Scripture Reading: Heb. 2:10-11; 12:10, 14; Eph. 1:4-5; 5:26;1 Thes. 4:3a; 5:23-24; John 17:17

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　»

　　1 Thes. 4:3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from fornication.

　　Eph. 1:4 Even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blemish before Him in love.

　　God’s will is that His redeemed people, the believers in Christ, live a life of holiness according to His holy nature, a life wholly separated unto Him from anything other than Him. For this He is sanctifying us wholly (1 Thes. 5:23). (1 Thes. 4:3, footnote 1)

　　Holy means not only sanctified, separated unto God, but also different, distinct, from everything that is common. Only God is different, distinct, from all things. Hence, He is holy; holiness is His nature. He chose us that we should be holy. He makes us holy by imparting Himself, the Holy One, into our being, that our whole being may be permeated and saturated with His holy nature. For us, God’s chosen ones, to be holy is to partake of God’s divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4) and to have our whole being permeated with God Himself….This makes our being holy in God’s nature and character, just like God Himself. (Eph. 1:4, footnote 3)

　　[In 1 Thessalonians 4:3 Paul charges] the saints to abstain from the defiling sin of fornication…. In what way does Paul charge the saints to abstain from this sin? He charges them in the way of sanctification. First he tells them that the will of God is our sanctification. The will of God is that we would be sanctified, kept, preserved, and guarded in sanctification. The best way to abstain from fornication is to be sanctified, preserved, in God’s holiness.

　　In 4:3, 4, and 7 Paul uses the word sanctification three times. In verse 3 he says that the will of God is our sanctification; in verse 4, that we should know how to possess our vessel, our body, in sanctification and honor; and in verse 7, that God has called us in sanctification. According to 4:4, we should possess our body in sanctification and honor. Sanctification is before God, and honor is before man. Every fornicator loses his honor before man. In every society fornicators are despised; they have lost their honor before man. Therefore, we need to keep our body from such a sin, and the way to do so is in sanctification.

　　In 5:23 Paul gives a concluding word concerning sanctification….Our entire being—spirit, soul, and body—needs to be sanctified. We need to be sanctified by the God of peace not only in our soul and body, but also in our spirit.

　　According to 5:23, we bear some responsibility for being wholly sanctified. On the one hand, God will sanctify us wholly. On the other hand, our spirit, soul, and body need to be preserved. Although God preserves us, we need to bear a certain amount of responsibility to be preserved.

　　We may regard the words be preserved as an active-passive verb. This means that although we are being preserved, we need to take the responsibility, the initiative, to be preserved. Thus, be implies something active, and preserved implies something passive. God intends to preserve us, but are we willing to be preserved? We may use the matter of giving medicine to children as an illustration of our need to bear responsibility to be preserved. Sometimes a child may need medicine, but he may not be willing to take it…. Sometimes we do not cooperate with the Lord to be preserved. This forces Him to do certain things to subdue us or restrict us so that we may take in what is necessary to be sanctified and preserved.

　　In 1 Thessalonians, a book on a holy life for the church life, we are told that different parts of our being need to be preserved. Our heart needs to be sanctified, our body needs to be preserved in sanctification, and eventually even our spirit, the most hidden part of our being, also needs to be sanctified. (Life-study of 1 Thessalonians, pp. 189-191)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of 1 Thessalonians, msg. 22

«　WEEK 5　DAY 2　»

　　1 Pet. 1:2 Chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father in the sanctification of the Spirit unto the obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ…

　　Heb. 2:11 For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of One, for which cause He is not ashamed to call them brothers.

　　God in eternity past made an economy, and in that economy He decided to have many sons. After He created man, man became fallen. Then God the Spirit came to sanctify man (1 Pet. 1:2). We were lost in Adam, in sin, and in death…. But the Spirit came to seek us out, and He found us….This seeking sanctification resulted in our repentance to bring us back to God (Luke 15:17-21).

　　The redeeming sanctification, the positional sanctification, is through the blood of Christ (Heb. 13:12) to transfer us from Adam to Christ. This changed the place where we were. This is the positional sanctification, having nothing to do with our disposition. (CWWL, 1993, vol. 2, “The Spirit with Our Spirit,” p. 222)

　　Our regeneration is a kind of sanctification. Regeneration is the beginning of the dispositional sanctification to renew us from our spirit (2 Cor. 5:17). God renewed us from the very center of our being, which is our spirit.

　　The renewing sanctification continues our dispositional sanctification by renewing our soul from our mind through all the parts of our soul (Rom. 12:2b; Eph. 4:23)….Our soul has three parts: the mind, emotion, and will.

　　Ephesians 4:23 speaks of our being renewed in the spirit of our mind. This means that our regenerated spirit has entered into our mind to make us renewed entirely in our soul. This makes our soul a part of God’s new creation (Gal. 6:15). Our spirit has become a part of God’s new creation but not our soul. Through the renewing, our soul will be made a part of God’s new creation.

　　Second Corinthians 4:16 says that day by day our outer man, our old man, is decaying, and our inner man, our new man, is being renewed….Our entire environment, including the people around us, is the best instrument used by God to renew us. He is transforming us inwardly and metabolically with the divine element all the time.

　　The transforming sanctification is the daily sanctification, which reconstitutes us with the element of Christ metabolically to make us a new constitution as a part of the organic Body of Christ (1 Cor. 3:12). This is a kind of reconstitution, to discharge the old and to add in the new replacement of the element of Christ. The conforming sanctification is the shaping sanctification to shape us in the image of the glorious Christ (2 Cor. 3:18). A fruit tree has the shaping principle of life within it…. In every life there is a regulating law….We express Christ because we have been shaped by the sanctifying Spirit.

　　The glorifying sanctification is the consummating sanctification, the completing sanctification to redeem our body by transfiguring it (Phil. 3:21). Our vile and fallen body will be redeemed from sickness, from weakness, from death, and from lust and sinfulness to make us Christ’s expression in full and in glory (Rom. 8:23). At this point God’s salvation and God’s sanctification to carry out God’s economy have reached the highest level. This is the revelation of the divine sanctification in seven steps…. [It] is altogether the fine work of the consummated, compound, life-giving, and indwelling Spirit of Christ, the embodiment of the Triune God. (CWWL, 1993, vol. 2, “The Spirit with Our Spirit,” pp. 222-224)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1993, vol. 2, “The Issue of the Dispensing of the Processed Trinity and the Transmitting of the Transcending Christ,” chs. 1-3; CWWL, 1990, vol. 2, “Salvation in Life in the Book of Romans,” ch. 3

«　WEEK 5　DAY 3　»

　　1 Thes. 3:13 So that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.

　　Eph. 5:27 That He might present the church to Himself glorious, not having spot or wrinkle or any such things, but that she would be holy and without blemish.

　　Although we have given a number of messages on the heart, we have not emphasized the matter of the heart as much as we have emphasized the spirit. Now we would ask why in 1 Thessalonians 3:13 Paul does not say that the Lord would establish our spirit or our soul, but our heart.

　　Our heart is a composition of all the parts of our soul—the mind, the emotion, and the will—plus one part of our spirit, the conscience….Our soul is our personality, our person, our self.

　　As human beings, we have an outward organ, the body, to contact the physical, visible world. We also have an inward organ, the spirit, to contact God and the spiritual realm. The soul, located between these two organs, is our person, our self. (Life-study of 1 Thessalonians, pp. 180-181)

　　The soul is the person himself, but the heart is the person in action. This means that whenever you act, you act by your heart. Therefore, we may say that our heart is our representative in action….When a brother says to his wife, “Dear, I love you,” this means that his heart loves her. Likewise, whenever we hate something, it is our heart that does the hating. Whenever we enjoy something or dislike something, it is our heart that enjoys or dislikes. Thus, our heart is our representative, the acting commissioner or ambassador, of our inner being. The activities and movements of our physical body depend on our physical heart. In like manner, our daily living depends on our psychological heart. The way we act and behave depends on the kind of heart we have.

　　Because we are fallen and sinful, our psychological heart is corrupt and deceitful. According to Jeremiah 17:9, our heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. A better translation of the Hebrew would say “incurable” instead of desperately wicked. Our heart is corrupt, rotten, to such an extent that it is incurable. This is the condition of the psychological heart of all descendants of Adam. But God in His salvation promises to give us a new heart. Ezekiel 36:26 says, “I will also give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will take away the heart of stone out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.” The new heart in this verse does not refer to another heart; it refers to a renewed heart.

　　In God’s salvation the renewing of the heart is once for all. However, in our experience our heart is renewed continually because it is changeable. Perhaps when you were saved, your heart turned to God in a very strong way. But after a period of time, your heart may turn away from Him somewhat. To a certain extent at least, your heart may turn away. Then by God’s mercy your heart may turn fully to Him once again.

　　[In 1 Thessalonians 3:13] for our heart to be established blameless in holiness includes much more than simply for our heart to turn to the Lord and to be pure toward the Lord. This is to have our turned and pure heart separated unto the Lord, occupied by the Lord, and saturated with the Lord. Such a heart not only has turned to the Lord but it also has a pure motive. It is separated unto Him, fully occupied by Him, and thoroughly saturated with Him. It is here in such a state that our heart will be established. Once our heart has been established, it will be set, and it will be no longer movable or changeable. Furthermore, when our heart is in such a condition, it will become blameless. (Life-study of 1 Thessalonians, pp. 182-184, 186-187)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of 1 Thessalonians, msg. 21

«　WEEK 5　DAY 4　»

　　Jer. 17:10 I, Jehovah, search the heart and test the inward parts…

　　1 Thes. 3:13 So that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father…

　　5:23 And the God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

　　We need a heart that is solidly established, not a heart that is changeable. According to our natural birth, however, our heart is changeable…. For example, in the morning a brother may be very kind to his wife. But during breakfast he may become bothered by something and treat her in an unkind way. This is an illustration of the changeableness of our heart. Our heart is changeable…even in our relationship with the Lord. God is the unchanging One; He never changes. We are the ones who are changeable, and we are changeable in our heart. For this reason, Paul was concerned that the hearts of the new believers at Thessalonica would be set, built up, and established. (Life-study of 1 Thessalonians, p. 175)

　　Our heart still needs to be established. This is true both of the young and of the old….Old people are not more steadfast than young people. Actually, there is no one who, according to his natural, human life, is steadfast in his heart…. Simply because we grow older does not mean that there is a basic change in our nature…. I urge you, especially those who are not so young, not to have any confidence in your heart. Because our heart changes so easily, it is not at all trustworthy. Time after time I have seen someone have a change of heart. Because our heart is changeable, a crucial need in our Christian life is the establishing of our heart. Although we need our heart to be established, we are not able to do this ourselves. Only the Lord can establish our heart. Therefore, we need Him to cause our heart to be solidly established and built up.

　　We have seen that according to 1 Thessalonians 3:13 the Lord seeks to establish our hearts blameless….Our heart is blamable because it is changeable. If your heart is set, built up, and established upon a solid foundation, it will then become blameless. An unchanging heart is a blameless heart.

　　According to 5:23, the Sanctifier is the God of peace. His sanctification brings in peace. When we are wholly sanctified by Him from within, we have peace with Him in every way. The word sanctified here means to be set apart; it is to be separated unto God from things common or profane. The word wholly means entirely, thoroughly, to the consummation. God sanctifies us wholly, so that no part of our being, either of our spirit or soul or body, will be left common or profane.

　　God not only sanctifies us wholly, but also preserves our spirit, soul, and body complete. Wholly is quantitative; complete is qualitative. In quantity God sanctifies us wholly; in quality God preserves us complete, that is, He keeps our spirit, soul, and body perfect. Through the fall our body has been ruined, our soul has been contaminated, and our spirit has been deadened. In God’s full salvation our entire being is saved and made complete and perfect. For this, God is preserving our spirit from any deadening element (Heb. 9:14), our soul from remaining natural and old (Matt. 16:24-26), and our body from the ruin of sin (1 Thes. 4:4; Rom. 6:6). Such a preservation by God and His thorough sanctification sustain us to live a holy life unto maturity that we may meet the Lord in His parousia, His presence.

　　In 1 Thessalonians 5:24 Paul says, “Faithful is He who calls you, who also will do it.” The faithful God who has called us will also sanctify us wholly and preserve our entire being complete. This is Paul’s word of assurance to the believers. (Life-study of 1 Thessalonians, pp. 176, 168-169)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of 1 Thessalonians, msgs. 19-20

«　WEEK 5　DAY 5　»

　　1 Thes. 5:23-24 And the God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, who also will do it.

　　Our spirit is composed of three parts: the conscience, the fellowship, and the intuition. Our spirit is mainly for us to have fellowship with God. When we have fellowship with God, we contact Him. This contact with God spontaneously gives us a sense of God, a consciousness of God. Intuition denotes the direct sense and consciousness that come from God. Through this intuition we can know whether we are right or wrong. If we are wrong, we shall be condemned by our conscience. But if we are right, we shall be justified by our conscience. Our conscience, therefore, either accuses and condemns or excuses and justifies. The way to preserve our spirit is first to exercise it to have fellowship with God. If we fail to exercise our spirit in this way, we shall leave it in a deadened situation. Whenever we Christians come together in a church meeting, we need to function. We need to pray, praise, or give a word of testimony. This is to exercise our spirit and not allow it to remain dormant or in a deadened condition. (Life-study of 1 Thessalonians, pp. 204-205)

　　The first way to preserve our spirit is to keep it living through proper exercise. First Thessalonians 5:16 through 19 says, “Always rejoice, unceasingly pray, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit.” To rejoice, pray, and give thanks are to exercise our spirit. When we exercise our spirit in this way, we cause it to be living. Exercising the spirit to keep it living is the first way to preserve it. How can we release our spirit from a situation of deadness? We can do it through exercising our spirit by rejoicing, praying, and thanking.

　　Because of the fall, our spirit has been deadened. Our spirit, therefore, must overcome the problem of deadness. Many times the saints attend the church meetings in death… [and] sit in their chair with a deadened spirit. But other parts of their being may be very active. For example, in their thoughts they may criticize the testimonies given by others; they may think that some testimonies are not real and that others are full of oldness.

　　The spirit of an unbeliever is absolutely dead. Most of those around you at school, at work, or in your neighborhood are utterly dead in their spirit…. Have you been sanctified, separated, from a spirit-deadening situation? We need to pull our spirit out of death and cooperate with the operation of the Triune God in sanctifying us…. Because we have been regenerated, we need to be different. We need to show that our spirit is living, that it is not deadened. Thus, our spirit should rejoice, pray, and give thanks to the Lord.

　　Another way to preserve our spirit is found in 2 Corinthians 7:1. In this verse Paul says, “Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and of spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” This verse indicates that we should abstain from all defilement of both flesh and spirit. We need to stay away from anything that contaminates our spirit…. [In Shanghai] I learned to close my eyes and pray when taking the ride [to the meeting hall] by streetcar. This preserved my spirit.

　　If you become contaminated by looking at certain kinds of pictures, your spirit will be defiled, contaminated, and deadened. As a result, you will not be able to pray unless you first ask the Lord to cleanse you from all defilement. I offer this as an illustration of our need to cooperate with the sanctifying Triune God to have our spirit preserved from deadness and contamination. (Life-study of 1 Thessalonians, pp. 205-208)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of 1 Thessalonians, msgs. 18, 23; Life-study of 2 Thessalonians, msg. 6

«　WEEK 5　DAY 6　»

　　1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from every sin. (9) If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

　　Our psychological heart has three main arteries. These arteries… are also the three parts of the soul, …the mind, the will, and the emotion….The way to unclog the three main arteries of our psychological heart is to make a thorough confession to the Lord. From experience I have learned that we need to stay with the Lord for a period of time to confess our defects, failures, defeats, mistakes, wrongdoings, and sins.

　　In order to unclog the artery of our mind, we need to confess everything that is sinful in our thoughts and in our way of thinking. By confessing our thoughts one by one, we shall remove the blockage from this artery.

　　If we go to the Lord concerning our will, He will expose it in a thorough and detailed way….We shall realize that we are very rebellious, that we do not know what it means to be submissive to the Lord. One by one, we need to confess the germs of rebellion in our will….By confessing all that the Lord exposes in our will, we unclog the artery of our will. The artery of the emotion also needs to be unclogged…. We shall realize that in many cases we hate what we should love, and love what we should hate…. Both our joyfulness and our sorrow may be altogether natural. As the Lord exposes us, we may feel ashamed of the way we have expressed joy and sorrow, for that expression often was natural, fleshly, even fleshy. (Life-study of 1 Thessalonians, pp. 209-211)

　　If we take the time necessary to unclog the three main arteries of our psychological heart, we shall have the sense that our entire being has become living. Our mind, will, and emotion will all be in a very healthy condition.

　　We must also know how to preserve our body. Sin has damaged and ruined our body…. Romans 6:6 says that our body is a “body of sin.” Furthermore, we have presented the members of our fallen body to sin, to evil, to lawlessness. If we do not follow the old man, the body of sin will be made of none effect [cf. Rom. 6:6] …. If we live according to the soul, we shall use our body to serve the old man. Therefore, to preserve our body first requires that we do not live according to our soul. To preserve our body requires that we not present any member of our body to anything that is sinful. For example, we should keep our eyes away from evil pictures and our ears from unclean things….We need to keep our body from seeing and hearing things that will contaminate and ruin it. This is to preserve our body in sanctification.

　　Paul… [charges us] to abstain from fornication …to preserve our vessel, our body, in sanctification and honor [1 Thes. 4:3]. Therefore, in order to preserve our body, we should not present our members to anything sinful. Do not think that as you grow older you will not need to guard yourself from lust and defilement. As long as we have not been transfigured and still remain in the old creation, we need to preserve our body.

　　In 5:12-24 we see the cooperation of the holy life with the divine operation….The way to cooperate is to rejoice, pray unceasingly, give thanks to Him in everything, not quench the Spirit, and not despise prophesying in the church meetings…. In this way, our spirit will be preserved from deadness, our soul will be preserved from pollution in mind, will, and emotion, and our body will be preserved from the defilement of this age. Then in a practical way we shall have a holy life for the church life. (Life-study of 1 Thessalonians, pp. 211-214)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of 1 Thessalonians, msg. 24; CWWL, 1975-1976, vol. 1, “The Flesh and the Spirit,” ch. 1