Outline

«　WEEK 5　DAY 6　»

　　Rev. 2:7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.

　　Isa. 49:10 They will not hunger or thirst; neither the scorching heat nor the sun will strike them; for He who has compassion on them will lead them and will guide them beside the springs of water.

　　We may say that Revelation 2:7 is a prophecy referring to the kingdom age, in which the overcomers will enjoy Christ as the tree of life in God’s Paradise. But if we do not enjoy Christ as the tree of life in the church life today, surely we will not participate in the tree of life in the kingdom age. In the seventh epistle the Lord counsels the church in Laodicea to buy gold, white garments, and eyesalve to be saved from their degradation in lukewarmness (3:18). He promises to dine with the ones who would open the door to Him (v. 20). We can see that this is the nourishing of Christ in His divinity exercised by and with His love. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 5, “The Vital Groups,” pp. 157-158)

　　His nourishing the churches in His divinity is so that the churches may grow and mature in His divine life and become the overcomers in His sevenfold intensification.

　　Our Christ today is our High Priest. In His humanity He is easily touched with the feeling of our weaknesses. He sympathizes with our weakness because He was tempted in all respects like us. He is cherishing us in His humanity. Meanwhile, He is nourishing us in His divinity with all the positive aspects of His person revealed in the seven epistles to the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3…In His humanity He is cherishing us to make us proper so that we may be happy, pleasant, and comfortable. In His divinity He is nourishing us so that we may grow and mature in the divine life to be His overcomers to accomplish His eternal economy. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 5, “The Vital Groups,” p. 158)

　　The outcome of our High Priest’s ministering in the churches is that a number of overcomers are brought forth…We are now under this ministry. Christ is busy walking through the churches and speaking. As He walks through the churches, He speaks to everyone.

　　His speaking is according to what He is and also according to the condition of the church. In every epistle He begins by saying who and what He is. Then He also speaks in every case according to what the church is. His speaking is both practical and equipping.

　　In His walking He is Christ. In His speaking He is the Spirit. At the beginning of each of the seven epistles it is the Lord who speaks (Rev. 2:1, 8, 12, 18; 3:1, 7, 14). At the end it is the Spirit speaking to the churches (2:7,

　　11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22). “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Your experience will confirm this. When Christ came and walked through the church in your locality, you were enlightened and rebuked. The walking Christ became the speaking Spirit. Christ is the Spirit. By His speaking you are supplied with the tree of life and the hidden manna. Then you are transformed. Little by little the muddy things are washed away, and you become a white stone, justified, accepted, and approved by God for the building up of His dwelling place, which consummates in the New Jerusalem. Christ today is busy ministering His heavenly priesthood. (CWWL, 1980, vol. 2, “The Mending Ministry of John,” pp. 353-354)

　　We can never improve ourselves. We need a Shepherd to feed us all the time. What a restful enjoyment this is! If we believe in God’s word, we can be satisfied, and we can have God’s sheltering and the Lord’s shepherding. (CWWN, vol. 37, “General Messages (1),” pp. 10-11)

　　Further Reading: CWWN, vol. 37, “General Messages (1),” ch. 2