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Message One:
The Necessity of Humanity with Divinity
The Origin of Our Serving Life
"The ark was not made of gold. It was made of acacia wood, which signifies
Christ's humanity, strong in character and high in standard. Christ's
humanity is the basic element, the basic substance, for Him to be God's
testimony. Christ became the embodiment of God's testimony in His humanity."
(Witness Lee, Life-Study of Exodus p. 988)
"Today many emphasize gifts, miracles, and power. However, Paul's emphasis
was not on such things. He and his co-workers spread the kingdom of God
and bore the testimony of Jesus by having a humanity with a high character
and standing. They bore the testimony by a transformed and uplifted humanity.
Paul spread the testimony of Jesus by means of his humanity with its strong
character … The move of Christ as the testimony of God is always by His
two natures, human and divine, mingled as one. While the apostles were
carrying out the testimony of Jesus, not only did they have a life of
an uplifted humanity, but they also had the divine nature expressed through
their humanity." (Ibid. pp. 1002-1004)
Few serving ones realize that a proper service before the Lord is an exhibition
of humanity with divinity. The origin of this serving life in humanity
is the humanity of Jesus. Most serving ones, on the contrary, often seek
other things for their serving life. First, they seek high revelations
and rich knowledge. Second, they seek to become dynamic and powerful.
Third, they seek after a spiritual exercise which manifests authority.
Certainly these are necessary, but not many serving ones realize that
these factors are not the real source of an effective operation. To serve
effectively there must be humanity with divinity.
We must remember that in God's economy He made man in His image according
to His likeness with the intention that man would possess His divinity
with all His divine attributes1. From these divine attributes
man would live, walk and serve as a virtuous human being. This we see
in our dear Lord Jesus Christ. Before the incarnation He was God, the
Son of God, the Word, and even God's operating economy2. He
was the center, content, and circumference of God's will. But for the
accomplishment of God's eternal purpose, it was essential that divinity
put on humanity. God had to become flesh3, a real man (without
sin)4. Yet this man lived His human life according to the divine
life within Him. The Lord Jesus lived His human life with divinity. Divinity
dwelt in His humanity. He was a real God-man - the prototype of all the
God-men.
Jesus lived and served God not as the Son of God, but as the Son of Man5.
His service was effective not only because He was God, but because He
was a man. It was as a man that He was able to bear His generation6.
As a man He was able to call the little children to Himself 7.
As a man He was a friend of tax collectors and sinners8. As
a man He was able to weep with those who wept and rejoice with those who
rejoiced9.
Furthermore, as a man He was able to die an all-inclusive death10
and be resurrected as the Firstborn Son of God11. As a man,
even today in the heavens, He is able to be touched with the feelings
of our weakness since He has been tempted in all respects like us, yet
without sin12. Surely we can see that as a man He accomplished
God's plan13. Only by being a man was He able to serve God
and render service to man.
The Old Testament gives us a different picture of God's work. There we
see God in His divinity operating, working, and serving. When God works
in the Old Testament, man is merely an instrument used by Him to do mighty
deeds. We do not see the mingling of divinity with humanity. We do not
see the divinity exhibited through human virtues. Instead it is always
the Almighty God working and operating. Thus we see the power and the
might of divinity. In the Old Testament God produced one witness after
another. He even gained an entire people, the nation of Israel. However
He was never satisfied, because what was produced only testified to the
fact that it was God who did the calling, it was only God who operated,
and it was only God who worked.
The reality of the service which God desires was testified of in the man
Jesus14, a "real" man - a man whose humanity was filled with
divinity. It is only from such a man that a proper and lasting service
can be produced. This must be the principle of our service.
God may give us revelations and knowledge. He may use us dynamically and
powerfully. We may even exercise our service with authority. Yet these
do not produce real service in the eyes of God. Though we may teach strongly
and minister with revelation and power, though we may possess grand knowledge
of the highest truths, and though we may possess excellent skills in administrating,
still we may not be effective in God's economy. Why? Because the backbone
of all the spiritual service and exercise is a proper humanity, the humanity
of Jesus. It is this humanity which is filled with lovely human virtues
produced by God's divine attributes.
But how different is our situation today. It seems that in many of the
local churches we have every spiritual factor except Jesus' humanity.
On the one hand we have received so many teachings and precious truths
concerning God's economy. But still many of us use these truths like dead
doctrines to attack one another or to measure our dear fellow brothers.
We have received teachings of life, yet many of us have turned them into
demands of law and placed them on the backs of others. Instead of producing
brotherly love this has led to brotherly suspicion and fear. We exhibit
zeal, and at times we even exhibit power. Yet many churches remain flat
and common. Though we hear stirring and powerful messages there is not
much lasting effect. Lives remain unchanged. Even among us as individuals,
when we feel led personally to serve others, usually our operation has
little impact. We must ask ourselves, "Why?" It is because we have ignored
the most crucial principle of the divine operation - the principle of
incarnation. When God desires to accomplish His work He does so in and
through a man - a genuine, real man who exhibits sweet human virtues by
the indwelling divine attributes.
It is with such a background of understanding that I hope all the serving
ones would realize one important matter: while you are equipping yourselves
with the riches, while you are seeking power and might, while you desire
to exercise your service with authority and effectiveness, you must pay
attention to your humanity. This does not mean a humanity of your limitations
and failures; that is your fallen humanity. It does not mean a humanity
which is victorious or successful; that can be your self-struggling humanity.
Nor does it mean merely a pious or godly humanity; that may just be a
religious humanity. Rather, you must seek after the humanity of Jesus,
which is a perfect humanity issuing from the divine attributes. We should
remind ourselves all the time that without exercising a humanity with
divinity, there is little reality of service.
We admit that in our service we need the Spirit's work. We recognize the
need of being equipped in the truth, and of learning how to operate effectively.
But we must see that the basis of service is the humanity of Jesus. It
is in this humanity that lovely human virtues issue forth from the divine
attributes. The attribute of divine love generates the virtue of human
patience15. Similarly, divine light generates human righteousness16.
Divine holiness generates human purity17. All of our service
must be with such an uplifted humanity. Through this humanity we lead
others to salvation. Through this humanity we help others love the Lord.
Through this humanity we help a lover of Christ to grow in life, and eventually
serve the Lord. A healthy church life should not be solely truth-oriented,
work-oriented, increase-oriented, meeting-oriented, or Bible study-oriented.
A healthy church life must be the manifestation of the humanity of Jesus.
A healthy church life must be the exhibition of brothers whose humanity
is filled with divinity and whose humanity expresses divinity. Although
every church must have life, truth, and healthy serving, only a church
with brothers who possess a high humanity that is filled with divinity
can satisfy God.
Today we are at a crossroads. During the past eighty years we have been
under the Lord's rich blessing through His two great servants and through
many laboring brothers. We have received visions and revelations, even
the high peak of the divine revelation. The truth has been unveiled to
us with a bountiful life supply. We have received a healthy pattern for
the church life. But a blessed time can also become a dangerous time.
Knowledge puffs up18, and revelation can lift us up exceedingly19.
We can easily think that we are wealthy, have become rich, and have need
of nothing20. We are at the crossroads of either becoming Laodicea
or being Philadelphia. Will we boast about the revelations we have received
and the truth we have learned? If we do, then we are Laodicea, and God
will tell us that we are wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked. He
will spit us out. We will have no choice but to become institutional.
We will become one of the better Christian sects among many.
But if we endeavor to substantiate what we have and hold onto it, we shall
be Philadelphia21. Philadelphia is the church of brotherly
love. In Philadelphia, the divine attribute of love is expressed in the
human virtue of brotherly love. Those in Philadelphia are kind to one
another. They are compassionate toward one another. They are long-suffering
to one another. They are patient toward one another. They show mercy and
goodness to one another. In Philadelphia the saints have a little strength.
Their trust and their confidence is in the Lord. In Philadelphia, the
saints keep the Lord's Word. They are faithful to the revelations they
have received.
Most of all, in Philadelphia the saints do not deny the Lord's name. Christ's
name is preeminent among them. They know Christ and only Christ. Christ
is God, Christ is Lord, and Christ is the life-giving Spirit. Christ is
the Redeemer, and Christ is the Savior. Furthermore, Christ is our holiness,
Christ is our righteousness, and Christ is our strength. Christ is the
divine and mystical realm, Christ is the good land, and Christ is the
life of the saints. Christ and only Christ satisfies both God and man.
Christ and only Christ can build up His church. While abiding in all of
the riches we have received, we must love Christ, treasure Christ, and
focus only on Christ, even as God does Himself and as so many brothers
have before us. As Brother Lee has taught us, "… the exalting of many
names other than that of Christ [is] the most striking sign of degraded
Christianity. The return to … exalting the Lord's name by abandoning every
other name constitutes the most inspiring testimony in the recovered church"
(Recovery Version, Rev. 3:8, footnote 3).
As Philadelphia, we will not overly emphasize spiritual power, spiritual
authority, knowledge of the truth, or skills in administration. Rather,
we will honor Christ and love one another in the humanity of Jesus. Among
those in Philadelphia there is a rich exhibition of the lovely and loving
human virtues produced from God's divine attributes. In the church life
we serve one another in a rich, transformed, selfless humanity - the humanity
of Jesus.
Verse References
1. Gen. 1:26
2. John 1:1
3. John 1:14
4. Heb. 4:15
5. Matt. 9:6
6. Matt. 17:17
7. Matt. 19:13-14
8. Luke 7:34
9. cf. Rom. 12:15
10. Rom. 5:10
11. Col. 1:18
12. Heb. 4:15
13. Heb. 10:7
14. 1 Tim. 2:5
15. 1 John 4:16-21; cf. Gal 6:1
16. 1 John 1:5, 9; John 3:19-21
17. 1 Peter 1:16; 1 Tim. 4:12
18. 1 Cor. 8:1
19. 2 Cor. 12:7
20. Rev. 3:14-17
21. Rev. 3:7-8
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