"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." {16MR 182.2}

So
Sinful propensities = corrupt propensities
and
Christ did not possess these

Arnold, Jesus never sinned, therefore, He cultivated no selfishness that needed to be expelled. Jesus began at conception the way believers begin at conversion. Born-again believers are converted with all selfishness expelled. They are dead to sin, free from sin, and awake to righteousness. This state and status is true of them while they are walking in the Spirit and in the mind of the new man. Their sinful flesh nature remains and continues to tempt them from within to indulge their innocent and legitimate needs in sinful ways. But like Jesus they refuse to comply. Of course, like Jesus, they are free to sin. They did not become robots when they finished converting from the ways of the world to the ways of Jesus.

Rosangela, did Jesus have an advantage not available to born-again believers who are walking in the Spirit and in the mind of the new man? Would it be an advantage to possess a "sinful flesh," a fallen, sinful human nature whose tendencies, propensities, inclinations are in perfect harmony with the will of God? Would it be an advantage not to be constantly tempted from within to indulge innocent and legitimate needs in sinful ways?

Was Jones correct in saying Jesus did not have a sinful mind? Do people have to resist sinful minds?

No, I don't think this would be an advantage. The strength of a temptation doesn't depend on a single factor. Otherwise, the temptations of Jesus would be weaker than those of someone who has an addiction.

People who experience conversion in God's appointed way receive as a free gift new hearts, new minds, new motives, new wills.


The heart, the mind, the will "is either on Satan's side or Christ's side." The passages posted above describe the state and status of the mind Jesus possessed while He was here in sinful flesh. His sinful flesh tempted Him from within to sin. But He refused.

I'm surprised you believe having a fallen, sinful human nature whose tendencies, propensities, inclinations are in perfect harmony with the will of God is not an advantage. Adam and Eve most likely felt disadvantaged after they sinned and their nature became a hostile enemy tempting them from within to sin.

And I'm surprised you believe that the strength of a temptation is determined by sinful tendencies, and still believe that the temptations of Christ could be stronger than ours. Obviously the power of sinful tendencies is reinforced by repetition, which means that cultivated tendencies are stronger than merely inherited tendencies which were never acted out.

Excellent point, Rosangela. I agree cultivated traits and tendencies are more powerful than inherited traits and tendencies which have not been acted out in thought, word, and deed. And, as you pointed out, other factors effect the strength of various temptations - heredity, health, associations, environment, diet, etc. Most notably, though, is the fact God works to monitor and regulate the strength of a temptation based on His knowledge of our ability to withstand it. "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."

Just like everyone else, Jesus inherited in sinful flesh nature all the fallen traits and tendencies known to man. Some were dominant and others were recessive. Unlike us, however, Jesus never added to their strength to tempt and annoy by sinning. Nevertheless, He was tempted in all points like we are. The strength of each temptation was not determined by lifestyle choices but by the degree to which God permitted. In this way, Jesus was tempted in every way it is possible for mankind to be tempted.

So the point is that the temptations posed by Satan (external) may be stronger than the temptations posed by inward corruptions (internal) - it all depends on the extent to which God permits someone to be tempted.
As to the "points" in which Jesus was to be tempted, they were the three areas on which we are tempted:

He was tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin. Satan was on his track at every step, and in the wilderness he assailed him with the three leading temptations with which man is overcome,--appetite, presumption, and ambition. {RH, July 5, 1892 par. 10}

Therefore, Jesus didn't need to have sinful tendencies in order to be tempted in all points like we are, and EGW confirms that, in fact, He didn't have sinful tendencies.