Scripture Reading: Rev. 22:1; Acts 2:42; 1 Cor. 10:16-18; 2 Cor. 13:14; Phil. 2:1; 1 John 1:3, 7

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 4　DAY 1　»

　　1 John 1:2-3 (And the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and report to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us); that which we have seen and heard we report also to you that you also may have fellowship with us, and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.

　　[We need to see] the intrinsic fellowship of the churches for their organic relationship. The Greek word for fellowship is koinonia, meaning “joint participation, common participation.” This is a very sweet term, but it is difficult to get the proper, accurate, adequate, and equivalent term in the English language.… [The proper meaning has been spoiled.] To some, fellowship is “socializing.” Many people…have some form of worship, but their main interest is in socializing with one another. We must drop such a degraded concept. Our understanding of “fellowship” should be according to the pure Word of God.

　　The intrinsic fellowship of the churches is the flow of the divine life among and through all the members of the organic Body of Christ (John 1:1-4). (CWWL, 1989, vol. 4, “The Organic Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ to Be the Organism of the Processed and Dispensing Triune God,” p. 307)

　　[In 1 John 1:1-4] John is reporting to us that which he saw and heard. He had heard, seen, and even handled the Word of life [v. 1], which is the eternal life. Now he is testifying and reporting to us the eternal life [v. 2]. Then [in verse 3] John goes on to say that he reported what he had seen and heard, not that we might have “life” but that we might have “fellowship.”… At this point John uses another word to replace the word life. The apostles saw and heard life, and they reported life, but it was for a strong purpose. John was saying, “We report to you life with the strong purpose that you may have fellowship with us.”…”Our fellowship,” the apostles’ fellowship, is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. They report the Son as life to us that we may share this fellowship with them. Then in verse 4, John says, “These things we write that our joy may be made full.” The apostles would be happy to see that the believers would have what they have. What they have is fellowship with the Father and the Son.

　　There are three major points we need to see when we study the significance of fellowship in the first four verses of 1 John 1. First, fellowship is something of the divine life. Second, this fellowship is the apostles’ fellowship. Third, the apostles expected to see that the believers would share in this fellowship. When we say that this fellowship is something of life, we mean that it is the flow of the divine life. It is the issue of the eternal life and is actually the flow of the eternal life within all the believers who have received and possess the divine life.

　　The divine life flows. At the conclusion of the Bible the last chapter of Revelation gives us quite a meaningful picture. There is the throne of God and of the Lamb (22:1). Out of this throne proceeds a current, a flow, which is the flow of the water of life, and this flow is a river.

　　It may help us to understand this fellowship, this flow of the divine life, if we consider the circulation of blood in our human body. There is only one circulation of blood in our body, and it reaches every member of our body. No member of our physical body is independently autonomous of the other members. All the members of the body participate in the one blood circulation. There are many members but only one flow of blood. The intrinsic element of the human body is its blood. This circulation of blood in our human body is a picture of the intrinsic fellowship in the Body of Christ. (CWWL, 1989, vol. 4, “The Organic Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ to Be the Organism of the Processed and Dispensing Triune God,” pp. 308-309)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1989, vol. 4, “The Organic Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ to Be the Organism of the Processed and Dispensing Triune God,” ch. 4

«　WEEK 4　DAY 2　»

　　1 John 1:3 That which we have seen and heard we report also to you that you also may have fellowship with us, and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.

　　Rev. 22:1 And he showed me a river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb in the middle of its street.

　　Fellowship is the issue of the eternal life and is actually the flow of the eternal life within all the believers, who have received and possess the divine life. It is illustrated by the flow of the water of life in the New Jerusalem (Rev. 22:1). All genuine believers are in this fellowship (Acts 2:42). It is carried on by the Spirit in our regenerated spirit. Hence, it is called “the fellowship of the Holy Spirit” (2 Cor. 13:14) and “fellowship of [our] spirit” (Phil. 2:1). It is in this fellowship of the eternal life that we, the believers, participate in all that the Father and the Son are and have done for us; that is, we enjoy the love of the Father and the grace of the Son by virtue of the fellowship of the Spirit (2 Cor. 13:14)…. In Acts 2:42 it is called “the fellowship of the apostles,” and in 1 John 1:3 “our [the apostles’] fellowship,” a fellowship with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. (1 John 1:3, footnote 3)

　　To have fellowship with the Triune God in the apostles’ fellowship is to put aside our private interests and join with the apostles and the Triune God for the carrying out of God’s purpose.…Our participation in the apostles’ enjoyment of the Triune God is our joining with them and with the Triune God for His divine purpose, which is common to God, the apostles, and all the believers. (1 John 1:3, footnote 3)

　　The intrinsic fellowship of the churches is the unique fellowship of the apostles, which is uniquely and universally of all the members of the organic Body of Christ (Acts 2:42). The flow was first the fellowship of the divine life of the Divine Trinity. Then this fellowship was passed on to the apostles, who were among the first group of believers on earth. Therefore, this flow became the fellowship of the apostles…. In those early days all the believers continued steadfastly in the teaching and the fellowship of the apostles. There was only one teaching and one fellowship. The apostles did a wonderful work to impart the divine life into people and bring them into the flow of this divine life. This flow, this fellowship, became the new believers’ fellowship. Their fellowship was the fellowship of the apostles, and the fellowship of the apostles is the fellowship of the Triune God.

　　We must realize that today in the universe there is a flow, which is just God Himself as the water of life flowing out of the Triune God through the apostles and into us.…When we preach the gospel and the ones to whom we preach receive the Lord Jesus, we are giving them an “injection” of the water of life. When they receive the water of life, they are brought into this wonderful fellowship.

　　Whenever we meet a genuine believer, no matter what nationality or race he may be, something “jumps” within us. This experience may be compared to what happened when Mary, the mother of Jesus, went to see Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb (Luke 1:41)….John the Baptist exulted (v. 44) upon meeting the Savior, while both of them were still in their mothers’ wombs….Today we are the “mothers” who have the Lord Jesus within us….We have to go along with the “jumping” within us. That inward “jumping” is the intrinsic fellowship. (CWWL, 1989, vol. 4, “The Organic Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ to Be the Organism of the Processed and Dispensing Triune God,” pp. 311-312)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1984, vol. 3, “God’s New Testament Economy,” ch. 38; CWWL, 1980, vol. 2, “The Mending Ministry of John,” ch. 7

«　WEEK 4　DAY 3　»

　　1 John 1:6-7 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and are not practicing the truth; 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.

　　First John 1:2-3 and 6-7 reveal that the fellowship of the divine life has both a vertical aspect and a horizontal aspect. The vertical aspect of fellowship refers to our fellowship with the Triune God. The horizontal aspect of fellowship refers to our fellowship with one another.

　　Before the apostles reported the eternal life to [sinners], the apostles themselves already had the vertical fellowship with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ (v. 3)….When the apostles reported the eternal life to others, they experienced the horizontal aspect of the divine fellowship. (CWWL, 1990, vol. 1, “The Triune God to Be Life to the Tripartite Man,” p. 354)

　　The horizontal aspect of the divine fellowship is by the human spirit. The vertical aspect of the divine fellowship is by the divine Spirit, the Holy Spirit (2 Cor. 13:14; 2 Tim. 4:22). The word by is actually not strong enough to express what we mean. The Spirit is not merely involved, wrapped up, or mingled with the fellowship. The Spirit Himself is the fellowship because the fellowship is the flow, the current, of the Spirit. This is like saying that the current of electricity is just the electricity itself. The current of electricity is electricity in motion. When the electricity stops, the current of electricity also stops. In the same way the fellowship of the Holy Spirit mentioned in 2 Corinthians 13:14 is the Spirit moving.

　　We… enter into the horizontal aspect of the divine fellowship by the human spirit (Phil. 2:1; Rev. 1:10).

　　The horizontal fellowship ushers us into the vertical fellowship. If two brothers exercise their spirit to have genuine, proper, horizontal fellowship, they will eventually be ushered into a very honest and sincere intercession. When they pray together, the two aspects of the divine fellowship are interwoven.…This interwoven fellowship is the real fellowship.

　　If you have a good time with the Lord in vertical fellowship, you will be eager to see the other saints in order to have fellowship with them. Once you have fellowship with the saints through prayer, you are brought into vertical fellowship with the Lord again. Your horizontal fellowship with the saints brings you into vertical fellowship with the Lord. Then your fellowship with the Lord brings you into horizontal fellowship with the saints. Thus, these two aspects are always interwoven; that is, they are always crisscrossing each other.

　　Just as the current of electricity is the electricity itself, the fellowship of the divine life, the flow of the divine life, is the divine life itself.…Our Christian life is a life of the fellowship of the divine life. The New Testament reveals that the Christian meeting, the Christian married life, and the Christian work are just the divine fellowship.

　　Eventually, in this divine fellowship God is interwoven with us. This interweaving is the mingling of God with man. All the meetings should be an interwoven fellowship with both the vertical and horizontal aspects. Our married life should also be an interwoven fellowship. The husband and the wife should be interwoven not only with each other but also with the Lord….Our coordination and work together should also be the divine fellowship.

　　We must realize that when fellowship disappears, God also disappears. God comes as the fellowship.…Today there is not enough fellowship among the local churches, and the churches are not absolutely one in the fellowship.…We need to fully enter into the experience of the divine fellowship in its two aspects by the two spirits. (CWWL, 1990, vol. 1, “The Triune God to Be Life to the Tripartite Man,” pp. 359-365)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1990, vol. 1, “The Triune God to Be Life to the Tripartite Man,” chs. 16-19

«　WEEK 4　DAY 4　»

　　1 Cor. 12:28 And God has placed some in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then works of power, then gifts of healing, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues.

　　Eph. 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.

　　The organic relationship of the churches is the unique relationship of the unique church—the universal church composed of all the local churches (1 Cor. 12:28). Today in the Lord’s recovery there are… many local churches, but there is only one unique, universal, and intrinsic fellowship, which is for the organic relationship of the churches.

　　The elders of each of the local churches should consider what kind of relationship they have with the other churches. Is their relationship limited to the brothers in their locality, or are they in fellowship with all the churches in the Lord’s recovery?…Two churches may be very close to one another geographically yet…may not want to let each other know about their affairs.…The relationship of every church should be the unique, universal fellowship of the divine life. In this fellowship the churches should not have anything private, except certain cases of individuals involving confidential and personal matters. (CWWL, 1989, vol. 4, “The Organic Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ to Be the Organism of the Processed and Dispensing Triune God,” pp. 314-315)

　　All the local churches are one church.…Their relationship is not organizational. The relationship of the churches must be organic according to the divine life and based on the organic fellowship of the divine life. If we keep this view, we will be saved from many problems.

　　When the first group of apostles was on the earth, the churches were organically one. After a time, however, the churches began to degrade and became divided…. In the proper sense all the churches should be “catholic”; they should be universally one. The word catholic, however, has been spoiled. The Catholic Church has created a great hierarchy,… [which] annuls the headship of Christ. We should hate such a hierarchical practice.

　　When the Brethren were raised up, they strongly attacked the hierarchical practice of Catholicism. Eventually, however, the Brethren became divided over their doctrinal teachings…. One teacher, G. H. Lang, in reacting against Darby, taught that every local assembly should be autonomous. This teaching of autonomy ruined the Brethren, causing division after division.

　　We should care only to practice the Body life of the church as the organism of the Triune God. In the Lord’s recovery we do not practice autonomy or federation. We only have a practice based upon the unique and universal fellowship in the Body of Christ. The church in one locality should not have the attitude that they have nothing to do with the church in another locality.…The churches should not practice having a separate, autonomous relationship among them. It is also wrong for the churches to practice a federated relationship. We should practice the unique relationship based upon the unique and universal fellowship of the Body of Christ.

　　The organic relationship of the churches is based on the unique and universal fellowship among all the members of the organic Body of Christ (cf. Phil. 2:1). This organic relationship is practiced uniquely and universally among all the local churches as the unique, organic Body of Christ—the unique church in the universe. (CWWL, 1989, vol. 4, “The Organic Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ to Be the Organism of the Processed and Dispensing Triune God,” pp. 317-318)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1984, vol. 2, “Elders’ Training, Book 4:Other Crucial Matters concerning the Practice of the Lord’s Recovery,” ch. 4

«　WEEK 4　DAY 5　»

　　1 Cor. 12:24-25 But our comely members have no need. But God has blended the body together, giving more abundant honor to the member that lacked, that there would be no division in the body, but that the members would have the same care for one another.

　　In order to be harmonized, blended, adjusted, mingled, and tempered in the Body life, we have to go through the cross and be by the Spirit, dispensing Christ to others for the sake of the Body of Christ. The co-workers and elders must learn to be crossed out. Whatever we do should be by the Spirit to dispense Christ. Also, what we do should not be for our interest and according to our taste but for the church.

　　When a co-worker does anything, he should fellowship with the other co-workers. An elder should fellowship with the other elders. Fellowship tempers us, fellowship adjusts us, fellowship harmonizes us, and fellowship mingles us….We should not do anything without fellowshipping with the other saints who are coordinating with us. Fellowship requires us to stop when we are about to do something. In our coordination in the church life and in the Lord’s work, we all have to learn not to do anything without fellowship. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 4, “The Divine and Mystical Realm,” p. 160)

　　Among us we should have the blending of all the individual members of the Body of Christ, the blending of all the churches in certain districts, the blending of all the co-workers, and the blending of all the elders. Blending means that we should always stop to fellowship with others. Then we will receive many benefits. If we isolate and seclude ourselves, we will lose much spiritual profit. Learn to fellowship. Learn to be blended. From now on, the churches should come together frequently to be blended. We may not be used to it, but after we begin to practice blending a few times, we will acquire the taste for it. This is the most helpful thing in the keeping of the oneness of the universal Body of Christ. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 4, “The Divine and Mystical Realm,” p. 160)

　　The secret of the practice of the church life is, first, the one accord in the local churches. Second, the secret of the practice of the church life is the oneness in the universal Body (Eph. 4:3; John 17:11, 21-23). The unique relationship, fellowship, and blending of all the local churches should be as much as practicality allows, without boundaries of states, provinces, or nations. If we are divided by any kind of boundary, the church becomes no longer a Body; rather, it becomes a corpse. A divided body is a corpse.

　　Are the churches in every area willing to be blended together as one?…We may like to be independent under the cloak of being local. I am not teaching that all the local churches should be united in a federation, like the federation of the fifty states of the United States. I am showing you that the Bible reveals to us that all the saints and all the local churches are one Body. No one can deny this.

　　Today, unlike in Paul’s time, travel and communication to nearly anywhere on the earth are very convenient. Because of this the churches today should be blended much more than they were in Paul’s time. Not only according to the revelation of the Bible but also according to the modern conveniences, we should be one, and we should be blended together as much as practicality allows.

　　The clustering and the moving together of neighboring churches should be as much as possible, without the abolishing of the local administrations in business affairs. Our blending together should not be in name only; we must take some action. The local administration still exists, but in the spiritual element all the churches should be blended together as one. (CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 4, “One Body and One Spirit,” pp. 431-433)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 4, “The Divine and Mystical Realm,” ch. 6; CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 4, “One Body and One Spirit,” ch. 1

«　WEEK 4　DAY 6　»

　　Rev. 1:11 Saying, What you see write in a scroll and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamos and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.

　　1 Cor. 16:19 The churches of Asia greet you. Aquila and Prisca greet you much in the Lord, with the church, which is in their house.

　　The Lord blended the seven churches in Asia into one by sending them one total epistle respectively and collectively with the whole book of Revelation (1:4, 11; 2:1—3:22). On the one hand, the Lord wrote each church an epistle, and on the other hand, He put all seven epistles together as one total epistle and sent it to each one of the seven churches. Eventually, all seven churches received the same thing. The book of Revelation shows that there should be only one church in one city. It also reveals that all the churches collectively should also be one. This should give us a clear view that in the eyes of the Lord the churches are one. The Lord has only one Body. In order for the churches to exist on the globe, we have to be scattered, but our being scattered should not be a basic factor that causes us to be separated and divided. (CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 4, “One Body and One Spirit,” pp. 434-435)

　　Some saints among us traveled from locality to locality, from church to church, trying to find a church that would match their preference and taste. This kind of attitude is offensive. It offends the Body of Christ. We should not put any demands on the church where we are. We have to humble ourselves and submit ourselves to the church where we are. Furthermore, we must try our best to avoid any discord. A little leaven leavens the whole lump (1 Cor. 5:6-7). We must therefore be on the alert. Locally, we must be in one accord, without any opinion, and we must also keep the oneness in the universal Body.

　　The apostle Paul blended the two churches in Colossae and Laodicea together as one by sending them epistles in common (Col. 4:16). He wrote a letter to the church in Colossae and charged them to let the church in Laodicea read it. He also wrote a letter to Laodicea and asked Laodicea to let Colossae read it.…The apostle Paul [also] practiced the fellowship of the Body among the churches in his greetings (Rom. 16:1-16,20-24).

　　For the Lord’s move in His recovery both locally and universally, we all need to be Body-conscious in one accord and Body-centered in oneness. (CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 4, “One Body and One Spirit,” pp. 435-436)

　　[Romans 14—16 shows]…two crucial matters. The first matter is in imitating the apostle to bring the local churches into the fellowship of the Body of Christ (14:3; 15:7-9, 25-33); the second matter is in following in the apostle’s footsteps to bring all the saints into the blending life of the entire Body of Christ.

　　We must have the reality of the fellowship and blending of the Body of Christ. Otherwise, regardless of how much we pursue and how simple and humble we are, sooner or later there will be problems, even divisions, among us. Hence, we must be governed by the vision of the Body and follow in the footsteps of the apostle by bringing all the saints in all the churches into the blending life of the entire Body of Christ. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 5, “The Experience of God’s Organic Salvation Equaling Reigning in Christ’s Life,” pp. 513, 516)

　　The purpose of the blending is to usher us all into the reality of the Body of Christ…. I treasure the local churches because of a purpose. The local churches are the procedure to bring me into the Body of Christ. The churches are the Body, but the churches may not have the reality of the Body of Christ. Thus, we need to be in the local churches so that we can be ushered, or brought, into the reality of the Body of Christ. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 1, “The Practical Points concerning Blending,” p. 104)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1963, vol. 1, “The Divine Stream”; CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 1, “The Practical Points concerning Blending,” chs. 1, 3-5