of it (i.e. death)” (Acts 2:24). Hence, sin was condemned in the flesh of one who, Himself was sinless. Since resurrection followed, death was conquered. The law of sin (condemnation) was thus, abrogated or abolished in Christ through His perfect obedience to the Father’s will.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One