We have covered the indwelling Christ and Christ’s indwelling in the previous chapters. Now let us see how we can experience Christ’s indwelling. The entire Bible tells us a wonderful and mysterious thing, that is, that the Triune God desires to work Himself into His believers. He wants to abide in them to be their life. This is the revelation in the Bible. We have said that the mystery of the universe is God; God is the answer to all the mysteries of the universe. How wonderful it is that this God, who is the mystery of the universe, has entered into us to be our life.
Genesis chapter one says that God created the heavens, the earth, and all things. Chapter two says that God formed man of the dust of the ground. God created the heavens, the sun, the rain, and the air for the earth. The earth brought forth herbs and grains for man’s existence. God created man after He had finished His creation of the heavens, the earth, and all things.
In Genesis 1 we are told that God created all things according to their kind: fish according to the fish-kind and birds according to the bird-kind. Every living thing was according to its kind and belongs to its kind. But God created man in His image and according to His likeness (vv. 26-27). Therefore, man is according to God’s kind. Since man was created in God’s image, man’s image is God’s image; man is a photograph of God. For example, if you want your relatives to see me, but you are unable to bring me to them, then you can take a picture of me and bring it with you. Although this picture is not the real me, it can somewhat show them my outward appearance because it is my picture. The Bible tells us that man was created in God’s image. Man is just like a photograph taken according to the likeness of God.
On the one hand, the Bible says that God created man in His image, but on the other hand, it says that God is invisible. Furthermore, Colossians 1:15 says that Christ is the image of the invisible God. God is invisible, yet He has an image; this is truly wonderful. The image mentioned in the Bible does not refer to the outward appearance, which is visible, but rather to the inward nature, which is invisible. For example, we often say that a son looks like his father. If the father is round-faced, the son is also round-faced; if the father has big eyes and large ears, then the son also has big eyes and large ears. This is an outward resemblance. Another kind of resemblance is a resemblance in nature. If the father is meek and kind, so also is the son; if the father is soft-spoken, so also is the son. God created man in His image; this image refers not to the outward appearance but to the inward nature.
Colossians 2:9 says, “For in Him [Christ] dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” According to the revelation in the Bible, the essential nature of the Godhead is first, love; second, it is light; third, it is holiness; and fourth, it is righteousness. God is kind and God is full of brightness, because God is love and God is light. Love and light do not have an image; they are divine attributes and characteristics. Love, light, holiness, and righteousness are the essential nature of the Godhead. God is God because He is love, light, holiness, and righteousness. Love and holiness are the nature of God’s essence; light and righteousness are the nature of God’s expression. In Himself, God is love and holiness. When He is expressed, He is light and righteousness. Furthermore, God is a thoughtful God, and He is also rich in emotions. He loves, and He also shows anger. He has feelings of joy, anger, sorrow, and delight. The Bible also tells us that God is a God of purpose and action; therefore, He is also a God with a will.
Now let us look at man. Man also has the same three aspects. Man is thoughtful, man has emotions, and man has a will. This means that man has God’s image. God is wise and thoughtful, God is rich in emotions, and God has a strong will. When God created man, He created man according to such an image. God has thoughts, so He created us with a mind; God has emotions, so He created man also with emotions; God has a will, so He created man also with a will.
Moreover, the conventional ethics that we profess are included in these four items of what God is-love, light, holiness, and righteousness. If your daily walk is full of love, light, holiness, and righteousness, then you are a perfect man. The conventional ethics defined by men are implied in these four items. We were created according to such an image of God. God wants us to be loving and kind; He wants us to be honest and upright; He wants us to be holy and uncontaminated; He wants us to be righteous, not practicing unrighteousness. Throughout the ages, in all lands, among all peoples, whether barbaric or civilized, anyone who steals will have a sense of shame and darkness. A person does not have to be educated to develop this sense because it is inherent in his created nature. Children have a desire to honor their parents and to love and care for others because these qualities are inherent in the created human nature.
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