Cooperating with the Heavenly Ministry of the Ascended Christ
Message Four
Propagating the Resurrected Christ
under the Heavenly Ministry of the Ascended Christ
Opening Word of the Prophesying Meeting
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
The God of our fathers has raised Jesus, whom you slew by hanging Him on a tree. This One God has exalted to His right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins—Acts 5:30-31.
But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth—1:8.
Word of Appetizer
To carry out His heavenly ministry for the propagating of Himself so that the kingdom of God might be established for the building up of the churches as His fullness, what kind of people does the ascended Christ use?
He uses not a group of preachers trained by man’s teaching to do a preaching work but a body of His witnesses, who bear a living testimony of the incarnated, crucified, resurrected, and ascended Christ.
Spiritual Burden
In order to cooperate with the heavenly ministry of the ascended Christ for the propagation of the resurrected Christ, we need to know the intrinsic significance of the book of Acts. In Acts there is a group of people who know the meaning of resurrection and ascension, who live by Christ as their life, who act by Christ as their power and authority, and who realize that they are the Body and act in the Body and for the Body in the one divine stream; this is the intrinsic significance of the book of Acts.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
The book of Acts reveals a resurrected and ascended Christ who is in the heavens. The Lord’s ascension was His initiation into His living and ministry in the heavens.
In order to cooperate with the heavenly ministry of the ascended Christ for the propagation of the resurrected Christ, we need to know the intrinsic significance of the book of Acts.
To carry out His heavenly ministry for the propagating of Himself so that the kingdom of God might be established for the building up of the churches as His fullness, the ascended Christ uses not a group of preachers trained by man’s teaching to do a preaching work but a body of His witnesses, who bear a living testimony of the incarnated, crucified, resurrected, and ascended Christ.
The Experience of Life
We were saved by the Christ on the throne, by the One in glory. When we were saved, we were seated with Him in the heavenlies. This is the ascended Christ as our Savior. We live by Christ as our life, and act by Christ as our power and authority.
Practice and Application
Our cooperation with the ascended Christ for the propagation of the resurrected Christ is a move in life for the spread of the gospel:
Acts 5:42 And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and announcing the gospel of Jesus as the Christ.
13:2 And as they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Set apart for Me now Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.
Using Key Verses to Have a Bird’s-Eye View over the Whole Outline
Key Verses (1)
Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you have crucified—Acts 2:36.
The God of our fathers has raised Jesus, whom you slew by hanging Him on a tree. This One God has exalted to His right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins—5:30-31.
The book of Acts reveals a resurrected and ascended Christ who is in the heavens
A. The Lord’s living and ministry in the heavens are the content of the book of Acts.
B. The Lord’s ascension was His initiation into His living and ministry in the heavens.
•The book of Acts reveals that the resurrected and ascended Christ is now living in the heavens and ministering there.
C. Christ’s ascension was God’s exaltation of Him:
•The Lord was made Lord, the Lord of all to possess all, and He was made Christ, God’s Anointed, to carry out God’s commission.
•God exalted Christ “to His right hand as Leader and Savior.
Key Verses (2)
And as they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Set apart for Me now Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. They then, having been sent out by the Holy Spirit—Acts 13:2-4.
But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, Rise up and go south on the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. This is the desert route—8:26.
To know the intrinsic significance of the book of Acts;
A move in life for the spread of the gospel
II. In order to cooperate with the heavenly ministry of the ascended Christ for the propagation of the resurrected Christ, we need to know the intrinsic significance of the book of Acts—in Acts there is a group of people who know the meaning of resurrection and ascension, who live by Christ as their life, who act by Christ as their power and authority, and who realize that they are the Body and act in the Body and for the Body in the one divine stream.
IV. A move in life for the spread of the gospel:
•This move in life corresponds to the Lord’s heavenly ministry in His ascension.
•In Acts 8, 9, and 10 the Lord moved His disciples outwardly for the preaching of the gospel; He was ministering in the heavens to move some of His disciples.
Key Verses (3)
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Because those whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brothers—Rom. 8:28-29.
Christ as the High Priest—care for us is positive, care for God’s need and interests, consummates in the New Jerusalem
V. Although Christ as the High Priest is taking care of us, we all have our own thought and feeling as to how He should care for us; many times we do not know what is best for us or what the reason is for certain things; only the Lord as the High Priest knows the reason, and His care for us is always positive.
VI. Ultimately, Christ as the High Priest is caring for God’s need and interests—Christ, the kingdom of God, and the house of God.
VII. Christ’s heavenly ministry as the High Priest in ascension consummates in the New Jerusalem.
Prophesying Topics—Twelve Topics per Week
D1
D1T1 The Lord’s conception was His first initiation, and His ascension was another initiation (Acts 5:30-31)
(Please explain that the Lord’s ascension was not the termination of His activity; instead, it was His initiation into further activity—His ministry in the heavens.)
T2 God has exalted the Lord Jesus and has made Him both Lord and Christ (Acts 5:30-31)
(Please use Bible verses to explain when the Lord Jesus was made both Lord and Christ.)
D2T1 The ascended Christ as our Savior (Acts 5:31)
(Please explain that Christ saved us from the throne and to the throne.)
T2 The basic thought of Acts (Acts 1:8-11, 14; 2:32-33; 4:33)
(The book of Acts is the record of a group of people. What kind of people are they?)
D3T1 In Acts it is difficult to find anyone who acted individualistically (Acts 1:14; 13:1-4)
(Please explain that Acts is a record of a group of people who act and work in the Body, through the Body, and for the Body.)
T2 The intrinsic significance of Acts (Acts 1:8-11, 14; 2:32-33; 4:33) (Refer to Outlines II. A-D)
(Please explain what the intrinsic significance of Acts is.)
D4T1 Witnesses are those who bear a living testimony of the resurrected and ascended Christ in life (Acts 1:8)
(Please explain the difference between witnesses and preachers.)
T2 Testifying is different from mere teaching (Acts 26:16)
(Please use personal experience to explain that testifying requires experiences of seeing, participating, and enjoying.)
D5T1 God as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Acts 3:13)
(Please explain that this divine title implies resurrection.)
T2 The Lord is both God and resurrection (John 1:1; 11:25)
(Please explain that the Lord’s resurrection was the focus of the apostles’ testimony.)
D6T1 Cooperating with Christ in His heavenly ministry (Acts 8:26-29; 9:10-11; 10:1-3, 9-22)
(Please give examples to illustrate what the three moves in life that corresponded to the Lord’s ministry in the heavens are in Acts.)
T2 The proper gospel preaching is a move in life under the heavenly ministry of Christ (Acts 5:42; 8:4, 12)
(Please explain that in Acts 8, 9, and 10 the Lord moved His disciples outwardly for the preaching of the gospel.)
