January 10, 2018
Luke 2:30, 31, 34, 35(All Scripture is from the New King James Version unless otherwise indicated)
Considering the featured Scripture for Monday’s blog was Genesis 1:26 through 28, Luke 2:30, 31, 34, 35 seems like an odd choice for this second installment of In The Image Of…. But here it is, and I will explain why I chose this Scripture:
…the angel said… “…behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring
forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus….” Then Mary said to the
angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” And the angel
answered…“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the
Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to
be born will be called the Son of God.”
I said in the last blog, “This image of the devil we carry has been passed down from Adam to infect all human beings!” Why didn’t I mention Eve in that statement? Why is it that the father – and not the mother – passes on the sin nature to the offspring? There is an intriguing medical fact that illumines this question: No maternal blood is ever found in the child developing in the womb! Where, then, does the unborn’s blood come from? The late Martin R. DeHaan, M.D. beautifully describes what takes place (www.jesus-is-savior.com/BTP/Dr_MR_DeHaan/Chemistry/04.htm):
It is now definitely known that the blood which flows in an unborn baby’s
arteries and veins is not derived from the mother but is produced within the
body of the foetus itself only after the introduction of the male sperm. An
unfertilized ovum can never develop blood since the female egg does not by
itself contain the elements essential for the production of this blood. It is
only after the male element has entered the ovum that blood can develop….
The mother provides the foetus (the unborn developing infant) with the nu-
tritive elements for the building of that little body in the secret of her bosom,
but all the blood which forms in that little body is formed in the embryo it-
self and only as a result of the contribution of the male parent. From the
time of conception to the time of birth of the infant not ONE SINGLE DROP
OF BLOOD ever passes from mother to child. The placenta, that mass of
temporary tissue known better as “afterbirth,” forming the union between
mother and child, is so constructed that although all the soluble nutritive
elements such as proteins, fats, carbohydrates, salts, minerals and even
antibodies pass freely from mother to child and the waste products of the
child’s metabolism are passed back to the mother’s circulation, no actual
interchange of a single drop of blood ever occurs normally. All the blood
which is in that child is produced within the child itself as a result of the
introduction of the male sperm. The mother contributes no blood at all.
In Leviticus 17:11, God told Moses, “…the life of the flesh is in the blood….” Likewise, after Adam sinned, the death of the flesh is in the blood – and the sin that caused that death! Sin so affects the blood, it becomes sin’s carrier, infecting the whole nature of the human being, and resulting in all males and females (who inherit sin-cursed blood from their father) to become sinners themselves! Reflecting this truth, Paul writes in Romans 5:12, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men [all humanity], because all have sinned….” And so permeating is sin’s effect that everything we do is tainted and spoiled by sin! As Isaiah 64:6 tells us: “…we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags….” Our righteousnesses are the very best we can do! Yet, before God, they are like an unclean filthy rag! Why? Because God demands perfection! Jesus reveals God’s standard in Matthew 5:48: “…you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” To be acceptable to God, just be perfect in every thought, word, and deed!
Where does that leave us – all humankind? Because of sin, we are all sinners! We are all unacceptable to the Father! And so we are all under God’s condemnation and headed for eternal judgment! We can do nothing to save ourselves! All we can do is look for Another to pay the sin-debt we owe. But that One must be just like us in every way except sin-tainted! That One is Jesus! Romans 8:3 speaks thus concerning Him: “…God…sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin…condemned sin in the flesh….” Paul, being very specific with his words, says, in the likeness of human flesh! Jesus did not have sinful human flesh, only its appearance!
But how was it to be accomplished that someOne, even God, could become a human being without being sinful? The answer is the virgin birth! Jesus received His full humanity from his mother Mary. But His Father was the perfect God – through the Holy Spirit impregnating the young Jewish girl! If, as Dr. DeHaan is quoted as saying, the developing child in the womb receives the element from the father that begins the production of its blood, then Jesus’ Father, having no sin, would not have passed sin on to His Son! Thus Jesus had no sin! (See John 8:46; I Peter 2:22).
• He was fully, but perfectly human – from His mother!
• He was fully and perfectly divine – from His Father!
This is why He could live His life never sinning once, and meeting God’s standard of perfection! And then He voluntarily laid down that perfect life (see John 10:17, 18) as an offering – taking all our sins upon Himself (see Isaiah 53:5, 6; II Corinthians 5:21) and fully paying the debt of the sinner before God – so we could go free! (See John 8:34, 36; Romans 6:18, 23; 8:2; Galatians 5:1). By the way, when the Lord cried out in John 19:30, “It is finished!” He only uttered one Greek word, “Τετέλεσται.” It can be translated as Paid, Completed, even Paid in full ! However, it does mean that what Jesus came to do has been done! There is no more to do but for us to enter into that completed work of salvation!
And entering into this salvation results in another Image change – discussed in the third blog of this series.