Scripture Reading: Job 1:1, 8; 2:3, 9; 27:5; 31:6; 42:5-6
Ⅰ
The Bible of sixty-six books is for only one thing—for God in Christ as the Spirit to dispense Himself into us to be our life, our nature, and our everything that we may live Christ and express Christ—Eph. 3:16-17a; Phil. 1:21a:
A
This should be the principle that governs our life—John 6:57.
B
In a practical way, this should be today's tree of life for our enjoyment—Rev. 22:14.
Ⅱ
Job was a good man, expressing himself in his perfection, uprightness, and integrity—Job 27:5; 31:6; 32:1:
A
Being perfect is related to the inner man; being upright is related to the outer man—1:1.
B
Job was a man of integrity; integrity is the totality of being perfect and upright—2:3, 9; 27:5; 31:6:
１
With respect to Job, integrity is the total expression of what he was.
２
In character Job was perfect and upright, and in his ethics he had a high standard of integrity.
C
Job feared God positively and turned away from evil negatively—1:1:
１
God did not create man merely to fear Him and not to do anything wrong; rather, God created man in His own image and according to His likeness that man may express God—Gen. 1:26.
２
To express God is higher than fearing God and turning away from evil.
３
What Job had attained in his perfection, uprightness, and integrity was altogether vanity; it neither fulfilled God's purpose nor satisfied His desire, and thus He was lovingly concerned for Job—Job 1:6-8; 2:1-3.
D
Only God knew that Job had a need—he did not have God within him; therefore, God wanted Job to gain Him in order to express Him for the fulfillment of His purpose—42:5-6.
Ⅲ
God's intention was that Job would become a God-man, expressing God in His attributes—22:24-25; 38:1-3:
A
God ushered Job into another realm, the realm of God, that Job might gain God instead of his attainments in his perfection, righteousness, and integrity—42:5-6.
B
God's intention with Job was to consume him and to strip him of his attainments, his achievements, in the highest standard of ethics in perfection and uprightness—31:6.
C
God's intention was to tear down the natural Job in his perfection and uprightness that He might build up a renewed Job in God's nature and attributes—1:6-8; 2:3-6.
D
God's intention was to make Job a man of God, filled with Christ, the embodiment of God, to be the fullness of God for the expression of God in Christ—1 Tim. 6:11; 2 Tim. 3:17.
E
God's stripping and consuming were exercised over Job to tear him down that God might have a base and a way to rebuild him with God Himself so that he might become a God-man, the same as God in His life and nature but not in His Godhead, in order to express God—Eph. 3:16-21.
Ⅳ
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—Matt. 1:21, 23; Luke 1:35; Titus 2:13; 1 Tim. 2:5:
A
The many God-men, the many sons of God, are the increase, reproduction, duplication, and continuation of Christ, the first God-man—John 12:24; Heb. 2:10; Rom. 8:29.
B
A God-man is one who partakes of God's life and nature, thus becoming one with God in His life and nature and thereby expressing Him—John 3:15; 2 Pet. 1:4; 1 Cor. 6:17.
C
A God-man has been born of God to be a child of God having the life and nature of God—John 1:12-13; 3:6:
１
A God-man has two lives, the human and the divine, and two natures, humanity and divinity.
２
A God-man is a life-man—1 John 5:11-13; Rom. 8:2, 6, 10-11.
３
A God-man is a gold-man—Exo. 25:11; 1 Pet. 1:7; Rev. 3:18; 21:18b.
D
A God-man is constituted with God, having God as his life, life supply, and everything; thus, a God-man is man yet God and God yet man—Eph. 3:16-17a.
E
A God-man is a new creation and the righteousness of God in Christ—2 Cor. 5:17, 21.
F
A God-man loves the Lord with his whole being, that is, from his heart, soul, mind, and strength—Mark 12:30.
G
A God-man has no confidence in the flesh, denies the self, and exercises the spirit to live Christ—Phil. 3:3; Matt. 16:24; 1 Tim. 4:7; Phil. 1:21a.
H
A God-man is a man of God with the word of God inhaling the breath of God— 1 Tim. 6:11; 2 Tim. 3:16-17.
I
A God-man realizes that he is not an independent individual but part of the corporate God-man—the Body of Christ, the one new man—1 Cor. 12:12-13; Eph. 4:16; Col. 3:10-11.