After spending more than sixty-six years in studying the Bible, I can testify that the highest peak of the revelation in the Word is the revelation concerning God's economy and God's dispensing to produce the New Jerusalem. It is very important that we have this view when we read the book of Jeremiah. Otherwise, we will not have a clear and proper understanding of Jeremiah's writing. Thus, in this message I am burdened to give a word regarding God's economy with His dispensing in the book of Jeremiah.
The Bible consummates with the revelation of the city of New Jerusalem. This indicates that the New Jerusalem is God's goal. The vision of the New Jerusalem is the conclusion of the Bible, which has one thousand one hundred eighty-nine chapters. All the books of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, are related in some way to the New Jerusalem as God's goal. However, because the Bible speaks of so many other things, in our reading of the Word we may easily be distracted and not see God's goal. In His wisdom, God does not directly say in the Scriptures that His goal is to have the New Jerusalem. Instead, knowing that the New Jerusalem is too wonderful for us to imagine, He reveals this matter by using the Bible with its plain words, stories, histories, types, figures, and shadows. By all these different means, He reveals His thought concerning the New Jerusalem and depicts the various aspects of the New Jerusalem.
God has an economy, and this economy involves a plan with many arrangements. God's aim in His economy is to have a group of human beings who have His life and nature inwardly and His image and likeness outwardly. This group of people is a corporate entity, the Body of Christ, to be one with Him and live Him for His corporate expression. As God is expressed not only by the Body but also through the Body, He is glorified. When He is glorified, His people are also glorified in His glorification. In this way God and man are one in glory.
In this oneness we, God's people, are not separate from God, but we definitely remain distinct from Him. We are one with God in life, in nature, in element, in essence, and in constitution. We are also one with Him in purpose, goal, image, and likeness. Nevertheless, no matter how much we are one with God, we do not share His Godhead and will never share it. Man remains man, and God remains God. Yes, in the incarnation of Christ, God became a man, but He did not give up His Godhead. Rather, He has reserved and preserved the Godhead for Himself alone. Thus, man is still limited, and God still possesses the unique Godhead.
The group of human beings who are one with God in every way except in the Godhead is symbolized, signified, depicted, and portrayed by a wonderful, holy city—the New Jerusalem. We need to keep this vision before us as we come to the book of Jeremiah.