THE AGGREGATE OF THE DIVINE SONSHIP
This consummation, the New Jerusalem, is the aggregate of the divine sonship for the corporate expression of the Triune God (Rom. 8:23). The Son is the expression of the Father. No one has ever seen God, but the only begotten Son has declared Him (John 1:18). A father and his sons bear one image. The faces of the sons are like the face of the father. Jesus Christ as the Son of God is the very expression of God the Father. God, however, would like to have more than one son. Christ is referred to as the only begotten in John 1:18 and in John 3:16, where it say that God gave His only begotten Son. From Romans 8:2 we know that in resurrection this unique Son of God became the Firstborn among many brothers. The Lord Jesus in His resurrection charged one of the sisters to "go to My brothers" (John 20:17), and Hebrews 2:11 says He is "not ashamed to call them brothers" because they were all born of the same Father. The only difference is that He is the first Son, and we are the many sons.
Leading Many Sons into Glory
The Triune God is still working today to bring His many sons into glory (Heb. 2:10). We are sons of God, but we are not in glory yet. Just as a caterpillar is transformed into a butterfly, so we are being led into glory. Hallelujah we are on the way! One day we will all be there in glory a the many sons of God. Romans 8:18-22 tells us that the entire fallen creation, now under the slavery of corruption eagerly expects to see us in glory. That glory will be the freedom of the glory of the children of God, which is our full redemption (v. 23). Our body has not yet been redeemed, but one day it will be transfigured into a glorious body (Phil. 3:21). This full redemption of our body is the full sonship. Our spirit has already been born of God but our body has not yet been brought into sonship. The entire universe is eagerly expecting the final part of our redemption. The creation wants to see all the sons of Got brought into glory to enjoy their full sonship.
Sons, Brothers, and Members
Before His resurrection Christ was God’s only begotten but through death and resurrection He became the First born, followed by the many sons who were produced through His death and resurrection. Now to God we are the many sons, to Christ we are the many brothers, and to His Body we are the members. This is why we call ourselves brothers. We are brothers to each other because we are the brothers of Christ and the sons of God. This is sonship. It is a corporate entity.
Total Sonship
The New Jerusalem is the aggregate of the divine sonship. There is only one divine sonship; we are all in this one sonship. In resurrection we will all be males, including the sisters. In this body of the old creation we still have the difference between brothers and sisters, but in resurrection we will all be males, brothers. The total sonship will be completed through the coming rapture and resurrection. When we are there in the New Jerusalem, that will be an aggregate of the divine sonship. This sonship is for the corporate expression of the great God who is triune—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.
(The Basic Revelation in the Holy Scriptures, Chapter 11, by Witness Lee)
