THE TRUTHS OF CHRIST IN A DIALOGUE

Article 3

Ignorance

This King is God and also truly man . . . how can I understand this? Are there then two persons in Him, or is the Godhead changed into humanity?

Letterwise

Neither of these. He is only one person, but in His person are two natures, the divine and the human, which make Him the God-man, Whose name is Wonderful. And therefore the Godhead is not changed, because with God there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning, James 1:17. The Person of the Son of God has assumed the human nature in the unity of person. It is no wonder that we cannot clearly understand this; it is the mystery of godliness, which is great, (1 Tim. 3:16). But for further enlightenment in this blessed truth I must yet say this:

The Son of God —

1. Is God from eternity.

2. He remains God, as He has been from eternity.

3. He assumed the human nature from the virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Ghost.

4. And this, in unity of person. In a certain sense, as our soul can exist without the body, and after death will exist, and then will again assume the body, and in unity with it will make one person; because the personality docs not consist in unity with something else. If the human nature of the Lord Jesus had been only one moment without this union with the Godhead, then He would have been a mere person, as we; but with the human nature in union with the Godhead, He is no mere person, but the Mediator is the God-man.

5. And through this union, that which is intimate to one nature, to the other also, is ascribed even to the whole Person, Acts 20:28: God hath purchased His Church with His own blood.

6. Notwithstanding this, each nature has kept its own attributes, without being intermixed so as to become one nature. The divine nature has kept the divine, and the human nature the human attributes; just as our soul and body, though united with each other, both keep their peculiar attributes.

7. We must then be very careful, when we find divine attributes ascribed unto this great King in the Word of God, such as Omniprescence, Matt. 18:20, that we understand this of His divine nature; and if human attributes are ascribed to Him, as when we read that He did not know the day of Judgement, Mark 13:32, we should understand this of His human nature.

Concerned

If I could now believe and directly apply to my soul that the Lord Jesus was my King, I am sure I should experience the following:

1. The great weightiness of the salvation of my soul, for which the Son of God had to become man.

2. My unworthiness, to be a subject of such matchless love; as well of the Father as of the Son, so clearly shown in this incarnation of Christ Jesus.

3. The depth of my misery, for which the Son of God had to humiliate Himself, to take upon Him the form of a servant, Phil. 2:7.

4. The amiableness of this King, being such a suitable Lord unto redemption, by which He is altogether lovely, Song of Solomon 5:16.

5. The divinity of the redemption, in which are shown so many wonders of the inexpressible incarnation of the Son of God.

6. The glorification of God’s truth, wisdom, al-mightiness, righteousness, holiness, riches of grace and faithfulness, which are therein so wonderfully manisfested.

7. And this, not only by contemplation, confession or assent, but with a deep feeling, a hearty surrendering of self, holy admiration, a humble melting away, an actual exercise of faith, cleaving to Him in a holy flame of love, Who is so worthy of it: the One among a thousand, Job 33:23; that wonder-Son, Isa. 9; the Immanuel, God with us, Isa. 7; that Son and Lord of David, Matt. 22; Whom all the angels of God worship, Hebr. 1; of Whom we read in Phil. 2:10 and 11: “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.” But how little is there to be found of all this in my heart and life, and how insensibly and heartlessly I go forth under this all! Oh, how shall this ever change? May the gracious Lord Jesus show unto me, an unworthy sinner, His great mercy and tender compassion, that I might experience with my whole heart the fulness of this precious Person in the powerful exercises of faith, hope, and love, and find rest in Him for my soull

But we have heard that He is God, and that He had to be God to accomplish that great work of salvation; and now, having heard that He was truly a Man, we should also consider why He had to be a Man.

Letterwise

It was necessary that this adorable King also be a true Man, for:

1. Otherwise He could not have delivered Himself unto death for His subjects, who were bound under the sentence of a threefold death, and had to be delivered thereof. He had to pour out His soul into death, Isa. 53:12, to deliver His dear people from guilt and punishment.

2. He had to be under the law of love towards God and His neighbor, to obey this law perfectly, and in such a way to obtain a right unto eternal life for His subjects, and bring in an everlasting righteousness, Dan. 9:24. The Redeemer had to have a neighbor, and thus be man, Hebr. 2:17: “Wherefore in all things it behooved Him to be made like unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.”

3. It is a consequence of the righteousness of God that He, who shall deliver men and bear their punishment, also shall be man; because human creatures have sinned and are worthy of punishment, and therefore sin had to be condemned in the flesh, Rom. 8:3.

4. This also was agreeable with the truth of God. We know that he had threatened the trespassing man with punishment; and therefore He, Who would bear this punishment in his stead, also had to be a man, (Gen. 3), and really a man out of the human creatures, who were worthy of punishment.

And now, to accomplish this work He had to be a Man, but a Man without sin, for:

1. If He had been a sinner himself, then he likewise would have had to be delivered and could not deliver others.

2. He then would have been unclean and loathsome himself in the eyes of God, Who then could have had no delight in him, for He hates all workers of iniquity.

3. He would then himself lie under the sentence of eternal punishment, and could not possibly save others from it.

4. And if He were guilty himself, he could not give satisfaction for others and pay their debts.

5. If He had been a sinner himself, he could not draw near to God for others and intercede for them, nor bring the sinner to God, 1 Peter 3:18.

6. It was necessary for Him to be without sin, as is clear from the following passage, Hebr. 7:26-28: “For such a high priest became us. Who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sin, and then for the people’: for this He did once, when He offered up Himself.”

Now also consider that He had to be God and Man in one person, because:

1. The Godhead could not suffer.

2. Nor could the human nature bear the wrath of God.

3. It was then necessary that the Godhead supported the human nature, that He be mighty to deliver, Isa. 63:1.

4. The human nature could not give an infinite value to the suffering; the Godhead had to do this.

5. The human nature must not be worshipped or adored; but the God-man must be worshipped, because He is God.

6. The human nature is not omniscient nor omnipresent, and therefore could not rule over the kingdom; but the God-man is omniscient and everywhere present because He is God, and therefore mighty to help, etc. Thus His name is Wonderful, Isa. 9:6.

Strong Christian

Those are precious truths. But while the kingdom of God is not in word but in power, it is then necessary that all such truths shall be experienced, as our friend, Concerned, mentioned a few moments ago. He, then, who will be a subject of this kingdom, must experience:

1. That he lies under the sentence of death and that the righteousness of God would punish him forever. Such a painful feeling will make him exclaim, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” Rom. 7:24. And that he therefore needs such a Redeemer, Who in his place should bear all death and all punishment due to sin and guilt, Who consequently had to be Man.

2. That he lies under the obligation of the law to love God and his neighbor, that he may receive a right unto life, because the law says, “Which if a man do, he shall live,” Lev. 18:5; but that he now as a sinner hates God and his neighbor, and can therefore not be justified by the works of the law, Rom. 3:20; that consequently the Redeemer had to be under the law, Gal. 4, to fulfill it and thereby obtain a right unto life for him, Dan. 9, and thus had to be a Man.

3. That the righteousness and truth of God stand as mountains in his way to ever be saved, unless the Redeemer take them away. And therefore He had to be a Man, because the righteousness requires punishment for the guilt of the man, which the truth of God requires to come upon him, because this punishment for guilt has been threatened to the trespasser of God’s law. And he knows by experience that he is the transgressor, Luke 18:13.

4. He experiences that his misery is so great that no one who himself is in misery can deliver him out of this horrible pit; and that he who is worthy of punishment himself can not give satisfaction for his punishment. He is convinced that the Redeemer to deliver him must be a righteous Man, being able to intercede for him by God, and say, “Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom,” Job 33:24.

5. He experiences in all this that the depth of his misery is so terrible he cannot turn to a mere creature to be saved. He knows that the Redeemer must be mighty, and therefore a God-man, because no one else can accomplish this deliverance; and he also observes that this deliverance is revealed in the Word of God and is offered unto him, Matt. 11:28: “Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

6. He experiences therefore that this is such a suitable means unto deliverance, as well with respect to God’s attributes and perfections as to the punishment due to his sin and guilt. When his eyes are opened for this, he is filled with wonder and amazement. He sees the adorableness of God’s holy and wise ways, wherein sinners can be saved, also himself, to the honor and glory of a triune God. We read in Isa. 5:16, “But the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness.” And in every respect Jesus becomes more amiable and precious unto him, 1 Peter 2:7.

7. He therefore wants to make use of such a Jesus, and to accept Him as his Redeemer by an actual and true faith, John 1:12. He tries, with an eye upon the Lord, to excite his love to cleave to Him, Song of Solomon 8:6, and desires to rest in Him only, where his soul can alone be safe, Ps. 68:20. He tries to excite his joy, that with an enlarged heart he may glorify God and the great wonders of salvation, Luke 1.

The unconverted sinner can behold all these things in the blessed truths, and they will appear unto him more or less agreeable as truths; but he that has truly been converted unto the living God learns to know them in an entirely different way: he knows them by soul experience, and is and seeks to be active with them unto his eternal welfare.

(To be continued)

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