Cooperating with the Heavenly Ministry of the Ascended Christ
Message One
Seeking the Things Which Are Above
Opening Word of the Prophesying Meeting
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
If therefore you were raised together with Christ, seek the things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things which are above, not on the things which are on the earth—Col. 3:1-2.
For the word of God is living and operative and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit and of joints and marrow, and able to discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart—Heb. 4:12.
Word of Appetizer
In Col. 3:1 Paul says that “If therefore you were raised together with Christ, seek the things which are above….” What are the things which are above?
The things which are above are the things which are in the heavens in contrast to the things which are on the earth. The things on the earth include culture, religion, philosophy, and the improvement in behavior. According to the New Testament, the things which are above include Christ’s ascension, His enthronement, and His being made the Head, the Lord, and the Christ. To seek the things which are above is to respond to and reflect Christ’s activities in His heavenly ministry.
Spiritual Burden
To seek the things which are above is to respond to and reflect Christ’s activities in His heavenly ministry. By experiencing the dividing of our soul from our spirit and by exercising our spirit, we can seek the things which are above and set our mind on them; then the riches of Christ’s heavenly ministry will be transmitted into us, and we will be transformed and constituted with Christ.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
If therefore you were raised together with Christ, seek the things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.
In order to seek the things which are above and to set our mind on them, we need to turn to our spirit and experience the dividing of the soul from the spirit.
The Experience of Life
God not only saved us from the position of death, but He also seated us with Christ in the highest place in the universe. Today we realize and experience this reality in our spirit through faith in the accomplished fact.
When we are in our spirit, we are in heaven, and mind the things which are above. Because of the transmission from the throne of God in heaven into our spirit, when we experience and enjoy Christ here on earth, we are simultaneously in heaven.
Practice and Application
The way to seek the things which are above is to turn to our spirit and call on the name of the Lord.
The spirit needs to be divided from the soul by the living and operative word of God, which is “sharper than any two-edged sword”.
Using Key Verses to Have a Bird’s-Eye View over the Whole Outline
Key Verses (1)
If therefore you were raised together with Christ, seek the things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God—Col. 3:1.
And raised us up together with Him and seated us together with Him in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus—Eph. 2:6.
I. “If therefore you were raised together with Christ, seek the things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God”
A. In ascension Christ is the One who is sitting at the right hand of God:
• The right hand of God signifies preeminence, the first place of honor. The right hand of God is the first and highest place in the universe, and God has put the ascended Christ there.
B. God not only saved us from the position of death, but He also seated us with Christ in the highest place in the universe:
• It was in Christ that God seated us all together, once for all, in the heavenlies.
• Today we realize and experience this reality in our spirit through faith in the accomplished fact.
D. In order to seek the things which are above, we must be where these things are; because we have one position with Christ in His ascension, we can seek the things which are above.
Key Verses (2)
If therefore you were raised together with Christ, seek the things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God—Col. 3:1.
Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you have crucified—Acts 2:36.
I. “If therefore you were raised together with Christ, seek the things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God”
C. The things which are above are the things which are in the heavens in contrast to the things which are on the earth:
• The things which are above include the ascended Christ and all things related to Him.
• The things on the earth include culture, religion, philosophy, and the improvement in behavior.
E. According to the New Testament, the things which are above include Christ’s ascension, His enthronement, and His being made the Head, the Lord, and the Christ:
•Acts 2:36 says that God has made Jesus in His ascension both Lord and Christ; He was made the Lord of all to possess all; and He was made Christ, God’s anointed One (Heb. 1:9), to carry out God’s commission.
•To seek the things which are above is to respond to and reflect Christ’s activities in His heavenly ministry.
Key Verses (3)
Forthe word of God is living and operative and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit and of joints and marrow, and able to discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart—Heb. 4:12.
But the spiritual man discerns all things, but he himself is discerned by no one—1 Cor. 2:15.
II. In order to seek the things which are above and to set our mind on them, we need to turn to our spirit and experience the dividing of the soul from the spirit
A. Only when we are in our spirit are we in heaven and mind the things which are above. The way to seek the things which are above is to turn to our spirit and call on the name of the Lord.
B. We need to experience the dividing of the soul from the spirit :
•It needs to be divided from the soul by the living and operative word of God , which is “sharper than any two-edged sword.”
• The spiritual man discerns the spiritual things and likes to receive the spiritual things and to know and experience the things which are above.
C. By experiencing the dividing of our soul from our spirit and by exercising our spirit , we can seek the things which are above and set our mind on them; then the riches of Christ’s heavenly ministry will be transmitted into us, and we will be transformed and constituted with Christ。
Prophesying Topics—Twelve Topics per Week
D1
T1 In ascension Christ is the One who is sitting at the right hand (Heb. 1:3; 12:2; Rom. 8:34)
(Please use Bible verses to explain that our Christ is in the highest heaven.)
T2 We were made alive together and raised up together with Christ (Eph. 2:5-6; Exo.14)
(Please explain that in God’s view we were all raised up together, just as all the Israelites were raised up together from the death waters of the Red Sea.)
D2
T1 We are in the Christ, and therefore in the heaven (Eph. 2:6; 1 Cor. 6:17)
(Please explain how we can experience the fact that we are in Christ, in the Father, and in heaven.)
T2 The things which are above are in contrast to the things which are on the earth (Col. 3:1-2; 2:8, 16, 18-23)
(According to the Bible, please explain what the things above and the things on the earth refer to.)
D3
T1 Seeking the things which are above (Col.3:1)
(According to the New Testament, please explain what the things which are above include.)
T2 Setting our mind on the things above will help us to experience Christ (Col. 3:2)
(Please explain that our enjoyment of Christ would be much richer if we set our mind on these things!)
D4
T1 In ascension Christ has been made the Head over all things to the church (Eph. 1:22)
(Please explain that to the church implies a kind of transmission.)
T2 Turn our attention from the things on earth to the things in heaven (Acts 2:36)
(Please explain that seeing a vision of the things which are above will revolutionize our daily living.)
D5
T1 Our spirit is directly related to heaven (Rev. 4:2)
(Please use your experience to explain that simply by being in our spirit where we experience the transmission from heaven, we are in heaven.)
T2 only when we are in spirit are we in heaven (Rom. 8:16; 10:12)
(Please use your experience to explain that the way to seek the things which are above is to turn to our spirit and call on the name of the Lord.)
D6
T1 The soul and the spirit are not the same (1 Thes. 5:23; Heb. 4:12)
(Please explain why the soul and the spirit can be divided.)
T2 The spirit needs to be divided from the soul by the word of God (Heb. 4:12)
(Please explain the difference between the soulish man and the spiritual man.)
