For a full writing on this subject see Four Living Beings
Ezekiel had a vision of four living creatures, each of which had four faces. Chapter 1 verse 10 reads: 'Their faces looked like this: Each of the four had the face of a man, and on the right side each had the face of a lion, and on the left the face of an ox; each also had the face of an eagle.' John had a similar vision in Revelation 4: 6,7: 'In the centre, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and behind. The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle.' What does all this mean?
God chose four men to write about the life of Jesus, corresponding to these four creatures. Matthew sees Jesus as the lion or king. (The lion is associated with the royal tribe of Judah to which King David and his descendants belonged.) Accordingly Matthew begins his gospel with the words 'A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham', and continues by tracing his lineage all the way down. What could be more fitting for a king?
Mark sees Jesus as the exact opposite, an ox or servant. There is no genealogy, nor even any kind of birth story. It wouldn't be appropriate for a servant. Neither is there much teaching recorded. Mark is all about action. Jesus is serving his father. Appropriately his gospel is the shortest.
Luke sees Jesus as the man. He gives us all the details about his birth, and then traces his ancestry right the way back up to Adam (whose name means man). It is Luke who gives us the more personal details of Jesus' life. Only he tells us how Jesus was thrown out of his own city of Nazareth and sweated droops of blood in Gethsemane.
John sees Jesus as the flying eagle, that soars up in the heavenly realms. This represents God. In John the birth story is very different from what Matthew and Luke give. Simply, 'In the beginning was the Word'. We are seeing not man, but God. John is the gospel of 'I am'. I am the bread of life, the light of the world, the door, the good shepherd, the resurrection, and the life, the way, the truth and the life, the true vine. Who but God can say such things?
What contrasts! King and yet servant, man and yet God! How amazing! How wonderful! How far beyond the imagination of earth. Yet that is what Jesus was and is. The servant-king, the man-God.
So were Ezekiel and John seeing visions of Jesus? If so, why did they both see 4 living creatures, rather than just one. And why did John see 4 living creatures round the throne, rather than on it? These were visions of the whole body of Christ! Ezekiel and John were seeing men and women who had been transformed into the likeness of Jesus and were sharing his attributes. They were people who had become just like Jesus!
This is the wonder of the gospel: Jesus calls us to be servant-kings; he has chosen us to be man-Gods. We too must reign with him. We too must be servants of all. Human, of course, we are, but we too must be sons and daughters of God and become 'partakers of the divine nature'.
Furthermore these 4 living creatures moved together in all directions in perfect unison. The secret of this was, 'Wherever the spirit would go, they would go' (v20). They were all perfectly led by the Spirit of God.
The Holy Spirit in us gives us kingly power and authority. The
Holy Spirit gives us the humble attitude of servants, and the
power to serve. By the Holy Spirit we will be fully integrated
humans and also manifest the nature of God. And by the Holy Spirit
giving the same inward witness to each one of us we will move
in perfect unity with each other member of the body of Christ.