Experiencing, Enjoying, and Expressing Christ (1)
Message Twelve
The Divine Trinity, the Spirit of Jesus, and the Kingdom of God
OPENING WORD OF THE PROPHESYING MEETING
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
Acts 2:32-33 This Jesus God has raised up, of which we all are witnesses. Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God and having received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father, He has poured out this which you both see and hear.
Acts 28:30-31 …He remained two whole years in his own rented dwelling and welcomed all those who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness, unhindered.
Word of Appetizer
What is the theme that the apostles preached in Acts?
The resurrected Christ appeared to the apostles for forty days, speaking to them about “the things concerning the kingdom of God,” which indicates that the kingdom of God is the theme that the apostles were to preach in their mission after Pentecost.
Paul, in Acts 28:31, proclaims that the kingdom of God is the reproduction of the resurrected Christ; teaching the things of Christ is the spreading of the kingdom of God; therefore, the kingdom of God is actually the reproduction of the resurrected Christ – a process that continues today through believers.
Spiritual Burden
The divine Trinity is the framework of the entire New Testament; likewise, the divine Trinity is the framework of the Book of Acts; chapter by chapter, Acts reveals the operation of the divine Trinity for the execution of God’s New Testament economy.
This God who, in ascension, by the Spirit, through the disciples, reproduces His own resurrected Christ, is the reality of the kingdom of God; the kingdom of God is His expansion. We in the churches are the reproduction of Christ, and also the expansion of Christ, and we are expanding the kingdom of God.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
The divine Trinity is the framework of the entire New Testament; likewise, the divine Trinity is the framework of the Book of Acts; chapter by chapter, Acts reveals the operation of the divine Trinity for the execution of God’s New Testament economy.
“The Spirit of Jesus” is a special designation of the Spirit of God, referring to the Spirit of the Savior who became flesh, the Savior who is Jesus in humanity, having gone through a human life and death on the cross.
The kingdom of God is the theme that the apostles preached in Acts; the churches and the kingdom of God go together; the churches, produced by the reproduction of the resurrected Christ, are the kingdom of God on earth today.
The Experience of Life
The Spirit of Jesus is not only the Spirit of God, in Him is the divinity, so that we can live a divine life; He is also the Spirit of the man Jesus, in Him is the humanity, so that we can live a proper human life and also endure the pain of it; today when we preach the gospel, we also need the Spirit of Jesus to face opposition and persecution.
Practice and Application
We in the churches are the reproduction of Christ, and also the expansion of Christ, and we are expanding the kingdom of God. All believers in Christ, in the church age, can have a part in this kingdom, enjoying God in the joy of God’s righteousness, peace, and Holy Spirit.
To enter the kingdom of God, we must experience many tribulations, because the whole world opposes our entrance into it; entering the kingdom of God is to enter into the full enjoyment of Christ as the kingdom. Satan opposes God in establishing His kingdom on earth; to reproduce the victorious ministry of Christ is to engage in the warfare for the kingdom of God.
PROPHESYING TOPICS—TWELVE TOPICS PER WEEK
Day 1
T1 The Son ascended, the Father exalted Him, and the Spirit was poured out (Acts 2:32-33)
(Please illustrate that how the Trinity—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit—is fully contained in the ascension of (the Son) and the pouring out of the Spirit.)
T2 The Spirit in essence and the Spirit in economy (John 20:22, Acts 2:33)
(Please illustrate that the difference between the Spirit being poured out upon all who are fleshly and Christ breathing the Holy Spirit into the disciples after His resurrection.)
Day 2
T1 He is no longer simply God—He became God-man (Acts 20:28)
(Please illustrate that how the Creator God could have blood.)
T2 The blood that redeemed fallen mankind is the blood of the Son of God, Jesus (Acts 20:28, 1 Pet. 1:18-19)
(Please illustrate that why the blood of Christ has eternal efficacy. )
Day 3
T1 The Spirit of Jesus encompasses more than the Holy Spirit (Acts 16:6-7)
(Please illustrate that how Luke’s mention of the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of Jesus indicates that the apostles’ gospel work was a new movement in God’s New Testament economy.)
T2 Christ became the Spirit-Christ in His resurrection (1 Cor. 15:45, 2 Cor. 3:17)
(Please illustrate that what elements make up this Spirit-Christ. )
Day 4
T1 Paul was a man constituted by this all-inclusive Spirit, and this Spirit should also constitute us (Rom. 8:9, Phil. 1:19-20)
(Please illustrate that the kind of work we do for the Lord depends on what kind of Spirit we are led, guided, taught, and constituted by.)
T2 In the Spirit of Jesus, there are elements of suffering and the suffering power of enduring persecution (Phil. 1:19-20)
(Please illustrate that why we need the Spirit of Jesus today when we preach the gospel.)
Day 5
T1 Understanding the kingdom of God requires spiritual understanding and spiritual insight (Acts 1:3, Luke 17:20-21)
(Why couldn’t the disciples understand when the Lord Jesus spoke about the kingdom to them before His death and resurrection?)
T2 The kingdom of God is the kingdom of divine life (Acts 1:3, Luke 17:20-21)
(Please illustrate that the kingdom of God is God’s rule, God’s authority, along with all its blessings and enjoyment.)
Day 6
T1 The entrance into the kingdom of God is regeneration, and its development is the believers’ growth in divine life (Acts 28:30-31, 14:22)
(Please illustrate that how the kingdom of God today is the life of the church, in which faithful believers live.)
T2 The kingdom of God is growing and spreading through the divine life, along with the reproduction and multiplication of Christ (Acts 28:30-31)
(Why is it said that the book of Acts is not finished, but is open for further additions?)
