«　WEEK 4　DAY 1　»

　　Luke 15:22-23 But the father said to his slaves, Bring out quickly the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fattened calf; slaughter it, and let us eat and be merry.

　　God’s salvation has…the outward, objective aspect, signified by the best robe, and the inward, subjective aspect, signified by the fattened calf. Christ as our righteousness is our salvation outwardly; Christ as our life for our enjoyment is our salvation inwardly. The best robe enabled the prodigal son to meet his father’s requirements and satisfy his father, and the fattened calf satisfied the son’s hunger. Hence, the father and the son could be merry together. (Luke 15:23, footnote 1)

　　Luke 15 speaks about a son who left home to wander abroad and became a prodigal son. One day the prodigal son clothed in rags returned home….When he was still a long way off, his father saw him and ran to embrace and kiss him. Afterward, his father immediately ordered the slaves, saying, “Bring out quickly the best robe and put it on him” (v. 22). That robe was known to all the household because it had been prepared earlier by the father to be put on his son upon his return…. Even though he came back to the father’s house, he still had to put on that robe so that he might look like a son before his father. This is the aspect of redemption. The father had certain qualifications, and to be his son there were certain requirements. When the son left home to wander abroad, he lost his status as a son and became a prodigal son. When the father put that robe upon him, he immediately became a son again. This refers to the judicial aspect of God’s salvation.

　　However, it is not sufficient merely to be clothed with the robe and become a son. At that time, on the one hand, the son was happy, but…[he had] an empty stomach….The father went on to say, “Bring the fattened calf; slaughter it, and let us eat and be merry” (v. 23). At that time the son must have been dancing with joy. After eating the fattened calf, the son was satisfied and no longer hungry. Hence, the robe signifies the judicial aspect of God’s salvation, and the calf signifies the organic aspect of God’s salvation. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 3, “The Organic Aspect of God’s Salvation,” p. 387)

　　Our being sanctified through the blood of Christ was a positional matter. We were sinners in Adam, but Christ’s redemption moved us and even removed us out of Adam into Christ (1 Cor. 1:30)….To be redeemed means to be removed. When a sister goes shopping to buy some fruit, she removes the fruit from the market into her kitchen. This is a positional matter.

　　When the father clothed his son with the best robe, that was something outward and positional. But when he fed his prodigal son with the fattened calf, that was something inward and dispositional…. [A person’s] dressing is a positional matter, and his eating is a dispositional matter. The clothing changes his position and qualifies him to go to work. Then he needs something in his stomach to supply him from within. The blood of Christ changed our position to sanctify us. That is the positional aspect of God’s sanctification. Then God regenerates us to make us a new creation, and this is the beginning of our dispositional sanctification by the Spirit. Our being made a new creation continues from regeneration throughout our entire Christian life by the Spirit’s dispositional sanctification.

　　Dispositional sanctification is a continuation of the ongoing work of the believers’ regeneration….Our birth is our regeneration, and our growing is our dispositional sanctification…. God has begotten us (John 1:12-13), and now we need to grow. We all are children of God, but we are in different ages and stages in our spiritual growth. The Spirit continues to renew us by sanctifying us for our growth in life. (CWWL, 1993, vol. 2, “The Spirit with Our Spirit,” pp. 212-213)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1977, vol. 3, “The Subjective Truths in the Holy Scriptures,” ch. 2; CWWL, 1993, vol. 2, “The Spirit with Our Spirit,” chs. 9, 11