Christ was Designated the Son of God in Resurrection according to the Spirit of Holiness

Through designation in resurrection the Christ who was already the Son of God before His incarnation became the Son of God in a new way, in His humanity; the designation of Christ as the Son of God with humanity was according to the Spirit of holiness, which operated in Christ to designate Him the Son of God. Hallelujah!

Our Christian life is a life of living Christ, and for us to live Christ, we need to know Christ.

We need to know not only things about Christ or the teachings of Christ; we need to know Christ in an experiential way in our daily living.

Paul said that his gospel was concerning the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who came out of the seed of David according to the flesh and was designated the Son of God in power out of the resurrection of the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord (Rom. 1:3-4).

Our gospel is the same as Paul’s gospel.

We need to dive deeper into the word of God and partake of the riches of Christ in His word, and we need to read and pray over God’s word to make sure we obtain what Christ is into our being and internalize Him.

Christ is God becoming man; He is the Word who was incarnated to become flesh. God put on humanity; this happened at the time of Christ’s incarnation.

He did not have the sin in the flesh but only the likeness of the flesh of sin, without the sin in the flesh. There was no sin found in Him.

This one lived a perfect human life on earth and died a vicarious and all-inclusive death on the cross.

Then, three days after His crucifixion and death, He was resurrected and became a life-giving Spirit and was designated the firstborn Son of God.

He was already the Son of God from eternity – He was the only begotten Son of God, but in His humanity, He was not yet the Son of God until His resurrection.

By His resurrection, Christ sanctified and uplifted His human nature and was designated out of the resurrection as the Son of God with this human nature. Wow!

Right now, Jesus Christ is not just God but also man, and He is not just man but also God.

Somehow, God became a man, and then amazingly, this Man became God by bringing His humanity into the divinity to divinize it and make it the Son of God!

This is the divine revelation in God’s word, and this is something that not only Christ accomplished for Himself, but this shows us that we as believers in Christ are going through the process of being designated sons of God!

He is leading many sons into glory; He entered into glory, He’s the Firstborn Son, and we are the many sons being conformed to His image. Hallelujah!

Through Designation in Resurrection, Christ became the Son of God in a New Way: in His Humanity!

Rom. 1:3-4 tells us that Christ came out of the seed of David according to the flesh, and He was designated the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness out of the resurrection of the dead.

Christ was already the Son of God from eternity and also in His incarnation, but He became the Son of God in a new way in His resurrection.

Through designation in resurrection, the Christ who was already the Son of God before His incarnation became the Son of God in a new way. Wow!

He became the Son of God in a new way!

What was this new way? Well, before His incarnation, Christ was the Son of God only with divinity; then, through incarnation, He put on humanity, and through His resurrection, He was designated the Son of God with both divinity and humanity.

If Christ had not put on human nature, there would have been no need for Him to be designated the Son of God.

In His divinity, Christ was already the Son of God, even from eternity (see John 1:18; 17:5).

But thank the Lord, God became man, and Christ put on the human nature! In His human nature, while on the earth, Christ was not yet the Son of God.

Having put on humanity through incarnation, Christ had to become the Son of God in this human part.

When He put on the human nature, He did not lose the divine nature; rather, He had both the divine and the human nature.

This is why His living, His speaking, and His actions on the earth were so mysterious.

He was a human being, and those around Him saw a man in the flesh. But He spoke some extraordinary words and did some extraordinary things, for He was both God and man.

In the Gospel of John, He said that He is the reality and the life (John 14:6), and He also said, I am the light (8:12). Wow!

This man, who was both God and man, said that He is the bread of life (6:35) and unless we believe into Him, we cannot have eternal life (3:36).

He was not just a great man or a deep philosopher; He was both God and man, both divine and human, and those around Him were puzzled and perplexed about His identity.

They knew His family members, but they could not explain how He could say these things and make the miracles that He did (Matt. 13:54-56).

He was truly a mystery, for He was God incarnated to be a man.

The Son of God clothed Himself with humanity; what others saw was a man, but within this man there was God.

The religious leaders, instigated by Satan, put Him to death, and they thought that by killing Him, He would be finished.

But they did not know that crucifixion was the best way for Christ to be designated, to be glorified!

Just as a seed falls into the ground and dies, and seemingly it is dead and terminated, but then it germinates, grows, and bears fruit, so Christ as the one grain of wheat fell into the ground and died, and in His resurrection He was designated the Son of God in a new way (John 12:24; Rom. 1:3-4). Wow!

Having put on humanity through incarnation, He was designated the Son of God with humanity in resurrection (John 1:14; Rom. 8:3; 1:3-4; Heb. 2:14).

Through death and resurrection, Christ “blossomed” as the Son of God; He became the Son of God in His humanity in a new way.

Others expected that His crucifixion and burial would mark His termination; the Lord Jesus, however, knew that these were the way for Him to enter into resurrection to be designated the Son of God in a new way, in His humanity! Praise the Lord!

Now Jesus Christ is the designated Son of God in humanity, and He has both the divine and the human nature, having both divinity and humanity!

His humanity was uplifted and brought into His divinity, and His divinity saturated and filled His humanity.

Even His flesh, a human flesh without sin, was designated the Son of God! How about that!

He is truly a marvelous person, and He has become the model, the pattern, for all those who believe into Him.

We who believe into Jesus Christ follow in His steps, for He is leading us into glory to designate us sons of God! Praise the Lord!

Through regeneration, we receive the divine life and nature, and we are now in the process of being designated sons of God.

We are in the process of having both the divine nature and the resurrected, glorified, and uplifted human nature.

As we contact the Lord by exercising our spirit and turning our heart to Him in coming to His word and throughout the day, we are becoming more like Christ, for we are also being designated sons of God in a new way!

Lord Jesus, thank You for putting on humanity through incarnation to be the Son of Man, even the seed of David according to the flesh. Praise You for Your incarnation, human living, death, and resurrection. Hallelujah, the wonderful Jesus Christ who is God incarnated to be flesh went through a process to become the Son of God in a new way through designation in resurrection! Wow, Lord, in resurrection, You were begotten of God to be the firstborn Son of God, even as the Son of God in Your humanity! Hallelujah, Christ is the designated Son of God, having two natures – divinity and humanity! Praise the Lord, even Christ’s human nature was designated the Son of God, for He has been designated the Son of God with both divinity and humanity! Amen, Lord, You are our model and we follow in Your steps today. We praise You for bringing us into the process of being designated sons of God who have both the divine nature and the resurrected, glorified, uplifted human nature! Hallelujah!

The Designation of Christ as the Son of God with Humanity was According to the Spirit of Holiness

Rom. 1:4 mentions the Spirit of holiness, saying that the designation of Christ as the Son of God with humanity in His resurrection was according to the Spirit of holiness.

This is quite wonderful and mysterious, showing us how the Divine Trinity operated and worked even in Christ’s resurrection.

The Son was resurrected, and it was through the Spirit of holiness that the Father begot the Son to be His firstborn Son. Wow!

The Spirit of holiness is the life-essence within the Lord Jesus.

When Christ was incarnated, it was the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of holiness, that came into Mary as the divine essence to mingle Himself with the human essence and produce Christ, the first God-man (Matt. 1:18, 20; Luke 1:35). The Spirit of holiness is the life essence within the Lord Jesus.

Our limited human mind cannot comprehend this and it may not be our portion to understand it, but this is what happened in Christ’s incarnation.

Throughout His human life, from His incarnation, Christ had two essences and natures: the divine essence and the human essence, and the divine nature and the human nature.

The divine essence was the Spirit of holiness; as Christ lived on earth, He did all things by the Holy Spirit, for He had this Spirit of holiness as His very essence, and He did all things for the glory of God.

We need to open to the Lord concerning this and ask Him to reveal to us what it means that the Spirit of holiness was the essence of the Lord Jesus, and how we can experience this.

What is the essence of life? How can we experience this essence of the life of Jesus?

Christ went through the process of incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection to become a life-giving Spirit, and as the Spirit He is in us to lead us and guide us in all the reality of what He is.

When the Lord Jesus was resurrected from among the dead, He was designated the Son of God in power by resurrection according to the Spirit of holiness that was in Him (Rom. 1:4).

Man tried to put Him to death, but as He was on the cross being put to death in the flesh, the Spirit of holiness was operating in Him to make Him alive and resurrect Him (1 Pet. 3:18). Wow!

When we die as human beings, our human life is terminated, but when Christ died, the Spirit of holiness as His divine essence operated in Him to resurrect Him and make Him alive.

While He was in Hades for three days, the divine essence within Him could not die, but rather, the Spirit of holiness operated in Him to make Him alive and resurrect Him. Death cannot hold the resurrection life.

No matter how much death tries to kill and terminate this life, resurrection life always prevails.

Christ’s flesh was crucified and put to death, but God the Spirit as Christ’s divinity operated in Him to enliven Him with the new power of life! Wow!

In His resurrection, Christ was designated the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness.

Now Christ is the Son of God in a way that is more wonderful than before because now He has both the divine nature and the resurrected, transformed, uplifted, glorified, and designated human nature (Rom. 6:4; Luke 24:26; John 17:5; Acts 3:13). Hallelujah! All we can say is Praise the Lord!

How amazing it is that Christ’s divinity, the Spirit of holiness as the essence of His being, operated in Him to enliven and resurrect Him, even to designate Him as the Son of God in resurrection!

Death only gave the Spirit of holiness the opportunity to operate in a stronger way to designate Christ as the Son of God in power, and the reality of the power of Christ’s resurrection is the Spirit (Phil. 3:10; Eph. 1:19-20)!

It is this power that Paul sought to know and experience, and it is this out-resurrection from the dead that he aspired to arrive at.

This power is toward us, the church, and we can enjoy the resurrection life and power of Christ today.

The same power that operated in Christ to raise Him from the dead is now operating in us to resurrect our humanity, uplift our humanity, and divinize our humanity until one day we will be the same as He is, glorified sons of God! Hallelujah!

Lord Jesus, may we see and realize that the designation of Christ as the Son of God with humanity was according to the Spirit of holiness. Unveil us, enlighten us, and give us the experiences we need for us to know and experience the essence of Christ, the Spirit of holiness. Hallelujah, this Spirit is in us as the life-giving Spirit operating in us to enliven us, resurrect us, impart God’s life into us and make us the same as Christ! Praise the Lord, when the Lord Jesus was resurrected from among the dead, He was designated the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness that was in Him! Hallelujah, now Christ is the Son of God in a way that is more wonderful than before, for now He has both the divine nature and the transformed, resurrected, and glorified human nature! Amen, Lord, thank You for coming into us as resurrection life and power to operate in us and designate us the sons of God! We want to know You and the power of Your resurrection, even to attain to the out-resurrection from the dead! Praise the Lord!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by brother Ron Kangas in the message for this week, and portions from, Life-study of Romans, msg 55 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Experiencing, Enjoying, and Expressing Christ (2) (2024 December Training), week 13, The Seed of David Becoming the Son of God.
• Similar articles on this topic:
  – New Jerusalem is the Totality of the Divine Sonship, via, New Jerusalem blog.
  – Designated the Son of God in resurrection, a portion from, Life-Study of Romans, Chapter 2.
  – Being Overcomers with a Vision, Not Idealists with a Dream, via, Shepherding Words.
  – Christ becoming the firstborn Son and the life-giving Spirit… – a portion from, The Issue of Christ Being Glorified by the Father with the Divine Glory, Chapter 3, by Witness Lee.
  – Romans (Program #52) – Serving in the Gospel of His Son, via, Bible study radio.
  – The Body of Christ being produced through death and resurrection, a portion from, A General Outline of God’s Economy and the Proper Living of a God-Man, Chapter 3, by Witness Lee.
  – 3 Blessings God Has Prepared for You, via, Holding to Truth in love.
  – Saved from self-likeness, a portion from, Life-Study of Romans, Chapter 45.
  – Choosing Christ, a short sharing via, CSOC UT Austin: Christian Students on Campus YouTube channel.
  – 3 Wonderful Things That Happened in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, via, Bibles for Europe blog.
  – What these two divine titles reveal to us about the significance of Christ’s resurrection – How can Christ be both the only begotten Son of God and the firstborn Son of God?
• Hymns on this topic:
  – By Thy death and resurrection, / Thou wast made God’s firstborn Son; / By Thy life to us imparting, / Was Thy duplication done. / We, in Thee regenerated, / Many sons to God became; / Truly as Thy many brethren, / We are as Thyself the same. (Hymns #203 stanza 2)
  – Now our spirit is our person— / What a glorious fact is this! / Christ Himself in us expressing / God’s intent and holiness. / Not the soul-life’s vain delusion, / But the spirit strengthened is; / Christ Himself is now our Person— / He is ours and we are His. (Hymns #1181 stanza 4)
  – We’ve become the Lord’s dear brothers / Through His resurrection pow’r; / He desires many brothers / Sharing in His triumph hour! / Jesus is our Elder Brother, / First-born of God’s sons is He; / He came forth in resurrection, / From religion He is free! / As His church we come together; / Oldness, form, and self deny; / Just to meet with our Big Brother, / Him alone to glorify! (Hymns #1280 stanza 1 and chorus)