Ikan,

"I am the Way. . . . No man cometh unto the Father but by Me."

No human being will be found in heaven without a Saviour. We know that some adults who have never had the opportunity to know and accept Christ will be in heaven, but of course they will only be there because of Christ’s sacrifice. The same is true of children before the age of accountability.

Ellen White speaks specifically about this in 3 SM 313. As to the children of believers, she says,

“The word of God came to the Israelites in bondage to gather their children into their houses and to mark the doorposts of their houses with blood from a lamb, slain. This prefigured the slaying of the Son of God and the efficacy of His blood, which was shed for the salvation of the sinner. It was a sign that the household accepted Christ as the promised Redeemer. It was shielded from the destroyer's power. The parents evidenced their faith in implicitly obeying the directions given them, and the faith of the parents covered themselves and their children. They showed their faith in Jesus, the great Sacrifice, whose blood was prefigured in the slain lamb. The destroying angel passed over every house that had this mark upon it. This is a symbol to show that the faith of the parents extends to their children and covers them from the destroying angel.” {3SM 314}

She still says,

“Some parents allow Satan to control their children, and their children are not restrained, but are allowed to have wicked tempers, to be passionate, selfish, and disobedient. Should they die these children would not be taken to heaven. ... I said to Brother Matteson, ‘Whether all the children of unbelieving parents will be saved we cannot tell, because God has not made known His purpose in regard to this matter, and we had better leave it where God has left it and dwell upon subjects made plain in His Word.’ This is a most delicate subject. Many unbelieving parents manage their children with greater wisdom than many of those who claim to be children of God. They take much pains with their children, to make them kind, courteous, unselfish and to teach them to obey, and in this the unbelieving show greater wisdom than those parents who have the great light of truth but whose works do not in any wise correspond with their faith.” {3SM 314, 315}

Rosangela, it seems to be more involved than that. When Jesus became a human He did not cease being God, but as a human He set aside His deity and partook of the divine nature like a born again believer. His source of victory was not His own deity, but rather the divine nature of the Father, which is the same divine nature available to born again believers.

The "new nature" we receive when we are born again is not the divine nature of God. It is the new nature that enables us to partake of the divine nature, as such, I don't see how they can be equivalent. I'm thinking that Sister White used the term "new nature" in the same way she uses the terms new mind and new heart.

We still possess the same sinful flesh nature we inherited at birth. It is not replaced when we're born again. Instead, we receive a new mind, a new heart, which is what enables us to partake of the divine nature. When we combine humanity (new man mind) and divinity (divine nature) in this way, like Jesus did, we are empowered to recognize and resist the unholy thoughts and feelings produced by our fallen nature, just like Jesus did.

We are not born with the mind of the new man or new heart. We are not like Jesus until after we are born again, until after we receive the mind of the new man, until after we begin partaking of the divine nature. We begin at rebirth where Jesus began at birth, that is, with a new mind and heart, and a clean slate, all of which enables us to resist our fallen nature, in the same way Jesus did.

What do you think?

7BC 907
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 (MS 44, 1898). {7BC 907.4}

1SM 409
He withstood the temptation, through the power that man may command. He laid hold on the throne of God, and there is not a man or woman who may not have access to the same help through faith in God. Man may become a partaker of the divine nature; not a soul lives who may not summon the aid of Heaven in temptation and trial. Christ came to reveal the source of His power, that man might never rely on his unaided human capabilities. {1SM 408.2}

MH 180
The Saviour took upon Himself the infirmities of humanity and lived a sinless life, that men might have no fear that because of the weakness of human nature they could not overcome. Christ came to make us "partakers of the divine nature," and His life declares that humanity, combined with divinity, does not commit sin. {MH 180.5}

LHU 76
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. In Him dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. When Christ was crucified, it was His human nature that died. Deity did not sink and die; that would have been impossible. {LHU 76.2}

LHU 28
With Christ the enmity was in one sense natural; in another sense it was supernatural, as humanity and divinity were combined. {LHU 28.3}

COL 314
Satan had claimed that it was impossible for man to obey God's commandments; and in our own strength it is true that we cannot obey them. But Christ came in the form of humanity, and by His perfect obedience He proved that humanity and divinity combined can obey every one of God's precepts. {COL 314.4}

Mike: Two points. One is that the way EGW puts it is that Jesus set aside the "prerogatives" of divinity, which I believe is more accurate then saying He set aside His divinity (which could give the false impression that He ceased being divine).

Second point is actually a question, and this is, is there any difference between partaking of the divine nature and having a new mind? You're saying the new mind allows us to partake of the divine nature, but it seems to me that partaking of the divine nature means the same things as having the mind of Christ.

To put it in simple language, God gives us the desire and the capacity to appreciate God, heaven, and spiritual things in general; including the desire and capacity to do His will. Does partaking of the divine nature mean anything different than this?

Mike,

I'll take some time to analyze your arguments.

Old Tom:You can't say He had our biological constitution but deny He had the things that that constituion has (which is sin in its tendency).

RR: Tom,

By nature the heart is evil. {AG 22.4}
By nature we are alienated from God.{AG 313.3}
By nature man has no love for God. {RH, March 12, 1901 par. 14}
Men are selfish by nature. {RH, January 6, 1891 par. 7}
The duty of intelligent souls is to hold to the truth, to practice virtue. We are born with a disinclination to both. {TDG 34.3}

Which of the above statements, which refer to our inheritance, apply to Jesus, in your opinion?

Tom: I think the following quotation helps to answer your questions:

quote:

---

Adam was tempted by the enemy, and he fell. It was not indwelling sin which 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." In the wilderness, weakened physically by a fast of forty days, He met the adversary. His dignity was questioned, His authority disputed, His allegiance to His Father assailed by the fallen foe. {BEcho, September 3, 1900 par. 10}

---

Note the contrast between Adam and Christ. Adam had "no corrupt principles, no tendencies to evil." BUT when Christ came, etc. So there is a clear contrast between Adam and Christ which involves "corrupt principles" and "tendencies to evil."

Now we cannot say of Christ Himself that He had "corrupt principles" or "tendencies to evil". Yet a contrast is being made, which clearly includes these things. To what does this apply? Evidently to Christ's flesh, which EGW makes clear in stating that Christ bore the "likeness of sinful flesh." So the conclusion is that the "likeness of sinful flesh" which Christ bore had the "corrupt principles" and "tendencies to evil" which Adam did not have.

So in answer to your questions above, I would say that all of these things applied to Christ's flesh, but none of them applied to Christ Himself. This is because while we are only human and have by nature no other nature than a sinful one, this is not true of Christ. Christ's own nature was sinless and divine. This is not true of us. However, He took upon His sinless nature our sinful nature. Therefore His humanity was biologically identical to ours, but His "nature" or "mind" or "heart" was not identical to ours; just His flesh.

The word "nature" is a vague word to use, as, depending on the context, it can mean many different things. In reference to Christ's similarity to us, it refers to His flesh. In terms of Christ's being different to us, it (often) refers to His own divine, sinless nature.

Tom, yes, Jesus definitely did not stop being God when He became a man. But as a man He partook of His Father's divine nature, not His own divine nature, in order to develop and maintain holy traits of character. In this case, mind and nature are not one and the same thing.

So, it seems reasonable to conclude that the mind of Christ and the divine nature are, though interrelated, separate aspects of our human makeup. We receive the implanted mind of Christ, but we can only partake of the divine nature. The one is implanted, while the other is partaken.

1SM 257
Man's substitute and surety must have man's nature, a connection with the human family whom he was to represent, and, as God's ambassador, he must partake of the divine nature, have a connection with the Infinite, in order to manifest God to the world, and be a mediator between God and man. {1SM 257.1}

COL 98, 99
The natural inclinations are softened and subdued. New thoughts, new feelings, new motives, are implanted. A new standard of character is set up--the life of Christ. The mind is changed; the faculties are roused to action in new lines. Man is not endowed with new faculties, but the faculties he has are sanctified. The conscience is awakened. We are endowed with traits of character that enable us to do service for God. {COL 98.3}

AG 225
If we ever attain unto holiness, it will be through the renunciation of self and the reception of the mind of Christ. {AG 225.3}