It is my burden that in the following messages we should see something very basic in the work of Christ. This may be divided into four major steps: (1) the incarnation, (2) the crucifixion, (3) the resurrection, and (4) the ascension.
Firstly, we need to say a few words regarding the eternal purpose of God. Scripture reveals to us that in eternity past God designed a plan according to His own good pleasure. In that plan God purposed to express Himself through His Son Jesus Christ and to have Jesus Christ expressed through a group of people. This is how the hidden, invisible God would be manifested (1 Tim. 3:16) and at the same time Christ would be glorified. Christ should have the preeminence, the first place in all things (Col. 1:18). But all this depends upon one thing: that Christ be wrought into a people as their all in all. These people, mingled with the full measure of God's life in Christ, would be a living Body to Christ (Eph. 1:23). This is the central point of all Scripture.
We must realize, however, that God's divine plan must be wholly accomplished in and through the Holy Spirit. Although it had been planned in eternity past by God and was accomplished by Christ, yet it must be realized in us by the Holy Spirit. In these messages, therefore, we will see what it means to experience the work of the Holy Spirit.
Let us start at the first major step of Christ, the incarnation. What does the incarnation of Christ mean? We know that Christ is God incarnated as a man. Christ is the God-man. He is not only a man of God; He is also a God-man. Therefore, the incarnation of Christ simply means the mingling of God with humanity. Mingling is much more than mixing together; it is an intrinsic union. In the entire history of mankind such a thing had never occurred. For four thousand years, God was God and man was man. Yes, man had something to do with God, and God sometimes made contact with man; yet the two remained separate. However, when Christ was born as a man, a strange and wonderful event took place. A child was born, a child who was called the Mighty God (Isa. 9:6). Can you believe this—a child called the Mighty God!
Have you ever considered the difference between the God of the Hebrews and the God of the Christians? The God whom the Hebrews believe is only the Almighty Creator, but the God in whom we believe is more. He is still the Almighty God, but He is the Almighty One who came into humanity, born of a virgin. All that our Mighty Creator is and has, was in that little child. This little child was not born into a noble family nor raised in a city of fame (Matt. 2:23; John 1:45-46). He was brought up in a lowly family to do the work of a carpenter (Matt. 13:55; Mark 6:3). He was a child; yet He was God (Heb. 1:8). He was a laborer, a carpenter; yet He was the Almighty Creator of the whole universe (John 1:3; Heb. 1:2).
Perhaps we have been Christians many years, yet have never been impressed with this. It is indeed inconceivable to our natural mind that the Almighty God would one day mingle Himself with a man. But this was accomplished in Jesus Christ, and this is the very desire of God for you and me—that He be mingled with us.
Do you know what it means to be a real Christian? To be a Christian simply means to be mingled with God, to be a God-man. It is not enough to be a good man; we have to be a God-man. A good man might be a man of the tree of knowledge, the result of which is death (Gen. 2:17). A God-man is a man of the tree of life (Gen. 2:9). In his spirit, God is mingled; in his heart, God is dwelling; in his soul—mind, emotion, and will—God is occupying. This is a real, normal Christian.
The first person who was mingled with God was Jesus (Matt. 1:21-23). Do you realize why He is so precious to us? Because in Him is the universal mingling of God with humanity. We should spend some time before the Lord, and say, "Lord, reveal to me the meaning of the mingling of God with man." We should ask ourselves, "Do I realize it, do I experience it, do I live in it?" If we would bring this to the Lord, I believe our whole life would be revolutionized. We would realize that we are "peculiar," "strange," set apart from society because God is mingled with us. Think how wonderful it is that human beings such as we could have God as life, dwelling within and occupying our whole being!