Crystallization-Study of First and Second Kings
Message Five
Natural Ability versus the Resurrected Ability of the Maturity of Life for the Building Up of the Church as the Organic Body of Christ
OPENING WORD OF THE PROPHESYING MEETING
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
Rom. 8:4 That the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit.
1 Cor. 1:24 …Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
Phil. 3:3 For we are the circumcision, the ones who serve by the Spirit of God and boast in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh.
Word of Appetizer
Why was Solomon a man full of natural ability but not a man of life?
His wisdom was a gift, not a measure of life; the careers he accomplished were evidences of his capacity from the God-given gift of wisdom, not manifestations of the ability of the maturity of life. Solomon was a wise man but not a spiritual man; a man of capability, not a man of life; his enjoyment of the God-given good land reached the highest level through his God-given gift; however, because of his small measure in the maturity of the spiritual life, he was cut off from the enjoyment of the good land in God’s economy because of his unbridled indulgence of his lust. Solomon’s God-given wisdom made him great in the world in his days; however, his wisdom was absolutely in the physical realm, without any spiritual element; his wisdom was a shadow of the real wisdom that was to come, and it was altogether different from the wisdom of Paul.
Spiritual Burden
Today we are kings who are reigning with Christ in life by receiving the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness. In the Lord’s recovery today, we should pay our full attention to the mingled spirit, the Spirit mingled with our spirit, and should live, walk, and have our being in and according to this mingled spirit so that we can truly reign in life; this mingled spirit is the beginning of the Body of Christ and will consummate in the New Jerusalem.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
Solomon became a man of wisdom and a man of understanding (2 Chron. 1:10; cf. Col. 2:2b-3); however, because he took many pagan women and worshipped their idols and built places for the people to worship idols, he lost his God-given wisdom and his God-given understanding; he became very foolish and brought in damage to his kingdom.
We need to see Solomon’s failure under the light of the spiritual life.
Solomon was a man full of natural ability but not a man of life, a man whose wisdom was a gift, not a measure of life; the careers he accomplished were evidences of his capacity from the God-given gift of wisdom, not manifestations of the ability of the maturity of life.
The forty-one kings of Israel and Judah were in the highest position, but they were not careful in their enjoyment of the good land; not even David enjoyed the good land in full; we should apply their example to ourselves.
The Experience of Life
Today we are kings who are reigning with Christ in life by receiving the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness. In resurrection Christ became the life-giving Spirit as the consummation of the Triune God (1 Cor. 15:45b); this divine, all-inclusive Spirit enters into our spirit and mingles with our regenerated spirit, causing God and man, man and God, to become one in the mingled spirit; the two spirits are now mingled together as one entity.
Practice and Application
We should not have any trust in our natural being in the things of God; rather, we must learn to reject our natural being and exercise our spirit in everything for the organic building up of the Body of Christ.
In the building of the church, every natural thing in us must be broken before we can be joined together; we can be built only after we have been broken in our natural being.
In the Lord’s recovery today, we should pay our full attention to the mingled spirit, the Spirit mingled with our spirit, and should live, walk, and have our being in and according to this mingled spirit so that we can truly reign in life.
PROPHESYING TOPICS—TWELVE TOPICS PER WEEK
Day 1
T1 Solomon became a man of wisdom and a man of understanding (Gal. 6:7-8)
(Please illustrate that why Solomon later lost his God-given wisdom
and his God-given understanding and became very foolish.)
T2 Our doing, our behaving, affects God in His dealing with us (Psa. 11:7)
(Please illustrate that God is loving, full of grace, and full of forgiveness, and He is righteous.)
Day 2
T1 Solomon’s wisdom was absolutely in the physical realm (1 Cor. 1:24, 30)
(Please illustrate that how Solomon’s wisdom was altogether different from the wisdom of Paul.)
T2 Jehovah promised to Solomon to give him whatever he would ask (1 Cor. 1:30; Matt. 6:29)
(Why shouldn’t we overly appreciate Solomon’s glory?)
Day 3
T1 Under the light of the spiritual life, we can see that Solomon was a wise man, a man of capability (Prov. 9:10; 1 Cor. 1:30)
(Please illustrate that we need capability, but our capability should be the manifestation of the maturity of life.)
T2 Those who are usable in the hand of God are those who are capable yet whose capability has been broken (Phil. 3:3)
(How can we differentiate natural ability from resurrected ability?)
Day 4
T1 Any of our natural strength and ability is unprofitable to the church service (Matt. 16:24)
(Why must we reject our natural strength and ability in the church service? )
T2 The natural strength and ability need to be dealt with by the cross (2 Cor. 4:10)
(Please illustrate that our natural strength and natural ability are the embodiment of our self.)
Day 5
T1 How the kings of Israel behaved, lived paints a full picture (Rom. 5:17)
(Please illustrate that the being and the way of life of the kings of Israel determined their enjoyment on the good land.)
T2 The root of the evil of the evil kings of Israel (Jer. 2:13)
(What is the root of the evil of the evil kings of Israel?)
Day 6
T1 All the kings should not rule a nation for his own interest and prosperity but ruled for God’s eternal economy (Eph. 1:10; 3:9)
(Please illustrate that every king should have had a thorough realization that how he should be a king who rule a nation.)
T2 To live in the spirit, to walk in the spirit, and to do everything according to the spirit (Rom. 8:5, 16)
(Please illustrate with experiences that the way for us to follow Christ is to remain, live, walk, and have our being in the mingled spirit.)
