Outline & Scriptures

Transcription

1 Int l Training for Elders and Responsible Ones (Spring 2018) TAKING CHRIST AS OUR PERSON AND LIVING HIM IN AND FOR THE CHURCH LIFE Outline & Scriptures

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Message 1: Experiencing the Central Work of God and Taking Christ as Our Person in and for the Church Life Message 2: Becoming Pillars and Pillar Builders in and for the Building of God Message 3: Living Christ by Walking according to the Spirit for the Body Life Message 4: The Heart and Spirit of a Leading One Message 5: Knowing the Significance of Loving the Lord, Loving the Lord Jesus Christ in Incorruptibility, and Walking in Love and Light Message 6: The Apostolic Ministry in Cooperation with Christ s Heavenly Ministry Message 7: Being Fully Reconciled to God and Enlarged in Heart to Represent God Rightly in His Economy Message 8: How One Ought to Conduct Himself in the Church in Order to Bring Forth the One New Man Int l Training for Elders and Responsible Ones (Spring 2018) - Outline & Scriptures 1

3 Eph 3:16 Eph 3:17 Eph 3:18 Eph 3:19 Eph 3:20 Eph 3:21 Phil 2:13 Gal 2:20 Gal 4:19 Message One Experiencing the Central Work of God and Taking Christ as Our Person in and for the Church Life Scripture Reading: Eph. 3:16-21; Phil. 2:13; Gal. 2:20; 4:19 Int l Training for Elders and Responsible Ones (Spring 2018) - Outline & Scriptures 2 Hymns: That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit into the inner man, That Christ may make His home in your hearts through faith, that you, being rooted and grounded in love, May be full of strength to apprehend with all the saints what the breadth and length and height and depth are. And to know the knowledge-surpassing love of Christ, that you may be filled unto all the fullness of God. But to Him who is able to do superabundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power which operates in us, To Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus unto all the generations forever and ever. Amen. For it is God who operates in you both the willing and the working for His good pleasure. I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. My children, with whom I travail again in birth until Christ is formed in you, I. In and for the church life, we need to experience the central work of God Eph. 3:17a; Phil. 2:13: Eph 3:17a That Christ may make His home in your hearts through faith, Phil 2:13 For it is God who operates in you both the willing and the working for His good pleasure. A. God s central work, His unique work, in the universe and throughout all the ages and generations is to work Himself in Christ into His chosen people, making Himself one with them Gal. 4:19; Eph. 3:17a; 1 Cor. 6:17. Gal 4:19 My children, with whom I travail again in birth until Christ is formed in you, Eph 3:17a That Christ may make His home in your hearts through faith, 1 Cor 6:17 But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit. B. God desires not mainly to do things for us but to work Himself into our being Eph. 3:17a. Eph 3:17a That Christ may make His home in your hearts through faith, C. God s intention is to have Christ thoroughly worked into our being; however, in our spiritual seeking we may have no concern about this, caring instead only for our intention Phil. 2:21. Phil 2:21 For all seek their own things, not the things of Christ Jesus. D. God s purpose is to work Himself into us, making Himself our inward elements Eph. 3:11, 16-19:

4 Eph 3:11 Eph 3:16 Eph 3:17 Eph 3:18 Eph 3:19 According to the eternal purpose which He made in Christ Jesus our Lord, That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit into the inner man, That Christ may make His home in your hearts through faith, that you, being rooted and grounded in love, May be full of strength to apprehend with all the saints what the breadth and length and height and depth are. And to know the knowledge-surpassing love of Christ, that you may be filled unto all the fullness of God. 1. This purpose is the center of the universe, and apart from this purpose the Christian life is meaningless Rev. 4:11. Rev 4:11 You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive the glory and the honor and the power, for You have created all things, and because of Your will they were, and were created. 2. The principle in God s work is to gain persons and by gaining them to have a way to go on: a. The proper priority is not for us to work for God but for God to work Himself into us Eph. 2:10; Phil. 2:13. Eph 2:10 Phil 2:13 For we are His masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand in order that we would walk in them. For it is God who operates in you both the willing and the working for His good pleasure. b. In the church life the importance of the person far exceeds that of the work 2 Tim. 2:20-22: 2 Tim 2:20 But in a great house there are not only gold and silver vessels but also wooden and earthen; and some are unto honor, and some unto dishonor. 2 Tim 2:21 If therefore anyone cleanses himself from these, he will be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, useful to the master, prepared unto every good work. 2 Tim 2:22 But flee youthful lusts, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 1) What we are is more important than what we do. 2) We cannot serve God beyond what we are as a person. 3. Spiritual progress consists in allowing God to gain ground within us Col. 2:19; Eph. 3:17a. Col 2:19 And not holding the Head, out from whom all the Body, being richly supplied and knit together by means of the joints and sinews, grows with the growth of God. Eph 3:17a That Christ may make His home in your hearts through faith, E. For the fulfillment of God s eternal economy, God needs to build Himself in Christ into our being, working Himself in Christ into us as our life, our nature, and our constitution, to make us God in life and in nature but not in the Godhead 2 Sam. 7:12-14a; Rom. 1:3-4; Eph. 3:17a; John 14:23; Col. 3:10-11: 2 Sam 7:12 When your days are fulfilled and you sleep with your fathers, I will raise up your seed after you, which will come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 2 Sam 7:13 It is he who will build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 2 Sam 7:14a I will be his Father, and he will be My son. Rom 1:3 Concerning His Son, who came out of the seed of David according to the flesh, Int l Training for Elders and Responsible Ones (Spring 2018) - Outline & Scriptures 3

5 Rom 1:4 Eph 3:17a John 14:23 Col 3:10 Col 3:11 Who was designated the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness out of the resurrection of the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord; That Christ may make His home in your hearts through faith, Jesus answered and said to him, If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make an abode with him. And have put on the new man, which is being renewed unto full knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, Where there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free man, but Christ is all and in all. 1. We need God to build up Christ into our intrinsic constitution so that our entire being will be reconstituted with Christ Eph. 3:17a. Eph 3:17a That Christ may make His home in your hearts through faith, 2. Christ builds the church by coming into our spirit and spreading Himself from our spirit into our mind, emotion, and will to occupy our entire soul Matt. 16:18; Eph. 3:17a. Matt 16:18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. Eph 3:17a That Christ may make His home in your hearts through faith, F. We cooperate with God s central work by being poor in spirit (Matt. 5:3) and pure in heart (v. 8), seeking the Lord with a single heart (Psa. 27:4), turning to the Lord (2 Cor. 3:16), caring for the sense of life (Rom. 8:6), being willing to be enlightened (Eph. 1:17-18), and opening our whole being to the Lord to be filled with God as our content (3:16-19). Matt 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens. Matt 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Psa 27:4 One thing I have asked from Jehovah; / That do I seek: / To dwell in the house of Jehovah / All the days of my life, / To behold the beauty of Jehovah, / And to inquire in His temple. 2 Cor 3:16 But whenever their heart turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Rom 8:6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace. Eph 1:17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the full knowledge of Him, Eph 1:18 The eyes of your heart having been enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of His calling, and what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, Eph 3:16 That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit into the inner man, Eph 3:17 That Christ may make His home in your hearts through faith, that you, being rooted and grounded in love, Eph 3:18 May be full of strength to apprehend with all the saints what the breadth and length and height and depth are. Eph 3:19 And to know the knowledge-surpassing love of Christ, that you may be filled unto all the fullness of God. II. In and for the church life, we need to take Christ as our person Gal. 2:20; Eph. 3:16-21: Gal 2:20 Eph 3:16 Eph 3:17 I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit into the inner man, That Christ may make His home in your hearts through faith, that you, being rooted and Int l Training for Elders and Responsible Ones (Spring 2018) - Outline & Scriptures 4

6 grounded in love, Eph 3:18 May be full of strength to apprehend with all the saints what the breadth and length and height and depth are. Eph 3:19 And to know the knowledge-surpassing love of Christ, that you may be filled unto all the fullness of God. Eph 3:20 But to Him who is able to do superabundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power which operates in us, Eph 3:21 To Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus unto all the generations forever and ever. Amen. A. God s intention in His economy is to work Himself into us not only as our life but also as our person Gal. 4:19. Gal 4:19 My children, with whom I travail again in birth until Christ is formed in you, B. Our regenerated spirit is the inner man with the indwelling Christ as its person Eph. 3:17a: Eph 3:17a That Christ may make His home in your hearts through faith, 1. If we would take Christ as our person, we must see that our regenerated spirit is no longer merely an organ for us to contact God but is our person. 2. In our inner man we have Christ not only as our life but also as our person 1 John 5:11-12; Col. 3:4; Eph. 3:17a. 1 John 5:11 And this is the testimony, that God gave to us eternal life and this life is in His Son. 1 John 5:12 He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. Col 3:4 When Christ our life is manifested, then you also will be manifested with Him in glory. Eph 3:17a That Christ may make His home in your hearts through faith, 3. Our inner man consists of our renewed soul as its organ and our regenerated spirit indwelt by Christ, the person, as its life and person Rom. 12:2; 8:10; Eph. 4:23; 2 Cor. 4:16. Rom 12:2 And do not be fashioned according to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and well pleasing and perfect. Rom 8:10 But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is life because of righteousness. Eph 4:23 And that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind 2 Cor 4:16 Therefore we do not lose heart; but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. 4. We need to live in our spirit as the inner man by taking Christ as our person Rom. 8:4; 1 Cor. 6:17; Gal. 2:20; Eph. 3:17a. Rom 8:4 That the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit. 1 Cor 6:17 But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit. Gal 2:20 Eph 3:17a I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. That Christ may make His home in your hearts through faith, C. As regenerated believers, we have both the I (the self), our former person, and Christ, our new person Gal. 2:20: Int l Training for Elders and Responsible Ones (Spring 2018) - Outline & Scriptures 5

7 Gal 2:20 I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. 1. The I is in our soul, but Christ is in our spirit Rom. 8:10; 2 Tim. 4:22. Rom 8:10 But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is life because of righteousness. 2 Tim 4:22 The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you. 2. The I is the person of the outer man, the old man, and Christ is the person of the inner man, the new man 2 Cor. 4:16. 2 Cor 4:16 Therefore we do not lose heart; but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. 3. The I, the former person, has been crucified, and Christ, the new person, lives in us Rom. 6:6; Gal. 2:20. Rom 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man has been crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be annulled, that we should no longer serve sin as slaves; Gal 2:20 I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. D. To take Christ as our person requires that we deny the self, our fallen person; we need to deny our soul-life and live by our new person, the indwelling Christ Matt. 16:24-25; Col. 1:27. Matt 16:24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. Matt 16:25 For whoever wants to save his soul-life shall lose it; but whoever loses his soul-life for My sake shall find it. Col 1:27 To whom God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory, E. In order to take Christ as our person, we need to deny our purpose, aim, and preference and take His purpose, aim, and preference 2 Cor. 5: Cor 5:14 For the love of Christ constrains us because we have judged this, that One died for all, therefore all died; 2 Cor 5:15 And He died for all that those who live may no longer live to themselves but to Him who died for them and has been raised. F. When we take Christ as our person and live not by ourselves but by Christ as the person, we become one with Him and no longer do anything according to our preference and taste but do everything according to His preference and taste v Cor 5:15 And He died for all that those who live may no longer live to themselves but to Him who died for them and has been raised. G. In order to have the church life, we need to be strengthened into our spirit as the inner man so that Christ, a living person, may make His home in our heart Eph. 3:16-17a: Eph 3:16 That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit into the inner man, Eph 3:17a That Christ may make His home in your hearts through faith, 1. The inner man with Christ as its person is for our living in the church 2: Eph 2:21 In whom all the building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord; Int l Training for Elders and Responsible Ones (Spring 2018) - Outline & Scriptures 6

8 Eph 2:22 In whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in spirit. 2. We need to take Christ not only as life in our spirit but also as the person in our heart Col. 3:4; 1:27: Col 3:4 Col 1:27 When Christ our life is manifested, then you also will be manifested with Him in glory. To whom God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory, a. When Christ makes His home in our heart, He becomes our person Eph. 3:17a. Eph 3:17a That Christ may make His home in your hearts through faith, b. The only way for Christ to be our person is for Him to make His home in our heart v. 17a. Eph 3:17a That Christ may make His home in your hearts through faith, c. If we take Christ as our person, allowing Him to spread into our heart, the person living in our heart will not be the self but Christ Gal. 2:20. Gal 2:20 I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. H. If we take Christ as our person, we will live Him out as the proper church life v. 20: Gal 2:20 I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. 1. Christ, who is our person, is for the church life Matt. 16:18. Matt 16:18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 2. Christ, a living person as our person, is the content of the church life Gal. 1:1-2, 15-16; 4:19. Gal 1:1 Gal 1:2 Gal 1:15 Gal 1:16 Gal 4:19 Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead), And all the brothers who are with me, to the churches of Galatia: But when it pleased God, who set me apart from my mother's womb and called me through His grace, To reveal His Son in me that I might announce Him as the gospel among the Gentiles, immediately I did not confer with flesh and blood, My children, with whom I travail again in birth until Christ is formed in you, 3. It is not possible to have the church life when we allow our old man to be our person Rom. 6:6; Gal. 2:20: Rom 6:6 Gal 2:20 Knowing this, that our old man has been crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be annulled, that we should no longer serve sin as slaves; I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. a. If we want to live the church life but do not take Christ as our person, we cannot be blended with others. b. Unless we live by Christ as our person, we will remain natural persons, those who are Int l Training for Elders and Responsible Ones (Spring 2018) - Outline & Scriptures 7

9 according to their natural constitution, racial culture, national character, or religious background Col. 1:27; 3:4, Col 1:27 Col 3:4 Col 3:10 Col 3:11 To whom God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory, When Christ our life is manifested, then you also will be manifested with Him in glory. And have put on the new man, which is being renewed unto full knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, Where there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free man, but Christ is all and in all. 4. The proper church life is a life in which we live in the inner man, taking Christ as our person Eph. 3:17a; 2 Cor. 4:16. Eph 3:17a That Christ may make His home in your hearts through faith, 2 Cor 4:16 Therefore we do not lose heart; but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. 5. We should take Christ as our person and allow Christ to live in us and make His home in our heart so that we may be filled unto all the fullness of God in order to be the practical manifestation of the church as the Body of Christ Gal. 2:20; Eph. 3: Gal 2:20 Eph 3:16 Eph 3:17 Eph 3:18 Eph 3:19 Eph 3:20 Eph 3:21 I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit into the inner man, That Christ may make His home in your hearts through faith, that you, being rooted and grounded in love, May be full of strength to apprehend with all the saints what the breadth and length and height and depth are. And to know the knowledge-surpassing love of Christ, that you may be filled unto all the fullness of God. But to Him who is able to do superabundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power which operates in us, To Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus unto all the generations forever and ever. Amen. Int l Training for Elders and Responsible Ones (Spring 2018) - Outline & Scriptures 8

10 Message Two Becoming Pillars and Pillar Builders in and for the Building of God Scripture Reading: Matt. 16:18; Gen. 28:10-22; Prov. 4:18; 1 Kings 7:17-20; Rev. 3:12 Hymns: Matt 16:18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. Gen 28:10 And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba and went toward Haran. Gen 28:11 And he came to a certain place and spent the night there, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of the place and put it under his head, and he lay down in that place. Gen 28:12 And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. Gen 28:13 And there was Jehovah, standing above it; and He said, I am Jehovah, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie, I will give to you and to your seed. Gen 28:14 And your seed will be as the dust of the earth, and you will spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and in your seed will all the families of the earth be blessed. Gen 28:15 And, behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go and will cause you to return to this land, for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you. Gen 28:16 And Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, Surely Jehovah is in this place, and I did not know it. Gen 28:17 And he was afraid and said, How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. Gen 28:18 And Jacob rose up early in the morning and took the stone that he had put under his head, and he set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. Gen 28:19 And he called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz previously. Gen 28:20 And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go and will give me bread to eat and garments to put on, Gen 28:21 So that I return to my father's house in peace, then Jehovah will be my God, Gen 28:22 And this stone, which I have set up as a pillar, will be God's house; and of all that You give me I will surely give one tenth to You. Prov 4:18 But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, / Which shines brighter and brighter until the full day. 1 Kings 7:17 There were nets of checker work with wreaths of chain work for the capitals that were at the top of the pillars, seven for the one capital, and seven for the second capital. 1 Kings 7:18 So he made the pillars; and there were two rows of pomegranates around the one network, to cover the capitals that were at the top of the pomegranates. And he did the same for the second capital. 1 Kings 7:19 And the capitals that were at the top of the pillars in the portico were of lily work, four cubits in diameter. 1 Kings 7:20 So then the capitals that were on the two pillars were above and close to the bulge that was beside the network. And there were two hundred pomegranates, in rows around both capitals. Rev 3:12 He who overcomes, him I will make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall by no means go out anymore, and I will write upon him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which descends out of heaven from My God, and My new name. Int l Training for Elders and Responsible Ones (Spring 2018) - Outline & Scriptures 9

11 I. Jacob s dream unveils that God desires to have a house on earth, and His intention is to transform His called ones into stones, pillars, material for His building Gen. 28:10-22; Matt. 16:18; 1 Pet. 2:4-5; Rev. 3:12: Gen 28:10 Gen 28:11 Gen 28:12 Gen 28:13 Gen 28:14 Gen 28:15 Gen 28:16 Gen 28:17 Gen 28:18 Gen 28:19 Gen 28:20 Gen 28:21 Gen 28:22 Matt 16:18 And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba and went toward Haran. And he came to a certain place and spent the night there, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of the place and put it under his head, and he lay down in that place. And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And there was Jehovah, standing above it; and He said, I am Jehovah, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie, I will give to you and to your seed. And your seed will be as the dust of the earth, and you will spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and in your seed will all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go and will cause you to return to this land, for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you. And Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, Surely Jehovah is in this place, and I did not know it. And he was afraid and said, How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. And Jacob rose up early in the morning and took the stone that he had put under his head, and he set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. And he called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz previously. And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go and will give me bread to eat and garments to put on, So that I return to my father's house in peace, then Jehovah will be my God, And this stone, which I have set up as a pillar, will be God's house; and of all that You give me I will surely give one tenth to You. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 1 Pet 2:4 Coming to Him, a living stone, rejected by men but with God chosen and precious, 1 Pet 2:5 You yourselves also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house into a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Rev 3:12 He who overcomes, him I will make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall by no means go out anymore, and I will write upon him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which descends out of heaven from My God, and My new name. A. In the book of Genesis there are two kinds of pillars the pillar of salt (19:26), which indicates shame, and the pillar of stone (28:18; 35:14), which indicates building in strength (1 Kings 7:21). Gen 19:26 But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. Gen 28:18 And Jacob rose up early in the morning and took the stone that he had put under his Gen 35:14 head, and he set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where He had spoken with him, a pillar of stone; and he poured out a drink offering on it and poured oil on it. 1 Kings 7:21 And he erected the pillars at the portico of the temple. When he erected the right pillar, he called its name Jachin; and when he erected the left pillar, he called its name Boaz. Int l Training for Elders and Responsible Ones (Spring 2018) - Outline & Scriptures 10

12 B. In Genesis 28 Jacob was a supplanter, but by the time we come to chapter 48, this supplanter has been thoroughly transformed into a man of God; this man of God is the pillar 28:18, 22a; cf. Prov. 4:18. Gen 28:1 And Isaac called Jacob and blessed him; and he charged him and said to him, You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan. Gen 28:2 Rise up, go to Paddan-aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother's father; and take from there a wife from the daughters of Laban your mother's brother. Gen 28:3 And may the All-sufficient God bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples. Gen 28:4 And may He give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your seed with you, that you may possess this land of your sojournings, which God gave to Abraham. Gen 28:5 And Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Paddan-aram, to Laban the son of Bethuel the Aramaean, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob's and Esau's mother. Gen 28:6 Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and had sent him away to Paddan-aram to take a wife from there, and that when he blessed him, he charged him, saying, You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan, Gen 28:7 And that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and had gone to Paddan-aram. Gen 28:8 So Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan displeased Isaac his father. Gen 28:9 Then Esau went to Ishmael and took Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son, and the sister of Nebaioth to be his wife, in addition to the wives that he had. Gen 28:10 Gen 28:11 Gen 28:12 Gen 28:13 Gen 28:14 Gen 28:15 Gen 28:16 Gen 28:17 Gen 28:18 Gen 28:19 Gen 28:20 Gen 28:21 Gen 28:22 Gen 48:1 Gen 48:2 Gen 48:3 And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba and went toward Haran. And he came to a certain place and spent the night there, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of the place and put it under his head, and he lay down in that place. And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And there was Jehovah, standing above it; and He said, I am Jehovah, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie, I will give to you and to your seed. And your seed will be as the dust of the earth, and you will spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and in your seed will all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go and will cause you to return to this land, for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you. And Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, Surely Jehovah is in this place, and I did not know it. And he was afraid and said, How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. And Jacob rose up early in the morning and took the stone that he had put under his head, and he set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. And he called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz previously. And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go and will give me bread to eat and garments to put on, So that I return to my father's house in peace, then Jehovah will be my God, And this stone, which I have set up as a pillar, will be God's house; and of all that You give me I will surely give one tenth to You. Now after these things Joseph was told, Your father is sick. So he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. And someone told Jacob and said, Your son Joseph is coming to you. So Israel strengthened himself and sat up on his bed. And Jacob said to Joseph, The All-sufficient God appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me. Int l Training for Elders and Responsible Ones (Spring 2018) - Outline & Scriptures 11

13 Gen 48:4 And He said to me, Behold, I am going to make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a company of peoples and will give this land to your seed after you for an everlasting possession. Gen 48:5 And now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine, as Reuben and Simeon are. Gen 48:6 And your offspring whom you beget after them will be yours; they will be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance. Gen 48:7 And as for me, when I came from Paddan, Rachel died to my sorrow in the land of Canaan on the way, while there was still some distance to go to Ephrath; and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). Gen 48:8 And when Israel saw Joseph's sons, he said, Who are these? Gen 48:9 And Joseph said to his father, They are my sons, whom God has given to me, please, here. And he said, Bring them to me, that I may bless them. Gen 48:10 Now the eyes of Israel were dim with age, and he could not see. So Joseph brought them near to him, and he kissed them and embraced them. Gen 48:11 And Israel said to Joseph, I never expected to see your face, and now God has let me see your seed also. Gen 48:12 And Joseph brought them out from between his knees and bowed himself with his face to the ground. Gen 48:13 And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left hand and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them near to him. Gen 48:14 But Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it upon Ephraim's head-although he was the younger-and his left hand upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands with insight, even though Manasseh was the firstborn. Gen 48:15 And he blessed Joseph and said, / The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, / The God who has shepherded me all my life to this day, Gen 48:16 The Angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the boys; / And may my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; / And may they be a teeming multitude in the midst of the earth. Gen 48:17 And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him; and he took hold of his father's hand to remove it from Ephraim's head onto Manasseh's head. Gen 48:18 And Joseph said to his father, Not so, my father, for this is the firstborn. Put your right hand upon his head. Gen 48:19 But his father refused and said, I know, my son, I know. He also will become a people, and he also will be great. However, his younger brother will be greater than he, and his seed will become a multitude of nations. Gen 48:20 And he blessed them that day, saying, By you Israel will pronounce blessings, saying, / God make you like Ephraim and like Manasseh. Thus he set Ephraim before Manasseh. Gen 48:21 And Israel said to Joseph, Now I am about to die, but God will be with you and will bring you again to the land of your fathers. Gen 48:22 Moreover I have given to you one portion more than your brothers, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow. Prov 4:18 But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, / Which shines brighter and brighter until the full day. C. He who overcomes, him I will make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall by no means go out anymore, and I will write upon him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which descends out of heaven from My God, and My new name Rev. 3:12, cf. v. 8: Rev 3:12 He who overcomes, him I will make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall by no means go out anymore, and I will write upon him the name of My God and the name Int l Training for Elders and Responsible Ones (Spring 2018) - Outline & Scriptures 12

14 Rev 3:8 of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which descends out of heaven from My God, and My new name. I know your works; behold, I have put before you an opened door which no one can shut, because you have a little power and have kept My word and have not denied My name. 1. The word make is very significant, meaning to constitute into something, to construct in a creative way; the Lord makes us pillars by transforming us, that is, by carrying away our natural element and by replacing it with His divine essence 2 Cor. 3:18; Rom. 12:2. 2 Cor 3:18 But we all with unveiled face, beholding and reflecting like a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord Spirit. Rom 12:2 And do not be fashioned according to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and well pleasing and perfect. 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 Rev. 21:22; cf. Psa. 90:1; John 14:23. Rev 21:22 Psa 90:1 John 14:23 And I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. O Lord, You have been our dwelling place / In all generations. Jesus answered and said to him, If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make an abode with him. II. The life and experience of Jacob reveal the way that we can be transformed into pillars for God s building: A. Since our selection was according to God s mercy, we need to continually depend on His mercy, enjoying His new mercies day by day to become vessels of mercy, honor, and glory Rom. 9:11-13, 16, 21, 23; Lam. 3: Rom 9:11 Though the children had not yet been born nor had done anything good or bad (that the purpose of God according to selection might remain, not of works but of Him who calls), Rom 9:12 It was said to her, "The greater shall serve the less"; Rom 9:13 As it is written, "Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated." Rom 9:16 So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy. Rom 9:21 Or does not the potter have authority over the clay to make out of the same lump one vessel unto honor and another unto dishonor? Rom 9:23 In order that He might make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He had before prepared unto glory, Lam 3:21 This I recall to my heart; / Therefore I have hope. Lam 3:22 It is Jehovah's lovingkindness that we are not consumed, / For His compassions do not fail; Lam 3:23 They are new every morning; / Great is Your faithfulness. Lam 3:24 Jehovah is my portion, says my soul; / Therefore I hope in Him. B. We need to enjoy Him as the All-sufficient God Gen. 48:3; 17:1; Phil. 1:19. Gen 48:3 And Jacob said to Joseph, The All-sufficient God appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me. Gen 17:1 And when Abram was ninety-nine years old, Jehovah appeared to Abram and said to him, I am the All-sufficient God; / Walk before Me, and be perfect. Int l Training for Elders and Responsible Ones (Spring 2018) - Outline & Scriptures 13

15 Phil 1:19 For I know that for me this will turn out to salvation through your petition and the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, C. We need to enjoy His continual shepherding until the end of our days the God who has shepherded me all my life to this day Gen. 48:15b; Rev. 3:8. Gen 48:15 And he blessed Joseph and said, / The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, / The God who has shepherded me all my life to this day, Rev 3:8 I know your works; behold, I have put before you an opened door which no one can shut, because you have a little power and have kept My word and have not denied My name. D. We need to behold God s face (Gen. 32:30; 2 Cor. 3:18; 4:6-7), seek His face (Psa. 27:8, 4), enjoy His face as our serving supply (Exo. 25:30; 33:11a), doing everything in the face, the person, of Christ for our transformation from glory to glory (2 Cor. 2:10; cf. 13:14); when the Triune God is dispensed into us, we have the face of the Triune God as our grace and His countenance as our peace (Num. 6:25-26): Gen 32:30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, for, he said, I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been preserved. 2 Cor 3:18 But we all with unveiled face, beholding and reflecting like a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord Spirit. 2 Cor 4:6 Because the God who said, Out of darkness light shall shine, is the One who shined in our hearts to illuminate the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 2 Cor 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God and not out of us. Psa 27:8 When You say, Seek My face, / To You my heart says, Your face, O Jehovah, will I seek. Psa 27:4 One thing I have asked from Jehovah; / That do I seek: / To dwell in the house of Jehovah / All the days of my life, / To behold the beauty of Jehovah, / And to inquire in His temple. Exo 25:30 Exo 33:11a And you shall set the bread of the Presence upon the table before Me always. And Jehovah would speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his companion. 2 Cor 2:10 But whom you forgive anything, I also forgive; for also what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, it is for your sake in the person of Christ; 2 Cor 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Num 6:25 Num 6:26 Jehovah make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; Jehovah lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace. 1. Seeing God equals gaining God to be constituted with God Job 42:5-7. Job 42:5 Job 42:6 Job 42:7 I had heard of You by the hearing of the ear, / But now my eye has seen You; Therefore I abhor myself, and I repent / In dust and ashes. And after Jehovah had spoken these words to Job, Jehovah said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My anger is kindled against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken concerning Me that which is right, as My servant Job has. 2. Seeing God transforms us because in seeing God, we receive His element into us, and our old element is discharged 2 Cor. 3:18; Rom. 12:2. 2 Cor 3:18 But we all with unveiled face, beholding and reflecting like a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord Spirit. Int l Training for Elders and Responsible Ones (Spring 2018) - Outline & Scriptures 14

16 Rom 12:2 And do not be fashioned according to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and well pleasing and perfect. E. In the Scriptures the pillar is a sign, a testimony, of God s building through transformation in practicing the Body life Gen. 28:22a; 1 Kings 7:15-22; Gal. 2:9; 1 Tim. 3:15; Rev. 3:12; Rom. 12:2; Eph. 4:11-12: Gen 28:22a And this stone, which I have set up as a pillar, will be God's house; 1 Kings 7:15 And he formed the two bronze pillars; eighteen cubits was the height of each pillar, and a line of twelve cubits encompassed each pillar. 1 Kings 7:16 And he made two capitals of molten bronze to set upon the tops of the pillars; the height of the one capital was five cubits, and the height of the second capital was five cubits. 1 Kings 7:17 There were nets of checker work with wreaths of chain work for the capitals that were at the top of the pillars, seven for the one capital, and seven for the second capital. 1 Kings 7:18 So he made the pillars; and there were two rows of pomegranates around the one network, to cover the capitals that were at the top of the pomegranates. And he did the same for the second capital. 1 Kings 7:19 And the capitals that were at the top of the pillars in the portico were of lily work, four cubits in diameter. 1 Kings 7:20 So then the capitals that were on the two pillars were above and close to the bulge that was beside the network. And there were two hundred pomegranates, in rows around both capitals. 1 Kings 7:21 And he erected the pillars at the portico of the temple. When he erected the right pillar, he called its name Jachin; and when he erected the left pillar, he called its name Boaz. 1 Kings 7:22 And at the top of the pillars was lily work. And the work on the pillars was completed. Gal 2:9 And perceiving the grace given to me, James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and to Barnabas the right hand of fellowship that we should go to the Gentiles, and they, to the circumcision. 1 Tim 3:15 But if I delay, I write that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and base of the truth. Rev 3:12 He who overcomes, him I will make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall by no means go out anymore, and I will write upon him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which descends out of heaven from My God, and My new name. Rom 12:2 And do not be fashioned according to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and well pleasing and perfect. Eph 4:11 And He Himself gave some as apostles and some as prophets and some as evangelists and some as shepherds and teachers, Eph 4:12 For the perfecting of the saints unto the work of the ministry, unto the building up of the Body of Christ, 1. According to Genesis 28:18, Jacob took the stone that he had made his pillow and set it up for a pillar: Gen 28:18 And Jacob rose up early in the morning and took the stone that he had put under his head, and he set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. a. The stone becoming a pillow signifies that the divine element of Christ constituted into our being through our subjective experience of Him becomes a pillow for our rest cf. Matt. 11:28. Matt 11:28 Come to Me all who toil and are burdened, and I will give you rest. b. The pillow becoming a pillar signifies that the Christ whom we have experienced and on Int l Training for Elders and Responsible Ones (Spring 2018) - Outline & Scriptures 15

17 whom we rest becomes the material and the support for God s building, God s house 1 Kings 7:21; 1 Tim. 3:15. 1 Kings 7:21 And he erected the pillars at the portico of the temple. When he erected the right pillar, he called its name Jachin; and when he erected the left pillar, he called its name Boaz. 1 Tim 3:15 But if I delay, I write that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and base of the truth. 2. The pillars of the temple were built of bronze, signifying God s judgment 1 Kings 7:14-15; cf. John 3:14: 1 Kings 7:14 He was the son of a widow and of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a bronze worker; and he was full of wisdom and understanding and skill to do all kinds of work in bronze. And he came to King Solomon and did all his work. 1 Kings 7:15 And he formed the two bronze pillars; eighteen cubits was the height of each pillar, and a line of twelve cubits encompassed each pillar. John 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, a. Those who are useful to God are constantly under God s judgment, realizing that they are men in the flesh, worthy of nothing but death and burial Psa. 51:5; Exo. 4:1-9; Rom. 7:18; Matt. 3: Psa 51:5 Exo 4:1 Exo 4:2 Exo 4:3 Exo 4:4 Exo 4:5 Exo 4:6 Exo 4:7 Exo 4:8 Exo 4:9 Rom 7:18 Matt 3:16 Matt 3:17 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, / And in sin did my mother conceive me. Then Moses answered and said, What if they do not believe me or listen to my voice, but say, Jehovah has not appeared to you? And Jehovah said to him, What is this in your hand? And he said, A staff. And He said, Throw it on the ground. And he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses recoiled from it. And Jehovah said to Moses, Stretch out your hand, and take it by its tail-so he stretched out his hand and seized it, and it became a staff in his hand - That they may believe that Jehovah, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you. And Jehovah further said to him, Now put your hand into your bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom, and when he took it out, there his hand was, leprous as white as snow. And He said, Put your hand into your bosom again-so he put his hand into his bosom again, and when he took it out of his bosom, there it was, restored like the rest of his flesh - And if they do not believe you or heed the first sign, then they may believe the next sign. And if they will not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, then you shall take some of the water of the River and pour it on the dry ground, and the water that you take out of the River will become blood upon the dry ground. For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but to work out the good is not. And having been baptized, Jesus went up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon Him. And behold, a voice out of the heavens, saying, This is My Son, the Beloved, in whom I have found My delight. b. We must judge ourselves as nothing and being only qualified to be crucified; whatever we are, we are by the grace of God, and it is not we who labor but the grace of God 1 Int l Training for Elders and Responsible Ones (Spring 2018) - Outline & Scriptures 16