Vital Factors for the Recovery of the Church Life
Message Three
The Factor of the Church Being in the Triune God,
the Local Churches Being Expressions of the Body of Christ,
and the Believers Practicing the Church Life
in the Consciousness of the Body
OPENING WORD OF THE PROPHESYING MEETING
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
1 Thes. 1:1 …To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ…
Matt. 16:18 …Upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
1 Cor. 12:27 Now you are the Body of Christ, and members individually.
Word of Appetizer
In 1 Thessalonians 1:1 we have the revelation of the tremendous fact that the church is in the unique God and that this God is our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. What is the significance?
The church is a group of human beings who have been born of God the Father with His life and nature, the church being in God the Father implies that the church is in God’s purpose, plan, selection, and predestination.
To be in the Lord Jesus Christ is to be united with Christ organically in all that He is and has done; in the Lord Jesus Christ we have the termination of everything of the old creation, the title Christ denotes all the riches of resurrection; thus, to be in Christ is to be in resurrection.
Spiritual Burden
The unique Body of Christ is expressed in many local churches in the divine oneness as it is with the Triune God and in the divine nature, element, essence, expression, function, and testimony; there are many churches, yet they have one divine nature, one divine element, one divine essence, one divine expression, one divine function, and one divine testimony because they are one Body.
In our consideration the Body should be first and the local churches should be second.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
The church is in the Triune God—”the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ”.
A local church is an expression of the Body of Christ in a certain locality; every local church is a part of the unique, universal Body of Christ, a local expression of this Body.
In practicing the church life, we need to have the consciousness of the Body; Among all the churches that compose the one universal Body of Christ, there is no organization, but there is the fellowship of the Body of Christ.
The Experience of Life
Rom. 6:4 We have been buried therefore with Him through baptism into His death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead…, so also we might walk in newness of life.
The church is a group of human beings who have been born of God the Father with His life and nature and who have been brought into the organic union with Christ; in the Lord Jesus Christ we have the termination of everything of the old creation.
Practice and Application
In practicing the church life, we need to have the consciousness of the Body; in order to have the Body life, we must be full of feeling for the Body, taking the feeling of the Head as our own feeling; if we as members have the feeling of the Head in everything and care for the Body, we will take the Body as the rule in our mind, thoughts, words, and actions.
Whatever we do involves the Body; therefore, whenever we do something, we must have a proper consideration of the Body.
PROPHESYING TOPICS—TWELVE TOPICS PER WEEK
Day 1
T1: The church is of men, yet in God and in the Lord organically. (1 Thes. 1:1)
(Such a local church is of the believers and is in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, what does this indicate?)
T2: For the church to be in God the Father implies that the church is in God’s purpose, plan, selection, and predestination (Eph. 1:4-5; Rom. 11:36)
(Please illustrate that this understanding of the church in the Father is not merely a matter of doctrine; rather, it has much to do with us in our practical experience.)
Day 2
T1: In Christ, everything negative has been terminated (Rom. 6:3-4)
(Please illustrate that what it means for the church to be in the Lord Jesus Christ.)
T2: The title Christ denotes all the riches of resurrection (Rom. 8:11)
(Please illustrate that to be in the Lord Jesus Christ is to be united with Christ organically in all that He is and has done.)
Day 3
T1: The Body of Christ is the source of the local churches (Rom. 12:5)
(Take the family as an example to illustrate the relationship between the Body of Christ and the local church.)
T2: The universal church is the unique Body of Christ (Matt. 16:18; Eph. 1:22-23)
(Please illustrate that Christ as the Head is unique, and the universal church as the Body is also unique.)
Day 4
T1: The genuine ground of the church (1 Cor. 1:2)
(Please illustrate that the ground denotes the site on which a building is built.)
T2: The ground of the church should not be merely local; it should also be universal (1 Cor. 12:27)
(Please illustrate with examples that the oneness of Christ’s Body is the universal ground of the church.)
Day 5
T1: We should not only take the feeling of the Head as our feeling but also do so in the principle of caring for the Body (Phil. 1:8)
(Please illustrate that we are members of the Body, and we need to have those two aspects of the body.)
T2: With whatever we do, we have to consider how the churches would feel about it (1 Cor. 12:25-26)
(Please illustrate that if we don’t know the body, the church will have turmoil.)
Day 6
T1: The fellowship of the Body of Christ (1 John 1:3)
(Please illustrate that among the churches there is no organization, but there is the fellowship of the Body of Christ.)
T2: the administration of the church is local, but the fellowship of the church is universal (Acts 2:42; 1 Cor. 10:16-17)
(What is the fellowship of the apostles?)
