THE BAKER LETTER

We are told that the nature of Christ means everything to us. Therefore we should
understand it as well as inspiration has revealed it to us. And this is especially important
since this topic not only constitutes a basis for our belief that Christ can enable us to
obey also, but because both grand truths are being heavily controverted today.

This compilation on "The Human Nature of Christ" is continued from the preceding tract
in this series [FF 303].

"Exact obedience is required, and those who say that it is not possible to live a perfect
life throw upon God the imputation of injustice and untruth." Review, February 7,
1957. (E.G.W.)

"Some few in every generation from Adam resisted his [Satan's] every artifice and stood
forth as noble representatives of what it was in the power of man to do and be Christ
working with human efforts, helping man in overcoming the power of Satan. Enoch and
Elijah are the correct representatives of what the race might be through faith in Jesus
Christ if they chose to be. Satan was greatly disturbed because these noble, holy men
stood untainted amid the moral pollution surrounding them, perfected righteous
characters, and were accounted worthy of translation to Heaven. As they stood forth in
moral power, in noble uprightness, overcoming Satan*s temptations, he could not bring
them under the dominion of death." Review, March 3, 1874.

"Enoch's life and character . . represent the lives and characters of all who will be
translated when Christ comes." Signs, November 11, 1886.

"In order for man to retain justification, there must be continual obedience, through
active faith that works by love and purifies the soul." 1 Selected Messages, 366.

"After Christ had taken the necessary steps in repentance, conversion, and faith in
behalf of the human race, He went to John to be baptized of him in Jordan." General
Conference Bulletin, 1901, 36.

"Christ came not confessing His own sins; but guilt was imputed to Him as the sinner's
substitute. He came not to repent on His own account; but in behalf of the sinner. He
takes upon Himself their sins numbering Himself with the transgressors, taking the
steps the sinner is required to take; and doing the work the sinner must do." Review,
January 21, 1873.

"Christ. . had taken the steps which every sinner must take, in conversion, repentance,
and baptism. He Himself had no sins of which to repent, and therefore He had no sins
to wash away. But He was our example in all things, and therefore He must do that
which He would have us do." In Heavenly Places, 252.
"I present before you the great Exemplar . . As really did He meet and resist the
temptations of Satan as any of the children of humanity. In this sense alone could He be
a perfect example for man. He subjected Himself to become acquainted with all the
temptations wherewith man is beset. He took the infirmities and bore the sorrows of the
sons of Adam." He was made like unto His brethren. Hebrews 2:17. He felt both joy and
grief as they feel. His body was susceptible to weariness, as yours. His mind, like yours,
could be harassed and perplexed. If you could have hardships, so did He. Satan could
tempt Him. His enemies could annoy Him. The ruling powers could torture His body; the
soldiers could crucify Him; and they can do no more to us. Jesus was exposed to
hardships, to conflict and temptation, as a man.. Your circumstances, your cogitations at
this period of your life, Jesus has had . . He sees your dangers. He is acquainted with
your temptations. He invites you to follow His example." Our High Calling, 57.

"Among the heathen are those who worship God ignorantly, those to whom the light is
never brought by human instrumentality, yet they will not perish. Though ignorant of the
written law of God, they have heard His voice speaking to them in nature, and have
done those things that the law required. Their works are evidence that the Holy Spirit
has touched their hearts, and they are recognized as the children of God." Desire of
Ages, 638.

"There are many who in their hearts murmur against God. They say, We inherit the
fallen nature of Adam, and are not responsible for our natural imperfections. They find
fault with God's requirements, and complain that He demands what they have no power
to give. Satan made the same complaint in heaven, but such thoughts dishonor God."
Signs, August 29, 1892.

"Let no one say I cannot remedy my defects of character. If you come to this decision,
you will certainly fail of obtaining everlasting life." Christ's Object Lessons, 331.

"The righteousness of God is absolute. This righteousness characterizes all His works,
all His laws. As He is, so must His people be." 1 Selected Messages, 198.

"Christ could not have come to this earth with the glory that He had in the heavenly
courts. Sinful human beings could not have borne the sight. He veiled His divinity with
the garb of humanity, but He did not part with His divinity. A divine-human Saviour, He
came to stand at the head of the race, to share in their experience from childhood to
manhood." 5 Bible Commentary, 1128.

"He did not cease to be God when He became a man. . The two expressions human*
and divine* were, in Christ, closely and inseparably one, and yet they had a distinct
individuality" Signs May 10, 1899.

BIBLE VERSES ON THE NATURE OF CHRIST

"Wherefore in all things it behooved Him to be made like unto His brethren." Hebrews
2.17.
"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." Hebrews
4.45.

"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the
glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." John 1:14.

"The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham."
Matthew 1.1 (Matthew 1:1-1 7).

"For verily He took not on Him the nature of angels; but He took on Him the seed of
Abraham." Hebrews 2.16.

"And if ye be Christ*s, then are ye Abrahams seed, and heirs according to the promise
." Galatians 3:29.

"Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made
Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the
likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and
became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." Philippians 2:6-8.

"For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the
righteousness of God in Him." 2 Corinthians 5:21.

"And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus: for He shall save
His people from their sins." Matthew 1:21.

"Now is My soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save Me from this hour: but for
this cause came I unto this hour." John 12:27.

"And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in
weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of
Christ may rest upon me." 2 Corinthians 12:9.

"Concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David
according to the flesh; and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the
spirit of holiness ." Romans 1:3-4.

"I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the
root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star." Revelation 22:16.

"The Lord hath sworn in truth unto David; He will not turn from it; of the fruit of thy body
will I set upon thy throne." Psalm 132:11

"And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out
of his roots." Isaiah 11:1.
"And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the seed of David?" Matthew
12:23.

"Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise up unto David a righteous
Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper and shall execute judgment and justice in
the earth." Jeremiah 23:5.

"And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called
Christ." Matthew 1:16.

"For every high priest taken from among men is ordained of men in things pertaining to
God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins: who can have compassion on
the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed
with infirmity . . And no man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God,
as was Aaron. So also Christ glorified not Himself to be made an high priest; but He that
said unto Him, Thou art My Son, today have I begotten Thee . . Who in the days of His
flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears
unto Him that was able to save Him from death , and was heard in that He feared;
Though He were a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered ."
Hebrews 5:1-8.

"For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the
righteousness of God in Him." 2 Corinthians 5:21.

"But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a
woman, made under the law." Galatians 4:4.

"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, condemned sin in the flesh."
Romans 8:3.

"And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the
flesh." 1 Timothy 3:16.

"And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus is come in the flesh is not of God: and
this is the spirit of antichrist." 1 John 4:3.

"But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels." Hebrews 2:9.

"Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise
took part of the same ." Hebrews 2:14.
THE BAKER LETTER

At the beginning of this "Firm Foundation 300" Series, we have gathered together a
great amount of material in support of the historic Adventist teaching that Christ took our
fallen nature, but that in it He never once yielded to temptation or sin.

But you will also want to read IC 3-6, entitled "In Christ We Conquer" Part 1-4 for
additional Spirit of Prophecy passages that reveal that we may overcome as Christ
overcame because of the human and the divine nature of Christ. Another important
study is DH 1: "The Change in the Doctrine of the Human Nature of Christ" which
explains the way in which the change took place and when. In addition, you will also
value FF 26, entitled "Documentary Fraud," which will provide you with further
explanatory material in defense of the correct position on the human nature of Christ. It
was a transcription of most of a sermon by Ralph Larson, senior pastor of the Loma
Linda Campus Hills Church.

But there was an appendix to that sermon that we did not have room to include.
Entitled, "Ellen White Corrects Two Christological Errors", this study is an analysis of
the Baker Letter.

The present tract you are now reading is that appendixed material by Larson.

The "Baker Letter" (Letter 8, 1895) was written by Ellen

White to Elder W. L. H. Baker, at that time an Adventist pastor in Tasmania, an island

off the southeast coast of Australia. This minister, as a result of extensive reading in the
"church fathers" (religious writers who lived a hundred and more years after the time of
Christ), had accepted and was teaching one of their errors, an ancient heresy taken
over from paganism that was called "Adoptionism." This error teaches that Christ was
not the Son of God at His birth and throughout His childhood. But that, at the time of His
baptism, He was "adopted" by God as His Son, and God came down into Him. This
strange error is accepted by few people in our day. (The "Adoptionists," both the earlier
(second-third century, A.D.) and later (eighth century) versions, taught that Jesus was
only human and was later adopted by Heaven into the Deity, and that for centuries God
had been waiting for one man good enough to bestow this favor upon. But the truth is
that God sent His Son to save mankind. The Bible teaching is that God became man;
not that man became God.)

Baker was urging this peculiar error upon the people. In her letter to him, Ellen White
warned him to be very careful how he spoke of the earthly life of Christ, and he was
cautioned against his statements that Christ was "exactly like us." But this concern on
her part was understandable, for "Adoptionism" teaches that prior to His baptism Christ
was only a human being, a sinful one, and nothing more, and that after the baptism, He
was "adopted" into the Godhead because of His struggles for victory over His various
sins.
All this, of course, reminds one of the gods of the Greek myths, which many of the early
"fathers" carefully studied and copied. (Read BS 4-5: "The Story of the Change of the
Sabbath Part 1-2" for more information on these early and later church fathers and
some of the pagan errors (including Sunday worship) that they tried to bring into the
church.)

But this letter (the "Baker Letter, "which is Letter 8, 1895) is now being used by
advocates of the error coming into our Church in the mid-twentieth century that Christ
had an immaculate inheritance. They try to use words and phrases from it to prove their
error.

Therefore we are reprinting this analysis of the Baker Letter by Ralph Larson in this
tract. It is an important study, for it helps to clarify some Ellen White passages that are
puzzling to some people. vf

Ellen White Corrects Two Christological Errors

By Ralph Larson

It is common knowledge that the pioneers of the Adventist church came from a wide
variety of religious and theological backgrounds, and that after the great disappointment
of 1844 they devoted much time and study to the development of a platform of Bible
truth upon which they could unite. In their early Bible conferences they reached a
common understanding of the nature of God, the nature of man, the Sabbath,
justification by faith, etc. They did not, however, successfully resolve all of their different
understandings of the nature of Christ.

ARYANISM

As late as the turn of the century there were still a few voices among us which were
advocating, in various ways, limited views of the divinity of Christ. (Leroy Edwin Froom,
"Movement of Destiny" (Washington, D.C., 1971), pp. 148-166.) These views, generally
speaking, fell within the category of what theologians have called Aryanism, after a
certain Arius who strongly advocated similar opinions in the great Christological
controversies of the fourth century. (Phillip Schaff, "History of the Christian Church"
(Grand Rapids, 1953), Vol. III, pp. 618-621.)

According to Arius and those who followed his thinking Christ had not co-existed with
the Father throughout all eternity, but had been created by the Father at some point in
time before the history of the world. Christ is seen as the greatest and highest of Gods
created beings. Thus He was not "Very God of Very God," but a lower and lesser form
of deity.

Ellen White did not use the technical term Aryanism, but she did testify to the eternal
deity of Christ in her great "Desire of Ages" in such a way that the specific Christological
errors of Aryanism were unmistakably refuted. (Ellen G. White, "Desire of Ages"
(Mountain View, 1940). Thus: "From the days of eternity the Lord Jesus Christ was one
with the Father.." Desire of Ages, p. 19.

"The name of God, given to Moses to express the idea of the eternal presence, had
been claimed as His own by this Galilean Rabbi. He had announced Himself to be the
self-existent One.." Desire of Ages, p. 469.

"In Christ is life, original, unborrowed, underived." Desire of Ages, p. 530.

In the light of this clear testimony the Arian Christological errors gradually faded away,
and it is doubtful that there are any Seventh-day Adventist Bible students who now
believe that Christ was a created being.

ADOPTIONISM

In like manner, without identifying the Christological error by its specific technical name,
Ellen White found occasion to refute the principles of Adoptionism. This was a view that
Christ was not the Son of God at birth, nor during the first phase of His earthly life, but
became the Son of God by adoption. This idea was taught in Rome during the years
189-199 by a leather merchant from Byzantium named Theodotus. (Phillip Carrington,
The Early Christian Church" (Cambridge, 1957), Vol. II, p. 415. It was developed and
amplified by Paul of Samosata who served as bishop of Antioch from 260 to 269.
Because of Pauls strong influence, the opinion became quite popular in the eastern
churches and in the Armenian churches, where it was held for centuries. (Albert Henry
Newman, "A Manual of Church History (Philadelphia, 1933), Vol. II, pp. 379-380.) In the
eighth century it was advocated among the western churches by Elipandus of Spain. (H.
R. Mackintosh, "The Person of Jesus Christ" (New York, 1962), p. 223 ff.)

Although there were nuances of difference in the views of individual Adoptionists, there
were three basic opinions that were generally shared. Ellen Whites response to and
refutation of these opinions is found not only in the "Desire of Ages" but also in a
personal testimony to W. L. H. Baker, a pastor who was laboring in the Tasmanian
district while Sr. White was living in Australia and working on the manuscript for "Desire
of Ages." (Ellen G. White, "Letter No. 8," 1895, unpublished, Heritage Room of Loma
Linda, California. A portion appears in "The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary"
(Washington, D.C., 1953), Vol. V. pp. 1128-1129.)

In this interesting letter we find (1) a warning to Pastor Baker about spending too much
time in reading, (2) a caution against accepting the traditions of the Fathers (a term
which when capitalized as in the letter, is understood to refer to the church Fathers) and
(3) a warning about teaching speculative theories that would not be of benefit to the
church members. She also presents a specific, point-by-point refutation of the errors of
Adoptionism.
I-Adoptionist view:

Jesus was not the Son of God at birth. He was born of a woman as all men are. Though
He may have been born of a virgin, this fact has no theological significance. He was
born as a son of man, not as the Son of God." Letter No. 8, 1895.

II-Adoptionist view:

Jesus was not the Son of God during the first phase of His earthly existence. He was a
normal human being with exalted concepts of purity and holiness, toward which He
strove heroically, but He was in no sense divine. During this phase of His existence,
since He was altogether and exclusively human, He would have had the same
propensities of sin, inclinations to, and taints of corruption that all humans have. He
could have even been overcome by temptation and actually sinned. None of these
things, in view of His continuing heroic struggle to achieve holiness, would have
disqualified Him to become the adopted Son of God at the climax of His spiritual
progress. Paul of Samosata expressed it like this:

"Mary did not bring forth the Word, for Mary was not before the ages. But she brought
forth a man on a level with ourselves. "(Newman, "op. cit." Vol. K, p. 199.)

Ellen White wrote to Baker:

"..let every human being be warned from the ground of making Christ altogether human,
such an one as ourselves, for it cannot be."

"Never, in any way, leave the slightest impression upon human minds that a taint of, or
inclination to, corruption rested upon Christ, or that He in any way yielded to corruption."

"Do not set Him before the people as a man with the propensities of sin."

"He could have fallen, but not for one moment was there in Him an evil propensity"
(Ibid.)

This interesting expression, "not for one moment" would seem to indicate that Ellen
White was recoiling in horror from the above stated view of the Adoptionists. Perhaps
they could contemplate with equanimity the possibility of evil propensities, corruption, or
even sin in Christs early life, but she could not. This appears to be her chief concern in
the letter to Pastor Baker. In it she affirms repeatedly that Christ did not sin, mentioning
it a total of ten times, and carefully ruling out the possibility of even a single yielding to
temptation on His part.

"On not one occasion was there a response to his (Satans) manifold temptations."
(Ibid.)
III-Adoptionist view:

As a result of His heroic struggles to achieve holiness, Jesus was eventually adopted to
be the Son of God. There were different opinions as to when this happened. Some saw
it as a gradual process, others felt that it happened at the baptism of Jesus, and still
others at His resurrection. After His adoption, humanity was blended with divinity.

Ellen White wrote to Baker: "The exact time when humanity blended with divinity, it is
not necessary for us to know." (Ibid.)

In addition to this precise and specific rejection of the errors of Adoptionism in her letter
to Pastor Baker, Ellen White expanded on the themes of the divinity and pre-existence
of Christ as well as His complete sinlessness throughout His entire life in the "Desire of
Ages."

Some have studied the letter from Ellen White to Pastor Baker, and perhaps because of
a lack of familiarity with the specific Christological errors of Adoptionism that she was so
forcefully rejecting, have had difficulty with the expression: not for one moment was
there in Him an evil propensity."

Some have seen in this an evidence that she believed that Christ assumed in His
incarnation the nature of Adam before his fall. Others, comparing it with her comments
on that subject in the "Desire of Ages," have drawn the unfortunate conclusion that she
talked on both sides of that particular question. Neither conclusion is required by the
evidence. Once it is recognized that the Baker letter is a point-by-point refutation of
Adoptionism, which Pastor Baker had apparently become involved in through his
reading of the church Fathers, her line of reasoning in that letter becomes crystal clear.
And we are certainly not required to use a fragment from a personal letter to a
Tasmanian pastor to offset her statements about the human nature of Christ as found in
the "Desire of Ages," which is clearly her conscious and deliberate Christological
position paper addressed to the whole world. To do this would be questionable
hermeneutics, to say the least.

As to the human nature of Christ, Ellen White, consciously departing from Reformation
Christology, takes the same position that the Swiss theologian Karl Barth does, and for
the same reason. Compare:

Karl Barth:

"Flesh (which the Word became) is the concrete form of human nature marked by
Adams fall. .

"But there must be no weakening or obscuring of the saving truth that the nature which
God assumed in Christ is identical with our nature as we see it in the light of the fall. If it
were otherwise, how could Christ be really like us? What concern would we have with
Him?"
". .Jesus did not run away from the state and situation of fallen man, but He took it upon
Himself, lived it and bore it Himself as the Eternal Son of God." (Karl Barth, "Church
Dogmatics" (Edinburgh, 1963), pp. 151-158.)

Ellen White:

"It would have been an almost infinite humiliation for the Son of God to take mans
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." (White, "op. cit.", Vol.
K, p. 199.)

"And in order to elevate man, Christ must reach him where he was. He took human
nature, and bore the infirmities and degeneracy of the race." (White, "Review and
Herald"; July 28, 1874.)

"In taking upon Himself mans nature in its fallen condition, Christ did not in the least
participate in its sin. (White, "Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary" (Washington,
D.C.), Vol. V, p. 1131.)

It is this writers conclusion that a careful use of correct hermeneutical principles would
make it impossible to use the Baker letter to offset the book "Desire of Ages." A
comparison of the human nature of Christ with the nature of Adam before the fall as
distinct from the nature of man after the fall simply was not the purpose and intent of the
writer. She was apparently responding to the needs of an entirely different problem,
Pastor Bakers unfortunate involvement with the Christological errors of

Adoptionism.

And the evidence certainly does not require that we accuse Ellen White of talking on
both sides of the question about the human nature of Christ. When proper
hermeneutical principles are applied, her writings on that subject are clear, consistent,
and unequivocal. Any and all attempts to draw a line of demarcation between Christs
human nature and our human nature must be shattered by this simple yet profoundly
meaningful statement:

"Just that which you may be He was in human nature."

(White, "Letter No. 106," 1896.) The above concludes Elder Larsons excellent study.
The entire "Baker Letter" (Letter 8, 1895) has never been released, but part of it has. It
can be found in 5 Bible Commentary, pages 1128-1129. The early Christian form of this
strange heresy is spelled "Adoptionism, "and represented the error of the Jewish
Christian Ebionites, Paul of Samosata, Theodore of Mopsuestia and the "Antiochene
School" of theology, and was primarily to be found in the second and third century, A.D.
Later in the eighth century the error reappeared in Spain. This form is usually spelled
"Adoptianism." It has reappeared in modern theological thought and can be found today
in the writings of several Biblical scholars and university doctors of theology.
It is excerpts from the Baker Letter which Leroy Froom used in "Questions on Doctrine"
and "Movement of Destiny" to support the error of the immaculate nature of Christ.

EXCERPTS FROM "THE BIBLICAL SANCTUARY"

Last fall, the present writer set aside two months and wrote "The Biblical Sanctuary,"
vindicating our historic Adventist beliefs from the Bible. Composed of 205 Studies, and
140 pages, it is available from Pilgrims Rest in a 35-tract set [BH 1-35].

Because many people will not have this set, we have taken four studies from it that deal
with the present topic and are including them in the present study on the "Human
Nature of Christ."

Study 15 [from BH 2-3] is a Biblical analysis of this doctrine. Study 16 [from BH 3]

provides additional clarification on Hebrews 2:16. Study 118 [from BH 21] provides
quotations from the book of Hebrews that will enable you to better understand Pauls
presentation of this subject in that epistle. Study 113 [from BH 21] contains thirteen
points; point two of which being on the present topic. However, since there is space for
it, we have included the entire 113th study.

Study 15 Hebrews 2:9

THE HUMAN NATURE OF CHRIST

On this earth, Jesus fully became a man fully became like us in our inherited
weaknesses. One with us, He became fully our brother in the flesh. For He inherited the
nature of Abrahams descendants.

Hebrews Two is a dramatic statement on the Nature of Christ. The first chapter of the
book forcefully shows by a variety of proofs that Christ is fully God. Chapter two with
equal clarity and vividness maintains the fullness of Christs humanity.

It must be understood that to deny either of these is to weaken the entire plan of
salvation and to lessen the glory of what God has done for us and the fullness of
what He is to us. Dont be tempted of Satan to do it. Flee to the Word of God. It is clear
and persuasive. Jesus fully and in every respect is God. And just as fully He took a
human nature exactly like ours.

Consider now the message of Hebrews Two: In Christ, God visited humanity (2:6).
Jesus entered fully into our sufferings and weaknesses (2:9-10). Both He and we are
one (2:11). Fully of the same flesh and nature we are fully one. For this reason He is
not ashamed to call us "brethren" (2:11). Why is He not ashamed to call us equals with
Himself in His humanity? Because He is fully like us, yet without having indulged in sin.
His identity with our nature enables Him the more fully to reveal God to us, and thus
He declares the name of God unto His brethren (2:12). Forasmuch as we are partakers
of flesh and blood, He also partook of the same in the fullest sense, for only by so
doing could He by His sacrificial death lay the basis by which the actual death of Satan
could later take place (2:14). He fully took our nature, and then died for us. Only in this
way could Satans rule over us be broken. "And deliver them who through fear of death
were all their lifetime subject to bondage" 2:15. He fully entered the domain of
weakness and fear and death for only in this way could He obtain a full and complete
victory. There are those who will agree that Jesus took mans nature, but only to the
extent that Adam partook of it before his fall: A nature nestled in perfection, bereft of
suffering and hardship and weaknesses and temptations. They base this on certain
passages that indicate that Christ was the "Second Adam" (Rom 5:14, I Cor 15:22, 45).
But the teaching of Paul is that by a single man (Adam) we were hopelessly separated
from God. For Adam was the federal head of our race. In this sense, Christ is the
Second Adam, for through His total identity with our fallen nature, and His suffering and
temptations, (without ever having yielded to sin), and then a shameless death on our
behalf, He brings salvation and immortality to light and within the reach of everyone
who is willing to enter eternal life in Gods appointed way the way of humility and
suffering and obedience and submission to the will of God.

It may be mentioned here that a careful analysis of Spirit of Prophecy passages on this
theme reveals a minority of statements that tell us that Christ took Adams nature. The
context of these passages reveals that the point being presented is that Christ took
human nature, rather than merely angelic nature. But the vast majority of Spirit of
Prophecy passages referring to the human nature of Christ, specifically tell us and in
a surprising variety of ways that He took our fallen nature, a nature that had been
corrupted by four thousand years of sin. The first group, or minority of statements, is
telling us that Christ took human nature. But this second group, the majority of Spirit of
Prophecy statements is speaking of the kind of human nature that He took not the
unfallen nature of Adam, but the fallen nature of men in the time at which He, Christ,
was born into this world. These Biblical Heritage studies are not Spirit of Prophecy
studies, but as an example, read Desire of Ages, 49:0-3; 117:1-2. Separate
compilations of Spirit of Prophecy quotations on this topic are from Pilgrims Rest.