The present writer has recently discovered an Ellen White statement which could prove a game-changer in the church’s continuing discussions regarding the human nature of Christ.
Not all contemporary Adventists, to be sure, who engage in the church’s continuing dialogue over sin, salvation, Christology, and character perfection are prepared to accept the authority of Ellen White in these or other doctrinal matters. But for those who do—and a great many still do, at least professedly—this newly discovered statement could make a major difference.
The Incarnate Christ, Fallen Urges, and the Writings of Ellen White
An important flash point in the modern Adventist Christology debate concerns whether the incarnate Christ was tempted from within by fallen passions, evil tendencies, whatever term one wishes to use. On the surface, at least, certain Ellen White statements appear to contradict each other on this point. On the one hand, we have the following statements:
Be careful, exceedingly careful, as to how you dwell upon the human nature of Christ. Do not set Him before the people as a man with the propensities of sin. . . . He could have sinned, He could have fallen, but not for one moment was there in Him an evil propensity [##1|Ellen G. White, SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 5, p. 1128##].
He (Christ) is a brother in our infirmities, but not in possessing like passions. As the sinless one, His nature recoiled from evil [##2|——Testimonies, vol. 2, pp. 202-202##].
He was a mighty Petitioner, not possessing the passions of our human, fallen natures, but compassed with like infirmities, tempted in all points like as we are [##3|Ibid, p. 509##].
But a number of other statements seem to teach exactly the opposite:
Though He (Christ) had all the strength of passion of humanity, never did He yield to temptation to do one single act which was not pure and elevating and ennobling [##4|——In Heavenly Places, p. 155##].
The words of Christ encourage parents to bring their little ones to Jesus. They may be wayward, and possess passions like those of humanity, but this should not deter us from bringing them to Christ. He blessed children that were possessed of passions like His own [##5|——Signs of the Times, April 9, 1896##].
By a word Christ could have mastered the powers of Satan. But He came into the world that He might endure every test, every provocation, that it is possible for human beings to bear and yet not be provoked or impassioned, or retaliate in word, in spirit, or in action [##6|——Christ Triumphant, p. 260##].
One contemporary Adventist author, describing the statement which speaks of our Lord having “all the strength of passion of humanity” [##7|I——n Heavenly Places, p. 155##], claims that this statement “probably referred to normal human desires, appetites, feelings, or emotions rather than perverted desires that naturally tend to break over the bounds of lawful expression” [##8|Woodrow W. Whidden II, Ellen White on the Humanity of Christ: A Chronological Study (hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Assn, 1997), p. 47.##]. Still another Adventist scholar, in a doctoral dissertation on this subject, speaks of the passions identified in such statements as the above as “neutral passions,” comparable to those possessed by Adam and Eve before they fell ##[9]|Eric Claude Wedbster, Crosscurrents in Adventist Christology http://www.sdanet.org/atissue/books/webster/ccac02-IV.htm##.
But the context of the statement in question, found in an Ellen White Signs of the Times article, offers a very different picture of the “strength of passion of humanity” being described in this passage.
The article is titled “Make All Things According to the Pattern” [##10| White, Signs of the Times, Dec. 21, 1892##], speaking initially of Moses making the ancient tabernacle after the pattern God showed him, and how Christians are thus to “form a character after the divine Pattern” [##11|Ibid.##], meaning of course the character of Christ. Earlier she writes of how “so utterly was He (Christ) emptied of self that He made no plans for Himself” [##12|Ibid.##]. Then, after exhorting Christians to “form a character after the divine Pattern” [##13|Ibid.##], she writes:
We cannot retain self and yet be filled with the fullness of God. We must be emptied of self. If heaven is gained by us at last, it will be only through the renunciation of self, and the receiving of the mind of Christ. Pride and self-sufficiency must be crucified, and the vacuum supplied with the Spirit and power of God [##14|Ibid.##].
Several paragraphs later, she states:
“For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.” Christ devoted Himself entirely to the work of saving souls. He left the glories of heaven, and clothed His divinity with humanity, and subjected Himself to sorrow, and shame, and reproach, abuse, denial, and crucifixion. Though He had all the strength of passion of humanity, never did He yield to temptation to do that which was not pure and elevating and ennobling. He says, “I sanctify Myself, that they also might be sanctified” [##15|Ibid.##].
The whole point of this article is for the Christian to copy Jesus’ pattern of self-denial. Quite obviously, the “self” being denied in this context is not anything benign, for Ellen White says that “we cannot retain self and yet be filled with the fullness of God” [##16|Ibid.##]. Immediately thereafter she speaks of how “pride and self-sufficiency must be crucified”[##17|Ibid.##].
In light of this, one must interject something quite foreign to the context and its overall message if one is to claim the “strength of passion of humanity” which Jesus possessed involved “normal human appetites, feelings, or emotions” [##18|Whidden, Ellen White on the Humanity of Christ, p. 47.##], similar to the uncorrupted passions with which the sinless Adam was created in Eden [##19|Wite, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 45.##]. Ellen White is speaking here of Jesus sanctifying Himself as a pattern for fallen humans seeking sanctification. In order for this to happen, according to the context, self cannot be retained. If, when “all the strength of passion of humanity” is being attributed to Christ, this merely refers to normal, non-sinful desires, why does the message of the entire context refer consistently to desires obviously sinful?
Moreover, the very language of this and the following statements—even apart from consideration of context—militates against a benign understanding of the passions being described. It is obvious that the passions depicted in each of the three statements in question refer to sinful passions—those that tempt to impurity, waywardness, and provocation. We read that though Jesus had all the strength of human passion, He never yielded to temptation to do anything impure or ignoble. We read that even if our children are wayward, possessing passions like those of humanity, this shouldn’t discourage us from bringing them to Christ, since He blessed children who had these very passions, which were “like His own” [##20|——Signs of the Times, April 9, 1896.##]. It is hard to imagine the innocent passions of the unfallen Adam, as present in a child’s character, deterring a parent from bringing that child to Jesus.
The Newly Discovered Statement
But the statement I only recently found is stronger still.
As it is found in one of the Manuscript Release volumes, it is not unpublished. But it might be easy to miss if one didn’t go looking for it. It offers yet another demonstration of the fact that if pastors, theologians, and church members spent more time investigating the inspired writings and a bit less time with the uninspired writings of scholars and other spiritual mentors, these issues might have been settled a lot sooner!
Here is the statement in question:
Satan sought to tempt Christ not only to indulge the grosser passions and to yield to appetite, but he appealed to His ambition. Notwithstanding the enemy’s determined efforts, Christ did not manifest a grasping spirit to gain possession of the kingdoms of this world [##21|——Manuscript Releases, vol. 18, p. 113.##].
Notice how this statement speaks of our Lord being tempted both to indulge the “grosser passions” and to “manifest a grasping spirit.” These are not benign, neutral passions in focus here, but rather, the “grosser passions” and “grasping spirit” common to what is obviously fallen human nature. The words “indulge” and “manifest” make clear these were forces within our Lord’s humanity that He was constrained to deny, through the same power available to you and to me.
The above statement confirms other Ellen White statements which describe the internal nature of our Lord’s struggle with temptation:
Some realize their great weakness and sin, and become discouraged. Satan casts his dark shadow between them and the Lord Jesus, their atoning sacrifice. They say, It is useless for me to pray. My prayers are so mingled with evil thoughts that the Lord will not hear them.
These suggestions are from Satan. In His humanity Christ met and resisted this temptation, and He knows how to succor those who are thus tempted [##22|——In Heavenly Places, p. 78.##].
By experiencing in Himself the strength of Satan’s temptations, and of human sufferings and infirmities, He would know how to succor those who should put forth efforts to help themselves [##23|——Confrontation, p. 78##].
Yes, our Lord was also tempted to misuse His divinity for selfish purposes. All are agreed here. But He was also tempted to indulge His inherited fallen humanity. It is on that point where the difference persists in the dialogue of modern and contemporary Adventism. This newly discovered statement should hopefully go far in clarifying Ellen White’s position in this area of doctrine.
The Lower and Higher Natures—Reconciling the Evidence
The distinction between lower and higher forces in human nature cannot be stressed often enough as the ultimate solution to what otherwise appears to be a contradiction in the inspired testimony regarding our Lord and fallen human urges. The Bible, first and foremost, is clear about this distinction. Jesus declared in Gethsemane, “The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matt. 26:41). The apostle Paul likewise declared, “I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection” (I Cor. 9:27).
Ellen White affirms this distinction when she writes, “The will is not the taste or the inclination, but it is the deciding power” [##24|——Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 513.##]. In numerous other statements she writes of the need to bring the lower passions into subjection to the higher powers of the being [##25|——Ministry of Healing, p. 130; Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 114; Counsels on Health, pp. 41-42; Adventist Home, pp. 127-128; Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 354; Messages to Young People, p. 237; Testimonies, vol. 3, p. 491; vol. 5, p. 335; Review and Herald, Aug. 11, 1887; Dec. 1, 1896##].
Both Scripture and Ellen White are clear that to be tempted by our lower, fleshly desires is not sin:
But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death (James 1:14-15).
Notice that only when lust conceives—when the will gives consent—does sin occur. Ellen White agrees:
There are thoughts and feelings suggested and aroused by Satan that annoy even the best of men; but if they are not cherished, if they are repulsed as hateful, the soul is not contaminated with guilt and no other is defiled by their influence [##26|——That I May Know Him, p. 140.##].
Ellen White is equally clear that the fleshly nature of itself cannot sin:
The lower passions have their seat in the body and work through it. The words “flesh” or “fleshly” or “carnal lusts” embrace the lower, corrupt nature; the flesh of itself cannot act contrary to the will of God. We are commanded to crucify the flesh, with the affections and lusts. How shall we do it? Shall we inflict pain on the body? No, but put to death the temptation to sin. The corrupt thought is to be expelled. Every thought is to be brought into captivity to Jesus Christ. All animal propensities are to be subjected to the higher powers of the soul [##27|——The Adventist Home, pp. 127-128.##].
Notice how carefully Ellen White distinguishes the lower passions from the higher powers. Once this distinction is understood, we can better understand the two types of Ellen White statements on passions and propensities as they relate to human beings, as well as the two types of statements we have seen relative to the humanity of Christ.
The following statement speaks of our Lord’s lifelong example of self-denial in connection with the imperative of bringing the lower nature into subjection:
Satan tempts men to indulgence that will becloud reason and benumb the spiritual perceptions, but Christ teaches us to bring the lower nature into subjection. His whole life was an example of self-denial [##28|——The Desire of Ages, p. 149.##].
If Christ’s example of self-denial didn’t involve bringing His own inherited lower nature into subjection, the above statement would make no sense.
The Contrast Between An Urge Resisted and An Urge Exhibited
In some of her statements, Ellen White speaks of the need to control evil passions and propensities:
The body is to be brought into subjection. The higher powers of the being are to rule. The passions are to be controlled by the will, which is itself to be under the control of God [##29|——The Ministry of Healing, p. 130.##].
Our natural propensities must be controlled, or we can never overcome as Christ overcame [##30|——Testimonies, vol. 4, p. 235.##].
In another statement, written to one in need of greater self-control, she draws an even closer connection between the necessity of denying sinful inclinations and the example set by the incarnate Christ:
God indicated that you should be educated to act a part in His cause; but it was necessary that your mind should be trained and disciplined to work in harmony with the plan of God. You could gain the required experience if you would; you had the privilege presented before you of denying your inclinations, as your Saviour had given you an example in His life [##31|Ibid, p. 216.##].
However, other statements speak of the need for struggling Christians, not to control or deny evil inclinations, passions, and propensities, but to cast them out:
The only power that can create or perpetuate true peace is the grace of Christ. When this is implanted in the heart, it will cast out the evil passions that cause strife and dissension [##32|——The Desire of Ages, p. 305.##].
The thorns in the heart must be uprooted and cast out, for good and evil cannot grow in the heart at the same time. Unsanctified human inclinations and desires must be cut away from the life as hindrances to Christian growth [##33|——Evangelism, p. 347.##].
But although their evil propensities may seem to them as precious as the right hand or the right eye, they must be separated from the worker, or he cannot be acceptable before God [##34|——Testimonies to Ministers, pp. 171-172.##].
Nonsense and amusement-loving propensities should be discarded, as out of place in the life and experience of those who are living by faith in the Son of God, eating His flesh and drinking His blood [##35|——Messages to Young People, p. 42.##].
We must realize that through belief in Him it is our privilege to be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. Then we are cleansed from all sin, all defects of character. We need not retain one sinful propensity.
As we partake of the divine nature, hereditary and cultivated tendencies to wrong are cut away from the character, and we are made a living power for good [##36|——SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 943.##].
But from where are evil passions cast? Where are sinful propensities not to be retained? Ellen White gives the answer in two of the above statements. She speaks of unsanctified inclinations, desires, and evil propensities as out of place in the life and experience of the faithful, that as we partake of the divine nature, hereditary and cultivated tendencies to wrong are cut away from the character. The character is the higher nature, where choices are made.
Notice she doesn’t say these tendencies will be cut away from the lower, fleshly nature, so that we won’t feel the urge to sin any more. According to Ellen White, that change will not happen until Jesus comes:
So long as Satan reigns, we shall have self to subdue, besetting sins to overcome; so long as life shall last, there will be no stopping place, no point which we can reach and say, I have fully attained [##37|——Acts of the Apostles, pp. 560-561.##].
So long as life shall last, there will be need of guarding the affections and the passions with a firm purpose. Not one moment can we be secure except as we rely upon God, the life hidden with Christ. Watchfulness and prayer are the safeguards of purity [##38|——Prophets and Kings, p. 84.##].
Appetite and passion must be brought under the control of the Holy Spirit. There is no end to the warfare this side of eternity [##39|——Counsels to Teachers, p. 20.##].
Just as long as Satan urges his temptations upon us, the battle for self-conquest will have to be fought over and over again; but by obedience, the truth will sanctify the soul ##[40|——From the Heart, p. 297.##].
We need to notice carefully what these statements say, and what they don’t say. They aren’t saying that complete victory over sin is unattainable this side of eternity. They are simply saying that war with the flesh will not cease this side of eternity, which means the fleshly urges will still be present in the lower natures of believers. Continuous warfare doesn’t necessarily mean occasional defeat. (The Allied nations learned this during the last two years of the Second World War, when they experienced continuous victory over the Axis powers while at the same time enduring perhaps the hardest fighting of the war.) Complete victory over the fleshly nature is promised to the Christian in this life (Rom. 8:4,13; II Cor. 7:1). But while complete victory does mean the absence of failure, it does not mean the absence of conflict until our earthly life is past.
In short, Jesus had sinful passions and propensities in His lower nature, where He kept them under the control of a sanctified will—as indeed we may, through His power. But He did not have these passions or propensities in His higher nature, where we need not retain them either. In one set of statements Ellen White is speaking of urges resisted. In the other set she is speaking of urges exhibited. The first set describe what Jesus had. The second set describe what He did not have, because He never consented to sin.
Another statement by Ellen White regarding Christ and sinful propensities helps us understand this point more clearly:
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 Satan’s temptations degraded His humanity and that He possessed the same sinful, corrupt propensities as man [##41|——Manuscript Releases, vol. 16, p. 182.##].
We might reach the wrong conclusion if we stopped there. But in the very next paragraph she explains what she means:
Christ took our nature, fallen but not corrupted, and would not be corrupted unless He received the words of Satan in place of the words of God [##42|Ibid.##].
So what does she mean when she says Jesus never had the same corrupt propensities we have? Simple. She means He never chose to sin. Notice she doesn’t say His nature wouldn’t be corrupted unless He was born with the same fallen nature other humans are born with. Rather, the corruption here described would occur only if He received the words of Satan in place of the words of God. Choice, not birth, is the source of the corruption here described.
Conclusion
The collective witness of Ellen White’s writings regarding the incarnate Christ and the passions and propensities of fallen human nature, is found to speak harmoniously once the Biblical distinction between lower and higher forces in human nature is understood (Matt. 26:41; I Cor. 9:27) and recognized in her description of the human experience [##43|——Ministry of Healing, p. 130; Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 114; Counsels on Health, pp. 41-42; Adventist Home, pp. 127-128; Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 354; Messages to Young People, p. 237; Testimonies, vol. 3, p. 491; vol. 5, p. 335; Review and Herald, Aug. 11, 1887; Dec. 1, 1896.##]. When Jesus is depicted by the inspired pen as having fallen human urges [##44|——In Heavenly Places, p. 155; Testimonies, vol. 4, pp. 216,235; Signs of the Times, April 9, 1896; Christ Triumphant, p. 260; Manuscript Releases, vol. 18, p. 113.##], these represent urges resisted. When, by contrast, it is denied that He had these urges [##45|——SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 5, p. 1128; Testimonies, vol. 2, pp. 201-202,509.##], the description is one of urges exhibited.
Pre-Fall Christology advocates have tried to say Ellen White’s statements about Jesus experiencing human passion merely imply that these passions tempted Him to sinful conduct [##46|Whidden, Ellen White on the Humanity of Christ, p. 93.##]. While, as we have seen, both the content and context of these statements go much further than implication in this regard, the newly discovered statement which speaks of Christ being tempted to indulge the “grosser passions” and a “grasping spirit” [##47|White, Manuscript Releases, vol. 18, p. 113.##] makes the argument for mere implication quite untenable.
For those who accept the doctrinal and moral authority of the Ellen G. White writings, this statement is nothing short of a game-changer.
REFERENCES
1. Ellen G. White, SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 5, p. 1128.
2. ----Testimonies, vol. 2, pp. 201-202.
3. Ibid, p. 509.
4. ----In Heavenly Places, p. 155.
5. ----Signs of the Times, April 9, 1896.
6. ----Christ Triumphant, p. 260.
7. ----In Heavenly Places, p. 155.
8. Woodrow W. Whidden II, Ellen White on the Humanity of Christ: A Chronological Study (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Assn, 1997), p. 47.
9. Eric Claude Webster, Crosscurrents in Adventist Christology http://www.sdanet.org/atissue/books/webster/ccac02-IV.htm
10. White, Signs of the Times, Dec. 21, 1892.
11. Ibid.
12. Ibid.
13. Ibid.
14. Ibid.
15. Ibid.
16. Ibid.
17. Ibid.
18. Whidden, Ellen White on the Humanity of Christ, p. 47.
19. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 45.
20. ----Signs of the Times, April 9, 1896.
21. ----Manuscript Releases, vol. 18, p. 113.
22. ----In Heavenly Places, p. 78.
23. ----Confrontation, p. 78.
24. ----Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 513.
25. ----Ministry of Healing, p. 130; Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 114; Counsels on Health, pp. 41-42; Adventist Home, pp. 127-128; Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 354; Messages to Young People, p. 237; Testimonies, vol. 3, p. 491; vol. 5, p. 335; Review and Herald, Aug. 11, 1887; Dec. 1, 1896.
26. ----That I May Know Him, p. 140.
27. ----The Adventist Home, pp. 127-128.
28. ----The Desire of Ages, p. 149.
29. ----Ministry of Healing, p. 130.
30. ----Testimonies, vol. 4, p. 235.
31. Ibid, p. 216.
32. ----The Desire of Ages, p. 305.
33. ----Evangelism, p. 347.
34. ----Testimonies to Ministers, pp. 171-172.
35. ----Messages to Young People, p. 42.
36. ----SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 943.
37. ----Acts of the Apostles, pp. 560-561; see also Testimonies, vol. 1, p. 340.
38. ----Prophets and Kings, p. 84.
39. ----Counsels to Teachers, p. 20.
40. ----From the Heart, p. 297.
41. ----Manuscript Releases, vol. 16, p. 182.
42. Ibid (italics supplied).
43. ----Ministry of Healing, p. 130; Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 114; Counsels on Health, pp. 41-42; Adventist Home, pp. 127-128; Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 354; Messages to Young People, p. 237; Testimonies, vol. 3, p. 491; vol. 5, p. 335; Review and Herald, Aug. 11, 1887; Dec. 1, 1896.
44. ----In Heavenly Places, p. 155; Testimonies, vol. 4, pp. 216,235; Signs of the Times, April 9, 1896; Christ Triumphant, p. 260; Manuscript Releases, vol. 18, p. 113.
45. ----SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 5, p. 1128; Testimonies, vol. 2, pp. 201-202,509.
46. Whidden, Ellen White on the Humanity of Christ, p. 93.
47. White, Manuscript Releases, vol. 18, p. 113.
Pastor Kevin Paulson holds a Bachelor’s degree in theology from Pacific Union College, a Master of Arts in systematic theology from Loma Linda University, and a Master of Divinity from the SDA Theological Seminary at Andrews University. He served the Greater New York Conference of Seventh-day Adventists for ten years as a Bible instructor, evangelist, and local pastor. He writes regularly for Liberty magazine and does script writing for various evangelistic ministries within the denomination. He continues to hold evangelistic and revival meetings throughout the North American Division and beyond, and is a sought-after seminar speaker relative to current issues in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. He presently resides in Berrien Springs, Michigan