When God became man: To save the lost

"For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10).

God the Son came to earth as a seeker. He came seeking lost sinners who had earned God's wrath but would receive God's grace. The Son's seeking mission took Him to the cross and to a death with saving consequences for those who had no hope of finding their way to God. God acted to redeem the lost, and Jesus of Nazareth was His agent in purchasing our redemption.

The New Testament testifies to God's initiative in our salvation: "In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins" (I John 4:10). God the Son came to earth to seek souls on behalf of His Father and to bear His Father's judgment so we might be saved.