Thus far we have seen what God is, what man is, and what the new creation is. In the foregoing chapter we pointed out that the new creation is simply the mingling of God with man. We need to be very clear in our vision that the God whom we worship and serve is the Triune God who was incarnated as a man. From the time of the incarnation He has been not only the Triune God but also a man, a God-man. Hence, He is man mingled with God and God mingled with man. As far as He is concerned, this mingling was accomplished two thousand years ago. Through His incarnation He brought God into man, and by His death, resurrection, and ascension He brought man into God. Moreover, He brought God into man to live on this earth in the man Jesus. The Lord Jesus was God living in a man on earth; He was God walking, working, acting, and moving in a man.
The record of the four Gospels shows us that the almighty, infinite God was incarnated to be a man and lived, moved, acted, and walked in a man on this earth. However, He also accomplished something further. Through His death, resurrection, and ascension He brought man into God and to the heavens (Rom. 1:3-4; Luke 24:50-51). Now there is a man existing and living in God in the heavens. By His incarnation God came into man and walked in man on this earth, and by His death, resurrection, and ascension man was brought into God and now lives in God in the heavens. When He was on earth, God walked in a man on the earth, and now that He is in the heavens, man lives in God in the heavens.
Regrettably, many Christians think that when the Lord Jesus was incarnated, He put man on only temporarily; then He took man off again after He had died and resurrected. In their concept, forty days after His resurrection the Lord ascended into the heavens, and He is there no longer as a man. According to this understanding, Christ came as God to put man on for only thirty-three and a half years, as if He were putting on a piece of clothing; after He went to the cross and was crucified, He put man off and returned back to the heavens exactly as He had been before, as God and no longer as man. By reading the Scriptures, however, we can see that even today Christ is still a man in the heavens. After the Lord Jesus had ascended into the heavens, when Stephen was being stoned to death in Acts 7, he saw the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God (v. 56). Hence, today Jesus Christ is in heaven as the Son of Man. Moreover, in Matthew chapter twenty-six, when Christ was questioned by the high priest as to whether or not He was the Son of God, He told him, “From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven” (v. 64). Thus, even in His second coming the Lord will be the Son of Man. This is a wonderful matter that is far beyond our human concept.
We should not think that the Lord Jesus, who was God, came and put man upon Himself, that He died and resurrected in order to terminate man, and that today He is no longer a man but only the almighty God. This is a natural, human thought. On the contrary, we must realize that God’s intention is to mingle Himself with man. He has entered into man, and He will not give man up. Although today many married couples get divorced, God, having “married” man, will never “get a divorce.” The Lord today is still joined with man, and He still has the human nature. Hence, He is God and man. When He comes to present Himself to you as the Savior, He is the God-man. When you receive Him as the Savior, you receive not only God; you receive the God-man.
Furthermore, we all have a human spirit (Job 32:8). However, the subtle enemy Satan is doing his best to prevent us from knowing this. This is because once we realize that we have a spirit, we will exercise our spirit to contact God. God is the Spirit who was already mingled with man before we received Him, and we are persons with a spirit for us to receive this wonderful God. When we receive Him, He becomes one with us, and we become one with Him. This is the new creation, which is nothing other than the mingling of this wonderful God with us.
For many years I did not know the purpose of God’s salvation. I always thought that God’s salvation was to pull me out of hell and one day carry me to the heavens. I considered that in the meantime, while I was still on this earth, I needed joy, peace, and certain blessings. Therefore, I thought that God on His part should day by day share with me a little joy, happiness, peace, etc., and I on my part should do something good to please Him, glorify Him, serve Him, and fulfill His purpose. Many of us have thought in this way and even thanked the Lord for His outward blessings. May the Lord open our eyes to see that the purpose of God’s salvation is something absolutely different from our human concept. He is the Triune God incarnated as a man. He has accomplished the mingling of God with man already. Now He presents Himself to us in the way of mingling, as God who is already mingled with man, for us to receive. If we open our spirit, which He created for us, and receive Him into us, He will be one with us and we will be one with Him. This is what is spoken of in 1 Corinthians 6:17: “He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit.” We and He, He and we, become a mingling, and this mingling is the new creation.
This new creation is mentioned also in Galatians 6:15, which says, “Neither is circumcision anything nor uncircumcision, but a new creation is what matters.” The context in which the new creation is mentioned here indicates that we should simply take care of the mingling and experience the mingling of God with us all the time. Several times in the past, young brothers and sisters have come to argue with me concerning going to the movies. I usually answered them in this way: “Dear brother, go to the movies and see whether the Lord Jesus goes with you. If you can enjoy the mingling of God in the movie theater, you should go there and enjoy it. If you cannot, you are wrong.” Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything, or, we may say, neither going to the movies nor refraining from movies is anything, but the new creation, the mingling of God with us, is what matters.
Even in the matter of whether or not to visit a certain brother or sister, we need to be assured that we are living in Christ and by Christ. We should have the sense that we are one with the Lord; otherwise, we should stop. Being a Christian is a mysterious matter, for a Christian is a mingling of God with man. We need to realize that day by day and moment by moment we are a mingling of God with man. Whatever we do and speak must be a mingling of God with man. This is the new creation.