First Timothy 3:15 says, “If I delay, I write that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and base of the truth.” This is a great mystery of godliness; then verse 16 continues with, “Great is the mystery of godliness.” Confessedly, this is a great mystery. This great mystery of godliness is God manifested in the flesh. Therefore, the church is not merely the pillar and base of the truth; it is also the mystery of God manifested in the flesh.
The man created by God in Genesis 1 is fully manifested as a corporate man, the church, in the New Testament. God’s authority is entrusted to the church, and His image is expressed in the church as the corporate man. All Bible readers agree on the basic principle that every matter mentioned the first time in Genesis is like a seed; the growth of this seed is developed in the New Testament. Therefore, it is only in the New Testament that we see the full growth of the authority and image sown in Genesis 1. One particular matter in the New Testament is that the church is always spoken of in conjunction with authority or in conjunction with items that pertain to image, such as God’s nature and life. The New Testament never speaks of the church apart from God’s authority and image. In view of this, we know for sure that the man, created by God with His image and authority in Genesis 1, must refer to the church.
What is the church? What is the nature of the church? The church is a corporate man as the mingling of divinity and humanity. This corporate man is a particular man, not a common man. He is neither the man God created in the beginning nor merely the man who fell and was redeemed. The church is not only redeemed; the church has two natures as the mingling of God with man and man with God. Therefore, the church is a very particular matter: the church is man plus God, God added into and mingled with man.
To use an analogy, the man created with God’s image and authority in Genesis 1 was merely a drawing on paper or a photograph; he did not have the life of God. There was a need for the divine life signified by the tree of life in Genesis 2 to enter into the created man to enliven this “photograph.” This is related to regeneration, not to redemption. Even if Adam had not sinned and was in no need of redemption, he would still need to be regenerated with the life of God; the created man still needed to receive this uncreated life. After the created man received the uncreated life, that is, after man was mingled with God, an entity with two natures involving the mingling of God and man, the church, was produced. The church has two natures produced by God mingling with man. This is something very particular in the universe. Anyone who does not realize this does not yet know the church.
The church is produced by the mingling of the Creator with the creature, the mingling of God with man. God, with His life, nature, and everything, with the fullness of the Godhead, mingles with us, without annulling our God-created humanity. Humanity as created by God in the beginning is fully preserved, but the sin, defilement, and corruption of fallen man are not preserved. The complete God mingled with man is the church. This can be compared to the mingling of water with grape juice to produce a beverage; the beverage is a product with two natures. The church came into being through the mingling of the full and complete God with man. If we do not have a clear understanding concerning this point, we will encounter many difficulties as we proceed on the path of the church. However, many problems will be solved if we have a thorough understanding concerning the church.
The churches throughout Taiwan must have this understanding in order to solve our numerous difficulties. We can say that our journey has come to a juncture with numerous difficulties that cannot be solved by any method. When we are brought to the point of seeing the church, our seeing will be able to deliver us. This realization will solve many of our “unsolvable” problems.
The church is the enlargement of Christ; Christ enlarged is the church. What is the significance of Christ? Let us consider the significance of Christ according to spiritual reality, not according to theology. From Adam to Christ, for approximately four thousand years, God was God, and man was man. This was not because of man’s fall or because of his sinning against God. God and man were not joined. During those four thousand years no man was mingled with God.
Four thousand years after creation, a man was born in Bethlehem; this man was named Jesus, and He was also called Emmanuel. He was the mingling of God and man; He was God mingled with man. In this One there was man and there was God. This man was “Emmanuel”; he was God yet man and man yet God. From that time onward a person with two natures was present in the universe. He was the mingling of the Creator with a creature and a creature with the Creator. This is the story of the incarnation in Bethlehem. A most wonderful event transpired in the universe—the uncreated was mingled with the created, the intangible with the tangible, the invisible with the visible, the heavenly with the earthly, the eternal with the temporal, and the infinite with the finite. This was a great event in the universe; this is the story of Bethlehem.
An extraordinary event took place in Bethlehem—not only a Savior named Jesus was born, but a person with two natures called Emmanuel, God with us, came into being. We need to pay attention to the fact that Jesus was the name given by Mary’s husband, as instructed by the angel (Matt. 1:21), whereas Emmanuel was the name by which men called Him (v. 23). When people would come to know Him, they would say, “Oh, this is God and man together; this is God with man.” This word was first fulfilled in Matthew 16, where Peter, with opened eyes, said to the Lord, “You are...the Son of the living God” (v. 16). Peter’s calling the Lord the Son of God equals his calling the Lord Emmanuel. Because his eyes were opened, Peter saw that the Lord was not only the Son of Man but also the Son of God. Peter recognized this universal mingling of God and man. This aspect of the significance of Christ is the principle of incarnation, the mingling of God with man. The Gospels would be more meaningful if we read them with such a view. The record in the Gospels shows God mingled with man.
There is another great principle in the Gospels. There was a perfect man; he had a resolute will, abundant emotions, clear logic, and rich thoughts. For four thousand years mankind had never seen such a man. He was a man who was intelligent, wise, and loving, who was truly and fully man, a noble man, a man above all men. This man always chose God by His will and was fully mingled with God. His incarnation was God mingled with man; His living on the earth was man mingled with God. He had an emotion that loved God, a mind that cared for God’s interest, and a will that stood with God, chose God, and desired God.
This lovely person always placed Himself in God. In John 14 He said, “The words that I say...I do not speak from Myself, but the Father who abides in Me does His works” (v. 10). This reveals that He was completely mingled with God, and God was mingled with Him. The four Gospels portray the living of this Lord Jesus. In this living we see God mingled with man and man mingled with God. The living of this Nazarene, Jesus, was man living on earth and God living on earth. When He moved, God moved and man also moved. He and God, God and He were mingled to the point that They were inseparable; this is the meaning of Christ. It is heresy to say that Christ was merely God. Likewise, it is heresy to say that Christ was merely man. Therefore, the Gospels show us a unique story. The Lord must open our eyes for us to see this. This unique story is that there is a person with two natures in the universe who is the mingling of God with man and man with God; this is Christ.