In eternity past, God had a purpose according to the good pleasure of His will. This purpose was to have a group of people, a corporate man, filled up with Himself as life. This corporate man would have His image to express Him and His dominion to represent Him and to rule over His enemy. In time, this corporate man is just the church, God’s heart’s desire. In eternity future, it will be the New Jerusalem. This is what He has always been after. Only this will make Him happy. His economy is just to carry out this purpose by dispensing Himself into man.
Before He created the universe, He chose and predestinated some men to be part of this corporate man. These chosen ones would become His sons, full of His life to express Him and to inherit all He is.
In time, He created the heavens, the earth, and all of mankind in one man named Adam. This man was to be filled with God as life. He placed him in front of the tree of life, but due to Satan’s deception he chose to take the tree of knowledge instead. As a result of Adam’s sinning against God, he fell under God’s condemnation objectively and received the satanic nature into Him subjectively.
God created; Satan corrupted. Then God came in and promised to save man. He promised and prophesied in the Old Testament about the coming Savior-God. Then, in the New Testament, Jesus, the Savior-God, came and fulfilled all these promises and prophecies given by God. He was incarnated as a man, lived for thirty-three and a half years as a proper human being, and was crucified for our redemption. In this redemption, forgiveness of sins, cleansing of sins, justification and reconciliation were all included. All of man’s objective problems before God were solved.
In resurrection, He became the life-giving Spirit to regenerate us in our spirit. He is now working within us to save our soul by His life, sanctifying and transforming us. For this, we need to enjoy His rich provision and be obedient to His inner leading.
In the future, when He comes again, He will redeem our sinful and fallen body to be like His glorious body. This is to be conformed fully to His image (Rom. 8:29).
Then, in eternity future, all of the chosen and redeemed people who have gone through this progressive salvation will become the New Jerusalem, the ultimate mingling of the Triune God with the tripartite man.
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! God will dwell in man and man in God for eternity. This is the ultimate goal of God, His eternal purpose. God will have finished His work according to His plan and will be fully satisfied and at rest for eternity. Amen!