Depths of love divine study 2

<p align="center"><strong>Study 2: This Strange Design</strong><strong> </strong></p> <p align="center"><strong>for series links  and files click <a title="Depths of love divine links" href= "https://stteves10.libsyn.com/depths-of-love-divine" target= "_blank" rel="noopener"><span style= "text-decoration: underline;"><span style= "color: #2880b9; text-decoration: underline;">HERE</span></span></a></strong></p> <p><strong>Opening Prayer</strong></p> <p><em>Almighty God, our Father,</em></p> <p><em>as we reflect upon the words of Scripture,</em></p> <p><em>we pray that you will grant us the gift of the Holy Spirit,</em></p> <p><em>so that we may learn the truth that is written there,</em></p> <p><em>and be able to live by that truth day by day,</em></p> <p><em>for Jesus’ sake.  Amen.</em><em> </em></p> <p><strong>Verse 2</strong></p> <p>‘Tis mystery all!  The Immortal dies:</p> <p>who can explore this strange design?</p> <p>In vain the first-born seraph tries</p> <p>to sound the depths of love divine.</p> <p>‘Tis mercy all!  Let earth adore,</p> <p>let angel minds inquire no more.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>God’s strange design</strong></p> <p>The staggering fact upon which the Christian faith is based is that Christ, the Word of God who became a human being, died upon a Roman cross.  On the face of it it is totally inappropriate – and surely impossible – for God to die.  No human being could possibly have imagined such a thing.</p> <p> </p> <p>In the famous scene at Caesarea Philippi (Matthew 16: 13 – 20) where Jesus confronted his disciples with the question, ‘Who do you say I am?’ Peter was inspired to reply, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God’, and Jesus affirmed him, saying, ‘Simon, son of Jonah, you are favoured indeed!  You did not learn that from any human being; it was revealed to you by my heavenly Father.’ (REB)   However he then ‘gave his disciples strict orders not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah’.</p> <p> </p> <p>But in the very next paragraph we read (verses 21 – 23):</p> <p> </p> <p>