Next in the ingredients of the compound Spirit we have man, the creature of God. This, of course, refers to the humanity of Jesus, or to the Man Jesus. When some hear that man, the creature of God, is an ingredient of the compound Spirit as typified by the compounded ointment, they may say, “There is nothing said here about man. How can you say that man as the creature of God is an ingredient in the compounded ointment?” This answer is that man is typified by the four spices of the plant life (Exo. 30:23-24).
The number four in the Bible signifies God’s creation. A strong proof of this is the four living creatures in Ezekiel and Revelation. In Revelation 4 John explicitly mentions four living creatures. Which of these living creatures is the leading one? The leading one among the four living creatures has the face of a man. This indicates that man is the leading one of God’s creation, a fact that corresponds to Genesis 1. Although God created man last, God made him to be the head over creation. God gave man the dominion to rule all His creatures. In Exodus 30 man is signified by the four spices.
Let us now consider two verses in the New Testament related to the humanity of Christ. John 19:5 gives a word uttered by Pilate shortly before the Lord was crucified: “Then Jesus came out, wearing the thorny crown and the purple garment. And he said to them, Behold, the man!” First Timothy 2:5 says, “For there is one God and one Mediator of God and men, the Man, Christ Jesus.” This word was written by Paul after the Lord’s ascension. Paul’s statement reveals that even after His crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension, the Lord Jesus is still a man.
However, many Christians have the concept that Christ was a man only from the time of His incarnation until the time of His burial. Then, according to their understanding, after His resurrection He was no longer a man. Perhaps you held this concept before you came into the Lord’s recovery. Others may never have given this matter serious thought. They may have been satisfied to believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Savior, and the Redeemer, and that, since His resurrection, He is now in the heavens.
Once a brother, a seminary graduate, told me how surprised he was when he first sang the following words from a hymn on the exaltation of Christ (Hymns, #132):
Lo! in heaven Jesus sitting,
Christ the Lord is there enthroned;
As the man by God exalted,
With God’s glory He is crowned.
He hath put on human nature,
Died according to God’s plan,
Resurrected with a body,
And ascended as a man.
Lo! a man is now in heaven
As the Lord of all enthroned;
This is Jesus Christ our Savior,
With God’s glory ever crowned!
The brother told me that he was greatly surprised by what this hymn says concerning the fact that the Lord is still a man even after His ascension. He said, “I graduated from a leading seminary, but I never heard that the Lord Jesus on the throne is still a man and that He still has the human nature.”
We should be very clear regarding the truth that Jesus Christ is still a man. He still has His human nature. It is a very serious matter not to believe this. Therefore, we all must realize that Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, is today both God and man. He was a man from the time of His incarnation until His crucifixion. This was the reason Pilate declared, “Behold, the man!” But even after His resurrection and ascension, the Lord is still a man. For this reason, Paul tells us in 1 Timothy 2:5 that there is one Mediator between God and men, the Man, Christ Jesus.
The unique God, the Triune God, and the Man, Christ Jesus, are all elements of the compound Spirit. We shall consider the other ingredients in the next message.