THE FOURTH PART: THE PATHWAY OF THE LORD’S RECOVERY

God-ordained Way
Message Twenty—Taking the Way of Philadelphia
Which God Ordained for the Church

Scripture Reading: Rev. 3:7-22

I. The present advance of the Lord’s recovery is to bring us into a new revival to turn the age by being the Lord’s overcomers, His normal Christians, who are receiving the special seeing of the glorious, all-inheriting vision of the age to live the life of a God-man and shepherd people according to God in the vital groups for the reality of the Body of Christ in the local churches to consummate the New Jerusalem—Hab. 3:2a; Hosea 6:1-3; Rev. 1:10; 2:7b.

II. In order to bring in a new revival and change the age, we need to see the revelation of the history and pathway of the church in Revelation 2 and 3; the seven churches in these chapters not only signify prophetically the progress of the church in seven stages but also symbolize the seven kinds of churches in church history—Rev. 2:1 and footnote 1:

A. According to history, the initial church (signified by Ephesus), the suffering church (signified by Smyrna), and the worldly church (signified by Pergamos) have passed away; the following kinds of churches—the Roman Catholic Church (signified by Thyatira), the reformed Protestant church (signified by Sardis), the recovered church (signified by Philadelphia), and the degraded recovered church (signified by Laodicea) will remain until the Lord returns.

B. Only the recovered church, signified by the church in Philadelphia, can fulfill God’s eternal purpose, and only she is what the Lord is after; the overcomers in Philadelphia live in the reality of the Body of Christ to bring in a new revival to turn the age and bring the Lord back—3:7-13; cf. v. 22 and footnote 1.

III. The characteristic of the overcomers in Philadelphia is their arriving at the highest peak of the divine revelation of God’s economy—3:12:

A. One church in Asia was unique and highly appraised by the Lord—the church in Philadelphia; the Lord appreciated the overcomers in Philadelphia because they kept the word, which means they did not turn away from the word of the apostle’s teaching, the healthy teaching of God’s economy, the highest peak of the divine revelation—v. 8; 2 Tim. 1:15; 1 Tim. 1:3-4; cf. Rev. 2:14-15, 20.

B. With the overcomers in Sardis, there was the recovery of God’s judicial redemption; with the overcomers in Philadelphia there is the recovery of God’s organic salvation, His deification, “Christification,” and “sonizing” of His believers—Rom. 5:10; 8:10:

1. For the overcomers to be pillars in the temple means that they will be pillars in the Triune God, for the temple is “the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb”; God is built into them to make them living and precious stones, and they are built into God to make them pillars of stone in God for their incorporation with God as the mutual abode of God and man—Rev. 3:12a.

2. That the name of God, the name of the New Jerusalem, and the Lord’s new name are written upon the overcomers indicates that what God is, the nature of the New Jerusalem, and the person of the Lord have all been wrought into them, labeling them with the Triune God and making them God in life and in nature but not in the Godhead—Rev. 3:12b; 22:4b.

IV. The characteristic of the overcomers in Philadelphia is their God-man living by enjoying the riches of Christ as their indwelling treasure—v. 7-8:

A. Christ has the key of David, the key of (the treasury of) the house of God (typified by the house of David for the building up of the kingdom of God) to control the door of God’s treasury, in which are the riches of God in Christ for our enjoyment; in order to enjoy His riches as the treasure, we need to remain in constant contact with Him, keeping ourselves absolutely open to Him and using the “keys” of denying the self, taking up the cross, and losing the soul-life—3:7; Isa. 22:15, 20-24; Matt. 5:3; 16:18-19, 24.

B. The overcomers in Philadelphia have a little power; to have a little power indicates that what pleases the Lord is not our doing much for Him but our doing our best for Him with what we have—Rev. 3:8; cf. 2 Cor. 12:7-10.

C. The overcomers in Philadelphia keep the Lord’s word; they care solely for the Word of God, saying Amen to God’s Word and remaining in the healthy teaching of God’s economy—1 Tim. 6:3.

D. The overcomers in Philadelphia do not deny the Lord’s name; the recovered church has abandoned all names other than that of the Lord Jesus Christ; the recovered church exalts Christ Jesus as Lord and calls upon the name of the Lord—Rom. 10:9-10, 12-13.

V. The characteristic of the overcomers in Philadelphia is their brotherly love; love prevails among them so that they shepherd people by cherishing them with the cheering presence of God and nourishing them with the healthy teaching of the economy of God—Eph. 4:11; 5:29:

A. The Lord’s recovery is a recovery of loving the Lord Jesus; the overcomers in Philadelphia stand on the genuine ground of oneness and keep themselves in the love of God to love the Lord and love all the brothers—Jude 20-21; 2 Cor. 5:14; John 12:3; Luke 7:47.

B. Loving to be first in the church is versus having the Lord as our first love by giving Him the first place in all things—3 John 9.

C. In the vital groups, love must prevail; God first loved us in that He infused us with His love and generated within us the love with which we love Him and the brothers— 1 Cor. 12:31b; 13:4-8, 13; 1 John 3:14.

D. In the vital groups, we need to love one another, our wives need to love one another, and we need to love one another’s children.

E. In order to minister life to others and maintain our victory for the building up of the church, we must have a revived living and a labor in shepherding that flow out from our love for the Lord and for the brothers—John 21:15-17.

VI. In order to continue in the way of Philadelphia, we must be saved from the way of Laodicea; Laodicea is a degraded and distorted Philadelphia—Rev. 3:14-22:

A. Laodicea is characterized by lukewarmness and spiritual pride; when brotherly love is gone, Philadelphia immediately turns into “the opinion of the people” (the meaning of Laodicea)—Rev. 3:14-22.

B. Spiritual pride comes from history; some still remember their history, but they have lost Christ as the reality of their life, the reality of their former enjoyment of the riches of Christ as life.

C. If we want to continue in the way of Philadelphia, we need to humble ourselves before God—vv. 19-20; Matt. 5:3.

D. We need to pay the price to buy gold refined by fire that we may be rich toward God, white garments that we may be clothed with Christ by living out Christ, and eyesalve as the anointing Spirit to heal our blindness—Rev. 3:18.

VII. As we are receiving the Lord as our mercy and grace to take the God-ordained pathway for the church, the way of Philadelphia, He puts before us an opened door, which no one can shut, for us to preach the gospel of the kingdom, the full ministry of Christ, to the whole inhabited earth—vv. 7-8; Matt. 24:14.

 

Ministry Excerpts:

THE CHURCH IN PHILADELPHIA PREFIGURES
THE CHURCH OF BROTHERLY LOVE,
THE RECOVERY OF THE PROPER CHURCH LIFE,
FROM THE EARLY PART OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
TO THE SECOND APPEARING OF THE LORD

In Greek, “Philadelphia” means brotherly love. As a sign, the church in Philadelphia prefigures the proper church life recovered by the brothers who were raised up by the Lord in England in the early part of the nineteenth century. Just as the reformed church, prefigured by the church in Sardis, was a reaction to the apostate Catholic Church, prefigured by the church in Thyatira, so the church of brotherly love is a reaction to the dead reformed church. This reaction will continue as an anti-testimony to both apostate Catholicism and degraded Protestantism until the Lord comes back.

Keeping the Lord’s Word with the Little Power She Has

In 3:8b the Lord Jesus says, “You have a little power and have kept My word.” One outstanding feature of the church in Philadelphia is that she kept the Lord’s word. According to history, no other Christians have kept the Lord’s word as strictly as those in the church in Philadelphia. The church in Philadelphia, the recovered church, does not care for tradition; she cares for the word of God.

The church in Philadelphia keeps the Lord’s word with the little power she has. We should not regard the church in Philadelphia as being strong, powerful, and prevailing. Whereas we may estimate the church in Philadelphia very highly, the Lord says that she had “a little power.” What pleases the Lord is not that we are strong but that we use our little power to do the best we can. The strong ones may not please the Lord as much as those who do their best with the little power they have.

Not Denying the Lord’s Name as the Denominated Sects

In 3:8 the Lord also says that the church in Philadelphia has not denied His name. The brothers who were raised up by the Lord in England in the early part of the nineteenth century did not take any name other than the name of the Lord. The word is the Lord’s expression, and the name is the Lord Himself. The apostate church has deviated from the Lord’s word and has become heretical. The reformed church, though recovered to the Lord’s word to some extent, has denied the Lord’s name by denominating herself with many other names. The recovered church has not only returned to the Lord’s word in a full way but has also abandoned all names other than that of the Lord Jesus Christ. The recovered church belongs to the Lord absolutely, having nothing to do with any denominations (any names). To deviate from the Lord’s word is apostasy, and to denominate the church with any name other than the Lord’s is spiritual fornication. The church as the chaste virgin betrothed to Christ (2 Cor. 11:2) should not have any name other than her Husband’s. All other names are an abomination in the eyes of God. In the recovered church life we have no teachings of Balaam (Rev. 2:14), no teachings of the Nicolaitans (2:15), no teachings of Jezebel (2:20), and no mysterious doctrines of Satan (2:24); we have only the pure word of the Lord. Likewise, the recovered church has no denominations (names) but the unique name of the Lord Jesus Christ. The deviation from the Word to heresies and the exaltation of so many names other than that of Christ are the most striking signs of degraded Christianity. The return to the pure Word from all heresies and traditions and the exaltation of the Lord’s name by abandoning every other name are the most inspiring testimony in the recovered church.

Given an Open Door Which No One Can Shut

In 3:8a the Lord says, “I know your works; behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut.” As the One who has the key of David and who opens and no one shall shut (v. 7), the Lord has given the recovered church “an open door which no one can shut.” Since the recovery of the proper church life began, in the early part of the nineteenth century, until now, a door has always been wide open to the Lord’s recovery. The more that organized Christianity tries to shut the door, the wider it is open. In spite of much opposition, the door today is open worldwide. The key is in the hand of the Head of the church; it is not in the hand of the opposers.

Subduing the Judaizers and Their Judaic Teachings

The church in Philadelphia subdues the Judaizers and their Judaic teachings. Whereas the Catholic Church has brought in many Judaic things, adopting many of the Old Testament practices, the brothers in the recovered church in the early nineteenth century abandoned all Judaic teachings.

Concerning the subduing of the Judaizers and their teachings, the Lord says in 3:9, “Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, those who call themselves Jews and are not, but lie; behold, I will cause them to come and worship before your feet, and they shall know that I have loved you.” The Jewish synagogue holds on to Judaism, which comprises the mediatorial priests, the ordinances of letters, the material temple, and the earthly promises. The recovered church has subdued Judaism by exposing its error and stubbornness in holding on to the above four things and has made the Jews know that the Lord has loved her.

Promised to Be Kept Out of the Hour of Trial Which Is about to Come on the Whole Inhabited Earth

“Because you have kept the word of My endurance, I also will keep you out of the hour of trial which is about to come on the whole inhabited earth, to try them who dwell on the earth” (3:10). This promise actually refers to the rapture of the overcomers before the great tribulation. “Trial” in 3:10 undoubtedly denotes the great tribulation (Matt. 24:21) “which is about to come on the whole inhabited earth,” as indicated by the fifth, sixth, and seventh trumpets with the seven bowls (Rev. 8:13—9:21; 11:14-15; 15:1; 16:1-2). The “trial” may also include the supernatural calamities of the sixth seal and the first four trumpets. The Lord promises the recovered church that He will keep her “out of the hour of trial” (not only out of the trial but out of the hour of trial) because she has kept the word of His endurance. This promise of the Lord, like that in Luke 21:36, indicates that the saints who have kept the word of the Lord’s endurance will be raptured before the great trial.

THE LORD’S PROMISE TO THE OVERCOMERS OF THIS STAGE

In Revelation 3:11 and 12 we have the Lord’s promise to the overcomers in Philadelphia. To overcome in this epistle means to hold fast what we have in the recovered church.

To Be Made a Pillar in the Temple of God for God’s Building

In 3:12a the Lord says, “He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall by no means go out anymore.” In 2:17 the overcomer becomes a transformed stone for God’s building. Here the overcomer will be made a pillar built into the temple of God. Because he is built into God’s building, “he shall by no means go out anymore.” This promise will be fulfilled in the millennial kingdom as a prize to the overcomer.

To Be the Components of the New Jerusalem in the Millennium, Bearing the Name of God, the Name of God’s City, and the Lord’s New Name

In 3:12b the Lord goes on to say concerning the overcomer, “I will write upon him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which descends out of heaven from My God, and My new name.” Here the Lord speaks of the New Jerusalem. The New Jerusalem is not a physical city but a composition of the believers. This composition will appear first in the millennium as the totality of all the overcomers. These overcomers will bear the name of God because they have God’s nature in them; and they will bear the name of God’s city because they are God’s city. This means that the overcomers will be the New Jerusalem. The name of God and the name of the New Jerusalem written upon them will describe their nature and declare what they are. Furthermore, they will bear the new name of the Lord whom they have experienced in a particular way.

The name of God, the name of the New Jerusalem, and the Lord’s new name written upon the overcomer indicate that the overcomer is possessed by God, by the New Jerusalem, and by the Lord; that God Himself, His city, the New Jerusalem, and the Lord Himself all belong to him; and that he is one with God, with the New Jerusalem, and with the Lord. The name of God means God Himself, the name of the New Jerusalem means the city itself, and the name of the Lord means the Lord Himself. To write the name of God, the name of the New Jerusalem, and the name of the Lord upon the overcomer indicates that what God is, the nature of the New Jerusalem, and the person of the Lord have all been wrought into the overcomer. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 238)

CHOOSING FOR OURSELVES
THE PATHWAY OF THE CHURCH

Today I present these four churches to us all. The last three came out of Roman Catholicism, and all four will remain until the Lord Jesus comes again. Today every child of God has to choose the pathway he should take with regard to the church. Do you want to be a Roman Catholic? Do you want to be a Protestant? Do you want to follow the oneness of Roman Catholicism? Do you want to follow the many denominations of Protestantism? Or do you want to take the way of Philadelphia? Or were you once Philadelphia but are now living in the shadow of history and boasting of your former glory, thus becoming Laodicean? When a person becomes proud, forsakes the way of life, and neglects reality, while reminiscing on his history and his own riches, the only thing left will be the opinions of many. Among such ones there can only be discussion and consensus. It appears to be a democratic society but bears no resemblance to the Body relationship. If you do not know the binding, authority, and life of the Body, you do not know brotherly love.

These four churches will remain with us. We must be faithful to continue in Philadelphia. Do not be curious about Roman Catholicism. Those who are curious will always suffer loss. Do not touch the denominations in Protestantantism. This is not God’s way. The Bible shows us clearly that the Protestant movement as a whole had God’s blessing, but that there are also many things which the Lord condemns and rebukes. We do not need to delve into these things or ask about them.

We must learn to stand on the ground of Philadelphia. Always keep the Lord’s word and never deny His name. Hold fast the brotherly stand and never be proud! Do not be proud in the face of Catholicism, Protestantism, or the denominations. Once you are proud, you become Laodicea and are no longer Philadelphia! As soon as you show your pride before them, you are no longer Philadelphia but Laodicea. Which way do you want to take? May God bless His children and may the brothers take the upright path with regard to the church.

The God-ordained pathway for the church is the way of Philadelphia. I may not have tens of thousands of cases to prove that the best of God’s children speak the same thing and take this same way. But I have hundreds of cases to prove what I am saying.

The Lord’s way is unique. It is the way of Philadelphia. Walk on this way, but be careful not to be proud. Once we take the way of Philadelphia, the greatest temptation is to become proud and say, “We are better than you are. Our truths are clearer than yours, and we understand them better than you do! We have only the Lord’s name and we are different!” Once we become proud, we fall into Laodicea. Those who follow the Lord have no pride. The Lord will spew the proud ones out of His mouth. May the Lord be merciful to us! This is a warning to all of us: We must not be proud in our speaking! A person must live before the Lord continually before he can refrain from proud words. Only those who live before God continually will not consider themselves rich. Only they will not be proud! (Messages for Building Up New Believers, Vol. 3, msg. 45)