Service for the Building Up of the Church
Message Eight
A Life-ministering Service
Opening Word of the Prophesying Meeting
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin not unto death, he shall ask and he will give life to him… —1 John 5:16
So then death operates in us, but life in you—2 Cor. 4:12
Word of Appetizer
What does it mean to supply life?
Let us consider what it means to supply life. Christianity speaks of being good, which involves moral character, good deeds, and good behavior. Christianity does not speak of the divine life referred to in the Word of God. The Bible says, “Death operates in us, but life in you” (2 Cor. 4:12). This life is not moral character or behavior; rather, it is the life of God. This is a great distinction.
Spiritual Burden
The service for the building up of the house of God is a life-ministering service—a service of supplying others with the divine life; we must always remember that the service of the church is God’s flowing out to supply others with the divine life.
We need to experience and enjoy the eternal life within us, and we need to minister this life to others by being a channel through which eternal life can flow.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
As believers in Christ and children of God, we not only have eternal life and may experience eternal life, but we can minister this life to other members of the Body of Christ.
To minister life is to impart life; the service for the building up of the house of God is a life-ministering service—a service of supplying others with the divine life. To minister is to have the outflow of life.
If we would minister life to others, we need to be aware of the attack upon the church by death.
The Experience of Life
To minister is to have the outflow of life; in order for life to be released from our spirit, our outer man must be dealt with and broken; if we want the divine life to be released from within us, we must be subdued in our soul and let our spirit dominate and rule over every matter; then the Lord’s life will be able to flow out.
Practice and Application
The life that we supply to others is in the Spirit, the Spirit is mingled with our spirit, and the life of God is located, abides, and grows in the mingled spirit.
We need to experience and enjoy the eternal life within us, and we need to minister this life to others by being a channel through which eternal life can flow.
Using Key Verses to Have a Bird’s-Eye View over the Whole Outline
Key Verses (1)
And this is the testimony, that God gave to us eternal life and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life—1 John 5:11-12
If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin not unto death, he shall ask and he will give life to him…—1 John 5:16
Having and Experiencing Eternal Life, Ministering This Life to Others
I. As believers in Christ and children of God, we not only have eternal life and may experience eternal life, but we can minister this life to other members of the Body of Christ.
II. To minister life is to impart life; when we have a surplus of life, we can minister from this supply to others.
Key Verses (2)
So then death operates in us, but life in you—2 Cor. 4:12
The Service for the Building Up of the House of God—a Life-ministering Service, We Need to Be Able to Minister Life
III. The service for the building up of the house of God is a life-ministering service—a service of supplying others with the divine life:
• The church service is to supply life, for it is a service of life.
• The life that we supply to others is in the Spirit.
• We need to see the distinction between life and moral character.
IV. As serving ones, we need to be deeply impressed with the necessity of being able to minister life.
• The service that is from God requires us to minister life to others
• In order to minister life to others, we need to be joined to Christ, abide in Christ.
Key Verses (3)
I will be standing before you there upon the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it so that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel—Exo. 17:6
…Upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it—Matt. 16:18
To Minister Is to Have the Outflow of Life and to Be Aware of the Attack upon the Church by Death
V. To minister is to have the outflow of life:
• Life is the content of God and the flowing out of God.
• In order for life to be released from our spirit, our outer man must be dealt with and broken.
• Having the outflow of life requires that we be with Christ in His life-releasing death; this is to be identified with the smitten Christ, typified by the smitten rock.
VI. If we would minister life to others, we need to be aware of the attack upon the church by death, the attack upon the church will come from death, from the gates of Hades, Satan’s greatest fear with regard to the church is her resistance to his power of death.
Prophesying Topics—Twelve Topics per Week
D1
T1 We can minister this eternal life to other members of the Body of Christ. (1 John 5:11-16)
(In the church life, how can we exercise to minister the surplus of life to others?)
T2 The service for the building up of the house of God is a life-ministering service. (2 Cor. 4:12)
(Please explain that there are many items in the church service, but these many items have one purpose, which is to supply life.)
D2
T1 The life of God is located in the mingled spirit. (Rom 7:6; 1:9)
(Please explain that if we would supply the saints with life, we must release our spirit.)
T2 There is the distinction between the life of God and moral character. (Rom. 8:2; 7:22-23)
(Please explain that in order not to hinder others from receiving the divine life, we must do good deeds and have good moral character; however, good deeds and moral character do not necessarily mean that the life of God is expressed through us.)
D3
T1 The service that is from God requires us to minister life to others. (2 Cor. 4:12)
(Please explain that the service that God wants from us does not focus on doing a work but on ministering life.)
T2 Bearing fruit is to minister life. (John 15:4-5)
(In order to minister life to others, how can we experience Christ?) (Refer to Outline IV. B-E)
D4
T1 Life is the content of God and the flowing out of God. (Psa. 36:8-9)
(Please explain that to minister is to have the outflow of life.)
T2 Our outer man must be dealt with and broken. (2 Cor. 4:16)
(Please explain that in order for life to be released from our spirit, our soul and body must be dealt with and broken.)
D5
T1 We need to be one with the smitten Christ. (Exo. 17:6; 2 Cor. 4:10-11)
(Please explain that our natural life must be smitten so that the living water may flow out from within us.)
T2 All of God is characterized by life, all of Satan by death. (Gen. 3:2-4; 1 Cor. 15:22)
(Please explain that from Eden onwards, God’s controversy with Satan has been on the issue of life and death.)
D6
T1 “The gates of Hades” are the gates of death. (Matt. 16:18)
(Please explain that Satan’s greatest fear with regard to the Church is of her resistance to his power of death.)
T2 We need to be a channel through which eternal life can flow. (John 7:37-39)
(Please explain that we can become a channel through which eternal life can flow by experiencing and enjoying the eternal life within us.)
