Outline
Ⅰ
In order to become pillars in the Triune God, we must take the God-ordained pathway for the church, the way of Philadelphia; only the recovered church, signified by the church in Philadelphia, can fulfill God's eternal purpose and satisfy His heart's desire—Rev. 3:7-13; cf. 21:22:
A
The overcoming believers in Philadelphia are pillars who know the present truth, uphold the absoluteness of the truth, and are constituted with the truth for the church as the pillar and base of the truth—2 Pet. 1:12; 1 Tim. 3:15-16.
B
The overcoming believers in Philadelphia hold fast what they have, and what they have is "this ministry," the unique New Testament ministry; actually, the Lord's recovery is to bring us back to the unique ministry of the New Testament—Rev. 3:11; 2 Cor. 4:1:
１
The ministry of the Spirit is the ministry of the new covenant to deify us by inscribing our hearts with the Spirit of the living God as the divine and mystical "ink," making us the living letters of Christ—this is the highest peak of the divine revelation—3:3, 6, 8, 18; 4:1; cf. Rev. 2:7b; 22:17a.
２
The ministry of righteousness is the ministry of Christ as our objective righteousness for our justification and as our subjective righteousness "embroidered" into us by the transforming work of the Spirit for the living out and genuine expression of Christ in God's organic salvation—this is the God-man living—2 Cor. 3:9; Psa. 45:1, 13-14; Rom. 5:10.
Morning Nourishment
2 Cor. 3:3 Since you are being manifested that you are a letter of Christ ministered by us, inscribed not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God…6 Who has also made us sufficient as ministers of a new covenant, ministers not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
9 …Much more the ministry of righteousness abounds with glory.
For the carrying out of God’s New Testament economy, the ministry is uniquely one…The unique ministry, which is the ministry of the new covenant,…inscribes the saints with the all-inclusive God, who is the Spirit within us and righteousness as our expression outwardly.
The Spirit and righteousness are the two aspects of the essence that is inscribed into us by the ministry of the new covenant. The living Spirit is the inward aspect, and the perfect righteousness is the outward aspect.
Our ministry in the local churches must be a ministry of inscribing… Teaching does not require any essence; however, inscribing does require an essence, just as writing with a pen requires ink…In order to write, we must have the ink as the writing essence…Likewise, we must have the divine essence in order to inscribe it into the being of the saints. (Life-study of 2 Corinthians, pp. 225-226)
Today’s Reading
In 2 Corinthians 3:8 Paul speaks of the ministry of the Spirit, and in verse 9, of the ministry of righteousness. We may understand what the ministry of the Spirit is, but what is the ministry of righteousness?…I thought that by the ministry of righteousness he meant the ministry of justification, since in this chapter there seems to be a comparison between condemnation and justification, which is the opposite of condemnation. But instead of justification, Paul here speaks of righteousness. If he had said that the new covenant ministry was a ministry of justification, it would be easy to understand his meaning…Since Paul in 2 Corinthians 3 says that the new covenant ministry is a ministry of righteousness, not a ministry of justification, we must try to understand his meaning. To be sure, it is a very significant matter that the ministry of the new covenant is a ministry of the Spirit and of righteousness.As a result of experiencing the Spirit living and working within us, we become righteous. Spontaneously, our inner being is transparent, crystal clear, and we know the heart of God. Immediately, without effort, we know the mind of the Lord and have a clear understanding concerning His will and work. Then what we do is according to the Lord’s mind and will. This is righteousness.
Many Christians have the concept that when we do something wrong, we are not right with God. This concept of righteousness is too superficial. Even when we do not do anything wrong, we still may not be right with God, for our being may not be in the mind and will of the Lord…We may not be according to the Lord’s mind, and what we are doing may not be His will. As long as we are not doing God’s will, we are not right. Instead, we are wasting our lives and everything the Lord has given us.
If you are infused and saturated by the life-giving Spirit, your inner being will become transparent. Then you will know what is in the Lord’s mind. You will also understand what the will of the Lord is. Spontaneously, you will be in His will and do His will. As a result, you become right with Him. Moreover, you will realize how you should act toward others and even how you should deal with your material possessions. Then you will become a righteous person, one who is right in small things as well as in great things, one who is right with God, with others, and with himself. This is a person who expresses God, for his righteousness is the image of God, God expressed. (Life-study of 2 Corinthians, pp. 236-237, 239-240)
Further Reading: Life-study of Revelation, msg. 15; Life-study of 2 Corinthians, msgs. 25—29