THE THIRD PART: 24 CRUCIAL LINES IN THE BIBLE
The Divine Economy
Message One—A General Sketch of God’s Economy
Scripture Reading: 1 Tim. 1:3-4; Gen. 1:26-27; 2:8-9; Rom. 12:2; 8:20-30; John 15:1, 4; 2 Cor. 3:18; Col. 2:13; 3:4; 1 Pet. 1:3; 1 Cor. 15:45b; 1 Thes. 5:23; Heb. 2:10; Phil. 3:21; Rev. 21:2
I. The entire Bible is a book that deals exclusively with the economy of God, and that in particular the New Testament is focused on the consummation of the economy of God; hence, the New Testament is especially thorough in dealing with the economy of God—Eph. 1:10; 3:9; 1 Tim. 1:3. (A General Outline of God’s Economy and the Proper Living of a God-Man, msg. 1)
II. The Bible first shows us that God has two creations: one is the old creation and the other is the new creation—Gen. 1:1; Isa. 42:5; Zech. 12:1: (A General Outline of God’s Economy and the Proper Living of a God-Man, msg. 1)
A. The old creation was a twofold creation—Gen. 1:1: (A General Outline of God’s Economy and the Proper Living of a God-Man, msg. 1)
1. In the first section of God’s old creation, which was His original creation, He created the heavens and the earth including the angels: (A General Outline of God’s Economy and the Proper Living of a God-Man, msg. 1)
a. Among them, an archangel, who was a cherub, led a group of them to rebel against God and thus became God’s adversary. Hence, his name is Satan, which means “adversary”—Ezek. 28:14-17. (A General Outline of God’s Economy and the Proper Living of a God-Man, msg. 1)
b. Due to his rebellion, the original creation of God became waste and empty —Gen. 1:2; Jer. 4:23. (A General Outline of God’s Economy and the Proper Living of a God-Man, msg. 1)
2. In His work of restoration, God recovered the wasted heavens and earth; He first created the different kinds of plants and animals, and then He created man—Gen. 1:2b-31: (A General Outline of God’s Economy and the Proper Living of a God-Man, msg. 1)
a. Man was created by God according to Himself in image and likeness; what God created was a man, yet the man whom He created looked like God; this man who was created by God was the center of His restoration in the old creation—1:26-27. (A General Outline of God’s Economy and the Proper Living of a God-Man, msg. 1)
b. Then God presented Himself to this man in the form of the tree of life; this means that He wanted this man to take Him in—2:8-9. (A General Outline of God’s Economy and the Proper Living of a God-Man, msg. 1)
c. God wanted man to receive the tree of life, to receive God, as his life; thus, man would be like God both in his inward nature and life and in his outward appearance. (A General Outline of God’s Economy and the Proper Living of a God-Man, msg. 1)
3. Satan came in, however, to seduce man to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil—3:6-7: (A General Outline of God’s Economy and the Proper Living of a God-Man, msg. 1)
a. Thus, man sinned and became fallen, and the entire restored old creation, which he represented as the head, was corrupted—Rom. 5:12. (A General Outline of God’s Economy and the Proper Living of a God-Man, msg. 1)
b. The old creation became vanity of vanities, groaning together in travail under the slavery of corruption; because of this, God’s economy also suffered a setback—8:20-22. (A General Outline of God’s Economy and the Proper Living of a God-Man, msg. 1)
III. In order to carry out His economy, at a certain time God Himself became a man—John 1:1, 4: (A General Outline of God’s Economy and the Proper Living of a God-Man, msg. 1)
A. In so doing, He brought God into man; God is the tree of life; when He came, He brought the tree of life into man—John 15:1, 4. (A General Outline of God’s Economy and the Proper Living of a God-Man, msg. 1)
B. This incarnated God-man lived on the earth for over thirty years expressing God fully. (A General Outline of God’s Economy and the Proper Living of a God-Man, msg. 1)
C. Then He died on the cross and was resurrected—Acts 2:23; 4:10: (A General Outline of God’s Economy and the Proper Living of a God-Man, msg. 1)
1. In His death He completely terminated the degraded, deteriorated, corrupted, and rotten old creation—Rom. 6:6: (A General Outline of God’s Economy and the Proper Living of a God-Man, msg. 1)
a. Through His death He put an end to God’s old creation. (A General Outline of God’s Economy and the Proper Living of a God-Man, msg. 1)
b. When He died on the cross, He brought the old creation with Him and dealt with it there; thus, He redeemed the God-created man, the man whom God desired to save. (A General Outline of God’s Economy and the Proper Living of a God-Man, msg. 1)
2. In His resurrection and through His resurrection He brought forth, regenerated, all the ones in the new creation—2 Cor. 5:17: (A General Outline of God’s Economy and the Proper Living of a God-Man, msg. 1)
a. The new creation is not shared by all the people in the world; it is centered on the people chosen by God. (A General Outline of God’s Economy and the Proper Living of a God-Man, msg. 1)
b. In His new creation, God has resurrected, that is, has regenerated, all His chosen ones together with Christ through the resurrection of Christ—Eph. 2:5; Col. 2:13. (A General Outline of God’s Economy and the Proper Living of a God-Man, msg. 1)
c. In His resurrection Christ also uplifted the humanity which He had put on and brought it into divinity; thus, He was begotten to be the firstborn Son of God in His resurrection (Rom. 8:29; Acts 13:33); the God-chosen ones whom He regenerated as His many brothers became the many sons of God—Rom. 8:29; Acts 13:33. (A General Outline of God’s Economy and the Proper Living of a God-Man, msg. 1)
D. Christ carries out His heavenly ministry in ascension through His resurrection—1 Cor. 15:45b; Col. 1:22; Titus 3:5; Rom. 8:29a; Phil. 3:2: (A General Outline of God’s Economy and the Proper Living of a God-Man, msg. 1)
1. Simply speaking, in His resurrection He became the life-giving Spirit to enter into His heavenly ministry—1 Cor. 15:45. (A General Outline of God’s Economy and the Proper Living of a God-Man, msg. 1)
2. In His resurrection, with the ascended position and environment, He as the life-giving Spirit works in the redeemed and regenerated people in many ways: (A General Outline of God’s Economy and the Proper Living of a God-Man, msg. 1)
a. First, the work of sanctification —Col. 1:22; 1 Thes. 5:23. (A General Outline of God’s Economy and the Proper Living of a God-Man, msg. 1)
b. Second, the work of renewing —Rom. 12:2; Titus 3:5. (A General Outline of God’s Economy and the Proper Living of a God-Man, msg. 1)
c. Third, the work of transformation —2 Cor. 3:18. (A General Outline of God’s Economy and the Proper Living of a God-Man, msg. 1)
d. Fourth, the work of conformation —Rom. 8:29a. (A General Outline of God’s Economy and the Proper Living of a God-Man, msg. 1)
e. Finally, He as the life-giving Spirit will bring His people into glory, so that their body will be redeemed and their entire being will be glorified—Heb. 2:10; Col. 3:4; Phil. 3:21. (A General Outline of God’s Economy and the Proper Living of a God-Man, msg. 1)
f. We are in the processed Triune God for Him to work in us to the extent that we are exactly the same as the embodiment of God, the firstborn Son of God, so that we all may become the embodiment of God—Rom. 8:29. (A General Outline of God’s Economy and the Proper Living of a God-Man, msg. 1)
IV. The firstborn Son of God is the individual embodiment of God; we as the many sons of God are the corporate embodiment of God; the reality of this embodiment is the all-inclusive Spirit; when this embodiment is expressed, it is the Body of Christ—Rom. 8:29; Heb. 2:10; Eph. 1:23. (A General Outline of God’s Economy and the Proper Living of a God-Man, msg. 1)
V. The Body of Christ consummates in the New Jerusalem; the New Jerusalem is the conclusion of all these matters; therefore, in the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, the last thing that is produced is the New Jerusalem—Rev. 21:2, 10: (A General Outline of God’s Economy and the Proper Living of a God-Man, msg. 1)
A. We see that all the visions and all the revelations are consummated and manifested in the New Jerusalem. (A General Outline of God’s Economy and the Proper Living of a God-Man, msg. 1)
B. This New Jerusalem is the union and mingling of the processed Triune God with the transformed tripartite man to form one entity as the expression of God in eternity. (A General Outline of God’s Economy and the Proper Living of a God-Man, msg. 1)
VI. “I hope that from now on every one of you will be able to speak the same thing. This message is a general outline. Regardless of what subject you cover or what message you speak, never depart from this outline. This is the general subject that must govern your speaking. From now on, this is what we must preach in our gospel preaching; this is what we must teach in our edification of new believers; and this is what we must speak in conferences and trainings. This is the highest gospel, this is what the world needs, and this is what the Lord desires to recover today.” (A General Outline of God’s Economy and the Proper Living of a God-Man, msg. 1)