The Christian life is a life in the principle of incarnation. Because many Christians have not seen the principle of incarnation, there have been many debates concerning the nature of the Christian life. Some have said that the Christian life is an exchanged life. This understanding of the Christian life, however, is not correct. As Christians we have a dual nature. We are no longer merely men. We are God-men. Before the incarnation of Jesus, the New Testament had not come into being. The New Testament would not be possible without the incarnation. The incarnation of Jesus initiated and ushered in the New Testament. Now we, the New Testament believers, are wonderful persons who have God in us and have been made one with God. How glorious it is to be one with God, to be a God-man.
In the Old Testament, when the prophets prophesied for God, their prophecies many times began with, “The word of the Lord came unto me” (Jer. 1:4; Ezek. 3:16; Isa. 38:4) or “Thus saith the Lord” (Isa. 7:7; Jer. 2:2; Ezek. 2:4). This indicates that the Lord was separate from the prophets. The word of Jehovah came objectively upon the speakers, and they declared that it was not their word but the Lord’s. However, in 1 Corinthians 7:25 Paul said, “Now concerning virgins I have no commandment of the Lord, but I give my opinion as having received mercy of the Lord to be faithful;” and in giving his opinion he said, “But I think that I also have the Spirit of God” (7:40). Paul indicated that what he spoke was not a word from the Lord; it was his opinion. Yet in the giving of his opinion was the speaking of God. God lived in Paul and spoke in Paul’s speaking, even in his opinion, because God had become one with Paul and had made Paul one with Him. While we are speaking, it is not only we but Christ, the embodiment of God, who speaks with us and speaks in our speaking. This is the principle of incarnation.
Hebrews 1:1-2a says, “In many portions and in many ways, God, having spoken of old to the fathers in the prophets, has at the last of these days spoken to us in the Son.” On the one hand, the book of Hebrews was written anonymously. In this book the Old Testament is quoted without mentioning the names of the speakers (1:5-13; 2:6-8a; 3:7-11; 4:3-5; 8:8-12; 10:5-7, 15-17). On the other hand, Hebrews is the speaking of God in the Son. Hebrews 3:7 says, “Wherefore, even as the Holy Spirit says,” and 10:15 says, “And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us.” The speaker in Hebrews is not merely Paul, the Psalmist, or Jeremiah, but the Spirit.
The entire New Testament, from Matthew to Revelation, is God’s speaking in the Son. In the four Gospels God spoke in the Son, and in Acts through Revelation God continued to speak in the Son. In the four Gospels He spoke through Jesus Christ, but in Acts through Revelation the outward form of His speaking changed, and He spoke in the Son through the apostles. The speaking of the apostles was the Son’s speaking because the apostles had become one with the Son. Christ is the firstborn Son of God, and we are the many sons of God (Rom. 8:29; Heb. 2:10). God has many sons, and the many sons have been incorporated. The Firstborn plus the many sons are the collective, corporate Son. For this reason, God’s speaking through the apostles is referred to as God’s speaking in the Son.
When the Lord Jesus as the Spirit spoke through Peter, that was God speaking in the Son because Peter was one with the Son. Paul wrote more than Peter, having received the commission to complete the word of God concerning His mystery in His economy (Col. 1:25-26), but Revelation, the conclusion of the holy Word, was written by John. However, the entire New Testament is the speaking of the processed God in the person of the Son (Heb. 1:2). Moreover, the Son is not the Son alone, but the Son with all His members. We are the members of the Body of Christ, and the Body is composed of all the sons of God. God begot many children to become His sons, and these sons are the components of the Body of Christ. Therefore, we are the members of the Son. Today God is still speaking in the corporate Son in the principle of incarnation.
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