John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (3) All things came into being through Him... (14) And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us... 1 Cor 15:45 ...the last Adam [Christ] became a life-giving Spirit.
[Part 1 of 3] In eternity past God existed alone. Then, in time, He created all things. At a certain point in history, this creating God, the Creator of all, became a man. This crucial step is called incarnation. By means of incarnation, God put on man with all of creation, for man is the head of creation. The Lord Jesus, God incarnate, lived on earth for thirty-three and a half years. When He was crucified, all creation was crucified with Him. This means that not only did Christ go to the cross, but the very man God had put on Himself with the entire creation went to the cross with Him. Therefore, Christ's death on the cross was an all-inclusive crucifixion. After His crucifixion, Christ was buried in a tomb. The man and the creation which were crucified with Christ were also buried in that tomb. After three days, Christ arose from the dead in His resurrection. Through resurrection and in resurrection He became the life-giving Spirit. Furthermore, in His ascension to the third heaven, He was crowned and became the Head and the Lord over all. Then He descended upon His Body as the all- inclusive Spirit. Because God, after completing the work of creation, passed through incarnation, human living, crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, and descension, we may speak of Him as the processed God. Through incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection, He has become the life-giving Spirit. After ascending to the third heaven, where He was enthroned and crowned, and where He was made the Head and Lord of all, He descended upon the church, His Body. In His descension, He is the all-inclusive Spirit. This all-inclusive Spirit has come upon God's elect, who make up the church. [continued tomorrow]
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of Colossians, pp. 219-220. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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