徒二23 祂既按着神的定议先见被交给人，你们就借着不法之人的手，把祂钉在十字架上杀了。

　　弥五2 伯利恒以法他啊，你在犹大诸城中为小，将来必有一位从你那里为我而出，在以色列中作掌权者；祂是从亘古，从太初而出。

　　神在祂神圣的三一里，在永远里举行了一个会议（徒二23与注1）。……父神、子神、灵神在永远里举行了一个会议，决定基督那极重要的死，为着完成神永远的经纶。神立了一个经纶，但是神必须决定要如何完成祂的经纶。为了完成神的经纶，基督必须受那包罗万有的死（神在祂与人联结中的历史，一六页）。

　　Acts 2:23 This man, delivered up by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God, you, through the hand of lawless men, nailed to a cross and killed.

　　Micah 5:2 (But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, so little to be among the thousands of Judah, from you there will come forth to Me He who is to be Ruler in Israel; and His goings forth are from ancient times, from the days of eternity.)

　　God in His Divine Trinity held a council in eternity (Acts 2:23 and footnote 1)…. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit held a council, a conference, in eternity to make the determination concerning the crucial death of Christ for the carrying out of God’s eternal economy. God made an economy, but God had to make a decision regarding how to carry out His economy. For the carrying out of God’s economy, Christ had to die an all-inclusive death. (CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 4, “The History of God in His Union with Man, ” pp. 24-25)

　　神圣三一的第二者，预备要完成祂从永远进到时间里的“出来”，生在伯利恒成为人。弥迦书五章二节告诉我们，基督要生在伯利恒，那是神“出来”的一部分。……在神圣三一的第二者在时间里来生在伯利恒之前，祂在已过的永远里，乃是预备要来。

　　神在创立世界以前，在基督里，曾用诸天界里各样属灵的福分，祝福了信徒（弗一3~6）。……在我们受造以前，祂在两件事上祝福了我们。……在已过的永远里，神拣选我们，使我们成为圣别，成圣归祂自己，有祂圣别的性情（4）。……〔这〕指明祂要与我们成为一，也就是说，祂的性情要成为我们的性情。因着这性情，我们就被圣别，分别出来归给神。神的性情是圣别的，祂要将我们在性情上作成像祂一样（来二11，彼后一4）。……神在已过的永远里〔也〕预定我们，标出我们，得儿子的名分，将我们作成祂的众子，归于祂自己，有祂神圣的生命（弗一5下）。因此，神在已过的永远里祝福了我们，给我们两件东西，就是祂的性情和祂神圣的生命。

　　神在已过的永远里，按着祂的意愿所喜悦的（5上），曾用诸天界里各样属灵的福分，祝福了我们，使祂恩典的荣耀得着称赞，这恩典是祂在基督那蒙祂所爱者里面所恩赐我们的（6）。

　　在已过的永远里，神立了一个经纶，为要产生召会，为着祂的彰显，并且要将万有，包括我们，在基督里都归一于一个元首之下。祂也举行了一次会议，决定神圣三一的第二者来替我们死，以完成祂的经纶。然后，在已过的永远里，祂拣选了我们，使我们有祂的性情，也使我们有祂神圣的生命，叫我们与祂一样的圣别，并叫我们成为祂的儿子，作祂的儿女，来彰显祂。这就是神在已过永远里的历史，这历史就是我们的历史（神在祂与人联结中的历史，一六至一九页）。

　　在旧约里，神在成为肉体以前，祂只同着人，并在人中间行动。……但那不是完成神为着基督与召会之永远经纶的直接行动。……因此，在旧约里没有提到召会。召会是隐藏的奥秘。……神在新约里的经纶，绝对是独一的。在旧约里，你看不见神为着祂永远经纶的直接行动。神间接作了许多准备，好使祂有一日能来直接的作工。……旧约乃是为着神在新约里在人里面直接的行动作准备（神在人里的行动，五至七页）。

　　参读：神在祂与人联结中的历史，第一章；神在人里的行动，第一章；弥迦书生命读经，第二至三篇。

　　The second of the Divine Trinity was preparing to carry out His “goings forth” from eternity into time to be born in Bethlehem as a man. Micah 5:2 tells us that Christ was going to be born in Bethlehem, and that was a part of His “goings forth.”… Before God as the second of the Divine Trinity came to be born in Bethlehem in time, He was preparing to come in eternity past. God blessed the believers in Christ with the spiritual blessings in the heavenlies before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:3-6)…. Before we were created, He blessed us in two things. In eternity past God chose us to be holy, to be sanctified unto Himself with His holy nature (v. 4), … indicating that He would be one with us, that is, that His nature would become our nature. With this nature we are being sanctified, separated unto God. He is holy in nature, and we are being made the same as He is in nature (Heb. 2:11; 2 Pet. 1:4).

　　In eternity past God [also] predestinated us, marking us out, unto sonship, making us sons to Himself with His divine life (Eph. 1:5a). Thus, God blessed us in eternity past with two things—with His nature and with His divine life. God’s blessing us in eternity past with the spiritual blessings in the heavenlies was according to the good pleasure of His will (v. 5b) to the praise of the glory of His grace, with which He graced us in Christ, His Beloved (v. 6).

　　In eternity past God made an economy to produce the church for His manifestation and to head up all things, including us, in Christ. He also held a council to determine that the second of the Divine Trinity should come to die for us to carry out His economy. Then in eternity past He chose us to have His nature and to have His divine life so that we could be holy as He is and be His sons as His children to express Him. This is God’s history in eternity past, and this history is our history. (CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 4, “The History of God in His Union with Man, ” pp. 25-26)

　　Before His incarnation God moved only with men and among men in the Old Testament…. But that was not God’s direct move to carry out His eternal economy for Christ and the church. This is why the church is not mentioned in the Old Testament. The church was a hidden mystery…. God’s economy in the New Testament is absolutely unique. In the Old Testament you cannot see God’s move for His eternal economy directly. God did a lot indirectly to prepare for the day when He could come to do the direct work…. The Old Testament was a preparation for the direct move of God in man in the New Testament. (CWWL, 1993, vol. 1, “The Move of God in Man, ” pp. 399-401)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 4, “The History of God in His Union with Man, ” ch. 1; CWWL, 1993, vol. 1, “The Move of God in Man, ” ch. 1; Life-study of Micah, msgs. 2-3