Outline
⑵
The prototype is the firstborn Son of God, and the reproduction is the many sons of God, the members of the prototype to be His Body, which consummates in the New Jerusalem—1 Pet. 1:3.
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 12:24-25.
２
This causes the outer man to be consumed, but it enables the inner life to grow, to develop, and ultimately, to blossom; this is resurrection—1 Cor. 15:31, 36; 2 Cor. 4:10-12, 16.
３
The more we grow in life for our transformation in life, the more we are designated the sons of God:
ａ
In order to grow, we need a heart turned to the Lord and a heart that is pure toward Him—3:16, 18; Matt. 5:8; 2 Tim. 2:22.
ｂ
In order to grow, we need to feed on the guileless milk and the solid food of the word—1 Pet. 2:2; Heb. 5:12-14.
ｃ
In order to grow, we need the watering of the gifted members—1 Cor. 3:6b; John 7:37-39; Prov. 11:25.
ｄ
Through all the things in our environment and by our failures, our ugly self is torn down, and the Lord has a greater opportunity to work within us—Rom. 8:28-29.
ｅ
One day this process will be completed, and for eternity we will be the same as Christ, God's firstborn Son, in our spirit, soul, and body—1 John 3:2; Rom. 8:19, 23; Hymns, #948, stanza 2.
Morning Nourishment
1 Pet. 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has regenerated us unto a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.Rom. 8:29 Because 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.
In [Christ’s] resurrection all His believers were born, regenerated, with Him as His millions of “twins” to make all these twins the same as He is (1 Pet. 1:3)…The prototype is the firstborn Son of God, and the reproduction is the many sons of God…When Jesus as the Son of Man through death and resurrection was born to be the firstborn Son of God, the millions of God’s chosen people were born in the same birth…
These millions of God-men are the mass reproduction who are exactly the same as the wonderful person Jesus Christ. This mass reproduction of the prototype becomes the members of the prototype to be His Body, the Body of Christ, and this Body of Christ consummates in the New Jerusalem, which is the corporate expression of the Triune God, processed and consummated in Christ and becoming the life-giving Spirit. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 1, “Crystallization-study of the Epistle to the Romans,” pp. 236-237)
Today’s Reading
As the only begotten Son of God, in His resurrection He became the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b)…This life-giving Spirit is the very germinating power to germinate every part of the new creation of God. The new creation of God is the Body of Christ, and the Body of Christ will consummate in the New Jerusalem, which is the unique expression of God’s mingling Himself with man for eternity. This shows the all-inclusive and all-extensive involvement of Christ’s divinity in His wonderful person.The life-giving Spirit is the consummation of the Triune God and the Consummator of the tripartite man as Christ’s Body, which ultimately consummates in the New Jerusalem. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 1, “Crystallization-study of the Epistle to the Romans,” p. 237)
God does not intend that we lose our humanity. On the contrary, we will bear our humanity for eternity. But our humanity in eternity will not be natural; it will be resurrected, glorified, and uplifted…Today our physical body is like a seed. But one day this “seed” will be resurrected and glorified.
Through incarnation Christ put humanity upon Himself and thereafter had two natures—the divine nature and the human nature. Through His resurrection and through coming into us as the Spirit, Christ has brought divinity into us. Therefore, we also have two natures—the human nature and the divine nature. By being born of the Spirit, we have become partakers of the divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4). We can say, “Lord, just as You have two natures, so we have two natures also. You are divine and human, and we are human and divine. Hallelujah, we are the same as You!…You are the Head of the Body, and we are the members of the Body. Lord, You are the Son of God, and we are sons of God also.” The Lord appreciates it when we speak to Him in this way. He enjoys it when we declare the fact that God no longer has just one Son, the only begotten Son, but many sons, Christ as the Firstborn and us as the many sons of God. Christ has already been designated the Son of God, but we are still in the process of designation. One day this process will be completed, and for eternity we will be the same as Christ, God’s firstborn Son. Romans 1:3 and 4 contain many key words. Verse 3 has the phrase according to the flesh, and verse 4, the phrase according to the Spirit. In 8:4 Paul speaks about walking “according to the spirit” and not “according to the flesh.” This is one example of how the key words in 1:3 and 4 are used again by Paul later in this book. (Life-study of Romans, pp. 535-536)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 1, “Crystallization-study of the Epistle to the Romans,” ch. 3