Conclusion of the New Testament, The (Msgs. 189-204)

Message: 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204

The church the hidden mystery in God’s eternal economy (1)    _msg.189

I. The hidden mystery in God’s eternal economy
A. God’s eternal economy (eternal plan, the purpose of the ages)
1. Of God’s will
2. According to God’s good pleasure (God’s heart pleasure) which God purposed in Himself
3. Made in Christ

The conclusion of the New Testament

The church the hidden mystery in God’s eternal economy (2)    _msg.190

B. The mystery of Christ
1. From the ages hidden in God who created all things
2. Not made known to men in other generations
3. Revealed to the apostles and prophets in their spirit by revelation in the New Testament age
4. To make the multifarious wisdom of God known to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenlies
5. Through the church

The conclusion of the New Testament

The church the revelation of the mystery of Christ (1)    _msg.191

II. The revelation of the mystery of Christ (the church)
A. By Christ
1. In the Gospels
2. To the first group of the apostles
3. The first time in Matthew 16:15-20
a. Concerning the universal church
b. Based upon the revelation of Christ, the Son of the living God
c. Built upon the revelation of Christ as the rock
d. Not prevailed against by the gates of Hades (Satan’s power of darkness)
e. With the kingdom of the heavens as its reality
(1) The keys of the kingdom to be given to the apostles
(2) To bind and loose what has been bound and loosed in the heavens

The conclusion of the New Testament

The church the revelation of the mystery of Christ (2)    _msg.192

4. The second time in Matthew 18:15-20
a. Concerning the local church
b. For the administration of the church in its locality
(1) Illustrated by the dealing with its members
(2) With the authority given to the church to bind and loose what has been bound and loosed in the heavens
c. Carried out by prayer in one accord
d. In the gatherings of two or three with the Lord’s presence

The conclusion of the New Testament

The church the revelation of the mystery of Christ (3)    _msg.193

B. By the Holy Spirit
1. In the Epistles
2. To the apostles and prophets
3. In their spirit
4. Concerning God’s wisdom in mystery
5. To be the foundation upon which the church is built

The conclusion of the New Testament

The church the revelation of the mystery of Christ (4)    _msg.194

6. Bringing to light the hidden mystery of God’s economy
7. To be known (apprehended) by all the saints
a. By a spirit of wisdom and revelation
b. By the eyes of their heart being enlightened
c. By knowing the surpassing greatness of God’s power toward them, which God wrought in Christ
(1) In raising Him from among the dead
(2) In seating Him at His right hand in the heavenlies, far above all
(3) In subjecting all things under His feet
(4) In giving Him to be Head over all things to the church
(a) The Body of Christ
(b) The fullness of the One who fills all in all

The conclusion of the New Testament

The church the formation of the church (1)    _msg.195

III. The formation of the church
A. Being universal
B. On the day of Pentecost and in the house of Cornelius
C. By Christ the Head
D. Through the outpouring of the Spirit
1. The baptism in the Holy Spirit
2. On the one hundred twenty believers
3. On the believers in Cornelius’s house

The conclusion of the New Testament

The church the formation of the church (2)    _msg.196

E. With all the believers as the extrinsic form
F. With Christ as the intrinsic constituent
1. As the embodiment of the processed Triune God, with His unsearchable riches
a. To be the life of the church
b. To be the nature of the church
2. Consummated as the all-inclusive Spirit
a. To be the church’s bountiful supply
b. In life and power

The conclusion of the New Testament

The church the establishment of the churches (1)    _msg.197

IV. The establishment of the churches
A. Being local
B. Beginning from the day of Pentecost
C. Starting from Jerusalem
1. The first local church — the church in Jerusalem
2. Composed of:
a. The elders
b. The serving ones
c. The believers
D. Spreading to Judea, Samaria, and Galilee
E. Reaching Antioch in Syria
1. The church in Antioch
2. Including prophets and teachers
F. Spreading in the provinces of Syria and Cilicia
1. Churches Established
2. Strengthened by the apostles Paul and Silas

The conclusion of the New Testament

The church the establishment of the churches (2)    _msg.198

G. Turning to Asia Minor
1. Churches established in the cities of Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch in the province of Galatia — the churches in Galatia
2. Elders appointed in every one of these churches
H. Spreading to the province of Asia in Asia Minor
1. Churches established in the cities of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea
2. Elders as overseers appointed in these churches by the Spirit
I. Reaching Europe — churches raised up in the province of Macedonia
1. The church in Philippi, comprising the saints with the overseers and deacons
2. The church in Thessalonica
J. Spreading to the Province of Achaia, next to Macedonia — churches raised up in:
1. Corinth — the church in Corinth
2. Cenchrea — the church in Cenchrea, with a deaconess
K. Spreading to Italy
1. The church raised up in Rome — the church in Rome
2. Meeting in the house of Prisca and Aquila

The conclusion of the New Testament

The church the two aspects of the church (1)    _msg.199

V. The two aspects of the church
A. The universal aspect
1. The universal church
2. As revealed by the Lord in Matthew 16:18
a. To be built by Christ, the Son of the living God revealed by the Father
b. On the rock of the revelation concerning Christ, the Son of the living God
c. The gates of Hades (Satan’s power of darkness) not prevailing against it
d. Related to the kingdom of the heavens
3. As revealed by the Apostle in the Epistles
a. The house of the living God, the pillar and base of the truth, for His manifestation in the flesh
b. The Body of Christ, the fullness of the One who fills all in all, for His expression
(1) Constituted of all the believers baptized in one Spirit and given to drink one Spirit
(2) Constituted with the unsearchable riches of Christ
c. The wife of Christ
(1) Coming out of Christ
(2) To be one with Christ
d. The new man
(1) Not of the natural man
(2) With Christ as all the members and in all the members

The conclusion of the New Testament

The church the two aspects of the church (2)    _msg.200

B. The local aspect
1. The local churches
2. As revealed by the Lord in Matthew 18:17
a. For the church’s administration in its locality
b. To bind and to loose with the authority of the heavens
3. As revealed by the apostles in Acts and the Epistles
a. Established locally in separate cities
b. Taking a city as the boundary and ground of each local church
c. Each being not greater nor smaller than its city
d. As lampstands to bear the testimony of Jesus Christ in separate cities
e. All the local churches being the one unique Body of Christ in the universe

The conclusion of the New Testament

The church the offices in the church    _msg.201

VI. The offices in the church
A. In the universal church
1. Only one office — the apostleship
2. Only the apostles having the position and right to appoint elders in the local churches
B. In the local church
1. Elders
a. Being overseers in the local church
b. Taking the lead in the local church
c. Teaching in the local church
d. Shepherding the local church
e. Not lording it over the church but being patterns of the flock
f. Taking care of the finances in the local church
2. Deacons and deaconesses
a. Serving the local church
b. Doing the business affairs in the local church

The conclusion of the New Testament

The church the relationship between the four special gifts and the church    _msg.202

VII. The relationship between the four special gifts and the church
A. The apostles
1. In their ministry to produce the churches, the apostles are a gift to the universal church — all the churches
2. In their ministry to appoint the elders, they have an office over all the local churches
3. The first placed by God in the church
B. The prophets
1. A gift mainly for the local church
2. Also for all the local churches
3. Speaking for God and speaking forth God spiritually and predicting for God miraculously
4. The second placed by God in the church
C. The evangelists
1. For all the local churches
2. Doing the particular work of preaching the gospel
D. The shepherd-teachers
1. A gift for the local church
2. Teaching in the local church meetings
3. The third placed by God in the church
E. All the four special gifts not building the Body of Christ directly but perfecting the saints that they may build the Body of Christ directly

The conclusion of the New Testament

The church the fellowship among the churches (1)    _msg.203

VIII. The fellowship among the churches
A. The fellowship of the Body of Christ
1. The fellowship of the apostles
2. The fellowship with the Triune God
3. Expressed and practiced in partaking of Christ’s blood and body at the Lord’s table

The conclusion of the New Testament

The church the fellowship among the churches (2)    _msg.204

B. All the churches being the one universal Body of Christ
1. Among them there being no organization but the fellowship of the Body of Christ
2. All the churches being on the same level, none being the head church, nor any ruling over another, as indicated by the seven churches in Revelation chapters one through three
3. All the churches being the same in:
a. Receiving the teachings
b. Practicing the church life
c. Acting together
4. All the churches being identical, like the seven golden lampstands as the symbol of the seven churches
5. Only in their degradation the seven churches bearing their different characteristics respectively
C. The contribution among the churches
1. Caring for one another by the grace of God given to them
2. To have equality in material riches among the churches

Ru Библия читать онлайн
Es Biblia leer en línea
Zh 閱讀中文聖經

Living Stream MinistryLSM