My impression, for it is not the result of theological examination, is that the Lord God speaks of Christ's mission as a whole from the time it was said (if time it can be called) "a body hast thou prepared me" till the service was accomplished. He sent that blessed Person with the whole scene before Him into the world; but the actual sending, down here when a man in the world, was from the Holy Ghost coming upon Him when He returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee. With quite another object in view the two steps are in Phil. 2, "emptied himself," and, being a man, "humbled himself." So God prepared a body for Him (dug ears for Him); and then, though Son all the while as when twelve years of age, He was sent out as man set apart to bear the witness He was sent for. God had created the world by Him, He will judge the world by Him. But here He is looked at as sent into the world for service; and His whole Person, Son of God and man, is in view as one whole in service. He took the form of a servant. "Lo, I come to do thy will." The sanctifying was the appropriating—setting apart—this Person to the humble, in one sense, but glorious service which Christ performed, though service He never gives up. The Father set apart this Person for this service—did so in preparing a body—did so in incarnation, and did so in anointing and sealing when the opportune time was come. He was sent into the world, so actually set apart (in divine purpose in Psa. 40.) for the service, the Word made flesh and dwelling among us, and then as Man by the Holy Ghost coming and abiding on Him. He could not be sent before He was set apart for it, but while actually set apart in Matt. 3; 4, He could not have been actually then if not in God's mind and by incarnation before.
[1881.]