In the foregoing message we pointed out that in the Christian life and in the church life we need a clear sky with a throne in it. To have a clear sky means that we have no clouds or darkness between us and the Lord, and to have the throne means that we are under the ruling of the heavens. We all need to have a life with a clear sky and the throne above the clear sky. In this message we will go on to consider the One sitting on the throne (Ezek. 1:26-27).
Verse 26b says, “Upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it.” Here we are told that the One on the throne looks like a man. This is absolutely different from the human concept and also different from the religious concept, including the concept widely held in today’s Christianity. Mainly, our concept is that the One on the throne is the mighty God. Have you ever thought that the Lord on the throne is not only the mighty God but is also a man? Oh, the One who sits on the throne is a man! However, verse 28 speaks of “the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.” The One on the throne looks like a man, yet with Him there is the appearance of the glory of the Lord.
Christians realize, of course, that the Lord Jesus was a man when He was on this earth. They recognize the fact that from the manger in Bethlehem to the time He was on the cross at Golgotha He was a man. We all have this concept. However, many believers in Christ have not considered that the Lord who is on the throne today is still a man. He is a man there. As the One on the throne, the Lord is still a man. Although He is the almighty God, on the throne He looks like a man. Therefore, Matthew 19:28 tells us that “in the restoration,” that is, in the coming kingdom age, the Son of Man will be sitting on the throne of His glory.
How precious it is that the One sitting on the throne in Ezekiel 1:26 has the appearance of a man! This verse speaks not of the almighty God but of One who has “the likeness as the appearance of a man.” There is at least a twofold significance to the fact that the One sitting on the throne here has the appearance of a man. First, there is surely a connection between Ezekiel 1:26 and Genesis 1:26, which says that God created man in His own image and according to His likeness. Second, in the incarnation God Himself became a man. Having the nature of man, He lived, died, resurrected, and ascended as a man, and now in heaven He is still the Son of Man (John 6:62; Acts 7:56).
In the Bible there is a mysterious thought concerning the relationship between God and man. God’s desire is to become the same as man is and to make man the same as He is. This means that God’s intention is to mingle Himself with man and thereby make Himself like man and make man like Him. The Lord Jesus is the God-man; He is the complete God and the perfect man. We may also say that He is the Man-God. The One whom we worship today is the Man-God. Furthermore, to be a man of God, as Moses was (Deut. 33:1; Josh. 14:6; Psa. 90, title), is to be a God-man, a man who is mingled with God. It is a delight to God that all His chosen and redeemed people would be God-men.