The Daily Word of Righteousness

The Two Stages of Man

As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle. (Ezekiel 1:10)

Man Is Created in Two Stages.

The four dimensions of God, the man, ox, lion, and eagle could not be produced by fashioning a man from the dust of the ground nor by speaking into existence a new kind of angel. Rather, all the complex attributes of the man of dust had to be formed and then the man of his own will has to lay down all of his attributes so each characteristic (even the bodily form) can be resurrected by being infused with the Life of Christ.

God became man in Christ. It is God's will that Christ have many brothers. It is God's will that the Lamb have a wife to serve Him as a suitable helper, a counterpart. If Christ is both Man and God, then those who are His brothers must be man and also have a Divine part of their personality. God cannot marry an animal or have an animal for a brother!

For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, (Hebrews 2:11)

It would have been too dangerous to create a number of gods to serve as associates of the Lord Jesus. What if some of them rebelled?

God decided to first test the eternal Word in the area of obedience. After the eternal Word had proven Himself totally obedient to God (which He did) the idea was to create a number of associates, not as powerful gods who could wreak havoc in the creation but as flesh and blood creatures having very limited capabilities.

Then the adamic people could choose to lay down their own will, to commit their life to God, to reject sin against the Father, and to cooperate with the Spirit of God in the crucifixion of their very selves. As the new creatures surrendered every facet of their personality to crucifixion, the Life of the eternal Word, Christ, would be available to invade the crucified life and lift it into incorruptible immortality. At the same time the total obedience of the new creatures to the Father would be established and verified beyond all doubt.

Now the Father has the eternal Word and a company of sons who are both son of man and son of God, both human and Divine. What use will God make of them?

As we have stated, when God created man He created a weak little God bound in an animal body. If this little God is unwilling to surrender his attributes but insists on maintaining his adamic life, he becomes an adversary of God.

For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. (Hebrews 10:26,27)

Maintaining one's own life produces a satanic monster, and there have been many such in Christianity throughout the centuries.

To be continued.