Experiencing, Enjoying, and Expressing Christ (4)
Message Five
The Tree of Life
THE EXTRACT OF THE OUTLINES
Scripture reading:
Rev. 2:7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.
I. Christ as life is the reality of the tree of life, which is the center of the universe; life is the goal of God’s creation and the goal of God’s complete salvation—Gen. 1:26-28, 31; 2:7-9; John 19:34; Rom. 5:10; Rev. 22:1-2, 14, 19: (Monday)
A. In the Bible the tree of life always signifies Christ as the embodiment of all the riches of God for our food; God’s placing man in front of the tree of life indicates that God wanted man to receive Him as man’s life by eating Him organically and by assimilating Him metabolically, that God might become the very constituent of man’s being—Col. 2:9; Gen. 2:9; John 1:4; 10:10; 14:6; 15:1; 6:35, 57, 63; 1 Cor. 15:45b.
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B. In Revelation 2:7 the tree of life signifies the crucified and resurrected Christ, who today is in the church, the consummation of which is the New Jerusalem, in which the crucified and resurrected Christ will be the tree of life for the nourishment of all God’s redeemed people for eternity—1 Pet. 2:24; John 11:25; Rev. 22:2, 14. (Tuesday)
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II. We need to see the obstacles that God’s life encounters in man: (Wednesday)
A. The first problem that God’s life encounters in us is that we do not realize the darkness of our human concepts; we need to see that the only thing that matters in the Christian life is how we take care of the living Christ in us—Gal. 1:16; 2:20; 4:19; Phil. 1:19-21; Eph. 4:13; 2 Cor. 3:18.
B. There is one solution to all these obstacles in us—we must pass through the cross and let the cross break us; if we want Christ’s life to be unhindered in us, we must experience the breaking of the cross and allow these obstacles to be dealt with and removed—Matt. 16:24-25.
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III. In order for us to eat Christ as the tree of life, we must give Him the first place in all things, which is to love Him with the first love, being constrained by His love to regard and take Him as everything in our life—Rev. 2:4-5; Col. 1:18b; 2 Cor. 5:14-15; Mark 12:30; Psa. 73:25-26; 80:17-19: (Thursday)
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A. Christ must have the first place not only in our living but also in all our messages; “we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake”—2 Cor. 4:5; cf. Heb. 1:3; 8:1; 12:2; Psa. 80:1, 17-19; 110:1-7. (Friday)
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B. Only Christ the King reigning on the earth with the overcomers as His helpers in the kingship can solve the problems of today’s world; Christ’s name will be remembered in all generations and praised by the nations through His overcoming and co-reigning saints—Isa. 42:1-4; Psa. 45:16-17; Rev. 2:26. (Saturday)
OPENING WORD OF THE PROPHESYING MEETING
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
But I have one thing against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore where you have fallen from and repent and do the first works; but if not, I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place, unless you repent—Rev. 2:4-5.
To him who overcomes, to him I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God—v. 7.
Word of Appetizer
What is the tree of life? How can we eat Christ as the tree of life today?
In the Bible, the tree of life always refers to Christ, the embodiment of all the riches of God, as our food; God placed man before the tree of life, indicating that God wanted man to receive Him as life by eating Him organically and assimilating Him metabolically so that God would become the very constituent of man’s being.
To eat Christ as the tree of life, we must give Christ the first place in all things, that is, love Him with the first love, be constrained by His love, take Him as everything in our life, and receive Him as everything.
Spiritual Burden
To eat Christ as the tree of life, we must give Christ the first place in all things, that is, love Him with the first love, be constrained by His love, take Him as everything in our life, and receive Him as everything.
Loving the Lord with the first love and giving Him the first place in all things is to eat Him as the tree of life; eating Christ as the tree of life, which is enjoying Christ as our life supply, should be the primary matter in the church life.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
Christ as life is the reality of the tree of life, and the tree of life is the center of the universe; life is the goal of God’s creation and the goal of God’s complete salvation.
We need to see the problems that the life of God encounters in man: our human concepts are dark, counterfeit, rebellious, and are of our natural ability.
The Experience of Life
We must pass through the cross and let the cross break us; for the life of Christ to be unlimited in us, we must experience the breaking of the cross so that these problems are dealt with and removed.
The content of the church life depends on the enjoyment of Christ; the more we enjoy Christ, the richer the content of the church life becomes; but if we want to eat Christ as the tree of life and enjoy Him as our life supply, we must love Him with the first love.
Today in the church, we are enjoying the crucified and resurrected Christ as the tree of life, which is the life supply in our spirit, as a foretaste; every local church is the paradise of God in which Christ is the tree of life for our enjoyment.
Practice and Application
To eat Christ as the tree of life, we must give Christ the first place in all things, that is, love Him with the first love, be constrained by His love, take Him as everything in our life, and receive Him as everything.
Christ must have the first place not only in our life but also in all our messages; “For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord…”
Loving the Lord with the first love and giving Him the first place in all things is to be governed, ruled, directed, guided, and moved by our mingled spirit; this is to care for the rest in our spirit by being His captives and praying, “O Lord, conquer me and make me Your captive. Never let me be the victor. Defeat me all the time.”
PROPHESYING TOPICS—TWELVE TOPICS PER WEEK
Day 1
T1 Living the life of Christ is calm, tranquil, peaceful, and quiet (Phil. 4:5-6).
(Please illustrate that the first aspect of the expression of living the life of Christ is forbearance.)
T2 Living Christ means forbearance but without anxiety (Phil. 4:5-6).
(Please illustrate that forbearance is the totality of a proper Christian life.)
Day 2
T1 The Greek word for forbearance means not only being content with less than what we are due but also having sweet reasonableness (Phil. 4:5-6).
(Please illustrate that forbearance is all-inclusive because it contains all Christian virtues.)
T2 Forbearance is the Christ we actually experience (Phil. 1:21, 4:5).
(Please illustrate that all our failures and frustrations in the Christian life are due to our lack of forbearance.)
Day 3
T1 A forbearing person is one who always fits in, whose behavior is always suitable (Phil. 1:19-20).
(Please illustrate that forbearance also includes peace, meekness, and tenderness.)
T2 The human life of the Lord Jesus was full of forbearance (Phil. 1:19-20).
(Please illustrate that using the example of how the Lord Jesus spoke to the two disciples on the way to Emmaus illustrates that the Lord’s life is the best explanation of forbearance.)
Day 4
T1 Prayer is general, having worship and fellowship as its essence; petition is special, being for particular needs. (Phil. 4:6-7).
(Please illustrate that when we pray and make petitions, both should be accompanied by thanks to the Lord.)
T2 Believing that our environment is appointed by God (Phil. 4:6-7).
(Please illustrate that if we want to live a life free of anxiety, we must realize that all our experiences, whether good or bad, are appointed by God.)
Day 5
T1 Six aspects that regulate the life of living Christ (Phil. 4:8-9).
(Please illustrate that out of many Christian virtues, what six did Paul select as the regulating aspects?)
T2 All human virtues are created by God (Phil. 4:8-9).
(Please illustrate that our human virtues are created vessels to contain divine virtues, just as a glove is made in the image of a hand to contain a hand.)
Day 6
T1 When we teach people how to do things, we mainly teach them the secret (Phil. 4:11-13).
(Please illustrate that Paul not only learned the secret; he had been initiated and learned certain basic principles.)
T2 The basic principles of church life are entirely different from the basic principles of the world (Phil. 4:11-13).
(Please illustrate that what are the basic principles of the church—the Body of Christ?)
