Ⅰ
We need to enter into Christ's wonderful shepherding in His heavenly ministry by enjoying and ministering Christ to shepherd the church of God as a slave of God for the fulfillment of the dream of God, the eternal purpose of God—Acts 20:19-20, 28, 31; Rom. 1:1; Gal. 6:17; Mark 9:7-8; Eph. 3:11:
A
God's dream is the dream of His eternal purpose to have the reality of Bethel, the house of God, the mutual dwelling place of God and man; in this universe God is doing only one thing—He is building His eternal habitation for His eternal expression—Gen. 28:11-12, 16-19a; Matt. 16:18; John 14:23; 15:5; Rev. 21:3, 22.
B
Christ as the Slave-Savior did not come to be served, but to serve; as the great Shepherd of the sheep, He served us in the past, He still serves us in the present, and He is going to serve us in the future—Mark 10:45; Luke 22:26-27; 12:37; Heb. 13:20; Rev. 7:17; Gen. 48:15.
C
Whenever we have a need, we can come to the Lord and let Him serve us so that He can serve others through us; as the life-giving Spirit, the Slave-Savior shepherds others through us by dispensing Himself as life into us so that we can become the channel for Him to dispense Himself as life into others—Matt. 26:13; John 13:12-17; 1 John 3:16; John 10:10; 1 Cor. 15:45b; 2 Cor. 3:6.
D
Our service to the Lord in time is a preparation for our service to Him in the next age and in eternity—Matt. 25:21; Rev. 22:3:
１
Our usefulness before God is the result of our being mingled with Him; the measure of God in us is the measure of our usefulness before Him—Col. 2:19; Heb. 13:20; Phil. 2:13; 3:8-9.
２
God's only goal in time is to dispense Himself into us day by day so that we may be fully mingled with Him; all our service is a matter of God coming into us and coming out of us—John 7:37-39; 2 Cor. 3:2-3, 6, 16-18.
E
Christ as the Steward in God's house makes us the dispensing stewards of the mysteries of God and of the varied grace of God for the carrying out of His eternal economy, His household administration—1 Cor. 4:1; Eph. 3:2; 1 Pet. 4:10; Isa. 22:15-22.
Morning Nourishment
Mark 10:45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.Luke 22:26-27 …Let…the one who leads [become] like the one who serves….I am in your midst as the one who serves.
12:37 …When he comes, …he will gird himself, …have them recline at table, and…serve them.
Three passages [in Mark and Luke] help us see how Christ served us in the past, still serves us in the present, and is going to serve us in the future. Mark 10:45… mentions that the Son of Man came to serve everybody. Whoever comes to the Lord, the Lord always serves them. The Lord feeds the hungry; He heals the sick ones. Without regard to the time and place, the Lord always serves us. The highest service of the Lord was giving His life as a ransom for many. He gave His life to serve man.
Luke 22:26-27…concerns Christ serving His disciples. “I am in your midst as the one who serves.” We should remember that the Lord is among us to serve us. This is grace!
Luke 12:37… is too gracious! How can this be possible? However, the Lord said He will serve us again in the future. Have we ever asked Christ to serve us? Some brothers have said that their prayers are too cold and that they have to do something to stir themselves up again. At such times they should realize that Christ can serve them in that very matter. Some have felt that they have no interest in the Bible and worry about what they should do the next day. They should realize that in that very matter, Christ can serve them also. (CWWN, vol. 17, pp. 191, 193-194)
Today’s Reading
The bread before us at the Lord’s table clearly demonstrates how Christ has served us. His body was broken for all of us. The meaning of salvation is that Christ serves us first, and then we serve Him. His serving does not end with the cross. Even now He is among us to continue His service. Whenever we have a need, we ought to come to the Lord and let Him serve us. (CWWN, vol. 17, pp. 191-192)God has put us in time in order to train us and make us useful for eternity. Time is like a school; it is a place where we receive spiritual training and education. Our spiritual training and education in time will make us useful to God in eternity…. Our service in time is a preparation for our service in eternity. If we learn our lesson well, the Lord will entrust us with greater works when He comes back [cf. Matt. 25:21]. Today is the time for us to learn; our proper service does not begin until the Lord comes back…. Revelation 22 tells us that we will serve God in eternity (v. 3). God places us among His children today in order for us to serve together with all of them. I say again: Our service in time today is a preparation for our service in eternity.
On the day that we were saved, the Lord put His life within us. Thereafter, He has been training us step by step by means of specific instances, so that we would learn to cooperate with God and be mingled with Him. God wants to mingle His nature into man and make man useful in His hand. The measure of God in us is the measure of usefulness we have before Him. When the measure of God increases, our usefulness also increases. His measure does not increase merely through studying the Bible and prayer; He mingles Himself into us through the things we do. All spiritual usefulness comes from God’s life being mingled into us. In fact, our usefulness before God is nothing other than the result of the mingling of His nature within us; that which is mingled into us becomes our spiritual usefulness. When God mingles Himself into us, the expression of such a life becomes our usefulness….God’s only goal in time is to dispense His element into us day by day. (CWWN, vol. 37, pp. 181-182)
Further Reading: Life-study of Genesis, msgs. 68-69, 77, 120; CWWN, vol. 37, chs. 2, 29; Life-study of Isaiah, msg. 42