God did not create you to judge you (Ecclesiastes 3:17) or to save you (1 John 3:8); (1 John 3:1-24).
Nor did God create you for religion (Genesis 3:22,24) and the law (Genesis 3:16); (1 Timothy 1:19).
God had given you religion and the law to tame your overacting desires and self-centeredness, which politics (Genesis 3:1,4-5) has convinced you is the way to live your life! Everyone’s religion is shaped by their politics!
God had created you in love, so you can serve God’s justice, overcome politics and self-centeredness, and hand the devil (the fugitive) a resounding defeat.
Figure 1: This diagram is an illustration of Revelation Chapter Four’s description of God’s throne room in heaven, which God had set up, not to judge you and condemn you for wrongdoing, but to hear the devil’s appeal (revelation 12:10) for God’s conviction of the devil for wickedness. Unfortunately, however, because we have all chosen to believe politics over God’s righteous commands, any of us who refuses to defeat our respective evils and begin to painstakingly live in compliance with the commands of God, will also be judged with the devil, and cast into the lake of fire with the devil!
God ushered Jesus Christ’s Humanity into the world with great natural and supernatural events and celebrations:
Angel Gabriel visitation to the Virgin Mary; Joseph and his worries over his wife becoming pregnant when she should not have been pregnant; God’s visitation of Joseph in his dream about the Virgin Mary’s pregnancy; Elizabeth and Zachariah; John the Baptist as the forerunner, and the water baptism; the three kings from the east that brought gifts to baby Jesus; the announcement of Christ’s birth to the shepherds and the special star in the sky that guided the shepherds to the manger in Bethlehem where Jesus was born; the stirring up of King Herod and Herod’s murderous rampage of killing all babies in Bethlehem to destroy the King of Kings that was just born; God’s second visitation of Joseph in a dream to take the baby and His mother to safety in Egypt; etc.
All these were the natural and supernatural events that surrounded God’s clothing of His eternal word, Jesus Christ, with flesh and blood (Hebrews 10:5), to reveal to human beings, Christ’s humanity that made Jesus the “Son of Man.” And they were well heralded.
The Bible never fails to clearly show the distinction between Christ’s humanity and Christ’s divinity. Only that we have all chosen to interpret the word of God the way it best serves our politics and our selfish purposes:
Hebrews 1:8-12 NIV — “But about the Son he says,
“Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom. 9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.”
10 He also says,
“In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. 11 They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. 12 You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But you remain the same, and your years will never end.”
Hebrews 2:1-4,14-18 NIV — “We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. 2 For since the message spoken through angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, 3 how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. 4 God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.
14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. 16 For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. 17 For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. 18 Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”
To this day, the Christian religious establishments celebrate Christ’s natural birth as Christmas. Ironically, the leaders of the Christian religion have come to blur the distinction between Christ’s divinity and His humanity, making the worship of Christ’s humanity one and the same with the worship of Christ’s divinity.
This has led the people of God everywhere, to device their individual “image and likeness of God,” in accordance with their political convictions and needs, which they, each, practice as their religion.
When Jesus Christ rebuked the man that called Him “good,” He is rebuking all mankind about worshipping His humanity: “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone.” (Mark 10:18 NIV)
It is Christ’s divinity that is one with God, and not His humanity (John 10:30)!
His humanity was an example we must each imitate and strive to match in our own lives!
Christian religious establishments also celebrate Easter to mark the day Jesus Christ sacrificed His humanity on the cross at Calvary. But the greatest natural and supernatural event of all time goes unnoticed—Christ’s temporary resignation of His divinity to God, which allowed Jesus to sacrifice His humanity on the cross on behalf of all mankind. Human beings can never crucify God on the God—and they never did!
Giving up His divinity (John 10:17-18 NIV); (Matthew 26:38,39,42,44 NIV); (Luke 22:42-44 NIV), so He could die on behalf of all mankind, is the great sacrifice that Jesus Christ made on behalf of all mankind. And it is widely written about in the Bible (John 10:17-18 NIV); (1 Peter 3:18-19 NIV); (Philippians 2:5-11 NIV); etc.
Like many in Christendom, I was of the impression that it was the enormity of the human sins which Jesus had to bear on everyone’s behalf that was crushing His body to death on the night of His passion, prompting Him to ask God to make “the cup go away” if God was willing.
It was not until this revelation came to me on the morning of August 18, 2019, that I learned it was Christ’s temporary relinquishment of His divinity that was crushing Him to death on the night of His passion, indicating two separate sacrifices, as only God can arrange and conceal—the sacrifice of His divinity in private under the cover of the night, and a separate sacrifice of His humanity in public in broad daylight!
This truth has continued to evade us, because we have placed all our attentions on Christ’s sacrifice of His humanity for us on the cross, and so, failed to see that His passion was a separate and greater sacrifice than His sacrifice of His humanity on the cross at Calvary.
His sacrifice of His divinity tormented and tortured His Being so badly, that He needed divine intervention to remain intact for the physical ordeal He had to go through the next day (Luke 22:43-44 NIV):
“He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, 42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” 43 An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. 44 And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.” (Luke 22:41-44 NIV)
During the temporary loss of His divinity, three times He reached out to God (Matthew 26:39,42,44 NIV), and God sent His angels to attend to Him and uphold His body that was fast falling apart (Luke 22:41-44 NIV).
And three times He came to His apostles to keep them watching with Him as His Being was ravaged in this supernatural event; and found that His apostles’ strengths were not holding either — “the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” — Matthew 26:41 NIV. Isaiah 53 talked about all of these.
Quietly and without the kind of fanfares that had accompanied his gaining of His humanity, He suffered the death of His divinity alone, so He could make the sacrifice of His flesh on the cross for the world to see—proving right, what He had commanded human beings about giving gifts without the right hand knowing what the left hand is doing (Matthew 6:3).
Not even His apostles who were with Him got a whiff of what He was really going through, although they were all sapped by His sorrows and agony. The apostles were confused as to why things were fast falling apart; and they were all frightened by it.
They did not realize that their Master had given back to God something immeasurable, so He could serve the purpose He had come into the world to serve!
To this day, the believers of Jesus Christ continue to celebrate the public sacrifice He had made for them on the cross. But they remained oblivious of the greater sacrifice He had made for each of them under the cover of darkness the night before—His relinquishment of His divinity to God (Luke 22:42-44 NIV); (Matthew 26:38,39,42,44 NIV), which set the stage for the public sacrifice of His humanity on the cross to take place!
If Christ did not first give up His divinity to suffer and die on the cross, the following Bible passage will not be true: “He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit” (1 Peter 3:18 NIV).
He, who has been alive for all eternity, could not have been made alive again (1 Peter 3:18), unless He first gave up eternal life!
Because He had given up eternal life momentarily so He could suffer death in His human body, when He breathed His last on the cross as a human being, His eternity instantly returned to Him (1 Peter 3:18 NIV).
And when His eternity returned to Him, the Bible says: “After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits …” (1 Peter 3:18 NIV)
Jesus Christ Himself confirmed to those who came to arrest Him on the night of His passion, that He had already relinquished His divinity to God, to allow them to arrest Him, and abuse and crucify Him:
“Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders, who had come for him, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come with swords and clubs? 53 Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour—when darkness reigns.” (Luke 22:52-53 NIV)
What made the time of their arrest of Jesus Christ the “hour when darkness reigns,” was Jesus Christ being without His divinity at that moment, as prophesied in Daniel 9:26 KJV — “And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself.”
He gave up His divinity to make it possible for human beings to arrest him and put Him through the sufferings Prophet Isaiah, and all the prophets of old, had prophesied about Him.
In their minds, they had finally subdued a blasphemous imposter. So, they went ahead and abused, tortured and ridiculed Him relentlessly, even while He was hanging on the cross dying.
In Luke 22:52-53 above, Jesus Christ was telling the Jewish officials that showed up to arrest Him, that something was different about Him that made their effort of arresting Him, productive. But they did not get it. Apostle John’s account of Jesus’s arrest showed that the Jewish official were afraid to lay their hand on Jesus despite their overwhelming desire to see Him dead:
“Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?”
5 “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied.
“I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) 6 When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.” (John 18:4-6 NIV)
It was Jesus, Himself, who took time to allay their fears of touching Him, before they had enough courage to arrest Him. See that in the following passage:
“Again he asked them, “Who is it you want?”
“Jesus of Nazareth,” they said.
8 Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. If you are looking for me, then let these men go.” 9 This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled: “I have not lost one of those you gave me.”
10 Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.)
11 Jesus commanded Peter, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?”
12 Then the detachment of soldiers with its commander and the Jewish officials arrested Jesus. They bound him 13 and brought him first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. 14 Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jewish leaders that it would be good if one man died for the people.” (John 18:7-14 NIV)
Because life is the most advanced science everywhere, God never fails to mark both the beginning and the end of each event that is vital to the life and salvation of human beings!
If what the religious Christians teach a few hours a week in their churches today is all there is to teach about life, why did the apostles devote their entire waking hours on teaching life to the followers of Jesus Christ? These days, the religious leaders could barely put together enough to teach for a few hours a week, including Sunday schools and midweek Bible sessions, where they spend more than half of that time talking about themselves and their escapades with politicians?
The apostles and disciples of old taught in-depth science that is the people’s everyday life, which captivated the people every time they showed up to learn, and which convinced them to give up their old lives and join the movement of life, full time.
Such is the extent to which God had designed the lessons of life to be taught to all believers, to help believers secure both the eternal life and the abundant life. And to lure unbelievers to the classes through the visible results they see in believers:
“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:7-9 NIV)
Everything Jesus Christ had learned from God the Father (John 15:14-15 NIV) which He had taught the apostles (Matthew 28:20 NIV), could not fit into the couple of hours a week the Gentile church leaders spend giving life’s information to the believers — Ecclesiastes 12:13 KJV — “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.”
If the apostles left their respective families behind, and spent every day of three and a half years learning from Jesus Christ the truths of life, and still had to wait for the Holy Spirit to show up and teach them more and clarify for them everything Christ had taught them (John 16:12-13 NIV), why are today’s believers not spending any time being schooled (Matthew 28:20 NIV) on what the apostles learned from Christ and the Holy Spirit, which they handed down to the Gentile church leaders?
We’ve really lost our ways in our religions, because politics had gotten a better hold of religion (Revelation 17:1-2)!