Scripture Reading: Isa. 11:1-16
Ⅰ
We need to enjoy Christ in the principle of the restoration of life as a sprout from the stump of Jesse and as a branch from the roots of Jesse—Isa. 11:1; Heb. 6:5:
A
A sprout from the stump of Jesse indicates the restoring power of life in freshness—Isa. 11:1a; cf. 10:32-34; Ruth 4:17b; Isa. 7:14; 9:6; Exo. 13:4; Titus 3:5; Eph. 4:23; 5:26; 2 Cor. 4:16.
B
A branch from the roots of Jesse indicates the hidden deepening power of life with growing power and fruit-bearing power—Isa. 11:1b; cf. Phil. 4:12-13; Col. 1:9-11; 2:7; Matt. 6:6; Psa. 91:1; Luke 8:11-15; John 15:5.
C
Christ as the sprout and the branch is full of the Spirit of Jehovah, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of Jehovah—the sevenfold intensified Spirit, who is the presence of the Triune God—Isa. 11:2; Rev. 1:4; 3:1:
１
In His sevenfold intensified heavenly ministry, Christ is the sevenfold intensified Spirit to intensify His organic salvation, to produce the overcomers, and to consummate the New Jerusalem—4:5; 5:6.
２
In His sevenfold intensified heavenly ministry, Christ as the sevenfold intensified life-giving Spirit works to bring the degraded church back to the enjoyment of Himself for the finalization of God's eternal economy—2:7, 17; 3:20:
ａ
He works to save the believers in the church in Ephesus—2:1-7.
ｂ
He works to strengthen the suffering believers in the church in Smyrna—vv. 8-11.
ｃ
He works to sanctify the believers in the church in Pergamos—vv. 12-17.
ｄ
He works to rescue the believers in the church in Thyatira—vv. 18-29.
ｅ
He works to revive the believers in the church in Sardis—3:1-6.
ｆ
He works to encourage the believers in the church in Philadelphia—vv. 7-13.
ｇ
He works to awaken the believers in the church in Laodicea—vv. 14-22.
３
We are saved from degradation by the speaking of the sevenfold intensified pneumatic Christ and by living in our spirit—2:1, 7; 1:10; 4:2; 17:3; 21:10.
４
Christ's sevenfold intensified heavenly ministry is for the complete preparation of the bride for Christ (19:7-9), for the formation of the bridal army (vv. 11-21; 17:14), for the binding of Satan (20:1-3), for the bringing in of the kingdom of Christ and of God (vv. 4-6), and for the consummation of the New Jerusalem (2:7; 21:2).
５
The final outcome is that the ultimately consummated Spirit as the consummation of the processed Triune God becomes the Bridegroom and the aggregate of the overcoming saints becomes the bride of the universal romance between the redeeming God and the redeemed man as the conclusion of the entire Scriptures—22:17.
D
As the sprout from the stump of Jesse and the branch from the roots of Jesse, Christ carries out the administration of Jehovah—Isa. 11:3-5.
E
The administration of Jehovah brings in the restoration of life, where all have their nature changed through Christ as the indwelling sevenfold intensified Spirit of life in His restoring, deepening, growing, and fruit-bearing power—vv. 6-9; Acts 20:29-30:
１
Because the church life is a foretaste of the coming age, it may be considered as a "zoo" of the restoration of life, where all have their nature changed through the Spirit and by Christ as the sprout and the branch—Heb. 6:5; 2 Cor. 3:18; Rom. 12:2.
２
Through the divine transformation of our inner being, we are able to practice the Body life, where the knowing of God prevails, the peace of Christ arbitrates in our hearts, and all is pleasant, peaceful, and loving—Isa. 11:9; Col. 3:15.
Ⅱ
Through our inner enjoyment of Christ, our growth in Christ, and our propagation of Christ, He becomes a banner to the peoples and a standard to the nations for a new revival—Isa. 11:10-16; Phil. 1:20; 2 Cor. 5:20:
A
Christ as the banner is full of explanation, description, and instruction concerning the revival and restoration in the church—Isa. 11:10; cf. John 1:1, 4, 29, 32, 42, 51.
B
Christ as the standard to the nations is a great magnet to draw, attract, call, collect, and gather all the people of the earth to Himself—Isa. 11:12; John 12:31-32; 3:14-15; 8:28-30; S. S. 1:4; Heb. 12:2a.
Ⅲ
Christ as the banner to the peoples and the standard to the nations brings in the return of God's people in the one accord and the submission of the Gentiles through the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom in the whole inhabited earth—Isa. 11:10-16; Matt. 24:14; Rev. 6:2; cf. Acts 16:6-9.