Scripture Reading: Isa. 1:1; Jer. 33:2-3; Acts 1:14; 2:46; 6:4; 1 Cor. 13:4-8a; 14:4b, 31
Ⅰ
The church is a pure product out of Christ—Gen. 2:21-24; John 19:34; Eph. 3:4-5; 5:32:
A
The church is "Christly"—vv. 30-32; 2 Cor. 2:10; Col. 2:19; 3:10-11; Psa. 45.
B
The church is "resurrectionly"—Gen. 18:10-15; 21:1-3, 6-7; Num. 17:5; John 11:25; Phil. 3:10; S. S. 2:2, 8-9, 14; 2 Cor. 3:5-6; 4:7; Eph. 2:6; 3:4; 5:32; Col. 2:2-3; 1 Pet. 1:3.
C
The church is heavenly—Eph. 1:3; 2:6; 5:27; 1 Cor. 15:45-47; John 3:6; Gal. 5:16, 25-26; 6:7-10.
Ⅱ
As Songs of Ascents, Psalm 132 reveals the church life, and Psalm 133 reveals the church living for the enjoyment of the dispensing of God:
A
Psalm 132 mentions seven items that portray the situation of the overcomers in the church life: resting with God (v. 14), dwelling with God (v. 14), food for satisfaction (v. 15), glorious clothing (v. 16), the horn of victory (v. 17), the enlightening lamp (v. 17), and the shining crown (v. 18).
B
Psalm 133 speaks of the church with the brothers dwelling together in oneness; the head of Aaron and the hem of his garments signify Christ as the Head and the Body; the fine oil signifies the anointing and spreading Spirit; the dew of Hermon signifies the descending and saturating grace of Christ; and the commanded blessing of life signifies the Father as the source of life—cf. Eph. 4:4-6.
Ⅲ
To live in the church is to live out the New Jerusalem—Rev. 2:7; 22:1-2a, 14; John 6:35, 57; 7:38-39; 2 Pet. 1:4:
A
To live in the church is to pray every morning, "Lord, I consecrate myself once more to You in You as my burnt offering, not to work for You but to enjoy You"—Lev. 1:2-4, 13; Phil. 1:19; 3:3, 8-14; 4:4-7.
B
To live in the church is to be a loving seeker of Christ with an ear to hear what the Spirit says to the churches—1 Cor. 2:9-16; 2 Cor. 5:14-15; Rev. 2:7.
C
To live in the church is to grow in the church with the growth of God and to grow up into Christ as the Head in all things—Col. 2:19; Eph. 4:15-16.
D
To live in the church is to breathe, eat, and drink the Lord day by day for our spiritual and renewing supply of grace so that this grace can be dispensed into others—John 20:22; 6:31, 57; 7:38-39; Eph. 3:2; 1 Pet. 4:10-11; Rev. 2:7; 22:1-2, 14; Isa. 55:1-2, 6-7.
E
To live in the church is to be constituted with the truth of the word of God to see God, take God in, and express God—1 Tim. 3:15-16; 2 Tim. 2:15; Matt. 5:8.
F
To live in the church is to love one another—John 13:34-35; 1 John 3:11; 4:8; 1 Cor. 13:4-8a.
G
To live in the church is to forgive one another—Matt. 16:18; 18:21-35; Eph. 4:32; Col. 3:13.
H
To live in the church is to be built into the church by the growth in life—Eph. 2:21-22; 3:16-19.
I
To live in the church is to be shepherded by Christ to, in, and for the house of God— 1 Pet. 2:25; Psa. 23.
Ⅳ
To serve in the church is to work out the New Jerusalem—1 Cor. 3:6-9, 12, 16-17; Phil. 1:19-25; Rev. 21:18-21:
A
The Lord is in our midst as the One who serves—Mark 10:45; Luke 22:26-27; 12:37.
B
To serve in the church is to serve with a burden from the Lord; an open spirit to God is the condition for receiving His burdens—Matt. 5:3; Acts 22:8, 10:
１
We must learn to receive burdens and release burdens through prayer in our inti-mate fellowship with the Lord—Luke 1:53; Psa. 27:4; Isa. 59:16.
２
Prayer and work are inseparable; without prayer there is no work—Col. 4:2; Jer. 33:2-3; Isa. 62:6-7; Acts 6:4.
３
If God gives us a prayer burden, He wants it to be uttered; burdens are released only through utterance—Mark 7:29; Heb. 5:7.
４
If we cannot pray aloud in our homes, let us find a place where we can utter our burden as the Lord did; we should pray audibly, even if it means praying in a low voice; God wants our burdens to be articulated—Mark 1:35; Luke 6:12; Psa. 4:1; 5:1-3; 77:1; 102:1; 116:1; 142:1; S. S. 2:14.
５
The revelations that the prophets received were the burdens that they received; with-out burden, there is no ministry of the word, no prophesying, for the building up of the church—Isa. 1:1; 2:1; 13:1; 15:1; Zech. 12:1; Mal. 1:1; Acts 6:4; 1 Cor. 14:3, 4b, 31.
６
Our burden is to release God's revelation to man, and God's revelation is released through the words of revelation that God gives to us—2:11-16.
７
When we minister the word of God, our concern must be whether we have God's speaking, not the topic of our speaking; in order to have God's speaking, the one who ministers the word must have a burden—Mal. 2:7.
８
Those who minister the word must bear people's condition before God, sense their condition, and know what God wants to speak—Exo. 28:29-30.
９
The greatest problem in the administration of the church and in the ministry of the word is not having a burden from the Lord.
10
Without a burden, all our activity will be dead and ineffective; with a burden, we will be living and flourishing.
11
Having a burden deals with us the most; if there is a burden, the self decreases and is dealt with, because there are things that our burden will not allow us to do, and there are areas that will require our being dealt with before we can release our burden.
12
If we serve according to obligation instead of serving with a burden, such service will cause us to lose the Lord's presence—cf. Mal. 3:14; Deut. 4:25.
13
Whenever our service becomes a matter of fulfilling an obligation, our service has already degraded.
C
To serve in the church is to serve in the spirit and in coordination with the one accord for the building up of the Body of Christ—Rom. 7:6; Phil. 3:3; Ezek. 1:5-14; Acts 1:14; 2:46; 4:24; 5:12; 15:25:
１
The greatest indication that we see the Body is that we cannot be independent; Paul's reference to Sosthenes in 1 Corinthians 1:1 shows that Paul had a conscious-ness of the Body and a spirit of coordination.
２
Because we do not have the consciousness that we need others and that others need us for our coordination in the Body, few among us have the spirit of a learner and the spirit of needing help—Matt. 5:3.
３
To feel that we do not need one another and that we do not need to fellowship is the greatest form of pride; it is the most offensive thing to the Lord and to the Body; if we lack coordination with others, we will always criticize what they do.
４
When we minister the word, fellowship, and pray, we should not criticize others; in particular, when we pray with others, we should avoid praying in a contradictory manner.
５
We always need to have an attitude of respect, cooperation, and coordination with others; we should serve others according to our portion and should honor the por-tion of others, because both portions have been entrusted to us by the Lord; every-one should have the humility to not regard his portion more highly than another person's portion—Phil. 2:3-4.
６
We need to learn the lesson of being broken, accommodating others, and respecting others' function; only in this way can we preserve the consciousness of the Body and produce the building among us.
７
We should all be of one soul to pray for, supply, and support whoever is speaking a message; if those who serve the Lord are continually disagreeing instead of being in one accord, the enemy, the saints, and even the children will know it.
８
We should not give the saints the impression that our speaking is higher than that of others; instead, the saints should have the impression that our speaking is in harmony with the speaking of others.
９
When a brother speaks, some may be critical and say in their heart, "I know this already"; this kind of spirit is destructive to God's work.
10
A reason for the lack of building among the serving ones is that they are short of love for one another; the Lord's word to us and His prayer for us were to love one another—John 13:34-35; 15:12, 17.
11
There should be an extraordinary love among the serving ones; such love for one another comes from our oneness with the Lord.
12
The elders and co-workers should shepherd one another and love one another to be a model of the Body life—21:15-17; 1 Pet. 1:22.
13
We need to be blended together by praying in one accord with the exercise and release of our spirit—Matt. 18:19; Acts 1:14; Hymns, #846.
D
To serve in the church is to enjoy Christ as righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit; "for he who serves Christ in this is well pleasing to God and approved by men"— Rom. 14:17-18.
E
To serve in the church is to build the church by living a prophesying life to overflow with the flowing Triune God for the constituting of the church as the fullness of God— John 4:14b; 7:38-39; 1 Cor. 14:4b, 26; Eph. 3:19.
F
To serve in the church is to shepherd people according to God—1 Pet. 5:1-6.
G
To serve in the church is to be loved by God as a cheerful giver—2 Cor. 9:7.
Ⅴ
To live and to serve in the church are to overcome the degradation of the church by the sevenfold intensified Spirit of God through eating Christ as the tree of life, the hidden manna, and the feast for the finalization of God's eternal economy— Rev. 4:5; 5:6; 2:7, 17; 3:20-21; Zech. 3:9-10; 4:6.