This week in our morning revival we come to a very precious and dear matter both to the Lord and to us: the recovery of the church life; He wants to recover the proper church life today!
This expression, the church life, is not very common among believers today. On the day we were baptized a lot of things happened simultaneously, things that we were not conscious at the time. We entered into an entirely new realm, a new kingdom, a new existence, into which we never entered before.
This is just like the human birth – when a baby is born in a Romanian family, for example, he enters into the totality of the human life without being conscious of it, and he enters into the Romanian culture, family, language, politics, religion, etc.
As the baby grows, develops, and learns, he himself becomes that life, and all the things of that life are expressed in his living.
This is what happened when we came into the church life: we had no idea what we got ourselves into, but we were saved from this crooked and perverted generation through baptism, and we put off the old man (with our old person, old manner of life, old society, old community, and old family) and put on the new man!
Through baptism we entered into a new life, a new society, a new community, a new living, and a new family – this is the church life. Now we all need to learn to live in this community, in this church life.
In 1 Tim. 3 Paul tells Timothy that he needs to know how to conduct himself in the church life, for the church is the house of God, the manifestation of God in the flesh.
Praise the Lord, through baptism we entered into a new life with a new living, a new community – the church life, and now we live a particular kind of life in spirit, a life that befits the church life!
What is the church life? The church life is not just our living in the church, but it is much more. Here are six wonderful definitions of what the church life is:
- The church life is Christ lived out through us in a corporate way.
- The genuine experience of Christ always issues in and requires the church life; similarly, the church life is the issue and requirement of the divine life that we experience.
- The church life is a life of being headed up under the unique headship of Christ.
- Fellowship is the reality of the church life; the church life is fellowship, and the church life is realized by fellowship.
- The church life is the continuation of the divine glorification.
- The church life is the corporate expression of Christ.
Before the Lord Jesus Comes Back, He will Fully Recover the Proper Church Life
Many Christians love the Lord and pursue Him, but they think that the church life in this age is not possible; rather, according to them, the church life will be possible in the next age. Therefore, they love the Lord, preach the gospel, and help other believers to be spiritual.
But unfortunately, this is not what the Bible tells us regarding the church life. The church life is something for the present age, for this age is the age of the church; the next age is the age of the kingdom.
Before the Lord comes back, He will fully recover the proper church life! We are now in the process of being recovered in the proper church life. The Lord prophesied in Matt. 16:18 that He will build His church; this built up church is the proper church life that must be recovered before the Lord returns.
The proper church life is the bride the Lord will return for. The Lord’s coming is mainly dependant on the preparation of the bride; when the bride is prepared, the Lord will returned. Today in the church life in the Lord’s recovery we are in the recovery of the proper church life.
What is being recovered is not a doctrine or merely the proper teaching of the church, but the living of the church – the church life is a living! The church life is a corporate living of the perfected God-men who live in the reality of the Body of Christ.
The Lord must recover this living before He returns.
There are two main aspects of the church – the local aspect and the universal aspect. The fellowship is the reality of the church life; this means that locally we need to have fellowship with the saints in the city where we live and meet, and universally we need to have fellowship with all the churches all over the earth, both in space and time.
Both the local and universal aspect of the fellowship needs to be recovered. Today the Lord is recovering the proper church life, and the church life is spreading all over the earth to be practiced in the local churches as the lampstands, the shining testimony of Jesus (Rev. 1:11).
The church life is spreading and is being practiced in England (UK), France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Holland, Estonia, Norway, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, etc – in all the countries in Europe the Lord is spreading to recover the proper church life.
Before Antichrist comes, the Lord wants to recover the proper church life in city after city in Europe, the land of Antichrist.
Eventually, when He gains a solid enough testimony on earth, He will return on the Mount of Olives, where He ascended from (see Acts 1:9-12; Zech. 14:4), and praise the Lord, there’s a church in Jerusalem, Israel!
The Lord is recovering the proper church life as a shame to the enemy and a glory for Himself. Today we in the church life in the Lord’s recovery are being recovered to practice the proper church life to be the testimony of Jesus on earth.
Lord Jesus, we pray that You would fully recover the proper church life before You return. Spread into city after city, country after country, and continent after continent, to gain many local churches as the shining lampstands, the testimony of Jesus. Amen, Lord, may we be recovered to the proper church life, the living of the church, that we may have a corporate living as perfected God-men who live in the reality of the Body of Christ. Lord, we are here for the recovery of the church life for You to return!
No Matter what Satan does to Damage the Church, the Lord will Recover the Church Life, for He Loves the Church
Nothing touches the Lord’s heart as much as the recovery of the church life, for the church is what’s on His heart; the first mention of the church in the Bible is, MY CHURCH (Matt. 16:18).
When we speak the word, church, we touch the Lord’s heart; when we talk about and practice the church life, we touch something very dear to the Lord Himself. This is why He promised, I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
The Lord knows that Satan fights against the church, but He builds His church. Throughout centuries, the proper church life has been lost, and the living of the church has been degraded to, at most, a social activity.
Satan could very well boast to the Lord that almost nowhere on earth is the proper church life being practiced, but the Lord can tell Satan to look at the local churches all over the earth, where the saints are recovered to live the proper church life!
Hallelujah, today the Lord is recovering the proper church life among us, and whenever we meet and enjoy the Lord, speak His word, pray, and are being built up together, we are touching what is most dear on the Lord’s heart – the church!
Because it is Christ who loved the church and gave Himself up for her, we need to enjoy Christ and experience Him as the church-loving Christ. We can love the church and practice the church life simply because Christ loves the church, and He in us loves the church.
Because we love the church one with Christ, we are one with Him for the spreading of His recovery of the church life throughout the world! Amen, Christ is in us as the church-loving Christ, and His love for the church makes us willing to give our all for the recovery of the church life.
No matter what Satan does to damage the church, the Lord Jesus will return, and His church will be waiting for Him! However weak and imperfect we are in the church life, the Lord is going on among us, and the church life is spreading all over the earth.
We live in the greatest day in history, for today the Bible is being fulfilled right before our eyes, and we can be part of the fulfillment of God’s heart’s desire, the recovery of the church life.
No matter what Satan does to damage the church, the Lord will recover the church life, for He loves the church, He gave Himself up for her, and He is building up the church.
And when we come to the Lord to enjoy Him and pursue Him in His word, we touch His heart’s desire for the church, and we also care for the recovery of the proper church life as He does.
We praise You, Lord, for no matter what Satan does to damage the church, You will recover the proper church life, for Christ loves the church and He’s building up the church! Hallelujah, nothing touches the Lord’s heart as much as the recovery of the church life. Lord, we believe that, in this present age before Your return, You will have the church life to shame Your enemy and be expressed among men. Amen! We want to be one with the church-loving Christ and love the church and practice the proper church life today!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by Mark Raabe for this week, and portions from, Life-study of Ephesians, msgs. 79-80 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Recovery of the Church (2017 fall ITERO), week 5, The Recovery of the Church Life.
- Hymns on this topic:
# “I will build My church upon this rock,” said the Lord Jesus, / And we see the building of His purpose and His plan; / Setting members in the Body as Himself it pleases, / Building us together in Christ our land. / Now the Lord’s recovery is everywhere proceeding, / All the churches join in one to give the Lord command… (Hymns #1236)
# The Lord has made us one with Him for His recovery: / The riches of this Christ, the church His fullness, men must see. / Yes, all we have and all we are, we every day outpour / For His tremendous purpose, ever dearer than before. (Hymns #1152)
# In the church life we can see / We are God’s own family. / As we blend with the saints / We are built up in love, / His expression thus to be. / In the church we are home; / Here our joy has begun. / In this sweet fellowship / We are built up in love / As the many, yet as one. (Song on, in the church life we can see)
About aGodMan
Concerning the recovery of the church life, the Lord Jesus cannot be defeated….No matter what Satan does to damage the church, the Lord Jesus will return, and His church will be waiting for Him. There may be a church in the city of Jerusalem. Perhaps the meeting hall will not be far from the Mount of Olives, the place from which He ascended and to which He will descend in His coming back. It would be a shame to the Lord Jesus to come back without having a church in Jerusalem ready for Him. The Lord will not suffer such a shame. For this reason, He is waiting for His recovery to spread to Europe and, ultimately, to Jerusalem.
We all need to enjoy Christ and to experience Him as the church-loving Christ. Because we also love the church, we are one with Him for the spread of His recovery throughout the world and back to Jerusalem. Oh, how Christ loves the church! He is in us as the church-loving Christ. His love for the church makes us willing to give our all for the recovery of the church life. (Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 664-666, by Witness Lee)
Praise the Lord for the recovery of the church life! Amen
Amen Lord..
Hallelujah
Amen, Lord Jesus we are one with Your heart, one with Your assurance that You will recover the proper church life before You come back. Shame Your enemy Lord and gain Your expression in this age!
Oh how Christ loves the church! He is in us as the church-loving Christ.
Amen! Thank You Lord!
Amen! What a mercy of being a part of this momentous history that the Lord is fully recovering the genuine, proper church life for His coming back! Come Lord Jesus!
Amen. Come Lord Jesus.
Lord Jesus, Amen. Do it quickly. Fully recover the proper church life!
アーメン主に感謝します。
amen🙏 He is preparing us processing us to be ready for His second coming🙏
We need to be all prepared for His coming!
Amen LORD JESUS.
Hallelujah! Lord, do draw us back to you again and again as our first love. That your love for the church and Your heart’s desire may be replicated in us. Lord, shame the enemy, that there would be many living local churches expressing you in a practical way, living out the church life throughout the earth! Lord, come quickly!