It

will be remembered that Aristotle named a treatise 'Physics' and followed

it

by a second which he called 'Metaphysics', those things that 'follow', and

go

beyond the range of mere physical science.  Meta means 'with', but 'with'

in

association, 'with' in a series, not 'with' in union and oneness.

At the Incarnation, God was manifested in the flesh, but even though

Christ was perfect Man, that did not make all mankind 'one' with God, for the

fact that Christ was Perfect Man, sinless, holy, harmless, undefiled, made

Him, at the same time, 'separate from sinners', not 'one' with sinners.  The

very Incarnation that brought Him so near to man, emphasized the gulf that

existed, and which could not be bridged by the fact of His human birth.  The

good Samaritan came where the wounded man was, and he showed what the word

'neighbour' implied, but this Samaritan did not, and could not, take the

place of the wounded man; he could not be 'wounded for' him, and in this lies

the problem which we are now facing.

At His birth the Saviour became Emmanuel ('God with us') but, although

this condescension is beyond the power of man to compute, it did not itself

accomplish redemption from sin.  It was a marvellous step in that direction.

By His very sinlessness the Saviour was 'separate from sinners', but the

Incarnation provided the body by which He was to make the one all-sufficient

Sacrifice for sin.  The last occurrence of the word meta, before He endured

the cross, is found in the record of Mark 15:28, 'He was numbered (reckoned)

with (meta) the transgressors'.  At this point a new principle is introduced,

the principle of 'reckoning'.  By this principle, 'He Who knew no sin' could

be made sin for us, even as we who had sinned, could be made 'the

righteousness of God in Him'.

Because of this principle of 'reckoning' (Rom. 4:10), or 'counting'

(Rom. 4:3), or 'imputing' (Rom. 4:22,23,24), as the word logizomai is

variously translated, we are enabled to 'reckon' ourselves 'dead indeed unto

sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord' (Rom. 6:11).  In

connection with this 'reckoning' a new preposition sun is introduced,

displacing the preposition of mere proximity, meta, by the preposition of

union.  We are made one with Christ, not in and by His birth, but in and by

His death.

This new bond of union which commenced at the Cross, leads on to the

glorious climax of being 'manifested with Him in glory' (Col. 3:4), where

'reckoning' is exchanged for 'reality'.

There are seven rungs in the ladder of grace, commencing with the Cross

and ending in Glory.  We will arrange the seven passages concerned in the

order in which they appear in the development of the doctrine, and also in

such a way that the first rung in the ladder shall be the lowest on the page.

(7) 'Manifested with' in glory

Sun phaneroo

(Col. 3:4)

'Seated with' in heavenly

places (Eph. 2:6)

'Raised with' (Col. 3:1)

'Quickened with' (Eph. 2:5)