Section 4
out of people and the demons addressed Him as the Son of God, Jesus silenced them (Matt. 8:29; Mark 3:11-12), for, in front of them, He was act ing as the Son of Man. When the Devil tempted Jesus in the wilderness by saying, "If You are the Son of God, speak that these stones may become loaves of bread" (Matt. 4:3), Jesus, resisting the temptation to forsake His position as the Son of Man, said, "Man shall not live on bread alone" (Matt. 4:4). Jesus maintained His standing as a man. Satan is not afraid of the Son of God; he is afraid of man. Why is Satan afraid of man? Because God, in His economy, has decided that Satan must be defeated by man.
God has no intention of dwelling in Himself. Divinity cannot be God's dwelling. God's inten tion in His economy is to dwell in humanity. God's intention is to defeat His enemy, Satan, by man and to make humanity His dwelling place. Thus, both for the defeat of Satan and for the dwelling place of God, there is the need of hu manity. If the Lord Jesus were only the Son of God, He would only be qualified to impart life into man. He would have no substance by which to defeat the enemy or to become the dwelling place of God. Praise the Lord that He is the Son