I

God becomes flesh as an ordinary person, hidden in the midst of people,

who is doing the new work of saving us, doing the new work of saving us.

He offers us no explanations, nor does He tell us why He has come,

but simply does the work He intends to do with measured steps,

with measured steps and according to His plan.

His words and utterances become ever more frequent.

From consoling, exhorting, reminding, and warning,

to reproaching and disciplining;

from a tone that’s gentle and mild, to words that are fierce and majestic—

all of it confers mercy on man and instills trepidation in him.

Everything that He says hits home at the secrets hidden deep within us;

His words sting our hearts and spirits,

and leave us filled with unbearable shame,

hardly knowing where to hide ourselves.

II

From Him we enjoy an unending supply of living water,

and through Him we live face-to-face with God.

From Him we enjoy an unending supply of living water,

and through Him we live face-to-face with God.

But we’re only thankful for the grace of the Lord Jesus in heaven,

and’ve never paid any heed to the feelings

of this ordinary person who’s possessed of divinity.

Still, as before, He does His work humbly hidden in the flesh,

giving expression to His inmost heart,

as though insensible to mankind’s rejection of Him,

as though eternally forgiving of man’s childishness and ignorance,

and forever tolerant of man’s irreverent attitude toward Him.

III

God’s words carry life power, show us the way we should walk,

and enable us to understand what the truth is.

He spits up His heart’s blood in working on our behalf,

loses sleep and appetite on our account;

He weeps for us, sighs for us, groans in sickness for us,

suffers humiliation for the sake of our destination and salvation,

and our numbness and rebelliousness

draw tears and blood from His heart.

This way of being and of having belongs to no ordinary person,

nor can it be possessed or attained by any corrupted human being.

He shows tolerance and patience possessed by no ordinary person,

and His love is not something with which any created being is endowed,

is not something with which any created being is endowed.

from The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Appendix 4: Beholding the Appearance of God in His Judgment and Chastisement