THE SECOND PART: The Overview of the New Testament
The Full Ministry of Christ in the Stage of Incarnation
Message Three—Accomplishing His Judicial Redemption
Scripture Reading: Rom. 3:21-26; Luke 24:47; Rom. 5:10, 17; Acts 20:28; 1 John 1:6-9; Rev. 12:11; Eph. 2:14; John 12:24
I. According to the record of the entire New Testament, when the Man-Savior died on the cross, He died as seven items: (The life-study of Luke, msg. 53)
A. First, He died as the Lamb of God to deal with sin and sins—John 1:29: (The life-study of Luke, msg. 53)
1. As the Lamb of God the Lord Jesus died for our sins—1 Cor. 15:3; 1 Pet. 2:24; Heb. 9:28. (The life-study of Luke, msg. 53)
2. His death dealt with sin—2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 9:26. (The life-study of Luke, msg. 53)
3. Therefore, both sin and sins were dealt with by the Lamb of God, who was under God’s judgment on the cross. (The life-study of Luke, msg. 53)
B. When the Man-Savior died on the cross, He also died as a man in the flesh—Rom. 8:3: (The life-study of Luke, msg. 53)
1. He was in the likeness of the flesh of sin, but He did not have the actual nature of sin—Rom. 8:3. (The life-study of Luke, msg. 53)
2. Because the Man-Savior died as a man in the flesh, His death dealt with the fallen flesh; praise the Lord that sin, sins, and the fallen flesh have been dealt with by the death of the Man-Savior—Gal. 5:24; 1 Pet. 3:18; Rom. 8:3. (The life-study of Luke, msg. 53)
C. The Lord Jesus also died as a man in the old creation; because the Lord died on the cross as a man in the old creation, our old man was dealt with through His death—Rom. 6:6. (The life-study of Luke, msg. 53)
D. The Lord Jesus was crucified as a serpent in form in order to deal with Satan, the Devil, the old serpent—John 3:14-15; cf. Gen. 3:15: (The life-study of Luke, msg. 53)
1. It was through being crucified as the serpent that the Lord Jesus crushed the head of the old serpent, the Devil; in this way, He judged the ruler of this world—Gen. 3:15; John 12:31. (The life-study of Luke, msg. 53)
2. By His death on the cross, the Man-Savior destroyed the Devil, who had the power of death—Heb. 2:14. (The life-study of Luke, msg. 53)
E. When the Lord Jesus died on the cross, He died as the Firstborn of all creation; with respect to His humanity, Christ was the first item of God’s creation; when He died on the cross, He died as this first item of the old creation; hence, through His death on the cross the entire old creation was dealt with.—Col. 1:15. (The life-study of Luke, msg. 53)
F. The Peacemaker—Eph. 2:15: (The life-study of Luke, msg. 53)
1. Having abolished in His flesh the law of the commandments in ordinances—Eph. 2:15a. (The life-study of Luke, msg. 53)
2. He might create the two in Himself into one new man, making peace—vv. 14-15; Col. 3:10-11. (The life-study of Luke, msg. 53)
G. Christ died on the cross as a grain of wheat; the Lord died on the cross as a grain of wheat in order to release the divine life from within Him—John 12:24. (The life-study of Luke, msg. 53)
II. The judicial aspect of God’s salvation—Rom. 3:21-26; Luke 24:47; Heb. 1:3; Rom. 5:10a: (The Organic Aspect of God’s Salvation, msg. 1)
A. According to the righteousness of God—Rom. 1:17a; 3:21-26; 9:30-31. (The Organic Aspect of God’s Salvation, msg. 1)
B. The procedure of God’s salvation. (The Organic Aspect of God’s Salvation, msg. 1)
C. God’s fulfilling of all the requirements of His righteous law for sinners according to His righteousness. (The Organic Aspect of God’s Salvation, msg. 1)
D. For sinners to be forgiven before God, washed, justified, reconciled to God, and sanctified unto God positionally, thereby entering into the grace of God for the accomplishment of the purpose of God’s salvation—Luke 24:47; Heb. 1:3; Rom. 3:24-25; 5:10a. (The Organic Aspect of God’s Salvation, msg. 1)
III. The organic aspect of God’s salvation—Rom. 1:17b; 5:10b, 17b: (The Organic Aspect of God’s Salvation, msg. 1)
A. Through the life of God—Rom. 1:17b; Acts 11:18; Rom. 5:10b, 17b, 18b, 21b. (The Organic Aspect of God’s Salvation, msg. 1)
B. The purpose of God’s salvation. (The Organic Aspect of God’s Salvation, msg. 1)
C. To accomplish all the purpose that God wants to achieve in the believers in His economy through His divine life. (The Organic Aspect of God’s Salvation, msg. 1)
IV. Illustrations in the holy scriptures concerning the judicial aspect and the organic aspect of God’s salvation—Exo. 13, Luke 15: (The Organic Aspect of God’s Salvation, msg. 2)
A. The blood of the lamb and the flesh of the lamb: the redeeming aspect, signified by the blood of the lamb, is according to God’s judicial requirement; the saving aspect, signified by the flesh of the lamb, is according to God’s organic provision of life. (The Organic Aspect of God’s Salvation, msg. 2)
B. The robe and the calf: the robe signifies the judicial aspect of God’s salvation, and the calf signifies the organic aspect of God’s salvation. (The Organic Aspect of God’s Salvation, msg. 2)
C. The Lord’s Blood and the Lord’s Flesh—John 6:54-55: (The Organic Aspect of God’s Salvation, msg. 2)
1. When we eat the bread and drink the cup, this signifies that we eat the Lord’s flesh and drink the Lord’s blood; the total result of these two items is that we receive God as our eternal life. (The Organic Aspect of God’s Salvation, msg. 2)
2. Only by the drinking of the blood, which is judicial, and by the eating of the flesh, which is organic, can the goal of God’s salvation be accomplished. (The Organic Aspect of God’s Salvation, msg. 2)
D. When the Lord established His table before His death, He used the bread and the cup as symbols—Matt. 26:26-28: (The Organic Aspect of God’s Salvation, msg. 2)
1. The cup, signifying the blood which the Lord shed for our sins, is for meeting the need of redemption; hence, it is related to the judicial aspect of God’s salvation. (The Organic Aspect of God’s Salvation, msg. 2)
2. The bread, signifying the Lord as the bread of life, is related to the organic aspect of God’s salvation. (The Organic Aspect of God’s Salvation, msg. 2)
V. The complete salvation of God has two aspects: the judicial aspect and the organic aspect—Acts 20:28; Eph. 1:22-23; 1 John 1:6-9; Rev. 12:11; Rom. 8:30: (The Organic Aspect of God’s Salvation, msg. 1)
A. The judicial aspect is according to the righteousness of God as the procedure of God’s salvation to satisfy the requirements of God’s righteous law on the sinners; it is for sinners to be forgiven before God, washed, justified, reconciled to God, and sanctified unto God positionally, thereby entering into the grace of God for the accomplishment of the purpose of God’s salvation—Rom. 1:17a; 3:21, 26; 9:30-31; Luke 24:47; Heb. 1:3; Rom. 3:24-25; 5:10a; 1 Cor. 1:2; Heb. 13:12. (The Organic Aspect of God’s Salvation, msg. 1)
B. However, redemption as the judicial aspect cannot carry out the purpose of God’s salvation, because it is merely the procedure, not the purpose. (The Organic Aspect of God’s Salvation, msg. 1)
C. In the salvation of God we should not remain in the aspect of procedure, the judicial aspect; rather, we should go on to the aspect of purpose, the organic aspect. (The Organic Aspect of God’s Salvation, msg. 1)
D. Whereas the judicial aspect is according to the righteousness of God to accomplish God’s redemption, the organic aspect is through the life of God to carry out God’s salvation, including regeneration, shepherding, dispositional sanctification, renewing, transformation, building up, conformation, and glorification; this is the purpose of God’s salvation to accomplish all that God wants to achieve in the believers in His economy through His divine life. (The Organic Aspect of God’s Salvation, msg. 1)