THE THIRD PART: 24 CRUCIAL LINES IN THE BIBLE

The Economy of God

Message Five
The Goal of God’s Eternal Economy—
The Body of Christ

Scripture Reading: 1 Kings 6:1-2; 1 Cor. 3:16-17; Eph. 2:21; Rom. 8:3; 12:4-5; Rev. 21:10-11, 22

I. God’s economy is His intention to dispense Himself in His Divine Trinity into His chosen and redeemed people to be their life and nature so that they may be the same as He is for His corporate expression—1 Tim. 1:4; Eph. 1:3-23:

A. God’s economy as recorded in the Scriptures is that God became man to make us God in life, nature, and expression so that we may have a God-man living and become the Body of Christ—Rom. 8:3; 1:3-4; 8:4, 14, 29; 12:4-5:

1. God sent His Son to be a man and to live a God-man life by the divine life—John 3:16; 1:14; 6:57a.

2. This God-man living issues in a universal great man that is exactly the same as Christ—a corporate God-man living a God-man life by the divine life for the manifestation of God in the flesh—v. 57b; Eph. 4:24; 1 Tim. 3:15-16.

B. God redeemed us for the purpose of making us God in life and nature so that He can have the Body of Christ, which consummates in the New Jerusalem as God’s enlargement and expression for eternity—Eph. 1:6-7; 4:16; Rev. 21:2.

C. The One who is God yet man dwells in the one who is man yet God, and the one who is man yet God dwells in the One who is God yet man; thus, they are a mutual dwelling place—John 14:2-3, 20, 23; 15:4a.

D. It is only by God’s becoming man to make man God that the Body of Christ can be produced and built up; this is the high peak of the divine revelation given to us by God—Rom. 8:3; 1:3-4; 8:14, 16, 29; 12:4-5.

II. The temple of God is the goal of God’s eternal economy—Eph. 1:10; 3:9; 1 Tim. 1:4; John 2:19-22; 1 Cor. 3:16-17; Eph. 2:21; Rev. 21:2, 22:

A. The temple in the Old Testament typifies both the individual Christ and the corporate Christ, the church—1 Kings 6:1-2:

1. The temple first typifies the individual, incarnated Christ as the dwelling place of God on earth—Col. 2:9; John 1:14; 2:19-22.

2. The temple also typifies the corporate Christ, the church, as the enlarged temple, the unique building of God in the universe; this enlarged temple includes all the believers, the members of Christ, as the enlargement of Christ to be God’s dwelling place—Matt. 12:6; 1 Cor. 3:16-17; 12:12; Eph. 2:21.

B. In His resurrection the Lord Jesus rebuilt God’s temple in a larger way, making it a corporate one—the mystical Body of Christ—John 2:19-22:

1. The body of Jesus, the temple, that was destroyed on the cross was small and weak, but the Body of Christ in resurrection is vast and powerful—Eph. 1:22-23; 2:21-22; 4:16.

2. Since the day of His resurrection the Lord Jesus has been enlarging His Body, the temple, in His resurrection life; He is still working for the building of His Body under the process of resurrection—John 2:19-22.

C. The church is the temple of God; as such, it is the sanctuary of the holy God, the temple in which the Spirit of God dwells—1 Cor. 3:16-17:

1. The temple of God in verse 16 refers to the believers collectively in a certain locality, whereas the temple of God in verse 17 refers to all the believers universally.

2. The unique spiritual temple of God in the universe has its expression in many localities on earth; each expression is the temple of God in that locality—Eph. 2:21-22.

D. There is no temple in the New Jerusalem, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple—Rev. 21:22:

1. In the new heaven and new earth the temple of God will be enlarged into a city.

2. The city as a whole will be the Holy of Holies; hence, there will be no temple in it—v. 16.

3. The Greek word for temple in verse 22 denotes the inner temple; this inner temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.

E. The temple of God is filled with the glory of God—2 Chron. 5:13-14; Ezek. 43:1-5; Hag. 2:1-9; Psa. 29:9b; Eph. 2:21; 3:21; Rev. 21:10-11, 22.

F. The economy of God to have the temple of God filled with the glory of God involves the high peak of the divine revelation—God becoming man so that man may become God in life, in nature, and in expression—John 1:14; Col. 1:27; 3:4; Heb. 2:10; Rev. 21:10-11, 22.

III. The Scriptures reveal that God’s intention is to make His chosen, redeemed, and regenerated people the reproduction of Christ for the temple of God, the Body of Christ, as the corporate expression of the Triune God—John 1:12-14; 12:24; Rom. 1:3-4; 8:3, 29; 12:4-5:

A. The deep thought in Romans is that God became man so that, in God’s complete salvation, sinners may be redeemed, regenerated, sanctified, renewed, trans-formed, conformed, and glorified to become the sons of God, who are the same as God in life and nature, to be the members of the Body of Christ—8:3; 1:3-4; 3:24; 5:10; 8:14, 29-30; 12:4-5.

B. The book of Hebrews reveals that through the function of the law of life, we become the reproduction of Christ as the firstborn Son of God to be the church, which is the living composition of the many sons of God—1:6; 2:10-12.

C. In Revelation the living person of Christ is the expression and testimony of God, and the church is the testimony of Jesus, the corporate expression of Christ; as such, the church, the enlarged Christ, is the reproduction and expression of God— 1:2, 5, 9, 12, 20.

IV. The high peak of the divine revelation is that God became man so that man may become God in life and nature but not in the Godhead to pro-duce and build up the organic Body of Christ for the fulfillment of God’s economy to close this age, to bring Christ back to set up His kingdom, and to consummate the New Jerusalem—John 1:12-14; 1 John 3:1-2; Rom. 8:3; 12:4-5; Rev. 11:15; 21:2-3, 22.

Ministry Excerpts:

GOD’S ECONOMY BEING TO GAIN MAN AND MAKE MAN
THE SAME AS HE IS FOR THE PRODUCING
AND BUILDING UP OF THE ORGANIC BODY OF CHRIST

God’s economy is to gain man and make man the same as He is for the producing and building up of the organic Body of Christ. This is the goal: the organic Body of Christ. What God wants, what God desires, is only the organic Body of Christ in which God has constituted Himself with humanity. Do not care for today’s Judaism, Catholicism, and Protestantism. All these religions are counterfeit. They not only confiscate what God wants but also have become and still are veils upon people. Thus, people cannot see that the goal of God’s eternal economy is the organic Body of Christ. It is fully unveiled in the Holy Scriptures with sixty-six books, but Satan uses Judaism, Catholicism, and Protestantism to veil the teachers of the Bible.

We need to realize that Satan hates the high peak of the divine revelation concerning the ultimate goal of God’s economy. He hates this one main point—that God became a man so that man may become God in life and in nature but not in the Godhead to produce the organic Body of Christ for the fulfillment of God’s economy to close this age and to bring Christ back to set up His kingdom. This is why we need prayer for fighting the spiritual warfare for the release of these messages. Today where is the Body of Christ on this earth? Today who understands and ministers and practices the Body of Christ? This is altogether something new. God purposely in His incarnation became a man that man may become God in life and nature but not in the Godhead for the producing of the organic Body of Christ to fulfill God’s economy to close this age and to bring Christ back with His kingdom. All these crystallization messages are for this purpose. They are for the producing of the church life, the Body life. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 1, “Crystallization-Study of the Epistle to the Romans,” msg. 15)

Gaining a Body for Christ
to Be the Enlargement of the Triune God
for His Expression That He May Be Satisfied

The divine economy is God’s eternal plan to dispense Christ into His chosen people to produce, constitute, and build up the organic Body of Christ (Eph. 1:10; 3:8-10; 1 Tim. 1:4). Since Christ is the embodiment of the Triune God, for God to dispense Christ into His chosen people actually means that God dispenses Himself in Christ into His chosen people. In brief, God’s economy is to gain a Body for Christ. This Body is the enlargement of the Triune God for His expression that He may be satisfied. (Life-study of Job, msg. 38)

Living Him for His Corporate Expression

God has an economy, and this economy involves a plan with many arrangements. God’s aim in His economy is to have a group of human beings who have His life and nature inwardly and His image and likeness outwardly. This group of people is a corporate entity, the Body of Christ, to be one with Him and live Him for His corporate expression. As God is expressed not only by the Body but also through the Body, He is glorified. When He is glorified, His people are also glorified in His glorification. In this way God and man are one in glory.

In this oneness we, God’s people, are not separate from God, but we definitely remain distinct from Him. We are one with God in life, in nature, in element, in essence, and in constitution. We are also one with Him in purpose, goal, image, and likeness. Nevertheless, no matter how much we are one with God, we do not share His Godhead and will never share it. Man remains man, and God remains God. Yes, in the incarnation of Christ, God became a man, but He did not give up His Godhead. Rather, He has reserved and preserved the Godhead for Himself alone. Thus, man is still limited, and God still possesses the unique Godhead.

The group of human beings who are one with God in every way except in the Godhead is symbolized, signified, depicted, and portrayed by a wonderful, holy city — the New Jerusalem. We need to keep this vision before us as we come to the book of Jeremiah. (Life-study of Jeremiah, msg. 12)

God Becoming Man and Man Becoming God

“God becoming man and man becoming God” is the economy of God; it is beyond the comprehension of angels and men. This is the point that I want to cover tonight. The Scriptures tell us clearly that God became a man to be our Savior, and then He redeemed and regenerated us. Orthodox Christians and fundamental teachers all have seen these truths. However, they do not see that there is a line concerning the economy of God recorded in the Scriptures, showing us how God became man to make man God. The Bible shows us how man can become God to have a God-man living and thus become an organism of God, which is the Body of Christ. This is something that they do not see.

God Becoming Man—
Going through the Creation of Man
and His Coming Personally to Become Man

As such a God-man, He passed through human living on the earth and lived a human life. How did He live such a life? He did it by depending on His divine life within and by rejecting His human life without and thus living the life of a God-man. The inner reality of such a God-man living was the divine attributes, and the outward living that was lived out of such a God-man living was the human virtues. By thus living the life of a God-man He became a typical example.

However, it is not enough for God to have just one man as a typical example, a model. God needs a mass manifestation. Therefore, eventually, He went to the cross. When He went to the cross, He brought with Him the man whom He had become; that is, He put on this man and thus crucified this man. This death of His was an all-inclusive death. This death of His was counted by God as the death of a fallen man, a sinful man. When He became a man, He did not become a God-created man or a holy man; rather, He became a God-created yet fallen man. His flesh was the flesh of sin, except there was no poison of sin, no substance of sin, within it. It was merely in the likeness of the flesh of sin. Therefore, Romans 8:3 says that He came in the likeness of the flesh of sin. He was such a man, a man in the likeness of the flesh of sin. Hence, what He brought to the cross to be crucified there was also such a man. Although Christ was a fallen man only in likeness, when He was on the cross, God counted that likeness as real. Through crucifixion Christ terminated the man of the old creation on the cross. The man of the old creation involves all created things. Therefore, His death also terminated everything of the old creation on the cross. The man of the old creation also had sin, so His death on the cross also took away sin. Furthermore, Satan was hidden in the flesh of this sinful man. Therefore, Christ’s death on the cross not only crucified the flesh but also destroyed Satan (Heb. 2:14). However, His crucifixion was not the end; rather, He was resurrected from death. How was He resurrected? He was resurrected through the power of His divine life with the humanity that He had put on, the part created by God. In His resurrection He brought humanity into divinity.

Through His incarnation God brought divinity into humanity, and through His resurrection He brought humanity into divinity. Incarnation is the crucial step He took to bring divinity into humanity. Then, later, in His resurrection He brought the humanity that He had put on into divinity.

The Christ whom we know is so profound and so high. This One is our Redeemer and our Savior. He is not only Jesus Christ but also the One who became the life-giving Spirit, the consummation of God. It is this One who went through all these processes to accomplish the step for Him to become man that He might make man God.

Man Becoming God—
Going through Regeneration, Sanctification, Renewing,
Transformation, Conformation, and Glorification

Then how does God make man God? After God regenerates us with Himself as life, He continues to carry out the work of sanctification, renewing, and transformation in us by His Spirit of life. God became man through incarnation; man becomes God through transformation. When the Lord Jesus lived as a man on this earth, once He went up on the mountain and was transfigured. That transfiguration was a sudden occurrence. Our transformation into God, however, is not something that happens unexpectedly. Rather, it is a lifetime transformation until we are conformed to His image. Eventually, we will enter with Him into glory; that is, we will be redeemed in our body. That will be the final step of the redemption of our whole being that brings us into glory. Therefore, it is through regeneration, sanctification, renewing, transformation, conformation, and glorification that we may become God. When we reach this point, 1 John 3:2 says that when “He is manifested, we will be like Him because we will see Him even as He is.”

The issue of this process is an organism. This organism is God joining and mingling Himself with man to make God man and also to make man God. Among the Divine Trinity, as far as the Father is concerned, this organism is the house of the Father, the house of God; as far as the Son is concerned, it is the Body of Christ. The house is for God to have a dwelling place, whereas the Body is for God to have an expression. The ultimate issue is the New Jerusalem. This shows us how God became man and how afterward He makes man God that man may live a God-man life. The God-man life that we live today is the model life that Jesus Christ lived on earth by going through death and resurrection. In the Gospel of John the human life of Jesus Christ on earth was a life before death and resurrection. In the Epistles the Christian life, the life of a God-man, that we live is a life after death and resurrection. In resurrection we are being transformed daily.

Even among us, very few have entered deeply into these mysteries of the Divine Trinity as life. May the Lord have mercy on us. I hope that through this word of fellowship we all may be able to see this vision and pursue to enter into the reality of this vision. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 1, “The High Peak of the Vision and the Reality of the Body of Christ,” msg. 2)

THE NEW JERUSALEM BEING THE ENLARGEMENT OF THE CHURCH,
AND THE CHURCH BEING THE ENLARGEMENT OF CHRIST

The Tabernacle Typifying Christ as an Individual Person
and the Church as a Corporate Dwelling Place of God

The New Jerusalem will be the enlargement of the church, and the church is the enlargement of Christ. Christ is the tabernacle, the church is the enlarged tabernacle, and the New Jerusalem will be the consummate tabernacle. The tabernacle not only typifies Christ as an individual person, but also typifies the church as a corporate dwelling place of God.

The ark typifies the individual Christ. The tabernacle, however, typifies both the individual Christ, the Head, and the corporate Christ, the Body. The New Testament reveals clearly that the individual Christ is the Head. But this Head must have a Body. The Body of Christ is the church. In Ephesians 1:22 and 23 Paul speaks of the church which is Christ’s Body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. In Exodus we have not only the ark-Christ, but also the tabernacle-Christ, not only the individual Christ, but also the corporate Christ.

If we apply the type of the tabernacle only to Christ individually, everything about it may be objective and doctrinal. There will be very little place for spiritual experience. But if we realize that the vision in Exodus is not merely a vision of Christ as the ark but also of the tabernacle as the enlargement of Christ, the church, we shall realize the need for experience. To repeat, in Exodus we have not only the ark, but also the tabernacle. This means that we have not only Christ, but also the church. In 25:8 God did not say, “They shall make for Me an ark that I may be expressed.” He said, “They shall make for Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.”

The Church as the Enlargement of Christ

It is vital for us to see that the second section of the book of Exodus is concerned with the tabernacle as a type of the church as the enlargement of Christ. In order for Christ to be enlarged into the church, we need to have many spiritual experiences. For this reason, as we consider chapters twenty-five through forty of Exodus, our emphasis will be more on experience. This certainly does not mean that I reject the doctrinal aspect. The point here is that the emphasis is on Christian experience more than doctrine. My burden is to show that this portion of the Word is full of experiences.

Again and again, I wish to emphasize that in chapters twenty-five through forty of Exodus we have a vision of the tabernacle not merely as a type of Christ, but especially as a type of the church, Christ’s enlargement. In order for Christ to have the Body, the church, as His enlargement, we need to have much experience of Christ. If we do not experience Christ, there is no way for Him to be enlarged, to have the Body, or to have the tabernacle as the enlargement of the ark. (Life-study of Exodus, msg. 81)

Christ Being the Head and the Church Being the Body

The temple replaced the tabernacle as God’s dwelling on earth. The temple first signifies the incarnated Christ, the embodiment of God (Col. 2:9), as God’s dwelling on the earth (John 2:19-21; 1:14). It also signifies the church, including all the believers, the members of Christ, as the enlargement of Christ to be God’s dwelling on the earth (1 Cor. 3:16-17; 6:19; Eph. 2:21-22). Christ and the church are one, Christ being the Head and the church being the Body (Eph. 1:22-23; Col. 1:18a). The Body is the enlargement of the Head for God’s dwelling. Hence, God’s dwelling in Christ is God’s dwelling in the church.

Christ and His Body, the Church, Being the Center,
the Reality, and the Goal of God’s Eternal Economy

Solomon and the temple built by him typify Christ and His Body, the church, respectively, as the center, the reality, and the goal of God’s eternal economy. Since Solomon and the temple play the strongest roles in the history of Israel and occupy a wide realm in such a history, they are strong evidence that the history of Israel is very much related to the accomplishing of God’s eternal economy in the Old Testament in the way of typology. This is a clear indication that the books of history were written from the point of view of God’s eternal economy concerning Christ and the church. (Holy Bible Recovery Version, 1 Kings 6:1, footnote 2)

The physical body of Jesus was destroyed on the cross by the Jews. When Christ became flesh, He took on a physical body. In John 1:14 we are told clearly that His physical body was a tabernacle. According to chapter two of John, His physical body was also the temple. I wish to point out that throughout the New Testament, the temple of God does not denote a place; it denotes a Person. When Jesus was in the flesh, His body was the tabernacle and temple of God. Both the tabernacle and the temple are God’s dwelling place. Satan knew this. Since Satan realized that the physical body of Jesus was God’s dwelling place on earth, he did his best to destroy that body. And he did destroy it on the cross through the Jews. In a sense, Satan destroyed the Lord’s physical body; in another sense, the Lord Jesus gave up His body to death. The Lord seemed to be saying to Satan, “Satan, do your best. Let Me see what you can do. Whatever you do will just give Me an opportunity to do something further.”

Jesus Raising up His Physical Body
in Resurrection to Be the House of God

After Satan destroyed the Lord’s physical body on the cross, His body was put into a tomb and rested there. The Lord Jesus then went into death, took a tour of the Black House, and came out in resurrection. When Jesus arose, He Himself raised up His dead and buried body. The body of Jesus that was destroyed on the cross was small and weak; the Body of Christ in resurrection is vast and powerful. Which do you prefer to have — the body of Jesus or the Body of Christ? After the Lord’s resurrection, His Body, that is, the temple, was reared up on a much larger scale. The body the enemy destroyed by crucifixion was merely the body of Jesus; what was raised by the Lord in resurrection was not only His own body, but everyone who is joined to Him by faith (1 Pet. 1:3; Eph. 2:6). After the Lord’s resurrection, Satan would have had to say, “I lost my case. I was stupid. I shouldn’t have destroyed Him.” Nevertheless, it was too late for Satan to repent.

Once a local church has been damaged and destroyed, you can be assured that, in resurrection, it will become even larger than it was originally. The Lord Jesus is always more prevailing than the enemy. Do not be frightened by Satan’s work. Many times there is no need for us to pray so desperately. We should simply say, “Satan, do your best. Whatever you do will simply afford the opportunity for our Lord Jesus to overcome you.” Whenever a problem comes to the church, many brothers feel that they should immediately call a meeting and pray. However, you do not need to be that hasty. Be at peace. Do not be terrified by Satan’s activity. When the Lord Jesus knew that the Jews were attempting to destroy Him, He did not pray, “O Father, kill all these Jews. Father, save Me and protect Me.” Instead of praying that way, the Lord seemed to tell them, “Do your best to kill Me. Be assured that after you put Me to death I will have the opportunity to increase.” No one can frustrate the purpose of the Lord. The more the enemy tries to do, the more he affords the opportunity for the Lord to do something more. Whatever the Lord does is always in resurrection. The Lord builds the temple “in three days,” signifying that He builds it in resurrection.

The Jews asked the Lord Jesus to show them a sign. The Lord answered, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (2:19). The resurrection of the Lord is the unique sign. In the building up of the church, oftentimes people, like the Jews, will challenge us to see what miracles we can do. We should not be tempted to try to perform miracles. We have to follow the Lord Jesus and let ourselves be put to death. Then Christ will be manifested in resurrection. This is the miracle, the sign, that is needed in the building up of the church. The unique sign for the building up of the church is life in resurrection.

The House of God Still Increasing
in Resurrection with the Body of Christ

Since the day of His physical resurrection, the Lord Jesus has been enlarging His Body in resurrection life. What an immense Body Christ has today in His resurrection! Can you measure the size of the Body of Christ? Although it once was possible to measure the size of the physical body of Jesus, it is impossible to measure the immensity of the Body of Christ. The Lord continues to build His Body in resurrection, and Satan keeps on helping this. The house of God is still increasing in resurrection with the Body of Christ (1 Tim. 3:15; 1 Pet. 2:5; 1 Cor. 3:9; Eph. 2:21-22). Today, we are still within “the three days,” because the Lord is still working for the building of His Body under the process of resurrection. A great part of the Lord’s Body has already been raised, but there are still some members of His Body who are not yet raised. Therefore, the Lord’s Body is still in the process of resurrection. Even with yourself, only a part has been transformed, which means that only a part has been resurrected. The Lord continues to work on you through the process of transformation. You are still in the process of resurrection. The church today is still in the three days’ process of resurrection. (Life-study of John, msg. 7)

The Dwelling Place of God Being the Temple of God

The dwelling place of God is the temple of God. First Corinthians 3:16 says, “Do you not know that you are a temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in you?” Here “a temple of God” refers to the believers collectively in a certain locality, as in Corinth, whereas “the temple of God” in verse 17 refers to all the believers universally. The unique spiritual temple of God in the universe has its expressions in many localities on earth. Each expression is a temple of God in that locality.

God’s building (1 Cor. 3:9) is not an ordinary building; on the contrary, it is the sanctuary of the holy God, the temple in which the Spirit of God dwells. We, the builders of such a holy temple, should realize this that we may be careful to build not with the worthless materials of wood, grass, and stubble but with the precious materials of gold, silver, and precious stones (vv. 10-12), which correspond to God’s nature and economy.

Another verse which reveals that the habitation of God is the temple of God is Ephesians 2:21. “In whom all the building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord.” The Greek word translated “temple” denotes the sanctuary, the inner part of the temple. Because God’s building is a living one, it is growing. It grows into a holy temple. The actual building of the church as the house of God is by the growth in life of the believers. Furthermore, the entire building of God’s house as His temple, His sanctuary, is in Christ the Lord. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 208)

The Inner Temple Being
the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb

In the Old Testament the tabernacle of God was a precursor of the temple of God. New Jerusalem as the tabernacle of God (v. 3) will be the temple of God. This indicates that in the new heaven and new earth the temple of God will be enlarged into a city. (Holy Bible Recovery Version, Rev. 21:22, footnote 1)

The Greek word denotes the inner temple. This inner temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb, signifying that God and the Lamb Themselves will be the place in which we serve God. The holy city as the tabernacle of God is for God to dwell in, and God and the Lamb as the temple are for the redeemed saints to dwell in. In the new heaven and new earth, the New Jerusalem will be a mutual dwelling place for God and man for eternity. (Holy Bible Recovery Version, Rev. 21:22, footnote 2)

Since the building is living (1 Pet. 2:5), it is growing. It grows into a holy temple. The actual building of the church as the house of God is by the believers’ growth in life. (Holy Bible Recovery Version, Eph. 2:21, footnote 4)

We are being strengthened into our inner man according to the riches of God’s glory (v. 16). This glory comes to us with God and, after being worked into us, will return to God with us. By means of this two-way traffic the church, as the firstfruits in the universe (James 1:18), takes the lead to give glory to God. All the other families both in heaven and on earth will follow the church to glorify Him. (Holy Bible Recovery Version, Eph. 3:21, footnote 1)

God’s glory is wrought into the church, and He is expressed in the church. Hence, to God is the glory in the church; that is, God is glorified in the church. (Holy Bible Recovery Version, Eph. 3:21, footnote 2)

In Revelation 21 there is a sign signifying that the New Jerusalem will be the Holy of Holies. Its dimensions are the dimensions of a cube, twelve thousand stadia long, twelve thousand stadia wide, and twelve thousand stadia high (v. 16). That is the Holy of Holies, because the Holy of Holies in the Old Testament in both the tabernacle and the temple was a cube, equal in length, breadth, and height (Exo. 26:2-8; 1 Kings 6:20).

The Holy City Being a Mingling
to Be God’s Increase and Expression for Eternity

By that time all the God-redeemed people will be transformed, not only to be the same as God in life and nature but also to be the same in God’s appearance. Revelation 4 tells us that God looks like jasper (v. 3). Then Revelation 21 says that the entire New Jerusalem has the appearance of jasper (v. 11). Thus, God’s redeemed people have become absolutely the very God in life, in nature, and in appearance but not in His Godhead.

We all have to endeavor to reach this high peak. If you think it is too hard to reach this high peak and that the price to pay is too high, be prepared. In the next age the price will be higher. Sooner or later, you have to be made God, either in the church age or in the coming kingdom age. All of God’s redeemed people will eventually become gods as the very God in life, in nature, and in appearance but not in the Godhead. The New Jerusalem is the God-men who have been transformed, glorified, and mingled with the processed and consummated Triune God. The holy city will be a mingling to be God’s increase and expression for eternity. We will enjoy and participate in this divine mingling for eternity. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 1, “The Practical Points concerning Blending,” msg. 5)

THE CORPORATE PERSON LIVING CHRIST
UNTO THE FULLNESS OF GOD,
THE EXPRESSION OF GOD IN FULL

The second section is from Acts through Jude. What is revealed here is the Spirit. The Son, who became flesh, died and resurrected and became the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b). In these twenty-two books this life-giving Spirit is the Spirit as the Son with the Father. In the four Gospels the Trinity is the Son with the Father by the Spirit, but in these twenty-two books the Trinity is the Spirit as the Son with the Father. This is the consummation of the Triune God in the church as the Body of Christ, the temple of God, the kingdom of God, and the house of God, living Christ unto the fullness of God. The fullness of God means the expression of God in full. After His death and resurrection the Lord Jesus became the Spirit as the Son with the Father to be the consummation of the Triune God, not only in one person, Jesus Christ, but in the church as the Body of Christ, the temple of God, the kingdom of God, and the house of God. This is a corporate person, and this corporate person lives Christ unto the fullness of God, the expression of God in full. This is the development in the twenty-two books from Acts to Jude of the initiation in the Gospels. Today we are in this development. (CWWL, 1984, vol. 3, “God’s New Testament Economy,” ch. 1)

Making Sinners God’s Sons,
Who Have His Life and Nature
So That They Can Express Him

The central thought of the book of Romans is that God’s salvation makes sinners His sons, who have His life and nature so that they can express Him, that they may become members of Christ to constitute the Body of Christ for His expression. Hence, sonship is stressed in this chapter (vv. 15, 23). Sons here indicates a more advanced stage of growth in the divine life than does children in v. 16, yet not as advanced as heirs in v. 17. Children refers to the initial stage of sonship, the stage of regeneration in the human spirit. Sons are the children of God who are in the stage of the transformation of their souls. They not only have been regenerated in their spirit and are growing in the divine life, but they also are living and walking by being led by the Spirit. Heirs are the sons of God who, through the transfiguration of their body in the stage of glorification, will be fully matured in every part of their being. Hence, they will be qualified as the legal heirs to claim the divine inheritance (vv. 17, 23). (Holy Bible Recovery Version, Rom. 8:14, footnote 3)

The many sons here are the many brothers in Rom. 8:29 and the many grains in John 12:24. (Holy Bible Recovery Version, Heb. 2:10, footnote 2)

Bringing His Many Sons into Glory

The last step of God’s great salvation is to bring His many sons into glory. Romans 8 tells us that God’s work of grace upon us began with His foreknowing, passed through His predestination, calling, and justification, and will end with His glorification (Rom. 8:29-30). Also, Rom. 8 tells us that the whole creation eagerly awaits the revelation (glorification) of the sons of God, in hope that the creation itself will enter into the freedom of the glory of the children of God (Rom. 8:19-21). This will be accomplished by the Lord’s coming back (Phil. 3:21), at which time we will be manifested with Him in glory (Col. 3:4); this is our hope (Col. 1:27). This glorification of the sons of God, as the goal of God’s salvation, will last through the millennial kingdom and will be manifested in full in the New Jerusalem for eternity (Rev. 21:11, 23). (Holy Bible Recovery Version, Heb. 2:10, footnote 3)

Accomplishing God’s Eternal Purpose
That the New Jerusalem
as the Shining City May Be Consummated

In the Bible the lampstand is always related to God’s building. The first time the lampstand was mentioned was in Exo. 25:31-40, when the tabernacle was built. The second instance was in regard to the building of the temple in 1 Kings 7:49. The third instance was closely related to the rebuilding of God’s temple in Zech. 4:2-10. Here in Revelation the lampstand is related to the building of the churches. In Exo. 25 the emphasis is on Christ being the lampstand as the divine light, shining as seven lamps with the Spirit (the oil). In Zech. 4 the emphasis is on the Spirit (Zech. 4:6) as seven lamps shining, these seven lamps being the seven eyes of God (Zech. 4:2, 10). The seven eyes of God are the seven Spirits of God (Rev. 5:6) for God’s intensified move. This indicates that the lampstand in Zechariah is the reality of the lampstand in Exodus, and that the lampstands in Revelation are the reproduction of the lampstand in Zechariah. Christ is realized as the Spirit, and the Spirit is expressed as the churches. The shining Spirit is the reality of the shining Christ, and the shining churches are the reproduction and expression of the shining Spirit to accomplish God’s eternal purpose that the New Jerusalem as the shining city may be consummated. Christ, the Spirit, and the churches are all of the same divine nature. (Holy Bible Recovery Version, Rev. 1:12, footnote 3)