I admit that these four conclusions which I came to in my youth are all correct; but they come short of the mark. The ultimate object of all suffering is the accomplishment of God's eternal purpose. That purpose has been revealed to us through the Scriptures, but it can only be realized in us through suffering. And its realization involves an experimental knowledge of God, not only as the living God, but also as the God of resurrection.

The experience of every saved person provides at least some evidence that God is the living God, but comparatively few of the saved realize that the God who dwells within them is the God of resurrection. If the distinction between the living God and the God of resurrection is not clear to us, many problems will arise in our experience as we seek to press on. Let me explain this distinction quite simply.

The incarnation marked a mighty crisis in the universe. Prior to the incarnation God was God and man was man. There was no human element in God, nor was there any divine element in man. The two were quite separate. But one day "the Word became flesh," and that day marked a turning point in the history of the universe. It brought one dispensation to an end and ushered in another. (Of course we are talking from our human standpoint as creatures of time, not from God's standpoint in a timeless eternity.)

With the incarnation a dispensation began in which God and man, man and God were blended into one. The Scriptures declared that the Word which became flesh would be called "Immanuel," which means, "God with man." That name does not merely signify the presence of God in the midst of a multitude of men; it signifies His entry into humanity. What took place at Bethlehem was the birth of One who possessed a dual nature. God and man were united in that one Person. Up to that time all the descendants of Adam had possessed only one nature; after that time there was One who possessed two natures, the human and the divine. He was truly man, and He was truly God. That One, Jesus of Nazareth, who was both divine and human, became a source of perplexity to many people. They asked Him: "Who art Thou?" And they asked one another: "What manner of man is this?" They recognized clearly that He was a man, yet because there was so much about Him that was divine, He was a problem to His contemporaries. "Immanuel," "God manifest in the flesh"—that is the meaning of the incarnation!

But the incarnation is only one half of the mystery. The other half is the resurrection. The incarnation is God coming into man; the resurrection is man coming into God. The incarnation brought divine content into human life; the resurrection brought human content into divine life. After the incarnation it was possible to say: There is a Man on earth in whose life there is a divine element. But not till after the resurrection was it possible to say: There is a God in heaven in whom there is a human element. That is the meaning of the resurrection!