In this message we shall consider further aspects of the believers’ future in the ultimate consummation of the dispensing of the divine Trinity.
In the ultimate consummation of the dispensing of the divine Trinity, that is, in the New Jerusalem, the believers will enjoy the Lamb-God, the redeeming God, in His Triune dispensing. Revelation 22:1 speaks of the throne of God and of the Lamb. The one throne for both God and the Lamb signifies that God and the Lamb are one-the Lamb-God, the redeeming God, God the Redeemer. In eternity the God who sits on the throne will be our redeeming God, from whose throne proceeds the river of water of life for our supply and satisfaction. This depicts how the Triune God-God, the Lamb, and the Spirit (symbolized by the water of life)-dispenses Himself into His redeemed people under His headship (implied in the authority of the throne) for eternity.
According to Revelation 22, both God and the Lamb are sitting on the throne. They are not sitting side by side. Rather, God is in the Lamb. This is indicated by the fact that God is the light and the Lamb is the lamp (Rev. 21:23). The glory of the light and the lamp are not side by side. On the contrary, the light is in the lamp, and the Lamb as the lamp shines with God as the light. This indicates that God is in the Lamb sitting on the throne. They two are actually one, just as the light and the lamp are one unit, one entity. God in the Lamb is the redeeming God. For eternity in the New Jerusalem we shall enjoy the redeeming God, God in the Lamb, in His triune dispensing.
The Lamb-God, the redeeming God, is on the throne as the center of the holy city for the administration of the eternal kingdom of God (Rev. 22:3b, 1b). Every nation has a center. The center of a nation is its capital, the place where the central government is located. The New Jerusalem also has a center, which is the throne of our redeeming God.
The throne in the New Jerusalem, of course, is for God’s administration. God is the One who had a purpose, who made a plan in eternity past, and who created all things for the fulfillment of His plan. The Lamb is the One who redeemed us, the One who has accomplished full redemption to fulfill God’s plan. Therefore, the throne of God and of the Lamb indicates that this throne is for the carrying out of God’s plan through Christ’s redemption. Both God’s plan and Christ’s redemption are being carried out through this throne. The throne is the source from which the river of water of life flows. The throne for the accomplishment of God’s purpose is to flow out the Triune God Himself so that by this flow of life His purpose may be accomplished. Hence, in Revelation 22 we see the redeeming God administrating within the New Jerusalem. This administrating will be for the carrying out in full of God’s dispensing. From the throne the redeeming God, the Lamb-God, carries out His administration, based on His redemption in the eternal kingdom in the new heaven and the new earth.
The administration of the Lamb-God in the New Jerusalem is for His expression through His administration. All that the redeeming God administrates is for the purpose that He might be expressed. In the New Jerusalem the throne of the redeeming God will be the center of the city, and His expression will extend to its circumference. Therefore, the redeeming God administrating on the throne is the God both of administration and of expression. His administration serves the purpose of His expression in His eternal manifestation.
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