GOD—HIS PERSON

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In this message we shall begin to consider God’s person. God’s person is simply God’s being. Many more particulars concerning God’s person are revealed in the New Testament than are unveiled in the Old Testament. As we consider the various aspects of God’s person, we shall see what kind of God intends to dispense Himself into us. You may realize that God desires to dispense Himself into you. But what kind of God is being dispensed into you? Actually it is very difficult to answer this question.

The different points related to God’s being are found here and there throughout the New Testament. God’s way of revealing this is to present a little in one place and a little more in another place. Hence, in Matthew, John, and all the other books of the New Testament we find the many points concerning God’s person. These points may be compared to the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that need to be put together in order to form a complete picture. We need to collect all the points concerning God’s person found in the New Testament and put them together in order to see a picture of the kind of God who is being dispensed into us.

In this message we shall continue to consider the New Testament and God’s New Testament economy. We have seen that the New Testament is related to the Old Testament, that it is the fulfillment of the Old Testament, that it is the development and the reaping of the seed sown in the Old Testament, and that it is the completion of the divine revelation. Now we shall go on to see that the New Testament is the revelation of God’s New Testament economy (Col. 1:26-27).

The New Testament is the revelation of God’s New Testament economy. This revelation unveils seven major items: God, Christ, the Spirit, the believers, the church, the kingdom, and the New Jerusalem. These seven items are seven persons. God is a person, and Christ and the Spirit also are persons. The believers may be considered a corporate person; likewise, the church is a corporate person. Some, however, may have a problem regarding the kingdom as a person. Nevertheless, we strongly say that the kingdom is a person.

In both the Old and New Testaments, God likens His chosen people to a spouse (Isa. 54:6; Jer. 3:1; Ezek. 16:8; Hosea 2:19; 2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 5:31-32) and a dwelling place for Himself (Exo. 29:45-46; Num. 5:3; Ezek. 43:7, 9; Psa. 68:18; 1 Cor. 3:16-17; 6:19; 2 Cor. 6:16; 1 Tim. 3:15). The spouse is for His satisfaction in love, and the dwelling place is for His rest in expression. Both of these aspects will be ultimately consummated in the New Jerusalem. In her God will have the fullest satisfaction in love and the utmost rest in expression for eternity.

Revelation 21:10 and 11 say, “He carried me away in spirit onto a great and high mountain and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, as a jasper stone, clear as crystal.” The glory of God is the expression of God, God expressed. We have been ordained for this glory and called to it (1 Cor. 2:7; 1 Pet. 5:10; 1 Thes. 2:12). We are being transformed into this glory (2 Cor. 3:18) and shall be brought into it (Heb. 2:10).

In this series of messages we shall cover the conclusion of the New Testament. Because the New Testament contains twenty-seven books, it is difficult to speak on the conclusion of the New Testament. In this message we shall consider the New Testament and God’s New Testament economy.

The New Testament is related to the Old Testament. This relationship is indicated by a portion of Hebrews 10:7: “In the roll of the book it is written concerning Me.” This refers to the Old Testament, which gives us a full record of Christ, either by plain words or by types (Luke 24:27, 44, 46; John 5:39, 46).

Augustine once said that the New Testament is contained in the Old and that the Old Testament is explained in the New. We may put the matter this way: The New Testament is in the Old contained, and the Old Testament is in the New explained. This means that the New Testament is in the Old Testament and that the Old Testament is explained by the New Testament.

4. The Father of Glory

In Ephesians 1:17 Paul uses the term “the Father of glory.” As we have pointed out, glory is God expressed. Hence, the Father of glory is God expressed through His many sons. The title “Father” implies regeneration, and the word “glory” implies expression. Therefore, the title “Father of glory” implies regeneration and expression. We have been regenerated by God, and we are His expression.

We have already been regenerated, but in the future we shall be glorified and express God’s glory (Rom. 8:30). The regeneration of many sons and the expression of God are the consummation of the divine economy. Through His crucifixion the Lord Jesus accomplished redemption for us. As a result, we, the fallen creatures, have been redeemed. Then we were regenerated to become sons of God the Father so that we may express Him. On the day we are glorified, God will be fully expressed from within us. In this way we shall become His expression in full.

The first prophecy in the Old Testament is Genesis 3:15. After the fall of man, after the serpent had worked himself into man, God promised that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent. This promise concerning the seed of the woman was the first prophecy in the Bible. This prophecy is fulfilled in Matthew

1:22 and 23. In Galatians 4:4 Paul says that Christ was born under the law and was also born of a woman. Therefore, Christ came not only to fulfill the law, but also to fulfill the promise that the seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent.

How can God be dispensed into man and mingled with man?

This can be accomplished only by the Triune God being incarnated, living on earth, dying on the cross, resurrecting, ascending, and descending. In this way God dispenses Himself into us and mingles Himself with us.

The Bible is profound. Because the Bible is a profound book, we should not stay on the surface of the Word. Instead, we need to see what is revealed in the depths of the Scriptures. We need to see not only that in the Old Testament Christ is promised, prophesied, typified, and shadowed; we need to see what kind of Christ is promised, prophesied, typified, and shadowed in the Old Testament. As we have pointed out, this Christ is the eternal God who was incarnated, lived on earth, died, resurrected, ascended, and descended. We also need to see God’s purpose for Christ to be such a One.

The content of the New Testament is God’s New Testament economy/budget, bargain. As we shall see, God’s New Testament economy is the dispensing of God into His chosen people for the producing of the church. This eternal economy of God, the content of the New Testament, is contained in the Old Testament.

3. The God of Glory In the Bible glory is God expressed. Whenever God is expressed, that is glory. But whenever God is hidden, concealed, there is no glory expressed. When God is seen, there is glory. You can never see God without seeing His glory. While the unseen God is God, the seen God is glory. God’s glory was seen as the children of Israel journeyed from Egypt to the good land (Exo. 13:21). During the day God was seen as the cloud, and during the night He was seen as the pillar of fire—that was glory. In the Gospel of John we read that the Word was God, that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and that we all beheld His glory (John 1:1, 14). John 1:18 says, “No one has ever seen God; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.” There is glory in the declaration of God. When we see God, we see glory. The God of glory called Abraham, and Abraham was attracted and caught by that glory. The principle is the same with us today. We all have been caught by the Lord in His glory. We have been captured by His glory.

The One Whom No One Knows Except the Son and He to Whom the Son Reveals Him

In Matthew 11:27c the Lord Jesus says that no one knows “the Father except the Son and he to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.” The Greek word translated “know” here indicates full knowledge, not mere objective acquaintance. Concerning the Son, only the Father has such knowledge; and concerning the Father, only the Son has such knowledge. Hence, to know the Father requires the Son’s revelation (John 17:6, 26). The Greek word rendered “wills” in Matthew 11:27 means to deliberately exercise the will through counsel.

The Father chose us in the Son and by the Spirit (Eph. 1:4; 1 Pet. 1:2a). The Son accomplished redemption for us with the Father and by the Spirit (John 8:29; Heb. 9:14). The Spirit works in us as the Son (John 14:26; 2 Cor. 3:17) with the Father (John 15:26). Their works and manifestations are economical, but their coexistence and coinherence are eternal. All the Three are eternal essentially. Isaiah 9:6 says that the Father is eternal, Hebrews 1:12 and 7:3 indicate that the Son is eternal, and Hebrews 9:14 speaks of the eternal Spirit. Therefore, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are not consecutive but eternal in Their existence, in Their being.