Down to Earth But Heavenly Minded

by H. J. Vine.

“The Son is the Son of Man”

John 5:26-27

The testimony of 1 John 4:14 says, “The Father has sent the Son as Saviour of the world” (New Translation), and Jesus said, “I came not to judge the world, but to save the world” (John 12:47). Nor will the designs of sovereign grace fail. Eventually the salvation of God shall bless the whole earth, when Christ returns and reigns over all. Meanwhile, how good it is to be taught by the Holy Spirit the good pleasure of the Father and the Son as to this.

Before the public and world-wide establishment of the Lord’s glory on the earth, during the present testing time, when the testimony and saving grace is proclaimed to man, the truth manifests where souls really are, as it says, “He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which has sent Him” (John 5:23).

It was the Son who came and, being found here as a Man amongst men, He humbled Himself. To give effect to the will of God He became obedient even to a death of shame and scorn. Taking advantage of His heavenly grace and lowly demeanour, men despised the Saviour and heaped innumerable indignities upon Him. They hated Him, they smote Him, they spat upon Him, they rejected His divine mission. Judging Him to be worthy of death, they crucified the Holy One with the sinful and lawless. Contempt, dishonour, sorrow, grief and cruelty were His from the hands of men. Their judgment thus expressed itself.

Is it then surprising to read that the Father “has committed all judgment to the Son” (John 5:22)? How divinely suitable is this, and what divine care for the glory of the One who was so vilely treated is thus justly shown, as it says, “That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father.”

It was the Son who was here as Man. As the Son of Man He came for the blessing of man, but He was thus found within the reach of man’s cruel hatred and ill treatment, so they slew Him. The redeemed may well rejoice therefore that God has righteously exalted Him, and decreed that all shall own Him as LORD “TO THE GLORY OF GOD THE FATHER” (Philippians 2:11).

Yea, our hearts rejoice exceedingly, because of the fitting word of John 5:26-27, that the Father has given “authority to execute judgment” to “THE SON … BECAUSE HE IS THE SON OF MAN.” Divine grace and divine justice are righteously maintained in Him to the eternal glory and praise of God.

“The Son of God”

In regard to the assembly, the body of Christ, the ministry of the gifts bestowed by our ascended Head has in view its edifying, “until we all arrive at the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God” (Ephesians 4:12-13). That is the present divine objective. It should be ours also.

When we think of our Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of Man, we see in Him the representative Man, according to eternal counsel, the One who is set over all the works of God (Psalm 8), and the One who in dominion and kingdom and glory is to be served by all people, nations, and tongues (Daniel 7:11), also the One who is the glorifier of God (John 13:31), even as He is likewise the glorifier of the Father as the Son (14:13). When, however, we view the purpose of God in relation to the Son of God, the One who perfectly represents God, we see Him ultimately in eternal blessedness surrounded by those who are called His brethren, sons of God who had been foreknown of God, His elect—called, saved, justified by grace, and glorified even as He had predestinated beforehand—“conformed to the image of His Son so that HE should be the Firstborn among many brethren. The knowledge of God’s Son now! Conformity to His image in glory then!

“And is it so? we shall be like Thy Son,

Is this the grace which He for us has won?

Father of glory, thought beyond all thought,

In glory, to His own blest likeness brought.”

As the Christ, the Son of the living God, the Father first revealed Him to Peter. Paul, however, was the first to preach Him as the Son of God; while it is by the Apostle John the Spirit presents Him to us pre-eminently in this way. Upon Himself, thus revealed, Jesus made known to Peter that He, the Son of Man, would build His assembly. To the Corinthians Paul wrote, “Ye were called into the fellowship of God’s Son.” John says in regard to his Gospel, “These things are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing ye might have life in His Name”; and in regard to his first epistle, “These things have I written to you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that ye may know that ye have eternal life.” Life and love are both intimately connected with our Lord Jesus Christ thus, “in this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world that we might live through Him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

When the raising of Lazarus was in question, the Lord said it was that the Son of God might be glorified thereby,” and to Martha He said, “I am the resurrection and the life.” He raised others also from the dead, nor could He Himself be holden of death, for He rose again from among the dead after He had laid down His life for us in infinite love. This also demonstrates who He is, for who but the Son of God could bring the dead back to life and rise Himself from the grave? Upon this glorious fact the Apostle Paul bases the foundation teachings of the Gospel in Romans, as he says of the Saviour, “marked out Son of God in power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by resurrection of the dead” (1:4). God’s love is declared in the down-coming and death of His Son. Life and glory are known in the risen and ascended Son of God!

“Son of God! with joy we praise Thee,

Living now in heaven above,

All Thy wondrous work displays Thee,

Telling too that ‘God is love.’

God in Thee His thoughts unfolding

Shows the riches of His grace;

Blest our lot with joy beholding

All glory in Thy face.”

Moreover the Spirit of God’s Son has been given to the redeemed, and a capability also granted to them so that they might grow in the knowledge of the One into whose fellowship the Gospel of God’s grace has called them. Although they are not yet glorified they are sons already. They were redeemed by the Son of God that sonship might be theirs. Therefore it is written, “Because ye are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father.” Notice, it is the Spirit of God’s Son which has been given to us. The very Spirit which He has now in heaven we have here on earth, and that same Spirit gives us to address God in the same relationship in which He Himself is! Notice again, this precious gift is a matter of the heart. We are told that the Spirit of God indwells our bodies, and they are the temples of the Holy Ghost, but the Spirit of His Son is sent into our hearts, giving us the cry of relationship in divine love, and giving us power too to know Him in a deeper and fuller way.

In Luke 1:35 we read of His birth in time when it is recorded, “That holy thing which shall be born of thee (of the Virgin) shall be called the Son of God.” Thus Luke presents Him to us in all His gracious perfection, the divine Man here for God’s pleasure and the blessing of men. In John, however, He is shown to us in His own personal glory and deity, so that his first epistle thus closes, “The Son of God has come and has given us an understanding that we should know Him that is true, and we are in Him that is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.” We see Him therefore as a perfect Man, and know Him to be also truly God. As this is rightly apprehended many glorious truths are explained. Who but God could fully reveal God? and yet how else could this be perfectly done for men except by a Man? Until such an One came, we read, “No man has seen God at any time;” but when the Son of God was here, He “declared Him” (John 1:18); and, “being the effulgence of His glory and the expression of His substance,” all that God is shone out in moral perfection in Him. God is known in His Son, and the Son of the Father’s love is His very image, for the invisible God has become visible in Him (Colossians 1:15). This indeed is encouraging to those who love and rejoice in our Lord Jesus Christ.

When Satan began the temptation he said, “If thou be Son of God” (Luke 4:3), but when he was defeated and Jesus began to spoil his goods, setting free his captives, the fleeing demons owned Him as they cried out, “Thou art Christ, the Son of God” (4:41). Legion likewise with a loud voice said, “What have I to do with Thee, Jesus, Son of the most high God” (8:28). The Roman centurion too, who saw Him and heard His loud voice when He gave up His Spirit, said, “Truly this Man was Son of God.” John also said, “I saw and bare record that this is the Son of God.” Nathanael exclaimed, “Rabbi, Thou art the Son of God; Thou art the King of Israel.” Martha said unto Him, “I believe that Thou art the Christ, the Son of God.” And when the stormy waves tossed the ship in which the disciples were crossing the raging sea, and Jesus brought Peter safely into the boat after he had walked on the water, they came and worshipped Him, saying, “Of a truth Thou art the Son of God.” Not did He refuse to receive their heartfelt homage, for He truly was the Son of God.

It was the same in the case of the blind man whose eyes were opened by our Lord Jesus Christ. He had reaped the benefit of this gracious work, although he suffered the rejection of the religious leaders when he afterwards spake well of the Saviour, but when the Lord made Himself known to him as the Son of God, he worshipped Him (John 9:38). He might have previously prayed for the Lord to open his eyes, and then have thanked Him for having done it, but it was the knowledge of who He was that called forth the homage of his heart. See that drowning youth call for help! and another plunge into the deep and save the grateful man! He heartily thanks him for doing so, but who shall describe his feelings when he learns that his saviour was none less than a Prince! Just so with the soul that has been saved by our Lord Jesus Christ; his thanksgivings are sincere, but as be grows and learns the wonderful glories of His Saviour, heartfelt homage will make him a worshipper in His presence, for the Son of God in His infinite worth and love is increasingly known and appreciated for what He is in Himself.

The Son of God and Resurrection

When the centurion and his companions who were on guard while our Lord Jesus Christ was in the tomb saw the earthquake which opened the graves, and the things that took place at His death and resurrection, they feared greatly, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God” (Matthew 27:54).

It should be noticed that this was said at the time when “many bodies” of the saints arose, and came out of “the graves” after Christ’s own resurrection.

What a witness were those raised “bodies” out of “the graves” to the glory of the Son of God, and to His triumph over death. In John 11 His glory is seen in bringing Lazarus forth from “the grave” also; and in John 5 it is written, “Marvel not at this, for the hour is coming in the which all that are in “THE GRAVES” (μνημεîους) shall hear His voice, and shall come forth” (Verse 28).

The word for “grave” is indisputably the same in each of these scriptures. It unquestionably assures our hearts as to His power to raise the dead, as to His triumph over death, and as to His glory, who is the Son of God, the Resurrection and the Life. What victory! What glory! Blessed be His name for ever.

“The Lord is risen indeed:

And death has lost its prey:

And with Him all the ransomed freed

Shall reign in endless day.”

The Son of God Loved Me

Few men, if any, save the Man of Sorrows, ever drank of the cup of grief as deeply as the apostle Paul did; yet he found solace in divine love all through his earthly days. To him the cross of Christ was the unique expression of that love. “I live by faith,” he said; “the faith of the Son of God, who has loved me and given Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). He was therefore sustained and cheered on, notwithstanding the difficulties which beset his path. Moreover, he deepened in the knowledge of the triumphs of the One who personally loved him, and who loved him personally; therefore joy was continually his portion also, as he wrote, “Grieved, yet always rejoicing.” The secret of his buoyant energy lay in the known love of the Son of God in the power of the Spirit. “He loved me,” he could record, and he lived by the faith of Him.

Although the apostle John is used to give us more of the truth concerning our Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God than Paul, nevertheless the latter tells us that all the activity of the gifts, which the ascended Christ has given, is in view of our coming to the knowledge of Him thus. This is the end before the gifts—“The edifying of the body of Christ, until we all arrive at the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, at the full grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fullness of the Christ” (Ephesians 4:13).

Many things that look great to a child appear comparatively small to the full grown man. The knowledge of Him in whom the eternal God has been fully revealed; in whom He has spoken fully and finally; who is the Heir and Creator of all things; who has risen victorious over death and the grave after giving Himself in love for us; who has defeated Satan and sits on the right hand of the throne of the greatness in the heavens; the knowledge of Him in whom is life, yea, who is “the true God and eternal life;” will set many things that appear great to a babe in Christ in their true relation as comparatively small, it may be, even though important, as all things that are of God are. So the apostle adds, “That we may be no longer babes tossed to and fro.” To be able to rejoice that such an One loved me and gave Himself for me, will not only keep me from being tossed about, but give me joy and comfort in the path of God’s holy will.

And then in Him we have life. “God has given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that has the Son has life he that has not the Son of God has not life.” The first epistle of John is specially written that those who believe on the Name of the Son of God may know that they have eternal life, just as the Gospel of John is written that we might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that we might have life in His Name. In a world of death and departure from the true God, how blessed to live in the circle where life in the Son of God is known! Victory over the world is gained by those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God, notwithstanding all its allurements and violence, its lust and pride, appealing to the flesh, the eyes, and our life in the body. We cannot over-estimate the importance of being built up in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; for as we grow in grace and up to Him in all things, that which is not according to Him will be outgrown.

What an abode, too, is provided, even before we are taken to the Father’s house to dwell where the Son is for ever, “Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in Him and He in God”—who is love—and “he that dwells in love dwells in God and God in Him.” All fear is cast out by the love which is perfect—the love which was manifested in the death of the Son of God, by which we have been reconciled to Him; and we can say, “We have known and believed the love which God has to us” (1 John 4:16). As those who are provided with such an abode, each one who confesses Jesus as the Son of God may say, with a deepened sense of its marvellous grace and blessedness, “He loved me and gave Himself for me.”

The one who is thus established will not be easily drawn aside by the strifes which arise as to sectarian and party fellowship, for he will abide in that into which all the saints are called; as we read, “God is faithful, by whom ye have been called into the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:9). Men may build up select fellowships of their own, but God does not call us into them. It is the fellowship of the Son of God into which He calls us. We need none other, that is enough. Oh, that our hearts took in more of the abundance that is here; then “the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God” would prove to be infinitely blessed, and we should be stable as well as satisfied, desiring no other fellowship, but rather deepening in the reality of the fellowship of the Father and the Son; and as we walk in the light having happy and holy fellowship one with another without misgiving, for the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from every sin.

Worship also has a special place here. In the presence of such an One as He is, who has loved us so truly as to give Himself for us, we are instinctively moved by the Spirit to worship God’s beloved Son. How can the soul that says, He loved me and gave Himself for me, do otherwise? We have spoken of this personal love, and of the greatness of the One who so loved us; also of the facts of life in Him. Victory over the world and an abode in divine love; likewise of the fellowship of God’s Son into which we are called. Worship follows naturally. In the freedom and power of the Spirit we can let our hearts overflow before Him, and allow them to tell out the sense that we have of His love and glory.

When Jesus drew near to the man whose eyes He had opened, and who had just been cast out by the religious zealots at Jerusalem, He asked him, “Dost Thou believe on the Son of God? Who is He Lord—he answered—that I might believe on Him? and Jesus said to him, Thou hast both seen Him, and He it is that speaketh with thee. And he said, Lord, I believe; and he worshipped Him” What a sight! a once blind sinner, now a rejoicing believer, having sight and victory over religious opposition, found worshipping in the presence of the blessed Son of God! How fragrant and precious to Him!

The disciples were in the storm-tossed ship. Jesus drew near. “Be of good cheer,” He said, “It is I, be not afraid.” Peter answered, “Lord, if it be Thou command me to come to Thee on the waters.” And He said, “Come.” Peter walked on the waters to go to Jesus. That was victory, truly!—victory over the elements that would have engulfed him! It is not surprising that directly he looked at the boisterous storm, and got his eye off the Lord, he began to sink, needing to be saved by that ever-ready hand, and taken into the ship. When they were there the storm ceased, and those that were in the ship came and worshipped Him, saying, “Truly Thou art the Son of God.” How precious in the sight of heaven! What a delight to the Father to see His Son, the darling of His heart, thus honoured!

The cast-out and the storm-tossed were brought to own and worship the Son of God. Better to have Him, the Centre of all God’s thoughts and counsels, than the best religious fellowships of man, than the most stable and respectable of his organizations. May we all prove this plenteously till we surround Him in glory, fully conformed to His image, and behold His everlasting loveliness, the Firstborn among many brethren, according to God’s purpose.

The Son of the Father

“My Father!” From the lips of our Lord Jesus Christ those two precious words often fell. Their full meaning we may not yet have grasped, but the Spirit is here to lead us into all truth. It is plainly evident that Jesus must have been speaking as a Man when He said, “MY Father is greater than I” This therefore explains to us how He stood in relation to His Father as “the Son of the Father,” for when He spake of Himself as the Son, one with the Father, He did not then say “My Father,” but speaking as God the Son He told those who listened to His words, “I and THE Father are one” (New Translation). There is therefore no contradiction between John 14:28 and 10:30, but each Scripture glows with divine beauty, one revealing Him to us as Man and the other as God, the first in His obedient place as the Son of the Father, the second in His equality as the Son with the Father.

Often in the epistles we read of “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,” and the Lord said when on earth, “My Father is greater than all.” He also spake of His Father’s glory, of His throne, and of His holy angels. When He spoke of the sheep which His Father had given to Him—those to whom He Himself gave eternal life—in His own hand and in His Father’s hand He said they were safe, yea, doubly secure for ever; but not only have we been given to the Son of the Father, for He also said, “All things have been delivered to Me by My Father.” we learn therefore something of His Father’s greatness thus made known, and of the relationship of Jesus to Him as His well-loved Son, we shall enter with greater appreciation into that burst of praise which comes from the hearts of His own at the beginning of the book of Revelation, and with elevated grace and spiritual intelligence exclaim—“Unto Him who loves us, and has washed us from our sins in His blood, and made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father: to Him be the glory and the might to the ages of ages. Amen.”

When He was going to the cross to shed His precious blood for us, and to lay down His life for the glory of God, He spake of the commandment which He had received of His Father. At all cost to Himself it should be carried out. Satan might tempt Him, the power of darkness might rise against Him, but He would not swerve from the path of obedience nor turn away back. No flaw should be found in Him, and He Himself said, “The Ruler of the world comes and in Me he has nothing” (New Translation). In devoted love to the Father He went onward, not like men who zealously espouse a cause not knowing where and how the matter will end for them, but, having received a definite commandment, He, blessed be His holy Name, obediently went on to fulfil it, knowing all that awaited Him; so He could say—“That the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father has commanded Me, thus I do. Arise, let us go hence.”

At the age of twelve He said to His earthly parents, “Wist ye not that I must be about My Father’s business.” Later, He said to the Jews who sought to slay Him, “My Father worketh hitherto and I work.” Again, to His loved disciples, “I must work the works of Him that sent Me while it is day: the night comes when no man can work.” In John 17 He spake to the Father of the work which He had given Him to do (Verse 4). All was done by Him in obedience and love. Nothing could turn Him aside. No trial, however great, could soil His faithfulness. No sorrow, however deep, could mar the perfection of His love to the Father. “I love the Father,” He said, and went forward to fulfil His commandment.

“Faithful amidst unfaithfulness,

’Mid darkness only light,

Thou did’st Thy Father’s Name confess

And in His will delight;

Unmoved by Satan’s subtle wiles

Or suffering, shame and loss,

Thy path uncheered by earthly smiles

Led only to the Cross.”

When the rough band, with officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came with lanterns and torches and weapons—led by Judas, the betrayer—to take Him, they were momentarily overcome as they felt themselves in the presence of the I AM, for when “He said to them, I AM (He), they went away backward and fell to the ground.” GOD THE SON stood there before them. When, however, He had again spoken to them, and allowed the captain to take Him, Peter with a sword smote the servant of the high priest. Then Jesus healed him, and told Peter to sheath the sword, saying, “The cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?” Nothing could divert Thee, blessed Lord! Supreme in Thy personal greatness and majesty! Wonderful in Thy grace and humility! Thou didst press onward to accomplish Thy Father’s will.

I lay down My life of Myself, He said. Man’s guilt was none the less. As far as they were concerned they killed the Lord of glory. That, however, were impossible had Jesus not permitted it. For the salvation of men and for the glory of God His death was a necessity, and He willingly laid down His life. The Father ever loved His Son: He dwelt in His bosom. When, however, that well-loved Son laid down His life at Calvary His love went out to Him in a new way. A fresh motive was provided for the Father to love Him, as Jesus said, “Therefore doth My Father love Me because I lay down My life that I might take it again. No man taketh it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of My Father” (John 10:17-18). This was the commandment which He ever kept before Him, which He fulfilled at Calvary, and which drew out the heart of the Father to Him as never before.

Knowing this, we are not surprised to learn of the earliest Visitant to His new tomb: at the earliest dawning of that new day—the resurrection day—the first day of the week—He was raised again from among the dead by “the glory of the Father”—before the disciples—before the women—the Father was there! Newness of life was then opened out for us in Christ risen, and newness of relationship unknown before was secured for the redeemed, and a new power given as a result when He sent the Spirit from on high. All is ours, for He has ascended as Man, the Son of the Father; and He could send by Mary a message to those He called “My brethren,” saying, “My Father your Father, My God your God.” Such words had never been uttered before. A new and heavenly relationship was established. A new family appeared—the heavenly royalty!

In view of this, the Lord Jesus had spoken of going away to prepare a home on high for us. He had brought the Father’s love to us here—“The Father Himself loves you,” He said; and now, in the home of that love He has prepared a place for us, so that where He Himself is, where the Son of the Father’s love is, we might be also. It is where He Himself is, our prepared place is. Where Jesus is we are to have our home along with Him, even as He said, “In My Father’s house are many abodes; were it not so I would have told you: for I go to prepare a place for you; and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto Myself that WHERE I AM THERE YE MAY BE ALSO” (John 14:2-3). What marvellous grace and love! The beloved Son of the Father who fulfilled His Father’s commandment, who drank the cup which He gave to Him, who glorified Him on the earth and completed the work given to Him by the Father to do, who was raised from among the dead by His glory, who has gone on high to prepare a place for us in His Father’s house, what marvellous grace and love, again we say, that He Himself is coming again for us, to receive us to Himself, that we might dwell with Himself in His Father’s House for ever!

“Lord Jesus we bless Thee,

Loved Son of the Father,

The fame of Thy beauty

Our anthem transcends:

Oh, come soon and take us!

We long to be with Thee,

Uniting our praises

Where song never ends.”

The Son of the Father’s Love

“The Son of the Father’s love,” by whom and for whom all things were created, is necessarily eternal. Coming into His creation, and to Israel in particular, He was “begotten” in time, to fulfil the promises made to His own people, Israel. His Name was therefore JESUS (Jehovah-Saviour), for He should “save His people from their sins.” He was “born King of the Jews.” The three direct uses of Psalm 2, as to His being “begotten” in time (Acts 13, Hebrews 1 and 5), show that Salvation, Kingship and Priesthood were in view. He was, however, personally THE SON of the Father’s love, the Creator, and could not be confined to the favoured nation only.

Psalm 2:7 speaks of Jehovah’s Son; Psalm 45:6 of God the Son (see Hebrews 1:8). With His King and Zion specially in view, Jehovah said to His Son, “Thou art My Son; I this day have begotten Thee” (2:7). And, “Unto the Son, He said, Thy throne, O GOD, is for ever and ever” (Hebrews 1:8; Psalm 45:6). The Father has put all things into the hands of the Son; and, not limited to Israel (now He is rejected), the believer on the Son has life eternal (John 3:36).

We cannot make too much of what the Holy Spirit would teach us concerning these words: “I this day have begotten Thee.” That the eternal Son of the Father should “come under law” (Galatians 4:4), being “begotten” in time of the honoured Virgin Mary, in such humble circumstances, may well arrest the lowly believer’s heart, although the finite mind falters at the stupendous miracle. That the High and Holy One who inhabits infinitude, should be “begotten,” as promised in ‘little’ Bethlehem Judah, may well explain that the Son (known only to the Father) is “meek and lowly in heart,” and encourage the believer to learn of Him—that the Creator Son should so come down to His sinful creatures truly magnifies His surpassing grace—that the Object of the Father’s eternal love, the Son, who is “the Eternal Life,” should so come near, to bring that love and life to us, may well make our souls rejoice—and that the Infinite One should so bring what is eternal to the finite ones makes us bless and praise Him.

We pause before Jehovah’s own words to His Son—“I this day have begotten Thee.” He was begotten to be Israel’s Saviour (as Acts 13:23, 33 explains). “’Thrones” had been created by the Son before that time (Colossians 1:16); Caesar Augustus (Luke 2:1) filled the principal one. Who guided the delay in his taxing “decree” till the due time for Jehovah’s “decree” arrived?—till the Virgin mother was to journey to the foretold spot?—till “that holy thing” to be called “Son of God” should be born of her there? and Jehovah’s word to His Son was fulfilled, “I this day have begotten Thee”? He shall be called “Son of the Highest” the angel had said to Mary (Luke 1:3), and “the Lord God shall give Him the throne of His father David.” The Son had made that throne as well as the others. He has the right to it by creation, redemption, recovery, and reconciliation also, and by Jehovah Elohim’s gift. Behold the wondrous sight! “The Son” to whom it is said, “Thy throne, O God, is to the age of the age” (Hebrews 1:8, New Translation), now come right down to be born in a stable, to be cradled in a manger! “No room” in the world’s inn for the Creator of the universe! From the throne of universal greatness and majesty, He stoops in infinite love to a stable manger-cradle!—Jehovah’s “begotten,” He is the “child born,” the “Son” given, foretold by Isaiah 700 years before! and His five-fold Name then given is, “Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). Who but the eternal Son could bear such a Name? Who else be Saviour, King and Priest? Zechariah cried, “He shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon His throne, and He shall be a Priest upon His throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both” (chap. 6:13). Glory, glory to the “begotten” One of Jehovah, who will fill the “throne of His father David” for the thousand year-day, when “all nations shall call Him blessed.”

But of the Pharisees, the Lord Jesus demanded, “What think ye concerning the Christ? Whose Son is He?” If David’s, how came it that David called Him Lord? The proud questioners were finally silenced, but the common people were glad! Had He not in parable just spoken of being sent from another “country” (geographically, as one has said) to the vineyard of Israel; for the Owner “having therefore one beloved Son” sent “Him to them the last” (Mark 12:6)—God’s final resource, and best of all!—the “beloved Son,” who would bring out sinful man’s worst, but eventually bring in God’s best! “Whose Son is He?” was the Lord’s silencing question! The questions asked in Proverbs 30:4—“Who has ascended up into the heavens, and descended?” Who has established all the ends of the earth? “What is His Name, and what is His Son’s Name, if thou knowest?”—are answered by that Son; who said, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30, New Translation); and by the Spirit in Ephesians 4, “He that descended is the same also that ascended.”

That same glorious Person is “above all” we are told and is “before all,” but He has given ministry,—before He shines forth publicly as pre-eminent “over all,”—“until we all arrive at the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God” (Ephesians 4:13). Those who seek to honour the Son may therefore take courage, for adverse blasts will be overruled by Him, deepening the heart’s desire to know Him better. The eternal Son is fully comprehended by the Father alone. Who else but the Infinite could comprehend the Infinite, but we are to “arrive at the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God” How blessedly encouraging!

He is the Son, the Son of God, “called Son of God” as “begotten” in Bethlehem. He is “the Son of the Father” (2 John 3, John 17), the Son of the Father’s love (Colossians 1:13). He is the Son of Man, “the Son of David, the Son of Abraham” (Matthew 1:1). His own closing question was, “Whose Son is He?” By strict law, He was the Son of Joseph (in David’s royal line), “begotten” by God of the Virgin Mary (also in David’s line), He was the Son of Mary—“her firstborn Son” (Luke 2:7), “called Son of the Highest” (1:32), “called Son of God” (1:35). Taken to Egypt and brought back to Nazareth, Jehovah’s Son is called out of Egypt as He had said (Matthew 2:15), and He was “called a Nazarean,” as foretold (2:23, Isaiah 11:1), not a Nazarene here. But, “Wonderful” is part of the fivefold Name of the “Son” given, and He has said from heaven to the assemblies, “I am the Root and Offspring of David. The proud may be silent, the lowly be glad, when He asks, “Whose Son is He?” but the true worshippers may well adore the Son of the Father’s love, by whom and for whom all things were created, and exult deeply that the Father fully knows the Son, in whom He finds His delight.

That such an One as He should in wondrous love come down so near to us might well intensify our longing to learn of Him. That such a voice uttered by the Father from the excellent glory should bid us “hear Him” might well cause us to do so. That the Holy Spirit the Comforter, is sent by the Son, and glorifies the Son (John 16:14) might well cause praise to fill our hearts and our lips, making us glad to heed Him restfully, and drink in His “words of eternal life.” The eternal Son has given to us eternal life, and feeds us with the “words of eternal life”, for He Himself is “the eternal life which was with the Father, and has been manifested” (1 John 1:2). Yea, blessed be God. 1 John 5:20 tells us of “His Son Jesus Christ, He is the true God and eternal life.” “Oh! come, let us adore Him.”

“God manifest, God seen and heard,

The heaven’s beloved one.”

The beloved apostle tells us of the harsh ecclesiastic who loved to have the pre-eminence. Diotrephes refused the last of the apostles, and cast out of the assembly those who received the brethren (3 John 10). “Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. He that does good is of God. He that does evil has not seen God”—Mark,—“SEEN GOD”—How “SEEN GOD”?—In the Son come down close to us in unfathomable love!—In the eternal Son—In “the Son of the Father’s love,” named, “The Image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15)—The invisible God visible in the Son—the Revealer of the Revealed. So He said, “I and the Father are one” and “he that has seen Me has seen the Father.” “He that does evil has not seen God.” The Lord said, “This is the will of My Father, that everyone who sees the Son, and believes on Him, should have life eternal” (John 6:40).

This ends our reading for this session. Until next time, have a great day, and God bless.