Search
The record of the New Testament reveals God’s New Testament economy, which is God’s dispensing of Himself into His chosen people for the producing of a corporate Body to express Him. In Ephesians Paul gives us a very high word concerning God’s eternal economy. In Ephesians 1 and 3 we see that the economy of God was made for the purpose of producing a church in Christ. If you read Ephesians 1:9-11 and 3:9-11, you will see not only the economy made by God in Himself according to His good pleasure, but also the goal of God’s economy. The goal of God’s economy is to have the church, which is the corporate expression of God. The church as God’s corporate expression is the consummation of God’s economy.
We have pointed out that according to the principle revealed throughout the Bible, the means of God’s dispensing Himself into us is the divine life, and the way is our eating of Him. Ephesians 1 and 3 show us the economy of God, but in these chapters we do not see either the means or the way for God’s dispensing. But if we read the other books written by Paul, we shall see that the means of God’s dispensing Himself is life and the way for God to dispense Himself is our eating of Him as our food.
After God made His economy, He did the work of selection and predestination. Concerning this, Ephesians 1:4 and 5 say, “According as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blemish before Him, in love, having predestinated us unto sonship through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.” Here we see that both God’s choosing and His predestinating are for sonship.
The only way to produce sons is begetting, and begetting is a matter of dispensing. How can the Father beget children? The Father begets children by dispensing Himself in His life into those who are to become His children. Perhaps you have never realized that begetting, or propagating, involves the dispensing of life. When Adam begot children, he dispensed his life into them. Through such a dispensing the earth is filled with Adam’s descendants. Just as Adam’s descendants are produced by the dispensing of human life, so God’s sons are produced by the dispensing of the divine life.
If the Father’s life had not come into us, how could we be His sons? This would be impossible. Sonship requires the Father’s life. We are neither God’s sons-in-law nor His adopted sons; we are sons in God’s life and nature. Because we have been born of God and because God has been born into us, we now have God in us. The only way we can be God’s sons is for Him to dispense Himself into us.
For the carrying out of His dispensing, God in eternity past made a counsel with Himself to make certain decisions. First, God decided to create man. Without creating man God would not be able to select certain ones to be His sons. After deciding to create man, God also decided how mankind would be distributed on earth. He made a decision concerning seasons and boundaries so that it would be possible for the chosen ones to be ready and available to receive God’s dispensing.
After God created man and man became fallen, God did not give up on man. Instead, He came in to deal with fallen mankind from Adam to Noah. If we had the record concerning only Adam, Abel, Enoch, and Noah, we would not know what God’s goal is. But as we go on to the record concerning Abraham, we can see God’s goal. God told Abraham that through his seed all the families of the earth would be blessed. Who is the seed of Abraham? Abraham’s seed is Christ, the incarnated God. God’s promise to Abraham, therefore, points toward His dispensing.
After giving further promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, God eventually chose the children of Israel, the descendants of Abraham, and made them His people as a type of the church. They were a people separated for a particular purpose, and that purpose was God’s dispensing of Himself into His chosen people to make them His expression on earth. This expression is the church, of which Israel was a type.
After giving the law and making the old covenant, God promised David, the king of the chosen race, that the fruit of his loins would be the coming Messiah, the Christ. This promise is also related to God’s dispensing. As we consider God’s work in the old dispensation, in His old administrative arrangement, we need to have a clear understanding that this work is with a view to God’s dispensing. The “arrow” of God’s work in the Old Testament always moves toward the goal of God’s dispensing of Himself into His people to produce a corporate expression of Himself.
Finally, in His work in the old dispensation God promised the coming gospel of the new dispensation through the prophets among the chosen race. Prophecies were given concerning the propagation of the gospel. If we read the Old Testament carefully, we shall see this matter.
Having considered God’s work in eternity past and in the old dispensation, let us now go on to view His work in the new dispensation, in His new administrative arrangement — economy.
First, in His work in the new dispensation God sent John the Baptist to prepare the way for Christ. The New Testament opens with the record of John the Baptist, who was sent by God to prepare the way so that Christ, the Dispenser, might come. When John was asked who he was, he answered, “I am not the Christ” (John 1:19-20). Concerning himself, John the Baptist said, “I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as Isaiah the prophet said” (John 1:23). The One whose way John was preparing was the very Christ who would carry out God’s dispensing.
Luke 3:2 says, “In the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zachariah, in the wilderness.” It was according to prophecy that John the Baptist began his ministry in the wilderness. This indicates that the introduction of God’s New Testament economy by John was not accidental, but was planned and foretold by God through Isaiah the prophet. This implied that God intended His New Testament economy to begin in an absolutely new way. John the Baptist did his preaching not in the holy temple within the holy city, where the religious and cultured people worshipped God according to their scriptural ordinances, but in the wilderness, not keeping any regulation of the old way. This indicates that the old way of the worship of God according to the Old Testament was repudiated and that a new way was about to be brought in.
Luke 3:3 goes on to say, “And he came into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for forgiveness of sins.” John the Baptist’s work was mainly to preach the baptism of repentance. To baptize someone is to immerse, to bury, him in water. Hence, baptism signifies death. John came to baptize the people in order to indicate that the repentant ones were good only for burial. This baptism also signifies the termination of the old person and that a new beginning may be realized in resurrection through Christ as the Dispenser. Therefore, following John’s ministry Christ came. John’s baptism not only terminated those who repented but also ushered them to Christ for His dispensing.
John’s preaching the baptism of repentance was for the forgiveness of sins. The Greek word translated “for” also means unto. Repentance with baptism is for, and results in, forgiveness of sins, so that the obstacle of man’s fall may be removed and man may be reconciled to God.
Luke 3:4 through 6 say, “As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, A voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare the way of the Lord; make His paths straight. Every ravine shall be filled up, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked places shall become straight, and the rough places smooth roads; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” To prepare the way of the Lord and to make His paths straight means to change people’s minds, turning their minds toward the coming Savior. It also means to make their hearts right, to straighten every part of their hearts through repentance, so that Christ may enter into them to be their life.
Ravine, mountain, crooked places, and rough places are figures of speech describing the condition of men’s hearts toward God and toward each other and the relationships among men (Luke 1:16-17). Both the condition of men’s hearts and their relationships need to be dealt with for the way to be prepared for the Savior’s coming to dispense Himself into God’s chosen people.
“Flesh” in the word “all flesh will see the salvation of God” refers to fallen men, and “salvation” denotes the Savior as the salvation of God. John’s ministry was to prepare the way that all men might see Christ the Savior as the salvation of God.
God sent His Son in the likeness of the flesh of sin that He might redeem those under law so that we might receive the sonship. Romans 8:3 speaks of “God sending His own Son in the likeness of the flesh of sin and concerning sin, condemned sin in the flesh.” The flesh is of sin, and the Son of God did indeed become flesh (John 1:14; Heb. 2:14). However, He was only in the likeness of the flesh of sin, but had no participation in the sin of the flesh (2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15). This was typified by the brass serpent lifted up by Moses for sinful Israelites (Num. 21:9; John 3:14). The brass serpent was in the form, the likeness, of an actual serpent, but it did not have the poison of a serpent. In like manner, Christ had the likeness of the flesh of sin, but He did not have the sinful nature of the flesh of sin.
The subject of Romans 8:3 is God. God sent His own Son in the likeness of the flesh of sin. God was wise. He knew that He could not send His Son to be the flesh of sin, for, if He did that, His Son would have been involved with sin. Therefore, He sent His Son in the likeness of the flesh of sin, as typified by the brass serpent lifted up by Moses in the wilderness. Christ does not have the nature of sin. God sent Him only in the likeness of the flesh of sin.
God sent His Son in the likeness of the flesh of sin in order to redeem us from under the law so that we might receive the sonship. Galatians 4:4 and 5 say, “When the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, come of a woman, come under law, that He might redeem those under law, that we might receive the sonship.” The fullness of time in verse 4 denotes the completion of the Old Testament time, which occurred at the time appointed of the Father. In this verse Paul describes the Son as “come of a woman, come under law.” The woman is, of course, the virgin Mary (Luke 1:27-35). The Son of God came of her to be the seed of woman, as promised in Genesis 3:15. Furthermore, Christ was born under law, as revealed in Luke 2:21-24, 27, and He kept the law, as the four Gospels reveal.
God’s chosen people were shut up by the law under its custody (Gal. 3:23). Christ was born under the law in order to redeem them from its custody so that they might receive the sonship and become sons of God.
According to the entire revelation of the New Testament, God’s economy is to produce sons. Sonship is the focal point of God’s New Testament economy. God’s New Testament economy is the dispensing of Himself into His chosen people to make them His sons. Christ’s redemption is to bring us into the sonship of God so that we may enjoy the divine life. God’s New Testament economy is not to make us keepers of the law, which was given only for a temporary purpose. God’s New Testament economy is to make us sons of God, inheriting the blessing of God’s promise, which was given for His eternal purpose. God’s eternal purpose is to have many sons for His corporate expression (Rom. 8:29; Heb. 2:10). Hence, He predestinated us unto sonship (Eph. 1:5) and regenerated us to be His sons (John 1:12-13).
Galatians 4:4 says that God sent forth His Son when the fullness of the time had come. God sent Christ at exactly the right time. Earlier would have been too soon, and later would have been too late. Christ came when the time was right. It was at the appointed time, at the fullness of time. For this reason, the Son’s coming was full of meaning.
First, God sent John the Baptist to prepare the way for Christ, and then He sent His Son. God sent His Son that we might receive the sonship. To receive the sonship is to receive the dispensing of the divine life. Therefore, the sending of both John the Baptist and of Christ were for the dispensing of the divine life into God’s chosen people.
By sending His Son God Himself was incarnated. Actually, God sent His Son through the incarnation. The New Testament way of speaking about the incarnation is to say that the Word, which is God, became flesh (John 1:1, 14) and that God was manifested in the flesh (1 Tim. 3:16).
It was surely a marvelous thing for God to come into man and to be born of mankind through a virgin. Our God became a man! In creation He was the Creator. But though He created all things, He did not enter into any of the things He created. Even in creating man He only breathed the breath of life into him (Gen. 2:7). He was still outside man. His breath, according to Job 33:4, gave man life; however, He Himself did not come into man. Until the incarnation He was separate from man. But with the incarnation He personally entered into man. He was first conceived and then remained in the virgin’s womb for nine months, after which He was born.
It is important for us to realize that it was the entire God and not only the Son of God who was incarnated. The Word, which was God, became flesh. We need to realize that this God, who the Word was, is not only a partial God, that is, not only God the Son but God the Son, God the Father, and God the Spirit, the entire God. The New Testament does not say that the Word, who became flesh, was God the Son. Rather, the New Testament says that in the beginning was the Word, and this Word was the entire Triune God, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. It was the entire God, the complete God, that became flesh. The whole God was manifested in the flesh.
When God the Father sent the Son, He came with Him and worked within Him. The Gospel of John reveals that the Father, who is the source and the Initiator, sent the Son (John 5:24, 30, 36-38; 13:20; 14:24). There are two Greek words used for the English word “sent,” one of which means to be sent with a special commission. This indicates that the Father sent the Son as an envoy with a special commission.
The New Testament reveals that the Father sent the Son and that He came with the Son (John 17:8). As a rule, if someone sends you to a certain place, that person will remain where he is, and you will go to the designated place. But when the Father sent the Son, it was not like this. When He sent the Son, He came with the Son.
John 6:46 says, “Not that anyone has seen the Father, except Him who is from God, He has seen the Father.” In his note on this verse J. N. Darby says that the Greek preposition translated “from” here has the sense of “from with.” The Lord was not only from God but also with God. This means that while He was from God, God was still with Him. When the Son came, the Father came with Him. John 8:16 also indicates that God came with the Son: “I am not alone, but I and the Father who sent Me.” In verse 29 of the same chapter the Lord clearly said, “He who sent Me is with Me.” Furthermore, in John 16:32 the Lord said, “I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.” All these verses indicate that, in His work in the new dispensation, God came with the Son.
Other verses reveal that God worked within the Son. John 14:10 and 11 say, “Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words which I speak to you, I do not speak from Myself; but the Father who abides in Me, He does His works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me; but if not, believe Me because of the works themselves.” The Father remained and worked in the Son. The Father not only came with the Son, but He remained and worked with Him. John 14:10 and 11 tell us clearly that when the Son spoke, the Father worked in Him.
The Father sent the Son, and the Father was with the Son; that is, the Father came with the Son. In the divine economy the Father sent the Son, and when the Son came, the Father came with the Son. Therefore, Acts 10:38 says, “God was with Him.”
When the Son became thirty years of age, God anointed Him for the carrying out of His commission. Matthew 3:16 and 17 speak of this: “Having been baptized, Jesus went up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and coming upon Him; and behold, a voice out of the heavens, saying, This is My beloved Son, in whom I delight.” Because the Lord Jesus was baptized, fulfilling God’s righteousness, the heavens were opened to Him, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him, and the Father spoke concerning Him. Before the Spirit of God descended and came upon Him, the Lord Jesus had been born of the Spirit (Luke 1:35; Matt. 1:18, 20), which proved that He already had the Spirit of God within Him. That was for His birth. Now, for His ministry, the Spirit of God descended upon Him. That was for the fulfillment of Isaiah 61:1; 42:1; and Psalm 45:7 to anoint Him to carry out His God-given commission.
The Lord Jesus was inaugurated into His ministry by two steps: baptism in water and the anointing of the Holy Spirit. After the Lord Jesus was baptized, God the Father sent the Holy Spirit upon Him economically, anointing Him for His ministry.
In Luke 4:18 and 19 we have a further word regarding God’s anointing the Son for the carrying out of His ministry: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to send away in release those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” Here we see that the Spirit of the Lord was upon the Son because God had anointed Him to bring good news to the poor. The Greek word rendered “bring good news” is euaggelizo, which means to evangelize, to announce good news. To preach the gospel was the first commission of the Savior as God’s anointed One, the Messiah. Furthermore, God had sent Him to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send away in release those who are oppressed, and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, which is the New Testament age typified by the year of jubilee (Lev. 25:8-17), a time when God accepts the returned captives of sin and when the oppressed under the bondage of sin may enjoy the release of God’s salvation. The point we are emphasizing here, however, is that part of God’s work was to anoint the Son.
Another verse that speaks of God’s work in anointing Christ is Acts 10:38: “Jesus, the One from Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and power, who went about doing good and healing all those who were oppressed by the Devil, for God was with Him.” God anointed Christ also to do good and to heal all the sick who were oppressed by the Devil. This proves that God was with Him.
Acts 2:22 says, “Jesus the Nazarene, a man demonstrated by God to you by works of power and wonders and signs, which God did through Him in your midst.” The Greek word translated “demonstrated” here literally means to point out, to exhibit, to show forth, in the sense of proving by demonstrating, thus bringing about an approval. This indicates that the Lord’s work was God’s demonstration of Him, His exhibition of Him. While Christ was ministering, whatever He did was an exhibition of the work done by God through Him. In the four Gospels we have the exhibition of a wonderful person, the God-man, who was fully tested, proved, and approved by God.
