We must receive the Lord’s mercy to learn the lessons in the book of Acts in the spreading of the church, and in particular we need to practice the Body life and take the word of the Spirit through the members of the Body, and reject any mixture of the old testament practices with God’s New Testament economy.
After the Lord Jesus set a pattern of a God-man life through His living on earth, He went to the cross, accomplished an all-inclusive redemption, and died for us; then, He was buried and in the third day He resurrected and became a life-giving Spirit to reproduce Himself into us, His believers.
In the resurrection of Christ from the dead we all as the many sons of God were regenerated (1 Pet. 1:3), and we became the many members of the Body of Christ as His reproduction, His continuation, and His increase on earth.
Today Jesus Christ may not be here physically on earth among people, but He is being continued as and in His many believers, who are His spread, His increase, and His reproduction.
Today Christ spreads daily through His believers as His increase. He spread through the disciples in the early days in Jerusalem, then to Judea, Samaria, and through Paul and his co-workers He spread to Europe.
Today the Lord is still spreading, and we as believers in Christ need to read the book of Acts and learn the lessons seen there concerning how the Lord spreads, how should we cooperate with Him, and what mistakes we should be aware of and avoid in the Lord’s spread.
The first mistake we should avoid is having ordinances, religious practices, and bringing in anything of the old testament economy or dispensation into the church life.
The early disciples were not fully clear concerning God’s New Testament economy, and many mistakes were made because they tried to mix the old testament things and practices of the law with the New Testament economy of God, which is in faith.
We need to be clear concerning God’s New Testament economy, which is in faith, and we need to reject any old, religious, practices and ordinances, being led by the indwelling Spirit to spread the gospel and build up the church.
Another lesson we need to learn is remaining in the one accord with the saints the Lord has put us with. If the one accord is lost, the Lord is hindered from spreading and building up of the church.
So we need to drop our old concepts, the self with its issues, and our natural preference and relationships, and we need to seek to be in one accord for the Lord’s move, His spread.
Learning the Lesson of not Mixing Self-cultivation or things of the Old Testament with God’s New Testament Economy
We need to learn from the lesson of the mistake of James and the devastating mixture of the church in Jerusalem, as seen in Acts 21:18-26. When Paul came to Jerusalem, James proudly told him, Look, brother, how many tens of thousands of believers in Jerusalem, and they all are keeping the law.
The whole church in Jerusalem was brought back to the old testament practices and ordinances, and even Paul himself was brought into some of these practices when he was there.
This situation of mixture was so great and damaging that God had no solution but to destroy the city of Jerusalem, thus destroying the center of mixture of the old testament economy with the New Testament economy, for it has become a great frustration to the Lord’s spread and the building up of the Body.
The prophet Jeremiah spoke of the law of life that could be written upon our hearts (Jer. 31:31-34), and Paul spoke of the law of the Spirit of life in our spirit (Rom. 8:2, 4, 6), but James treasured and uplifted the law of letters (Acts 21:20). Oh Lord Jesus!
It is very serious to mix things of the old testament with the law and ordinances with the New Testament economy of God. We must know the truth in an accurate and complete way so that we don’t mislead the saints into something else but the pure word of God.
We are here not to keep the outward law but to let the law of life be inscribed in our hearts and enjoy the life-dispensing of the Triune God in His New Testament economy.
The apostle Paul spoke of being crucified with Christ and being conformed to the death of Christ by the power of Christ’s resurrection; it is this life that produces the Body life that consummates in the New Jerusalem (Gal. 2:20; Phil. 3:10).
What we should preach is not the law or ordinances but the crucified and resurrected Christ, for it is this One as our life that produces the Body life.
In the light of the divine revelation, the greatest lack of James is the cross of Christ; self-cultivation does not carry out God’s economy, but self-denial does.
In the New Testament we do not self-cultivation, self-improvement, or self-development, but we practice self-denial and self-denunciation, so that Christ may live in us.
Self-cultivation through the practice of keeping the law and the ordinances does not carry out God’s economy; only the cross applied to us and being experienced by us in God’s New Testament economy is key to build up the church as the Body of Christ.
James boasted that there were thousands of believing Jews in the church in Jerusalem who were zealous for the law, but Paul was zealous to gain Christ, be found in Christ, know Christ, lay hold of Christ, pursue Christ, and uplift only Christ for the fullest enjoyment of Christ (Acts 21:20; Phil. 3:6-14; Col. 1:18b).
What a mixture!
What a frustration to God’s move on earth! Our focus should not be getting the saints to be zealous for any religious practice but to help them enjoy Christ, be found in Christ, gain Christ, know Christ, lay hold of Christ, pursue Christ, and uplift only Christ!
This should be our only goal and seeking in the church life, enjoying Christ for the fullest enjoyment of Christ, so that the church as the Body of Christ may be built up and Christ may be spread.
Lord Jesus, save us from cultivating, improving, or developing the self by keeping the law and the ordinances in the Old Testament. Oh Lord, make us so clear concerning the New Testament economy of God, so that we may treasure the inscribing of the law of life on our heart and the daily enjoyment of Christ under God’s dispensing. Amen, Lord, we want to enjoy You, gain You, be found in You, and refuse to cultivate or develop the self. Keep us under your divine dispensing for the spreading of the church and the building up of the Body of Christ. Amen, Lord, You are our center and our goal!
Living the Body Life and being Saved from any Mixture of the Old Testament Practices with God’s New Testament Economy
As Paul was going toward Jerusalem at the end of his gospel trip, he heard from various members of the Body that there will be afflictions and bonds waiting for him there; but he still insisted to go, for he was burdened about it.
We must learn from the lesson of Paul to practice the Body life and to take the word of the Spirit through the members of the Body, obeying it as a word from the Head (Acts 20:23; 21:4, 7-8, 11-14).
For the Lord’s spreading on earth we need to learn the lesson to practice the Body life, taking the word of the Spirit which comes through the members of the Body.
Even though Paul didn’t listen to all the warnings from the members of the Body, he still lived in the life of the Body, and the Lord came in to rescue him when he was in danger. The Lord’s speaking to us is very much through the members of the Body, and we do well to heed the members of the Body.
Furthermore, we need to learn from the lesson of Paul to be saved from the mixing of Judaic practices with God’s New Testament economy, which is not only erroneous but also abominable in the eyes of God (Acts 21:18-27, 31, 36; Heb. 10:29).
When Paul got to Jerusalem, he was influenced by the saints there to bring an offering and take a vow, so the Lord had to come in and do something.
Every little bit of deviation from God’s New Testament economy is serious; God would not allow Paul to go ahead and mix God’s New Testament economy which he preached among the Gentiles, with the Judaic practices.
Thus began the long imprisonment of Paul, with many things happening to him. He appealed to Caesar, utilizing his Roman citizenship to save himself from his persecutors so that he might fulfill the course of his ministry (Acts 22:25-29; 23:10-11; 25:8-12; 26:32).
The apostle Paul was willing to sacrifice his life for the Lord, but he still endeavored to live longer that he might carry out the Lord’s ministry as much as possible (20:24).
So God in His sovereignty rescued Paul so that He might separate him from all the dangerous situations and entrapments, and God sent Paul to a quiet prison.
In prison God afforded Paul a quiet environment and gave him time – whether in Caesarea (Acts 24:27) or in Rome (28:16, 23, 30) – so that through his last Epistles he might release exhaustively to the church throughout the generations the revelation of the mystery of God’s New Testament economy that he received from the Lord.
God was sovereign with Paul, yet He would not allow any mixture.
Praise the Lord, Paul was very clear concerning God’s New Testament economy, and the benefit and profit that the church throughout the generations has received from his Epistles will take eternity to measure (see Acts 25:11, footnote 1).
Even our mistakes can be used by God in His sovereignty to work out for God’s economy.
Lord, we want to learn the lesson of living the Body life and listening to Your speaking as the Spirit through the members of Your Body. Speak to us, Lord, and keep us open to Your speaking both within and without, both inwardly and in the church, the Body of Christ. Lord, keep us in Your New Testament economy, enjoying You and being one with You, and save us from any mixture of the law or ordinances with Your economy. Have mercy on us, Lord, and bring us fully into Your New Testament economy so that we may cooperate with You for the carrying out of Your economy to spread Yourself and obtain the church, the Body of Christ!
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, Three Aspects of the Church, Book 2: The Course of the Church, pp. 44-45, 47-49 (by Witness Lee), 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:
# We from the law to Christ have turned; / To trust in Him by grace we’ve learned. / And since His glory we’ve discerned / We only care for Christ! (Hymns #1224)
# Lord, we are mixed but hardly know; / To us this mixture fully show. / Each added thing we will refute / Until we’re wholly absolute. (Hymns #1274)
# Not religion, even / Christianity, / Can fulfill God’s purpose / Or economy; / But ‘tis Christ within us / As our all in all / Satisfies God’s wishes, / And His plan withal. (Hymns #541)
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