‘Let Us Make Man in Our Image’ vs. ‘the Preparation of the Bride’
(including Key Items, Process, Stages, and Goals)
Genesis 1:26 Then God said,
“Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals and
over every creature that moves along the
ground.”
Revelation 19:7 “Let us
rejoice and be glad, and give glory to him, for the wedding of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has prepared herself.”
Revelation 19:8 “He will
clothe her with fine linen, bright and clean, which represents the righteous deeds of His saints.”
Revelation 19:9 “Then the angel said to me, ‘Write this: Blessed are all who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.’ And he said to me, ‘These are the true words of God.’”
|
Stage |
Key
Item of Preparation |
Creation
of Man (the Beginning) |
Preparation
of the Bride (Content) |
Main
Scriptures |
Emphasis
of Watchman Nee / Witness Lee |
Goal |
|
① God’s Intention |
Knowing God’s
intention |
God desires to
obtain a man who is like Him and can express Him |
God desires to
obtain a counterpart for Christ; the two are one and the same intention |
Gen. 1:26; Eph. 1:4-5;
Rev. 19:7 |
Nee: God wants
a group of people who are like His Son. Lee: God’s economy is to dispense
Himself into man |
That our goal
would be one with God’s goal |
|
② Creation |
Image and likeness |
Man made
according to God’s image (outward expression) and after His likeness (inward
being), with spirit, soul, and body |
Letting
Christ’s image be formed in us |
Gen. 1:26-27; Rom. 8:29;
Gal. 4:19 |
Nee: the spirit
is the organ for contacting God. Lee: man is a vessel made to contain God |
Conformity to
God’s image |
|
③ The First Man |
The choice of
the tree of life |
The tree of
life was set before man, who did not yet have God’s life |
Taking Christ
as life
and enjoying Him |
Gen. 2:9, 16-17; John
6:57; Rev. 2:7 |
Lee: the tree
of life signifies God Himself as life, for man to receive |
Obtaining God’s
life |
|
④ Redemption |
Christ’s
crucifixion and resurrection |
Eve came out of
Adam’s side |
The church
comes out of Christ’s death and resurrection to be His counterpart |
Gen. 2:21-24; John 19:34;
Eph. 5:25-32 |
Nee and Lee both see this as the origin of the church |
Becoming
Christ’s counterpart |
|
⑤ Regeneration |
Receiving God’s
life |
Created man,
into whom God’s life had not yet entered |
Regenerated in
the spirit; the starting point of preparation |
John 3:3, 5; 1 Pet. 1:23 |
Lee: God’s life
is the foundation of everything |
Qualification
as the bride |
|
⑥ The Courtship |
First love; the
leading of the Holy Spirit |
The intimacy of
Adam
and Eve as counterparts |
Loving the Lord
singly; the Spirit leads us to draw near to Christ |
Rev. 2:4; 2 Cor. 11:2;
Gen. 24; Rom. 8:14 |
Love for the
Lord is the first condition of the bride; the Spirit is like the servant in
the story of Rebekah |
Establishing a
relationship of love with Christ |
|
⑦ Dealing |
Dealing of the
cross |
Man was
entrusted with dominion and had not yet experienced breaking |
Dealing with
the self, the flesh, and the natural man |
Matt. 16:24; Gal. 2:20;
Esth. 2:12 |
Nee: brokenness
is the path of the spiritual man (The Spiritual Man). Esther’s twelve
months of perfumes foreshadow this |
The natural
life broken |
|
⑧ Transformation |
Growth in life;
renewing of the soul |
Man’s nature
did
not yet contain God’s element |
Christ makes
His home in our hearts; we are transformed in life and nature |
Eph. 3:17-19; 2 Cor. 3:18;
Rom. 12:2 |
Lee:
transformation is the adding of the divine element into us, so that we become
the same as God in life and nature (not
in the Godhead) |
Conformed to
the image of God’s Son; attaining the measure of the stature of the fullness
of Christ
(Rom. 8:29; Eph. 4:13) |
|
⑨ Living Out |
Living Christ;
the fine linen |
Man was to
express God |
Living out
Christ’s righteous acts in daily life |
Rev. 19:8; Phil. 1:21 |
Lee: the fine
linen is the expression of Christ living in the saints, not merely our own good
doing |
Expressing
Christ |
|
⑩ Overcoming |
Overcoming
decline and the world |
Entrusted with
dominion
and dealing with God’s enemy |
Becoming
overcomers in a fallen environment and reigning with Christ |
Gen. 1:26, 28; Rev. 2-3;
2:26-27; 20:4, 6 |
Nee and Lee
both stress that overcomers are the reality of the Lord’s
obtaining the bride |
Reigning with
Christ and ending the enemy |
|
⑪ Watchfulness |
Hope and
vigilance |
None |
Longing for the
Lord’s coming, with oil (the Spirit) prepared to meet Him |
Matt. 25:1-13; Rev. 22:17,
20 |
The oil
signifies the Holy Spirit |
Not being shut
out of the door |
|
⑫ Building |
Being the Body;
the corporate bride |
Man is
corporate
(Gen. 1:27, “them”) |
Not individuals but the
Body, built up together |
Eph. 4:16; Rev. 21:2 |
Lee: the bride
is the New Jerusalem, a corporate expression |
Becoming
Christ’s Body and bride |
|
⑬ The Lord’s Coming |
The wedding
feast |
None |
The bride has
made herself ready, is received by the Lord, and the wedding feast of the
Lamb takes place |
Rev. 19:7-9; Matt. 25:10 |
Lee: there are
two aspects, the overcomers and all believers (views differ on this point,
so read the originals carefully) |
Sharing the
wedding feast with Christ |
|
⑭ Consummation |
The New
Jerusalem |
Gold, pearl,
and onyx stone (Gen. 2:12) foreshadow God’s nature,
redemption, and transformation |
The bride and
the city become one; God and man dwell in each other |
Gen. 2:12; Rev. 21:2-3,
9-11, 18-21 |
Nee: a glorious
church without blemish. Lee: God and man mingled, becoming an
eternal expression |
God’s eternal
dwelling and expression, fulfilling the original purpose of creation |
Summary
Creation is the beginning of the image, and
the preparation of the bride is the completion of the image. The course runs
from creation (①②③), through redemption and regeneration (④⑤), through
dealing and transformation (⑥⑦⑧), living out and overcoming
(⑨⑩), building and
meeting the Lord (⑫⑬), and finally to the New
Jerusalem (⑭).
*Please refer to the April
2026 Summer Training General Topic: Believers, Chapter Twelve: The Maturity of
the Bride and Groom, and Being Warriors to Defeat God's Enemy.
