THE SINLESS SON

God's intrinsic nature of love includes a free will, which is an
absolute will that He alone possesses. This SUPREME SOVEREIGN
WILL POWER is not subject to any lesser subordinate powers,
either in life or in death. Nor is this power contingent or dependent
upon the puny will of any creature. But, out of the desire of His
own immutable, incorruptible will, He who is the very essence of
eternal love, needed to be able to express and share a reciprocal
love whereby He might also be freely and unequivocably loved in
return.

In order to be able to fulfill Himself and the very purpose of
His Being, He devised a marvelous and peerless plan of creation,
whereby all that existed and was to exist, evil included, was to have
an ultimately glorious and blessed purpose. The works of this
plan were to be sovereignly wrought in a designated dispensation
of time in order to eventually fulfill a divinely determined,
preordained objective; an exemplary objective which included the
maturation and perfecting of God's most marvelous and intricate
work---His creation called man.

The Almighty Creator, both designed and destined this unique
creation to become complete in every desired aspect of His own
glorious likeness and immaculate image. This was to be a creation
brought forth by Him, through Him, and unto Him (Ro.11:36),
eventually becoming wholly consummate, both for Him and in Him.
It was to be a creation lacking nothing, ultimately completed in the
likeness of His own sinless morals and perfect loving nature.
"Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power:
for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure, they are and
were created." Rev.4:11; 5:13.

In the beginning, God desired of His own absolute infinite will,
that man as an extension of Himself, be equipped with a moral
disposition and propensity basically like unto His own, wherein the
independent exercise of reason and of personal will was to be an
essential part of the complex design. Because God Himself was
incomplete in the sense we have suggested, He chose to fulfill
Himself and His incomplete infant creation through the outworking
of an elaborate, yet sovereignly controlled plan. This involved for
a predetermined period of time, the right of His creatures to choose
and to act in an independent, immature form of His own absolutely
wise and mature free will.

To will is to choose. Choice involves a decision or
preference between at least two alternatives. Adam was given the
right to choose---to know both good and evil - Gen.3:5. In his
(their) choice he became a "god" but in a lower realm - Gen.3:22.
This was divinely instigated as a part of our Lord's preordained will
and method in completing His creation. This was no accident.
Included in the framework of this plan, was this necessary fall into
depravity (Jn.12:24), an equally necessary redemption out from it,
and a final restoration unto a completed creation, with Christ as its
eternal head. God could have brought forth His creation in any
way He desired. In His supreme wisdom and omniscience, He
chose to do it in stages. This was His overall regal plan, wholly in
accordance with the past, present, future, and final working of His
divinely determined will.

At present, the transcendent will power of our Most High
Potentate, reigns over and above all things, including the will of
man. His ultimate goal, is to "put under Him" all lesser powers,
and have His consummate will eternally functioning "all in all."
1Cor.15:28. In order to ensure the completion of all that God
began, including the conforming of man's confined, finite, and very
limited free will into His own holy, infinite, unrestricted, as well as
precise and timely will---God retained the absolute autonomous
right to sovereignly intervene in the affairs of His creation,
wherever, whenever, and however it served and pleased Him.

This is not to say that man does not have a God-given right
and allocated power to frequently make his own choices, conduct
his own affairs, and carry out his own actions. He obviously does,
for we are deity in training. This granted privilege of power in
independence is actually a part of our learning process of both
good and evil, of learning the true value of everlasting spiritual
things in contrast to that of transient worldly things. It's for the
purpose of learning about the operation of God's law's in sin and
death in contrast to the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus...of
not only their qualities but also their consequences.

Most essential to the completion of this glorious plan, is the
cross of Christ involving a sinless sacrifice, out of which flows the
absolute sovereign power of God unto universal salvation for all
mankind and for total restitution and restoration of all that needs
reparation. "He purposed long ago in His sovereign will, that all
human history should be consummated in Christ, that everything
that exists in heaven or earth should find its perfection and
fulfillment in Him." Eph.1:10 (Phillips); Col.1:16-29; Ac.3:21;
Phil.2:10-11.

The Vulnerability of Mankind

Man is not a free moral agent as is taught in fundamentalist
Christianity. He is born as a slave (Ro.7:14) to his own sin nature -
Eph.2:2,3; Psa.51:5. He is not a sinner nor a slave by His own
choice. He is a sinner by nature, a prisoner (Isa.42:7), "blinded"
(2Cor.4:3,4), caught in "the snare of the devil", and "taken captive
by him at his will." 2Tim.2:26; Ro.7:14-20.

On the surface, it appears man is left to be governed primarily
by his own lusts, his own devices, his own decisions, his own
carnal mind and his own will, whether in war or in peace, in
sickness or in health or in any other situation which is common to
man. Man is also extremely vulnerable to His environment. Man's
will can easily be dictated by his freedom or lack of it, by his
responsibilities or lack of them, and by mental persuasions such as
love, hate, fear, anger, sorrow etc. All the while, he is also
confined under, and subjugated to, God's mysterious laws of
physics and nature. These are Laws,whose natural causes in
unforeseen and uncontrollable operations, can have unavoidable
anddisastrous effects on humanity, on the environment, and on the
world of economics, not only in supply and demand but also in
many other forms of change.

Things in nature such as inclement weather in the form of
storms, hurricanes and tornados, can be without mercy, causing
widespread damage and death. Other climatic variables such as
the lack of rain, can bring with it terrible drought and famine along
with all its devastating consequences. Contained within the God
designed laws of nature are to be found such powerful destructive
forces as can cause earthquakes, floods, fire, disease and many
forms of pestilence, making man a victim of the elements. All kinds
of natural disasters as well as accidents, man-made or not, can play
a large part in effecting man's life and his will.

People are also controlled by more than physical laws. Their
will can be controlled by man made laws, decrees of government,
and even by one's race, skin color, social status, political
persuasion, religion, job environment, education etc. Spiritual laws
also play a part - Ro.7:23; 8:2. So do spiritual principalities and
powers play their part in the influence and control of man's will -
Eph.6:6. The fact is, we are also all bound in varying degrees in the
clutches of sin, and limited in sight because of our spiritual
blindness - Eph.4:18.

What hope do we have then? Who can deliver us from so
great a body of death and darkness? Romans chapter seven tells
us the only true answer lies in a higher power apart from ourselves.
As Christians, let us give thanks to God for Jesus Christ our Lord,
who was bound Himself to live a sinless life for us that we might
also partake of His spotless eternal life. In great mercy and grace,
He has come to deliver man from all evil which man is incapable of
doing for himself.

The human will is not sovereign. Rather, it is always determined
by something else and is therefore its servant - Ro.6:16-22. So
much in this world is beyond man's control, beyond the power and
scope of his will to initiate or prevent. Many such things can only
be termed as God's allowable or tolerable will, for it's hard to see
that He could be directly or even indirectly involved in such things.

In all of this, the age old questions remain. Why does God allow all
this? Why doesn't He fully intervene to prevent such things? After
all, He alone is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient, and in
His supreme foreknowledge He surely knows what will happen in
the future. Unfortunately, limited human knowledge and wisdom is
not sufficient to give a full and satisfying answer.

In all of this, or apart from all of this, God, for His own spiritual
purposes, can divinely and providentially intervene in a multitude of
different ways. With regard to human affairs, He has dynamic,
imperative methods of influencing the will, behavior, or volition of
men to choose and/or act as suits Him at any particular time. Or if
the Lord so chooses, He can just as easily, either directly or
indirectly, bring about particular circumstances or changes in the
self motivated actions of men, or He can institute changes in His
surroundings, so that the consequences or the end results, will
actually serve His hidden purposes.

Mankind is most often very ignorant and oblivious to all this.
"For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways
higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your
thoughts." Isa.55:9. There are many scriptures and examples of the
absolute sovereign workings of God's perfect will in the affairs of
mankind. For a comprehensive study of these scriptures, there are
other booklets on this subject available from this ministry.

Hidden Interventions of God

In the age enduring dispensation of the Lord's sagacious plan,
there have been at least four major absolutely necessary divine
interventions. All these interventions and their results, have been
according to the indirect and determined, clandestine workings of
our great sovereign Architect. The primary intervention is found in
the circumstances surrounding the biblical fall of mankind into a
lower realm of existence. The next intervention of major
importance occurs in the form of divine help from the Father in
assuring the ability of Christ to live a sinless life and die a sinless
sacrificial death. It is precisely this great truth that we wish to
elaborate on more fully in this booklet.

The third aspect of this great plan is an ongoing form of
spiritual intervention which comes in the activation of man's initial
personal salvation. The fourth, involves God's mysterious works
and methods of divine persuasion in bringing all, to a designated
measure and stature in the fulness of Christ. He who has spoken
and purposed it, shall also do, it for He is God - Isa.46:9-11;
Phil.1:6.

Concerning the operation of free will, It is interesting to note
the case of the first Adam creation in comparison to the second
and last Adam, Jesus Christ. Both Adam and Jesus had a mind
which was capable, or maybe a better word would be liable, to
choose that which was seemingly the right choice for them. On the
one hand, we find Christ had the God-given power in abilities and
wisdom to continue to make all the right choices. We will elaborate
on this shortly.

However, Adam lacked the necessary abilities, qualities and
wisdom to make choices he otherwise may have made. So, with the
woman (a type of his subservient soul, his natural mind), he chose
that thing which he pleased, that which he desired most because it
had such a strong influence on his immature psyche. Both these
choices that would prove to be to be major factors in God's great
prearranged plan, were really the results of God's hidden working
and divine interventions. It is obvious that God could never allow
such monumental choices to be left to haphazard chance.

The Adamic man's initial unwise choices, though made in
disobedience, were actually made according to God-planned
circumstances. All the strongest motivating powers and the final
determining agents, were influential factors, secretly instigated by
God to cause the choices to be what they were. Simply put, it was
a case of God's sovereign will divinely influencing man's
independent will to make those consequential choices which God's
higher will and plan required.

Mankind had no prior godly knowledge nor wisdom. Thus
began his teaching. So, though on the surface, this seeming huge
mistake made in Adam's willful choice caused mankind's downfall;
it was aligned all along to be mutual with the ultimate will and
purposes of God - Ro.11:32. We will discover how much more
God's providence and sovereign power was the determining factor
in just the opposite scenario of His obedient Son. It will become
very evident that Jesus Christ the sinless Son could no more have
become a sinner with all of sins vain consequences, any more than
Adam could have remained forever apart from sin (Gen.3:22) and all
its vanity - Ro.8:20; Psa.90:3; Eccl.1:13; 3:10,11.

Contrary to what some men believe, it is not true that God's
ability to influence and intervene in man's will, makes man some
kind of automaton or robot. There is absolutely no valid reason for
comparison. All men are "choosers", who unlike robots, have a
limited, temporal, interim natural self powered ability to make
choices on their own. Yet the truth is, even that ability is God-given
and at times, God-directed. Simultaneous with the exercising of
our own will, especially when the holy Spirit becomes activated in
one's life [always in God's choice and God's timing], there are often
divinely directed events and circumstances which the Lord allows
and sometimes causes, directly or indirectly, to take place in our
lives.

For example, these things can involve physical or emotional
pain, suffering, trials, chastening as well as many others forms of
physical or spiritual death. Yet, on the other side of this same coin,
He draws us in great compassion and mercy with His many
powerful means and forms of grace, love, mercy, peace etc., ever
wooing and supernaturally influencing us to make right choices
which concur with both His immediate and ultimate will and desire
for us as individuals.

Touching on personal salvation, UNLESS God calls and UNTIL
God actively calls, it is impossible for a person to come to inspired
knowledge, and experience the truth of this salvation - Jn.5:40;
WHEN God calls, one cannot ultimately resist or refuse to come, for
His own will is sovereignly merged into compliance with the will of
God - Jn.6:37;44,45. Believing on Him is the work of God's own will
and not man's - Jn.6:29; Eph.1:29. "The Son quickeneth whom He
will." Jn.5:21. "As many as were ordained to eternal life, believed."
Ac.13:48; 2:47. Saul's conversion was a perfect example -
Ac.9:1-20; Gal.1:15. Justly, God is just as much responsible for
man's deliverance as He was for his demise.

Any acceptance or rejection of the gospel according to man's
own will or choice tends toward glorifying man, not God. The Lord
receives no more glory in this than He would if the majority of His
creation ended up suffering for eternity in hell. Yet, many sincere
Christians continue to believe that man's free will, human volition,
even their own self will, is the only determining factor in all their
choices, whether they be choices of evil or goodness, or even
choices of righteousness....namely that of their own personal
salvation.

John disagreed with this erroneous concept when he revealed
that the power and ability to receive, believe, and become an
adopted son of God comes not from the will of man, not from
human volition, not from the flesh at all, but it originates entirely
out of/from God - Jn.1:12,13. Man may be free in minor things
concerning his personal conduct but concerning God's eternal
purpose and destiny for him, he is not!

In the future, the Bible indicates that all will eventually
succumb to God's supreme sovereign will, proving it to be
absolutely sovereign over all, and in all, in their becoming one with
Him. This happens not because we primarily choose of ourselves
but only because He alone sovereignly brings about man's personal
will and desire to blend into perfect harmony with His own. Call
this super sovereignty or even robot-like if you wish. That at least
acknowledges and recognizes the fact that all the glory in these
workings belong only to Him, for He alone is worthy of all honour
and glory and power - Psa.115:1; Eph.2:10.

Free Will... Self Will, Godly Will

There are two basic types of will in creation.....ungodly will
originating from the mind of man and devil, and godly will which
resides intrinsically in the sacred spiritual mind of God the Father
and God the Son. Scriptural revelation equates godless free will
with the natural human will, the lower SELF-will which is the
ungodly carnal will, the antichrist or other than Christ will. This
operates as a part of the "mystery of iniquity"(2Ths.1:7), and
branches out from the "tree of the knowledge of good and evil."
Gen.2:9.

This SELF will is determined OF the self nature and BY the self
nature, which is one and the same as the body of sin, the man of
sin, the old man nature, the carnal or adamic nature, the carnal
man, the first man Adam. It is actually the "I" that must be buried
forever, because in a spiritual sense, it is dead already. All self
willed choices (those originating from the fallen soul and its
subsequent works), no matter how humanly good they may appear,
can really only bring forth works and fruits that still have no origin
from any true holy and godly branch of the tree of life - Ro.7:5.

As we've previously shown, the so-called free-will is free to sin
but it is limited to that lower realm. So in reality, it actually is
bound and not entirely free at all. It has absolutely no powers in
and of itself to escape its God ordained limitations and boundaries.
It is not sovereign. No will of man without an act of God can bring
forth true spirituality. Sure, it can generate human love and
kindness, it can bring good out of bad, right out of wrong, peace
out of war, sobriety out of addiction and many such things, but it
cannot freely choose of itself, nor work of itself to bring forth true
godliness and holiness.

There is a good side to evil. However, the fruit of this tree is
still immature and imperfect (Ro.6:21) in contrast to that of the tree
of life - Ro.6:22. Human will apart from the will of the holy Spirit is
still apart from any life of God. To be self-willed is to be carnally
minded, and to be carnally minded is always in spiritual death -
Rom.8:6. This mind is not something that can be revived. It is
something which God must remove, destroy and bury forever.
Carnal free (self) will is destined to be replaced with God's will, just
as the old nature is to be replaced with the Christ nature...and that
is not of ourselves, lest any man should boast.

The self-will is a will which originates in the mind of the first
Adam. It originates from deep within the mystery of the iniquity in
ourselves, and is entirely apart from the perfect will of God. Yet,
like any other thing, it is not at all apart from the overall sovereignty
of God's will. It originates out from the darkness of death and
operates in, and as, spiritual death.

The self has no will power of its own to be able to choose true
life. How can it? It cannot even choose not to sin for any great
length of time. It is a slave to its own natural earthy as well as
devilish desires. Self cannot choose to be holy, for the very
essence of its nature is synonymous with sin and death. It is
bound to this lower realm, powerless and helpless under the
interim power of the present spiritual law of sin and death. It can
only choose of itself to do dead works in unfruitfulness and
ungodliness, in good and evil. Knowing this full well, Christ prayed
according to the knowledge He had of His Father's higher will
saying, "NOT MY WILL (not His own human self will) be done."
Lk.22:42.

This brings us up some interesting questions. Could Jesus
have chosen to ignore His Father's will? Is it at all possible He
could actually have sinned by His own willful volition or choosing?
After all, did He not have a human free-will? Was He not "made in
the likeness of men"? Phil.2:7; Heb.2:16,17.

A Simple Matter Of Choice?

There are some who would argue that Jesus, by His own
God-given Human volition, even His own adamic earthly will,
willfully chose to never sin, somehow choosing on His own to
always submit this will to the will of His heavenly Father. This they
say, is the prime example and goal of what is expected of all who
desire to be disciples of Christ. However, it is quite evident in the
scriptures that Jesus' human will alone, even as it is with His
disciples today, did not determine of Himself His important
pertinent choices.

Rather, it was His Father's will which influenced Him to make
sinless choices. The free autonomous self will advocated here is
little more than Old Testament type works. No man could be saved,
much less perfected in God's image, if this is the method God has
chosen for men to attain unto perfect holiness.

It has already been explained that independent self-will
determined by the human spirit is now a fallen will, a fallen spirit. It
is strictly an earthly will that operates solely in union with the sinful
old man, the self nature. Together with this fallen man, the first
Adam, it has to be reckoned dead (Ro.6:11), dead to heavenly use,
crucified (Gal.6:14), buried (Ro.6:4) and put to its final rest daily -
1Cor.15:31; 2Cor.4:10-12.

Those who believe it is the independent self will which makes
our choices of godly obedience, must then conclude in this logic...
that one can willfully choose of oneself never to sin. But if this be
true, then man has no need of the holy Spirit from God. What's
more, if this is so, the logical plan of God would not be to destroy
our own will and carnal mind replacing it with the mind of Christ,
but rather it would be to strengthen the will of man, this fallen self
willed creation and assist this old nature in choosing and
performing in holiness.

The fact is, neither us nor God is patching up the old garment
[Jude 1:23--the self willing flesh nature] with new cloth (new nature)
-Lk.5:36; Matt.22:11,12. Rather, He has made us new garments to
put on - Isa.61:10; Mk.10:50; Rev.19:14. He has chosen to give us a
totally new and holy nature in combination with a godly will which
also comes from Him - Eph.4:22-24. "If any man be in Christ, He is
a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are
become new." 2Cor.5:17.

It is the will of the holy (not the human) Spirit to set us apart
unto obedience - 1Ptr.1:2. It is wholly by the mysterious sovereign
power of God's Spirit that this is done. While many advocate and
emphasize a mighty self willed, self determined obedience, we
emphasize the obedience that is determined and wrought by God
Almighty. "For as by one man's disobedience (the) many (all) were
made sinners, so by the obedience of One shall (the) many (all) be
made righteous." Ro.5:19.

It is impossible for man to add anything of value to his spiritual
stature by his own thoughts, his own choices, or his own action. It
is only God's gracious Spirit in our new nature that works in us
both to will and to do of His good works and pleasure - 1Cor.15:10;
Phil.1:6; 2:13. Spiritual works are always the results of God's
grace and never the means of His grace. The old nature also that
continues to will and work in us, cannot without divine aid do God's
work, nor even choose to do of God's good will and pleasure.

On the other hand, we can still easily choose sin and detract
from our spiritual stature once it has been given us, but we have
absolutely no effectual will power al all in or of ourselves to
circumnavigate nor escape the ever present power of sin -
Ro.7:11-24. Yet, neither did Jesus in his humanity! He escaped the
lure of sin only through the allotted strength and power of His
Father and not at all of Himself, and we cannot escape sin of
ourselves either. We need the power of Christ and His Holy Spirit
just as He needed that of His Father.

This leads us to again state an emphatic, yet very basic reason
why Jesus, unlike the rest of humanity, really could never have
sinned. Man was not capable of saving himself. Jesus had to
conquer sin for us. It was His Father's essential and imperative
will. It could never have been left to mere chance. Consequently, it
could not have been left to any choice either, other than that which
was the willful choice of the Father. For this reason, there was no
possible chance that Jesus might have died an accidental or
premature death.

Unlike the rest of mankind, Jesus was the only ordained and
begotten Son of God, chosen, predestined, and mightily
empowered of His Father to do what had to be done, yet without
sin. It was the unrivaled and perfect will of His Father and no plan
of God's can be frustrated or foiled - Jb.42:2.

Jesus is the perfect example of the manifested power of God's
sovereignty. In His case, if the devil, human will, or any other thing
or power could have actually thwarted God's plan by causing Jesus
to sin, then what is there to prevent the continuation of sin and
death and chaos forever? The true answer must be according to
scripture and is found in the scriptural fact that "no plan of God's
can be thwarted" Jb.42 2 NIV; Jb.23:13; Psa.115:13; Eph.1:11 etc.
There are many more scriptures that attest to this fact. Let us
continually thank God that He alone has control over all things.
The choices which Jesus had to make were no exception.

Nothing Of Himself

In earlier years prior to His ministry, Jesus like us, obviously
had freedom of choice to a certain extent. He surely had many
human choices to make in natural mundane things. Yet, always He
acted without sin. "And the child grew and waxed strong in spirit,
filled with wisdom." Lk.2:40. "And Jesus increased in wisdom and
stature and in favour with God and man." Lk.2:52. Why? And How
was this possible? Was it because of His own works or abilities,
His own intelligence, His own obedience or His own will? Was this
something He earned or deserved of His own self?

No! It simply was because divine favour in the form of "THE
GRACE OF GOD WAS UPON HIM." LK. 2:40. Like unto Mary His
mother who was also highly favoured of God (Lk.1:28-30) for no
particular visible reason or merit of her own, so was the man Jesus
favoured - Jn.3:31-35. Likewise in human salvation, initial grace
and favour finds us, we do not find it - 1Cor. 15:10. In the same
way, Noah, Joseph, Jacob, Abram, Moses, and many others
obtained the Old Testament grace of the Lord - Ex.33:16. It was
found purely in the fact that God sovereignly revealed a portion of
Himself and his glory to man.

Another of several other major influencing factors in Christ's
ability to remain sin free was the fact of His virgin birth. We will
touch on these things shortly. But before that, we will look at
several places in the scriptures where we find Jesus saying words
to the effect that...He could do nothing OF HIMSELF. What did He
really mean? It is obvious He was not referring to common
everyday human choices in taking care of the natural man. By this
we mean, everyday things such as pertained to work and play,
casual social conversation, when to eat, what to eat when to go to
bed etc. What He mainly was referring to, were important things
concerning the works and ministry which His Father had called Him
to perform.

Just as when we discover through revelation that we are the
Father's workmanship "created unto good works which God hath
foreordained that we should walk in them" (Eph.2:10), so was the
man Jesus created that He should walk in them when the time
came. Truly, the Son of man lived His life according to the will of
the Father and not according to His own personal will. He died as a
sinless sacrifice for us. In these most important acts in the divine
drama of the ages, "truly THE SON OF MAN GOETH AS IT WAS
DETERMINED [Grk. PREDESTINED]." Lk. 22:22.

The scripture's reveal it was unequivocally determined in the
Father's will that His Son remain sinless in His humanity. This was
positively ensured and successfully fulfilled through the sovereign
working of the Father's divine influential intervention, both in the
life and in the death of His sacrificial Lamb-Son.

We find that even in His childhood years before His baptism
and ordained ministry, Jesus, as well as Zacharius, Simeon,
Elizabeth, Anna and Jesus' parents (Lk. chptr.1; Lk.2:25-39), had
the revelation from the holy Ghost that He was to be a saviour,
becoming the unblemished sacrificial Lamb which John also saw
(Jn.1:29), come to do only the will of His heavenly Father - Lk.2:49.
As Jesus Himself matured, He came to realize through divine
revelation, that it was absolutely imperative to do the required will
of Him that sent Him and to finish this work which He was ordained
to do - Jn.4:34; 9:4; 19:28-30; Lk.4:18,19,43.

Jesus knew from intimate contact with His Father, that He
assuredly must suffer, die, and bodily be raised again in order to
complete the most essential phase of His Father's will - Jn.2:19:22;
Matt.16:21. This surely plays a significant part in explaining why
Jesus did not sin. But it goes beyond this, for in reality He could
not sin.

A foremost reason why Jesus Christ not only did not, but
actually could not sin and never chose to do so, is because He is,
and ever was, a part of the complete Godhead...a part of God
Himself, who of His own godly will took on the form of a human
body---one that is now fully glorified - Col.1:9. Jesus while on earth
proclaimed, "THE SON CAN DO NOTHING OF HIMSELF, but what
He seeth the Father do" Jn.5:19. Again He saith, "I CAN OF MINE
OWN SELF DO NOTHING" (Jn.5:30), "for I (God the Son) came
down from heaven NOT TO DO MINE OWN WILL, BUT THE WILL OF
HIM (God my Father) THAT SENT ME." Jn.6:38.

Knowing who He was and what His purpose was, was a part of
the divine surety that He would remain sinless. He was the visible
expressed image of a part of God Himself. In omniscience,
position, and authority, the Father was greater than the Son while
the Son served His Father and His creation in the flesh - Jn.14:28;
13:16; Phil.2:6-8.

Jesus knew exactly who He was and what was to be done, at
least by the time His ministry began. At the Jordan, we see the
Father opening wide the heavens unto Him. John not only clearly
heard, but also saw the Spirit of God come upon Him..."remaining
upon Him." Jn.1:32,33. Later, Christ revealed His own heavenly
origin saying, "I proceeded forth and came from God, neither came
I OF MYSELF, but He (my Father)sent me." Jn.8:42; 7:28:29. Not
just because He originally willed it, but also because His Father
willed and ordained it.

In the flesh, Christ knew of His body's foreordained sinless
crucifixion, death, and resurrection (Jn.12:32,33), stating as a
matter of fact to the unbelieving Jews, "When ye have lifted up the
Son of Man, then shall ye know that I am He (one with the
Father..Jn.8:19,24; 10:30,38) and that I DO NOTHING OF MYSELF,
but as my Father taught Me, I speak these things. And He that sent
Me is WITH ME : the Father hath not left me alone (Jn.8:16; 16:32),
for I DO ALWAYS THE THINGS THAT PLEASE HIM." Jn.8:28,29.
Because He was foreordained to be the Father's unblemished
sacrificial Lamb (Jn.1:29; Rev.13:8)), the Father wanted it recorded
unto the world through John, that Jesus the Christ was His beloved
Son, in whom He had a right to be well pleased - Matt.3:17.

The man Jesus was being straight forward and literal when He
said three times that HE COULD DO NOTHING OF HIS OWN
SELF-WILL. Again, this is not because He willed it on His own, but
rather because His Father willed it and gave Him of His own
unlimited power, for "God giveth NOT THE SPIRIT BY MEASURE"
unto Him. The Father loveth the Son and hath given ALL THINGS
into His Hand." Jn.3:34,35.

If there was any possibility that Jesus could choose to sin of
His own self, would it not be foolhardy of the Father to do this?
Was not sin totally contrary to the Father's will which Christ
revealed He was sent to do? Was not the first begotten Son
graciously given "the measure of faith" (Rom.12:3) necessary to
ensure His sinlessness and overcome the world? - 1Jn.5:4,5;
Jn.16:33. He understood He did not only come "OF HIMSELF" but
came according to the sovereign will of His Father to carry out in
perfection, the preordained will and works of the Father and Son's
creative plan.

Yes, it was the sovereign Spirit power of the Father in unlimited
grace and favour that was with Him, and in Him, to strengthen Him,
guide Him, and uphold Him, that He might carry out His sinless
works in surety, even unto death at Calvary. Jesus was more than a
mere mortal. That is why it is said of Christ, "He who comes from
above (heaven) is (far) above all (others)...for superior to all others
in prominence and in excellence." Jn.3:3 [Amplif.]

A Sinless Nature

Let us believe the Son of God when He said, "I am in the Father
and THE FATHER IN ME... THE FATHER THAT DWELLETH IN ME
DOETH THE WORK." Jn.14:10,11; Jn.10:37,38. In this, God was
covertly guaranteeing the fulfillment of the divine plan. One would
have to believe that God could also choose to sin, if they believe
Christ in His free will could have sinned, because the Son
proclaimed, "I AND THE FATHER ARE ONE." Jn.10:30; 14:9; 5:18;
Phil. 2:6. They were in reality, one God, one in mutual sovereignty,
one in purpose and most importantly, one in sinless incorruptibility.

Christ retained His eternal sinless nature (Heb.13:8; Jas.1:17;
Mal.3:6) when He "came down from heaven, not to do MY (His)
OWN WILL" (Jn.6:38) after He "proceeded forth and came from
(His) God (Father)." Jn.8:42. The first Adam in his immaturity
lacked any true holiness or righteousness in his innocent nature
and therefore was still vulnerable to sin. The last Adam, the second
man who is no less than the Lord from Heaven (1Cor.15:45-47), in
His eternal inherent righteousness and holiness, lacked the nature
to sin, because in His congenital spirit and visceral form, He was
God Himself.

God's sinless Son was "brought forth" into this world through
a virgin (Matt.1:23,25), "conceived of the holy Ghost" (Matt.1:18,20)
by being "born of" Mary's flesh - Lk.1:35. In this regard, He was
solely privileged and favoured as "the only begotten" (Jn.1:14;
3:16) "Son of God" (Lk.1:35) and was in all truth, "God with us" -
Matt.1:23. Within the flesh body of Jesus, was a pure spirit, like
unto the inherent sinless, holy Spirit of God His Father. In them
both (their innate holy Spirit nature), there was no sin, nor could
there be sin, because TOGETHER in a divine union called the
Godhead, they always were ONE GOD, are one God, and ever will
be one God.

For a clearer understanding on this mysterious Godhead, ask
for our booklet entitled "The Fulness Of The Godhead". The divine
Son of God proceeded forth and was "manifested" (1Jn.3:5,8),
brought forth, begotten, generated out of God. The Bible says it in
several different ways. He was both literally and spiritually, "born
of God" (1Jn.3:9), enabling Him to live as no man lived before.

The Bible also goes on to say in primary reference to Jesus
Christ that "HE CANNOT SIN!" Why? "HE CANNOT SIN BECAUSE
HE IS BORN OF GOD." 1Jn.3:9. The Greek says, "HE CANNOT TO
SIN BECAUSE OF GOD HE HAS BEEN BEGOTTEN", BORN OF GOD
into flesh in the earth in order to guarantee the fulfillment of the
Father's purpose and will in His work of destroying the work of the
devil - 1Jn.3:8. The only begotten Son was no less than God in the
flesh. "His name was called the Word" (Rev.19:13) "and the Word
was with God and THE WORD WAS GOD" (Jn.1:1), "and THE WORD
WAS MADE FLESH AND DWELT AMONG US, and we beheld His
glory, THE GLORY..AS OF THE ONLY BEGOTTEN OF THE
FATHER." Jn.1:14; Jn.12:27,28.

Though the preceding scriptures plainly indicate that it was
impossible for the man Jesus to sin, there is yet further evidence
that supports this truth. Because He was born of an earthly mother
who was not without sin, and like all other humanity was subject to
the working of the mystery of iniquity, He may well have inherited a
measure of this in His human nature.

Iniquity, before it becomes sin, is the mysterious power that
compels the human nature to actually commit sin. However,
because Jesus was brought forth from the Father and conceived
supernaturally unlike any other, He was holy even at birth - Lk.1:35.
He was in this way different from other men. He was not born
"dead in trespass and sins" (Eph.2:1) and most certainly never
came "short of the glory of God" (Ro.3:23) for He was a united
component of God Himself. Though His will was in all outward
appearances, similar to ours, it was a sensitive, perceptive will
somewhat more limited and confined to being subservient to the
supreme omnipotent will of His Father God. His will remained
untainted by sin. That's why we must now learn how to rely on Him
for the power to overcome the sinful tendencies of our own human
will.

Though he took on human life, the holiness was available in His
life as a greater power than the iniquity. Therefore, He was well
able to overcome the world, the relatively powerless iniquity
present in His human flesh, as well as all other powers of the devil -
Jn.3:34,35. No wonder Jesus could say, that when the prince of this
world would come to entice Him, the power of evil could find
nothing in Him to cause Him to sin - Jn.14:30. There was no
enticement nor adverse experience nor trial nor test that wasn't just
as common to the man Jesus as to any other man - Isa.53. But,
God in His wisdom, made a unique way for Jesus to bear His
"temptation" yet without sin - 1Cor.10:13.

The fulness of His Father's life and power was always either
dormant or active in some kind of measure within His body
(Col.1:9) and soul to ensure that all the will of His Father be done.
He may have had the aptitude or even a partial disposition to sin,
but He did not have an overpowering, obsessive compulsive urge
or stimulus such as unbridled iniquity which we who are born in sin
and death all have.

These things, along with the fact that His sinlessness was to
be an essential part of God's infallible plan in creation, redemption,
and ultimate restoration and restitution, leads one to conclude, that
it was not really possible for Jesus to have sinned because "God
was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself" (2Cor.5:19),
ensuring His pleasure would prosper - Isa. 53:10,11.

Godly Will Power

Jesus had a will like unto us. But what is it that determines the
decisions of human will? As was explained previously, it is the
strongest motivating power which is brought to bear upon the will,
whether it be a natural or spiritual power. In Jesus' case, the power
of the holy Spirit in Him overshadowed and always overcame the
human power of iniquity, impelling His will to always act in
obedience and holiness.

The choices Jesus made were a product of God's influences
and persuasion. The actions of His will were largely determined by
that liable condition of His mind, even of His spirit and soul...which
ever had the greatest degree of tendency to excite volition. The
power of God's holy Spirit that indwelt both the Father and the Son,
always exerted the greatest influence where need be in the Son's
decisions. Jesus manifested the heart of God for it was the heart of
God which was strongest in His soul.

Christ not only had the necessary godly power to resist sin,
but He also had the commandment as well as the necessary
knowledge, the granted authority, and the power to be well able to
lay down His life and take it up again as the sinless sacrifice -
Jn.10:18. The unlimited power and glory of that immortal,
incorruptible Spirit of the Father that could not sin, was fully in
Jesus Christ, one with Him as part of Him, always working God's
will to overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil, thus
guaranteeing that Jesus would be obedient even unto death. "The
one whom God sent speaks the words of God; to Him God (the
Father) GIVES THE SPIRIT WITHOUT LIMIT." Jn.3:34.

Even with this available power, Christ glorified not Himself to
be made a high priest, nor did He take nor will the honour of this
priesthood unto Himself. Rather, He was called and ordained of the
Father who said unto His Son, "today HAVE I BEGOTTEN THEE
(generated, brought Him forth to birth)." Heb.5:4,5. For what
purpose? To become the high priest for us all in the spiritual order
of the Father's everlasting priesthood - Heb.5:6. "By so much was
Jesus made a surety (guarantee) of a better testament."
Heb.7:21,22.

All of this was not without much suffering and humiliation in
His humanity - Heb.7:21,22. This most holy priest, "in the days of
His flesh offered up definite special petitions (for that He not only
wanted but needed) and supplications, with strong crying and
tears, to Him who was (always) able [and we add here willing] to
save Him (out) from death [and hence of any sin that brings it], and
He was heard because of His reverence toward God-His godly fear,
His piety (that is, in that he shrank from the horrors of separation
from the bright presence of the Father)......[we add here--from HIS
ONENESS WITH THE FATHER]. Although He was a Son, He learned
(active, special) obedience through what He suffered; And (His
completed experience) making Him perfect (in equipment) [we add
here--perfect in man's as well as God's eyes], He became the
author and source of eternal salvation.." Heb.5:7-9 (Amplif);
Heb.2:10.

In His humanity, it surely was a learning process. Christ
learned obedience (submission, compliance to God's perfect will
for Himself) by the trying things which He suffered in the flesh of
His humanity (Isa.53:3,5), especially for well doing - 1Ptr.3:17;
Matt.16:21. He obviously endured both mental and physical
anguish, pain, and suffering in His natural life of resisting the world,
the flesh, and the devil, for the scripture says this high priest could
actually "be touched with the feelings of our infirmities." In Ac.28:9
this same Greek word is rendered in English as "diseases".

The scripture also says, He was "in all points tempted (tried,
tested) like as we are, YET WITHOUT SIN." Heb.4:15. There is no
denying that this sinless Son was also just as capable of being
enticed as any man because that was part of His human quality,
having thoughts and feelings similar to all humans.

It is a fact that one can be enticed to a certain degree without
sinning. Jesus had power enough to remain totally sin free
because of the uncommon measure of godliness inherent in His
nature. On the surface, it appears He was an example for us, that
we follow in His footsteps, resisting sin. These are reasons why
sin tested Him.

Yet, the Father knew He could never sin, for His incorruptibility
was sealed through the eternal power of the divine Spirit of
holiness which He shared with His sinless Son. This too played a
part in assuring the sinless sacrifice of His redemptive plan. In all
of this we see again, that Christ "THROUGH (by means of) THE
ETERNAL SPIRIT" (Heb.9:14) was preserved to be a sinless offering
for the total eradication of all sin and all death.

"Christ also hath once suffered for (our) sin...that He might
bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but (sovereignly)
quickened by the Spirit (of the Holy Father in Him)." 1Ptr.3:18.
"Forasmuch then, as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm
yourselves likewise with the same mind ("become obedient unto
death" - Phil. 2:5-8; be willing to suffer, not necessarily on a literal
cross but in dying daily in denying the self and its sinful will): For
He that hath suffered in the flesh (He--also being our new man, the
sinless Spirit of Christ) hath ceased (been restrained) from sin (like
unto Christ who suffered for us and now in us); that He (we the
new creation who now lives - Gal.2:20) no longer should live
(serving) the rest of his time in the flesh (old nature) to the lusts of
man but to the will of God." 1Ptr.4:2.

A God Ordained Sinlessness

At this point, in case there still be some doubting Thomas,
unsure yet, that Jesus though He had free will, had really no other
choice than to remain sinless, we would ask them to look at Judas.
In the same principle as Jesus, though on the opposite side of the
coin so to speak, Judas really had no other choice he could have
made when He sinned in betraying Christ - Matt.26:2. Why not?
Because it was allowed, even ordained of God for Satan to put this
into his heart and to carry out this determinate counsel - Ac.2:23.
Jesus said, "Behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me is with me
on the table", knowing full well that '"THE SON OF MAN GOETH,
AS IT WAS DETERMINED." Lk.22:21,22. It was originally
determined by the Father's will, not Judas', not the Son's. Judas
was foreordained and set forth to condemnation in his denying the
Lord (Jude 4; Matt.26:24,25; Mk.14:18), in order "that the scripture
be fulfilled." Jn.13:18.

In the same manner, the Father foreordained that Jesus be
sinless in order to fulfill His holy word. Satan is allowed to
misguide, overwhelm, and take away the will of man in certain
cases. Demonic possession is the extreme of this. It makes sense,
that on the other hand, God is also able as well, to manipulate and
direct the will of man, only His motives are for man's eventual good.

The Lord ordained all the original apostles who were made a
spectacle to the world - 1Cor.4:9. God was the source of both their
choice and their ordination - Jn.15:16. The Lord chose eleven in a
positive and honourable calling and Judas was ordained for a
negative, dishonourable duty - Ro.9:20-23. The same principle
applies to Pharaoh. These all were ordained not because these
ones willed it, but because God willed, ordained, and caused it to
be so.

In the same principle of Ro.9:11, Jesus Christ was begotten,
ordained, and consecrated to live a sacrificial sinless life for a
divine purpose and counsel that would stand according to the
Father's word, the Father's choice, the Father's will, the Father's
calling - Isa.46:10,11. So then, it was impossible for the Son to sin.
"For Who hath resisted His (our Father's) will? Ro.9:19.

Jesus Christ could no more have become a sinner before He
was slain than any other human could have become sinless
(excluding salvation) before death - Ro.5:12-14; 3:10-23; Heb.9:27.
It was impossible for death in any form of sin's wages (Ro.6:23) to
lay hold on Christ, because He alone was "THAT MAN WHOM HE
(the Father) HATH ORDAINED." Ac.17:31; Isa. chptr.53. He was
ordained to remain without sin and Ordained to be delivered "by
THE DETERMINATE COUNSEL and foreknowledge of God" into the
hands of the wicked to be crucified and slain - Ac.2:23.

Concerning death, "IT WAS NOT POSSIBLE that He should be
holden of it" any more than He could have been holden of sin. For
the fact is, He was "ORDAINED OF GOD" to be the sinless Son, the
sinless judge (Ac.10:42), the only sinless priest (Heb.8:3) and the
faultless sacrificial Lamb that was ordained to take away the sin of
the world - Isa.53:7; Jn.1:29.

The impeccable sinless life (Heb.4:15), the willing death and
the resurrection of the sacrificial Lamb were all designated parts of
the foreordained plan of God "who worketh ALL THINGS AFTER
THE COUNSEL OF HIS OWN WILL." Eph.1:11; Heb.10:7;
Isa.46:10,11. The Lamb was foreordained in the will of the Father
even from the foundation of the world, to be slain for us (Rev.13:8)
as a Lamb without blemish and without spot of sin in His precious
blood - 1Ptr.2:19,20; Heb.4:3. He alone, was destined and ordained
to be free of sin that he should become the saviour of the whole
world - 1Jn.2:2. This is reason enough alone to realize that it was
not possible that He could have sinned. Jesus, the sinless Son,
was born to live a sinless life overcoming both spiritual and
physical death for us all - Heb.2:9; Lk.24:46,47.

This is all part of a revelation of the mysterious works
(Ac.15:18) and wisdom of God, "even the hidden wisdom which
GOD ORDAINED BEFORE THE WORLD UNTO OUR GLORY"
(1COR.2:7) in hope of eternal life WHICH GOD THAT CANNOT LIE,
PROMISED BEFORE THE WORLD BEGAN." Tit.1:2; 2Tim.1:9;
Heb.4:3. Although for a time, it was holden from the world, it has
now been made known that "GOD WAS IN CHRIST reconciling the
world unto Himself...HE HATH MADE HIM TO BE (a sinless) sin
(offering) for us." 2Cor.5:19-21.

It was a foreordained and necessary part of God's plan of
salvation "TO MAKE the captain of our salvation PERFECT (without
sin) through suffering." Heb.2:10; Isa.53:10. Hence, our sinless
Saviour could not have sinned, for "IT IS NOT POSSIBLE" that any
other blood than the pure blood of Christ could wash away the
world's sins - Heb.10:4,11.

Just as the Father foreknew and predestined the Lamb to be
the sinless sacrifice in an appointed way (Lk.18:31-33; Ac.4:28) as
well as at an appointed time (Habk.2:3; Gal.4:2-4), so also has He
predestined humanity to be conformed to the image of His sinless
Son (Ro.8:29) at the God-determined and God-appointed times -
1Cor.15:22,23; 1Tim.2:6; Eph. chptr.1. The Bible makes it clear that
all necessary things were divinely and sovereignly accomplished in
order that the scriptures containing God's plan and will for Christ
and humanity be entirely fulfilled - Jn.19:28,36,37; Lk.22:37; 24:44;
Matt.26:54-56. It couldn't have happened any other way.

There is no way Christ of His own free will could have sinned
because the Father who cannot lie had guaranteed it in His word
long ago that He be sinless. He had determined this from the
beginning, and promised "that THAT DETERMINED SHALL BE
DONE." Dan.11:36; Isa.55:11; Prv.19:21 etc. And so it was.

Choosing...To Sin Or Not To Sin

Is it possible that Jesus Christ could have sinned in the
exercising of His human will? The answer according to the
scriptures, is a resounding no! This brings us to other closely
related thoughts and questions, Could Jesus in His humanity have
mentally assented to sin? Or more specifically, did He even have a
choice to sin? The answer in this case, is yes He did!

We will explain how it is entirely possible that anyone, Jesus
included, can have a choice to sin, but yet find it impossible to act
out such a choice. It's been shown how human will can be rendered
powerless or ineffectual at any point of time according to God's
own will and choosing. If this is not true, then the Almighty would
be less than almighty and consequently though He were willing,
would be unable to fulfill all His ordained plans and purposes. The
fact is, it simply was not included in the sovereign divine plan
involving the Son's own will that He could actually commit sin.
Saying He could not have acted in a sinful way is very different than
saying He could not mentally assent or make a choice to sin.
Anyone has freedom of choice but as we've previously explained,
not everyone always has the freedom or ability to carry it out.

There is no doubt that Jesus had the God given nature and the
human capacity to make personal choices, hard or easy, important
or mundane, even good or evil. But, not only was He constantly
subject to God's higher will like unto any common man, He, unlike
ordinary men, also had an infinitely greater divine mental capacity
whereby He could steadfastly resist and overcome any temptation
before it developed into a sinful act. By the term divine capacity,
we mean Jesus retained in contradistinction to His human nature
and capability, a God given nature and divine faculty. He
possessed some unique inherent power in His capability, aptitude,
disposition and endowment.

As has been previously pointed out, He had the holy Spirit
without measure present in His nature. This substantive power was
given in the divine favour and grace of His holy Father to guarantee,
that in necessary times, He would act strictly according to the
Father's overall plan and absolute will, and not of His own weaker
human will. It was crucial He do this for us.

Jesus not only exercised, but also personified the fulness of
our God in His human body and in His human spirit. He did not
have the fulness of iniquity nor the law of sin (Ro.7:14-20) operating
in his members as we sinners do. Remember, He was born of a
virgin birth with no imputation of Adamic sin. Therefore we would
dare say that Christ's untainted humanity was tempted only from
external sources.

We, as creatures with both inherited and imputed sin at birth,
are tempted and overwhelmed with the sin nature from within, as
well as from external sources both spiritual and material in nature.
It would be reasonable to conclude that the power of sin did not
have the same negative impact on His choices as it had on the rest
of humanity.

"Choosing" to sin (or to do anything) and the actual act or
performance of sinning (or doing anything evil or good), do not
necessarily go hand in hand. They really are two different things.
They are different operations or functions of choice involving
separate acts. Making an initial choice involves an act of the will.
A willful act (ie. in order to select, elect, to plan, to lay out for
oneself, to intend, to purpose to decide etc.) may or may not at any
given time, be influenced by the higher sovereign powers of God.

To make a choice, is to first favour or prefer mentally, and is
often without any actual overt (plain, observable, evident, open or
manifest) act following this choice. Choices do not necessarily
have to be acted upon for they are still subject to ongoing free will
and are changeable. Often, they cannot be acted out in fulfillment
of the choice or even acted upon at all. Common sense and logical
reasoning, as well as the scriptures, support this concept.

One can mentally assent to, or choose "to be", "to have", "to
do", or "to make" any number of things. But to make manifest that
initial mental choice in act or reality, is for many reasons often
humanly impossible. For example. One could choose by setting
ones mind to it, to steal something from a store one day. God
forbid. But, if that one happens to notice security personnel
watching him all the time, that prevents him from committing the
sinful act of theft. It prevented his initial choice from being carried
out and becoming reality.

In other words, the circumstance in this situation, prevented
that choice, that decision which was actually made, from becoming
a veritable act of sin. The iniquity, the lust, the overdesire and
enticement involved in making this choice was never wholly
conceived because it did not join itself with the act. This principle
(Jas.1:14,15) applies to all humanity.

In the case of Jesus, He Himself had the human faculty and the
human right and capacity (as did even the first Adam in his original
unperverted human will and nature) to initially choose to sin. But
that's the extent of His likeness to human volition. It may have
been potentially possible for the man Jesus to make a choice that
led toward sin, but even that is debatable. However, because of His
unique inner nature and the divine circumstances permeating His
ordained situation, to follow through and complete an act of sin
thus becoming a sinner, was ultimately impossible.

Adam did not become a sinner until he had made a choice and
acted upon it. Jesus, because of His God ordained untouchable sin
free human nature, coupled with the faculty of His immortal,
incorruptible, divine God nature (Spirit), could never have become a
sinner even though He may have had the potential to make a wrong
or disobedient choice. The operation of free will in the life of the
ordained Son of man and His phenomenal ability to remain sin free
is truly remarkable. Yet, whichever way we look at it, it was
inevitable that the sinless Son of God also become the sinless Son
of man

There are many God ordained circumstances, laws, and
influences that operate apart from ourselves and are totally beyond
human control. Often these things cause us to choose and/or act
without us being aware or conscious of the factors involved in our
decisions and actions.

As we've stated before, there are numerous limitations imposed
upon man and his will; limitations which are natural, physical,
mental, spiritual, hereditary, environmental, or even circumstantial.
These things are external instrumental factors in determining not
only the choices one makes, but also in determining whether one
can actually carry out to completion the acts which spring from the
choices.

For example. An individual may make a personal choice by
mentally deciding to go and visit someone tomorrow. But they may
become very ill that next day. They may break a leg tonight. The
car may break down tomorrow. A snowstorm may close the roads.
All kinds of unforeseen things could happen. They made the
choice to leave tomorrow but it may become impossible for them to
actually carry out or act upon their initial choice. Circumstance can
so dictate, that it is impossible for them to do what they had
determined to do. So the manifestation of any choice, is an act of
being or doing. A choice is always just a choice or a mental assent
of the will, until it is acted upon. This principle can also be applied
to Jesus the son of man.

In the Son's lower human capacity, He probably could have
chosen to do anything He wanted according to His own will, that is
IF circumstances sovereignly allowed, influenced, ordained, and
ultimately controlled by His Father, permitted Him to carry out acts
that were contrary to the Father's will. But it is evident He did not
and they did not. Not only because His Father never allowed it, but
also because His unique intrinsic holy God nature always had the
stronger influence on His acts. Of course, this influenced His
choices also.

Again, the fact that He was also God with us in human form is
all part of this same grand truth, whereby He could not, and
therefore did not sin. It appears that all men have the right or
privilege to choose to sin or not to sin, Jesus in His humanity
included. But none have the absolute freedom nor the power to act
upon their choices at any given time. Again, Jesus in his humanity
included. These things are all limited and subject to the absolute
sovereign freedom which is present only in the absolute will and
power (will power; powerful will) of God Almighty.

God, has the right and the power to choose to do anything,
even sin, though His incorruptible immortal holy nature absolutely
forbids and prevents Him from sinning. He can bring about sin,
bring it to light, but to actually commit an act of sin is not at all in
His will. Therefore, though nothing is impossible with God, the
paradox is this. Though He could choose to sin, He cannot actually
commit sin because He both designed and willed it to not be
possible. His very nature precludes it.

Amazingly, there is at least one thing man can do that God
cannot. Man can sin. God forbid! Yet, He doesn't forbid it. He
purposely allows it though it is the exact opposite of the operation
of the nature and image of God. Despite this, the creation is far
from being truly dead and without hope. It's merely in a difficult and
painful stage of development in it's growth toward maturity.

In preparation for a most glorious future purpose, God
presently allows sin to exist outside and apart from His sinless Self
Being. Sin and death are but sharp tools of the Masterbuilder in His
forming of His creation. The willful tolerance and control over the
interplay of all forms of evil throughout the ages, play a necessary
integral part in the Creator's counsel to finish His work.

In the beginning, the creation didn't fall out of the will of God, it
fell deeper into it. Hidden within the Father's will, is the application
of His perfect timing wherein He shall bring all men into a willing
subjection to His sinless Son - 1Cor.15:20-28. This He shall do, not
in spite of sin, but rather because of sin. Ironically, God hates sin
yet He allows it to exist, only because the truly glorious benefits
and results of its ultimate purpose, will make the pain of its present
hideous existence seem more than worthwhile enduring.

Our sinless Father through His sinless Son has willfully
ordained to bring out of the present bondage of corruption, a
complete and sinless creation; a PURE PEOPLE MADE PERFECT
FOREVER in the glorious likeness and image of our most high
priest and God, the Lord Jesus Christ.