Hello, dear brothers and sisters! I used to imagine Jesus as a Superman who only enriched humanity with divine gifts, but did not take anything from humanity himself. A few years ago, I read the book "he Doctrine of the Trinity: Christianity’s Self-Inflicted Wound." This book turned my mind upside down. If I used to imagine Jesus as an incarnate angel, now I consider him the best of people. Thank you very much for this wonderful work. After reading the book, I began to respect Christ even more. And not only him, but humanity as a whole.
I realized that we have a great dignity - to choose the path leading to perfection ourselves and follow it to the end. If Jesus had been a God or an angel, he would not have been an ideal example of perfection for us. I think about it a lot. Let me ask you a question. In the Epistle to the Galatians, the Apostle Paul said that God sent the Messiah into the world when the fullness of time came.
It is usually understood that by the first century, humanity had reached the state of mind and heart when the coming of the Messiah would be most fruitful. Pagans became disillusioned with their dead religion, philosophers realized the limitations of the human mind and the need for higher wisdom.
Politics was also in crisis, wars were raging everywhere. Figuratively speaking, people needed an "alien from outer space". Yes, the Greeks united the world by launching the Hellenization process. And the Romans created a powerful network of convenient roads and brought relative order to the empire. All this contributed to the rapid spread of the Gospel.
It's all wonderful. But is one important point not overlooked: in the 1st century, the fullness of time came not only for the whole world, but also for the Messiah himself? Would Jesus have been able to achieve perfection and maintain absolute purity in the time of Seth, Noah, Moses or David? We don't know.
It is clear from the Gospel that God was concerned about the moral and spiritual condition of his Son. It was not for nothing that he entrusted the care of him to the best of people - Mary and Joseph. Would Jesus have become the Messiah if he had been born into a vicious family where he was taught to love iniquity and hate righteousness?
Jesus was the son of his time. By the time he was born, it became obvious how much people needed God. At that time, history was already ancient, gray-haired and very bloody. Jesus absorbed not only the wisdom from above and the wisdom of books. He combined them with the practical experience of history. And for him, all of God's truths mattered not only as theoretical calculations.
In the prophecy about Solomon, God told David that the Messiah could sin. This means that God took some risks by trusting Jesus, as in the case of Adam and Eve. Therefore, the Creator did everything possible to give Jesus a better upbringing.
It turns out that Abel, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Mary, Joseph and many other righteous people also participated in the formation of the personality of Christ and they are co-workers with God in this matter. And we should thank them, as well as Jesus, for the gift of redemption and eternal life.
In my opinion, this is how Paul's words can be understood that the Law of Moses was a guide to Christ: only a society living according to righteous norms for centuries could have given birth to Christ. Could he have appeared in any other society, even with the support of God? Jesus, like any of us, absorbed the best that the society of his day could give him.
In this regard, I have another question. Do you think if Jesus and Adam had switched places, could it be that Jesus would have eaten the forbidden fruit after listening to Eve, and Adam would have become our redeemer? There is an opinion that anyone would have sinned if they were in Adam's place. When all the terrible consequences of sin were only a promise from God, but not an objective reality. And if Adam had had the environment, upbringing, and knowledge of Jesus, he might well have become the Messiah.
If you have such an opportunity, please write what do you think about it? For me, this is important in order to better understand God's concern for us and man's place in God's eternal plan.
P. S.: I do not want to belittle the merits of Christ in the least. I am trying to better understand the role of man in God's plan.
I realized that we have a great dignity - to choose the path leading to perfection ourselves and follow it to the end. If Jesus had been a God or an angel, he would not have been an ideal example of perfection for us. I think about it a lot. Let me ask you a question. In the Epistle to the Galatians, the Apostle Paul said that God sent the Messiah into the world when the fullness of time came.
It is usually understood that by the first century, humanity had reached the state of mind and heart when the coming of the Messiah would be most fruitful. Pagans became disillusioned with their dead religion, philosophers realized the limitations of the human mind and the need for higher wisdom.
Politics was also in crisis, wars were raging everywhere. Figuratively speaking, people needed an "alien from outer space". Yes, the Greeks united the world by launching the Hellenization process. And the Romans created a powerful network of convenient roads and brought relative order to the empire. All this contributed to the rapid spread of the Gospel.
It's all wonderful. But is one important point not overlooked: in the 1st century, the fullness of time came not only for the whole world, but also for the Messiah himself? Would Jesus have been able to achieve perfection and maintain absolute purity in the time of Seth, Noah, Moses or David? We don't know.
It is clear from the Gospel that God was concerned about the moral and spiritual condition of his Son. It was not for nothing that he entrusted the care of him to the best of people - Mary and Joseph. Would Jesus have become the Messiah if he had been born into a vicious family where he was taught to love iniquity and hate righteousness?
Jesus was the son of his time. By the time he was born, it became obvious how much people needed God. At that time, history was already ancient, gray-haired and very bloody. Jesus absorbed not only the wisdom from above and the wisdom of books. He combined them with the practical experience of history. And for him, all of God's truths mattered not only as theoretical calculations.
In the prophecy about Solomon, God told David that the Messiah could sin. This means that God took some risks by trusting Jesus, as in the case of Adam and Eve. Therefore, the Creator did everything possible to give Jesus a better upbringing.
It turns out that Abel, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Mary, Joseph and many other righteous people also participated in the formation of the personality of Christ and they are co-workers with God in this matter. And we should thank them, as well as Jesus, for the gift of redemption and eternal life.
In my opinion, this is how Paul's words can be understood that the Law of Moses was a guide to Christ: only a society living according to righteous norms for centuries could have given birth to Christ. Could he have appeared in any other society, even with the support of God? Jesus, like any of us, absorbed the best that the society of his day could give him.
In this regard, I have another question. Do you think if Jesus and Adam had switched places, could it be that Jesus would have eaten the forbidden fruit after listening to Eve, and Adam would have become our redeemer? There is an opinion that anyone would have sinned if they were in Adam's place. When all the terrible consequences of sin were only a promise from God, but not an objective reality. And if Adam had had the environment, upbringing, and knowledge of Jesus, he might well have become the Messiah.
If you have such an opportunity, please write what do you think about it? For me, this is important in order to better understand God's concern for us and man's place in God's eternal plan.
P. S.: I do not want to belittle the merits of Christ in the least. I am trying to better understand the role of man in God's plan.