THE THIRD PART: 24 CRUCIAL LINES IN THE BIBLE
The All-inclusive Christ
Message Seven
A Panoramic View of Christ in the New Testament
Scriptures Reading: Matt. 1:1; Rev. 22:21; Ezek. 1:10; Isa. 9:6; Heb. 9:11; John 5:39; Col. 2:16-17; Acts 2:42; 1 Tim. 1:3-4
I. The first name and the last name in the New Testament is Jesus, proving that Jesus Christ is the subject and content of the New Testament—Matt. 1:1; Rev. 22:21:
A. The Bible is a book of life, and this life is a living person, the wonderful and all-inclusive Christ—John 1:4; 14:6; 1 John 5:12-13.
B. 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—Isa. 9:6; Col. 2:16-17; Heb. 9:11.
II. 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—John 5:39; 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 and footnote 1; Mark 8:6.
C. 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—Matt 1:1 and footnote 1; Luke 7:50.
D. The Gospel of John unveils Him as the Son of God, the very God Himself, who is life to God’s people—Matt 1:1 and footnote 1; John 3:16; 9:35-37; 14:6.
III. The four faces of the living creatures in Ezekiel 1:10 also portray the life of Christ as depicted in the four Gospels:
A. Matthew shows Christ as a lion, the King of God’s kingdom; we need to be one with Christ to have the face of a lion, indicating that in relation to sin, the world, and Satan we are bold, strong, victorious, and reigning—Rev. 5:5; Rom. 5:17.
B. Mark portrays Him as an ox, the Servant of God; we need to be one with Christ to have the face of an ox, indicating that we are willing to bear the burden, to labor, and even to sacrifice ourselves—1 Cor. 15:10, 58; Acts 20:24; Phil. 2:30.
C. Luke depicts Him as a man, the Man-Savior; we need to be one with Christ to have the face of a man, indicating that we live in a proper humanity, the humanity of Jesus—cf. Eph. 4:20-21.
D. John shows Him as an eagle, the very God; we need to be one with Christ to have the face of an eagle, indicating that we are transcendent, buoyant, and powerful in the life of God—6:15; Phil. 4:12-13.
IV. The New Testament portrays the person of Christ in the following aspects—John 5:39; Col. 2:16-17:
A. In the Gospels is the Christ who lived on the earth and died on the cross for the accomplishment of redemption—Luke 9:18; Mark 1:35.
B. In the Acts is the resurrected and ascended Christ propagated and ministered to men—Acts 2:41; 4:4.
C. In Romans is the Christ who is our righteousness for justification and our life for sanctification, transformation, conformation, glorification, and building up—3:26; 4:3.
D. In Galatians is the Christ who enables us to live a life that is versus the law, religion, tradition, and forms—2: 11-21.
E. In Philippians is the Christ who is lived out of His members—4:5-9.
F. In Ephesians and Colossians is the Christ who is the life, the content, and the Head of the Body, the church—Col. 1:18; Eph. 1:10.
G. In 1 and 2 Corinthians is the Christ who is everything in the practical church life—1 Cor. 2:2; 1:12.
H. In 1 and 2 Thessalonians is the Christ who is our holiness for His coming back—1 Thes. 3:13; 5:23.
I. In 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus is the Christ who is God’s economy, enabling us to know how to conduct ourselves in the house of God—1 Tim. 3:15-16.
J. In Hebrews is the present Christ, who is now in the heavens as our Minister and our High Priest, ministering to us the heavenly life, grace, authority, and power and sustaining us to live a heavenly life on earth; He is the Christ now, the Christ today, and the Christ on the throne in the heavens, who is our daily salvation and moment-by-moment supply—8:2; 4:14-15; 7:26.
K. In the Epistles of Peter is the Christ who enables us to take God’s governmental dealings administered through sufferings—1 Pet. 1:6-7.
L. In the Epistles of John is the Christ who is the life and fellowship of the children of God in God’s family—1 John 1:2-3.
M. In Revelation is the Christ who is walking among the churches in this age, ruling over the world in the kingdom in the coming age, and expressing God in full glory in the new heaven and new earth for eternity—2:1; 1:13.
V. The apostles’ teaching is the unique teaching of God’s New Testament economy concerning the full ministry of Christ in three stages—Acts 2:42; 1 Tim. 1:3-4:
A. In the first stage of incarnation in the four Gospels—Matt. 14:19, 23; John 1:14; 10:30; Rom. 3:24-25:
1. To bring the infinite God into the finite man—John 1:1-2, 14.
2. To unite, mingle, and incorporate the Triune God with the tripartite man—Luke 1:35.
3. To express in His humanity the bountiful God in His rich attributes through His aromatic virtues—Matt. 19:13-15; 1 Cor. 1:27-28; Matt. 4:18-22.
4. To accomplish His all-inclusive judicial redemption—Luke 24:47; Heb. 1:3; Rom. 3:24-25; 5:10a.
B. In the second stage of inclusion in the Epistles—1 Cor. 15:45b; Phil. 1:19; Acts 13:33; 2:28:
1. To be begotten as God’s firstborn Son—Acts 13:33.
2. To become the life-giving Spirit—1 Cor. 15:45b.
3. To regenerate the believers for His Body—1 Pet. 1:3; 1 Cor. 12:13.
C. In the third stage of intensification in Revelation—Rev. 1:4; 4:5; 5:6; 2:7, 17; 19:7-9; 21:2:
1. To intensify His organic salvation—Rev. 5:6.
2. To produce the overcomers—2—3.
3. To consummate the New Jerusalem—21—22.
Ministry Excerpts:
JESUS CHRIST BEING THE SUBJECT OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
The first name and the last name (Rev. 22:21) in the New Testament is Jesus, proving that Jesus Christ is the subject and content of the New Testament.
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,
BEING ALL-INCLUSIVE, HAVING MANY ASPECTS
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 FOUR LIVING CREATURES
BEING A FOURFOLD EXPRESSION OF CHRIST
The four living creatures are reckoned not as individuals but as a group. All of them are counted as one entity. Later on we will see that these living creatures are the corporate expression of the man on the throne. As such an expression, they express this man not only in one direction but in the four directions of east, north, south, and west. This indicates that as the four living creatures we are not only the unique expression of Christ but also that we are the complete expression of Christ. We express Christ in every direction, toward every side. We are the four living creatures expressing Christ in an adequate and complete way.
These four faces—the face of a man, the face of a lion, the face of an ox, and the face of an eagle—portray the life of Christ. These four faces correspond to the four Gospels, which may be regarded as four biographies of the Lord Jesus, with each presenting a certain aspect of Christ. Luke shows Him as a man, Matthew shows Him as a lion, Mark shows Him as an ox, and John shows Him as an eagle. This fourfold life is the life of Christ. (Life-study of Ezekiel, msg. 5)
CHRIST REVEALED IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
Christ in the Gospels
The New Testament is filled with an even richer revelation concerning Christ than that in the Old Testament. Nearly every one of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament has Christ as its subject and contains a revelation of Christ. The New Testament begins with the four Gospels, which are the continuation of the Old Testament and the fulfillment of the prophecies concerning Christ. The four Gospels unveil to us the four aspects of Christ’s human living. The Gospel of Matthew shows that Christ is a King who is God yet man. The Gospel of Mark shows that this King who is God yet man is a Servant of God, the Slave of God. The Gospel of Luke shows that Christ is a man—a proper and perfect man. The Gospel of John shows that Christ is God who exists from the beginning. Christ is the perfect man and the complete God.
Christ not only expressed God in His living on earth; He also explained God. By His human living He explained what God is like—God’s heart, nature, love, and kindness toward people, and even how God brings grace to people. He explained all these aspects of God clearly. In His short human life He expressed all these aspects and accomplished all these matters. Finally, He bore our sins on the cross and died for us and for our sins. In His death on the cross, He not only bore our sins but also terminated Satan, the world, the power of darkness, the fallen man, the flesh, and all things contrary to God. He dealt with all these negative things on the cross.
His death on the cross was an all-inclusive death; it was a death according to God’s will and a death that met God’s need. Thus, He solved our problems before God, and He solved God’s problems with us. After He was raised from the dead, He brought all that He is, all that He accomplished, and all that He attained into resurrection. In resurrection He became the life-giving Spirit to be received by man (1 Cor. 15:45; John 20:22). His becoming the Spirit is the end result and the essence of the four Gospels.
Christ in Acts
The Gospels are followed by Acts. The book of Acts unveils that Christ as the life-giving Spirit in His resurrection enters into men to be their resurrection life; it also shows that in Christ’s heavenly position in ascension, He moves and works to accomplish God’s will on earth. On one hand, He regenerates people with His divine life, and on the other hand, He is building His church on earth from His position and power in ascension (Acts 1:8-9; 2:1-4, 14-21, 40-47). He regenerates men and builds His church. He is moving by His resurrection life and in His position of ascension with His authority through the move of His regenerated ones. Such a move is connected to heaven and also linked to the earth. By entering into and moving in man by His resurrection life and in His ascended position, the ascended Lord is connected to man on earth. In this way, man can move by His ascended authority.
Our going forth to preach the gospel is a part of the Acts. We preach the gospel by the Lord’s resurrection life, by standing in the Lord’s heavenly position, by exercising the Lord’s heavenly authority, and by bearing the heavenly nature. We are not merely saved ones preaching the gospel to people and urging them to believe in the Lord Jesus. We need a thorough view of the gospel. When we preach, we do not do so merely according to our position of being saved; rather, we are in the resurrection life, in the mysterious Christ. He is clothed with us; that is, He is in us, preaching the gospel and moving with us in His resurrection life from the ascended position, by His heavenly authority with His heavenly nature.
Christ in the Epistles
The Epistles consist of twenty-one books, from Romans to Jude. The book of Revelation fol1ows Jude and is also an Epistle. It was written by the apostle John to the seven churches in Asia. Therefore, there are twenty-two Epistles. Revelation as an Epistle contains even epistles. The Epistles speak concerning the church, the Body of Christ. They present the content, nature, and manifestation, or expression, of the church. In Acts Christ stands in the heavenly position and moves in the resurrection life to regenerate people and build up the church as His Body. However, in order for people to know the nature and expression of the church as the Body of Christ, there is the need for the Epistles to describe in detail the condition of the church in a locality. Such descriptions provide a clear under¬standing that Christ is the content, nature, and expression of the church. In other words, the Epistles enable us to see how the church is the Body of Christ and what Christ is to the church.
Christ in Romans
In the Gospels Christ Himself carried out and accomplished everything. In Acts He is in a resurrected and ascended position, and He is also within His redeemed people to move with them on earth for the accomplishing of God’s will. In Romans Christ not only redeems sinners but also enters into them so that they may obtain God’s life, live by Him, and be conformed to His image to become exactly like Him (Rom. 8:29-30). On one hand, the redeemed and regenerated people are His brothers, and on the other hand, they are His members. When these members are coordinated together, they become His Body (12:5). Therefore, Romans shows us three main points: redemption, the divine life, and the Body. Christ is redemption and life to the church, and the church is Christ’s Body. Because of redemption sinners can enjoy Christ as life and coordinate together to become His Body. Redemption, life, and the Body are of Christ, for Christ, and unto Christ.
Christ in 1 and 2 Corinthians
First Corinthians speaks of Christ being our gifts (12:4); the gifts we receive should be Christ. Second Corinthians speaks of Christ being our grace (12:9). Grace is inward, of life, and for our enjoyment. Gifts are outward; they are spiritual capacities and outward functions. Inwardly, we enjoy grace, which is something of life. Outwardly, we apply the gifts, which are a matter of function. Both the inward and outward aspects should be Christ. Grace is Christ, and the gifts are also Christ.
In 2 Corinthians we also see the issue of grace. Grace produces a ministry (3:9; 4:1), which is also Christ. Gift is a person’s ability, whereas ministry is a person’s being. When we enjoy grace inwardly, we are constituted with it, and a ministry is produced in us. Then without any effort, we simply are what we are, we have the ability that was given to us, and we function.
First Corinthians shows that Christ is everything to us. All the gifts in the church should be the expression of Christ, but this is still very shallow. Therefore, 2 Corinthians shows us that God does not care only for the outward gifts; He wants grace in us to do a constituting work so that we have a ministry. Paul experienced this grace. He said that he had a thorn in his flesh and that he entreated the Lord three times that it might depart from him (12:7-8). However, the Lord said to him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness” (v. 9). The Lord would not remove the thorn and thereby allowed Paul to enjoy His sufficient grace. The thorn caused grace to be woven and constituted into Paul to become his ministry. As a result, what Paul did was the issue of what he was. What he did in the church was not a gift; it was a ministry.
Christ in Galatians
Galatians unveils that Christ wants to be revealed in us (1:16), to live in us (2:20), and to be formed in us (4:19). There is a difference between Christ being formed in us and Christ making His home in our heart (Eph. 3:17). Fundamentally, the two matters are very close to one another, but Christ making His home in us results in His being formed in us. When Christ makes His home in our heart, not only has He been formed in us, but He also occupies our entire being and can move freely in us and rest in us. In other words, we and Christ are blended as one. Christ is revealed in us, lives in us, and is formed in us by saturating and occupying us. When He makes His home in us, we become His resting place; He is everything to us, and we express Him. This is the main point presented in the book of Galatians.
Christ in Ephesians
The church, which is the totality of those who have Christ formed in them, is the subject of Ephesians. In Galatians Christ is revealed in all the saints by His living in them, being formed in them, and making His home in them. When these believers are added together, they are the church, which is the Body of Christ. The believers are the fullness of Christ, the expression of Christ, as a corporate vessel to contain Christ, to be filled with Him, and to express Him. Christ is everything to them, which means that Christ is the life and living of the individual saints. He is also the content and expression of the church as a corporate entity.
Galatians unveils Christ as the inward life and ouhvard living of the believers. Ephesians goes on to unveil Christ as the inward content and the outward expression of the church. In 1953, when we studied the book of Ephesians in a training, we had a clear presenta¬tion of Christ as the content, nature, and expression of the church. Recently, a group of people said that they have received revelations and visions. These people also criticize us, saying that our testimony is an outward coordination of believers focused on outward things, such as sweeping the floor, cleaning windows, and wiping chairs. Such speaking is slanderous. Our testimony is that Christ lives in us to be our life and is expressed through us to be our living. He fills every member in the church to be the content of the church, and He is being expressed through every member to be the expression of the church. However, because we meet and serve together, there is a need to coordinate in the general affairs of the church.
Those who condemn us acquired most of their revelation and visions from my teachings. Fifteen years ago I released some messages related to Christ and the cross. In these messages I spoke concerning what Christ is, what He has done, and what He will accomplish in God’s plan, in creation, in redemption, in the church, in the kingdom, and in eternity. These messages were published in The Ministry of the Word. We should neither be deceived nor listen to the lies that slander us. Our testimony is not merely the outward coordination in general church affairs. Our testimony is Christ as our inward content and our outward living. He is within us to be our content, and He is outside of us to be our expression. This is the church.
Christ in Philippians
The book of Philippians mainly speaks concerning Christ as the One whom we experience and express. We can experience and express Him to the extent that we can say, “To me, to live is Christ” (l:2la). Therefore, we should not only take Christ as our life and our living, but we also should take Christ as our experience and expression. What we experience and express as Christians should simply be Christ Himself.
Christ in Colossians
The short book of Colossians shows Christ as the Creator of all things and the Head of the church. God is pleased to let Christ have the first place in all things and to have all the fullness of the God-head dwell in Christ bodily (1:16-19; 2:9). God is pleased to hide His mystery in Christ, meaning that Christ is the mystery of God. He is God’s explanation, God’s interpretation, and God’s everything. All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ (vv. 2-3). Christ is before all things, and all things cohere in Him; Christ is everything. Colossians presents a universal, great person: Christ as the Head of the church, which is His Body. The church is the enlargement of Christ, and everything related to the church is Christ.
The meeting hall is neither Christ nor the church. We should never say that the meeting hall is the church, nor should we pay excessive attention to the meeting hall; nevertheless, we need a meeting hall for us to meet together. In addition, if we did not have a meeting hall, we could not register with the government. If we did not have an elders’ office and a deacons’ office, it would be difficult to make arrangements for the saints concerning different matters in the church life. It is surprising that people slander and speak evilly of us about such things. The dissenting ones claim that there is no need for the saints to serve in the business office, but that instead they should stay home to read the Bible and pray. Some brothers and sisters in the business office have been affected by this speaking and have stopped serving. As a result, the dissenting ones claim that there is no one serving in the church business office. Such claims are not of the Lord. We should not be deceived. We are serving the Lord, preaching the gospel, and leading people to salvation, and we have various kinds of services. Also, many saints need care. It would be very difficult to carry out these things without a business office. The church business office is not Christ or our testimony, but it is necessary for the church life.
When we invite people for a meal, we do not invite them to eat chopsticks and bowls, even though we use these to eat the meal. In 1957 several brothers from the West came to visit us. They highly appreciated the blessing we have received, but they also criticized us concerning our practice of the church. Such criticism may be compared to people appreciating the tea we serve but wanting to break the teapot. We acknowledge that the church is the expression of Christ, that Christ is the content of the church, that our life and living are Christ, and that we experience and express Christ. The business affairs are not our testimony; they are merely the means of our service. We do not focus on these outward things. Our testi¬mony remains Christ Himself.
Christ in 1 and 2 Thessalonians
Colossians presents a universal, great person. The Head of this person is Christ, and the Body is the church. The life, nature, content, and expression of the church are Christ. Colossians is followed by 1 and 2 Thessalonians. These two books show us that Christ is our hope. He is inside us as our life and content, He is our outward expression and living, and He is our hope for the future. We need to live a sanctified life on earth while we wait to be raptured and meet our Lord. His coming is our encouragement and hope.
Christ in 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon
First and 2 Timothy and Titus show that Christ is the administration and government of the church. In other words, the church’s administration and government are Christ. The book of Philemon shows that brotherly love is indispensable in the church life, and this brotherly love is Christ. This book reveals that brotherly love can be practiced to such an extent that the master of a slave can love his slave as a brother. In ancient times there was a great difference in social rank between masters and slaves, but the brothers’ loving one another in Christ transcends the positional difference between masters and slaves.
Christ in Hebrews to Jude
The book of Hebrews speaks of Christ being superior to all persons and things in religion. Hebrews first presents the Old Testament with the persons and things in Judaism as a background. Then Hebrews presents Christ, who is superior to everything in Judaism; He is better, higher, and richer. By His indestructible life Christ is everything in the church today (7:16); hence, we should live according to this indestructible life. This life is in the spirit, which is the Holy of Holies (10:19). By being in our spirit, the Holy of Holies, we can inherit this indestructible life and serve the eternal God by this life.
The Epistle of James, the two Epistles of Peter, the three Epistle of John, and the Epistle of Jude are supplementary Epistles, showing in relation to Christian practices—living under God’s gov¬ernment, fellowship with God in life, and standing in the proper faith. These books contain a considerable measure of life.
Christ in Revelation
The last Epistle is Revelation. This book reveals that the church in different localities as lampstands (1:11-12) should express Christ. It also reveals that Christ should be the content of the churches. Revelation also presents God’s judgment, God’s kingdom, and eternity. Therefore, there are four crucial points in Revelation: the churches, God’s judgment, His kingdom, and eternity. In God’s judgment Christ has the first place as the Judge; God’s judgment is executed by Christ. Christ is the King and the center in God’s kingdom, and He is also the center in eternity.
In eternity the city of the New Jerusalem is the center, and the New Jerusalem takes Christ as its center. In the city God is in Christ, and God’s glory shines forth through Christ, the redeeming Lamb, as the lamp (21:23). In the middle of the city is a river of water of life proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb, carrying with it the abundant life to supply all the redeemed ones (22:1-2). Christ is the center of everything; God is in Christ to shine forth from within Christ and flow out living water with the abundance of life to supply the need of all who belong to God. At the same time, by the shining forth of light, the flow of living water, and the supply of the tree of life, the various kinds of building materials, such as gold, pearls, and precious stones, are coordinated and built together to form the New Jerusalem as God’s eternal dwelling place. This composition is the mingling of God with man, the mutual dwelling place of God and man, with Christ as the center, content, and expression.
Praying to Turn What We Have Seen into a Controlling Vision
and Our Subjective Experience
What we have seen of Christ needs to become our vision. The revelation we receive should come from such a vision. Moreover, this vision and revelation should control our living, our actions, our work, and even the testimony of the church. All other matters are outward. Our emphasis is not on outward matters but on Christ alone.
We have briefly covered the span from the Lord’s birth to eternity future as seen in the four Gospels to Revelation. We look to the Lord to make known to us the process He passed through, the things He accomplished, and the goal of His heart’s desire. May we turn these matters into prayer, and may the responsible brothers in every locality lead the saints into this vision, seeing, and reality, If we do not turn these things into prayer, they will be merely outward knowledge and will not be helpful to us. If we pray and turn them into our subjective experience, they will give us practical help, and we will receive real knowledge. (CWWL, 1966, vol. 3, “The Revelation of Christ as the Reality of the Church”, msg. 8)
THE FULL MINISTRY OF CHRIST
The full ministry of Christ includes all the works of Christ’s accomplishments. Christ accomplishes so much by His ministry, His service, from His incarnation to the consummation of the New Jerusalem. The New Testament begins with Christ’s incarnation and ends with the New Jerusalem. Matthew presents the birth of Christ, His incarnation, and Revelation presents the New Jerusalem, the holy city.
The Accomplishments of Christ in the Stage of His Incarnation
Bringing the Infinite God into the Finite Man
The first thing Christ accomplished in His incarnation was to bring the infinite God into the finite man.
Uniting and Mingling the Triune God with the Tripartite Man
God is triune and man is tripartite. Christ in His incarnation united and mingled these two parties—the wonderful God, who is triune, and the excellent man, who is tripartite.
Expressing in His Humanity the Bountiful God
in His Rich Attributes through His Aromatic Virtues
Christ in His incarnation came to earth not only to bring the infinite God into the finite man and to unite and mingle the Triune God with the tripartite man, but also to express the bountiful God in His humanity, His human living. God is bountiful in His rich and many attributes. The attributes of God are what God is. He is love, light, holiness, and righteousness. God’s attributes were expressed in Christ as a man to be Christ’s virtues. Christ expressed the bountiful God in His human living, mainly expressing God in His rich attributes, that is, in the unsearchable riches of what God is.
Finishing His All-inclusive Judicial Redemption
Finally, He went to the cross to finish His all-inclusive judicial redemption. Christ died on the cross to terminate all things of the old creation. He also redeemed all the things created by God and fallen in sin (Heb. 2:9; Col. 1:20). On the cross He created (conceived) the new man with His divine element. Ephesians 2:15 says that Christ created in Himself both the Jews and Gentiles into one new man. Every conception requires a certain element. In Himself means in Himself as the divine element for this conceiving. In His redeeming death He also released His divine life from the shell of His humanity (John 12:24). (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 5, “The Vital Groups”, msg. 12)
The Accomplishments of Christ in the Stage of His Inclusion from His Resurrection to the Degradation of the Church
The degradation of the church began at the end of the early apostles’ ministry. In Paul’s second Epistle to Timothy we can see this degradation. We need to see the three major things which Christ accomplished in the stage of His inclusion from His resurrection to the degradation of the church. In Christ’s resurrection He was begotten as God’s firstborn Son, He became the life-giving Spirit, and He regenerated the believers for His Body.
Being Begotten as God’s Firstborn Son
From eternity past without beginning, Christ was God’s only begotten Son, possessing only divinity, without humanity. At that time He had not passed through death into resurrection. In incarnation the only begotten Son of God became flesh to be a God-man, a man possessing both the divine nature and the human nature. Through death and resurrection, Christ in the flesh as the seed of David was designated to be the firstborn Son of God. In death His humanity was crucified. In resurrection His crucified humanity was made alive by the Spirit of His divinity and was uplifted into the sonship of the only begotten Son of God. Thus, He was begotten by God in His resurrection to be the firstborn Son of God.
Becoming the Life-giving Spirit
First Corinthians 15:45b says, “The last Adam [Christ in the flesh] became a life-giving Spirit.” The last Adam was the last man. Christ’s crucifixion was the end of man. In His resurrection Christ, the last Adam, became the life-giving Spirit for dispensing life. This life-giving Spirit who is the pneumatic Christ is also called the Spirit of life (Rom. 8:2), the Spirit of Jesus (Acts 16:7), the Spirit of Christ (Rom. 8:9), the Spirit of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:19), and the Lord Spirit (2 Cor. 3:18). The Lord Spirit may be considered a compound title like the Father God and the Lord Christ.
Regenerating the Believers for His Body
First Peter 1:3 reveals that Christ regenerated all of us who believe in Him in His resurrection. With God there is no time element. According to our human perspective, we were regenerated at a certain time, but in God’s view all of His many sons were regenerated through the resurrection of Christ. The purpose of Christ’s being begotten to be the firstborn Son of God and becoming the life-giving Spirit was for the regenerating of the believers, making them the many sons of God born of God with Him in the one universally big delivery. Christ’s resurrection was a big delivery of Himself as the firstborn Son and the believers as His many brothers, His millions of “twins.” This was for the composition of the house of God, even the household of God, and the constitution of the Body of Christ to be His fullness, His expression and expansion, to consummate the eternal expression and expansion of the processed and consummated Triune God. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 5, “The Vital Groups”, msg. 13)
The Accomplishments of Christ in the Stage of His Intensification
Intensifying His Organic Salvation
For His ministry in the stage of His inclusion, Christ became the life-giving Spirit, the pneumatic Christ, to carry out His organic salvation for the producing of the church and the building up of His Body to consummate the New Jerusalem. On the way of Christ’s ministry in the stage of His inclusion, the church became degraded to frustrate the accomplishment of God’s eternal economy. Hence, Christ as the one life-giving Spirit became the seven Spirits of God (Rev. 1:4; 4:5; 5:6; 3:1). These are not seven individual Spirits, but the one Spirit who is intensified sevenfold. This is to intensify the organic salvation of Christ sevenfold for the building up of the Body of Christ to consummate God’s eternal goal—the New Jerusalem.
Producing the Overcomers
Through the degradation of the church nearly all the believers in Christ became defeated in their old man by Satan, sin, the world, and their flesh. In His seven epistles to the degraded churches, Christ calls the defeated believers to be His overcomers by Himself as the sevenfold intensified Spirit for their experience of His organic salvation in His sevenfold intensification.
Consummating the New Jerusalem
According to the entire revelation of the New Testament, the unique goal of the Christian work should be the New Jerusalem, which is the ultimate goal of God’s eternal economy. The degradation of the church is mainly due to the fact that nearly all the Christian workers are distracted to take many things other than the New Jerusalem as their goal. Hence, under the degradation of the church, to be an overcomer answering the Lord’s call needs us to overcome not only the negative things but even more the positive things which replace the New Jerusalem as the goal. An overcomer’s goal should be uniquely and ultimately the goal of God’s eternal economy, that is, the New Jerusalem. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 5, “The Vital Groups”, msg. 14)