Thus, we can say that the work of God's new creation occupies the entire Bible except the first two chapters. The new creation work of God began from Genesis 3, not from Matthew 1. God's new creation work passes through four main ages: the age before law, from Adam to Moses; the age of law, from Moses to Christ; the age of grace, from Christ's first coming to His second coming; and the age of the kingdom of one thousand years. God's new creation work started from Genesis 3 and passes through these four ages. In these four ages, God does His best to get Himself into man in order to make the old man the new man. Thus, the portion of Scripture from Genesis 3 to the end of Revelation is on God's new creation.

God worked on the old creation but not for the old creation. God works on the old creation to have a new creation. A butterfly coming out of a cocoon is a good example of this. The cocoon is the old creation. Eventually, the butterfly is the new creation. God works on the "cocoon," the old creation, to get the "butterfly," the new creation. From the time when God began to work on the cocoon, that was the beginning of God's new creation work. Eventually, God will get rid of the cocoon and will cause the butterfly to come out. This butterfly is the New Jerusalem.

Now we need to consider whether we are the new creation or the old creation. On the one hand, we are the new creation (2 Cor. 5:17). But when we lose our temper, that is a part of the old creation. Although we are the new creation, we are also being renewed and transformed to become the new creation in a fuller way. Much of our being is still in the old creation. None of us has fully come out of our cocoon, our old creation. Today we are the new creation, but we are still with the old creation.

Today God is growing in us, expanding in us. The more God grows, the more God expands, and the more the cocoon is reduced. John the Baptist told us, "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30). The cocoon, the old I, should decrease, but the butterfly, Christ, must increase by God's growing in us. God's growing in us is God's work. I am so thankful to the Lord that in the entire Bible there is a verse such as Colossians 2:19, which says that by holding the Head, the Body "grows with the growth of God." God is growing within us. If He does not grow within us, we cannot grow.

Philippians 2:13 says that God is operating in us. What is the difference between God's growing and God's operating? We can illustrate this by considering young children. In order for children to grow, they need to move by running, jumping, and acting in many ways. It is not sufficient for them to eat and drink. In addition to this, they must operate. If there is no operation, there is no growth. This is why the schools have playgrounds where children can exercise, operate, for their proper development and growth. It is the same with us in the spiritual realm. If we do not exercise, operate, we cannot grow. The ones who exercise the most, grow the most.

In the New Testament, one verse tells us that our God is growing in us. Another verse tells us that our God is operating in us. He is not lazy. The more He operates in us, the more He grows in us. We need to cooperate with God's operation in us by exercising our spirit to function by speaking in the meetings. The best way for us to grow is to exercise our spirit to speak. God's growth in us depends upon His operation, and His operation is His work for His new creation.