God’s Life in us Causes us to be Transcendent so that we may Express God Corporately

The four living creatures in Ezekiel 1 are a corporate expression of Christ, the One on the throne, living out the life of Christ in a corporate way; they express Christ in His ruling and reigning (the face of a lion), in His serving and sacrificing (the face of an ox), in His being a proper man (the face of a man), and in being transcendent and glorious (the face of an eagle).

These four living creatures are mysterious and wonderful in the way they are described, in the way the look, and in the way the move; they represent a built-up group of saints, even the Body of Christ, for the corporate expression of Christ on earth.

They have four faces: the face of a man at the front, the face of a lion to the right, the face of an ox to the left, and the face of an eagle at the back; in their appearance they are like a man.

What does the face of a man represent? It represents the fact that we, as living creatures, need to live in a proper humanity, which is the humanity of Jesus. Yes, we have God’s life in us, but we should not seek to be “angelic” or “super-spiritual” but we should be normal and proper human beings expressing Christ by living out His humanity.

We should live not by our fallen humanity but be Jesusly human, that is, live out the humanity of Jesus.

What does it mean to have the face of a lion? A lion signifies boldness, vigor, strength, victory, and reigning; to have the face of a lion means that toward sin, the world, and Satan, we are bold and victorious, rejecting them and standing on the Lord’s side.

If we are bold like lions toward sin, the world, and Satan, God will be able to bring in and establish His kingdom through us. We need to reign in life by allowing the Lord to reign in us, and we will reign over anything negative, rejecting it and standing with the Lord.

What does it mean to have the face of an ox? An ox is one who is willing to labor, to bear the burden, and to sacrifice himself; to have the face of an ox means that we labor, bear the burdens, and serve others diligently, doing everything by the grace of God with the spirit of sacrifice.

We all need to express the reality of serving others, of bearing responsibility, and of sacrificing our life; that is, we need to live out Christ in His aspect of being a laboring One, a serving One, and a sacrificing One.

God’s Life in us causes us to be Transcendent, Buoyant, and Expressing God in Every Situation

The four living creatures had the face of an eagle at the back (Ezek. 1:10); in the Bible, an eagle signifies the powerful, buoyant, and transcendent God. In Exo. 19:4 the Lord said that He bore His people and brought them to Himself on eagle’s wings.

The eagle is soaring in the sky, so free and transcendent; nothing seems to be able to stop it. We need to have this aspect of living, not being bound or held down by anything of the earth, be it negative things (such as persecution or suffering) or positive things (people’s welcoming, praising, and appreciating us).

God is transcendent, buoyant, and powerful; nothing can suppress Him, oppress Him, or depress Him. The more you try to suppress God or oppress Him, the more transcendent He becomes.

As believers in Christ we have God’s life in us, and this life in us causes us to be transcendent, giving us the expression of buoyancy and transcendence. When we touch Christ in spirit, He causes us to soar above every problem and be one with the transcendent Christ.

We need to have such an experience, being able to overcome both persecution and praise. Sometimes it is more difficult to overcome others welcoming us and praising us than it is to overcome persecution.

The Lord Jesus, however, was like an eagle: when others picked up stones to kill Him, He was hidden from them; when they tried to force Him and make Him king, He withdrew from them and went up on the mountain (John 6:15). Whether people rejected Him or praised Him, He was like an eagle, transcendent.

A Christian should not be held by anything. However, it is possible for us to be held by many different things. One believer may be held by poverty, and another may be held by riches. If we would be a proper Christian, we should be held neither by poverty nor by riches. Like Paul, we should be able to say, “I know also how to be abased, and I know how to abound; in everything and in all things I have learned the secret both to be filled and to hunger, both to abound and to lack. I am able to do all things in Him who empowers me” (Phil. 4:12-13). Paul’s word reveals that he had the wings of an eagle. He bore the appearance of a man, of a lion, of an ox, and also of an eagle. Witness Lee, Life-Study of Ezekiel, msg. 5

As believers in Christ, we have God’s life within us, and this life is transcendent, causing us to have an expression of buoyancy and transcendence (see Isa. 40:31). When we wait on the Lord, touching Him in spirit and listening to Him to receive His fresh word, we mount up wings like eagles, being transcendent and buoyant.

Because of the divine life in us, we have the divine and almighty capacity to express God in every human situation. In a very proper sense, because of God’s life in us, we are indestructible, unconquerable, and invincible for the carrying out of God’s economy.

If we are truly one with the Lord, the transcendent One in us, we will realize that nothing on this earth can hold us down.

Take a look at Paul, the apostle; he was pressed from every side – but not constricted; he was unable to find a way out – but not utterly without a way out; he was persecuted – but not abandoned; he was cast down – but he was not destroyed.

In all these things, in persecution and suffering, he more than conquered because of and through Him who loved us, for nothing – death, life, persecution, bad things, or good things – can separate us from the love of Christ (Rom. 8:37).

This is how we should be: like an eagle, not allowing anything to hold us down, suppress us, or depress us; that is, we need to live by the divine life in our spirit so that we can overcome both persecution and praise, both suffering and appreciation (see Phil. 4:12-13).

Lord Jesus, thank You for coming into us as the transcendent and buoyant divine life which causes us to soar like an eagle above any problems or persecution. We want to live by this life in us, the transcendent life which causes us to have an expression of buoyancy and transcendence. Wow, Lord, Your life within us gives us the capacity to express God in every human situation, and when we live by this life we are indestructible, unconquerable, and invincible for the carrying out of God’s economy! Hallelujah!

The Four Living Creatures are Christ’s Expression, Living out His Life Corporately

What an amazing sight it is when we see the four living creatures before the throne, each having four faces, each coordinated with the other, and together moving like lightning to accomplish God’s purpose on earth!

The four living creatures are a corporate, fourfold expression of Christ (each has four faces); they live out the life of Christ in a corporate way. They don’t just do things: they express Christ, being a corporate expression of Christ on earth.

The four living creatures with their four faces signify a coordinated, corporate entity, the corporate Christ as the corporate expression of God among human beings (see 1 Cor. 12:12, and footnote 2 in the Recovery Version Bible).

Their wings are joined together, they each have four faces and each has the appearance of a man, they move together, they are coordinated as one, and even though one moves and the others follow, they move as one.

Christ, the God-man on the throne, has a corporate expression on earth – the corporate Christ as the built-up and coordinated Body of Christ.

The four faces of the living creatures correspond to the four gospels: in Matthew we see Christ as a lion, the king of God’s kingdom; in Mark we see Christ as an ox, the Servant of God; in Luke we see Christ as a proper and genuine man expressing God, the Man-Savior; in John we see Christ as an eagle – the very God transcending!

This is what the Lord is after today: He wants to gain a group of people who are built up together, transformed in His life, and coordinated so that they can express Christ in a corporate and fourfold way as the man, the lion, the ox, and the eagle.

The four living creatures are a corporate entity expressing Christ in a complete way, exactly as He was in His living on earth. They are the corporate expression and duplication of Christ – they are Jesus living again.

God wants to gain this today: He wants to gain a corporate reality of Jesus living again in and through His Body.

He wants to gain us, the members of His Body, to be those who live by His life and corporately express Him as the proper and genuine man, the bold and victorious One over sin and Satan, the serving and laboring One with a spirit of sacrifice, and as the One transcendent and buoyant.

Lord Jesus, make us Your corporate expression on earth, the reality of the four living creatures. Gain a corporate, coordinate entity – the corporate Christ – as the corporate expression of God among human beings. Make us part of the corporate entity on earth that expresses Christ in a complete way, exactly as He was in His living on earth. Amen, Lord, gain an enlarged corporate expression of Christ on earth – gain the reality of Jesus living again among us today!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by brother James L. for this week, and portions from, Life-study of Ezekiel, msg. 5 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization-Study of Ezekiel (1), msg. 3 (week 3), The Four Living Creatures.
• Hymns on this topic:
  # We express Him as a lion / Conquering every enemy; / As an ox obedient, lowly, / Faithful in His ministry. / We express Him as an eagle, / So transcendent, soaring high; / Never held by fear or flatter, / He above it all does fly. (Hymns #1201)
  # Touching now Thine outstretched scepter, / O most mighty King of kings; / Of Thy fulness now receiving, / High I mount on eagle wings. (Hymns #559)
  # The church is Christ— / His expression on the earth today; / The church is Christ— / His expression on the earth today. / This corporate man / Fulfills God’s plan, / That this man may have dominion over all the earth. (Hymns #1293)