The Great Need For a New Revival
Message Four
Living the Life of a God-man by Living in the Kingdom of God as the Realm of the Divine Species
THE EXTRACT OF THE OUTLINES
Scripture reading:
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
John 3:5 Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
I. Because we have been born of God, we are God’s species; that is, we are God in life and in nature (but not in the Godhead)—John 3:3, 5-8; 2 Pet. 1:4; 1 John 3:1. (Monday)
II. God-men have the divine right to participate in God’s species—John 3:3, 5-6; 18:36.
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III. As believers in Christ, we live a God-man life—Mark 1:15; John 14:17b, 20; Rom. 8:9a, 10; Gal. 5:25: (Tuesday)
A. In Christ God has been constituted into man, and man has been constituted into God; God and man have been mingled together to become one entity, the God-man—Matt. 1:21, 23; Luke 1:35; Titus 2:13; 1 Tim. 2:5.
B. The God-men, who are the sons of God, are the reproduction and continuation of Christ, the first God-man; the One who lived the life of a God-man is now the Spirit living in us and through us so that we may live Him and express Him individually and corporately in His Body, the church—John 12:24; Heb. 2:10; Rom. 8:29; Eph. 3:16-19; 1:22-23.
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C. As the multiplication and reproduction of the first God-man, we should live the same kind of life that He lived. (Wednesday)
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IV. As believers in Christ, we live in the kingdom of God—Rom. 14:17: (Thursday)
A. The kingdom of God is the totality of God in Christ as the divine life with all its activities, and it is the realm of the divine life for this life to move, work, rule, and govern, in which He reigns with His life and expresses Himself as the Divine Trinity—John 11:25; 10:10b; 14:6; 15:1-8.
B. The kingdom of God is the realm of the divine species, in which are all the divine things; to enter into the realm of the divine species, we must be born of God to have the divine life and the divine nature—John 3:3, 5-6; 18:36; 2 Pet. 1:4:
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1. In John 3 the kingdom of God refers more to the species of God than to the reign of God; God became man to enter into the human species, and man is becoming God in life and in nature to enter into the divine species—John 3:3, 5-6; 1:1, 12-14. (Friday)
2. Through being regenerated to be born of God, believers become His children with His life and nature; our second birth causes us to enter into the kingdom of God to become the species of God, and the believers are God-men in the divine species—John 1:12-13; 3:3, 5-6; 1 John 3:1a; Rom. 8:19; Heb. 2:10.
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V. In the Gospel of John we see many aspects of the believers living in the realm of the divine species—John 1:16; 15:4a, 9, 11; 4:23-24; 14:2, 20, 23; 17:22-24: (Saturday)
A. He who eats Me, he also shall live because of Me; abide in Me and I in you; as the Father has loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love—John 6:57b; 15:4a, 9.
B. The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, even as We are one; I in them, and You in Me, that they may be perfected into one—John 17:22-23a.
OPENING WORD OF THE PROPHESYING MEETING
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
Jesus answered and said to him, Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God… Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God —John 3:3, 5
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 —Gal. 2:20
Word of Appetizer
As believers in Christ, what is it to live in the kingdom of God? What is it to live in the realm of the divine species?
The kingdom of God is the sum total of the divine life in Christ with all its activities; the kingdom of God is the realm of the divine life, allowing this life to act, work, rule, and govern, so that the life can accomplish its purpose.
The kingdom of God is a realm, not only a realm of divine ruling but also a realm of the divine species, in which are all divine things; to enter into the realm of the divine species, we must be born of God to receive the divine life and the divine nature; we live in the kingdom of God, the realm of the divine life, by the sense of life; “In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.”
Spiritual Burden
As believers in Christ, we live the God-man life; as the reproduction and duplication of the first God-man, we should live the same life that He lived; the Lord’s God-man life set a model for our God-man life—to be crucified to live God, so that God may be expressed in humanity; the Lord Jesus did not live a life of trying to be spiritual, holy, and victorious; He lived a life of living entirely according to and for the New Testament economy of God; we must deny the self by the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Christ, be conformed to the death of Christ, and magnify Him.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
Because we have been born of God, we are of the species of God; that is, we are God in life and nature (but not in the Godhead).
God-men have the divine right to participate in the species of God.
As believers in Christ, we live in the kingdom of God.
In the Gospel of John, we see many aspects of the believers living in the realm of the divine species.
The Experience of Life
As believers in Christ, we live in the kingdom of God; we are believers in Christ and children of God, having the reality of the divine life, and our whole being is being transformed and conformed to the image of the Lord.
The kingdom of God is the realm of the divine life, allowing this life to act, work, rule, and govern, so that the life can accomplish its purpose; the kingdom of God is an organism constituted of the life of God, as a realm of life for Him to rule, in which He reigns with His life and expresses Himself, the divine Triune God, in the divine life; we live in the kingdom of God, the realm of the divine life, by the sense of life.
Practice and Application
As believers in Christ, we live the God-man life; as the reproduction and duplication of the first God-man, we should live the same life that He lived.
We must deny the self by the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Christ, be conformed to the death of Christ, and magnify Him; the One who lived the God-man life is now the Spirit, living in us and through us; we must abandon the cultivation of ourselves and the building up of the natural man, and let this One alone fill and possess us, so that we may personally and corporately live Him and express Him in His Body, the church.
PROPHESYING TOPICS—TWELVE TOPICS PER WEEK
Day 1
T1: Repentance means changing your way of reasoning, concepts, and thoughts (John 3:3, 5).
(Why must we repent for the sake of the kingdom?)
T2: Regeneration is for us to enter into the kingdom (John 3:3, 5).
(Please illustrate that if we want to enter into the kingdom of God, we must have the life of God.)
Day 2
T1: Knowing the life of the first God-man, Christ, on earth (John 5:19, 30).
(Please illustrate that throughout His thirty-three and a half years of life, Christ died to Himself daily, so that He could live to the Father.)
T2: Putting to death the practices of the body by the Spirit in resurrection (Matt. 16:24; Rom. 8:13).
(Please illustrate how we can live a life that is a replica and duplication of Christ’s life.)
Day 3
T1: We should not be Jews, Chinese, or Americans, but God-men (Gal. 2:20; Phil. 3:10).
(Please illustrate that Christ called Peter for the purpose of constituting him as a disciple, making him a God-man from being a Jew.)
T2: When coming to the Word of God, one must learn to be a person who draws near to God (Gal. 2:20; Phil. 3:10).
(Please illustrate that when we mold the Lord’s Word by the new man, the Bible becomes a book of life and the Spirit to us.)
Day 4
T1: Righteousness in treating ourselves, peace in treating others, and joy before God (Rom. 14:17).
(Please illustrate that if we lack any of these three things, it indicates that we are not living in the reality of the kingdom of the heavens.)
T2: The kingdom is God’s divine ruling within us through the inward growth of life (Matt. 6:33).
(Please illustrate what the kingdom is.)
Day 5
T1: The difference between seeing the kingdom of God and entering into the kingdom of God (John 3:3, 5).
(Please illustrate on which two verses in John 3 the revelation of the kingdom of God is based.)
T2: Without regeneration, there is no capacity to see the kingdom of God (John 1:12-13).
(What is regeneration?)
Day 6
T1: We have the seed of the kingdom growing within us (Mark 4:26-29).
(Please illustrate that the growth of the seed of the kingdom within us is the process of the kingdom.)
T2: The life of the Lord Jesus is a ruling life (Mark 4:26-29).
(Please illustrate through experience that we might say we love the Lord, yet not accept His ruling.)
