These living creatures are not reckoned as individuals; they are counted as a group. All of them are counted as one entity. Later we will see that these living creatures are the expression of the one man on the throne. They do not express this man in one direction only, but in every direction. We know that on this earth there are only four directions—north, east, west, and south. This means that we as the four living creatures are not only the unique expression of Christ, but also the complete expression of Christ. We express Christ in every direction, toward every side. We are the four living creatures expressing Christ in an adequate and complete way.
The main point of Ezekiel 1:5 is that each of the four living creatures bears the appearance of a man. This word may not be pleasing to many religious friends because they would like to be angels. Perhaps we all think that it is better to be an angel than to be a man. Which would you rather be, a man or an angel? I am afraid that many of us would prefer to be an angel. God, however, has enough angels. But God is short of men. God does not appreciate the angels so much. The angels are His servants. When He tells them to go, they go. When He tells them to come, they come. Do you know that we also have our own angels? When Peter was released from prison and went to Mary's house, some said that it was his angel. Peter had an angel and we also have angels. Angels are not that precious; they are our servants. We must drop our concept that it would be good to be an angel. Rather we need to see how glorious, how marvelous it is that we are men. We should tell the whole universe, "I am a man. I am a VIP. I am the center of the universe. I am the meaning of the universe." It is not a small matter to be a man.
If we would not desire to be like angels, at least we would desire to be like God. Many Christians practice day and night to be like God. But God wants to be like us. He even became a man. Today in the heavens, the Lord Jesus who is God is still a man. A man is upon the throne (Acts 7:56). God is the Creator of the universe, but He needs an expression. Without man, God has no expression. The millions of angels could never be the expression of God. God needs a corporate man to express Him. Never despise the fact that you are a man.
There are four men in the Bible: the first man, the second man, the new man, and the manchild. We were the first man by birth; we became the new man by regeneration; and now there is the prospect that we may become the manchild. This ministry is not only for the new man, but for the manchild as well. Though some today may talk about the expression of Christ, few realize what the real expression of Christ is. The Christ whom the church must express is the man upon the throne. If we are going to express Christ, we must realize that Christ today is a man. We do not express merely God; we express God in a man. The church is the expression of Christ, not merely the expression of God.
Ezekiel 1:26 tells us that the Lord today is a man on the throne. We as the living creatures express Him as a man. He is the man on the throne, and we also bear the appearance of a man. All the living creatures bear the appearance of a man. It is man who fulfills God's plan. It is man who expresses God. It is man who defeats Satan. It is man who brings the kingdom of God into the human race. Today God needs a man. We may want to be like God, but God wants to be like us. He became a man, and today He is still a man. The religious teachings in Christianity encourage you either to be like an angel or to be like God. But the revelation of God unveils to us that God's desire is to have a man. Remember that the subtle one tempted the first man by telling him that if he would take of the tree of knowledge, he would be like God (Gen. 3:5). From that day, the concept of being like God has been in our blood. All of fallen mankind has the concept of wanting to be like God. Devilish teachings such as Buddhism and Taoism always encourage people to be something other than man. God in His redemption and salvation has no intention of making us anything other than man. God's redemption and salvation are to bring us back to the beginning and to recover us to being a proper man. We are the living creatures, yet we bear the appearance of a man. Never behave as an angel. Whatever you do, whatever you say, whatever you express, you must be a man. Today God needs a man. He became a man, and He is still a man. We, the living creatures, also bear the appearance of a man.
Each of these four living creatures has four faces. If we saw someone with four such faces, we all would be frightened. Suppose he had the face of a man in the front, the face of a lion on the right side, the face of an ox on the left, and the face of an eagle at the back. Would you not be frightened? Yet this is exactly what we must be. We all must have these four faces.