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To seek the things which are above and set our mind on them is to join ourselves to the Lord in His heavenly ministry, His divine enterprise; this is to live Christ, to have a living that is one with Christ’s living—Col. 3:1-2:
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In His heavenly ministry, Christ today is living as the High Priest to intercede for the churches—Heb. 8:1; 4:14; 7:25; 4:16; Col. 4:2.
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In His heavenly ministry, Christ today is living as the heavenly Minister to supply the saints with the riches of Christ—Heb. 8:1-2; Eph. 3:8.
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In His heavenly ministry, Christ today is living as the universal Administrator of God’s government for the accomplishment of God’s purpose—Rev. 4:1-2, 5; 5:6; Eph. 1:10-11:
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From the throne in the heavens, the divine transmission brings the things above into the local churches—vv. 19, 22-23.
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In Revelation 4 and 5 we have a vision of our “central government,” and in Revelation 1 through 3 we have a vision of the local churches as the “embassies”; through the seven Spirits what is in the heavenly “headquarters” is transmitted into the churches as the “embassies.”
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What takes place in the local churches should be under the direction of the throne of God in heaven; in order for the recovery to be the Lord’s recovery, it must be under His direction—Col. 1:18; 2:19; Rev. 4:2-3.
Morning Nourishment
Heb. 8:1 ...We have such a High Priest, who sat down on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens.7:25 Hence also He is able to save to the uttermost those who come forward to God through Him, since He lives always to intercede for them.
Col. 4:2 Persevere in prayer, watching in it with thanksgiving.
To seek the things which are above and to set our mind on them is to join ourselves to the Lord in His ministry in heaven. We need to join ourselves to the very One who is interceding, ministering, and executing God’s administration. Our living should be a kind of living in which we seek these heavenly things and set our mind on them. This means that we live in such a way as to join our heavenly Christ in His priesthood, ministry, and administration. If we all live in this way, the church life will be greatly uplifted.
We are not here to seek earthly things, but to have a living that is one with Christ’s living. Christ today is living as the High Priest, the heavenly Minister, and the universal Administrator. We need to join Him in His living and have one living with Him. (Life-study of Colossians, pp. 524-525)
Today’s Reading
Christ in heaven is very active, even more busy than when He was on earth. He is interceding for us, shepherding all His churches, and ministering on behalf of millions of saints. As the High Priest in heaven, He is interceding for us.... As He intercedes for us, Christ is ministering the heavenly life supply into us. He is the heavenly Minister ministering in the heavens (Heb. 8:1-2). According to Revelation 5:6, as the Lamb on the throne, Christ is executing God’s universal administration.Christ today is living in the heavens to intercede for the churches, to minister the heavenly life supply to the saints, and to carry out God’s administration....We thank the Lord that a number of those in the local churches today,.. .when they sense that Christ is praying in heaven for a certain matter,.. .join Him to pray on earth for that very matter....To pray together with Christ in this way is to have one living with Him.
In the book of Revelation we see even more of the things which are above. What we have in this book is not merely a window, but an opened heaven. Heaven was opened to John, and he saw “a throne set in heaven, and upon the throne there was One sitting” (Rev. 4:1-2). This throne is not simply the throne of grace, but is the very throne of authority, the throne of the divine administration.
The first vision in the book of Revelation... is of the churches on earth [1:12, 20], whereas the second vision is of what is taking place in the heavens. When considered together, these two visions indicate that what is happening in the churches on earth is related to the activity in the heavens....The Lord’s move in the churches corresponds to the action on the throne in heaven. This means that what takes place in the local churches should be under the direction of the throne of God in heaven. In order for the recovery to be the Lord’s recovery, it must be under His direction. As long as there is a transmission coming from the heavens, there will be the divine flow in the churches.
In Revelation 4 and 5 we have a vision of our “central government,” and in Revelation 1 through 3 we have a vision of the local churches as the “embassies.” Through the seven Spirits there is a transmission going on from the heavenly “headquarters” into the “embassies.” Through the seven Spirits what is in the “headquarters” is transmitted into the churches.... From the throne in the heavens, the divine transmission brings the things above into the local churches. (Life-study of Colossians, pp. 531-533, 513-515)
Further Reading: Life-study of Colossians, msgs. 58, 60-61