Enjoying the Grace of God and Cooperating with God in a Human Way to Live like a Man

The four living creatures in Ezekiel 1 had the appearance of a man, the body of an eagle, the wings of an eagle, and under the wings they had the hands of a man; as normal Christians we should do things exactly like a man, in a human way, cooperating with God, having God mingled with us yet living as a normal human being.

On the one hand we need to have the wings of an eagle by waiting on the Lord, relying on Him, trusting in Him, and enjoying Him as grace so that we may do everything by the grace of God, being filled with grace and covered with grace.

On the other hand, we need to be normal human beings – yes, God mingled with man, and yes, living by the divine life within us, but still, we need to take care of normal human things, study at school, work, travel, take care of human affairs, in a Jesusly human way.

What we are and what we do should be not according to our own wisdom, strength, and ability, but by the enjoyment of the Lord – the grace of God; we have no boast in ourselves or in anything else but only in the Lord.

The grace of the Lord, the enjoyment of God in Christ to be our supply and everything, is all that we need in our Christian life; it is by grace that we live, labor, work for the Lord, serve, behave, speak, and do anything.

The grace of God both inwardly supplies us with God in Christ as our everything, and outwardly covers us and protects us as the eagle’s wings. We take refuge in the Lord, run in the high tower of His name, hide in the shadow of His wings, and are guarded in Him as the pupil of His eye.

When the enemy attacks us or tempts us, we should take refuge in the shadow of the Lord’s wings by enjoying Him as grace. Such a living by grace in everything causes us to live as normal human beings yet at the same time to have something mysterious about us, giving others the impression of the Divine Being.

We go through good things or not so pleasant things, we pass through sufferings and persecution, and things may not be too good with us, and yet we have the eagle’s wings carrying us through, causing us to soar above everything, strengthening us within, and causing us to rejoice and be glad.

This is the living of a God-man, a living creature, a normal Christian, a genuine believer in Christ – a living by grace as a man for the expression of God in man in a normal human way, yet with a mysterious revelation of the Divine Being.

Enjoying the Grace of God and Cooperating with God in a Human Way to Live like a Man

The four living creatures have the hands of a man under the wings of an eagle (Ezek. 1:8); the spiritual significance of the hands of a man is that a normal Christian should always do things exactly like a man.

The wings are for moving and the hands are for working; on the one hand we need to experience the grace and power of God to move one with God, and on the other hand we need to be very human in our living, taking the human way and doing things in a human way.

The Apostle Paul didn’t just preach the gospel and raise up churches; he was gentle in the midst of the believers, being affectionately fond of them, being willing to impart to them not only the gospel but also his own soul (1 Thes. 2:5-8).

Paul was not a spiritual and powerful evangelist going to city after city to preach the gospel and set up churches for the kingdom of God; he loved the saints to the point that he was well pleased to impart to them even his own soul, for they became beloved to him.

Furthermore, he advised Timothy to take care of his health, that is, drink some wine which is good for his stomach problem (1 Tim. 5:23), and Paul left one of his co-workers sick in a city (2 Tim. 4:20).

We may think that, if we serve the Lord, He will keep us healthy and in a good condition, and everything will be well and prosperous to us; however, Paul behaved in a normal way, being under the discipline of the inner life and not carrying out works of power indiscriminately.

He was spiritual, he had a high revelation, yet in his living and conduct he behaved in a normal way. As believers in Christ, no matter how much the grace of God is with us and no matter how much the Lord is empowering us, we must do things in a human way.

Yes, we do love the Lord and desire to meet with the saints, but we still have to take care of our studies, graduate high school and university, and get a job; otherwise, if we give up our studies and our job “for the Lord’s sake – for He is coming soon!” the Lord may delay His coming just so that we may be perfected to live as a proper human being.

The Lord Jesus Himself learned to be a man by the things He experienced and went through; He didn’t come to earth as a mature superman to save and rescue sinners, but He was conceived in a virgin’s womb for nine months, was born, passed through childhood and adolescence, learned to be a carpenter, obeyed His parents in all things, and came out to minister when He was 30 years old.

If the Son of God passed through being a normal human being and doing things in a human way, how much more we should do the same thing. The Apostle Paul didn’t just preach the gospel: he also worked and labored, and his hands ministered to his needs and to the needs of those with him.

We enjoy God’s grace, are being lifted up by His enjoyment, are strengthened within by His power, and are covered and protected by Him, and yet we still need to do things and live as a human being, taking the human way and doing things in a human way.

No matter how much the grace of God is with us and no matter how much the Lord is empowering us, we must nevertheless fulfill our human duty in our daily living. We need to eat healthy food, live a balanced life, sleep a proper amount of time, exercise daily, work with our own hands, provide for ourselves and those around us, do the chores around the house, and take care of so many human things.

We do all these things not in ourselves but by the grace of God, and yet as human beings, in a Jesusly human way. Under the eagle’s wings there should be human hands, and these hands should always be working (see Eph. 4:28; Acts 20:35; 18:3; 2 Thes. 3:6-12).

If we don’t work, we should not eat; we should always work to provide for ourselves and those around us. We need both the wings of the Lord’s empowering grace and the hands of a man, cooperating with God in a human way.

Lord Jesus, save us from trying to be super-spiritual and forgetting about taking care of normal human things in a human way by the grace of God. We want to be the living creatures that have the hands of a man, cooperating with God in a human way to do things as a man. Lord, keep us enjoying You as grace to be strengthened and supplied within, and make us proper human beings who do all things by the grace of God. We want to be those taking care of our studies, family, work, and human things by the grace of God, in a human way, cooperating with God, to be Jesusly human in everything.

The Highest Humanity is one in which Divinity is Added to it and Expressed through it

Many religious paintings of Jesus and of the disciples portray them with an aura around their head, being somewhat more elevated and spiritual and heavenly than any other human beings, and putting them in a position that is hard to attain by others.

However, according to the revelation of the Bible, the Lord Jesus was a Man: He stood on the ground of being the Son of Man, He wept, cared for the people around Him, hungered, was tired, became angry, was indignated, took care of His parents, and did many things in a human way – yet in a Jesusly human way.

What the Lord lived out was the highest humanity, a humanity in which divinity was added, and a humanity which expressed the divine attributes. In the Lord’s living – and in the apostle’s living also – we see a humanity mingled with divinity, a humanity in which the divine attributes are expressed through human virtues.

And when the apostles exhorted us to be proper believers, they emphasized not merely our having human virtues developed and uplifted but to have Christ lived out in our human virtues to be expressed in a high and uplifted humanity.

In 1 Cor. 12:31-13:8 Paul speaks of love, but not merely love as a human virtue but the divine attribute of love filling and being expressed through the human virtue of love.

Such a love suffers long, is kind, is not jealous, doesn’t brag, is not puffed up, doesn’t behave unbecomingly, doesn’t seek its own things, is not provoked, doesn’t take account of evil, rejoices with the truth, covers and believes and endures all things; such a love never falls away, for it is the divine attribute of love being expressed through our human virtue of love.

Such an uplifted divine-human love loves even the enemies, and prays for those who persecute us (Matt. 5:44). Toward others, we need to have forbearance, reasonableness, considerateness, and be considerate in dealing with others; furthermore, we need to not be anxious but make our requests known to God, and the peace of God will guard our heart and thoughts in Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:5-7).

We need to forgive one another: the Lord forgave those who persecuted Him and put Him to death (Luke 23:34), and He encouraged Peter to forgive his brother seventy times seven (Matt. 18:21-22).

As stewards of God, we need to be found faithful (1 Cor. 4:2; 7:25); we need to feed on the Lord’s faithfulness (Psa. 37:3).

We need to be humble and not proud, guarding ourselves with humility toward one another, and being humbled under the Lord’s mighty hand (1 Pet. 5:5-6).

Toward others we need to have an attitude of serving them, washing their feet, being sympathetic, loving the brothers, tender-hearted, humble-minded (John 13:3-5; 1 Pet. 3:8).

We should not do things by way of selfish ambition nor by way of vainglory, but in lowliness of mind consider one another more excellent than ourselves, regarding not our own virtues but the virtues of others also (Phil. 2:3-4; Eph. 4:2).

Lord Jesus, may we have the highest humanity – a humanity in which divinity is added to our humanity and in which the divine attributes are expressed in our human virtues. Oh Lord, keep us enjoying You and allowing You to fill our human virtues with Your divine virtues so that we may love with Your love, care with Your care, be faithful with Your faithfulness, be humble with Your humility, and forgive others even as You forgive us. Lord, grant us to be people who have the highest humanity by having the divine attributes lived out and expressed through our human virtues.

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by brother James Lee’s for this week, and portions from, Life-study of Ezekiel, msg. 6 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization-Study of Ezekiel (1), msg. 5 (week 5), The Wings of an Eagle, the Hands of a Man, and the Feet of a Calf.
• Hymns on this topic:
  # It is not the outward action— / Pure behavior, conduct good, / Proper poise and perfect manners, / Doing what we think we should; / But it’s Christ, a living Person, / Mingled thus with us within, / Spreading into all our being, / So that we might live by Him. (Hymns #1136)
  # The Christian life is a life, / A life full of Christ / As forbearance but without anxiety; / The Christian life is a life full of Christ. (Song on the Christian life)
  # Flesh He became, the first God-man, / His pleasure that I God may be: / In life and nature I’m God’s kind, / Though Godhead’s His exclusively. / His attributes my virtues are; / His glorious image shines through me. / His attributes my virtues are; / His glorious image shines through me. (Song on God expressed in man)