2019 WT Message Ten

Crystallization-Study of Deuteronomy

Message Ten

Avoiding Division, Which Is versus the Oneness That We Keep, and Rejecting Apostasy, Which Is versus the Faith That We Contend For

Opening Word of the Prophesying Meeting

Reading the verses in each day.

Reading the main points in the outlines.

Pray-reading the verses:

1 Tim. 1:3-4 Even as I exhorted you…to remain in Ephesus in order that you might charge certain ones not to teach different things…which produce questionings rather than God’s economy, which is in faith.

Jude 3 Beloved, while using all diligence to write to you concerning our common salvation, I…exhort you to earnestly contend for the faith once for all delivered to the saints.

Word of Appetizer

What is apostasy? What is division？

Apostasy in the Old Testament denotes giving up God and turning away from God to idols; in the New Testament apostasy is heresy, denoting the denial of Christ’s deity and not believing that Jesus Christ is God incarnated to be a man. Apostasy, or heresy, insults and damages the person of Christ.

Division is all-inclusive; it includes all negative things, such as Satan, sin, worldliness, the flesh, the self, the old man, and evil temper; division destroys the Body of Christ as Christ’s corporate expression; thus, apostasy and division damage the entire economy of God; Because of this, the apostle Paul charges us to turn away from the divisive ones, and the apostle John enjoins us to reject the heretical ones.

Spiritual Burden

We must keep the unique oneness of God’s people and the unique faith in the person and redemptive work of Christ; like Moses in Deuteronomy and the apostles in the New Testament, we must be very strict concerning division and apostasy.

The only way that can preserve us in the recovery is the unique ministry; therefore, the only way that we can be preserved in the eternal oneness is to teach the same thing in God’s economy.

Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting

The Revelation of the Truth

According to Moses’ word in Deuteronomy 12 and 13, we must avoid division and reject apostasy.

Division is all-inclusive; it includes all negative things, such as Satan, sin, worldliness, the flesh, the self, the old man, and evil temper.

The genuine oneness is an all-inclusive, comprehensive oneness that includes all positive things.

We must be fully exercised to separate ourselves from any heresy (apostasy) and heretics (apostates).

Jude exhorts us to earnestly contend for the faith.

The Experience of Life

The Lord has given us the glory that the Father has given Him so that we may be one in the Father and in the Son; when the oneness is recovered, all the spiritual riches and all the positive things are recovered with it, because they all exist in the oneness; all the godly things and all the spiritual riches are ours on the genuine ground of oneness.

Our belief, referring to the things we believe in, the contents of the New Testament as our faith, in which we believe for our common salvation. The entire Blessed Trinity is employed and enjoyed by us as we exercise our spirit by “praying in the Holy Spirit” to keep ourselves “in the love of God, awaiting the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life”.

Practice and Application

For the recovery and preservation of the genuine, all-inclusive oneness, we must destroy the high places; we must destroy every place other than the church and every name other than the name of Christ; this means that we must destroy our culture, disposition, temperament, habits, natural characteristics, preferences, and religious background with its influence—everything that damages the genuine oneness.

We must be fully exercised to separate ourselves from any heresy (apostasy) and heretics (apostates); A heretic is one who denies the divine conception and deity of Christ, as today’s modernists do; such a one we must reject, not receiving him into our house nor greeting him; thus, we will not have any contact with him or any share in his heresy.

Using Key Verses to Have a Bird’s-Eye View over the Whole Outline

Key Verses (1)

Deut. 12:14 But in the place which Jehovah will choose in one of your tribes, there you shall offer up your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all that I am commanding you.

13:2-4 And the sign or the wonder occurs, about which he spoke to you, saying, Let us go after other gods whom you have not known, and let us serve them; You shall not listen to the words of that prophet or to that dreamer of dreams; for Jehovah your God is testing you in order to know whether you love Jehovah your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall follow Jehovah your God; and you shall fear Him, keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and hold fast to Him.

I. According to Moses’ word in Deuteronomy 12 and 13, we must avoid division and reject apostasy

• We must keep the unique oneness of God’s people and the unique faith in the person and redemptive work of Christ.
• Apostasy in the Old Testament denotes giving up God and turning away from God to idols; in the New Testament apostasy is heresy, denoting the denial of Christ’s deity and not believing that Jesus Christ is God incarnated to be a man.
• Apostasy, or heresy, insults and damages the person of Christ, and division destroys the Body of Christ as Christ’s corporate expression; thus, apostasy and division damage the entire economy of God.
• Like Moses in Deuteronomy and the apostles in the New Testament, we must be very strict concerning division and apostasy; we must keep the unique oneness of God’s people and the unique faith in the person and redemptive work of Christ.

Key Verses (2)

Rom. 16:17 I exhort you, brothers, to mark those who make divisions and causes of stumbling contrary to the teaching which you have learned, and turn away from them.

Titus 3:10 A factious man, after a first and second admonition, refuse.

1 Tim. 1:3-4 Even as I exhorted you…to remain in Ephesus in order that you might charge certain ones not to teach different things…which produce questionings rather than God’s economy, which is in faith.

1 Cor. 4:17 …who will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, even as I teach everywhere in every church.

Col. 3:10-11 And have put on the new man…where there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free man, but Christ is all and in all.

II. Division is all-inclusive; it includes all negative things, such as Satan, sin, worldliness, the flesh, the self, the old man, and evil temper

III. The genuine oneness is an all-inclusive, comprehensive oneness that includes all positive things

• We should not think that division stands by itself and is not related to the flesh, the self, and worldliness; if we are enlightened concerning the nature of division, we will see that it is not only related to all negative things but includes all negative things.
• To be in division is to be in death; Christianity is filled with death and darkness because the genuine oneness in life is lacking.
• Divisions come out of different teachings, teachings other than God’s economy; the apostles taught the same thing to all the saints in all the places and in all the churches.
• The Lord has given us the glory that the Father has given Him so that we may be one in the Father and in the Son; when the oneness is recovered, all the spiritual riches and all the positive things are recovered with it, because they all exist in the oneness.
• For the recovery and preservation of the genuine, all-inclusive oneness, we must destroy the high places; in the Lord’s recovery we elevate Christ and Christ alone.

Key Verses (3)

1 John 4:2 In this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit which confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God.

Jude 3 Beloved, while using all diligence to write to you concerning our common salvation, I…exhort you to earnestly contend for the faith once for all delivered to the saints.

20-21 But you, beloved, building up yourselves upon your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, awaiting the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

IV. We must be fully exercised to separate ourselves from any heresy (apostasy) and heretics (apostates)

V. Jude exhorts us to earnestly contend for the faith

• Heretics do not confess that Jesus is God incarnate (not confessing that He has come in the flesh through the divine conception of the Holy Spirit); thus, they deny the deity of Christ.
• The Spirit works in the believers to confess to them that Christ came in the flesh.
• A heretic is one who denies the divine conception and deity of Christ, as today’s modernists do; such a one we must reject, not receiving him into our house nor greeting him; thus, we will not have any contact with him or any share in his heresy.
• “The faith” in Jude is not subjective faith as our believing but objective faith as our belief, referring to the things we believe in, the contents of the New Testament as our faith, in which we believe for our common salvation.
• Our Christian faith is composed of our belief concerning six basic items: the Bible, God, Christ, the work of Christ, salvation, and the church.
• The entire Blessed Trinity is employed and enjoyed by us as we exercise our spirit by “praying in the Holy Spirit” to keep ourselves “in the love of God, awaiting the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life”.