In the previous chapter, we saw the constitution of the Body of Christ with the all-inclusive Christ as the life-element. Matthew 13 shows us how Christ came as the Sower to sow Himself as the life seed of wheat, signifying the word, into the human heart as the growing earth (vv. 3, 19b). The growing of Christ in the good earth of the human heart is for His multiplication to be the constitution of the church to fulfill God's eternal economy (Matt. 13:8, 23; John 12:24; Eph. 3:8-10).

In Matthew 13 we have such a picture of positive things, but we also have a picture of negative things. Matthew 13 also reveals the constitution of the Body of Christ under the enemy Satan's frustration, damage, and corruption. Satan works to undermine the Lord's work in three ways—first to frustrate, then to damage, and finally to corrupt. I hope we have the spiritual capacity to see this vision of Satan's schemes. We need a vision, not just a doctrine or a teaching. We need to see a heavenly "movie," a heavenly vision, which deeply impresses us with the enemy's three kinds of works: his frustration, damage, and corruption. In chapter thirteen of Matthew, the Lord Jesus not only opened up the heavenly things but also opened up the hellish things.

Before we begin to fellowship about the enemy's work seen in Matthew 13, I would like to say a further word about the Lord's coming. Christians commonly believe that Jesus came the first time and that He will come a second time. But we also need to realize that His coming has not been fully consummated. It is still going on. On the one hand, Jesus has come, but on the other hand, Jesus has not finished His coming. For Jesus to come down from heaven to earth and be conceived in the womb of a virgin through incarnation was an instant thing, but for Him to come into you and me took a long time.

Christ's coming has three great, main steps—incarnation, death, and resurrection. The first step was incarnation. Jesus as the only, unique God lived in eternity before time. Then He created the universe and man. Four thousand years after the creation of man, He stepped out of eternity and into time. When He came out of eternity and stepped into time, He stepped into humanity. In eternity past He was God, but in His incarnation He stepped out of eternity into time and with His divinity into humanity.

It is a wonder that the almighty, infinite God entered into the womb of a young virgin and remained there for nine months! Matthew 1:18 and 20 tell us that Jesus was begotten of the Holy Spirit. God was born into the womb of Mary. Then after nine months, He was born out of Mary to be both man and God, a God-man.

How do we know that God stepped out of eternity and into time and with His divinity entered into humanity? We know this because the Bible tells us so (John 1:1, 14). Jesus is a God-man. In the whole universe there is a person who is both God, with His divinity, and man, with His humanity. He is not only after God's kind but also after man's kind. According to history the most unique person is Jesus Christ. He has both divinity and humanity.