Subject Two Hundred Sixty-one

GOD COMING AMONG MAN

Scripture: John 1:14; 2 Tim. 3:16

1. Two reasons why God came to man
   1. He came that man may approach Him.
   2. He came that man may understand Him. In order to do these two things, God had to become a man. (Relate the story in The Normal Christian Faith, pp. 51-53.)
2. God coming among man
   Throughout these six thousand years, only one person has ever been God among us. From Adam to Moses, there is only one person—Jesus of Nazareth, who claimed to be God. If He is God, He must have the following qualifications:
   1. He must have told us that he was God.
   2. He must be superior in words and deeds.
   3. He must have supernatural power.
   4. He must have the words of his prophecies fulfilled.
   Only the Lord Jesus satisfies the above four requirements. Hence, the Lord Jesus is God coming to man as a man.

Subject Two Hundred Sixty-two

MAN IS SINFUL

Scripture: Rom. 3:23; 7:18
God, coming among man to have contact with him, would naturally encounter much difficulty on man’s side. This is because the nature of man is corrupted and the behavior of man is sinful. He, being a holy God, has to solve these two problems before He can fellowship with man.

Subject Two Hundred Sixty-three

THE WAY OF GOD’S SALVATION

Scripture: Rom. 3:24; 1 Pet. 1:4
Since the righteous God wants to fellowship with man, and since man is sinful and corrupted, He needed to find a way to solve the problem of both man’s sinful acts and man’s sinful nature. In order to solve this problem, He shed His blood for man that man might be redeemed from sin. He also gave His very life to man that man might be free from his sinful nature. So, His way of salvation needed to be one that, on the negative side, redeemed man from sin, and on the positive side, imparted life to man. The salvation mentioned in the Bible is indeed of this nature.

Subject Two Hundred Sixty-four

GOD WANTS MAN TO RECEIVE
HIS WAY OF SALVATION

Scripture: Mark 1:15; Acts 2:38; 16:31; Rom. 10:9-10
God has completed the work of salvation. Surely He wants man to receive this, since all that He has done is for man. The way to receive this salvation is by repentance and believing.

Subject Two Hundred Sixty-five

SAVED BY BELIEVING

Scripture: Mark 16:16; Acts 16:31; Rom. 10:10
God’s salvation is, on the one hand, real, and on the other hand, it is already accomplished. When man receives it, he will be immediately saved.

Subject Two Hundred Sixty-six

SALVATION RESULTS IN CHANGE

Scripture: Luke 19:8-9
Use examples to prove this both from the Bible and from what you have seen and experienced. One good example is the case of Zaccheus.