God has placed man in a world lavished by His loving hand with great beauty. He wants us to enjoy such spectacles as the ocean surf dashing against huge rocks and bursting into spray a quiet lagoon in moonlight a tropical sun setting over the ocean with gently rustling palm trees on the shore flowers beautiful in color and fragrance which clothe the earth with their verdure.
The same God wrote the Bible, and gave us in it a breathtaking flow of spiritual thoughts whose beauty and serenity far surpass the wonders of His creation. This book is the story of these sublime thoughts, originating in the counsels of the Godhead in past and distant eternal ages. It is also about their execution in time by This Man the Son of God in Manhood.(1) God's thoughts are so rich that, as they become clear to us, they fill us with joy. Our spirits soar above the earth like the eagle on the clouds.
We will see the eternal God willing the universe into existence, including this world the ice ages overtaking the prehistoric creation God's remedial work on the earth to make it habitable for man the creation of man himself. All this is interpreted not only from the viewpoint of creation, but of the spiritual teaching underlying the creation. Our focus then shifts to the Gospel of John, whose great subject is eternal life. Here we discover a number of water scenes which feature the activity of eternal life among believers in service and worship. Following the water scenes the entire journey of Israel from Egypt to Canaan is retraced. Within that setting John has written chapters which are mirror images of the furniture of the tabernacle in the desert and the burnt offering. This has been achieved in such a way that it is not obvious to the casual reader, but becomes evident on reflection.
The writer has spent almost all his Christian life reflecting on the themes just mentioned, which constitute the first three parts of this book. Part 4 is a selection from booklets written years ago, which fall in line with the general subjects of this book. These have been edited to make them more suitable for inclusion in This Man.
There can never be too many books about Christ. John, the new creation writer, closed his gospel on that note "and there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written.”
This is my fifth book. It is dedicated to those who love God, for no one else would want to read it. "If any man love God, the same is known of Him" 1 Cor. 8:3.
T.L. Mather Jan 1, 1989