After the fish, the birds, the fowl in the air, were created on the fifth day (Gen. 1:20-23). This is the higher life with the lower consciousness. The bird life is higher than the fish life. Fish can live in the death waters, but birds can transcend them. After you become a fish, you must grow until you are a bird. When your classmates come to you and say, "Let us go to the movies," you will soar. No one can touch you—you will be transcendent. You will not only repel the salt, but you will transcend it.
Every item mentioned in the first chapter of Genesis has a Bible verse signifying that it is a type. For instance, the Lord Jesus told Peter that he would be a fisher of men (Matt. 4:19). By this word, the Lord Jesus likened all people to fish in the sea. Also, we have Isaiah 40:31 which says that they who wait on the Lord shall be as the eagles, soaring and transcending. This is a higher life. Many can testify that often they were soaring. We can live in any kind of situation, but with a little more growth we not only survive in evil circumstances, we also transcend them. We fly away and nothing can touch us. Hallelujah! A number of times I thought to myself that I would like to be a bird. Then, one day I discovered that I really was a bird. I was an eagle with two big wings. Hallelujah! An eagle can mount up and transcend the frustrations of this earth. This is wonderful. I am not speaking something I don't know or something that is not found in the Bible. Read Isaiah 40:31. We can be the eagle. This is the second step of the growth of life. This is wonderful, but there is still more.
On the sixth day the higher life with the higher consciousness came into existence (Gen. 1:24-25). This higher life can accomplish something on the earth. Genesis 49:9 speaks about the lion, likening Judah to a lion which can do many things. First Samuel 6:7, 12a tells about two kine which were used to carry the cart with the ark. These verses show that both the beasts and the cattle can accomplish something on this earth. Their consciousness is higher than the fish, even higher than the bird, and they can do something on this earth. This is the third step of the growth of life.
We have Christ within us as our life. Starting from the level of the grass, this life will grow from the grass to the herb, from the herb to the tree. Then, we will be on another plane, the plane of the animal life. On this level, we will first be a fish, gradually grow to be a bird, and eventually grow even further to be one of the cattle with a life that is higher, stronger, and more meaningful.
We must recognize the need of light. On the first day, we had the light from the Spirit and from the Word. As we go on, we need the lights of the fourth day. On the fourth day, the lights come from Christ, from the church, and from the shining saints. Since we are under the enlightening of Christ, the church, and the shining saints, we no longer have only the generating of life but the growth of life. The light on the first day is for the generating of life; the lights on the fourth day are for the growth of life. The lights on the fourth day mainly come from Christ directly, also from the church and the shining saints. If we are to grow in life after we have received the eternal life, we must firstly contact Christ, secondly contact the church, and thirdly contact the living saints. While we are under such a shining, we are in the process of growth.
Regarding this process of growth, I am not speaking about something theoretical. I know what I am talking about because I myself have passed through all of these stages. Forty-nine years ago I was a little blade of grass. Then, I grew from the grass to the herb. Later, I became a tree. After a certain time, I was a fish, able to live in any of the evil situations. Then, I reached a stage in which it was so easy for me to soar in the heavens. When there was any trouble or persecution, any hardship or affliction from mother, from brothers in the flesh, from wife or children, even from brothers in the spirit, I simply transcended them all. This is real.
Many times your dear wife gives you a hard time. Before you become a bird, you will stay there to argue, to exchange words. Once you become an eagle and the dear wife gives you trouble, the eagle-husband will fly away. This eagle-husband will remain soaring in the air and watching, watching until the wife says, "Praise the Lord." Then, the eagle-husband will return. By your experience you can tell when you were the fish and when you were the eagle. If you haven't had this kind of experience, I can assure you that someday you will be an eagle. The eagle has no struggle. When any difficulty comes, he soars in the air. It is really hard to catch him. When there is affliction, hardship, or trouble, the eagle takes to the air. That is a real victory, a transcending victory. Don't you want to be such an eagle?
Sometimes, however, when I was an eagle, finding it easy to fly away, the Lord said to me, "Don't fly away. Stay to be one of the cattle. You need to be a cow. Either produce milk to feed others or bear them as a burden. When your wife gives you a hard time, don't fly away—give her some milk. Feed her and bear her as a burden."
Perhaps your husband or your wife is the death water to you, killing and salty. If you are a tree or an herb, you will certainly be killed, but if you have grown from a plant to a fish, you will live. In the past, I saw many young ones who were so good before they were married. Once they married, however, they were killed. The young husbands were killed by the young wives and the young wives were killed by the young husbands. But, I also saw some dear saints who had grown up to be a living fish. The wives didn't care how salty their husbands were and the husbands didn't care how salty their wives were. They continued to live. After a certain time, they grew from the fish stage to the eagle stage. Whenever they had some hardship, they simply transcended it. Gradually, after more growth in life, they realized that flying away was not the higher life. They realized that they needed to stay on earth to produce some milk for their folks and to bear their dear folks as a burden. When you reach this stage and your dear wife gives you a difficult time, you don't say anything. You simply put her upon your shoulders and bear her as a burden. While your wife is arguing with you, you put her upon your shoulders and tell her, "I am going to bear you to the heavens."
In 1 Samuel 6 there is a cart with the Lord's ark. You are needed to carry part of the weight of the ark. You need to do something, to have some activity upon this earth. Don't fly away. The so-called heavenly life is not the highest life. When you become so heavenly, you must return to the earth. Do not simply grow higher and higher, but grow in order to come down.
The Lord Jesus was God, but for the fulfillment of God's purpose He came to the earth to be a cow. He came to be sacrificed and He came to bear all of our burdens. Whenever someone persecuted Him, He put that persecutor on His shoulders and said, "I will carry you to the heavens." What kind of life is this? This is wonderful.
Now we can see that every point in the first chapter of Genesis is related to life. I ask you to bring all of these verses and all the points included in this message to the Lord in prayer. "Lord, I have the life. But Lord, You know that I need the lights of the fourth day. I have the light from the first day already, but I need the lights of the fourth day. Lord Jesus, I need You as the sun. I need to contact You directly. I want to be in Your presence day by day. I want to be under Your shining. I also need the church, the moon. And I need the stars. I need the overcoming saints, the ones who are shining, who turn many to righteousness. I need those who can turn people from darkness to light." If you will contact the Lord as the sun, the church as the moon, and some good saints as the shining stars, you will have the lights of the fourth day. It is by these lights that you will grow. The plane of life within you will change from the plant life to the animal life. You will grow day by day. Then you will be able to withstand any death situation and be able to transcend every opposition, distraction, or temptation. Eventually, you will return to earth purposely to do God's will. This is wonderful!
However, this is not the life with the highest consciousness, but the higher life with the higher consciousness. We need to go on to the last part of the sixth day. As we will see in a later message, at the last part of the sixth day comes the life with the highest consciousness, the human life, a life which expresses the image of God and has dominion over all things for God.