As the Son So the Father
We can know how God acts because He has been in our place and has shown us His character through the life of Jesus.
A.W. Tozer explores the profound truth that God has experienced human life through Jesus Christ, emphasizing that we can understand God's nature by observing how Jesus lived among us. He asserts that it is unnecessary to question how God would behave in our circumstances, as Jesus exemplified God's character in human form. Tozer highlights that Jesus, being both fully God and fully man, reveals the Father to us, and this divine presence continues to dwell within believers today. The sermon encourages us to recognize that God acts consistently with His nature, even in our lives, and invites us to experience this reality in our daily existence.
Text
It is a rare mind, I suppose, that is much concerned with the conduct of God in those distant realms that lie beyond human experience. But almost everyone has wondered how God would act if He were in our place. And we may have had moments when we felt that God could not possibly understand how hard it is for us to live right in such an evil world as this. And we may have wondered how He would act and what He would do if He were to live among us for a while. To wonder thus may be natural but it is wholly needless. We know how God would act if He were in our place--He has been in our place. It is the mystery of godliness that God was manifest in human flesh.
They called His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is God with us.
When Jesus walked on earth He was a man acting like God; but equally wonderful is it that He was also God acting like Himself in man and in a man. We know how God acts in heaven because we saw Him act on earth. "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?" (John 14:9). As glorious as this is, it does not end there. God is still walking in men, and wherever He walks He acts like Himself. This is not poetry but plain, hard fact capable of being tested in the laboratory of life.
Sermon Outline
- I. The Conduct of God Beyond Human Experience
- A. We may wonder how God acts in distant realms
- B. But we can know how God acts in our place
- II. The Mystery of Godliness
- A. God was manifest in human flesh
- B. Jesus was a man acting like God, and God acting like Himself
- III. Seeing God in Human Form
- A. Jesus said, 'He that hath seen me hath seen the Father'
- B. We can see God's character in the life of Jesus
- IV. God Walking in Men
- A. God is still present in the world today
- B. Wherever God walks, He acts like Himself
Key Quotes
“We know how God would act if He were in our place--He has been in our place.” — A.W. Tozer
“He that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?” — A.W. Tozer
“God is still walking in men, and wherever He walks He acts like Himself.” — A.W. Tozer
Application Points
- We can trust that God knows how hard it is to live right in an evil world because He has been in our place.
- We can see God's character in the life of Jesus and in the lives of believers today.
- We can trust that God is still present in the world today and is working through believers to accomplish His purposes.