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Date: February 8, 1972
Scripture Reading: 1 Cor. 15:45, 47; Eph. 2:15; Rev. 12:5; Gen. 1:26; Matt. 18:3; Gen. 2:7-9; Prov. 20:27; Job 32:8; John 4:24; 2 Cor. 4:6
The Bible is rich and all-inclusive. Some say that the Bible is a book on God, and this is true. But if we read the Bible carefully, we will see that the Bible is also a book on man. The Bible speaks very clearly and accurately about man. Numerous books have been written about the origin of man, but most of these writings are merely doctrines and theories. Based on Darwin’s theory of evolution, for example, many people believe that man evolved from apes and monkeys. The theory of evolution, however, is an unverified deduction that does not explain the real origin of man. There was even a report that Darwin expressed regret on his deathbed for advocating the theory of evolution and that he repented to believe in the true God who created all things. The only book in the whole world that thoroughly and accurately explains man is the Bible. If we want to know man, that is, to know ourselves, we must know the Bible. The Bible is a book about man.
Although the Bible speaks of countless men, in one sense it speaks only of four men. The Bible begins by speaking of Adam. According to the revelation of the Scriptures, Adam is the first man, and the Lord Jesus is the last Adam (1 Cor. 15:45). The first man is Adam, and the last Adam, who is also the second man, is the Lord Jesus (v. 47). The second man is an expression full of significance. Adam is the first man, and the Lord Jesus is the second man. Hence, in God’s eyes there are only two men, Adam and the Lord Jesus; there are no other men in between these two.
The Bible shows that all men are in Adam and that all men are a part of Adam. Hence, even though many men were born between Adam and the Lord Jesus, such as Cain, Abel, Enosh, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, Solomon, Jeremiah, and many others, they all were part of Adam, the first man. This is like our arms, hands, ears, and eyes being a part of us. Because we all are descendants of Adam and issued out from him, we all have the same surname.
The first man is Adam; the second man is Christ. The third man is the new man in Ephesians. Verse 15 of chapter 2 says, “That He might create the two in Himself into one new man.” This new man is the church. Thus, there are the first man, the second man, and the third man, which is the new man. The Old Testament is the history of the first man, the Gospels in the New Testament are the biography of the second man, and Acts to Revelation contain the history of the third man, the church, as the one new man. Revelation 12:5 speaks of the fourth man, the man-child. The last book of the Bible can be considered as the biography of the fourth man, the man-child.
The first man, Adam, was created by God in His image so that God could be expressed through man (Gen. 1:26). This speaks of the purpose of man’s creation. Furthermore, if we want to be used by God to express Him, we must be young men, not old men. The older saints may feel disappointed when they hear this word, but I have spent much time in the Bible, and it is hard to find a verse that speaks of God calling someone who was old. If you say, “Brother Lee, you are old,” I would say, “I am not old; I am younger than you.” The Bible’s definition of young and old is not based on age. The Lord said, “Unless you turn and become like little children, you shall by no means enter into the kingdom of the heavens” (Matt. 18:3). We should become like little children because a child is not preoccupied; he is completely “blank.” He is not subjective, nor does he have opinions, biases, or old doctrines. This is the meaning of being young in the Bible.
An old person is full of opinions, feelings, and biases. This is the reason that it is difficult to handle elderly persons who are over fifty years old. When they are asked a question, they are full of opinions, biases, assertions, and prejudices. When an old person hears a word about loving the Lord, he will say, “It is not enough merely to love the Lord. There must also be actions that demonstrate our love.” If we say, “That is right; there also must be actions that demonstrate our love,” he will say, “But not all actions are worthwhile.” It seems as if nothing can satisfy an old person who is like this. When we speak of one matter, he will speak of another, and when we speak of that matter, he will speak of yet another matter.
Some still may wish to argue with me, saying, “When the Lord Jesus was born, the elderly Simeon and the elderly Anna were in the temple.” Indeed, these two feared the Lord very much and were very spiritual (Luke 2:25-38). But when the Lord Jesus called His disciples, He did not go to the temple and ask, “Where is Simeon?” Neither did He say, “Simeon’s experience will be very useful. I wish to invite him to come with Me.” When the Lord Jesus came, He was a young man, fresh and new, without any old concepts. What would have happened if the Lord Jesus had said to Simeon and Anna, “Follow Me. Let us go fishing by the sea”? Simeon may have said, “Lord, I only know how to pray; I do not know how to fish,” and Anna may have said, “Lord, I have never left the temple; I cannot go with You.” With such responses, the Lord would have been unable to go on. Hence, the Lord Jesus did not call those who were old to follow Him.
When the Lord called James and John, He did not call their father Zebedee. The Lord called only his young sons to follow Him. When He called, they left their father and followed Him (Matt. 4:21-22). The Lord did not call old people in the temple, nor did He call old people by the sea. The Lord called young people, because young people do not have so many opinions or prejudices. Those with opinions and prejudices are old; those without opinions and prejudices are young. All those with opinions, prejudices, and biases are old, and the Lord cannot call them.
A young person who is without opinions and prejudices can be used by God. According to the record of the creation of man at the beginning of Genesis, God created man for three functions. First, man was created in God’s image in order to express God (1:26). God desires to be expressed through man. If we want to express God, we need to let go of our opinions because the most frustrating thing to God is our opinions. Our opinions are a great hindrance to the expression of God. When we hold on to our opinions, we become old, and God cannot use us. As a consequence, we lose God.
If we want to be blessed, we must drop our opinions. We have to let go of our prejudices, put away our biases, empty ourselves from within, and say to the Lord, “I do not know anything, and I have nothing. I do not want anything. I want to be an empty vessel for Your use.” We must have thorough prayer, saying, “Lord, I want to be a young person, not an old person. Empty me. Empty not only the sins and the world but also my opinions, prejudices, biases, and assertions. I want to be an empty vessel to be filled with You and to express You according to Your image.”
Second, man was created to exercise dominion for God (v. 26). God created man in His image and gave him the authority to exercise dominion for Him. When we have God’s image, we have God’s dominion. God uses man not only for His expression but also to exercise His dominion. Today we need to overcome our circumstances, we need to overcome all the persons, things, and affairs that bother us, and we need to overcome the attacks of Satan. We do not need to strive in ourselves, because striving is vain. We need to be young and to let God occupy us and fill us. When God fills us, Satan will spontaneously be under our feet. When we have God’s image, we have God’s dominion. When we are full of God, we are full of God’s authority. When we have God’s authority, the authority of darkness is under our feet, and all our circumstances are under our feet. When our inner being is occupied by God, we bear God’s image and exercise God’s dominion to deal with His enemy.
Third, man was created to contain God’s life. In order to express God and deal with Satan, we must receive God’s life. When we empty ourselves, God will fill us with His life. After God created man with His image and gave him dominion, God put man in front of the tree of life so that he would partake of the tree of life (2:8-9), that is, so that man would take God in as life. God’s life is in man so that man can express God’s image and exercise God’s dominion.
In order for man to fulfill this threefold function, God created man in a particular way: He created man with a spirit. Man’s outer shell was made from the dust of the ground (v. 7). This fact is fully proven by science, which shows that the composition of the human body is the same as dust or clay from the ground. In clay there are salt, sulfur, calcium, iron, copper, and other elements. In the composition of the human body, these elements also are present. However, our body is only an outer shell. Within us there is a spirit, which was formed when God breathed the breath of life into man (v. 7). Every man has a spirit within him (Prov. 20:27; Job 32:8).
God created man with a spirit because He is Spirit (John 4:24), and His purpose is that man would receive Him as Spirit in man’s spirit. Consider the matter of air. If our body did not have a breathing organ, we would not be able to receive air into us. Thankfully, our body has a breathing organ to breathe in air. Similarly, we have an organ that is able to receive God who is Spirit. This organ is our human spirit. Our spirit is a God-receiving organ.
We can also consider a camera. Once a camera shutter opens, the film within the camera receives light from the outside, and this light imparts the scenery onto the exposed film. Second Corinthians 4:6 says, “The God who said, Out of darkness light shall shine, is the One who shined in our hearts.” Man has a spirit, and our spirit is like the film in the camera. Whenever we call, “O Lord Jesus!” we “take a picture.” This is very practical. Animals do not have a spirit. No matter how much a puppy barks or how much a cow moos, they are not taking any “pictures.” Even though the chirping of a bird is quite pleasant to the ear, there is no receiving that results from its chirping. However, when we call on the name of the Lord, our inner being is “exposed,” because we receive the Lord by calling on His name.
Through our study of the Bible and our experiences over the past several decades, we have discovered that the spirit within man is like photographic film that can receive the Lord as the Spirit. Hence, we need to open our being continually. We need to say, “O Lord, Amen. O Lord, Hallelujah! O Lord, Amen, Hallelujah!” This is the way for us to receive the Lord.
