As believers in Christ who love Him and pursue Him according to the revelation in His word, we need to focus on, stress, and minister one thing: the heavenly vision of the eternal economy of God which is that God became man to be man-ized so that He may make man God in life and nature but not in the Godhead for man to be God-ized.
This is the unique thing that the Bible speaks of, and this is the highest peak of the divine revelation in God’s word.
This week we start a new Holy Word for Morning Revival, based on the 2023 fall ITERO (International Training for Elders and Responsible Ones) with the general subject of, Living and Serving According to God’s Economy Concerning the Church.
This first week in particular we come to the topic of, Living and Serving According to the Heavenly Vision of God’s Economy.
We need to be constituted with the truth in the word of God and live a life for the fulfilment of God’s purpose according to the revelation in God’s word.
Our being constituted with the truth includes not only learning or memorising the truth, the main points of truth, or the sound doctrine in God’s word; it is for us even more to experience this truth in God’s economy.
Many times the experience comes along with suffering, with situations that are not so pleasant, and with many things that constrain us and restrict us.
The Lord uses the environment and all things around us to cause us to pass through various experiences so that whatever we hear from Him, what we learn in His word, what we know, and what we learn would actually be our experience and even become part of us.
He wants to constitute Himself into us through all our experiences. On one hand, we need to know the truth, even the heavenly vision of the eternal economy of God; on the other hand, mental knowledge and apprehension are not good enough – we need to experience such a high truth.
We need to have many transactions with the Lord so that the high truth of God’s eternal economy would become our daily experience. We can pray simply,
Lord, do this in me. I want to be part of Your economy. Thank You for making Yourself the same as I am so that You may make me the same as You are. Amen, Lord, make me and make all the saints the same as Christ in every possible way.
As the Lord shines on us regarding a particular matter, as we hear the speaking of the truth and receive the Lord’s shining, we can simply respond to Him in prayer and say Amen to His speaking. We may even repent and say,
Lord, forgive me, my experience does not match this high truth. I am still not walking and living as a God-man should. Forgive me, Lord, and work Yourself into me a little more today. Make me the same as You are in my daily living.
Again and again, we can open to the Lord repent, confess, and say Amen to His word, even tell Him to do in us according to his word.
May the Lord shine on us and cause us to realize that merely knowing the truth in our mind and being able to speak it is not good enough; God wants us to experience the truth and be brought to the standard of the truth so that He may carry out His economy in us and through us.
Focusing on the Heavenly Vision of the Eternal Economy of God in the Church Life
![...charge certain ones not to teach different things nor to give heed to myths and unending genealogies, which produce questionings rather than God's economy, which is in faith. 1 Tim. 1:3-4 If indeed you have heard of the stewardship of the grace of God which was given to me for you...And to enlighten all [that they may see] what the economy of the mystery is, which throughout the ages has been hidden in God, who created all things. Eph. 3:2, 9](https://i0.wp.com/www.agodman.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/charge-certain-ones-not-to-teach-different-things-nor-to-give-heed-to-myths-and-unending-genealogies-which-produce-questionings-rather-than-Gods-economy-which-is-in-faith-683x1024.webp?resize=400%2C600&ssl=1 "...charge certain ones not to teach different things nor to give heed to myths and unending genealogies, which produce questionings rather than God's economy, which is in faith. 1 Tim. 1:3-4 If indeed you have heard of the stewardship of the grace of God which was given to me for you...And to enlighten all [that they may see] what the economy of the mystery is, which throughout the ages has been hidden in God, who created all things. Eph. 3:2, 9")
The one thing, the unique thing, that we should be focused on in the church life in the Lord’s recovery is the heavenly vision of the eternal economy of God (1 Tim. 1:3-4; Eph. 1:10; 3:2, 8-9, 16-19; Acts 26:18-19).
This is the unique matter that we should focus on, stress, and minister today in the church life. God has an economy, the economy of the fullness of the times; this is His household administration, the stewardship of the grace of God.
There is an economy of God, the eternal economy of God, and we need to see a heavenly vision of this economy.
Paul speaks of the economy of God in Ephesians, and he also mentions it in 1 Timothy when he tells Timothy to charge certain ones in Ephesus not to teach certain things that are not God’s economy, which is in faith.
In Acts 20 Paul was in Ephesus for three years, night and day, from house to house, admonishing and teaching all the saints; but a few years later, some were speaking different things.
So Paul wanted them to focus only on the heavenly vision of the eternal economy of God and leave the other things.
If we do not focus on this unique matter, we may end up like Ephesus, losing our first love for the Lord and being close to having our lampstand removed from us.
If we focus only on the heavenly vision of the eternal economy of God, we will love the Lord with the first love and have the lampstand, being part of the genuine local church shining out the testimony of Jesus.
But if we focus on and minister many other things that are not God’s economy, we are in danger of losing our first love for the Lord and even of losing our testimony, our shining.
May the Lord have mercy on us all that we would have a fresh, new, controlling vision of God’s economy; the heavenly vision of the eternal economy of God needs to govern us in our Christian life and church life.
Paul received such a vision when he went to Damascus and the Lord met him on the way; he saw the heavenly vision, Christ and His Body, the corporate Christ, and this captivated him and kept him.
There were persecutions, oppositions, imprisonment, and many things along the way, but Paul never wavered – he had the heavenly vision of God’s eternal economy, and this is the unique thing he focused on, ministered, and practiced.
![Unto the economy of the fullness of the times, to head up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth, in Him. Eph. 1:10 To open their eyes, to turn [them] from darkness to light and [from] the authority of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me. Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. Acts 26:18-19](https://i0.wp.com/www.agodman.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Unto-the-economy-of-the-fullness-of-the-times-to-head-up-all-things-in-Christ-683x1024.webp?resize=400%2C600&ssl=1 "Unto the economy of the fullness of the times, to head up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth, in Him. Eph. 1:10 To open their eyes, to turn [them] from darkness to light and [from] the authority of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me. Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. Acts 26:18-19")
If we do not have such a heavenly vision, we run wild, cast off restraint, and do whatever we want, that is, whatever is good in our own eyes.
But praise the Lord, when we remain under the heavenly vision of the eternal economy of God and minister, focus on, and stress only this in the church life, we will be supplied to continue in the Lord for the fulfilment of His purpose.
No matter how much opposition, persecution, and unpleasant things are coming our way, we will be inwardly supplied to go on with the Lord, not being disobedient to the heavenly vision.
According to the eternal economy of God, God created man as a vessel to dispense Himself into man and fill man up with God so that man would become the same as God in life and nature to become His corporate expression.
Even though man fell, being deceived by Satan, God came to redeem man and cleanse him, and He made a way for man to receive God’s life into him.
We believers in Christ are those who believe into the Lord Jesus and therefore receive Him, and we’re in the process of becoming the same as God in life, nature, expression, and function for the fulfillment of His purpose.
Of course, we will never have God’s Godhead or sovereignty, nor can we have a share in His person; however, we share in His life, nature, and expression, and we even share in His glory. Hallelujah!
Lord Jesus, we want to focus on the heavenly vision of the eternal economy of God in the church life today. May a clear, controlling vision of Your economy direct our heart. We do not want to stress or minister anything else apart from God’s economy, which is in faith. Grant us to see a vision of the economy of the mystery, which was hidden deep in God throughout the ages. May we see the economy of the fullness of the times, that which is hidden in God. Amen, Lord Jesus, may this economy become our stewardship for the building up of the church as the Body of Christ! May this heavenly vision direct and guide our hearts until we cannot be disobedient to the heavenly vision! Lord Jesus, may this vision supply us to withstand any persecution and opposition as we follow the Lord according to the heavenly vision of the eternal economy of God!
God’s Economy is to make Himself man and to make man, God – He is Man-ized and we are God-ized!
In the church history, especially in the beginning, some of the church fathers who were expounding the Bible used the word “deification” – God became the same as we are, a man, and He is making us the same as He is – God.
Later, they were opposed by others and even considered as heretics. However, the apostle John in his gospel clearly says that those who believe into Christ, that is, receive Him, are given the authority to be called children of God (John 1:12-13).
Those who believe into the Lord Jesus are children of God, those who are begotten of God.
What is begotten of man is man; what is begotten of God must be God. We are not “adopted sons of God” as some say; we are children of God, begotten by God, that is, begotten of the Spirit in our spirit (3:6).
![These all continued steadfastly with one accord in prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers. Acts 1:14 God is faithful, through whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Now I beseech you, brothers, through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing and [that] there be no divisions among you, but [that] you be attuned in the same mind and in the same opinion. 1 Cor. 1:9-10](https://i0.wp.com/www.agodman.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/These-all-continued-steadfastly-with-one-accord-in-prayer-together-with-the-women-and-Mary-the-mother-of-Jesus-and-with-His-brothers-683x1024.webp?resize=400%2C600&ssl=1 "These all continued steadfastly with one accord in prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers. Acts 1:14 God is faithful, through whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Now I beseech you, brothers, through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing and [that] there be no divisions among you, but [that] you be attuned in the same mind and in the same opinion. 1 Cor. 1:9-10")
This means that we are born of God to be the same as God. However, we are not and will never be God in His person, sovereignty, and Godhead; we will never be worshipped by others, only God has the person of God and can be worshipped by man.
But we are born of God to have the life and nature of God.
In Christianity there is a traditional concept that God wants us, those who are saved, to be good, spiritual, and holy; however, there’s no concept that God wants us to be God-men.
According to the heavenly vision of the eternal economy of God, God’s economy and plan is to make Himself man and to make us, His created beings, God so that He is man-ized and we are God-ized (see, A Deeper Study of the Divine Dispensing, pp. 51-52, by Witness Lee). Wow!
When God became man in the person of the Lord Jesus, God was man-ized, putting on the human nature to become the same as man.
When we are born of God through regeneration, we are being God-ized, that is, becoming the same as He is in life and nature but not in the Godhead.
This is something that needs to be real to us in our daily life; we should respond to the Lord in prayer according to this to allow Him to work Himself into us to make us the same as He is.
We need to see that we are not only men created in the image of God; we also have God’s life and nature, and we possess both humanity and divinity.
We are children of God having the life and nature of God (John 1:12-13; 2 Pet. 1:4).
God’s economy and His plan is to make Himself man and to make us, God, even the same as He is in life and nature but not in the Godhead.
To God it is not enough for us to be good men, spiritual men, or holy men; He is not after our being spiritual, good, or holy, but that we are God-men.
God wants to be our life and everything for the purpose that we would express Him and live Him out.
We need to confess that this is not our reality yet, but we open to the Lord that He would make this real to us.
Such a vision needs to govern our daily living.
When husbands and wives exchange words, we need to be reminded that we are God-men having His life and nature.
When we speak to our children or to our workmates, we need to be reminded that we’re becoming God in life and nature but not in the Godhead.
In the way we are with the brothers, in the way we fellowship with the saints, when others do not honour our feeling concerning certain matters, we need to be governed by the vision of God’s eternal economy.
God’s eternal economy is for God to become man so that man might become God in life and nature but not in the Godhead for the building up of the Body of Christ to consummate the New Jerusalem (John 1:1, 14; 1 Cor . 15:45b; Rev. 4:5; 5:6; 21:2, 10-11).
The heavenly vision of the eternal economy of God should affect our daily living.
We need to exercise to be God-men; we are not just men but men with God as our life.
We need to exercise our spirit and allow the Lord to grow in us, expand in us, and be expressed through us.
When God grows in us, we grow with the growth of God in us (Col. 2:19).
In order for God to grow in us, we need to exercise our spirit, for everything of God is in our spirit and depends on our spirit.
May we be those who exercise their spirit in their daily life to let the Lord grow in them and conform them to the image of Christ.
Today we can be in one accord because we have only one vision, the vision of the eternal economy of God (Acts 1:14; 1 Cor. 1:9-10; Jer. 32:39).
May the Lord grant us to see this vision and have the heavenly vision of the eternal economy of God broadened in us so that it may affect our living and service in the church life.
Lord Jesus, we open to You; grant us to see the heavenly vision of the eternal economy of God. May we clearly see that God became man to be man-ized so that man would become the same as God in life and nature but not in the Godhead for man to be God-ized! Hallelujah, God became man to be both God and man, the first God-man. Praise the Lord, we believers in Christ are born of God to have His life and nature to be both men and God, God-men! Amen, Lord, may the heavenly vision of the eternal economy of God affect our daily living. May we allow You to grow in us by exercising our spirit to be one spirit with the Lord. Deepen the vision of God’s economy in us. Broaden this vision, dear Lord, so that we may live under this vision and do all things for the building up of the church as the Body of Christ. We exercise our spirit and say Amen to Your word; do in us what You desire – make us the same as You are for the fulfilment of Your economy!
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 the brothers in the message for this week, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1990, vol. 3, “A Deeper Study of the Divine Dispensing,” pp. 390-392, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Living and Serving According to God’s Economy Concerning the Church (2023 fall ITERO), week 1, entitled, Living and Serving According to the Heavenly Vision of God’s Economy.
- Similar articles on this topic:
– A minister of Christ – outline via, Church in New York City.
– The Recovery of the Eternal Economy of God, outline via, New Zealand Training Center.
– Christ as the focus of God’s will and economy, as the mystery of God, and as the portion of the saints, a portion from, The Experience of Christ in Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians, Chapter 1, by Witness Lee.
– The role of Revelation in the Fulfillment of the Economy of God in Ephesians, article by John Pester via, Affirmation and Critique.
– God’s New Testament Economy, article via, New Jerusalem blog.
– Msg 01 – Living and Serving according to the Heavenly Vision of God’s Economy – message by brother Bob Danker, via, Heavenly Foods – Local Conferences.
– The Recovery of the Eternal Economy of God, outline via, Mid-Atlantic Blending Conference website.
– The Vision of the Age, the Ministry of the Age, and the Minister of the Age, article via, a Faithful Word. - Hymns on this topic:
– What miracle! What mystery! / That God and man should blended be! / God became man to make man God, / Untraceable economy! / From His good pleasure, heart’s desire, / His highest goal attained will be. / From His good pleasure, heart’s desire, / His highest goal attained will be. (Song on, What miracle! What mystery! – stanza 1)
– God’s intention in this universe is with humanity, / So the Lord became the Spirit just with man to mingled be. / We rejoice that we can all partake of His economy. / Yes, mingling is the way. / Mingle, mingle, hallelujah, / Mingle, mingle, hallelujah, / Mingle, mingle, hallelujah, / Yes, mingling is the way! (Hymns #1199 stanza 1 and chorus)
– In His Christ to head up all things / Is our God’s economy; / Taking Christ as Head and Center, / All is one in harmony. / Christ as Head will be the Center; / God within will be the Light; / Christ enthroned, with God, His substance, / Will fulfill His heart’s delight. (Hymns #981 stanzas 1-2)
About aGodMan
Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1990, vol. 3, “A Deeper Study of the Divine Dispensing,” pp. 391-392
Never forget that you are a God-man, born of God to be a child of God.
Hallelujah for God’s economy, according to which He wants to make Himself the same as us to make us the same as He is!
May we exercise today to be God-men, those who exercise our spirit to let God operate and increase within us.
The central subject of the Bible is the economy of God, and the entire Bible is concerned with the economy of God.
This must be the one thing, the unique thing, that should be focused on, stressed, and ministered in the Lord’s recovery.
Any stress or focus other than this central subject which is the heavenly vision of the eternal economy of God will cause many problems that can lead to degradation.
Today we can be in one accord because we have only one vision, the vision of His eternal economy.
Amen hallelujah! New year new beginnings, Lord we choose to exercise to be one with you to be the God-men ✨
Amen, brother! More gaining, experiencing, enjoying, living, and expressing God this New Year in Christ.
Amen, Lord, grant us more and more day by day to be one spirit with You. By our learning to exercise our mingled spirit continuously.
Amen! Oh Lord! Make us genuine God-men who live Christ and express Christ for your glory!
Amen! He has granted to us precious and exceedingly great Promise! to become partakes of the divine nature!
Amen! The more we exercise our spirit, the more God operates and increases within us. Hallelujah for this divine mingling.
Thank You God our Father for giving us a new heart, a heart of flesh holding on to You as our good land, one heart, one accord partakers of Your divine life.
May we exercise our spirit by walking in holiness seeing the heavenly vision, loving you Lord Jesus as we journey on to becoming the New Jerusalem.
Aaaameeennn! Happy Spiritual New Year too brother! May the Lord uplift our enjoyment and experience of Christ this year!
amen may the Lord grant us new transactions this new year and new resolutions of heart
Yes Lord! Aaaaameeen!
Gain more in us this year, more transformation and conformation, we open to be brought on to maturity to be the same as You Are for the reality of Your Body, Your Bride!
Amen, we must exercise our spirit so God can grow in us.
When God grows we grow. Thank you Lord Jesus
Dear brother, the one thing that we should focus on is God’s economy, which is to make us the same as God in life and nature but not in the Godhead.
So, as ones begotten of God we are God-men. Hallelujah!
However, to be genuine God-men we must exercise our spirit so that God can operate and be lived out in us!
The more we exercise our spirit the more He operates in us and increases in us so we are “Son-ized”! Praise the Lord!
Amen brother we must not forget our status. Lord keep us in the vision of your economy.
Much grace to you dear brother. Amen.
Praise the Lord!🙋🏽😃 Amen! 🙏
Amen dear brother!
Hallelujah!😃
If we want to truly live before the Lord, we need to renounce all efforts to be good, spiritual and holy.
God doesn’t want us to improve ourselves; He’s not after our being good men.
Therefore, we must exercise ourselves to be God-men.
Every proper thing that takes place between God and man depends on the regenerated human spirit.
The more we exercise our spirit, the more God operates & increases within us.
No longer we alone should live, but Christ Himself should live in & through us.
What a wonderful mystery!
Listen to the audio version of this article via,