Taking Christ as our person and living Him in and for the church life
Message Eight
How One Ought to Conduct Himself in the Church
in Order to Bring Forth the One New Man
Opening Word of the Prophesying Meeting
Reading the verses in each day:
Reading the main points in the outlines:
Pray-reading the verses:
But if I delay, I write that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and base of the truth.- 1 Tim. 3:15.
That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit into the inner man, That Christ may make His home in your hearts through faith, that you, being rooted and grounded in love, May be full of strength to apprehend with all the saints what the breadth and length and height and depth are.-Eph3:16-18.
Word of Appetizer
First Timothy 3:15 says, “If I delay, I write that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God”; what does the word “conduct” here refer to?
Here conduct refers to administration; Timothy received Paul’s commission to arrange for matters related to the administration of the churches. When Paul speaks of knowing “how one ought to conduct himself in the house of God,” he is speaking of how to administrate and arrange matters in the church.
Spiritual Burden
Ephesians 3:16-21 reveals the spirit, attitude, prayer, and faith that a serving one should have in order to work out the New Jerusalem and bring forth the one new man; We should cooperate with Christ so that we can work Christ into others and build Christ as the material into others so that they may become a spiritual temple for the expression, the fullness, of the One who fills all in all—this should be our spirit and attitude.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
First Timothy 3:15 says, “If I delay, I write that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God”.
If we want to clearly know what the church is and what God desires to do in the church, so that we may know how we ought to conduct ourselves in the church, we need to understand Ephesians 2:13-16, Colossians 3:10-11, and 1 Corinthians 12:12-13.
Ephesians 3:16-21 reveals the spirit, attitude, prayer, and faith that a serving one should have in order to work out the New Jerusalem and bring forth the one new man.
The Experience of Life
Before we were saved, we were in Adam, the old man; when we were saved, we came out of Adam, put off the old man, and put on Christ, the new man; The new man was created in our spirit and is being renewed in our mind unto full knowledge according to the image of Christ, As we know the Lord more and more (Phil. 3:8, 10), the new man will be renewed more and more, and the image of the Lord will be manifested more for the bringing forth of the one new man.
Practice and Application
we must not serve according to what we are or what we have in ourselves; Paul’s unique goal, and ours, should be to dispense Christ into others so that Christ could increase in them.
We should cooperate with Christ so that we can work Christ into others and build Christ as the material into others so that they may become a spiritual temple for the expression, the fullness, of the One who fills all in all—this should be our spirit and attitude.
Using Key Verses to Have a Bird’s-Eye View over the Whole Outline
Key Verses (1)
But if I delay, I write that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and base of the truth. – 1 Tim. 3:15.
For He Himself is our peace, He who has made both one and has broken down the middle wall of partition…….. That He might create the two in Himself into one new man, so making peace.-Eph2:14-15.
And have put on the new man, which is being renewed unto full knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, Where there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free man, but Christ is all and in all.- Col. 3:10-11.
For even as the body is one and has many members, yet all the members of the body, being many, are one body, so also is the Christ. 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.-1Cor12:12-13.
how one ought to conduct himself in the house of God
. First Timothy 3:15 says, “If I delay, I write that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God”; Here conduct refers to administration; When Paul speaks of knowing “how one ought to conduct himself in the house of God,” he is speaking of how to administrate and arrange matters in the church.
. If we want to clearly know what the church is and what God desires to do in the church, so that we may know how we ought to conduct ourselves in the church, we need to understand Ephesians 2:13-16, Colossians 3:10-11, and 1 Corinthians 12:12-13.
. It is only when we are clear concerning all the points above that we will know how to administrate and serve (how to conduct ourselves) in the church.
Key Verses (2)
But when it pleased God………. To reveal His Son in me that I might announce Him as the gospel among the Gentiles, immediately I did not confer with flesh and blood.- Gal.1:15-16.
I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.-2:20.
But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the world has been crucified to me and I to the world.-6:14.
My children, with whom I travail again in birth until Christ is formed in you.-4:19.
ten crucial points in the administration of the church: we should allow the Holy Spirit to inscribe these ten points in the tablets of our heart so that we may live in them
. Paul announced the living Christ whom God had revealed in him, not knowledge or doctrine.
. we must clearly see that Christ is “our life”; we need to live in Christ.
. we need to see that what we are and have has been terminated on the cross.
. we must not serve according to what we are or what we have in ourselves.
. we must clearly see that there should only be one result in our service, work, and administration of the church—Christ must be produced in the church.
. Paul’s unique goal, and ours, should be to dispense Christ into others so that Christ could increase in them.
. we must be men of prayer ;we must be like the apostle Paul, who had a living faith, believing that God is able.
Key Verses (3)
That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit into the inner man, That Christ may make His home in your hearts through faith, that you, being rooted and grounded in love, May be full of strength to apprehend with all the saints what the breadth and length and height and depth are. And to know the knowledge-surpassing love of Christ, that you may be filled unto all the fullness of God. But to Him who is able to do superabundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power which operates in us, To Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus unto all the generations forever and ever. Amen.-Eph3:16-21.
Ephesians 3:16-21 reveals the spirit, attitude, prayer, and faith that a serving one should have in order to work out the New Jerusalem and bring forth the one new man.
We should cooperate with Christ so that we can work Christ into others and build Christ as the material into others so that they may become a spiritual temple for the expression, the fullness, of the One who fills all in all—this should be our spirit and attitude.
. Every elder, deacon, co-worker, and everyone who serves the Lord must see a vision, a revelation, to the point that he is absolutely obsessed with it and has the same spirit, attitude, and inner mood of Paul.
. Paul described four aspects of our need to be strengthened into the inner man by the Father；The issue is Christ making His home in our hearts. The result of all this is that we will know the knowledge-surpassing love of Christ and be filled unto all the fullness of God; we who serve in the church should have this attitude, and our thoughts and prayers should be for this.
Prophesying Topics—Twelve Topics per Week
D1
T1 Know how to administrate in the Church.(1 Tim. 3:15)
（Why Paul say that But if I delay, I write that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in the house of God）
T2 the Gentiles and the Jews becoming one new man in Christ.（Eph2:15）
（Please explain that The new man does not refer to an individual; the new man is a corporate new man）
D2
T1 in this one Body that both the Jews and the Gentiles were reconciled to God（Eph2:16）
（Please explain that We, the believers, whether Jews or Gentiles, were reconciled not only for the Body of Christ but also in the Body of Christ.）
T2the new man “is being renewed（Col. 3:10）
（Illustrate why the one new man need to be renewed.）
D3
T1In this new man there is only Christ（1Cor12:12）
（Please explain that Although there are many members in this new man, there is only one Body）
T2 ten crucial points in the administration of the church（cf. 2 Cor. 3:3）
（Please explain that We can see ten crucial points in the administration of the church by the pattern of Paul）
D4
T1 Christ is our life（Col3:4）
（Illustrate what is the meaning of “Christ is our life”）
T2 allowing the Holy Spirit to inscribe these ten points onto the tablets of our heart so that we may live in them.（2Cor3:3）
（Please explain that These ten points can be summed up in one point—Christ.）
D5
T1should be the attitude and spirit of one who serves the Lord（Eph3:16~21）
（What kind of spirit and attitude the serving ones should have according to Eph.3：16~21.）
T2 everyone who serves the Lord must see a vision, a revelation（Eph3:16~18）
（Please explain that Paul described four aspects of our need to be strengthened into the inner man by the Father）
D6
T1 Christ’s making His home in our hearts.（Eph3:17）
（Please explain by our experience that Christ can be sensed in us and that we respond to Christ dwelling in us.）
T2 to Him who is able to do superabundantly above all that we ask or think（Eph3:16~21）
（Illustrate the prayer and faith ought to be to the serving one according to Eph.3:16~21.）
