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Scripture Reading: Matt. 24:14; Luke 17:20-21; John 3:3, 5; Eph. 3:8-11
In the Lord’s recovery our preaching, teaching, and home meetings must come up to the high standard revealed in the New Testament. After visiting people by knocking on their doors, leading them to receive the Lord, and baptizing them, we should return to these new ones again and again to meet with them in their homes. These meetings will afford us the adequate time to bring them up to such a high standard.
We need to preach the high gospel revealed in the New Testament. In the New Testament different terms are used related to the gospel, such as the gospel of grace (Acts 20:24), the gospel of God (Rom. 1:1; 15:16), the gospel of Christ (v. 19), the gospel of Jesus Christ (Mark 1:1), the gospel of the glory of Christ (2 Cor. 4:4), the gospel of peace (Eph. 6:15), and the gospel of our salvation (1:13). The gospel of the kingdom (Matt. 4:23) includes not only forgiveness of sins (cf. Luke 24:47) and the impartation of life (cf. John 20:31) but also the kingdom of the heavens (Matt. 24:14). In Ephesians 3:8 Paul says that he preached the unsearchable riches of Christ as the gospel. When I was young, I heard much concerning the gospel of grace and the forgiveness of sins, but I never heard of the gospel of the kingdom. Even for many years in the Lord’s recovery, we did not see the gospel of the unsearchable riches of Christ.
To enter into the kingdom of God, that is, to enter into the divine kingdom, we must be regenerated with the divine life. To enter into any kingdom, we must have the life of that kingdom. To enter into the animal kingdom, the animal life is needed. As human beings, we have the human life, which ushers us into the human kingdom. Likewise, without the divine life, there is no way to enter into, to see, the divine kingdom (John 3:3, 5). We must preach the gospel of the kingdom of God so that people may receive the divine life and be brought into the realm of the divine reign in the divine life. The gospel of the kingdom is to bring us into the realm, the sphere, of God’s ruling.
The sphere of God’s rule is in the divine life. Life rules, or controls. The life of a fruit-bearing tree controls the shape of its fruit. The fruit of an apple tree will be in the shape of an apple, and the fruit of a peach tree will be in the shape of a peach. As the different lives grow, they produce different fruits in different shapes. The fruit is shaped by the rule, or control, of the inner life and not by an outward mold. A tiger grows in the form of a tiger, and a man grows in the form of a man. The life of a tiger and the life of a man control and determine their outward forms. As men who have been regenerated, we have received the life on the highest plane, the divine life. As this life grows within us, we are being conformed to the image of God’s Son (Rom. 8:29).
For us to be in the kingdom, there is the need of a life on the highest plane (John 3:3, 5). In Genesis 1 and 2 there are different levels of life. God created the plant life, then the animal life, and finally, God created man. Man is the highest life created by God. In the second chapter of Genesis there is the divine life, the uncreated life, indicated by the tree of life (v. 9). The divine life is higher than the human life, the human life is higher than the animal life, and the animal life is higher than the plant life. The divine life, the life of lives, is the life on the highest plane. We are men possessing the human life, but God’s intention is to transfer us into His divine life, making us divine. This divine life has brought us into the divine kingdom, and this divine life keeps us living in the divine realm.
This life reigns within us to shape us into the image of God that we may express Him. The kingdom of God is the Lord Himself as the seed of life sown into His believers (Mark 4:3, 26) to develop into God’s ruling realm. The divine reign in the divine life is revealed in Luke 17:20-21, where the Lord Jesus told us that this divine reign cannot be seen outwardly. Although this divine reign is not physically visible, we do have the reality of the divine reign within us, which is God’s life reigning in our life. We must preach such a gospel of the kingdom to the whole inhabited earth (Matt. 24:14).
All the riches of Christ’s being and of Christ’s doing compose the gospel of the unsearchable riches of Christ (Eph. 3:8). This gospel brings us into these riches so that we may enjoy and participate in them. All these unsearchable riches of Christ become our constitution. As genuine Christians, we are wonderful constitutions of all the items of what Christ is. All the items of what Christ is and all that He has done, is doing, and will do for us are innumerable and are included in the unsearchable riches of Christ preached to us as the very gospel for our participation so that we may daily enjoy Him. Whatever we enjoy of Christ is an item of this gospel. We need to preach this gospel in the new ones’ homes. We should read Ephesians 3:8 to them, dwell on it, and spend some time to pray-read it with them until they become impressed and realize that as Christians they may daily enjoy the riches of Christ’s being and doing.
Christ is God (Rom. 9:5), and Christ is man (Matt. 16:13). Christ is the Creator (Heb. 1:10), the Redeemer (Gal. 3:13), the Lord (Acts 2:36), the Master (Jude 4); Christ is life (John 14:6), Christ is light (8:12), and He is our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption (1 Cor. 1:30). Eventually, Christ is everything. Colossians 2:16-17 shows us that all positive things are a shadow of Christ. The air that we breathe, our drink, the food we eat, our clothing, house, and all our daily necessities are only shadows, but Christ is the body of these shadows. He is our real air (John 20:22), our real food (6:35), our real drink (7:37-39; 4:14), our real clothing (Gal. 3:27), and our real lodging, our dwelling place (John 15:5). Christ is the tree (Gen. 2:9; John 15:1), the lion (Rev. 5:5), the ox, and the eagle (Ezek. 1:10). Christ is the Father (Isa. 9:6), the Son (Matt. 16:16), the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:17), and Jehovah (John 8:24; cf. Exo. 3:14-15). Christ is everything to us. Christ is all the members of the new man and in all the members (Col. 3:11). Paul says, “It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me” (Gal. 2:20), and “To me, to live is Christ” (Phil. 1:21). We must learn to know, to experience, and to enjoy these riches continually. Oh, the depth of the riches of Christ! (Rom. 11:33).
We must also have the high standard of the gospel concerning the economy of the mystery hidden in God (Eph. 3:9-11). The entire universe is a mystery, but within this mystery there is a deeper mystery, which has been hidden in God. This deeper mystery is the purpose, the meaning, and the significance of the universe. This mystery was not known to man but was revealed to the apostles, especially to the apostle Paul. Thus, Paul told us that he preached not only the unsearchable riches of Christ but also the economy of this mystery hidden in God from the ages. Economy is an anglicization of the Greek word oikonomia, denoting “an arrangement, an administration, a plan, a purpose.” God desired something, so He formed an arrangement, administration, plan, or purpose to gain it for Himself. What God desires is to gain a group of people to contain Him that they may become the members of the Body of Christ, that Christ may be their life, their Head, and their manifestation, and that they and He could be one universal new man to express Christ as the embodied God to fulfill His eternal purpose. The mystery of God is Christ, the mystery of Christ is the church, and Christ and the church are the great mystery (5:32) hidden in God from the centuries and revealed to the apostle Paul.
Paul preached the divine economy as the very gospel. Ephesians 3:8 reveals the gospel of the unsearchable riches of Christ, while verse 9 reveals the gospel of the economy of the mystery hidden in God from the ages. We must realize, experience, and preach this economy to the new ones as the high standard of the gospel. Many Christians enjoy the gospel of grace, and some enjoy the gospel in the aspect of life, but few among today’s Christians enjoy the gospel of the kingdom by being under the divine ruling in the divine life. Few enjoy the gospel of the unsearchable riches of Christ and the gospel of the economy of the mystery hidden in God from the ages.
To enjoy the gospel concerning the economy of the mystery hidden in God is to enjoy the church life, the life of the Body of Christ. I can testify that I am enjoying the universal church life. When I come to the United States, I enjoy the Body life, and when I go to Stuttgart or the Far East, I enjoy this life. We must realize that we are in the enjoyment of the highest gospel, the gospel of the arrangement of the divine mystery — Christ and His Body. As I contact some dear saints, I realize that they do not have the real enjoyment of the universal church life of the Body of Christ. We need to enjoy the Body life, not only in knowledge but also in experience. I daily enjoy the support from the Body.
Praise the Lord that on the earth there is the Body, the universal grapevine (John 15:1, 4). This grapevine has spread all over the globe. In 1970 I was invited to New Zealand, and while passing through Australia, I stayed in Sydney and Melbourne. I felt lonely because at that time there was no church life there for me to enjoy. But today if I went to Sydney and Melbourne, I would enjoy the church life. I do not like to go anywhere where there is no church. I like to go to Taipei, Stuttgart, and Tokyo because of the lovable church life there. The enjoyment of the church life is the enjoyment of the highest gospel of the divine economy. The people in the world do not know the meaning of human existence, but we know because we enjoy the church life around the globe. While I was flying from Los Angeles to Tokyo, I was happy because I knew I would meet some dear brothers at the airport. I am happy to go to Brazil because so many there have all become my brothers. We may not know each other’s language, but we are happy to be in the church. The church life around the globe is the gospel.
The highest enjoyment on this earth is the enjoyment of the church life. If there were no church on this earth, I would not care to be here. The corrupted earth is ugly and bothersome, but I like to be here because the church is here. The church life is our enjoyment, but it is only a foretaste. The New Jerusalem will be the full taste of the enjoyment of the glorious church life. The highest gospel is the gospel of Christ with the church. We must value, appreciate, and treasure the church. We enjoy the church life as the highest standard of the gospel. The highest preaching of the gospel is to bring to light God’s economy hidden in Him from the ages.
The gospel concerning the economy of the mystery hidden in God is to produce the church for God’s expression and glorification according to God’s eternal plan, or purpose. The church is so lovable because it is the very expression and glorification of God. When God has the church, He is expressed and He is glorified. We need to enjoy God in His expression and in His glorification in such a high standard.
In the home meetings, we must have the high standard of the messages. When you go to the home meetings, do not teach low things; you must teach the higher truths. For this we should use the Life Lessons, the Truth Lessons, and the Life-study of the Scriptures. In these materials is the high standard of the truth, which is the processed Triune God for our enjoyment. The processed Triune God is not the “raw” God but the “cooked” God for our enjoyment. To cook is to prepare food for eating by means of the process of heating. Through the Triune God’s wonderful process, He has been “cooked” for us to eat and enjoy. We must learn to preach, to teach, and to fellowship the high standard of God’s Word.
For the home meetings we also need the high standard of hymns. The hymns must be high in significance and in expression. Hymns, #501, “O glorious Christ, Savior mine,” is a hymn of a high standard. When I was young, I was taught the song, “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” Even the unbelievers were able to sing that hymn, and some young boys on the street would mockingly sing it to the Christians. This short hymn is good but too low. Our hymnal, entitled Hymns, was compiled in 1964 with one thousand and eighty selected hymns; two hundred sixty-eight more have since been added. We have had these hymns for over twenty years, but we have mainly used those that were written by ourselves. Nevertheless, all those hymns were included, and a detailed table of contents was composed in a proper theological way. After reading the table of contents, one could realize that we do have a proper understanding of theology.
In addition to the high standard of hymns for the home meetings, we must also have the high standard of prayer, both in word and in spirit.
We also need the high standard of healing and casting out of demons. Fifty years ago in north China we conducted healing and casting out of demons, but we did not do it in a low way. When we healed people, we healed them in the sense of the divine life. The healing was not simply to recover the sick ones’ health but to impart life into them according to 1 John 5:16. When you minister life to a sick one, he will not only be healed but also supplied with the divine life.
Furthermore, we must cast out the demons in the sense of the divine authority. On one occasion in Chefoo, some brothers cast out seven demons from one person. On the commandment of the brothers, each demon spoke his name before leaving the person. The best way to know the authority of the Lord Jesus and the power of His name is to cast out demons. When you cast out demons, you can see how powerful the name of the Lord Jesus is, how much power the name of the Lord Jesus conveys, and you can see the Lord’s authority. Do not do anything in a low way. Do everything in the highest standard, either in the sense of life or in the sense of authority. When you go out to knock on doors and you find sickness, pray for the healing of the sick ones at their request. When you see demon possession, do not hesitate, but immediately exercise your right to cast out the demons in the name of the Lord Jesus.
