I. THE FIRST ASPECT OF THE INCORPORATION OF THE CONSUMMATED GOD WITH THE REGENERATED BELIEVERS BEING THE HOUSE OF THE FATHER
The first aspect of the incorporation of the consummated God with the regenerated believers is the house of the Father (John 14:2). Chapters fourteen, fifteen, and sixteen of John are a long message given by the Lord Jesus shortly before He was arrested. Each of these three chapters covers one of three aspects of the universal incorporation. In John 14 we have the Father’s house; in John 15, the Son’s vine; and in John 16, the child born of the Spirit. The house of the Father, the true vine of the Son, and the child of the Spirit are the three different aspects of the universal incorporation as the issue of Christ’s glorification.
A. Typified by the Temple
The Father’s house was typified by the temple of God in 2:16-21.
B. A Divine and Human Incorporation of the Processed and Consummated God Constituted with His Redeemed, Regenerated, and Transformed Elect
The Father’s house is a divine and human incorporation of the processed and consummated God constituted with His redeemed, regenerated, and transformed elect. The Father’s house is not only a constitution—it is an incorporation.
C. All the Believers in Christ Being the "Abodes" in the Father’s House
In 14:2a the Lord Jesus said, "In My Father’s house are many abodes." All the believers in Christ, redeemed through His blood, regenerated with His life by His Spirit, and transformed with the divine element by the life-giving Spirit, are the "abodes" in the Father’s house. In our houses we have rooms. As believers in Christ and members of the Body of Christ, we all are rooms, abodes, in the Father’s house.
D. Built Up by the Constant Visitation to the Redeemed Elect of the Father and the Son with the Spirit
The Father’s house is built up by the constant visitation to the redeemed elect of the Father and the Son with the Spirit who indwells the redeemed elect to be the mutual dwelling place of the consummated Triune God and His redeemed elect. In 14:23 the Lord Jesus said, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make an abode with him." Verse2 tells us that in the Father’s house there are many abodes, and in verse 23 we see that these abodes are built up by the Father and the Son’s visitation to those who love Him. The Spirit is not explicitly mentioned in verse 23 but rather is implied, for the Spirit dwells in the regenerated spirit of all those who love the Lord Jesus.
From our experience we know that the Father and the Son pay us a constant visitation. In our daily life the Father and the Son often come to visit us. We may be at home, at school, or at work, but wherever we may be the Father and the Son come to visit us to do a building work in us, making an abode which will be a mutual dwelling place for the Triune God and for us. This is the building up of the Father’s house through the constant visitation of the Triune God.
(The Issue of Christ Being Glorified by the Father with the Divine Glory, Chapter 4, by Witness Lee)
