We also need to bear the face of a lion. In the Bible a lion signifies boldness, vigor, strength, and victory. In our Christian life we first need to be a man. Wherever we may be—at our school, in our office, or among our neighbors—we should be a man. But we should also be a lion. If in the office you are a proper man, others will be drawn to you. However, those who are drawn to you may be “germs” that can corrupt you. Because they like you, they may invite you to participate with them in a certain kind of worldly amusement. At such a time you should behave not like a man but like a lion. This means that toward anything sinful or worldly, we must be as bold as a lion. All those who work in your office should know that if they talk to you about worldly things, you will behave like a lion.
People often consider that the Lord Jesus was gentle and mild. However, at least on certain occasions, He was not at all gentle. For example, when He went into the temple and found “those selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the moneychangers sitting there,” He became angry and made a whip out of cords and “drove them all out of the temple, as well as the sheep and the oxen, and He poured out the money of the moneychangers and overturned their tables” (John 2:14-15). Furthermore, in Matthew 23 He severely rebuked the religionists, saying to them, “Serpents! Brood of vipers!” (v. 33). In these situations He surely was as bold as a lion. In Revelation 5:5 He is even called “the Lion of the tribe of Judah.” There are times when we also need to have the face of a lion.
In the Bible a lion signifies not only boldness, vigor, strength, and victory but also reigning. The lion is the king of the animals. We, who have become living creatures through regeneration, should not only be men to manifest God but also lions to reign for God. If toward sin, the world, and Satan we are strong and bold like lions, God will be able to establish His reign through us.
We need not only the face of a man and the face of a lion but also the face of an ox. The face of a lion is balanced by the face of an ox. If in your office you have the face of a lion, that alone will not convince others. You need to be balanced by having the face of an ox. An ox is one who is willing to bear the burden, to do the work, and even to sacrifice himself. We all need to have such an appearance and to express such a reality of serving others, bearing the burden, caring for the responsibility, and even sacrificing our life. If as you are working in an office you are a proper man, you are as bold as a lion, and you are also faithful in bearing responsibility, you will make a good impression on others. In order to make such an impression, you need to behave not only like a man and like a lion but also like a serving, suffering ox. When the office needs to be cleaned, you should take the lead to clean, doing more than the other employees. In this way you will show your colleagues that you are willing to sacrifice, to help others, and to serve them. Then you will have the reality of the face of an ox. When others see you with the face of a man, the face of a lion, and the face of an ox, they will say, “This is a real Christian.”
Furthermore, we also need, at the rear, a hidden face—the face of an eagle. After God brought the people of Israel out of Egypt and led them into the wilderness, He said to them, “I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself” (Exo. 19:4). This indicates that in the Bible an eagle signifies the powerful, transcendent God. God is transcendent, buoyant, and powerful. Nothing can suppress Him, oppress Him, or depress Him. The more you try to suppress Him, the more buoyant and transcendent He becomes. A Christian has God’s life within him, and this life is transcendent, causing us to have an expression of buoyancy and transcendence. This is the significance of the face of an eagle.
We need to be like an eagle, not allowing anything to hold us, to suppress us, or to depress us. This means that we should be able to overcome both persecution and praise. Sometimes it is more difficult to overcome praise than it is to overcome persecution. Some can overcome persecution, but they are unable to overcome people’s praise. This should not be the case with us. Whether we are persecuted or praised, we need to be able to fly away on eagles’ wings. We should be buoyant and transcendent. This is exactly how the Lord Jesus was in John when the people tried to make Him king after He fed five thousand people with five loaves and two fish. Concerning this John 6:15 says, “Jesus, knowing that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him King, withdrew again to the mountain, Himself alone.” He could not be held because He had the power of an eagle and was therefore transcendent.
A Christian should not be held by anything. However, it is possible for us to be held by many different things. One believer may be held by poverty, and another may be held by riches. If we would be a proper Christian, we should be held neither by poverty nor by riches. Like Paul, we should be able to say, “I know also how to be abased, and I know how to abound; in everything and in all things I have learned the secret both to be filled and to hunger, both to abound and to lack. I am able to do all things in Him who empowers me” (Phil. 4:12-13). Paul’s word reveals that he had the wings of an eagle. He bore the appearance of a man, of a lion, of an ox, and also of an eagle.
These four faces—the face of a man, the face of a lion, the face of an ox, and the face of an eagle—portray the life of Christ. These four faces correspond to the four Gospels, which may be regarded as four biographies of the Lord Jesus, with each presenting a certain aspect of Christ. Luke shows Him as a man, Matthew shows Him as a lion, Mark shows Him as an ox, and John shows Him as an eagle. This fourfold life is the life of Christ.
The four living creatures are a corporate expression of Christ. They express Christ in four aspects—as a man, as a lion, as an ox, and as an eagle. This is the expression of the life of Christ in a corporate way. As Christians, we should be the living creatures, those who are a corporate entity to express Christ exactly as He was on earth. When He was on earth, He lived in the four aspects of a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle. Today we should be the corporate expression of such a Christ.