INCARNATION BEING THE DISPENSING OF GOD HIMSELF INTO HUMANITY
Christ’s being the seed of the woman, the seed of Abraham, and the seed of David strongly implies the dispensing of God Himself into man. The seed of the woman (Gen. 3:15) refers to the incarnation of Christ. Isaiah 7:14 confirms the promise in Genesis 3:15, and the birth of Christ in Matthew 1:22-23 and 25 was the fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14. Incarnation was the dispensing of God Himself into humanity.
The incarnation was God being born into humanity. When Mary’s husband Joseph purposed to put Mary away secretly, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and told him not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife, "for that which has been begotten in her is of the Holy Spirit" (Matt. 1:20). The Spirit of God, who is God reaching man, had come into Mary’s womb. In the process of incarnation, God was begotten in humanity. Eventually, a child was born who was called the Mighty God (Isa. 9:6). Because He was the very God, His name was also called Emmanuel—God with us (Matt. 1:23). Through incarnation God entered into humanity, and this entering of God into humanity was His dispensing of Himself into humanity.
The dispensing of God into man is greater than the creation of the heavens and the earth, because incarnation makes God one with man and makes man one with God. In His creation God created many things, and before His incarnation, throughout the Old Testament, He performed a number of miracles and works of power, such as the parting of the Red Sea (Exo. 14:21-22). But there is no comparison between these miracles and incarnation. Incarnation was the bringing of God into man.
Regeneration is as great an event as incarnation. With the Lord Jesus, God’s entering into man was incarnation, but with us, God’s entering into man is regeneration. Through regeneration we are the same as Christ; we even are little "Christs." D. L. Moody once said that regeneration is the greatest miracle. When we repented and believed, we received the Lord Jesus, and as we prayed, God entered into us. The New Testament tells us clearly that, first, God is within us (Eph. 4:6); second, Christ is within us (Rom. 8:10; 2 Cor. 13:5); and third, the Spirit is within us (Rom. 8:9). Eventually, Philippians 2:13 tells us that God is operating in us. Every day God operates in us. God’s operation within us is a great matter.
CHRIST AS THE THREEFOLD DISPENSING
Christ as the seed of the woman, the seed of Abraham, and the seed of David is a threefold seed and also a threefold dispensing. God promised that the seed of the woman would bruise the head of the serpent. This is the first aspect of God’s dispensing.
God’s promise to Abraham that his seed would be the blessing to all the nations was the second aspect of His dispensing. This blessing to all the nations is the Spirit. The seed of Abraham is Christ as the last Adam (1 Cor. 15:45b). This last Adam, the God-man, eventually became the life-giving Spirit. A man who was the seed of Abraham became a Spirit, even a life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b). John 1:14 reveals that the Word became flesh. Then, according to 1 Corinthians 15:45, Christ as the last Adam became a life-giving Spirit. The first time the word became is used concerning Christ is when He became a man to bring divinity into humanity. The second time is when Christ as the last Adam became a Spirit in order to give life. In order to impart God into man, the man Jesus had to die and be resurrected so that He could become a life-giving Spirit. How marvelous this is!
Christ as the seed of David was begotten through His resurrection to be the firstborn Son of God and God’s sure mercies shown to David (Acts 13:33-34). This is the third aspect of His dispensing.
(The Central Line of the Divine Revelation, Chapter 9, by Witness Lee)
