I. THE ALL-INCLUSIVE SPIRIT BEING
THE AGGREGATE OF THE ALL-EMBRACING BLESSING
OF THE FULL GOSPEL OF GOD IN CHRIST,
FOR THE DIVINE DISPENSING
ACCORDING TO THE DIVINE ECONOMY
In this message we shall consider another ten items of the all-inclusive Spirit as the aggregate of the all-embracing blessing of the full gospel of God in Christ, for the divine dispensing according to the divine economy.
K. Being the Firstfruits of Our Enjoyment
of God as Our Inheritance
The all-inclusive Spirit is the firstfruits of our enjoyment of God as our inheritance, dispensing His riches into us until the redemption (the glorification) of our body, that is, our divine sonship of glory. Romans 8:23 tells us that the Spirit today is the firstfruits. The firstfruits of the Spirit are simply the Spirit Himself as the firstfruits of the coming harvest of what God is to us. The Spirit, the compound Spirit who is the consummation of the Triune God, has been given to us as the firstfruits. These firstfruits are the firstfruits of God as our inheritance. God has given Himself to us as our inheritance. Acts 26:18 says strongly that we, the saved ones, are being sanctified unto an inheritance (see note 6 there), and that inheritance is God Himself (Rom. 8:23; Eph. 1:14). On this earth we might have an inheritance of houses, stocks, and shares in large corporations. But we need to realize that whatever we have will eventually become nothing, for when death comes, everything will be taken from us. Therefore, this kind of earthly inheritance is vanity of vanities (Eccl. 12:8). However, Christ as the threefold seed in humanity issues in the Spirit, and this Spirit is the firstfruits of the divine inheritance. In other words, the Spirit as the firstfruits is the first item of God as our inheritance. This Spirit as the firstfruits is no doubt for our enjoyment. Thus, He is the firstfruits of our enjoyment of God as our inheritance. As such, He dispenses the riches of God, who is our inheritance, into us for the redemption of our body. The redemption of our body in the future will be an issue of this dispensing.
Today we are enjoying the dispensing of the riches of the divine inheritance, which is God Himself, and this dispensing issues in the glorification of our body. That glorification will not be merely a sudden thing that will take place when the Lord Jesus comes again; it will be the issue of our enjoyment today. Our enjoyment is unto, for, and in view of that glorification. Verses such as Ephesians 1:13-14 and Ephesians 4:30 say that the Spirit seals us unto the redemption of our body. Therefore, the future redemption of our body will be an issue of our enjoyment of God, which is always accompanied by His dispensing His element into our being. This changes us and transforms us in view of the upcoming redemption and glorification of our body.
(The Central Line of the Divine Revelation, Chapter 11, by Witness Lee)
