[God’s original intention was to do the work of the new creation on the fallen man of the old creation according to His promised grace. However, because the fallen man did not know his weakness and corruption, and therefore did not realize his impotence and his need of God’s grace, God temporarily changed the way of His work of the new creation on the fallen man of the old creation. That is, He gave the fallen man the law, which was established according to what He is. Thus, He initiated another dispensation, the dispensation of law, which extended from Moses to Christ (John 10:10; Gal. 3:24; Luke 2:25-26, 36-38; 3:15; 7:19; Rom. 5:20; Gal. 3:19). God’s intention in setting up this dispensation of law according to His economy was to accomplish the following things through the law; first, to keep the chosen people in custody that they might satisfy the requirements of the law through the offerings, which typified Christ, and thereby be guarded, as sheep are guarded in the sheepfold; second, to provide the chosen people with a child-conductor that they might be led to Christ, that through the offerings they might be forgiven, and that through the tabernacle and temple they might enjoy God’s riches; and third, to cause the chosen people to have the knowledge of sin and of themselves, and thereby realize and sense their need of God’s grace. As a result, God kept His chosen people in the custody of the law, obtained the second part of the new race of the new creation, and brought Christ to the chosen people who waited for Him in the dispensation of law and to those who would believe into Him in the coming dispensation.]
[When God determined that the purpose of decreeing the law had been attained and that the law had been used to its full extent, the Triune God became flesh in the Son; He was born of a woman to become Christ, who possessed both the divine nature and the human nature, bringing grace and reality (John 1:1-2, 17-18). He passed through human life in humanity, experiencing every hardship and suffering, and He also lived out the Triune God in humanity. Furthermore, He passed through the death of the cross in humanity, accomplishing an all-inclusive death with a sevenfold status and releasing the divine life for multiplication and increase to constitute the Body of Christ, which is the church. Moreover, the Triune God was raised from among the dead with a resurrected body in humanity, that the only begotten Son might be born as the firstborn Son in His humanity in resurrection; at the same time, those who believed into Christ were regenerated to become His many sons. This Christ, who was resurrected to become the life-giving Spirit, breathed Himself into those who believed in Him to be the reality of their spiritual life for their spiritual existence and living. Then this resurrected and glorified One was exalted in ascension. He was made both Lord and Christ to be a Leader and Savior, that He might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to God’s chosen people. Moreover, in ascension He poured Himself out as the consummated Spirit of the Triune God, baptizing those who believed and became His members in this consummated Spirit into one Body, that they might be His fullness to express Him. The above seven items mainly include the person and work of Christ and constitute the gospel of God to be preached to sinners, calling those who were chosen of God to believe, to be saved, and to be regenerated. God then constitutes them to be the churches in different localities that the Body of Christ may be fully built up. Thus God obtains all those who believe into Christ in the New Testament to be the third part of the new race in God’s new creation.]
[After the conclusion of the dispensation of grace, God will change for the last time the way of His work of the new creation on the man of the old creation. That is, He will set up His kingdom on the earth to carry out His administration that He may accomplish His work of the new creation in the old creation. This is the dispensation of the kingdom, which is also called the dispensation of righteousness; it covers the period from the second coming of Christ to the end of the millennium (Rev. 11:15; 20:4, 6). In this dispensation, according to His righteousness, He will use the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens to reward the just men perfected in the Old Testament and the overcoming believers in Christ in the New Testament that they may participate in Christ’s kingship and joy. Moreover, according to righteousness, He will perfect the immature believers in the New Testament and also will deal with all the Israelites who repent and believe in Christ at His coming back. The dispensation of the kingdom, which is the dispensation of righteousness, is still a dispensation in the old creation used by God to chasten, to discipline, and to perfect the believers. It is not in the new heaven and new earth that all the work of the new creation will be completed. God will use the last dispensation in the old creation to complete His work of the new creation on the man of the old creation. That is, He will cause the immature believers in the dispensation of grace to mature in life, and He also will cause the repentant Israelites, after the termination of the dispensation of grace, to become constituents of the new race. In this way God will complete the work of the new creation on the man of the old creation in the old creation, a work that will produce and perfect a new race. Thus, the processed Triune God and the transformed tripartite man will be mingled as one to be a mutual dwelling place for His ultimate corporate expression in eternity.]