THE ELDERSHIP IN GOD’S NEW TESTAMENT ECONOMY

SERIES THREE
THE ELDERSHIP IN GOD’S NEW TESTAMENT ECONOMY

The Living of the Elders

Message One
Building up a Personal and Affectionate Relationship with the Lord

Scripture Reading: Acts 6:4; 7:55; 10:28-31; 1 Pet. 5:1-3; 1 Tim. 2:1-4, 8; S. S. 1:2-4; Prov. 4:18; Phil. 3:7-14; Rom. 8:16; 2 Tim. 4:22; Heb. 4:16; 1 Cor. 2:9; Mark 16:7; John 13:23; Eph. 2:22

I. The carrying out of God’s New Testament economy in a particular place depends entirely upon the elders; it is an ironclad principle that the condition of the elders is reflected in the condition of the church—Acts 10:28-31; 1 Pet. 5:1-3; 1 Tim. 2:1-4, 8; Acts 6:4:

A. Whether the church is living and fresh and enriched depends on this one thing—that we are being filled continuously with the Spirit—Eph. 5:18; Acts 13:52:

1. The wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and skill for the noble work of building up the church must be God Himself as the Spirit to us; only the Spirit of God can build His own dwelling place through us—Exo. 31:1-3; Zech. 4:6.

2. In order to be filled continuously with the Spirit, we need to be those who are willing, empty, and praying—Phil. 2:13; Matt. 5:3, 8; Luke 1:53.

B. A prayer ministry is a prerequisite for the administration and shepherding of a local church; the leading ones, those who minister the word in the church, should take the lead to have a prayer life—1 Tim. 2:1-4, 8; Acts 6:4:

1. The first thing that the elders should do in caring for the church is to pray; instead of talking so much and even instead of working so much, we should pray more—Col. 4:2.

2. All in the Lord’s recovery should be prayerful and stand against the sin of prayerlessness; if we exercise ourselves to have a prayer life, the church will be living and uplifted—1 Sam. 12:23.

II. As lovers of Christ, we must seek and pursue Him for satisfaction—S. S. 1:2; Phil. 3:8:

A. We have to pursue Christ to gain Him—vv. 7-14:

1. This is the basic, elementary, and governing principle of the Christian life—vv. 7-14.

2. All things other than Christ are refuse and vanity; only Christ is excellent—v. 8.

B. The seeker in Song of Songs is drawn to run after the king because of three things—S. S. 1:2, 3a, 4a:

1. His love is attracting—”Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!” —v. 2:

a. The seeker longs for kisses, not just one kiss; this is the most personal and affectionate thing—v. 2.

b. This word indicates that to some extent the seeker has obtained a part of Christ’s love, but now she wants something more intimate—v. 2.

2. His name is charming—”Your name is like ointment poured forth”—v. 3a.

3. His person is captivating—”Draw me; we will run after you”—v. 4a:

a. Draw me is personal; we want a drawing from the Lord that is His personal and affectionate doing—v. 4a.

b. We want Him to be with us in a personal and affectionate way—v. 4a.

III. We need to build up a personal and affectionate relationship with Christ and seek Him—vv. 2-4; 1 Cor. 2:9:

A. After we believe in Christ, we have to love Him; faith is to receive Christ, and love is to pursue Christ—1 Cor. 2:9 and note 3:

1. According to the New Testament, God’s ordained way for man to receive Him in this kind of personal and affectionate way is first to believe in Him—John 1:12.

2. After we receive Him as the divine life into us, we have to love Him—Mark 12:30:

a. After you have received Christ as your life, you must have a very personal seeking after Christ—S. S. 1:4.

b. As those who have been born of God, we are the children of God, the same as God in life and nature but not in the Godhead; therefore, our relationship with God has to be personal and affectionate—1 John 5:1; 1 Pet. 1:4.

B. God works in a personal and affectionate way, not in the way of a movement; we do not want a movement in the Lord’s recovery; a person can be moved to join a movement and not have any personal contact with the Lord—2 Cor. 2:3-5.

C. In order to practice the high truth, we need the personal and affectionate experience of Christ—S. S. 1:2-4.

D. The very God whom we pursue is personal and affectionate; there should be a warm, intimate, and close affection between us and Him—Mark 16:7; John 13:23:

1. The Lord Jesus mentioned Peter’s name and John reclined on the Lord’s bosom, both in a personal and affectionate way—Mark 16:7; John 13:23:

a. Regardless of how great, sovereign, almighty, and majestic God is, when He wanted to build up His relationship with man He took the personal, affectionate way; He took the way of becoming a man—Phil. 2:7-8.

b. If the Lord Jesus had come to Peter in a majestic way, Peter would have felt threatened; but He did not come to Peter as the majestic, untouchable God; instead, He came to Peter as his countryman; Peter was a Galilean, and Jesus was also a Galilean; this is personal and affectionate—Matt. 3:13; 4:18.

c. The apostle John could lie on the Lord’s bosom (John 13:23); how personal and affectionate that was! The very God, the very Lord whom we seek, sets up a feast and invites us to feast with Him (Rev. 3:20); we must have such a personal and affectionate contact with Him.

2. Only the face of tears that Peter saw, only the face of glory into which Stephen looked, and only the heart that wept with Mary can keep us away from idols, the attractions of this world (Hymns, #437)—Luke 22:61; Acts 7:55; John 11:35.

E. We all need this kind of intimate contact with the Lord every morning and every day; no one can represent you or do anything for you in this matter; it must be personal—Lam. 3:23.

F. you have to start seeking the Lord in a personal and affectionate way; I want to stress these two words: personal and affectionate; the very God whom we pursue is personal and affectionate; we all need this kind of personal, affectionate, intimate contact with the Lord every day—S. S. 1:2-4.

IV. As seekers of Christ, we must go to our mingled spirit for fellowship with Him—Rom. 8:16; 2 Tim. 4:22; S. S. 1:4:

A. Jesus today is no longer a physical Savior but the pneumatic Christ—John 7:39; 2 Cor. 3:17:

1. In resurrection Christ became the life-giving, compound, consummated, all-inclusive Spirit as the consummation of the processed and con-summated Triune God—1 Cor. 15:45.

2. This One is private and spiritual; He visits us privately and not openly, spiritually and not physically—S. S. 1:4 with footnote 2.

B. The seeker in Song of Songs was brought into the king’s chambers, his dwelling place, to have fellowship with him—S. S. 1:4b; Heb. 4:16:

1. The inner chambers of Christ refer to our regenerated spirit mingled with and indwelt by Him as the life-dispensing Spirit—Rom. 8:16; 2 Tim. 4:22.

2. It is the practical Holy of Holies in us for our participation in and enjoyment of the pneumatic Christ—Heb. 4:16.

3. Since the Triune God dwells in our spirit, we must go to our spirit to have fellowship with Him—Eph. 2:22.

 

Ministry Excerpts:

THE IMPORTANCE OF ELDERS
IN GOD’S NEW TESTAMENT ECONOMY

All those serving the Lord, whether full-timers, elders, or co-workers, need to be clear regarding one matter: According to the revelation of the New Testament, there is a very crucial group of people. These people are the elders within a locality. In the New Testament the elders, as a group, are crucial in regard to the carrying out of God’s economy. Those who read the Bible usually pay much attention to the apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers. Similarly, in Christianity most people realize that there is a need for apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers, but few are aware of the importance of the elders. Before we were saved and even after we were saved and entered into the church life, we may have never dreamed that in God’s New Testament economy there is still a need for elders.

The carrying out of God’s New Testament economy in a particular place depends entirely upon the elders. This can be likened to the carrying out of the decree of a government. Whether such a decree can be carried out without hindrance depends almost entirely upon the local administration. If the local administration does not cooperate or has problems and difficulties in regard to the carrying out of the government’s decree, the government will surely fail. Regardless of how strong, good, capable, righteous, and proper the government is, if the decrees of that government cannot be carried out at the level of the local administration, all its efforts will be annulled and made void. Even if the failure to carry out the decree is unintentional and is due to the incapability and incompetence of the local administration, the result of the decree will still equal zero. Similarly, the position of the elders in God’s New Testament economy is exceedingly important.

The Bible reveals that the elders as a group are indispensable in the church life, and our experience also confirms this. When the elders are weak, the church is weak, and when the elders are strong, the church is also strong. Likewise, if the elders are spiritually rich, the church is spiritually rich; and if they are spiritually poor, the church is also spiritually poor. Hence, whether the “tide” of the church is high or low depends solely upon the elders. If the condition of the elders is high, the church will be high; if the condition of the elders is low, the church will be low. The condition of the elders is reflected in the church. This principle is ironclad. (CWWL, 1984, vol. 4, “Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 3: The Future of the Lord’s Recovery and the Building Up of the Organic Service”, msg. 1)

The Need of Being Filled with the Spirit of God

The elders or the leading ones in the church responsibility are those most in need of the constant infilling of the Spirit of God. No need to say to build the New Testament church, even to build the Old Testament tabernacle, the record in Exodus stresses strongly the infilling of the Spirit of God. Yes, there is a difference between the New and the Old Testaments, yet in the reality of God’s economy there is no difference. What we need today, they needed in ancient times.

The Spirit As God Reaching Us

Actually, the tabernacle was designed by God Himself. Yet—here is a basic principle—the tabernacle was not built by Him directly. It was built by His people who were filled with Him, that is, with His Spirit.

The Spirit of God is God Himself. Do not think of God as in the heavens and sending His Spirit down to earth to enter into the designers to do the work. It was not that way. Whenever God reached man, He was the Spirit. Even today what is the Spirit of God? It is God reaching us. When He reaches us, the very reaching God is the Spirit.

What I would like to share with you brothers is this: To take the lead in the church life requires the infilling of God Himself. We need the infilling of the Triune God. As you know, the Spirit today is much, much richer than the Spirit of God in Old Testament times; but the principle is the same.

Willingness, Emptiness and Prayer

Do not think that your teaching in itself will help others. Nor can I trust in my teaching to help you. If you are short of willingness, short of emptiness, short of prayer, I cannot help you. Nor can you be of help to others. We all need these three things. We should pray, “Lord, by Your mercy I am willing. In Your grace I am empty. I am open to You with utter emptiness. I do not want to hold on to anything of my past experiences. I want to be fresh.” All the time, unceasingly, pray to be filled with Him. Then you will experience wisdom, understanding, and knowledge coming to you like a tide. You will be under the flooding of divine wisdom, divine understanding, and divine knowledge. You will know how to contact the saints with the divine nature, how to supply them with Christ, how to build them up with the redemption of Christ and with God’s judgment. You will also have an inner ability to build up the saints in transformation and in the church life; not just to build them in character but to build them up as a dwelling place for God.

If talks like this are to be of help, they only avail when you are willing and empty and praying. If you are short of this constant prayer, I assure you that you will be very poor in the leadership. To be rich in the leadership, we need a willingness, an emptiness, and continuous prayer. (CWWL, 1983, vol. 1, “Practical Talks to the Elders”, ch. 7)

A Proper Prayer Life for a Proper Church Life

In the first chapter of 1 Timothy Paul lays a good foundation to speak of the church life in a positive way. In 2:1 he goes on to say, “I exhort therefore, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercessions, thanksgivings be made on behalf of all men.” If we would have a proper church life, we must first have a prayer life. The leading ones, those who minister the Word in the church, should take the lead to have such a prayer life. A prayer ministry is the prerequisite for the administration and shepherding of a local church. Thus, Paul exhorts Timothy that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made on behalf of all men. This is the first word concerning the positive aspect of the church life Paul gives after speaking of God’s economy and after charging Timothy to war the good warfare for God’s economy. Timothy had to take the lead to have a prayer life.

A prerequisite for having a proper church life in the Lord’s recovery today is to have a prayer life. A proper church is a praying church. A church that is without prayer is pitiful. Prayerlessness is a sin. All in the Lord’s recovery must be prayerful and stand against the sin of prayerlessness. The elders in the churches must take up Paul’s charge to “first of all” pray.

If we would be a Timothy, we must take the lead not to argue, gossip, or criticize, but to pray. Whenever we hear some news, good or bad, concerning a particular church, we should pray. Do not discuss the situation, do not gossip about it, and do not criticize. Just pray! Likewise, if you hear something about a saint or about an elder, pray for that one. The first requirement to have a proper church life is to pray. Oh, we all need to practice this! If we exercise ourselves to have a prayer life, the church will be living and uplifted. If some would be today’s Timothys to take the lead to pray, the others will follow. This can be illustrated by the way a flock of sheep follows the few who take the lead. If you, as a Timothy, take the lead to pray, the congregation in your locality will follow.

Instead of talking so much and even instead of working so much, we should pray more. Should you hear that a saint is weak or backsliding, do not talk about that person, and do not criticize him. Moreover, do not immediately go to visit him. Instead, pray for him. Whether or not you should visit him depends on the Lord’s leading. After you pray about the matter, if the Lord leads you to visit that one, simply follow the Lord and visit him. But do not do anything presumptuously. If the Lord does not lead you to visit a backsliding saint, you should not visit him on your own. It is possible that even in visiting the saints we may be presumptuous. Yes, visiting a backsliding saint is a presumptuous sin if it is done in ourselves apart from prayer and the Lord’s leading. But if through our prayer the Lord definitely leads us to visit a certain one, that visitation will be effective.

We should also pray whenever we hear of problems among the saints. We should not presume that we are experienced and qualified to solve problems. Such an attitude is not only presumptuous; it is also blasphemous, for it is to consider ourselves as God. If we learn about a problem between brothers, we should bring this matter to the Lord in our prayer.

The first thing the elders should do in caring for the church is pray. Do not make decisions without praying. Do not either criticize someone or praise him without first praying for him. Before doing anything, we need to pray. Furthermore, our prayers should not be light or superficial; they must be thorough. Only after we have prayed for a matter thoroughly should we make a decision concerning it, not by ourselves independently, but in oneness with the Lord and according to His leading. If the elders practice in this way the church life in our locality will be uplifted and proper. (Life-Study of 1 Timothy, msg. 3)

Advancing and Abounding in the Knowledge of the Truth

The elders need to advance and abound in the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim. 5:17b). If we want to pursue the truth today, the simple way is to properly study the Life-studies. Many have dropped their jobs, forsaken the world, and joined the full-time training. In the training, during a twenty-four hour day, apart from eating, resting, and sleeping, the trainees spend all their time pursuing the truth. Although there are teachers in the training center who teach courses, they cannot read the Life-studies for the trainees; the trainees must study and enter into the Life-studies for themselves.

In pursuing the knowledge of the truth, no one should say that there is no opportunity; in particular, the trainees should not feel that there are not enough teachers. Everyone can enter into the Life-study messages. Even if there are some portions that you do not understand, you can all come together to discuss and learn from one another. Thus, you will be able to find a way. If you become well versed in all the twelve hundred plus Life-study messages, you will be an outstanding person in regard to the knowledge of the Bible. On the other hand, we need to see that everywhere there is the urgent need of the ministry of the word. Therefore, we need to all be filled and equipped with the truth contained in the twenty-seven books of the New Testament. Not only so, one by one we need to practice to speak the truth. We now have an excellent opportunity. In Taipei alone, there are several dozen districts. Every district provides the opportunity to speak and is waiting for the ministry of the word. There are currently several hundred people in the training, and they can all go to different districts to minister life according to what they have learned. There is no need to give lengthy messages. To speak for five to ten minutes is sufficient. If we do this, the meetings in these districts will be immediately enriched.

Having a Daily Revival before the Lord

Second, we all need to have a daily revival before the Lord. According to the principle of God’s creation, when the day dawns, it does not stay bright forever; it remains bright for twelve hours at most. There are twelve hours in the night to provide us time for respite, consideration, and reflection so that we can consider whether the day was a success or a failure and hope that tomorrow morning will be a new day, a new beginning. The Bible says that God’s lovingkindness and compassions are new every morning (Lam. 3:22-24). Every morning Jehovah God is our new portion that rises with the sun. His compassions are always new. We should all have a new beginning before God every morning, a beginning that is different from the past. We should forget yesterday and have a new beginning today. Today is a new revival, and every morning we need to have a revived living.

We should not excuse ourselves by saying that we are weak. We may be weak, but the Lord is not weak. First John 4:4 says, “Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.” In addition, Paul says, “I am able to do all things in Him who empowers me” (Phil. 4:13). In Philippians 1:19 he also speaks of “the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.” The promises are available, the Spirit of Jesus Christ is within us, and the One who empowers us is with us; these are all for us to apply.

Every morning when we come to the Lord’s word, we need to tell the Lord, “Amen, Lord. This is Your word. I read Your word not only in the morning but also in the evening. Lord, I do not have to wait until the morning to be revived; I want to be revived in the evening.” We should have this kind of attitude and have such a transaction with the Lord; we should not remain in our old way. May the Lord have mercy on us. (CWWL, 1984, vol. 4, “Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 3: The Future of the Lord’s Recovery and the Building Up of the Organic Service”, msg. 2)

PURSUING CHRIST

Song of Songs is a book in the Bible that tells us how we can be satisfied properly with God. There is no other way except by pursuing after Christ, because Christ is the very embodiment of the Triune God. He is the reality of God. He is God in reality, God’s embodiment, coming to earth to give people the opportunity to receive Him for satisfaction.

All Things Other Than Christ Being Dung

Peter may be counted as the first one among the apostles and Paul was a later one. They were seekers of God, but initially they took the wrong way. Eventually, both Peter, a fisherman, and Paul, a learned scholar, found the way to seek Christ for satisfaction. Paul told us in Philippians 3 that we have to pursue Christ to gain Him (vv. 12-14) because He is the most excellent way. All things other than Christ are dung (v. 8). Only Christ is excellent. Whatever we obtain or have obtained other than Christ is vanity. Paul says that it is dung. Do you like dung? But today many worldly people are gaining dung day after day. Dung is their food. Solomon says that they are pursuing vanity. Vanity of vanities is what they are eating. That is their food. Paul’s desire was to gain Christ, and he instructed us how to gain Christ as he did.

His Love Being Attracting, His Name Being Charming,
and His Person Being Captivating

In this message our point is that we have to pursue Christ for satisfaction. Song of Songs opens in this way: “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!” (1:2a). The seeker longs for kisses, not just one kiss. The most impressive thing about weddings in the Western world is the time of kissing. The bridegroom opens the bride’s veil to kiss her with his own mouth. He does not kiss the ears or the nose of the bride but her mouth. This is the most personal and affectionate thing. Here is a book in the Bible that opens in such a way: “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth.” This is what it means to pursue Christ.

According to the New Testament, God’s ordained way for man to receive Him in this kind of personal and affectionate way is first to believe in Him. To believe in Him is to receive Him as the divine life into us that we may have an organic union with God in the divine life. Regretfully, very few Christians know what believing in Christ means. They know that they need to take Him as Savior and Redeemer, but they do not know that to believe in Christ is to receive Him as the divine life into us so that we can have an organic union with God in His divine life. This is the first step.

Now that we have received Christ into us, what does God want us to do? Many Christian teachers teach people in the wrong way. They say that after one has believed in Christ, he should do many things. This is wrong. According to the New Testament, after we believe in Christ, after we receive Him as the divine life into us, we have to love Him (see 1 Cor. 2:9 and note 3—Recovery Version). Paul told us that the Lord’s grace super abounded to him with faith and love in Christ Jesus (1 Tim. 1:14). Faith is to receive Christ, and love is to pursue Christ.

Letting Him Kiss Me with the Kisses of His Mouth

“Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth.” This word indicates that to some extent the seeker has obtained a part of Christ’s love, but now she wants something more intimate. She wants to be kissed not just with one kiss but with the kisses of His mouth. Someone who is affectionate with another may kiss him on the cheek, but this expression of affection is not the first category of love. On the wedding day who would want to see the bridegroom kiss his bride on the cheek? He is expected to kiss his bride on the mouth as the expression of his utmost affection.

In her desire to be kissed with the kisses of His mouth, the seeker goes on to say, “For your love is better than wine” (1:2b). She does not say that His love is as good as wine but that it is better than wine. Wine cheers but Christ’s love cheers us in an unrivaled way. No wine can compare with His unrivaled love. Nothing is so cheering as Christ’s love.

Your Name Being Like Ointment Poured Forth

Verse 3 says, “Your anointing oils have a pleasant fragrance; / Your name is like ointment poured forth; / Therefore the virgins love you.” Christ’s name signifies Christ’s person, His being, and Christ is the compound Spirit signified by the anointing ointment in Exodus 30. “The last Adam became a life-giving Spirit” (1 Cor. 15:45b). This indicates that Christ’s name as His person is the anointing ointment. An ointment is always a compound. Christ is compounded with God, with man, with His death, with the effectiveness of His death, with His resurrection, and with the power of His resurrection. At least these six things are compounded together to be the anointing ointment, signifying Christ in His resurrection as the compound Spirit. If someone says your name, you respond because you are the person of that name. Christ’s charming name, His person, is the all-inclusive, compound Spirit.

Drawing me, we will run after you

His love is attracting, His name is charming, and His person is captivating. He has drawn and captivated millions of His lovers to pursue after Him and is still doing the same today. Therefore, all His lovers would run after Him for their satisfaction. This is why the seeker prays, “Draw me; we will run after you” (S. S. 1:4a).

THE NEED FOR A PERSONAL
AND AFFECTIONATE RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRIST

Dear saints, in this message I want to impress you with something particular. After you have received Christ as your life, you must have a very personal seeking after Christ. No one can represent you or do anything for you in this matter. It must be personal. Every believer’s relationship with Christ must be personal and affectionate.

God works in a personal and affectionate way, not in the way of a movement. Mao Tse-tung gained the people of China by a movement, not by personal contact and affection. Even many in Christianity like to use the term movement. Some say that at John Wesley‘s time in Oxford there was a movement. They also say that there was a great movement, a great revival, in Wales at the beginning of this century. This concept of having a movement is wrong. We do not want to have a movement in the Lord’s recovery. A person can be moved to join a movement and not have any personal contact with the Lord. Recently, we have stressed that God became a man that man may become God in life and nature but not in the Godhead. Although many responded to this truth, I was not very happy, because this response was a movement. In order to practice such a high truth, we need the personal and affectionate experience of Christ.

Since we have been born of God, we have become His children (John 1:12-13). John 3:6 says, “That which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” Since God is Spirit and we were born of Him, what are we? That which is born of a cow, is a cow. That which is born of Chinese, is Chinese. Also, that which is born of God as the Spirit is spirit. This is logical. A paraphrased version of John 3:6 could read this way: “He that is born of God the Spirit is the spirit-God.” We were regenerated of God as the Spirit to be a spirit. As those who have been born of God, we are the children of God, the same as God in life and nature but not in the Godhead. Therefore, our relationship with God has to be personal and affectionate.

Being with Us in a Personal and Affectionate Way

In these days I feel very much that there is a warm, intimate, close affection between me and my God. The seeker said, “Draw me.” She did not say, “Draw us.” Draw me is personal. We want a drawing from the Lord that is His personal and affectionate doing. We want Him to be with us in a personal and affectionate way. All the religions, including Christianity, present a portrait of God which is inaccurate. They portray God merely as great, almighty, sovereign, majestic, and even unapproachable; no one can or even dares to touch God. To say that God is majestic is not wrong, but that is only one attribute of the divine Being. Regardless of how great, sovereign, almighty, and majestic God is, when He wanted to build up His relationship with man He took the personal, affectionate way. He took the way of becoming a man. If the Lord Jesus had come to Peter in a majestic way, Peter would have felt threatened. But He did not come to Peter as the majestic, untouchable God. Instead, He came to Peter as his countryman. Peter was a Galilean, and Jesus was also a Galilean. This is personal and affectionate.

The Lord Jesus lived among men for thirty-three and a half years. This was the way in which God came to build up His relationship with man. This is the personal, affectionate way recorded in the New Testament from the incarnation to the day of resurrection. On the morning of His resurrection, the Lord’s empty tomb was discovered by three sisters (Mark 16:1). When they entered into the tomb, an angel gave them a message from the Lord, saying, “Go, tell His disciples and Peter…” (v. 7). Peter’s name mentioned in this way is personal and affectionate. Peter’s intimate relationship with the Lord Jesus was particular, so it was stressed even by the angel. At the beginning of his contact with the Lord, Peter’s response was not too personal, but gradually Peter’s transaction with the Lord became personal and affectionate.

The apostle John could lie on the Lord’s bosom (John 13:23). How personal and affectionate that was! The very God, the very Lord whom we seek, sets up a feast and invites us to feast with Him (Rev. 3:20). We must have such a personal and affectionate contact with Him. If we mail someone a letter, that affects him in a certain way. But if we come to him with a personal visitation and an affectionate contact, that makes a great difference.

Hymns, #437 (stanzas 1 and 6 with the chorus) says:

Hast thou heard Him, seen Him, known Him?

Is not thine a captured heart?

Chief among ten thousand own Him;

Joyful choose the better part.

Captivated by His beauty,

Worthy tribute haste to bring;

Let His peerless worth constrain thee,

Crown Him now unrivaled King.

‘Tis that look that melted Peter,

‘Tis that face that Stephen saw,

‘Tis that heart that wept with Mary,

Can alone from idols draw:

Only the face of tears that Peter saw, only the face of glory into which Stephen looked, and only the heart that wept with Mary can keep us away from the idols, the attractions, of this world. The Bible tells us that Jesus wept with Mary (John 11:35). Have you ever heard that God weeps? Many say that Jesus came to express God, but they mainly refer to the miracles He did, not to the tears that He shed.

The Very God Whom We Pursue Being Personal and Affectionate

Dear saints, my burden in this message is to share that you have to start seeking the Lord in a personal and affectionate way. I want to stress these two words: personal and affectionate. The very God whom we pursue is personal and affectionate.

I have been in the Lord’s fellowship for about seventy years, but there was one particular occasion when the Lord touched me in the most personal and affectionate way. In 1943 Japan invaded and occupied China. One day the military police of the invading Japanese army arrested me and imprisoned me for thirty days. Every day I was subjected to two very stern and strict examinations. At that time the Chinese knew how cruel the invading Japanese army was. They would kill a Chinese as they would a chicken. I do not believe that there were many Chinese who were arrested by the Japanese army and released after thirty days. All my relatives, friends, and brothers and sisters in the church were very concerned for my life.

On the first day of my imprisonment, the Japanese military police put me into a soldier’s bedroom; that night the Lord gave me a dream, indicating to me that the Japanese army would not hurt me. The next day they began to interrogate me. They threatened to pour cold water upon me if I did not tell the truth. I said to myself, “You don’t need to threaten me, because I will surely speak the truth. I am a man of truth.” After many times of their testing, they could not find anything wrong with me. After fifteen days of being imprisoned, I was alone in my small cell in the night. I stood up and I can testify that the Lord was in my presence embracing me. I said with tears, “Lord, You know why I am here.” This experience of the Lord was personal to the uttermost. In my whole life I never had a time like that in which the Lord was so personal to me. I was so personal and affectionate to Him, and He was the same to me.

We all need this kind of personal, affectionate, intimate contact with the Lord every day. This has become my habit. Every morning after rising up I go to my desk and the first thing I say is, “Lord Jesus, I love You.” I am not just a poor man praying to a merciful God, but I am contacting a Savior who is personal and affectionate to me, as I am personal and affectionate to Him. We all need to take heed to what the seeker says: “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!” Right away her tone changes: “Your love is better than wine.” This is a personal, intimate prayer. “Draw me; we will run after you.” This is personal and affectionate. We need this kind of personal and affectionate seeking after Him, and we need to build up such a relationship with Him that is so personal and affectionate. (Life-study of Song of Songs, msg. 1)

Having a Personal, Intimate, and Loving Contact with the Lord Jesus

Dealing with the Lord Jesus as a person and properly contacting Him requires that we have a loving affection for Him. Rather than kneel before Him in a religious way, we should speak with Him in a loving, affectionate way. We can say, O Lord Jesus, I love You. Lord, You are altogether lovely, and You are real, near, and available. I abide in You, and You abide in me. Hallelujah！ I am one with You, and we can never be separated. We need to contact the Lord in this way by talking to Him in an intimate way.

We love to contact the Lord by calling, “O Lord Jesus. O Jesus! Some people may say that calling on the Lord in this way is vain repetition. However, we do many things repeatedly. For example, breathing is the most repetitious thing that we do. We repeat our breathing twenty-four hours a day. If we give up breathing, we will die. Many in today’s Christianity are spiritually dead because they do not breathe the Lord by calling on Him (Lam. 3: 55-56). The more we breathe the Lord by calling on His name, the more living we become. We must all love the Lord Jesus and practice a personal intimate contact with Him all day long by calling on His name. We need to give up our old religious knowledge and teachings so that the living person of Jesus can become our enjoyment and experience. In the Gospel of John the center is not religious forms or doctrines. The center is the wonderful person of Jesus. We have no words to describe Him in full. We simply need to tell Him, ” Lord, Jesus, we love You. We simply want to remain in intimate contact with You. (CWWL, 1971, vol. 4, “Having a Personal, Intimate, Affectionate, Tender, and Loving Contact with the Lord Jesus”, msg. 1)

REMAINING IN THE MINGLED SPIRIT

Christ is the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit. As such, He is in our spirit, and He is joined to our spirit as one mingled spirit. We need to remain in the mingled spirit, live in the mingled spirit, breathe in the mingled spirit, pray in the mingled spirit, and fellowship with Him in the mingled spirit. Christ as the Spirit in our spirit should direct us in everything. To live Christ is to live the Spirit who has entered into our spirit to become one spirit with us. Hence, to live Christ is a matter of living in our mingled spirit. (Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 346)

The Physical Savior Changing into a Life-giving Spirit in Resurrection

Through His death and in His resurrection He became “another kind of Jesus.” He was no longer physical, because He became a life-giving Christ, a life-giving Spirit. The last Adam, who was Jesus in the flesh, became a life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b). I would like to ask, “Are you still preaching and ministering a physical Jesus or a pneumatic Christ?” Mostly, those in Christianity preach a physical Savior, but the Bible unveils to us that this physical Savior, after He accomplished God’s full redemption through His death, changed into a life-giving Spirit in resurrection. They do not believe that Christ has become another kind of person, not physical but spiritual.

When Christ was in the flesh, He could visit His disciples outwardly and openly, but there was no possibility for Him to visit His disciples inwardly and privately. Today Christ visits us privately and spiritually because He is the life-giving, compound, consummated, all-inclusive Spirit. He is the Spirit as the consummation of the processed and consummated Triune God, so He visits people secretly, privately, not openly.

The King, Christ, Bringing Us into His Inner Chambers, Our Regenerated Spirit

First, in Song of Songs the Lord captivates His seeker, and she with all her companions follow Him. To pursue Christ for satisfaction is the first “crystal” in Song of Songs. The second crystal is the King bringing His seeker into His inner chambers. Song of Songs is a book of figures. In a figure of speech the king’s inner chambers signify our regenerated spirit as Christ’s inner chambers.

God created man so that man may become Him by His being received by man so that He can enter into and stay in man. For this reason God created us with a spirit. According to the New Testament teaching, our regenerated spirit is not only for us to have a means to receive Him but also for us to contain Him.…The real inner chambers to God are our spirit.

Christianity preaches the physical Jesus, but we preach the pneumatic Christ, the Christ who is the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:17). This One is private and spiritual. We have seen that the king’s chambers signify our spirit. He visits us in our spirit privately, and He comes to us in a spiritual way, not a physical way. He visits us privately as the all-inclusive consummated Spirit.

Christ the King brings His seekers into His chambers, that is, into their regenerated spirit, His dwelling place.…

According to our experience, our spirit is the Holy of Holies—the dwelling place, the inner chambers, of the Triune God. In this first chapter of Song of Songs He and we have the private and affectionate fellowship.

The seeker in Song of Songs prayed, “Draw me; we will run after you” (1:4a). Then the king drew her and she followed, but she did not know where to go. The King knows where to go. We must go to our spirit. The inner chambers of Christ are His lovers’ regenerated spirits mingled with and indwelt by Him as the life-dispensing Spirit (Rom. 8:16; 2 Tim. 4:22; Rom. 8:11) and are the practical Holy of Holies in Christ’s lovers for their participation in and enjoyment of the pneumatic Christ as the consummated Triune God (Heb. 4:16).

After we were saved, we began to pray, and eventually, we realized that the heavenly Father, the Lord Jesus, and the Spirit are all in us. But at that time we did not know in what part of our being the Triune God dwelt. We did not know that we had a human spirit, but gradually we found out that the Triune God dwells in our regenerated spirit. The seeker followed the Lord, and He immediately brought her to her regenerated spirit to have fellowship with Him. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 3, “Crystallization-study of Song of Songs”, msg. 2)