THE SECOND PART: A BIRD’S-EYE VIEW OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
The Full Ministry of Christ in the Stage of Intensification
Message One—Intensifying His Organic Salvation
Scriptures Reading: Rev. 1:4-5; 5:6; 4:2; 1 Cor. 15:45b; 2 Cor. 3:17a; Phil. 3:14-15; Eph. 3:16-21
I. The full ministry of Christ is in three stages—John 1:14; 1 Cor. 15:45b; 2 Cor. 3:17a; Rev. 4:5; 5:6:
A. The first stage is the stage of incarnation—the stage of Christ in the flesh—John 1:14.
B. The second stage is the stage of inclusion—the stage of Christ as the life-giving Spirit—1 Cor. 15:45b; 2 Cor. 3:17a.
C. The third stage is the stage of intensification—the stage of Christ as the sevenfold intensified Spirit—Rev. 1:4; 4:5; 5:6; 3:1:
1. The first section of Christ’s ministry was judicial, the second section is organic, and the third section is sevenfold intensified.
2. Now Christ is not only the life-giving Spirit—He is the sevenfold intensified life-giving Spirit carrying out His sevenfold intensified heavenly ministry.
II. Because of the degradation of the church Christ as the life-giving Spirit has been intensified sevenfold to become the seven Spirits—the sevenfold intensified life-giving Spirit—1:4; 5:6:
A. On the way of Christ’s ministry in the stage of His inclusion, the church became degraded to frustrate the accomplishment of God’s eternal economy—2:4, 6, 14-15, 20; 3:1-2, 15-17:
1. Eventually the church degraded to such an extent that the Lord could no longer tolerate it.
2. The Lord reacted to the degradation of the church by intensifying Himself sevenfold to become the sevenfold intensified life-giving Spirit—1:4; 4:5; 5:6.
B. The seven Spirits are undoubtedly the Spirit of God because they are ranked among the Triune God—1:4-5:
1. As seven is the number for completion in God’s operation, so the seven Spirits are for God’s move on the earth.
2. At the time the book of Revelation was written, the church had become degraded and the age had become dark; therefore, the sevenfold intensified Spirit of God was needed for God’s move and work on the earth.
C. In substance and existence, God’s Spirit is one; in the intensified function and work of God’s operation, God’s Spirit is sevenfold—4:2:
1. It is like the lampstand in Zechariah 4:2:
a. In existence it is one lampstand.
b. In function it is seven lamps.
2. In the intensified function and work of God’s operation, the Lord has become the sevenfold intensified Spirit to deal with the degradation of the church, to intensify His organic salvation, to produce the overcomers for the building up of the Body of Christ to consummate the New Jerusalem.
III. In Revelation 1:4-5 the Spirit becomes the second, the center, of the Divine Trinity, revealing the importance of the intensified function of the sevenfold Spirit of God:
A. The seven Spirits are burning before the throne to carry out God’s administration, to execute God’s economy in the universe, by directing the world situation—1:4; 4:5.
B. The sevenfold intensified Spirit is the seven lamps of fire to burn, enlighten, expose, judge, purify, and refine us to produce the golden lampstands—the churches—for the fulfillment of God’s New Testament economy—v. 5.
C. The sevenfold intensified Spirit is the eyes of Christ as the redeeming Lamb and the building stone to observe and search us and to infuse and transfuse us with Christ’s essence, riches, and burden for God’s building—Zech. 3:9; 4:7; Rev. 1:14; 5:6.
D. The golden lampstands, as the multiplied embodiment of the Triune God, are filled with God the Spirit as the seven shining Spirits—the full expression of the Triune God—1:12, 20; Eph. 5:18; Rom. 8:4; Gal. 5:16, 22-23.
E. The seven Spirits, who are the lamps of fire in this age executing God’s New Testament economy, will become the river of water saturating the holy city of God, the New Jerusalem—Rev. 22:1-2.
F. By the operation of the sevenfold intensified Spirit within Christ’s seeking believers, they are intensified to become the overcomers to build up the Body of Christ, which consummates the New Jerusalem—1:4; 4:5.
IV. In the Lord’s recovery we need to do a work of three stages—Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 3:17a:
A. We should do the work of the first stage, the stage of incarnation, to produce redeemed people—John 1:14.
B. We should do the work of the second stage, the stage of inclusion, to produce churches—1 Cor. 15:45b; 2 Cor. 3:17a.
C. We should have the burden and be able to do the work of the third stage, the stage of intensification, to produce the overcomers for the building up of the Body of Christ consummating in the New Jerusalem—Rev. 1:4; 4:5.
D. “Now I am burdened to carry out a work in the stage of intensification. Therefore, I pray to the Lord, saying, ‘Lord, I am endeavoring to do my best to be an overcomer for the building up of Your Body to consummate the New Jerusalem.’ ”
V. In the Lord’s recovery we need to advance from the stage of inclusion to the stage of intensification—Phil. 3:14-15:
A. We need to see that the Christ who is the all-inclusive, life-giving Spirit has been intensified sevenfold—1 Cor. 15:45b; Rev. 1:4; 4:5.
B. We need to see that the ministry of Christ in the stage of intensification produces the overcomers to build up the Body of Christ consummating in the New Jerusalem as the unique goal of God’s economy —2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5.
C.We need to consider this matter of intensification and to pray desperately, saying, “Lord, I want to advance from inclusion to intensification. Lord, You have been intensified sevenfold, and I pray that I also will be intensified sevenfold to overcome the degradation of the church that the Body may be built up to consummate the New Jerusalem”—Eph. 3:16-21.
Ministry Excerpts:
THREE SECTIONS OF CHRIST’S MINISTRY
The First Section
The first section of Christ’s ministry was His earthly ministry. This ministry was accomplished by Him judicially in the flesh from His incarnation to His death. In His flesh He died for us according to the righteous requirements of God’s law.
The Second Section
The second section of Christ’s ministry is His heavenly ministry. This ministry is carried out by Him as the life-giving Spirit, organically in the mystical realm, from His resurrection to the end of the millennium. Christ’s ministry in this section is altogether organic, for it is carried out by Him in His resurrection life.
The Third Section
The third section of Christ’s ministry is His sevenfold intensified heavenly ministry. This ministry is carried out by Him as the sevenfold intensified life-giving Spirit, sevenfold intensified organically in the mystical realm, from the degradation of the church to the full consummation of the New Jerusalem. Now Christ is not only the life-giving Spirit—He is the sevenfold intensified life-giving Spirit carrying out His sevenfold intensified heavenly ministry. The first section of Christ’s ministry was judicial, the second section is organic, and the third section is sevenfold intensified.
THE SECRET OF THE INTENSIFIED WORK
OF GOD’S ORGANIC SALVATION
The Degradation of the Church
At the end of the ministry of the three main writers of the New Testament—Paul, Peter, and John—there was degradation. Because of this degradation, the life-giving Spirit, that is, the pneumatic Christ, had to be intensified sevenfold.
The Intensification of Christ
Intensified to Be the Seven Spirits
Christ as the life-giving Spirit was intensified to be the seven Spirits, the sevenfold intensified life-giving Spirit (Rev. 1:4; 4:5; 5:6).
The Seven Lamps
The sevenfold intensified Spirit, as the seven Spirits, is the seven lamps burning before the throne of God (4:5). Because of the degradation, many things should be burned. However, the lamps are mainly not for burning but for enlightening. When the lamps enlighten, they also burn.
The Seven Eyes of the Lamb
The sevenfold intensified Spirit, as the seven Spirits, is the seven eyes of the Lamb sent forth into all the earth, searching and infusing all the churches and all the saints with His eyes (5:6).
The seven Spirits as the seven eyes are for both searching and infusing. While your eyes are searching a person, they are infusing something of yourself into that person. With the seven Spirits as His eyes, Christ is searching all the churches and all the saints and also infusing Himself into the churches and the saints. On the one hand, we may fear His searching, but on the other hand, we should welcome it and be thankful for it because it is always followed by His infusing. Actually, His searching and His infusing go together, for His searching is accompanied by His infusing. As He searches us He infuses Himself into us.
The Means by Which the Believers
Are Saved from Degradation
The Speaking ofChrist the Pneumatic
Christ saves us from degradation by His speaking. In Revelation 2 and 3 the speaking of the unlimited life-releasing sevenfold intensified pneumatic Christ to the seven churches at the beginning of each epistle respectively becomes the speaking of the sevenfold intensified, all-inclusive, life-giving Spirit to all the seven churches at the end of each epistle universally (2:1, 7, 8, 11, 12, 17, 18, 29; 3:1, 6, 7, 13, 14, 22). At the beginning of each of the seven epistles, it is Christ who is speaking, but at the end of each epistle it is the Spirit who is speaking. The speaking of Christ therefore becomes the speaking of the Spirit. From this we see that Christ’s speaking and the Spirit’s speaking are one speaking. Christ speaks to a particular local church, and the Spirit speaks to the universal Body. By this speaking Christ saves us from the degradation of today’s church.
The Participation of the Overcoming Saints
Christ saves the believers also by the participation of the overcoming saints who are living in their spirit drawn by the Lamb (1:10; 4:2; 17:3; 21:10; 14:4). Christ and the Spirit speak, and the overcoming saints respond and say yes to the Lord. The believers who respond in this way will be saved.
The Goal of the Intensified Work
of God’s Organic Salvation
For what are the believers saved from degradation by the sevenfold intensified Spirit? In order to answer this question, we need to see the goal of the intensified work of God’s organic salvation.
Producing the Overcomers
This salvation is for producing the overcomers to build up the Body of Christ for the initial consummation of the New Jerusalem in the kingdom age (2:7) and the full consummation of the New Jerusalem in the new heaven and new earth (21:2). As we look at the situation of today’s Christians, we may wonder who will build up the Body of Christ. Without the overcomers the Body of Christ cannot be built up, and unless the Body of Christ is built up, Christ cannot come back for His bride. Christ will come back not only as the Savior but also as the Bridegroom to marry His bride, who will be the totality of the overcomers. The building up of the Body of Christ is by the overcomers produced by God in the intensified work of His organic salvation.
The building up of the Body of Christ by the overcomers in this age is for the initial consummation of the New Jerusalem in the kingdom age and eventually for the full consummation of the New Jerusalem in the new heaven and new earth.
The Preparation of the Bride
The intensified work of God’s organic salvation is also for the complete preparation of the bride of Christ so that the Bridegroom may have His triumphant wedding in the millennium for His satisfaction according to His good pleasure (19:7-9). John 3 indicates that Christ is the Bridegroom coming for the bride, who is composed of all the regenerated people. But nearly two thousand years have passed, and the bride still has not been prepared. The overcomers produced by Christ’s intensified work will build up the Body of Christ, which will become the bride of Christ. Thus, Christ’s wedding will take place as a result of His intensified work.
The Formation of the Bridal Army
Next, Christ’s intensified work is for the formation of the bridal army for Christ to defeat and destroy His top enemies in humanity, the Antichrist and his false prophet (Rev. 19:11-21; 17:14). At the end of this age Antichrist and his false prophet will rise up to be the top enemies of Christ in humanity. Who will defeat them? These enemies will be defeated by Christ’s bridal army, formed with the overcomers. Christ and His bride will fight against His human enemies and destroy them.
The Binding of Satan
Furthermore Christ’s intensified work is for the binding of Satan and the casting of him into the abyss for one thousand years (20:1-3).
The Bringing In of the Kingdom
Finally, Christ’s intensified work is for the bringing in of the kingdom of Christ and of God which will be the millennium (vv. 4-6).
The Final Outcome
The final outcome of Christ’s intensified work will be that the ultimately consummated Spirit as the consummation of the processed Triune God becomes the Bridegroom, and the aggregate of the overcoming saints becomes the bride of the universal romance between the redeeming God and His redeemed man as the conclusion of the entire Scriptures (22:17). (The Secret of God’s Organic Salvation: ‘The Spirit Himself with Our Spirit,’ msg. 6)