XIX. MAKING US HIS POEM
The fine and deep work that God the Father is carrying out within us is also to make us, the believers, His poem. Ephesians 2:10 says, "For we are His masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus." The Greek word for masterpiece means something that has been made, a handiwork, or something that has been written or composed as a poem. Not only a poetic writing may be considered a poem, but also any work of art that expresses the maker’s wisdom and design is a poem. We, the church, the masterpiece of God’s work, are the loftiest poem expressing God’s infinite wisdom and divine design.
The heavens, the earth, and even man, created by God, are not God’s masterpiece; but the church, which is the Body of Christ, His fullness (Eph. 1:23), and the universal, corporate new man (2:15), is a masterpiece, a poem. This poem of God is an absolutely new item in the universe, something newly invented by God, because it is the mingling of God and man, and it is produced by the working of God Himself into man and the constituting of man into oneness with Himself.
According to Ephesians 3:10, the multifarious wisdom of God is made known to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenlies through the church. In the coming ages, that is, in the millennium and in eternity, there will be a unique poem, the church, which will express God’s wisdom and design. When we are in the New Jerusalem of the new heaven and new earth, we will praise God for the beauty, wisdom, and design displayed in this most wonderful piece of work. The New Jerusalem will become the unique and transcendent poem of God in eternity. If we, the believers, daily experience and enjoy God the Father in the love of God through the dispensing of the Trinity, He will make us such a poem.
SUMMARY
When we experience and enjoy God as the Father in the love of the Triune God, He enables us to live together with the crucified and resurrected Christ by the power of God. He also reconciles us to Himself. We are not only reconciled to Him from sin, but we are further reconciled to Him to live before Him in spirit. Moreover, He makes us the righteousness of God in Christ; hence, we are not only righteous, but we have become the righteousness of God. Also, He sanctifies us by His word, which is the truth, and He sanctifies us not only in our outward position but also in our inward disposition, so that our entire being—spirit, soul, and body—may be preserved and made wholly like Him. Furthermore, He gives life to our mortal body that our weak and mortal body may be healed and enlivened by the divine life dispensed into us by the Father’s indwelling Spirit. He also reveals to us the depths of God; the Spirit of God explores the depths of God concerning Christ and reveals them to us in our spirit for our realization and participation. He also causes us to grow in life; His life is continuously dispensed into us through the planting and watering by the ministers of Christ, thereby enabling us to grow in God’s life. He also strengthens us into our inner man; this is the issue of God the Father’s work in us according to the riches of His glory with power through His Spirit. He will also make us His poem. We, the church, the masterpiece of God’s work, are the loftiest poem expressing God’s infinite wisdom and divine design. This will be completed and consummated in the New Jerusalem in eternity.
QUESTIONS
- Briefly state the two steps of God the Father’s reconciling us to Himself.
- How does God the Father sanctify our whole being dispositionally?
- Briefly state the process and issue of God’s dispensing of life into every part of our whole being.
- What are the depths of God? How does God the Father reveal them to us?
- How does God the Father strengthen us into our inner man?
- Briefly explain the significance of God the Father’s making us His poem.
(Truth Lessons, Level 2, Vol. 3, Chapter 3, by Witness Lee)
