In this message we come to the divine economy. Many of us have been Christians for years, but we have never heard a message on God’s economy. It is difficult to find a book in Christian bookstores with the word economy in the title. Nevertheless, this word economy is the focal point of the divine revelation in the New Testament. Although not many Christians know this, the demons and evil spirits realize it and would try to keep this matter veiled.
Economy is an anglicized form of a Greek word that is rich in meaning. In the King James Version this word is translated “dispensation” (1 Cor. 9:17; Eph. 1:10; 3:2; and Col. 1:25), “fellowship” (Eph. 3:9), “stewardship” (Luke 16:2-4), and “edifying” (1 Tim. 1:4). The Greek word firstly means a “dispensation.” God’s economy is His dispensation. God desires to dispense Himself into us, His chosen vessels. Secondly, in the Bible, economy denotes household management. God’s economy is His household management. Thirdly, the word economy means a stewardship. In the ancient times there was a steward in the royal family who had a service called the stewardship. Hence, God’s economy is God’s stewardship. Peter, John, James, Andrew, and Paul were among God’s stewards. In 1 Corinthians 9:17 Paul said that a stewardship had been given to him. This stewardship is to carry out God’s household management. Fourthly, economy refers to administration. The divine economy is God’s administration. God has a purpose, a plan with a goal. In order to accomplish this purpose, He has an economy to dispense Himself and a household management with His stewardship so that He may administrate in this universe. This is the definition of God’s economy.
In this message we are concerned with the focus of the divine economy. God’s economy is universally vast and its scope is unlimited. We simply cannot know the full extent of God’s economy. It is sufficient for us to understand the focus of the divine economy. In the focus of the divine economy, there are two elements-the divine Spirit and the human spirit.
John 4:24 says that God is Spirit. Just as a ring may be gold in nature, so God is altogether Spirit. But John 7:39 says that “the Spirit was not yet.” What does it mean to say that God is Spirit but that the Spirit is not yet? Is not the Spirit in John 4:24 the Spirit in John 7:39? Certainly it is. God is Spirit, and this Spirit has existed from eternity. Apparently, then, there seems to be a contradiction between John 4:24 and John 7:39. The illustration of making tea may help us to resolve this apparent contradiction. Suppose you order a cup of tea in a restaurant. However, the waitress brings you a cup of hot water and a tea bag. At that time, you may say that the tea is not yet. But after the tea bag has been placed into the water and remains there for a while, you will have tea. Likewise, on the one hand, God is Spirit, but on the other hand, the Spirit was not yet. The words not yet indicate that something was about to happen to the existing Spirit. God was the existing Spirit, but the Spirit was not yet. This indicates that something was about to be added to the existing Spirit to cause it to become the Spirit.
In Matthew 28:19 the Lord Jesus speaks of baptizing people into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. How can we explain the fact that God is Spirit and yet He is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit? Since God is Spirit and the Father is God Himself, the Father must be Spirit. The same is true of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all Spirit. Nevertheless, there is just one Spirit. It might have been simpler if the Lord had said to baptize the nations into the Spirit. However, the Lord spoke of baptizing them into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. There is just one name here, not three. The Father, the Son, and the Spirit are all for God’s dispensation and indicate God’s dispensation with His riches. God is not simple, but very rich. In the Godhead we have the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. This not only indicates His dispensation but also implies His richness.
If you read the Bible carefully and are not influenced by traditional theology, you will realize that the Father is embodied in the Son and that the Son is realized in the Spirit. Otherwise, how could the three have just one name? In order for us to be baptized into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the three must be one. To be baptized into the Spirit is to be baptized also into the Son (Gal. 3:27; Rom. 6:3), and to be baptized into the Son is to be baptized also into the Father. The Father and the Son are both realized in the Holy Spirit. Therefore, in the Holy Spirit we have all the riches of the Godhead.
Neither the Father nor the Son was clearly revealed in the Old Testament. But when the Lord Jesus came, He spoke a great deal about His Father and about the heavenly Father. This indicates that the Father was revealed in the Son. After the resurrection of Christ, the Son was manifested, the Father was revealed further, and the Spirit became the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Therefore, after His resurrection, Jesus commanded His disciples to baptize the nations into the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Home | First | Prev | Next