Scripture Reading: 2 Sam. 7:12a, 14a; Matt. 22:41-45; Acts 13:23, 33; Rom. 1:3-4; 8:29; Rev. 22:16

DAY 1 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 2 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 3 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 4 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 5 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 6 Outline　MorningRevival

«　WEEK 8　DAY 1　»

　　2 Sam. 7:12 When your days are fulfilled and you sleep with your fathers, I will raise up your seed after you, which will come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.

　　14 I will be his Father, and he will be My son…

　　In 2 Samuel 7:12 your seed…refers, literally, to Solomon, David’s son, who built the temple as God’s dwelling place in the Old Testament (1 Kings 5:5; 8:15-20; 1 Chron. 22:9-10; 28:6). However, according to Hebrews 1:5b, which quotes verse 14a of 2 Samuel 7, David’s seed is actually Christ as God’s firstborn Son (Heb. 1:5a, 6), who has both divinity and humanity and is typified here by Solomon. (2 Sam. 7:12, footnote 1)

　　The word concerning “your seed” in 2 Samuel 7:12 and “My son” in verse 14 implies that the seed of David would become the Son of God, that is, that a human seed would become a divine Son. This word corresponds with Paul’s word in Romans 1:3-4 concerning Christ as the seed of David being designated the Son of God in His humanity in resurrection…. It also relates to the Lord’s question in Matthew 22:41-45 concerning how the Christ could be both the son of David and the Son of God as David’s Lord—a wonderful person, a God-man with two natures, divinity and humanity. These verses clearly unveil that a seed of man, that is, a son of man, can become the Son of God. God Himself, the divine One, became a human seed, the seed of a man, David. This seed was Jesus, the God-man, Jehovah the Savior (Matt. 1:18-21; 2 Tim. 2:8), who was the Son of God by virtue of His divinity alone (Luke 1:35). Through His resurrection He as the human seed became the Son of God in His humanity as well. (2 Sam. 7:14, footnote 1)

　　Matthew 22:41-42 says, “Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus questioned them, saying, What do you think concerning the Christ? Whose son is He?” When the Pharisees were asked this question by the Lord, they replied that Christ was David’s son (v. 42). No doubt, according to the Scriptures, this answer was correct. Then the Lord said, “How then does David in spirit call Him Lord, saying, ’‘The Lord said to My Lord, Sit at My right hand until I put Your enemies underneath Your feet’? If then David calls Him Lord, how is He his son?” (vv. 43-45). The question here is how a great-grandfather could call his great-grandson Lord. This was one question the Pharisees did not know how to answer…. The Pharisees had only half the scriptural knowledge concerning Christ’s Person, that He was the Son of David according to His humanity. They did not have the other half, concerning Christ’s divinity as the Son of God. The mention of the spirit in verse 43 indicates that Christ is only known by us in our spirit through God’s revelation (Eph. 3:5).

　　How wonderful Christ is! He is both God and man, both the Son of God and the Son of David…. He is the greatest and the smallest. Oh, Christ is everything! We need to know Him to such a degree. Then we shall say, “Lord Jesus, I cannot exhaust the knowledge of You. Lord, You are the only worthy One. If there is a God, this God must be You. If there is a genuine human being, this person must be You. Lord, You are the Savior, the Redeemer, the life, and the light.”

　　Although we can know Christ, we cannot understand Him thoroughly. We know that Jesus Christ is the Son and that He is also called the Father [cf. Isa. 9:6], for the Bible tells us so. But we cannot comprehend this adequately. We also know that Christ is the Son of God and the Son of man and that He has both the divine nature and the human nature in one Person. Thus, He is one Person with two natures and two lives. However, it is beyond our ability to understand this thoroughly. We simply believe whatever the Bible says and praise Him for being so wonderful! We need to worship Him, take Him in, enjoy Him, and experience Him as the wonderful One. (Life-study of Matthew, pp. 695-698)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Matthew, msg. 59

«　WEEK 8　DAY 2　»

　　Rev. 22:16 I Jesus…am the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright morning star.

　　Acts 13:23 From [David’s] seed, God, according to promise, brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus.

　　33 …God has fully fulfilled this promise to us their children in raising up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, “You are My Son; this day have I begotten You.”

　　In His divinity, Christ is the Root, the source, of David; in His humanity, Christ is the Offspring, the issue, of David. Hence, He is the Lord as the Root of David, and He is also the son, the shoot, of David as the Offspring of David (Matt. 22:42-45; Rom. 1:3; Jer. 23:5). Just as the Offspring of David denotes that the Lord is man and that He came out of David, so also the Root of David denotes that He is God and that David came out of Him. This reveals the two natures of the Lord Jesus. Therefore, in Revelation 22:16 Christ Himself acknowledged that He is man as well as God. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 4447)

　　[In Acts 13 after] pointing out that the resurrected Christ was seen “by those who had come up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now His witnesses to the people” (v. 31), Paul went on to say, “We announce to you the gospel of the promise made to the fathers, that God has fully fulfilled this promise to us their children in raising up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, ’‘You are My Son; this day have I begotten You.’” Resurrection was a birth to the man Jesus. He was begotten by God in His resurrection to be the firstborn Son of God among many brothers (Rom. 8:29). He was the only begotten Son of God from eternity (John 1:18; 3:16). After incarnation, through resurrection, He was begotten by God in His humanity to be God’s firstborn Son…. Paul was able to see the Lord’s resurrection in [Psalm 2:7b]:…”Today I have begotten You.”

　　Paul applied the word today to the day of the Lord’s resurrection. This means that Christ’s resurrection was His birth as the firstborn Son of God. Jesus, the Son of Man, was born to be the Son of God through being raised up from the dead. Therefore, God’s raising up of Jesus from the dead was His begetting of Him to be His firstborn Son. We need to realize that the Lord’s resurrection was His birth. This is a crucial matter.

　　The Lord Jesus has had two births. First, He was born of Mary to be the Son of Man. Then thirty-three and a half years later He was crucified, buried, and raised from among the dead. Through resurrection He had a second birth, for as a man He was born in His resurrection to be the Son of God. Therefore, in His first birth He was born of Mary to be the Son of Man, and in His second birth He was born in resurrection to be the Son of God.

　　When some hear that Christ was born to be the Son of God in resurrection, they may have a problem and say, “Was not our Lord the Son of God from eternity?” Yes, from eternity He was the Son of God…. The Gospel of John emphasizes the fact that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and He is the Son of God eternally. Since He was already the Son of God before His incarnation, why was it necessary for Him to be born the Son of God in His resurrection?

　　According to the New Testament, He is the Son of God in two aspects. First, He was God’s only begotten Son; second, He is now God’s firstborn Son. The words only begotten indicate that God has only one Son…. Eternally speaking, Christ was the only begotten Son of God [John 1:18, 3:16]. This was His eternal status. But through resurrection He, as a man, was born to be the firstborn Son of God. The word firstborn [cf. Heb. 1:6] indicates that God now has many sons (2:10). We who believe in Christ are the many sons of God and the many brothers of the Lord, the many brothers of the firstborn Son of God (Rom. 8:29). (Life-study of Acts, pp. 318-320)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Acts, msgs. 37-38

«　WEEK 8　DAY 3　»

　　John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us (and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only Begotten from the Father)…

　　Heb. 1:6 And when He brings again the Firstborn into the inhabited earth, He says, “And let all the angels of God worship Him.”

　　We need to realize that the date of our regeneration was the date of Christ’s resurrection. When Christ was resurrected from the dead, we, all the believers, were resurrected with Him (1 Pet. 1:3). Through His resurrection He was born to be God’s firstborn Son, and at the same time all His believers were born to be the many sons of God…. Now God has many sons with both divinity and humanity. But among these many sons, only the Firstborn is His only begotten Son. This only begotten Son of God, in His resurrected humanity, is also the firstborn Son of God. As the firstborn Son of God, He has both divinity and humanity, and we His believers as God’s many sons also possess both the human nature and the divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4). Now day by day we are being conformed to the image of God’s firstborn Son (Rom. 8:29). (CWWL, 1980, vol. 2, “The Secret of Experiencing Christ,” p. 472)

　　Christ was the only begotten Son of God from eternity (John 1:18). When He was sent by God into the world, He was still the only begotten Son of God (1 John 4:9; John 1:14; 3:16). By His passing through death and entering into resurrection, His humanity was uplifted into His divinity. Thus, in His divinity and with His humanity that passed through death and resurrection, He was born in resurrection as God’s firstborn Son (Acts 13:33). At the same time, all His believers were raised together with Him in His resurrection and were begotten together with Him as the many sons of God (1 Pet. 1:3). Thus, they became His many brothers to constitute His Body and to be God’s corporate expression in Him.

　　From eternity to eternity, Christ in His divinity is the only begotten Son of God. After He became a man with humanity in His incarnation, He, as the Son of Man, was born to be the firstborn Son of God in His resurrection…. This was the greatest corporate delivery. Because through His resurrection the disciples of Christ were regenerated with the divine life to be the many sons of God, after His resurrection He began to call them His brothers (John 20:17; Matt. 28:10). Hebrews 2:11-12 confirms this…. He also considered them the church, indicating that the church is a corporate composition of the many brothers of the firstborn Son of God.

　　As the only begotten Son of God, Christ had divinity but not humanity; He was self-existing and ever-existing, as God is. His being the firstborn Son of God, having both divinity and humanity, began with His resurrection. With His firstborn Son as the base, pattern, element, and means, God is producing many sons, and the many sons who are produced are the many believers who believe into God’s firstborn Son and are joined to Him as one. They are exactly like Him in life and nature, and, like Him, they have both humanity and divinity. They are His increase and expression in order that they may express the eternal Triune God for eternity.

　　According to Romans 8:29, we have been predestinated to be conformed to the image of Christ, the Firstborn of God…. This is our destiny, determined by God in eternity past. Conformation is the end result of transformation. It includes the changing of our inward essence and nature, and it also includes the changing of our outward form, that we may match the glorified image of Christ, the God-man. He is the prototype, and we are the mass reproduction. Both the inward and the outward changes in us, the product, are the result of the operation of the law of the Spirit of life in our being (v. 2). (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 3080-3082)

　　Further Reading: The Conclusion of the New Testament, msgs. 293, 295, 435

«　WEEK 8　DAY 4　»

　　Rom. 1:3-4 Concerning His Son, who came out of the seed of David according to the flesh, who was designated the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness out of the resurrection of the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.

　　As the designated Son of God, Christ still has two natures, both that of divinity and that of humanity. However, the humanity He has now is not the natural humanity, but the humanity uplifted in resurrection. Even His flesh has been designated the Son of God. Hence, He has been designated the Son of God with both divinity and humanity. As such a marvelous Person, He has become the model, the pattern, of all those who are being designated sons of God. A son of God must have both the divine nature and the resurrected, glorified, uplifted human nature. (Life-study of Romans, p. 551)

　　The Jews recognized the Lord’s status as the seed of David according to the flesh. Many of them admitted that Jesus was a royal descendant of David (Matt. 1:1; 9:27; 12:23; 21:9, 15). However, regarding the Lord’s status as the Son of God, there was a great controversy among the Jews when He was on the earth (Mark 2:5-7; John 6:41-42). One day the Lord Jesus asked His disciples a question, “Who do men say that the Son of Man is?” (Matt. 16:13). They said, “Some, John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets” (v. 14). This indicates that the Jews debated among themselves concerning His person. Without heavenly revelation they could realize, at most, only that He was the greatest among the prophets; none of them could know that He is the Son of the living God (v. 16).

　　Christ was already the Son of God [John 1:18; Rom. 8:3]. After He became incarnate, however, His divine nature was concealed by the flesh. However, according to Romans 1:4, when He entered into resurrection, He was designated in power as the Son of God in His humanity….Christ’s resurrection is different [from the resurrection of Lazarus and others] because His resurrection was His designation as the Son of God. There was no need for Christ to be designated as the Son of Man, because when people saw Him, they immediately recognized that He was a man. However, there was a need for Him to be designated the Son of God because… His divinity was concealed in His humanity…. When He was resurrected, He was designated, or manifested, the Son of God with His humanity.

　　By incarnation He put on an element, the human flesh, which had nothing to do with divinity; that part of Him needed to be sanctified and uplifted by passing through death and resurrection. By resurrection His human nature was sanctified, uplifted, and transformed…. His resurrection was His designation…. By resurrection He brought man into God, that is, He brought His humanity into the divine sonship.

　　In His resurrection Christ in His humanity was designated the Son of God, not in mere word but in power according to the Spirit of holiness. No doubt the divine power was very much exercised in His resurrection, yet we need to see that the divine power in which Christ’s humanity was designated the Son of God is the power of life. The phrase in power in Romans 1:4 corresponds with 1 Peter 3:18, which says that Christ’s flesh was put to death, but His Spirit was made alive. Here, to be made alive means to be empowered. In Christ’s death His humanity, His flesh, was crucified. Then in His resurrection God the Spirit as Christ’s divinity was enlivened with the new power of life to put divinity into the humanity of Christ to make it divine. In other words, before Christ’s resurrection, Christ’s humanity was merely human, but in Christ’s resurrection, the Spirit was made strong to impart divinity into His humanity to make it divine. Thus, in His resurrection Christ’s humanity was designated the Son of God in the divine power, and the reality of the power of Christ’s resurrection is the Spirit. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 3017-3020)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of 1 & 2 Samuel, msgs. 25, 27, 31

«　WEEK 8　DAY 5　»

　　Matt. 1:20 …That which has been begotten in [Mary] is of the Holy Spirit.

　　Heb. 2:11 For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of One, for which cause He is not ashamed to call them brothers.

　　The Spirit of holiness in Romans 1:4 is in contrast with the flesh in verse 3. Just as the flesh in verse 3 refers to the human essence of Christ, so the Spirit in verse 4 does not refer to the person of the Holy Spirit but to the spiritual essence of Christ’s divinity, that is, the divine essence of Christ. When Christ became a man and thereby put on humanity, He did not give up His divinity…. According to His humanity, He was the flesh. According to His divinity, He was the Spirit. Christ is therefore one person of two natures, the divine nature and the human nature…. Jesus’ divinity is the Spirit of holiness. This divinity, being the Spirit of holiness Himself, has the divine power and the divine element to transform Christ’s humanity, thereby making it divine. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 3019)

　　A carnation seed is designated, not by being labeled, but by being buried into the ground and by growing into a blossoming carnation plant. This indicates that the carnation seed is designated according to the life which is within it; that is, it is designated according to life.

　　In the same principle, when Christ was resurrected from among the dead, He was designated in power by resurrection according to the Spirit of holiness that was in Him. Now He is the Son of God in a way that is more wonderful than before, for now He has both the divine nature and the resurrected, transformed, uplifted, glorified, and designated human nature.

　　As the Son of God with both divinity and humanity, Christ is now the pattern and model for the mass production of the many sons of God.

　　The key to understanding [how these many sons are brought into being] is in Romans 1:3 and 4. In these verses there are a number of crucial terms: according to the flesh, according to the Spirit, the Spirit of holiness, power, resurrection, and Son of God…. Verses 3 and 4 actually summarize the whole book. The book of Romans is a record of sinners in the flesh becoming sons of God in power and by resurrection.

　　According to the flesh, we cannot be designated sons of God. We can only become sons of God according to the Spirit of holiness. As believers in Christ, we have both the flesh, which we received of our natural parents, and the Spirit of holiness, who has been given to us by God. Like the Lord Jesus, we also have two natures, the human nature and the divine nature. Now we can boldly say, “Lord Jesus, You have two natures, and we have two natures also. You were made flesh, and we also are flesh. Within You there was the Spirit of holiness, and within us there is the Spirit of holiness.” Oh, within us we have the Spirit of holiness, who is…Christ Himself! Holiness is the substance, the essence, the element, the nature, of God. This holy nature of God is absolutely different from all other things and separate from them. The Spirit of holiness refers to God’s very essence. Thus, by having the Spirit of holiness, we have God’s substance within us. According to this Spirit, we are being designated the sons of God.

　　According to the flesh, we all are troublesome, both to the church and to those with whom we live…. But we do not need to have our being according to the flesh, for we have the option of being according to the Spirit…. 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. (Life-study of Romans, pp. 559-561, 571)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Romans, msgs. 2, 44-45, 52, 54-55

«　WEEK 8　DAY 6　»

　　Rom. 8:29 …He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brothers.

　　Heb. 2:10 For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and through whom are all things, in leading many sons into glory, to make the Author of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

　　To be saved from our self-likeness, from the expression of the self, we need conformation for glorification. To see this matter clearly we need to join Romans 1:4 with 8:29…. In 1:4 we have the formation of the prototype, but in 8:29, the work of “mass production.” In 1:4 we have the designation of the Son of God individually, whereas in 8:29 we have the saturation, sanctification, designation, and conformation of the many sons collectively. The principle in each case is the same.

　　Concerning the Lord Jesus, the Spirit of holiness was within Him before His death and resurrection. This Spirit of holiness is the divine essence of holiness. Through the process of death and resurrection, this holy essence saturated and permeated the Lord’s humanity, including His flesh. As believers in the Lord Jesus, we also have the divine essence of holiness, which is the Spirit of holiness, the very Christ, in our spirit. Because this holy essence is still concealed within our humanity, we need to pass through a process under God’s sovereign arrangement that will enable this essence to saturate our entire being. For the completion of this process, we need many things to work together for our good. (Life-study of Romans, pp. 501-502)

　　What is revealed in 2 Samuel 7 is expounded by Paul in Romans 1:3-4, where he tells us that Christ, a descendant of David, has been designated the Son of God…. This is the mystery of God becoming man to make man God in life and in nature but not in the Godhead. The two, God and man, are thus built together, constituted into each other. In Christ God has been constituted into man, man has been constituted into God, and God and man have been mingled together to be one entity, which is called the God-man.

　　In 2 Samuel 7:12 God spoke of David’s seed, and in verse 14a He said, “I will be his Father, and he will be My son.” Here we have something of very great significance—the seed of David becoming the Son of God. These verses clearly unveil that a seed of man, that is, a son of a man, can become the Son of God. This implies that God’s intention is to make Himself man in order to make man God in life and in nature but not in the Godhead. Such an implication is exceedingly great. Eventually, the whole Bible consummates with this matter. The New Jerusalem, the ultimate consummation of the Bible, involves God becoming man and man becoming God in life and in nature but not in the Godhead, and God and man being mingled together to be one entity.

　　If we read the Bible without paying attention to this crucial point, then, in a very real sense, the Bible is to us an empty book…. Today, many Christians care for the Bible as the “box,” but they have not seen and do not appreciate the “diamond,” which is the content of this box…. The “diamond” in the “box” of the Bible is the revelation that in Christ God has become man in order that man might become God in life and in nature but not in the Godhead.

　　The vast majority of today’s Christians neglect the crucial point in the Bible that in Christ God has become man in order to make man God in life and in nature but not in the Godhead and that God desires to mingle Himself with man to be one entity…. Today many believe one aspect of this crucial point—that God became a man named Jesus—but they do not believe the other aspect—that man is becoming God in life and in nature but not in the Godhead. (Life-study of 1 & 2 Samuel, pp. 205, 203-204)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 1, “Crystallization-study of the Epistle to the Romans,” msgs. 1, 18