As the Son of Man, Christ has all the virtues of humanity (Psa. 45:2a). The Lord Jesus possesses both the divine nature with its divine attributes and the human nature with its human virtues. In Him we see all the attributes of God and all the human virtues, for His constitution is a composition of the divine nature with its divine attributes and the human nature with its human virtues. Moreover, in Christ the divine attributes strengthen and enrich the human virtues. With Him the divine attributes fill the human virtues, and the human virtues contain the divine attributes. The divine attribute is the inward reality, and the human virtue is the outward appearance. Therefore, the virtues of the man Jesus are filled, mingled, and saturated with the attributes of God.
As the Son of Man, Christ expressed in His humanity the bountiful God in His rich attributes through His aromatic virtues. God is bountiful in His rich and many attributes, such as love, light, holiness, and righteousness. God’s attributes were lived out of the man Jesus, and all of God’s attributes became the virtues of the man Jesus. No one can deny that the human virtues of Christ were aromatic; even when non-Christians read the four Gospels, they sense that the Jesus recorded in these books was a sweet and fragrant One whose virtues were aromatic. Through His aromatic human virtues, Christ attracted and captivated people. For instance, the record in Matthew 4 shows us that when the Lord Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, He saw Peter, John, and James, who were either fishing or mending nets with their father. Then He called them, saying, “Come after Me.” Immediately they followed Him, giving up their net mending, abandoning their boat, and forsaking their father (vv. 18-22). This indicates that the Lord must have displayed an aromatic power in His countenance and His voice which could really attract and captivate people and that the Lord Jesus must have had an indescribable sweetness and aroma emanating from Him in His humanity. This is why so many people throughout the centuries have been captivated by Christ and love Him. Such a Christ now lives in us, and we need to experience and enjoy Him as the Son of Man with all the virtues of humanity.
Matthew 4:16 indicates that we may experience and enjoy Christ as the great light springing up to those sitting in the region and shadow of death and shining over the people sitting in darkness. This verse says, “The people sitting in darkness have seen a great light; and to those sitting in the region and shadow of death, to them light has risen.” This light is actually Christ Himself as the light of life (John 8:12) shining in the shadow of death. In Matthew 4:16 the Lord Jesus made no display of power or authority. Rather, He walked on the seashore as a common person. But when He contacted people by the Sea of Galilee, He shined upon them like a great light shining in the darkness and in the region and shadow of death.
Wherever Christ comes, light comes also. As a great light, He springs up to those who are sitting in the region and shadow of death. This region is not only a region but also a shadow. The entire region is a shadow of death. Before we were saved, we all were in that region, a region full of the shadow of death.
Those who sit in the region and shadow of death also sit in darkness. The shadow of death is darkness, the darkness of Satan. To those sitting in such a darkness, Christ comes not only as light but as the great light.
Many of us can testify of having experienced Christ as the great light shining upon us and within us. When we called on the name of the Lord Jesus, receiving Him into us, the divine light came into our being. Immediately we had the sense of something shining within. This kind of shining is the shining of Christ as light. The shining of Christ as light within us is a strong confirmation that we have been born of God to be His children.
Home | First | Prev | Next