Scripture Reading: Rev. 3:7-13; Phil. 2:12-16
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:
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 right-eousness 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.
３
The ministry of reconciliation is the ministry of reconciling the world to Christ through the forgiveness of sins for their judicial redemption and the reconciling of the believers to Christ that they might be persons who live in the spirit, in the Holy of Holies, for their organic salvation—this is shepherding people according to God—2 Cor. 5:18-21; 1 Pet. 5:1-4.
４
The way to be perfected as a pillar is by holding fast to this ministry, feasting on the positive contents of God's economy, remaining in the present flow of the Lord's move under His headship, and staying away from death and division— 2 Tim. 3:10; 1 Tim. 4:15; Rom. 8:6; 16:17; 1 John 2:18-20; 1 Cor. 11:19; Num. 16:3, 7.
C
The characteristic of the overcomers in Philadelphia is their arriving at the highest peak of the divine revelation of God's economy:
１
One church in Asia was unique and highly appraised by the Lord—the church in Philadelphia; the Lord appreciated them because they kept the word, which means they did not turn away from the word of the apostles' teaching, the healthy teaching of God's economy, the highest peak of the divine revelation—Rev. 3:8; 2 Tim. 3:16-17; 1 Tim. 1:3-4.
２
For the overcomers to be pillars in the temple means that they will be pillars in the Triune God, for the temple is "the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb"; God is built into them to make them living and precious stones, and they are built into God to make them pillars of stone in God for their incorporation with God as the mutual abode of God and man—Rev. 3:12a; 21:22, 3; Psa. 90:1; John 14:23; cf. 1 Kings 7:15-22.
３
That the name of God, the name of the New Jerusalem, and the Lord's new name are written upon the overcomers indicate that what God is, the nature of the New Jerusalem, and the person of the Lord have all been wrought into them, labeling them with the Triune God and making them God in life and in nature but not in the Godhead—Rev. 3:12b; 22:4b.
D
The characteristic of the overcomers in Philadelphia is their God-man living by enjoying the riches of Christ—3:7; Isa. 22:15, 20-24:
１
The overcomers in Philadelphia have a little power; this indicates that what pleases the Lord is not our doing much for Him but our doing our best for Him with what we have—Rev. 3:8; 2 Cor. 12:7-10; Mark 14:8.
２
The overcomers in Philadelphia keep the Lord's word; they receive the God-breathed Scripture by means of all prayer to be men of God with the breath of God and by remaining in the healthy teaching of God's economy—Rev. 3:8; Eph. 6:17-18; 2 Tim. 3:14-17; cf. 1 Tim. 6:3-4.
３
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 (Rom. 10:9-10, 12-13), openly confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father (Phil. 2:11).
E
The characteristic of the overcomers in Philadelphia is their brotherly love; love pre-vails 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:
１
The Lord's recovery is a recovery of loving the Lord Jesus; the overcomers in Phila-delphia 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.
２
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.
３
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.
F
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 Him-self 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.
Ⅱ
In the midst of the dark and corrupt world, our function is to shine as luminaries, holding forth the word of life—Phil. 2:12-16:
A
Christ is the sun, with the church as the moon and the believers as the planets to reflect Him by holding forth the word of life; to hold forth the word of life is to apply it, present it, and offer it to the world by living out Christ—Acts 5:20.
B
The God who operates in us (Phil. 2:13) is the supplying Spirit (1:19), the power of resurrection (3:10), and the empowering Christ (4:13); to shine as luminaries (2:15) is to magnify Christ (1:20), and to hold forth the word of life (2:16) is to live Christ (1:21a).
C
We must aspire to know Christ as the power of resurrection, the inner operating God, the One who empowers us, to shine as luminaries in the world for His mag-nification—3:10; 2:13; 4:13; 1:20.
D
The power that physically released Peter from prison was the power of God, but the power that Paul experienced while remaining in prison was the power of resur-rection—Acts 5:18-20; Phil. 1:19; 3:10:
１
In God's New Testament economy God's intention is not an outward miracle but an inward miracle; the inward marvel is that Christ as the Spirit is wrought into us to be our salvation, inwardly sustaining, strengthening, and empowering us in our weakness to shine out Christ—2 Cor. 12:7-10.
２
The empowering Christ is the secret to our shining out Christ for His expression in any kind of environment or circumstance, and the secret of this secret is the all-inclusive Spirit of Jesus Christ in our spirit as our daily and moment-by-moment salvation—Phil. 1:19; 4:23.
E
Murmurings and reasonings both frustrate us from experiencing and enjoying Christ so that He may shine in us and through us for His glory—2:14:
１
Murmurings are discontented and secret mutterings and grumblings, including faultfinding, secret debate, displeasure, and complaining; "neither murmur, just as some of them murmured and perished by the destroyer"—1 Cor. 10:10.
２
Reasonings are disputes and discussions which carry an undertone of suspicion or doubt; they include questionings and doubting and the drawing of inferences or conclusions—cf. 1 Tim. 1:3-6; 6:3-4; 2 Cor. 11:2-3.
３
Rebellious and reviling words come from reasons; a servant of the Lord must be delivered from reasons, being enlightened by the Lord to have a "blessed blind-ness" to live under Christ's headship in the realm of life under the authority of light and not in the realm of right and wrong under the authority of darkness— Acts 22:10; Col. 1:12-13; Rom. 9:20-21; 11:34; cf. Acts 16:25.
４
Man's rebellion is manifested in words, thoughts, and reasons; thoughts and reasons are the strongholds of Satan, God's adversary, within the minds of those who are disobedient to God; through the spiritual warfare, reasonings must be overthrown, and every thought must be taken captive to obey Christ—2 Cor. 10:3-5.
５
Every time the Lord commanded His people to do something in Leviticus 18—22, He inserted the words "I am Jehovah" in between the commands; there is not even the word because—"I am Jehovah" is the reason.
F
The way to be saved from murmurings and reasonings in order to live Christ and shine out Christ as His luminaries is to stay in contact with Him as our inward motivating power by enjoying Him as the word of life, staying in fellowship with Him in prayer, and living a rejoicing, thanking, and praising life in our wonderful spirit by the Triune God as the wonderful Spirit for the glorious Body of Christ— Phil. 1:19; 2:13; 3:10; 4:13; 2:15; 4:6; 1 Thes. 5:16-20.
THE PRESENT TRUTH OF THE LORD's RECOVERY
FOR A NEW REVIVAL TO TURN THE AGE BY:
１
Arriving at the highest peak of the divine revelation
２
Living the life of a God-man
３
Taking the shepherding way to preach the gospel and revive the church
ACCORDING TO THE REVELATION AND REALITY OF:
１
The God-ordained pathway of the church—the church in Philadelphia
２
The unique ministry of the New Testament
３
The organic shepherding of the pneumatic Christ in Psalm 23
TO CONSTITUTE US INTO PILLARS IN THE TRIUNE GOD AND LUMINARIES OF CHRIST FOR THE BUILDING OF GOD AND THE GLORY OF GOD