Those who serve the Lord should have a basic understanding that God requires man to cooperate with Him in His plan. Everyone who has a heart to serve the Lord should know this in a fundamental way. In creation, God created everything by Himself, and in the final act of creation, God created man. After He created man, everything was complete; man did not need to do anything or ask for anything. The work of creation was done by God alone, and man did not have any part in it.
However, in addition to His work of creation, God has the work of redemption. In creation man did not need to do anything, and he had no part in God’s work. In redemption, however, God wants man to work together with Him. Redemption is accomplished by a joint effort of God and man. Just as tea-water is produced by the mingling of tea and water, redemption is accomplished by the mingling of God with man. God did the work of creation through His own position, qualification, power, and authority; however, redemption is accomplished through the mingling and joining of God with man. Without God, redemption could not be accomplished, but without man, redemption could not be accomplished either.
When our Savior accomplished redemption on the cross, did He redeem us in His status as God or in His status as man? Is the Lord Jesus God or man? This is a very important question. We must remember that every item in redemption is accomplished through the mingling of God with man. Where did redemption begin? It began from Bethlehem. The story of Bethlehem is the story of God entering into man. Incarnation shows that God’s redemption requires the mingling of God with man. Redemption cannot be accomplished only by God Himself, and redemption cannot be accomplished only by man. Redemption can be accomplished only by God entering into man and by the mingling and joining of man with God.
It is certainly true to say that Jesus is God, and it is equally true to say that Jesus is a man. Jesus the Nazarene is the result of the mingling and joining of God and man. When He was on the earth, His thoughts, His work, and even the direction of His footsteps were all for redemption. His every footstep was the footstep of God with man, and His every action was the action of God with man. We need to be clear that the One who was born in the manger in Bethlehem and was worshipped by man is God yet man. The One who dined in the house of the Pharisee is God yet man. The One who was crucified on the cross at Golgotha is God yet man. The story of the Gospels is the story of God’s redemption through the mingling of God and man.
When the brothers lead the churches or give messages, are they only in themselves? If they are, this should be disapproved. If a brother is giving a message in himself, this is no different than the practice in Islam, Taoism, or any other religion. When we give a message in the church, God should be speaking through us. In whatever we do, God should be doing it through us and God should be mingled with us. If I speak without being mingled with God, I should be cursed.
When the Lord Jesus was on the earth, He was the son of Mary and the brother of James, but within He was the Word of God; He was God. God Himself was in Him. This is the great mystery of godliness (1 Tim. 3:16). The redemption of Christ began from Bethlehem, and the significance of Bethlehem is incarnation, which is the mingling of God and man. From the day that the Lord Jesus became flesh until now, this principle remains: God desires to enter into man and mingle Himself with man as one. If we want to serve the Lord and work for Him, we must see this great and basic principle.
When we serve the Lord, it is not enough to be zealous, to give some material offerings, and to pray some prayers; the basic principle of serving the Lord is to see that God does everything in redemption through the mingling of God with man. He wants man’s cooperation. Once we see this principle, we will be able to solve the following three matters.
Since God needs man’s cooperation in His work of redemption, all work is of God, not of man. In our exercise we must seek to act according to the principle established by God. God’s desire that man work together with Him has been initiated by God, not by man. God initiates His work, but it is carried out by man’s cooperation with Him. We could never even dream that redemption requires man’s cooperation and needs to pass through man. This thought is not of man. If we do not see this principle, we will definitely have many deficiencies in our work. All works require man’s cooperation with God, but no work is initiated by man. All works originate from God as the source and are carried out with the cooperation of man. We need to see this principle: All work begins with God, not with man.
This is the source of the confusion in today’s Christianity. The main reason Christians are divided into many denominations and sects is that many things among them have been initiated by man, not by God. The point of initiation is not God but man. Every person who serves God should submit to Him and say, “O God, although You cannot do anything without me and although You need me to work together with You, everything must originate from You, not from me. I will not move unless You move; I want to move only in Your move.”
What is the difference between the church and religion? No religion has been initiated or advanced by God. In contrast, the church is initiated and advanced by God. Religion is something conceived by man, who worships and serves God according to his thoughts about God. However, the church does not come from man’s thinking; rather, the church comes from God. The church is the issue of God’s moving and calling in man and of man’s answering God’s call. From the Old Testament to the New Testament, those who served God were called by God; no one served out of his own desire. Saul, who took the way of religion, persecuted Jesus the Nazarene and was zealous in all kinds of religious activities. Then one day he saw a great light on his way to Damascus, and he heard a voice from heaven, saying, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” He immediately said, “Who are You, Lord?” (Acts 9:3-5). At this point Saul began to know the church. The church originates from Christ and comes out of God Himself.
Religion comes from man’s imagination, but the church comes from God’s revelation. In religion man volunteers to serve God, but in the church man’s service comes from a calling that originates from God Himself. The Lord said to Saul, “I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you persecute.” Saul immediately asked, “What shall I do, Lord?” (Acts 22:8, 10). Saul did not say, “I will do something for You.” If he had said this, it would have been religion. The evil one in Isaiah 14:13-14 says, “I will,” but when man submits and stops his efforts, he asks, “What shall I do, God?” Then, like Paul, he will receive a revelation: “It will be told to you what you must do” (Acts 9:6).
Nothing in the church comes from man’s imagination. Rather, everything in the church should be the result of God’s revelation to man, God’s shining on man, God’s calling of man, and God’s gaining of man. God wants to gain man because He needs man to cooperate with Him. In the church God gains man to move with Him and to cooperate with His move. In religion man initiates, man decides, and man works. Although there is “service,” it is of man. Today many preachers are doing man’s work. In principle, only that which is of God, is called by God, and answers God’s demand is the service of the church. Anyone who does not serve God according to this way serves God according to his own imagination, decision, and desire. Although these people say that they are serving God in the church, they are involved only in religious activities.
Hence, as we learn to serve God, we need to see that God’s work requires our cooperation with Him. No work should originate from ourselves. The Father, Son, and the Spirit are in us. All work is started and must be started by the Triune God.