THE
FULL MINISTRY OF CHRIST IN THREE STAGES PART I
A. In His incarnation, Christ brought the infinite God into the finite man; He also united and mingled the Triune God with the tripartite man.
1. God is infinite, and we human beings are finite. In His full ministry in the stage of His incarnation, Christ brought the infinite God into the finite man.
2. The Triune God is mysterious, and the tripartite man is difficult to understand. However, according to the new language of the new culture in the divine and mystical realm, we need to say that Christ united and mingled the Triune God with the tripartite man. Concerning the Triune God, the Father is the source, the Son is the expression, and the Spirit is the entering in. Concerning the tripartite man, the spirit is the inmost part, the soul is the middle, and the body is the outer part. The ministry of Christ was not only to unite but even more to mingle the Triune God with the tripartite man. When two pieces of wood are connected together, they are united; when two things are grounded into powder and blended together, they are mingled.
B. In His human living, Christ expressed in His humanity the bountiful God in His human living, mainly expressing God in His rich attributes.
1. Christ expressed the bountiful God in His human living, mainly expressing God in His rich attributes.
a. No one can deny the that the human virtues of Christ were aromatic; even when non-Christians read the four gospels, they sense that the Jesus recorded in these books was a sweet and fragrant One, whose virtues were aromatic. This is because he expressed in His humanity the bountiful God in His rich attributes.
b. Our attributes are the characteristics of what we are. For example, losing one’s temper easily, loving to speak first, speaking carelessly and irresponsibly, and acting highly are human attributes. On the other hand, behaving cautiously, speaking rationally, doing purposely and not acting irresponsibly or carelessly are also human attributes. Our God has attributes, and His attributes are rich because He is great and bountiful. He is love, light, holiness, and righteousness. The Lord expressed these rich attributes in His humanity to become the aromatic virtues in His humanity.
2. Christ attracted and captivated people through His aromatic virtues: not by living His human life in the flesh but by living His divine life in resurrection.
a. Furthermore, Christ in His humanity expressed God through His aromatic virtues by which He attracted and captivated people. To be attracted and captivated is to be charmed. This may be illustrated by a male and female falling in love at first sight; the male is charmed by the female, and the female is attracted and captivated by the male. The Lord must have possessed some aromatic virtues in His humanity that could attract and captivate people. Otherwise, there could not have been so many people who would follow Him.
b. Christ expressed His aromatic virtues, by which He attracted and captivated people, not by living His human life in the flesh but by living His divine life in resurrection. He was in the flesh, but He did not live by His human life in His flesh; rather He lived by His divine life in His resurrection.
c. Today, as God-men, by which life do we live? No doubt, we are all in the flesh. Nevertheless, we can get out of the realm of the flesh and enter in resurrection, that is, in the divine and mystical realm. We must not live by the human life but by the divine life. Galatians 2:20 says, "It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me." This means, that we should no longer live the life of the old "I" but the life of the new "I".
C. In His death, Christ accomplished His all-inclusive judicial redemption:
1. He terminated all things of the old creation.
2. He redeemed all things created by God and fallen in sin - Heb. 2:9; Col. 1:20.
3. He created (conceived) the new man with His divine element (Eph. 2:15). Any conception requires an element; without element there can not be a conception. He conceived in Himself as the element of the two peoples (Jewish believers and Gentile believers) into one new man.
4. He released His divine life from the shell of His humanity. John 12:24 says, that the Lord Jesus was a grain of wheat. Unless the grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, its outer shell can not be broken and its life within can not be released. Christ had the divine life, but it was concealed in the shell of His humanity. Hence, He needed to suffer death on the cross that the shell of His humanity might be broken to release His divine life from His human shell.
5. He laid a foundation for His organic salvation and set up the procedure to attain His ministry in the stage of His inclusion.