«　WEEK 4　DAY 2　»

　　Deut. 8:9 …A land whose stones are iron, and from whose mountains you can mine copper.

　　33:25 Your doorbolts shall be iron and copper; and as your days are, so shall your strength be.

　　Matt. 28:18 …Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

　　When the Lord was raised from the dead, He told us that all authority in heaven and on earth was given to Him. The spiritual authority, the heavenly authority, is always in resurrection. If you and I are living and walking in the resurrection life of Christ, we will have the authority of heaven.

　　The authority of the church has nothing to do with organization.…If two brothers in a local church are so much in the resurrection, to them the divine, heavenly authority is committed. They are the authority of the church….With them is the resurrection, so with them is the authority of the kingdom. (CWWL, 1961-1962, vol. 4, “The All-inclusive Christ,” p. 257)

　　The authority of the church is where the saints know what it means to be crucified with the Lord Jesus and live in the resurrection. If they laugh, they laugh in resurrection; if they cry, they cry in resurrection. Even when they are angry, they are angry in the life of resurrection. They experience the Lord’s resurrection life in their daily walk. It is not a mere teaching to them but a practical daily enjoyment. When you meet them, you feel that they are stones in the mountain. They are the ones to whom the heavenly authority is committed. They are the authority of the church. If the saints are like that here, then the house of God and the kingdom of God are here.

　　The Lord said to us, “Whatever you bind on the earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on the earth shall have been loosed in heaven” (Matt. 18:18). This is authority. But remember, you must be in the resurrection life; you must have the resurrection ground.

　　In Deuteronomy 33:25 we are told that the doorbolts of the gates are made of iron and copper. These gates are for our protection, our defense, our safeguard. If we are able to exercise the Lord’s authority and the Lord’s judgment, we will have the safety and security. Our doors will be bolted with the authority and judgment of the Lord. The most safe and the most secure are those believers who know something regarding the exercise of Christ’s authority. They have strength because they have authority, so they have safety and security and therefore rest.

　　The building of God is always with this kind of Christians. They are not only the material for the building, not only the stones for the house, but also the house built together. With this kind of believers is the authority of God, the divine government; therefore, with them is the kingdom of God, the mountains or the hills.

　　When we have the authority, there is no need for us to deal with so many things. Even to pray about many matters is not necessary. We have the right to exercise authority over these things. When traffic approaches the policeman, does he need to call the mayor and ask that he do something to stop it? This is ridiculous. The policeman is authorized to do this. In exactly the same manner, there is no need for us to call to God for help. We may and we must simply take our ground and exercise our authority.

　　But…we cannot do this without some degree of spiritual maturity….When a certain problem arose regarding a brother in the church at Corinth and the apostle [Paul] could not tolerate it, he told them that he judged and delivered that person into the hand of Satan in the name of the Lord Jesus (1 Cor. 5:3-5). He exercised his right; he assumed the authority. If we would do likewise, we, like Paul, must have the maturity of life. (CWWL, 1961-1962, vol. 4, “The All-inclusive Christ,” pp. 257-258, 265-267)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1961-1962, vol. 4, “The All-inclusive Christ,” ch. 8