The Bible reveals a wonderful, marvelous person—Jesus Christ, the God-man. This One is both the Son of God and the Son of man. On one occasion when the Pharisees were gathered together, the Lord Jesus questioned them, saying, "What do you think concerning the Christ? Whose son is He?" (Matt. 22:41-42a). When they said to him "David's," He went on to say to them, "How then does David in spirit call Him Lord..? If then David calls Him Lord, how is He his son?" (vv. 43, 45). The Pharisees could not understand this, and they were not able to answer Him. Here the Lord Jesus was indicating that He, the son of David, was the Son of God—the very matter revealed in 2 Samuel 7:12-14a.
What is revealed in 2 Samuel 7 is expounded by Paul in Romans 1:3-4, where he tells us that Christ, a descendant of David, has been designated the Son of God. These verses say, "Concerning His Son, who came out of the seed of David according to the flesh, who was designated the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness out of the resurrection of the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord." Christ is a descendant of David, yet He has been designated to be the Son of God. This is the mystery of God becoming man to make man God in life and in nature but not in the Godhead. The two, God and man, are thus built together, constituted into each other. In Christ God has been constituted into man, man has been constituted into God, and God and man have been mingled together to be one entity, which is called the God-man.
In these messages on 2 Samuel 7, we have emphasized the matter of God's building Himself in Christ into man. God is building Himself not in Himself but in man, and not only in man but also into man. This building is God's constituting of Himself in Christ into man.
God in Christ is constituting Himself into man, making Himself the element of man. Thus, we human beings are constituted with a divine element. This means that a divine element is built into our human element, and the two elements are mingled with each other. Not only is God's divine element constituted into us—the human element is constituted into God. As the divine element is constituted into our humanity, we become God in life and in nature but not in the Godhead. As the human element is constituted into God, God becomes man. This is the building revealed in the New Testament.
Such a revelation should become a principle that governs our understanding of God and of God's building. When we talk about the building up of the church or about the building up of the Body, we need to realize that this building is a constitution of the divine element into the human element and of the human element into the divine element. This building, therefore, is a constitution of the divine element and of the human element into each other. Such a constitution makes the divine element and the human element one entity. This is the building of the church, the building of the Body of Christ.
As we work for God today, we should participate in this building. This means that our work must be part of this mutual constitution. If our work is not related to this mutual constitution, then in the eyes of God our work is like wood, grass, and stubble (1 Cor. 3:12). But if our work is a part of this mutual constitution, God will regard our work as gold, silver, and precious stones, which will consummate in the New Jerusalem built with gold, pearl, and precious stones (Rev. 21:2, 11, 18-21).