Concerning the testimony of the church, we must start with God’s eternal desire. What is God’s desire in eternity? What is the goal of His desire? If we carefully read the entire Bible, we will come to a conclusion: God’s desire, God’s purpose, from eternity to eternity is to express Himself in His Son.
Those who know God all realize that there is something mysterious about God; that is, He is always hidden. This is why atheists often ask, “You say that God exists, but where is He? Is He visible?” I often refute them by using an illustration, asking, “Is there such a thing as electricity? If you say that there is, can you see it? Where is it? What does it look like? Can you say that something is nonexistent simply because you cannot see it? Is this logical?” In the same way, God surely exists, but He is invisible. He is invisible, yet He surely exists. This really is a mystery. This is a characteristic of God; He likes to hide Himself.
However, God also likes to manifest Himself. This is even more amazing. The most hidden thing in this meeting hall is electricity, but electricity is also the most manifested thing. The electricity is invisible, but the meeting hall is full of electric light. This is a perfect illustration. The most hidden One in the universe is God, but at the same time, God also is the most manifested One. Although God is invisible, when we observe the phenomena in the universe, we can see proof of God’s existence everywhere.
Here is an amazing thing. In the beginning of the Bible we see only God’s speaking: “He spoke, and it was; / He commanded, and it stood” (Psa. 33:9). God spoke, but He did not manifest Himself. At the end of the Bible, however, a city is manifested; this city is the New Jerusalem. At the end God will not need to speak. God will be the light in the city, His Son will be the lamp, and the city will be His shining forth. God as the light in His Son as the lamp will shine forth through the city. Therefore, the glory of the city is the glory of God, and the shining of the city is the shining of God, just as the shining of the light bulb is the shining of electricity. At that time, since there will be God’s shining, God’s expression, there will not be a need for Him to speak.
This shows us a principle that when there is a need for God’s work, there is more of God’s speaking; and when more of God’s work is manifested, there is more of God’s expression. God’s speaking can be seen in the beginning of Genesis, but not His expression. God’s expression, however, can be seen at the end of Revelation because He has gained a vessel to express Himself. In the beginning, however, God did not have such a vessel. From eternity to eternity the desire of God is to express Himself so that He, as the hidden God, may be completely expressed through a vessel. This vessel fully depends upon His Son. God intends to express Himself in His Son and through His Son.
We need to see that God’s desire is to have sons. God’s work in the universe is a story of gaining many sons. In John 1 and 3 we can see God’s Son, His only begotten Son. But in Romans 8 the only begotten Son has become the firstborn Son. Since Christ is the firstborn Son of God, then there must be more sons than just the Son; there must be other sons. Hebrews 2:10 speaks of God leading many sons into glory. These many sons are a corporate son, a corporate body composed of many sons.
John 12:24 speaks of a grain of wheat which denotes the only begotten Son of God. This grain of wheat was sown into the ground, and it grew to become many grains, that is, many sons. Originally, it was a grain of wheat, which was the only begotten Son, but it becomes many grains, that is, many sons. Originally, there was just the Son; now this Son has become many sons, a corporate body composed of many sons. Therefore, in John 20:17, the Lord said, “My Father and your Father.” Just as He is the Son of God, we also are sons of God. This is God’s intention in the universe.
In the Bible a son expresses or declares the father. John 1:18 says, “No one has ever seen God; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.” This shows that the Lord Jesus, as the Son of God, expresses God. All of us, including sisters, are sons of God. Therefore, we all should express God. We can illustrate what it means to express God as sons of God by looking at Brother Huang. Let me ask, “Is Brother Huang’s father a black man?” Even if none of us have seen Brother Huang’s father, I think we all would say that his father is definitely not black. We can know this simply by looking at Brother Huang’s face. The son always expresses the father. When we see the son, it is not hard to imagine what the father looks like. In the same way, we express God as sons of God.
The Son manifests the Father because the Son is the image of the Father. The Chinese refer to a person who does not honor his father as being “non-alike,” that is, a person who is not like his father. This implies that anyone who is not like his father dishonors his father. A man honors his father by being like his father; only a man who is like his father can be considered a dutiful son. A son should look like his father and behave like his father because a son is the expression of the father.
The Son is the image of the Father (Col. 1:15); this is true not only with the only begotten Son but also with the many sons. Romans 8 tells us that God chose us and predestinated us to be conformed to the image of His Son. God did this so that we would express Him with His Son. I hope that God’s children would see the New Testament concept that a son is the expression of the father because a son is the image of the father.
The Son expresses God not only because He is the image of God but also because He is the effulgence of God’s glory and the impress of His substance (Heb. 1:3). From eternity to eternity God’s desire is to express Himself. God expresses Himself through His nature which is in His Son. This enables His Son to express Him. Originally, His Son was the only begotten Son, but now His Son is identified with many sons, a corporate body composed of sons. He has put His very nature into these sons (2 Pet. 1:4), and these sons have become His expression. When there was merely the only begotten Son, there was not such a thing as the church, but when many sons were produced, the church was also produced. Furthermore, these many sons are not scattered but joined together; they are not individual sons but a corporate son. This corporate son is the church. Therefore, the church is His expression—the effulgence of His glory and the impress of His substance. May the Lord have mercy on us so that we may fully see that God’s eternal purpose is to gain a corporate Body composed of many sons for His expression, which is the church.