Cooperate with God to Enjoy Christ and Consecrate to Him to Bring in His Kingdom

The central thought of 1 and 2 Samuel is that the fulfilment of God’s economy needs man’s cooperation – the principle of incarnation; we need to cooperate with God by making a vow, and He will come in to fulfil it, for to cooperate with God is to be bound together with God and do things one with Him. Amen!

This week we come to a new Holy Word for Morning Revival series, which is the Crystallization-Study of 1 and 2 Samuel, and this week we are on week 1 entitled, The Central Thought of and the Divine Trinity as Revealed in 1 and 2 Samuel.

We need to be clear about what is a crystallization study; these are not a review of the life-study messages, nor are they are a synopsis of these messages or selecting certain of the messages and respeaking them.

Rather, a crystal regarding the Word of God is the intrinsic significance of a crucial point in the Word; it is not something that is necessarily on the surface but something intrinsic, very significant.

For example, in 1 and 2 Samuel we see the monarchy and Saul, which are quite important but are not a crystal; however, the way Samuel functioned as the acting God is a crystal, for it is a crucial point of truth.

May we read the Bible with the view of paying attention to the main, intrinsic, significant points in the Bible, and may we see what is the central thought of God in the books of the Bible.

In particular, this week we want to explore in a prayerful way what is the central thought of God in 1 and 2 Samuel, and also trace the Divine Trinity as revealed in 1 and 2 Samuel.

The Divine Trinity is the structure of the entire Bible, and it is in particular revealed in these two wonderful books.

We may not see the Divine Trinity on the surface when we read the Bible, but from the very beginning when God said, LET US (not, Let Me, but let Us), and at the end, The throne of God and of the Lamb, with the Spirit flowing as the river of water of life, we see the Divine Trinity.

May the Lord shine on us and bring us into the central thought of these two books so that we may cooperate with God, realizing that we have been bound together with God, made one with Him, and may we simply live one spirit with the Lord in our cooperation with God in our Christian life.

The Fulfillment of God’s Economy Needs Man’s Cooperation, our Living and Doing all things One with God, being Bound Together with God

The central thought of the books of 1 and 2 Samuel is that the fulfilment of God’s economy needs man’s cooperation; this is the principle of incarnation.

We will see very much concerning how some in these books did not cooperate with God while others gave God their full and utmost cooperation.

The principle of incarnation is that God doesn’t do things in and by Himself among men but rather, that God comes into man and mingles Himself with man to make Himself one with man and man one with Him, and therefore man does all things in oneness with God.

God has a will, a desire, a heart’s intention, and He reveals His heart’s desire through His word; when His people join themselves to God and cooperate with God, when God gains man’s cooperation, He can do what is in His heart with and through the men who are fully one with Him.

When God enters into us and mingles Himself with us, we are one with God and God is one with us, and therefore God is in man and man is in God, having one life and one living (John 14:4-5; Gal. 2:20).

This is the kind of person that Samuel was, but this is not the kind of person that Saul was.

We need to be deeply impressed with the fact that the fulfillment of God’s economy requires our cooperation; we have been bound together with God, joined to Him as one spirit, and now we need to cooperate with God (1 Cor. 6:17; John 15:4-5; 2 Cor. 6:1; 1 Cor. 3:9; 16:10, 16).

May the Lord shine on us and give us this sense, that we may be deeply impressed; may the Lord Spirit make this real to us.

We need to realize that the fulfillment of God’s economy depends upon and requires our cooperation; it’s not just others’ cooperation but our cooperation.

And to cooperate with God means that we are bound together with God. God chooses to be bound together with us, and we say, Amen, Lord, we would be bound together with You.

The three-legged race can be considered as an illustration of this, but our walk and work with God are not as awkward as a three-legged race.

Rather, it is quite delightful to have the sense of being one with the Triune God in Christ as the Spirit. He is moving in us and we are moving in Him; He is living in us and we are living in Him; He is speaking in us and we are speaking in Him.

To cooperate with God is to be bound together with God; we are joined to Him as one spirit, and we are inseparable.

This has to become our realization day by day; the Lord is bringing us gradually to the point that being one spirit with the Lord is normal in our daily living.

And when we are drawn out of this organic union, when we do things and are not one with Him, we will have a sense from the Spirit calling us back into the cooperation with God.

In 1 and 2 Samuel the cooperation with God is illustrated by the history of Samuel’s mother, Hannah, of Samuel, and of David, in the positive sense, and by the history of Eli and Sau, in a negative sense.

These books began with a woman, Hannah, and her son, Samuel, who both cooperated with God.

There were judges, there were priests, but it was a woman, Hannah, and her son, Samuel, who cooperated with God in a full way.

When the Lord has a great need and is ready to take a significant step in His move, He needs the sisters to be the channel, and He needs to raise up many Samuels who cooperate with God by being bound together with God and doing all things in oneness with God.

May we be those who learn from the negative examples and are perfected by the positive patterns, and may we see what is God’s need, what He is doing today, and how can we cooperate with God for the fulfillment of His economy today.

Lord Jesus, we want to cooperate with You for the fulfillment of Your economy today. Thank You for making us one spirit with You; thank You for coming into us to live in us and even be bound together with us. Keep us living in the mingled spirit today. Keep us enjoying You, eating You, and living because of You. We don’t want to do anything apart or outside of the organic union with You. Amen, Lord, may we realize that the fulfillment of God’s economy requires our cooperation, and may we be those who cooperate with You in this age today. May we be those who are one with You to the extent that You can do whatever You want to do in us and with us for the fulfillment of Your economy!

In our Cooperation with God, we Enjoy Christ and Consecrate to Him to bring in His Kingdom

The types in 1 and 2 Samuel show us how the New Testament believers can and should enjoy Christ as their God-allotted portion for the establishing of God’s kingdom, which is the church (Col. 1:12; Matt. 16:18-19; Rom. 14:17).

The goal of our learning to labor on Christ as the good land is that we cooperate with God to enjoy Christ, consecrate to Him, and reign with Christ to bring in the kingdom of God.

What is God trying to accomplish today? What does want to bring in among us and then on the whole earth? It is the establishing of God’s kingdom.

Samuel was used for a dispensational change to bring in the God-chosen king and to establish the kingdom of God; this is the goal – God must have His kingdom on earth.

What God is looking for is to bring in His kingdom on earth where He can express Himself in glory and accomplish His will. And the practicality of the kingdom is the church life today.

In 1 and 2 Samuel the good land enjoyed by those who cooperated with God became the kingdom of God.

To what extent the enjoyment of Christ that we have has become the kingdom of God?

The more we cooperate with God to enjoy Christ by laboring on the good land, the more we consecrate ourselves to Him, and the more we bring in the kingdom of God.

What a blessing it is to participate in the bringing in of the kingdom of God!

In our cooperation with God, we need to enjoy Christ to such an extent that our enjoyment of Christ becomes the kingdom of God, in which we reign in life with Christ (Rom. 5:17; 14:17).

We need to enjoy Christ for this, for the kingdom of God to be brought in.

God needs us to enjoy Christ day by day until our enjoyment becomes the kingdom of God.

Then, we will reign in life with Christ; we will receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness, and we will reign in life with Christ.

The result of our enjoyment of Christ as grace and of reigning in life is that we live the church life as the reality of the kingdom of God today; here we enjoy righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Amen!

In 1 Samuel we see Hannah’s cooperation with God. At that time, the old priesthood had become stale and waning, and God wanted to have another beginning.

He was operating behind the scenes to initiate things; on one hand, He shut up Hannah’s womb and, on the other hand, He even prepared a provoker (1 Sam. 1:5-7) to cause Hannah to be desperate.

So Hannah became very desperate, and she was forced to pray that God would give her a son; however, her prayer was not just for a child but rather, she vowed that, if He gave her a male child, she would lend him to God for His use all the days of his life (v. 11).

This prayer was initiated not by Hannah but by God, yet it was uttered by Hannah, who cooperated with God. She was willing to cooperate with God, and God answered her prayer, opened her womb, and she had Samuel (v. 20).

She then offered her son to God, placing him in the custody of Eli, as she vowed to God.

This is the kind of persons that God needs today, those who work and live in cooperation with God.

God may even work in our environment to cause us to be desperate and utter a prayer of consecration to Him, and He will act upon this consecration to cause us to be one with Him and be useful to Him for His purpose.

Hudson Taylor, for example, one day prayed to consecrate himself to God, telling God he was willing to give his life and everything for the people of China.

God was able, therefore, to use him to the uttermost, and many were saved through his working in oneness with God.

Similarly, brother Lee was caught by the Lord and consecrated to Him, while he was still young, to simply serve God and bring the Bible from place to place, and to preach Christ; therefore, God had a way to use him to the uttermost.

Today the whole world is open to the Lord, to the high gospel, and to the Lord’s recovery.

There is a need for many like Hannah who would make a vow to God, as a result of His working in us and in our environment.

We need to simply tell the Lord that we are His and that we lend ourselves to Him for His purpose.

He will then take our heart and He will accomplish something to fulfill that vow to Him.

May we be such ones.

May we just give ourselves to the Lord to enjoy Him, consecrate ourselves to Him, and bring in His kingdom, and may we allow Him to work in us and with us, with our cooperation, so that He may do what He wants to do to bring in the kingdom of God on earth.

Lord Jesus, we are Yours: we lend ourselves to You for Your need, for Your heart’s desire, and for Your purpose. We are here on earth for You, not for our own benefit or prosperity. We give ourselves to You to simply cooperate with You; have Your way in us. May Your kingdom come. We want to contribute to the bringing in of the kingdom of God on earth. Amen, Lord, we consecrate ourselves to You to just enjoy You for Your kingdom. What a blessing it is that we can participate in the bringing in of the kingdom of God! Amen, Lord, may Your kingdom come and may Your will be done on earth!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Sources of inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by brother Ron Kangas, and portions from, Life-study of 1 & 2 Samuel (msg. 1), by Witness Lee, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization Study of 1 and 2 Samuel (2021 winter training), week 1, entitled, The Central Thought of and the Divine Trinity as Revealed in 1 and 2 Samuel.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – God’s kingdom is God’s reigning, / His glory to maintain; / It is His sovereign ruling, / His order to sustain. / He exercises fully / His own authority / Within His kingdom ever / And to eternity. (Hymns #941)
  – In this godless age / Lord, You need some Samuels / Burdened with a vision clear of Your economy / Where’s Your ark today? / And the ones who’d care for You, / E’en to put themselves aside to gain Your heart’s desire? / Raise up some to meet Your need, some Nazarites, / Prophets, priests, and judges, and men of prayer, / Speaking forth Your word, with Your authority, / A photo of Your heart for Your move. (Song on, In this godless age)
  – Fully surrendered—Lord, I would be, / Fully surrendered, dear Lord, to Thee. / All on the altar laid, / Surrender fully made, / Thou hast my ransom paid; / I yield to Thee. / Fully surrendered—life, time, and all, / All Thou hast given me held at Thy call. / Speak but the word to me, / Gladly I’ll follow Thee, / Now and eternally / Obey my Lord. (Hymns #442)