Hallelujah for God’s economy – the dispensing of the Triune God as life (zoe)! The Triune God dispenses Himself as life (zoe) into man so that His divine attributes of righteousness, holiness and glory may become man’s human virtues, with the righteousness, holiness and glory as attributes of zoe. In God’s economy, we can see His intention.
After the fall of man, Genesis 3:24 says that God closed the way to the tree of life, guarding it with a cheribum and a flaming sword. Not only is Genesis 3:24 a tragic consequence of man’s fall but this verse shows God’s very heart’s desire for man.
God’s intent in creating man, His heart’s desire for man, is that He as the divine life (the tree of life) would dispense Himself into man so that His attributes of righteousness (sword), holiness (flame) and glory (cheribum) would become man’s virtues for God’s corporate expression (Adam and Eve) on the earth.
So at the end of Genesis 3, we have the way to the tree of life closed and guarded. But Hallelujah, Christ came to this earth to meet the requirements of God’s righteousness, holiness and glory, thus opening the way to the tree of life.
Today, Christ in infusing Himself with Himself as our righteousness, holiness and glory to make us a city of righteousness, holiness and glory (the New Jerusalem).
God as righteousness, holiness and glory can also be seen in the three primary colors of the rainbow: blue, red and yellow. Blue, represented by the color of the sapphire throne in Ezekiel 1 signifies righteousness. Red, represented by the flame of fire in Genesis 3 signifies holiness. And yellow, represented by the glowing electrum in Ezekiel 1 signifies glory.
The rainbow shows us that our God is a faithful, covenanting God, One who is faithful to impart Himself into us our life (zoe) according to His righteousness, through His holiness and unto His glory. In eternity, we, as the New Jerusalem, will become a city of righteousness, holiness and glory, God’s rainbow testifying to God’s faithfulness in making us His duplication of righteousness, holiness and glory.
Without Christ as our righteousness, holiness and glory we cannot experience God’s salvation. According to 1 Cor 1:30, without Christ as our righteousness, we cannot be regenerated in our spirit. Without Christ as our holiness, we cannot be sanctified in our soul. Without Christ as our glory, we cannot be redeemed in our body.
How do we get from the tree of life being closed and guarded to becoming a city of righteousness, holiness and glory? The answer is found in the book of Romans! Romans reveals to us that in every church there must be the base of God’s righteousness (God’s procedure), the process of God’s holiness (God’s nature) and the goal of God’s glory (God’s goal).
This base, process and goal bring us into the heart of God to have the reality of the Body of Christ expressed in the local churches. In other words, the church life is where God mingles Himself with His people who have been redeemed, justified, sanctified, glorified and built up together to be God’s tabernacle.
Such a tabernacle will consummate in the New Jerusalem as the ultimate tabernacle of God with man. Romans shows us that the basic structure of the Body of Christ is God’s righteousness (Romans 3-5), God’s holiness (Romans 5-8) and God’s glory (Romans 8).
May we all experience more of the dispensing of the Triune God as life according to His righteousness, through His holiness and unto His glory so that we may become the New Jerusalem with Christ as our solid foundation of righteousness, our pure constituent of holiness and our radiant expression of glory! Amen! [guest post, bro. Erik]
