In this message we want to see the first God-man’s living. Many of us know the term God-man, but we need to be able to give a clear portion in the New Testament where this God-man is mentioned. We may want to use John 1:14 and Matthew 1:23, but these are not the best verses. John 1:14 says that the Word became flesh. This verse implies the God-man because the Word refers to God Himself who became a man in the flesh. Matthew 1:23 says that the Lord’s name would be called Emmanuel, which means God with us. He is God and He is also God incarnated to dwell among us.

But the best verses that reveal the God-man are Romans 1:3 and 4. These verses say that our Lord Jesus Christ was out of the seed of David according to the flesh and was designated the Son of God according to the Spirit of holiness out of the resurrection of the dead. The Son of God is God Himself. Our Christ has two sources and two elements. One is the flesh. The other is the Spirit of holiness. The flesh refers to His humanity. The Spirit of holiness refers to His divinity. This is one Man with two natures—human and divine.

Without Romans 1:3-4, which was spoken by Paul, we would not have a clear view concerning Christ being the first God-man with two natures and two sources. This God-man is the prototype for mass reproduction. He is the first God-man, and we are the many God-men. Second Peter 1:4 says that we are partakers of the divine nature. John 1 tells us that in the Word, which is God, is life, and this life is the light of men shining in the darkness. Whoever would receive this shining receives the life in the Word, and authority is given to him to be a child of God.

If those who are born of God as God’s children are not gods, what are they? Are not the children and the Father of the same species? John 3:6 says, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh.” Both you and your parents are of the same species, the species of flesh. Verse 6 also says, “That which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” The two spirits are of the same species and also of the same source. We are born of God to be the many God-men, the children of God. Also, our Lord, in whom we believe and whom we worship and follow, is the first God-man.

Genesis 1 speaks of Adam as the first man, and Romans 1 speaks of Christ as the first God-man. Adam’s origin was God. The genealogy in Luke 3 says that Adam was the son of God (v. 38). Adam was the son of God because he bore the image of God and God was his origin. In Genesis 1 all things were created according to their kind, their species. But man was created according to God’s kind because he was created in God’s image and after God’s likeness (v. 26). In this sense, Adam was the son of God in image and likeness, but he had only the image of God without the life and nature of God. We are different. We are not only created by God but also born of God, so God is our real, genuine, Father, and we are His real, genuine, children. We have the authority to say that we are the children of God. We have God’s image and His life and nature. Romans 8:16 says that the Spirit and our spirit witness together that we are the children of God. This is a great thing. The children of God are the God-men. When we received the Lord Jesus and He came into our spirit, right away an authority was given to us. That authority was the divine life and with this life is the divine nature. We have the life and nature of God because we were born of God to be His children. We are God-men.

We should not forget our status as God-men. This will affect the way that we live. Our admission that we are God-men is not that thorough. If we realize that we are God-men and we mean it, right away we uplift our status. Can a God-man fight with a salesgirl in a department store? In 1968 I was naturalized to be an American citizen, and I began to travel with an American passport. Then I had to behave myself as an American. I had to honor my status. It is the same with our status as God-men. We have sold our status as God-men too cheaply. We need to be brought to a higher level, the level of living the life of a God-man. Most Christians have sold their status as Christians because they live as worldly people. We should be another class of Christians. We are today’s God-men because we have been born of God. He is our divine Father, and we are His divine sons. With this realization we could not behave so lightly or speak that freely. Dear saints, whatever our profession is, whether we are teachers or doctors, we should not forget that our status is that of a God-man. A God-man needs to have a God-man living.

The God-man living has a prototype, which should be our example. The first God-man’s living was from the manger to the cross. At the beginning and end of His life, there are these two signs. When I was young, I would hesitate to say whether I liked the manger and the cross. But today I feel glorious to say that I am living a life which has the manger at the beginning and the cross at the end. This is the God-man’s living. The Lord took the way of humbling Himself, becoming obedient even unto death, the death of the cross (Phil. 2:8). He chose this kind of life, starting with a manger and ending with a cross.

Peter said that since Christ has suffered in His flesh, we also should arm ourselves with the same mind (1 Pet. 4:1). We need to have a strong mind to suffer. Right after I was saved I prayed, “God, from today I want You. I don’t want anything else. My whole life will be spent preaching Your gospel. I will bear the Bible and be satisfied with drinking the water from the hills and eating the roots of the trees.” That was the start of my Christian life. I was ready to suffer for the Lord’s interests, so until today, after about seventy years, nothing of poverty or suffering has ever stumbled me. We must arm ourselves with such a mind, but this should not be out of our natural boldness. This is a following of the Lord Jesus Christ who took this narrow way of a manger and a cross.