The Believers (1)
Message Eight
Knowing and Experiencing the All-inclusive Christ in Matthew
THE EXTRACT OF THE OUTLINES
Scripture reading:
Matt. 16:16 And Simon Peter answered and said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.
I. Christ is the heavenly King; the Gospel of Matthew proves that Jesus is the King, the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament; this heavenly King came in a mild, humble, and meek way—Matt. 2:1-2; 21:5. (Monday)
II. The Lord Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God; Christ will accomplish God’s eternal purpose through His crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, and second coming; the Son of the living God embodies the Father and consummates in the Spirit—Matt. 16:16, 21, 27; John 14:10-11a.
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III. Christ is the Son of Man, the man who brought God’s ruling authority to the earth; for the establishing of the kingdom of the heavens, the Lord Jesus stood in the position of an overcoming man—Matt. 8:20; 9:6; 13:37; 16:27-28. (Tuesday)
IV. Christ is the Baptizer; the Lord’s baptism in the Holy Spirit brings His believers into the kingdom of the heavens; the Lord’s baptism in fire will conclude the kingdom of the heavens and cast the unbelievers into the lake of fire—Matt. 3:11-12.
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V. Christ is the light of life shining in the darkness of death; His ministry for the kingdom of the heavens began with a great heavenly light, attracting the disciples to Himself in order to establish the kingdom of the heavens—Matt. 4:12-16. (Wednesday)
VI. In the matter of calling people to follow Him for the kingdom, Christ ministered as a Physician and revealed Himself as the Bridegroom; we need to appreciate Him as the Bridegroom so that we may enjoy a life in His presence—Matt. 9:9-15.
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VII. Christ is a piece of unfulled cloth for making a new garment; through His death and resurrection, He was made into a new garment to be our righteousness before God so that we may be accepted by Him—Matt. 9:16; Luke 5:36; 1 Cor. 1:30. (Thursday)
VIII. The individual Christ is the new wine, and the corporate Christ is the new wineskin; the new wine invigorates and satisfies us, and the new wineskin is the outward container that holds the new wine—Matt. 9:17; 1 Cor. 12:12.
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IX. Christ is the Shepherd and the Lord of the harvest; if we see the vision of Christ as the Lord of the harvest, we will beseech Him to thrust out workers to reap His harvest—Matt. 9:35-38. (Friday)
X. Christ is the friend of sinners, and He is also the wisdom of God; He sympathizes with the problems of sinners; whatever Christ did was by the wisdom of God, which is God Himself—Matt. 11:19; 1 Cor. 1:24, 30.
XI. Christ is the Giver of rest; to take the Lord’s yoke is to take the Father’s will; because the Lord was satisfied with the Father’s will, He always had rest in His heart, and now He wants us to learn from Him—Matt. 11:28-30.
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XII. Christ is the greater Jonah, typifying the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ; the Lord Jesus was willing to die and resurrect to become the greatest miracle to an evil and adulterous generation, so that people may be saved upon believing—Matt. 12:39-41; 16:4. (Saturday)
XIII. Christ is the bread, and He is also the crumbs under the table; God’s economy is a matter of Christ entering into us to be our food; we need to eat Christ as the bread to take Him in—Matt. 15:21-38.
XIV. Christ in His humanity is the resurrected One, having all authority in heaven and on earth; because the kingdom requires authority, Christ’s resurrection is a matter of authority, in order to make all the nations His disciples—Matt. 28:18-19.
XV. The Gospel of Matthew is full of the riches of Christ; we need to worship Him, enjoy Him, and experience Him as this wonderful, all-inclusive One—Matt. 2:11; 28:9, 17; 17:5.
OPENING WORD OF THE PROPHESYING MEETING
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
And Simon Peter answered and said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God—Matt. 16:16.
The people sitting in darkness have seen a great light; and to those sitting in the region and shadow of death, to them light has risen.”—Matt. 4:16.
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls, for My yoke is easy and My burden is light—Matt. 11:29-30.
Word of Appetizer
What are the aspects of the All-Inclusive Christ revealed in the Gospel of Matthew?
Christ is the heavenly King; Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God; Christ is the Son of Man.
Christ is the Baptizer; Christ is the light of life shining in the darkness of death; Christ ministers as a Physician and reveals Himself as the Bridegroom in calling people to follow Him for the kingdom.
Christ is the unfulled cloth for making a new garment; the individual Christ is the new wine, and the corporate Christ is the new wineskins.
Christ is the Shepherd and the Lord of the harvest; Christ is the Friend of sinners and the wisdom of God; Christ is the Giver of rest.
Christ is the greater Jonah; Christ is the bread, and also the crumbs under the table; Christ in His humanity is the resurrected One, having all authority in heaven and on earth.
Spiritual Burden
The Gospel of Matthew is full of the riches of Christ; we need to worship Him, enjoy Him, and experience Him as this wonderful, All-Inclusive Christ.
Christ is the Son of Man; for the establishment of the kingdom of the heavens, the Lord Jesus stood in the position of an overcoming man—a man who can defeat Satan and withstand any hardship, opposition, and attack.
Christ ministers as a Physician and reveals Himself as the Bridegroom in calling people to follow Him for the kingdom; He came as a Physician to heal and enliven us so that we might be reconstituted to be citizens of the kingdom of the heavens; we need to appreciate Him as the Bridegroom so that we may enjoy a life in His presence.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
Christ is the heavenly King; the Lord Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God; Christ is the Son of Man.
Christ is the Baptizer; Christ is the light of life shining in the darkness of death; Christ ministers as a Physician and reveals Himself as the Bridegroom in calling people to follow Him for the kingdom.
Christ is the unfulled cloth for making a new garment; the individual Christ is the new wine, and the corporate Christ is the new wineskins.
Christ is the Shepherd and the Lord of the harvest; Christ is the Friend of sinners and the wisdom of God; Christ is the Giver of rest.
Christ is the greater Jonah; Christ is the bread, and also the crumbs under the table; Christ in His humanity is the resurrected One, having all authority in heaven and on earth.
The Experience of Life
Christ is the Friend of sinners, sympathizing with their problems and feeling their sorrow.
Christ is the light of life shining in the darkness of death; He is a great light, a great magnet with the power to attract and captivate people. He attracted and captivated the first four disciples in this way.
Christ ministers as a Physician and reveals Himself as the Bridegroom in calling people to follow Him for the kingdom; He came as a Physician to heal and enliven us so that we might be reconstituted to be citizens of the kingdom of the heavens; we need to appreciate Him as the Bridegroom so that we may enjoy a life in His presence.
Practice and Application
If we see the vision of Christ as the Lord of the harvest, we will pray that He would thrust out workers to reap His harvest.
Christ is the Giver of rest; to take the Lord’s yoke is to accept the Father’s will and be constrained by the Father’s will; because the Lord was always satisfied with the Father’s will, He always had rest in His heart; now He wants us to learn from Him.
We need to receive this eatable Christ by eating Christ as the bread and even eating Christ as the crumbs under the table.
The Gospel of Matthew is full of the riches of Christ; we need to worship Him, enjoy Him, and experience Him as this wonderful, All-Inclusive Christ.
PROPHESYING TOPICS—TWELVE TOPICS PER WEEK
Day 1
T1: He is the Son of God, who became the Christ of God (Matt. 16:16)
(Please illustrate that Christ is a title according to the Lord’s office and commission; the Son of God is a title according to His person.)
T2: The significance of the Lord riding on a donkey is not smallness but meekness (Matt. 21:5)
(Please illustrate that the heavenly King did not come in haughty splendor, but in gentleness, lowliness, and meekness.)
Day 2
T1: The Lord stood in the position of a man to deal with the enemy (Matt. 4:4)
(Why is it that although the demons confess that Jesus is the Son of God, the Devil does not allow people to believe that He is the Son of God?)
T2: The Lord’s baptism in the Holy Spirit, based upon His redemption, is the beginning of the kingdom of the heavens (Matt. 3:11)
(Please illustrate what three kinds of baptism are in Matt. 3:11.)
Day 3
T1: Those who are strong have no need of a physician, but those who are ill (Matt. 9:12)
(Please illustrate under what circumstances the Lord very sweetly revealed Himself as a physician.)
T2: The Lord is a great light and a great magnet with the power to attract and captivate people (Matt. 4:16)
(Please illustrate that this attraction does not come from what the Lord Jesus does, but from what He is.)
Day 4
T1: A patch of unfulled cloth indicates what Christ was between His incarnation and crucifixion (Matt. 9:16-17)
(Please illustrate how the Lord Jesus was made from a piece of unfulled cloth into a new garment.)
T2: Put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved (Matt. 9:16-17)
(Please illustrate what the new wine and the fresh wineskins signify respectively.)
Day 5
T1: The King of the kingdom is not only the Shepherd of the sheep but also the Lord of the harvest (Matt. 9:38)
(Please illustrate the importance of seeing the vision of the Lord Jesus as the Lord of the harvest.)
T2: If we take His yoke upon us and learn from Him, we will find rest for our souls (Matt. 11:29)
(Please illustrate that the will of God is our yoke; therefore, we cannot do whatever we want; we are yoked.)
Day 6
T1: The Lord Jesus became the crumbs under the table as the portion of the gentiles (Matt. 15:26-27)
(Please illustrate why the Lord Jesus did not ask the Canaanite woman to wash herself before eating.)
T2: Come to the Lord to eat Him just as we are (Matt. 15:26-27)
(Please illustrate that what we need is not outward washing, but eating for inward nourishment.)
