What the Lord is looking for today is the overcomers who live in the reality of the Body of Christ, those who consummate the building up of the Body in the local churches to bring in the holy city, New Jerusalem, as God’s dwelling place for eternity.
God chose the church, but the church as a whole has become degraded; however, within the church, there’s a group of people who see God’s need, read the Word of God and join themselves to His desire in His word, and rise up to overcome by doing the work of the church on behalf of the church and for the church.
These ones are not “special forces” or “elite groups”; rather, they are normal believers in Christ who see God’s need, are desperate for God to obtain what He’s after, and receive the Lord’s grace and mercy to be His overcoming ones in this age. May we be such ones!
On one hand, we need to see the vision of the reality of the Body of Christ, and on the other hand, we need to enter into this vision and have it as our living daily.
For us to enter into the realm and intrinsic significance of the reality of the Body of Christ, which is God’s heart’s desire and His ultimate purpose, we need to have a revelation.
We need a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the full knowledge of Christ and of the church as the Body of Christ.
Only a revelation from God will usher us into the realm of the Body of Christ; only when we have an unveiling, a revelation, of the Body of Christ, can we enter into its reality.
And when we see the vision of the reality of the Body of Christ, we not only enter in, but we also bring others into this!
Once we see something, we want to enlighten all that they may see what the economy of the mystery is; the more we see a vision of the Body of Christ in its reality, the more we enter into it, and the more we become it.
Our seeing needs to advance; we need to have the vision of the reality of the Body of Christ repeatedly, and this vision needs to be expanded and grow.
The more we see it, the more we plunge into, and the higher the peak that we arrive at. We will grasp a little more as we see a little more; we no longer live in the age of individual Christians, even giant individual Christians – we now live in the age of the Body of Christ, and only the Body can fulfill God’s purpose.
It is through the Body of the Son of God, that is, the church, that the purpose of God can be fulfilled. We need to enter into the reality of the Body of Christ and live in the reality of the Body life, so that we may be one with the Lord for the fulfillment of His economy.
May the Lord gain a group of overcomers in the church life today, those who live in the reality of the Body of Christ in their daily living, overcoming anything that stands against Christ or replaces Him, and building up the church as the Body of Christ for God to have a corporate testimony on the earth!
The Overcomers are the Reality of the Body of Christ to Build up the Body and Bring in the New Jerusalem!
In the Old Testament, we have the city of Jerusalem, which is a type of the church, and in this city, there is Zion, the high peak, where the temple is built; Zion is a type of the overcomers within the church.
The overcomers typified by Zion are the reality of the Body of Christ; they consummate the building up of the Body in the local churches to bring in the holy city, New Jerusalem!
In the church age, it is the perfected God-men who are mature that are Zion, the overcomers, the vital groups within the churches.
They live in the reality of the Body of Christ today and are rewarded with entering into the Lord’s joy in the next age.
For eternity, however, in the new heaven and new earth, there will be no more Zion, for all believers in Christ – even those who were unqualified – will be qualified by being transformed and perfected to be part of the New Jerusalem, the consummation of Zion.
Zion is the very place where God is, the Holy of Holies; in the Old Testament in the tabernacle and in the temple God dwelt in the Holy of Holies, which was a cubical room, and for eternity He dwells in the New Jerusalem.
The New Jerusalem is the consummation of the Holy of Holies – it is an enlarged Holy of Holies, a cube of 12.000 stadia in length, width, and height (Rev. 21:16).
How can we reach the high peak of being the overcomers in the churches today? How can we be the reality of Zion, the overcomers who live in the reality of the Body of Christ?
Jerusalem today is a big realm of Christians, but where is Zion, the overcomers?
The only way to arrive at this high peak is through prayer.
We are in the Lord’s recovery, and the goal of the Lord’s recovery is to build up Zion, to produce the overcomers, so that the bride of Christ may be prepared for the Lord to return.
The overcomers in the churches are the high peak, the center, the uplifting, the strengthening, the enriching, and the reality of the church, the holy city, just as Zion was to Jerusalem (Psa. 48:2, 11-12; 50:2; 20:2; 53:6a).
However, it is possible for us to be in the church life today and yet not be the overcomers, that is, it is possible for us to be in the church life yet not live in the reality of the Body of Christ.
The overcomers are not the elites, the specially gifted ones, or the strong and “special forces” among Christians; rather, they are normal saints who pray and cooperate with the Lord to meet His need today.
The overcomers are not “super-men”; they are normal Christians who are up to the standard of God and who fulfill His will.
When there are overcomers in a local church, that church is uplifted; it is rich and beautiful, and it has the reality of the Body of Christ expressed in it.
But when we visit a church and it doesn’t have the peak, the overcomers, if that church doesn’t have a group of overcomers living in the reality of the Body, that church is “flat”, two-dimensional. Oh, Lord!
The characteristics, the life, the blessing, and the establishment of Jerusalem come from Zion; similarly, the characteristics, the life, the blessing, and the establishment of the church come from the overcomers.
In 1 Kings 8:1, the elders were in Jerusalem, and the Ark of the Covenant was in Zion.
Psalm 51:18 says that God did His good pleasure unto Zion and built the walls of Jerusalem.
Psalm 102:21 says that the name of Jehovah was declared in Zion and that His praise was declared in Jerusalem.
Psalm 128:5 says that Jehovah blessed from Zion and that the prosperity was seen in Jerusalem.
Psalm 135:21 says that Jehovah dwelt in Jerusalem but that He was to be blessed from Zion.
In Isaiah 41:27 the word was first announced to Zion and then preached to Jerusalem. Joel 3:17 says that when God dwelt in Zion, Jerusalem would be holy.
May we be those who answer God’s call for overcomers; may we be part of the one-hundred and forty-four thousand who are on mount Zion, those who overcome amidst the defeated church (Rev. 14:1-5).
Lord Jesus, by Your grace and mercy grant us to be Your overcomers, those who live in the reality of the Body of Christ in the local churches. Save us from merely living a common Christian life and having merely outward good and Scriptural practices, yet without living in the reality of the Body. We aspire to be those who see Your need, join ourselves to Your desire in Your word, and are part of the high peak, the center, the uplifting, the strengthening, the enriching, the beauty, and the reality of the church! Amen, Lord, gain the overcomers in the churches so that You may gain what You are after – a group of people who live in the reality of the Body of Christ to build up the church, prepare the bride, and consummate the holy city, New Jerusalem!
Being the Overcomers who Live in the Reality of the Body and Pass on the Flow of Life to the Church and Stand in Christ’s Victory
From the very beginning of the Bible to the end, God’s desire is related to man; He called man from Adam all the way to the end of the Bible, but man failed again and again.
God called Adam, but he fell; He called Adam’s descendants, and people like Abel, Enosh, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, and many others were on the line of life, responding to God’s call.
However, the children of Israel as a nation failed God, so He called a tribe, the Levites, to serve Him and fulfill His purpose. And He made a provision, a “back-door” to all those who are willing to serve Him – the Nazarites.
In the New Testament age, the Lord called and chose the church, but throughout the centuries the church became degraded.
Generally speaking in these last two thousand years, the Church of God is defeated, rendered desolate, and in a state of degradation; there is no reality of the Body of Christ in the so-called “churches” across the earth today.
Not only is there no reality of the Body, but what we see is that the Body is dismembered into millions of pieces, with each denomination and free group and independent church claiming a part of the Body.
There is almost no other institution in society that is so broken as the church in Christianity.
But the Lord is still calling His overcomers, for He wants to recover and gain the reality of Zion, the overcomers who live in the reality of the Body of Christ.
Today God is looking for the 144.000 amidst the defeated church, those who will stand on Mount Zion (Rev. 14:1-5), the overcomers in the local churches.
These ones are not the special, proud, elite people; they receive God’s mercy to overcome anything that stands against Christ or replaces Him, and they live in the reality of the Body of Christ.
These ones are a small number; God always uses a small number of believers to pass on the flow of life to the church and revive the church (Phil. 2:13; 2 Cor. 2:12-14).
God is calling His overcomers, those who take the stand of Christ’s victory in the midst of sufferings; they are one with the Lord in His victory, they pray the prayer of the age, and they live in the reality of the Body of Christ.
We want to be the overcomers in this age who pass on the flow of life to the church to revive it, and we want to take the stand of Christ’s victory in the midst of sufferings.
For this to happen, we need to ask God to operate in us the willingness to let ourselves be conquered, captured, and defeated by Christ, so that He can be the Victor in our experience.
For us to share in His victory, we need to allow Him to defeat us and overcome in us.
He is working according to the principle of the remnant; He would like to work through and with the church, but the church as a whole is degraded, so He is calling the overcomers.
Today the Lord wants to gain a small number of believers who will be a passageway for life to the church to revive the church; we need to be those who receive His divine life and flow it into others in the church life.
May we stand one with the Lord in His victory by handing ourselves over to Him, allowing Him to defeat us, and let Him overcome in us and through us so that we can be part of the reality of Zion in our locality.
Lord Jesus, we aspire to be Your overcomers, the small group of believers who pass on the flow of life to the church and revive the church. Amen, Lord, operate in us the willingness to let ourselves be conquered, captured, and defeated by Christ so that He can be the Victor in our experience. Conquer us, Lord; defeat us all the time; never let us win. We stand in Your victory, one with You, and we allow You to be the overcoming One in us. Amen, Lord, even in the midst of sufferings, we take the stand of Christ’s victory and stand one with You. Make us Your overcomers in this age for the sake of the church, Your building, Your holy habitation!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Sources of inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by Minoru Chen for this week, and portions from, Collected Works of Watchman Nee, vol. 11, pp. 760-763, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Christian Life, the Church Life, the Consummation of the Age, and the Coming of the Lord (2020 fall ITERO), week 6, Entering into the Intrinsic Significance of the Reality of the Body of Christ — the Highest Peak in God’s Economy and the Top Revelation of the Bible.
- Hymns on this topic:
– For the Lord has chosen Zion, / He has desired her. / For the Lord has chosen Zion / For His habitation. / This is my rest forever, / Here will I dwell. / This is my rest forever; / I have desired her. (Scripture song)
– Christ has called us once to Him, / But He calls us once again. / To His call we say Amen! / Overcome! / For the church has fallen low, / Thinking everything they know, / But the life is missing; so, / Overcome! / Overcome! Overcome! / Overcome the degradation of the church! / All your working lay aside, / All the teachings that divide; / Eat the Lord whate’er betide— / Overcome! (Hymns #1273)
– The vict’ry’s won! The Lord has triumphed o’er the foe! / The vict’ry shout is heard afar and near! / His blood prevails! It giveth us the victory! / And soon the mighty Victor will appear. / The vict’ry’s won! O Christian brothers, / The vict’ry’s won! This shout we raise! / In Zion’s city, proclaim His vict’ry / Till all the earth is filled with praise. (Hymns #1289)
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