CHRIST AS THE SON OF MAN CHERISHING US AND AS THE SON OF GOD NOURISHING US (3)
ILLUSTRATION THREE
Christ as the Son of Man (Jesus), going from Judea to Galilee, detoured into the city of Sychar, near Jacob’s well, to purposely wait for the thirsty and water-seeking immoral Samaritan woman (4:2-9)—cherishing. The very God who became a man traveled from Judea to Galilee, and He purposely detoured to a small city to cherish an immoral woman. As the Son of Man, Christ is the detouring Savior.
Christ as the Son of God, sent by God as a gift, gave her to drink the water of life, which springs up into eternal life (vv. 10-14)—nourishing. First, He was the Son of Man to cherish her; then He was the Son of God to give her the living water that flows into the New Jerusalem, the totality of the eternal life.
ILLUSTRATION FOUR
Christ as the Son of Man has been designated by God to judge all the people of the world, the living and the dead (5:27-29; Acts 17:31; 10:42; 2 Tim. 4:1; Matt. 25:31). The judgment of Christ has been preached to the sinners as a cherishing to them that they might repent unto God and receive Christ as the Son of God to have His eternal life. The judgment in Revelation 14:6-7, as a part of the judgment of Christ, will be declared to all the people on the earth as the eternal gospel.
Christ as the Son of God was given the authority by God to give the eternal life to His believers (John 5:19-26; 17:2-3)—nourishing. He was designated by God to be the Judge of all people for cherishing, and He was sent by God with authority to give eternal life to His believers for nourishing.
ILLUSTRATION FIVE
Christ as the Son of Man would not condemn the sinful woman (8:11b)—cherishing. This sinful woman was accused by the scribes and Pharisees, but eventually, they were condemned by Christ. None of them could condemn her, and they all left. The Lord said to the woman, “Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” Then He said, “Neither do I condemn you” (vv. 10-11). This is cherishing. None of the scribes and Pharisees could say that he was without sin. The Son of Man is the unique One without sin, so He was the only One qualified to condemn the sinful woman, but He would not do it. He came not to condemn the lost but to save them.
Christ as the Son of God (the very I Am) would free her from sin so that she could sin no more (vv. 11b, 24, 36)—nourishing. According to Exodus 3:14-15, the great I Am is the name of Jehovah. Jehovah means “I Am Who I Am.” The Lord told the Pharisees that if they would not believe in Him as the I Am, they would die in their sins (John 8:24). In other words, they would never be freed from their sins but would remain in their sins until they would die in them. The sinful woman, no doubt, believed in the Lord Jesus, taking Him as the very I Am, to be freed from her sins. In verse 36 the Lord said, “If therefore the Son sets you free, you shall be free indeed.” Only the Son of God in His divinity can enable us to sin no more. As the Son of Man, He will not condemn us but forgive us, and as the Son of God, He will free us from sinning.(The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1994-1997, vol. 5, “The Vital Groups”, ch. 9, pp. 134-136)
The church in Zamboanga 