THE FOURTH PART: THE PATHWAY OF LORD’S RECOVERY
The Course of the Church
Message One—The Divine History within the Human History
Scripture Reading: Joel 1:4; 2:28-29; 3:11-21; Eph. 3:16-21; 4:16, 24; Rev. 19:7
I. In the universe there are two histories—the history of man, the human history, and the history of God, the divine history—Joel 1:4; 2:28-29; 3:11-21; John 1:14; 1 Cor. 15:45; Rom. 12:4-5; Rev. 19:7: (2001 TGC, msg. 3)
A. We need to have a clear view of the divine history within the human history— Joel 1:4; 2:28-29; 3:11-21: (2001 TGC, msg. 3)
1. The history of man, the history of the world, the physical, human history, is outward. (2001 TGC, msg. 3)
2. The divine history, the history of God with man and in man, is inward; it is a matter of the mystery of the Triune God in humanity—1 Tim. 3:15-16. (2001 TGC, msg. 3)
3. The divine history began with the eternal God and His economy and continued with the incarnation, human living, crucifixion, and resurrection of Christ—John 1:14; Heb. 2:14; 1 Cor. 15:45b. (2001 TGC, msg. 3)
4. As the enlargement of the manifestation of Christ, the church is part of the divine history within the outward, human history—1 Tim. 3:15-16. (2001 TGC, msg. 3)
5. At the time of the Lord’s coming back, there will be a meeting of two figures—Antichrist, a figure in the outward, human history, and Christ, the Figure in the intrinsic, divine history—2 Thes. 2:2-8: (2001 TGC, msg. 3)
a. Christ will come back, descending with His overcomers as His army (Joel 3:11), to defeat Antichrist and his army—Rev. 19:11-21. (2001 TGC, msg. 3)
b. After the Figure in the divine history defeats the figure in the human history, the thousand-year kingdom will come, and this kingdom will consummate in the New Jerusalem—the ultimate and consummate step of the divine history—20:4, 6; 21:10. (2001 TGC, msg. 3)
B. We need to consider whether we are living merely in the human history or living also in the divine history—1:11, 20; 12:11; 14:4b; 19:7: (2001 TGC, msg. 3)
1. If our living is in the world, we are living merely in the outward, human history—Rom. 12:1-2; 1 John 2:15-17. (2001 TGC, msg. 3)
2. If our living is in the church, we are living in the inward, divine history— 1 Cor. 1:2: (2001 TGC, msg. 3)
a. In the church life, God’s history is our history; God and we have one history, the divine history. (2001 TGC, msg. 3)
b. Our God has a marvelous history which includes us; God’s history has become our history because He is in union with us—1 Cor. 6:17. (2001 TGC, msg. 3)
c. Whatever God has done, whatever He is doing, and whatever He will do in His history are all for our Christian life. (2001 TGC, msg. 3)
C. “Our living, our daily walk, our schooling, our job, and our business must be a part of God’s history in His marvelous and excellent move on the earth today…We need to be one with God in His history, moving, and energizing in His loving overcomers; that is, we need to be one with God in life, in living, and in our entire doing today on this earth! We need to write God’s today’s history!” (Life-study of Joshua, p. 3). (2001 TGC, msg. 3)
II. The seven stages of mankind’s history: (The World Situation and God’s Move, msg. 7)
A. The first is the primitive stage, from Adam to Abraham. (The World Situation and God’s Move, msg. 7)
B. The second is the formation of the kingdom of Israel as God’s kingdom on earth; this stage lasted from Abraham to Solomon. (The World Situation and God’s Move, msg. 7)
C. The third stage is the desolation of the kingdom of Israel; the kingdoms of Babylon, Media-Persia, and Greece under Alexander the Great desolated Israel; this was God’s judgment on His degraded people. (The World Situation and God’s Move, msg. 7)
D. The fourth stage is the Roman Empire; it also desolated Israel to some extent, but not as much as the others; Josephus describes how terrible that destruction was; the Roman Empire was prepared and used by God for the accomplishment of redemption and for the spread of the good news around the Mediterranean Sea; in the centuries which followed, however, the Roman Empire brought in the Roman Church, which ruined the gospel and ushered in ten centuries of the Dark Ages. (The World Situation and God’s Move, msg. 7)
E. The fifth stage is the Reformation; it extends from the time of Martin Luther down to the last century.; during this stage many new things came in that changed human history; there was the discovery and settlement of the new land; there was the reformation of the so-called Christian Church; Germany was the power used by God during this stage. (The World Situation and God’s Move, msg. 7)
F. The sixth stage is the furtherance of the gospel preaching and the Word of God; this was accomplished by God under the power of Great Britain; Spain was defeated and Britain was used to maintain order on the earth so that the gospel could be preached worldwide and the truth brought to every corner of the globe. (The World Situation and God’s Move, msg. 7)
G. The finality of the world situation, with the present stage being the last, that is, before the millennium. (The World Situation and God’s Move, msg. 7)
III. We may regard the twelve tribes of Israel as a picture of the believers from the first century until today; Galatians 6:16 says that we are “the Israel of God;” this indicates that among God’s New Testament elect there should be twelve “tribes.” (Life-study of Joshua, msg. 12)