DaveH wrote:
> ...I do understand your reluctance to accept my understanding
> of the passage, DavidM.  With what you know about LDS
> theology, does it not fit in?   May I ask how you perceive
> its message?

I think the message concerns Jesus fulfilling that which the Father revealed 
to him as his plan and work.  He was constantly cooperating with the Father 
and his direction as given to him by the Holy Spirit.  I do not think it 
means in any way that the Father had already done these things in a previous 
existence.

DaveH wrote:
> Since Lucifer and his followers were ejected from
> Heaven, temptation does not exist there.

On the contrary, Lucifer and one-third of the angels fell into sin.  They 
were tempted in heaven.  Temptation is not geographical, but as James says, 
it comes because of the heart.  A man is tempted when he is drawn away of 
his own lust and enticed.

As a man, Jesus had this lust within his flesh and could be tempted. 
However, prior to becoming a man, he existed as the Logos and could not be 
tempted either.  As man, Jesus conquered temptation, but as God in his prior 
existence, he was removed from temptation and could not be tempted.

DaveH wrote:
> And, were our Father to encounter temptation at
> some point ...

Impossible from my perspective.  There is no shadow of darkness within him 
anywhere.  He can never be tempted.

DaveH wrote:
> ... (perhaps if he were to visit one of his prophets on
> earth as an example), ....

Not sure what you mean by this.

DAVEH:K
> ???   Are you suggesting he was not God at that point?

He was God in terms of identity, but he was not in the form of God in terms 
of the glory associated with God.  As Phil. 2 expounds for us, he did not 
consider being in the form of God something to be held onto, but he emptied 
himself and took on the form of a servant.  He was made lower than the 
angels, a man.  This is the only way in which he could experience suffering 
and temptation and illustrate for us that his nature is able to conquer all 
of this.

DAVEH:
> Hmmmmmm....That is foreign to my way of thinking.
> As I see it, Jesus was God of the OT, and becoming
> mortal did not change that at all.

As God of the OT, he never hungered, never slept, never got tired, never was 
tempted, never experienced death.  But being made a man, he now experienced 
hunger, he slept, he cried, he got tired, he was tempted, and he experienced 
death.  A lot changed with him becoming mortal.

DaveH wrote:
> To me, that Jesus was lesser than his Father, or even
> the angels does not abdicate his power.  Had he wanted
> to crush Satan beneath his toes, he had the power to do it.
> Even the devil pointed out to him, he still had the power
> and did not have to suffer.

His power was not inherent, but it was in his authority to call upon his 
heavenly Father to send forth legions of angels.  His power came through his 
anointing, which is why he is called Christ or Messiah, which means Anointed 
One.  Jesus was a man anointed with the Holy Ghost.  This is how he lived 
and ministered among us.  He did not live as God but as a man anointed by 
the Holy Ghost.

Peace be with you.
David Miller. 


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"Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know 
how you ought to answer every man."  (Colossians 4:6) http://www.InnGlory.org

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