THE THIRD PART: 24 CRUCIAL LINES IN THE BIBLE
The Overcomers
Message One
God Fulfilling His Eternal Economy through the Overcomers
Scripture Reading: Gen. 2:9; 12:7; Exo. 3:8a; Matt. 31:4; John. 3:16; 1 Cor. 1:9; John. 15:2a; Rev. 5:6; Phil. 1:19b; Eph. 1:23; 3:19b; 4:12-13; Rev. 20:4, 6; Matt. 25:21, 23
I. The Bible is a book written by God Himself, and He is the living and moving God; He has His heart’s desire and His own purpose, so in eternity past He made an economy to do something for Himself—1 Tim. 3:16; Eph. 1:5, 10. (CWWL, 1993, vol. 2, “The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups”, An Introductory Word)
II. If we read the sixty-six books of the Bible thoroughly under God’s enlightenment, we can see clearly that God’s move on this earth for the accomplishment of His eternal economy has only four steps—Gen. 2:9; 12:7; Exo. 3:8a; Matt. 21:43; John 3:16; 1 Cor. 1:9; Rev. 5:6; Phil. 1:19b: (CWWL, 1993, vol. 2, “The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups”, An Introductory Word)
A. God’s move on the earth for the accomplishment of His eternal economy was first through the Adamic race—Gen. 2:19: (CWWL, 1993, vol. 2, “The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups”, An Introductory Word)
1. God’s move through the Adamic race was with the tree of life as the center and the goal; this tree is actually a sign of God Himself as our life. (CWWL, 1993, vol. 2, “The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups”, An Introductory Word)
2. God’s intention was to be taken by man as life; He created man and put man in front of the tree of life, indicating that it was good for man to take and eat. (CWWL, 1993, vol. 2, “The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups”, An Introductory Word)
3. Man’s failure was that he was distracted from God’s ordained line of life (Gen. 3:24) to another line, signified by the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; because of man’s failure, he became not merely sinful or worldly but flesh—3:24, 6:3a. (CWWL, 1993, vol. 2, “The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups”, An Introductory Word)
4. The final outcome was that God destroyed the fallen race; God could not get through with Adam and his descendants, so He went to another race. (CWWL, 1993, vol. 2, “The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups”, An Introductory Word)
B. With the Abrahamic race, God took the good land as the center and the goal; from Genesis 12 to the end of Malachi, the center and the goal are the good land; the good land is a complete and full type of the all-inclusive Christ—12:7, Exo. 3:8a: (CWWL, 1993, vol. 2, “The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups”, An Introductory Word)
1. God’s intention with the Abrahamic race was for them to take, possess, and enjoy the good land as a full type of Christ before Christ came to be a man. (CWWL, 1993, vol. 2, “The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups”, An Introductory Word)
2. The descendants of Abraham also failed; they did not enter into God’s goal—the good land; Israel also failed by not taking and possessing the good land by destroying the Canaanites; they did not remain in the enjoyment of the good land by walking with God—Num. 14; Josh. 13:1-7; Judg. 2:11-15. (CWWL, 1993, vol. 2, “The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups”, An Introductory Word)
3. Eventually, Israel was given up by God; the Lord told them that they would be given up and that He would turn His kingdom from Israel to the church—Matt. 21:43. (CWWL, 1993, vol. 2, “The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups”, An Introductory Word)
C. God could not get through with the Abrahamic race, so He turned to the church—Matt. 21:43; John. 3:16; 1 Cor. 1:9: (CWWL, 1993, vol. 2, “The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups”, An Introductory Word)
1. The unique Christ is the center and goal of God’s move through the church—John 3:16; 1 Cor. 1:9. (CWWL, 1993, vol. 2, “The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups”, An Introductory Word)
2. The church failed because it was distracted from the enjoyment of Christ; the church failed to the extent that it has become mixed Christianity—Gal. 1:6; 4:9; Matt. 13:33; Col. 2:20-21. (CWWL, 1993, vol. 2, “The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups”, An Introductory Word)
3. God’s judgment on the fallen and deformed church is to let the overcomers rise up—Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 26-28; 3:5, 12, 20-21. (CWWL, 1993, vol. 2, “The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups”, An Introductory Word)
a. God’s move through the Adamic race, through the Abrahamic race, and then through the church there was a failure. (CWWL, 1993, vol. 2, “The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups”, An Introductory Word)
b. God’s judgment, however, was for the purpose of raising up the overcomers; this is why there is the last book of the Bible—Revelation: (CWWL, 1993, vol. 2, “The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups”, An Introductory Word)
(1) At the close of each of the seven epistles to the churches in Revelation 2 and 3, the Head, Christ, sounded out His call for the overcomers; He repeats this call seven times—2:7, 11, 17, 26-28; 3:5, 12, 20-21. (CWWL, 1993, vol. 2, “The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups”, An Introductory Word)
(2) The book of Revelation is a book concerning the overcomers; we need to pay full attention to the Lord’s calling for the overcomers. (CWWL, 1993, vol. 2, “The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups”, An Introductory Word)
D. God’s move on the earth for the accomplishment of His economy is ultimately through the overcomers—Rev. 5:6, Phil. 1:19b: (CWWL, 1993, vol. 2, “The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups”, An Introductory Word)
1. God moves through the overcomers to accomplish His economy with the pneumatic Christ as the center and the goal—Rev. 5:6; Phil. 1:19b: (CWWL, 1993, vol. 2, “The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups”, An Introductory Word)
2. The term the pneumatic Christ means that in the last step of God’s move, Christ was made the all-inclusive Spirit: (CWWL, 1993, vol. 2, “The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups”, An Introductory Word)
a. Revelation 5:6 reveals that the sevenfold-intensified Spirit is the eyes of Christ; this makes Christ the pneumatic Christ, the Christ who is the consummated and compound, all-inclusive Spirit. (CWWL, 1993, vol. 2, “The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups”, An Introductory Word)
b. Philippians 1:19b speaks of the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ; the Spirit of Jesus Christ is Christ Himself, and this pneumatic Christ has the bountiful supply. (CWWL, 1993, vol. 2, “The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups”, An Introductory Word)
3. He is all-inclusive; He is rich; He is bountiful in His supply; and this is the very Christ in this age of the overcomers. (CWWL, 1993, vol. 2, “The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups”, An Introductory Word)
III. We are in the church, but we are in the age of the overcomers; in order to be an overcomer, we need to know the seven basic items of God’s recovery—2 Cor. 13:14, Col. 1:12, Phil. 1:19, John 6:57; Eph. 4:12; Rev. 1:11; 4:3: (CWWL, 1993, vol. 2, “The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups”, An Introductory Word)
A. The first crucial point of the major items of the Lord’s recovery is the participation in the processed Triune God—2 Cor. 13:14. (CWWL, 1993, vol. 2, “The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups”, An Introductory Word)
B. The second crucial point of the major items of the Lord’s recovery is the rich enjoyment of the all-inclusive and all-extensive Christ—Col. 1:12. (CWWL, 1993, vol. 2, “The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups”, An Introductory Word)
C. The full experience of the consummated compound Spirit—John 7:39; Phil. 1:19; Exo.30:23-25. (CWWL, 1993, vol. 2, “The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups”, An Introductory Word)
D. The overcomers are also here for the recovery of the absolute living by the eternal life—John. 6:57: (CWWL, 1993, vol. 2, “The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups”, An Introductory Word)
1. We Christians possess the human life and the divine life; the problem is the life by which we live. (CWWL, 1993, vol. 2, “The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups”, An Introductory Word)
2. We have to learn to do something higher than ethical conduct, we should live by the divine life. (CWWL, 1993, vol. 2, “The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups”, An Introductory Word)
E. We are here for the building up of the Body of Christ; the building up of the local churches should be for the building up of the Body of Christ—Eph. 4:12. (CWWL, 1993, vol. 2, “The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups”, An Introductory Word)
F. The Bible, the New Testament, shows us clearly that every city should have only one church, just like a husband should have only one wife—Rev. 1:11; Acts 8:1; 13:1. (CWWL, 1993, vol. 2, “The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups”, An Introductory Word)
G. The final crucial point of the major items of the Lord’s recovery is the keeping of the oneness of the Body of Christ—Eph. 4:3. (CWWL, 1993, vol. 2, “The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups”, An Introductory Word)
IV. In the age of the overcomers, God’s intention is to consummate the building up of the Body of Christ—vv. 12-13: (CWWL, 1993, vol. 2, “The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups”, An Introductory Word)
A. The overcomers of the Lord should pay full attention to the building up of the Body of Christ. (CWWL, 1993, vol. 2, “The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups”, An Introductory Word)
B. An overcomer must be one who overcomes the divisions. (CWWL, 1993, vol. 2, “The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups”, An Introductory Word)
C. We are building up the Body of Christ to usher in, to bring in, the New Jerusalem—Rev. 2:7b; 3:12. (CWWL, 1993, vol. 2, “The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups”, An Introductory Word)