Outline
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The overcomers in Philadelphia do not deny the Lord's name (Rev. 3:8); they abandon all names other than that of the Lord Jesus Christ, and they call upon the name of the Lord to receive His riches (Rom. 10:9-10, 12-13), openly confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father (Phil. 2:11).
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The characteristic of the overcomers in Philadelphia is their brotherly love; love prevails among them so that they shepherd people according to God, that is, according to the loving and forgiving heart of their Father God and the shepherding and seeking spirit of their Savior Christ:
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The Lord's recovery is a recovery of loving the Lord Jesus; the overcomers in Philadelphia stand on the genuine ground of oneness, keep themselves in the love of God to love the Lord, and love all the brothers—Jude 20-21; 2 Cor. 5:14; John 12:3; Luke 7:47; 1 John 3:14-16; cf. Psa. 133.
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Loving to be first in the church is versus having the Lord as our first love by giving Him the first place in all things—3 John 9; Col. 1:18b.
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In the vital groups love must prevail; God first loved us in that He infused us with His love and generated within us the love with which we love Him and the brothers—1 Cor. 12:31b; 13:4-8, 13; 1 John 3:14.
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The way of Philadelphia is the way of God's eternal economy revealed in Psalm 23, the way of Christ shepherding the church in His heavenly ministry to dispense Himself in His Divine Trinity into our being so that we may live the life of a God-man to arrive at the highest peak of the divine revelation.
Morning Nourishment
Rev. 3:8 …You have a little power and have kept My word and have not denied My name.Eph. 6:24 Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in incorruptibility.
In Revelation 3:8 the Lord…said that the church in Philadelphia did not deny His name…The word is the Lord’s expression, and the name is the Lord Himself. The apostate church has deviated from the Lord’s word and become heretical. The reformed church, though recovered to the Lord’s word to some extent, has denied the Lord’s name by denominating herself, taking many other names, such as Lutheran, Wesleyan, Anglican, Presbyterian, and Baptist. The recovered church has not only returned to the Lord’s word in a full way but has also abandoned all names other than that of the Lord Jesus Christ…The church, as the pure virgin espoused to Christ (2 Cor. 11:2), should have no name other than her Husband’s…In the recovered church life there are no teachings of Balaam (Rev. 2:14), no teachings of the Nicolaitans (v. 15), no teachings of Jezebel (v. 20), and no mysterious doctrines of Satan (v. 24); there is only the pure word of the Lord…The deviation from the word to heresies and the exalting of many names other than that of Christ are the most striking signs of degraded Christianity. The return to the pure word from all heresies and traditions and the exalting of the Lord’s name by abandoning every other name constitute the most inspiring testimony in the recovered church. This is why the church in the Lord’s recovery has the revelation and presence of the Lord and expresses the Lord in a living way, full of light and with the riches of life. (Life-study of Revelation, p. 181)
Today’s Reading
The church in Philadelphia [is] the church in recovery (Rev. 3:7-13). In Greek Philadelphia means “brotherly love.”…Just as the reformed church, prefigured by the church in Sardis, was a reaction to the apostate Catholic Church, prefigured by the church in Thyatira, so the church of brotherly love was a reaction to the dead reformed church. (Life-study of Revelation, p. 175)We can tell [a] new one, “Whenever you call on His name, ‘O Lord Jesus,’ you sense something sweet within you…If you call on anyone else’s name, you will not have this kind of sense, but when you call on the Lord Jesus and say, ‘Jesus, I love You,’ you will notice the difference. Moreover, the deeper, higher, and richer your calling is, the more this sense within you will intensify. Calling on the name of the Lord will make you happy, even ecstatic. You may even jump for joy. This proves that Christ is real and living. Whenever you have problems, questions, difficulties, or hardships, you can call, ‘O Lord Jesus.’” In this way we can pass on a message to the newly baptized one, helping him to know Jesus Christ as the living Spirit. If we visit people in their homes, baptize them, and teach them concerning Jesus in this way, we will truly be revived.
Moreover, this revival is in love. The phrase in love is used six times in Ephesians (1:4; 3:17; 4:2, 15-16; 5:2). This is the love that originally was in God, that became the love of Christ and in Christ, and that has been transfused into our being to become our love toward Him. The love of God is not a silent love. Rather, it is an operating love, working in us to stir us up to love Him…God first loved us in that He infused us with His love and generated within us the love with which we love Him and the brothers [1 John 4:19-21]. We love the Lord not only because He loves us but also because of His eternal purpose, heart’s delight, and good pleasure. We love Jesus because He has a plan to gain the church as His Body. Our love today is higher, deeper, and richer than the love that we had in the past. Previously, we loved Jesus with a selfish love, but now we love Him because He has given apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers to perfect all the saints to do the same things that they do. (CWWL, 1988, vol. 1, p. 495)
Further Reading: The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 238