We need to realize that Satan’s thought was injected into our soul to make it the self, and today we need to deny the self for the building up of the church. According to Matt. 16, the building up of the church depends on the shutting of the gates of Hades through the exercise of […]
Treasuring the other Members of the Body and Denying the Self to be Built up Together
Individualism is hateful in the sight of God, for the self is the enemy of the Body, and when we live in the self, we declare independence from God and from the Body of Christ. When we believed into the Lord Jesus, we were regenerated with the divine life, and we became organic members of […]
using the keys of the kingdom to lock the subjective gates of Hades and build up the church
Matt. 16:21-26 shows us not only the subjective gates of Hades coming in to frustrate the building up of the church but also the keys of the kingdom of the heavens which lock these doors and release the building up! We need to use the keys of denying our self, losing our soul life, and taking up our cross! Denying the self mainly relates to our mind, since the self is expressed through the mind with its opinions. Taking up the cross is related to taking up the will of God and not our own will. Losing our soul life is related to the enjoyment of the soul, the pleasure – we need to seek God’s pleasure and His enjoyment!
the way to build up the church as the kingdom of God is death and resurrection
What is the way to build up the church? As revealed by the Lord in Matt. 16:16-18 and then in 21-26, the way the church is built up in a practical way is through death and resurrection. The Lord Jesus builds up the church through His death and resurrection – if He would have not died on the cross for us and if He would have not resurrected, there would be no church. It is the same with us today – if we do not die to ourselves and if we don’t live the resurrection life in the church life, we do not build up the church. [continue reading this article online]
experiencing the Lord and turning to Him even in our hardships(a sister’s testimony)
Recently I experience a period of hardship that never happened before in my life. Due to this sudden and dramatic change, I stopped all my doing and turned to the Lord. While I was asking the Lord why this thing happened on me, I was enlightened by the Lord to see that I am just […]