As we become mature in the divine life, we become the duplication of Christ to match Him for our marriage, and we as the weak ones depending on the Lord to be His overcomers – even His armies.
In Song of Songs toward the end we see how the lover of Christ becomes the Shulammite, the feminine form of Solomon; this shows that we become the reproduction and duplication of Christ for our marriage life with Him.
On the day of His wedding, Christ will marry His overcomers, those who have been fighting the battle against God’s enemy for years; Christ will marry His overcomers, those who have already overcome the evil one.
The Lord wants us, His believers, to grow unto maturity and be transformed, so that we may become the same as He is in life, nature, and expression; He wants us to become the same as He is to be His duplication.
We need to be the overcomers, those who are one with God and Christ. We are going through a process to be transformed from a country girl into the Shulamite, the feminine form of Solomon, our Beloved.
Just as the loving seeker in Song of Songs became the same as Solomon in life, in nature, in expression, and in function, so we are becoming the same as Christ in life, nature, expression, and function, for the carrying out of God’s economy.
Some believers may say that it is too much for us to say that we are becoming the same as God in life and nature, and we may go too far if we say that we become the same as God in His Godhead, but to say that we can’t be the same as God in life, nature, expression, and function, this is unbelief.
God created man in His image and likeness so that man would become the same as He is in life, nature, expression, and function, but not in the Godhead, so that man would corporately express Him and represent Him.
The Bible tells us again and again that God wants to be one with us and to make us one with Him – this is His intention, to make us the same as Christ in every possible way.
God doesn’t want people to merely work for Him or do God’s work; He Himself became the same as us to make us the same as He is by taking us through a process of transformation and building until we become the same as He is.
This process is a loving romance between God and man, in which He is working Himself into us and taking us through many experiences so that we may become the reproduction and duplication of Christ.
We do not speak a blasphemy when we say that we are becoming God in life and nature, for the Lord Himself said that, by us believing into Him, we have the authority to become children of God, those who are begotten of God (John 1:12-13), and when we see Him, we will be even as He is.
God’s intention is that we would be one with Him, even as He made Himself one with us; our goal in our Christian life is not to be better Christians but to be one with God, even become the same as He is, by being in the process of transformation and growth in life unto maturity.
Lord Jesus, bring us on to maturity in life so that we may become Your reproduction and duplication to match You for our marriage! Amen, Lord, let us hear Your voice, let us come to You in resurrection and living in ascension, and let us be Your overcoming bride that fully matches You and brings in the kingdom of God on earth! Thank You Lord for not only creating us in Your image and according to Your likeness but also regenerating us, transforming us, and conforming us to Your image so that we may be fully one with You for Your corporate expression in Your image and representation with Your dominion!
Being the Overcomers of Today, the Weak ones Depending on the Lord to be His Armies
In Song of Songs 6:13 we see that the loving seeker is likened to the dance of two camps, or two armies; the Hebrew word is Mahanaim, which refers to Gen. 32:1-2.
Here Jacob saw the angels of God, the two armies of God, and he named that place, Mahanaim; there he divided his wives, children, and possessions, into “two armies” so that, if one of them is attacked by Esau (who was coming toward him with armed men), the other camp would be spared.
Mahanaim means two armies.
The spiritual significance of the two armies is the strong testimony that we more than conquer, that is, we “super-overcome” through Him who loved us, according to the principle of the Body of Christ (see Rom. 8:37; 12:5).
And these two armies are not those who are strong in themselves; God doesn’t want those who think they are strong in themselves, but the feeble ones, the weaker ones, the women and the children (see 1 Cor. 1:26-28; 2 Cor. 12:9-10; 13:3-5).
We may think that the apostle Paul was a strong one, one who was a giant in faith, but he testified that he is the least of the saints, and he is weak with those who are weak…If we are strong in ourselves, we are disqualified from being overcomers.
If we think we are strong in ourselves, we don’t need the Lord. We praise the Lord that in the church life there are not many who are wise in the eyes of the world, not many powerful, or well born…God has chosen the foolish things of the world so that He may put to shame the wise.
God chose the despised thing, even the things that are not, so that He may bring to nought the things which are. We are the things which are not, and we are bringing to nought the things which are.
God needs people who are one with Him; He needs a people who are submissive to Him (signified by the plaited hair in Song of Songs 1:11) and obedient to Him with a flexible will (signified by the neck with strings of jewels in v. 10).
Those who are counted worthy to be overcomers will be the weaker ones, those who depend on the Lord (see Eph. 3:8; Rev. 3:8; Gal. 2:20). We need to depend on the Lord for everything.
We have little power, just like the church in Philadelphia, but we can do our best for the Lord with the little power we have. What pleases the Lord is not our doing much for Him, but doing our best for Him with the little power that we have.
We keep the Lord’s word and do not deny His name. We say Amen to the word of God in the Bible, and we pray over every verse in the Bible. To keep His word is to pray-read the word of God, and to not deny His name is to call on His name in every place.
We are the Jesus callers, those who are arrestable because we call on the name of the Lord in every place. Amen!
When we see the high peak of the divine revelation – God became man to make man God in life and nature but not in the Godhead for God to have a corporate expression and representation on earth – and consider how to arrive at such a high peak, we should NOT trust in ourselves.
If we think we are strong in ourselves, we are disqualified; but if we depend on the Lord, we will be counted worthy to be the Lord’s overcomers.
In the story of Jacob, the two camps that were the armies were composed of the women and children, the feeble and weak ones; in our case, the overcomers are the weak ones depending on the Lord, and such ones are the armies of the Lord, who dance in victory.
We should not trust in ourselves but depend on the Lord as love, power, and mercy to make us vessels of mercy, honor, and glory (Rom. 9:16, 21-23. Song of Songs 8:5-6).
The consummation of the Shulamite is that she comes up from the wilderness leaning on her beloved; in fighting the spiritual warfare we need to lean on the Lord, becoming His burden for Him to carry.
We need to come out of the worldly things and lean on the Lord, letting Him carry us. When we consider our original condition, we cannot help but be filled with humility; we consider our emptiness, the vanity of our experience, and the futility of our pursuit. Our hope is only the Lord.
Whether we can endure to the end doesn’t depend on our endurance but on the Lord’s preservation. No spiritual perfection can sustain us until the Lord’s return; we depend completely on God and His preserving power. So we tell the Lord,
Lord Jesus, we are weak and helpless – set us as a seal on Your heart and a seal on Your arm, for Your love is stronger than death. Remember us constantly, Lord, and care for us in Your heart and bear us on Your shoulders. You know we are weak and empty, and You know we are powerless. Lord, we are helpless; we are the weak ones depending on the Lord for everything. If we try to preserve ourselves until Your coming, it will only bring shame to Your name and loss to us. Oh Lord, all our hopes are in Your love and power. We can rely only on the love that You have for us. We used to hold You, but even our strongest grip is weakness. Lord, our trust is not in our holding power but in Your holding and preserving power. Oh Lord, we depend in everything on Your strength and love!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message given by Ed Marks for this week, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1994-1997, vol. 3, “Crystallization-study of Song of Songs,” ch. 12, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Spiritual Warfare of the Church as the New Man (2018 Memorial Day Conference), week 4, Fighting the Spiritual Warfare through Living in Christ’s Ascension as the New Creation in Resurrection to Become Christ’s Duplication and Counterpart.
- Hymns on this topic:
# An army terrible with banners / Christ’s lovers overcome to be. / Those attracted by His beauty, / Fully trusting in His power. / Her romance is now the dances of two camps. / The Shulamite, His duplication, / His counterpart has now become. / She’s the same in life and nature, / His expression to the full; / Consummated as the New Jerusalem. (Song on, Lovers of Christ)
# Will you be an overcomer? / On His life depend! / Dare to suffer persecution, / Faithful to the end. / Will you be an overcomer? / Will you make this choice? / Christ is calling, Christ is calling, / Listen to His voice! (Hymns #894)
# Now the city, fair and comely, / As the dawn, triumphantly, / Is an army strong and mighty / Marching forth in victory. / Lo, the city and the army— / Saints transformed in one accord. / What a terror to the devil, / And so beautiful unto the Lord! (Hymns #1156)
