We should Participate in God’s Building – the Mutual Constitution of God and Man

As believers in Christ who love Him and work for God today in the church life, we need to participate in God’s building so that He may gain a mutual constitution – the constitution of the divine element into the human element and of the human element into the divine element. Amen!

God’s unique desire is to work Himself into man to be man’s life and everything so that He may obtain a building, a dwelling place, constituted with God as the element and with something of man with his redeemed and uplifted humanity.

We see this in type everywhere in the Old Testament.

The tabernacle was made of acacia wood overlaid with gold; acacia wood signifies humanity, the uplifted, proper, resurrected humanity of Jesus, and gold signifies divinity, the divine nature of God.

It was not just gold or just wood; it was acacia wood overlaid with gold. Humanity needs to be overlaid, mingled, with divinity.

Divinity needs humanity for its expression and upholding, and humanity needs divinity so that what others see is not just an uplifted humanity but God in man and man in God.

This is God’s eternal economy. In His economy, God became man to make man God in life and in nature but not in the Godhead, so that man would be mingled with God and be built together to become the dwelling place of God.

In the church as the dwelling place of God we see God in Christ as everything, for Christ is all and in all in the new man (Phil. 3:10), and we also see man, but this man is redeemed, regenerated, transformed, and glorified.

The church is composed of people, but the people in the church are mingled with God, constituted with God, and expressing God.

God desires to work Himself into us, His chosen and redeemed people, so that we may be constituted with God and we may be constituted in God for the mutual dwelling place of God and man.

The result is the church, which is not just a group of people but the organic Body of Christ.

The church is the Body of Christ; Christ has a Body, which matches Him, and this Body is His expression and representation in an organic, living way.

For others to see Christ, they need to look at the believers in Christ, for they are the many members of the Body of Christ, the Body-Christ.

Sadly to say, many Christians do not practice fellowship with God so that they are more mingled with God, so when others see them, they see common men, men who do the same things as the people in the world, with not much difference between them. Oh Lord!

May the Lord save us from being like the rest by not living in our spirit!

May we realize that God desires to work Himself into us, and may we simply open to Him and let Him build Himself in Christ into our intrinsic constitution!

May we cooperate with God’s building work to help others be mingled with God for the building of God!

In Christ, God Constitutes Himself into Man and Man into God for the Building of God

The Bible is truly a marvellous and mysterious book, for it shows not only that God created all things and that He has a purpose but even more, that God Himself became a man so that man may become the same as He is in life and nature but not in the Godhead.

In the Old Testament God prophesied through Nathan the prophet to David the king that David’s seed will be the Son of God (2 Sam. 7:14). Wow!

The seed of man, that is, the son of a man, will be the Son of God. Very mysterious.

This shows God’s intention from eternity to eternity to make Himself man in order to make man God in life and in nature but not in the Godhead.

In the Old Testament, we see many types and prophecies concerning this matter, and in the New Testament, we see the fulfillment.

In the book of Revelation, we see the ultimate consummation of God’s intention – the New Jerusalem, a mutual constitution of God and man, the ultimate and consummate building of God.

The New Jerusalem, the ultimate consummation of the Bible, involves God becoming man and man becoming God in life and nature but not in the Godhead.

And it all was made possible by one person, Jesus Christ, the Second of the Divine Trinity, who one day became a man.

God was incarnated to be a man, even the God-man, Jesus Christ.

He was a man, yet He was God; He was God yet man, man yet God. He united, mingled, and incorporated God with man.

In Christ, God constitutes Himself into man and man into God for Him to gain the building of God.

One day the Lord Jesus asked the Pharisees, “What do you think concerning the Christ? Whose son is He?” (Matt. 22:41-42).

They responded that He was David’s, so the Lord said, “How then does David in spirit call Him Lord…? If then David calls Him Lord, how is He his son?” (vv. 43, 45).

Very mysterious. Christ is both the seed of David, the son of man, and He is also the Lord of God, the Son of God.

This was truly incomprehensible to the Pharisees, who were silenced by the Lord.

The greatest question is, Who is Christ? The Old Testament reveals that He is both the Son of God and the Son of man.

Paul further expounds this in Rom. 1:3-4 where he says that Christ, who came out of the seed of David according to the flesh, was designated the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness, out of the resurrection from the dead. Wow!

A man, Jesus Christ, who was the seed of David, a son of man, became the Son of God through death and resurrection. Hallelujah!

This is a mystery, for never has it happened before for someone to be born of God, for a human being to become the Son of God.

In Christ, God became man so that a man, Jesus Christ, may become God. Hallelujah!

In Christ God has been constituted into man and man has been constituted into God.

In Christ, God and man have been constituted together to become a mutual constitution of God and man, the building of God.

In Christ God and man have been mingled together to be one entity, which is called the God-man.

And this is just the beginning; Christ is not unique in this way, but we as the many believers in Christ are His reproduction, His continuation, the many sons of God being made the same as He is in life, nature, expression, and function, but not in the Godhead.

If we see that God’s intention is to work Himself into man so that God and man would be constituted together into one entity, a mutual constitution of God and man, we will pay attention only to this, and our work will be to further this constitution.

May we ask the Lord to enlighten the eyes of our heart to see this matter and enter into this in our daily experience.

Praise You, Lord Jesus, for coming to be a man so that God would be mingled with man and man would be mingled with God! Hallelujah, Jesus Christ is the incarnation of God in man, and in Him, God and man are constituted together to be a mutual constitution of God and man! Wow, Lord, we praise You for the processes You went through to bring God into man and to bring man into God. Hallelujah, in Christ God became man to unite, mingle, and incorporate God with man so that man would become God! Praise the Lord, Jesus is not only the Son of Man but also the Son of God. Hallelujah, in resurrection Christ as the seed of David was designated to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness! Thank You, Lord, now man can be mingled with God. Thank You for coming into us to mingle God with us and to mingle us with God. Keep us in the process of being mingled with God for the building of God!

We need to Participate in God’s Building – the Mutual Constitution of God and Man

The four Gospels present a wonderful and mysterious God-man, Jesus Christ, and the processes He went through in order for God to become man so that man may become God.

God was incarnated to be a man, He went through human living, death, resurrection, and ascension, and He became the Son of God out of the resurrection from the dead.

If we see this revelation, we will understand that God’s desire is to constitute God into man and man into God to obtain a mutual constitution of God and man – the church as the building of God.

Such a revelation will govern our understanding of God and of the church, and it will also govern our work for God.

As we work for God in the church life today, we need to participate in God’s building, which is the constitution of the divine element into the human element and of the human element into the divine element (John 14:20; 15:4; 1 John 4:15).

May we participate in the building of God and man today; may we share in the work of God’s building first by allowing God to build Himself into us and then by ministering Christ to others for Him to build Himself into them.

The church is not just the gathering of the called-out ones, as the Greek word ekklesia represents; the church is the mutual constitution of God and man.

As the divine element is constituted into our humanity, we become God in life and in nature but not in the Godhead.

As the human element is constituted into God, God becomes man.

This is the building revealed in the New Testament (Eph. 2:21; 4:16).

This is a very high truth, yet it is so easy to experience and enjoy today.

We need to daily open to the Lord and ask Him to mingle Himself more with us.

As we do our shopping, as we go to work, and as we take care of the daily things we need to do, we can simply open to the Lord again and again to call on His name and fellowship with Him.

As we open to the Lord, pray, call on the name of the Lord, and even argue with the Lord and complain to Him, He works Himself into us a little more so that He may obtain a mutual constitution of God and man.

We may even be upset with the Lord and tell Him all kinds of things, including asking Him this and that and maybe even telling Him off for doing this or that or for allowing this or that to happen.

As long as we open to Him, whether in sadness or happiness, He has a way to constitute God into us and us into God.

In the Lord’s recovery, our work needs to be part of this mutual constitution of God and man – divinity being constituted into humanity and humanity being constituted into divinity.

This is the work of uniting, mingling, and incorporating God with man so that God and man, man and God, would become one entity, the Body of Christ.

This is something that should happen every day in our daily life. If our work is not related to this mutual constitution, then in the eyes of God our work is like wood, grass, and stubble (1 Cor. 3:12).

But if our work is part of this mutual constitution, if we seek to minister something of the Christ we enjoyed and experienced to others, God will regard our work as gold, silver, and precious stones, which will consummate in the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:2, 10-11, 18-21).

We need to be careful how we build the church as the Body of Christ.

The more we go on with the Lord in the church life, the more we live the church life, the easier it is for us to just live a form of the church life, going through practices or motions, having a certain routine, and just living in a natural way.

Day by day we need to exercise our spirit, and when we contact the saints in particular we need to contact the Lord so that we do not mar the building of God by speaking and doing things out of our natural man.

May we take heed of how we build so that, on the day of the Lord’s judgment, our work would not be considered to be wood, grass, and stubble.

There is no wood, grass, or stubble in the New Jerusalem; there are only gold, silver (pearls), and precious stones.

As we endeavour to live the church life and carry out the God-ordained way in the four steps of begetting, nourishing, perfecting, and building, may we participate in the work of God’s building for God to obtain a mutual constitution of God and man.

Our work must be based upon the processed and consummated Triune God, who is building Himself into His chosen people and building them into Him.

If we minister the building and builded God to others for their growth in life, we are building up the Body of Christ, which will consummate in the New Jerusalem (Col. 2:19; Eph. 4:15-16; Rev. 21:10).

May our work for the Lord in the church life today be one with and part of God’s building work for Him to gain the mutual constitution of God and man.

May we build up the New Jerusalem today through our work for the Lord, first by allowing God to work Himself into us and then by ministering something of Christ to others for the building up of the church as the Body of Christ.

Lord Jesus, we want to participate in God’s building today so that You may gain the mutual constitution of God and man, the church as the Body of Christ. Constitute more of Yourself into us and constitute us into Yourself for the building of God. May our work for You in the church life be part of this mutual constitution. Save us from building with the natural man and what comes of our natural being; may we build with something of God, something of Christ that has been wrought into our being. We open to You, Lord; keep our being open to You throughout the day so that God may be wrought into us. Add more of Your divine element into us. Keep us in fellowship with You. We just want to call on Your name to receive more of You. May our speaking, living, and doing minister Christ to others for the mutual constitution of God and man. Amen, Lord, gain the reality of the New Jerusalem among us today so that God may be expressed through man and man would be fully one with God for God’s manifestation in the flesh!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by brother Minoru Chen in the message for this week, and portions from, Life-study of 1&2 Samuel, msgs. 28-31 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, An Overview of the Central Burden and Present Truth of the Lord’s Recovery Before His Appearing (2023 July Semiannual Training), week 3, entitled, God Building Himself in Christ into Our Being.
• Similar articles on this topic:
  – What Does God Want? Read more via, Bibles for America Blog.
  – God’s building, article via, Affirmation and Critique.
  – 4 Reasons to Pursue the Truth in the Bible this Year, article via, Holding to Truth in Love.
  – Our need for God to work Himself in Christ into us as our life, nature, and constitution, a portion from, Life-Study of 1 & 2 Samuel, Chapter 25, by Witness Lee.
  – Being Constituted With the Truth for the Spread of the Lord’s Testimony, article via, Living to Him.
  – The Ministry Produced through Revelation and Suffering, Part One: Revelation (2), article via, Shepherding Words.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – Lo, the central thought of God / Is that He be one with man; / He to man is everything / That He might fulfill His plan… / ’Tis the city God hath built, / ’Tis the dwelling God requires, / ’Tis the new Jerusalem / Which fulfills His heart’s desires. / ’Tis the building of the saints, / ’Tis the blend of God and man, / Purposed by the Father’s will / Long before the world began. (Hymns #972 stanzas 1, 4-5)
  – Thus in life we’re built together, / Then in love we’re knit as one; / God is now His plan fulfilling, / Finishing what He’s begun. / Lord, increase Thyself within us / That we might be built by Thee / Into that great corporate vessel / Filled with God exclusively. (Hymns #1325 stanza 5)
  – In our daily life and all we are and do and think and say, / How we need a deeper mingling just to gain the Lord each day; / Lord, we give ourselves completely just to take the mingled way. / Yes, mingling is the way. / From the fruit of daily living, New Jerusalem we’ll see, / It’s the ultimate in mingling—it’s divine humanity. / And what joy that we can share it all, and share it corporately. / Yes, mingling is the way. (Hymns #1199 stanzas 5-6)