Time for an analogy?
Let's test some material; we can call it "material X".
Mount the material into the testing apparatus, apply test, try to determine failure point. WOW -- this stuff is godly! Nothing we can do to it can cause it to fail.
Okay, now let's construct a thought experiment.
Even though material X didn't fail, could we say that it was caused to feel stress? Was it "tested"? Yep, our guys in the testing lab assure us it was. But was it tested sufficiently? Let's send it back for more testing, shall we?
Okay, now that our material "X" has been completely tested by the guys who know how to test stuff - and even though it has not failed, it has proven itself, that it can endure all the testing we can throw at it.
It knows what it's like to be tested.
We can say that this material is sympathetic to the testing process.
Now, can we take the elements that give it the ability to withstand tests and apply them to other materials? Can we transfer the qualities and properties found in our material to other similar (but not identical) materials?
Well, maybe we can - and maybe we can't. That's beside the point because an analogy lines up in some ways, but not in every way. We are told that we are to have the mind of Christ, and that we are given the very same Spirit, further, we are told that when we follow the Spirit, we shall in no wise fulfill the lusts of the flesh. [Gal 5:14-26], [Rom 13:14]
So we have before us a way to follow so that we too can inherit eternal life.
Does it matter if Jesus (the tested material) was proven true? You bet it does. Does it matter if he is sympathetic to the testing process and that he has been tested in every way, like as we? It does, because our "material X" that has been tested is a man, who is also serving a function as our High Priest, making intercession for us.
Was it possible for Jesus to fail? Doesn't matter (except for those who enjoy thought experiments that don't reflect reality) because the reality is that Jesus (the man) was tested and there was no sin. So no matter what we think, the reality is that there is no sin in the Son of God. Never was, never will be. Death could not hold Him. Jesus is the Eternal King. If somebody wants to come and argue that the implication of testing something includes the possibility of failure (as a philosophical thesis) -- okay, no problem, as long as we allow for the reality that no failure was found. Tested true does not mean anything less than tested and found true and in the case of our Lord, Jesus - He was found true and pronounced that way by God before [and after] He was tested.
Let's test some material; we can call it "material X".
Mount the material into the testing apparatus, apply test, try to determine failure point. WOW -- this stuff is godly! Nothing we can do to it can cause it to fail.
Okay, now let's construct a thought experiment.
Even though material X didn't fail, could we say that it was caused to feel stress? Was it "tested"? Yep, our guys in the testing lab assure us it was. But was it tested sufficiently? Let's send it back for more testing, shall we?
Okay, now that our material "X" has been completely tested by the guys who know how to test stuff - and even though it has not failed, it has proven itself, that it can endure all the testing we can throw at it.
It knows what it's like to be tested.
We can say that this material is sympathetic to the testing process.
Now, can we take the elements that give it the ability to withstand tests and apply them to other materials? Can we transfer the qualities and properties found in our material to other similar (but not identical) materials?
Well, maybe we can - and maybe we can't. That's beside the point because an analogy lines up in some ways, but not in every way. We are told that we are to have the mind of Christ, and that we are given the very same Spirit, further, we are told that when we follow the Spirit, we shall in no wise fulfill the lusts of the flesh. [Gal 5:14-26], [Rom 13:14]
So we have before us a way to follow so that we too can inherit eternal life.
Does it matter if Jesus (the tested material) was proven true? You bet it does. Does it matter if he is sympathetic to the testing process and that he has been tested in every way, like as we? It does, because our "material X" that has been tested is a man, who is also serving a function as our High Priest, making intercession for us.
Was it possible for Jesus to fail? Doesn't matter (except for those who enjoy thought experiments that don't reflect reality) because the reality is that Jesus (the man) was tested and there was no sin. So no matter what we think, the reality is that there is no sin in the Son of God. Never was, never will be. Death could not hold Him. Jesus is the Eternal King. If somebody wants to come and argue that the implication of testing something includes the possibility of failure (as a philosophical thesis) -- okay, no problem, as long as we allow for the reality that no failure was found. Tested true does not mean anything less than tested and found true and in the case of our Lord, Jesus - He was found true and pronounced that way by God before [and after] He was tested.