We need to be filled continuously with the Spirit for the noble work of building up of the church as the Body of Christ.
If we want to walk in the all-inclusive Christ as the reality of the good land, we need to have much and thorough prayer in our life and service, praying at all time in spirit for the Lord to fill us with Himself for the noble work of building up the church.
The Bible shows some governing principles for us to see and experience in order for us to possess Christ as the good land.
First of all, we need to see that, as believers in Christ, we have received the Christ, Jesus the Lord, and now we need to walk in Him.
For us to walk in Christ is for us to walk according to the Spirit and by the Spirit as the reality of the good land.
The key to this walk is realizing that we are one spirit with the Lord. We are joined to the Lord as one spirit, and the Spirit witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God.
As people born of God to have His life and nature, we have a spirit that is mingled with God’s Spirit, and the Triune God dwells in us, in our spirit.
Now we are learning to live in the spirit, walk according to the spirit, and live by the Spirit so that we may walk in Christ, the reality of the good land allotted to us.
As long as we live according to the spirit and by the Spirit, we enjoy all the riches of Christ, and the righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled in us. Hallelujah!
It is by the Spirit we put to death the practices of the body, and it is by the Spirit that we can be renewed, sanctified, transformed, and glorified.
The Christ in whom we are walking is not just God Himself but even more, the incorporated God – God who became man, went through human living, crucifixion, death, resurrection, and ascension, and He was also intensified sevenfold; how He is the incorporated God, God incorporated with man.
The issue of our walking in this wonderful Christ in His full ministry in three stages – incarnation, inclusion, and intensification – is that we are built up as the Body of Christ to consummate the New Jerusalem. Hallelujah!
Today the Christ in whom we are walking is the Body-Christ, the incorporated Christ; Christ is both the Head and the Body, for He is a wonderful corporate “Me” whom the apostle Paul saw in his vanquishing conversion to Christ.
Today the Lord is building the Body of Christ in the church life, and we can have a taste of the New Jerusalem by being properly related to the Body of Christ.
Another governing principle in our walking in Christ as the good land is that the presence of the Lord means everything to us in both our life in the Lord and our work in the Lord.
We need to be directed by the Lord’s firsthand presence, His presence in our mingled spirit, and we need to take His presence as our living map.
In this portion, we want to see another governing principle of walking in the all-inclusive Christ – living and serving by having much and thorough prayer to be filled with the Spirit.
Live and Serve in the Reality of the Priesthood by having Much and Thorough Prayer in our Life and Service to be Filled with the Spirit
If we believers in Christ want to possess and walk in the all-inclusive Christ as the reality of the good land, we need to live and serve in the reality of the priesthood; we need to be the priests who contact God, bring man to God and God to man, and minister God to man (1 Pet. 2:5, 9).
This means that we need to have much and thorough prayer in our life and service to the Lord so that we may be filled in spirit at all times (Col. 4:2).
The building up of the church can be carried out only by persons who are filled in spirit, those filled with the Holy Spirit.
Whether the church is living and fresh and enriched depends on this one thing, that we are being filled continuously with the Spirit (Phil. 2:13; Matt. 5:3, 8; Luke 1:53; Eph. 5:18).
We need to come to the Lord again and again and ask Him to fill us with the Spirit; for us to be filled, we need to have much and thorough prayer in our life and service.
When we come to the meetings of the church, we need to come filled in spirit to function and minister Christ to the other saints.
How can Christ build up His church today through us?
We need to be willing and empty vessels.
We need to open to Him, be freshly emptied of ourselves and our things to be freshly filled with Him, and exercise to minister Christ to others.
May we be willing and may we be emptied. If we are willing to be emptied, the Lord will fill us with Himself.
We are filled mainly by praying thoroughly before the Lord.
Many times, however, we are filled with many things, and we cannot break through when we pray to contact the Lord.
Whatever we are by nature, whatever we accumulate, and whatever we experience, needs to be emptied out so that the Lord may fill us in a fresh way.
If we want to live and serve in the reality of the priesthood, we need to have much and thorough prayer in our life and service before the Lord, seeking to be emptied of ourselves and be freshly filled with the Lord.
The Bible tells us that we need to pray unceasingly (1 Thes. 5:17) and also that we need to persevere in prayer.
On one hand, we need to pray all the time, without ceasing.
On the other hand, we need to persevere in prayer, persevering to pray.
It is God who operates in us both the willing and the working for His good pleasure; we simply need to open to Him and be poor in spirit.
We need to come to the Lord as we are, again and again, and just pray to open to Him, be emptied of ourselves, and be freshly filled with Him.
We are truly blessed if we are poor in spirit, for when we are emptied from within, we enjoy the kingdom of the heavens, and the Lord fills us in a fresh way.
We are blessed when we are pure in heart, seeking only the Lord and His kingdom, for we will see God.
When we are those who are hungry and empty, the Lord will fill us with good things; however, if we think we’re rich and need nothing, He sends us away empty.
May we be drunk not with wine or with the things that this world has to offer but be filled in spirit, being filled with the Lord as the Spirit in a fresh way so that we may live and serve in the reality of the priesthood.
We can even ask the Lord to fill us. If we as parents give good things to our children when they ask us, how much more will our heavenly Father give us the Spirit when we ask Him?
If we ask Him for the Holy Spirit, He will give us more of the Spirit.
May we often pray to the Lord to give us the Spirit, even more of the Spirit, so that we may be filled in spirit.
For this, we need to have much and thorough prayer, even persevere in prayer, so that we may be filled in spirit in our daily life.
Lord Jesus, give us more of Yourself today. We open to You. We want to possess and walk in the all-inclusive Christ as the reality of the good land by living and serving in the reality of the priesthood. We come to You to contact You. Empty us afresh. We want to be poor in spirit so that we may be filled with You. We come to You pure in heart to see God. Oh Lord, empty us afresh so that we may be filled with You! We are hungry for the fullness of the Spirit. May we have much and thorough prayer to be filled with the Spirit in our spirit. Fill us with the good things of the Spirit. We do not want to be drunk with the things of this world but rather, be filled in spirit! Amen, Lord, we are willing, we are empty, and we are praying at every time in spirit. Fill us with the Spirit right now! Fill us in spirit for us to live the Christian life and serve the Lord in spirit!
Being Filled Continuously with the Spirit for the Noble Work of Building up the Church
In order for us to have the wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and skill for the noble work of building up the church, we need to be filled continuously with the Spirit.
We cannot build up the church unless we are filled with the Spirit in a continuous way.
Many times, however, we are short of willingnes; we are just not willing.
Also, we are short of emptiness; we are not empty but rather, there are many things that fill us besides Christ Himself.
We are short of prayer; we may pray from time to time, when we remember, but we do not have much and thorough prayer in spirit. Oh, Lord Jesus!
We need to come to the Lord as we are and pray that He would make us willing and, by His grace, He would make us empty to be filled with Him.
We need to let go of past experiences and knowledge and simply be filled with the Lord afresh right now.
The apostle Paul was a pattern in this matter; toward the end of his life, when he was quite mature in the Lord, he still exercised to forget the things which are behind and stretched forward toward the goal, seeking to enjoy and experience Christ in a fresh way daily (Phil. 3:7-9).
We need to forget the things behind, put aside our past experiences, and simply come to the Lord in a willing way, being emptied within, with much and thorough prayer, so that we may be filled with Him.
When we pray to be filled with the Lord, we will experience wisdom, understanding, and knowledge coming to us like a tide.
We will have divine wisdom and divine understanding, and we will have divine knowledge, even the divine skills to build up the church as the Body of Christ.
For us to be able to do the noble work of building up the church as the Body of Christ, we need to be filled continuously with the Spirit (Exo. 31:1-3; Zech. 4:6).
In the Old Testament, the one who was to do the work of building the tabernacle had not only knowledge, skill, and wisdom, but he was also filled with the Spirit of God (Exo. 31:3).
For us to build up the church as the Body of Christ, we need to be filled continuously with the Spirit.
It is not only the elders or the leading ones that need to be filled with the Spirit; we all as believers in Christ are members of the Body of Christ and need to seek to be filled continuously with the Spirit for the noble work of building up the church.
Therefore, we all need to persevere in prayer; when we persevere in prayer, the church life will be greatly enriched and uplifted.
When we persevere in prayer, we will enjoy the Lord and His presence, and we will have His instant and constant anointing.
If we persevere in prayer and are continuously filled with the Spirit, we will all day long enjoy the smile of the Lord’s face, and the living person of Christ will become our experience and enjoyment. Amen!
Our aspiration should be to be filled in spirit not only from time to time but continuously; we may sometimes experience being filled with the Spirit, but we want to be filled with the Spirit so that we can do the noble work of building up the church.
![But what things were gains to me, these I have counted as loss on account of Christ. But moreover I also count all things to be loss on account of the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, on account of whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count [them] as refuse that I may gain Christ And be found in Him, not having my own righteousness which is out of the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is out of God [and] based on faith. Phil. 3:7-9](https://i0.wp.com/www.agodman.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/But-what-things-were-gains-to-me-these-I-have-counted-as-loss-on-account-of-Christ-683x1024.jpg?resize=400%2C600&ssl=1 "But what things were gains to me, these I have counted as loss on account of Christ. But moreover I also count all things to be loss on account of the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, on account of whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count [them] as refuse that I may gain Christ And be found in Him, not having my own righteousness which is out of the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is out of God [and] based on faith. Phil. 3:7-9")
When we’re filled with the Spirit, we will know how to contact the saints with the divine nature and how to supply them with something of Christ.
We will have the wisdom and knowledge how to build the saints up with the redemption of Christ and with something of the Father’s divine nature.
When we’re continuously filled with the Spirit by much and thorough prayer, we will have the inner ability to build up the saints in transformation and in the church life.
We will not only build them up in their character but even more, build them up as a dwelling place of God.
Amen, may the Lord make us such ones, those who seek to be continuously filled with the Spirit so that we may receive wisdom, knowledge, and understanding from the Lord how to do the noble work of building up of the church.
It is good to even make a deal with the Lord, a solemn vow before Him, that we will be praying people.
We can be continuously filled with the Spirit if we are praying people, if we contact the Lord continuously by much and thorough prayer.
If we make a deal with the Lord and ask Him to even remind us to persevere in prayer, we will enjoy the smile on His face, we will partake of the riches of Christ, and the living person of Christ will become our experience and enjoyment.
Lord Jesus, we want to persevere in prayer so that we may be continuously filled with the Spirit in our Christian life and church life. Amen, Lord, we even want to make a deal with You that we would be praying people. Remind us to pray. Remind us to come to You again and again in all things and concerning all things. We want to be those who are willing, empty, and praying. May we be continuously filled with the Spirit so that we may have the wisdom, understanding, and knowledge for the noble work of building up the church. Oh Lord, only God in Christ as the spirit can build up the church as the Body of Christ, so please fill us with the Spirit continuously! May we all persevere in prayer so that the church life may be greatly enriched and uplifted! Yes, Lord, we want to be continuously filled with the Spirit so that we may enjoy the Lord, His presence, and His instant and constant anointing! May we enjoy the smile of the Lord’s face all throughout the day and may the living person of Christ become our experience and enjoyment!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by brother Ed Marks in the message for this week, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1983, vol. 1, “Practical Talks to the Elders,” ch. 7, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Laboring on the All-inclusive Christ Typified by the Good land for the Building up of the Church as the Body of Christ, for the Reality and the Manifestation of the Kingdom, and for the Bride to make Herself Ready for the Lord’s Coming (2023 Winter Training), week 10, entitled, Governing Principles That We Need to See and Experience in Order to Possess Christ as the Good Land.
- Similar articles on this topic:
– Receive the Word of God by Prayer, via, New Jerusalem blog.
– What is the Priestly Service? Read more via, Hearing of Faith newsletter.
– Podcast #13 – A Testimony to the Prayer-Hearing God, via, AgeTurners.com.
– Going to the Lord in prayer for His enlightenment, a portion from, The Life and Way for the Practice of the Church Life, Chapter 3, by Witness Lee.
– Christ, the Cross, and the Church, via, Shepherding Words.
– The church life being our noble “recreation”, a portion from, The Church Life in the Lord’s Recovery Today, Chapter 5, by Witness Lee.
– 3 Vital Practices to Enrich Your Prayer Life, via, Holding to Truth in Love.
– The prayers of the Lord Jesus, a portion from, The Key to Prayer, Chapter 1, by Watchman Nee.
– 24 Practical Points on Prayer Transcript, via, Living to Him.
– The spirit must be pure, a portion from, Lessons on Prayer, Chapter 5, by Witness Lee. - Hymns on this topic:
– First we must prepare the vessels / That the Oil they may contain; / Dig the valley full of ditches / That they may be filled with Rain. / First we must go thru the Jordan / Ere anointed from above; / First in death we must be baptized, / Then experience the Dove. / Through the Cross, O Lord, I pray, / Put my soul-life all away; / Make me any price to pay, / Full anointing to receive. (Hymns #279 stanza 4 and chorus)
– Lord, may Thy blood now cleanse me, / Wash all my sins away, / That with Thy Holy Spirit / Thou may anoint, I pray. / My service, I confess, Lord, / Is failure—full and weak; / The filling of Thy Spirit / To live for Thee I seek. / Oh, from myself deliver, / From all its misery; / I’d henceforth be forever / Completely filled with Thee. (Hymns #280 stanza 1 and chorus)
– Thy oil anoints me here in every way, / Anointing Thee within unceasingly; / I more decrease, Thou more increase each day, / Thus full expression Thou shalt have through me. / Myself I open that Thou may flow in; / Op’ning myself to others, Lord, flow out; / By such a stream, the fellowship within, / Thou, Lord, expressed will be my life throughout. (Hymns #764 stanzas 6-7)
About aGodMan
Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1983, vol. 1, “Practical Talks to the Elders,” p. 77
For us to walk in Christ, we need to have much and thorough prayer so that we may be filled with the Triune God and enjoy all His riches.
We need to make a deal with the Lord concerning our prayer life, that we would pray at every time in spirit and watch unto this with all perseverance.
For us the way to go on and experience and enjoy Christ as the reality of the good land is through much and thorough prayer.
As we perservere in this we will be filled in spirit with the Spirit of God and will have the Lord’s presence with us.
Then as we experience His infilling with Himself as the Spirit – God reaching us – the church as His dwelling place will be built. Hallelujah!
Praise the Lord! 😃🙌🙋🏼
https://youtu.be/gCzYA5N-YSI?si=ZJIWohhfDwx0oIgF
we need to pray a serious prayer just to make us empty from all our past experiences like culture, religion, doctrine, and all worldly things so that He can fill us with His unreachable riches of supply.
He also needs many living stones to build His house.
Otherwise, He will be homeless.
Praise the Lord for this wonderful call for His eternal economy. Amen.
To possess Christ, we need to see that our God cannot build His dwelling place by Himself.
God needs willing & empty vessels who can be filled with His wisdom, understanding & knowledge.
This can only come about through instant & constant prayer.
Whatever we can do is redundant. We need to see our need for God to be our fresh and living person.
May we unceasingly pray to be filled with Jesus.
Then, we’ll experience & enjoy Him as our wisdom, understanding & knowledge.
Hallelujah that the Spirit of God is God Himself reaching us!
O God, reach us all day today and fill us as the Spirit for Your building.
6/1/24 Governing Principles That We Need to See and Experience in Order to Possess Christ as the Good Land (Week 10, Day 6)
Exodus 31:3 says, “I [Jehovah] have filled him [Bezalel] with the Spirit of God, with wisdom and with understanding and with knowledge and with all kinds of workmanship” Exodus 35:31 says, “He [Jehovah] has filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom.” The design of the various parts of the tabernacle with all its furniture is marvelous. No human mind could produce such a design. The wisdom came from the Spirit, who is God Himself.
For the building of God’s dwelling, which is the church today, what is needed is not a momentary, sudden outpouring of the Spirit, as with speaking in tongues, but the inward filling of the Spirit. God filled the builders of the tabernacle with His Spirit not in power but in wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and workmanship. In the same manner, the Spirit of the Triune God (Elohim) desires to fill Himself into us, the church, so that He can impart to us wisdom, understanding, and knowledge so that we can possess Christ, as the reality of the good land for God’s Building.
First Peter 2:5 says, “You yourselves also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house into a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” What God desires today is not a physical tabernacle to be His House, but a Spiritual House, made up of a holy priesthood.
Today, the church is a corporate body of priests. Many saints understand that the church is composed of all the saints. Now, we must go further and see that the saints in the church are a coordinated body of priests, a priesthood. The priesthood is the built-up church.
In the Old Testament, the tabernacle consisted of furniture, and the priests who served in the tabernacle were a group of people. The priests and the tabernacle were intimately related, but they were separate. This is no longer true in the New Testament. In the New Testament age, the tabernacle and the priests are one. God’s priests are His tabernacle, His dwelling place. This dwelling place, the built-up church, is the priesthood composed of every believer.
The focus of the priestly service was to burn the incense, which signifies our praying to God. In the New Testament, the temple of God is composed of priests who pray, that is, burn the incense. Therefore, the temple must be a temple of prayer (Luke 19:46). The built-up church is a house of prayer. This is not doctrine, nor is it an opinion. This is the requirement for the building up of the church.
In order for us, the church, as His corporate Vessel, to be filled with the riches of Christ to become buildable materials for God’s Building, as His spiritual House, we must be:
a.) Willing ~ God operates only in those who are willing (Phil 2:13),
b.) Empty ~ God can not enter into those who are already filled with many things, other than God,
c.) Praying constantly and instantly (1Thes 5:17; Col 4:2).
Colossians 4:2 says, “Persevere in prayer, watching in it with thanksgiving.” Not only should we be willing and empty, but we should also persevere in prayer. To persevere in prayer is to continue persistently, steadfastly, unceasingly, and earnestly.
As human beings, we all persevere in certain matters, often in negative things. In married life, a husband and wife may persevere in the exchange of words. Once an argument begins, neither the husband nor the wife may be willing to give in. This should have been the case in our prayers to the Lord.
The more we pray persistently to the Lord, the more the Lord would discharge our negative elements and infuse us with His divine elements. Then, we shall be filled with Himself into our inward parts. Actually, His filling us with Himself is His building Himself into us to make His Home in our hearts (Eph 3:17). Therefore, the issue of our entering and possessing Christ, as the all-inclusive land, is His working and building Himself into us to make us His corporate Dwelling Place.
In summary, in order for us to enter and possess Christ as the reality of the all-inclusive good land, we need the following four things:
1.) We need to walk by the Spirit by living in our mingled spirit.
2.) We need to live in the Body-Christ in order for us to practically enter into the church life.
3.) We need to be governed by the Lord’s presence by being led by the Spirit and by His Word every day.
4.) We need to be filled continuously by the Spirit by being willing, empty, and praying.
If all the saints in all the churches 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿, the recovery will be 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗲𝗻𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘂𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗱; furthermore, the saints will 𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗼𝗿𝗱, 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴; all day long they will 𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗼𝗿𝗱’𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲, and the living person of Christ will become their experience and enjoyment.
[Outline & Today’s Reading of HWMR-Week 10 Day 6]
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Col. 4:2, footnote 3 on “persevere in prayer”, Recovery Version Bible
Concerning persevering in prayer, I wish to say…that we need to be willing to make a deal with the Lord, even to make a vow to Him, that we will be a praying people. If all the saints in all the churches make such a deal with the Lord, the recovery will be greatly enriched and uplifted. Furthermore, the saints will enjoy the Lord, His presence, and His instant and constant anointing. All day long, they will enjoy the smile of the Lord’s face. As we persevere in prayer, the living person of Christ becomes our experience and enjoyment. HWMR – W10D6