Luther's Breakdown on Philippians 2:5-11 SERIES: pt.3

Philippians 2:5-11: “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

"If Christ, who was true God by nature, has humbled Himself to
become servant of all, how much more should such action befit us who are of no worth, and are by nature children of sin, death and the devil! 

Were we similarly to humble ourselves, and even to go beyond Christ in humility—a thing, however, impossible—we should do nothing extraordinary. 

Our humility would still reek of sin in comparison with His. 

Suppose Christ was to humble himself in the least degree—but a hair’s breadth, so to speak—below the most exalted angels; and suppose we were to humble ourselves to a position a thousand times more abased than that of the devils; yet our humility would not compare in the least with that of Christ. 

For He is an infinite blessing—God Himself—and we are but miserable creatures whose existence and life are not for one moment secure."

Martin Luther

Calvin on Philippians 2:5-11 Series: vs.7,8

Philippians 2: 7,8. But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. 

 

"Emptied Himself. This emptying is the same as the abasement, as to
which we shall see afterwards. 

The expression, however, is used, ευμφατικωτέρως, (more emphatically,) to mean, — being brought to nothing. 

Christ, indeed, could not divest himself of Godhead; but He kept it concealed for a time, that it might not be seen, under the weakness of the flesh. Hence He laid aside his glory in the view of men, not by lessening it, but by concealing it. 

In the likeness of men Γενόμενος is equivalent here to constitutus — (having been appointed.) For Paul means that he had been brought down to the level of mankind, so that there was in appearance nothing that differed from the common condition of mankind. 

He became obedient. Even this was great humility — that from being Lord He became a servant; but he says that he went farther than this, because, while he was not only immortal, but the Lord of life and death, He nevertheless became obedient to his Father, even so far as to endure death. This was extreme abasement."

John Calvin

Pay it NO Homage

But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God... Exodus 20:10

“The Sabbath is the Lord’s test, and no man, be he king, priest, or

ruler, is authorized to come between God and man. 

Those who seek to be conscience for their fellow men, place themselves above God. 

---Those who are under the influence of a false religion, who observe a spurious rest day, will set aside the most positive evidence in regard to the true Sabbath. They will try to compel men to obey the laws of their own creation, laws that are directly opposed to the law of God. 

Upon those who continue in this course, the wrath of God will fall. Unless they change, they cannot escape the penalty. The law for the observance of the first day of the week is the production of an apostate Christendom. 

Sunday is a child of the papacy, exalted by the Christian world above the sacred day of God’s rest. 

In no case are God’s people to pay it homage.”

E.G.W.

Creation Moment 10/25/2022 - Lesson of DES J2147-4035 / DES J2147-4035

"An unusual white dwarf discovered relatively near the solar system
“defies current explanation” as it is “colder than it should be”. Called DES J2147-4035, its relative coolness (only a few thousand degrees) suggests to evolutionists that it is about 10 billion years old. But that is many billions of years older than the “much younger stars” in that region of the galaxy, leaving them baffled.

 

This latest evolutionary conundrum comes on top of many years of

argument between cosmologists about the age of the universe. 

A 2013 Hubble telescope measurement of another star, HD 140283, dubbed the ‘Methuselah Star’ as it is presumed to be the oldest in the universe, put its age at about 14.5 billion years old (with a supposed error range either side of 0.8 billion years). But that would mean it is older than the universe, presumed by many cosmologists to be “only” 13.77 billion years old (error range 0.04).

While cosmologists, astrophysicists and the like furiously debate the merits of what estimates to use in order to try to remove the problem of impossibly conflicting ages, it is the Maker’s eyewitness account that trumps any human ‘measurements’. 

 

The heavens do indeed “declare the glory of God” (Psalm 19:1), thwarting human attempts to naturalistically explain away His handiwork. The earth was created on Day 1 of Creation Week only about 6,000 years ago, with the sun, moon and stars created after that on Day 4." CMI

Luther's Breakdown on Philippians 2:5-11 SERIES: pt. 2

Philippians 2:5-11: “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

 

"You are Christians; you have Christ, and in Him and through Him all fullness of comfort for time and eternity: therefore nothing should appeal to your thought, your judgment, your pleasure, but that which was in the mind of Christ concerning you as the source of your welfare. 

For His motive throughout was not His own advantage; everything He did was done for your sake and in your interest. 

Let men therefore, in accord with His example, work every good thing for one another’s benefit."

Martin Luther

Calvin on Philippians 2:5-11 Series: vs.6

Philippians 2:6. Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 

 

"The form of God means here His majesty. 

For as a man is known by the appearance of his form, so the majesty, which shines forth in God, is his figure. 

Or if you would prefer a more apt similitude, the form of a king is his equipage and magnificence, shewing him to be a king — his scepter, his crown, his mantle, his attendants, his judgment-throne, and other emblems of royalty; the form of a consul was — his long robe, bordered with purple, his ivory seat, his lictors with rods and hatchets. Christ, then, before the creation of the world, was in the form of God.

Being such as he was, He could, without doing wrong to any one, shew Himself equal with God; but He did not manifest Himself to be what he really was, nor did he openly assume in the view of men what belonged to him by right.

Thought it not robbery. There would have been no wrong done though He had shewn himself to be equal with God. 

Hitherto it has been rendered in the indicative — He thought, but the connection requires the subjunctive.

Every one, however, must perceive that Paul treats hitherto of Christ’s glory, which tends to enhance His abasement. Accordingly he mentions, not what Christ did, but what it was allowable for Him to do."

John Calvin

Creation Moment 10/24/2022 - Divine Design of the Brain

I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made... Psalm 139:14

 

"The genes of more complex organisms are comprised of segments

called exons and introns. 

The introns lie between the exons. 

The whole gene is copied to RNA and then edited to remove the introns (‘spliced’ with a phenomenally complex machine called a ‘spliceosome’) to produce the protein-coding mRNA—or so it was thought.

This study of brain tissue reinforces that different mRNAs can be produced in various ways. 

Most commonly the splicing skips the first exon, or skips another exon, or includes an intron or uses an alternative last exon from another gene (in that order of frequency). 

Overall, the researchers found that over half of the genes produced more than one mRNA. Some produced mRNA transcripts for more than ten different proteins.

All this adds up to amazing complexity in the regulation of the genes. 

Q: How do the cells decide how to edit each RNA (which protein to produce, and how much)? 

The mind boggles at the sophistication of the divine design that researchers are uncovering day by day." CMI

Luther's Breakdown of Philippians 2:5-11 SERIES: pt.1

Philippians 2:5-11: “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” 

 

"Here Paul again presents to us as a powerful example of the Love of Christ, for the purpose of persuading us to exercise a loving concern for one another. 

The apostle employs fine words and precious admonitions, having perceived the indolence and negligence displayed by Christians in this matter of loving.

---For this the flesh is responsible. The flesh continually resists the willing spirit, seeking its own interest and causing sects and factions."

Martin Luther

Calvin on Philippians 2:5-11 Series: vs.5

 Philippians 2:5. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 

 

"He now recommends, from the example of Christ, the exercise of
humility, to which he had exhorted them in words. 

There are, however, two departments, 

--in the first of which he invites us to imitate Christ, because this is the rule of life:

--in the second, he allures us to it, because this is the road by which we attain true glory. 

Hence he exhorts every one to have the same disposition 

that was in Christ. 

He afterwards shews what a pattern of humility has been presented before us in Christ."

John Calvin

Battle over Diet / Appetite: Examples from Scripture

In Eden....

..... she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

Genesis 3:6

In the Wilderness of Temptation....

And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. 

Matthew 4:3

Creation Moment 10/23/2022 - Copying the Master Designer

And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:25

 

"Engineers from Purdue University, Indiana, have created a new
class of fast-acting soft robots that can catch live insects in the blink of an eye. They took their inspiration from the sticky catapult tongues of chameleons (cf. creation.com/chameleon), salamanders, and toads. These can rapidly extend up to one and a half body lengths, catching insects within a tenth of a second. They do this by using stored elastic energy which when released allows for fast, high-powered movements.

The robot tongue can expand five times its own length, excelling at gripping, holding, and manipulating objects at high speed, even holding objects up to 100 times its weight. Professor Ramses Martinez said these new prestressed soft robots have several significant advantages over existing soft robots:

“We believed that if we could fabricate robots capable of performing such large-amplitude motions at high speed like chameleons, then many automated tasks could be completed more accurately and in a much faster way. Conventional robots are usually built using hard and heavy components that slow down their motion due to inertia. We wanted to overcome that challenge.”

 

In taking their inspiration from chameleons, salamanders, and toads, they are only seeking to replicate what has already been created by the Master Designer." CMI

How satan took Dominion of Earth from Man

"But .....

Q: when man lost the dominion of the earth, who gained it? 

A: Evidently the one to whom he yielded obedience.  

 

Peter says that, "of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he

brought in bondage." 2 Peter 2:19. 

And Jesus said: "When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace; but when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armor wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils." Luke 11:21, 22. 

 

---Our first parents were overcome by the serpent, "which is the devil, and Satan" (Rev. 20:2), and therefore it was to Satan that they yielded up the dominion which had been committed to them,

 

That Satan is now the ruler of this earth, 

instead of man, 

is shown by the Scriptures. 

 

@ In 2 Cor. 4:4, Satan is spoken of as "the god of this world." 

Christ said that the wicked are children of Satan (John 8:44); 

and in Eph. 2:2, "the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience," is called "the prince of the power of the air." 

Satan is "the accuser of the brethren," and Paul says that "we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world." Eph. 6:12." E.J. Waggoner

Creation Moment 10/22/2022 - Bdelloid Rotifer

For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth...

Colossians 1:16

"A microscopic multicellular animal, a bdelloid rotifer, was revived

after being frozen in permafrost supposedly for 24,000 years. It was recovered in north-eastern Siberia after drilling 3.5m below the surface. Despite being the longest reported case of rotifer survival, when defrosted it quickly went on to reproduce.

“The takeaway is that a multicellular organism can be frozen and stored as such for thousands of years and then return back to life — a dream of many fiction writers,” said Stas Malavin, one of the lead researchers. 

---Study of the animal showed it already had “effective biochemical mechanisms of organ and cell shielding necessary to survive low temperatures.” Ice crystals, normally detrimental for cells, could therefore form relatively slowly, and the rotifer survive.

Some were keen to apply such biological knowledge to cryobiology or biotechnology. However, Malavin cautioned, “Of course, the more complex the organism, the trickier it is to preserve it alive frozen and, for mammals, it’s not currently possible. Yet, moving from a single-celled organism to an organism with a gut and brain, though microscopic, is a big step forward.”

Researchers ascribed the amazing ability to survive frozen permafrost to evolution, but it belongs instead to the creator God of Genesis. Without such ability already being present no resuscitation would have been possible. For context, the bdelloid rotifers would have been frozen in the permafrost towards the end of the Ice Age, around 4,000 years ago, after Noah’s Flood." CMI

Simplifying the Close of Probation

"The proclamation of the third angel, which is made while Christ is closing up his work in the sanctuary, is designed to prepare the living for the decision of the Judgment. 

----When the cases of the living are reached, probation closes up forever. 

The decree goes forth from the throne of God, "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; . . . and he that is holy, let him be holy still." Rev.22:11. 

---The sins of the overcomers being blotted out, and the sanctuary

cleansed, the Son of God is no longer needed as a great High Priest. 

He therefore ceases from the office forever and becomes a king for the deliverance and glorification of his people, and for the destruction of all transgressors. Dan.7:13,14.  

---Satan, the author of sin, receives its dreadful burden when the work in the sanctuary is closed, and will bear it with him to the lake of fire." J.N. Andrews

Creation Moment 10/21/2022 - Cutting through the Clutter of the Debate

In the beginning God created..... Genesis 1:1

 

"Q: Which came first, the protein or the cell? 

They were intentionally created at the same time along with every essential component of the all-or-nothing systems of life on earth. 

However, the theory of evolution claims that all forms of life arose by chance over long periods of time – Q: is that possible? 

A: ....as all-or-nothing, these biological necessities prove to be incompatible with evolutionary theory." ICR

IN the NEWS - Mankind Playing With Fire

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

Jeremiah 17:9

An Example of how we can't blame God....Here we have mankind making this deadly virus itself...and even after COVID...lessons not learned as a lab leak is ALWAYS A POSSIBILITY at any lab. 

We do these things to ourselves. And where are the people in positions of power shutting this down and saying NO.....don't see or hear any at this moment.

 

"With the life coming back to normal as Covid-19 on the retreat, a

new Covid strain which has 80% kill rate has been found in the US. A team of Boston University scientists claimed that they have made a hybrid virus — combining Omicron and the original Wuhan strain — that killed 80 per cent of mice in a study, according to DailyMail.com.

Experts have slammed the scientists for “playing with fire” and involving in such a “dangerous virus manipulation” research.

Dr Richard Ebright, a chemist at Rutgers University in New Jersey said the research is a clear example of gain of function research...... like the previous US-government ePPP research on chimeric SARS-related coronaviruses at Wuhan Institute of Virology that may have caused the pandemic - appears not to have undergone the prior risk-benefit review mandated under US-government policies. If we are to avoid a next lab-generated pandemic, it is imperative that oversight of ePPP research be strengthened.... Ebright said." 

News18

Moses & the Gospel

"Old Testament contains the Gospel. 

In the verse following the one last quoted we read, "Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the Gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven." 1 Peter 1:12.

That is, the prophets, Moses among them, ministered the very same things that were preached by the apostles, namely, the Gospel. 

Since the Gospel of God is "concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord," and the Jews would necessarily have believed in Jesus if they had believed Moses, 

  because Moses wrote of Christ, 

it follows that what Moses

 wrote was the Gospel."  

E.J. Waggoner

Creation Moment 10/20/2022 - The Fabled "Peppered Moths"

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

Jeremiah 17:9

 

"The peppered moths of southern England might be the most famous, and yet the most fraudulent “icon of evolution.” The story has been ubiquitous.

peppered moths come in light and dark shades. In the early nineteenth century, most of the moths were of the lighter shade, but over the course of the century, as industrial pollution worsened, the moth population became predominantly dark colored. In the 1950s, a researcher named Bernard Kettlewell conducted a famous study of the peppered moths in which he released moths onto tree trunks and observed predatory birds picking them off. Kettlewell noticed that pollution had killed the light-colored lichens on tree trunks; he concluded that the lighter moths were too conspicuous against the darker tree trunks. As a result of their camouflage advantage on the darker tree trunks, the dark moths flourished and came to predominate. 

 

peppered moths have been the favorite textbook example of natural selection for over forty years. Usually, the text is accompanied by pictures of moths on tree trunks, illustrating how the lighter colored moths are almost invisible against the lichen-covered trunk but dangerously exposed on the dark tree trunk devoid of lichens.

Great illustration of evolution in action . . . except that the photographs were staged. Dead moths were glued or pinned onto tree trunks before the pictures were snapped. Sometimes photographers placed live peppered moths, which are torpid in daylight, on the tree trunks. This would have been a legitimate illustrative technique if peppered moths typically lighted on tree trunks, but scientists now know that they usually do not. 

 

First, a series of experiments showed that there was no correlation

between lichens and the distribution of light and dark colored moths. Then, a series of experiments demonstrated that most of the time, peppered moths rest in the canopies of trees, usually on the underside of horizontal branches.

The later experiments seem to show a correlation between industrial pollution and moth melanism, but Kettlewell’s theory about lichens, camouflage, and selective predation by birds—the part of the story used to illustrate natural selection—has been debunked. Although scientists have known since the 1980s that peppered moths do not normally rest on tree trunks and that the photographs of moths on tree trunks did not reflect reality, the illustrations keep showing up in textbooks." David Read//F7

Communing with the Voice of the Eternal

"In the Word of God the mind finds subjects for the deepest thought, the loftiest aspirations. 

---Here we may hold communion with patriarchs and prophets and listen to the voice of the Eternal as He speaks with men. 

---Here we behold the Majesty of heaven as He humbled Himself to become our substitute and surety, to cope single-handed with the powers of darkness, and to gain the victory in our behalf. 

A reverent contemplation of such themes as these cannot fail 

to soften, 

purify, 

and ennoble the heart, 

and at the same time to inspire the mind with new strength and vigor."  

E.G.W.

Creation Moment 10/19/2022 - Problems for the Plasma Universe Theory

In the beginning God created the heaven.... Genesis 1:1

"Plasma theorists point out that cosmologists generally assume that gravity is the only significant force that affects the structure of the universe, though gravity by far is the weakest of the fundamental forces. 

Electromagnetic forces are far stronger and are responsible for chemical bonds that cause most of the forces that we encounter every day. 

However, while the effect of gravity appears to have no limit over the distance that it operates, electromagnetic forces generally have a limited range. This limitation is due to the fact that most matter is electrically neutral.

Persistent spiral structure has been difficult to explain in terms of gravity alone, and so plasma theorists cite spiral structure as evidence that magnetic effects significantly affect matter on a large scale.

The plasma theory suggests that the universe is permeated with strong magnetic fields that confine how matter moves. 

If magnetic force dominates gravitational force over the large scale of the universe, then any cosmology that overlooks this is seriously flawed. 

---In the plasma universe, magnetic force shapes local structure such as spiral galaxies and clusters of galaxies, but it also determines the structure of the universe as a whole. 

Q: How can this be reconciled with the observation that the universe is expanding? After all, if the universe is eternally expanding, there should have been more-than-ample time to have expanded the universe to virtually zero density. 

A: Plasma theorists reply that the universe has not always been expanding. Instead, there are regions of the universe that are now expanding, but there are others that are contracting. Expanding regions will eventually halt expansion and contract, while

contracting regions will reverse and begin expanding at some time in the future. Different parts of the universe have been alternately expanding and contracting in this fashion forever and will continue to do so forever. We just happen to live in a region of space that is expanding at this time. We also must be far from any neighboring regions that are contracting, or else we would see evidence of that. 

In other words, our expanding universe is merely a small subset of a much larger universe, and the extrapolation of the expansion back into time to a big bang is an unwarranted extrapolation.

There are a number of problems with the plasma cosmology. 

It asks us to accept some things that have not been observed. 

It cannot explain the CBR. 

The originators of the plasma universe have not explained how the increase in entropy with time can be circumvented. 

From a Christian perspective there are problems as well. 

The plasma cosmology is a return to an eternal universe, so there is no need or place for a Creator." AIG

Why this Trio of Travail, Sorrow & Death?

"Q: Why is there travail, sorrow, and ultimately death in this life? 

Q: Why does God allow this to happen to His children? 

Per Romans 8:20, “for the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope.” 

In other words, because of the fall of man—the shift of the first man and woman from a state of innocent obedience to God to a state of guilty disobedience—all of God’s creation was exposed to a curse. 

 As a result of that curse, 

all creation now groans 

(For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. Romans 8:22)." ICR

Creation Moment 10/18/2022 - Lessons of Toumaï

And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind....

Genesis 1:24

 

"Professor Michel Brunet of the University of Poitiers, France,

described a tiny fossil ape skull nicknamed Toumaï as an upright walking human ancestor.

 

This ancient skull and other possibly associated partial bones from Chad belong to the Sahelanthropus kind. Though Brunet enjoyed fame for finally finding a missing link in human evolution, some of his colleagues were and remain convinced that the Toumaï individual walked on four limbs like regular apes after all.

 

--One might expect science to have progressed over the last few decades. 

--New evidence should have clarified issues, and experts should have objectively followed that evidence toward a data-driven consensus. 

--Instead, new analyses of the old limb bones have merely rekindled the same disagreement—a debate that signals something is wrong with this kind of science.

 

The story seemed perfect for human evolution. Just when pre-humans began to diverge from pre-chimpanzees at seven million supposed years ago, the very chimp-like Sahalanthropus evolved the ability to walk on two legs—a bipedal ape. 

Surely this Toumaï specimen captured the moment our ancestors took their first steps toward becoming human. Unfortunately for this tale, Brunet’s colleagues took the opposite position just a few months after his 2002 report.

 

These skeptics pointed to places on the Toumaï skull where muscles attached it to the neck. Those muscles pin to the bottom of human skulls to hold our heads up, but they attach toward the back of ape skulls to hold their heads forward as they walk on all fours. The team interpreted this fossil as a female gorilla with a thick eyebrow ridge. Did Toumaï walk like a man or like an ape? Why can’t experts agree on an answer after 20 years?

 

A 2020 analysis concluded that the associated femur most likely belonged to a quadruped—a four-legged walker. That would match the diagnosis of Sahelanthropus as an extinct ape. 

Not to be outdone, the group that still wants Sahelanthropus to have walked on two legs recently published an article saying so. They pointed to a femur feature called a calcar femorale and to a certain twist in the bone as evidence for upright walking. But it turns out that neither feature is diagnostic for walking. The calcar femorale, a ridge structure, doesn’t help answer the question since it occurs in orangutans (quadrupeds). People are bipeds, but only some of us have a calcar femorale. And the same burial pressures that warped the bone could be responsible for its unique twist.

 

Bernard Wood, a palaeoanthropologist at George Washington University in Washington DC, co-authored the 2020 study that concluded that the leg belonged to an ape. What does he think about the 2022 article that doubled down on the two-legged stance? He told Nature news, “They cherry-pick what they think is information which is consistent with the femur shaft being a biped, and they studiously ignore information to the contrary.”

 

Q: What does this, and so many similar squabbles between scientists reveal? 

A: Perhaps paleoanthropology contains more speculation than fact. Back in 1990, James Shreeve told Discover magazine, “Everybody knows fossils are fickle; bones will sing any song you want to hear.”

It looks like that same subjectivity prevails. 

Meanwhile, 

the possibility that Sahelanthropus was a variation within the created gorilla kind fits both the Bible and its bones." 

 ICR