THE THIRD PART: 24 CRUCIAL LINES IN THE BIBLE

The Believers
Message Four—Believers’ Present Corporate Experience of
the Dispensing of the Divine Trinity

Scripture Reading: Matt. 6:33; John 3:3, 5; Rom. 14:17; Col. 3:15; Phil. 4:4; Deut. 12:5-8, 11-14; Matt. 18:17-35; 1 Pet. 2:25; Rom. 12:4-5

I. By entering into the kingdom of God as a realm of life, light, and love, living in the kingdom of God a life of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit, the believers present experience the divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity corporately—Matt. 6:33; Col. 1:12-13; Rom. 14:17:

A. The kingdom of God is God Himself; God is life, having the nature, ability, and shape of the divine life, which forms the realm of God’s ruling—Mark 1:15; Matt. 6:33; John 3:3; Eph. 4:18; John 3:15.

B. The kingdom of God is not only the reign of God but also the realm of the divine life—Matt. 6:13b; John 3:3, 5, 15-16:

1. The kingdom of God is the realm of the divine life for this life to move, to work, to rule, and to govern so that life may accomplish its purpose—v. 3.

2. The kingdom of God is God in Christ being the totality of life with all its activities—11:25; 10:10b; 14:6.

3. We should be diligent to pursue the growth and development of the divine life within us until we are richly and bountifully supplied the entrance into “the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ”—2 Pet. 1:5-11.

C. The kingdom of God is the shining of the Lord Jesus over us—Mark 9:1-3.

D. The Father delivered us out of the authority of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love—Col. 1:13:

1. The kingdom into which we have been transferred is the kingdom of the Son of God’s love; this realm of life is in love, not in fear—Col. 1:13.

2. The kingdom in which we find ourselves today is a realm full of life, light, and love—1 Pet. 2:9.

3. The Son of the Father is the expression of the Father as the source of life—John 1:18, 4; 1 John 1:2.

E. The kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, joy in the Holy Spirit—Rom. 14:17:

1. Righteousness denotes that which is right and proper; those who live in the kingdom of God should be right and proper toward others, toward things, and toward themselves; the most righteous persons are those who live Christ; the Christ who lives within us will make us right in every way—Matt. 5:6; 6:33; Phil. 1:21a; Gal. 2:20.

2. Our Father is the God of peace, having a peaceful life with a peaceful nature, the peace that is in Christ, the peace that is Christ, the peace that was made by Christ, and the peace announced by Christ as the gospel are the peace of the Body and in the Body—Rom. 15:33; 16:20; Eph. 2:14-15, 17; Col. 1:20; 3:15.

3. Living the kingdom life in the church requires that we live joyfully to God in the Holy Spirit—1 Pet. 1:8; Matt. 5:11-12; Acts 5:41; 13:52; Phil. 2:17-18:

a. A sweet thought revealed in the Word of God is that in Christ God has given Himself to us as grace to be our enjoyment—John 1:14, 16-17; 2 Cor. 13:14.

b. Not being joyful indicates that we are defeated, that something is wrong with us, and that we have cast off the divine restraint; as a result, our spirit is weighed down, and we cannot rejoice—Phil. 4:4; 1 Thes. 5:16.

II. Enjoying the dispensing of the Divine Trinity corporately by experiencing and practicing the all-inclusive oneness on the ground of oneness—Deut. 12:5-8, 11-14, 17-18, 21, 26-27; 14:22-23; 16:16:

A. The oneness in the Bible is an all-inclusive oneness for the expression of God; the oneness of the Triune God, which is the oneness of the Body of Christ, includes all that Christ is to us in and for God’s economy; the practice of this oneness, the one accord, is the master key to every blessing in the New Testament—Psa. 133; Eph. 4:1-6, 13; Acts 1:14; 1 Cor. 1:9-10; Phil. 1:27; 2:2.

B. Deuteronomy 12 reveals the enjoyment of Christ with God at the unique place of God’s choice for the keeping of the all-inclusive oneness of God’s people—vv. 5-8, 11-14, 17-18, 21, 26.

C. In order to be today’s overcomers, we must enjoy Christ with God on the ground of oneness for the exhibition of Christ, the building of the church, and the preparation of Christ’s bride—Matt. 16:18; Rev. 19:7.

III. The believers experience the dispensing of the Divine Trinity corporately by living in the Body of Christ—1 Cor. 12:12-13, 20, 24-25, 27; Rom. 12:4-5:

A. The will of God is to obtain a Body for Christ to be His fullness, His expression—Rom. 12:2, 4-5; Rev. 4:11; Eph. 1:5, 9.

B. In one Spirit we were all baptized into one organic entity, the Body of Christ, and we were all given to drink one Spirit; we are one Body in the organic union with Christ—1 Cor. 12:13; Rom. 12:4-5.

C. The one Body is the one church of God, manifested in many localities as many local churches; the building up of a local church is not only for its own building up locally but also for the building up of the entire Body universally—1:2; 12:27.

D. The Body of Christ is the corporate Christ, the Body-Christ; if we would live the Body life, a life in the reality of the Body of Christ, we need to live a grafted life in the divine dispensing—1 Cor. 12:12; Rom. 6:5; 8:6, 10-11; 11:17.

IV. The believers experience the dispensing of the Divine Trinity corporately by putting on the New Man—Eph. 2:15; 4:20-24; Col. 3:10-11:

A. The church, the Body of Christ, is the one new man created in Christ to accomplish God’s eternal purpose—Eph. 2:15; 4:23-24; 1:9, 11; 3:9; Rom. 8:29.

B. The one new man is a corporate, universal man—a corporate God-man, the aggregate of all the God-men—Eph. 4:24; Col. 3:10-11.

C. The believers put on the new man by the renewing in the spirit of their mind—v. 23; Rom. 12:2:

1. The way to put on the new man is for our spirit, which is mingled with the Spirit, to become the spirit of our mind—Eph. 4:23.

2. For the spirit to become the spirit of our mind means that the spirit directs, controls, dominates, and possesses our mind; when the spirit directs our mind, it directs our whole being.

3. How much in experience we put on the new man depends on how much our spirit directs our being; day by day we need to put on the new man by permitting the mingled spirit to control our being and renew our mind—v. 24.

 

Ministry Excerpts:

EXPERIENCING THE DISPENSING OF
THE DIVINE TRINITY CORPORATELY

By Entering into the Kingdom of God

In the New Testament the kingdom goes with God’s salvation, and God’s salvation goes with the kingdom. However, we may pay attention to God’s salvation but not to the kingdom, regarding the kingdom as something strictly in the future. But the kingdom is related to our present salvation, for it is a part of God’s salvation. If we have not been saved, we cannot be in the kingdom. Likewise, if we have not entered into the kingdom, we have not been saved.

According to our natural, religious concept, repentance and regeneration are for us to receive salvation. But according to the New Testament, repentance and regeneration are mainly for us to enter into the kingdom of God. John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, preached repentance for the kingdom. He said, “Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near” (Matt. 3:2). At the beginning of His ministry, the Lord Jesus also charged people to repent because the kingdom of the heavens had drawn near (Matt. 4:17). John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus did not say, “Repent, for salvation is here.” Rather, they said, “Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near.” Furthermore, to Nicodemus the Lord Jesus said, “Unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). If we believe in the Lord, we shall be born again, and by being born again we shall enter into the kingdom of God. In John 3 the kingdom was already present, and every regenerated believer in Christ could enter into it. The New Testament indicates that repentance and regeneration through believing in the Lord are not first for salvation but for the kingdom. Nevertheless, as we have pointed out, God’s salvation and the kingdom are interrelated.

The kingdom is related both to the present and to the future. However, some Bible teachers say that the kingdom is a matter only of the coming age. They teach that Christ came with the kingdom and presented it to the Jewish people. Then these teachers go on to say that because the Jews rejected the kingdom, it has been suspended and postponed. According to these teachers, the present age is not the kingdom age but the church age. They completely separate the kingdom from the church. But the New Testament indicates that where salvation is, there the kingdom is. The New Testament also reveals that where the church is, there the kingdom is also. For instance, Romans 14:17 says, “The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Because the context here deals with the church life in the present age, this verse is a strong proof that the church in this age is the kingdom of God. Furthermore, in Revelation 1:9 John says, “I John, your brother and joint partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and endurance in Jesus.” Here we see that John and the other believers were in the kingdom already for the exercise in tribulation and endurance. From these verses we see that the kingdom is present today. The kingdom is here with God’s salvation and with the church. (The conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 157)

By Living in the Church

Through regeneration we have entered into the kingdom of God (John 3:3, 5) to live in the reality of the kingdom of the heavens. This is a corporate matter experienced by enjoying the dispensing of the divine Trinity in a corporate way. First, we experience the dispensing of the divine Trinity corporately by entering into the kingdom of God and living in the kingdom. Then we experience the dispensing of the divine Trinity corporately by living in the church life (1 Tim. 3:15-16).

The Christian life has two aspects: the aspect of the individual Christian life and the aspect of the corporate Christian life. The divine dispensing is first for our individual Christian life and then for the corporate Christian life. The individual Christian life is a personal matter, but the corporate Christian life is a church matter.

According to the New Testament, the church is intimately related to the kingdom. In Matthew 16:18 the Lord Jesus declared, “On this rock I will build My church.” In verse 19 the Lord goes on to speak of the kingdom of the heavens. The words “the kingdom of the heavens” in verse 19 are interchangeably used for the word “church” in verse 18. This is a strong proof that the genuine church is the kingdom of the heavens in this age. This is confirmed by Romans 14:17, which refers to the proper church life. Therefore, the church today is the kingdom.

In these messages on the conclusion of the New Testament, we have emphasized the dispensing of the processed Triune God again and again. We need to participate in this dispensing and enjoy it. We need to experience more and more of the dispensing of the processed Triune God, whose embodiment is Christ and whose ultimate consummation is the all-inclusive, sevenfold, life-giving Spirit. Today we have the processed Triune God with Christ as the embodiment and the Spirit as the consummation. Day by day we need to open to Him, call on Him, stay in His presence, fellowship with Him, and allow Him to work within us to dispense all that He is, all that He has, all that He has done, and all that He is doing into our being. As the spontaneous issue of this dispensing, we shall have the kingdom life, and this kingdom life will be our church life.

The individual Christian life and the corporate church life both issue spontaneously from the dispensing of the processed Triune God into us. Here in this divine dispensing we are holy, spiritual, and victorious. Here we grow until we reach maturity. To experience and enjoy this dispensing of the processed Triune God is to live the reality of the kingdom in the church life. We all need to see this vision. (The conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 158)

Living in the Body of Christ

In order to experience the dispensing of the divine Trinity corporately, the believers need to take three steps. First, we need to enter into the kingdom and live a kingdom life. Second, by living the kingdom life we may live in the church. Third, by living in the church we need to live in the Body of Christ. The sequence of these three matters is the kingdom, the church, and the Body of Christ. According to the sequence of the New Testament revelation, the kingdom comes first and the church follows. The issue of the kingdom and the church is the Body of Christ. This New Testament revelation indicates that no one can live in the Body of Christ without first living in the kingdom and in the church. This has been fully proved and confirmed by our experience.

God works to have the kingdom so that the church may be built up. Then the church will become the organism of Christ, the Body of Christ, expressing the Triune God in His embodiment in Christ. This is the New Testament revelation.

Paul is the unique one in the New Testament to speak concerning the Body. He mentions the Body in four of his Epistles: Romans, 1 Corinthians, Ephesians, and Colossians. It was through Paul that the thought, the concept, the revelation, of the Body of Christ was brought in. Neither Peter nor John uses this term.

If we mean business in this age to follow the Lord Jesus for His interest on earth, we must enter into the kingdom of God. We need to have not only the truth, the doctrine, of the kingdom but also the reality and practicality of the kingdom. This means that we need to live in the kingdom. Furthermore, we need to be in the church and live in the church both in reality and in practicality. This means that we need to have the practice of the church life. We need to be a church people, living in the reality of the church according to the truth and also living in the practicality of the church, practicing the church life wherever we may be. If we live in the kingdom and in the church, then we shall also live in the Body. If the believers live in the kingdom, the church, and the Body, corporately experiencing the dispensing of the divine Trinity, the Lord will have a way to accomplish His eternal purpose, and we shall receive a reward from Him at His coming.

The church as the Body of Christ is not an organization— it is an organism. The church is an organic Body constituted of all the believers, who have been regenerated and have God’s life, for the expression of Christ the Head. The Body is the fullness of the Head, and the fullness is the expression of the Head. Christ, as the One who fills all in all (Eph. 1:22-23), needs a great Body to be His fullness. This Body is His church to be His expression. (The conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 164)

Putting On the New Man

The believers experience the dispensing of the processed Triune God corporately by putting on the new man (Eph. 4:22-24). The new man is of Christ. It is His Body, created in Him on the cross (2:15-16). It is not individual but corporate (Col. 3:10-11).

The book of Ephesians first reveals that the church is the Body of Christ (1:22-23), the kingdom of God, the household of God (2:19), and the temple, the dwelling place of God (2:21-22). Then in 4:24 this book reveals further that the church is the new man. The Greek word for church, ekklesia, means those called out for a gathering; hence, an assembly. This is the initial aspect of the church. From this, Paul goes on to the aspects of fellow citizens of the kingdom of God and members of the household of God. These are higher than the initial aspect, but not as high as the aspect of the church as the Body of Christ. Yet the new man is still higher than the Body of Christ. Thus, the church is not just an assembly of believers, a kingdom of heavenly citizens, a household of God’s children, nor even a Body for Christ. In an even higher aspect the church is a new man to accomplish God’s eternal purpose. As the Body of Christ, the church needs Christ as its life, but as the new man the church needs Christ as its person. This new corporate person should live a life as Jesus lived on earth, that is, a life of truth, expressing God and causing God to be realized as the reality by man.

We need to put on the new man who has already been created in Christ (Eph. 2:15). Christ created the one new man, the church, with God’s nature wrought into humanity. This action was something new. In the old creation God did not work His nature into any of His creatures, not even into man. In the creation of the one new man, however, God’s nature has been wrought into man to make His nature one entity with humanity.

By the Renewing in the Spirit of Their Mind

The believers put on the new man by the renewing in the spirit of their mind. In Ephesians 4:23 Paul says that we are being renewed in the spirit of our mind. To be renewed is for our transformation to the image of Christ (Rom. 12:2; 2 Cor. 3:18). The spirit in verse 23 is the regenerated spirit of the believers mingled with the indwelling Spirit of God. Such a mingled spirit spreads into our mind, thus becoming the spirit of our mind. It is in such a spirit that we are renewed for our transformation. In this way our natural mind is conquered, subdued, and put under the spirit. This, of course, implies a process of metabolic transformation. As this process takes place, the mingled spirit enters our mind, takes over our mind, and becomes the spirit of our mind.

By the spirit of the mind we are renewed to fulfill in experience what was accomplished in the putting off of the old man and the putting on of the new man through baptism. The putting off of the old man and the putting on of the new man are actually accomplished facts. Now we need to experience and realize these facts by being renewed in the spirit of our mind.

The way to put on the new man is for our spirit, which is mingled with the Spirit, to become the spirit of our mind. Our mind dominates and directs our whole being. For the spirit to become the spirit of our mind means that the spirit directs, controls, dominates, and possesses our mind. Instead of our mind being the mind of our spirit, our spirit should be the spirit of our mind. If the mind is the mind of the spirit, it means that our mind dominates, controls, and directs our spirit. But if our spirit is the spirit of our mind, it means that our spirit dominates, controls, and directs our mind. When the spirit directs our mind, it governs our whole being. When this is the case, our being is under the control of the spirit. It is in this spirit of our mind that we are renewed, and by means of this spirit we put on the new man experientially. (The conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 166)