In propagating Christ as the development of the kingdom of God on earth, we need to be those keeping ourselves in the one flow of the Lord’s work for the spreading of the church, and receiving the Lord’s mercy to be saved from Satan’s schemes.
The Lord is spreading on earth today, both in number and in the inner life, and we need to cooperate with Him for His propagation, His multiplication, His increase.
His spread on earth is an organic matter, just as the vine spreads and grows in an organic way. First He spread in humanity by branching out in Christ, the first God-man. Then this Christ went through death and resurrection and was increased, enlarged, and multiplied in His resurrection.
Now He is spreading organically all around the earth, and the divine and mystical organism of the Triune God – typified by the vine tree – is spreading in continent after continent, country after country, region after region, and city after city.
Christ as the unique grain of wheat fell into the ground and died, and He was multiplied in His resurrection to become many identical grains for the forming of the one loaf, blended together, for God’s satisfaction (John 12:24).
Hallelujah, today we as believers in Christ are God’s continuation, His spread, His increase on earth. And we are learning to cooperate with the Lord for His spread and increase on earth.
No matter what we do, whether preaching the gospel, passing out leaflets with gospel tracts, or visiting new ones in their homes, we need to make sure we keep ourselves in the one flow of the Lord’s work, the one divine stream flowing from the throne.
God has only one flow of His work, only one divine stream for His goal to build up the church for His corporate expression. There was one river flowing in the garden of Eden, and in the flow of this river there were some precious stones which are suitable for the building of God.
There is one river flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb in the New Jerusalem, and this city is full of stones that are built up, precious stones. There are many believers, however, who are not in the unique divine stream, and they work for the Lord and do things but not in the one flow of the Lord’s work.
We need to see the Lord’s unique divine steam, we need to be joined to the Lord in the unique flow of His work, and we need to keep ourselves in the divine stream today for the spreading of the church, the universal church.
The Flowing of the Divine Life is just one Stream for God’s Goal to Build up the Church
In 1 John 1:3 John said that the apostles report to us what they have seen and heard so that we also may have fellowship with them, and our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ.
From the day of Pentecost there’s a flowing of the divine life, and this flow has been going on throughout the generations. This flowing of the divine life is one stream, one current.
We see this especially in the book of Acts; this stream started from Jerusalem and flowed to Antioch, and from Antioch it turned to Asia and flowed there. The Lord used Peter to flow in Jerusalem, then the church spread to Antioch, and from Antioch there were some gospel trips to cities in Asia, then in Europe.
The flow went to Macedonia, then to Corinth, to Rome, to Spain, and to all parts of Europe.
Then, if we study church history we see that the flow went to the west, to America, and then to the east and the south.
The one stream of the Lord’s move, His unique work on earth, has never been stopped, and wherever this steam flowed, it remained one. Today on earth there is only one stream, and we have to keep ourselves in the one stream of the Lord’s work, His unique move.
If we read the book of Acts we will realise, however, that quite a few people in those days were preaching the gospel and working for the Lord, but they were not in the stream, the unique flow of the Lord’s work.
If we study church history we will realise that many have been working for the Lord and doing this and that in His name, but not many have been one with Him in the one stream, the divine stream of the Lord’s work, His move.
This doesn’t mean that they did something evil or that they took the Lord’s name in vain, but simply that they were not joined to the Lord in what He was doing in that age.
We need to receive the Lord’s mercy and grace to be brought into the divine stream that is flowing today. Today there’s a divine stream, which is the stream of the Holy Spirit, the fellowship of the Body of Christ, and we need to keep ourselves in the divine stream.
Just as in our physical body there’s the circulation of blood which keeps all the parts of our body in the one flow, venting supply to them and removing anything negative or discharge, so in the Body of Christ there’s a unique divine stream that flows.
The stream of the Holy Spirit as the fellowship of the Body is flowing among the saints upon this earth.
And out of this stream come gold, pearls, and precious stones. If we look at the picture in Gen. 2 we will see that in the stream of that river in the garden of Eden there were some precious stones, some gold, and some pearls.
Wherever the divine stream goes, the precious stones and the materials for God’s building are produced. No one can produce materials for the church – only the Triune God can, and He does it by His flowing, by the flowing of the divine stream.
Where the stream of the divine life is, some precious material will come into being for the building up of the church.
We need to keep ourselves in the fellowship of the divine life, the flowing of the divine life, the unique divine stream as the fellowship of the Body of Christ, and we will be produced as materials for the building up of the church. The purpose and goal of the divine stream is to build up the church as the Body of Christ.
The one stream is for God’s goal to build up the church for His corporate expression (see Matt. 16:18; Ezek. 47:1-12).
Lord Jesus, we want to receive mercy and grace from You to see the one divine stream, the flowing of the divine life! Keep us in this one stream, Lord, the unique flow of Your work on earth to build up the church as the Body of Christ. May we not do our own thing, our own work, or what we think it’s right for God. We want to be one spirit with You and coordinated with the saints in spirit so that we may be in the unique divine stream of God on earth today! Amen, Lord, we are here for the building up of the church!
When we Give the Lord the first Love, He becomes the Divine Stream to us flowing out of us as the First Works
When we as believers in Christ give the Lord the preeminence in our being, making Him our first love, He becomes the divine stream to us, flowing within us and out of us as the first works (see John 4:14; Rev. 22:1; 2:4-5).
The church in Ephesus was a good church, having a lot of works and labor and endurance, but they have lost their first love. We need to see the importance of our first love for the Lord in our labor and work for Him on earth today.
In Ezekiel we see a flow issuing from the house of God, and this flow gradually increases to become a river, a mighty river, and wherever this flow goes, everything lives, for this is the flow of life.
There’s one stream that comes from this flow, and this stream will water the earth, bringing life to earth, and bringing forth fruit for the Father’s satisfaction.
For this stream to flow in us and through us in a non-stop way, we need to practically give the Lord the full preeminence in our being, making Him our first love.
When we started our Christian life and service, we were motivated, moved, and constrained by the Lord’s love and by our love for Him; His love was our unique motivation.
But after a while, after some things happened, after we served the Lord in the church for a while, something was mutated, something changed, and things came in….so we find ourselves like the church in Ephesus having many works for the Lord, laboring for Him, enduring for His name, testing the false believers, and bearing all things because of the Lord’s name and not becoming weary, yet not having the first love for the Lord.
Such works may sound like the perfect situation in the church, but what about our first love for the Lord, to stay and keep ourselves in the unique divine stream of the Lord? When we lose our first love, the Lord may not have that much consideration for the other things, for He wants us to love Him with the best love.
As we go on with the Lord, the unique danger is that we lose the first love; we may not lose our works (these may continue and even go strong), but the initial motivating and constraining power of His love is no longer there.
The Lord rebuked the church in Ephesus to come back to the first love and do the first works, otherwise He will remove the lampstand.
We need to have an eternal honeymoon with the Lord; we may be busy serving and doing things for the Lord, but are we still in a honeymoon with Him? We may be faithful and diligent to the Lord in the church life, but it is possible that we don’t have the best love in our serving Him as we did once upon a time.
For the divine stream to continue in us in a fresh way, we need to continue to have the first works, which are the endurance and labor out of love for the Lord. Only the works that are motivated by the first love are gold, silver, and precious stones (see 1 Cor. 2:9; 3:12).
It’s not merely what we do, but what is the motivation for those things. We need to let the Lord’s light shine on us, expose us, and convict us, checking with Him concerning our love for Him.
We need to have a constant repentance before Him, not riding on our accomplishments or being happy with what we’re doing, and not even boasting on the results of our works, but coming back to the first love, loving the Lord to the uttermost so that we may keep ourselves in the divine stream.
Lord Jesus, save us from doing things for You or in Your name yet without loving You to the uttermost. We want to give You the first love and do the first works, the works coming out of our best love for You. Oh Lord, may You become a divine stream to us flowing in us and out of us as the first works. Amen! May our works be motivated by the first love so that they would be gold, silver, and precious stones suitable for the building up of the church! Amen, Lord Jesus, keep us in the one divine stream today!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by Minoru Chen for this week, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1963, vol. 1, “The Divine Stream”, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Propagating the Resurrected, Ascended, and All-inclusive Christ as the Development of the Kingdom of God (2018 fall ITERO), week 6, Keeping Ourselves in the One Flow of the Lord’s Work for the Spreading of the Church, and Receiving the Lord’s Mercy to Be Saved from Satan’s Schemes.
- Hymns on this topic:
# In its center, as its pow’r, / Is the throne of Christ and God, / Whence doth flow the stream of life / As the Spirit’s living flood. / Christ, the tree of life, is there / In the flowing of the stream, / Yielding fruit of life divine / As the food of life supreme. (Hymns #972)
# To Ephesus, the word is clear: / “To your first love you’re not so near; / You’ve left to work so far away; / Repent, return to Him today.” / Thus, we must all turn back to Him, / Leave other loves, for these are sin. / Oh, let us hearken to His call— / If we miss this, we’ve missed it all! (Hymns #1274)
# In the stream! in the stream! let us work / for the Lord, / By His mind, in His way, as revealed in / His Word; / In the flow of His life let us work with His / pow’r / For His Kingdom and Church in the time of His hour. (Hymns #909)
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