The Nature of Christ

We believe that Jesus was a man, born of a woman at a specific point in history. Being the son of God, he was not exactly as we are, though he was subject to the same weaknesses and desires we are. Through prayer, perseverance and strength of character, Jesus resisted the trials of sin to the point of giving up his life, rather than give in to the desires of the flesh. In doing so, Jesus opened a pathway to God for the rest of us, who are kept from God by our sins.

Jesus is the son of God, who ascended to his Father's side 40 days after being raised from the dead. He could not remain dead, for God had said that we die because of sin, and Jesus had not sinned. Jesus will return to earth, at the time appointed by his Father, to start the long work of preparing the earth and humankind for ultimate reconciliation with the Creator.


Mainstream Christian Teaching
The bulk of all Christianity teaches unequivocally that Jesus is God. This claim is made without qualification. Typically, it is said that Jesus is 100% man and 100% God: that Jesus was fully God, and never ceased to be God while on earth. And usually, when it really gets down to the nitty-gritty, it is said the whole issue (the Trinity) is a mystery.

Inherent Flaws:
1. The fundamental truth of the Bible is that God is One. Any teaching that in any way appears to deviate from or undermime this profound truth must be very firmly substantiated. The doctrine of the Trinity pretends to be such a teaching, yet it is entirely absent from the entire Old Testament. This doesn't make sense.

2. Mortality and Immortality are mutually exclusive characteristics. If Jesus is God, he couldn't have really died, for God is immortal by nature. Likewise, if Jesus died, he couldn't really be God, for God cannot die. Immortality is not a fluctuating quality! A being is either mortal or immortal. You can't have it both ways with this. Either Christ died, and he is mortal, or he's God and can't die. Pick one alternative, as holding both is simply untenable. Traditional Christians typically respond to this point with the idea stated above in the introduction, that Jesus was fully human and fully God. But look at the next point.

3. For the temptations of Christ to have been in any way real, there had to exist the possibility that he sin. If Christ is God, it is impossible that he could have sinned, for God is perfect by nature. Jesus pointed this out in Mt 19:17, marking the distinction between himself and God (only ONE is good...). If Christ was God, and therefore couldn't sin, all his 'temptations' were faked, and his identification with mankind a cruel sham! And for those affirming the 100%/100% idea, do you really see God locking Himself into a nature that could potentially sin? Finally, James explicitly states that God cannot be tempted by evil (1:13-15).

4. Another point: God is all-knowing, Jesus learned (Luke 2:40, 52) during his life, which implicitly means acquiring knowledge or wisdom not previously possessed. In fact, there were some things Jesus never knew until after his resurrection - like the date of his return (Mrk 13:32). Traditional Christian thought (see above) has it that he never ceased to be God, so how did he learn? Did he just 'forget' for a while, while on earth? Did he later "remember" that he was omniscient? Again, omniscience and humanity are mutually exclusive characteristics. And if you are omniscient, you can't shed that quality temporarily.

5. God is undeniably all-powerful, while Jesus always acknowledged that his power was received from God, not inherently his own (ie. John 7:16, 8:28, 12:49-50, 14:28). He said this about his teaching as well, in many places. Why would he say this if he and God were the one and same? In addition, when the disciples requested to sit at his right hand and at his left, he said that this was not his to give, but the Fathers' to decide (Matt. 20:23). The usual response to this is that the different persons of God have different domains of authority; but there you would venture out onto thin ice indeed, as it is very difficult to be One, yet have multiple and distinct personhoods, with distinct levels of authority.

6. God is by nature invisible and never seen (Jn. 1:18, I Tim. 6:16, I Jn. 4:12); Jesus was of course seen. To say that God was never seen, and then to continue that Jesus is God just doesn't make sense. The idea that Jesus is God isn't a mystery or some profound biblical truth too deep to understand - it just doesn't make sense.

7. In the Bible, God = the Father, and no other. See Rom. 1:7, Col.3:17, I Thes. 1:1, II Tim 1:2 and many more (for example, the introductory words of almost all Paul's letters). The appelations "the Father" and "Jesus" are never used interchangeably in the Bible.

8. In Mtt. 28:10 Jesus speaks of his followers as "brethren". Are we children of God, or brethren of God? We can't be both. It again follows from this simple description of our relationships to them that Jesus and God occupy very distinct stations. And in fact, how can a Father and Son be the one and same? Again, to affirm so isn't a mistery, it's nonsense.

9. In Mtt. 3:17 God says: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" in a voice from heaven as Jesus rose from the waters of baptism - What is the value of God indicating his pleasure in Christ, if Christ was God himself? And what had Christ supposedly achieved here, if he was God and it was impossible for him by nature to sin or do wrong?

10. I Cor 11:3 and 15:8. Here are two more instances (post resurrection!) where Christ is clearly not equal with God.

11. And the clincher: in John 8:17-18 Jesus quotes from the law the necessity that evidence, to be valid, must be agreed upon by two witnesses. Jesus states that the two witnesses are himself and God. Two, not one. If Jesus were God, there was only one witness, and if Jesus says there are two, then he and God are not one.

12. In Ephesians 5:2, Christ is described as a "fragrant offering and sacrifice to God". This does not make sense if they are the one and same person. And in fact, if Christ is God, could you really conceive as the all-powerful God, the only creator of the universe, supreme in glory and majesty, as a 'sacrifice'? Here is where we Christadelphians really have a problem with the supposed doctrine that Jesus is God: it's a nice idea that God gave himself as a sacrifice for us; but the all-powerful God of the universe as a pitiful sacrifice for me, a human sinner? Somehow we just don't see it. However, the vision of Jesus as a perfect man, the most loved son of God, overcoming the inherent weaknesses of the flesh by prayer and determination: there is an image that makes sense.

The Nature of Man

We believe that man is created out of the dust of the earth. By the dust of the earth, we understand the elements and compounds that make up all things. This body is given life, or breath, by God. Upon death, our breath leaves our body, our bodies return to the soil. Our only hope lies in the resurrection from the dead when Christ returns to this earth. In the meantime, the dead lie in the earth in the sleep of death, alive only in the memory of God, until Jesus comes.


Mainstream Christian Teaching
With regards to the nature of humankind, almost all of Christianity is united in affirming that within every person lies a portion that is inherently immortal. The most frequent take on this is that we have an immortal soul that upon death of the flesh does not die, but rather goes somewhere else. Variations abound.

Inherent Flaws:
1. The evidence of our eyes denies that upon death we go somewhere else. When we see someone die, no matter how nice it is to think that a part of them remains alive, the empirical evidence points to the fact that they are totally dead.

2. To bear out the first point, God said to Adam in clear and concise terms that upon death he would return to the ground: "In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return". (Gn. 3:19) Humans are made out of two things: inert materials, and the spirit of God. The inert material (water, minerals, other elements and compounds) is not unique to us or in any way special, and the life giving spirit (or breath) of God simply returns to Him when we die (Eccl. 12:7).

3. There is no Biblical evidence that the spirit of life possessed by humans is special in any way. Quite the contrary, we are living beings in the same way all breathing, oxidizing creatures are living beings. The vocabulary of Genesis and the entire Bible bears this out.

Ecclesiastes 3:19 - For the fate of the sons of men and fate of beast is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts...
Ecclesiastes 9:10 - Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no work or thought of knowledge or wisdom in Sheol [the grave], to which you are going.
Psalms 146: 3-4 - Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no help. When his breath departs he returns to his earth; on that very day his plans perish. Notice here that it doesn't say that the body returns to earth: 'he returns to his earth'. The person returns to the soil, not just a part, or exterior shell as is taught.
Gen. 2:7 - then the Lord God formed man of the dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. Compare with 1:20, 21 and 24, where all the other 'living beings' are created. Note that the Hebrew in all these verses is 'nefesh', which in many cases is translated 'soul'. So animals have souls just like we do.

4. In the Bible, the word 'soul' simply means 'being', and can refer to animals as much as humans. The phrase 'immortal soul' is entirely absent from scripture, and in fact, there are many passages that quite explicitly say that the soul [i.e. the being or person] dies.
Ezekiel 18:4, 20 - ...the soul that sins shall die. [In this passage, soul means simply 'person'.]
Psalms 33:18-19 - Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, that he may deliver their soul from death, and keep them alive in famine. Note here that the death God saves the soul from is famine, not anything spiritual or otherworldly. Again, soul simply means person.
And the clincher, if you have access to a concordance, is to look up the usage in the original Hebrew. The word soul has no salient supernatural use. It is applied to people, animals and even internal organs.

5. Biblically, the hope of humanity lies in the resurrection. It makes no sense to say that a being that never really dies is resurrected - these are mutually exclusive pathways. Resurrection is our only hope, as Paul says in such memorable terms: "If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die" (I Cor. 15:32). There is no other hope.

(Please excuse the directness responses above; due to the nature of the media, we felt it was best)

Statement of Faith

The Christadelphian Statement of Faith

––––
THE FOUNDATION
That the book currently known as the Bible, consisting of the Scriptures of Moses, the prophets, and the apostles, is the only source of knowledge concerning God and His purposes at present extant or available in the earth, and that the same were wholly given by inspiration of God in the writers, and are consequently without error in all parts of them, except such as may be due to errors of transcription or translation. (This paragraph was added in 1886.)
2 Tim. 3:16; 1 Cor. 2:13; Heb. 1:1; 2 Pet. 1:21; 1 Cor. 14:37; Neh. 9:30; John 10:35.
––––

1. That the only true God is He Who was revealed to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, by angelic visitation and vision, and to Moses at the flaming bush (unconsumed) and at Sinai, and Who manifested Himself in the Lord Jesus Christ, as the supreme self-existent Deity, the ONE FATHER, dwelling in unapproachable light, yet everywhere present by His Spirit, which is a unity with His person in heaven. He hath, out of His own underived energy, created heaven and earth, and all that in them is.
Isa. 40:13-25; 43:10-12; 44:6-8; 45:5; 46:9-10; Job 38-40; Deut. 6:1-4; Mark 12:29-32; 1 Cor. 8:4-6; Eph. 4:6; 1 Tim. 2:5; Neh. 9:6; Job 26:13; Psa. 124:8; 146:6; 148:5; Isa. 40:25-27; Jer. 10:12-13; 27:5; 32:17-25; 51:15; Acts 14:15; 17:24; 1 Chron. 29:11-14; Psa. 62:11; 145:3; Isa. 26:4; 40:26; Job 9:4; 36:5; Psa. 92:5; 104:24; 147:4-5; Isa. 28:29; Rom. 16:27; 1 Tim. 1:17; 2 Chron. 16:9; Job 28:24; 34:21; Psa. 33:13-14; 44:21; 94:9; 139:7-12; Prov. 15:3; Jer. 23:24; 32:19; Amos 9:2-3; Acts 17:27-28; Psa. 123:1; 1 Kings 8:30-39, 43, 49; Matt. 6:9; 1 Tim. 6:15-16; 1:17.

2. That Jesus of Nazareth was the Son of God, begotten of the Virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit, without the intervention of man, and afterwards anointed with the same Spirit, without measure, at his baptism.
Matt. 1 :23; 1 Tim. 3: 16; Acts 2:22-24, 36; Matt. 1:18-25; Lk. 1:26-35; Gal. 4:4; Isa. 7:14; Matt. 3:16-17; Isa. 11:2; 42:1; 61:1; John 3:34; 7:16; 8:26-28; 14:10-24.

3. That the appearance of Jesus of Nazareth on the earth was necessitated by the position and state into which the human race had been brought by the circumstances connected with the first man.
1 Cor. 15:21-22; Rom. 5:12-19; Gen. 3:19; 2 Cor. 5:19-21.

4. That the first man was Adam, whom God created out of the dust of the ground as a living soul, or natural body of life, "very good" [Publisher's Note: Gen. 1:31] in kind and condition, and placed him under a law through which the continuance of life was contingent on obedience.
Gen. 2:7; 18:27; Job 4:19; 33:6; 1 Cor. 15:46-49; Gen. 2:17.

5. That Adam broke this law, and was adjudged unworthy of immortality, and sentenced to return to the ground from whence he was taken-a sentence which defiled and became a physical law of his being, and was transmitted to all his posterity.
Gen. 3:15-19, 22-23; 2 Cor. 1:9; Rom. 7:24; 2 Cor. 5:2-4; Rom. 7:18-23; Gal. 5:16-17; Rom. 6:12; 7:21; John 3:6; Rom. 5:12; 1 Cor. 15:22; Psa. 51:5; Job 14:4.

6. That God, in His kindness, conceived a plan of restoration which, without setting aside His just and necessary law of sin and death, should ultimately rescue the race from destruction, and people the earth with sinless immortals.
Rev. 21 :4; John 3: 16; 2 Tim. 1: 10; 1 John 2:25; 2 Tim. 1: 1; Titus 1:2; Rom. 3:26; John 1:29.

7. That He inaugurated this plan by making promises to Adam, Abraham and David, and afterwards elaborated it in greater detail through the prophets.
Gen. 3:15; 22:18; Psa. 89:34-37; 33:5; Hos. 13:14; Isa. 25:7-9; 51:1-8; Jer. 23:5.

8. That these promises had reference to Jesus Christ, who was to be raised up in the condemned line of Abraham and David, and who, though wearing their condemned nature, was to obtain a title to resurrection by perfect obedience, and, by dying, abrogate the law of condemnation for himself, and all who should believe and obey him.
1 Cor. 15:45; Heb. 2:14-16; Rom. 1:3; Heb. 5:8-9; 1:9; Rom. 5:19-21; Gal. 4:4-5; Rom. 8:3-4; Heb. 2:15; 9:26; Gal. 1:4; Heb. 7:27; 5:3-7; 2:17; Rom. 6:10; 6:9; Acts 13:34-37; Rev. 1:18; John 5:21-22, 26-27; 14:3; Rev. 2:7; 3:21; Matt. 25:21; Heb. 5:9; Mark 16:16; Acts 13:38-39; Rom. 3:22; (Psa. 2:6-9; Dan. 7:13-14; Rev. 11:15; Jer. 23:5; Zech. 14:9; Eph. 1:9-10) -- [Publisher's Note: These passages in parathensis must be considered together.]

9. That it was this mission that necessitated the miraculous begettal of Christ of a human mother, enabling him to bear our condemnation, and, at the same time, to be a sinless bearer thereof, and, therefore, one who could rise after suffering the death required by the righteousness of God.
Matt. 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-35; Isa. 7:14; Rom. 1:3-4; 8:3; Gal. 4:4; 2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 2:14-17; 4:15.

10. That being so begotten of God, and inhabited and used by God through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, Jesus was Emmanuel, God with us, God manifested in the flesh-yet was, during his natural life, of like nature with mortal man, being made of a woman of the house and lineage of David, and therefore a sufferer, in the days of his flesh, from all the effects that came by Adam's transgression including the death that passed upon all man, which he shared by partaking of their physical nature.
Matt. 1:23; 1 Tim. 3:16; Heb. 2:14; Gal. 4:4; Heb. 2:17.

11. That the message he delivered from God to his kinsmen, the Jews, was a call to repentance from every evil work, the assertion of his divine sonship and Jewish kingship; and the proclamation of the glad tidings that God would restore their kingdom through him, and accomplish all things written in the prophets.
Mark l:l5; Matt. 4:17; 5:20-48; John 10:36; 9:35; 11:27; 19:21; 1:49; Matt. 27:11-43; John 10:24-25; Matt. 19:28; 21:42-43; 23:38-39; 25:14-46; Luke 4:43; 13:27-30; 19:11-27; 22:28-30; Matt. 5:17; Luke 24:44.

12. That for delivering this message, he was put to death by the Jews and Romans who were, however, but instruments in the hands of God, for the doing of that which He had determined before to be done-namely, the condemnation of sin in the flesh, through the offering of the body of Jesus once for all, as a propitiation to declare the righteousness of God, as a basis for the remission of sins. All who approach God through this crucified, but risen, representative of Adam's disobedient race, are forgiven. Therefore, by a figure, his blood cleanseth from sin.
Luke 19:47; 20:1-26; John 11:45-53; Acts 10:38-39; 13:26-29; 4:27-28; Rom. 8:3; Heb. 10:10; Rom. 3:25; Acts 13:38; 1 John 1:7; John 14:6; Acts 4:12; 1 Pet. 3:18; 2:24; Heb. 9:14; 7:27; 9:26-28; Gal. 1:4; Rom. 3:25; 15:8; Gal. 3:21-22; Gal. 2:21; 4:4-5; Heb. 9:15; Luke 22:20; 24:26, 46-47; Matt. 26:28.

13. That on the third day, God raised him from the dead, and exalted him to the heavens as priestly mediator between God and man, in the process of gathering from among them a people who should be saved by the belief and obedience of the Truth.
1 Cor. 15:4; Acts 10:40; 13:30-37; 2:24-27; 4:27-33; [Publisher's Note: The following passages were removed from Clause 14, where they were wrongfully placed:] Luke 24:51; Eph. 1:20; Acts 5:31; 1 Tim. 2:5; Heb. 8:1; Acts 15:14; 13:39; Heb. 4:14-15.

14. That he is a priest over his own house only, and does not intercede for the world, or for professors who are abandoned to disobedience. That he makes intercession for his erring brethren, if they confess and forsake their sins.
Luke 24:51; Eph. 1:20; Acts 5:31; 1 Tim. 2:5; Heb. 8: 1; Acts 15:14; 13:39; Heb. 4:14-l5.

15. That he sent forth apostles to proclaim salvation through him, as the only Name given under heaven whereby men may be saved.
Acts 1:8; Matt. 28:19-20; Luke 24:46-48; Acts 26:16-18; 4:12.

16. That the way to obtain this salvation is to believe the Gospel they preached, and to take on the Name and service of Christ, by being thereupon immersed in water, and continuing patiently in the observance of all things he has commanded, none being recognized as his friends except those who do what he has commanded.
Acts 13:48; 16:31; Mark 16:16; Rom. 1:16; Acts 2:38, 41; 10:47-48; 8:12; Gal. 3:27-29; Rom. 6:3-5; 2:7; Matt. 28:20; John 15:14.

17. That the Gospel consists of "The things concerning the Kingdom of God and the Name of Jesus Christ."
Acts 8:12; 19:8, 10, 20; 28:30-31.

18. That the "Things of the Kingdom of God" are the facts testified concerning the Kingdom of God in the writings of the prophets and apostles, and definable as in the next 12 paragraphs.

19. That God will set up a Kingdom in the earth, which will overthrow all others, and change them into "the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ."
Dan. 2:44; 7:13-14; Rev. 11:15; Isa. 32:1, 16; 2:3-4; 11:9-10.

20. That for this purpose God will send Jesus Christ personally to the earth at the close of the times of the Gentiles.
Acts 3:20-21; Psa. 102:16, 21; 2 Tim. 4:1, Acts 1:9, 11; Dan. 7:13 [Publisher's Note: Additional passages: Luke 21:24-27; Rom. 11:25-26].

21. That the Kingdom which he will establish will be the Kingdom of Israel restored, in the territory it formerly occupied, namely, the land bequeathed for an everlasting possession to Abraham and his Seed (the Christ) by covenant.
Mic. 4:6-8; Amos 9:11, 15; Eze. 37:21-22; Jer. 23:3, 8; Gen. 13: 14-17; Heb. 11:8-9; Gal. 3: 16; Lev. 26:42; Mic. 7:20.

22. That this restoration of the Kingdom again to Israel will involve the ingathering of God's chosen but scattered nation, the Jews; their reinstatement in the land of their fathers, when it shall have been reclaimed from "the desolation of many generations"; the building again of Jerusalem to become "the throne of the Lord" and the metropolis of the whole earth.
Isa. 11:12; Jer. 31:10; Zec. 8:8; Eze. 36:34-36; Isa. 5l:3; 60:15; 62:4; Jer. 3: 17; Mic. 4:7-8; Joel 3: 17; Isa. 24:23.

23. That the governing body of the Kingdom so established will be the brethren of Christ, of all generations, developed by resurrection and change, and constituting, with Christ as their head, the collective "Seed of Abraham," in whom all nations will be blessed, and comprising "Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets," and all in their age of like faithfulness.
Dan. 12:2; Luke 13:28; Rev. 11:18; 1 Thess. 4:15-17; John 5:28-29; 6:39-40; Luke 14:14; Matt. 25:34, 46 [Publisher's Note: additional passages: Rev. 5:9-10; Dan. 7:27].

24. That at the appearing of Christ prior to the establishment of the Kingdom, the responsible (namely, those who know the revealed will of God, and have been called upon to submit to it), dead and living -- obedient and disobedient -- will be summoned before his judgment seat "to be judged according to their works," and "receive in body according to what they have done, whether it be good or bad."
2 Cor. 5:10; 2 Tim. 4:1; Rom. 2:5-6, 16; 14:10-12; 1 Cor. 4:5; Rev. 11:18.

Note: Clause 24 was amended in Jan. 1898, to refute the teaching that one may avoid being raised for judgment by refusing baptism. With this change, this document came to be known as the Birmingham Amended Statement of Faith (BASF). While nearly all Christadelphian ecclesias worldwide have adopted this amended statement of faith, a few ecclesias in North America still use the original Birmingham Statement of Faith (BSF) which has also been called "Unamended" or BUSF. This clause in the original document reads "... the responsible will be summoned before his judgement seat ..."

25. That the unfaithful will be consigned to shame and "the second death," and the faithful, invested with immortality, and exalted to reign with Jesus as joint heirs of the Kingdom, co-possessors of the earth, and joint administrators of God's authority among men in everything.
Matt. 7:26; 8:12; 25:20-30; Dan. 12:2; Gal. 6:8; 5:21; 2 Thess. 1:8; Heb. 10:26-31; 2 Pet. 2:12; Rev. 21:8; Mal. 4:1; Psa. 37:30-38; Prov. 10:25-29; 1 Cor. 15:51-55; 2 Cor. 5:1-4; James 1:12; Rom. 2:7; John 10:28; Matt. 5:5; Psa. 37:9, 22, 29; Rev. 5:9; Dan. 7:27; 1 Thess. 2:12; 2 Pet. 1:11; Rev. 3:21; 2 Tim. 2: 12; Rev. 5: 10; Psa. 49:7-9; Luke 22:29-30.

26. That the Kingdom of God, thus constituted, will continue a thousand years, during which sin and death will continue among the earth's subject inhabitants, though in a much milder degree than now.
Rev. 20:4-9; 11:15; Isa. 65:20; Eze. 44:22, 25; 1 Cor. 15:24-28.

27. That a law will be established which shall go forth to the nations for their "instruction in righteousness," resulting in the abolition of war to the ends of the earth, and the "filling of the earth with the knowledge of the glory of Yahweh as the waters cover the sea."
Mic. 4:2; Isa. 42:4; 11: 1-10; 2:4; Hab. 2:14.

28. That the mission of the Kingdom will be to subdue all enemies, and finally death itself, by opening up the way of life to the nations, which they will enter by faith, during the thousand years, and (in reality) at their close.
1 Cor. 15:24-28; Rev. 21:4; 20:12-15; Isa. 25:6-8.

29. That at the close of the thousand years, there will be a general resurrection and judgment, resulting in the final extinction of the wicked, and the immortalization of those who shall have established their title (under the grace of God) to eternal life during the thousand years.
Rev. 20:11-15; 1 Cor. 15:24.

30. That the government will then be delivered up by Jesus to the Father, Who will manifest Himself as the "All-in-All"; sin and death having been taken out of the way, and the race completely restored to the friendship of the Deity.
1 Cor. 15:28.