The Conditionalist Faith of Our Fathers, vol. 1

V. Christ’s Central Place in Gospel of Eden

1. BECOMES SON OF MAN TO RESTORE LOST MAN

The headship of the human race was vested, through creation, in the first, and now fallen, Adam. And full redemption from the ruin of the fall of man is brought about by the sinless, spotless Christ (1 Peter 1:19), the “second,” or “last Adam” (1 Corinthians 15:45, 47)—Himself truly human yet truly divine, the one and only God-man. CFF1 64.3

Christ Himself in His own person was the divine medium and method of salvation. Thus it was that the Word, or Son of God, was made flesh (John 1:1-3, 14) in order to redeem man. He was made flesh in order that He might suffer and die in man’s stead (Hebrews 10:5; Psalm 40:6; Isaiah 42:1; Philippians 2:7; Romans 8:3). In Biblical phrasing He took upon Himself human nature “that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Hebrews 2:14, 15). CFF1 64.4

Picture 3: Plan of Salvation:
The Pivotal Point of All Sacred History, the Atoning Death of Christ Followed by His Triumphant Resurrection, Was the Pledge of the Resurrection and Immortalization of All the Redeemed of All Ages.
Page 65

Through this act of amnesty Christ then and there identified Himself with man, not only for the time that He lived here among men but for all eternity. And time may be defined as that portion of eternity marked off for the creation, probation, and redemption of the human race and the final disposition of sin. Or, it may be called the great parenthesis between the eternity of the past and the eternity of the future, with Christ the central figure of both time and all eternity. CFF1 65.1

Eighty-seven times in the New Testament, Christ designated Himself as the “Son of man”—the first time in Matthew 8:20. This was His racial name, His human appellation as the representative man and Redeemer of the race (Luke 19:10), just as in the Old Testament He is frequently called the Son of David, in the line of the Seed. In other words, “Son of man” is primarily His human title, just as “Son of God” is His divine name. But through His incarnation He so completely identified Himself with the human race, as its Redeemer, that when He returns to earth the second time in glory He comes as the Son of man (Matthew 24:27-31; Luke 12:40). (In the Old Testament He so appears in Daniel 7:13.) CFF1 66.1

So it was that in due time Christ died for the sinner—in his stead. He became a curse for him, became sin for him, gave Himself for him, was made an offering and a sacrifice to God for him, redeemed him, justified him, saved him from wrath, purchased him by His own blood, reconciled him by His own death, saved him by His own life—and thereby provided for his forfeited life a restored life forevermore. It was a case of true and complete substitution, that the recipients of His salvation might receive His righteousness and partake of His endless life (Hebrews 7:16). That is the wonder and the glory of the gospel of Genesis 3:15, enfolded in embryo in that first simple promise and prophecy. CFF1 66.2

2. ASSUMES HIS TRUE AND CENTRAL PLACE

Here, then, the gospel of Genesis begins—the inspired account of the beginnings of human redemption, progressively unfolding throughout the Book of God. The Bible is therefore simply the wondrous record of God’s provision to restore the divine “image” that fallen man had lost, and to recover for him the immortality that had been forfeited. This purpose became the supreme object of the incarnation of the Son of God, leading to His atoning death, triumphant resurrection, and assured return. It is a revelation of supreme love beyond comparison and human comprehension. CFF1 66.3

Our mortal condition as members of a sinful race necessitates a new birth in order that we may be fitted for the life that shall never end. And as God “only hath immortality” (1 Timothy 6:16), the Deity as well as the humanity of the Saviour, as the One through whom alone this new life is obtained, is therefore basic. Hence the salvation that He offers is not a casual matter, or even a heavenly boon, but a prime necessity to be sought for earnestly and accepted gratefully. CFF1 66.4

Redemption is an act of grace in which Christ assumes His true and central place in the plan and provision of salvation. Thus not only His first coming but His second advent—with its attendant resurrection of the dead, final judgment, and bestowal of everlasting life—all come to assume their vital place in the belief of the church both of Old Testament and of New Testament times. And all this stems from Genesis 3:15. CFF1 67.1

3. PROCESSES AND PROVISIONS OF REDEMPTION AND RESTORATION

The uniform testimony of both the Old and the New Testament is that the supreme object of redemption is to change man’s fallen nature, not only from sin to holiness but from mortality to ultimate immortality—from a nature now perishable in all its parts to one that is to be incorruptible and destined to live forever. CFF1 67.2

As seen, this provision for the bestowal of everlasting life involved the incarnation of the Word, or Son of God, who was before all things and created all things (John 1:1-4, 10; Ephesians 3:9; Colossians 1:16, 17; Hebrews 1:2), but who became flesh (Hebrews 2:14; 1 Timothy 3:16), taking upon Himself our nature, “yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). And as Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One, He died on the cross as our atoning Sacrifice. He thenceforth became the mighty mediator for man before the Father, thus uniting grace and mercy with the justice and righteousness of God, and so vindicating His divine law and government. CFF1 67.3

His divine nature is wondrously united with man’s nature in the provision of regeneration, through the incoming and indwelling of the Holy Spirit, who is the “Spirit of Life” of none other than the Lord and Giver of life (Romans 8:2, 10). Thus it is that holiness and immortality are made available to the believer by the life, death, resurrection, and mediation of Jesus Christ (2 Timothy 1:10). Consequently, redemption from death to endless life depends on this union of humanity and divinity, first in Christ through His incarnation, and then in us through regeneration. The nature which has broken the law becomes united with the life and nature of the Giver, Upholder, and Keeper of the law. Thus sin’s victims are snatched from the great destroyer’s hand forevermore. CFF1 67.4

4. ENABLING PROVISIONS OF REDEMPTION

It was possible for Adam in his perfect state of sinlessness before the Fall to develop a righteous character by loyal obedience to God’s commands. But this he failed to do. Now, not only because of Adam’s sin, but because of our own sins as well, our natures as well as his are fallen. We are not innocent as was Adam when created, and therefore cannot achieve righteousness by means of our own obedience, because we ourselves are powerless to obey. Our fallen natures must be transformed, and divine power obtained. CFF1 68.1

Christ came to provide both the requisite righteousness and the enabling power and grace. He lived amid temptation but without sin. He took our sins vicariously that He might first impute His righteousness to us to cover our past sins, and then impart His righteousness by making His enabling grace and power available to care for our present spiritual needs and deficiencies. That was the divine plan of redemption, as spelled out under the gospel, first initiated in Eden after the Fall. CFF1 68.2