GOD’S ECONOMY

SERIES THIRTEEN
GOD’S ECONOMY IN ALL THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE

God’s Economy as Revealed in the New Testament

Message Four
God’s Economy as Revealed in Luke

Scripture Reading: Luke 1:31-32, 35, 68-69, 75, 78-79, 2:40, 52, 9:51-56, 13:10-17, 19:1-10, 6:17-49, 4:16-22, Acts 26:18, Levi. 25:8-13, John 8:36

I. Christ, as the wonderful center of the entire Bible, is all-inclusive, having many aspects; the New Testament at its beginning presents four biographies to portray the four main aspects of this all-inclusive Christ—Matt. 1:1 and footnote 1:

A. The Gospel of Matthew testifies that He is the King, the Christ of God prophesied in the Old Testament, who brings the kingdom of the heavens to the earth—v. 1 12:42.:

B. The Gospel of Mark tells us that He is the Servant of God, laboring for God faithfully; Mark’s account is most simple, for a servant does not warrant a detailed record—Matt. 1:1 footnote 1; Mark 8:6.

C. The Gospel of Luke presents a full picture of Him as he only proper and normal man who ever lived on this earth; as such a man, He is he Savior of mankind—Matt. 1:1 footnote 1; Luke 7:50.

D. The Gospel of John unveils Him as he Son of God, the very God Himself, who is life to God’s people—Matt. 1:1 footnote 1; John 9:35-37.

II. In his Gospel Luke displays and presents to us mainly five crucial and excellent aspects concerning the Man-Savior: His birth, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension—Luke 1:35; 4:18-19:

A. The Man-Savior’s birth was of and with the Spirit of God essentially; this birth made Him a God-man to be the Man-Savior—1:35.

B. His ministry was by and through the Spirit of God economically to carry out God’s economy in His jubilee—4:18-19.

C. His death was by the God-man to accomplish God’s redemption for man and to release Himself into man as the fire of life to burn on the earth—23:42-43, 12:49-50.

D. His resurrection was God’s vindication of Him and of His work, His success in all His achievements, and His victory over the universal enemy of God.

E. His ascension was God’s exaltation of Him; in ascension He was made the Christ of God and the Lord of all to carry out His heavenly ministry on earth as the all-inclusive Spirit poured out from the heavens upon His Body composed of His believers, as recorded by Luke in his further writing, the Acts—Acts 2:36, 4, 17-18.

III. The subject of the Gospel of Luke is the Man-Savior and His salvation in the highest standard of morality—1:31-32, 35, 68-69, 78-79:

A. The Gospel of Luke reveals that in the Man-Savior we have the mingling of the divine attributes with the human virtues to produce the highest standard of morality—1:35:

1. The Man-Savior and His salvation are both in the highest standard of morality—2:52, 7:11-17.

2. According to the Gospel of Luke, our Savior lives, behaves, and works in the highest standard of morality, and His salvation is carried out in the highest standard of morality—10:25-37.

B. The record in the Gospel of Luke has a particular characteristic—to reveal in the Man-Savior the mingling of the divine attributes with the human virtues to produce the highest standard of morality for the New Testament jubilee—1:31-32, 35, 42, 68-69, 75, 78-79, 4:16-19.

IV. The Gospel of Luke portrays the Lord Jesus as a God-man, the Man-Savior, with the highest standard of morality—9:51-56, 13:10-17, 19:1-10:

A. In the Gospel of Luke three categories of the things reveal that the Lord Jesus, the Man-Savior, lived in the highest standard of morality, with the human virtues strengthened and enriched by the divine attributes—4:16-21, 10:30-37, 7:36-50:

1. Gospel messages—4:16-21, 7:41-43, 12:14-21, 13:2-5.

2. Gospel parables—10:30-37, 14:16-24, 15:3-32, 18:9-14.

3. Gospel cases—7:36-50, 13:10-17, 16:19-31, 19:1-10, 23:39-43.

B. When the Lord Jesus went into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil, He was the highest kind of man—a God-man in the highest standard of morality—4:1-13:

1. The Lord Jesus stood as such a man before the devil—v. 2-4.

2. In the Gospel of Luke the temptation to worship the devil in exchange for he kingdoms of the earth is given in detail; this also indicates the highest standard of morality—v. 5-8.

3. The Man-Savior, the One who lived in the highest standard of morality, could not be seduced or moved by anything—v. 9-13.

4. Only a life in the highest standard of morality—that is, a life in which the divine attributes are expressed in the human virtues—can withstand such a temptation—v. 4, 12.

C. In 22:47—23:25 the Lord Jesus is portrayed as the true God and a real man:

1. The God-man was arrested, mocked, blasphemed, despised, and judged, but as He passed through all his, He is fully portrayed as having the highest standard of morality, as possessing the human virtues with the divine attributes and with the all-surpassing divine splendor—22:63-71.

2. As the true God and a real and proper man, He was fully qualified to be the Substitute for the sinners for whom He intended to die—23:34, 43.

V. The Lord’s teaching in 6:17-49 gives us a clear view of the highest standard of morality:

A. The Man-Savior has the kind of life described in verses 17 through 49.

B. Actually, Christ Himself is the highest standard of morality, for He is the man created by God in Genesis 1:26 plus the tree of life mentioned in Genesis 2:9.

C. The highest standard of morality is now a person living in us and making it possible for us to live Christ—Gal. 2:20, Phil. 1:20-21a.

D. The Man-Savior’s teaching concerning the highest standard of morality is based on the divine life with its expression, the divine word—Luke 6:35, 47-48:

1. The living that is according to the highest standard of morality issues from the divine life with which we have been born of the Most High—v. 35.

2. The Lord’s word in verses 43 and 44 reveals life as the source and living as he issue; His disciples are he good trees with the divine life, and out from this life issues a living that is the expression of God.

VI. The proclamation of the jubilee in Luke 4 governs the central thought of the whole Gospel of Luke, and the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15 is an excellent illustration of the jubilee—v. 11-32.

A. The year of the jubilee is the age of grace, the age of Christ as grace dispensed into us for our enjoyment by His words of grace—4:22, Psa. 45:2, John 1:14-17:

1. In the year of jubilee there were two main blessings: the returning of every man to his lost possession and the liberation from slavery—Levi. 25:8-17.

2. The Hebrew word for jubilee means a joyful noise, a shouting with the blasting of a trumpet, and a proclamation; it is a proclamation not of sorrow or lamentation but of the gospel, the good news of great joy—Luke 2:10-11.

3. The New Testament jubilee is an age of ecstasy for our salvation—cf. 2 Cor. 5:13-15, 6:2.

B. The prodigal son left his father’s house, selling his possession and himself—v. 13-16.

C. One day the prodigal son returned to his possession and his father’s house; that was a jubilee, a liberation, and everything became pleasant and satisfying—v. 20, 24, cf. Levi. 25:11:

1. To be saved is to return to our inheritance, to return to God, to come back to God and enjoy Him anew as our possession—Eph. 1:13-14.

2. We must receive the Lord Jesus as the real jubilee in us; if we have Him, we have God as our possession and can be delivered from the bondage of sin and Satan to have real freedom and rest—Acts 26:18, Eph. 1:14, Col. 1:12, Matt. 11:28.

3. Even though genuine Christians have God, many are like lights that do not shine, because they do not “turn on the switch” by taking God as their portion—Eph. 4:18, cf. Phil. 2:12-16.

VII. The living of the jubilee is a living in the enjoyment of Christ, a living of enjoying God as our inheritance and real freedom—Acts 26:18, John 8:36:

A. In the jubilee all things are pleasant and satisfying to our heart, and we are free from anxiety, at ease, and exultant; hence, everything is to our satisfaction—Psa. 103:1-5.

B. The secret of a Christian’s enjoyment of rest is his gaining God as his enjoyment; if we have God, everything is to our satisfaction—Phil 4:6, John 16:33:

1. If our heart is set on any person, thing, or matter other than the Lord, this is idolatry, and the end is wretchedness—1 John 5:21, cf. Ezek. 14:3, 5, 6:9.

2. Paul learned the secret of living in the jubilee, the secret of gaining Christ in any environment—Phil. 4:5-7, 11-13.

3. Everything can be satisfying to us only after we have gained the all-inclusive Christ as our enjoyment; it is not outward persons, matters, or things, but Christ within who enables us to be calm and free of worries as we face all kinds of situations—John 16:33.

 

Ministry Excerpts:

CHRIST BEING THE WONDERFUL CENTER OF THE ENTIRE BIBLE

The Bible is a book of life, and this life is a living person, the wonderful and all-inclusive Christ. The Old Testament gives a portrait, in types and prophecies, of this wonderful person as the Coming One. Now, in the New Testament, this wonderful person has come. The first page of the New Testament, in recommending this wonderful person to us, gives us His genealogy. This genealogy can be considered an abstract of the Old Testament, which in itself is the detailed genealogy of Christ. To understand the genealogy in Matthew, we need to trace the origin and history of every incident.

Christ, as the wonderful center of the entire Bible, is all-inclusive, having many aspects. The New Testament at its beginning presents four biographies to portray the four main aspects of this all-inclusive Christ. The Gospel of Matthew testifies that He is the King, the Christ of God prophesied in the Old Testament, who brings the kingdom of the heavens to the earth. The Gospel of Mark tells us that He is the Servant of God, laboring for God faithfully. Mark’s account is most simple, for a servant does not warrant a detailed record. The Gospel of Luke presents a full picture of Him as the only proper and normal man who ever lived on this earth; as such a man, He is the Savior of mankind. The Gospel of John unveils Him as the Son of God, the very God Himself, who is life to God’s people. (Holy Bible Recovery Version, Matt. 1:1, footnote 1)

THE BIRTH, MINISTRY, DEATH, RESURRECTION AND ASCENSION
OF THE MAN-SAVIOR

In his Gospel Luke displays and presents to us mainly five crucial and excellent aspects concerning the Man-Savior: His birth, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension. The Man-Savior’s birth was of and with the Spirit of God essentially. This birth made Him a God-man to be the Man-Savior (1:35). His ministry was by and through the Spirit of God economically to carry out God’s economy in His jubilee (4:18-19). His death was by the God-man to accomplish God’s redemption for man (23:42-43) and to release Himself into man as the fire of life to burn on the earth (12:49-50). His resurrection was God’s vindication of Him and of His work, His success in all His achievements, and His victory over the universal enemy of God. His ascension was God’s exaltation of Him. In ascension He was made the Christ of God and the Lord of all (Acts 2:36) to carry out His heavenly ministry on earth as the all-inclusive Spirit poured out from the heavens upon His Body composed of His believers (Acts 2:4, 17-18), as recorded by Luke in his further writing, the Acts. (Life-study of Luke, msg. 55)

SUBJECT OF THE GOSPEL OF LUKE—THE MAN-SAVIOR AND HIS SALVATION IN THE HIGHEST STANDARD OF MORALITY

Because Luke’s Gospel is one of the synoptic Gospels concerning the Savior’s humanity, its purpose is to present the Savior as a genuine, normal, and perfect Man, revealing God among men in His saving grace to fallen mankind. It narrates a complete genealogy of the Man Jesus, from His parents back to Adam, the first generation of mankind. This shows that He is a genuine descendant of man—a son of man. Its record of this Man’s life impresses us with the completeness and perfection of His humanity. Hence, its emphasis is the Man-Savior.

The subject of the Gospel of Luke is marvelous: the Man-Savior and His salvation in the highest standard of morality. Here we have the Man-Savior, His salvation, and the highest standard of morality. I believe that most readers of this Gospel would realize that this book speaks of a Man who is our Savior. Hence, we may call Him the Man-Savior. Also, it is rather easy to realize that this book shows us the Man-Savior’s salvation. However, not many readers of this Gospel realize that the Man-Savior and His salvation are both in the highest standard of morality.

When some hear that Luke presents the Man-Savior and His salvation in the highest standard of morality, they may say, “We can’t find the word ‘morality’ in this book. We do not even see the thought of morality.” Apparently, this may be the case. But if we search into the depths of this book, we shall see that it does convey the highest standard of morality. According to the Gospel of Luke, our Savior lives, behaves, and works in the highest standard of morality. Moreover, His salvation is carried out in the highest standard of morality. Therefore, we need to keep in mind that the subject of the Gospel of Luke is the Man-Savior and His salvation in the highest standard of morality.

The Man-Savior

We need to see that the Lord Jesus is the Man-Savior. As the Man-Savior, He was conceived of the Holy Spirit with the divine essence. Unlike other biographies, Luke records the conception of the one whose life he records. Other biographies may speak of a person’s birth, but not his conception. In this matter, Luke is unique. He tells us how the Man-Savior was conceived. He was not conceived of a man; rather, He was conceived of the Holy Spirit with the divine essence.

The Mingling of the Divine Essence with the Human Essence

The Lord’s two essences were not merely added together; they were mingled together. Actually, any conceiving is a mingling, not merely an addition. With the Man-Savior it was not the case that the divine essence was simply added to the human essence. Rather, in the conception of the Man-Savior the divine essence and the human essence were mingled.

Some Bible students and even some Bible teachers have failed to understand the matter of mingling. In ancient times there was a debate regarding the mingling of the divine essence and the human essence in the Person of the Lord Jesus. Some who misunderstood this mingling said that it caused a third nature to be produced, something which is neither divine nor human. To say that with respect to the Lord Jesus the mingling of the divine essence and the human essence produced a third nature, a nature that is neither fully human nor divine, is heretical. However, we wish to make it clear that this is not our understanding of the word “mingle.” We agree with the first definition of this word given in Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary: mingle—“to combine or join (one thing with another, or two or more things together), especially so that the original elements are distinguishable in the combination.” According to this definition, when two or more things are mingled together, their original natures are not lost but remain distinguishable.

We may use tea as an illustration of mingling. When tea is mingled with water to make a beverage, neither the essence of tea nor the essence of water is lost. Instead, both essences remain. These two essences mingle together to produce a beverage, but they do not produce a third nature, something which is neither tea nor water.

Our Savior was conceived of the divine essence and born of the human essence. Therefore, He is a Person with two essences—the divine and the human—mingled together without a third nature being produced. Although the Lord has two essences, He is still a single complete Person, One who is both God and man.

The Divine Attributes Strengthening and Enriching the Human Virtues

If we read the Gospel of Luke carefully, we shall see that the divine attributes strengthen and enrich the human virtues. For example, the Bible clearly reveals that God is love (1 John 4:8) and that God loves (John 3:16). The Bible also says that as those created by God, we should love others (Rom. 13:9). God loves, and we also should love. However, we may love without having God’s love to strengthen and enrich our love. Confucius said that we should love others. But he did not point out that human love can be strengthened and enriched by the divine love. In Luke we see a Man, the Man-Savior, who was very loving. Yet in His love there is the divine love strengthening and enriching the human love.

The Lord’s living was the living of a Person who was a wonderful composition of divinity and humanity. As such a Person, the Lord was constituted of the divine attributes and the human virtues. (Life-study of Luke, msg. 1)

A Salvation in the Man-Savior’s Human Virtues with His Divine Attributes

The Man-Savior’s salvation, which is in the highest standard of morality, is a salvation in His human virtues with His divine attributes.

The Gospel of Luke contains many gospel messages, gospel parables, and gospel cases. The gospel messages are found in 4:16-21; 7:41-43; 12:14-21; and 13:2-5; the gospel parables, in 10:30-37; 14:16-24; 15:3-32; and 18:9-14; and the gospel cases, in 7:36-50; 13:10-17; 16:19-31; 19:1-10; and 23:39-43. None of these messages, parables, or cases is recorded in the other Gospels. All these gospel messages, parables, and cases are recorded uniquely in Luke’s narration.

Gospel Parables

The parable of the good Samaritan in chapter ten is an excellent example. When we come to this chapter, we shall see that this Samaritan signifies the Lord Himself, who was slandered by being called a low and mean Samaritan (John 8:48; 4:9) by the self-exalting and self-justifying Pharisees. According to this parable, a “certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who having stripped him and beat him, went away, leaving him half dead” (10:30). Both a priest and a Levite observed him and then passed by on the opposite side. Then a certain Samaritan came down to him and was moved with compassion (v. 33). “And coming to him, he bound up his wounds, pouring on them oil and wine. And placing him on his own beast, he brought him to an inn and took care of him” (v. 34). In this simple story, which even children may appreciate, we see that the Man-Savior lived in the highest standard of morality. He cared for the wounded man, brought him to the inn, and said to the innkeeper, “Take care of him; and whatever you spend in addition, when I return, I will repay you” (v. 35). This is not only a matter of love; it is also a living in the highest standard of morality.

The three parables in Luke 15 also illustrate the Man-Savior’s salvation in the highest standard of morality. These three parables form a full set. The good shepherd signifies God the Son as our shepherd, the woman signifies the Holy Spirit, and the loving father, of course, signifies God the Father. Hence, in these three parables we have the Trinity working together to seek, save, and receive a repentant sinner. The good shepherd loves the lost sheep, the woman treasures the lost coin, and the loving father receives the prodigal son when he returns.

Some readers of the Gospel of Luke may regard these parables merely as illustrating love. But we need to realize that it is Luke’s intention in his narration to portray the Divine Trinity full of the divine attributes shown in human virtues. In these parables we see not only the divine attributes, in particular, the attribute of love; we also see the divine attributes in human virtues.

Gospel Cases

The Man-Savior’s salvation in the highest standard of morality is also shown in the gospel cases recorded in Luke. In 7:36-50 we have the case of the Lord Jesus forgiving a sinful woman. This woman was despised by the Pharisee who had invited the Lord Jesus to eat with him. As we read this portion of the Gospel of Luke, we see that in dealing with this sinful woman, and also with the Pharisee, the Lord lived according to the highest standard of morality.

Another case that reveals the same high standard is the case of Zaccheus (19:1-10). Although Zaccheus, a tax collector, was an evil person, he was seeking the Man-Savior. Because he was seeking Jesus, “he ran on ahead and climbed up in a sycamore tree that he might see Him” (v. 4). The Lord Jesus responded to Zaccheus, saying, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down; for today I must stay in your house” (v. 5). The Man-Savior’s response must have far exceeded all that Zaccheus could have hoped for. The Man-Savior was not held back by the fact that Zaccheus was a despised man, one rejected by society. The Lord went with Zaccheus and stayed in his house. In His dealing with Zaccheus, the Man-Savior lived in the highest standard of morality.

Even when the Man-Savior was on the cross, He acted in the highest standard of morality in relation to the two criminals who were crucified with Him. One of the criminals said to the Lord Jesus, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom” (23:42). Immediately the Man-Savior answered, “Truly I tell you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise” (v. 43).

In these three cases we have a portrait of the Man-Savior with the highest standard of morality. This is a crucial matter in the Gospel of Luke. This Gospel depicts a Man who possesses the divine nature with all the human virtues. In the Man-Savior the divine attributes are mingled with the human virtues as one unit. Therefore, the Lord’s human virtues, according to this Gospel, are strengthened and enriched by the divine attributes. (Life-study of Luke, msg. 2)

He as a God-man, the One in the Highest Standard of Morality

In Matthew 6:13 the Lord Jesus taught the disciples to pray, “Do not bring us into trial.” The Lord, however, was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness in order that He might be tempted by the Devil. The Lord Jesus was strong, and He could withstand temptation. We, on the contrary, are not able to withstand temptation at all. We should not be proud, thinking that because we have the essential Spirit and the economical Spirit we are now able to withstand temptation. Such a thought indicates that we do not know ourselves.

The Lord Jesus is the only One who can stand the temptation of God’s enemy. When He was on earth, He was perfect and strong. Therefore, the Holy Spirit, who is God reaching man, led this perfect Man into temptation in order to defeat God’s enemy. Through the testing of the Man-Savior, God was able to show His enemy, Satan, the Devil, that there is a Man who can withstand temptation.

The Holy Spirit will never lead us to be tempted by the Devil, because we are not able to withstand Satan’s temptation. Even though we have been regenerated and to some extent sanctified and transformed, we nevertheless are not able to withstand the temptation of the evil one. Therefore we need to pray, “O Father, do not lead me into temptation.” No matter how strong we may feel, we actually are weak and cannot stand Satan’s temptation. The only One in this universe with the humanity that can withstand the temptation of God’s enemy is the Lord Jesus, our Man-Savior. (Life-study of Luke, msg. 9)

Instead of waiting for the enemy to come to Him, the Lord Jesus, being led of the Spirit, went to the place where the enemy was. The enemy came to the garden to attack Adam, but Jesus went to the wilderness to attack the enemy. When He was led by the Spirit to the wilderness, He was full of God essentially and economically. Thus, He was ready and equipped to deal with the enemy. He went into the wilderness as a warrior and, in the highest standard of morality, He defeated Satan.

When the Lord Jesus went into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil, He was the highest kind of man. Not only was He a man created by God; He was also a man equipped with God. He was a God-man, the One in the highest standard of morality. (Life-study of Luke, msg. 10)

The True God and a Genuine Man

In 22:47—23:25 we need to be impressed with four pictures. The first picture is the portrait of the Man-Savior, the portrait of the God-man. Due to the surrounding persons, the portrait of the Man-Savior is very clear. In this portrait we see the God-man, the One who is perfect, dignified, and full of divine splendor and of human virtues. As we consider the picture presented by Luke of the Man-Savior from the time He was arrested until He was sentenced to death by Pilate, we see the portrait of the Lord Jesus as the perfect and complete God-man.

Often we have pointed out that as the God-man the Lord Jesus is the complete God and a perfect man. However, perhaps we have not appreciated before the portrait of the God-man that is presented in this portion of the Word. I hope that in reading this section of the Gospel of Luke all the saints, especially the young people, will have a clear view of this portrait of the God-man.

The Lord Jesus in 22:47—23:25 is portrayed as the true God and a real man. This God-man was arrested, mocked, blasphemed, despised, and judged. But as He passed through all this, He was fully portrayed as having the highest standard of morality, as possessing the human virtues with the all-surpassing divine splendor. Here we see not only the Man-Savior’s divine attributes; we also see His divine splendor. In this One we see the true God and a proper man. He was fully qualified to be the Substitute for the sinners for whom He intended to die. According to Luke’s record here, He was ready to die for sinners. (Life-study of Luke, msg. 51)

THE HIGHEST STANDARD OF MORALITY

Man Being Created in God’s Image

In chapter one of Genesis we see that man was created in God’s image and according to God’s likeness. God is love and light. Love is the nature of God’s being, and light is the nature of God’s expression. Furthermore, God is holy and righteous. God is holy in His nature and righteous in His actions. These four attributes—love, light, holiness, and righteousness—are revealed in the law of God. In the law we have the basic principle of divine love, divine light, divine holiness, and divine righteousness.

The man created by God had only the appearance of God’s love, light, righteousness, and holiness. Man cannot have the reality of these attributes unless he receives God into him as his life. We know that according to the book of Genesis man failed to take God into him as his life.

The Living of the Lord Jesus

One day God Himself became a Man named Jesus. This Man was conceived of the divine essence and born of the human essence, the very essence God created in man. This means that the human essence of which the Lord Jesus partook was that created by God according to what He is—the human essence with the appearance of God’s love, light, holiness, and righteousness.

When we speak of the highest standard of morality, we are not using the word “morality” in a traditional way. By morality we mean the standard of life God requires.

We have pointed out that at the time of his creation man did not have the reality of love, light, holiness, and righteousness. The reality of these divine attributes is actually God Himself. This means that through creation man had the image of these attributes, but he did not have the reality of them. This was the reason God in Genesis 2 put man in front of Himself as signified by the tree of life, indicating that God wanted man to take Him as his life so that he might have the reality of the divine love, light, holiness, and righteousness. This would enable man to live a life in the highest standard of morality.

Although the man created by God failed to live such a life, the Lord Jesus, the Man-Savior, possessing the divine nature and the human nature, lived a life on earth with the attributes of God expressed in the virtues of man. This crucial matter is revealed in the Gospel of Luke.

The Christ Who Lives in Us

Today the very Christ who lives in us is still the One who possesses the human virtues strengthened and enriched by the divine attributes. While He was on earth, He lived a life in the highest standard of morality. Such a life was a composition of the divine attributes and the human virtues. Of course, the Lord Jesus lived this kind of life outside the disciples. But from the time of His resurrection He has been living this kind of life within the believers. This means that within us today the Man-Savior is still living a life in the highest standard of morality, a life that is a composition of the divine attributes and the human virtues. If we see this, we shall say with Paul, “It is no longer I, but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20).

Have you ever realized that the Christ who lives in you is a composition of the divine attributes and the human virtues? The kind of life He lived on earth He is now seeking to live in us. (Life-study of Luke, msg. 2)

THE PROCLAMATION OF THE JUBILEE BY THE LORD JESUS IN LUKE 4
GOVERNING THE WHOLE GOSPEL OF LUKE

We have pointed out in other messages in this Life-study that the proclamation of the jubilee by the Lord Jesus in Luke 4 governs the whole Gospel of Luke. Actually the entire New Testament age is the jubilee. The New Testament age is a time of proclaiming release to all those who have lost their possessions and who have sold themselves into slavery. Today the proclaiming of the gospel is to bring these people back to their possession and to their family— back to God and to the family, the house, of God. (Life-study of Luke, msg. 65)

The Jubilee Being an Age of Ecstasy for Our Salvation

When the children of Israel, God’s chosen people, fell into a pitiful situation, God came to redeem them through Moses out of the land of Egypt that they might gain their freedom. When God led them out of Egypt, He performed a great miracle by separating the waters of the sea for them to pass through. Then, when they crossed the Red Sea and saw their enemies drowned and buried, they were in ecstasy, shouting and dancing for joy. In the previous chapter we defined the Chinese term for jubilee as “everything being to one’s satisfaction.” In the jubilee all things are pleasant and satisfying to our heart, and we are free from anxiety, at ease, excited, and exultant. In English the word jubilee denotes a rejoicing, a joyful shouting. The Hebrew word for jubilee is yobel, which means “a joyful noise,” “a shouting with the blasting of a trumpet,” and “a proclamation.” It is a proclamation not of sorrow or lamentation but of the gospel, the good news of great joy. (CWWL, 1984, vol. 4, “The Jubilee”, msg. 2)

According to the type in Leviticus 25, the jubilee has two main blessings. These blessings are the return to the lost possession and the release from slavery.

The Jubilee Being Illustrated by the Parable of the Prodigal Son

In the foregoing messages we pointed out that although we are men created by God, we have lost God as our real possession. To be more exact, actually we did not lose our possession—we left it. The parable of the prodigal son illustrates this. When the prodigal son left the father’s house, he also left his inheritance. Likewise, when we left God, we left our true possession. Therefore, in the jubilee it is not that our possession is returned to us; rather, we are returned to the possession which we left. The first blessing of the jubilee is the return to our possession.

In addition to losing our possession, we also lost ourselves by selling ourselves into slavery. Therefore, we need to be set free. This is the second blessing of the jubilee. If you read Leviticus 25 carefully, you will see that, on the one hand, there is the return to one’s possession, and, on the other hand, the return to one’s family.

We all once were prodigals who went away from the Father and from His household. As those who went away both from the Father and from His house, we certainly went away from our inheritance. Therefore, it was necessary for us to be returned to the Father and to His household. This is the jubilee as illustrated by the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15.

The New Testament jubilee was proclaimed by the Lord Jesus in Luke 4:18 and 19. He sounded out the trumpet of the New Testament jubilee when He declared, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to send away in release those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” After this jubilee was proclaimed, it was experienced by many whose cases are recorded in the Gospel of Luke. All these cases, therefore, are illustrations of the New Testament jubilee.

GOD’S INTENTION BEING TO BE MAN’S POSSESSION

Man’s true possession is God, and man was created as a vessel to contain God. Genesis 1:26 says that man was made in the image of God, and Romans 9 reveals that man was created to be a vessel. Man was created a vessel to contain God so that God might fill man and express Himself through man.

Consider a bottle, which is a vessel. In itself such a vessel is empty. What is the possession of a bottle? A bottle’s possession is its content. The principle is the same with any kind of vessel: the possession of a vessel is the content of that vessel. If a vessel does not have its content, it does not have its possession. For a vessel to be without content, to be without its possession, is to be empty, and to be empty is to be poor.

Man was created as a vessel to contain God. If man does not contain God, this means that man does not have his possession. Without God as his content, man remains a poor, empty vessel. God’s intention is to be man’s content, his possession.

In the realm of material things, if we have the needed possessions, we shall have land for the producing of food, and we shall have a house for our lodging. Daily we need food to eat and a house in which to dwell. In brief, we need land and a house. These are the basic necessities in man’s living.

The New Testament indicates that God is our real land. To His chosen people, the children of Israel, God gave a good land, a land flowing with milk and honey. For what purpose did He give them the land? God gave the land to His people so that they would have food for eating. This good land is a type of God in Christ to be the supply for our eating. Eating is a spiritual necessity, and Christ is the supply to meet this need.

In the year of jubilee the concern was not with clothing or transportation; instead, the concern was with eating and housing. Therefore, a man could return to his provision, to his land for eating, and also to his family, that is, to his house. In a spiritual sense, our land is God Himself, and our house also is God. God’s intention is to be our possession for food and lodging. (Life-study of Luke, msg. 66)

THE LIVING OF THE JUBILEE BEING A LIVING OF FULLY ENJOYING GOD

The Christian life should be a life of fully enjoying the Lord. When we enjoy the Lord fully, He becomes our jubilee; that is, He becomes our inheritance and liberty. Not only so, the Lord also becomes our living. In such a living, we love Him to the uttermost and let Him be the Lord. Then He becomes the primary factor and center in us to lead us and govern us. In this way, when we pass through things, we will not be tormented, enslaved, or dominated by them. Instead, we will be free. (CWWL, 1984, vol. 4, “The Jubilee”, msg. 4)

In Philippians 4 Paul indicates that he knew Christ and experienced Him to such an extent that everything was to his satisfaction. He says, “I have learned, in whatever circumstances I am, to be content. I know also how to be abased, and I know how to abound; in everything and in all things I have learned the secret both to be filled and to hunger, both to abound and to lack. I am able to do all things in Him who empowers me” (vv. 11b-13). It is not outward persons, matters, or things but Christ within who enables us to be calm and free of worries as we face all kinds of situations.

The year of jubilee is Christ; therefore, the year of jubilee is the year of grace, because grace is God Himself in Christ to be our enjoyment. When we hear the gospel, we hear the jubilee. Once we repent and believe into the Lord, jubilee enters into us. From then on, at any time and in any matter, in dealing with anyone or anything, if we live by Christ, Christ is our jubilee. Sometimes we may have the painful experience of putting Christ aside and thus losing God temporarily. Once we have lost God, we have sold ourselves and become slaves again. However, once we begin anew to enjoy the Lord Jesus, we have God and we enjoy freedom. At this time, within us everything is to our heart’s satisfaction, and the jubilee is in us. We are happy and rejoicing, we prosper, and we live long. This is the meaning of the jubilee. (CWWL, 1984, vol. 4, “The Jubilee”, msg. 1)