THE THIRD PART: 24 CRUCIAL LINES IN THE BIBLE
Christ, the Spirit, Life, and the Church
Message One—The Four Crucial Elements of the Bible—
Christ, the Spirit, Life, and the Church
Scripture Reading: Matt. 16:16, 18; John 3:15; Rom. 8:2; Eph. 1:22-23; 4:4-6
I. Christ, the Spirit, life, and the church are the crucial elements of the Bible—Matt. 16:16, 18; John 20:31; 7:39; Rom. 8:11; Col. 3:4; Eph. 1:22-23: (2011 MDC, msg. 1)
II. Christ, the Spirit, life, and the church are the extracts of the Bible: (2011 MDC, msg. 1)
A. With Christ the emphasis is that Christ is the believers’ life and is united and mingled with the believers—Col. 3:4; John 15:4-5; 1 Cor. 6:17: (2011 MDC, msg. 1)
1. In addition to knowing Christ as the Savior and the Redeemer, we need to know Him in a deeper way—that He is our life and that He is in us to be united and mingled with us—Col. 3:4; 1:27; John 15:4-5. (2011 MDC, msg. 1)
2. Because the Lord is the Spirit, we can abide in Him and the Lord can abide in us; we coinhere with the Lord; that is, we are in Him and He is in us—2 Cor.3:17a; John 14:20; 17:21. (2011 MDC, msg. 1)
3. Our being united and mingled with the Lord can take place only in our regenerated spirit; hence, this mingling results in our being joined to the Lord as one spirit—1 Cor. 6:17. (2011 MDC, msg. 1)
4. Christ is our life and our person, and He is united and mingled with us; He is also working in us to transform us until we are the same as He is in life, nature, and expression but not in the Godhead—2 Cor. 3:18. (2011 MDC, msg. 1)
B. With the Spirit the emphasis is that the Holy Spirit of God has been compounded with Christ’s divinity, humanity, crucifixion, and resurrection to be the compound, life-giving, indwelling, sanctifying, transforming, and sevenfold intensified Spirit—Exo. 30:23-25; 1 Cor. 15:45b; Rom. 8:11; 15:16b; 2 Cor. 3:18; Rev. 4:5: (2011 MDC, msg. 1)
1. The Spirit is the consummation of the Triune God after passing through various processes; in the Spirit there are the elements of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit—Matt. 1:18, 20; Luke 1:35; Heb. 9:14; Rom. 8:11. (2011 MDC, msg. 1)
2. Today the Spirit is the compound Spirit, compounded with the Spirit of God and Christ’s two natures—the divine nature and the human nature—with His death and resurrection to be the compound, life-giving, indwelling sanctifying, and transforming Spirit—Exo. 30:23-25; 1 Cor.15:45b ; Rom. 8:11.15:16b; 2 Cor. 3:18. (2011 MDC, msg. 1)
3. Such a Spirit has the bountiful supply and even is the bountiful supply for our experience and enjoyment—Phil. 1:19. (2011 MDC, msg. 1)
4. Economically, the compound Spirit has become the seven Spirits of God to supply us in a sevenfold intensified way so that we may accomplish God’s economy concerning the church in this age of degradation—Rev. 1:4; 3:1; 4:5; 5:6. (2011 MDC, msg. 1)
C. With life the emphasis is that God in Christ as the Spirit of reality is the believers’ life so that they may live Him out as the processed Triune God—1 Cor. 1:30; John 14:17; Phil. 1:19-21a: (2011 MDC, msg. 1)
1. Life is the Spirit, who is the Triune God Himself, and life is Christ—Rom. 8:2; John 11:25; 14:6. (2011 MDC, msg. 1)
2. God has given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son; if we have the Son, we have the life—1 John 5:11-12. (2011 MDC, msg. 1)
3. God in Christ has passed through His various processes and was consummated as the Spirit; now as the Spirit of reality He is life to the believers so that they may live Him out as the processed Triune God—John 7:39; 14:17, 19b. (2011 MDC, msg. 1)
4. When we believed in Christ, the Son of God, He came into us to be our life and person and to live and move with us—3:15-16; Gal. 2:20. (2011 MDC, msg. 1)
D. With the church the emphasis is that the believers are on the ground of oneness to be the testimony of the Body of Christ—Eph. 1:23; 4:1-6: (2011 MDC, msg. 1)
1. The church is composed of a group of people who have been called out of the world by God; God has called us out of every tribe, tongue, people, and nation and has gathered us together to be the church—Matt. 16:18; 18:17; Rev. 5:9; 7:9. (2011 MDC, msg. 1)
2. As believers in Christ, we have been begotten of God with His life and we have the divine life within us; we have been regenerated to become people of the kingdom of the heavens and brothers and sisters in His universal family—John 1:12-13; 3:3, 5, 15; Eph. 2:19. (2011 MDC, msg. 1)
3. The church is an entity of life, an organism, with a life and person; this life and person are the Triune God Himself, who is the element of the oneness of the church—4:3-6. (2011 MDC, msg. 1)
4. The universal Body of Christ is expressed as local churches; the ground of the church is the oneness of the Body of Christ—1 Cor. 12:12-13, 27; 1:2; Eph. 1:23; 4:3-6. (2011 MDC, msg. 1)
5. We were all baptized into one Body, and we all have one Spirit, one Lord, and one God and Father; now we must stand on the ground of oneness to be the unique testimony of the Body of Christ and to live the practical church life—1 Cor. 12:13; Eph. 4:4-6; Rev. 1:11. (2011 MDC, msg. 1)
E. We must develop any biblical truth in the way of Christ, the Spirit, life, and the church—2 Tim. 2. (2011 MDC, msg. 1)