THE WORD WAS MADge

FLESH

ONE HUNDRED YEARS

of
SEVENTH�AYADVENTffiT
CHRISTOLOGY

1852-1952

Ralph Larson

THE CHERRYSTONE PRESS

P.O. Box 3180
Cherry Valley, California 92223

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 The nature of God, whose law had been transgressed, and the
nature of Adam, the transgressor, meet in Jesus, the Son of God,
and the Son of Man.

- Ellen White, Manuscript 1 4 1 , 1901

. . . our real position is not to be cloaked in order to please

the world's great men.

- Ellen White, Selected Messages, Volume II, p. 371

 This book is circulated by the author through The Cherrystone
Press, a non-profit corporation organized for the purpose of publishing
Gospel literature. To purchase a copy of this book, mail your order
(U.S. $1 1 .95 , POSTAGE PAID) to

The Cherrystone Press

P.O. Box 3 180
Cherry Valley, California 92223

Copyright, 1986, by The Cherrystone Press.

Schematic cover design by Robert Bresnahan, Eatonville, WA.

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 ©

To Jeanne

who is the greatest

- And my deepest appreciation to Puring Ragui and to B arb ara Van Ornam,
who labored diligently to translate my handwritten hieroglyphics into
intelligible English.
 FOREWORD

For the last several decades the human nature of Christ has been the
subject of intense study in some scholarly Seventh-day Adventist circles.
The publication of Questions on Doctrine (1957) set the stage for almost
three decades of as yet unresolved debate, witnessed most recently in
the two opposing views published side by side in the June 1985 issue
of Ministry magazine.
Dr. Ralph S. Larson, for several years Coordinator of the Church and
Ministry Department of the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary,
Far East, enters the debate with The Word Was Made Flesh, with a
limited, rather specialized objective. Dr. Larson does not deal directly
with the whole issue of Christ's human nature. He traces the
understanding of this aspect of Christology within the Seventh-day
Adventist Church from 1 852 until 1952.
Dr. Larson provides here a fairly comprehensive survey of the historical
evidence, and his contribution to the study of this important topic is
extremely valuable. Whether we agree or not with his conclusions, we
are all indebted to him for the painstaking work of assembling this
extensive compilation of statements made in writing by Seventh-day
Adventists for one hundred years.
For some readers, careful reading of The Word Was Made Flesh may
not provide all the definitive answers sought. However, it will surely
prove to be for all a most enriching and stimulating experience.

Werner Vyhmeister

President
Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, Far East

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