GOD’S DISPENSING BEING FOR GOD’S ECONOMY
God’s economy, that is, His plan and arrangement, is God’s goal (Eph. 1:10; 3:9). God’s dispensing, that is, His apportioning and distributing, is His means. In order to accomplish the economy of working Himself into man, God has to pass through the means of dispensing. Hence, God’s dispensing is for God’s economy.
To Dispense God Himself to Men
The First Step—Becoming Flesh
In order to dispense Himself to man, the first step God took was to become flesh and be a man (John 1:14). When He was in the flesh, on the one hand, He was the Lamb of God who took away man’s sin (John 1:29). On the other hand, He was the brass serpent, which shows that He became flesh, that is, He was sent in the likeness of the flesh of sin (Rom. 8:3). As the brass serpent, He had only the form of a serpent; He did not have a serpent’s poison. While the Lord was in the flesh, He was lifted up on the cross and destroyed Satan, the old serpent (John 3:14; 12:31). Furthermore, He was also a grain of wheat that fell into the ground and died. Through His death He released God’s life (John 12:24).
The Second Step—Becoming the Life-giving Spirit
The second step God took in order to dispense Himself to man was to become the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b). These two steps contain two "becomes." The Lord first became flesh, and then He became the life-giving Spirit. His becoming flesh was for the accomplishing of redemption and the releasing of God’s life. His becoming the life-giving Spirit was for the dispensing of Himself as the Spirit into man to be man’s life.
Christ became the life-giving Spirit in resurrection (1 Cor. 15:45). As such a Spirit He is prepared to be received by those who believe in Him. As soon as we believe into Him, the Spirit of life in resurrection enters into our spirit (Rom. 8:16) and abides in our spirit (Rom. 8:11).
(The Economy and Dispensing of God, Chapter 2, by Witness Lee)
