Chapter 45 of 106

the church is the reproduction of Christ; other than Christ's element,

to impart life to His believers for the producing and building up of the church as His counterpart:

a. Out of Christ's side came blood and water, but all that came out of

Adam's side was the rib without the blood. b. This is because at Adam's time there was no need of redemption

through the blood, because there was no sin; by the time that Christ was "sleeping" on the cross, there was the problem of sin; thus, the blood that came out of Christ's side was for our judicial redemption. c. Following the blood, the water came out, which is the flowing life

of God for our organic salvation (Exo. 17:6; 1 Cor. 10:4; Num. 20:8); this divine, flowing, uncreated life is typified by the rib taken out of Adam's side (Rom. 5:10). 2. Genesis 2:22 does not say that Eve was created but that she was built; the building of Eve with the rib taken from Adam's side typifies the building of the church with the resurrection life released from Christ through His death on the cross and imparted into His believers in His resurrection—John 12:24; 1 Pet. 1:3. 3. The church as the real Eve is the totality of Christ in all His believers; the church is the reproduction of Christ; other than Christ's element, there should be no other element in the church—Gen. 5:2. H. Only that which comes out of Christ with His resurrection life can be His

complement as His bride (1 Cor. 12:12; Eph. 2:6; 5:28-30); the church is a pure product out of Christ; the church is "Christly," "resurrectionly," and heavenly. I. Adam and Eve, being one, lived a married life together as husband and wife

(Gen. 2:24-25); this portrays that in the New Jerusalem the processed and consummated Triune God as the universal Husband will live a married life with the redeemed, regenerated, transformed, and glorified humanity as the wife, forever (Rev. 22:17a). J. In the eternity that is without end, by the divine, eternal, and surpassingly

glorious life, they will live a life that is the mingling of God and man as one spirit, a life that is superexcellent and that overflows with blessings and joy.

‹‹ Hymn

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‹‹ WEEK 2 — DAY 1 ››

Morning Nourishment

Gen. 2:22 And Jehovah God built the rib, which He had taken from the man, into a woman and brought her to the man.

Rev. 21:2 And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

The result of Adam's sleep in which his side was opened to release a rib was that he gained Eve as his complement to match him. This signifies that the result of Christ's death with His side pierced to release His divine life was that He obtained the church as His complement. Henceforth, God is no longer alone. Christ has gained a bride to match Him.

Adam and Eve eventually became one flesh, one complete unit. This was a figure of God and man being joined as one. God's desire is to be one with man. He has reached this goal through Christ's death and resurrection which produced the church, representing the proper humanity to match Him as the Husband...The coming New Jerusalem will be just the unity of God and man, a living, complete unit composed with divinity and humanity.

Adam and Eve, being one, lived together. This portrayed that God, the universal Husband, will live with regenerated humanity forever...In eternity, God in Christ will be the center, reality, and life of man's living, and man will live by God in Christ as life. Man will express God's glory and will exercise God's authority over the new earth. God and man, man and God will live together in a marriage life forever. (Life-study of Genesis, pp. 224-225)

Today's Reading

There are four corresponding items seen both in the beginning and at the end of the Scriptures: a bride, the tree of life, a flowing river, and three precious materials—gold, pearl, and precious stones...Genesis 1 and 2 are like the blueprint in the beginning of a manual of building instructions. Revelation 21 and 22 are like a photo of the finished structure inserted at the end of the manual. First we look at the blueprint; then we read

the building instructions and go to work; finally, at the end, we attain the finished structure, similar in every detail to the photo in the manual.

We must be deeply impressed that we are a vessel made with a spirit, an inner recipient to receive God. We must learn how to exercise our spirit continually to contact and receive God. Next we must realize that God in Christ by the Spirit is the tree of life, the real food for us to eat and enjoy. As we enjoy Christ in such a way, we will have the flowing of the living water within us, and by this flowing we will be transformed from clay into precious materials. Then as transformed materials we must be built up with others...We must learn to be related with others and very dependent. Finally, such a building will be the bride on this earth, the bride which will satisfy Christ.

It is only when we are enjoying Christ as our food that we may be transformed, and it is only as we are being transformed that we may be built up with others, and it is only as we are built up with others that Christ will have full satisfaction with us. We will be the expression and representative of God as well as the bride of Christ.

In our natural life...we can never be one with others. Every natural man is a peculiar man, a separate man...Our natural life must be swallowed up by Christ. We must learn how to contact and feed on Christ in our spirit. We must learn how to deny our self, rejecting our natural life, and live by Christ. Then the Lord will flow within, transforming us from clay into precious stone. As we are united, related, and built up with others, God's goal will be attained. (CWWL, 1964, vol. 4, "The Vision of God's Building," pp. 176-177)

Further Reading: CWWL, 1964, vol. 4, "The Vision of God's Building," chs. 1—2;

CWWL, 1994–1997, vol. 3, "The Triune God's Revelation and His Move," ch. 7

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‹‹ WEEK 2 — DAY 2 ››

Morning Nourishment

Rev. 19:7-8 Let us rejoice and exult, and let us give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. And it was given to her that she should be clothed in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteousnesses of the saints.

In Revelation 19:7 and 8 we see that Christ and His counterpart, His bride, will be married at His coming back...The marriage of the Lamb is the issue of the completion of God's New Testament economy. God's economy in the New Testament is to obtain for Christ a bride, the church, through His redemption and divine life. By the continual working of the Holy Spirit through all the centuries, this goal will be attained at the end of this age. Then the bride will be ready.

The words "His wife" in Revelation 19:7 refer to the church (Eph. 5:24-25, 3132), the bride of Christ. However, according to Revelation 19:8 and 9, the wife, the bride of Christ, here consists only of the overcoming believers during the millennium, whereas the bride, the wife, in Revelation 21:2 is composed of all the saved saints after the millennium for eternity. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 2277-2278)

Today's Reading

The Gospel of John reveals that Christ is the Lamb who came to take away sin (1:29) and also the Bridegroom who came that He might have the bride [cf. 3:29]. Christ's goal is not to remove sin; His goal is to have the bride...As the Bridegroom, He must have a wedding.

We are on earth preparing to become the bride to meet Him, and He is on the throne in the third heaven prepared to come as the Bridegroom to meet us. Therefore, He is coming as the Bridegroom, and we are going as the bride. When we meet Him at His coming back, we shall have a wedding.

The readiness of the bride [Rev. 19:7b] depends on the maturity in life of the overcomers. Furthermore, the overcomers are not separate individuals but a corporate bride. For this, building is needed. The overcomers are not only mature in life but are also built together as one bride.

The consummation of the church as the counterpart of Christ will be the New Jerusalem in the new heaven and the new earth for eternity...The New Jerusalem is a living composition of all the saints redeemed by God throughout all generations. It is the bride of Christ as His counterpart [cf. Rev. 21:2]. As the bride of Christ, the New Jerusalem comes out of Christ and becomes His counterpart. She is prepared by participating in the riches of the life and nature of Christ...The bride in the millennium will include only the overcoming saints, but the wife in the new heaven and new earth will include all the redeemed and regenerated sons of God (v. 7). (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 2278-2280)

The life seen in Genesis 2 is the flowing life, the transforming life, and the building life. This life flows within us, transforms us, and eventually builds us up as the bride of Christ. This bride, the New Jerusalem, will fulfill the two aspects of the purpose of God. First, the New Jerusalem will be the full expression of God in God's full image (Rev. 21:11; cf. 4:3). Second, this New Jerusalem will subdue the enemy, conquer the earth, and exercise God's authority over the entire universe, especially over the creeping things (22:5; 21:15; cf. v. 8; 20:10, 14-15)...Thus, God's purpose is fully fulfilled by the New Jerusalem, which is the result, the issue, the ultimate consummation of life. What we believers need is life, and this life is nothing less than the Triune God Himself, the Father in the Son and the Son as the Spirit. May we all be brought into the enjoyment and experience of this flowing, transforming, and building life to be prepared as the bride that will bring Christ back. (CWWL, 1969, vol. 2, "The Crucial Revelation of Life in the Scriptures," p. 402)

Further Reading: The Conclusion of the New Testament, msgs. 213—215; CWWL,

1969, vol. 2, "The Crucial Revelation of Life in the Scriptures," ch. 2

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‹‹ WEEK 2 — DAY 3 ››

Morning Nourishment

1 John 4:21 And this commandment we have from Him, that he who loves God love his brother also.

2 Cor. 5:14 For the love of Christ constrains us because we have judged this, that One died for all, therefore all died.

We are God's species because we have been born of Him to have His life and nature (John 1:12-13). We have been regenerated to be God's species, God's kind, and God is love. Since we become God in His life and nature, we also should be love...As His species, we should be love because He is love.

God does not want us to love with our natural love but with Him as our love. God created man in His image (Gen. 1:26), which means that He created man according to what He is...According to the revelation in the Holy Scriptures, God's first attribute is love...Although created man does not have the reality of love, there is something in his created being that wants to love others...But that is just a human virtue, the very expression of the divine attribute of love. When we were regenerated, God infused us with Himself as love. We love Him because He first loved us [1 John 4:8, 19]. He initiated this love. (CWWL, 1994–1997, vol. 5, "The Vital Groups," p. 121)

Today's Reading

God's predestination of us unto the divine sonship was motivated by the divine love...God predestinated us unto sonship in love [Eph. 1:4-5]. John 3:16 says that God so loved the world. He loved us before the foundation of the world.

God's giving of His only begotten Son to us that we may be saved from perdition judicially through His death and have the eternal life organically in His resurrection was motivated by the divine love (3:16; 1 John 4:9-10)...First John 4:10 says that God sent His Son to us as a propitiation for our sins. This is judicial through His death. Verse 9 says that God sent His Son to us that we may have life and live through Him. This is organic in His resurrection. John 3:16 should be read with 1 John 4:9-10.

God's love is the source of the grace of Christ dispensed to us through the fellowship of the Spirit (2 Cor. 13:14). This is for us to enjoy the processed and consummated Triune God.

God's love motivates us, His children, to love our enemies that we may be perfect as He is; He loves the fallen human race, who became His enemies, by causing His sun (signifying Christ) to rise on the evil and the good indiscriminately and sending rain (signifying the Spirit) on the just and the unjust equally; thus, we may become the sons of the heavenly Father who are sanctified from the tax collectors and the Gentiles (Matt. 5:43-48). The entire human race became His enemies, but God still loves the human race. If God sent Christ to us with discrimination, we would be disqualified from receiving His salvation. He causes His sun to rise first on the evil and then on the good without discrimination.

We should be like God in our love for others...The Lord said, "If you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?" (v. 46). If we love only those who love us, we are of the same species as the tax collectors. But we are of the super, divine species, so we love the evil ones, our enemies, as well as the good ones. This shows how God as love prevails.

A proof that our vital group is prevailing is that we love people without any discrimination...While Christ was being crucified on the cross, two robbers were crucified with Him (27:38). One of them said, "Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom" (Luke 23:42). Jesus said to him, "Truly I say to you, Today you shall be with Me in Paradise" (v. 43). The first one saved by Christ through His crucifixion was not a gentleman but a criminal, a robber, sentenced to death.

Teaching without love may puff us up [1 Cor. 8:1b]. We may listen to the messages of the ministry and become puffed up with mere knowledge. This does not build up. Love builds up. (CWWL, 1994–1997, vol. 5, "The Vital Groups," pp. 121-123)

Further Reading: CWWL, 1994–1997, vol. 5, "The Vital Groups," ch. 8

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‹‹ WEEK 2 — DAY 4 ››

Morning Nourishment

Gen. 2:18 And Jehovah God said, It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper as his counterpart.

Gen. 2:20 And the man gave names to all cattle and to the birds of heaven and to every animal of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper as his counterpart.

God desired to have both Adam and Eve [cf. Gen. 2:18]. His purpose is to have a victorious Christ plus a victorious church, a Christ who has overcome the work of the devil plus a church which has overthrown the work of the devil. His purpose is to have a ruling Christ and a ruling church. This is what God planned for His own pleasure, and He has performed it for His own satisfaction...God desired to have Christ, and God also desired to have a church which is exactly like Christ. God not only desired that Christ would have dominion; He also wants the church to have dominion. God allows the devil on earth because He said, "Let them," Christ and the church, "have dominion" [1:26]. God purposed that the church, as Christ's counterpart, should take part in dealing with Satan. If the church does not match Christ, God's purpose will not be fulfilled. In warfare Christ needs a help meet, and even in glory He also needs a help meet. God requires the church to be the same as Christ in every respect. It is God's desire that Christ should have a help meet. (CWWN, vol. 34, "The Glorious Church," p. 26)

Today's Reading

Although man was perfect, he was not complete. For example, a human head is perfect, but without the body it is incomplete...Although [a person] is perfect, he needs a counterpart to complete him...A man and wife, resembling the two halves of a watermelon, together make a complete unit. This is why I frequently tell the young people to get married. If you are unmarried, though you may be a perfect person you are incomplete. Thus, as God looked at Adam, He seemed to say, "Adam, you are perfect,

but you are only a half a unit. You are too lonely. I will make a complement for you. I will make you a counterpart."

Man is a type of God, the real, universal Husband. Before God had secured the proper man, He was alone. It was not good for God to be alone. Although God is absolutely and eternally perfect, He is not complete. To say that God is imperfect is to speak blasphemy. Our God is eternally perfect. Nevertheless, without the church He is incomplete. Without the church He is like a husband without a wife or like a head without a body. Therefore, when God said that it was not good for Adam to be alone, it meant that God Himself was incomplete and that it was not good for Him to be alone. Adam's need for a wife typifies and portrays God's need to have a complement. If we see this, every aspect of Genesis 2 will be clear.

Out of the ground God formed every beast of the field and every fowl of the air and brought them to Adam (Gen. 2:19). When God brought a horse to Adam, perhaps Adam said, "This is a horse. This animal can never match me because it has four feet and I have two." When God brought a cow before Adam, perhaps Adam said, "This is a cow. It has two horns. It does not resemble me and it cannot be a complement to me." God brought item after item to Adam, and Adam gave names to all the cattle, to all the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field, but he did not find among them a complement for himself (Gen. 2:20), one that could match him. Although Adam, having wisdom, named all the creatures, he seemed to say, "All of them are far removed from me. They don't look like me. How can I have any of them as my counterpart?" After fulfilling the task of naming all the creatures, Adam, in a sense, was disappointed. Among the entire creation he could not find one to match him, to complement him. However, God knew exactly what He was doing. (Life-study of Genesis, pp. 216-217)

Further Reading: CWWL, 1991–1992, vol. 1, "The Central Line of the Divine

Revelation," ch. 7; CWWN, vol. 34, "The Glorious Church," chs. 2—3

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‹‹ WEEK 2 — DAY 5 ››

Morning Nourishment

Gen. 2:21 And Jehovah God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh in its place.

John 12:24 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.

One day the real Adam was put to sleep on the cross where He slept for six hours, from nine o'clock in the morning until three o'clock in the afternoon (Mark 15:25, 33). This was signified by the phrase in Genesis 2 which said that "God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man" and that "He took one of his ribs" to build him a wife (Gen. 2:21). That sleep of Adam's was a type of Christ's death on the cross for producing the church. This is the life-releasing, life-imparting, life-propagating, life-multiplying, and life-reproducing death of Christ, which is signified by a grain of wheat falling into the ground to die and to grow up in order to produce many grains (John 12:24) for the making of the loaf which is the Body, the church (1 Cor. 10:17). By producing the church in this way God in Christ has been wrought into man as life. First, God became a man. Then this man with the divine life and nature was multiplied through death and resurrection into many believers who become the many members to compose the real Eve to match Him and to complement Him. It is through this process that God in Christ has been wrought into man with His life and nature that man in life and nature can be the same as He is in order to match Him as His complement. (Life-study of Genesis, p. 219)

Today's Reading

At the end of Christ's crucifixion, the Jews, who did not want the bodies of the crucified criminals to remain upon the cross on the Sabbath day, asked Pilate to have their legs broken (John 19:31). When the soldiers came to Jesus to break His legs, they found that He had died already and that there was no need for them to break His bones. This fulfilled the Scripture which said, "No bone of His shall be broken" (John 19:3233, 36; Exo. 12:46; Num. 9:12; Psa. 34:20). Nevertheless, the soldiers pierced His

side and blood and water came out (John 19:34). The blood was for redemption (Heb. 9:22; 1 Pet. 1:18-19). What does the water signify? In Exodus 17:6 we find the type of the smitten rock (1 Cor. 10:4). After the rock was smitten, it was cleft, and living water came forth. Jesus on the cross was smitten with the rod of Moses, that is, by the law of God. He was cleft. His side was pierced, and water came forth. This water was the flow of His divine life signifying the life which produces the church.

This life was typified by the rib, a piece of bone taken out of Adam's opened side, of which Eve was produced and built. Hence, the bone typifies the divine life that is signified by the water flowing out of Christ's side. None of His bones was broken. This signifies that His divine life cannot be broken. His physical life was killed, but nothing could break His divine life which flows out to produce the church.

As Adam's sleep typifies the death of Christ, so his waking signifies the resurrection of Christ. After waking, Adam became another person with Eve produced out of him. After His resurrection Christ also became another person with the church brought forth out of Him. As Adam eventually awoke from his sleep to take Eve as his counterpart, so Christ was also resurrected from the dead to take the church as His complement.

When Adam awoke from his sleep, he immediately discovered that Eve, who was builded with his rib, was present. Likewise, when Christ was resurrected from the dead (1 Cor. 15:20), the church was brought forth with His divine life. Through His death the divine life within Him was released and through His resurrection this released, divine life was imparted into us who believe in Him...As regenerated ones [cf. 1 Pet. 1:3] who have Him as life and who live by Him, we compose His church, the real Eve in resurrection. (Life-study of Genesis, pp. 219-220)

Further Reading: Life-study of Genesis, msg. 17; CWWL, 1963, vol. 2, "The Central

Thought of God," chs. 1—2, 4

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‹‹ WEEK 2 — DAY 6 ››

Morning Nourishment

Gen. 2:23 And the man said, This time this is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called Woman because out of Man this one was taken.

Eph. 5:32 This mystery is great, but I speak with regard to Christ and the church.

In Genesis 2 there is the picture of how the bride of Christ comes into being. Before God prepared a bride for Adam, He brought all the animals to Adam, and Adam named each one. But none of these created things matched Adam, and they could not be his counterpart (vv. 19-20). Then God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam (v. 21). Adam is a type of Christ (Rom. 5:14), and his sleep is a type of Christ's death.

During Adam's sleep, God took one of his ribs from his side. Likewise, when Christ was sleeping on the cross, something came out of His side. John 19:34 tells us that when the soldier pierced His side, out came blood and water. At Adam's time there was no sin, so there was no need of redemption. It was not until Genesis 3 that sin came in. Thus, all that came out of Adam's side was the rib without the blood. However, by the time that Christ was sleeping on the cross, there was the problem of sin. Thus, His death must deal with this sin problem. The blood came out of Christ's side for redemption. Following the blood, the water came out, which is the flowing life to produce the church. This divine, flowing, uncreated life is typified by the rib taken out of Adam's side.

The rib taken out of Adam signifies the resurrection life, and God built a woman with the rib of Adam. Now God builds up the church with the resurrection life of Christ...Eve was bone of Adam's bones and flesh of Adam's flesh. Today we as the church are a part of Christ (Eph. 5:30-32). (CWWL, 1969, vol. 2, "The Crucial Revelation of Life in the Scriptures," pp. 401-402)

Today's Reading

The church is nothing more than a pure product out of Christ...Eve was fully, completely, and purely produced out of Adam (Gen. 2:21-24)...Whatever was in Eve and whatever Eve was, was Adam. Eve was a full reproduction of Adam. Adam and

Eve are a type of Christ and the church (Eph. 5:30-32; Gen. 2:22-24). The church must also be one element—the element of Christ.

After Christ terminated the entire old creation through His all-inclusive death, the church was produced in His resurrection (1 Pet. 1:3; Eph. 2:6)...The church is a new creation created in Christ's resurrection and by the resurrected Christ. We must see this vision. In addition to seeing that the church was produced in Christ's resurrection, we must also see where the church is. The church today is in Christ in ascension. Ephesians 2:6 tells us that the church has been resurrected with Christ, and now the church is seated in the heavenlies with Christ. Therefore, the church is absolutely and purely of the element of Christ, absolutely in resurrection, and absolutely remaining in the heavenlies with Christ. The English language does not give us adequate adjective forms for the nouns Christ and resurrection. We must, therefore, invent some new vocabulary words to communicate such a vision of the church. We may say that today the church is "Christly," "resurrectionly," and heavenly. These three adjectives describe the fact conveyed in the Bible. The church is of Christ; the church is of resurrection; the church is of the heavens. The church is Christly, resurrectionly, and heavenly. With the church there is no element other than Christ. Such a vision will govern you to the uttermost and will rule out everything that is not Christly (of Christ), resurrectionly (of resurrection), or heavenly (of the heavens). With the believers there is still the flesh of sin, but with the church there is no flesh of sin because the church was born in resurrection (1 Pet. 1:3). The church is a matter in Christ, in resurrection, and in Christ's ascension in the heavenlies. (CWWL, 1984, vol. 2, "Elders' Training, Book 2: The Vision of the Lord's Recovery," pp. 115-116)

Further Reading: CWWL, 1984, vol. 2, "Elders' Training, Book 2: The Vision of the

Lord's Recovery," ch. 3

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‹‹ WEEK 2 — HYMN

Hymns, #840

1 Freed from self and Adam's nature,

Lord, I would be built by Thee With the saints into Thy temple,

Where Thy glory we shall see. From peculiar traits deliver,

From my independent ways, That a dwelling place for Thee, Lord,

We will be through all our days.

2 By Thy life and by its flowing,

I can grow and be transformed, With the saints coordinated,

Builded up, to Thee conformed; Keep the order in the Body,

There to function in Thy will, Ever serving, helping others,

All Thy purpose to fulfill.

3 In my knowledge and experience

I would not exalted be, But submitting and accepting,

Let the Body balance me. Holding fast the Head, and growing

With His increase, in His way, By the joints and bands supplying,

Knit together day by day.

4 By Thy Spirit daily strengthened

In the inner man with might, I would know Thy love surpassing,

Know Thy breadth and length and height; Ever of Thy riches taking,

Unto all Thy fullness filled, Ever growing into manhood,

That Thy Body Thou may build.

5 In God's house and in Thy Body

Builded up I long to be, That within this corporate vessel

All shall then Thy glory see, That Thy bride, the glorious city,

May appear upon the earth, As a lampstand brightly beaming

To express to all Thy worth.

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WEEK 3 — OUTLINE

The Maturity of the Bride

Scripture Reading: Rev. 19:6-9; John 3:29; James 5:7; Matt. 5:48; Col. 1:28-29;

3:10-11

Day 1 ›› I. The meaning of the word mature in Greek is "at the end point":

A. To be transformed is to be metabolically changed in our natural life; to be

matured is to be filled with the divine life that changes us—Heb. 6:1; Col. 4:12; Rom. 12:2; 2 Pet. 1:3. B. The last stage of transformation is maturity, the fullness of life—v. 4. C. A mature believer knows and cares for the Body of Christ, being Body-

conscious and Body-centered—1 Cor. 12:16, 18-19, 21, 24.

‹‹ Day 2 ›› II. As used in the New Testament, the word mature refers to the believers' being

full-grown and perfected in the life of Christ, which they received at the time of regeneration—Titus 3:5; 1 Pet. 1:3, 23; Matt. 5:48:

A. We should never be content with ourselves but pursue growth and maturity in

the life of Christ—Phil. 3:12, 14. B. We need to go on, to be brought on, to maturity by forgetting the things which

are behind and stretching forward to the things which are before, pursuing toward the fullest enjoyment and gaining of Christ for the uttermost enjoyment of Christ in the millennial kingdom—vv. 12-15. C. The prerequisite for maturity in the spiritual life is to grow continually in the

divine life—Eph. 4:15. D. The ultimate issue of the believers' growth and maturity in the life of Christ is

the full-grown man—the church as the Body of Christ growing into a mature man—v. 13.

‹‹ Day 3 ›› III. In his Epistle, James uses the illustration of a farmer awaiting with long-

suffering the precious fruit of the earth—5:7:

A. The Lord Jesus is actually the real Farmer, the unique Farmer—Matt. 13:3.

B. While we are awaiting with long-suffering the Lord's coming, He, as the real

Farmer, is awaiting with patience our maturity in life, as the firstfruits and

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