'…In this way the believers become the reproduction, expansion, and physical continuation of the incarnate and incorporate Son of God and indeed the organism of the Triune God Himself.'

Witness Lee, A Deeper Study of the Divine Dispensing p.203-204

@sonship said
Is Witness Lee teaching something not in the Bible here?

@sonship said

reproduction
expansion
physical continuation

of the incarnate and incorporate Son of God.

Is Witness Lee teaching something not in the Bible here?
I probably will spend some time this week to show each of the words here used has validity to BE used in terms of God's dispensing of Himself into His people.

1.) Reproduction

Firstborn Son
many sons

No one can reasonably argue that for God to have a Firstborn Son of many other "many sons" is a reproduction. Contrary to Ghost's preemptive attempt to rhetorically jury rig the rules so as to he can dismiss reasonable examples,

Quite a bit of teaching in the New Testament shows ONE Son coming that there may be MANY sons.

For example: " For whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He should be the Firstobrn among many brother." (Rom. 8:29)

That is reproduction.

"And, when He brings again the Firstborn into the inhabited earth . . . (Heb. 1:6) . . . For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and through whom are all things, in leading many sons into glory . . . (v.10)

Because of reproduction.

"And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, Abba Father!" (Gal. 4:6)

Because of reproduction

"So then you are no longer a slave but a son; and if a son, an heir also through God." (v.7)

Because of reproduction

"For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, For as many as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ." (Gal. 26,27)

Praise the Lord. Because of reproduction.

Just in case let us include "sons and daughters".

"And I will be a Father to you, and you will be sons and daughters to Me, says the Lord Almighty." (2 Cor. 6:18)

Because of God reproducing His Son in many redeemed, saved, transformed, and conformed people.

@sonship

Reproduction also appears in 'On the origins of species.'

@Ghost-of-a-Duke

Reproduction also appears in 'On the origins of species.'

@sonship said
@Ghost-of-a-Duke

Reproduction also appears in 'On the origins of species.'

Good.
So we see then that the Bible reveals a kind of bringing about a "species" (if you will) of God-men.

From eternity past God PLANNED to have many sons. Even before any question of sin and the need for redemption God "before the foundation of the world", ie. before th ...[text shortened]... cording to the good pleasure of His will." (Eph. 1:4,5)

Its just as meaningful in regular font.

@Ghost-of-a-Duke

God-men is what I am alluding to as a "species" of sort.
Men come into the world a natural being made in the image and likeness of God.
They became fallen and "constituted sinners" in their constitution.

In salvation they are not only redeemed but they become "partakers of the divine nature".

In salvation they are not only forgiven and justified. They have "His [God's] seed" implanted into them.

That Christ is the prototype and His many saved are destined to be "many sons" who will be "like Him" is rightly called reproduction.

Christ Himself taught this in John 12:24. He would not abide "alone" but came to die and produce much fruit like Him.

"Truly, truly I say to you, Unless the grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone; but if it dies it bears much fruit." (John 12:24)

Anastasius (550 - 598 AD) saw something of this too.

"God bore within himself the whole of what we are, all humankind was taken up into a single individual, who thus became the firstfruits of our nature. Everything that was fallen had to be raised up, and the whole human race was fallen; so he mingled himself wholly with Adam, and he, Life, gave himself over to death to save us. He entered unto the whole of that with which he was united, like the soul of a vast body, vitalizing it and perceptibly giving it life in all its parts. Therefore is the human race called Christ' body, of which each individual is a member (1 Cor. 12:27), for Christ is in the whole and in each individual in particular."

- Anastasius of Antioch, MPG, Vol, 89, p, 1340, quoted from The Testimony of Church History Regarding the Mystery of the Mingling of God with Man complied by Bill Freeman.

@sonship said
@Ghost-of-a-Duke

God-men is what I am alluding to as a "species" of sort.

@Ghost-of-a-Duke

There is no new religion.
There is a recovery of neglected vital truths there in the New Testament.

People also asked Martin Luther what he was going to call his new religion during the Reformation. God was revealing to the Christians the recovery of the neglected truth of justification by faith.

@sonship said
@Ghost-of-a-Duke

God-men is what I am alluding to as a "species" of sort.
Men come into the world a natural being made in the image and likeness of God.
They became fallen and "constituted sinners" in their constitution.

In salvation they are not only redeemed but they become "partakers of the divine nature".

In salvation they are not only forgiven ...[text shortened]... Church History Regarding the Mystery of the Mingling of God with Man [/i] complied by Bill Freeman.

@sonship said
@Ghost-of-a-Duke

There is no new religion.
There is a recovery of neglected vital truths there in the New Testament.

People also asked Martin Luther what he was going to call his new religion during the Reformation. God was revealing to the Christians the recovery of the truth of justification by faith.

@sonship said
@Ghost-of-a-Duke

There is no new religion.
There is a recovery of neglected vital truths there in the New Testament.

People also asked Martin Luther what he was going to call his new religion during the Reformation.

@ghost-of-a-duke said
What are you going to call this new religion of yours?

@sonship said
What are you going to call your new atheism which protests on behalf of a Christianity with a traditional flavor?