Scripture Reading: Eph. 2:10; Phil. 2:13; Eph. 3:17a; 4:16; Matt. 16:24; Rom. 12:4-5
Ⅰ
The principle in God's work is to gain persons and by gaining them to have a way to go on to carry out His economy—Acts 9:15; 13:1-2:
A
The right priority is not for us to work for God but for God to work Himself into us—Eph. 2:10; Phil. 2:13.
B
God's unique work is to work Himself in Christ into His chosen people, making Himself one with them for the Body of Christ—Gal. 4:19; Eph. 3:17a; 4:16.
C
It is not that we work for the Lord but that He works on us; therefore, we should not be merely the Lord's workers but the Lord's work—2:10.
D
In the church the most important thing is the person; the importance of the person far exceeds that of the work—2 Tim. 2:20-22:
１
What we are is more important than what we do.
２
We cannot serve God beyond what we are as a person.
３
The kind of person we are determines the kind of fruit we produce—Matt. 7:17-18.
E
If our person is wrong, we may build up something by what we do but tear down more by what we are.
Ⅱ
If we have seen the Body, we will conduct ourselves in the church, the ministry, and the work in a way that is without ambition, without self-boasting, without making comparisons, and without blaming others for their mistakes—Rom. 12:4-6a; 1 Cor. 12:12-27:
A
We should not attempt to show off and boast concerning our work.
B
We should not take credit for our success, and we should not be reluctant to give up our work.
C
We should never consider that we are doing something more excellent than others.
D
In doing the Lord's work, we know only to labor, to die and be resurrected daily, and to live and walk in the Spirit—15:10, 31, 45b, 58; 16:10; 6:17.
Ⅲ
In the church, the ministry, and the work, we must beware of pride— Prov. 16:18; 1 Tim. 3:6; 6:3-4:
A
When a person is proud, he follows Satan, and consequently he will be judged with Satan to suffer the judgment prepared by God for him—3:6.
B
Rivalry in the Lord's work is a sign of ambition and pride—Phil. 1:15-17; James 3:16.
C
Caring for our prestige and neglecting others' dignity are a sign of pride.
D
Referring to our capacity, success, perfection, and virtue is a form of pride.
E
If we desire to live the life of the Body of Christ, we should not think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think—Rom. 12:3.
F
Pride means blindness and darkness—John 9:39-41.
G
If we do not cooperate with the Lord to deal with ambition, pride, and self-justification, and if we are not conformed to the death of Christ, the outcome among us will be division—Phil. 3:10.
Ⅳ
In the Lord's recovery we must avoid the following divisive factors:
A
Intending to do an extra work in the unique work of the Lord's recovery.
B
Regarding a particular region as our territory and keeping it separate from the unique work in the Lord's recovery for His universal Body.
C
Not having our work mingled with others' work—1 Cor. 1:12; cf. Acts 15:2, 4; 21:17-20a.
D
Having the hidden expectation of being a prominent figure in the Lord's work.
E
Neglecting the keeping of the one accord in the Lord's recovery—cf. 1:14.
Ⅴ
We must be right in following others; that is, we should be careful in following any co-worker whom we appreciate and to whom we are attracted—1 Cor. 4:16; 11:1; 1 Thes. 1:6; 2 Tim. 3:10; Heb. 13:7:
A
The one whom we follow should be a person loving the Lord, living for the Lord, and renouncing his self, natural life, preference, and ambition.
B
The one whom we follow must hold the complete revelation of the entire Holy Scriptures without any twisting or deforming—2 Tim. 2:15.
Ⅵ
In carrying out God's New Testament ministry, we need to apply the fivefold standard established by the Lord Jesus in His ministry:
A
Not doing anything out from the self—John 5:19.
B
Not doing our own work—4:34; 17:4.
C
Not speaking our own word—14:10, 24.
D
Not doing anything by our own will—5:30.
E
Not seeking our own glory—7:18.
Ⅶ
With us, as with the Lord Jesus, there should be no distinction between life, work, and move—Mark 1:14-45:
A
The Lord worked everywhere and all the time because His life, His work, and His move were all the same; He lived His work, His ministry.
B
Just as the Lord's life was His work, so our living as Christians should be our working—Phil. 1:20-22a.
Ⅷ
The hindrance to seeing the vision of the Body and to practicing the Body is the self—Col. 1:18; 2:18-20, 23; 3:15:
A
The Body is versus the self, and the self is the enemy of the Body.
B
When we have the self, we do not have the Body; when we have the Body, we do not have the self—Matt. 16:18, 24.
C
We should deny ourselves and identify ourselves with the Body; if we do this, the life we live will fully be the Body life, and the Lord will gain the expression of His Body—v. 24; 1 Cor. 12:27; Col. 1:18; 3:15.
Ⅸ
A person who touches God's heart and is an overcomer in the eyes of God is one who is living in the Body and practicing the Body life—Rom. 12:4-5:
A
Such a person is not spiritual individually and is not overcoming individually; rather, he understands clearly that he is a member of the Body—v. 5; 1 Cor. 12:12, 15, 20, 25.
B
The most important thing is whether or not we are living in the Body.
C
Our being in the Body will have eternal value in the sight of God.