The first chapter of Ezekiel contains many figures comprising one complete picture. Unless all the figures found there are applied in a spiritual way, they seem to be obscure. If we apply all these things spiritually, they are very significant.
We need to see more concerning the four living creatures. Ezekiel 1:6-9 tells us that each one of the four living creatures has four wings and four sides. Surely the wings are the wings of an eagle because, of the creatures represented by the four faces, only the eagle has wings. Then, underneath the wings on four sides are found the hands of a man. Furthermore, it tells us that the feet are straight. Of the creatures having these four kinds of faces, only one, the ox, has straight feet. All the others do not have straight feet. Man's feet are like an "L." The lion does not have feet, but rather has paws with claws. The eagle also has claws. Only the ox has straight feet. Strictly speaking, here it is not the ox's feet, but the calf's feet, or hoofs. If we would understand these points concerning the wings, the man's hands, and the straight feet, we must remember the blowing of the wind, the hovering and brooding of the cloud, and the consuming, searching, enlightening, and burning of the fire, out of which comes the glowing electrum. This causes us to become the living creatures, expressing Christ and living out His life in a corporate way.
According to the pure Word, it is easy for us to apply all three of these aspects. The eagle's wings in the Bible signify the strength of God to us. In Exodus 19:4, God said to His people, "I bare you on eagles' wings." This is the strength of God. Isaiah 40:31 says that if we wait on the Lord we will mount up with wings as eagles. We shall run and we shall walk, never becoming weary and never fainting. This shows that God's strength to us is just like the eagle's wings.
The New Testament also shows us the interpretation of the eagle's wings. In the New Testament, the eagle's wings signify the grace, the power, and the strength of God in Christ to us. Second Corinthians 4:7 says that we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may not be of us, but of God. This is the eagle's wings. Paul also said that he had the confidence in his conscience that all his conduct on the earth was not by his wisdom, but by the grace of God (2 Cor. 1:12). Again, this is the eagle's wings. The Lord Jesus told Paul, "My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor. 12:9). Thus, Paul was happy to boast in his weaknesses in order that the power of Christ might rest upon him and overshadow him. The power of Christ overshadowed him, even as the eagle's wings overshadowed the covered ones. These verses indicate to us that the eagle's wings signify the strength and the grace of the Lord Jesus. Paul also said, "But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me" (1 Cor. 15:10). This is the eagle's wings. Whatever we do must not be according to our own wisdom, our own strength, or our own ability. It must be by the grace and power and strength of the Lord. If we have any boast, it must be in the Lord. We have no boast in anything else. We have no boast in ourselves. Our boast is in the Lord. His power, His strength, and His grace are the eagle's wings to us today. We all must bear the four wings on the four sides, showing people that whatever we do and whatever we are is not by ourselves, but by God. By this, the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us (2 Cor. 4:7).