www.ILOVEYOUGOD.com
Part I
By Steven Merten
©Copyright 1990
Note: Jesus' words are in red
Jesus Christ, while he lived of the flesh, loves the Father. In fact Jesus loves the Father more than any man that ever lived. How does Jesus love God? Did Jesus have free will to choose between obedience and non-obedience? Did Jesus have free will to choose between faithfulness and unfaithfulness? Did Jesus have free will to choose damnation and eternal death over eternal life as Adam had free will to choose damnation over life?
Jesus tells us he came from heaven. Jesus is Lord during the time he walked the earth before his crucifixion. Jesus came down from heaven and while being of the flesh he already is Lord and God. Before his birth on Christmas in the year 1 A.D., Jesus was God, the Son of God, with God the Father, at the creation of the world. Jesus is Spiritual and was Spiritual for all eternity previous to his birth, just as the Father is eternal. Before Abraham was born Jesus existed.
The Lord God says, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the One who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."
"This day in David's city a savior has been born to you, the Messiah and Lord."
"No one has gone up to heaven except the One who came down from there - the Son of Man (who is in heaven). . . .
At this the Jews started to murmur in protest because he claimed, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." They kept saying: "Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph? Do we not know his father and mother? How can he claim to have come down from heaven?"
Jesus answered them: "I solemnly declare it: before Abraham came to be, I AM."God cannot be tarnished with sin. Sacrificing His only Son proves the extent God cannot bring sin and hatred into the Spirit of God. Could Jesus be eternal God before creation and then choose disobedience and sin during life of the flesh? Could Jesus have chosen rebellion to the Father as Satan and Adam had done? Could our Lord God Jesus Christ, who is One with the Father, have chosen to be evil, end up in hell and die eternally?
Scripture indicates that Jesus could be tempted.
Then Jesus was led into the desert by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil.
"You are the ones who have stood loyally by me in my temptations."Jesus tells us his will is seperate from the Father's will.
"Father, if it is your will, take this cup from me; yet not my will but yours be done."Jesus' past birth to God -- did it bind Jesus to righteousness on earth? Was Jesus future laid out in black and white order, and he had no choices in the matter? If we say yes, we run into problems. If Jesus destiny was predetermined then he did not have free will nor could he be tempted. If Jesus could not choose damnation and only Adam could choose damnation, would it be fair to compare Adam to Jesus? Would it be fair to say Jesus is righteous and Adam is unrighteous if Adam were the only one capable of choosing unrighteousness? Man is free to choose sin and hatred, or obedience and love, for the Father. If there were no capability of Jesus choosing not to love, then does Jesus have an opportunity to choose to love the Father?
Which is in control? Was Jesus controlled by his Spiritual birth to God as God's eternal Son or was Jesus in control of his own destiny? Did the Father set before Jesus the choice of life or death as He sets before Adam the choice of life or death? Was Jesus controlled by the Spiritual conception of his flesh. Was Jesus controlled by past prophecy? Was Jesus destiny controlled by his circumcision, baptism or Pentecostal Holy Spirit? Was Jesus only a pawn on a designated journey of the Father's choosing? Can we think of Jesus as a train on a single set of tracks going to heaven, while we are in automobiles free to choose whatever path we desire? Could Jesus do anything that he willed or was his destiny controlled by righteousness?
There are two conflicting ideas to look at here. Number one, did Christ have free will to choose between love and hate for the Father? Why does scripture tell us that Jesus chose between obedience and disobedience? Did the Father set before Jesus the choices of love and life, or, disobedience and damnation? Number two, we believe that Jesus came from heaven and was Lord while he walked the earth. We know that God cannot be part sin. We know that the only way we can be united with God is to have our sins removed by Jesus, because God cannot be part sin. It is impossible for Jesus to have tarnished God with sin. How could Jesus be Lord, One with God, incapable of sin, and free-willed man capable of sin during the same period of time?
In turn Jesus put a question to the assembled Pharisees, "What is your opinion about the Messiah? Whose son is he?" "David's," they answered. He said to them, "Then how is it that David under the Spirit's influence calls him 'lord,' as he does:
'The Lord said to my lord, Sit at my right hand, until I humble your enemies beneath your feet'?
If David calls him 'lord,' how can he be his son?" No one could give him an answer; therefore no one dared, from that day on, to ask him any questions.
I said, 'I am God's Son'
"It is I, Jesus, who have sent my angel to give you this testimony about the churches. I am the Root and Offspring of David, the Morning Star shining bright."The dilemma of predestinate life has caused men to lose heart in obeying the Father. They have seen no sense in holding faith in God when the book of the eternal saints has already been written from before the beginning of time. To unravel this mystery we must understand how Jesus could be infallible eternal Lord incapable of sin, and free willed man capable of sin in the same period of time.
Easter was before Christmas. Think deeply now. I am saying Jesus died on the cross and resurrected before he is called Lord at his birth on Christmas morning. Because Easter happened, the Christmas birth of a Messiah came to be. You say that is physically impossible. Maybe physically but what about Spiritually? Jesus is God's Son omni-present with the Father from creation to the end of time. Jesus is eternal for all future and all past of created physical time, but when was He Spiritually begotten of God for all eternity of past and future created physical time?
He who is throned in heaven laughs; the LORD derides them; Then in anger he speaks to them; he terrifies them in his wrath: "I myself have set up my king on Zion, my holy mountain. I will proclaim the decree of the LORD: The LORD said to me, 'You are my son; this day I have begotten you. Ask of me and I will give you the nations for an inheritance and the ends of the earth for your possession. You shall rule them with an iron rod: you shall shatter them like an earthen dish.'"
"We ourselves announce to you the good news that what God promised our fathers he has fulfilled for us, their children, in raising up Jesus, according to what is written in the second psalm, You are my son; this day I have begotten you."
Jesus gave him this answer: "I solemnly assure you, no one can see the reign of God unless he is begotten from above." "How can a man be born again once he is old?" retorted Nicodemus. "Can he return to his mother's womb and be born over again?" Jesus replied: "I solemnly assure you, no one can enter into God's kingdom without being begotten of water and Spirit."Jesus, David and Paul refer to the transfer from physical to eternal existence as becoming begotten of God. Nicodemus calls the leaving of physical life and becoming eternal as being born again. Upon his resurrection Jesus became One with God or born again. Jesus baptized, or born of the water, during life is now begotten into eternal life by the Father, upon his resurrection. Jesus becomes God's first born Son upon Jesus' death and resurrection.
He was put to death insofar as fleshly existence goes, but was given life in the realm of the spirit.
To which of the angels did God ever say, "You are my son; today I have begotten you"? Or again, "I will be his father, and he shall be my son"? And again, when he leads his first-born into the world, he says, "Let all the angels of God worship him."
To the seven churches in the province of Asia: John wishes you grace and peace -- from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before the throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the first-born from the dead and ruler of the kings of earth.
"He shall say of me, 'You are my father, my God, the Rock, my savior.' And I will make him the first-born, highest of the kings of the earth."
He is the image of the invisible God, the first born of all creatures. In him everything in heaven and on earth was created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominations, principalities, or powers; all were created through him, and for him. He is before all else that is. In him everything continues in being. It is he who is head of the body, the church; he who is the beginning, the first-born of the dead, so that primacy may be his in everything.Let us now take a look at our original dilemma. The dilemma of Jesus being eternal Lord incapable of sin and free willed man capable of sin in the same period of time. Most people are ecstatic about eternal life and the idea of living forever and ever. They will live from now and forever future. Expand your mind beyond this now. For Jesus to become eternal means to live now, for all future, and for all past. After his death, Jesus received the Holy Spirit and became eternal and omni-present to all physical time. The Pentecostal Holy Spirit men and Jesus receive during life is not their own and only temporary (MAT 25:14-30). After death when begotten of God, Jesus receives a portion of the Holy Spirit for his own allowing him to live eternal.
When people think of eternity they bind themselves to the confines of the flesh. The Spirit is not bound by physical time as the flesh is. Spiritual beings are omni-present to all ages of physical time. Moses, Elijah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were alive in heaven while Jesus walked the earth (MAT 17:1-3)(MAR 12:25-27). Still it is only after Jesus, God's first born, that they are begotten of God for all eternity and can go anywhere in time they please.
Once again Jesus cried out in a loud voice, and then gave up his spirit. Suddenly the curtain of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked, boulders split, tombs opened. Many bodies of saints who had fallen asleep were raised. After Jesus' resurrection they came forth from their tombs and entered the holy city and appeared to many.
Jesus was born again upon his death on the cross and now lived in Spiritual omni-presence for all eternity before and after his life of the flesh. When Jesus was born of the Spirit his existence, we see as his past, now far surpassed the world's past. Jesus spiritual birth of 0033 AD certainly was before the world was created. In Jesus birth to God in the year 0033 A.D. he is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last, the Creation and the End, He who Is and who was. Jesus now rules a newly created kingdom which, like Jesus, is eternal and has existed for all time past and future. At his resurrection Jesus now lives and Jesus now rules for all time past, present and future.
"I have given you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. Do you now, Father, give me glory at your side, a glory I had with you before the world began."
" . . . I am the First and the Last and the One who lives. Once I was dead but now I live forever and ever. . . ."
"The First and the Last who once died but now lives has this to say. . . ."
Then I saw new heavens and a new earth. The former heavens and the former earth had passed away, and the sea was no longer. I also saw a new Jerusalem, the holy city, coming down out of the heaven from God, beautiful as a bride prepared to meet her husband. I heard a loud voice from the throne cry out: "This is God's dwelling among men. He shall dwell with them and they shall be his people and he shall be their God who is always with them. He shall wipe every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death or mourning, crying out or pain, for the former world has passed away."
Jesus was eternal Lord and fully free-willed man during the same period of time. Jesus could have chosen to disobey and hate the Father at any time during his life of the flesh. Jesus was also Lord during the time he walked on the earth. It was after a life of obedience, faith and love that Jesus was begotten of God for all eternity past. In the following scriptures you can see Jesus made Lord after His resurrection and called Lord at the birth of His flesh.
The angel went on to say to her: "Do not fear, Mary. You have found favor with God. You shall conceive and bear a son and give him the name Jesus. Great will be his dignity and he will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of David his father. He will rule over the house of Jacob forever and his reign will be without end."
The LORD said to me, 'You are my son; this day I have begotten you. Ask of me and I will give you the nations for an inheritance and the ends of the earth for your possession.
"I have given you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. Do you now, Father, give me glory at your side, a glory I had with you before the world began."
Jesus came forward and addressed them in these words: "Full authority has been given to me both in heaven and on earth. . . ."
"Exalted at God's right hand, he first received the promised Holy Spirit from the Father, then poured this Spirit out on us. This is what you now see and hear. David did not go up to heaven, yet David says,
'The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. Therefore let the whole house of Israel know beyond any doubt that God has made both Lord and Messiah this Jesus whom you crucified.'"
This day in David's city a savior has been born to you, the Messiah and Lord.
After Jesus' birth in Bethlehem of Judea during the reign of King Herod, astrologers from the east arrived one day in Jerusalem inquiring, "Where is the newborn king of the Jews?"
After Jesus' resurrection he is King and has the power to perform miracles on his own authority. Before his resurrection, the power that emanated from Jesus was really from the Father. Jesus had no authority of his own to dictate a miracle. Jesus only asked the Father and then the Father, who was the only one authorized to hand out miracles, did so upon His Son's request.
This was Jesus' answer: "I solemnly assure you, the Son cannot do anything by himself -- he can do only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son and everything the Father does he shows him."
"Men of Israel, listen to me! Jesus the Nazorean was a man whom God sent to you with miracles, wonders, and signs as his credentials. These God worked through him in your midst, as you well know."
"I take it you know what has been reported all over Judea about Jesus of Nazareth, beginning in Galilee with the baptism John preached; of the way God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and power. He went about doing good works and healing all who were in the grip of the devil, and God was with him."Jesus was sin-free just as Adam was before Adam sinned in the garden of Eden. All other men are conceived from Adam. Jesus of the free-willed flesh was conceived by God the Holy Spirit. Jesus, like pre-sin Adam, has no sin on his soul. Jesus, God's only Son, came down from heaven and Mary conceived by the power of God. We, on the other hand, are part of creation.
Mary said to the angel, "How can this be since I do not know man?" The angel answered her: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; hence, the holy offspring to be born will be called Son of God. Knowing that Elizabeth your kinswoman has conceived a son in her old age; she who was thought to be sterile is now in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible with God."
"No one has gone up to heaven except the One who came down from there - the Son of Man (who is in heaven). . . . "Upon Christ's resurrection He is eternally begotten of God for all eternity past, present and future. Our resurrected eternal Lord Jesus Christ does not have a will separate from the Father's will (free-will) in that He is not free to oppose the Father's will. Resurrected Jesus cannot sin, he cannot die, and he cannot choose damnation. During the same period of time our not-yet-resurrected, fleshly Lord Jesus Christ possesses full human free-will and he can choose sin and he can choose damnation just as Adam and all men can. Jesus is fully free-willed man and fully God during the life of his flesh on earth. Jesus' human free-willed love is genuine and real. God's fleshly Son Jesus is not bound to be righteous. God's fleshly Son Jesus freely chooses to be righteous.
Jesus could have chosen to do anything he wanted to do in his life of the flesh and he was not bound in any way to only choose righteousness. Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, circumcised, baptized of water and the Pentecostal Holy Spirit was with him, yet he still had free will. Within the first three chapters of Matthew, Luke, and Mark all of these spiritual gifts are bestowed upon Jesus. Immediately after this, scripture only now writes of Jesus being put to the test of temptation and under the opportunity to produce love through faithfulness to God. Through the power of free will, Jesus, like his brother Adam, had the capability to choose damnation and the opportunity to choose to love the Father. Jesus past was not yet eternally begotten of God or born again as of birth of the flesh, baptism or receiving the Pentecostal Holy Spirit.
Later Jesus, coming from Galilee, appeared before John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. John tried to refuse him with the protest, "I should be baptized by you, yet you come to me!" Jesus answered: "Give in for now. We must do this if we would fulfill all of God's demands." So John gave in. After Jesus was baptized, he came directly out of the water. Suddenly the sky opened and he saw the Spirit of God descend like a dove and hover over him. With that, a voice from the heavens said, "This is my beloved Son. My favor rests on him."
4:1 The Temptation. Then Jesus was led into the desert by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil.
When the day of Pentecost came it found them gathered in one place. Suddenly from up in the sky there came a noise like a strong, driving wind which was heard all through the house where they were seated. Tongues as of fire appeared which parted and came to rest on each of them. All were filled with the Holy Spirit. They began to express themselves in foreign tongues and make bold proclamation as the Spirit prompted them.
During that time, Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. Immediately on coming up out of the water he saw the sky rent in two and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. Then a voice came from the heavens: "You are my beloved Son. On you my favor rests."
The Temptation.
At that point the Spirit sent him out toward the desert. He stayed in the wasteland forty days, put to the test there by Satan. He was with the wild beasts, and angels waited on him.
"Immediately after that, the three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea came to the house where we were staying. The Spirit instructed me to accompany them without hesitation. These six brothers came along with me, and we entered the man's house. He informed us that he had seen an angel standing in his house and that the angel had said: 'Send someone to Joppa and fetch Simon, known also as Peter. In the light of what he will tell you, you shall be saved, and all your household.' As I began to address them the Holy Spirit came upon them, just as it had upon us at the beginning. Then I remembered what the Lord had said: 'John baptized with water but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'"
When all the people were baptized, and Jesus was at prayer after likewise being baptized, the skies opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in visible form like a dove. A voice from heaven was heard to say: "You are my beloved Son. On you my favor rests."
4:1 Temptation in the Desert.
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, then returned from the Jordan and was conducted by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, where he was tempted by the devil. During that time he ate nothing, and at the end of it he was hungry. The devil said to him, If you are the Son of God, command this stone to turn into bread. Jesus answered him, "Scripture has it, 'Not on bread alone shall man live.'"
Jesus could have followed any path he desired just as we can. Jesus had the power through free will to choose to follow Satan to hell if he would have chosen to. A grain of sand is insignificant in comparison to the universe. The fact that Jesus was flesh and bones, as with the grain of sand, is insignificant as compared to the universe sized importance of Jesus being free willed man. Jesus, the Son of Man, could choose to follow the Father or to disobey the Father. It was upon this free will that Jesus chose to die on the cross out of love for the Father. Love the Father Jesus did, with tremendous never failing love. It was upon Christ's free choice to obey the Father out of love for the Father that salvation for men came to be.
