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THE KING’S BUSINESS
c a rn a tio n th e W o rd b ecom es Jesus, ou r L o rd , a n d from this p o in t on J o h n sp eak s o f H im as “Jesus, o r “Jesu s C h rist,” o r “C h rist,” o r “ L o rd .” W e a re n o t to ld how th e W o rd b e c am e flesh. It is futile to philo soph ize ab o u t' it. G o d has g ra ciously rev e a led th e fact, th e p h il o sophy of th e fa c t is H is m a tte r, n o t ours (D e u t 2 9 :2 9 ) . T h e co n ten ts of w h a t G o d has h ere rev e a led m ay b e summ ed up in th e follow ing sta tem en ts: a. O u r L o rd ’s hum an ity w as real, n o t m erely ap p a ren t. b. O u r L o rd ’s h um an ity w as com p lete, n o t m e re ly p a rtia l. c. O u r L o rd ’s hum an ity w as p e r m an en t, n o t m erely fo r a few years. H e d id n o t m erely c lo th e H im self w ith a hum an a p p e a ra n c e fo r a tim e (a s in th e th eo p h an ie s o f th e O ld T e s tam e n t), b u t be c am e M an fo r all tim e a n d etern ity . T h e re is a M an now in th e g lory (A c ts 7 :5 6 ) . d. O u r L o rd ’s hum an ity w as un i versal. H e b e c am e flesh, w ithou t Jew ish o r G en tile peculiarity. H e b e c am e n o t m erely a M an, b u t b e cam e th a t which b elong s to th e es sence o f all m en “w ith o u t re g a rd to sex o r race o r tim e .” H e be c am e flesh a n d n o t a man. e. O u r L o rd ’s hum an ity a n d D i v ine n a tu re rem a in ed a s th ey w ere w ith o u t change. T h e W o rd d id no t cease to b e the Word; th e flesh d id n o t cease to b e flesh. E ach remained, w ithou t change— Word an d flesh existed side b y side. O n ly b y b e a r ing th is in m ind c an w e explain th e a p p a re n t co n trad ic tio n s in our L o rd ’s life h e re on earth. f. O u r L o rd ’s hum an a n d D ivine n a tu re s w e re u n ited in one person. T h e W o rd b e c am e flesh. T h e re w ere n o t tw o personalities, one a h um an p e rson a lity a n d one a D ivine personality, existing side b y side. T h e re w as one D iv ine-hum an p e r son.
a n d Jo h n b y his sta tem en t, w ou ld fo rev e r an n ih ilate this grievous e r ror. But w hile J o h n em phasizes th e reality o f ou r L o rd ’s b o d y , h e does n o t fo r a m om en t im p ly th a t our L o rd d id n o t h a v e a real hum an soul. T h e e rro r of th e A po llinarian s w ho h e ld th a t ou r L o rd h a d n o t a h um an soul, is n o t a t all h e re in v iew ; b u t on ly th e e rro r o f tho se w ho d en ied th e reality o f H is body . T h a t our L o rd h a d a h um an soul as well as b o d y is a b u n d a n tly ta u g h t in M a tth ew 2 6 :3 8 an d o th e r places. T h e A p o stle ’s w o rd s set fo rth in th e clearest m a n n e r th e fa c t th a t while ou r L o rd ’s p e rson a lity was Divine, a t th e sam e tim e H is hum an ity was re a l a n d com plete. H e d id n o t m erely assume flesh; H e “became flesh.” H e d id n o t m erely clo the H im self w ith a h um an b o d y , H e b e cam e flesh. T h e e te rn a l W o rd , v e ry G o d of v e ry G od , b e c am e in every resp ect a real Man. H e p a rto o k of hum an n a tu re th a t w e m igh t b ecom e p a rta k e rs of th e D ivine n a tu re (2 P e te r 1:4). “He, though He was rich, yet for your sakes became poor, that ye through His poverty might become rich” (2 C o rin th ian s 8 :9 ) . T h e re is no m o re m arvelou s o r stu p en d o u s sta tem e n t to b e found in all lite ra tu re th a n these w o rd s of Jo h n , “T h e W o rd b e c am e flesh.” W e m ay m e d ita te u p o n th e se w o rd s all ou r life b u t w e shall n ev e r fully fa th om them . J o h n now here re co rd s th e fact o f th e m iraculous co n cep tio n of ou r L o rd , now here even refers to it in so m any w ords, b u t it is necessarily im plied in th e w o rd s used here. In his Epistle J o h n m ak es th e d o c trin e h ere ta u g h t th e te st of every spirit a n d every te a c h er. A n y spirit, o r an y teacher, w ho d o e s n o t confess “Je su s C hrist come in the flesh” is n o t o f G od , b u t “ of th e an ti-C h rist." (1 J o h n 4 :2 , 3 .) F rom th is p o in t o n Jo h n n ev e r uses th e te rm “T h e W o rd ” ; b y H is in
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