Scripture Reading: Matt. 16:18, Eph. 1:23, Acts 8:1, 13:1, Eph. 4:3-6, 1 Cor. 12:12-13

DAY 1 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 2 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 3 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 4 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 5 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 6 Outline　MorningRevival

«　WEEK 10　DAY 1　»

　　Eph. 1:23 …the church, which is His Body, the fullness of the One who fills all in all.

　　1Tim. 3:15 …the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and base of the truth.

　　The church is the goal God wants to obtain in His eternal economy. Each one of us who is saved participates in this goal, that God may obtain His heart's desire according to His good pleasure. Therefore, we must also know the church.

　　The church is what Christ will build through His death, resurrection, and ascension. The term “church” is ecclesia in Greek which means the called out assembly. Thus, according to its literal meaning, the church is the congregation called out from the world by God. It is not a church building or any edifice for the worship of God.

　　The church is the Body with Christ as the Head; it is constituted for Christ in His life and Spirit with all those who have believed into Him. It is a living organism and not a lifeless organization, such as the clubs and associations in society. The body of a man is the fullness of a man to be his expression. Likewise, the church is the fullness of Christ to be His expression. Since Christ is the One who is unlimited, extensive, and filling all in all, He needs a great Body to be the fullness of Himself who fills all in all to express Him in all things.

　　(Eph. 5:25 reveals that) the church is also Christ's counterpart. As the Body of Christ, the church receives life from Him for His expression; this is a matter of life. As the counterpart of Christ, the church receives His love for the satisfaction of His heart's desire; this is a matter of love.

　　To Christ, the church is His Body and His counterpart, while to God, the church is His house. On the one hand, this house refers to God's dwelling place, and on the other hand, it refers to God's family, God's household. These two, God's household and God's dwelling place, are just one. God's household is the very house for God's dwelling (Eph. 2:19, 22). A person's house is his place of living, residing, and rest. The church, being God's house, is also such a place to God. Today, the living God is living, residing, and resting in the church on the earth.

　　The church is also a corporate new man…Christ, having abolished on the cross all the ordinances which caused discord among men, created this new man in Himself (Eph. 2:14-15). In this new man, there are no persons of the old creation belonging to any race, religion, culture, or class. Only Christ is all the constituents of this new man and is in all its constituents.

　　

　　The church is unique and has no need of special names. The church is the church; there should not be kinds of churches that are denominated according to their kind, such as the Presbyterian church, the Lutheran church, and the Baptist church. To denominate the church in this way is needless and not according to the biblical revelation.

　　Although the church is unique in the universe, it is numerous in its local manifestation. The many local churches do not differ in nature; their difference is only in the different places where they are. Therefore, we may use the name of the locality in which a local church is to designate that church, such as the church in Jerusalem (Acts 8:1), the church in Antioch (Acts 13:1), and the seven local churches in the province of Asia (Rev. 1:4, 11). (Life Lesson, Vol 1, Knowing the Church)

«　WEEK 10　DAY 2　»

　　Acts 8:1 …And there occurred in that day a great persecution against the church which was in Jerusalem; and all were scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.

　　1Cor. 1:10 Now I beseech you, brothers, through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be attuned in the same mind and in the same opinion.

　　

　　First, the church as the universal Body of Christ is the universal house of God and also the kingdom of God (Eph. 1:23; 1 Tim. 3:15-16; Matt. 16:18-19). These three—the Body of Christ, the house of God, and the kingdom of God—are just one. The Body of Christ is the house of God, and the house of God is the kingdom of God.

　　The universal Body of Christ is the house of God, that is, the kingdom of God, appearing in various cities as local churches. The Bible shows us that one city should have only one church for the sake of keeping the oneness and preventing division (Acts 8:1; 13:1; Rev. 1:4, 11). Deuteronomy 12:5-18 clearly tells us that when the Israelites arrived in the good land, they could not choose a place of worship as they liked. They needed to go to the place where God had placed His name, which was the place where God would build His dwelling place… In the Old Testament God chose Jerusalem. Hence, although the twelve tribes of Israel were scattered throughout the land of Israel, all their males had to go up to Jerusalem three times a year to worship God there. No one dared to set up another worship center besides Jerusalem… Today the practice of the church that God desires is the same as this in principle, that is, one city having only one church for the keeping of the oneness. One cannot say that he is not satisfied with the church in a certain locality and then start another meeting on the next street with a few of his more intimate brothers. Because Christianity is not willing to be restricted by one city having only one church, today's situation has become confused and divided.

　　The local churches in the various localities are scattered in different places by geography, yet they are not divided by any doctrine or matter (1 Cor. 1:10-13). Some people suggest that the local churches should be autonomous and that the churches should be independent. However, I must say that to be autonomous is the biggest division. The United States of America has only one federal government, one national defense, one diplomacy, one postal service, one monetary system, and one highway system that connects the whole country. If each state issued its own currency, the entire United States would have to issue fifty kinds of notes, and the market would be in turmoil. It is the same regarding the highways. The entire country has only one highway system. If the highways in each state could not be connected, then the transportation in the entire country would be choked. It is because of all these onenesses that the United States of America has become so strong and so great. (The Issue of the Union of the Consummated Spirit of the Triune God and the Regenerated Spirit of the Believers)

　　The local churches are autonomous in business affairs, but not in the testimony for Christ and in the fellowship of the Spirit. The testimony for Christ and the fellowship of the Spirit should be not only local but also universal. In such matters all the local churches are identical in nature and in function. (1993 Blending Conference Messages concerning the Lord's Recovery and Our Present Need)

«　WEEK 10　DAY 3　»

　　1Cor. 10:17 Seeing that there is one bread, we who are many are one Body; for we all partake of the one bread.

　　Rom. 14:17 For the Kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

　　In the practice of the church, although the unique church of God is expressed as the many local churches throughout the whole globe, the churches are still the unique universal Body of Christ and should not be divided into sects or denominations (1 Cor. 10:16-17).

　　In the practice of the church, although there are the apostles who establish the churches, and within each church there are elders who manage the church and deacons who serve the church, besides the order of these holy services, there should not be any hierarchy—religious organization or system of rank (1 Cor. 9:1-3; 1 Tim. 3:1-13). In the Catholic Church today there is a hierarchy of the pope, the cardinals, the archbishops, the bishops, and the priests. In the Protestant churches, there is also the system of rank of the pastors and the common believers. All these should not exist, and these practices are not scriptural.

　　In the practice of the church, although there are many local churches, they all take God's eternal economy as their center to bear the unique testimony of Christ. They do not teach any doctrine that is unrelated to God's economy and has nothing to do with the testimony of Christ. In 1 Timothy chapter one Paul wanted Timothy to remain in Ephesus to charge certain ones not to teach things that are different from God's economy (vv. 3-4). In the practice of the church, we should not teach any doctrine that is unrelated to God's economy and has nothing to do with the testimony of Christ. If we do, this will cause division.

　　In the practice of the church there should be righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit in the local churches as the reality of the kingdom of God (Rom. 14:17). The kingdom of God is the sphere in which God exercises His authority so that He may express His glory for the fulfillment of His purpose. In such a kingdom, what matters is not eating and drinking but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Righteousness denotes that which is right and proper. Those who live in the kingdom of God should be right and proper toward others, toward things, and toward God; with them there should be nothing erroneous, improper, crooked, slanted, or biased. This requires that they be strict in dealing with themselves. Peace is the fruit of righteousness (Heb. 12:11 and note). It characterizes the relationship that those who live in the kingdom of God should have with others and with God. If we are righteous, right, and proper toward others, toward things, and toward God, we will have a peaceful relationship with others and with God. Thus, we will have joy in the Holy Spirit and, in particular, before God. In this way, we will be filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit (Acts 13:52) and will live out righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit, which are the reality of the kingdom of God. This proves that the normal church life is the kingdom of God on the earth today. (The Issue of the Union of the Consummated Spirit of the Triune God and the Regenerated Spirit of the Believers)

«　WEEK 10　DAY 4　»

　　Eph. 4:3 Being diligent to keep the oneness of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace.

　　Rev. 3:8 I know your works; behold, I have put before you an opened door which no one can shut, because you have a little power and have kept My word and have not denied My name.

　　

　　The ground of a local church is the genuine oneness of the Body of Christ, that is, the oneness of the Spirit. Ephesians 4:3 charges us to be diligent to keep the oneness of the Spirit. The oneness of the Spirit is the oneness of the Body of Christ, which is the basic element of the unique ground of a local church.

　　The genuine oneness of the Body of Christ must be practiced with the unique ground of locality within the limit of the boundary and jurisdiction of the locality in which a church exists, that is, on the ground of locality, as with the church in Jerusalem (Acts 8:1), the church in Antioch (Acts 13:1), the church in Cenchrea (Rom. 16:1), the church in Corinth (1 Cor. 1:2), and the seven churches in the seven cities in Asia (Rev. 1:11). All these churches were on the local ground, the ground of locality.

　　The condition of a local church may fluctuate and may differ from that of all the other local churches, just as the conditions of the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3 differed from one another… (Therefore,) A local church is preserved from being divided by its ground, not by its condition. The unique ground—the unique oneness of the Body of Christ, plus the unique ground of locality—preserves a church from being divided. The condition of a certain church may be good, but that does not assure that the ground of that church is right. A local church may be low in its condition, yet it is still a genuine local church as long as it keeps the genuine ground of the oneness of the Body. On the other hand, a local church may be high in its condition, but it is a division, a local sect, as long as it does not care for the genuine ground of the oneness of the Body of Christ expressed in its locality. We may use marriage as an illustration of this principle. The ground of a marriage is the chastity of the wife. As long as a wife is chaste, even though she may not be loving or kind—this is her condition—but this does not annul the ground of her marriage. However, if her husband's name is Smith, and she begins to call herself Mrs. Jones, even if she is loving, kind, humble, and submissive toward her husband, her calling herself Mrs. Jones annuls the ground of her marriage… (Therefore,) In Revelation 3:8 the Lord praised the church in Philadelphia for not denying His name. It is a terrible thing for a wife to deny her husband's name. That annuls the base of their marriage… The ground of a local church is the very base upon which we recognize that church. We recognize a church not because its condition is according to our preference. Our recognizing of a church depends upon its ground, and this ground is composed of two things: the oneness of the Body and the locality in which the church exists. (Elders' Training, Book 10, The Eldership and the God-Ordained Way (2))

«　WEEK 10　DAY 5　»

　　1Cor. 12:12-13For even as the body is one and has many members, yet all the members of the body, being many, are one body, so also is the Christ. For also in one Spirit we were all baptized into one Body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and were all given to drink one Spirit.”

　　We need to see in a brief way the fellowship of the Body of Christ. In our physical body there is a current of blood, which we may call the circulation of the blood. This current, or this circulation, is going on continuously in our physical body. If this circulation, or this current of blood, were to stop for only a few minutes, we would die. Thus, it is the circulation of our blood that keeps us alive. The health of our body depends on the circulation of our blood. We may say that this circulation is the fellowship of our body… In our physical body we have the circulation of the blood, but Christ's mystical Body does not have blood. The fellowship in Christ's Body, then, is the circulation of the Spirit. The Spirit today is the "blood" in Christ's Body… In the New Testament the Spirit denotes the consummated Spirit, the Spirit who has been consummated, compounded, and mingled, and who is now dispensing.

　　The Body of Christ is uniquely one universally (Eph. 4:4-6). Individually, we are members of the Body of Christ, and all the local churches are parts of this one unique Body of Christ. As those who are in the Body, we need to realize that we are one with all the saints in the entire universe. Ephesians 4:4-6 depicts a oneness that is universal: "One Body and one Spirit, as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." In these verses we can see that the Triune God is mingled with the Body. The Body mentioned here is not local; rather, it is universal. This is the universal oneness of the Body of Christ.

　　since the Body of Christ is uniquely one universally, the fellowship of the Body of Christ also is uniquely one universally. I thank the Lord that He had mercy upon me in helping me to have the best choice. In Moses' blessing in Deuteronomy 33, there is the term "the choicest things" (vv. 13-16). I realize that the Lord has been giving me the choicest things throughout my years in the recovery. This is due to His mercy in placing me and keeping me all the time in His recovery. As long as we are preserved in the Lord's way, we are preserved in the oneness in the unique fellowship. There is only one Lord, one Body, one Bible, one divine revelation, one speaking, one recovery, one fellowship, and one way to practice the recovery.

　　This fellowship is to keep the universal oneness of the Body of Christ (John 17:11b, 20-23; Eph. 4:3-6). Ephesians 4:3 charges us to endeavor to keep the oneness of the Spirit. We can keep this oneness because it is our possession already. We have this oneness; thus, we only need to keep it. Regardless of how weak we may be, we still have this oneness. This is because we still have the circulation of the "blood," the circulation of the Spirit. If we did not have this circulation, we would be spiritually dead. As long as we have life, regardless of how weak we may be, we have this oneness. It is the possession of every believer. What we need, then, is just to keep this oneness. When we keep this oneness, we are in the unique fellowship of the Lord's recovery. (Elders' Training, Book 10, The Eldership and the God-Ordained Way (2))

«　WEEK 10　DAY 6　»

　　1Cor. 1:10 Now I beseech you, brothers, through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be attuned in the same mind and in the same opinion.

　　Titus 3:10 A factious man, after a first and second admonition, refuse.

　　

　　In Greek, the word for party or sect (hairesis) is the same as the word for heresy (hairesis anglicized), which means to label something new in order to be different, resulting in a distinctive party—a sect. (Gal. 5:19-21) tell us clearly that sects come from men's flesh. They also show us that there are always factions and divisions before the formation of a sect…We should refuse this work of the flesh by following the Holy Spirit in us who sanctifies us.

　　In confronting factions…Apostle Paul gave his younger co-worker a frank and bold charge, which is also a charge to us, to refuse a factious person after sufficient admonition in love…that the Body of Christ may not suffer damage and that the truth of God may not be adulterated.

　　The following three key elements are the factors which cause the Christians (not counting the nominal ones) to be divided, to be constituted as sects.

　　The common faith of true Christians is unique. It includes the Triune God, the person and work of Christ, that is, the being of Christ and the doings of Christ, and the divine authority of the Bible. Besides these truths of our fundamental faith, to consider other matters to be the Christian faith (such as the method of baptism…, the system of church administration…, the tongue-speaking…, the head covering and foot washing…, or general doctrines…, the interpretation of prophecies, and the understanding of certain parts of the Scriptures) and to make them special creeds is to label something new in order to be different and will result in sects.

　　With the existence of special creeds, Christians will be divided into different groups, having special fellowships in their different circles outside of the believers' common fellowship. Such special fellowships cause those believers who practice them to be constituted as sects separate from the believers in general.

　　special creeds not only lead to special fellowships, but they also produce special names, such as the name of a certain denomination or a certain church. These special names, in a more tangible way, cause those who so label themselves to be constituted into named sects, resulting in denominations…The believers should only possess the unique and honorable name of Jesus Christ, and not exalt any other name besides this preeminent name.

　　The Spirit, that is, the Holy Spirit who lives in us, causes us to be constituted into the Body of Christ with God's life. Since there is one Body, there is also one Holy Spirit who lives in the Body. This one Holy Spirit is the oneness in the one Body. If we believers would live in this Spirit and walk according to this Spirit, the oneness of the Body of Christ would be kept. Otherwise, that oneness would be broken. the Apostle Paul beseeched us in Ephesians 4:2-3 to keep this oneness with such virtues as lowliness, meekness, longsuffering, bearing in love, and the uniting bond of peace…Therefore, we must endeavor to live in the Body of Christ to keep the oneness of the Body, not participating in any divisions, sects, or denominations. (Life Lesson, Vol 2, Knowing the Sects)