The book of Acts reveals a group of people who live in the divine history within human history as the acting God; they are not just human beings but even more, they have become one with God in life, nature, expression, and function for the spreading and building up of the church as the corporate manifestation of Christ! Hallelujah!
This week in our morning revival, we come to the topic, Continuing to Live in the Divine History within Human History in the Continuation of the Book of Acts for the Spreading and Building Up of the Church as the Corporate Manifestation of Christ.
We need to be enlightened by the Lord to see what He sees in the book of Acts, and we need to see that today we are in the continuation of the book of Acts.
The book of Acts is not just the acts of the apostles but even more, the acts of Christ in His continuation in all of His members in His Body. Amen!
The book of Acts has not ended; it is an open-ended book, for we today, as the believers in Christ and today’s disciples of Jesus, continue the book of Acts.
Today we continue to live not only in the outward, human history, but in the divine history within human history so that we may spread and build up the church as the corporate manifestation of Christ.
God is after this corporate manifestation of Christ; He wants to gain the house of God, the church of the living God, the pillar and base of the truth, which is the great mystery of godliness – God manifested in the flesh.
He has Christ as His embodiment, and He expressed God in an individual way; however, He wants to gain the corporate Christ, Christ as the Head with the church as His Body, so that He may obtain a corporate manifestation of God in the flesh.
The corporate Christ includes us; the corporate Christ is the church as the Body of Christ with Him as the Head. We as the church are the Body of Christ, the manifestation of God in the flesh.
Praise the Lord, we believers in Christ are part of the corporate manifestation of God in the flesh, the continuation of Christ!
When the church is proper, the church will function as the house and household of the living God for His move on the earth.
Such a church is the supporting pillar and holding base of the truth, bearing the divine reality of Christ and His Body as a testimony to the world.
Such a church then becomes the continuation of Christ as the manifestation of God in the flesh. Hallelujah, the church is the continuation of Christ and the manifestation of God in the flesh!
In Acts we see a Group of People who live in the Divine History within Human History as the Acting God
The book of Acts seems to be quite simple, with many events and not so many teachings, yet it presents us with the continuation of Christ, the duplication of the Lord Jesus through His disciples.
In particular, the book of Acts reveals a group of people who live in the divine history within human history as the acting God (Acts 1:8, 14; 2:14a; 4:10-20, 31-32; 5:20, 38-39; 13:1-4; 26:16-19; 28:31).
The disciples of Christ are not just proselytes or followers of Jesus; they have become God in life, in nature, in expression, and in function – but not in the Godhead – for the spreading and building up of the church as the corporate manifestation of Christ.
God desires to gain such a group of people who are the reproduction and duplication of Jesus Christ, who was God embodied in the flesh to express God.
The disciples of Christ were a group of people who lived in the divine history within human history as the acting God.
They were the acting God; they did not just act in themselves, by themselves, or of themselves, but they lived in the divine history within human history, and they were one with God in everything.
Whatever they did was one with the Lord, even though they had flaws, made mistakes, and were held back by religious concepts and traditions; the Lord had a way to move and act in them to be Jesus living again in His disciples.
All this acting in oneness with God was for the purpose of spreading and building up the church, which is the corporate manifestation of Christ. Amen!
In Peter’s first proclamation of the gospel in the book of Acts, he quoted from the book of Joel, which reveals the intrinsic, divine history within the outward, human history (Acts 2:17-21; Joel 1:1-4; 2:28-32).
Joel talks about the outward, human history, which includes the four kinds of locusts. There’s the cutting locust, the swarming locust, the licking locust, and the consuming locusts; all these represent or signify the four major empires in human history.
Today we are still part of the Roman Empire, the consuming locust. All this is in the outward, human history.
But then there’s the inward, divine history, for the Lord promises in Joel to pour out of His Spirit upon all flesh, and the sons and daughters will prophesy, the young men will see visions, and the old men shall dream things in dreams (Acts 2:17).
Outwardly in the human history, the Roman Empire expands and takes place; in particular, in the Lord’s time, the Roman Empire built a lot of roads, established the trade and good means of travel, and had peace and a common language.
The Roman Empire also had crucifixion as the capital form of punishment, and the Lord was crucified by and under the Roman Empire.
This is so that God would pour out His Spirit upon all flesh, and all those who call on the name of the Lord shall be saved (Acts 2:21). Hallelujah!
The divine history within the human history is Christ’s “goings forth…from the days of eternity” (Micah 5:2) across the bridge of time into eternity future (Isa. 90:2) so that He might be dispensed into us, His chosen ones!
He is the Desire of all the nations (Hag. 2:7) for His corporate manifestation and His full glorification.
Indeed, from eternity to eternity, He is God; He’s not a stationary God, a static God, but a God with a history, a God who is involved in a kind of process from eternity to eternity, so that He might be dispensed into His chosen people as the Desire of the nations.
When He comes back, He will be the Desire of the nations.
Even before He comes back, He has become, through death and resurrection, the wonderful consummated, life-giving Spirit in order that He may be dispensed into us! Hallelujah!
God’s divine history within human history is for the carrying out of the divine economy, the working out of what is in His heart and in His purpose.
This is for the corporate manifestation and full glorification of God in man.
May we be those who live in the divine history within human history today as the acting God so that we may be the continuation of Christ, the corporate expression of God.
May we realise that we’re no longer only in the human history, which is being made before our eyes; we are even more in the divine history, and we need to live in the divine history within human history for God to gain the corporate expression of Himself today.
Lord Jesus, gain us as a group of people who live in the divine history within human history as the acting God on the earth today! Amen, Lord, may we live not only in the outward, human history as a shell, but even more, live in the divine history within human history for us to write the divine history of God in man! Hallelujah, though there are many events and things happening in the human history, we can turn to our spirit and live one spirit with the Lord in the divine history today! Amen, Lord, make us one with You, even make us the same as You are in life, nature, expression, and function (but not in the Godhead) for the spreading and building up of the church! Gain the church today, Lord, as the corporate manifestation of Christ! Hallelujah, we are the church, the manifestation of God in the flesh. Amen, Lord, keep us in our spirit today. Keep us in the church life, calling on the name of the Lord, to live in the divine history within human history!
What is the Divine History within Human History and how can we Live in the Divine History today
There are two histories in this universe: the history of man, the human history, and the history of God, the divine history.
The history of man is the visible history, filled with events both positive and negative; it is like the outward shell of a walnut. The history of God is the hidden history, the spiritual history of God in man; it can be likened to the kernel within the shell of a walnut.
It’s easy to see the outward shell, but it’s not easy to see the kernel. We need to see the intrinsic divine history within human history and live in this divine history today.
The divine begins with God and His eternal economy; God, the eternal One, made an economy, and according to His economy, He does many things in the divine history.
According to his economy, God wants to work Himself into man to be one with man, to be man’s life, life-supply, and everything, and to have man as His expression.
His intention in His economy is to have a corporate entity, composed of God and man, to be His expression for eternity.
The divine history began with the eternal God and His economy. This divine history continued with Jesus Christ, with His incarnation and human living.
One day God stepped out of eternity into time, and the very God who created all things in the universe became incarnated. He was conceived of the Holy Spirit within the womb of a human virgin and then born of this virgin to be the God-man.
He was a complete God and a perfect man. He lived a perfect human life and worked one with God in His ministry on earth to fulfill God’s plan and purpose.
Then, He willingly went to the cross and died a vicarious death, an all-inclusive death which solved all the problems and terminated the old creation.
Then, three days after His death, He resurrected and was begotten to be the firstborn Son of God (Acts 13:33; Rom. 1:4; 8:29) and became a life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45).
Even more, in His resurrection millions of believers in Christ were begotten of God to be sons of God and members of the Body of Christ, the church (1 Pet. 1:3). Hallelujah!
Now there’s not just one God-man, Jesus Christ, but many God-men, all the believers in Christ as the many sons of God to express God corporately.
Joel prophesied in Joel 2:28-30 concerning the outpouring of the processed, consummated, compound Spirit, who was poured out on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4, 16-21; 1 Tim. 3:15-16).
This Spirit is the consummated Triune God and the realisation of Christ for the manifestation of Christ. Hallelujah!
God in Christ went through a process in the divine history in order to become a life-giving Spirit, and He continues to go forth in us, the believers in Christ, as we call on the name of the Lord!
Today we can call on the name of the Lord and be saved, and when we do this, we live in the divine history within human history.
The outpouring of the Spirit produced the church, the manifestation of Christ.
Now we are all part of the manifestation of Christ on the earth, for we are part of the enlarged Christ, the increased Christ, which is the church as the manifestation of God in the flesh. Hallelujah!
We believers in Christ were born in the human history by being born of our human parents, but we have been reborn in the divine history through our regeneration.
However, if we merely live in the world, we will live in the outward, human history.
If we live in the church, we live in the divine history within human history. So wonderful to see that God and man have one history, the divine history! May we live in this divine history today!
Lord Jesus, thank You for regenerating us with Your life to bring us into the divine history within human history! Hallelujah, we believers in Christ have been born again in the divine history to be one with the Lord in our living today! Amen, Lord, keep us living in our spirit and in the church so that we may be in the divine history. Praise the Lord, the Holy Spirit has been poured out to produce the church as the corporate manifestation of Christ today! Amen, now whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved! Save us, Lord, much more in Your life today! Keep us calling on Your name throughout the day. Keep us in the church life, living one with You and in fellowship with the saints, so that we may live in the divine history within human history! Make us part of the corporate manifestation of Christ, the church as the manifestation of God in the flesh. Oh Lord, we open to You. We come to You. We call on Your name. We want to live in the church life today to be part of Your history in man!
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 the brothers, and portions from, Life-study of Acts, msgs. 3-7 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, One Accord and Crucial Aspects of the Book of Acts (2025 April ITERO), week 7, Continuing to Live in the Divine History within Human History in the Continuation of the Book of Acts for the Spreading and Building Up of the Church as the Corporate Manifestation of Christ – day 1.
- Similar articles on this topic:
– The continuation of the book of Acts – Living in the divine history within human history, article by Ed Marks in, Affirmation and Critique.
– Leadership in the Lord’s Recovery, Part 2: The Biblical Pattern of Leadership, via, Shepherding Words.
– The living of the divine life through the human life, a portion from, General Sketch of the New Testament in the Light of Christ and the Church, A – Part 1: The Gospels and the Acts, Chapter 1, by Witness Lee.
– What Does It Mean to Call on the Name of the Lord? More via, Bibles for America blog.
– The Bible being a book of life, a portion from, Conformation to the Image of the Son of God, Chapter 1, by Witness Lee.
– Does Your Christian Journey Need Road Signs? More via, Holding to Truth in Love.
– The seven stages of mankind’s history, a portion from, The World Situation and God’s Move, Chapter 7, by Witness Lee.
– Bible Distribution at the London 2012 Olympics – “In this universe there are two histories: the history of man, the human history, and the history of God, the divine history.” – Message 5 of the 2012 Summer Training. More via, Living to Him.
– Four-in-one: Witness Lee and Trinitarian Ecclesiology, article via, Conversant Faith.
– God’s Great Salvation unto New Jerusalem, via, New Jerusalem blog.
– The History and Significance of the Life-study and Crystallization-study Trainings, via, having this ministry.
– Amos (Program #1) – The Introductory Word, Jehovah’s Judgments on the Surrounding Nations, and His Judgments on Judah and Israel, and Jehovah’s Contending with the House of Jacob, via, Bible study radio.
– God’s Sovereignty, the Divine History within the Human History, and the World Situation and God’s Move to Spread His Recovery, via, The Church in Regina.
– 1997 College Training – History of God’s Move, via, Age Turners. - Hymns on this topic:
– Come, Desire of nations, come! / Fix in us Thy humble home: / Rise, the woman’s conqu’ring seed, / Bruise in us the serpent’s head; / Adam’s likeness now efface, / Stamp Thine image in its place: / Final Adam from above, / Reinstate us in Thy love. (Hymns #84 stanza 4)
– Christ is the hope of glory, He is my history: / His life is my experience, for He is one with me; / He comes to bring me into His glorious liberty, / That one with Him completely I’ll ever be. (Hymns #949 stanza 4)
– Call upon the name of Jesus, and you will be saved, / O Lord Jesus, hallelujah, nevermore enslaved! / We may take salvation’s cup by calling on the Lord; / Salvation from a host of things does His dear name afford. (Hymns #1083 stanza 2)
About aGodMan
Life-study of Joel, pp. 34-35, by Witness Lee
Thank the Lord for another day to live not only in the outward human history but even more, live in the inward, divine history!
We have been born in the human history, but we have been regenerated to be in the divine history, and every time we call on the name of the Lord, we live in the divine history!
The divine history began with the Lord Jesus and continues with us today as the church.
Amen. The divine history began with the Lord Jesus and continues with us as the church. Now we belong to Jesus, and we are not our own
Amen. We were all born in the human history, but we have been regenerated in the divine history.
If we are living in the church, we are living in the divine history, which includes all Christ has accomplished.
The church today is the enlargement of the manifestation of Christ.
Amen, the spirit poured out on the day of Pentecost and we only need to call on the Lord’s name to be saved. Oh Lord Jesus!
May we live today in the spirit, in the divine history and the church rather than the world today
To be in the divine history within the outward human history we who are reborn and regenerated must have our living in the church life to be the corporate manifestation of Christ.
Thank God for the intrinsic revelation of the divine history within human history, even as God intended according to His eternal purpose. God wants to work Himself into man, be one with man, be man’s life and life supply, and have man as a corporate entity of a God-man as His eternal expression.
It is for this that God in Christ went through the process of incarnation through death, resurrection to beget many sons. He ascended and descended by outpouring His compounded Spirit into millions of people who called on His name to produce the church as His corporate expression of the Triune God. Hallelujah, we are today, His continuation!
May our human living depict those reborn, calling on His name, living in spirit, and exemplifying the corporate God-man Christ, to express the divine history in the church life!
We need intrinsic insight to see the divine history within the human history today.
The Spirit of Christ’s humanity, death, resurrection & ascension is poured out on those who call on the name of the Lord in order to produce the church.
This church is the enlarged & increased Christ. If we’re living in the reality of the church, we are living in the divine history.
Today, God and we have one history, the divine history.
May we continue to faithfully call on the name of Jesus, speak for Him and speak Him forth, seeing visions and dreaming seemingly impossible dreams.
Amen, thank You Lord, every time we call on the name of the Lord we live in the divine history.
2 Cor. 4:1 Therefore having this ministry as we have been shown mercy, we do not lose heart;
2 Cor. 4:10 Always bearing about in the body the putting to death of Jesus that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.
2 Cor. 4:11 For we who are alive are always being delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.
2 Cor. 4:12 So then death operates in us, but life in you.
Amen!
Continuing, Lord another day to live in the divine history within human history, what a blessing, we could be such a group of people, a corporate vessel, on the bridge of time, dispensed into by the outpoured, processed and consummated Spirit, for Christ’s manifestation!
Lord Jesus, we love You and join ourselves to You in time for Your purpose!
Ameeen!!!
Thank the Lord for the divine history within human history.
The divine history, like the kernel, is the meaning and purpose of human history, like a shell. It gives meaning to our human life and existence on this earth.
Thank the Lord we have a part and role in the making of such history.
Amen. The divine history began with the Lord Jesus and continues with us as the church. Now we belong to Jesus and we are not our own🙂🎵