The Genuine Church Life
Message One
Basic Principles for the Practice of the Church Life
Opening Word of the Prophesying Meeting
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
To the church of God which is in Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, the called saints, with all those who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place, who is theirs and ours:–1 Cor.1:2
Now him who is weak in faith receive, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his considerations.—Rom.14:1
Word of Appetizer
We must see and keep the unique oneness of the universal Body of Christ; We need to see our practice under today’s divisive and confusing degradation of Christianity:
We do not and should not participate in the Catholic heresy, the Protestant denominations, and any kind of free groups of Christians.
But we recognize and receive the individual believers in Christ who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, who are redeemed by His blood and regenerated by the Holy Spirit, and who are not factious (Titus 3:10), not making divisions (Rom. 16:17), not worshipping idols (1 John 5:21), nor living in sin (1 Cor. 5:11), even if they are still related to any of the above-listed divisions.
We are one with all the believers who are in the Lord’s recovery throughout the world, and in the principle of Philadelphia, we choose to love all the brothers.
Spiritual Burden
We must see and stand on the unique ground of the local churches of God —the practice of the church life in the early days was the practice of having one church for one city, one city with only one church
We must see and keep the unique oneness of the universal Body of Christ
We must practice the church life by submitting to the headship of the Lord and by being balanced by the Body:
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
We must see and stand on the unique ground of the local churches of God —the practice of the church life in the early days was the practice of having one church for one city, one city with only one church
We must see and keep the unique oneness of the universal Body of Christ
We must practice the church life by submitting to the headship of the Lord and by being balanced by the Body:
We must practice the spiritual charter (spiritual rules and regulations) of the church, which is the cross, Christ as life, the Holy Spirit, the headship of Christ, the Body, a general attitude toward our fellow believers, and the Word of God:
The Experience of Life
For also in one Spirit we were all baptized into one Body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and were all given to drink one Spirit. For the body is not one member but many.—1Cor.12:13-14
We have both the Spirit on the one hand and the Body on the other hand. The Spirit and the Body keep us in balance.
Practice and Application
We must practice the church life by submitting to the headship of the Lord and by being balanced by the Body:
We must learn from the book of Acts and from the experience of the apostles and elders in Acts 15 never to make decisions on our own; furthermore, we should not make suggestions to others or give instructions to them; none of us is qualified to do this:
We must be regulated, restricted, and limited by the Body of Christ; on the one hand, we must stay within our measure as members of the Body (Eph. 4:16); on the other hand, we must “fully accomplish,” fill up the full measure, of our ministry
Using Key Verses to Have a Bird’s-Eye View over the Whole Outline
Key Verses (1)
To the church of God which is in Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, the called saints, with all those who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place, who is theirs and ours:–1 Cor.1:2
and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be attuned in the same mind and in the same opinion.—1:10
Is Christ divided? –13
I. We must see and stand on the unique ground of the local churches of God —the practice of the church life in the early days was the practice of having one church for one city, one city with only one church
A.“To the church of God which is in Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, the called saints, with all those who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place, who is theirs and ours”—1 Cor. 1:2:
B. Divisions among the saints are condemned by the apostle as the deputy authority of Christ the Head (1 Cor. 1:10-13).
C. Christ is not divided.–Christ is unique, not divisible nor divided (1:13).
D. We need to see our practice under today’s divisive and confusing degradation of Christianity:
Key Verses (2)
Being diligent to keep the oneness of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace: One Body and one Spirit, even as also you were called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism; One God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.—Eph.4:3-6
For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us—Acts 15:28
II.We must see and keep the unique oneness of the universal Body of Christ
III.We must practice the church life by submitting to the headship of the Lord and by being balanced by the Body:
• The unique oneness of the universal Body of Christ is of the Spirit, which oneness believers should not break but keep diligently in the uniting bond of peace
•In the whole universe there is only one unique Body of Christ, with the Triune God as its contents—vv. 4-6:
•We must learn from the book of Acts and from the experience of the apostles and elders in Acts 15 never to make decisions on our own; furthermore, we should not make suggestions to others or give instructions to them; none of us is qualified to do this:
•For the Lord’s move we also need to be balanced by the Body:
Key Verses (3)
And you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know.—1 John 2:20
Now him who is weak in faith receive, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his considerations.—Rom.14:1
Your word is very pure, And Your servant loves it.—Psal.119:140
II.We must practice the spiritual charter (spiritual rules and regulations) of the church
The spiritual charter of the church is the cross, Christ as life, the Holy Spirit, the headship of Christ, the Body, a general attitude toward our fellow believers, and the Word of God:
• the cross–the center of the universe
•If we do not have Christ as life, we do not have the church life.
• The Spirit is our charter; if we do not have the inner anointing of the Spirit while we are speaking, we should stop
•In the third heaven Christ was given to be Head over all things to the church, and He is also the head of every man (1 Cor. 11:3a):
•We must be regulated, restricted, and limited by the Body of Christ
• a spirit of generality— able to include all kinds of genuine Christians.
•The Scripture, the word of God, is the very breathing out of God
Prophesying Topics—Twelve Topics per Week
D1
T1 The church being “of God” —1 Cor. 1:2
(Please illustrate that hence, the church has two aspects: the universal and the local.)
T2 This is the local church, with the city, as the unit. –Rev. 1:11
(Please illustrute that according to Rev. 1:11 the practice of the church life in the early days was the practice of having one church for one city, one city with only one church)
D2
T1 Christ is not divided —1 Cor. 1:13
(Please illustrate that Christ is not divided —Christ is unique)
T2 Division is of the flesh–—1 Cor.3:3-4.
(What is our practice under today’s divisive and confusing degradation of Christianity?)
D3
T1 In the whole universe, there is only one unique Body of Christ. — Eph. 4:3-6
(Please illustrate that in the Body of Christ the Triune God is the contents)
T2 God has blended the Body together (1 Cor. 12:24).
(Please illustrate the meaning of “blended” according to the experience)
D4
T1 We must respect the Lord—Acts 15:22-28
(What can we learn from the book of Acts and from the experience of the apostles and elders?)
T2 Everyone must pray until he is clear about the Lord’s leading—Acts 13:3
(Why any decisions that you make by yourself for others are an insult to the Spirit?)
D5
T1 We need to be balanced.– 1 Cor. 12:13-14
(Please illustrate that in which matter the Spirit and the Body keep you in balance.)
T2 the spiritual charter of the church—Rom.6:6; John 10:10b
(Please illustrate the two aspects significance of cross)
D6
T1 the headship of Christ—Eph.1:20-22; Acts 2:36
(Please illustrate that according to the experience the headship of the Lord Christ alone will regulate us and rule out many problems and mistakes.)
T2 The church life is able to include all kinds of genuine Christians.—Rom.15:7
(According to Rome 14, if we are going to realize the real church life, we must be general.)
