See the Ministry of the Age and Enter into the Lord’s ministry to Build up the Body

We need to learn from the life of Jonathan, Saul’s son, to follow Christ absolutely and give Him the preeminence, not allowing our personal affections to get in the way of following the Lord, and be one with the minister of the age and enter into the ministry of the age.

In this last week on the crystallization study of 1 and 2 Samuel we look at five great men and learn from their story, having God’s economy in view, so that we may be proper persons in God’s economy who enjoy the all-inclusive Christ as the good land for the building up of the church as the Body of Christ.

The Lord is looking for a dispensational instrument, those who are like Samuel and David, who end this age and bring in the age of the kingdom.

If the Lord has mercy on us and we see what is in His heart, we will simply give ourselves to Him for Him to work it out in us.

We cannot accomplish what the Lord wants to do – in ourselves, we can’t do it, but we can consecrate to Him, that is, give ourselves to Him and open to Him for Him to do what He wants to do in us.

A pattern in this direction was Samuel, who enjoyed the good land to the uttermost and cooperated with God to end the age of the priesthood and bring in the age of the kingship, while he himself was a Nazarite, a priest, a prophet, and a judge.

Above all, Samuel was one who had an ear to hear what the Lord was speaking in that age; he had God’s speaking and His presence.

Today the Lord is still speaking, even though there are so many voices that say so many things both in the world and in Christianity; may we be those who have an ear to hear what the Spirit is speaking to the churches.

May we have a proper attitude of listening to God’s speaking, as Mary did.

To hear the speaking of the Lord in a fresh way, we need to sit at the Lord’s feet and not at anyone else’s feet.

We need to hear a firsthand, direct word from the Lord; for this, we need to humble ourselves by putting ourselves on our side and having an attitude of humility to hear the Lord’s speaking.

To hear the word of the Lord we need to sit down, that is, we need to stop our busyness; our eyes and our mind may be so busy, but we need to find a way to stop and just listen to the Lord’s speaking.

When we have the Lord’s speaking, His words to us are spirit and are life; His speaking communicates Himself to us, dispenses His element into us, and we can have the same heart like Him.

May we all learn to have a proper attitude in listening to the Lord’s word so that we may be those who have His fresh, present, up-to-date speaking.

We Follow Christ today and Give Him the Preeminence, not allowing our Natural Affection to Sway us from being Absolute for the Lord

In 1 Samuel we see how Jonathan (the son of King Saul) loved David, made a covenant with him, and predicted that David would become the king and that the kingdom would be his kingdom (see 1 Sam. 18:1-4; 19:1-7; 20:8, 14-17, 41-42; 23:16-18).

Saul’s intention was not to bring in the kingdom of God but to build his own monarch, so he wanted to make sure that Jonathan would follow him on the throne.

However, Jonathan was not willing to take the kingdom but recognized that David should be on the throne; he loved David so much, and he had the realization that the throne will be David’s.

Jonathan should have told his father about this and then should have left his father to be with David, but he did not do that; rather, he stayed with his father and eventually shared the same terrible ending with his father.

In typology, for Jonathan to follow David would have signified our following Christ today and our giving Him the preeminence (Col. 1:18; Rev. 2:4).

Jonathan could have respectfully told his father Saul that he believed that David will be king, so he would reject the kingship in favour of David, but he didn’t do it.

Therefore, Jonathan lost the proper and adequate enjoyment of His portion in the good land promised by God because of his affection toward his father.

Because of his failure in not following David according to God’s will due to his natural affection for his father, Jonathan lost the proper enjoyment of the good land.

Yes, Jonathan did realize that David would be king, but he stayed with his father, and as a tragic result, he suffered the same fate as his father and died with him in battle (1 Sam. 31:2-6).

As believers in Christ, we need to follow Christ today and give Him the preeminence, and we should not allow our natural affection to sway us from being absolute for the Lord.

Jonathan stood between Saul and David – he was one man standing between two ministries.

He should have followed the ministry of David, for he saw that God gave him the kingship, but because his relationship with the first ministry was too deep, he could not disentangle himself. Wow.

In every age the Lord does certain things, some special things that He wants to accomplish, some recoveries of His own and His own works that He wants to do, which are the ministry of that age (see Gen. 6:13-14).

For example in Gen. 6 God did something specifically with and through Noah: He wanted him to build an ark to save himself and his family, even all those who believed him, from the coming flood.

Noah was the minister in that age, and if you built a boat in your back yard, that would not float or stand – you had to join yourself to Noah as the minister in that age.

David was a minister of his age with the ministry of that age (Acts 13:21-22, 36a); in the Old Testament, Noah had the ministry of that age to build the ark, Moses had the ministry of that age to build the tabernacle, and David and Solomon had the ministry of that age to build the temple. In Jonathan’s time,

David had the ministry of that age and was the minister of that age; David was the minister of the age with the ministry of the age, and Jonathan should have followed him.

But because of his natural affection toward his father, he didn’t, so his end was terrible.

Today the Lord has a ministry, the ministry of this age, and we do well to give Christ the preeminence today, not allow any natural affection to sway us from being absolute for the Lord, and be one with the minister of the age and enter into the ministry of the age.

Lord Jesus, we want to follow You absolutely according to the vision You have shown us. We give You the preeminence today in all things. Save us from allowing any natural affection to sway us from following You in an absolute way. We love You, Lord Jesus, and we want to be one with You in what You are doing today! Save us from going back to what You have done many years ago – keep us going on with You according to what You are doing today in this age! Show us the ministry of the age and the minister of the age and cause us to be joined to You and to the ministry of the age to do the work that You are doing today! Amen, Lord Jesus, we want to be part of the recovery You are doing today, the work You are doing in this age!

Seeing the Ministry of the Age and Entering into the Lord’s Ministry in this Age to Build up the Body and Consummate the New Jerusalem

God is very broad and general: He receives all men, loves all men, and wants to give life, peace, forgiveness, joy, and everything that is good in Christ to all men.

However, in His work, He has one main work in each age.

For example, in David’s age, he was the minister of the age with the ministry of the age, and in Moses’ time, it was Moses who had the ministry of the age.

A minister of the age with the ministry of the age is different from the local ministers; God has one main ministry of the age, but there are many local ministers.

Luther was a minister of his age, and Darby also was a minister of his age.

In this age today, in order to catch up with the ministry of this present age, there’s the need for us to see the vision of the age, otherwise, we may be like Michal, David’s wife.

She was married to David, but she didn’t see anything concerning him being the minister of that age with the ministry of that age; she only saw David’s outward condition, and she could not tolerate it, so as a result, she was left behind (2 Sam. 6:16, 20-23).

She saw David leaping and jumping and dancing before the Ark of the testimony as it was brought to the city of David, and she despised him in her heart; she uttered her disapproval, and David did not back down.

Similarly, Barnabas had a disagreement with Paul, even a sharp contention with him, and he left Paul; after that time, we find no more record in the Bible concerning Barnabas.

Yes, we may be a local minister who serves God in and according to the ministry of the age, but we need to realize that there’s a minister of the age, one whom God has used to release His vision and speaking, and we need to join ourselves to the minister of the age and remain in the ministry of the age.

In the New Testament, God raised John the Baptist as the minister of the age before the Lord Jesus, and even Jesus Himself, the Son of God incarnated, entered into John’s ministry and was baptized by him.

Later, however, when Jesus started his ministry, John had to decrease while Christ did increase (John 3:30).

The ministry of the Lord Jesus is to build up the church as the Body of Christ (Matt. 16:18); the many gifted persons produced in the Lord’s ascension have only one ministry – to minister Christ for the building up of the Body of Christ, the church.

The building up of the church is not accomplished directly by the gifted ones but by the saints who have been perfected by the gifted ones (see Eph. 4:11-12, 16).

Yes, it is the Lord who builds up the church, but He does it through the many members in the Body of Christ who are being perfected by the gifted members.

He raises up those who are apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers; these gifted ones perfect the saints unto the work of the ministry, unto the building up of the Body of Christ.

Each one has at least one talent, but the gifted members have five or even ten talents; they, however, do not build up the Body directly but rather, perfect us so that we, the one-talented members who are being perfected, would build up the Body directly.

In God’s building ministry there are those who take the lead in that ministry in every age; may the Lord open our eyes to see that, as long as we are human beings, we should be Christians, and as long as we are Christians, we should enter into the Lord’s ministry in this age.

It may not be our portion to be the minister of this age, but we can enter into the ministry of the age and be one with the Lord for Him to do what He wants to do today.

In this age, the Lord has raised up two ministers, Watchman Nee and Witness Lee, and He released the entire content of God’s New Testament economy.

However, it may be a bit much for us to say that I or you are their successors, for we can also speak and write and say things.

Just as Timothy was not the successor of Paul, nor did he continue Paul’s ministry but simply spoke what Paul spoke, so we today can enter into the ministry of the age and be one with the minister of the age.

The Lord is gaining a group of blended brothers today who continue the ministry of the age, and none of them stands out as being “the minister of the age”; rather, they speak what the ministry of the age speaks, and we all are being perfected and brought into our function in the Body.

It is God’s mercy that a person can see and come into contact with the ministry of the age; however, it is an altogether different thing for a person to take up the courage to forsake past ministries and enter into God’s present ministry (as seen in 1 Sam. 14:1-46; 2 Sam. 6:16, 20-23).

Jonathan saw that David had the ministry of that age and was the minister of that age, but he did not absolutely forsake the past ministry to join himself with David.

Similarly, many in Paul’s time left him by forsaking his ministry; he was the minister of that age with the ministry of that age as recorded in his fourteen epistles, but many left him.

The ministry of the age ministers the present truth to God’s people; this present truth can also be rendered as “the up-to-date truth”, and we all need to inquire of the Lord as to what is the present truth (2 Pet. 1:12).

As seen in Matt. 16:18; Eph. 4:15-16; Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 26-29; 3:5, 12, 21; Psa. 48:2; Rev. 19:7-9; 21:2, the present truth is God’s eternal economy, God becoming man to make man God in life and nature but not in the Godhead for the building up of the organic Body of Christ to consummate the New Jerusalem.

Job 10:13 shows that Job didn’t understand what was hidden in God’s heart, what’s the reason for all his suffering; Eph. 3:9 reveals that what is hidden in God’s heart is His economy, the economy of the mystery which was hidden throughout the ages.

The economy of God includes Christ as the mystery of God (Col. 2:2), the church as the mystery of Christ (Eph. 3:4), and the great mystery – Christ and the church (Eph. 5:32).

May we inquire of the Lord to know the present truth, the ministry of the age today, and may we be joined to Him and to the minister of the age to carry out our portion in the ministry of the age for the building up of the church as the organic Body of Christ to consummate the New Jerusalem.

Lord Jesus, unveil us to see what is the present truth, the up-to-date truth that You have revealed to Your church in this age. Cause us to see the mystery hidden from ages, God’s eternal economy to dispense Himself into man to make man the same as God in life and nature but not in the Godhead for the building up of the church as the Body of Christ consummating in the New Jerusalem. Lord, unveil us to see Christ as the mystery of God, the church as the mystery of Christ, and Christ and the church, the great mystery! Grant us Your mercy to see and come into contact with the ministry of the age and strengthen us to forsake past ministries and enter into God’s present ministry! Amen, Lord, grant so many genuine believers the courage to forsake any past ministries and recoveries and enter into Your present ministry to cooperate with You for the building up of the Body consummating in the New Jerusalem!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Sources of inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by brother Ed Marks, and portions from, CWWL, 1987, vol. 2, “Words of Training for the New Way“, pp. 99-100, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization Study of 1 and 2 Samuel (2021 winter training), week 12, entitled, Spiritual Principles, Life Lessons, and Holy Warnings concerning the Enjoyment of the Good Land Seen with Five Major Figures in 1 and 2 Samuel.
• Further reading:
  – The article on, The Vision of the Age, the Ministry of the Age, and the Minister of the Age (via, afaithfulword.com);
  – Sharing on, The Minister of the Age, Not Infallibility (via shepherdingwords.com);
  – A book called, The Vision of the Age (via ministrybooks.org);
• Hymns on this topic:
  – What miracle! What mystery! / That God and man should blended be! / God became man to make man God, / Untraceable economy! / From His good pleasure, heart’s desire, / His highest goal attained will be. / From His good pleasure, heart’s desire, / His highest goal attained will be. (Song on, What miracle! What mystery!)
  – Many gifts the Lord has given, / That His Body He may build, / That the saints may be perfected / And their ministry fulfilled. / Thus we must put off the old man / That we may put on the new; / Thus, renewed in mind and spirit, / We will bear God’s image true. (Hymns #823)
  – In our ministry and service, / From the Body, our supply; / If detached and isolated, / Out of function we will die… / Lord, anew we give our bodies; / May we be transformed to prove / All Thy will, to know Thy Body, / And therein to serve and move. (Hymns #913)