We need to see something deeper that is hidden in Psalm 102 – Christ’s suffering and death are not only for our redemption, but also for our restoration!
In His death Christ produced and germinated the church as the house of God, and in His resurrection the church will consummate in the restoration.
It is in, by, and through Christ’s resurrection that the church exists, continues its existence, and consummates in restoration! Hallelujah, it is in Christ’s resurrection that God will restore the whole earth back to Himself through the church!
The church is in Christ in ascension
Ephesians 2:6 tells us that the church has not only been resurrected together with Christ but also has been seated in the heavenlies with Christ in His ascension!
The church came into being and was produced in Christ’s resurrection (see 1 Pet. 1:3; Eph. 2:6), and the church is absolutely something in resurrection. In His death Christ terminated everything of the natural man and of the old creation, and the church now is something absolutely in resurrection!
The church is purely of the element of Christ and it is absolutely in resurrection remaining in the heavenlies with Christ!
We need to see such a high view of the church so that our living and our attitude toward the saints in the church life would be uplifted. We are the Body of Christ, the church, a product of Christ’s resurrection and an entity fully in Christ’s resurrection.
If we are in our natural man, in our old man, in ourselves, we are not the Body of Christ. Only in our spirit, where Christ as the life-giving Spirit is, we are the church in reality, the Body of Christ.
Hallelujah, Christ terminated the old man and the old creation, and now we are in resurrection in our spirit! The saints are excellent in the resurrection life, and the church life is so pleasant when we are in our spirit.
The Spirit honors only what we do in resurrection
This morning I was touched by the following statement , “We must realize that the sevenfold intensified life-giving Spirit only honors things in resurrection.”
We may do all kinds of good works for God, and there may be some good results (in man’s eyes) – but if we do not do it in resurrection, our labor is in vain.
Any work that is not in resurrection, by resurrection, and through the resurrection life in us is in vain. Most Christian work today, no matter how outwardly prevailing or how good it looks, is not done in the resurrection life but by the natural life and the natural ability. Oh, Lord…
We need to learn to turn to our spirit and first contact the Lord, be one with Him, and then do anything or say anything. Anything that is natural coming out of ourselves belongs to the old creation and is not pleasing in God’s sight.
King Saul wanted to offer to God the best of the Amalekites sheep and cattle, which God ordered to be fully destroyed, but God did not receive it but rather Saul lost his kingship because of this.
God was not happy with the product of Cain’s sweat, the fruit of his human labor, no matter how good they were. What God desires is something in resurrection – He wants Christ to be lived out in us, the Christ who passed through death and is now in resurrection!
The church continues its existence in resurrection
We will eventually come to realize that NOTHING LASTS in the human life – nothing in the old creation lasts, no experience, no situation, no relationship, NOTHING! Even more – nations, empires, organizations, or regimes don’t last! The only thing that lasts, exists, and will continue to exist is the church!
We are in something that is eternal! The church exists and lasts because the essence of the church is everlasting in Christ’s resurrection, by Christ’s resurrection, and through Christ’s resurrection!
How can the church as a gathering of people all around the world exist and even continue its existence throughout centuries? We need to see that the church is in resurrection, and the church continues its existence in Christ’s resurrection, by Christ’s resurrection, and through Christ’s resurrection.
The Body of Christ, the church, is something absolutely in resurrection, and the resurrection life is unlimited, invincible, and unconquerable!
Time, space, death, people, countries, wars, famines, diseases, or any other calamity / evil thing cannot stop the existence of the church and the spreading of the church in Christ’s resurrection!
Lord, cause us to see what the church really is. Oh, Lord, save us from living in our natural man and doing things for You in our natural capacity and ability. Lord, bring our being fully in resurrection, and make us being in resurrection. Praise You for the church, an entity in Christ’s resurrection. We want to learn to build up the church by being in our spirit and living in our spirit! Lord, more living in, through, and by the resurrection life in our spirit!
References and Further Reading
- Sharing inspired from the life-study of Psalms, and the Elders’ Training, Book 2: The Vision of the Lord’s Recovery, ch. 3, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on the Crystallization-Study of Psalms (2), week 17;
- Recommended reading: areas in which the Lord Spirit may operate to apply the resurrection life in us;
- Hymns on this topic:
# Death cannot hold the resurrection life, / The life of God eternal manifest; / ’Tis uncreated, indestructible, / ’Tis Christ Himself, unconqu’rable, expressed.
# The Christian life is a life, / A life of living Christ / For the constitution and building up / Of the Body of Christ; / The Christian life is a life of living Christ.
# Thou art all my life, Lord, / In me Thou dost live; / With Thee all God’s fulness / Thou to me dost give. / By Thy holy nature / I am sanctified, / By Thy resurrection, / Vict’ry is supplied.
What about the work that we do for the Lord – is it done in, by, and through Christ's resurrection? When the final exam comes, when the fire will judge our work, there will be only a certain kind of work that will go onto the New Jerusalem! We need to aspire to serve the Lord in a way that will have eternal results. We need to serve God in the everlastingness of Christ's resurrection! The continual existence of the church does not depend upon its leaders or upon the strong ones in the church, but on Christ's resurrection!
We need to STOP FIGHTING THIS – we need to overcome our fear of abandoning ourselves to the Lord. In response to seeing what the resurrection life is and can do, we need to respond by telling the Lord honestly, Lord, I long to know the power of Your resurrection! Lord, give me the experiences that I need to know this resurrection life! Hallelujah, resurrection is our destiny! Everything in the old creation must be terminated so that the resurrection life would be released and would be brought into an ever-existing and everlasting church life!
exactly we need to live a life of resurection, and to live the resurection living is to overcome the old creation,old creation is our ownself,and this veryself should be put to the cross for termination…for this process we have to be dependent to our minglespirit simply by contacting our LordJesus who was now the life gaving Spirit.Halleluja thru Hes resurection we have the xpereince of everlasting church life.
Amen! The secret is in our mingled spirit – here we have the death of Christ and the resurrection of Christ. Whether in a meeting or at home, whether at school or at work, wherever we are, we need to exercise our spirit!
When we exercise our spirit, we enjoy and experience the resurrection life for the church life, and the church is being strengthened and uplifted!
Christ is our life and the church life is our living
living by the resurrection life to be in the reality of the Body of Christ « A normal believer in Christ commented on A normal believer in Christ:
[…] sufferings, being conformed to His death. We need to ask ourselves, How much do we live, serve, and do things in the resurrection life? We may have a good coordination with the saints in the church life and a good church life in […]
What about the work that we do for the Lord – is it done in, by, and through Christ’s resurrection? When the final exam comes, when the fire will judge our work, there will be only a certain kind of work that will go onto the New Jerusalem! We need to aspire to serve the Lord in a way that will have eternal results. We need to serve God in the everlastingness of Christ’s resurrection! The continual existence of the church does not depend upon its leaders or upon the strong ones in the church, but on Christ’s resurrection!
We need to STOP FIGHTING THIS – we need to overcome our fear of abandoning ourselves to the Lord. In response to seeing what the resurrection life is and can do, we need to respond by telling the Lord honestly, Lord, I long to know the power of Your resurrection! Lord, give me the experiences that I need to know this resurrection life! Hallelujah, resurrection is our destiny! Everything in the old creation must be terminated so that the resurrection life would be released and would be brought into an ever-existing and everlasting church life!