God’s Move in His Economy is to Deify Man to Bring in the New Man for God’s Expression

What a wonderful thing it is to see that God’s move in His economy is to deify man and bring forth the one new man for God’s expression and administration on the earth! Hallelujah!

The following five weeks we are enjoying the Lord’s speaking on the matter of the world situation and the Lord’s move, and in particular this week we are looking to the Lord concerning how we can cooperate with God to carry out His move in His economy by knowing this age and by knowing the present truth.

Around year 1991, brother Lee released some messages under the title of, The World Situation and the Direction of the Lord’s move, in which he identifies five main factors of the world situation: Europe, the former Soviet Union (which was just dissolving to become Russia), the Arabic-speaking countries (including Israel), the Asian countries (Taiwan, Korea, and Japan), and the USA.

Based on the prophecies in the Bible, what will happen at the consummation of this age is very much related to the situation in Europe. The European Union with 20+ countries is a strong power, and it is very much related to the fulfillment of God’s prophecies.

Furthermore, in Russia the Lord has worked very much to open this country to the gospel; this country is strong, but under God’s sovereign arrangement, it has been limited due to its environment and geography.

The Arabic-speaking countries, which once used to be closed to the gospel, now are quite open to the gospel simply because of the war and then the immigration of 4-5 million refugees from Syria and other Arabic countries to Europe. Many refugees went to German (over 600.000) in an unprecedented move, thus joining Europe and the Middle East.

Due to such a situation, from last year (2016) onward, we had the burden to preach the gospel and contact the refugees in hope that they would receive God’s salvation; many of them believed into the Lord and started to meet with the saints, enjoying the rich portion of Christ together with us all.

In their original situation and country they could not hear the gospel, but now they receive it and believe it. In the Asian countries, China, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan are world powers, developed, with good financial situation.

In the United States of America there are also many changes, and this country is still leading in matters such as politics, economics, and military, but they incline toward isolation.

The whole world situation is continually changing, and God is moving in the world situation – the divine history is developing in the human history.

Brother Lee was a “divine historian” – he knew human history quite well, he had a view of God’s eternal economy, and he helped us to go on the way God wants us to go. Today we need to see the world situation and the Lord’s move, and we need to ask the Lord,

Oh Lord, how do You want us in Your recovery to cooperate with You to go on the way You want us to go? We want to go on with You, and we want to be one with You for Your move today, in this age! Grant us to have a thorough knowing and understanding of this age, and grant us to know the present truth, so that we may cooperate with You in carrying out Your move!

God’s Move in His Economy is Christ and the Church – the High and Awesome Wheel

In this universe God has an economy, a plan according to His heart’s desire to carry out His purpose, that is, His good pleasure. In His economy, God has a move to carry out what He has planned and to accomplish His purpose.

In Micah 5:2, a book prophesying the Lord’s coming, we see that the Lord’s goings forth are from ancient times, from the days of eternity. God has an economy, and in His economy He has His goings forth, His continuous coming; He went forth through incarnation and resurrection, and now when we receive Him, He comes forth in us!

In the book of Ezekiel God’s economy and God’s move in His economy are signified by a high and awesome wheel (see Ezek. 1:15-21). Praise the Lord, our God does not silently sit on the throne – He is an acting God, a moving God, who from eternity past has a move, and that move is to bring forth His economy.

The Lord’s move in His economy is like a wheel; a wheel is for moving, even a particular kind of move. In the whole universe there’s a great wheel of God’s economy turning and moving.

Sometimes we may feel that the wheel of God’s move is somewhat static, not moving fast, but we need to see that the Lord’s move in His economy is actually based upon our cooperation.

The hub of the great wheel of God’s move is Christ as the center of God’s economy, and the rim signifies the church as Christ’s counterpart; the spokes of the wheel spreading from the hub to the rim signify the many believers as the members of Christ.

The center, source, energy, and motivating factor of the Lord’s move is Christ, the all-inclusive One; in Him all things subsist, He is the center, the originator, and the motivator, and we as the believers are “spokes”.

We are joined to Him, and we grow into Him and out of Him to become a rim, the Body of Christ. Christ is the center, the Body of Christ is the rim, and all the saints are the spokes joining the center (Christ) to the rim (the church), so that Christ and the church would move together in oneness.

Simply put, God’s move in His economy is Christ and the church, the high and awesome wheel of God’s move on earth.

In ourselves we may be quite small, but we are joined to the Lord and we are in the church, and there’s a great and awesome wheel beside us – the move of God’s economy (see 1 Cor. 15:9; 2 Cor. 11:5; 12:11; Eph. 3:8-11).

This wheel is full of eyes within and without; this indicates that, the more we are one with the Lord in His move, the more we are enlightened and we are able to see, even as He sees.

Lord Jesus, thank You for reaching us in Your goings forth from the ancient times. Hallelujah, the all-inclusive Christ as the center of God’s economy is in us, making us the many members of the Body of Christ to be part of the universal great move of God! Lord, we want to cooperate with You for Your move on earth today. Amen, Lord, we are one with You, joined to You in spirit and living in the church life as the reality of the Body, so that we may be part of the great and awesome wheel, the move of God in His economy on earth today!

God’s Move in His Economy is to Deify Man to bring forth the One new Man for God’s Expression

What is God’s move? Is it merely His people cooperating with Him to advance the kingdom of God by preaching the gospel to save sinners? Is God’s move something related to God doing miraculous things through some of His servants on earth?

God’s move is the move of His economy to deify man to bring forth the one new man so that God in Christ may have His corporate expression and representation (Ezek. 1:10, 13, 15, 26-27; Eph. 2:15; 4:22-24; Col. 3:10-11).

God’s move is not just outward activity; God doesn’t want merely to do something in the outward environment and situations, but He wants to do something in you and me: He wants to work Himself into us to make us the same as He is in life, nature, expression, and function, but not in the Godhead.

God’s move day by day is to move Himself and work Himself into us so that we can become God to produce the new man.

One of the church fathers, Athanasius, said concerning Christ that “He was made man that we might be made God”, and “The Word was made flesh…that we, partaking of His Spirit, might be deified”.

This is the principle of God’s move on earth: God’s move is in man and through man, and He moves in man to make man the same as God in life and nature but not in the Godhead.

In the Gospels God moved through one person, Jesus Christ, who was the individual God-man; then, in Acts, He moved through a large group of believers, who became one with Him in His move.

In the Gospels God moved in man’s move, and in Acts man moved in God’s move; God and man moved together.

As seen in Ezekiel in type and in Acts in reality, God’s move on earth follows our coordination and move as the living creatures. When the living creatures in Ezekiel 1 move, the Lord moves; when they stop, the Lord stops; when we as believers one with Christ move, the Lord moves in our move, but when we stop, He temporarily also stops.

He makes us one with Him – and He even makes us the same as He is; the One on the throne is like burning fire, and the living creatures look like burning fire; the One on the throne is living, and the living creatures are also living.

In His move in His economy, the Lord makes us the same as He is for His expression and administration. When the church is proper, expressing the Lord, and having the proper coordination with the fire going up and down, the Lord’s move will be with that church.

But if a church doesn’t have the Lord’s move and yet it claims it is proper, something is wrong. If there’s no increase in number year after year in a church, and there’s also no growth in life in the saints, there’s no move of the Lord with that church.

A proper church has the move of the Lord for His expression and administration. God’s move in His economy is to deify man so that the one new man may be brought forth for God’s expression and His administration.

God’s desire is to work Himself into us that we may be the one new man; this one new man is a new species, and in Christ we are all the one new man, the new creation, so that Christ may have His corporate expression and administration.

Lord Jesus, grant us to see God’s move in His economy, which is to deify man to bring forth the one new man so that God in Christ may have His corporate expression and administration. May we have the eyes of our heart opened and enlightened that we may see God’s move and cooperate with His move in man. Lord, move in us to make us the same as You are for Your corporate expression and representation. Add yourself to us. Move in us. Work Yourself into us to make us in reality part of the one new man to express You and represent You!

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. 9 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Special Fellowship concerning the World Situation and the Lord’s Move, msg. 1 (week 1), Cooperating with God to Carry Out His Move in His Economy by Knowing This Age and by Knowing the Present Truth.
• Hymns on this topic:
  # What miracle! What mystery! / That God and man should blended be! / God became man to make man God, / Untraceable economy! / From His good pleasure, heart’s desire, / His highest goal attained will be. (Song on God’s economy)
  # The living creatures joined, / Connected by their wings, / In four directions fly, And God’s expression bring. / Lord as Your move today / As living creatures, we / Your radiance would express, / And Your authority. (Song on Ezekiel one)
  # You need the Nazarites to turn this age. / Move in me to turn my heart and consecrate. / Save me from all selfish seeking, search my heart. / Set me free, make every bondage break apart! / I need You, but You need me too, / To do what You want to do. / Rekindle all of my love for You, / To be a voluntarily consecrated one. (Song on consecration for God’s move)