Christ
Raised (Begotten by the Father) Twice
“God
hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the
second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.” Acts 13:33 KJV
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Nothing was done on
earth as regards Christ and His Atonement, that was
not done first in the Heavenly Sanctuary which was the pattern of the
earthly. If Christ was raised up on earth as part of the Sanctuary/Atonement,
He was also raised up in the Heavenly Sanctuary/Atonement sacrifice. Psa 77:13 Thy way, O God, [is] in the sanctuary: who [is
so] great a God as [our] God? “We declare unto you glad tidings,” the
apostle continued, “how that the promise which was made unto the fathers, God
hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that He hath raised up
Jesus again; as it is also
written in the second psalm, Thou art My
Son, this day have I begotten Thee. And as concerning that He raised
Him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, He said on this
wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David. Wherefore He saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt
not suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption. For David, after he had served
his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his
fathers, and saw corruption: but He,
whom God raised again, saw no corruption.” {AA 172.1} Christ
Died a First and a Second Death There is much evidence to demonstrate that Christ
died a first and second death. He died a FIRST and ETERNAL death to something
at His Incarnation in the Heavenly Sanctuary/Atonement. The Testator’s
Covenant demanded that the Testator die to something FOREVER, because forever
death is the wages of sin for man, not death for three days and nights in a
tomb. Hebrews 9:16 "For where a testament is,
there must also of necessity be the death of the testator." Hebrews 9:17 "For a testament is of force
after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator
liveth." If the Son of God did not die to something
forever, the Testator, the Son, still lives, and the Testament (the Atoning
Sacrifice) is of no force. The
Prescribed Limit of a Sacrifice and the Two Sacrifices "The darkness rolled away from the Saviour and from the
Cross. Christ bowed His head and died. In His
Incarnation He had reached the prescribed limit as a sacrifice,
but not as a redeemer." E.G. White Manuscript Releases Volume Twelve,
p. 409. How did the Son reach the prescribed limit as a sacrifice BEFORE THE
CROSS, where He redeemed us from our sins by taking them upon Himself at that
time? Answer: The prescribed limit as a sacrifice was/is stated in the
Testator’s Testament (Covenant) defined in Hebrews 9:16, 17. The Testator
must die to something eternally, for while He should live, the Testament
(Covenant) would be of no strength (validity) while the Testator remained
alive. This proves: · A
form of FOREVER DEATH of the Testator was the prescribed limit of a sacrifice
which occurred BEFORE THE CROSS. · The
Son of God was BEGOTTEN from that FIRST DEATH which was from the foundation
of the earth. The second death He was BEGOTTEN from was on the cross. · In
the Incarnation (in and of itself), before man’s redemption on the cross, the
Testator died to something FOREVER, for this was the “prescribed limit” of
the Testator’s EVERLASTING COVENANT. · The
Incarnation death of the Son of God, whereby He divested Himself of His former
DIVINE ONLY state of Being, FOREVER, to become forever after combined with
humanity, was a sacrifice by death, THE FIRST DEATH. This death was eternal
because the combination of the Son with humanity was eternal. Never again
would the Son be DIVINE ONLY. · The
Incarnation of Christ was an act of self-sacrifice—THE HIGHEST GLORY, HIGHEST
GOOD, CROWING SACRIFICE: "The Incarnation of Christ was an act of self-sacrifice;
His life was one of continual self-denial. The highest glory of the love of God to man was manifested
in the sacrifice of His only-begotten Son, who was the express image of His
person. This is the great mystery of godliness. It is the
privilege and the duty of every professed follower of Christ to have the mind
of Christ. Without self-denial and cross bearing we cannot be His
disciples." E.G. White, Selected
Messages, Book 2,
p. 185. "Christ declared that after his ascension, he would send to his church, as his crowning gift, the Comforter, who was to take his place. This
Comforter is the Holy Spirit,--the soul of his life, the efficacy of his
church, the light and life of the world. With his Spirit Christ sends a reconciling influence and a power that takes away sin. In the gift
of the Spirit, Jesus gave to man the highest good that heaven could
bestow.... The Spirit
was given as a regenerating agency, and without
this the sacrifice of Christ would have been of no avail.... It is by
the Spirit that the heart is made pure. Through the Spirit the believer
becomes a partaker of the divine nature. Christ has given his Spirit as a
divine power to overcome all hereditary and cultivated tendencies to evil,
and to impress his own character upon the church." E.G. White, Review and Herald Articles, May 19,
1904, vol. 5, p. 42. ·
The Hightest Good, the Highest Glory, the Crowning gift, is the Holy
Spirit Divine Nature Mind of Christ that can now indwell man via the
Incarnation sacrifice—the soul of His life, His Holy Spirit, the Comforter,
bequeathed to man as a gift at the Incarnation sacrifice. ·
Without the gift of the soul of
Christ’s life, His Holy Spirit, the Comforter, the cross sacrifice
would have been of no avail because there would have been no empowering cure
for sin—THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, the soul of His FORMER DIVINE ONLY LIFE. If
the Holy Spirit, THE COMFORTER, is the soul of His (Christ's) life, that is a very close union considering there are three distinct
persons to the Godhead. That close union means that the Holy Ghost (first
mentioned in Matthew) is the ghost of His pre-Incarnation state of being as
DIVINE HOLY SPIRIT ONLY. Then when He was Incarnated, He had to divest
Himself of that DIVINE ONLY state of being, because His humanity cumbered
that Holy Spirit. “Cumbered with humanity Christ could not be in every place personally, therefore it was
altogether for their advantage that He should leave them to go to His Father and send the Holy Spirit [THE COMFORTER--THE SOUL OF
HIS PRE-INCARNATED LIFE] to be His successor on earth. The Holy
Spirit is Himself divested of the personality of humanity and independent thereof. He would represent Himself as present in all places by His Holy
Spirit.” E.G. White, (Manuscript
Releases Volume 14 (No’s 1081-1135) MR No.1084. "The apostle would call our attention from ourselves to the
Author of our salvation. He presents before us His two natures, divine and
human. . . . He voluntarily assumed human nature. It was His own act, and by
His own consent. He clothed His divinity with humanity. He was all the while
as God, but He did not appear as God. He veiled the demonstrations of Deity
which had commanded the homage, and called forth the admiration of the
universe of God. He was God while upon earth, but He divested Himself of the form of God, and in its stead
took the form and fashion of a man. He walked the earth as a man. For our
sakes He became poor, that we through His poverty
might be made rich. He laid aside His glory and His majesty. He was God, but the glories of the form of God He for
awhile relinquished. . . . He bore the sins of the world, and endured the
penalty which rolled like a mountain upon His divine soul. He yielded up His
life a sacrifice, that man should not eternally die.
He died, not through being compelled to die, but by His own free will."
E.G. White, SDA Bible Commentary, Vol. 7a, p. 446. Brought
Forth—BEGOTTEN From Being Slain From the Foundation of the Earth · One
of the most crucial elements of the “begotten” issue is Paul and Ellen
White’s employment of the second Psalm in reference to the Son being raised
from the dead and Paul’s mention of Jesus being raised AGAIN. Paul is saying
that the resurrection of the Son on two different occasions constituted being
begotten. “God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that
he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art
my Son, this day have I begotten thee.” Acts 13:33 KJV “We declare unto you glad
tidings,” the apostle continued, “how that the promise which was made unto
the fathers, God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that He
hath raised up Jesus again;
as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou
art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee. And as concerning that He
raised Him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, He said on
this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David. Wherefore He saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt
not suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption. For David, after he had served
his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his
fathers, and saw corruption: but He,
whom God raised again, saw no corruption.” {AA 172.1} ·
Ellen White and
Paul never use the word begotten in reference to the Son of God being less
than an eternal being for that would contradict Scripture wherein Christ
referred to Himself a number of times as being the Alpha and Omega. The word
begotten merely means special, one of a kind. There is a much deeper study on
this issue at the link I provide further down. · The first death of the Son had to occur at His
Incarnation which we are told occurred at the foundation of the earth when
the Everlasting Covenant was inaugurated, to wit: Revelation 13:8
“And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not
written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the
world.” · There
is one eternal Spirit says Scripture “The Eternal Spirit” and if the Son was
part of that ETERNAL SPIRIT, substance, essence of the Godhead before His
Incarnation, He thereby of necessity was ETERNAL. · An
indepth study on the concept of the word “begotten”
may be found at this page: https://omega77.tripod.com/begottenantichristteachings.htm "Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I
brought forth." Prov. 8:25. Revelation 13:8 And all that dwell upon the
earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of
the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Brought Forth—Begotten "The Lord (Jehovah) hath said unto me,
Thou [art] my son, this day have I begotten thee." Psalm 2:7. "The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way." Prov.
8:22. Here is what the SDA Bible Commentary says about Acts 13:33: "Raised up Jesus
again. Or, 'raised up Jesus.' These words may most
naturally be understood to refer to the resurrection of Christ. But if so, a problem
arises in regard to the application of the quotation that follows from Ps. 2
(see below on 'this day'). Therefore many commentators understand the words,
'raised up Jesus,' here in the same sense that they appear in chs. 3:22; 7:37, where they clearly refer, not to the
resurrection, BUT TO GOD'S INTRODUCTION OF CHRIST INTO THIS WORLD. See on
Deut. 18:15.... Thus you witness that the SDA Bible Commentary comments on this verse (Acts 13:33) and the
words "raised again."
It allows that this could mean at the
resurrection from Christ's death on the cross, and could mean the Incarnation. The Lord has shown me that it means both—raised
once at His Incarnation and again after His death on the cross, and should be read as it appears in the King James
Version. We find in Acts 13:33, 34, that Christ was
raised (begotten) twice as connoted by the word "again." The Lord
has shown this writer that this text refers both to the resurrection of the
Son from the Incarnation in the Sanctuary in Heaven, (the first death to
Christ's former first estate) to life in Mary's womb, and then again from
Christ's death on the cross where He was raised from His second estate as a
combination of being FULLY DIVINIE AND FULLY HUMANITY: Note: It is recognized that Divinity cannot
die, but in effect, Christ died FOREVER to His first estate of BEING, by
giving up (sacrificing) His pre-Incarnation state of being DIVINE ONLY. At
His Incarnation, He sacrificed certain attributes of that state of BEING,
specifically HIS HOLY SPIRIT, as a gift to us, and to become united with
humanity FOREVER. For example, we will find in the following study that,
according to Ellen White, Christ did not have omnipresence because of being
"cumbered with humanity." She also states that Christ will retain
His humanity FOREVER. It was the Son’s Holy Spirit Nature that could
be everywhere at once. So in sacrificing that nature, He sacrificed the
attributes of omnipresence, omnipotence, and omniscience, as well. Here are
some examples of this fact: ·
OMNISCIENCE:
Christ told his disciples that only the Father knew the day and hour of His
(Christ’s) second coming. He did not know it. ·
OMNIPRESENCE:
Christ told His disciples He could not be with everyone personally, but would
go to His Father and send His Holy Spirit, which could be with everyone who
desired the indwelling of the Son. ·
OMNIPOTENCE: It
was the Divine Nature ONLY part of the Godhead, the pre-Incarnation ONE
ETERNAL SPIRIT of the Son that is all powerful, not His humanity. ·
The Spirit of
Prophecy clearly states that the Son divested His Holy Spirit attributes from
his humanity, and that the Holy Spirit THEN became an independient
person (personality), to wit: “Cumbered with humanity Christ
could not be in every place personally, therefore it was altogether for their advantage that He should leave
them to go to His Father and send the Holy Spirit
[THE COMFORTER--THE SOUL OF HIS PRE-INCARNATED LIFE] to be His successor
on earth. The Holy Spirit is Himself divested of the
personality of humanity and independent thereof. He would represent Himself as present in all places by His Holy
Spirit.” E.G. White, (Manuscript Releases
Volume 14 (No’s 1081-1135) MR No.1084. ·
The attributes of
the Godhead’s ONE ETERNAL SPIRIT, are omniscience, omnipresence and
omnipotence. These attributes were voluntarily emptied (divested) from the
Son at His Incarnation. This is why the Incarnation was a sacrifice, a
crowing, highest good, highest glory sacrifice. ·
How the Son could divest (empty) Himself of all the
attributes of the ONE ETERNAL HOLY SPIRIT, and still be fully God and fully
man, which He indeed was, is the mystery part no man understands at this
point in time. We will study this mystery for eternity says Ellen White. In the heavenly Sanctuary, before He ever came
to this world, Christ laid down His great eternal body and blood; He shed His
life blood; He gave up the ghost--the Holy Ghost! There was no Holy Ghost
before that--only the Spirit of God. The first mention of the Holy Ghost is
in the New Testament, Matthew 1:18. He gave up the soul of His life, the
Spirit of life, the eternal Spirit which was His eternal DIVINE ONLY, life.
This is in the Spirit of Prophecy, to wit:
Other Verses That Connote That Christ Died a First
(Incarnation) and a Second (Atonement on the Cross) Death
Hbr 13:20 Now the God of peace, that brought again from
the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood
of the everlasting covenant, Act 3:22 For Moses truly said unto the
fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your
brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall
say unto you. Act 7:37 This is that Moses, which said unto
the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you
of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear. Hbr 1:5 For unto which of the angels said he at any time,
Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a
Father, and he shall be to me a Son? Hbr 1:6 And
again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into
the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him. Psa 2:7 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto
me, Thou [art] my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Deu 18:15 The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a
Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye
shall hearken; Rev 1:5 And from Jesus Christ, [who is] the
faithful witness, [and] the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the
kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in
his own blood, Luk 1:35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The
Holy Ghost 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. "7. Made himself of no reputation.
Literally, 'emptied Himself.' This emptying was
voluntary (see on John 10:17, 18). It was not possible for Christ to
retain all the tokens of divinity and still accomplish the Incarnation. The outworking of this emptying is detailed
in the remainder of Phil. 2:7 and in v. 8.
See Vol. 5, p. 918." SDA Bible
Commentary, Vol. 7, p. 155, col. 1. “5. The
Subordination of Christ. Voluntarily
assuming the limitations of human nature at the incarnation, the Lord Jesus
Christ thereby subordinated Himself to the Father for the duration of His
earthly ministry (see ps. 40:8; Matt. 26:39; John 3:16 4:34; 5:19, 30; 12:49;
14:10; 17:4, 8; 2 Cor. 8:9; Phil. 2:7, 8; Heb. 2:9; see on Luke 1:35; 2:49;
John 3:16; 4:34; Phil 2:7, 8). ‘Laying aside His royal robe and kingly crown’ (DA 22, 23). “He
voluntarily assumed human nature. It
was His own act, and by His own consent.” (EGW ST Jan 20, 1890; cf 5T 702). “He
humbled Himself, and took mortality upon Him.” (EGW RH Sept. 4, 1900). “The Son of God was surrendered to the Father’s will, and dependent
upon His power. So utterly was Christ emptied of self that He made no
plans for Himself. He accepted God’s plans for Him, and day by day the
Father unfolded His plans” (DA 208; cf. 664. ‘While bearing human nature,
He was dependent upon the Omnipotent for His life. In His humanity, He laid hold of the
divinity of God’”{EGW, ST, June 17, 1897 par. 8}
Incarnation
Taxes Highest Powers of Mind "This earth has been honored and blessed with presence of the
Son of God. In the Scriptures we red of His
INCARNATION, His teaching, His miracles, His death, and His resurrection. The
effort to understand these wonderful subjects puts to the tax the highest
powers of the mind, and then there is an infinity beyond which can not be exhausted. The oftener the mind is called to
this study, the stronger and clearer it will become. In the daily life will
be revealed the mysteries of godliness, which may be experienced, but can not be explained. Throughout the ceaseless ages of
eternity the redeemed will study these subjects, ever gaining from them a
deeper and clearer knowledge of God and of Christ." E.G. White, The
Signs of the Times, 04-26-05, Pr. 01. "It requires considerable effort to climb hills, to get upon the
rock. And so we find that it will require the exercise of all our abilities,
of every spiritual nerve and muscle, to get upon the Living Rock, the Saviour
of mankind. It will require all our mental and spiritual power to understand
the Word of God, to understand the INCARNATION of Christ, to understand the
great plan of redemption. The mind may faint beneath the effort, and yet,
there is an infinity beyond. You have only then
touched the surface." E.G. White, Manuscript Releases Volume Nine,
pr. 3, P. 68. Incarnation --Satan would Mystify: "This is a great mystery, a
mystery that will not be fully, completely understood in all its greatness
until the translation of the redeemed shall take place. Then the power and
greatness and efficacy of the gift of God to man will be understood. But the
enemy is determined that this gift shall be so mystified that it will become
as nothingness." E.G. White, SDA Bible Commentary, Vol. 7A, p.
444. "There is no one who can explain the mystery of the incarnation
of Christ. Yet we know that He came to this earth and lived as a man among
man. The man Christ Jesus was not the Lord God Almighty, yet Christ and the
Father are one. The deity did not sink under the agonizing torture of
Calvary, yet it is nonetheless true that 'God so loved the world, that he
gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not
perish, but have everlasting life." E.G. White, Lift Him Up, p.
235. "He was the Redeemer before as after His Incarnation." The
Desire of Ages, 210. “The Father demonstrates His infinite love for Christ, who paid our
ransom with His blood, by receiving and welcoming Christ's friends as His
friends. He is satisfied with the atonement made. He is glorified by the incarnation, the life, death, and mediation of
His Son.”--Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 364. {7ABC 460.2} 1 Tim.3:16
"And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was
manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto
the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory." "The incarnation of
Christ is THE MYSTERY OF ALL MYSTERIES." 6BC 1082. "As the worker studies the life of Christ,
and the character of His mission is dwelt upon, each fresh
search will reveal something more deeply interesting than has yet been
unfolded. The subject is inexhaustible. The study of the
incarnation of Christ, His atoning sacrifice and mediatorial work, will
employ the mind of the diligent student as long as time shall last."
Gospel Workers, p. 251. SDA Bible Commentary, Vol. 7a, p. 444. "No one can search the Scriptures in the spirit of Christ without
being rewarded. When man is willing to be instructed as a little child, when
he submits wholly to God, he will find the truth in His word. If men would be
obedient, they would understand the plan of God's government. The heavenly
world would open its chambers of grace and glory for exploration. Human
beings would be altogether different from what they now are, for by exploring
the mines of truth men would be ennobled. The mystery of
redemption, THE INCARNATION OF CHRIST, HIS ATONING SACRIFICE, would not be as
they are now, vague in our minds. They would be not only better understood,
but altogether more highly appreciated." E.G. White, Christ's Object Lessons,
p. 114. "He (Christ) suffered the death which was ours, that we might
receive the life which WAS His." Desire of Ages, p. 25 1 Cor.
11:24-265, cf. John 6:53, 54, Titus 3:5, 6.
—rwb |