The Lord Jesus is the reality of the burnt offering, and in His human living He carried out God’s New Testament ministry; He didn’t do anything out of Himself, He did not do His own work nor speak His own word or seek His own glory, and He was never disappointed but rather, He was satisfied with God, being a man of prayer always in God’s presence, in oneness with God.
Lord Jesus, we praise You for setting up the pattern of living a God-man life. Thank You for living in such a way that You expressed God to the uttermost by not speaking Your word but God’s word, not doing Your will but God’s will, and not seeking Your glory but God’s glory. We want to learn from You. Thank You for being in us to repeat this kind of living in us. May our living be our work, and may our life be our ministry. Amen, Lord, live in us today as we exercise our spirit to be one with You in all things! Amen!
When we speak of living a God-man life, that is, repeating the same kind of life that the Lord Jesus lived while being on earth, we need to realise that such a living is not something deliberate, something we perform, but something organic, coming out of our inner being.
We do not strive and try to be like Jesus so that we may express Him, somehow, and be like Him in this or that way; rather, we come to the Lord, we enjoy Him, and we allow Him to burn in us and remove anything that does not match Him, so that He may reduce us to ashes and He may live in us.
As Paul said in Galatians 2:20, we realise that we have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer we who live but it is Christ who lives in us. Amen, no longer we but Christ! No longer I but Christ!
We have been terminated, reduced to nothing, and our natural man, our self, our flesh, and our old man have been put on the cross.
However, in resurrection, one with the Lord, we still live, yet the life we now live in the flesh we live in faith, in the organic union with the Lord, for the Lord now lives in us.
This is so mysterious yet so real and so practical!
When people in the world pass through trials, tribulations, and temptations, they may be reduced to nothing, but then they either become stronger in themselves or they just think they are something; there is no glory to God.
In our case, however, as believers in Christ, we are reduced to ashes, and in the world’s eyes we are nothing, but to the Lord, this is precious and delightful, for He can bring us into the experience of Christ in resurrection for Him to live in us and be expressed through us.
As the Reality of the Burnt Offering, the Lord Jesus Took Satisfaction in God and was Never Disappointed, and His Work was His Living
Many Christians and non-Christians look at the human living of Jesus and are very inspired; they try to copy it, imitate it, and do the same things that He did, but somehow it doesn’t work out.
We are not to imitate Christ outwardly; we are to enjoy Christ, be infused with Christ by prayerfully being in His word, and eat Christ, so that He may live in us.
In carrying out God’s New Testament ministry, the Lord Jesus is the reality of the burnt offering. In His human living, the Lord Jesus did not do anything out of Himself (John 5:19), He did not do His own work (4:34; 17:4), He did not speak His own word (14:10, 24), He did everything not by His own will (5:30), and He did not seek His own glory (7:18).
Even more, He was never disappointed because He was satisfied only with God (Isa. 42:4; 50:4-5; 53:2a; cf. John 4:13-14; 6:15; Mark 9:7-8). Wow!
He could have done His own work, He could have spoken His own word, and He could have sought His own glory, but He chose to deny Himself and depend on the Father, taking the Father as the source and giving the Father all the glory.
What a God-man living! He truly lived a life that was absolutely for God and for God’s satisfaction.
If we take all these verses, read them, prayerfully consider them, and masticate them before the Lord, pondering on them and speaking them to ourselves, to others, and to the Lord, He will have a way to infuse us with Himself so that He may live in us the same kind of life.
In particular, as the burnt offering, the Lord Jesus was never disappointed, for He was satisfied only with God. He did not have any hope in this world, in the things of the world, in the events around Him, or even in the people that He knew; His only hope was in God.
The reason we are disappointed is that we have certain expectations from others; we have certain hopes in people, things, events, and situations, and when things don’t turn out the way we hope or think, we get disappointed.
But not the Lord Jesus. What He saw the Father doing, that is what He did. What He heard the Father speaking, that is what He spoke.
He was assured that the Father was with Him all the time, never leaving Him alone, for He always did the things that are pleasing to the Father.
He took the Father as His source, His life, His living, and His goal; His only hope was in God the Father.
Therefore, He was never disappointed, for the Father always delighted in Him, approved Him, and was with Him. He told us that no one knows the Father except the Son, and no one knows the Son except the Father. He did not receive glory from men, for He didn’t come to do His own will but the will of the Father.
The Lord Jesus had God’s will as His satisfaction all His life. Therefore, He was never disappointed no matter how people, events, and things in this world changed.
We need to learn from Him. We need to realise that, when we take our satisfaction in God, we will never be disappointed.
And when we seem to be disappointed, we can simply turn to the Lord and take Him as our unique satisfaction, source, and goal; He never disappoints us! Amen!
Christ didn’t just perform miracles or did things for God; His work was His living, and His living was His ministry.
He was genuine, real, and true, and there was no falsehood in Him. He lived a life of proclaiming the gospel, teaching the truth, casting out demons, healing the sick, and cleansing the lepers (Luke 22:26-27; John 10:10b; 1 Cor. 15:45b; 1 John 5:16a; 2 Cor. 3:6; Phil. 1:25).
This was not just a work to Him; His life was His work, and His ministry was His living. Everything that He did, everything He spoke, and everything He worked were all part of His life. May we learn from Him and may we let Him live the same kind of life in us today!
Lord Jesus, we want to learn from You by observing Your pattern and by allowing You to live in us today. Thank You for coming to live a life of the burnt offering, for You are the reality of the burnt offering. Oh Lord, You did not do anything out of Yourself, You did not do Your own work, and You did not speak Your own word. We praise You for doing not Your will but the Father’s will, and for seeking not Your glory but the Father’s glory! We thank You for being our pattern. You were never disappointed, for You were satisfied only with God! Amen, Lord, we take You as our life and person. We want to be one with You today. Live in us today. Be our source. We take God as our only satisfaction so that, no matter what happens around us or to us, we would never be disappointed, for we are satisfied with God! Amen, Lord, may our living be our working, and may our life be our work. Save us from any performance or outward show; bring us into the God-man living where our work is our living and our ministry is simply our life! Amen, Lord, make us the same as You are today!
As the Reality of the Burnt Offering, the Lord Jesus was a Man of Prayer, He was One with God, and in Him Satan had Nothing!
The Lord Jesus was a man of prayer; He did not just pray from time to time, but He was a man of prayer. He was not like us, common men praying common prayers to God, nor was He merely a pious man or a godly man praying to God in a religious way.
Christ was not merely a God-seeking man praying to God for Him to do this or that for Him, even to help Him make miracles. Rather, Christ was a man in the flesh praying to the mysterious God in the divine and mystical realm.
If we read the Gospels we will be amazed to see how many times the Lord Jesus went to the mountain or withdrew to the wilderness or a private place to pray (Matt. 14:23; Mark 1:35; Luke 5:16; 6:12; 9:28).
He often went to the mountain or withdrew to a private place to pray, for He was a man of prayer. He was a man in the flesh, yet He prayed to the mysterious God in the divine and mystical way and realm.
One time, the whole village was gathered at the door of the house, and it seemed that was the best time for Him to preach, teach, and heal; yet the Lord chose to go and be with the Father, even to go to a deserted place to be in God’s presence. He had a hidden life with the Father.
His disciples were looking for Him and told Him that the whole village is waiting at the door, but the Lord’s response was, We need to go from here to other places.
The Lord was not governed by the outward circumstances or by the environment; He was governed by the Father and His leading.
In another instance, after the miracle of feeding five thousand, He compelled His disciples to leave Him in order that He might have more time to pray privately to the Father (Matt. 14:22-23).
Christ stood in the position of man (Matt. 4:4), and He was also the heavenly King, the Beloved Son of the Father (3:17), yet He needed to pray to His Father, who was in the heavens.
We may say that He was always one with God, for He Himself was God; however, in His human living, the Lord wanted to be one with the Father and have the Father with Him in whatever He did on earth for the establishment of the kingdom of the heavens.
He was a man of prayer. He went to the mountain, leaving all people, even His disciples, so that He may be alone to contact the Father.
This is the pattern of living a God-man life; we follow Him, we imitate Him, by enjoying Him, eating Him, and allowing Him to live in us the same kind of life today.
Because the Lord Jesus was a man of prayer who was one with God, He was never alone, for the Father was with Him (John 5:19; 16:32; Psa. 16:7-8; cf. 27:8).
Every moment, the Lord Jesus as a man of prayer saw His Father’s face. We believers in Christ may seek Christ, desperately praying to gain Christ, yet we may not be one with God. But the Lord Jesus as a man of prayer lived in the presence of God without ceasing (Acts 10:38; John 8:29; 16:32).
The Father was always with Him, He saw the Father’s face, and He lived in the Father’s presence.
Many times we seek Christ, but we may not live in God’s presence in a close and intimate way, even continuously without ceasing. Oh Lord!
May we be one with the Lord in this matter, and may we let Him live in us today.
The Lord Jesus trusted in God and not in Himself, and even when others persecuted Him or reviled Him, He did not speak threatening words back at them but kept committing all things to Him who judges righteously (1 Pet. 2:23).
He trusted the Father, lived one with the Father, and was a man of prayer, one with God all the time.
Even when He was dying on the cross, He prayed, Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit (Luke 23:46).
He is our pattern. He is our life. He lives in us. He wants to repeat this kind of life in us. May we open to Him.
May we learn to stop and just enjoy Him, pray, and read His word with much prayerful consideration so that we may be infused with Him and let Him live in us.
One particular thing about the Lord Jesus as the first God-man is that in Him, the ruler of this world had nothing – no ground, no chance, no hope, and no possibility in anything (John 14:30).
Satan tested Him, tempted Him, and persecuted Him, yet he did not have any chance in the Lord, no hope to get anything from Him, and no possibility in anything.
If we are enlightened, we have to admit that Satan still has many things in us, for he has ground in our being. But in Christ, Satan had nothing.
May we come to the Lord in prayer and in His word to learn from Him, for He was a man of prayer, a man who was fully one with God, who lived in the presence of God continually, who trusted in God in His suffering and persecution, and in whom Satan had nothing.
Lord Jesus, we open to You. We want to learn from You, for You are the One who lived a God-man life that was absolutely for God and for His satisfaction. Thank You, dear Lord, for being a man of prayer; we want to be one with You today to be men of prayer who not only seek God and want to gain God but pray to God in the divine and mystical way. Make us men of prayer who pray themselves into God and are fully one with God. We want to live in God’s presence continually, taking God as our everything in our daily life. Amen, Lord, we treasure our organic union with You. Thank You for being with us all the time, for You and us are joined as one spirit. We trust in You, Lord, and we do not trust in ourselves; we commit all things to You, for You are the One who judges righteously. Amen, Lord Jesus, we want to live in Your presence continually, without ceasing. We want to see Your face, live in Your presence, and let You live in us. Repeat in us, dear Lord, the kind of life You lived while on the earth! Make us Your duplication and reproduction today! Amen!
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 brother Ed Marks on this topic, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1994-1997, vol. 3, “The God-man Living,” ch. 10, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Great Need for a New Revival (2026 Memorial Day Blending Conference), week 3, “The God-man Living for a New Revival” – day 5.
- Hymns on this topic:
– Dear Lord Jesus, precious Jesus, / Thou hast won each love from me; / Who like Thee—so fair and comely? / Who like Thee—so sweet and lovely? / Matchless One, unrivaled beauty, / None can e’er compete with Thee! / Dear Lord Jesus, precious Jesus, / Gladly will I hear Thy call; / Since Thy voice my heart hath entered, / I from all things could but sever; / Void are all my other seekings, / Every pride hath disappeared. (Hymns #1158 stanzas 1-2)
– Teach me to pray, Lord, teach me to pray; / This is my heart-cry day unto day; / I long to know Thy will and Thy way; / Teach me to pray, Lord, teach me to pray. / Living in Thee, Lord, and Thou in me, / Constant abiding, this is my plea; / Grant me Thy power, boundless and free, / Power with men and power with Thee. (Hymns #766 stanza 1 and chorus)
– Lord Jesus, I long in Thy presence to live, / From morning to evening my one world Thou art; / O let not my heart be contented or rest / When loving or seeking what with Thee doth part. / Each moment, each day, throughout suff’ring and pain, / When nought in the world can give comfort or cheer, / When sighing and weeping encompasses me, / Lord, still all my sighing and wipe every tear. (Hymns #389 stanza 1)
