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In this message we shall begin to consider the believers’ status after they have been saved.
We have seen that before the believers were saved they were sinners, sons of disobedience, children of wrath, children of the Devil, enemies of God, and sons of Gehenna. But after being saved they become different persons, experiencing a great change. Now the believers are children of God, sons of God, partakers of the divine nature, heirs of God, priests of God, slaves of God, brothers of Christ as the firstborn Son of God, members of Christ as the Head of the Body, partakers of Christ as God’s Anointed, slaves of Christ, priests of Christ, co-kings of Christ, partakers of the Holy Spirit, and heavenly citizens.
The believers in Christ are children of God. First John 3:1 says, “See what manner of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and we are.” “Children of God” here corresponds to “begotten of Him” in 2:29. We have been begotten of the Father, the source of life, to be the children of God. Surely it is the greatest wonder in the universe that human beings could be begotten of God and sinners could be made children of God. Through such an amazing divine birth we have received the divine life, the eternal life. This life, obtained from God through regeneration, enables us to be God’s children. This life is the authority for us to be children of God (John 1:12-13). The Spirit witnesses with our spirit that we who once were children of the Devil are now the children of God (Rom. 8:16). Even at times when we are weak or backsliding we still have the deep conviction that we are children of God, for once we have been born of God we are His children forever.
John 1:12 and 13 say, “As many as received Him, to them He gave authority to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” Here we see that the children of God have been born of God, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man. “Blood” here signifies the physical life; the will of the flesh denotes the will of fallen man after man became flesh; and the will of man refers to the will of man created by God. When we became children of God, we were not born of our physical life, our fallen life, or our created life — we were born of God, the uncreated life. For human beings to become children of God is for them to be born of God to have the divine life and nature. Because regeneration causes us to be born of God, it automatically causes us to become children of God and to have a relationship of life with God.
It surely is a mystery that we have been born of God. That we have been created by God is commonly admitted. But to say that God is our Father and that we therefore have His life and nature is to make a great claim. Nevertheless, it is an amazing fact that God is really our Father. And He is not our adopted father or our father-in-law, but the One who has given us His life that we may be His genuine children in life.
The believers become children of God through their receiving of the Son of God by believing in His name. John 1:12 speaks of receiving the Lord and also of believing in His name. Believing in the Lord Jesus is equal to receiving Him. As long as we can say, “Lord Jesus,” from the depths of our being, this proves that we believe in Him. Furthermore, if we believe in Him by calling on His name, this is a proof that we have received Him. And since we have received Him, we have received the authority to become children of God. The authority to be God’s children is Christ Himself as life to us. Having received the Lord Jesus by believing in Him, we have been born of God and now are children of God.
As believers we have been born of God to have eternal life — the life of God with the divine nature (John 3:15-16; 2 Pet. 1:4). The life of God is the content of God and God Himself. All that is in God and all that God Himself is are in the life of God. All the fullness of the Godhead is hidden in the life of God. The nature of God is also contained in the life of God. All that He is — whether truth, holiness, light, or love — is derived from His life. Because the life of God is the content of God, in it is hidden the fullness of God, and in it is contained the nature of God Himself. Therefore, when we receive the life of God, we receive the fullness of God, and we have the nature of God.
John 3:15 and 16 speak of having eternal life by believing in the Lord Jesus. Eternal life is the divine life, the uncreated life of God, which is not only everlasting with respect to time but also divine and eternal in nature. For us today this life is actually the resurrected, indwelling Christ. Along with the divine life we also have the divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4). Thus, through our receiving of the Son of God by believing in His name we were born to have eternal life, which is the life of God with the divine nature. Now, as believers, we are children of God with the divine life and nature.
First, the believers are children of God, and then they gradually grow up to become sons of God. In His salvation God makes sinners into sons. The central thought of the book of Romans is that in His salvation God is making sinners His sons with His life and nature so that they may become constituents of the Body of Christ for His expression. Romans 8, in particular, emphasizes sonship. Verse 14 says, “As many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” This indicates that we may know that we are sons of God by the fact that we are led by the Spirit. The leading of the Spirit marks us out as being the sons of God in the growth of life. Verse 19 continues, “The anxious watching of the creation eagerly expects the revelation of the sons of God.” This verse speaks of the manifestation or the appearing of the sons of God.
Galatians 3:26 says, “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” Faith in Christ brings us into Christ and makes us one with Christ in whom is the sonship. We must be identified with Christ through faith so that in Him we may become sons of God.
When we believed in Christ, the processed Triune God entered into our being to be our life. This life is divine, spiritual, heavenly, and holy. Entering into us, it caused a spiritual birth to take place, and this birth brought about an organic union between us and the Triune God. Because God has been born into our being, we have become sons of God.
According to the Bible, it is a divine fact that human beings can become sons of God. When we believed in Christ, the divine life with the divine nature — in fact, the divine being of the Triune God Himself — entered into us, and we were born of God to become sons of God. Just as a man’s son partakes of his life and nature, so we as God’s sons partake of the divine life and nature. God’s offspring are His sons possessing the divine life and divine nature.
It is a matter of tremendous significance for the divine life to be imparted into us. This impartation of the divine life causes an organic union that makes us the sons of God. This organic union takes place exclusively in Christ. In Christ we enjoy the wonderful organic union with the Triune God. In this union we are the sons of God. Christ is the unique sphere in which this takes place. When we enter into this sphere, we become sons of God. Our true status is that in Christ and by the organic union we are sons of God.
Galatians 4:6 says, “Because you are sons, God sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father!” God’s Son is the embodiment of the divine life (1 John 5:12). Hence, the Spirit of God’s Son is the Spirit of life (Rom. 8:2). God gives us His Spirit of life because we are His sons. As the sons of God, we have the position with the full right to participate in the Spirit of God, who has the bountiful supply of life.
According to the entire revelation of the New Testament, God’s economy is to produce sons. Sonship is the focal point of God’s economy, God’s dispensation. God’s 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 that we may enjoy the divine life. It is not God’s economy to make us keepers of law, which was given only for a temporary purpose. God’s economy is to make us sons of God, inheriting the blessing of God’s promise, which was given for His eternal purpose to have many sons for His corporate expression (Heb. 2:10; Rom. 8:29).
Revelation 21:7 says, “He who overcomes shall inherit these things, and I will be God to him, and he shall be a son to Me.” Here to overcome means to overcome by believing, as in 1 John 5:4 and 5. This overcoming qualifies all believers for participation in the New Jerusalem with all its enjoyment as a common portion of God’s eternal salvation. “Son” in Revelation 21:7 refers to the believer who will dwell in the New Jerusalem. The sons of God in the New Jerusalem are the constituents of the New Jerusalem. They are the regenerated believers who have the divine life and nature and who are built together through transformation to be the corporate expression of the Triune God. The New Jerusalem is constituted of all these sons who have been born of God. Because the sons of God are the constituents of the New Jerusalem, they will also dwell in the New Jerusalem. Furthermore, the sons of God will participate in all the enjoyment of the New Jerusalem, especially the enjoyment of the water of life (Rev. 21:6).
As sons of God, we have received the spirit of sonship with the sonship (Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:5-6). Sonship is a matter of being a son. The sons of God have the life, the position, the right, the privilege, and the blessings of a son. The spirit of sonship is the spirit of being a son. If we did not have such a spirit but only a mind, there would not be a way for us to be the sons of God. It is possible for us to be sons of God only in our spirit, which has become a spirit of sonship. When we were regenerated, we received the spirit of sonship with the sonship. Therefore, now we have the being of a son of God.
Romans 8:15 tells us, “You have not received a spirit of slavery to fear again, but you have received a spirit of sonship in which we cry, Abba, Father.” We received this spirit of sonship by the Spirit of the Son of God coming into our spirit. Because the Spirit of the Son of God has entered our spirit and we have been born of the Spirit in our spirit, our spirit has become a spirit of sonship. It is difficult to determine whether this spirit refers to the divine Spirit or to the human spirit. Actually, this spirit is a mingled spirit.
Galatians 4:5 reveals that God sent His Son that “He might redeem those under law, that we might receive the sonship.” Furthermore, God has sent forth the Spirit to impart His life into us that we might become His sons in reality. Basically sonship is a matter of life. The position and right of sons depend on the life. In order for us to enjoy God’s sonship, we need the Spirit. Apart from the Spirit, we cannot be born of God to have the divine life. After we have been born of the Spirit, we need the Spirit in order to grow in life. Without the Spirit we cannot have the position, right, or privilege of sonship. All the crucial points concerning sonship depend on the Spirit. By the Spirit we have the divine birth and the divine life. Through the Spirit we grow unto maturity. Because of the Spirit we have the position, right, and privilege of sonship. When the Spirit comes, the sonship is made real, and we fully realize God’s sonship in life, maturity, position, and right.
According to the New Testament, every son of God has a destiny, and this destiny is glory. We have been destined unto glory. Hebrews 2:10 reveals that God is “leading many sons into glory.” The last step of God’s great salvation is to bring His many sons into glory. We are sons of God, but we are not yet in glory. Therefore, the Triune God is still working to bring His many sons into glory.
Romans 8:21 speaks of “the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” One day the children of God will be glorified, brought into glory. With that glory there will be freedom, and that freedom will be a kingdom, sphere, realm, into which we shall be brought. When we are brought into this freedom, or kingdom, or glory, creation will be delivered from vanity, corruption, and slavery.
This glory is related to the redemption of our body, which is the full sonship (Rom. 8:23). Our body has not yet been redeemed, but one day it will be transfigured into a glorious body (Phil. 3:21). This full redemption of our body is the full sonship. Our spirit has been born of God, but our body has not yet been brought into sonship. The entire universe is eagerly expecting the final part of our redemption. The creation wants to see all the sons of God brought into glory to enjoy their full sonship.
All the sons of God will be brought into this glory. Then as the glorified sons of God, we shall shine with the glory of God. This is the full salvation for all who believe in Christ. Everyone who believes in the Lord Jesus will eventually become a glorified son of God bearing the righteousness of God outwardly, being saturated with the holiness of God inwardly, and shining in the realm of His full glory as one of His sons. The day of our glorification will be the time of the revelation of the sons of God (Rom. 8:19). At that time we shall enter into the freedom of the glory of God. We shall enjoy full liberation and shine with God’s glory. In this glory God will be expressed in a full way. This will be the ultimate issue of the dispensing of the Triune God.
After being saved, the believers are also partakers of the divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4). A partaker is different from a receiver. We have not only received the divine nature — we also partake of the divine nature. To partake of God’s nature is to enjoy it and participate in it. As believers, we not only possess the divine nature but also partake of it, enjoy it, and participate in it. As we are partakers of the food we eat daily, we are also partakers of the divine nature. Through regeneration God has uplifted us to such a high level that we are now partakers of the divine nature.
To be a partaker of the divine nature is to be a partaker of the elements, the ingredients, of God’s being. When we partake of God, the aspects of what God is become our enjoyment. This is to enjoy the constituents of the divine nature.
As partakers of the divine nature, we are now enjoying the riches of God’s nature. The divine nature refers to the riches of what God is. The riches of divinity are wrapped up with the divine nature. Whatever God is, is in His nature. Therefore, when we partake of the divine nature, we partake of the divine riches. Having received the divine life at the time of our regeneration, we must now go on to enjoy what God is in His nature.
We enjoy the riches of the divine nature through God’s precious and exceedingly great promises. These promises usher us into the enjoyment of the divine nature. Second Peter 1:4 says, “He has granted to us precious and exceedingly great promises, that through these you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption which is in the world by lust.” Through the precious and exceedingly great promises given by God, we, the believers in Christ, who is our God and Savior, have become partakers of His divine nature in an organic union with Him. We have entered into this union through faith and baptism (John 3:15; Gal. 3:27; Matt. 28:19).
To partake of the divine nature is to enjoy what God is. In order that we may enjoy all that He is, God will do many things for us according to His precious, exceedingly great promises. This will enable us to enjoy His nature, to enjoy what He is. One of God’s precious and exceedingly great promises is that His grace is sufficient for us (2 Cor. 12:9). God’s sufficient grace will work within us day by day so that we may enjoy His nature.
There is a difference between the divine life and the divine nature. The divine nature is what God is. We enjoy the divine nature by living the divine life, and we live the divine life by God’s promises. We need to live by the divine life so that we may be partakers of the divine nature. We receive the divine life simply by believing, and the divine nature is the substance of the divine life. Although we received the divine life at the time we believed, the divine nature must be continually enjoyed by us. To have eternal life is a matter once for all, but to partake of the divine nature is a continual matter. Although we have the divine life once for all, we cannot enjoy the divine nature once for all. During the entire course of our Christian life on earth and even in eternity, we shall be partaking of the divine nature.
In 2 Peter 1:4 we also see that becoming a partaker of the divine nature has a condition. This condition is that we escape the corruption which is in the world by lust. The corruption of today’s world is in conflict with our enjoying God’s nature. Lust is a barrier that keeps us from enjoying the divine nature. Christ died to redeem us from the vain manner of life (1 Pet. 1:18-19), and now we should abstain from fleshly lusts (1 Pet. 2:11) and no longer live in the flesh in the lusts of men (1 Pet. 4:2). As redeemed ones, we should abstain from lusts. This is to escape the corruption that is in the world through lust.
God has given us promises that He will work in us to enable us to partake of the divine nature. This is God’s operation. But God’s operation requires our cooperation, and our cooperation is to abstain from a lustful life and thereby escape the corruption which is in the world by lust. Having escaped this corruption, we are ready to become partakers of the divine nature. From this we see that escaping the corruption in the world qualifies us to partake of the divine nature.
The more we escape the corruption which is in the world by lust, the more we shall enjoy the divine nature. Likewise, the more we partake of the divine nature, the more we shall escape the corruption that is in the world by lust. This is a cycle — a cycle of escaping and partaking and of partaking and escaping. If this cycle works within us in a strong, rapid way, it will be difficult for us to take in any of the corruption of the world. The divine nature will strengthen us to stay away from corruption. Then the more we stay away from the corruption of the world, the more we shall enjoy the riches of the divine nature.
As we partake of the divine nature, enjoying all that God is, the riches of the divine nature will be fully developed, as described in 2 Peter 1:5-7. Having escaped the corruption of lust in the world, the barrier to the growth of the divine life in us, we are freed to become partakers of the divine nature, enjoying its riches in its development to the fullest extent by the virtue of God unto His glory (2 Pet. 1:3). This is the experience of God’s New Testament economy.
