Incarnation is God entering into man, and death and resurrection are man entering into God. God’s building work in us has two aspects: one aspect is to build Himself into us, and the other aspect is to build us into Himself. God has no intention to nullify our person. God’s redemption does not nullify our humanity; it uplifts our humanity. In other words, before we were redeemed, our humanity was low. After we are redeemed, our humanity is uplifted, not nullified.
One who has not been dealt with by God may be weak in his will, but one who has been dealt with by God becomes firm in his will. One who has not been dealt with by God may be confused in his thoughts, but one in whom God is built is clear and enriched in his thoughts. One who has not been dealt with by God does not have many genuine emotions, and even if he has, they are not properly used. However, one who has been dealt with by God is rich in emotions, and his emotions are properly used; he is able to sympathize with others, love others, understand others, care for others, and support others. We need to know that God’s building does not nullify us but develops and uplifts our being and builds us into Him. Not only is He mingled with us, but we are also mingled with Him.
God’s building work in us is the work of death and resurrection. The principle of the building of God is death and resurrection. He first tears down, and then He builds up. His tearing down is death, and His building up is resurrection. Whatever has passed through His tearing down and building up has died and resurrected. Death and resurrection bring man into God. God is in man through incarnation; man is in God through death and resurrection. Man entering into God is a glorious matter. Our Savior became flesh through incarnation; He also died and resurrected. He is God entering into man and also man entering into God. This is our Savior, and this is God’s “prototype” for making more of the same product. God in man and man in God—this is God’s ultimate goal.
The apostle Paul is an example. In 1 Corinthians 7 he said, “I have no commandment of the Lord” (v. 25), and then in verse 40 he went on to say, “According to my opinion; but I think that I also have the Spirit of God.” Since he said plainly that he had no commandment of the Lord, what he spoke was not the Lord’s direct speaking. However, he also said that he had the Spirit of God, as if what he said was the Lord’s speaking. Is this not a very precarious situation? Here was a person, an apostle, who said that what he spoke was not the commandment of God; it was not the Lord’s charge but rather his own speaking. Nevertheless, such a word was recorded in the Bible. Although he had no commandment of the Lord, no charge of the Lord, and it was his own words, in the end he said, “I think that I also have the Spirit of God.” How wonderful is such a word! It is our speaking, not the Lord’s speaking; it is our word, not the Lord’s word; it is our charge, not the Lord’s charge; and it is our commandment, not the Lord’s commandment. Yet we have the Spirit of God. This is God in man and man in God.
The apostle in 1 Corinthians 7 not only had God within him, but he was also in God. He was in God to the extent that he could say, “I think that I also have the Spirit of God,” even though he did not have God’s charge, the Lord’s word, and it was altogether his own speaking. Here we see a man on the highest level. Even though he spoke, not having God’s word or the Lord’s commandment, he could still say, “I think that I also have the Spirit of God.” This person entered into God and was mingled with God.
In His redemption God does not nullify our being; instead, He brings us into Himself and builds us into Himself. God is doing a work of breaking and tearing down within us for the purpose of building Himself into us and building us into Himself, to the extent that our proposals and speaking can be His proposals and speaking. In Paul we see a person who was in God and was one with God. He could say that even though he spoke without the Lord’s charge, the Lord’s commandment, he had the Spirit of God.
First Corinthians 7 is a chapter that is quite high. In 1 Corinthians 7 the apostle was on a very high level. Can we truly say that we have the Holy Spirit in our speaking, even though we have not received a direct word of the Lord? If we cannot say this, we have not fully entered into God, much of our element is still outside of God, and we have not been built into God. After much tearing down and building up, however, we will be built into God. Then even without the Lord’s revelation, the Lord’s word, or the Lord’s commandment, we will be able to say that we have the Holy Spirit when we speak. At a minimum, we will be able to say, “I think that I also have the Spirit of God,” because we are in resurrection and in God.
Through God’s tearing down and building up, God builds Himself into us and builds us into Him. So even without His commandment or His word on a particular matter, we can have His Spirit and be in His Spirit when we speak. This is the Body of Christ. This is the fullness of Christ. To live in this way is to live in the Body.