" Nearly two thousand years ago, a voice of mysterious import was heard in heaven, from the throne of God, "Lo, I come." "Sacrifice and offering Thou wouldest not, but a body hast Thou prepared Me. . . . Lo, I come (in the volume of the Book it is written of Me,) to do Thy will, O God." Heb. 10:5-7. In these words is announced the fulfillment of the purpose that had been hidden from eternal ages. Christ was about to visit our world, and to become incarnate. He says, "A body hast Thou prepared Me." Had He appeared with the glory that was His with the Father before the world was, we could not have endured the light of His presence. That we might behold it and not be destroyed, the manifestation of His glory was shrouded. His divinity was veiled with humanity,--the invisible glory in the visible human form. {DA 23.1}"

"In stooping to take upon Himself humanity, Christ revealed a character the opposite of the character of Satan. But He stepped still lower in the path of humiliation. "Being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." Phil. 2:8. As the high priest laid aside his gorgeous pontifical robes, and officiated in the white linen dress of the common priest, so Christ took the form of a servant, and offered sacrifice, Himself the priest, Himself the victim. "He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him." Isa. 53:5. {DA 25.1} "

" Among the Jews there were yet steadfast souls, descendants of that holy line through whom a knowledge of God had been preserved. These still looked for the hope of the promise made unto the fathers. They strengthened their faith by dwelling upon the assurance given through Moses, "A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; Him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever He shall say unto you." Acts 3:22. Again, they read how the Lord would anoint One "to preach good tidings unto the meek," "to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives," and to declare the "acceptable year of the Lord." Isa. 61:1, 2. They read how He would "set judgment in the earth," how the isles should "wait for His law," how the Gentiles should come to His light, and kings to the brightness of His rising. Isa. 42:4; 60:3. {DA 34.2}"

"The fullness of the time had come. Humanity, becoming more degraded through ages of transgression, called for the coming of the Redeemer. Satan had been working to make the gulf deep and impassable between earth and heaven. By his falsehoods he had emboldened
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men in sin. It was his purpose to wear out the forbearance of God, and to extinguish His love for man, so that He would abandon the world to satanic jurisdiction. {DA 34.4}"

"Satan was exulting that he had succeeded in debasing the image of God in humanity. Then Jesus came to restore in man the image of his
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Maker. None but Christ can fashion anew the character that has been ruined by sin. He came to expel the demons that had controlled the will. He came to lift us up from the dust, to reshape the marred character after the pattern of His divine character, and to make it beautiful with His own glory. {DA 37.3}"

" The story of Bethlehem is an exhaustless theme. In it is hidden "the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God." Rom. 11:33. We marvel at the Saviour's sacrifice in exchanging the throne of heaven for the manger, and the companionship of adoring angels for the
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beasts of the stall. Human pride and self-sufficiency stand rebuked in His presence. Yet this was but the beginning of His wonderful condescension. 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. {DA 48.5}"

The line of Jesus through Mary (John's line must have been similar as Mary and Elizabeth were cousins) I suspect into which Jesus was born was "that Among the Jews there were yet steadfast souls, descendants of that holy line through whom a knowledge of God had been preserved." and to which, "A body hast Thou prepared Me."


Luke 1:35 & Luke 2:23 I have written in my Bible, His character in connection with these two text.

Luke 1:35
"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."

Luke 2:23
"(As it is written in the law of the LORD, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;)"

It is interesting what happened when Mary visited Elizabeth. "Luke 1:41 And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:

"Satan in heaven had hated Christ for His position in the courts of God. He hated Him the more when he himself was dethroned. He hated Him who pledged Himself to redeem a race of sinners. Yet into the world where Satan claimed dominion God permitted His Son to come, a helpless babe, subject to the weakness of humanity. He permitted Him to meet life's peril in common with every human soul, to fight the battle as every child of humanity must fight it, at the risk of failure and eternal loss. {DA 49.1}"

"Wonderful in its significance is the brief record of His early life: "The child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon Him." In the sunlight of His Father's countenance, Jesus "increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man." Luke 2:52. His mind was active and penetrating, with a thoughtfulness and wisdom beyond His years. Yet His character was beautiful in its symmetry. The powers of mind and body developed gradually, in keeping with the laws of childhood. {DA 68.2}"

"As a child, Jesus manifested a peculiar loveliness of disposition. His willing hands were ever ready to serve others. He manifested a patience
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that nothing could disturb, and a truthfulness that would never sacrifice integrity. In principle firm as a rock, His life revealed the grace of unselfish courtesy. {DA 68.3}"

"With deep earnestness the mother of Jesus watched the unfolding of His powers, and beheld the impress of perfection upon His character. With delight she sought to encourage that bright, receptive mind. Through the Holy Spirit she received wisdom to co-operate with the heavenly agencies in the development of this child, who could claim only God as His Father. {DA 69.1}"

"From the earliest times the faithful in Israel had given much care to the education of the youth. The Lord had directed that even from babyhood the children should be taught of His goodness and His greatness, especially as revealed in His law, and shown in the history of Israel. Song and prayer and lessons from the Scriptures were to be adapted to the opening mind. Fathers and mothers were to instruct their children that the law of God is an expression of His character, and that as they received the principles of the law into the heart, the image of God was traced on mind and soul. Much of the teaching was oral; but the youth also learned to read the Hebrew writings; and the parchment rolls of the Old Testament Scriptures were open to their study. {DA 69.2}"

I found this quote to reflect what Ellen has to say regarding prenatal state.

Some things should be made clear before we proceed. According to the secular view, we are born with personality traits, not character traits; character traits begin to be developed (learned) some time after we are born.

“Although character is related to personality, it is not the same thing. Personality is primarily inborn traits, while character consists of learned behavior.” (http://www.school-for-champions.com/character/what_is.htm)

But Ellen White does not use the word “personality” in the way it’s used nowadays. So, for her, we are born with a character, because we are born with character traits.

Also the secular view teaches you are not born with moral (character) traits – you learn them; while Ellen White teaches we are born with moral traits – we are born selfish, with a disinclination to virtue, inclined to disobedience, etc.

During judgment, what is the difference between the character we are born with and the character we ourselves develop? Are we condemned based on the traits and tendencies we inherit?

God condemns sin, and "selfishness is sin" (ST, April 13, 1891 par. 3).

Our inherited tendencies to evil are elements of selfishness.

"Our minds and characters must become as the mind and character of Christ. Selfishness is inwrought in our very being. It has come to us as an inheritance, and has been cherished by many as a precious treasure." {LHU 326.4}

The person is not condemned for sins he/she is not aware of, as in the case of children, but this is just because of Christ's sacrifice. However, if Christ was born with His own elements of selfishness (evil tendencies), what sacrifice could make provision for Him?

Which one of the following definitions of sin takes into account the idea that we are condemned, even before we are born, based on the traits and tendencies and character we will inherit?

Romans
14:23 And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because [he eateth] not of faith: for whatsoever [is] not of faith is sin.

James
4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth [it] not, to him it is sin.

1 John
3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

1 John
5:17 All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.

The verses in 1 John.

We will be judged not by what we start with, but by what we do with it in the light of the resources available to us. IOW, we are judged not by what we were, but by what we are. That's why there's a possibility of the saved being lost, and the lost being saved.

Arnold, do you agree with Rosangela that we are condemned, even before we are born, based on all three of the things listed above:

1) inherited, uncultivated traits

2) inherited, uncultivated tendencies

3) inherited, uncultivated character

Also, in what way do the verses in 1 John describe the sins related to each of the three things listed above as it applies to people before they are conceived or born?

Mike,

The first commandment requires us to love God first. Selfishness means loving oneself first (whether one is aware of this or not). Therefore, it's a transgression of the very first commandment.

I wouldn't say we are condemned before we are born (will fetuses be resurrected?); I would say we are born condemned.