Life-Study of Johnpor Witness Lee
ISBN: 0-7363-0957-8
Copia impresa: Living Stream Ministry disponible en línea
ISBN: 0-7363-0957-8
Copia impresa: Living Stream Ministry disponible en línea
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In this message we shall cover John 1 as a whole, reviewing some points that we have already covered and touching upon other points that we have not yet considered.
John 1 reveals the two sections of eternity. John 1:1 refers to eternity in the past, for “the beginning” denotes eternity in the past. Verse 51 refers to eternity in the future, for when the Lord told Nathanael that he would see the heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man, He was not speaking about the present, but about eternity in the future. If we put together these two sections of eternity, we have the whole of eternity.
In eternity past, Christ, as the Word, was with God and was God. In eternity past He was only God and only had divinity. Since the Word had not yet been incarnated, He was not a man and had no humanity.
In eternity future, Christ will not only be God, but also man. He will not only be the Son of God, but also the Son of Man. Since the Word has been incarnated in the flesh (v. 14), He is also a man, the Son of Man with humanity forever. After the incarnation, He is still God, but God and man. He is still the Son of God, but the Son of God and the Son of Man. In addition to being the Son of God, for eternity in the future He will be the Son of Man. In eternity past He was God, solely and merely divine, having no humanity. However, in eternity future He will be God and man, the Son of God and the Son of Man, both divine and human, having divinity as well as humanity. He will have two natures, two essences, and two substances—divinity and humanity.
When Nathanael said to the Lord, “You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel” (v. 49), Jesus told him that he would see “the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” Who is greater—the Son of God or the Son of Man? Logically speaking, everyone would say that the Son of God is much greater than the Son of Man. Let me ask you, do you prefer to be the sons of man or the sons of God? Surely you would answer that you prefer to be the sons of God. Everyone desires to be a son of God. It certainly was wonderful for Nathanael to realize that Jesus, a little man from Nazareth, was the Son of God. Nevertheless, Jesus immediately replied that He was the Son of Man. Although men attempt to make Him great, He likes to remain small.
Which is more important—for Jesus to be the Son of God or to be the Son of Man? If you are not careful in giving an answer, you may be involved in heresy. How difficult it is to answer such a question! The Lord is both the Son of God and the Son of Man. If He were not the Son of God, He could never be our life. If He were not the Son of Man, He could never be the essence of the building of God. The Son of God is for life, and the Son of Man is for building. The Bible never requires that we believe that Jesus is the Son of Man before we can have life. In order to have life, we must believe that Jesus is the Son of God. We all must believe that Jesus, the little Nazarene, is the Son of God. If we believe this, we have eternal life. After we have received eternal life, we must further realize that this Jesus who is the Son of God is also the Son of Man. His divinity is life to us, but His humanity is for the building of God. God’s building needs His humanity. We need Jesus as the Son of God, but God needs Him as the Son of Man.
To us, Jesus is the Son of God, but to God and to the devil, Satan, Jesus is the Son of Man. The devil is not afraid of Jesus being the Son of God. He is afraid of Jesus being the Son of Man. A number of times when Jesus was casting demons out of people and the demons addressed Him as the Son of God, Jesus silenced them (Matt. 8:29; Mark 3:11-12), for, in front of them, He was acting as the Son of Man. When the devil tempted Jesus in the wilderness by saying, “If You are the Son of God, speak, that these stones may become loaves of bread” (Matt. 4:3), Jesus, resisting the temptation to forsake His position as the Son of Man, said, “Man shall not live on bread alone” (Matt. 4:4). Jesus maintained His standing as a man. Satan is not afraid of the Son of God; he is afraid of man. Why is Satan afraid of man? Because God, in His economy, has decided that Satan must be defeated by man.
God has no intention of dwelling in Himself. Divinity cannot be God’s dwelling. God’s intention in His economy is to dwell in humanity. God’s intention is to defeat His enemy, Satan, by man and to make humanity His dwelling place. Thus, both for the defeat of Satan and for the dwelling place of God, there is the need of humanity. If the Lord Jesus were only the Son of God, He would only be qualified to impart life into man. He would have no substance by which to defeat the enemy or to become the dwelling place of God. Praise the Lord that He is the Son of God for us to have life, and He is the Son of Man for God to have a dwelling place.
Did God have a dwelling place of humanity in eternity past? Surely the answer is no. In Isaiah 66:1, God says, “The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool:...where is the place of my rest?” Heaven is considered as God’s habitation (Deut. 26:15; 1 Kings 8:49; Psa. 33:13-14; Isa. 63:15); yet God says, “Where is the place of my rest?” God’s resting place is man gained by Him (Isa. 57:15; 66:2). Today God dwells in the heavens, but the heavens will not be His habitation for eternity in the new heaven and the new earth. In the new heaven and the new earth, God’s habitation for eternity will be the New Jerusalem, which is composed of all His redeemed saints and which will come down from heaven (Rev. 21:1-3). What will be God’s eternal habitation? The regenerated, transformed, uplifted, and built up humanity which will eventually become God’s dwelling place. God will not dwell with a natural humanity, but with a regenerated, transformed, uplifted, and built up humanity. This humanity is regenerated, transformed, united, and built together by the divine life. The divine life will uplift our humanity to such a standard that we will become God’s dwelling place.
John 1 reveals Christ as both the Son of God and the Son of Man. He is the Son of God to impart God into us as our life, and He is the Son of Man to be the very essence of the building of God’s house. In eternity past there was no humanity, and there was no dwelling place for God. In eternity future there will be humanity, and God will have a dwelling place.
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