Today we were specifically appreciating the wonderful, fine, gentle, balanced humanity of Jesus. The fine flour is the base of the meal offering, and it typifies the fine and balanced humanity of Christ. Our humanity is rough – though outwardly we may seem to be “a nice lady” or “a proper gentleman”, and though we may behave nicely toward the ones around us, our humanity is rough. Only Christ is gentle, fine, balanced, and right in every way. While He was on earth everyone tested Him, from His brothers, His fellow countrymen, the Pharisees, the priests, and even the Roman officials – there was no fault or blemish found in Him! [read more online]
a genuine church is enriched in Christ, awaits the Lord’s unveiling, and enjoys Christ
This is what we aspire to, and this is what we live unto, that we may be confirmed until the end unreprovable – in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ! For this, we need to daily grow in life! A genuine church is in a daily process of growth in the divine life – after its initial receiving of grace, the church enjoys grace and trusts in the God who is both the Alpha and the Omega to finish what He has begun in them. God gives us grace and it is He who will also confirm us in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ – He is the giver of grace and the completer of our growth in life at the end. Lord, grow in us daily! [read more online]
qualifications of a genuine church: the church of God enjoying grace upon grace!
One particular aspect I was encouraged with is that a genuine church accepts and welcomes everyone who calls on the name of the Lord – who is THEIRS and OURS! Jesus Christ belongs to and is in all the believers, and He is our all-inclusive portion – we are those who call on the name of the Lord in every place! Oh, Lord Jesus! We flee youthful lusts and pursue with those who call on the name of the Lord out of a pure heart (2 Tim. 2:22). Wherever we are – at home, at work, cooking in the kitchen, walking on the street, shopping, driving, traveling, resting, working, playing sports, jogging, etc – we CALL on the name of the Lord, who is OURS! [continue reading online]
seeing what it means to be a genuine church in the focus of the Lord’s recovery
To be in the Lord’s recovery means that we are Christians NOT just for our own need and not just for ourselves (we don’t focus only on, What can God do for me?) – we are Christians for God’s need, God’s pleasure, God’s heart’s desire, and even God’s goal! Yes, we have our needs, we see what we are, but what about God’s need? What about God’s purpose, His goal, and His economy? We are here learning to lift our view from our petty needs and problems, and look to the Lord to be one with Him for His economy, His need. [read more online]
the secret to be content in all things: abiding in Christ (students training, South Africa)
The experience of Christ is in our spirit but the enjoyment of Christ is in our soul. We need to experience Christ in such a full and complete way so that our experience seeps through to our soul to be our enjoyment, joy and delight. How do we do this? In Phil 4:12 Paul says he has learnt the secret to be both abased and to abound and in the previous verse to be content in all circumstances. The secret is simply to be in Christ, to abide in Him. To be content in everything means the good things and the bad things. To be content in all things means to be content in all the ordinary things too! Our Christ does not change, our contentment therefore cannot change. [read more online]
being an inoculator by teaching and ministering the riches of God’s economy
We all need to shepherd the saints with the teaching of God’s economy (see Eph. 4:11 and 1 Tim. 3:2, 4:11-16). How do we shepherd the saints? It is mainly by dispensing the divine life in the humanity of Jesus to cherish them (to make them happy, comfortable, and open) and by teaching them the divine truths in the divinity of Christ to nourish them (Eph. 5:29). The Lord Jesus was a pattern for us in this by denying His natural human life and living by the divine life in resurrection – He was charming and attracting people in His humanity, and He fed them in His divinity with the words of God! [read more online]
the secret of the Christian life and the church life is living in the mingled spirit
What is the reality of the church life? The church life is composed of all the believers in Christ who live in their spirit. The reality of the church life is to live in the spirit. In the church life we learn to pay attention not to our mind or emotion but to our spirit. The Christian life, the family life, and the church life – are all a life in our spirit. The divine Spirit as the consummation of the processed Triune God is mingled with our spirit as the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, continually saturating us as we open to Him and allow Him to spread in us… [continue reading online]