All the accomplishments and inventions in the past six thousand years of human history have brought about continual improvement and development among mankind. This has resulted in today's comfortable living. But according to my experience, the most precious thing on the earth today is not the advance of man's civilization, but the Bible which God has given us. The Bible is precious because it not only shows us clearly the mystery of the universe but also puts before us the unique treasure in the universe.
The Bible speaks of the deep things of God, but in God's wisdom He uses simple and understandable words to unveil the mysteries hidden within Him. On the one hand, the Bible seems to be quite simple and understandable. But on the other hand, the Bible is extremely mysterious and unfathomable. Therefore, we must have a proper heart when we read it, not holding on to any opinion, and we must be diligent in searching and studying it. In this way, we will not only see the outward shell of the Bible but also apprehend and enter into the heart of the Bible. After I was saved, I began to love and study the Bible. After more than sixty-six years of studying the Bible, I have ultimately seen that the center of the Bible is God's economy and dispensing.
The word economy is rarely used among Christians today. Therefore, in the Chinese translation of the Bible, the Greek word for economy is translated into arrangement (Eph. 1:10) or bylaws (1 Tim. 1:3-4). In the original language, the word economy means household management. It is the arrangement, plan, or administration within a household. Hence, it is a household administration. This word is also translated into dispensation in English. Dispensation means the arrangement or the way by which God deals with people in different ages. In every age God has a certain way of dealing with man. For example, in the age of the law, God dealt with man according to the standard of the law. Whoever kept the law would be a blessed person, but whoever disobeyed the law would be cursed. The condition by which God dealt with man in the Old Testament was the law. In the New Testament, the condition by which God deals with man is faith, not the law.
God's economy, His arrangement and plan, is to dispense Himself into His chosen ones. God chose, predestinated, redeemed, saved, and regenerated us for the purpose of dispensing and working Himself into us. For the fulfillment of His economy, God created man, but He first had to create the earth to support man so that man could live. Furthermore, in order for the earth to exist, there must be the heavens. Zechariah 12:1 says that God stretched forth the heavens, laid the foundation of the earth, and formed the spirit of man within him. The heavens are for the earth, the earth is for man, and man is for God. The sun, the air, and the rain come from the heavens so that the living things on the earth may grow. All the things on the earth are for man to exist and live on the earth. God also formed a spirit in man that man might receive God and contain Him. God's creation of man with a spirit was so that he might contact God and receive God by his spirit.
After God created the heavens, the earth, and all the things on the earth in Genesis 1, He came to the last step of His creation. On the sixth day, God created man. After His creation of man, God's creating work was finished. Genesis 1:26 says that God created man in His own image and according to His likeness. What is God's image? According to the revelation in the Bible, God is love, light, holiness, and righteousness. This love, light, holiness, and righteousness are just what God is. These are God's attributes. When God created man, He created him according to the image of these attributes. Furthermore, God is triune. In God's creation of man, He made him with three parts: spirit, soul, and body. God is the Divine Trinity, and man is a human tripartition. Thus, man was created in God's image and according to God's likeness, having the attributes of love, light, holiness, and righteousness and the three parts of spirit, soul, and body. In this way, man is very much like God.
The creation of man is the first step in God's economy. God created man for the purpose of working Himself completely and wholly into man to be man's life, so that man may be His living. In this way, God and man, man and God, are not only joined but also mingled together. Some Bible teachers say that the Christian life is an exchanged life—Christ comes in and we go out. This is an erroneous teaching. The Christian life should be a life mingled with God. We and Christ have the same life and the same living.