The Increase of Christ for the Building Up of the Church
Message Five
The Increase of Christ in the Believers Being Their Spiritual Progress
and Growth in Life
Opening Word of the Prophesying Meeting
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
My children, with whom I travail again in birth until Christ is formed in you—Gal. 4:19
Until we all arrive at the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, at a full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ—Eph. 4:13
Word of Appetizer
What is the spiritual progress? How can we have the spiritual progress?
Spiritual progress is the increase of the element of Christ within the believers; in order to have sustained progress before the Lord, we need a sustained hunger; God’s principle is to fill the hungry with good things and to send the rich away empty.
Spiritual Burden
When Christ grows and is formed in us so that there is the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ within us, this is spiritual progress.
We need a revelation to see that genuine growth in life is not a mere change in behavior or the improvement of ourselves but the increase of Christ within us
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
Spiritual progress is the increase of the element of Christ within the believers.
The growth in life is the increase of Christ in the believers; the growth in life is Christ increasing within us and we decreasing all the time.
The Experience of Life
Spiritual progress is not only addition but also subtraction; when something that has usurped God’s place is removed from us, there is spiritual progress.
As Christ is being formed in us, He makes His home in our hearts; He desires to saturate every part of our heart, until He takes full possession of it.
Practice and Application
In order to have sustained progress before the Lord, we need a ustained hunger; the first condition for spiritual progress in a believer is hunger.
In order for Christ to increase within us and for us to decrease, we need a renewed mind and a submissive will; the more we are renewed in our mind and subdued in our will, the more Christ will grow in us.
Using Key Verses to Have a Bird’s-Eye View over the Whole Outline
Key Verses (1)
The hungry He has filled with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty—Luke 1:53.
Until we all arrive at the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, at a full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ—Eph. 4:13.
I. Spiritual Progress Is the Increase of the Element of Christ within the Believers
• The first condition for spiritual progress in a believer is hunger; in order to have sustained progress before the Lord, we need a sustained hunger.
• A Christian’s spiritual progress should not be only an outward improvement but should be an inward increase of the element of Christ.
• When Christ grows and is formed in us so that there is the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ within us, this is spiritual progress.
Key Verses (2)
He must increase, but I must decrease—John 3:30.
My children, with whom I travail again in birth until Christ is formed in you—Gal. 4:19.
II. The Growth in Life Is the Increase of Christ in the Believers
• The real growth in life is the addition of Christ as life into our being.
• The growth in life is Christ increasing within us and we decreasing all the time.
• Genuine growth in life is not a mere change in behavior or the improvement of ourselves but the increase of Christ within us.
• The growth in life is Christ wrought into us and formed in us.
Key Verses (3)
And that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind—Eph. 4:23.
So then, my beloved, even as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only but now much rather in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling—Phil. 2:12
A Renewed Mind and a Submissive Will
In order for Christ to increase within us and for us to decrease, we need a renewed mind and a submissive will:
• The more we are renewed in our mind and subdued in our will, the more Christ will grow in us.
• We need to be renewed in the spirit of the mind.
• Our will must be subdued and be in harmony with God.
Prophesying Topics—Twelve Topics per Week
D1
T1 Spiritual progress depends on man’s hunger (Matt. 5:6; Luke 1:53)
(Please explain why some Christians advance while others always seem to remain the same.)
T2 Spiritual progress is the increase of Christ (John 3:30; Gal. 4:19)
(Please explain that we may improve our outward behavior but do not have more of Christ in us.)
D2
T1 Spiritual progress is being free from everything that usurps the place of God (Matt. 5:8; Phil. 3:7-8)
(Please explain that on the negative side, spiritual progress is the removal of all things other than Christ within us.)
T2 The growth in life is the increase of Christ in the believers (Eph. 4:15)
(Please explain that Christ in Himself does not need to grow, but in us Christ needs to grow.)
D3
T1 The improvement of ourselves and the growth in life (Eph. 4:15)
(Please use examples to explain that the growth in life is not the improvement of ourselves but the increase of Christ.)
T2 The way to grow in life is to give Him the room to grow in our heart (Eph. 3:17)
(How should we exercise to open ourselves and let Christ spread within us and fill, saturate, and permeate us?)
D4
T1 The growth in life is Christ formed in us (Gal. 4:19)
(What is the meaning of Christ being formed in us?) (Please refer to Outline II. F. 1-3)
T2 To have Christ formed in us is to allow Him to permeate our being (Eph. 3:17)
(Please share how you exercise to allow Christ to occupy you and saturate your mind, emotion, and will.)
D5
T1 A renewed mind and a submissive will (Eph. 4:23; Phil. 2:12)
(Please explain that the more we are renewed in our mind and subdued in our will, the more Christ will grow in us.)
T2 Being renewed in the spirit of the mind (Rom. 12:2) (Please refer to Outline II. G. 1)
(Please use your personal experience to explain that this renewing revolutionizes our logic, philosophy, thought, concept, and psychology.)
D6
T1 The Lord considers the submission of our will a most beautiful thing (S. S. 4:4)
(Why does a believer have to pay attention to the will when he pursues after the spiritual life?)
T2 A submissive will and a harmonious will (John 4:34, Matt. 26:29) (Please refer to Outline II. G. 2)
(Please explain that only when our will is in harmony with God can we know God’s heart.)
