(Siskim;38608)
He surely wasn't acting just as man or he wouldn't have had such mercy and forgiveness under such terrible persecution...perhaps moreso as the High Priest he is, mediator..between God and man. But was this God's Spirit or man's who had such depth of mercy and forgivenss? Not man's...but God's. Man does not possess in himself as natural this kind of love...and Christ, though in the form of man, had the nature of His Father, not the nature of an earthly father...so this was not anything purely mortal as just a man could could or would have such selfless mercy.....
Hi Siskim,Your response is a very thoughtful one. I see what you're getting at. It does sound like an impossible quality for a human being to have.However, there are two important points to focus on here.1) Jesus was sinless. He did not have our inclination to selfishness at all. And He did teach us to forgive our enemies.2) He had to act as man if he was going to offer Himself to the Father's wrath and take our sins and our punishment for them upon himself.Here are two Scriptures to support the above conclusions.1) Matthew 5:43-45, "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, 'Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust.' "2) 1 Timothy 2:5-6, "For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time."Conclusion: Jesus had to do, himself, what He taught us to do.Furthermore, He could only be our Mediator if he was always acting as man -- the Second Adam. Of course, He was always united to God and filled completely with the Holy Spirit. We are commanded to forgive, and we have, as believers, the same Holy Spirit in us. How can you and I not forgive when we (while enemies of God) were completely forgiven for our sins against Him?waynemlj