Our Saviour and Lord by George W. Reaser

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Aug 6, 1912

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 39, No. 30.

Our Saviour and Lord

By George W. Reaser

Christ as Our Example

OR at least a threefold purpose the world needed a life lived in "sinful flesh" and yet stainless of sin, matchless in righteousness, aglow with good works, magnificent in sacrifice, magnanimous in love and forgiveness,—in short, the manifestation of God in the flesh. And such was the life of the "Word" incarnate—pure in the sight of men, reproachless under the scrutiny of angels, approved of God.

One reason for the necessity of such a life was that if men are ever to live on the plane of angels—sinless, unselfish beings—they must have a perfect pattern set before them, the stimulation of a spotless example; another, that only a sinless one could pay sin’s penalty; and still another, sin must be condemned in the flesh, and only he can consistently condemn sin in the flesh who has lived a sinless life.

Every requirement of the race, every necessity of a perfect plan of salvation, was met in Him whose name is called "Wonderful," yet who "made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men." Phil. 2:7.

"In Him whom all our praise excels, The fulness of the Godhead dwells, And all perfections meet."

Eternal principles of truth and righteousness, justice and mercy, are inherent in Divinity. Principles are not created; they exist, and are therefore in force, operative, wherever intelligent beings dwell. An oral, a written, or a living expression of these principles is simply the declaration of the character of God. Righteous principles, ever-existent, unchangeable, inalterable, constitute the law of Jehovah. His law, in whatever manner truly expressed, is the revelation of His character. No law of Jehovah is arbitrary. It is simply the expression of eternal principles of righteousness and truth, justice and mercy. Therefore any departure from the law of Jehovah is a violation of eternal principles. Such violation is suicidal. Therefore sin, which is "the transgression of the law," is self-destructive. In other words, the violation of eternal principles, the transgression of the law, the negation of the character of Jehovah, brings another law into operation, even "the law of sin and death."

Violation of right principles is selfishness, self-worship. Wherever true happiness prevails, of necessity there must be an outflowing of love, instead of a manifestation of selfishness. Wherever intelligent beings dwell, in order to preserve happiness and life righteous principles must be held inviolate, for any violation of them brings into operation the law of sin, the results, unhappiness, death. It is God’s will that all His creatures should live by right principles, and thus enjoy perpetual happiness; hence the law, which is a written expression of right principles, is declared to be "for our good always."

Assured in the Gift

While all mankind had lived in violation of principles of righteousness and justice, yet the possibility, yes, the certainty, of the full revelation of these principles to humanity, in human flesh, was assured to our race in the gift of the divine Son of God. And as the law of Jehovah as given to man is a written expression of righteous principles, so when Divinity should come and dwell in human flesh, He must be a living expression of the inherent principles of righteousness and truth, justice and mercy, which are inseparable from Divinity. Or, in other words, He must reveal the character of the Godhead to humanity. And inasmuch as the law is a transcript of the character of Jehovah, so in the life of "Immanuel,—God with us," the law must appear "drawn out in living characters."

As Christ looked down into our world and beheld the deplorable, disconsolate, hopeless condition of humanity because of the universal violation of righteous principles—transgression of the law—He spoke prophetically these words: "Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of Me, I delight to do Thy will, O My God: yea, Thy law is within My heart." Ps. 40:7, 8.

While righteous principles are inherent in divine nature, yet when the Son of God became the Son of Man,—put human nature on, in common with humanity,—He had to fight the battles against sin—the violation of right principles—forced upon Him by fierce temptations, intensified by all of the arts and cunning of the deceiver of the whole world. "It would have been an almost infinite humiliation for the Son of God to take man’s nature, even when Adam stood in his innocence in Eden. But Jesus accepted humanity when the race had been weakened by four thousand years of sin. Like every child of Adam He accepted the results of the working of the great law of heredity. What these results were is shown in the history of His earthly ancestors. He came with such a heredity to share our sorrows and temptations, and to give us the example of a sinless life. . . . Into the world where Satan claimed dominion God permitted His Son to come, a helpless babe, subject to the weakness of humanity. He permitted Him to meet life’s perils in common with every soul, to fight the battle as every child of humanity must fight it, at the risk of failure and eternal loss."—"Desire of Ages," pages 49, 50.

In considering the life of Christ as revealing to humanity principles of righteousness and truth, justice and mercy, we repeat that these principles are in reality the character of Jehovah, of which the law is a transcript. Thus the life of Christ in human flesh must be a living expression of the principles set forth in the written law. It should be observed also that the keeping or the living of the law must consist in the doing of the opposite of that which the law condemns. To illustrate: Wherein the law prohibits the worship of other gods than Jehovah it does not prohibit worship, but rather enjoins that worship which is directed toward the only Being whom men ought to worship. Thus the keeping of the law is the life that is negative to sin, but positive to righteousness. Bearing this thought in mind will help us to see how the underlying principles of the law found living expression in the life of Christ. "He came to explain the relation of the law to man, and to illustrate its precepts by His own life of obedience."

Doubtless Jesus’ fullest verbal declaration of the underlying principles of the law was the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5, 6, 7. The introduction to this marvelous discourse is "the beatitudes," nine in number, which so simply yet with surpassing beauty set forth the blessings bestowed of Heaven upon those who seek and develop righteousness—God-likeness of character.

The Principles of the Decalogue

That His entire discourse is based upon the principles contained in the Decalogue—God’s standard of righteousness—is shown in a most emphatic way in His declaration that He came not to destroy the law, and that "whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 5: 17-19); and further, by the fact that to show their underlying principles He made a careful analysis of several precepts of the Decalogue, declaring that anger against a brother is a violation of the sixth commandment (verses 21, 22); and that a lustful look constitutes the breaking of the seventh (verses 27, 28). He developed the vital principle of the third in verses 33-37; and of the sixth by advising non-resistance—turning the other cheek—as set in opposition to murder; and of the eighth by yielding that which is actually ours by right, in opposition to stealing (verses 38-42).

He then proceeded to teach that the doing of the commandments is the law of life for the universe, manifested in the outflowing of love to God and to man, even tho the man be an enemy. As showing that a recognition in the life of the underlying principles of the law means perfection of character, He brought His sermon to a focal point in these words: "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." Verse 48.

It had been foretold of Him that He would "magnify the law and make it honorable." The Sermon on the Mount was a masterful fulfilment of this prophecy, in precept. But His life must put the principles of the law in concrete form.

Christ’s very life was the law in concrete form. If we desire to behold the beauty of the law, we have but to meditate upon the life of Immanuel. In the face of Satan’s temptation to worship him, He chose death, "even the death of the cross," rather than swerve from the worship of Jehovah for a moment. In utter unselfishness He fed the hungry, healed all manner of sickness, surrendered His whole life in patient sacrifice, with the climax of pouring out His blood on Calvary that a race of rebels might be forgiven and find mercy. Surely He demonstrated that the law, God’s standard of righteousness, is the law of life for the universe.

As the underlying principle of Sabbath-keeping is peace and rest in the Creator, with a definite, Spirit-filled day given as a Heaven-sent blessing and as a test of loyalty, so Christ’s whole life-work on earth was to provide peace and rest in Jehovah, and to secure loyalty to Him.

But why amplify on this phase of our theme when we can discover no deviation from righteous principles in His entire life! Absolutely nothing appears in His career that was not an expression of loyalty to God and an outflowing of love, mercy, and supreme sacrifice toward fallen humanity. Thus we have in the law a written standard of righteousness; and the standard met, or

the law in action, in the life of the "Word made flesh." All that made His life beautiful was the doing of the law—the overflowing of love to God and man. And His was the most beautiful life of all the sons of Adam’s race. Behold the perfection, the matchless beauty of principles of character, in the God-man! For "Christ is the embodiment of living principles of righteousness. The recorded acts in His life are but samples of the outworking of those principles."

The Christian Life a Life of Development of Principles in the Flesh

"Christ set up His tabernacle in the midst of our human encampment. He pitched His tent by the side of the tents of men, that He might dwell among us and make us familiar with His divine character and life." "His example declares that our only hope of eternal life is through bringing the appetites and passions into subjection to the will of God." But the Christian life is a growing up to perfection. At birth into the kingdom of heaven we have not attained "unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ," but the blessed promise is that we "may grow up into Him in all things, which is the Head, even Christ."

Peter informs us as to the secret of Christian growth in these words: "Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil-speaking, as new-born babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby."

God’s laws are living principles—currents of life and power. The breaking of them is the severing of the connection with the fountain of life, which means death. But "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, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."

The Omnipotent Hand Uplifts

To those who have not come up to His standard of righteousness, He is willing to extend His omnipotent hand to lift them up, that they may sit together with Him in heavenly places. To those who have no might He increases strength. From those who see His perfection, but on account of a load of sin can not attain to it, He removes the load of sin, and bears it Himself. He makes ample provision for the bringing of every thought into captivity to Himself. "To all who will do this, the Holy Spirit is given without measure."

"In Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in Him, which is the Head of all principality and power." "His life testifies that it is possible for us to obey the law of God; by His humanity, Christ touched humanity; by His divinity, He lays hold upon the throne of God."

"Christ, the true temple of God’s indwelling, molded every detail of His earthly life in harmony with God’s ideal." "So our characters are to be builded 'for an habitation of God through the Spirit.' And we are to 'make all things according to the Pattern,' even Him who 'suffered for us, leaving us an example, that we should follow His steps.'"