As those who aspire to be the overcomers in Philadelphia, we need to arrive at the highest peak of the divine revelation in God’s economy; we need to hold to the apostles’ teaching with our little power, not deny the Lord’s name, and have His name inscribed on us as our name-badge that we are one with God. Amen!
We thank and praise the Lord that He has brought us into the church life in the Lord’s recovery, where we can be under the healthy teaching of the apostles.
All the divine revelation of God is in the word of God, but throughout the centuries the truths in God’s word have been lost and hidden from God’s people.
If God’s people do not diligently labour on the word of God to dig out the riches in God’s word, the truths in God’s word will be hidden and lost. This is what happened throughout the ages.
But praise the Lord, He has a recovery! The Lord has raised many brothers throughout the ages to recover, uncover, and bring to light particular truths.
The truth concerning justification by faith is in the word of God, clearly stated there, but it was only when Martin Luther saw it, experienced it, and brought it to light that it became something that the whole Body of Christ could enter into.
Similarly, many truths have been recovered and brought to light by the likes of Zinzendorf, the Moravian Brethren, the Brethren in the UK, and brothers Watchman Nee and Witness Lee.
Now we stand on the shoulders of all those who went before us; we inherit all the riches they have dug up and uncovered, and we build upon these.
Yes, it is men that the Lord used to bring these truths to light, but just like Paul, we need to receive revelation from the Lord.
We need to daily be in the Lord’s word, dig into it, and have the heart of the Berean believers to prayerfully consider it and bring it into our deeper consideration, and we will be in the truth in a proper way.
How we thank God that we today can touch His grand purpose, and we can be part of His economy!
How grateful we are to be those under the shining light of the truth, the fresh unveiling of the truth in God’s word, so that we may be full of life and light!
The more we know the truth, the more we remain in the truth and are guided by the vision of God’s economy, and the more our Christian life and living will be uplifted and brought to God’s standard so that we may live a life for the fulfilment of God’s purpose.
May we be the overcomers in Philadelphia who, even though they have a small power and strength, we keep the Lord’s word, not deny His name, but are one with Him for His purpose according to what He has shown us!
The Overcomers in Philadelphia Keep the Lord’s Word by Remaining in the Teaching of God’s Economy
The characteristic of the overcomers in Philadelphia (Rev. 3:7-13) is their aspiration to arrive at the highest peak of the divine revelation of God’s economy.
This highest peak is God becoming man to make man God in life and in nature but not in the Godhead so that the Body of Christ can be produced, the bride of Christ can be prepared, and the New Jerusalem can be consummated.
One characteristic on the negative side of the seven churches in Rev. 2-3 is that, because they left the teaching of the apostles, they received and even taught three different teachings.
The striking point of the churches’ degradation in Rev. 2-3 was three kinds of teachings: the teaching of Balaam, a Gentile prophet (2:14), the teaching of the Nicolaitans to build a hierarchy (v. 15), and the teaching of the so-called prophetess, Jezebel, full of heresies and fornication (v. 20).
Because the churches left the teaching of the apostle, these three kinds of teachings crept into the church.
Even though the churches in Asia, in a general sense, had turned away from the apostle Paul’s ministry (2 Tim. 1:15), one church was unique and highly praised by the Lord – the church in Philadelphia.
They had little power, but the Lord highly appraised them and even appreciated them because they kept His word and did not deny His name (Rev. 3:8; 1 Tim. 1:3-4; 6:3).
To keep the Lord’s word is not to turn away from the teaching of the apostles but rather, remain in the healthy teaching of God’s New Testament economy and arrive at the highest peak of the divine revelation.
We need to realize that God has a heart’s desire, according to which He made an economy (Eph. 1:10; 3:9) to make Himself one with man and make man one with Him so that He may be enlarged and expanded in His expression, so that all His divine attributes may be expressed in human virtues.
The New Testament shows that God carries out His eternal economy through a number of steps: first, He created man in His image and according to His likeness (Gen. 1:26-27), then He Himself became a man to partake of the human nature (Heb. 2:14).
He lived a human life to express the attributes of God in man’s virtues, and He died an all-inclusive death and resurrection to become the Firstborn Son of God and the life-giving Spirit (Rom. 8:29; Acts 13:33; 1 Cor. 15:45).
Now He can dispense Himself with His life and nature into man to produce many sons of God, the many God-men (1 Pet. 1:3) for the forming of the churches and for the building up of the Body of Christ!
This is what He is after today, to build up the organism of the Triune God, the Body of Christ, consummating in the New Jerusalem as His eternal enlargement and expression.
May a clear vision of God’s eternal economy direct our heart in all our daily living, and may we speak nothing else but God’s economy.
This is what the overcomers in Philadelphia do: they have little power but keep the Lord’s word, the healthy teaching of the apostles.
The churches in Asia left the apostle Paul and his ministry, but the church in Philadelphia kept the Lord’s word and did not deny His name.
God’s eternal economy is His plan to dispense Himself into His chosen, predestinated, and redeemed people to be their life, their life supply, and their everything, in order to produce, constitute, and build up the organic Body of Christ (1 Tim. 1:3-6; 6:3-4; 2 Cor. 11:2-3; Titus 1:9; Col. 2:19).
May we see God’s goal and be one with Him for His purpose.
May we give ourselves to the Lord to be under the healthy teaching of God’s economy and remain under the teaching of the apostles so that He may carry out His purpose in us and through us.
Lord Jesus, we want to be the overcomers in Philadelphia who keep the Lord’s word and do not deny His name. Keep us in the healthy teaching of God’s New Testament economy. May a clear vision of God’s economy direct our heart and guide us in all our daily living. We open to Your divine dispensing, Lord. Dispense Yourself into us and be our life, our life supply, and our everything for the producing and building up of the church as the Body of Christ consummating in the New Jerusalem. We do not want to pay attention to different teachings but rather, be fully in the New Testament economy of God and be governed by the vision of God’s economy so that we may build up the church as the organism of the Triune God consummating in the New Jerusalem!
Being Rich Toward God and being Built Into God to be Possessed by God and Fully one with God
The overcomers in Philadelphia are “rich toward God” (Luke 12:21) because they read and pray over God’s word, they muse upon His word, and they treasure up His word in their heart (Eph. 6:17-18; Psa. 119:11, 15).
They don’t just read the word of God but also lift up their hands unto the word of God, indicating that they receive it warmly and gladly and that they say Amen to God’s word (v. 48; Neh. 8:5-6).
May we be such ones. May we seek to be rich toward God by reading and praying over the word of God.
Instead of seeking to gain riches and accumulate wealth in this world, which will all perish by fire, we should seek to be rich toward God by enjoying Him in His word.
We may even ask the Lord, Lord Jesus, make me a person who is rich toward God! Teach me how to enjoy You in Your word day by day. I want to learn to pray Your word back to You so that You make it real in me.
We need to lift up our hands unto the word of God by receiving it warmly and gladly; we need to say Amen to the word of God.
The more we spend time with the Lord in His word, the more we are constituted with His riches.
The more we muse on the word of God, worshipping God with His word, reading and praying with His word, and conversing with ourselves and with the Lord with His word, the more we become one with the Lord and His heart’s desire becomes our heart’s desire.
Also, we need to place ourselves under the hearing of faith, being in the Word of God and listening to His word so that we may be infused with what He is.
The more we do this, the more we become the overcomers in Philadelphia who, though they have little strength, keep the Lord’s word and are therefore rich toward God.
The overcomers in Philadelphia are pillars in the temple of God; this means that they are pillars in the Triune God, for the temple of the New Jerusalem is the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb (Rev. 3:12; 21:22, 3).
The more we spend time with the Lord and allow Him to infuse us with Himself by means of His word, the more God is built into us to make us living and precious stones, and the more we are built into God to become pillars of stone in God (Psa. 90:1; John 14:23; cf. 1 Kings 7:17).
This will cause us to be built into the Triune God and become pillars in God for our incorporation with God as the mutual abode of God and man.
The overcomers in Philadelphia have the name of God, the name of the New Jerusalem, and the Lord’s new name written upon them.
This means that the overcomers are possessed by God, by the New Jerusalem, and by the Lord; it means that God Himself, His city (the New Jerusalem), and the Lord Himself all belong to the overcomers. Wow, praise the Lord!
May we remain in this process of having God wrought into us to the extent that we are labelled with the Triune God as our name badge (Rev. 3:12; 22:4).
May we give ourselves to the Lord to be the overcomers in Philadelphia who have the name of God, the name of the New Jerusalem, and the Lord’s new name written upon us!
May what God is, the nature of the New Jerusalem, and the person of the Lord be wrought into us, labelling us with the Triune God as our “name badge” and making us God in life and in nature but not in the Godhead!
Lord Jesus, we want to be rich toward God by pray-reading and musing upon Your word to treasure up Your word in our heart. Your word is our food and our treasure; we come to Your word and we lift up our hands unto Your word. Lord, we say Amen to the word of God. We receive Your word warmly and gladly, and we muse on Your word with much prayerful consideration. Amen, Lord, infuse us with Yourself much more as we come to Your word with an exercised spirit and a heart turned to You. We welcome Your word. Amen, Lord, we love You and we love Your word! Work Yourself into us a little more today. Build Yourself into us and build us into Yourself. Make us one with You in full.
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Sources of inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by brother Ed Marks in the message, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1986, vol. 1, “Elders’ Training, Book 7: One Accord for the Lord’s Move,” ch. 8, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Loving the Lord and loving one another for the organic building up of the church as the Body of Christ (2022 fall ITERO), week 8, entitled, Taking the God-ordained Pathway for the Church—the Way of Philadelphia—according to the Lord’s Up-to-date and Ultimate Recovery to Bring Us into a New Revival to Turn the Age.
- Hymns on this topic:
– Hallelujah, Philadelphia, / Thine are works that please the Lord. / Strength thou hast, though just a little / And hast kept His living Word. / Thou His holy name denied not, / But confessed it here below— / Lo, a door is set before thee, / Through which none but thee can go. (Hymns #1275 stanza 2)
– God and man will have one living, / Always in the mingled spirit; / We two are incorporated / One organic entity! / This the vision of the ages / Will control our daily living / That the Lord may have His Body / Shining as the holy city. (Song on, God has called us for His purpose)
– Now Philadelphia comes at last; / That which she has she should hold fast / The brothers’ love, the name, the word; / This church has satisfied the Lord. / We as the brothers all are one; / We’re one by life, and life alone. / If we His word and name do keep / A glorious building God will reap. (Hymns #1274 stanzas 13-14)
About aGodMan
According to His heart’s desire, God made His eternal economy (1 Tim. 1:4b; Eph. 1:10; 3:9) to make man the same as He is in life and nature but not in His Godhead and to make Himself one with man and man one with Him, thus to be enlarged and expanded in His expression, that all His divine attributes may be expressed in human virtues. God carries out His eternal economy through a number of steps. First, He created man in His image and according to His likeness (Gen. 1:26-27). Then God became a man…in His incarnation to partake of the human nature (Heb. 2:14a). He lived a human life to express His attributes through man’s virtues. He died an all-inclusive death and resurrected to produce the firstborn Son of God and become the life-giving Spirit (Rom. 8:29; Acts 13:33; 1 Cor. 15:45). This was all for Him to dispense Himself into His chosen people to regenerate them with Himself as their life for producing many sons—many God-men (1 Pet. 1:3)—for the forming of the churches with His many sons and for the building up of the Body of Christ with His brothers as the members to be the organism of the processed and consummated Triune God, consummating in the New Jerusalem as His eternal enlargement and expression. We have to be controlled by the vision of God’s economy. We should not speak anything other than God’s economy [cf. 1 Tim. 1:3-4]. Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1994-1997, vol. 3, “The Ten Great Critical ‘Ones’ for the Building Up of the Body of Christ,” pp. 161-162
We need to aspire to be the Lord’s overcomers in Philadelphia, those who have little power but keep the Lord’s word.
May we remain under the healthy teaching of the apostles and be governed by the vision of God’s economy, never accepting any different teachings.
Amen brother. May the Lord save us from forsaking the healthy teaching of the apostle Paul.
It is dangerous to leave or turn away from the apostle’s teaching, as some did in days of yore.
Brother, let us follow the pattern of the church in Philadelphia…
Yes, amen. At any cost, we need to aspire to be the Lord’s overcomers; doing the best with the little power we have.
Amen brother!
O Lord help us to proclaim the whole economy of God and the vision consummating in the New Jerusalem by overflowing with your love for you and others!
Hallelujah!
Lord make us those who hold on to pattern of healthy words which is your economy in faith! Save us from taking heed to anything other than this! Make us your Philadelphia!
God appraised the church of Philadelphia because although they only had a little power, they kept His word and did not deny His name.
To keep His word is to keep the healthy teaching of the apostles, which is according to God’s eternal economy.
If we turn away from this teaching – to the teachings other than His economy – which is His plan to dispense Himself into us for us to enjoy Him, to become what He is, but not in the Godhead – we will pick up different teachings and fall into degradation.
amen brother we have the apostles teaching.
May be those who hold fast to teaching by keeping the word which is God’s new testament economy is the central and may high peak of the divine revelation be our vision towards which we live for
Amen dearest Lord. We amen Your word and confess Your name, Lord.
The Lord highly appraised the church of Philadelphia by her faithfulness in keeping the Lord’s word despite of her little power.
She was preserved from taking the teaching of Balaam, the teaching of the Nicolaitans, and the teaching of Jezebel through the healthy teaching of the apostles according to God’s economy.
Praise the Lord!!!
Rev. 3:8
8 I know your works; behold, I have put before you an opened door which no one can shut, because you have a little power and have kept My word and have not denied My name.
1 Tim. 1:3-4
3 Even as I exhorted you, when I was going into Macedonia, to remain in Ephesus in order that you might charge certain ones not to teach different things
4 Nor to give heed to myths and unending genealogies, which produce questionings rather than God’s economy, which is in faith.
Titus 1:9
9 Holding to the faithful word, which is according to the teaching of the apostles, that he may be able both to exhort by the healthy teaching and to convict those who oppose.
Col. 2:19
19 And not holding the Head, out from whom all the Body, being richly supplied and knit together by means of the joints and sinews, grows with the growth of God.
Psa. 119:1
1 Blessed are those whose way is perfect, Who walk in the law of Jehovah.
Eph. 6:17-18
17 And receive the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which Spirit is the word of God,
18 By means of all prayer and petition, praying at every time in spirit and watching unto this in all perseverance and petition concerning all the saints,
John 14:23
23 Jesus answered and said to him, If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make an abode with him.
This is the Word of God. Amen!
“According to His heart’s desire, God made His eternal economy (1 Tim. 1:4b; Eph. 1:10; 3:9) to make man the same as He is in life and nature but not in His Godhead and to make Himself one with man and man one with Him, thus to be enlarged and expanded in His expression, that all His divine attributes may be expressed in human virtues.”
…
“We have to be controlled by the vision of God’s economy. We should not speak anything other than God’s economy [cf. 1 Tim. 1:3-4].”
(CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 3, “The Ten Great Critical ‘Ones’ for the Building Up of the Body of Christ,” pp. 161-162)
“In these seven epistles in Revelation 2 and 3, the striking point of the churches’ degradation was three kinds of teachings:…”
“In 1 Timothy 1:3 and 6:3 Paul warns not to teach differently. The saints should teach according to Paul’s teaching… It is dangerous to leave or turn away from the apostle’s teaching, from the apostle’s proper revelation.”
“To turn away from the proper teaching is a terrible thing that will result in degradation and in picking up other teachings…I hope that we would follow the pattern of the church in Philadelphia—keeping the Lord’s word even though we only have a little strength. Let us keep the word of the Lord, which is to remain in the teachings of the apostle, to remain in the healthy words, to remain in the unique revelation from the Lord with the proper leadership. Then we are safe.”
(CWWL, 1986, vol. 1, “Elders’ Training, Book 7: One Accord for the Lord’s Move,” pp. 173-174)
Oh Lord! Keep us in the path of the apostles’ teachings, don’t let the enemy to use us as instruments of other teachings.
I remember many years ago, I meet this young Chinese lady. We went together to the Chinese speaking conference. During a break we talk, when I asked how she liked the conference, she answered to me, “I think I am in the wrong place”.
I was very intrigued and I asked why? She explained to me that she did not understand the conference at all. I asked how long was in the church and she said she just joined it. I asked if she got baptized, she said yes. I asked why? She said, the sisters kind of put pressure on me. I asked, Did you wanted to get baptized? She said, “not really”.
We might not be teaching “the teaching of Balaam, a Gentile prophet (2:14); the teaching of the Nicolaitans to build the hierarchy (v. 15); and the teaching of the woman, the so-called prophetess, Jezebel, full of heresies and fornication (v. 20).” But we might be teaching other things that are not of the apostles. Baptism is NOT the main focus of the Lord’s recovery, that is the focus of the Baptist Church platform.
When I decided to get baptized, nobody told me to do it. It was in my heart because I read His Word and I knew I had to do it in the Body of Christ. It is very wrong to tell a new one to get Baptized so he/she can understand the Word of God. That is a very wrong teaching in the recovery of the Word of God.
As brother Mark said, let’s be very careful, the moment we believe we are Philadelphia, we will become Laodicea.
It took me some time, but today I completely apprehended that in the Lord’s recovery our focus is into Building Up of the Body of Christ’s. He is the One that God want Him to be over everything along with the many God-men, His chosen ones.
Keeping the Spirit within us, His Word that is revealed to those with humble heart, and the life-given Spirit expressed in a corporate way after the transformation of each of us and the growth into Him, is the only way He will be able to come back for the consummation of the New Jerusalem.
Therefore, our function in the Body today, is to love and nurture all saints, especially the new ones, the weak ones, and in unity, in oneness, and in one accord to lift up each other so everyone will grow into Him for the ultimate goal of God’s Economy. Amen!