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theme, but it is what He is as related to creation and to man, not what He is absolutely in
His Own Person--that we do not know, neither can we understand.
Let us take an example of the condescension everywhere visible in the self-revelation
of God to man. Moses, speaking of his mission to the children of Israel, asks the
question:--
"When I . . . . . say . . . . . the God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they
shall say to me, What is His name? What shall I say unto them? And God said unto
Moses, I AM THAT I AM . . . . . say . . . . . I AM hath sent me" (Exod. 3: 13, 14).
The idea of a perpetual present, a condition in which there is neither past nor future,
may not be the meaning that should be attached to these words--this will be discussed
later in the series but, whatever the true translation may be, the words convey ideas that
are as much beyond the grasp of the greatest of philosophers as they were beyond the
grasp of the lowest Egyptian bondmen. Consequently the Lord adds to His answer to
Moses, saying:--
"Thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of
Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: THIS is My
name for the age; and this is My memorial unto all generations" (Exod. 3: 15).
Here the absolute "I AM" condescends to human limitations, and reveals Himself as
"The Lord God", associated with a people--"your fathers", and with a time--"for the
age" and "unto all generations". This revelation of God comes within our limited
apprehension, but we must remember that it is relative, and not absolute.
In the N.T. we meet with a similar thought: "Before Abraham was I AM"
(John 8: 58). This statement is not grammatical; it has no parallel in human
experience, and no justification in human logic. It is a glimpse of truth beyond our ken.
And, as in Exod. 3: the absolute "I AM" limits Himself to the terms of time and place,
so in John's Gospel, the absolute "I AM" of John 8: 58 is expressed, "for us men and
for our salvation", in such relative terms as "I am the Door", "I am the Light" and
"I am the Way". Christ, the Image of the invisible God, makes God known in these
wonderful ways, and it will be our delight to study, in this series, the revelation of God,
as made known through the written and the living Word.
It must never be forgotten that God Himself is entirely removed from the realm of
time--to Him not only is a thousand years but as a day, but a day is as a thousand years.
It is absolutely impossible for the human mind to operate in a realm where there is neither
time nor space, and we thankfully recognize every title of God from Genesis to
Revelation as a Self-limitation bringing God Himself into relationship with His creatures.
When the Lord Jesus took upon Himself flesh and blood, it was but another step in that
condescension of God that has made us great (Psa. 18: 35).
"This God is our God."