God’s Will
Message Two
Knowing and Participating in God’s Great and Lofty Will to Head Up All Things in Christ
Opening Word of the Prophesying Meeting
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
Eph. 1:9-10 Making known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Himself, unto the economy of the fullness of the times, to head up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth, in Him.
Eph. 4:15 But holding to truth in love, we may grow up into Him in all things, who is the Head, Christ,
Word of Appetizer
God has chosen us, predestinated us, redeemed us, forgiven us, and graced us, what is the purpose?
The consummate goal is the heading up of all things in Christ; this heading up is “to the church” so that the Body of Christ may share in all that is of Christ as the Head, having been rescued from the heap of the universal collapse in death and darkness, which was caused by the rebellion of the angels and the rebellion of man; to be rescued from the collapse is to be headed up.
Spiritual Burden
To grow in life is to grow up into the Head, Christ, but to operate in the Body of Christ is to operate out from Him; first, we grow into the Head, and then we have something that is out from the Head for the building up of the Body; this is to participate in God’s great and lofty will to head up all things in Christ.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
Making known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Himself, unto the economy of the fullness of the times, to head up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth, in Him.
In order to be headed up in Christ, we need to grow up into Christ, the Head, in all things—in all things means in everything big or small in our daily life and in our work.
As we grow up into the Head in life, our function will come out from the Head for the building up of the Body.
The Experience of Life
We enjoy a miniature of this consummate dispensation in the church life today; as we enjoy the Spirit as the living water and eat Christ as the tree of life in the church life, we await the consummate dispensation, in which we will be fully saturated with the Triune God.
God’s way to head us up is to work Himself as the factor of life into us so that we may rise up and be attached to one another in the Body.
Practice and Application
We need to grow up into Christ, the Head, in all things—in all things means in everything big or small in our daily life and in our work; through acknowledging the authority of the headship of Christ; by being willing to be headed up in the church life, that is, by growing in life and by living under Christ’s light.
In order to grow in life, we must feed on the milk and food of the holy Word; we must pay attention to our spirit; we must know, we must use, and we must exercise our mingled spirit.
Using Key Verses to Have a Bird’s-Eye View over the Whole Outline
Key Verses (1)
Eph. 1:9-10 Making known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Himself, unto the economy of the fullness of the times, to head up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth, in Him.
Ezek. 37:4-5 …Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of Jehovah….I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live.
I. Making known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Himself, unto the economy of the fullness of the times, to head up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth, in Him
- The economy, or dispensation, that God, according to His desire, planned and purposed in Himself is to head up all things in Christ at the fullness of the times.
- This is accomplished through the dispensing of the abundant life supply of the Triune God as the life factor into all the members of the church so that they may rise up from the death situation and be attached to the Body.
- The times refers to the ages, and the fullness of the times will be when the new heaven and new earth appear after all the dispensations of God in all the ages have been completed.
- When everything is headed up in Christ, there will be absolute peace and harmony, a full rescue out of the collapse.
- The picture in Ezekiel 37 of the dead, dry, and scattered bones shows that the unique way to have the Body, the church, and the house of God in the genuine oneness is the way of life.
Key Verses (2)
Eph. 4:15 But holding to truth in love, we may grow up into Him in all things, who is the Head, Christ.
Col. 2:19 …Holding the Head, out from whom all the Body, being richly supplied and knit together by means of the joints and sinews, grows with the growth of God.
Eph. 5:23 For a husband is head of the wife as also Christ is Head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the Body.
Eph. 4:23 And that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind.
II. In order to be headed up in Christ, we need to grow up into Christ, the Head, in all things—in all things means in everything big or small in our daily life and in our work
- The organic building up of the Body is the growth of the Body, which is the growth of God, the increase of God as life, in all the members; to grow in life is to have more of God in us.
- In order to grow up into the Head, we must hold to truth in the element and sphere of the divine love; we need to hold to God’s eternal economy, hold to the all-inclusive Christ, hold to the church as the Body of Christ.
- We grow up into the Head through acknowledging the authority of the headship of Christ.
- The believers participate in Christ’s heading up by being willing to be headed up in the church life, that is, by growing in life and by living under Christ’s light.
- We grow up into the Head by allowing Christ to increase and grow in all the inward parts of our being.
Key Verses (3)
Eph. 4:16 Out from whom all the Body, being joined together and being knit together through every joint of the rich supply and through the operation in the measure of each one part, causes the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love.
1 Cor. 8:1 …Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.
III. As we grow up into the Head in life, our function will come out from the Head for the building up of the Body.
- When we allow Christ to be the Head in everything and when we grow up into Him in all things, we will be supplied with the riches of His life, receiving something from Him to transfuse into other members of the Body.
- Under Christ’s headship all the Body causes the growth of the Body of Christ.
- The building up of the Body of Christ under His headship is in love and by love.
- To grow in life is to grow up into the Head, Christ, but to operate in the Body of Christ is to operate out from Him; first, we grow into the Head, and then we have something that is out from the Head for the building up of the Body; this is to participate in God’s great and lofty will to head up all things in Christ.
Prophesying Topics—Twelve Topics per Week
D1
T1 Satan’s corruption and God’s enlivening (Rom. 5:17; Eph. 1:10)
(Please illustrate that God has come in to enliven the deadened creation and to bring in order)
T2 God is to head up all things in Christ at the fullness of the times (Eph. 1:10)
(What is the dispensation at the fullness of the times?)
D2
T1 Ephesians 1:10 is the continuation of verses 3 through 9 (Eph. 1:3-10)
(Please illustrate that what is the issue of the heading up of all things in Christ in Ephesians 1:3-9?)
T2 The collapse comes from the factor of death, and the rising up comes from the factor of life (Ezek. 37)
(According to the dead bones become an army in Ezekiel 37,Please illustrate the meaning of heading up of all things.)
D3
T1 To bulid up the Body of Christ, we should be holding to truth in love (Eph. 4:15)
(What is holding to truth in love?)
T2 Every man is a liar; only God is true. (1 Tim. 1:3-4; John 14:6; 1 Tim. 3:15) .
(Please illustrate that what are the three things that we hold in this true God.)
D4
T1 We grow up into the Head through acknowledging the authority of the headship of Christ in all things (Col. 2:19)
(Please illustrate the meaning of growing up into the Head, Christ.)
T2 We must allow the Lord to have the proper place in us and allow Him to increase, grow (Eph. 5:23)
(Please illustrate that what is our common problem to allow Christ to increase and grow in all the inward parts of us, .)
D5
T1 In order to grow in life, we must pay attention to our spirit. (Eph. 1:17; 2:22; 3:5; 4:23; 5:18; 6:18)
(Please illustrate that in each of the six chapters of Ephesians, the human spirit is mentioned with scriptures.)
T2 We must know, we must use, and we must exercise our mingled spirit. (Rom. 8:6; 1 Tim. 4:6-8)
(Please illustrate that in order to grow in life, we must pay attention to our spirit with experiences.)
D6
T1 The growth of the Body of Christ (Eph. 4:16)
(Please illustrate that how did the body of Christ grow according Ephesian 4:16.)
T2 The building up of the Body of Christ is in love. (Eph. 4:16)
(Please illustrate that this love is not our natural love. Rather, it is the divine love.)
