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The Golden Chain - Robert J. Wieland

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upon Christ, or that He in any way yielded to<br />

corruption"(5BC 1128, 1129)?<br />

<strong>The</strong> two key verbs in this expression are:<br />

"rested" and "yielded? Christ's righteousness is the<br />

result of a "verb" and not a mere "noun." He<br />

always did righteousness; and He could not have<br />

done righteousness unless he chose to. Adam was<br />

created sinless, and if we were to say he was<br />

"righteous" in his sinless state (which it seems<br />

Ellen White or the Bible never says he was) we<br />

would have to imply by that expression that<br />

righteousness was innate in him and it was not by<br />

choice that he was "sinless." But the glory of<br />

Christ's righteousness is that it was by choice that<br />

He was sinless, and not by an innate, preprogrammed,<br />

automaton "nature."<br />

He explains the truth, telling us that He had<br />

taken upon Himself a natural will that was opposed<br />

to His Father's will, and thus He had the same<br />

struggle with "self that we have: "I do not seek My<br />

own will, but the will of the Father who sent Me;"<br />

"I have come down from heaven, not to do My<br />

119

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