THE GOD-MAN JESUS
Now we come to the fourth point—the God-man Jesus. As a God-man, the Lord Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit, thus having the divine element (Luke 1:35; Matt. 1:18, 20). He was also born of a virgin, thus having the human element (Matt. 1:21, 23). He was born as God and man—a God-man. He is the complete God (Rom. 9:5; Col. 2:9) and the perfect man (1 Tim. 2:5). In Isaiah 9:6 the child is called the mighty God. The child is human and the mighty God is God. Thus, He is God, yet also man.
Furthermore, even after His resurrection and ascension into heaven He is still the Son of Man (Acts 7:56; Rev. 1:13). Many Christians have the concept that the Lord Jesus became a man in His incarnation, but that He was no longer a man after His resurrection. In other words, they think that He put off His humanity. But in Acts 7:56 it is recorded that when Stephen was persecuted and martyred, he saw the Son of Man, Jesus, standing at the right hand of God. Also, when the Lord Jesus was judged on earth, He responded to the questions of the high priest by saying, “You shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven” (Matt. 26:64). Therefore, in His second coming He will still be a man. For eternity, He will still be the Son of Man. In John 1:51 the Lord said, “You shall see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” This verse speaks of eternity future. The Lord still has flesh and bones after His resurrection (Luke 24:39). He is God and also man. What a mystery, and how glorious! In eternity past, He was God and not man. But after His incarnation, He is God and also man. He is not part of God, but the complete Triune God. He is the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. He is also a perfect man. Therefore He is a God-man.
THE MINGLING OF GOD AND MAN
In the Lord Jesus
Now let us consider the mingling of God and man. This is also one of the items for which we have been condemned strongly by some. The Bible clearly records that the Lord Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit in the womb of the virgin Mary. Conception is a matter of mingling. An ordinary conception is the mingling of a male and a female. The conception of the Lord Jesus is the mingling into one of God’s element with the human element. Such a mingling can never produce a third kind of element. The slanderers say that I preach that Christ is neither a man nor God, but that He is of a third nature. Actually, I said that the divine element mingles with the human element and does not produce a third element. The Son of God was born to be the Son of Man. The two became a God-man, being God and also being man. This did not produce a third person.
In the Believers
First, the believers are born of God to become children of God (John 1:12-13). In such a birth the human element mingles with the divine element as one but does not produce a third element. Today, we are children of God. We are not adopted; we are born of God.
Second, the believers, as branches of the wild olive tree, were grafted into the cultivated olive tree (Rom. 11:24). The two have not only become one tree but are also mingled into one life to produce a compound fruit, not a fruit of a third nature. Our opposers say that our attachment to the Lord Jesus is a matter of being joined, and that it is not a mingling. On the contrary, I must say that the grafting of the branches of the wild olive tree into the cultivated olive tree is not only a joining outwardly, but even more it is a mingling of the inward life. Grafting is a mingling; two lives are mingled into one to produce a compound fruit, not a fruit of a third nature.
Third, the Lord is the bread of life for the believers to eat, and the Holy Spirit is the living water for the believers to drink (John 7:37-39). The element of the food mingles and becomes one with the person who eats, becoming the element of the person who eats without producing a third element. Is it not ridiculous to say that the food which we eat is only joined with us and is not mingled with us? When we drink water, surely the water mingles with us. Those who oppose us cannot receive the concept of mingling because they are influenced by tradition. They say, “What? Mingle with God? Then do you become God, and does God become you?” My answer is this: “If God is still God and I am still I, then I have not been saved yet! What I mean when I say that I become one with God is only that I have God’s life, nature, and image, but I do not have the position to be worshipped by men.”
It is obvious that the son of a king has the life and nature of the king, but he is not the king and does not have the position of the king. We are children born of God, and we have the life and nature of God. It is clearly stated in 1 John 3:2 that “if He is manifested, we shall be like Him.” Paul also clearly says, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). He also said, “For to me to live is Christ” (Phil. 1:21). In a few hours, the food that we eat is digested and assimilated to become our cells, blood, bones, and flesh. We are constituted of what we eat.
Fourth, the believers are joined to the Lord and have become one spirit with Him (1 Cor. 6:17). This is the mingling of the believer’s spirit and the Spirit of the Lord to become one spirit—the mingling of God and man.
Fifth, in the mingling of the fine flour with oil to become the cake in the meal offering (Lev. 2:4), two elements are mingled to become one substance. They do not produce a substance with a third kind of element. The oil is mingled with the flour. Flour signifies humanity and oil signifies God. This also speaks of the mingling of God and man.
LEARNING TO USE THE TRUTHS, WHICH ARE TODAY’S MODERN WEAPONS
I have presented these truths to you. You must study diligently and do much research; then you will know the five major truths: God’s economy, God’s dispensing, the divine Trinity, the God-man Jesus, and the mingling of God and man. These are the five basic truths in the Bible. Our vision is based on these five truths. Although the opposition in the United States has been somewhat subdued, these waves of theological debates will still flow to Taiwan. Sooner or later, you will meet others saying that your Brother Lee teaches heresy on matters such as the Trinity, dispensing, mingling, and the God-man. I am afraid that if you do not have a good foundation now, when the time comes you will not have the words to respond. This is why I have pointed out these verses to you now. When these matters come up for discussion, you can bring out these verses and read them to the opposers one by one. They will have no ground for debate after they have seen these verses because the truth is the truth.
I have used the simplest method to present to you these deep things. I hope you will exercise to be equipped. Study the truths. They are our modern weapons.
(The Full Knowledge of the Word of God, Chapter 5, by Witness Lee)
