Scripture Reading: Col. 1:28-29; 3:10; Eph. 4:13-16, 24; Rev. 21:2, 10

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 5　DAY 1　»

　　Eph. 4:13 Until we all arrive at the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, at a full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

　　1:22-23 And He subjected all things under His feet and gave Him to be Head over all things to the church, which is His Body, the fullness of the One who fills all in all.

　　A full-grown man is a mature man. Maturity in life is needed for the practical oneness. (Eph. 4:13, footnote 4) The fullness of Christ is the Body of Christ (Eph. 1:23), which has a stature with a measure. To arrive at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ is necessary for the practical oneness. Hence, from the oneness in reality we need to proceed to the oneness in practicality until we arrive at the three things mentioned in this verse—the oneness, a full-grown man, and the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. (Eph. 4:13, footnote 5)

　　Ephesians 2:22 speaks of the building up of the church, but it gives only the principles; it does not give the details. However, the details are found in 4:16….By growing up into the Head, the members of the Body have something to share with one another. Furthermore, there will be the operation in the measure of each part, and the result will be the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love. In order to have the reality of this verse, we must be perfected by the gifts given to the Body by the Head. The saints are not perfected merely by learning doctrine. On the contrary, they are perfected through being fed. This feeding causes them to grow. For example, an infant does not need anything to be added on to his body to perfect him. As he grows, the members of his body develop and begin to function normally. A mother does not perfect her baby by teaching him to use the various parts of his body; she perfects him by feeding him. The more a child grows through receiving proper nourishment, the more the members of his body will come into their function. In the same principle, the members of the Body are perfected not by teaching, but through the feeding that causes them to grow.

　　According to 4:13, the saints need to be perfected until they arrive at three things: at the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, at a full-grown man, and at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. Then we shall be no longer babes tossed by waves and carried about by every wind of teaching (v. 14). Instead, we shall hold to truth in love so that we may “grow up into Him in all things, who is the Head, Christ” (v. 15). The more we grow, the more we shall drop our doctrines. After someone is saved, he needs to have Christ ministered to him as his spiritual food and drink. This will cause him to grow. As he grows, he will gradually lay aside his doctrinal concepts. Eventually he will realize that nothing is more important than having Christ wrought into him.

　　As we grow in life, we arrive at the oneness of the faith. However, if we hold to our different doctrinal concepts, we shall not have this oneness….If we are nourished with the element of Christ and gradually lay aside our doctrinal concepts, we shall arrive at the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God. The more we grow, the more we arrive at such a oneness.

　　Through the growth of life, we shall also arrive at a full-grown man and at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. The fullness of Christ is the Body of Christ, Christ's expression. With this Body there is a stature with a measure…. [The] increase [of the measure of the stature] is the result of the perfecting of the saints through the ministry of Christ. However, as we all admit, we are still in the process of growth. The more we grow, the more we shall be able to function and to have the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love. This is our need today. (Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 753-755, 758)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Ephesians, msgs. 89-90

«　WEEK 5　DAY 2　»

　　Eph. 4:14-16 That we may be no longer little children…, but holding to truth in love, we may grow up into Him in all things, who is the Head, Christ, out from whom all the Body, being joined together and being knit together through every joint of the rich supply and through the operation in the measure of each one part, causes the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love.

　　By holding to truth in love we grow up into Christ in all things. To be no longer little children (Eph. 4:14) we need to grow up into Christ. This is to have Christ increase in us in all things until we attain to a full-grown man (v. 13). The word Head here in verse 15 indicates that our growth in life with Christ should be the growth of the members in the Body under the Head. To grow up into the Head means that we care only for Christ and the church. We grow by caring only for Christ and the church…. We should grow up into Christ, not up into ourselves or into something else apart from Christ. (Life-study of Ephesians, p. 384)

　　Paul clearly says that we are to grow up into the One who is the Head. This indicates that our growth must be in the Body. In order to grow into the Head, we must surely be in the Body. Many Christians are apparently growing spiritually; however, their supposed growth is not in the Body. It is of great importance that Paul does not tell us to grow up into the Savior, into the Master, or into the Lord. He says specifically that we are to grow up into the Head. This can take place only in the Body. If you do not remain in the Body, you may have a certain kind of growth, but it will not be the growth into the Head.

　　In Ephesians 4:15 Paul tells us that we must grow up into the Head in all things. In certain aspects you have grown up into the Head, but in other aspects you probably have not. According to my experience, the most difficult matter in which to grow up into Christ, the Head, is in our talking. Psalm 141:3 says, “Set a watch, O Jehovah, before my mouth; / Keep the door of my lips.” Because it is so hard for us to control our speaking, we should make this our prayer also. Whether you are young or old, a brother or a sister, this is an area in which all of us desperately need to grow up into Christ as the Head….May this need for growth touch our heart and turn us afresh to the Lord. (Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 384-385)

　　[In Ephesians 4:15] all things means every single thing, whether big or small; we must grow up into Christ in all things. Even today there are still many things in which we are not in Christ but are outside of Christ. We need to grow up into Christ in all things, both big and small. You have Christ in you, but there are still many things in you that have not grown up into Christ. This is entirely a matter of the Spirit. To grow up into Christ is to grow up into the Spirit. Your speaking must be in the Spirit; your actions, your adornment, and your attire must all be in the Spirit; your dealings with others, your managing of affairs, and the way you treat people must be in the Spirit. You need to get into the Spirit in all things.

　　We need to hold to Christ as the truth and grow into Christ, the life-giving Spirit, in all things. This will make us the new man. If we grow up into Christ in all things, then in Christ there will not be this kind of person or that kind of person. There will not be any kind of person but Christ, who is all and in all. This is the new man. When we hold to Christ as the truth in love and grow up into Him in all things, then we will no longer be many different kinds of people. When we grow up into Christ in all things, we all will be just one in Christ. This is the one new man. (CWWL, 1977, vol. 3, “One Body, One Spirit, and One New Man,” p. 339)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Ephesians, msg. 45

«　WEEK 5　DAY 3　»

　　Eph. 4:15-16 But holding to truth in love, we may grow up into Him in all things, who is the Head, Christ, out from whom all the Body…causes the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love.

　　Col. 2:19 …Holding the Head, out from whom all the Body, being richly supplied and knit together by means of the joints and sinews, grows with the growth of God.

　　Head in Ephesians 4:15 indicates that our growth in life by the increase of Christ should be the growth of the members in the Body under the Head. (Eph. 4:15, footnote 4)

　　To grow in life is to grow into the Head, Christ, but to operate in the Body of Christ is to operate out from Him. First, we grow up into the Head; then we have something that is out from the Head for the building up of the Body. (Eph. 4:16, footnote 1)

　　The believers are one in Christ by His resurrection life and His divine nature to be the one new man, as mentioned in Ephesians 2:15….There is no room for our natural being, our natural disposition, and our natural character; in this one new man Christ is all and in all (Col. 3:10-11). This oneness in Christ is achieved through baptism, which terminates all the divisive distinctions and ushers the believers into the divine organic union with the processed Triune God, resulting in the believers' subjective assurance that they are one with one another. (Gal. 3:28, footnote 5)

　　As we enjoy Christ and hold Him as the Head, we absorb His riches. According to Colossians 2:19, something proceeds out from the Head which causes the Body to grow with the growth of God. When we enjoy Christ in the heavens and in our spirit, we hold the Head and absorb His riches. Then out from the Head something will proceed to produce the growth of God in us. This means that more of the element of God is added into our being and thereby into the Body. This causes the Body to grow with the growth, the increase, of God.

　　As we hold the Head, we absorb the riches of the extensive, all-inclusive Christ. These riches are the elements of God, the very elements that proceed out from the Head and become in us the increase of God by which the Body grows. Eventually, the Body will be the one new man in which Christ is all and in all. Because Christ is the unique constituent of the new man, He is every member of the new man and in every member.

　　Through holding Christ as the Head, we become conscious of the Body. Experiencing the Body life, we absorb the riches out from the Head. These riches are the very elements of God which become in the members of the Body the increase of God by which the whole Body grows. Therefore, the growth of the Body is the product of enjoying Christ, holding Him as the Head, and absorbing His riches. (Life-study of Colossians, pp. 495-496)

　　The work of assimilation is a good illustration of dispensing. Immediately after eating, the fine work of dispensing begins in order to dispense the food into the cells, fibers, and tissues of our being. In the same way, the dispensing of the Triune God is to make the processed and consummated Triune God the very constitution of our being. This fine work of dispensing continues day by day and will be finalized when the sealing ink of the Spirit permeates our entire body (Eph. 1:13-14). This will be the redemption of our body (Rom. 8:23) when we are glorified.

　　The dispensing of the Triune God into us causes us to grow with the increase of God (Col. 2:19). For anything to grow it must increase with some element or substance. Human beings grow by the food they take in. If you do not eat anything, you cannot grow. We Christians grow with the increase, the surplus, the addition, of God. God entered into us when we were regenerated. Now He is increasing within us by adding more of Himself to us. However, the amount of God that each brother or sister has differs. To have the Lord increase within us, we must come to the Word of God to eat each day. (CWWL, 1990, vol. 3, “The Divine Dispensing for the Divine Economy,” p. 241)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Colossians, msg. 56

«　WEEK 5　DAY 4　»

　　Eph. 4:8 “Having ascended to the height, He led captive those taken captive and gave gifts to men.”

　　16 Out from whom all the Body, being joined together and being knit together through every joint of the rich supply and through the operation in the measure of each one part, causes the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love.

　　We may distinguish between something that is perfect, or complete, organically and something that is perfect according to its function. At birth, an infant is perfect organically; that is, the infant has all the necessary organs. However, a child is not functionally perfect at birth…. In order to develop properly and to function normally, every child needs to be nourished and cherished. This principle also applies to the church as the new man. In Ephesians 2:15 we see the creation of the new man organically, but in 4:13-16 we see the perfecting of the new man in relation to his function.

　　Ephesians 4:16 is an extremely important verse….Our growth in life is to grow into the Head, Christ, but our function in the Body is to function out from Him. The phrase each one part refers to every member of the Body. Every member of the Body of Christ has its own measure which works for the growth of the Body. The Body causes the growth of itself through the supplying joints and working parts. The growth of the Body is the increase of Christ in the church, which results in the building up of the Body itself. (Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 767-768)

　　In Ephesians 2 …we have the birth of the new man, but not the function of the new man. At birth, the new man is organically perfect; however, he is not yet able to function. Just as a child needs to be perfected through nourishing and cherishing, so the organically perfect new man needs to be perfected through the growth of life in order to function in a proper way.

　　Through the growth spoken of in chapter 4, the new man comes into function. Through the operation in the measure of each part, the Body grows unto the building up of itself in love. The creation of the new man was the responsibility of the Lord alone. We have nothing whatever to do with this. But we must fulfill our responsibility to perfect the new man through nourishing and cherishing. As the new man is perfected in this way, he grows and becomes perfect functionally.

　　The new man can become perfect in relation to his functions only through receiving the proper nourishment. In Ephesians 4:8 we are told that the ascended Christ gave gifts to men. The gifts here do not refer to abilities for service, but to the gifted persons mentioned in verse 11—apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers. After conquering them and rescuing them from Satan and death through His death and resurrection, Christ in His ascension makes rescued sinners such gifts with His resurrection life and gives them to His Body for its building up. Hence, the four kinds of gifted persons mentioned in verse 11 are those who have been endued with a special gift. These gifted ones are given “for the perfecting of the saints unto the work of the ministry, unto the building up of the Body of Christ” (v. 12). The more the saints are perfected, the more they grow. Through growth their function comes forth, and they function according to the effectual working in their measure.

　　Christ is wrought into us to become our life, our person, and our everything. Then we minister to others the very Christ who has been wrought into us. I believe that the day is coming when everyone in the local churches will be a functioning member….The more we grow by being nourished and cherished, the more we shall function properly in the church life. If the saints are absolute with the Lord, in a relatively short time many will come into function. I have the full assurance in the Lord that soon this will be the situation in the Lord's recovery. (Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 768-771, 773)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Ephesians, msg. 92

«　WEEK 5　DAY 5　»

　　Col. 1:27-29 To whom God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory, whom we announce, admonishing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom that we may present every man full-grown in Christ; for which also I labor, struggling according to His operation which operates in me in power.

　　[In Colossians 1:28] the Greek word rendered “full-grown” may also be translated “mature,” “complete,” or “perfect.” Paul's ministry was to impart Christ to others so that they may be perfect and complete by maturing in Christ unto full growth… We must have the same goal that Paul had.

　　Even in preaching the gospel, our aim should be to impart life in order to present others mature, full-grown, in Christ. As we preach the gospel to unbelievers, minister Christ to them, and help them to receive the Lord, our goal is not merely that they should be saved from the lake of fire and from God's condemnation. Our goal is not only for them to experience God's forgiveness; it is to minister Christ into them so that they may eventually be presented full-grown in Christ. If we fail to impart Christ to others as we preach the gospel, our gospel preaching will fall short of God's standard. Christ must be infused into all those to whom we speak. Imparting Christ should be our aim in our gospel preaching.

　　We should have the same goal in our fellowship with the saints. As we contact the saints, our goal should be to minister Christ into them so that they may mature in Him. (Life-study of Colossians, p. 129)

　　Paul labored to present every man full-grown in Christ. Presenting others full-grown in Christ is a very difficult task, a task which can be accomplished only by struggling according to Christ's operation [cf. Col. 1:29].

　　Some may think that the way to present others full-grown in Christ is to pray. However, it is possible to have a superstitious understanding of prayer. For example, suppose someone thinks that meals can be prepared only by prayer and that there is no need to go shopping or to cook food. Such a concept is superstitious. In presenting others full-grown in Christ we need to follow the principle set up in Genesis 2: Man tills the ground, and God sends the rain (v. 5)…. As we trust in God and look to Him for the rain, we should be faithful in our responsibility to till the ground. This means that we must fulfill the principle ordained by God. If we depend only on our work of tilling the ground and do not trust in the Lord to send the rain, we are wrong. But we are also wrong if we only pray to the Lord for rain and do not fulfill our responsibility to till the ground. Applying this principle to the matter of presenting every man full-grown in Christ, we see that we should not merely pray, but also labor according to Christ's operation.

　　In Colossians 1:29 Paul said that he struggled according to Christ's operation within him. This struggle was his labor to present every man full-grown in Christ. He endeavored to do this by announcing Christ, by warning every man, and by teaching every man in all wisdom.

　　According to 1:29, the operation of Christ operates in us in power. There is a difference between Christ operating in us and Christ's operation operating in us. Because Christ as the hope of glory operates in us, there is an operation which also operates in us. Christ Himself operates in us. But Christ operating in us causes an operation which also operates in us. This operation operates in us in power.

　　What Paul did in struggling to present others full-grown in Christ is an example which serves for the perfecting of the saints for the building up of the Body of Christ. It is to struggle according to the operation of Christ that operates in us, that is, to labor by the resurrecting, transcending, and subduing power within us. (Life-study of Colossians, pp. 137, 143-144)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Colossians, msgs. 16-17, 49

«　WEEK 5　DAY 6　»

　　Eph. 4:11-12 And He Himself gave some as apostles…, for the perfecting of the saints unto the work of the ministry, unto the building up of the Body of Christ.

　　16 …All the Body…causes the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love.

　　The degree to which we can minister Christ is in direct proportion to our experience of Christ. The more we experience Him, the more we can minister Him to others. As we minister Christ, others will be nourished.

　　The very Christ who was crucified and resurrected and who has ascended to the third heaven is now working within us to constitute us into functioning members of the Body. He carries out this work by making His home in our hearts and by saturating us with Himself. As He saturates us, we are sanctified, purified, nourished, cherished, and transformed. The result is that we become perfected functionally. In this way the Body grows and builds itself up. The Body is not built directly by the Head or by the gifts mentioned in Ephesians 4:11; it is built up directly by those members who have been perfected by the gifted ones. (Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 775-776)

　　All those who desire to migrate for the spread of the church life must realize that migration is not a movement. It is the move of the one new man, that is, the move of the all-inclusive Christ in His Body. It is the move of Christ, the heavenly Solomon, in His palanquin. If the Lord is to' move among us in such a way, we should not function in an individualistic way. Rather, we should function in the Body in the way of coordination. In order to function in this way, we need to experience Christ and to grow in Him. The measure of our growth will be the sphere, the realm, of our function. If we fail to function, there will be a gap in the Body. But if we function excessively, we shall cause a cancer in the Body.

　　We praise the Lord for opening His Word to us. We thank Him for showing us that the vital need is for Christ to be wrought into our being. The more we are saturated with Christ, the more we become in reality parts of the Body with a particular measure of function. Then wherever we may be we shall function properly, and the Body will grow. This will cause Satan, the enemy of God, to tremble. It will also hasten the coming back of the Lord Jesus. (Life-study of Ephesians, p. 776)

　　The thought of Paul's word concerning the perfecting of the saints is that God's intention is to have every believer able to do the things that the gifted persons do. Every believer should be able to do the work of the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the shepherds and teachers. The thought in today's Christianity, however, is different from this. A certain group of people is a clerical class. They are the ones who do the holy service, whereas the rest of the believers are the laity. This kind of philosophy and practice annuls the spiritual, organic function of all the believers.

　　There is a capacity in the divine life that the believers possess and enjoy, and this capacity needs to be developed unto their ability. In the human life there is the capacity of hearing, seeing, smelling, speaking, and walking. All these capacities need a certain amount of development, and for the development to take place there is the need of practice…. For the function to be developed, there is the need for the growth of life and practice. An infant learns to speak by practicing and by the growth of life.

　　The traditional practice of Christianity annuls the capacity in the divine life that the believers possess and enjoy… [and] robs the believers of the opportunities to function. If a person gets saved and sits in a pew for a year, he will not learn how to function….The truth concerning the perfecting of the saints is the opposite of the practice of traditional Christianity. The apostle Paul's way was to perfect the saints in everything. Ephesians 4:11-12 shows us that for the building up of the Body of Christ, the saints need to be perfected by the gifted persons. (CWWL, 1989, vol. 4, “The Advance of the Lord's Recovery Today,” pp. 62-63)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Ephesians, msg. 93