Now we know
that God does
not hear sinners;
but if anyone is a
worshiper of God
and does His will,
He hears him.
John 9:31
It is clear from the Scriptures that to be heard by God a person must be a worshiper of God. God does not hear sinners. Men corrupted by sin cannot come to God and hear from God and then of themselves choose to follow God. The corrupt nature in man cannot bring himself a renewal of that corruption, total depravity in man causes man not to know Him. Men cannot save themselves, they cannot come to God by the exercise of their will; only God could do what needed to be done so that those He chose would be the bride of Christ, His children would be renewed in their nature. This renewal finds its causation by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Sinners do not have this indwelling of the Holy Spirit and cannot have the ability to choose God without this indwelling. Jehovah Witnesses believe that Jesus Christ was an angel, Michael the archangel, and do not have belief that Jesus Christ is God. For those who embrace this Arianism view of Jesus, give the credit for salvation to an angel. Immediately a problem arises with this Arianism view: Angels are not made in the image of God. Only men are made in the image of God, Scripture does not attribute to angels this fact of having God's image. Therefore, to bring man back to the place where they can see and know God, to allow this image of God to give rise in their souls to worship God, to worship God according to God's nature; there must be a renewal of that image. Angels are not made to bring and give to man this renewal of the image of God; only God can do so for it is His image that men have, and it was He who gave man this image; therefore only God could do so, then Jesus could not be an angel and give to man salvation. Salvation is a renewal of the soul of man so that they can know God, and this renewal is by the incarnation of the Word of God, He came in His own Person because it was He alone, the image of the Father Who could recreate man made after the image.
You may ask: How could He do this? First, He had to do away death and corruption. Therefore He assumed a human body so that by means of the death of that body, perfect, not in the hereditary line of Adam, in order that death once for all time would be destroyed; man might be renewed according to the image of God. It is only the image of the Father that is sufficient for this need: here is proof of that fact. The All-holy Son of God, the image of the Father, came and dwelt in our midst; this so that He could renew mankind made after Himself. To be made by Jesus, and to be created in the image of God, this image is not a physical thing, it is an attribute and to give away this attribute so that another may have this attribute you must have this attribute within yourself. This is true of Jesus Christ. As the Wisdom of God, the Word of God, the Second Person of the Trinity, He is God, therefore He has this image of God, and can give that image to man; therefore no angel can give this image, only the creator who gave it in the first place. Furthermore, Jesus came to seek out His lost sheep: "For the Son of Man has come to seed and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10; cf. Matthew 18:11). Man must be renewed, that is born again, this new birth is the renewal of the soul so that the image of God would reside in Him by the oblations and resurrection of Jesus Christ: "Jesus answered and said to him, 'Most assuredly, I say to you unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). It is then this recreation of the soul, a new birth, by which man can be remade in the image of God. This image then is given to those that God has chosen, and those chosen of God with this new nature of their soul will worship God according to God's nature, their nature now being able to worship according to God's nature.
Most assuredly, I say to you,
He who hears My word
and believes in Him who sent Me
has everlasting life, and shall not
come into judgment, but has
passed from death into life.
John 5:24
Today, Place Your Trust in God
Richard L. Crumb
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