Rom 8:3 ...God, sending His own Son in the likeness of the flesh of sin and concerning sin, condemned sin in the flesh. John 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up.
[Part 2 of 2] The Lord Jesus was a perfect Man, a Man with all the human virtues, yet He was nevertheless in the likeness of the flesh of sin. Of course, the Lord Jesus did not have the nature of fallen mankind; however, He did possess the likeness, the outward form or appearance, of fallen mankind. In Romans 8:3 Paul says that Christ came in the likeness of the flesh of sin. He did not have the nature of sin, but He had the likeness, the appearance, the form, of the flesh of sin. It was necessary for this likeness of the flesh of sin to be judged, terminated, and buried. This was another reason for the baptism of the Man-Savior. We have seen that fallen man certainly needs to be judged, terminated, and buried. We have also seen that even the God- created man must be set aside in order to live a life in which the human virtues express the divine attributes. For this, even a good, complete, and perfect God-created man must be set aside. This is the reason that the Lord Jesus as the God-Man said in the Gospel of John that He did not do anything by Himself. In John 5:19 He said, "The Son can do nothing from Himself except what He sees the Father doing." In John 5:30 He said again, "I can do nothing from Myself." In John 8:28 the Lord declared, "I do nothing from Myself." In order that He might express God in His human living, at the beginning of His ministry the Lord put Himself aside through baptism. He was a perfect and complete Man, but He would not live by Himself. Instead, He lived by God the Father who was in Him. (c) 2007 Living Stream Ministry.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of Luke, pp. 66-67. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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