Scripture Reading: 1 John 3:8; John 12:31; Heb. 2:14; Acts 2:24; Eph. 4:8; Rev. 1:18; 19:11

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 3　DAY 1　»

　　1 John 3:8 He who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.

　　Heb. 2:14 Since therefore the children have shared in blood and flesh, He also Himself in like manner partook of the same, that through death He might destroy him who has the might of death, that is, the devil.

　　The newly anointed King fasted in His humanity, standing on the ground of a man [Matt. 4:1-11]. However, He was also the Son of God, as God the Father had declared at His baptism. For Him to accomplish His ministry for the kingdom of the heavens, He had to defeat God's enemy, the devil, Satan. This He must do as a man. Hence, He stood as a man to confront the enemy of God. The devil, knowing this, tempted Him to leave the standing of man and assume His position as the Son of God. Forty days before, God the Father declared from the heavens that He was the beloved Son of the Father. The subtle tempter took that declaration of God the Father as the ground to tempt Him. If He assumed His position as the Son of God before the enemy, He would have lost the standing to defeat him. (Life-study of Matthew, p. 139)

　　Matthew 4:4 says, "...It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out through the mouth of God.'" The tempter tempted the new King to take His position as the Son of God. But He answered with the word of the Scriptures, "Man," indicating that He stood in the position of man to deal with the enemy. The demons addressed Jesus as the Son of God (8:29), but the evil spirits did not confess that Jesus came in the flesh (1 John 4:3), because by confessing Jesus as a man, they would be defeated. Although the demons confess Jesus as the Son of God, the devil does not want people to believe that He is the Son of God, because in so doing they will be saved (John 20:31). The word "man" spoken by the Lord Jesus to the tempter was a killing word.

　　In Matthew 4:10 the Lord Jesus said, "Go away, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve.'" Satan in Greek means "adversary." He is not only God's enemy outside God's kingdom, but also the adversary within God's kingdom, rebelling against God. The new King rebuked the devil's presentation and defeated him by standing on the ground of man to worship and serve God only. To worship or to serve anything other than God for gain is always the devil's temptation to secure worship. The Lord seemed to be saying to Satan, "Satan, as a man, I, Jesus, worship God and serve Him only. You are God's enemy, and I will never worship you. I don't care for the glory of the world or for the kingdoms of the world. Satan, get away from Me!"

　　Verse 11 says, "Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him." The devil's temptation of the first man, Adam, was a success; his temptation of the second man, Christ, was an absolute failure. This indicates that he will have no place in the new King's kingdom of the heavens. After the Lord Jesus defeated Satan, angels came and ministered to the tempted King as a suffering man (cf. Luke 22:43). (Life-study of Matthew, pp. 139-140, 146-147)

　　First John 3:8 reveals that as He ministered on earth the Lord Jesus was undoing the works of the devil: "For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil." The Greek word rendered "destroy" may also be translated "undo, loose, dissolve." Also, the Greek word translated "for this" literally means "unto this," that is, to this end, for this purpose. The devil sins continually from ancient times and begets sinners to practice sin with him. Hence, for this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might undo and destroy the devil's sinful deeds—that is, condemn, through death on the cross in the flesh (Rom. 8:3), sin initiated by him, the evil one; destroy the power of sin, the sinful nature of the devil (Heb. 2:14); and take away both sin and sins. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 746-747)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Matthew, msg. 11

«　WEEK 3　DAY 2　»

　　John 12:31 Now is the judgment of this world; now shall the ruler of this world be cast out.

　　Matt. 27:51 And behold, the veil of the temple was split in two from top to bottom, and the earth was shaken and the rocks were split.

　　In His work on the cross Christ also cast out the ruler of this world and judged his world...(John 12:31). This indicates that Christ's work in His death included the casting out of Satan, the ruler of this world. Satan thought that he was wise in having the Lord Jesus crucified. Actually, by doing this Satan caused himself to be cast out. The cross was the way used by God to cast out Satan.

　　The New Testament reveals that Satan has formed an evil, satanic system called the world. Through the world, the satanic cosmos, Satan has systematized fallen mankind under his usurping hand. Satan uses the world to keep people from the purpose of God and to distract them from the enjoyment of God. But this evil world system, the kingdom of darkness, was judged through Christ's work on the cross. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 770-771)

　　Because the world system is connected to Satan, when he, the ruler of the world, was judged, the world was judged as well. The ruler of this world was cast out when Satan was cast out by Christ's work in His death. Simultaneously, the world system related to Satan was judged.

　　When the Lord Jesus was crucified, the entire old creation and the satanic world were crucified with Him. Hence, the Lord's crucifixion was the termination of the satanic world. Therefore, in Galatians 6:14 Paul could declare, "Far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the world has been crucified to me and I to the world." (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 771)

　　Matthew 27:51...says that "the earth was shaken and the rocks were split." The shaking of the earth signifies that the base of Satan's rebellion has been shaken, and the splitting of the rocks signifies that the strongholds of Satan's earthly kingdom have been broken. Hallelujah, the Lord's death tore the veil, shook the base of Satan's rebellion, and broke the strongholds of Satan's kingdom! What a death! Praise the Lord for His death! Because God's righteousness was fully satisfied, Christ's death could be so effective. (Life-study of Matthew, pp. 812-813)

　　Beside death and sin, we have another problem—the devil. In His crucifixion Christ also destroyed the devil (Heb. 2:14).

　　The Greek word translated "destroy" may also be rendered as "bring to nought, make of none effect, do away with, abolish, annul, discard." After the devil, the serpent, seduced man into the fall, God promised that the seed of woman would come to bruise the head of the serpent (Gen. 3:15). In the fullness of time, the Son of God came to become flesh (John 1:14; Rom. 8:3), by being born of a virgin (Gal. 4:4), that He might destroy the devil in man's flesh through His death in the flesh on the cross. This was to abolish Satan, to bring him to nought. Hallelujah, Satan has been abolished and done away with!

　　Perhaps you will say, "How could the devil have been destroyed when he is still so prevailing?" It is a lie to say that the devil is prevailing. The Bible never says this. Do not believe in this lie. The Bible says that the devil has been bruised, destroyed. His head has been crushed. Are you going to believe your feelings or God's Word? God's Word tells us that through His death on the cross Christ has destroyed the devil. This is an accomplished fact, a fact that is included in the holy Word as the testament bequeathed to us. We need to take this bequest by faith according to the holy Word.

　　By His mercy, the Lord has opened our eyes and has shown us the all-inclusiveness of His death. And through experience we do realize that death, sin, the devil, the fear of death, and slavery were all truly crossed out in Christ's crucifixion. (Life-study of Hebrews, pp. 92-93)

　　Further Reading: The Conclusion of the New Testament, msgs. 31, 71

«　WEEK 3　DAY 3　»

　　Col. 2:15 Stripping off the rulers and the authorities, He made a display of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

　　2 Tim. 1:10 But now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who nullified death and brought life and incorruption to light through the gospel.

　　No doubt, the Lord Jesus was crucified as the brass serpent in order to deal with Satan, the devil, the old serpent. It was through being crucified as the brass serpent that He crushed the head of the old serpent (Gen. 3:15). In this way the Lord Jesus destroyed the devil, who had the power of death (Heb. 2:14). In His humanity and through His work in His death Christ has destroyed Satan. Therefore, Christ died not only as the Substitute of fallen men, who had been bitten by the serpent, but also to destroy the devil. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 772)

　　[In Colossians 2:15] we see that in His work on the cross Christ caused the rulers and authorities to be stripped off, to be made a display of openly, and to be triumphed over in the cross by God. The rulers and authorities spoken of in this verse are the angelic rulers and authorities....The Greek word for "made a display" means [to] show or exhibit in the sense of putting to an open shame. God openly shamed the evil angelic rulers and authorities on the cross and triumphed over them in it. The Greek words translated "in it" refer to the cross, but they can also be rendered "in Him," referring to Christ.

　　In a very real sense the cross of Christ is the center of the universe. After God created the heavens, the earth, and billions of items in the universe, an archangel rebelled and many angels followed him. This archangel became Satan, and his followers became the evil rulers, powers, and authorities in the heavenlies. Later, the man created by God fell and became sinful. Eventually, Christ, God incarnate, went to the cross to work for the accomplishment of redemption. While Christ was on the cross, many things took place. At that time the cross was the center of the universe. The Savior, sin, Satan, we, and God were all there. While God was judging sin, the evil rulers and authorities were present and were very active, swarming around the crucified Christ, pressing in very closely. If they had not pressed in closely, God could not have stripped them off. The words "stripping off" indicate that the rulers and authorities were very close, as close as our garments are to our body. By stripping off the rulers and authorities God made a display of them openly, putting them to shame and triumphing over them.

　　Colossians 2:15 portrays the warfare that took place at the time of Christ's crucifixion. In His crucifixion Christ was working to accomplish redemption, and God the Father was working to judge sin. At the same time the rulers and authorities were busy in the attempt to frustrate the work of God and Christ. The reference to triumph in Colossians 2:15 implies fighting; it indicates that a war was raging. While Christ was working to accomplish redemption, the rulers and authorities came to interfere, pressing in close to Christ. But at that very juncture God stripped them off,...putting them to an open shame. Christ's work in His death caused all this to take place.

　　In 2 Timothy 1:10 Paul tells us that through His work in His death Christ nullified death. The Greek word translated "nullified" also means make of none effect, bring to naught, do away with, abolish, annul, discard. Through His devil-destroying death, Christ nullified death, making it of none effect. To nullify death does not mean to remove death but to make it of no effect. Death will not be removed until it is cast into the lake of fire after the millennium (Rev. 20:14). Death will be the last enemy destroyed by the Lord (1 Cor. 15:26). Although death has not yet been removed, it is none the less a fact that it has been nullified through Christ's death on the cross. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 774-775, 773-774)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Colossians, msg. 23

«　WEEK 3　DAY 4　»

　　Acts 2:24 Whom God has raised up, having loosed the pangs of death, since it was not possible for Him to be held by it.

　　Rev. 1:18 And the living One; and I became dead, and behold, I am living forever and ever; and I have the keys of death and of Hades.

　　Christ was manifested to nullify death and to bring in eternal, indestructible life. He not only defeated death—He nullified it. Through His resurrection, death has become of none effect; death has lost its power, even its taste. Christ could nullify death because He destroyed the devil, the one who has the power of death. Of course, by overcoming Satan and nullifying death, the Lord Jesus also defeated Hades and the grave. Therefore, Christ's resurrection declares that He is victorious over death, Satan, Hades, and the grave. No longer are these a problem. Therefore, Christ's resurrection was not only God's vindication and the Lord's success, but also His victory over death, Satan, Hades, and the grave. Christ through His resurrection has made this troublesome group of none effect. (Life-study of Luke, p. 606)

　　Acts 2:24 says, "Whom God has raised up, having loosed the pangs of death, since it was not possible for Him to be held by it." Here and in verse 32 Peter says that God raised up Jesus. In 10:40 and 41 he says the same thing again but adds, "He rose from the dead." Regarding the Lord as a man, the New Testament tells us that God raised Him from the dead (Rom. 8:11). Considering Him as God, it tells us that He Himself rose from the dead (Rom. 14:9). In the same principle, regarding Him as a man, the New Testament tells us that He was killed by men (Mark 9:31). But considering Him as God, it tells us that He laid down His life of Himself (John 10:18). This also proves His dual status—human and divine.

　　Acts 2:24 says that it was not possible for the Lord to be held by death. The Lord is both God and resurrection (John 1:1; 11:25), possessing the indestructible life (Heb. 7:16). Because He is such an ever-living One, death is not able to hold Him. He delivered Himself to death, but death had no way to detain Him; rather, death was defeated by Him, and He rose up from it. (Life-study of Acts, pp. 77-78)

　　In Revelation 1:18 we see that the Lord is "the living One," the One who "became dead" and who is "living for ever and ever." The very Christ who walks in the midst of the churches, who is the Head of the churches and to whom the churches belong, is the living One full of life. Hence, the churches as His Body should also be living and full of life. Hallelujah, we have a living Christ who has overcome death! Our Christ, who is the resurrected Christ, is living in us and among us. He is living forever and ever. What a living Christ we have in the recovery! In the recovery, all the churches should be as living as Christ, full of life and overcoming death.

　　In verse 18 the Lord also said, "I have the keys of death and of Hades."...Death is a collector and Hades is a keeper. In the church life today are we still subject to death and Hades? No! Christ abolished death on the cross and overcame Hades in His resurrection. Although Hades tried its best to hold Him, it was powerless to do it (Acts 2:24). With Him, death has no sting and Hades has no power. But what about us? It must be the same. In the church life, the keys of death and Hades are in His hand. It is impossible for us to deal with death; we simply do not have the ability to handle it. Whenever death enters, it will deaden many. But as long as we give the Lord Jesus the ground, the opportunity, and the free way to move and act among us, both death and Hades will be under His control. However, whenever the Lord Jesus does not have the ground in the church, death immediately becomes prevailing and Hades becomes powerful to hold the dead ones. Praise the Lord that Christ has the keys of death and Hades. Death is subject to Him and Hades is under His control. Hallelujah! (Life-study of Revelation, pp. 110-111)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Luke, msgs. 70-71

«　WEEK 3　DAY 5　»

　　Eph. 4:8 Therefore the Scripture says, "Having ascended to the height, He led captive those taken captive and gave gifts to men."

　　2 Cor. 2:14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in the Christ and manifests the savor of the knowledge of Him through us in every place.

　　In His work in His ascension Christ led captive those taken captive. "Having ascended to the height, He led captive those taken captive" (Eph. 4:8). The word "height" in the quotation from Psalm 68:18 refers to Mount Zion (Psa. 68:15-16), symbolizing the third heaven where God dwells (1 Kings 8:30). Psalm 68 implies that it was in the Ark that God ascended to Mount Zion after the Ark had led the way to victory. Verse 1 of Psalm 68 is a quotation of Numbers 10:35. This indicates that the background of Psalm 68 is God's move in the tabernacle with the Ark as its center. The Ark was a clear type of Christ. Wherever the Ark went the victory was won. Eventually the Ark ascended triumphantly to the top of Mount Zion. This portrays how Christ has won the victory and has ascended triumphantly to the heavens. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 808)

　　The word "those" in Ephesians 4:8 refers to the redeemed saints who had been taken captive by Satan before they were saved by Christ's death and resurrection. In His ascension Christ led them captive; that is, He rescued them from Satan's captivity and took them to Himself. This indicates that Christ has conquered and overcome Satan, who had captured them by sin and death.

　　The Amplified New Testament renders "He led a train of vanquished foes" for "He led captive those taken captive." "Vanquished foes" may refer to Satan, to his angels, and to us the sinners, also indicating Christ's victory over Satan, sin, and death. In His ascension there was a procession of these vanquished foes as captives from a war for a celebration of Christ's victory.

　　In Adam we all were captured by Satan. This means that through Adam's fall we became Satan's captives. Eventually, the Lord Jesus came to undo Satan's work, defeating him by His death and capturing Satan's captives through His death and resurrection. Then in His ascension He led these captives to the heavens as a train, a procession. This indicates that, as believers in Christ, we are in the heavens, for when Christ ascended to the heavens we were in that train of captives led by Him to the highest place in the universe.

　　This is confirmed by Ephesians 2:6, which says that God "raised us up together with Him and seated us together with Him in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus." God not only raised us up from the position of death but also seated us in the heavenlies, in the highest place in the universe. The heavenlies are the high position into which we have been saved in Christ. The word "heavenlies" refers not only to a place but also to an atmosphere with a certain nature and characteristic. God's salvation has brought us into a heavenly place and into a heavenly atmosphere with a heavenly characteristic.

　　It was in Christ that God seated us all together, once for all, in the heavenlies. This was accomplished when Christ ascended to the heavens, and it was supplied to us by the Spirit of Christ when we believed in Him. Today we realize and experience this reality in our spirit through faith in the accomplished fact.

　　Through His death and resurrection Christ released us from the usurping hand of Satan. Then He brought us to the heavens where we are now sitting, not as captives but as sons of God and members of Christ. Christ's unique work in His ascension has brought us all to the highest place in the universe. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 808-809)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Acts, msg. 10

«　WEEK 3　DAY 6　»

　　Rev. 19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sits on it called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.

　　13 And He is clothed with a garment dipped in blood; and His name is called the Word of God.

　　After His wedding feast, Christ will come as a fighting General with His bride, the overcoming believers who are His army, to fight Antichrist, the kings under him, and their armies at Armageddon.

　　Christ is called "Faithful and True" (Rev. 19:11). Christ is faithful both to God and to those who believe in Him. In His faithfulness He defeats and destroys those who oppose God and persecute the believers. He is true in carrying out God's economy and in caring for those who believe in Him. He is trustworthy, and with Him there is no falsehood. (Life-study of Revelation, pp. 633, 635-636)

　　Revelation 19:11 also says, "In righteousness He judges and makes war." Christ will judge and fight in righteousness. He judges by fighting. It is true even today that no wrongdoers would accept the judgments of our courts if the government had no police force to back up these judgments. Judgment can only be executed by police power. When Christ comes to judge Antichrist, Antichrist will be utterly rebellious. Thus, there will be the need for Christ to fight to subdue this rebellion and to judge these rebels in righteousness. His judging by fighting is not only according to righteousness; it is also to maintain righteousness.

　　Verse 13 says, "And He is clothed with a garment dipped in blood." The garment of Christ is dipped in blood and becomes red by His treading the winepress of the wine of the fury of the wrath of God (v. 15; Isa. 63:1-3) at Armageddon (Rev. 16:14, 16), where the blood will rise up to the bridles of the horses (14:20).

　　Revelation 19:13 also says, "His name is called The Word of God." The Word of God is the definition, the explanation, and the expression of God. As the Word of God, Christ speaks for God not only by imparting life as grace to God's chosen people in the Gospel of John (John 1:1, 4, 14), but also by executing God's judgment upon the rebellious people in the Revelation of John. Even as the Lord fights, He speaks for God and expresses God. The fighting of Christ is the speaking of the Word of God. God is righteous and sovereign. He is also a God of order and He cannot tolerate disorder and rebellion. As Christ fights against the enemy, He will speak that God is sovereign, righteous, and orderly. He will declare that God is the God over everyone and that He does not tolerate rebellion against His authority. Hence, the Warrior is the Word. His fighting is the speaking of God's Word.

　　Suppose I come into the meeting hall and find everything is in a mess. Without saying a word, I begin to clean up the hall. My act of cleaning says that I am a neat person and that I cannot tolerate a messy environment. There is no need for me to say anything, because my cleaning speaks for me. Likewise, the Lord's fighting in the war at Armageddon will be a powerful speaking. It will tell Satan, Antichrist, the false prophet, and the entire universe that God is sovereign and that no one can rebel against Him. God is a God of order and He will sweep away all rebellion.

　　The Word of God is mentioned both in the Gospel of John (1:1) and in the Revelation of John. In the Gospel of John the Word of God does not speak anything related to fighting; rather, He speaks redemption, light, life, and building. In the Gospel of John the Word of God speaks life and building. In the Revelation of John the Word of God speaks not only life and building, but also fighting. Before God can have the building He desires, He must first clean up His universe. In this book Christ's fighting is also His speaking for God. As the Word of God, His fighting proclaims to the whole universe what kind of God He is. God is not a God of confusion—He is the sovereign God, a God of order who does not tolerate rebellion. By His fighting Christ declares this to the universe. (Life-study of Revelation, pp. 636-638)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Revelation, msg. 55