Crystallization-Study of Exodus (4)
Message Five
The Wings of an Eagle,
the Hands of a Man, and the Feet of a Calf
Opening Word of the Prophesying Meeting
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
…four living creatures…They had the likeness of a man. And every one had four faces, and every one of them had four wings. And their feet were straight feet, and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf‘s foot; and they sparkled like the sight of burnished bronze. And the hands of a man were under their wings on their four sides…—Ezek. 1:5-8.
Yet those who wait on Jehovah will renew their strength; / They will mount up with wings like eagles; / They will run and will not faint; / They will walk and will not become weary—Isa. 40:31.
Word of Appetizer
What is the significance that the human hands of the four living creatures are under the eagle’s wings?
This means that whatever we are doing are under the grace of God and under His covering.
No matter how much the grace of God is with us and no matter how much the Lord is empowering us, we must nevertheless do things in a human way; Under the eagle’s wings there should be human hands , and these hands should always be working. We need both the wings of the Lord’s empowering grace and the hands of a man, cooperating with God in a human way.
Spiritual Burden
If as living creatures we have the wings of an eagle, the hands of a man, and the feet of a calf, we can be coordinated and become one corporate entity for the carrying out of God’s economy.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
The wings of an eagle signify the resurrection power of Christ, God’s power in life applied to us and becoming our grace.
The spiritual significance of the hands of a man is that a normal Christian should always do things exactly like a man.
The spiritual significance of the feet of a calf is that we should walk like a calf, having straight feet; we should walk not according to our crooked human feet but with the feet of a calf.
If as living creatures we have the wings of an eagle, the hands of a man, and the feet of a calf, we can be coordinated and become one corporate entity for the carrying out of God’s economy.
The Experience of Life
On the one hand, the Lord’s grace is the power for us to move; on the other hand, the Lord’s power is our protection, our hiding place.
When Christ comes into us as life, He is the eternal life with both the divine life and nature and the human life and nature; now our wonderful Savior lives, acts, moves, and works as life within us in a quiet, normal, ordinary way and also in a very human way.
Practice and Application
No matter how much the grace of God is with us and no matter how much the Lord is empowering us, we must nevertheless do things in a human way.
We all need to learn to be human Christians, living in a Jesusly human way according to the humanity of Jesus, which is His human life in resurrection.
We should walk like a calf, having straight feet; we need discernment of what is right and what is wrong in the eyes of God.
Using Key Verses to Have a Bird’s-Eye View over the Whole Outline
Key Verses (1)
And every one had four faces, and every one of them had four wings—Ezek. 1:6.
Theirwings were joined one to another; they did not turn as they went; each went straight forward—1:9.
Two wings of each were joined one to another, and two covered their bodies—1:11b.
Yet those who wait on Jehovah will renew their strength; / They will mount up with wings like eagles; / They will run and will not faint; / They will walk and will not become weary—Isa. 40:31.
The wings of an eagle—the resurrection power of Christ, becoming our grace
I. The wings of an eagle signify the resurrection power of Christ , God’s power in life applied to us and becoming our grace .
•The Bible usesthe eagle as a symbol of the Spirit when it speaks about the Spirit of power.
•When God saved the Israelites out of Egypt and brought them to Himself at Mount Sinai, He told them that He bore them like an eagle , carrying them upon His wings ; this was a word of grace to let them know that He was full of grace toward them.
•Those who wait on Jehovah will renew their strength; / They will mount up with wings like eagles ; / They will run and will not become weary; / They will walk and will not faint.
•The grace, power, and strength of the Lord are both formoving and for covering us.
Key Verses (2)
And the hands of a man were under their wings on their four sides…—Ezek. 1:8.
You yourselves know that these hands have ministered to my needs and to those who are with me—Acts 20:34.
Always bearing about in the body the putting to death of Jesus that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who are alive are always being delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh—2 Cor. 4:10-11.
The hands of a man—do things exactly like a man
II. The spiritual significance of the hands of a manis that a normal Christian should always do things exactly like a man:
• Paul’s writings indicate that although he experienced the eagle’s wings, he was still very human in his living, taking the human way and doing things in a human way.
• No matter how much the grace of God is with us and no matter how much the Lord is empowering us, we must nevertheless do things in a human way.
• The highest humanity is one in which divinity is added to our humanity and in which the divine attributes are expressed in our human virtues.
• We all need to learn to be human Christians, living in a Jesusly human way according to the humanity of Jesus, which is His human life in resurrection.
• We need to experience the Spirit of God as the Spirit of Jesus.
Key Verses (3)
And their feet were straight feet, and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf’s foot; and they sparkled like the sight of burnished bronze—Ezek. 1:7.
For our boasting is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in singleness and sincerity of God, not in fleshly wisdom but in the grace of God, we have conducted ourselves in the world, and more abundantly toward you—2 Cor. 1:12.
The feet of a calf—walk like a calf, having straight feet
III. The spiritual significance of the feet of a calf is that we should walk like a calf, having straight feet; we should walk not according to our crooked human feet but with the feet of a calf:
•The apostle Paul speaks of walking with the straight feet of a calf.
•The calf’s feet are not only straight but also cloven, divided; the divided hoof signifies that in our Christian walk we need discernment of what is right and what is wrong in the eyes of God.
• The calf’s feet “sparkled like the sight of burnished bronze” ; this indicates that we need a walk that has been tested and burned by the Lord so that it will be like shining bronze, enlightening and testing others.
•In the Bible a calf signifies freshness, livingness, and vigor.
Prophesying Topics—Twelve Topics per Week
D1
T1 The wings of an eagle signify God’s power in life applied to us (Exo. 19:4, Isa. 40:31, 2 Cor. 4:7, 12:9)
(Please according to the verses mentioned above to explain that the eagle’s wings signify the strength and the grace of the Lord Jesus applied to us.)
T2 The two aspects of the Holy Spirit (Exo. 19:4)
(Please explain that on the one hand, the Spirit of God is the Spirit of power, and on the other hand, He is the Spirit of life.)
D2
T1 Each of the four living creatures had four wings, two for covering and two for moving (Psa. 57:1, 63:7, 91:4)
(Please according to the verses mentioned above to explain that the grace, power, and strength of the Lord are both for moving and for covering us.)
T2 Yet those who wait on Jehovah will renew their strength (Isa. 40:31)
(What is the meaning of waiting on Jehovah, the eternal God?)
D3
T1 “The hands of a man” indicates that a normal Christian should always do things exactly like a man (Acts 20:34; 1 Tim. 5:23)
(Please explain that although Paul experienced the eagle’s wings, he was still very human in his living, taking the human way and doing things in a human way.)
T2 Under the eagle’s wings there are human hands, and these hands should always be working (Acts 20:34)
(Please use experience to explain that no matter how much the grace of God is with us, we must nevertheless fulfill our human duty in our daily living.)
D4
T1 The more spiritual we are, the more human we will be (Gal. 2:20)
(Please explain that our humanity is not any merit in ourselves but the Christ who lives within us.)
T2 We all need to learn to be human (2 Cor. 4:10-11) (Refer to Outlines II. E)
(Please explain that we all need to learn to be human Christians, living in a Jesusly human way according to the humanity of Jesus, which is His human life in resurrection.)
D5
T1 The spiritual significance of the feet of a calf (Ezek. 1:7; 2 Cor. 1:12)
(Please explain that we should walk like a calf, having straight feet.)
T2 The calf’s feet are not only straight but also cloven, divided (1 Cor. 12:14-15)
(Please explain what the significance of the divided hoof is.)
D6
T1 The secret of discernment is to discern according to life or death (Phil. 1:9)
(How can we discern between ethics and Christ?)
T2 A calf signifies freshness, livingness, and vigor (Mal. 4:2)
(Please use experience to explain that if we enjoy grace and live in the presence of God, we will always be new and fresh, and with us there will be no oldness.)
