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In this message we shall cover further aspects of the believers’ status after they are saved.
It is a great matter that we, who once were sinners, sons of disobedience, children of wrath, children of the Devil, enemies of God, and sons of Gehenna, are now priests of God serving Him. As to our person, we are sons of God. As to our spiritual occupation, we are priests of God (Rev. 1:6; 5:10). Some of us may be teachers, doctors, or lawyers, but our real occupation is that of priests. In the Old Testament only certain men were priests, but in the New Testament all believers are priests.
When Peter received the revelation from the Father concerning the Lord Jesus, he said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16). In His person the Lord Jesus is the Son of God, and in His work He is the Christ, the One anointed by God to carry out God’s commission. Even as the Lord Jesus is the Son of God in His person and the Christ of God in His work, we, the believers in Christ, are sons of God in our person and priests of God in our spiritual occupation. Since we are priests, we should be serving the Lord all day long in whatever we do.
In the Old Testament the highest ministry is the priestly ministry. This ministry came before the kingship and the prophethood. Actually, the highest ministry in the universe is the ministry of the priesthood. How marvelous, then, that we are sons of God to be priests of God!
Revelation 1:5 tells us that Christ “has loosed us from our sins by His blood.” This indicates that, as priests of God, we have been loosed from our sins by the blood of Christ. In the past, our sins were holding us, but the blood of Christ has released us. Because the blood of Christ has defeated sins, we have been released.
The word “loosed” in Revelation 1:5 implies a fight or a struggle. This fight was caused by the fact that Satan was using our sins to hold us. But in this matter Satan has been defeated by the redeeming blood of Christ, the blood that loosed us, released us, from the hold of our sins.
The redemption through Christ’s blood has made us priests to Him (1 Pet. 2:5), those who express God’s image. This is the kingly, royal priesthood (1 Pet. 2:9) for the fulfillment of God’s original purpose in creating man (Gen. 1:26-28). This kingly priesthood is being exercised in today’s church life (Rev. 5:10). It will be intensively practiced in the millennial kingdom (Rev. 20:6), and it will be ultimately consummated in the New Jerusalem (Rev. 22:3, 5).
Revelation 5:9 says, “You were slain and did purchase to God by Your blood men out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation.” Here we see that, in order to make us priests (v. 10), the Lord Jesus purchased us to God by His blood. On the negative side, the blood of Christ has released us from the usurpation of Satan; on the positive side, His blood has purchased us back to God to be His possession. As those purchased to God by the blood of Christ, we are now priests of God.
Revelation 20:6 indicates that being a priest is a matter in resurrection. In His resurrection and with His divine life Christ has made us living priests to serve God. Therefore, it is in resurrection life that we are God’s priests.
The believers are also slaves of God. Romans 6:22 says that we have been “enslaved to God.” First Peter 2:16 says, “As free, and not having freedom as a cloak for evil, but as slaves of God.” One aspect of our status as believers is that we are priests of God; another aspect is that we are slaves of God. We should be happy to be both priests and slaves. Actually, the Greek word rendered “slaves” in 1 Peter 2:16 means bondslaves. A bondslave, according to ancient custom and law, was one who was purchased by his master and over whom his master had absolute rights, even to the extent of terminating his life. As believers we are such bondslaves of God.
As slaves of God we have been freed from all bondage. However, we should not use our freedom as an excuse to behave in a careless manner. On the contrary, we should use our freedom as slaves of God. Although we are freed from the law of Moses, we are still under the law of Christ. As those under the law of Christ, we are slaves of God. On the one hand, we are free; on the other hand, we are slaves of God under His control.
Before we were saved, we were slaves of sin (Rom. 6:17, 20). But now we are freed from sin. Romans 6:22 says, “Having been freed from sin and having been enslaved to God, you have your fruit unto sanctification, and the end eternal life.”
First Corinthians 6:20 says, “You were bought with a price.” This price is the precious blood of Christ (Acts 20:28; 1 Pet. 1:18-19). As fallen human beings, we were in a dreadful situation before we experienced Christ’s redemption: we were merchandise up for sale in Satan’s marketplace. But Christ came to purchase us, to redeem us. He paid a very high price to buy us — the price of His precious blood. The blood that bought us was extraordinary blood — the blood of the God-man, Jesus Christ. Only the precious blood of Christ was qualified and sufficient to redeem us, to purchase us. The highest price has been paid for our redemption so that we might now be slaves of God.
The believers are brothers of Christ as the firstborn Son of God. Romans 8:29 speaks of Christ as “the Firstborn among many brothers.” From eternity Christ was the only begotten Son of God (John 1:18; 3:16; Heb. 1:8, 10-12; 7:3). As the only begotten Son, Christ is unique. However, in resurrection the only begotten Son became the Firstborn. This means that Christ’s resurrection was His birth as God’s firstborn Son. Acts 13:33 indicates that to the man Jesus resurrection was a birth. He was begotten by God in His resurrection to be the firstborn Son of God among many brothers. Although He was the only begotten Son of God from eternity, after incarnation, in which He put on humanity, and through resurrection He was begotten by God in His humanity to be God’s firstborn Son. He needed to be begotten in resurrection because He had put on humanity. As to His divinity there was no need for Him to be begotten as the Son of God. But as to His humanity there was the need for this. On the day of Christ’s resurrection His human nature was uplifted and transfigured into a glorious substance. In this way Jesus was begotten to be the firstborn Son of God.
Romans 8:29 speaks of Christ as the Firstborn and refers to us, the believers, as the many brothers. It is a wonderful fact that the Firstborn has many brothers. Today Christ is not merely the only begotten Son but also the firstborn Son, and we are His brothers. As the Firstborn Christ has both humanity and divinity, and as His brothers we have both divinity and humanity. Through regeneration we have the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). Although we are human beings, we now have the divine nature. Although the Lord Jesus is divine, He has the human nature. Therefore, both the Lord Jesus and we are the same in that both He and we have the human nature and the divine nature.
However, we are not, and we never shall be, the same as Christ with respect to His deity. Deity refers to His Godhead, whereas divinity refers to His divine being. According to His deity, Christ is still the only begotten Son of God. We, His brothers, participate in His divinity, but we can never partake of His deity. It would be heresy to say that we can partake of Christ’s deity. As His brothers, we partake of the divine nature, and this is to partake of divinity. Christ is the Firstborn with divinity and humanity, and we are His many brothers with humanity and divinity.
Romans 8:29 says, “Whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He should be the Firstborn among many brothers.” The Greek word rendered “predestinated” can also be translated “marked out beforehand.” Marking out beforehand is the process, whereas predestination is the purpose to determine a destiny beforehand. Before the foundation of the world, God marked us out to a certain destiny — being conformed to the image of His Son. Concerning this conformation, the model or prototype is not the only begotten Son, who only has divinity, not humanity, but the firstborn Son, who has both divinity and humanity. We have been predestinated to be conformed to the image of God’s firstborn Son.
God’s purpose is to produce many brothers of His firstborn Son for His corporate expression. The Firstborn is the prototype, and we are the mass production. Christ is the model, the mold, the pattern. God has put us into Him so that we may be molded into His image. Eventually, we shall all be conformed to the mold. This is even higher than transformation. Transformation is inward, a matter of essence, but conformation is outward, a matter of form. Christ has a form, and we need to be conformed to it. In this process we are conformed to the image of Christ.
To be conformed to the image of the Firstborn is to be saved from self-likeness, saved from the expression or appearance of the self. This means that to be saved from self-likeness is to be made a son of God and a brother of Christ in reality. Because in many respects we do not yet look like sons of God, we still need to be saved from self-likeness in order to bear the appearance of brothers of Christ.
Being conformed to the image of the Firstborn depends on the divine life we received through regeneration. Every kind of life has four basic features: the life-essence, the life-power, the life-law, and the life-shape. Conformation denotes the shaping of life. As the divine life grows within us and transforms us, it spontaneously shapes us into the image of the firstborn Son of God. However, some of us may try to shape ourselves into the likeness of Christ. Such self-effort never works. Concerning this only one thing is prevailing — the divine life that grows in us, sanctifies us, transforms us, and shapes us. There is no need for us to shape ourselves, to perform, or to strive to improve our behavior. What we need is a fuller experience of the divine life with its essence, power, law, and shape.
As those who are undergoing the process of transformation, we are being shaped gradually into the image of the Son of God by the function of the all-inclusive, divine life. By growth and transformation we are being conformed to the image of Christ. Eventually, we shall be completely conformed to His image. Through the shaping function of the divine life we, Christ’s brothers, shall be fully conformed to His image.
The believers as brothers of Christ were born through the resurrection of Christ. This means that resurrection was a birth both for Christ as the Firstborn and for us as His brothers. As the Son of God, Christ has passed through two births. The first birth took place at His incarnation, and the second, in His resurrection. In the first birth He was born as a son of man. After living on earth for thirty-three and a half years, Christ was crucified. Then in the second birth in resurrection He was born as the firstborn Son of God. It was in Christ’s second birth that we were born to be His brothers. When Christ was resurrected, we were resurrected with Him and in Him. Through His resurrection He was born as the firstborn Son, and we also were born as God’s many sons and Christ’s many brothers with Christ and in Him. Therefore, the resurrection of Christ was a universal birth, for in that birth He was born as the Firstborn and we also were born into the divine sonship to be His brothers.
First Peter 1:3 reveals that we were regenerated through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from among the dead. We were regenerated when Christ was resurrected. Since His resurrection was our regeneration, we were regenerated before we were born. This means that before we became part of the old creation, we were already part of the new creation through Christ’s resurrection. Now we are the many brothers of the firstborn Son of God in His resurrection. God is our Father, and the Firstborn is our Brother.
Now we can see the significance of the Lord’s word to Mary in John 20:17: “Go to My brothers and say to them, I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.” Prior to His resurrection, the Lord Jesus never called His disciples brothers. The most intimate term the Lord used to call His disciples was “friends” (John 15:14-15). But after His resurrection He began to call them brothers, for through His resurrection His disciples had been regenerated with the divine life released by His life-imparting death, as indicated in John 12:24. It was through His resurrection that the Lord imparted Himself as the Spirit into His disciples. By receiving His life they were reborn, regenerated, and became His brothers, having the same life as the Lord. Hence, in His resurrection the only begotten Son became the Firstborn among many brothers, those who have been regenerated through His resurrection with the divine life released by His life-imparting death.
Furthermore, Christ’s many brothers, as the many sons of the Father, are the church (Heb. 2:10-12) to be a corporate expression of God the Father in the Son. Therefore, the many brothers are the propagation of the Father’s life and the multiplication of the Son in the divine life for the corporate expression of God the Father in the Son. This is God’s ultimate intention.
Hebrews 2:11 says, “He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which cause He is not ashamed to call them brothers.” “He who sanctifies” is Christ as the firstborn Son of God, and “those who are being sanctified” are the believers of Christ as the many sons of God. Both the Firstborn and the many sons are born of the same Father God in resurrection. Both the Firstborn and the many sons are the same in the divine life and nature. Hence, He is not ashamed to call them brothers.
The One who sanctifies us is not the only begotten Son of God but the firstborn Son of God. The firstborn Son can sanctify us because He, like us, has two natures. Our Sanctifier has the human nature as well as the divine nature. Because He and we are of the same two natures, He can sanctify us. Only when the firstborn Son was produced could the Sanctifier come into His office to do His sanctifying work. For this, He had to pass through the process of incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, glorification, and exaltation. After passing through this process, He became the firstborn Son of God to be our Sanctifier. Now He is qualified to be our Sanctifier, and we are qualified to be the sanctified ones.
Hebrews 2:11 says that the Sanctifier and the ones being sanctified are all “of one.” Literally, the Greek means “out of one.” This indicates that He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all out of one Father, for all have been born of the same Father in resurrection. Because He and we are born of the same Father, we are His brothers. We and He have come out of the same source, and we share with Him the same life and nature. In this life and nature we are now under His sanctifying work to transform us from being natural and to conform us to His image that we may be glorified with the glory of God.
Hebrews 2:11 also says that Christ, the firstborn Son, is not ashamed to call us brothers. Through His resurrection we received the Father’s life. Now because both the Firstborn and the many sons of God are of the same source and have the same life and nature, He is not ashamed to call us brothers.
Hebrews 2:12, a quotation from Psalm 22:22, says, “I will declare Your name to My brothers; in the midst of the church I will sing hymns of praise unto You.” This indicates that the firstborn Son of God declared the Father’s name to His brothers, considering them the church and singing hymns of praise unto the Father in their midst. The firstborn Son declared the Father’s name to His brothers after He resurrected from the dead and met with the Father’s sons (John 20:17, 19-23).
Because the Father is the source of life and nature, to declare the name of the Father is to show the many brothers the source of life and nature. Although the Jewish people in ancient times knew God as the Creator, they did not know Him as the Father who begets. Before Christ’s resurrection, not even His disciples knew the Father’s life and begetting ability. Therefore, on the day of resurrection the Lord Jesus came to them to declare the Father that they might know the Father as the source of life. This declaration was not simply a matter of mentioning the Father’s name. Rather, it was an impartation of all that the Father is — His life, nature, and being — into the disciples. Now to us, Christ’s brothers, God is no longer merely the creating God; He is also the begetting Father. He has begotten us, imparting His life, nature, and being into us. This is what it means for the firstborn Son of God to declare the Father’s name to His brothers.
Hebrews 2:12 also indicates that the firstborn Son of God regards His brothers as the church. In this verse we see three crucial elements: the brothers, the church, and what the Lord is doing today in the church. This verse is a great revelation of what the church is and of what the Lord is doing in the church.
According to Hebrews 2:12, the church is a corporate composition of the brothers of the firstborn Son of God. We have emphasized the fact that the firstborn Son has humanity as well as divinity and that His many brothers have divinity as well as humanity. The fact that the church is a composition of the brothers of the firstborn Son of God indicates that the church is both human and divine. This means that the church has two natures — the human nature and the divine nature. The church also has two lives — the human life and the divine life. These lives are not only combined but also mingled. Therefore, the church is an organism with two natures and two lives combined and mingled. The church is altogether of life, the divine life and the uplifted, resurrected human life. This is the church as a living composition of all the brothers of the firstborn Son of God.
Hebrews 2:12 also reveals what the resurrected Christ is doing in the church today: He is singing hymns of praise unto the Father in the midst of the church. Throughout the centuries the firstborn Son has been singing hymns of praise unto the Father in the church. He does this in all His brothers. Because He is in us, He sings praises unto the Father in our singing. When we sing, He sings because He is within our singing. When we sing hymns to the Father from our spirit, Christ sings with us in spirit.
The church is one corporate Body with the firstborn Son of God. In the meetings of the church the firstborn Son, who dwells in His many brothers who compose the church, sings praise to the Father from within them. The more we sing praise to the Father, the more the Lord sings in our singing. He has made the Father known to us as the source of life. Now in the church meetings He is waiting for the opportunity to cooperate with us in singing hymns of praise to the Father. The best way for us to give Him this cooperation is to exercise our spirit and sing praise to the Father. The more we sing, the more we shall enjoy His singing. The more we praise the Father in the church meetings, the more He will praise the Father in our praising, and the more we shall enjoy Him and gain Him.
