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Life being the goal of God’s creation and redemption

  Scripture Reading: Gen. 1:26-29; John 1:1-4, 14; 14:6; 1 John 5:11-12; Col. 3:4; Rev. 22:1-2

Knowing life and the church

  Recently, I have had a heavy burden: Even though the number of brothers and sisters is increasing, I wonder how much the measure of the stature of Christ is increasing in the church. Therefore, I have a strong feeling that we should help the brothers and sisters know life and the church.

  Life and the church go together because there would be no church without life. Life produces the church. The church is the result of life, and life is the content of the church. According to God’s Word, salvation is completely a matter of the life in us. Although man’s natural mind cannot understand, from the beginning to the end of the Bible God cares only about the matter of life.

The goal of God’s creation being life

  The Old Testament speaks of creation, and the New Testament speaks of redemption. Both in creation and redemption God’s purpose and center is life. If we look at the first two chapters of Genesis under God’s light, we can clearly see that life is the goal of His creation. Although God created many things of such diversity and variety, His purpose and final goal are simply life. If we read the first two chapters of Genesis and meditate quietly before God on His creation, we will see that God’s creation involves life and produces life. Life is the center and goal of God’s creation. In the beginning God created all things out of nothing.

  In the orderly process of His creation, God first created inanimate objects, and then He created organic things. Furthermore, the creation of living beings started at the lowest level of life and advanced step by step to higher levels of life. Ultimately, the highest level of life created by God was man. Man is the highest life in God’s creation, because the Bible says that God created man in His own image and according to His own likeness (1:26-27). Man has God’s image and likeness. Furthermore, God also gave man the authority to have dominion over all things (vv. 26, 28). Thus, among all created things, man is like God because he has God’s image; he also represents God because he has God’s authority. God saw everything that He had made, and it was very good (v. 31). In this vast universe, among all the myriads of created things, God obtained a man with His image and authority, who could express His glory and represent His authority. This satisfied God!

  God rested on the seventh day after He finished His work of creation (2:2). Many people think that God was at rest and satisfied because everything was finished at this point. However, even at this point God had not reached the purpose of His creation. If we continue reading, we will see that there were still many considerations. After God created man, He put him in the garden of Eden (v. 8). In the center of the garden was the tree of life (v. 9). The tree of life is very special. The first time life is spoken of in the Bible is in relation to the tree of life. This shows that God was still not satisfied, because He had not yet reached His goal, even though He had created everything and even though man had been prepared to express and represent God. What is God’s goal? God’s goal is life. God brought the man that He created to the tree of life and put him in front of life.

  We all need to be calm and consider the reasons God exerted so much effort to create everything, the reasons He created man with His likeness to represent Him, and the reasons He guided and directed man to the tree of life, hoping that man would contact the tree so that life could be imparted into him. God did these things in order to show that life is the goal and purpose of His creation. If man does not come to life and life does not come into man, God’s creation of man would have no meaning, purpose, or result.

Satan damaging by taking man away from life

  Since the goal of God’s creation is life and God desires His creation to attain to life, Satan, His adversary, came to damage and hinder the matter of life. In the universe Satan, the evil one, opposes God, hinders God, and damages God’s plan. Satan always tries to damage the most crucial matter and jeopardize the most important place. Therefore, when God put man in front of the tree of life, Satan came to lure man away from life and to turn him to another goal: the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God’s goal is life, but Satan caused man to pay attention to good and evil. Satan interrupted God’s plan and took man away from God’s goal. As a result, man fell into Satan’s scheme and did not pay attention to God’s goal. Instead, man paid attention to the goal upon which Satan’s temptation was based. Consequently, man did not contact the tree of life but ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (3:1-7). God cares about life, but Satan’s temptation leads man toward the goal of good and evil. Thereafter, man’s goal before God changed. From that day forward, man lost his way before God.

  God pays attention to life, but Satan focuses on good and evil. From the time that man was tempted and fell, he has paid attention only to the matter of good and evil. God was forced to give the law because man was concerned only with good and evil. God uses the law to test and prove man so that man will realize that he can do nothing. God gave the law to expose man (Rom. 7:7), and even though man earnestly desires to keep the law, he fails utterly. Although man knows that he should forsake evil and do good, he does not have the ability or the means to work out the good (vv. 18-19). He can only bow his head before the law and admit his inability to work out the good.

Life being in the incarnated Jesus

  Since man failed utterly with respect to the law, God became flesh and came into man (John 1:14). The One who came to mankind and became a man is the Lord Jesus. Life is in the Lord Jesus (v. 4). We need to pay special attention to John 1 and Genesis 2; we need to read these two chapters together. Without Genesis we would think that it is quite strange for the first chapter of John, which outlines God’s purpose, to begin by saying, “In Him was life” (v. 4). We surely would ask, “What is life? What does the phrase in Him was life mean?” Genesis helps by showing that after man was tempted and fell, he lost the top blessing of life; he lost a treasure, the center in the universe. After Genesis 2 it is difficult to find the matter of life, until we see in John 1:4 that life is in Him.

  If we have the light, we will excitedly shout, “Now I see that the life in Genesis 2 is actually in Him. The life that Adam lost because of sin is in Him. The life that God cares for is in Him. The center and purpose of the universe is in the Lord Jesus whom we know.” One day He said to His disciples, “I am...the life” (John 14:6). He is the “I am” (8:24); whatever we need, He is. Life is in Him. He is the Word who was in the beginning. He is God Himself, and all things came into being through Him (1:1-3).

  Since all things came into being through Him, we have been brought back to the purpose of creation in Genesis. In creation He is the Creator, and one day this Creator became flesh. John 1 speaks of the beginning (v. 1), creation (v. 3), and becoming flesh (v. 14). In the beginning refers to eternity past before time even began. All things came into being refers to creation, and became flesh refers to incarnation. The incarnated Jesus is the God who was in the beginning and who is also the Creator. The life in the tree of life in Genesis 2 refers to the life in Him. If we desire to touch this life, this life is in Him. If we desire to obtain this life, this life is in Him. He is the life. If we touch Him, we touch life; if we obtain Him, we obtain life. If we do not have Him, we do not have life (1 John 5:11-12).

Life being the goal of creation and redemption

  The entire Bible shows the goal of life. Life is the goal of creation in the Old Testament, and also life is the goal of redemption in the New Testament. The purpose of God’s creation is to bring man into life; likewise, the purpose of God’s redemption is to bring man into life. As Christians, we have Christ as our life (Col. 3:4). He is in us to save us and be our life. This life is Christ Himself, who is God Himself. This life will lead us into eternity, which means that even in eternity everything will be related to life.

  Revelation shows that in eternity we will contact the river of water of life and the tree of life. The river of water of life proceeds out of the throne of God and of the Lamb, and on this side and on that side of the river is the tree of life (22:1-2). In eternity we will contact and see life. The river of water of life and the tree of life can be compared to an electrical wire. On one end of the wire is a powerhouse, God, and on the other end is a light bulb, man, and there is a current flowing between the two. The light bulb and powerhouse are one by means of an electrical current. All the believers are connected to God in life; thus, the believers and God are one in His life. In other words, just as life is in God, life is also in us.

The meaning of the universe being contained in life

  The whole universe is a story of life, because our great universe originates from life. If living things were removed from the universe, the universe would become meaningless and lose its purpose. The beauty of the universe lies in life; without life the universe is empty and ugly. In a family a wife loves her husband because he has life and is a living person. When the life in him is gone and only an empty shell remains, even his wife will not like the shell. Life brings meaning to a family; without life a family is empty and meaningless. The beauty of living things lies in life. The story of the entire universe depends on the presence of living beings, and the reality of living beings depends on the presence of life in them.

The highest life being the divine life

  The highest life in the universe, however, is not the human life but the divine life. The story of the vast universe depends on the divine life. Plants come in many colors and shapes. Some have red flowers, and some have green leaves, but they are all produced by life. The different characteristics of each animal are an issue of life. A cat jumps and a rooster crows because of life. Even the characteristics of children, who become loud, angry, or happy whenever they desire, are matters of life. A child acts like a child, and an old man acts like an old man; these facts do not differ by nationality. All these characteristics are related to life.

  All the stories throughout the vast universe are an issue of life. For example, each one of our homes is different. The furnishings in some homes, from the chairs to the coffee table, are yellow. This shows that the owner likes yellow. In other homes everything is white, and this shows that the owner likes white. Although we can design the furnishings in a home, we cannot design the universe. The universe is not produced from man’s life; rather, the story of the universe comes out of God’s life. God’s life is higher than human life. We know that different kinds of trees produce different kinds of fruit according to their kind. In the same way, a higher life produces a higher life, a better life bears a better life, and a poorer life produces a poorer life. All the stories of the universe are matters of life, and this life is God’s life.

God being the vast life in us

  The church is a corporate entity of life. The characteristics, marvelousness, and intrinsic mystery of the church depend on God’s life. The church is the church because she has God’s life. If life is taken away from the church, the church would become ugly, withered, and dead. All the beauty, power, brightness, and ability of the church come from the fact that the life of God is her inward content. This life is the life of Christ; Christ is God becoming flesh and coming into us through the Holy Spirit to be our life. God’s life is in the Holy Spirit, and this life is the God who was in the beginning and the Creator who existed in the beginning. Through the Holy Spirit the life in the incarnated God came into us. Thus, we have the life that created the universe and the life that is able to do great things in us. This life is the greatest, highest, and most vital life.

  As believers, we have God’s life in us, but we still need to ask about the condition of this life. Is it shallow and small? When a child is little, he may roll and crawl on the floor. He can cry or laugh whenever he wants to cry or laugh. However, an adult may not be allowed to do the same thing. This is because there are varying degrees of life. An adult cannot do as he pleases like a child, because the life in him is mature. In contrast, because the life in a child is immature, he often does as he pleases. This can be compared to an adult having five cubic meters of life and a child having only two cubic meters. Consequently, we need to frequently ask, “How much of the life of God is in us? Are there two cubic meters or five cubic meters?”

  In terms of time, God’s life spans from eternity past to eternity future. He is eternal, without beginning and end. In terms of space, the life of God includes the heavens, the earth, and the entire universe. He is omnipresent. This life is too great; it transcends time and space in the universe. Such a transcending, great life is in us. Being a Christian is not a matter of human cultivation but a matter of life. I can testify that often I am not angry, because the life in me is not angry, nor do I argue with others, because the life in me is not arguing. The life in me, which transcends time and space, is so great that it prevents me from losing my temper and arguing with others.

  Many people lose their temper because they have only two cubic meters of life. They can remain angry for several months, and their anger cannot subside because they have only a small measure of life. The life in some sisters is only two cubic inches; they have no capacity other than to lose their temper when they encounter certain situations. They have no response other than to lose their temper, because they are short of the growth of life. This is the reason they also criticize others, saying that someone is not good or is wrong. The inward condition of their life is expressed outwardly in their environment. Because it is in the nature of a cat to jump, it will meow if it is forbidden to jump. Such a restriction is the same as taking away its life. What else can a sister with only two cubic inches worth of life do except lose her temper and criticize?

  Such a person will not only lose her temper; she will also provoke others to anger, because this is her natural talent. When the measure of life increases in her from being like that of a small cat to that of an elephant, she will spontaneously stop being a “cat” who jumps and cries whenever she wants. As life grows, she will spontaneously stop losing her temper and will be able to be restricted. Thus, a certain kind of life produces a certain kind of result.

  After we are saved, we have God’s life within. This life needs to grow in us every day. But exactly how much life do we have? Do we have two cubic meters or five cubic meters? The God whom we know and serve has a great life. This life has a measure beyond that of the universe. Therefore, the life in us is a great matter. The church is the church because of life. The producing of the church depends upon God’s salvation, and God’s salvation depends upon life. After we are saved, we go to meetings, read the Bible, and pray in order to gain more life. If we do not know this life, we are not living as Christians. Our Christian living depends upon experiencing Christ as life.

  What is the church? The church consists of Christ, who is the highest life. The content of Christ and the reality of the church depend on Christ as life; this life is God Himself. Now this life has entered into us to become our life. If we know this life, our measure will be enlarged, and our view will be uplifted. If we know this life, our human life will have a wonderful, great change.

  The great life that entered into us is not concerned with mere gain or loss. This life does not require us to be concerned with whether or not we can work out the good and improve ourselves. This life is both real and weighty in us. Just as God created the universe and everything in it, this life, which is Christ Himself, can do so much work in us. God clothes Himself with us in order to live and move in us; God created a small universe, a small world, in us, and He put Himself in the first place there. May God be merciful to us so that we would see this vision.

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