THE FOURTH SERIES:
THE PATHWAY OF THE LORD’S RECOVERY
Crucial Principles in the Administration of the Church
Message Two—Fully Carrying Out the Three Aspects
of the Lord’s Recovery in a Balanced Way
Scripture Reading: 2 Sam. 7:12-14a; Phil. 1:19-21; Rom. 14:17; Rev. 3:7-8; John 21:15-17
I. The city of New Jerusalem lies square; there are three gates on four sides; the length and the breadth and the height of it are equal; in every aspect and from every side it is one hundred percent balanced; it is neither too much to one side nor too much to another—Rev. 21:13, 16; Exo. 26:2-8; 1 Kings 6:20. (A General Sketch of the New Testament in the Light of Christ and the Church, Part 4: Revelation, chs. 43-44)
II. The high peak of the divine revelation—John 1:14; 1 John 3:1-2: (2012 MDC, msg, 5)
A. The highest peak of the divine revelation given to us by God is: God becoming man that man might become God in life and in nature but not in the Godhead; this is the essence of the entire Bible, the “diamond” in the “box” of the Bible—2 Sam. 7:12-14a; Rom. 1:2-4; Eph. 3:17a. (2012 MDC, msg, 5)
B. We need to be constituted with the truth—1 John 1:8; 2:4; 2 John 1-2: (2007 MDC, msg, 2)
1. The intrinsic element of the divine revelation must be wrought into and constituted into our being—Col. 3:16; 1 John 1:8; 2:4; 2 John 2. (2007 MDC, msg, 2)
2. The best way of the saints being constituted with God’s words: PSRP—Eph. 6:17-18a; 2 Tim. 3:15-16; Col. 3:16; 1 Cor. 14:31. (God-ordained Way (II), lsn. 27)
III. The life of a God-man—Rom. 6:4-6; Phil. 3:10; 1:19-21: (The Living a Life According to the High Peak of God’s Revelation, msg. 5)
A. We need to live the life of a God-man according to the high peak of the divine revelation—Phil. 3:10; 1:21; Gal. 2:20. (The Living a Life According to the High Peak of God’s Revelation, msg. 5)
B. The life of a God-men is a life lived out by the believers, who have been regenerated to become God-men, not by the life of their old man but by the divine life in their new man—Rom. 6:4-6; Eph. 4:22-24. (2004 ICSC, msg. 4)
C. Being conformed daily to the death of Christ by the power of Christ’s resurrection and living and magnifying Christ through the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ—Phil. 3:10; 1:19-20. (2004 ICSC, msg. 4)
D. Overcoming the self, the flesh, and the involvements of the flesh—sin, Satan, and the world—Matt. 16:24; Gal. 5:24; Rom. 8:3; Heb. 2:14; John 12:31. (2004 ICSC, msg. 4)
E. Reigning as kings by the reigning life of Christ to conquer all persons, matters, and things contrary to God and be the overcomers of the Lord in this age—Rom. 5:17, 21; Rev. 2-3. (2004 ICSC, msg. 4)
IV. The practice of the church—Matt. 16:18-19; Rev. 1:4, 11; Rom. 14:17: (2004 ICSC, msg. 5)
A. The universal Body of Christ being the universal house of God and the kingdom of God as well—Eph. 1:23; 1 Tim. 3:15-16; Matt. 16:18-19. (2004 ICSC, msg. 5)
B. Appearing in various cities as local churches, with one city having only one church in order to keep the oneness and prevent division—Deut. 12:5-18; Acts 8:1; 13:1; Rev. 1:4, 11. (2004 ICSC, msg. 5)
C. The unique church of God is expressed as many local churches throughout the whole globe, yet they are still the unique universal Body of Christ and should not be divided into sects or denominations—1 Cor. 10:16-17. (2004 ICSC, msg. 5)
D. Although the local churches in various localities are many, they all take the eternal economy of God as their center to bear the unique testimony of Christ, not teaching any doctrine that is unrelated to the eternal economy of God and has nothing to do with the testimony of Christ—1 Tim. 1:3-4. (2004 ICSC, msg. 5)
V. The Church in Philadelphia—“have kept My word and have not denied My name, brotherly love”—Rev. 3:8, 7 and footnote 1:
A. The characteristic of the overcomers in Philadelphia is their arriving at the highest peak of the divine revelation of God’s economy—Rev. 3:8. (2006 MDC, msg. 1)
B. The characteristic of the overcomers in Philadelphia is their God-man living by enjoying the riches of Christ as their indwelling treasure—3:7; Matt. 16:24-25. (2006 MDC, msg. 1)
C. The characteristic of the overcomers in Philadelphia is their brotherly love; love prevails among them so that they shepherd people and nourish them with the healthy teaching of the economy of God—Eph. 4:11; 5:29. (2006 MDC, msg. 1)
D. What the New Testament reveals and pays attention to is truth, life, and the gospel; truth is for life, and life is for the gospel; truth, life, and the gospel are a threefold cord; truth, life, and the gospel must be twined together as a threefold cord; only then will our gospel preaching produce lasting results—John. 15:16. (Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 2: Leading the Saints to Practice the New Way Ordained by the Lord, msg. 4)
VI. May we receive the Lord as our mercy and grace to take the God-ordained way for the church, the way of Philadelphia, to enter into a new revival, to be the instrument for the Lord to end this age and bring in the Kingdom age—Rev. 3:7-13. (2006 MDC, msg. 1; 2002 MDC, msg. 1)