Section 4
that the God who dwells within them is the God of resurrection. If the distinction between the living God and the God of resurrection is not clear to us, many problems will arise in our ex perience as we seek to press on. Let me explain this distinction quite simply.
The incarnation marked a mighty crisis in the universe. Prior to the incarnation, God was God, and man was man. There was no human element in God, nor was there any divine element in man. The two were quite separate. But one day "the Word became flesh," and that day marked a turning point in the history of the universe. It brought one dispensation to an end and ushered in another. (Of course, we are talking from our human standpoint as creatures of time, not from God's standpoint in a timeless eternity.)
With the incarnation a dispensation began in which God and man, man and God, were blended into one. The Scriptures declared that the Word that became flesh would be called "Immanuel," which means "God with us." That name does not merely signify the presence of God in the midst of a multitude of men; it signi fies His entry into humanity. What took place at Bethlehem was the birth of One who possessed a dual nature. God and man were united in that