Ellen White on the Humanity of Christ

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Appendix B

Ellen White on the Humanity of Christ

1858:

Spiritual Gifts, vol. 1, p. 25: "Jesus also told them ... that He should take man's fallen nature, and His strength would not be even equal with theirs."

1863:

Review and Herald, Jan. 20, 1863: "I saw that Jesus knows our infirmities, and Himself hath felt their experiences in all things but in sin, therefore He hath proportioned a way and a path to our strength and capacity, and like Jacob, hath marched softly and in evenness with the children as they were able to endure."

1864:

Spiritual Gifts, vol. 4a, p. 115: It was in the order of God that Christ should take upon Himself the form and nature of fallen man."

Spiritual Gifts, vol. 4a, p. 119: "When the Son of God came into the world to die [as] man's sacrifice, He laid aside His glory and exalted stature. His height was but a little above the general size of men. His personal appearance bore no special marks of His divine character, which would of itself inspire faith. Yet His perfect form, and dignified bearing, His countenance expressing benevolence, love and holiness, were unequaled by any then living upon the earth."

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1868:

Testimonies for the Church, vol. 2, pp. 508, 509: "He was unsullied with corruption, a stranger to sin; yet He prayed, and that often with strong crying and tears. He prayed for His disciples and for Himself, thus identifying Himself with our needs, our weaknesses, and our failings, which are so common with humanity. He was a mighty petitioner, not possessing the passions of our human, fallen natures, but compassed with like infirmities, tempted in all points even as we are. Jesus endured agony which required help and support from His Father."

1869:

Testimonies for the Church, vol. 2, pp. 201, 202 (cf. Signs of the Times, Aug. 7, 1879): "Taking human nature fitted Christ to understand man's trials and sorrows, and all the temptations wherewith he is beset. Angels who were unacquainted with sin could not sympathize with man in his peculiar trials. Christ condescended to take man's nature and was tempted in all points like as we, that He might know how to succor all who should be tempted.

"As the human was upon Him, He felt His need of strength from His Father. He had select places of prayer. He loved to hold communion with His Father.... In this exercise His holy, human soul was strengthened for the duties and trials of the day. Our Saviour identifies Himself with our needs and weaknesses, in that He became a suppliant, a nightly petitioner, seeking from His Father fresh supplies of strength, to come forth invigorated and refreshed, braced for duty and trial. He is our example in all things. He is a brother in our infirmities, but not in possessing like passions. As the sinless One, His nature recoiled from evil. He endured struggles and torture of soul in a world of sin. His humanity made prayer a necessity and privilege."

1870:

Review and Herald, Apr. 19, 1870: "The great burden-bearer, who took our nature that He might understand how to sympathize with our frailty, and with our temptations, knows how to succor those that are tempted.

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And does He say, Carry your burdens yourself? No; but, Come unto me ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

Review and Herald, May 31, 1870: "Christ humiliated Himself to humanity, and took upon Himself our natures, that ... He might become a stepping stone to fallen men, that they might climb up upon His merits, and through His excellence and virtue receive from God an acceptance of their efforts to keep His law."

"Christ steps in between fallen man and God, and says to man, You may yet come to the Father."

1872:

Review and Herald, Dec. 17, 1872: "Man could not atone for man. His sinful, fallen condition would constitute him an imperfect offering, an atoning sacrifice of less value than Adam before his fall. God made man perfect and upright, and after his transgression there could be no sacrifice acceptable to God for him, unless the offering made should in value be superior to man as he was in his state of perfection and innocency.

"The divine Son of God was the only sacrifice of sufficient value to fully satisfy the claims of God's perfect law....

"Christ alone could open the way, by making an offering equal to the demands of the divine law. He was perfect, and undefiled by sin. He was without spot or blemish."

Review and Herald, Dec. 24, 1872: "This was the reception the Saviour met when He came to a fallen world. He ... took upon Himself man's nature, that He might save the fallen race. Instead of men glorifying God for the honor He had conferred upon them in thus sending His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, . . ."

Review and Herald, Dec. 31, 1872: "It was in the order of God that Christ should take upon Himself the form and nature of fallen man, that He might be made perfect through suffering, and Himself endure the strength of Satan's fierce temptations, that He might understand how to succor those who should be tempted."

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1873:

Manuscript 3, 1873 (cf. Manuscript Releases, vol. 10, pp. 65, 66): "I then spoke upon Luke 21:34-36. I spoke of the sacrifice made by Christ for us and His bearing the test Adam failed to endure in Eden. He stood in Adam's place. He took humanity, and with divinity and humanity combined He could reach the race with His human arm while His divine arm grasped the Infinite. His name was the link which united man to God and God to man."

Youth's Instructor, February 1873 (cf. Selected Messages, book.3, pp. 133, 134): "Christ was our example in all things. He was a perfect pattern in childhood, in youth, and in manhood....


"Christ, the Redeemer of the world, was not situated where the influences surrounding Him were the best calculated to preserve a life of purity and untainted morals, yet He was not contaminated. He was not free from temptation. Satan was earnest and persevering in his efforts to deceive and overcome the Son of God by his devices. Christ was the only one who walked the earth upon whom there rested no taint of sin. He was pure, spotless, and undefiled. That there should be One without the defilement of sin upon the earth greatly disturbed the author of sin, and he left no means untried to overcome Christ with his wily, deceptive power. But our Saviour relied upon His Heavenly Father for wisdom and strength to resist and overcome the tempter.... He was sinless. Virtue and purity characterized His life."


Youth's Instructor, April 1873 (cf. Selected Messages, book 3, p. 134): "Some may think that Christ, because He was the Son of God, did not have temptations as children now have. The Scriptures say He was tempted in all points like as we are tempted. And Satan made stronger attacks upon Christ than he will ever make upon us....

[one paragraph later] "No, children, you can never be tempted in so determined and cruel a manner as was our Saviour. Satan was upon His path every moment. The strength of Christ was in prayer. He had taken humanity, and He bore our infirmities and became sin for us."

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1874:

Review and Herald, Feb. 24, 1874: "Through His humiliation and poverty Christ would identify Himself with the weaknesses of the fallen race....

"The great work of redemption could be carried out only by the Redeemer taking the place of fallen Adam....

"The King of glory proposed to humble Himself to fallen humanity! ... He would take man's fallen nature and engage to cope with the strong foe who triumphed over Adam."

Review and Herald, July 28, 1874 (cf. Selected Messages, book 1, pp. 267, 268 and Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, p. 1081; cf. The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 2, p. 88, and The Desire of Ages, p. 117, for similar statements): "Christ was not in as favorable a position in the desolate wilderness to endure the temptations of Satan as was Adam when he was tempted in Eden. The Son of God humbled Himself and took man's nature after the race had wandered four thousand years from Eden, and from their original state of purity and uprightness. Sin had been making its terrible marks upon the race for ages; and physical, mental, and moral degeneracy prevailed throughout the human family.

"When Adam was assailed by the tempter in Eden he was without the taint of sin....

"Christ, in the wilderness of temptation, stood in Adam's place to bear the test he failed to endure. Here Christ overcame in the sinner's behalf, four thousand years after Adam turned his back upon the light of his home.... The human family had been departing every successive generation, farther from the original purity, wisdom, and knowledge which Adam possessed in Eden. Christ bore the sins and infirmities of the race as they existed when He came to earth to help man. In behalf of the race, with the weaknesses of fallen man upon Him, He was to stand the temptations of Satan upon all points wherewith man would be assailed....

"Adam was in the perfection of manhood, the noblest of the Creator's work....

"In what contrast is the second Adam as He entered the gloomy

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wilderness to cope with Satan single-handed. Since the Fall the race had been decreasing in size and physical strength, and sinking lower in the scale of moral worth, up to the period of Christ's advent to the earth. And in order to elevate fallen man, Christ must reach him where he was. He took human nature, and bore the infirmities and degeneracy of the race. He, who knew no sin, became sin for us. He humiliated Himself to the lowest depths of human woe, that He might be qualified to reach man, and bring him up from the degradation in which sin had plunged him" (cf. 2 Tim. 3:13: "But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse").

Review and Herald, Aug. 4, 1874 (cf. Selected Messages, book 1, pp. 271ff.): "The weight of the sins of the world was pressing His soul, and His countenance expressed unutterable sorrow, a depth of anguish that fallen man had never realized. He felt the overwhelming tide of woe that deluged the world. He realized the strength of indulged appetite and of unholy passion that controlled the world....

"The humanity of Christ reached to the very depths of human wretchedness, and identified itself with the weaknesses and necessities of fallen man, while His divine nature grasped the Eternal."

Review and Herald, Oct. 13, 1874: "Christ's humanity alone could never have endured this test [Satan's temptation in the wilderness], but His divine power combined with humanity gained in behalf of man an infinite victory. Our Representative in this victory raised humanity in the scale of moral value with God."

1875:

Review and Herald, Mar. 4, 1875: "Would that man had stopped falling with Adam. But there has been a succession of falls....

"From Adam's day to ours there has been a succession of falls, each greater than the last, in every species of crime."

Review and Herald, Mar. 18, 1875: "He [Satan] put forth his strongest efforts to overcome Christ on the point of appetite at a time when He was enduring the keenest pangs of hunger. The victory gained was de signed, not only to set an example to those who have fallen under the

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power of appetite, but to qualify the Redeemer for His special work of reaching to the very depths of human woe. By experiencing in Himself the strength of Satan's temptation, and of human sufferings and infirmities, He would know how to succor those who should put forth efforts to help themselves."

Review and Herald, Apr. 1, 1875: "If Christ had been deceived by Satan's temptations, and had exercised His miraculous power to relieve Himself from difficulty, He would have broken the contract made with His Father, to be a probationer in behalf of the race....

"It was as difficult for Him to keep the level of humanity as it is for men to rise above the low level of their depraved natures, and be partakers of the divine nature.

"Christ was put to the closest test, requiring the strength of all His faculties to resist the inclination when in danger, to use His power to deliver Himself from peril, and triumph over the power of the prince of darkness. Satan showed his knowledge of the weak points of the human heart, and put forth his utmost power to take advantage of the weakness of the humanity which Christ had assumed in order to overcome His temptations on man's account....

"Because the Son of God had linked Himself to the weakness of humanity, to be tempted in all points like as man should be tempted, Satan triumphed over Him, and taunted Him."

1877:

The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 2, p. 39: "In Christ were united the human and the divine.... Taking human nature fitted Christ to understand the nature of man's trials, and all the temptations wherewith he is beset.

"Before Christ left Heaven and came into the world to die, He was taller than any of the angels. He was majestic and lovely. But when His ministry commenced, He was but little taller than the common size of men then living upon the earth. Had He come among men with His noble, heavenly form, His outward appearance would have attracted the minds of the people to Himself, and He would have been received without the exercise of faith.

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"It was in the order of God that Christ should take upon Himself the form and nature of fallen man, that He might be made perfect through suffering, and Himself endure the strength of Satan's fierce temptations, that He might understand how to succor those who should be tempted." P. 88: "Every enticement to evil, which men find so difficult to resist, was brought to bear upon the Son of God in as much greater degree as His character was superior to that of fallen man.

"When Adam was assailed by the tempter he was without the taint of sin. He stood before God in the strength of perfect manhood, all the organs and faculties of his being fully developed and harmoniously balanced.... What a contrast to this perfect being did the second Adam present, as He entered the desolate wilderness to cope with Satan, single-handed. For four thousand years the race had been decreasing in size and physical strength, and deteriorating in moral worth; and, in order to elevate fallen man, Christ must reach him where he stood. He assumed human nature, bearing the infirmities and degeneracy of the race. He humiliated Himself to the lowest depths of human woe, that He might fully sympathize with man and rescue him from the degradation into which sin had plunged him."

Signs of the Times, Jan. 4, 1877: "He had taken upon Himself the form of humanity with all its attendant ills."

1878:

Letter 17, 1878 (cf. Manuscript Releases, vol. 20, p. 71; Our High Calling, p. 57): "1 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 humanity to become acquainted with all the temptations wherewith man is beset. He took upon Him the infirmities and bore the sorrow of the sons of Adam.

"He was `made like unto his brethren' (Heb. 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 have hardships, so had He.... Satan could tempt Him. His enemies could annoy Him.... Jesus 

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was exposed to hardships, to conflict and temptation, as a man....

"Jesus once stood in age just where you now stand. Your circumstances, your cogitations at this period of your life, Jesus has had. He cannot overlook you at this critical period. He sees your dangers. He is acquainted with your temptations. He invites you to follow His example." From the same letter 17, 1878, the following is found in Our High Calling, p. 59: "Jesus was sinless and had no dread of the consequences of sin. With this exception His condition was as yours."

The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 3, p. 261: "He who considered it not robbery to be equal with God, once trod the earth, bearing our suffering and sorrowing nature."

Signs of the Times, June 23, 1881: "Jesus was interested in children. He did not step into our world a fully matured man. Christ was a child; He had the experience of a child; He felt the disappointments and trials that children feel; He knew the temptations of children and youth. But Christ was in His child life and youthful life an example to all children and youth. In childhood His hands were engaged in useful acts. In youth He worked at the carpenter's trade with His father, and was subject to His parents, thus giving in His life a lesson to all children and young. If Christ had never been a child Himself, the youth might now think that He could not sympathize with them." (Note: while the statement is in the original Signs of the Times dated June 23, 1881, it did not get copied into the bound volumes.)

Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 177: "His [any sinner's] own consent must be first gained; the soul must purpose the sinful act before passion can dominate over reason or iniquity triumph over conscience. Temptation, however strong, is never an excuse for sin.... Cry unto the Lord, tempted soul. Cast yourself, helpless, unworthy, upon Jesus, and claim His very promise. The Lord will hear. He knows how strong are the inclinations of the natural heart, and He will help in every time of temptation."

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Review and Herald, Feb. 28, 1882: "Not only did Christ die as our sacrifice, but He lived as our example. In His human nature He stands, complete, perfect, spotless. To be a Christian is to be Christlike. Our entire being, soul, body, and spirit, must be purified, ennobled, sanctified, until we shall reflect His image and imitate His example."

Signs of the Times, Apr. 5, 1883: "The unsullied purity of the childhood, youth, and manhood of Christ, which Satan could not taint, annoyed him exceedingly.... And when he found that all his temptations prevailed nothing in moving Christ from the steadfast integrity, or in marring the spotless purity of the youthful Galilean, he was perplexed and enraged....

"Every temptation that seems so afflicting to man in his daily life, so difficult to resist and overcome, was brought to bear upon the Son of God in as much greater degree as his excellence of character was superior to that of fallen man....

"[Satan's] most wily temptations Christ has tested and conquered in behalf of man. It is impossible for man to be tempted above what he is able to bear while he relies upon Jesus, the infinite Conqueror."

Signs of the Times, Apr. 17, 1884: "Jesus knows our infirmities, and has Himself shared our experience in all things but in sin; therefore He has prepared for us a path suited to our strength and capacity."

Review and Herald, May 27, 1884: "Just before His cruel death, Jesus said, `The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.' Satan could find nothing in the Son of God that would enable him to gain a victory. He had kept His Father's commandments; and there was no sin in Him that Satan could triumph over, no weakness or defect that he could use to his advantage. But we are sinful by nature, and we have a work to do to cleanse the soul-temple of every defilement. Let us improve this precious privilege to confess our faults one to another, and pray one for another, that we may be healed."

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Review and Herald, Oct. 21, 1884: "Benevolence, gentleness, patience, nobility of thought and action, and the love of God, if cherished permanently, impress the countenance, and win souls, and give power in preaching. If this is possible in fallen man, who is often humbled through a sense of his sinfulness, what power must have attended the ministry of Jesus, who was pure, spotless, and undefiled, though dwelling in a world all seared and marred by the curse."

Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 422 (cf. Questions on Doctrine, pp. 654, 655): "It was a continual pain to Him to be brought in contact with the enmity, depravity, and impurity which Satan had brought in..... He... suffered being tempted,' suffered in proportion to the perfection of His holiness. But the prince of darkness found nothing in Him; not a single thought or feeling responded to temptation."

Review and Herald, Feb. 10, 1885: "I had freedom and power in presenting Jesus, who took upon Himself the infirmities and bore the grief and sorrows of humanity and conquered in our behalf. He was made like unto His brethren, with the same susceptibilities, mental and physical. He was tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin; and He knows how to succor those who are tempted. Are you harassed and perplexed? So was Jesus. Do you feel the need of encouragement? So did Jesus. As Satan tempts you, so he tempted the Majesty of heaven."

Review and Herald, May 19, 1885: "He was unsullied with corruption, a stranger to sin; yet He endured agony which required help and support from His Father, and He prayed often with strong crying and tears. He prayed for His disciples and for Himself, thus identifying Himself with the needs, the weaknesses, and the failings which are common to humanity. He was a mighty petitioner, not possessing the passions of our human, fallen natures, but compassed with like infirmities, tempted in all points even as we are."

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Review and Herald, Mar. 9, 1886: "When Christ went into the wilderness of temptation after His baptism, it was to meet the wily foe in conflict. Satan did not at first appear to Christ in his true character, but as a bright, beautiful, attractive angel sent to Him with a message direct from His Father in heaven. This was a temptation to Christ. His humanity made it a temptation to Him. It was only by trusting in His Father that He could resist these temptations. He walked by faith as we must walk by faith.... The temptations that He endured were as much more severe than those which come upon us as His character is more exalted than ours."

Review and Herald, Aug. 17, 1886: "He was a mighty petitioner, possessing not the passions of our human, fallen natures, but compassed with like infirmities, tempted in all points even as we are. Jesus endured agony which required help and support from His Father. Christ is our example."

Review and Herald, Sept. 21, 1886 (cf. Questions on Doctrine, p. 677): "Justice demanded the sufferings of a man. Christ, equal with God, gave the sufferings of a God. He needed no atonement.... The suffering of Christ was in correspondence with His spotless purity; His depth of agony, proportionate to the dignity and grandeur of His character."

Youth's Instructor, Oct. 20, 1886: "He for our sakes laid aside His royal robe, stepped down from the throne in heaven, and condescended to clothe His divinity with humility, and became like one of us except in sin, that His life and character should be a pattern for all to copy, that they might have the precious gift of eternal life."

Signs of the Times, Aug. 4, 1887: "Man can never know the strength of the temptations to which the Son of God was subjected. All the temptations that seem so afflicting to man in his daily life, so difficult to resist and overcome, were brought to bear upon Him in as much greater degree as He is superior in His excellence of character to fallen man."

Review and Herald, Nov. 8, 1887 (cf. Questions on Doctrine, p. 655): "Christ, the sinless One, upon whom the Holy Spirit was bestowed with

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out measure, constantly acknowledged His dependence upon God, and sought fresh supplies from the Source of strength and wisdom. How much more should finite, erring man feel his need of help from God every hour and every moment....

[two paragraphs later] "Would that we could comprehend the significance of the words, `Christ suffered, being tempted.' While He was free from the taint of sin, the refined sensibilities of His holy nature rendered contact with evil unspeakably painful to Him. Yet with human nature upon Him, He met the arch apostate face to face, and single-handed withstood the foe of His throne. Not even by a thought could Christ be brought to yield to the power of temptation. Satan finds in human hearts some point where he can gain a foot-hold; some sinful desire is cherished, by means of which his temptations assert their power. But Christ declared of Himself, `The Prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.' The storms of temptation burst upon Him, but they could not cause Him to swerve from His allegiance to God."

Signs of the Times, Nov. 24, 1887: "He passed step by step over the ground that man had trodden, and was `tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin.' Where man stumbled and fell, Jesus came off more than conqueror. Had He failed on one point, in reference to the law, all would have been lost; He would not have been a perfect offering, nor could He have satisfied the demands of the law; but He conquered where Adam failed, and by loyalty to God, under the severest trials, became a perfect pattern and example for our imitation, and He is able to succor those who are tempted. There is enough in this idea to fill our hearts with joy and gratitude every day of our lives. He took our nature upon Him that He might become acquainted with our trials and sorrows, and, knowing all our experience, He stands as Mediator and Intercessor before the Father."

Review and Herald, Mar. 27, 1888: "The Bible presents the law of God as a perfect standard by which to shape the life and character. The only perfect example of obedience to its precepts is found in the Son of

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God, the Saviour of lost mankind. There is no stain of unrighteousness upon Him, and we are bidden to follow in His steps."

Review and Herald, July 17, 1888: "When man was lost, the Son of God said, I will redeem him, I will become his surety and substitute. He laid aside His royal robes, clothed His divinity with humanity, stepped down from the royal throne, that He might reach the very depth of human woe and temptation, lift up our fallen natures, and make it possible for us to be overcomer."

Review and Herald, Sept. 11, 1888 (cf. That I May Know Him, p. 339): "Christ was not insensible to ignominy and disgrace. He felt it all most bitterly. He felt it as much more deeply and acutely than we can feel suffering, as His nature was more exalted, and pure, and holy than that of the sinful race for whom He suffered."

Review and Herald, Dec. 11, 1888: "He who was one with the Father stepped down from the glorious throne in heaven.... and clothed His divinity with humanity, thus bringing Himself to the level of man's feeble faculties.... The highest gift that Heaven could bestow was given to ransom fallen humanity."

1889:

Signs of the Times, May 20, 1889: "He came into a world all marred and scarred by the curse. He took upon Him humanity that He might know the infirmities and temptations of humanity, that He might know how to help and save men."

Letter 5, 1889 (cf. The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, vol. 1, p. 332, and Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 904): "Christ could have done nothing during His earthly ministry in saving fallen man if the divine had not been blended with the human. The limited capacity of man cannot define this wonderful mystery-the blending of the two natures, the divine and the human. It can never be explained. Man must wonder and be silent. And yet man is privileged to be a partaker of the divine nature, and in this way he can to some degree enter into the mystery."

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1889:

Signs of the Times, July 29, 1889: "Christ was the ladder that Jacob saw. Christ is the link that binds earth to Heaven, and connects finite man with the infinite God. This ladder reaches from the lowest degradation of earth and humanity to the highest heavens....

[four paragraphs later] "[Christ] came into the world that He might understand all the needs of fallen humanity."

Review and Herald, Oct. l, 1889: "We cannot explain the great mystery of the plan of redemption. Jesus took upon Himself humanity, that He might reach humanity; but we cannot explain how divinity was clothed with humanity. An angel would not have known how to sympathize with fallen man, but Christ came to the world and suffered all our temptations, and carried all our griefs. Are you not glad that He was tempted in all points like as we are, and yet without sin? Our hearts should be filled with gratitude to Him. We should be able to present to God a continual thank-offering for His wonderful love. Jesus can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. When we are in sorrow and trouble and temptation, we need not think nobody knows, nobody can understand. O, no; Jesus has passed over every step of the ground before you, and He knows all about it."

Review and Herald, Dec. 24, 1889: "Jesus clothed His divinity with humanity that He might have an experience in all that pertains to human life. He did not leave plans for the welfare of youth and children in obscurity and uncertainty. He became a child, and in His life we find an example of what is the proper development of childhood."

1890:

Manuscript 57, 1890 (cf. Manuscript Releases, vol. 16, p. 182): "He had not taken on Him even the nature of angels, but humanity, perfectly identical with our own nature, except without the taint of sin.... He had reason, conscience, memory, will, and affections of the human soul which was united with His divine nature.

"Our Lord was tempted as man is tempted. He was capable of yielding to temptations, as are human beings. His finite nature was pure and

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spotless, but the divine nature ... was not humanized; neither was humanity deified by the blending or union of the two natures; each retained its essential character and properties.

"But here we must not become in our ideas common and earthly, and in our perverted ideas we must not think that the liability of Christ to yield to Satan's temptations degraded His humanity and He possessed the same sinful, corrupt propensities as man.

"The divine nature, combined with the human, made Him capable of yielding to Satan's temptations. Here the test to Christ was far greater than that of Adam and Eve, for Christ took our nature, fallen but not corrupted, and would not be corrupted unless He received the words of Satan in the place of the words of God. To suppose He was not capable of yielding to temptation places Him where He cannot be a perfect example for man, and the force and the power of this part of Christ's humiliation, which is the most eventful, is no instruction or help to human beings....

"He descended in His humiliation to be tempted as man would be tempted, and His nature was that of man, capable of yielding to temptation. His very purity and holiness were assailed by a fallen foe, the very one that became corrupted and then was ejected from heaven. How deeply and keenly must Christ have felt this humiliation.

"How do fallen angels look upon this pure and uncontaminated One, the Prince of life . . ."

Review and Herald, Feb. 18, 1890: "Letters have been coming in to me, affirming that Christ could not have had the same nature as man, for if He had, He would have fallen under similar temptations. If He did not have man's nature, He could not be our example. If He was not a partaker of our nature, He could not have been tempted as man has been.... His temptation and victory tell us that humanity must copy the Pattern; man must become a partaker of the divine nature.

"In Christ, divinity and humanity were combined. Divinity was not degraded to humanity; divinity held its place, but humanity by being united to divinity, withstood the fiercest test of temptation in the wilderness.... But the plan of God, devised for the salvation of man, provided that Christ should know hunger, and poverty, and every phase of man's experience."

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Manuscript 16, 1890 (cf. Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 907; Manuscript Releases, vol. 17, pp. 336, 337): "In Christ dwelt the fullness of the Godhead bodily. This is why, although He was tempted in all points like as we are, He stood before the world, from His first entrance into it, untainted by corruption, though surrounded by it. Are we not also to become partakers of that fullness, and is it not thus, and thus only, that we can overcome as He overcame?"

"Those who claim that it was not possible for Christ to sin cannot believe that He really took upon Himself human nature; but was not Christ actually tempted, not only by Satan in the wilderness, but all through His life, from childhood to manhood? In all points He was tempted as we are, and because He successfully resisted temptation under every form, He gave man the perfect example, and through the ample provisions Christ has made, we may become partakers of the divine nature."

Manuscript 58, 1890: "He assumed human nature, with its infirmities, its liabilities, its temptations."

1891:

Review and Herald, Apr. 28, 1891: "In His humanity He has become acquainted with all the difficulties that beset humanity."

Signs of the Times, Aug. 24, 1891: "[Jesus] is the 'daysman' between a holy God and our sinful humanity-one who can 'lay His hand on us both."'

1892:

Manuscript 6, 1892 (cf. Paulson Collection, p. 141): "If we do our best, exercise our entrusted capabilities with the sole purpose of doing our Master's work and promoting His glory, the smallest talent, the hum blest service, may become a consecrated gift, made acceptable by the fragrance of His own merit."

Review and Herald, Apr. 1, 1892: "But many say that Jesus was not like us, that He was not as we are in the world, that He was divine, and that we cannot overcome as He overcame. But Paul writes, 'Verily he

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took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren."'

Signs of the Times, Nov. 21, 1892 (though this statement was originally published in the Signs, Nov. 21, 1892, the statement was actually written on May 29, 1892, as Letter 27; it is also listed in In Heavenly Places, p. 155, as taken from undated MS 73. Ellen White later revised it for further publication. We will cite it as found in the Signs, Nov 21, 1892): "If you indulge in slang phrases and foolish talk, you bring forth from the treasure of the heart evil things....

[three paragraphs later] "He [Christ] left the glories of heaven, and clothed His divinity with humanity, and subjected Himself to sorrow, and shame, and reproach, abuse, denial, and crucifixion. Though He had all the strength of the passion of humanity, never did He yield to temptation to do that which was not pure and elevating and ennobling."

Review and Herald, July 19, 1892: "Jesus has been over the ground. He knows the power of every temptation. He knows just how to meet every emergency, and how to guide you through every path of danger."

Manuscript 1, 1892 (cf. Selected Messages, book 3, pp. 136-141; Signs of the Times, Apr. 10, 1893; Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 929): "Satan, the fallen angel, had declared that no man could keep the law of God after the disobedience of Adam....

"The Son of God placed Himself in the sinner's stead, and passed over the ground where Adam fell, and endured the temptation in the wilderness, which was a hundredfold stronger than was or ever will be brought to bear upon the human race. Jesus resisted the temptations of Satan in the same manner that every tempted soul may resist, by referring him to the inspired record and saying, 'It is written.'

"Christ overcame the temptations of Satan as a man. Every man may overcome as Christ overcame.... He redeemed Adam's disgraceful failure and fall, and was conqueror, thus testifying to all the unfallen worlds and to fallen humanity that man could keep the commandments of God through the divine power granted to him of heaven. Jesus ... endured temptation

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for us, overcame in our behalf to show us how we may overcome.... "The world's Redeemer came not only to be a sacrifice for sin but to be an example to man in all things, a holy, human character....

His practical example left us a plain pattern which we are to copy.... "Not only did Christ give explicit rules showing how we may become obedient children but He showed us in His own life and character just how to do those things which are right and acceptable with God, so there is no excuse why we should not do those things which are pleasing in His sight.

"We are ever to be thankful that Jesus has proved to us by actual facts that man can keep the commandments of God, giving contradiction to Satan's falsehood that man cannot keep them. The Great Teacher came to our world to stand at the head of humanity, to thus elevate and sanctify humanity by His holy obedience to all of God's requirements showing it is possible to obey all the commandments of God. He has demonstrated that a lifelong obedience is possible. Thus He gives chosen, representative men to the world, as the Father gave the Son, to exemplify in their life the life of Jesus Christ.

"We need not place the obedience of Christ by itself as something for which He was particularly adapted, by His particular divine nature, for He stood before God as man's representative and was tempted as man's substitute and surety. If Christ had a special power which it is not the privilege of man to have, Satan would have made capital of this matter. The work of Christ was to take from the claims of Satan his control of man, and He could do this only in the way that He came-a man, tempted as a man, rendering the obedience of a man....

"Bear in mind that Christ's overcoming and obedience is that of a true human being. In our conclusions, we make many mistakes because of our erroneous views of the human nature of our Lord. When we give to His human nature a power that it is not possible for man to have in his conflicts with Satan, we destroy the completeness of His humanity. His imputed grace and power He gives to all who receive Him by faith. The obedience of Christ to His Father was the same obedience that is required of man....

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"He came not to our world to give the obedience of a lesser God to a greater, but as a man to obey God's Holy Law, and in this way He is our example....

"The Lord Jesus came to our world, not to reveal what a God could do, but what a man could do, through faith in God's power to help in every emergency....

"Jesus, the world's Redeemer, could only keep the commandments of God in the same way that humanity can keep them."

Bible Echo, Nov. 15, 1892: "The great work of redemption could be carried out by the Redeemer only as He took the place of fallen man.... When Adam was assailed by the tempter, none of the effects of sin were upon him, but he was surrounded by the glories of Eden. But it was not thus with Jesus, for, bearing the infirmities of degenerate humanity, He entered the wilderness to cope with the mighty foe, that He might lift man up from the lowest depths of his degradation."

Review and Herald, Dec. 20, 1892: "Hating sin with a perfect hatred, He yet gathered to His soul the sins of the whole world, as He trod the path to Calvary, suffering the penalty of the transgressor. Guiltless, He bore the punishment of the guilty; innocent, yet offering Himself to bear the penalty of the transgression of the law of God.... In assuming the nature of man, He placed Himself where He was wounded for our transgressions....

"In His humanity Christ was tried with as much greater temptation, with as much more persevering energy than man is tried by the evil one, as His nature was greater than man's. This is a deep mysterious truth, that Christ is bound to humanity by the most sensitive sympathies. The evil works, the evil thoughts, the evil words of every son and daughter of Adam press upon His divine soul. The sins of men called for retribution upon Himself; for He had become man's substitute, and took upon Him the sins of the world. He bore the sins of every sinner; for all transgressions were imputed unto Him.... No man of earth nor angel of heaven could have paid the penalty of sin. Jesus was the only one who could save rebellious man. In Him divinity and humanity were combined, and this was what gave efficiency to the sacrifice made on Calvary's cross."

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1893:

Signs of the Times, Feb. 20, 1893: "He humbled Himself to pass through man's experiences.... Knowing all the steps in the path of His humiliation, He refused not to descend step by step to the depths of man's woe, that He might make expiation for the sins of the condemned, perishing world. What humility was this! It amazed the angels. . . . Sinless and exalted by nature, the Son of God consented to take the habiliments of humanity, to become one with the fallen race. The eternal Word consented to be made flesh. God became man."

Review and Herald, Mar. 28, 1893: "Christ was free from every taint of selfishness."

Review and Herald, Apr. 25, 1893: "Jesus reached to the very depth of human woe and misery, and His love attracts man to Himself. Through the agency of the Holy Spirit, He lifts the mind up from its degradation, and fastens it upon the eternal reality. Through the merits of Christ man may be able to exercise the noblest powers of his being, and expel sin from his soul."

Manuscript 94, 1893 (cf. Selected Messages, book 3, pp. 129-131): "In your letter in regard to the temptations of Christ, you say; 'If He was One with God He could not fall'. . . The point you inquire of me is, In our Lord's great scene of conflict in the wilderness, apparently under the power of Satan and his angels, was He capable, in His human nature, of yielding to these temptations? ...

As God He could not be tempted: but as a man He could be tempted, and that strongly, and could yield to the temptations. His human nature must pass through the same test and trial Adam and Eve passed through. His human nature was created; it did not even possess the angelic powers. It was human, identical with our own. He was passing over the ground where Adam fell. He was now where, if He endured the test and trial in behalf of the fallen race, He would redeem Adam's disgraceful failure and fall, in our own humanity.

"A human body and a human mind were His. He was bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh. He was subjected to poverty from His first 

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entrance into the world. He was subject to disappointment and trial in His own home, among His own brethren.... He came into our world to maintain a pure, sinless character, and to refute Satan's lie that it was not possible for human beings to keep the law of God. Christ came to live the law in His human character in just that way in which all may live the law in human nature if they will do as Christ was doing....

"Abundant provision has been made that finite, fallen man may so connect with God that, through the same Source by which Christ overcame in His human nature, he may stand firmly against every temptation, as did Christ....

"Through the provision made when God and the Son of God made a covenant to rescue man from the bondage of Satan, every facility was provided that human nature should come into union with His divine nature....

"The Godhead was not made human, and the human was not deified by the blending together of the two natures. Christ did not possess the same sinful, corrupt, fallen disloyalty we possess, for then He could not be a perfect offering."

1894:

Review and Herald, Jan. 23, 1894: "Jesus Christ has given Himself as a complete offering in behalf of every fallen son and daughter of Adam. O, what humiliation He bore! How He descended, step after step, lower and lower in the path of humiliation, yet He never degraded His soul with one foul blot of sin! All that He suffered, that He might lift you up, cleanse, refine, ennoble you, and place you as a joint heir with Himself upon His throne."

Review and Herald, Apr. 24, 1894: "Human weakness, human necessities were upon Him, and he felt keenly the want of food and the results of His long fast."

Youth's Instructor, Aug. 16, 1894 (cf. That I May Know Him, p. 288): "No human being has ever possessed so sensitive a nature as did the sinless, holy One of God, who stood as head and representative of what

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humanity may become through the imparting of the divine nature. To those who believe in Christ as their personal Saviour, He imputes His merit and imparts His power."

Review and Herald, Oct. 23, 1894: "It is by living out the truth in human life that souls are to be reached. As the Son of God in human form was perfect in His life, so He requires that His followers shall be perfect in their lives. He was made in all things like unto His brethren. He hungered, He thirsted, He was weary, He slept, He wept, and yet He was the blameless Son of God, He was God in the flesh. He was tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin, and we have not a high-priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. He knows how to succor those that are tempted."

1895:

Review and Herald, Feb. 5, 1895: "As Christ humbled Himself, and took upon Himself our nature, He is acquainted with our necessities, and has Himself borne the heaviest temptations that man will have to bear, has conquered the enemy in resisting his suggestions, in order that man may learn how to be conqueror. He was clothed with a body like ours, and in every respect suffered what man will suffer, and very much more. We shall never be called upon to suffer as Christ suffered; for the sins not of one, but the sins of the whole world were laid upon Christ....

"Christ is our pattern, the perfect and holy example that has been given us to follow. We can never equal the pattern; but we may imitate and resemble it according to our ability."

General Conference Bulletin, Feb. 25, 1895: "Jesus assumed humanity that He might treat humanity. He brings men under the transforming power of truth by meeting them where they are. He gains access to the heart by securing sympathy and confidence, making all feel that His identification with their nature and interest is complete."

Review and Herald, Apr. 23, 1895: "Christ's mission was not to explain the complexity of His nature, but to give abundant light to those who would receive it by faith. Fallen men who should believe on Him

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would receive the full advantage which could be produced through the mysterious union of humanity and divinity."

Signs of the Times, May 16, 1895: "We are too much in the habit of thinking that the Son of God was a being so entirely exalted above us that it is an impossibility for Him to enter into our trials and temptations, and that He can have no sympathy with us in our weakness and frailties. This is because we do not take in the fact of His oneness with humanity."

Review and Herald, June 25, 1895 (cf. Selected Messages, book 1, p. 264): "It is a knowledge of Christ as the sin-bearer, as the propitiation for our iniquities, that enables us to live a life of holiness....

"Our Saviour clothed His divinity with humanity. He employed the human faculties, for only by adopting these could He be comprehended by humanity. Only humanity could reach humanity.... He blessed the world by living out in human flesh the life of God, thus showing that He had the power to unite humanity to divinity."

Review and Herald, July 9, 1895: "He in whom 'dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily' descended to our world, humiliated Himself by clothing His divinity with humanity, that through humanity He might reach the human family. While He embraces the human race with His human arm, He grasps the throne of God with His divine arm, thus uniting humanity to divinity. The Majesty of heaven, the King of glory, descended the path of humiliation step by step until He reached the lowest point possible for humanity to experience; and why? That He might be able to reach even the lowest of mankind, sunken in the very depths of degradation though they be, that He might be able to elevate them to the hights (sic) of heaven."

Review and Herald, Oct. 29, 1895: "Satan assailed Christ through every conceivable form of temptation."

Manuscript 21, 1895 (cf. Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 925): "He came as a helpless babe, bearing the humanity we bear.... Christ clothed His divinity with humanity, that humanity might touch humanity; that He might live with humanity, and bear all

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the trials and afflictions of man. He was tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin. In His humanity He understood all the temptations that will come to man."

Youth's Instructor, Nov. 21, 1895 (cf. That I May Know Him, p. 26; Selected Messages, book 3, pp. 127, 128): "He was to be like those who belonged to the human family and to the Jewish race. His features were to be like those of other human beings, and He was not to have such beauty of person as to make people point Him out as different from others. He was to come as one of the human family, and to stand as a man before heaven and earth. He had come to take man's place, to pledge Himself in man's behalf, to pay the debt that sinners owed. He was to live a pure life on the earth, and show that Satan had told a falsehood when he claimed that the human family belonged to him forever, and that God could not take men out of his hands."

Letter 8, 1895 (sent to W.L.H. Baker in late 1895 or early 1896; Manuscript Release 414; I cite it as found in Ralph Larson, The Word Was Made Flesh, pp. 314, 315 [I will cite only the Christological portions; for the entire letter, cf. Larson and compare the citations from this letter in Questions on Doctrine, pp. 651 and 652, and Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, pp. 1128, 1129]):

"Be careful, exceedingly careful as to how you dwell upon the human nature of Christ. Do not set Him before the people as a man with the propensities of sin. He is the second Adam. The first Adam was created a pure, sinless being, without a taint of sin upon him; he was in the image of God. He could fall, and he did fall through transgressing. Because of sin, his posterity was born with inherent propensities of disobedience. But Jesus Christ was the only begotten Son of God. He took upon Himself human nature, and was tempted in all points as human nature is tempted. He could have sinned; He could have fallen, but not for one moment was there in Him an evil propensity. He was assailed with temptations in the wilderness, as Adam was assailed with temptations in Eden.

"Bro. Baker, avoid every question in relation to the humanity of Christ which is liable to be misunderstood. Truth lies close to the track

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of presumption. In treating upon the humanity of Christ, you need to guard strenuously every assertion, lest your words be taken to mean more than they imply, and thus you lose or dim the clear perceptions of His humanity as combined with divinity. His birth was a miracle of God; for, said the angel, 'Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great and shall be called the son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his Father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing that I know not a man? 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.'

"These words are not addressed to any human being, except to the Son of the Infinite God. 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. He was tempted in all points like as man is tempted, yet He is called that holy thing. It is a mystery that is left unexplained to mortals that Christ could be tempted in all points like as we are, and yet be without sin. The incarnation of Christ has ever been, and will ever remain a mystery. That which is revealed is for us and for our children, but let every human being be warned from the ground of making Christ altogether human, such an one as ourselves: for it cannot be. The exact time when humanity blended with divinity, it is not necessary for us to know. We are to keep our feet on the rock, Christ Jesus, as God revealed in humanity.

"I perceive that there is danger in approaching subjects which dwell on the humanity of the Son of the infinite God. He did humble Himself when He saw He was in fashion as a man, that He might understand the force of all temptations wherewith man is beset.

"The first Adam fell: the second Adam held fast to God and His word under the most trying circumstances, and His faith in His Father's goodness, mercy, and love did not waver for one moment. 'It is written' was His weapon of resistance, and it is the sword of the Spirit which every human

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being is to use. 'Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me'-nothing to respond to temptation. Not one occasion has been given in response to His manifold temptations. Not once did Christ step on Satan's ground, to give him any advantage. Satan found nothing in Him to encourage his advances."

1896:

Signs of the Times, Jan. 16, 1896: "Christ ... transgressed not the law of God in any particular. More than this, He removed every excuse from fallen man that he could urge for a reason for not keeping the law of God. Christ was compassed with infirmities of humanity, He was beset with the fiercest temptations, tempted on all points like as men, yet He developed a perfectly upright character. No taint of sin was found upon Him....

"The humanity of Christ is called 'that holy thing.' The inspired record says of Christ, 'He did no sin,' He 'knew no sin,' and 'in him was no sin.'"

Letter 106, 1896 (cf. Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, p. 1124): "He was not only made flesh, but He was made in the likeness of sinful flesh."

Signs of the Times, Apr. 9, 1896: "The words of Christ encourage parents to bring their little ones to Jesus. They may be wayward, and possess passions like those of humanity, but this should not deter us from bringing them to Christ. He blessed children that were possessed of passions like His own."

Review and Herald, May 19, 1896: "[Christ] was the Creator of heaven and earth; and yet while upon earth, He became weary, as men do, and sought rest from the continual pressure of labor. He who made the ocean, who controls the waters of the great deep, who opened the spring's and channels of the earth, felt it necessary to rest at Jacob's well, and to ask a drink of water from a strange Samaritan woman."

Letter 106, 1896 (cf. Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, p. 1124): "It was not a make-believe humanity that Christ took upon Himself. He took human nature and lived human nature.... He was compassed with infirmities....

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"Just that which you may be, He was in human nature. He took our infirmities. He was not only made flesh, but He was made in the likeness of sinful flesh."

Signs of the Times, July 30, 1896 (cf. Questions on Doctrine, pp. 647, 648): "There is a mystery surrounding the birth of Christ that can not and need not be explained....

"In contemplating the incarnation of Christ in humanity, we stand baffled before an unfathomable mystery, that the human mind can not comprehend.... Divinity and humanity were mysteriously combined, and man and God became one. It is in this union that we find the hope of our fallen race. Looking upon Christ in humanity, we look upon God, and see in Him the brightness of His glory, the express image of His person....

"He understood the temptations of children; for He bore their sorrows and trials. Firm and steadfast was His purpose to do the right. Tho enticed to evil, He refused to depart in a single instance from the strictest truth and rectitude."

The following citations are from The Desire of Ages. Since it came off the press in 1898, some might ask why we place the following citations in 1896. Ralph Larson (105) offers this helpful contextual insight on the completion of The Desire of Ages: "During the years 1895 and 1896 Ellen White had been putting the finishing touches on The Desire of Ages, which she planned to publish in two volumes. On May 6, 1896, she wrote to her son Edson that the first volume was completed (letter 150, 1896)." Thus what follows is what was written in roughly the first half of The Desire of Ages):

The Desire of Ages, p. 49: "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."

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The Desire of Ages, pp. 50, 51: "The offerings presented to the Lord were to be without blemish. These offerings represented Christ, and from this it is evident that Jesus Himself was free from physical deformity. He was the 'lamb without blemish and without spot' (1 Peter 1:19). His physical structure was not marred by any defect; His body was strong and healthy. And throughout His lifetime He lived in conformity to nature's laws. Physically as well as spiritually, He was an example of what God designed all humanity to be through obedience to His laws."

The Desire of Ages, p. 71: "The life of Jesus was a life in harmony with God. While He was a child, He thought and spoke as a child; but no trace of sin marred the image of God within Him. Yet He was not exempt from temptation.... It was necessary for Him to be constantly on guard in order to preserve His purity."

The Desire of Ages, p. 117 (cf. Review and Herald, July 28, 1874, and The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 2, p. 88, from which this statement was obviously drawn): "Satan had pointed to Adam's sin as proof that God's law was unjust, and could not be obeyed. In our humanity, Christ was to redeem Adam's failure. But when Adam was assailed by the tempter, none of the effects of sin were upon him. He stood in the strength of perfect manhood, possessing the full vigor of mind and body. He was surrounded with the glories of Eden, and was in daily communion with heavenly beings. It was not thus with Jesus when He entered the wilderness to cope with Satan. For four thousand years the race had been decreasing in physical strength, in mental power, and in moral worth; and Christ took upon Him the infirmities of degenerate humanity. Only thus could He rescue man from the lowest depths of his degradation.

"Many claim that it was impossible for Christ to be overcome by temptation. Then He could not have been placed in Adam's position; He could not have gained the victory that Adam failed to gain. If we have in any sense a more trying conflict than had Christ, then He would not be able to succor us. But our Saviour took humanity, with all its liabilities. He took the nature of man, with the possibility of yielding to temptation. We have nothing to bear which He has not endured."

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The Desire of Ages, pp. 122, 123: "In our own strength it is impossible for us to deny the clamors of our fallen nature. Through this channel Satan will bring temptation upon us. Christ knew that the enemy would come to every human being, to take advantage of hereditary weakness, and by his false insinuations to ensnare all whose trust is not in God. And by passing over the ground which man must travel, our Lord has prepared the way for us to overcome."

The Desire of Ages, p. 123: "There was in Him nothing that responded to Satan's sophistry. He did not consent to sin. Not even by a thought did He yield to temptation. So it may be with us. Christ's humanity was united with divinity; He was fitted for the conflict by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit."

The Desire of Ages, pp. 174, 175: "As the image made in the likeness of the destroying serpents was lifted up for their healing, so One made 'in the likeness of sinful flesh' was to be their Redeemer. Rom. 8:3."

The Desire of Ages, p. 266: "But Jesus, coming to dwell in humanity, receives no pollution. His presence has healing virtue for the sinner."

The Desire of Ages, pp. 311, 312: "Jesus was in all things made like unto His brethren. He became flesh, even as we are. He was hungry and thirsty and weary. He was sustained by food and refreshed by sleep. He shared the lot of man; yet He was the blameless Son of God. He was God in the flesh. His character is to be ours....

"Christ is the ladder that Jacob saw, the base resting on the earth, and the topmost round reaching to the gate of heaven, to the very threshold of glory. If that ladder had failed by a single step of reaching the earth, we should have been lost. But Christ reaches us where we are. He took our nature and overcame, that we through taking His nature might overcome. Made `in the likeness of sinful flesh' (Rom. 8:3), He lived a sinless life. Now by His divinity He lays hold upon the throne of heaven, while by His humanity He reaches us. He bids us by faith in Him attain to the glory of the character of God. Therefore are we to be perfect, even as our 'Father which is in heaven is perfect."'

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Review and Herald, Sept. 22, 1896: "With His long human arm He encircled humanity, while with His divine arm He grasped the throne of the infinite God. And thus man has strength given him that he may overcome Satan, and triumph in God."

Signs of the Times, Nov. 5, 1896: "Christ assumed human nature, to demonstrate to the fallen world, to Satan and his synagogue, to the universe of heaven, and to the worlds unfallen, that human nature, united to His divine nature, could become entirely obedient to the law of God, that His followers by their love and unity would give evidence that the power of redemption is sufficient to enable man to overcome. And He rejoices to think that His prayer that His followers might be sanctified through the truth will be answered; they will be molded by the transforming influence of His grace into a character after the divine similitude."

Review and Herald, Dec. 15, 1896: "Christ, the second Adam, came to a world polluted and marred, to live a life of perfect obedience.... "Clad in the vestments of humanity, the Son of God came down to the level of those He wished to save. In Him was no guile or sinfulness; He was ever pure and undefiled; yet He took upon Him our sinful nature. Clothing His divinity with humanity, that He might associate with fallen humanity, He sought to regain for man that which, by disobedience, Adam had lost for himself and for the world."

1897:

Letter 69, 1897 (cf. Selected Messages, book 3, pp. 135, 136): "The great teacher came into our world, not only to atone for sin but to be a teacher both by precept and example. He came to show man how to keep the law in humanity, so that man might have no excuse for following his own defective judgment. We see Christ's obedience. His life was without sin. His lifelong obedience is a reproach to disobedient humanity. The obedience of Christ is not to be put aside as altogether different from the obedience He requires of us individually. Christ has shown us that it is possible for all humanity to obey the laws of God....

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[two paragraphs later] "Our Saviour took up the true relationship of a human being as the Son of God. We are sons and daughters of God. In order to know how to behave ourselves circumspectly, we must follow where Christ leads the way. For thirty years He lived the life of a perfect man, meeting the highest standard of perfection. Then let man, however imperfect, hope in God, saying not, 'If I were of a different disposition I would serve God,' but bring himself to Him in true service.

Signs of the Times, Mar. 4, 1897: "With His divinity veiled by humanity, He lived a life of perfect obedience to the law of God."

Signs of the Times, Apr. 22, 1897: "He was subject to the frailties of humanity."

Signs of the Times, June 17, 1897: "He took human nature. He became flesh even as we are. He was oft hungry, thirsty, and weary. He was sustained by food and refreshed by sleep. He had natural affection.... While in this world, Christ lived a life of complete humanity in order that He might stand as a representative of the human family. He was tempted in all points like as we are, that He might be able to succor them that are tempted.... Passing over the ground where Adam fell, He endured every test that Adam failed to endure. Every temptation that could be brought against fallen humanity, He met and overcame.

"Had He not been fully human, Christ could not have been our substitute.... But while bearing human nature, He was dependent upon the Omnipotent for His life. In His humanity, He laid hold of the divinity of God; and this every member of the human family has the privilege of doing. Christ did nothing that human nature may not do if it partakes of the divine nature....

[five paragraphs later] "If we repent of our transgression, and receive Christ as the Life-giver, our personal Saviour, we become one with Him, and our will is brought into harmony with the divine will. We become partakers of the life of Christ, which is eternal. We derive immortality from God by receiving the life of Christ; for in Christ dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. This life is the mystical union and cooperation of the divine with the human.

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"As children of the first Adam, we partake of the dying nature of Adam."

Signs of the Times, July 22, 1897: "He would clothe Himself in the garb of humanity, and live the life of man from the very beginning.... "Christ assumed humanity, with all its humiliation and service."

Youth's Instructor, Aug. 5, 1897: "Words cannot express the greatness of the love of God for man; but Christ has revealed it in His life in humanity. Only by Himself assuming human nature, and reaching down to the very depths of human misery, could He lift the race from its darkness and despair."

Signs of the Times, Nov. 25, 1897: "The time had come for Satan's last attempt [referring to Gethsemane and Calvary] to overcome Christ. But Christ declared, He hath nothing in me, no sin that brings me in his power. He can find nothing in me that responds to his satanic suggestions. No other being could say this but the One who was offering up His life as a sinless sacrifice for a sinful race."

Manuscript 143, 1897 (cf. Manuscript Releases, vol. 16, pp. 115-117): "Christ ... took our nature in its deteriorated condition....

"By taking upon Himself man's nature in its fallen condition.... He was subject to the infirmities and weaknesses of the flesh with which humanity is encompassed....

"There should not be the faintest misgivings in regard to the perfect freedom from sinfulness in the human nature of Christ."

Signs of the Times, Dec. 9, 1897 (cf. Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, p. 1104): "The human nature of Christ was like unto ours, and suffering was more keenly felt by Him; for His spiritual nature was free from every taint of sin. Therefore His desire for the removal of suffering was stronger than human beings can experience....

[two paragraphs later] "The Son of God endured the wrath of God against sin. All the accumulated sin of the world was laid upon the Sinbearer.... He was one with God. Not a taint of corruption was upon Him."

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1898:

Signs of the Times, Jan. 20, 1898 (cf. Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 904): "He [Christ] suffered in the place of sinful men, taking them into union with Himself. This is the mystery into which angels desire to look."

The Desire of Ages, p. 671: "The power of evil had been strengthening for centuries, and the submission of men to this satanic captivity was amazing.

The Desire of Ages, p. 700: "He suffered in proportion to the perfection of His holiness and His hatred of sin.... To be surrounded by human beings under the control of Satan was revolting to Him."

Manuscript 18, 1898 (cf. That I May Know Him, p. 67): "In coming to the world in human form, in becoming subject to the law, in revealing to men that He bore their sickness, their sorrow, their guilt, Christ did not become a sinner. He was pure and uncontaminated by any disease. Not one stain of sin was found upon Him.... He who was in the health of perfect manhood was as one afflicted with them."

Manuscript 44, 1898 (cf. Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 907): "We are not to praise the gospel, but praise Christ. We are not to worship the gospel, but the Lord of gospel. Christ is a perfect representation of God on the one hand, and a perfect specimen of sinless humanity on the other hand. Thus He has combined divinity and humanity."

Youth's Instructor, June 2, 1898: (Questions on Doctrine, p. 650): "Christ is called the second Adam. In purity and holiness, connected with God and beloved by God, He began where the first Adam began. Willingly He passed over the ground where Adam fell, and redeemed Adam's failure. "But the first Adam was in every way more favorably situated than was Christ....

"He, the Commander of all heaven, one with God, clothed His divinity with humanity. He humbled Himself, taking up His abode on the earth, that He might become acquainted with the temptations and trials where with man is beset. Before the heavenly universe He unfolded to men the

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great salvation that His righteousness would bring to all who accept it—an inheritance among the saints and angels in the presence of God. "Christ was tempted by Satan in a hundredfold severer manner than was Adam, and under circumstances in every way more trying. The deceiver presented himself as an angel of light, but Christ withstood his temptations. He redeemed Adam's disgraceful fall, and saved the world. "With His human arm, Christ encircled the race, while with His divine arm, He grasped the throne of the Infinite, uniting finite man with the infinite God. He bridged the gulf that sin had made, and connected earth with heaven. In His human nature He maintained the purity of His divine character."

Signs of the Times, June 9, 1898 (this reference was published in Signs of the Times, June 9, 1898, but not copied into the bound volumes; cf. Selected Messages, book 1, pp. 253-256; Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, p. 1131; and Questions on Doctrine, p. 651):

"Christ, who knew not the least taint of sin or defilement, took our nature in its deteriorated condition. This was humiliation greater than finite man can comprehend....

"Christ came to the earth, taking humanity and standing as man's representative, to show in the controversy with Satan that man, as God created him, connected with the Father and the Son, could obey every divine requirement....

"`All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me' (Matt. 4:8, 9). But Christ was unmoved. He felt the strength of this temptation; but He met it in our behalf, and conquered. And He used only the weapons justifiable for human beings to use-the word of Him who is mighty in counsel—'It is written' (Matt. 4:4, 10).

"With what intense interest was this controversy watched by the heavenly angels and the unfallen worlds, as the honor of the law was being vindicated. Not merely for this world, but for the universe of heaven, was the controversy to be forever settled....

"Christ's humanity would demonstrate for eternal ages the question which settled the controversy.

"In taking upon Himself man's nature in its fallen condition, Christ

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did not in the least participate in its sin. He was subject to the infirmities and weaknesses by which man is encompassed.... Could Satan in the least particular have tempted Christ to sin, he would have bruised the Saviour's head. As it was, he could only touch His heel. Had the head of Christ been touched, the hope of the human race would have perished. Divine wrath would have come upon Christ as it came upon Adam....

"We should have no misgivings in regard to the perfect sinlessness of the human nature of Christ. Our faith must be an intelligent faith, looking unto Jesus in perfect confidence, in full and entire faith in the atoning Sacrifice. This is essential that the soul may not be enshrouded in darkness. This holy Substitute is able to save to the uttermost; for He presented to the wondering universe perfect and complete humility in His human character, and perfect obedience to all the requirements of God."

Signs of the Times, June 16, 1898: "His sensibilities were most acute; for in Him was all that is elevated in mind, exalted in sentiment, and fine and delicate in feeling. In His nature was seen the perfection of humanity."

Youth's Instructor, Aug. 4, 1898 (found in Questions on Doctrine, p. 656; Sons and Daughters of God, p. 48): "He could endure, because He was without one taint of disloyalty or sin."

Youth's Instructor, Sept. 8, 1898: "It is not correct to say, as many writers have said, that Christ was like all children. He was not like all children. Many children are misguided and mismanaged. But Joseph, and especially Mary, kept before them the remembrance of their child's divine Fatherhood. Jesus was instructed in accordance with the sacred character of His mission. His inclination to right was a constant gratification to His parents....

"No one, looking upon the childlike countenance, shining with animation, could say that Christ was just like other children. He was God in human flesh. When urged by His companions to do wrong, divinity flashed through humanity, and He refused decidedly.... It was this keen discrimination between right and wrong that often provoked Christ's brothers to anger." Youth's Instructor, Oct. 13, 1898 (cf. Selected Messages, book 1, pp.

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244, 245; Questions on Doctrine, p. 647): "The humanity of the Son of God is everything to us. It is the golden chain that binds our souls to Christ, and through Christ to God. This is to be our study. Christ was a real man; He gave proof of His humility in becoming a man. Yet He was God in the flesh. When we approach this subject, we would do well to heed the words spoken by Christ to Moses at the burning bush, `Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.' We should come to this study with the humility of a learner, with a contrite heart. And the study of the incarnation of Christ is a fruitful field, which will repay the searcher who digs deep for hidden truth....

"The character of Christ on earth revealed divinity, and the gospel which He has given is to be the study of His human heritage."

Letter 97, 1898 (cf. Manuscript Releases, vol. 10, p. 173; Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 925; Questions on Doctrine, p. 666): "As the sin-bearer and priest and representative of man before God, He entered into the life of humanity, bearing our flesh and blood.... Christ made a full atonement, giving His life as a ransom for us. He was born without a taint of sin, but came into the world in like manner as the human family. He did not have a mere semblance of a body, but He took human nature, participating in the life of humanity."

Manuscript 166, 1898 (cf. Manuscript Releases, vol. 17, p. 26): "To save fallen humanity, the Son of God took humanity upon Him.... He consented to an actual union with man....

"Christ did in reality unite the offending nature of man with His own sinless nature, because by this act of condescension, He would be enabled to pour out His blood in behalf of the fallen race."

Youth's Instructor, Dec. 29, 1898 (cf. Selected Messages, book 3, p. 133; Sons and Daughters of God, p. 25): "He never bore disease in His own flesh; but He carried the sickness of others. When suffering humanity pressed about Him, He who was in the health of perfect manhood was as one afflicted with them....

[eight paragraphs later] "In His life on earth, Christ developed a perfect character, He rendered perfect obedience to His Father's commandments.

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 In coming to the world in human form, in becoming subject to the law, in revealing to men that He bore their sickness, their sorrow, their guilt, He did not become a sinner. Before the Pharisees He could say, `Which of you convinceth me of sin?' Not one stain of sin was found upon Him. He stood before the world the spotless Lamb of God."

1899:

Letter 32, 1899 (cf. Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, p. 1130): "When Jesus took human nature, and became in fashion as a man, He possessed all the human organism. His necessities were the necessities of a man. He had bodily wants to be supplied, bodily weariness to be relieved. By prayer to the Father He was braced for duty and for trial."

Manuscript 19, 1899 (cf. Welfare Ministry, p. 287): "Not one impure word escaped His lips. Never did He do a wrong action, for He was the Son of God. Although He possessed a human form, yet He was without a taint of sin."

Signs of the Times, May 10, 1899: "How did the Father answer Christ's prayer?

"For a period of time Christ was on probation. He took humanity on Himself, to stand the test and trial which the first Adam failed to endure. Had He failed in His test and trial, He would have been disobedient to the voice of God, and the world would have been lost.

"Satan has asserted that men could not keep the commandments of God. To prove that they could, Christ became a man, and lived a life of perfect obedience, an evidence to sinful human beings, to the worlds un-fallen, and to the heavenly angels, that man could keep God's law through the divine power that is abundantly provided for all that believe. In order to reveal God to the world, to demonstrate as true that which Satan has denied, Christ volunteered to take humanity, and in His power, humanity can obey God....

"He was, as we are, subject to the enemy's temptations. Satan exulted when Christ became a human being, and he compassed His path with every conceivable temptation. Human weakness and tears were His portion; but

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He sought unto God, praying with His whole soul, with strong crying and tears; and He was heard in that He feared. The subtlety of the enemy could not ensnare Him while He made God His trust, and was obedient to His words. `The prince of this world cometh,' He said, `and hath nothing in me.' He can find nothing in Me which responds to his sophistry.

"Amid impurity, Christ maintained His purity. Satan could not stain or corrupt it. His character revealed a perfect hatred for sin. It was His holiness that stirred against Him all the passion of a profligate world; for by His perfect life He threw upon the world a perpetual reproach, and made manifest the contrast between transgression and the pure, spotless righteousness of One that knew no sin....

"Christ was buffeted with temptations, and convulsed with agony."

Letter 116, 1899 (cf. Selected Messages, book 1, p. 95): "These were real temptations, no pretense. Christ `suffered being tempted' (Heb. 2:18).... [three paragraphs later] "The Son of God in His humanity wrestled with the very same fierce, apparently overwhelming temptations that assail men-temptations to indulgence of appetite, . . ."

Signs of the Times, Dec. 20, 1899 (cf. Manuscript 48, 1899; Our High Calling, p. 107): "In His humanity He had the same free will that Adam had in Eden."

Manuscript 165, 1899 (cf. Questions on Doctrine, pp. 665, 668, 680; Manuscript Releases, vol. 5, p. 114): "Christ declared, where stands Satan's throne, there shall stand My cross, the instrument of humiliation and suffering. No single principle of human nature will I violate. Clothing My divinity with humanity, I will endure every temptation wherewith man is beset. I will call to My aid the powers of heaven, that men and women, imbued with My Spirit, may overcome as I overcame. ... The working out of My purposes in behalf of degraded humanity requires that divine and human forces be combined. This will be necessary in order to successfully resist the power that would eclipse every ray of light from heaven....

"Christ came to this earth to show that in humanity He could keep the holy law of God. `I have kept my Father's commandments,' He 

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declared. The Saviour proposed to reestablish the principles of human dependence upon God and cooperation between God and man.... "Christ's identity with man will ever be the power of His influence. He became bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh.... He might have cut Himself loose from fallen beings. He might have treated them as sinners deserve to be treated. But instead, He came still nearer to them. He clothed His divine nature with the garb of humanity and demonstrated before the heavenly universe, before the unfallen worlds, and before the fallen world how much God loves the human race....

[one paragraph later] "He stands before the congregation of His redeemed as their sin-burdened, sin-stained surety, but it is their sins He is bearing. All through His life of humiliation and suffering, from the time that He was born an infant in Bethlehem till He hung on the cross of Calvary, and cried in a voice that shook the universe, 'It is finished,' the Saviour was pure and spotless."

1900:

Letter 5, 1900 (cf. Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 926): "He became subject to temptation, endangering as it were, His divine attributes."

Manuscript 21, 1900 (cf. Manuscript Releases, vol. 17, p. 27): "In all the afflictions of humanity He was afflicted."

Manuscript 50, 1900 (cf. Selected Messages, book 1, p. 344): "The religious services, the prayers, the praise, the penitent confession of sin ascend from true believers as incense to the heavenly sanctuary, but passing through the corrupt channels of humanity, they are so defiled that unless purified by blood, they can never be of value with God. They ascend not in spotless purity, and unless the Intercessor, who is at God's right hand, presents and purifies all by His righteousness, it is not acceptable to God. All incense from earthly tabernacles must be moist with the cleansing drops of the blood of Christ. He holds before the Father the censer of His own merits, in which there is no taint of earthly corruption. He gathers into this censer the prayers, the praise, and the confessions of

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His people, and with these He puts His own spotless righteousness. Then, perfumed with the merits of Christ's propitiation, the incense comes up before God wholly and entirely acceptable. Then gracious answers are returned.

"Oh, that all may see that everything in obedience, in penitence, in praise and thanksgiving, must be placed upon the glowing fire of the righteousness of Christ. The fragrance of this righteousness ascends like a cloud around the mercy seat."

Manuscript 53, 1900 (cf. Manuscript Releases, vol. 17, p. 27): "Christ became one with the human family.... Thus He assured them of His complete identification with humanity."

Bible Echo, May 21, 1900 (cf. Signs of the Times, July 17, 1900): "He clothed His divinity with humanity, that He might bear all the infirmities and endure all the temptations of humanity."

Review and Herald, June 12, 1900: "Our Redeemer humbled Himself, fully identifying His interests with the interests of humanity.... Christ's divinity was so completely veiled that it was difficult for even His disciples to believe in Him; and when He died on the cross, they felt that their hope had perished."

Review and Herald, July 17, 1900: "To save fallen humanity the Son of God took humanity upon Himself.... One with God, He alone was capable of accomplishing the work of redemption, and He consented to an actual union with man. In His sinlessness, He would bear every transgression....

"It is a mystery too deep for the human mind to fathom. Christ did in reality unite the offending nature of man with His own sinless nature, because by this act of condescension He would be enabled to pour out His blessings in behalf of the fallen race. Thus He has made it possible for us to partake of His nature.... He placed Himself in man's position, becoming capable of suffering. The whole of His earthly life was a preparation for the altar."

Review and Herald, Sept. 25, 1900: "The more humble are our views

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of ourselves, the more clearly we shall see the spotless character of Jesus. ... Not to see the marked contrast between Christ and ourselves is not to know ourselves. He who does not abhor himself can not understand the meaning of redemption. To be redeemed means to cease from sin."

Review and Herald, Oct. 2, 1900: "In His human nature He felt the need of the ministration of heavenly angels. He felt the need of His Father's help, as no other human being has ever felt it.... As our substitute and surety, He felt every pang of anguish that we can ever feel. He Himself suffered, being tempted."

Signs of the Times, Oct. 17, 1900: "Jesus came to the world as a human being that He might become acquainted with human beings.... "Adam was tempted by the enemy, and he fell. It was not indwelling sin that caused him to yield; for God made him pure and upright, in His own image. He was as faultless as the angels before the throne. There were in him no corrupt principles, no tendencies to evil. But when Christ came to meet the temptations of Satan, He bore the 'likeness of sinful flesh."'

Youth's Instructor, Dec. 20, 1900 (cf. Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 4, p. 1147): "He took upon Himself fallen, suffering human nature, degraded and defiled by sin.... He endured all the temptations wherewith man is beset."

1901:

Manuscript 141, 1901 (cf. Manuscript Releases, vol. 17, p. 338; Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 926): "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."

Manuscript 141, 1901 (cf. Manuscript Releases, vol. 17, pp. 336, 337; Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 929): "Those who claim that it was not possible for Christ to sin cannot believe that He really took upon Himself human nature. But was not Christ actually tempted, not only by Satan in the wilderness, but all through His life, from childhood to manhood? In all points He was tempted as we are, and

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because He successfully resisted temptation under every form, He gave man the perfect example, and through the ample provision Christ has made, we may become partakers of the divine nature....

[two paragraphs later] "Jesus was free from all sin and error; there was not a trace of imperfection in His life or character. He maintained spotless purity under circumstances the most trying.... Jesus speaks of Himself as well as the Father as God, and claims for Himself perfect righteousness."

Letter 19, 1901 (cf. Manuscript Releases, vol. 21, p. 271): "To keep His glory veiled as the child of a fallen race, this was the most severe discipline, to which the Prince of Life could subject Himself."

General Conference Bulletin, Apr. 23, 1901 (cf. Selected Messages, book 3, pp. 128, 129): "Laying aside His royal crown, He condescended to step down, step by step, to the level of fallen humanity....

[four paragraphs later] "Christ was suffering as the members of the human family under temptation; but it was not the will of God that He should exercise His divine power in His own behalf. Had He not stood as our representative, Christ's innocence would have exempted Him from all this anguish, but it was because of His innocence that He felt so keenly the assaults of Satan."

Youth's Instructor, Apr. 25, 1901 (cf. Questions on Doctrine, pp. 651-654): "Entire justice was done in the atonement. In the place of the sinner, the spotless Son of God received the penalty, and the sinner goes free as long as he receives and holds Christ as his personal Saviour. Though guilty, he is looked upon as innocent. Christ fulfilled every requirement demanded by justice....

"When Christ bowed His head and died, He bore the pillars of Satan's kingdom with Him to the earth. He vanquished Satan in the same nature over which in Eden Satan obtained the victory. The enemy was overcome by Christ in His human nature. The power of the Saviour's Godhead was hidden. He overcame in human nature, relying upon God for power."

Signs of the Times, May 29, 1901 (cf. Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 912): "In the fullness of time He was to be

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revealed in human form. He was to take His position at the head of humanity by taking the nature but not the sinfulness of man."

Letter 67, 1902 (cf. Medical Ministry, p. 181): "He took upon His sinless nature our sinful nature, that He might know how to succor those that are tempted."

Signs of the Times, July 30, 1902: "Clad in the vestments of humanity, the Son of God came down to the level of those He wished to save. In Him was no guile or sinfulness; He was ever pure and undefiled; yet He took upon Him our sinful nature. Clothing His divinity with humanity, that He might associate with fallen humanity, He sought to regain for man that which by disobedience Adam had lost."

Signs of the Times, Dec. 3, 1902: "Christ came to this world as a man, to prove to angels and to men that man may overcome, that in every emergency he may know that the powers of Heaven are ready to help him. Our Saviour took the nature of man with all its possibilities....

[four paragraphs later] "In the wilderness Christ and Satan met in combat, Christ in the weakness of humanity....

[two paragraphs later] "Adam had the advantage over Christ, in that when he was assailed by the tempter, none of the effects of sin were upon Him.... It was not thus with Jesus when He entered the wilderness to cope with Satan. For four thousand years the race had been decreasing in physical strength, in mental power, in moral worth; and Christ took upon Him the infirmities of degenerate humanity. Only thus could He rescue man from the lowest depths of degradation."

Education, p. 78: "Christ alone had experience in all the sorrows and temptations that befall human beings. Never another of woman born was so fiercely beset by temptation; never another bore so heavy a burden of the world's sin and pain. Never was there another whose sympathies were so broad or so tender. A sharer in all the experiences of humanity,

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He could feel not only for, but with, every burdened and tempted and struggling one."

Letter 303, 1903 (to Dr. J. H. Kellogg): "Coming, as He did, as a man (to meet and be subjected to) with all the evil tendencies to which man is heir, (working in every conceivable manner to destroy his faith) He made it possible for Himself to be buffeted by human agencies inspired by Satan, the rebel who had been expelled from heaven." (The items in parentheses were written between the lines of the typed text of the letter in Ellen White's own handwriting; for further background on this recently discovered letter, see Appendix C.)

Letter 264, 1903 (cf. Sons and Daughters of God, p. 230): "Our Saviour came to this world to endure in human nature all the temptations wherewith man is beset."

Letter 280, 1904 (cf. Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, p. 1113): "Was the human nature of the Son of Mary changed into the divine nature of the Son of God? No; the two natures were mysteriously blended in one person-the man Christ Jesus."

Review and Herald, Apr. 5, 1906: "Christ did not make believe take human nature; He did verily take it. He did in reality possess human nature."