The Believers (1)
Message Six
Brothers of Christ as the Firstborn Son of God
THE EXTRACT OF THE OUTLINES
Scripture reading:
Rom. 1:3-4 Concerning His Son, who came out of the seed of David according to the flesh, who was designated the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness out of the resurrection of the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord;
I. “I will raise up your… descendant…, I will be his Father, and he will be My son“—2 Sam. 7:12a, 14a: (Monday)
A. This word corresponds with Paul’s word in Rom. 1:3-4 concerning Christ as the descendant of David being designated the Son of God in His humanity in resurrection—Rom. 1:3-4.
B. “Your… descendant” in 2 Sam. 7:12a and “My son” in verse 14a imply that the descendant of David would become the Son of God, that is, a human descendant would become a divine son—Rom. 1:3-4.
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II. In Acts 13 Paul said that from the descendant of David, God, according to promise, brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus; God has fully fulfilled this promise by raising Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, You are My Son; this day have I begotten You—Acts 13:23, 33: (Tuesday)
A. Christ as the firstborn Son of God was the promise made by God to the fathers, and God fulfilled this promise by raising Jesus—Acts 13:32-33.
B. Resurrection was a birth to the man Jesus; in resurrection He was begotten by God to be the firstborn Son among many brothers—Rom. 8:29.
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III. The descendant of David becoming the Son of God speaks of the process of Christ being designated the firstborn Son of God through resurrection—2 Sam. 7:12-14a; Rom. 1:3-4: (Wednesday)
A. The gospel of God is the gospel of sonship for the reality of the Body of Christ—Rom. 1:1, 3-4; 8:28-30; 12:5.
B. When Christ died, the divinity within Him, which is the Spirit of holiness, became active, and in resurrection He blossomed to become the Son of God—1 Pet. 3:18.
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IV. The descendant of David becoming the Son of God speaks of the process of our being designated the many sons of God through resurrection—Heb. 2:10-11: (Thursday)
A. The life of the Son of God has been planted into our spirit; we are now like a seed sown in the earth that must pass through the process of death and resurrection—Heb. 2:10; John 12:24-25.
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B. In resurrection Christ was designated the Son of God in His humanity; through such a resurrection, we also are in the process of being designated the sons of God—Rom. 8:11. (Friday)
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V. God’s will is to produce the many brothers of His firstborn Son so that He may have an expression; God predestinated us to be conformed to the image of the Son of God so that His Son would be the firstborn among many brothers—Rom. 8:29. (Saturday)
OPENING WORD OF THE PROPHESYING MEETING
Reading the verses in each day
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
I will be his Father, and he will be My son—2 Sam. 7:14a.
Concerning His Son, who came out of the seed of David according to the flesh, who was designated the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness out of the resurrection of the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord;—Rom. 1:3-4.
Because those whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brothers—Rom. 8:29.
Word of Appetizer
The Lord Jesus had two births. Such an expression may be new to many people. What does His second birth refer to?
First, He was born of Mary to be the Son of Man. Then, thirty-three and a half years later, He was crucified, buried, and resurrected from the dead. Through resurrection, He had a second birth; as a man, He was born in resurrection to be the Son of God. Furthermore, when Jesus, the Son of Man, was born as the firstborn Son of God through death and resurrection, millions of God’s chosen people were also born in the same birth as His millions of “twin brothers,” so that all these twin brothers would be the same as He is.
Spiritual Burden
“The seed of David became the Son of God” speaks of the process by which Christ was designated the firstborn Son of God through resurrection; it also speaks of the process by which we are designated the many sons of God through resurrection.
The life of the Son of God has been planted into our spirit; we are now like a seed sown into the soil, needing to pass through the process of death and resurrection; this causes the outer man to be consumed but allows the inner life to grow, develop, and eventually blossom; this is resurrection.
God’s purpose is to produce the many brothers of His Firstborn Son so that He may have an expression; as His many brothers, we are now in the process of maturation, which is to be conformed to His image.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
“I will raise up your seed… I will be his Father, and he will be My son”; the intrinsic significance of 2 Samuel 7 is that The Triune God in His processed and consummated Trinity is working Himself into His chosen people.
Resurrection was a birth to the man Jesus; in resurrection, He was born of God as the Firstborn among many brothers; in resurrection, the firstborn Son of God has both the divine nature and the human nature.
“The seed of David became the Son of God” speaks of the process by which Christ was designated the firstborn Son of God through resurrection, and it also speaks of the process by which we are designated the many sons of God through resurrection.
God’s purpose is to produce the many brothers of His Firstborn Son so that He may have an expression; the church is a corporate entity composed of the brothers of the firstborn Son of God, having two natures and two lives combined and mingled together.
The Experience of Life
Christ has already been designated the Son of God, but we are still in the process of being designated, that is, in the process of being sonized and made God; the more we grow in life, causing us to be transformed in life, the more we are designated the sons of God. For us to grow, we need to have a heart that turns to the Lord and is single toward Him; we need the nourishment of the guileless milk of the word and the solid food; we also need the watering of the gifted members; through all the incidents in our environment and our failures, our ugly self is torn down, giving the Lord more opportunity to work within us.
The key to the process of designation is resurrection, which is the indwelling Christ as the rising Spirit in our spirit, the designating Spirit, the power of life; we desperately need to learn how to walk according to the spirit to enjoy and experience the designating Spirit.
Practice and Application
The more we contact The Spirit, the more we are sanctified, transformed, and glorified to become God in life and in nature (but not in the Godhead), for the building up of the Body of Christ to consummate the New Jerusalem.
The Firstborn is the prototype, and we are the mass reproduction; Christ is the model, the mold, and the pattern, and God has put us into Him so that we may be conformed to His image; one day this process will be completed, and we will be exactly the same as Christ, the firstborn Son of God, in spirit, soul, and body forever.
PROPHESYING TOPICS—TWELVE TOPICS PER WEEK
Day 1
T1: The intrinsic significance of 2 Sam. 7 is that The Triune God is working Himself into His chosen people (2 Sam. 7:12a, 14a)
(Please illustrate what God indicated to David was his true need.)
T2: The descendant of David becoming the Son of God means that a human descendant becomes the divine Son (2 Sam. 7:12, 14a; Rom. 1:3-4)
(Please illustrate what this implies concerning God’s intention in His economy.)
Day 2
T1: God raising Jesus from the dead was His begetting Him as the firstborn Son of God (Acts 13:33; Psa. 2:7)
(Please illustrate what the two births of the Lord Jesus respectively refer to.)
T2: Christ is the only begotten Son of God and also the firstborn Son of God (John 1:18; Rom. 8:29; Heb. 1:6)
(Please illustrate what the significance of the only begotten Son and the firstborn Son is with regard to the divine life.)
Day 3
T1: Christ died on the cross in His humanity as the descendant of David, clearing up the entire universe (Rom. 6:6; Heb. 2:14)
(Please illustrate what negative things the flesh of this descendant of David was involved with.)
T2: In resurrection, Christ’s humanity was “sonized” and He was designated the Son of God (Rom. 1:3-4; Acts 13:33)
(Please illustrate what “designate” means.)
Day 4
T1: Christ was begotten as the firstborn Son of God through resurrection, and at the same time all His believers were also begotten as the many sons of God (1 Pet. 1:3; Heb. 2:10)
(Please illustrate who the prototype and the mass reproduction respectively refer to.)
T2: The firstborn Son of God has both divinity and humanity, and we the many sons of God also have both humanity and the divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4; Rom. 8:29)
(Please illustrate how we also have two natures, and how we should declare this fact to the Lord.)
Day 5
T1: Through resurrection, we are also in the process of being designated the sons of God (Rom. 6:5; 8:11)
(Give examples to Please illustrate how we are designated through the change in life.)
T2: The process of being designated has four main aspects—sanctification, transformation, conformation, and glorification (Rom. 6:22; 12:2; 8:29-30)
(Please illustrate which step of resurrection glorification is.)
Day 6
T1: Both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, and He calls us brothers (Heb. 2:10-11; 3:1)
(Please illustrate that we are Christ’s brothers because He and we are of which one source.)
T2: God’s purpose is to produce the many brothers of His firstborn Son, so that He may have an expression (Rom. 8:29)
(Please illustrate why God arranges our circumstances in this way, causing us to experience hardship.)
