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.