The books of history in the Old Testament contain many stories. On the one hand, these stories are helpful. On the other hand, we may be distracted by these stories from the unique goal in the Bible. The one goal in the Bible has been neglected by Christians for centuries, but in His recovery the Lord has shown us this goal in a very clear way.
In this concluding word on 2 Samuel 7:12-14a, I have the burden to consider some striking matters covered in or implied by these verses. These matters are all related to the significance of the seed of David being designated the Son of God.
In verse 12 God speaks of David's seed, and in verse 14a He says, "I will be his Father, and he will be My son." Here we have something of very great significance—the seed of David becoming the Son of God. These verses clearly unveil that a seed of man, that is, a son of a man, can become the Son of God. This implies that God's intention is to make Himself man in order to make man God in life and in nature but not in the Godhead. Such an implication is exceedingly great. Eventually, the whole Bible consummates with this matter. The New Jerusalem, the ultimate consummation of the Bible, involves God becoming man and man becoming God in life and in nature but not in the Godhead, and God and man being mingled together to be one entity.
If we read the Bible without paying attention to this crucial point, then, in a very real sense, the Bible is to us an empty book. This means that although the Bible is real in itself, in our understanding of it the Bible is empty. As an illustration, let us suppose that a certain box, which is quite attractive, contains a large diamond. A child may be interested in the box but not in the diamond. An adult, however, would focus his attention on the diamond contained in the box. Today, many Christians care for the Bible as the "box," but they have not seen and do not appreciate the "diamond" which is the content of this box, and they may even condemn those who have a proper appreciation of the "diamond" in the "box." The "diamond" in the "box" of the Bible is the revelation that in Christ God has become man in order that man might become God in life and in nature but not in the Godhead.
The vast majority of today's Christians neglect the crucial point in the Bible that in Christ God has become man in order to make man God in life and in nature but not in the Godhead and that God desires to mingle Himself with man to be one entity. Some not only neglect this; they falsely accuse as heretical those who teach it. Today many believe one aspect of this crucial point—that God became a man named Jesus—but they do not believe the other aspect—that man is becoming God in life and in nature but not in the Godhead.