Experiencing, Enjoying, and Expressing Christ (3)
Message Five
Reasons We Are Blameless in Holiness and Our Spirit, Soul, and Body Are Fully Sanctified
THE EXTRACT OF THE OUTLINES
Scripture Reading:
1 Thes. 5:23-24 And the God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, who also will do it.
I. To live a holy life for the church life, we need the Lord to make our hearts firm, blameless in holiness—1 Thes. 3:13: (Monday)
A The heart is the totality of man’s inner parts, his general representative, and his acting organ—Matt. 9:4, Heb. 4:12.
B The heart is the entrance and exit of life, the “switch” of life; if the heart is wrong, the life in the spirit will be frustrated—Prov. 4:23.
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C Our heart is fickle, so it needs to be continually renewed by the Holy Spirit, so that our heart may be made firm in a holy condition—Titus 3:5, Rom. 6:19, 22. (Tuesday)
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D To be “those being sanctified” and to live a holy life for the church life, we must deal with our heart—Heb. 2:11, Psa. 139:23-24: (Wednesday)
1 God wants our heart to be soft—Ezek. 36:26, Matt. 13:4, 19.
2 God wants our heart to be pure—Matt. 5:8, Psa. 73:1, 25.
3 God wants our heart to be loving—Psa. 42:1-2, S. S. 1:1-4.
4 God wants our heart to be peaceful—Acts 24:16, 1 John 3:19-21.
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II. God not only sets us apart to Him in His judicial redemption through the redeeming blood of Christ but also saturates us with Himself in His organic salvation through His holy nature—Heb. 13:12, 1 Thes. 5:23-24: (Thursday)
A God’s sanctifying our spirit, soul, and body in nature is His divinely “sonizing” us to make us sons of God—Eph. 1:4-5, Heb. 2:10-11.
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B To cooperate with God in preserving our spirit in holiness, we must exercise our spirit to keep our spirit living—1 Thes. 5:16-18. (Friday)
C To cooperate with God in preserving our soul in holiness, we must clear the three main “arteries” of our psychological heart—Phil. 2:2, 5.
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D To cooperate with God in preserving our body in holiness, we must present our bodies to Him—Rom. 12:1-2, 1 Thes. 4:4. (Saturday)
E To preserve the body, we must buffet our body and make it a slave to accomplish our divine purpose, which is to become the holy city—1 Cor. 9:27, Rev. 21:2.
OPENING WORD OF THE PROPHESYING MEETING
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
So that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints—1 Thes. 3:13.
And the God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ—1 Thes. 5:23.
Word of Appetizer
In 1 Thessalonians 3:13, why did Paul not say “blameless in purity or cleanliness,” but “blameless in sanctification”? And why does the Lord need to establish our hearts?
The reason is that 1 Thessalonians is an Epistle concerning the sanctified life for the church life.
The conclusion of the first section of this Epistle (consisting of chapters one, two, and three) is that the Lord will establish our hearts blameless in sanctification.
If we want to live a sanctified life for the church life, we need the Lord to establish our hearts blameless in sanctification (beyond reproach in sanctification).
Our heart is fickle, so it needs to be constantly renewed by the holy Spirit, so that our heart may be established and built up in a sanctified condition, that is, in a condition of being separated to God, possessed by God, occupied by God, and permeated by God.
Spiritual Burden
If we want to live a sanctified life for the church life, we need the Lord to establish our hearts blameless in sanctification (beyond reproach in sanctification).
God’s sanctifying our spirit, soul, and body in nature is His divine “sonizing” of us, making us sons of God, so that we become the same as He is in life and nature, but not in the Godhead, that we may be His expression.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
If we want to live a sanctified life for the church life, we need the Lord to establish our hearts blameless in sanctification (beyond reproach in sanctification).
God not only sets us apart to Himself positionally in His judicial redemption through the redeeming blood of Christ, thus making us holy in position, but also permeates us with Himself in His organic salvation through His own holy nature, thus sanctifying us in nature.
The Experience of Life
When our heart is active, exercising the spirit is useful; if a person’s heart is indifferent, the spirit is shut in and cannot exercise its power; the heart is the inlet and outlet of life, the “switch” of life; if the heart is not right, the life in the spirit is hindered, and the law of life cannot operate freely and unhindered, thus not reaching all parts of our being.
Our heart is blamable because it is fickle; when we are constantly renewed by the holy Spirit, so that our heart is established and blameless in sanctification, we will gradually become the New Jerusalem, having the newness of the divine life, and also gradually become the holy city, having the sanctification of the divine nature.
Practice and Application
If we are to become “those who are sanctified” and live a sanctified life for the church life, we must deal with our heart and cooperate with the inner operation of “the One who sanctifies.”
If we want to cooperate with God to preserve our spirit in sanctification, we must exercise our spirit to keep it alive.
If we want to cooperate with God to preserve our soul in sanctification, we must clear the three main “arteries” of our psychological heart, which are the parts of our soul—our mind, emotion, and will.
If we want to cooperate with God to preserve our body in sanctification, we must present our body to Him, so that we can live a sanctified life for the church life, practice the body life, to fulfill God’s pure purpose.
PROPHESYING TOPICS—TWELVE TOPICS PER WEEK
Day 1
T1 The Lord desires to strengthen our hearts established blameless in holiness (1 Thes. 3:13).
(Please illustrate that the heart and the spirit are intimately related.)
T2 To be a living believer relates to our spirit and heart (Prov. 4:23).
(Please illustrate that if our heart is dormant, exercising our spirit to call on the Lord’s name will be ineffective.)
Day 2
T1 According to our natural birth, our heart is changeable (Ezek. 36:26-27).
(Please illustrate that we are the ones who are changeable, and our heart is extremely changeable.)
T2 A crucial need in our Christian life is the establishing of our heart. (Psa. 5:7).
(Please illustrate that although our heart needs to be confirmed, we cannot do it ourselves; only the Lord can strengthen our heart.)
Day 3
T1 God desires our heart to be soft and pure (Matt. 5:8).
(Please illustrate that the importance of our heart being soft and pure toward God.)
T2 God desires our heart to be loving and peaceful (Heb. 10:22).
(Please illustrate that the importance of our heart being loving and peaceful toward God.)
Day 4
T1 God not only wholly sanctifies us but also preserves our spirit, soul, and body complete (1 Thes. 5:23).
(Please illustrate that in terms of quantity, God wants to wholly sanctify us, and in terms of quality, God wants to preserve us complete, that is, to preserve the perfection of our spirit, soul, and body.)
T2 Our spirit is primarily for communion with God (1 Thes. 5:16-19).
(Please illustrate that what is the way to preserve our spirit?)
Day 5
T1 Our psychological heart has three main arteries, which are the three parts of the soul—the mind, the will, and the emotion (Rom. 12:2, Mark 12:30).
(Please illustrate that the way to remove the blockage of the three main arteries of the psychological heart is to thoroughly confess sins to the Lord; how can we confess all the sins and uncleanness in our mind and thoughts to the Lord?)
T2 Spending enough time to remove the blockage of the main arteries of the psychological heart will make us feel our entire being alive (Phil. 2:13, Mark 12:30).
(Please illustrate that how can we clear the blockage of these two arteries, the will and the emotion?)
Day 6
T1 Sin has damaged and corrupted our body; our body is “the body of sin” (Rom. 6:6, 12:1).
(Please illustrate that if we want to preserve our body, we must first not live according to our soul.)
T2 Today the world is full of defilement and filth, which makes it difficult for us to keep our body (Rom. 12:1, 1 Thes. 4:3-4).
(Please illustrate that as long as our body has not yet been transfigured and remains in the old creation, we need to continually keep our body.)
