Section 2
and again. Why does this happen? Why did the Lord not apply His redemption immediately?
In the four Gospels we have a lengthy record of the Lord's life and ministry. In the Gospels we see that the Man-Savior did not grow up mirac ulously; on the contrary, He grew up in a normal way. But why was this necessary? Because we were fallen and sinful, we needed the Lord Jesus to die for us. But why did He need to suffer so many things during the thirty-three and a half years of His life?
GOD'S WAY OF SAVING US
Let us compare two possible ways of saving people. First, suppose God simply stretches forth His hand, snatches a sinner out of hell, and brings him to heaven. This way of saving a per son would be easy. The second way, the way taken by God, is much more difficult. According to His way, God became a man and lived a human life on earth.
Through His incarnation God brought the divine attributes into the human virtues, filling, restoring, recovering, sanctifying, and trans forming them. For our salvation the saving God became a man and lived the kind of life on earth that qualified Him to save us. This life also