For God’s Building we need the Humanity of Jesus, His Human Life in Resurrection

The Lord Jesus is not only the Son of God but also the Son of Man, and as the Son of Man He is the unique material for God’s building; we need the humanity of Jesus for God’s building.

God’s desire and intention is to obtain a building, which is the corporate expression of Himself in humanity. God’s building is constituted with humanity and divinity mingled together; humanity is the main element, and divinity is mingled with humanity for God to have a corporate expression.

Before God could gain His expression in man, however, man fell; the enemy of God, Satan, corrupted man and ruined his humanity.

But praise the Lord that God became a man, and in His incarnation Jesus Christ was both the Son of God in His divinity and the Son of Man in His humanity. This is something mysterious yet wonderful: two essences and two natures were mingled together, without producing a third one; the result was a God-man, Jesus Christ.

As the Son of God, Jesus Christ had divinity and lived out the divine life in the human life. As the Son of Man, Jesus Christ lived as a proper man with flesh and blood.

Through His death and resurrection, Christ brought His humanity into divinity to uplift it, resurrect it, ascend it, and enthrone it; now in this universe there’s a new kind of humanity – the crucified, resurrected, uplifted, and ascended humanity of Jesus Christ.

This humanity of Christ, who is still the Son of Man and will always be the Son of Man – is the only material that is suitable for God’s building. Our humanity is fallen, corrupted, twisted, and ruined; but the humanity of Jesus is the unique material and essence for God’s building.

In the vision of God’s holy building given to Ezekiel, the number 6 is seen everywhere, and the material for the building inside is wood; both of these signify that the material for God’s building is the proper and uplifted humanity of Jesus.

In order to accomplish God’s purpose, it was necessary for Christ to be a man, for without man, God’s purpose cannot be carried out on earth.

In order for God to accomplish His purpose and obtain His building today, we need to be those who eat Christ as the Son of man, eating His humanity, so that we may live out a new humanity, the Jesus humanity, for the building of God.

Jesus Christ as the Son of Man is the unique Material Suitable for God’s Building

The Lord Jesus became a God-man, and He also became a man-God, God in humanity, the God who is the Son of Man (John 5:27; 8:28).

Do you think it is irreverent to tell God that He is a man-God? Our God today is no longer a God exclusively in divinity, but He is also in humanity; He is a processed God, a God who in His economy has gone through some stages and processes.

Jesus Christ, our God, is both the Son of God and the Son of Man. The Son of God is for life, and the Son of Man is for God’s building (John 3:15; 1:51).

How can we be saved and receive the divine life? It is by believing into Jesus Christ as the Son of God. By believing into the Son of God we are saved and given the authority to become the children of God, men who are born not of the will of men but of God (John 1:12-13).

There is no other way to receive the divine life except through the Son of God, who is life itself. He who has the Son has the life.

Christ as the Son of Man is for God’s building. Life and building are two great words describing what God is and what He intends to accomplish for Himself in this universe.

If Christ were not the Son of Man, He could not be the essence of the building, because the building of God is composed of humanity mingled with divinity. The primary material of God’s building is humanity.

But our fallen humanity is not good; there must be a proper humanity that belongs in God’s building. So Christ came on earth to be the Son of Man, to be the essence of the building of God. For building God’s habitation on earth among man, He is the Son of Man; God’s building needs His humanity.

After we have received the eternal life by believing into the Son of God, we need to realize that this Jesus who is the Son of God is also the Son of Man; His divinity is life to us, but His humanity is for the building of God (see John 3:13-15; 1:51).

By believing into the Son of God we receive the divine life and partake of the divine nature so that we can enjoy the life of God, the attributes of God, and the riches of God with all that He is.

However, we also need to partake of His human nature, for only by participating in His humanity can we be built in the divine building – there’s no other way!

In John 1:51 the Lord Jesus told Nathanael, You shall see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man. This was the fulfillment of Jacob’s dream in Gen. 28:11-22, which was an important vision given to man concerning God’s eternal purpose.

Christ as the Son of Man – Christ with His humanity – is the ladder set up on the earth and leading to heaven, keeping heaven open to earth and joining earth to heaven for the house of God, Bethel.

Christ as the Son of Man is joining God to man, linking heaven to earth, and bringing heavens to earth; all the traffic between heaven and earth, God and man, happens on this man.

The Lord Jesus is the mingling of God and man, and we all are living stones built up into Bethel, the house of God. Wherever Christ is in His humanity, there is the gate of heaven and there is Bethel, the building of God’s house with transformed persons (Gen. 28:17-18; John 1:42, 51).

Thank You Lord that, by believing into You as the Son of God, we have the life of God with the nature of God to partake of all the riches of God. Thank You for coming to us as the Son of God to give us life, and now we have God’s life! Lord, we want to partake of You as the Son of Man, enjoying and partaking of Your humanity, so that we may be built up into the house of God. Work Yourself into us, Lord, with Your humanity. We want to participate in Your humanity by eating You as the Son of Man so that we may be built into God’s building, the church as the house of God.

For God’s Building we need the Humanity of Jesus, His Human Life in Resurrection

Christ in His humanity is the material for God’s building; the humanity of Jesus – Christ as the Son of Man – is the unique building material for God’s building.

So how can we, fallen human beings, be built up into God’s building to be His corporate expression? Even our highest standard of humanity and morality is not acceptable to God nor is it suitable for His building. For God’s building we need the humanity of Jesus.

Our greatest need is the “Jesus humanity” possessed, enjoyed, and experienced by each one of us in the church life.

When there’s a deficiency of Christ’s humanity enjoyed and lived out among us, the building work is hindered and frustrated.

There are many problems that are not merely spiritual but human – there are problems in our humanity, so in the church life God’s building is frustrated, the oneness of the saints is damaged, our serving together as the priesthood is not so sweet, and the meetings are affected because of the shortage of the humanity of Jesus.

The humanity of Jesus is His human life in resurrection (see Phil. 2:7-8; John 11:25). The humanity that is suitable for God’s building is Jesus’ humanity, His human life in resurrection; this humanity has gone through death and was resurrected by God.

The world cannot attain to such a humanity nor can they built it up. For example, the book of Proverbs points out our need for many excellent virtues, but if we cultivate these in the humanity of our old man, these are mere ethics and human morality, not good for God’s building.

All the proverbs in the book of Proverbs are useful if we cultivate a humanity in resurrection, the humanity of the new man. We need to put off the old man and put on the humanity of a new man.

Jesus lived a life that was human – but in resurrection. He didn’t just live a proper human life – He lived out the humanity of Jesus, which is in resurrection. When He paid His taxes, He did so in resurrection; when He wept with Mary or argued with the Pharisees, He did so in resurrection.

The Lord Jesus wasn’t just “a good guy” but a man in resurrection, a man under the cross who put His sinless humanity under the cross. He denied His humanity and lived by the divine life in resurrection. So what came out of Him as a man was so fragrant, aromatic, and sweet, in resurrection.

When we read the Gospels we see how human and full of resurrection He was. This should be our experience also: we need to live a human life not by our humanity but by eating the humanity of Jesus to live in resurrection.

The wood in the holy building of God revealed in Ezekiel signifies the uplifted, divinely enriched humanity of Jesus (Ezek. 41:16).

The Lord Jesus had a perfect humanity, but He denied it and lived by the divine life in resurrection; and one day, the Lord took His humanity to the cross, brought into death, resurrection, ascension, and enthronement.

Now the humanity of Jesus is uplifted and enriched. What we need to day is this uplifted and divinely enriched humanity of Jesus for God’s building!

Lord Jesus, we need Your humanity for God’s building. We want to learn from You to not live by our human life or according to the human nature but eat the humanity of Jesus and live by the divine life in the human life. Give us the experiences we need that we may have the humanity of Jesus, His human life in resurrection. We don’t want to improve our humanity or cultivate an excellent humanity apart from You. May the essence of the humanity of Jesus – the uplifted, divinely enriched humanity of Jesus – be ours today for God’s building!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by Minoru Chen for this week, and portions from, Life-study of John, msg. 5 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization-study of Ezekiel (2), msg. 6 (week 18 in the HWMR), The Son of Man and the Humanity of Jesus for God’s Building.
• Hymns on this topic:
  # This unique truth the whole Bible unveils: / Our God has put on humanity; / Both God and man, as the Scripture reveals; / Hallelujah unto eternity. / Praise the Lord for Christ’s humanity! / It’s central to God’s economy / To produce a divine-human incorporation / Which consummates the New Jerusalem. (Song on the humanity of Christ)
  # When we receive Thee as our life, / Thy nature we thru grace possess; / Mingled together, we with Thee / One Body glorious will express. (Hymns #837)
  # Let us eat Jesus every day, / Eating His flesh in such a way / That in the trials great or small / He as a Man will be our all. / Eat, eat more of Jesus! / Eat, eat more of Jesus! / Why should we undernourished be / When we have His humanity? (Hymns #1146)