The Tree of Life, Chap 10, Section 1 of 3

Sections:

CHAPTER TEN

GOD’S PURPOSE FULFILLED BY THE GROWTH
OF THE TREE OF LIFE WITHIN US

Scripture Reading: Matt. 13:38John 3:5Luke 17:21Gal. 5:22Psa. 34:81 Pet. 2:2-33:72 Pet. 1:3-4Acts 5:20Rom. 5:1021

FULFILLING THE REQUIREMENTS OF GOD’S GLORY,
GOD’S HOLINESS, AND GOD’S RIGHTEOUSNESS
TO ENJOY THE TRIUNE GOD

God’s intention is to work Himself into us as our life in the form of food by our eating of Him. But man became fallen. Due to the fall of man, man became involved with Satan, with the evil force of darkness. All the negative things in this universe are related to man due to his fall. Before man was created, Satan, the darkness of Satan, and the evil kingdom of Satan were there already, but man had nothing to do with these negative things. By the fall Satan brought to man all these negative things, which are against God’s glory, God’s holiness, and God’s righteousness. God’s glory, holiness, and righteousness would not allow fallen man to touch God. However, the all-inclusive death of Christ dealt with and did away with all these negative things. Furthermore, through His death and in His resurrection Christ became a life-giving Spirit. He has made Himself available for us to enjoy. The Triune God embodied in Christ who is realized as the life-giving Spirit is the central outcome of all the works which Christ has accomplished.

The tabernacle of the Old Testament shows us that the Triune God is for our enjoyment. There are three parts to the tabernacle—the outer court, the Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies. In the outer court is the righteousness of God, in the Holy Place is the holiness of God, and in the Holy of Holies is the glory of God. If you are going to pass the outer court, you have to fulfill the requirement of God’s righteousness; if you are going to get into the Holy Place, you have to fulfill the requirements of God’s holiness; and if you are going to get into the Holy of Holies, you need to fulfill the [158] requirements of God’s glory. In the Holy of Holies is God Himself. The Ark of the Testimony is the very embodiment of God, and inside the Ark is the hidden manna, which signifies that God is our enjoyment. At the conclusion of the divine revelation, the New Jerusalem is called the tabernacle of God (Rev. 21:2-3). This tabernacle is the total, ultimate, and central outcome of all the work of God in this universe. Included with this tabernacle are justification in the outer court, sanctification in the Holy Place, and glorification in the Holy of Holies.

JUSTIFICATION, SANCTIFICATION, 
AND GLORIFICATION FOR THE BODY LIFE

The book of Romans also includes the steps of justification, sanctification, and glorification to meet the requirements of God’s righteousness, holiness, and glory. The first step of justification is from Romans 1:1 to 5:11. This part of Romans tells us that we are sinful and under God’s condemnation, but through the blood of Jesus, we have been justified. From 5:12 through 8:13 is sanctification, and 8:14-39 talks about glorification. God first justifies us, and then He works to sanctify us. To be sanctified means to be mingled with God. The more you are mingled with God, the more you are sanctified. According to the picture of the tabernacle, all forty-eight boards were overlaid with gold. To be sanctified means to be overlaid by God and with God. God has not only justified us but has also put us into Christ. God has identified us with Christ, has grafted us into Christ, and has made Christ one with us. We are now in Christ. In Romans 8 the Spirit is referred to as the Spirit of life (v. 2). Christ is the Spirit, and this Spirit is the Spirit of life. He is in you, you are in Him, and you have to learn to live not by yourself but by Him and in Him. To live by and in the Spirit of life is to be in the process of sanctification. Sanctification means to be mingled with the divine nature. Only Christ in His divine nature is holy. Romans 8:14-39 tells us that after we are justified and sanctified, we will be glorified.

Romans 9—11 is a parenthetical section that talks about God’s selection. Chapters 12 through 16 reveal the Body life. Thus, the book of Romans reveals the tabernacle of God. Justification through Christ’s redemption is in the outer court, sanctification is in the Holy Place, and glorification is in the Holy of Holies. The church life [159] is the mingling of the Triune God with His chosen people. The three stages of justification, sanctification, and glorification embody the church life, the Body life. The church life is the Triune God (God as the source embodied in Christ and realized as the Spirit) mingled with His chosen people. These chosen people are justified, sanctified, glorified, and built together to form the tabernacle, the Body, the church. This truth is the seed of all things related to God’s purpose.

CHRIST AS THE SEED OF LIFE 
BEING THE SEED OF THE KINGDOM, 
THE CHURCH, THE CHRISTIAN LIVING, 
AND THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY

With God’s purpose there is the kingdom, the church, the Christian living, walk, or conduct, and the Christian work, service, or ministry. With the kingdom of God, the church of Christ, the Christian living, and the Christian ministry, there is a seed. The seed of life is related to everything of God’s purpose.

The Kingdom

Some Bible teachers refer to the matter of the kingdom merely as a dispensational truth. But we need to see that first in Matthew the kingdom is likened to a seed sown into the soil (13:3; cf. Mark 4:26). This seed is Christ, the embodiment of the Triune God. How could this holy Christ as the very divine embodiment of God be sown into us when we were so sinful, so much related to Satan, and thoroughly, absolutely, involved with all the negative things in the universe? Before He came into us, this seed passed through death and resurrection. He prepared a place in the Father and paved the way for us to be brought into the Father. This seed has accomplished whatever was needed so that He could come into us. Out of this seed the kingdom will grow.

In Matthew 13 there are seven parables related to the kingdom. In those seven parables the seed is Christ sown into us to grow in us, and the enemy, Satan, comes in to do whatever he can to frustrate and to damage the growth of this seed. Satan’s aim is to frustrate the growth of this seed because the growth of this seed will bring forth the kingdom. In Matthew 13 the seed is sown, and then it grows in the good earth to produce fruit. Also, in those seven [160] parables a treasure hidden in the field (v. 44) and pearls are mentioned (vv. 45-46). These items signify the transformation of life. Thus, the kingdom is something of life and of the enjoyment of God as the tree of life for the transformation of life.

John 3:5 says, “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” The kingdom of God is a matter of life. You have to partake of God as the tree of life to have a share in the kingdom of God. Our fellowship in this chapter shows that all the things related to God and to His purpose are a matter of the enjoyment of God as life. Even the kingdom of God is a matter of the enjoyment of God as the tree of life. From this life the kingdom of God will grow up and grow out. The seed of the kingdom is the very Triune God as the tree of life planted into us. The kingdom is the growth of the tree of life which has been planted into us. In Luke 17 the Lord Jesus told the Pharisees, “The kingdom of God is in the midst of you” (v. 21). The Lord Jesus revealed that the kingdom of God is the Savior Himself, who was among the Pharisees when He was questioned by them. The kingdom is the Lord among us and within us.

The Church

We need to see that the church is also the growth of the tree of life planted into us. The more we enjoy Christ as the tree of life, the more the element, the reality, of the church will be growing up. The more we grow in Christ, the more the church will come into existence. Thus, the church is the outcome of the tree of life growing within us.

 

 

© Living Stream Ministry, 2021, used by permission