Ⅱ
Leviticus 18—20 is on the holy living of God's holy people and corresponds to Ephesians 4:17—5:14, which charges the holy people of God to put off the old man and put on the new man, living a life that is holy, as God is holy, for His expression:
Ａ
In Ephesians 4:17-32 there are three significant verses that show the divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity as the base for living a holy life for the church life:
１
The first is verse 18, which speaks of being alienated from the life of God; the life of God is for supplying His children with His divine riches in His divine dispensing.
２
The second is verse 21, which speaks of the reality in Jesus; the reality in Jesus is the practicality of the life of God that took place in Jesus while He lived on earth; it is the actual condition of the life of Jesus as recorded in the four Gospels:
ａ
In the daily life of Jesus, as recorded in the four Gospels, there was something very real, and that real thing was just God's divine life realized and practiced as the reality in Jesus' humanity.
ｂ
This reality in Jesus is for infusing the believers with Christ's godly living in His humanity, in His divine dispensing.
３
The third is verse 30, which admonishes us to not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom we were sealed unto the day of redemption:
ａ
The sealing Spirit is also the sealing ink, and the contents, elements, and essence of this sealing ink are the divine life plus Jesus' practical humanity; this sealing remains wet forever to saturate, permeate, and soak us with the Triune God.
ｂ
The life of God, the reality in Jesus, and the sealing of the Holy Spirit are the three sources of the divine dispensing for our holy living to express the holy God:
⑴
The Father's life must become the truth in our daily living, which truth is the reality in Jesus; this truth as the practicality of the life of the Father becomes the sealing ink, which is the Holy Spirit.
⑵
While the sealing ink seals, it saturates, permeates, and soaks us with the divine life in the practicality of Jesus' daily life, making us a "Xerox copy" of Jesus' life, which is the practicality of the Father's life.
Morning Nourishment
Eph. 4:18 Being darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance which is in them, because of the hardness of their heart.21 If indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him as the reality is in Jesus.
30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed unto the day of redemption.
[Ephesians 4:17-32] shows us in a very detailed way the divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity in the believers' living. This living is related to matters such as not stealing from others and not letting the sun go down on our anger (vv. 28, 26). Although we are a group of people who have been mingled and blended with God, there is still the need for this kind of exhortation concerning our living. It is not easy to have a kind of living that matches, backs, supports, and affords all the needed elements, factors, and essences for the building up of the organic Body of Christ. Merely to have wonderful and exciting conferences is not enough. There is the need to take care of our living in a proper way. (CWWL, 1990, vol. 3, "The Economy and Dispensing of God," pp. 169-170)
Today's Reading
In Ephesians 4:17-32 there are three significant verses that show the divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity. From these three verses we see that the divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity is the base for our daily living. The first is verse 18, which mentions being alienated from the life of God. To be alienated, or separated, from the divine life is a serious matter. The life of God is for the supplying of His children with His riches in His divine dispensing.The second verse related to the divine dispensing is verse 21, which speaks of the reality in Jesus. The reality in Jesus is just the practicality of the life of God, that is, the practicing of the life of God that took place in Jesus while He lived on earth. In the daily life of Jesus, as recorded in the four Gospels, there was something very real, and that real thing was just God's divine life realized and practiced as the reality in Jesus' humanity. This reality in Jesus is for infusing the believers with Christ's godly living in His humanity.
The third verse concerning the divine dispensing is verse 30, which admonishes us not to grieve the Holy Spirit, in whom we were sealed. This Spirit is the sealing Spirit; He is even the sealing ink with which we have all been sealed. The contents, the elements, and the essence of the sealing ink are the divine life plus Jesus' practical humanity. This sealing can never become dry; it remains wet forever. While it is wet, it saturates, permeates, and soaks us with the Triune God.
The life of God, the reality in Jesus, and the sealing of the Holy Spirit are the three sources of the divine dispensing. Seemingly, Paul was writing something quite ordinary, but within those ordinary words he put in the wonderful elements and factors of the Divine Trinity—the Father's life, the Son's living in His humanity, and the Spirit's sealing. Life is of the Father. This life must become the reality in our daily living, which reality is in Jesus. This reality as the practicality of the life of the Father becomes the sealing ink, which is the Holy Spirit. While the sealing ink seals, it saturates, permeates, and soaks us with the divine life in the practicality of Jesus' daily life, making us a "Xerox copy" of Jesus' life, which is the practicality of the Father's life.
We have the life of the Father in us. We also have a model and an example, which is Jesus' life in His humanity. This life in His humanity is just the practicality of the divine life seen in the four Gospels. Furthermore, we have the sealing ink, which is constituted with the divine life and with the human living of Jesus. This sealing is wet all the time; it seals, saturates, and permeates us, enabling us to have a daily life that is suitable for the building up of the Body of Christ. (CWWL, 1990, vol. 3, "The Economy and Dispensing of God," pp. 170-171)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1990, vol. 3, "The Economy and Dispensing of God," ch. 10