Ⅳ
The seed of David becoming the Son of God speaks of the process of our being designated the many sons of God by resurrection—Heb. 2:10-11:
A
Christ has already been designated the Son of God, but we are still in the process of designation, the process of being sonized, deified—Rom. 8:28-29.
B
The life of the Son of God has been implanted into our spirit—v. 10:
１
Now we, like the seed that is sown into the earth, must pass through the process of death and resurrection—John 12:24-26.
２
This causes the outer man to be consumed, but it enables the inner life to grow, to develop, and ultimately, to blossom from within us; this is resurrection—1 Cor. 15:31, 36; 2 Cor. 4:10-12, 16-18.
C
In resurrection Christ in His humanity was designated the Son of God, and by means of such a resurrection we also are in the process of being designated sons of God—Rom. 8:11:
１
The process of our being designated, sonized, deified, is the process of resurrection with four main aspects—sanctification, transformation, conformation, and glorification—6:22; 12:2; 8:29-30.
２
The key to the process of designation is resurrection, which is the indwelling Christ as the rising-up Spirit, the designating Spirit, the power of life in our spirit—John 11:25; Rom. 8:10-11; Acts 2:24; 1 Cor. 15:26; 5:4:
ａ
We urgently need to learn how to walk according to the spirit, to enjoy and experience the designating Spirit—Rom. 8:4, 14; Matt. 14:22-23; Mark 1:35-38; Psa. 62:8; 102 title.
ｂ
The more we touch the Spirit, the more we are sanctified, transformed, conformed, and glorified to become God in life and in nature but not in the Godhead for the building up of the Body of Christ to consummate the New Jerusalem— 1 Cor. 12:3; Rom. 10:12-13; 8:15-16; Gal. 4:6.
Morning Nourishment
Rom. 8:29-30 …Those whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brothers;…these He also called;…these He also justified; and…these He also glorified.4 …Us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit.
We are designated the sons of God by a change in life through the process of resurrection. The day is coming when we shall reach the stage of “full blossom.” That will be the time of the redemption, the glorification, of our body, which is the full sonship (Rom. 8:23). The life of the Son of God has been implanted into our spirit. Now we…must pass through the process of death and resurrection. This causes the outward man to be consumed, but it enables the inner life to grow, to develop, and, ultimately, to blossom. This is resurrection….We are daily being put to death so that we may share Christ’s resurrection in a practical way. Hallelujah, we shall be designated sons of God by resurrection! (Life-study of Romans, p. 553)
Today’s Reading
A carnation seed is designated, not by being labeled, but by being sown into the earth and by growing gradually into a mature, blossoming carnation plant….The full blossoming of a carnation flower is its full designation. Like the carnation seed, we all are in the process of designation. The more we grow and are transformed, the more we are designated the sons of God.According to the flesh, we all are troublesome, both to the church and to those with whom we live. The husbands trouble the wives, and the wives trouble the husbands. But we do not need to have our being according to the flesh, for we have the option of being according to the Spirit…. Whether you have your being according to the flesh or according to the Spirit depends on the choice you make. By your own will you may decide either to have your being according to the flesh or according to the Spirit. May the Lord be merciful to us so that we may choose to live according to the Spirit. We urgently need to learn how to walk according to the Spirit. If we walk according to the flesh, the church life will be most unpleasant. But if we walk according to the Spirit, the church life will be in the heavens.
The Spirit who dwells in us is the rising-up Spirit and the designating Spirit. DAY by day, this Spirit is designating us the sons of God. Most of us today may not have the confidence to say that we are the sons of God. We do not yet have the appearance, the expression, of God’s sons…. Nevertheless, we are under the process of designation by resurrection, and, eventually, after we have been fully processed, all will know that we are sons of God. The entire creation is waiting and groaning for this. We also groan because we do not yet have the appearance we should have. We know that we are still short in so many respects and wrong in many things, and we still have failures. But under the Lord’s sovereignty, even our failures are used as part of the process…. By our failures, our ugly self is torn down, and the Lord has a greater opportunity to work within us.
Praise the Lord for the divine process!… Not only have we been grafted into Christ that we may have a vital union with Him in His death, but we also enjoy His resurrection.
Designation is by resurrection, which includes sanctification, transformation, conformation, and glorification. All these wonderful things are in the Spirit. By touching the Spirit, we enjoy resurrection and everything included in it. Resurrection is not a matter of doctrine; it is absolutely a matter of touching the Spirit. The most simple way to contact the Spirit is to call on the name of the Lord Jesus. The more we touch the Spirit, the more we enjoy resurrection and the more we are sanctified, transformed, and glorified. (Life-study of Romans, pp. 571-572, 553-554, 582)
Further Reading: Life-study of Romans, msgs. 52-53; CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 5, “The Vital Groups,” chs. 2, 10-11