All posts tagged born of the Spirit

A second birth for people, accomplished by the Spirit imparting eternal life into their human spirit (John 3:6).

Man in the Garden and in the City

man in New JerusalemThe prior four posts compared the presence of the creating God in the garden of Eden and the creating, redeeming, devil-destroying, life-imparting, and building God in New Jerusalem. A second characteristic of both the garden and the city is the presence of man.

God purposed to create man in His image and likeness (Genesis 1:26). So God created man and said “very good” (Genesis 1:27, 31). God placed this created man in the garden of Eden (Genesis 2:7-8).

In Genesis 2, man was pure because sin and death had not yet entered. Man had the created human life but did not have the eternal life because man had not yet taken of the tree of life, which symbolizes God as life (Genesis 3:22-24).

In Genesis 3 the devil deceived man, sin entered, and death followed. As a result, created man became fallen man, with sin and death present along with the created nature (Romans 5:12, 19). In the Bible, the word “flesh” often refers to this combination of the created nature and the fallen nature.

All men are flesh because what is born of flesh is flesh (John 3:6a). But, since Christ died and resurrected, our human spirit can be born of the Spirit (John 3:6b). Now we are men with the divine, created, and fallen natures. Since our new birth, the Spirit is working in us to transform our soul (2 Corinthians 3:18). When the Lord Jesus Christ returns from the heavens, He “will transfigure the body of our humiliation to be conformed to the body of His glory” (Philippians 3:21).

By the time the Lord returns, all three parts (see Tripartite Man) of our being—spirit, soul, and body—will have fully partaken of His wonderful salvation and be fully saved from the corruption of the fall (1 Corinthians 15:53). In contrast to the created, then created and fallen, man in the garden of Eden, there will be regenerated, transformed, and transfigured men in New Jerusalem.

Bible verses quoted in these posts are from The Holy Bible, Recovery Version, published and copyrighted by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim CA, 2003. The New Testament of this Bible, with its outlines, footnotes, and cross-references, may be viewed at online.recoveryversion.org; this too is copyrighted by Living Stream Ministry.

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by Don on May 1, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by Don on May 1, 2013

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The Economy of God

the_economy_of_god_210As a Christian in college I began to get serious about the Bible. After I began reading the New Testament regularly, the first book that helped me was The Normal Christian Life by Watchman Nee. Soon afterwards, The Economy of God by Witness Lee was another great help. Both books caused me to see Christ in me as the reality of the Christian life and as the distinct characteristic of a Christian.

Soon these two Christian books will be offered as a free set by Bibles for America, an organization I have volunteered with since its inception in 2000. You can sign up here to be notified when the free offer is available.

The Economy of God derives its title from the word “economy,” found in several New Testament verses. In 1 Timothy 1:3-4 Paul exhorts Timothy concerning “God’s economy, which is in faith.” The word “economy” is also translated stewardship, plan, and administration in various New Testaments published in recent decades.

Chapter 24 of The Economy of God gives this summary about “economy,” which is from the Greek word oikonomia (οικονομία).

We have pointed out that the word economy in Greek means “administration, stewardship, government, arrangement, dispensation.” The word dispensation is used here without any thought of periods of time, but with the denotation of the dispensing of God into us. Again we repeat, God’s intention is to dispense Himself into us. This intention is the center of God’s creation and redemption. God created and redeemed man for this purpose, that man might be the container into which He could dispense Himself. In the entire universe—time, space, and eternity—the center of God’s economy is to dispense Himself into humanity.

Chapter 24 of The Economy of God also speaks about New Jerusalem as the conclusion of all that God has accomplished in His economy.

Eventually, the ultimate consummation of all God’s work of creation, redemption, and transformation is the universal mingling of God with man. Thus, the New Jerusalem comes into existence as the ultimate result of all God’s work as recorded in the sixty-six books of the Scriptures. This result is nothing other than the universal mingling of God with man. The New Jerusalem is a mingling of God Himself with a corporate body of people. At that time these people will no longer be natural, but every part and every aspect of their being will have been regenerated, transformed, and conformed by God and with God as life. They will have been transformed in nature and conformed in appearance to God Himself.

God’s economy includes His predestination, creation, redemption, regeneration, transformation, and more. All of these actions are in Christ and by Christ. The outcome, seen in the last two chapters of the Bible, is New Jerusalem as the bride of Christ, the corporate expression of the glory of God, and the mingling of God with man.
New Jerusalem is a Mingling of God and Man
Praise our God for His marvelous plan carried out in His economy.

Related posts:
On The Economy of God
Why The Economy of God Is a Must-Read for Every Christian

ps: Here is more about the author, Witness Lee.

9 Comments
by Don on February 20, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by Don on February 20, 2013

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God is Inscribed in Us

The Spirit gives lifeRevelation 22:3-4 tells us that “the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it [New Jerusalem], and His slaves will serve Him; and they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.” Since His name on us is a spiritual writing, I looked for other verses about spiritual writing in/on believers. Here are verses I found*.

“You are our letter, inscribed in our hearts, known and read by all men, since you are being manifested that you are a letter of Christ ministered by us, inscribed not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tablets of stone but in tablets of hearts of flesh.” (2 Corinthians 3:2-3)
“This is the covenant which I will covenant with them after those days, says the Lord: I will impart My laws upon their hearts, and upon their mind I will inscribe them.” (Hebrews 10:16**)

In 2 Corinthians the Lord’s writing is in our hearts. The “ink” of His writing is the Spirit, the Spirit who gives us life (2 Corinthians 3:6). The Spirit firstly gave us life in our regeneration. Now the Spirit bountifully supplies us with life (Philippians 1:19) for our daily Christian living and this supplying also inscribes something of God into our hearts.

In Hebrews the Lord’s writing is no longer on stone tablets outside of us as in the Old Testament. His laws are imparted into and inscribed upon our inner being. These laws are the many aspects of the law of the divine life, the life that we received in our regeneration. The operation of the divine law within us inscribes upon us and also governs our living to be one with Christ.

The more this inscribing takes place, the more we express Christ in our living. Eventually the inscribing will be completed, we all will manifest Him in full, His name will be visible on each one of us, and we will be face to face with Him in New Jerusalem.

* Revelation 3:12 says the Lord will write on us. This verse uses the common Greek word for “write,” the word used dozens of times for the writing of the Old and New Testaments. The Greek words in 2 Cor. 3 and Heb. 10 are variants of this common word, intensified by addition of a prefix.

** Hebrews 8:10 reads like 10:16. Chapter 8 might be specifically for Israel but chapter 10 clearly speaks of Christ as our unique offering and His sanctifying of us, so the imparting and inscribing in 10:16 definitely applies to us.

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by Don on January 24, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by Don on January 24, 2013

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God’s Slaves Serve in the Mingled Spirit

New JerusalemRevelation 22:3 says, “The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it [New Jerusalem], and His slaves will serve Him.” Jesus Christ purchased us as slaves (Revelation 5:9) and made us priests to God (Revelation 1:5-6).

The prior post has a few verses about serving as priests. Here are two more:
• “For we are the circumcision, the ones who serve by the Spirit of God” (Philippians 3:3a)
• “For God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit in the gospel of His Son” (Romans 1:9a)
These two verses use the Greek word for serving as a priest. In Romans Paul says, “my spirit,” clearly referring to his human spirit and not to the Holy Spirit. Our service to God is in the mingled spirit—the Spirit of God united in life with our human spirit.

Here are two more verses that combine the two spirits.
• “That which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” (John 3:6b)
• “The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God.” (Romans 8:16)

These verses show that our serving God and the Lamb is not merely outward activity. Our activity needs to spring from love for the Lord and living one with the Spirit in our spirit. In Revelation 2:1-7 the church in Ephesus was very active (v. 1-3) but the Lord had one thing against them: they had left their first (first not only in time but also in rank; best) love (v. 4). They needed to repent, to come back to this love (v. 5). Then they could do the first works (v. 5), the works that flow out of loving the Lord supremely.

May I, and each of us, have a daily turn to the best love for the Lord that we may serve Him in the best way now, the way that we will serve in New Jerusalem.

Photo courtesy of U.S. National Park Service.

Related Posts

The Triune God in Revelation 22
Living in the Mingled Spirit

 
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by Don on January 7, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by Don on January 7, 2013

http://newjerusalem12.wordpress.com/2013/01/07/gods-slaves-serve-in-the-mingled-spirit/

Receive the Promise of the Spirit

needlework“And there will no longer be a curse” (Revelation 22:3). This blessing in eternity is an outcome of Christ’s redemptive death on the cross. However, God’s goal is not merely to save us from sin and death, but to bring us into Himself. The history of Israel is a picture of this—they were brought out of Egypt but God’s goal was to bring them into the good land. It is the same with us—we come out of death so that we can come into life.

Redemption from the curse in Galatians 3:13 is for the blessing of the Spirit in 3:14. Together, these verses say, “Christ has redeemed us out of the curse of the law…In order that the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.”

This blessing, also mentioned in Galatians 3:8, was promised in Genesis 12:3. The blessing comes to us “in Christ Jesus,” we received it “through faith,” and it is “the Spirit.” This blessing is not in the material realm but is the Triune God Himself.

At the time we first believed, our spirit was “born of the Spirit” (John 3:6). Now this Spirit witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God (Romans 8:16), dwells in us (1 Corinthians 3:16), bountifully supplies us (Philippians 1:19), and much more.

Our position in Christ Jesus and the blessing of the Spirit continue into eternity. In New Jerusalem we will still be receiving the Spirit as the river of water of life flowing out of the throne of God and of the Lamb (Revelation 22:1). The Triune God flowing to us in New Jerusalem is the eternal realization of the blessing promised to Abraham long ago.

Related Posts:

The Spirit with Our Spirit
The Spirit, the Bountiful Supply
A River of Water of Life

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by Don on December 5, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by Don on December 5, 2012

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Righteousness Shines in New Jerusalem

Christ, righteousness, shining forth“God is light” (1 John 1:5). God came among us embodied in Jesus Christ, “the light” (John 1:7-9). He came, lived, died, and rose so that the light could get into us (John 11:9-10). When we receive Him, we become “sons of light and sons of the day” (1 Thessalonians 5:5). Now we can “walk as children of light” (Ephesians 5:8).

The One we received is both the life and the light of life (John 14:6; 8:12). When we walk in the light, we walk in Him and He increases in us. His increase in us is our growth in the Christian life.

One description of the coming of Jesus Christ is that He is a sower, sowing Himself as the seed of life into us (Matthew 13). When the Lord returns, He will harvest what He has sown (v. 30, 39).  “Then the righteous will shine forth like the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (v. 43). Three points to consider about this verse:
• We become “the righteous” by first receiving Christ as our righteousness (1 Corinthians 1:30) and then by living out Christ as our righteousness (Romans 1:17; 5:17);
• “The kingdom” is a matter of life, into which we are born (John 3:5) and in which we grow to reign in life (Romans 5:17);
• “Father” is the source of life; our righteous living, our reigning in life, and our shining forth are the result of His life entering us (making us “sons of light”) and developing in us.

New Jerusalem is the ultimate manifestation of Matthew 13:43. New Jerusalem has perfect righteousness, the flowing water of life with the fruitful tree of life, and the shining glory of God.

Photo courtesy of NASA.

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by Don on November 20, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by Don on November 20, 2012

http://newjerusalem12.wordpress.com/2012/11/20/righteousness-shines-in-new-jerusalem/

Second Man, Second Birth

Second Man, Second birthIn Revelation 21:1 John says, “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away.” In the Bible, God’s choice is the second, not the first. His eternal choice is the second (new) heaven and earth, not the first (old) heaven and earth. Here are three other situations where God chose the second.

In Romans 9:10-13 God selected Jacob (the second born) and rejected Esau (the first born).

First Corinthians 15:45 to 47 tell us, “So also it is written, ‘The first man, Adam, became a living soul’; the last Adam became a life-giving Spirit. But the spiritual is not first but the soulish, then the spiritual: the first man is out of the earth, earthy; the second man is out of heaven.” The following verses go on to speak of the change from corruption and death (in the first man, Adam) to incorruption and victory (in the second man, Christ)

In Hebrews 10:9 Christ speaks to God, “Behold, I have come to do Your will’” then the verse continues, “He takes away the first that He may establish the second.” Jesus offered Himself to accomplish the will of God and thus the first (old) covenant was taken away to be replaced by the second (new) covenant.

How should we respond? We were firstly born into Adam and secondly born again of the Spirit. Our first birth does not qualify us to be part of New Jerusalem but our second birth does. Now we put aside the fallen living of our first birth and take the milk of the Lord’s word to grow unto salvation (1 Peter 2:1-3). This salvation is for our building up (1 Peter 2:4-6) which ultimately leads us to New Jerusalem.

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by Don on October 24, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Life and New Jerusalem, New Heaven and New Earth
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Posted by Don on October 24, 2012

http://newjerusalem12.wordpress.com/2012/10/24/second-man-second-birth/

Gates of Pearl

In Revelation 21:10-12 the apostle John says “And he …showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God….It had a great and high wall and had twelve gates.” Our natural, fallen man is excluded from New Jerusalem by the wall, and our entrance into the city is through the death and resurrection of Christ. By our inclusion in His death and resurrection, our old man was terminated and buried, the created part of our being was redeemed and justified, we were made alive by being born of the Spirit, and we were raised up in Christ to walk in newness of life. All this together is our entrance into New Jerusalem.

Revelation 21:21a says, “And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the gates was, respectively, of one pearl.” New Jerusalem is full of spiritual signs. The pearl signifies the death and resurrection of Christ, through which we enter New Jerusalem. Note 2 on Revelation 21:21* says, “Each gate of the holy city is one pearl, signifying that the entrance to the city is unique and is once for all; that is, we can enter the city only through the once-for-all regeneration accomplished by Christ’s overcoming death and life-imparting resurrection.”

The pearl gates as the entrance to New Jerusalem are not physical. They portray the death and resurrection of Christ as our entrance into the new creation. This is much more precious than any physical pearl.

* in The NT Recovery Version Online, © 1997-2012 by LSM

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by Don on May 23, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by Don on May 23, 2012

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Renewing unto New Jerusalem (3)

Revelation 21:1-2 says, “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away….And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem.” God’s work to bring forth a new heaven and new earth with New Jerusalem as their center has already begun in His chosen people. Second Corinthians 5:17 declares, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.”

Through regeneration we obtained the position in and life of God’s new creation. This is the life of New Jerusalem. Nevertheless, we need to experience this new creation. Therefore, Romans 12:2 exhorts us to “be transformed by the renewing of the mind that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and well pleasing and perfect.” This exhortation makes it clear that we should not merely be thankful for what we have received; rather, we need to advance in the new creation by letting the Spirit operate in us to transform us by renewing us.

Our renewing proceeds from the Spirit who made our human spirit alive when we were born again (John 3:6) and who now dwells in our spirit. Ephesians 4:23 tells us to “be renewed in the spirit of your mind.” This renewing is the spreading of the Spirit from our spirit to our soul, imparting the divine newness into our soul, including our mind. Since the Bible calls for our renewing, we should say “amen” and give ourselves to the Lord for renewing. This is to give ourselves to the fellowship of God’s Son which results in our being attuned in the same mind and same opinion with Him (1 Corinthians 1:9-10). Lord, draw me more into Your fellowship so that You may renew me unto New Jerusalem.

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by Don on May 10, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by Don on May 10, 2012

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Growing with the Growth of God

After receiving the divine life in regeneration, we experience a present, continuous salvation (1 Corinthians 15:2 and prior post) which is a much more salvation in Christ’s life (Romans 5:10). By this daily salvation, we grow unto New Jerusalem.

Colossians 2:19 describes our growth. This verse proclaims that “holding the Head, out from whom all the Body, being richly supplied and knit together by means of the joints and sinews, grows with the growth of God.” We grow with the growth of God! God is eternally complete; in Himself He does not grow. However, He grows in us. When we hold the Head, Christ, a bountiful supply flows out from Him into us resulting in the growth of God in us.

In 1 Corinthians 3:6 Paul says, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused the growth.” Paul and Apollos labored as God’s fellow workers (v. 9) yet only God Himself could give the growth because the growth is the increase of God in us. The essence of growth is not an increase in Bible knowledge nor improvement in behavior. (God’s growth in us will result in more insight into His word and will change our behavior. But, those changes could come from other factors, so they are not an assurance of growth.)

Life is God in Christ, who through the Spirit’s regeneration (John 3:6) lives in us; “Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). Growth in life is the increase of life, which is the increase of God in Christ living in us. This is the life of New Jerusalem, the life which we enjoy now and will enjoy eternally with the river of life and the tree of life (Revelation 22:1-2).

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by Don on April 26, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by Don on April 26, 2012

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Life Spreads in Our Being

Revelation 21:10 says, “And he carried me [the apostle John] away in spirit onto a great and high mountain and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.” To see New Jerusalem involves our human spirit enlivened by the divine Spirit.

John 3:6 says, “that which is born of the [divine] Spirit is [our human] spirit” and verse 8 says, “everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Everyone who has been born again of the Spirit in his or her human spirit is, in God’s view, a new person. God has this view because the life we received when we were born again will spread through our whole tripartite being. This spreading is presented in the first part of Romans 8. In verse 2 is “the Spirit of life,” the Dispenser of the divine life. Verse 10 says, “But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is life because of righteousness.” In this verse “the spirit” refers to our human spirit because our spirit being life is conditioned on Christ being in us, whereas the divine Spirit is life whether Christ is in us or not. Also, the condition of our spirit is contrasted with the condition of our flesh.

Verse 6 says, “the mind set on the spirit is life and peace.” After our spirit is enlivened, this life spreads to our mind. Verse 11 says, “…He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you.” Life can spread to our mortal body in this age, even though the full liberation of our body from sin and death will not occur until the Lord’s second coming. We eagerly await that time, as verse 23 says, “we ourselves also, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan in ourselves, eagerly awaiting sonship, the redemption of our body.” By that time we will be human beings full of the divine life in every part and will fully match the city of life, New Jerusalem.

Bible verses quoted in these posts are from The Holy Bible, Recovery Version, published and copyrighted by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim CA, 2003. The New Testament of this Bible, with its outlines, footnotes, and cross-references, may be viewed at online.recoveryversion.org; this too is copyrighted by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim CA.
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by Don on January 16, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by Don on January 16, 2012

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That Which is Born of the Spirit is Spirit

Revelation 21:10 says, “And he carried me [the apostle John] away in spirit onto a great and high mountain and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.” To see New Jerusalem involves our human spirit. Verses in the prior post present the existence of our human spirit as a distinct part of our being.

The first part of John 3 is about being born again, born anew. John 3:6b says, “that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” This is accomplished by the divine Spirit giving life to our human spirit. Prior to believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, we were dead in offenses (Ephesians 2:1) and at the same time were carrying out the desires of our flesh and our thoughts (v. 3). These verses cover our tripartite being: we were active in lusts in our flesh (our body) and our thoughts (our mind, part of our soul) but were dead in our spirit. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in offenses, made us alive together with Christ” (v. 4-5). Although we suffered the death that came in through sin, God made us alive with His life in our spirit by His Spirit.

John 3:6 says that our spirit is born of the Spirit and verse 8 speaks of “everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Everyone who has been born again of the Spirit in his or her human spirit is, in God’s view, a whole person, a new person, born of the Spirit. God has this view because the life we received when we were born again will spread through our whole tripartite being.

When we were dead in spirit we were in darkness because death and darkness go together. Now, having been born of the Spirit in our spirit, we are qualified to see New Jerusalem.

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by Don on January 10, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by Don on January 10, 2012

http://newjerusalem12.wordpress.com/2012/01/10/that-which-is-born-of-the-spirit-is-spirit/

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