The Eternal Life of God vs. the Created Life of Man

 

The Eternal Life of God vs. the Created Life of Man

John 4:14 The water I give you will become in you a spring of water welling up into eternal life.

Revelation 21:6 I will freely give the water of the spring of life to those who are thirsty.

2 Peter 1:4 Through these glory and virtues he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you might participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. 

Item	The Eternal Life of God	The Created Life of Man
Meaning	God's own uncreated, eternal, divine life (zoe).	The created, finite human life (psuche / bios).
Origin	God Himself (John 5:26).	Created by God (Gen. 2:7).
Nature	Divine, eternal, incorruptible, indestructible.	Created, finite, corruptible, mortal.
Source	God Himself.	God's creation.
Kind of Life	Eternal Life (zoe).	Soul life (psuche) and physical life (bios).
Illustration	The life-juice flowing in the vine.	The natural life of the branches.
Explanation	God imparts His own life into believers.	Human life enables living, thinking, and working, but cannot express God.
Effect	Regeneration, sanctification, renewing, transformation, conformation to Christ, and glorification.	Sustains natural living, morality, culture, and ability, but cannot produce God's life.
Purpose	To build up the Body of Christ and consummate the New Jerusalem.	To be a vessel prepared to receive God's eternal life.
Ultimate Destiny	Eternal fellowship with God.	Without God's life it ends in death; with God's life it enters eternal salvation.
Spiritual Value	The central focus of God's economy.	The vessel and means in God's economy.
Key Scripture Survey	God's Eternal Life Genesis 2:9 John 1:4 John 3:15–16 John 5:26 John 10:10 John 11:25 John 14:6 John 17:3 Romans 8:2, 8:10–11 Galatians 2:20 Colossians 3:4 1 Peter 1:3, 23 1 John 5:11–12, 20 Revelation 2:7 Revelation 22:1–2, 14	The Created Life of Man Genesis 1:26–27 Genesis 2:7 Ecclesiastes 3:11 Psalm 8:4–8

 

Spiritual Sequence

Step	God's Work
1	God created man with a created life (Gen. 2).
2	Man fell and lost access to the tree of life (Gen. 3).
3	Christ came as life (John 10:10).
4	Those who believe receive eternal life (John 3:16).
5	The divine life grows within the believers (1 Pet. 2:2).
6	Believers are transformed into Christ's image (2 Cor. 3:18).
7	The Body of Christ is built up (Eph. 4:16).
8	The New Jerusalem becomes God's eternal expression (Rev. 21–22).

 

Relationship Between the Two Lives

Created Human Life	God's Eternal Life
The vessel	The content
The outer shell	The treasure
The container	The life within
The lampstand	The shining light
The branch	The vine life
The earthen vessel	The divine treasure
The receiver	The supply

Ministry Insight (Witness Lee):

God created man not merely to possess a human life but to receive His divine life, so that man may express God in life and nature (though never in the Godhead).

Biblical Examples

Person	Created Life	God's Eternal Life
Adam	A created living soul	Had access to the tree of life but did not partake of it
Eve	Created human life	Intended to receive the tree of life
Noah	Human life	Walked with God by faith
Abraham	Natural strength weakened	Lived by God's promise
Moses	Forty years of natural ability	Forty years serving by God's life
David	Natural emotions	A man after God's heart
Peter	Natural zeal	Shepherded by the divine life after Pentecost
Paul	Natural learning and ability	"To me, to live is Christ" (Phil. 1:21)

 

Practical Application

Living by the Created Life	Living by God's Eternal Life
Trusting self	Living by Christ
Natural endurance	Christ's endurance
Human love	God's divine love
Natural wisdom	The Spirit's leading
Human strength	Resurrection power
Individual work	Coordination in the Body of Christ

 

The Ministry Burden

1.      God's highest salvation is not to improve human life but to impart His divine life into man.

2.      The Christian life is not self-improvement but the growth of the divine life.

3.      As the divine life increases, the natural life is dealt with by the cross.

4.      The church is built not by natural gifts but by the growth of life.

5.      The divine life reaches its ultimate expression in the New Jerusalem.

Prophesying Guidelines

• God does not merely want me to become a better person; He wants me to live Christ.
• The created human life is the vessel; the eternal life of God is the content.
• The Spirit continually supplies the divine life to conform us to Christ.
• The Christian life is not the improvement of the natural life but the expression of the divine life.
• The center of God's economy is to dispense His eternal life into His chosen people for the building up of the Body of Christ.

Conclusion

God created man with a created human life so that man might become a vessel to contain Him. Through Christ's redemption and resurrection, God imparts His eternal, divine life into those who believe, making them His living expression. The created life is the beginning, but the divine life is the fulfillment. The created life is the vessel; the eternal life is the content. Therefore, the goal of God's eternal economy is not to improve the natural human life but to dispense His uncreated life into humanity, causing believers to grow in life, be transformed into the image of Christ, build up the Body of Christ, and ultimately become the New Jerusalem, God's eternal corporate expression.

 

*Please refer to the April 2026 Summer Training General Topic: Believers, Part Two: Eternal Life—God's Life with a Divine Nature; The Triune God as the Structure of the Bible; and the Hidden God, the Self-Hidden God.

“God Hidden in the Universe” vs. “God Hidden in Man”

 

“God Hidden in the Universe” vs. “God Hidden in Man”

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Isaiah 45:15 Surely you, God of Israel, Savior, are a God who hides himself.

Hebrews 1:3 He is the radiance of God’s glory and the imprint of his essence. He sustains, sustains, and propels all things by his mighty word. He did the cleansing of sins and sat down at the right hand of the Most High and Great One.

John 1:14 The Word became flesh and pitched his tabernacle among us, full of grace and reality. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father.

John 14:16 I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will be with you forever.

John 14:17 The Spirit of reality, which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, because he dwells with you and will be in you.

Colossians 1:27 God wanted them to know how rich the glory of this mystery is among the Gentiles: that Christ in you became the hope of glory. 

Item	God Hidden in the Universe	God Hidden in Man
Meaning	God is the Creator of the universe, yet He hides Himself behind His creation. The universe reveals His existence, power, and divine nature, but God Himself remains invisible.	God became flesh and hid Himself within the humanity of Jesus Christ. Today, the processed Triune God dwells within believers as the Spirit of life.
Reason	God hides Himself so that man would seek Him by faith, not merely know Him through outward observation.	God hides Himself in man so that He may be received as life, grow in man, transform man, and be expressed through man.
Spiritual Explanation	The universe is a mystery because it comes from God, yet God is concealed within it. Human wisdom can discover creation, but only revelation can discover the Creator.	The greatest mystery is that the unlimited God became limited in a small human vessel—Jesus of Nazareth—and today lives within ordinary believers.
Spiritual Symbol / Illustration	The artist hidden behind a painting; the designer hidden behind a masterpiece; the invisible Creator hidden behind creation.	Treasure hidden in an earthen vessel; life hidden inside a seed; fire hidden inside burning coal.
Effect	Man is awakened to seek God, recognize His greatness, and realize that the universe has meaning because God is behind it.	Believers experience Christ inwardly, receive divine life, are transformed, and become God’s expression.
Purpose	To lead mankind from creation to the Creator, from visible things to the invisible God.	To accomplish God’s eternal economy by dispensing Himself into man and producing His corporate expression.
Mutual Relationship	God’s hiding in the universe is the beginning of God’s revelation to mankind through creation.	God’s hiding in man is the deeper revelation through life, where God is not only known but possessed and experienced.
Spiritual Progression	Creation → Seeking God → Revelation of God	Incarnation → Indwelling Spirit → Transformation → Expression of God
Ministry Burden	We should not only see God’s works but seek God Himself behind His works.	We should not merely pursue outward miracles or blessings but experience the inward Christ who lives in us.
Prophetic Speaking / Speaking for God	God is the hidden God. His silence does not mean His absence; His hiddenness does not mean inactivity.	God’s greatest work today is not outward display but His hidden operation within believers through the Spirit.
Conclusion	God hides Himself in the universe to cause man to seek Him.	God hides Himself in man to cause man to receive Him and express Him.
Scripture Overview	Genesis 1:1   God created the universe. Job 23:3        Man seeks the hidden God. Isaiah 45:15   “Truly You are a God who hides Yourself.” Psalm 19:1     The heavens declare God’s glory. John 1:14       The Word became flesh. John 14:17, 23            God dwells in believers. Mark 6:3         Jesus was known only as a carpenter. Matthew 17:1-9       Christ’s glory was briefly revealed and then hidden again. Romans 1:20              Creation reveals God’s invisible attributes. Romans 8:28              God works all things together for good. 1 Corinthians 15:45              Christ became the life-giving Spirit. 2 Corinthians 4:7     Treasure in earthen vessels. Galatians 2:20     Christ lives in me. Philippians 2:13        God operates within believers. Colossians 1:27         Christ in you, the hope of glory. Revelation 21:3, 23            God fully expressed in the New Jerusalem.

 

Spiritual Sequence

Order	Spiritual Revelation
1	God created the universe and hid Himself within it (Gen. 1:1; Isa. 45:15).
2	Man can perceive God’s eternal power and divine nature through creation (Rom. 1:20).
3	God took a further step by becoming flesh and hiding Himself in Jesus Christ (John 1:14).
4	The infinite God lived in an ordinary man from Nazareth (Mark 6:3).
5	Christ passed through death and resurrection and became the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45).
6	God now hides Himself within believers through the indwelling Spirit (John 14:17).
7	God operates inwardly to will and to work for His good pleasure (Phil. 2:13).
8	Eventually, God will be fully expressed through the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:3, 23).

 

Spiritual Parables

Symbol	Spiritual Meaning
Sun behind clouds	God is present even when He is not outwardly visible.
Seed containing life	Christ’s life is hidden within believers and grows gradually.
Treasure in an earthen vessel	The divine life is hidden within weak human beings (2 Cor. 4:7).
Electricity within wires	The Spirit operates invisibly but powerfully within believers.
Leaven hidden in flour	God silently transforms man from within (Matt. 13:33).
Root hidden underground	The hidden work of life produces visible fruit.

 

Core Relationship

God Hidden in the Universe

          ↓

Man Seeks God

          ↓

God Revealed in Christ

          ↓

Christ Hidden in Humanity

          ↓

Christ Becomes the Life-Giving Spirit

          ↓

God Hidden in Believers

          ↓

Inner Transformation

          ↓

God Expressed Through Man

          ↓

New Jerusalem (God Fully Manifested)

 

Biblical Examples

Person / Example	How God Was Hidden
Job	Job searched for God but could not find Him outwardly (Job 23:3); yet God was working in his experience.
Esther	God’s name is not mentioned in Esther, yet His sovereign hand controls everything.
Joseph	God seemed silent, but He worked through circumstances to accomplish His purpose.
Moses	God was hidden in the burning bush yet revealed His presence (Exo. 3:2-6).
Jesus Christ	The eternal God was hidden in a lowly Nazarene carpenter (John 1:14; Mark 6:3).
Peter, James, John	They saw Christ’s glory on the mountain, yet He returned to ordinary hiddenness (Matt. 17:1-9).
Paul	Christ lived within him, although outwardly he was weak (Gal. 2:20; 2 Cor. 12:9).

 

Practical Application

Situation	Spiritual Practice
When we cannot sense God	Believe that the hidden God is still operating within us.
When circumstances are difficult	Trust that God causes all things to work together for good (Rom. 8:28).
When life appears ordinary	Learn to experience Christ as the hidden treasure within.
When serving the Lord	Focus on life supply rather than outward success.
When praying	Turn to the spirit and contact the indwelling Christ.
When shepherding others	Minister Christ as life, not merely teaching doctrines.

 

Ministry Burden

1.      God’s deepest works are often hidden works.
His greatest operations are not always accompanied by outward signs.

2.      God hides Himself because He desires faith, not merely sight.
Faith allows man to receive God Himself.

3.      The incarnation is the highest example of God’s hiddenness.
The infinite God was concealed in a finite man.

4.      Today God’s central work is inward transformation.
Christ is being formed in believers (Gal. 4:19).

5.      The church must become the expression of the hidden Christ.
God’s hidden life within believers eventually becomes His visible corporate testimony.

Prophetic Speaking Outline

• God is a self-hidden God (Isa. 45:15).
• The universe is mysterious because God is hidden within it.
• God’s highest hiding was in Jesus Christ, a humble Nazarene.
• Today God hides Himself deeper within believers as the indwelling Spirit.
• The hidden God is not inactive; He silently and powerfully operates within us.
• Our spiritual growth is the unveiling of the hidden Christ within us.
• Eventually, the hidden God will be fully manifested in the New Jerusalem.

Ultimate Conclusion

God’s hiding is not a sign of His absence but a revelation of His wisdom. First, God hid Himself in the universe so that mankind would seek Him. Then He hid Himself in Christ through incarnation so that man could know Him. Today, He hides Himself within believers as the Spirit so that He can impart His life into them and transform them into His expression. Eventually, the hidden God will be openly manifested in the New Jerusalem, where God and man are fully united and God’s glory fills the universe.

One-Sentence Summary

God hides Himself in the universe to cause man to seek Him; God hides Himself in man to cause man to receive Him; and God will ultimately be expressed through man to manifest His eternal glory.

 

*Please refer to the April 2026 Summer Training General Topic: Believers, Part Two: Eternal Life—God's Life with a Divine Nature; The Triune God as the Structure of the Bible; and the Hidden God, the Self-Hidden God.