Experiencing, Enjoying, and Expressing Christ (2)
Message Twelve
The Giver of Gifts
and the Constituents of God’s Armor
THE EXTRACT OF THE OUTLINES
Scripture Reading:
Eph 4:7-8 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Therefore it says, “Having ascended to the height, He led captive those who were taken captive and gave gifts to men.”
Eph 6:10-11 Finally, be empowered in the Lord and in the might of His strength. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the stratagems of the Devil.
I. Ephesians 4:7-16 presents Christ to us as the Giver of gifts for the intrinsic building up of the organic Body of Christ; this building up is through the giving and dispensing of divine grace, which grace is given according to the measure of the gift of Christ: (Monday)
A Every member of the Body of Christ is an indispensable gift in the Body—v. 7, 1 Cor 12:14-22, Rom 12:4-5.
B The intrinsic building up of the organic Body of Christ is through the gifted persons, who are constituted by the dispensing of the Divine Trinity, whom Christ the Head gives in His ascension (including His resurrection)—Eph 4:8-12.
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C The intrinsic building up of the organic Body of Christ is through the gifted persons perfecting the saints in the divine dispensing so that all the saints may be able to do the work of the New Testament ministry, which is to build up the Body of Christ—vv. 11-12: (Tuesday)
1 The gifted persons perfect the saints according to the tree of life, feeding them with the supply of life, thereby causing them to grow in life.
2 This perfecting is to make every member of the Body of Christ a built-up member in love—growing into the Head and functioning out from the Head.
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II. Ephesians 6:10-20 reveals that Christ is the Constituents of God’s armor: (Wednesday)
A The whole armor of God is for the entire Body of Christ as a corporate warrior, not for any individual member of the Body of Christ; we must fight the spiritual warfare in the Body of Christ and can never fight individually.
B Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth.
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C Having put on the breastplate of righteousness; Christ as the breastplate of righteousness covers our conscience, which is signified by the breast; Satan is the one who accuses us, and in fighting with him we need a conscience cleansed by blood, that is, a good conscience—Heb 9:14. (Thursday)
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D “Having shod your feet with the firm foundation of the gospel of peace”—Eph 6:15.
E “Besides all these, having taken up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming darts of the evil one”—Eph 6:16, 2 Cor 4:13. (Friday)
F Receive the helmet of salvation, covering our mind, our thoughts, against the negative thoughts injected into us by the evil one.
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G Receive the sword of The Spirit, which Spirit is the word of God, for attacking the enemy; we use the sword to cleave the enemy. (Saturday)
H Through all prayer and petition, praying at every time in spirit and watching unto this in all perseverance and petition concerning all the saints; prayer is the only way to apply Christ as God’s armor, making the armor practical and available to us.
OPENING WORD OF THE PROPHESYING MEETING
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
Eph. 4:7-8 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Therefore the Scripture says, “Having ascended to the height, He led captive those taken captive and gave gifts to men.”
Eph. 6:17-18 And receive the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which Spirit is the word of God, by means of all prayer and petition, praying at every time in spirit and watching unto this in all perseverance and petition concerning all the saints.
Word of Appetizer
How do we experience Christ as the constituents of the divine armor in order to fight the spiritual warfare?
We should experience Christ as our girdle of truth; we should experience Christ as righteousness that covers our conscience; we should experience Christ as the gospel of peace to strengthen our stand to fight the spiritual warfare; we should experience Christ as the faith to shield our entire being from the attacks of the enemy; we should experience Christ as salvation to cover our mind against the negative thoughts Satan seeks to inject into our mind; and we should experience Christ as the sword of the Spirit to slay the enemy. All these aspects of Christ are applied to us by prayer.
Spiritual Burden
Every member of the Body of Christ is an indispensable gift to the Body. The more Christ ascends and descends within us, capturing and vanquishing us, the more He fills us with Himself to constitute us as gifts to His Body.
Christ is the constituents of God’s armor, and prayer is the unique and practical way to apply Christ as the armor of God.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
Ephesians 4:7-16 presents to us Christ as the Giver of gifts for the intrinsic building up of the organic Body of Christ; this building up is by the giving, the dispensing, of the divine grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
Ephesians 6:10-20 reveals that Christ is the constituents of God’s armor.
The Experience of Life
The more Christ ascends and descends within us, capturing and vanquishing us, the more He fills us with Himself to constitute us as gifts to His Body.
The gifted persons perfect the saints to do what they do for the direct building of the Body of Christ. The result of this perfecting is that we will all arrive at the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, at a full-grown man, and at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
Practice and Application
The whole armor of God is for the entire Body of Christ as the corporate warrior, not for any individual member of the Body; we must fight the spiritual warfare in the Body, not as individuals.
Our response to Satan’s accusations should be, “I overcome Satan, the accuser, not by my perfection and not even by a conscience void of offense but by the blood of the Lamb; I am defended against his accusations by the breastplate of righteousness.”
“By means of all prayer and petition, praying at every time in spirit and watching unto this in all perseverance and petition concerning all the saints”. Prayer is the unique way to apply Christ as the armor of God; it is prayer that makes the armor available to us in a practical way.
PROPHESYING TOPICS—TWELVE TOPICS PER WEEK
Day 1
T1 Christ is the Giver of Gifts (Eph. 4:7-8)
(Please illustrate how Christ is qualified to be the Giver of Gifts to give gifts to His Body.)
T2 Today Christ is still in His process; He is still ascending and descending (Eph. 4:7-8)
(Please illustrate that now His process is mainly within us.)
Day 2
T1 Every member of the Body is a gift to the Body (Eph. 4:11-12)
(Please illustrate that every saint, whether great or small, is a gift to the church.)
T2 The inner building up of the church is through the perfecting of the saints by the gifts given by the Head (Eph. 4:11-12)
(Please illustrate that these gifts perfect the saints for the work of the ministry, which is to build up the organic Body of Christ.)
Day 3
T1 Christ is the constituent of the armor of God (Eph. 6:11)
(Please illustrate that in order to fight the spiritual warfare, we must take Christ as the whole armor of God.)
T2 The truth with which we are girded for spiritual warfare is actually the Christ whom we experience (Eph. 6:13-14)
(Please illustrate that our daily living must be according to the principle of the truth and up to the standard of the truth—that is, God Himself expressed.)
Day 4
T1 They overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb (Eph. 6:13-14)
(Please illustrate that having the covering of the blood of the Lamb is mainly having the breastplate of righteousness upon us.)
T2 For such a firm foundation of peace is also Christ (Eph. 6:15)
(Please illustrate that the phrase “the firm foundation of the gospel of peace” means the establishing of the gospel of peace.)
Day 5
T1 Every Christian needs to know and trust God and God’s heart (Eph. 6:16)
(Please illustrate that no matter what happens to us or what sufferings we experience, we must always believe that God’s heart is good.)
T2 Believing in God’s sovereignty (Rom. 9:21; 8:28)
(Please illustrate that under His sovereign authority, even our mistakes work together for good.)
Day 6
T1 The sword, the Spirit, and the word are one (Eph. 6:17-18)
(Please illustrate that Christ as the Spirit and the word can supply us with an offensive sword to slay our enemy.)
T2 Receiving the helmet of salvation and the word of God through prayer (Eph. 6:17-18)
(Please illustrate that prayer is the only way to apply God’s armor, and prayer makes the armor real and available to us.)
