The Christian Life
Message One
The Intrinsic Significance of the Christian Life
OPENING WORD OF THE PROPHESYING MEETING
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
John 14:23 Jesus answered and said to him, If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make an abode with him.
Eph. 4:1-3 I beseech you therefore, I, the prisoner in the Lord, to walk worthily of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, bearing one another in love, being diligent to keep the oneness of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace.
Word of Appetizer
What is the inward meaning of the Christian life?
The Christian life is to live the life of Christ; we ought to live as Christ, and the way to live Christ is to love Christ.
To live the Christian life is to do everything in the person of Christ, which means to do it in the presence of Christ.
To live the Christian life is to live in a way that is worthy of our calling.
To live the Christian life is to be ruled by the Holy Spirit.
Spiritual Burden
We need to see that everything we experience has one purpose—that the life of God might be released through us and manifested in us; we hope that our outer man will be broken down to such a degree that the inner man can come out and be seen; this is a precious thing, this is the way of those who serve the Lord.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
The Christian life is to live the life of Christ; we ought to live as Christ, and the way to live Christ is to love Christ.
To live the Christian life is to do everything in the person of Christ, which means to do it in the presence of Christ.
To live the Christian life is to live in a way that is worthy of our calling.
To live the Christian life is to be ruled by the Holy Spirit.
The Experience of Life
When we turn our hearts to the Lord who is in our spirit, look at Him face to face and shine Him into others, we are being transformed into His glorious image until that day when “we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”
To live the Christian life is to be ruled by the Holy Spirit; through our being ruled by the Holy Spirit, God will pour us from vessel to vessel, purifying the dross and dregs of our natural outer man, removing our taste and changing our smell, until we have the pure taste of Christ and exude the pure fragrance of Christ.
Practice and Application
If we are to grow into Christ in all things for the building up of the body of Christ, we need to enjoy Christ as our all-inclusive, cosmic substitute to enable the production of a new man; therefore, we must “listen to Him” and “see only Jesus.”
We need to spend enough personal time with the Lord in fellowship with Him in our spirit, so that we can be filled with His loving qualities, so that He can shepherd people through us and be filled with His shining elements, so that people can see Him in us.
PROPHESYING TOPICS—TWELVE TOPICS PER WEEK
Day 1
T1 The main point of the Christian life is to live Christ (Mark 12:30, John 14:23)
(Please illustrate that living Christ should be our goal.)
T2 We need not only to believe in Him, but also to love Him (Mark 12:30, 1 Cor. 2:9)
(What does “loving God” mean? )
Day 2
T1 God is love (John 13:34, 1 John 4:19)
(Please illustrate with experiences that how we will love our brothers with God’s love if we abide in Him.)
T2 The word “face” in the original language refers to the area around the eyes, which is a sign of all inner thoughts and feelings (2 Cor. 2:10)
(Please illustrate that the spiritual meaning of Paul forgiving a brother in the presence of Christ’s “face”.)
Day 3
T1 The more we are transformed, the more we have the humanity of Jesus (Eph. 4:1-3)
(Please illustrate that we need to have a transformed humanity in order to possess the virtues mentioned in Ephesians 4:2.)
T2 Humility, gentleness, and patience cannot be found in our natural humanity (Eph. 4:1-3)
(Please illustrate that the transformed humanity in the united Spirit is the humanity that has been transformed by the resurrected life of Christ.)
Day 4
T1 Be filled with the Spirit (Eph. 5:18)
(Please illustrate that our spirits should not be empty, but should be filled with the riches of Christ, becoming the fullness of God.)
T2 Five items of conduct that are in line with God’s calling (Eph. 4:15, 5:15)
(Please illustrate that the five items of conduct that are in line with God’s calling.)
Day 5
T1 Moab has been at ease from childhood, like wine clarified in the dregs (Jer. 48:11)
(Please illustrate that the reason why Moab is full of dregs.)
T2 Ease is not a good thing (Heb. 12:11)
(Please illustrate that God gives us many chastenings to make us lose our original taste and bear the fruit of peace.)
Day 6
T1 What we are born with, whether good or bad, is natural and must be destroyed (2 Cor. 4:16)
(Please illustrate that God uses various people and things to break down all aspects of our natural man in order to mold us into the image of Christ.)
T2 Our outer man must be broken so that the inner man can be released (2 Cor.s 4:16, Eph. 3:16-17)
(What are the two main reasons why we cannot be broken?)
