BANNERS FOR THE 2015 MEMORIAL DAY CONFERENCE GENERAL SUBJECT THE NEED FOR A NEW REVIVAL God becoming man that man might become God in life and in nature but not in the Godhead is the essence of the entire Bible, the diamond in the box of the Bible, the eternal economy of God. The high peak of the divine revelation is that God became man so that man may become God in life, nature, and expression but not in the Godhead to produce and build up the organic Body of Christ consummating in the New Jerusalem for the fulfillment of God s economy. If we practice living the life of a God-man, which is the reality of the Body of Christ, spontaneously a corporate model will be built up, a model living in the economy of God; this model will be the greatest revival in the history of the church to bring the Lord back. In order to shepherd according to God, we need to become one with God, be constituted with God, live God, express God, represent God, and minister God.
The 2015 Memorial Day Conference GENERAL SUBJECT: THE NEED FOR A NEW REVIVAL TABLE OF CONTENTS Contents Page Message One: Reaching the Highest Peak of the Divine Revelation (1) The Vision of the Age 1 Message Two: Reaching the Highest Peak of the Divine Revelation (2) Becoming God in Life, Nature, and Expression to Produce the Body of Christ Consummating in the New Jerusalem 7 Message Three: Living the Life of a God-man (1) Being Discipled to Live the Life of a God-man to Be Today s Overcomers for a New Revival 14 Message Four: Living the Life of a God-man (2) Living in the Kingdom of God as the Realm of the Divine Species 21 Message Five: Shepherding according to God (1) Shepherding People by Cherishing and Nourishing Them according to the Pattern of the Lord Jesus and of the Apostle Paul 28 Message Six: Shepherding according to God (2) Becoming One with God, Being Constituted with God, Living God, Expressing God, Representing God, and Ministering God to Shepherd according to God 35
Hab 3:2a Acts 26:19 Eph 1:17 Eph 3:9 Rev 21:2 Outline of the Messages for the Memorial Day Conference May 22-25, 2015 GENERAL SUBJECT: THE NEED FOR A NEW REVIVAL Message One Reaching the Highest Peak of the Divine Revelation (1) The Vision of the Age EM Hymns: 750, 948 Scripture Reading: Hab. 3:2a; Acts 26:19; Eph. 1:17; 3:9; Rev. 21:2 O Jehovah, I have heard the report concerning You and am afraid. / O Jehovah, revive Your work / In the midst of the years; Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, 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, And to enlighten all that they may see what the economy of the mystery is, which throughout the ages has been hidden in God, who created all things, And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. I. Among God s elect there has always been an aspiration to be revived Hab. 3:2a; Hosea 6:2; Hag. 2:7; Mal. 3:1; 4:2; Rom. 8:20-22. Hab 3:2a Hosea 6:2 Hag 2:7 Mal 3:1 Mal 4:2 Rom 8:20 Rom 8:21 Rom 8:22 O Jehovah, I have heard the report concerning You and am afraid. / O Jehovah, revive Your work / In the midst of the years; He will enliven us after two days; / On the third day He will raise us up, / And we will live in His presence. And I will shake all the nations, and the Desire of all the nations will come; and I will fill this house with glory, says Jehovah of hosts. I am about to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me; and suddenly the Lord, whom you seek, will come to His temple. And the Angel of the covenant, whom you desire, He will come, says Jehovah of hosts. But unto you who fear My name will the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in His wings, and you will go forth and leap about like well-fed calves. For the creation was made subject to vanity, not of its own will, but because of Him who subjected it, In hope that the creation itself will also be freed from the slavery of corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans together and travails in pain together until now. II. We can enter into a new revival by arriving at the highest peak of the divine revelation, the vision of the age, through the ministry of the age: A. The particular recovery and work that God is doing in one age is the ministry of that age cf. Gen. 6:16; 2 Kings 2:1-15. Gen 6:16 You shall make an opening for light for the ark, and you shall finish it up to a cubit from the top; and you shall put the entrance of the ark in its side; you shall make it with lower, second, and third stories. 2 Kings 2:1 And when Jehovah was about to take up Elijah by a whirlwind into heaven, Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. 2 Kings 2:2 And Elijah said to Elisha, Stay here, for Jehovah has sent me as far as Bethel. And Elisha said, As Jehovah lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you. So they went down to Bethel. 2 Kings 2:3 Then the sons of the prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha and said to him, Do you know that Jehovah will take away your master from over your head today? 1
And he said, I too know it; be silent. 2 Kings 2:4 And Elijah said to him, Elisha, stay here, for Jehovah has sent me to Jericho. And he said, As Jehovah lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you. And they came to Jericho. 2 Kings 2:5 And the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho approached Elisha and said to him, Do you know that Jehovah will take away your master from over your head today? And he said, I too know it; be silent. 2 Kings 2:6 And Elijah said to him, Stay here, for Jehovah has sent me to the Jordan. And he said, As Jehovah lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you. So the two of them went on. 2 Kings 2:7 And fifty men from the sons of the prophets went and stood opposite them at a distance, while the two of them stood by the Jordan. 2 Kings 2:8 And Elijah took his mantle and wrapped it together and struck the water; and it parted to this side and that, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground. 2 Kings 2:9 And when they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, Ask what I should do for you before I am taken from you. And Elisha said, Let a double portion of your spirit be upon me. 2 Kings 2:10 And he said, You have asked a hard thing. If you see me when I am taken from you, so will it be to you; but if not, it will not be so. 2 Kings 2:11 And as they went on and talked, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared; and they separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. 2 Kings 2:12 And Elisha saw it and cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen! And he did not see him anymore. And he grasped his clothes and tore them in two pieces. 2 Kings 2:13 And he picked up Elijah's mantle, which had fallen from him, and returned and stood by the bank of the Jordan. 2 Kings 2:14 And he took Elijah's mantle, which had fallen from him, and struck the water and said, Where is Jehovah, the God of Elijah? And when he also struck the water, it parted to this side and that, and Elisha crossed over. 2 Kings 2:15 And when the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho opposite him saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha. And they came to meet him and bowed themselves to the ground before him. B. In every age there is the vision of that age, and we have to serve God according to the vision of the age Prov. 29:18; Acts 26:19; Eph. 1:17; 3:9. Prov 29:18 Acts 26:19 Eph 1:17 Eph 3:9 Where there is no vision, the people cast off restraint; / But happy is he who keeps the law. Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, 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, And to enlighten all that they may see what the economy of the mystery is, which throughout the ages has been hidden in God, who created all things, C. God s word reveals to us that in every age He gives only one vision to man: 1. In order for us to serve God today, our vision must extend all the way from the first vision of Adam in Genesis to the ultimate vision of John in Revelation. 2. Today we can be in one accord because we have only one vision, an up-to-date, allinheriting vision, the vision of the eternal economy of God Job 10:12-13; cf. Eph. 3:9; 1 Tim. 1:3-4. Job 10:12 Job 10:13 Eph 3:9 You have granted me life and lovingkindness, / And Your visitation has preserved my spirit. But You have hidden these things in Your heart; / I know that this is with You: And to enlighten all that they may see what the economy of the mystery is, which throughout the ages has been hidden in God, who created all things, 1 Tim 1:3 Even as I exhorted you, when I was going into Macedonia, to remain in Ephesus in order that you might charge certain ones not to teach different things 1 Tim 1:4 Nor to give heed to myths and unending genealogies, which produce questionings rather than God's economy, which is in faith. 2
III. In 2 Peter 1:12 the present truth can also be rendered the up-to-date truth : 2 Pet 1:12 Therefore I will be ready always to remind you concerning these things, even though you know them and have been established in the present truth. A. Although all the truths are in the Bible, through man s foolishness, unfaithfulness, negligence, and disobedience many truths were lost and hidden from man cf. 2 Kings 22:8. 2 Kings 22:8 Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of Jehovah. And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. B. Freshly revealed truths are not God s new inventions; rather, they are man s new discoveries; every worker of the Lord should inquire before God as to what the present truth is. C. God s truths are cumulative; later truths do not negate former ones; what we see today are the cumulative revelations of God. D. May God be gracious to us that we do not become the castaways of the present truth ; may we be watchful, and may we not allow the flesh to come in or the self to gain any ground. IV. The highest peak of the divine revelation given to us by God, the present truth, is the revelation of the eternal economy of God: A. The entire Bible, which is the explanation of the eternal economy of God, is the autobiography of the Triune God, seen in the two sections of eternity and on the bridge of time: 1. In the Old Testament there is the single, but triune, God from eternity past, indirectly moving only with men and among men John 1:1, 3. John 1:1 John 1:3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him not one thing came into being which has come into being. 2. He came from eternity into time and with His divinity to enter into humanity to become the incarnated God for His direct move in man, seen in the four Gospels, for the accomplishment of His judicial redemption vv. 14, 29. John 1:14 John 1:29 And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us (and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only Begotten from the Father), full of grace and reality. The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 3. In resurrection He became the compounded God, the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit, seen in the Acts and the Epistles, for the carrying out of His organic salvation John 1:32, 42; 1 Cor. 15:45b; Phil. 1:19. John 1:32 John 1:42 And John testified saying, I beheld the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He abode upon Him. He led him to Jesus. Looking at him, Jesus said, You are Simon, the son of John; you shall be called Cephas (which is interpreted, Peter). 1 Cor 15:45b the last Adam became a life-giving Spirit. 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, 4. Because of the degradation of the church, He became the intensified God, the sevenfold intensified life-giving Spirit, seen in Revelation 1 20, for the producing of the overcomers 1:4; 3:1; 4:5; 5:6. Rev 1-20 Rev 1:4 Rev 3:1 be omitted. John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is coming, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, And to the messenger of the church in Sardis write: These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: I know your works, that you have a name that you are living, and yet you are dead. 3
Rev 4:5 Rev 5:6 And out of the throne come forth lightnings and voices and thunders. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God; And I saw in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures and in the midst of the elders a Lamb standing as having just been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. 5. In eternity future He will be the corporate God, the New Jerusalem, seen in Revelation 21 and 22, for the universal, divine-human incorporation of the processed and consummated Triune God with the regenerated, transformed, and glorified believers as the goal of God s eternal economy John 1:51; Rev. 21:3, 22. Rev 21-22 John 1:51 Rev 21:3 Rev 21:22 be omitted. And He said to him, Truly, truly, I say to you, You shall see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man. And I heard a loud voice out of the throne, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will tabernacle with them, and they will be His peoples, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. And I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 6. Thus, the central revelation of God and the Lord s recovery is God becoming the flesh, the flesh becoming the life-giving Spirit, and the life-giving Spirit becoming the sevenfold intensified Spirit to build up the church that becomes the Body of Christ and that consummates the New Jerusalem. B. God becoming man that man might become God in life and in nature but not in the Godhead is the essence of the entire Bible, the diamond in the box of the Bible, the eternal economy of God Gen. 1:26; John 12:24; Rom. 8:29: Gen 1:26 John 12:24 Rom 8:29 And God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of heaven and over the cattle and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth. Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless the grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Because those whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brothers; 1. God became man through incarnation by participating in man s humanity; man becomes God (in life and nature but not in the Godhead) through transformation by participating in God s divinity John 1:14; 2 Cor. 3:18: John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us (and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only Begotten from the Father), full of grace and reality. 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. a. Participating in God s life John 3:15; 10:10; Col. 3:4; Rom. 8:10, 6, 11. John 3:15 John 10:10 Col 3:4 Rom 8:10 Rom 8:6 Rom 8:11 That everyone who believes into Him may have eternal life. The thief does not come except to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and may have it abundantly. When Christ our life is manifested, then you also will be manifested with Him in glory. But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is life because of righteousness. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace. And if the Spirit of the One who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you. b. Participating in God s nature Eph. 1:4; 2 Pet. 1:4. 4
Eph 1:4 Even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blemish before Him in love, 2 Pet 1:4 Through which He has granted to us precious and exceedingly great promises that through these you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption which is in the world by lust. c. Participating in God s mind Eph. 4:23; Phil. 2:5. Eph 4:23 Phil 2:5 And that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, d. Participating in God s being 2 Cor. 3:18b; Eph. 3:8. 2 Cor 3:18b are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even Eph 3:8 as from the Lord Spirit. To me, less than the least of all saints, was this grace given to announce to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ as the gospel e. Participating in God s image 2 Cor. 3:18a; Rom. 8:29. 2 Cor 3:18a But we all with unveiled face, beholding and reflecting like a mirror the Rom 8:29 glory of the Lord, Because those whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brothers; f. Participating in God s glory v. 30; Heb. 2:10. Rom 8:30 Heb 2:10 And those whom He predestinated, these He also called; and those whom He called, these He also justified; and those whom He justified, these He also glorified. For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and through whom are all things, in leading many sons into glory, to make the Author of their salvation perfect through sufferings. g. Participating in God s sonship Eph. 1:5; Rom. 8:23; Heb. 2:10-11. Eph 1:5 Rom 8:23 Heb 2:10 Heb 2:11 Predestinating us unto sonship through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, And not only so, but we ourselves also, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan in ourselves, eagerly awaiting sonship, the redemption of our body. For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and through whom are all things, in leading many sons into glory, to make the Author of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of One, for which cause He is not ashamed to call them brothers, h. Participating in God s manifestation Rom. 8:19. Rom 8:19 For the anxious watching of the creation eagerly awaits the revelation of the sons of God. i. To bear God s likeness 1 John 3:2. 1 John 3:2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not yet been manifested what we will be. We know that if He is manifested, we will be like Him because we will see Him even as He is. j. To be Godkind God s species John 1:12; Rom. 8:14, 16. John 1:12 Rom 8:14 Rom 8:16 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the authority to become children of God, to those who believe into His name, For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God. 2. This divine-human romance is the subject of the entire Bible, the content of God s economy, and the secret of the entire universe S. S. 1:1; 6:13: S.S. 1:1 S.S. 6:13 The Song of Songs, which is Solomon's. Return, return, O Shulammite; / Return, return, that we may gaze at you. / Why should you gaze at the Shulammite, / As upon the dance of two camps? a. Christ is divine and human, and His transformed lover is human and divine; they are the same in life and nature, perfectly matching each other. 5
b. The Triune God, consummated to be the Husband, and the tripartite man, transformed to be the bride, are to be one couple, a corporate, great God-man Rev. 21:2, 9. Rev 21:2 And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from Rev 21:9 God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and spoke with me, saying, Come here; I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb. 3. God and man will become one entity, and that one entity is the mingling of divinity with humanity, which will consummate in the New Jerusalem, the conclusion of the entire Bible. V. I hope that the saints in all the churches throughout the earth, especially the co-workers and the elders, will see this revelation and then rise up to pray that God would give us a new revival a revival which has never been recorded in history Life-study of 1 and 2 Chronicles, p. 15. 6
GENERAL SUBJECT: THE NEED FOR A NEW REVIVAL Message Two Reaching the Highest Peak of the Divine Revelation (2) Becoming God in Life, Nature, and Expression to Produce the Body of Christ Consummating in the New Jerusalem JL Hymns: God's Eternal Economy, What Miracle! Scripture Reading: Eph. 3:9; John 1:1, 14; 12:24; Rom. 8:29; 2 Cor. 3:18; Rev. 21:2, 9-11 Eph 3:9 And to enlighten all that they may see what the economy of the mystery is, which throughout the ages has been hidden in God, who created all things, John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us (and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only Begotten from the Father), full of grace and reality. John 12:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless the grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Rom 8:29 Because those whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brothers; 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. Rev 21:2 And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Rev 21:9 And one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and spoke with me, saying, Come here; I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb. Rev 21:10 And he carried me away in spirit onto a great and high mountain and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, Rev 21:11 Having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, as clear as crystal. I. God s eternal economy is to make man the same as He is in life, nature, and expression but not in the Godhead and to make Himself one with man and man one with Him, thus to be enlarged and expanded in His expression, that all His divine attributes may be expressed in human virtues Eph. 3:9; 1:10: Eph 3:9 Eph 1:10 And to enlighten all that they may see what the economy of the mystery is, which throughout the ages has been hidden in God, who created all things, Unto the economy of the fullness of the times, to head up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth, in Him; A. The main contents of the New Testament are that the Triune God has an eternal economy according to His good pleasure to dispense Himself into His chosen and redeemed people in His life and nature to make them His duplication so that they may express Him; this corporate expression is the Body of Christ consummating in the New Jerusalem 3:9-21; Rev. 21:2, 9-11. Eph 3:9 Eph 3:10 Eph 3:11 Eph 3:12 Eph 3:13 Eph 3:14 Eph 3:15 Eph 3:16 And to enlighten all that they may see what the economy of the mystery is, which throughout the ages has been hidden in God, who created all things, In order that now to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenlies the multifarious wisdom of God might be made known through the church, According to the eternal purpose which He made in Christ Jesus our Lord, In whom we have boldness and access in confidence through faith in Him. Therefore I ask you not to faint at my afflictions for your sake, since they are your glory. For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father, Of whom every family in the heavens and on earth is named, That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit into the inner man, 7
Eph 3:17 Eph 3:18 Eph 3:19 Eph 3:20 Eph 3:21 Rev 21:2 Rev 21:9 Rev 21:10 Rev 21:11 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. And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and spoke with me, saying, Come here; I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb. And he carried me away in spirit onto a great and high mountain and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, Having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, as clear as crystal. B. God s economy is His intention to dispense Himself in His Divine Trinity into His chosen and redeemed people to be their life and nature so that they may be the same as He is for His corporate expression 1 Tim. 1:4; Eph. 1:3-23. 1 Tim 1:4 Nor to give heed to myths and unending genealogies, which produce questionings Eph 1:3 Eph 1:4 Eph 1:5 Eph 1:6 Eph 1:7 Eph 1:8 Eph 1:9 Eph 1:10 Eph 1:11 Eph 1:12 Eph 1:13 Eph 1:14 Eph 1:15 Eph 1:16 Eph 1:17 Eph 1:18 Eph 1:19 Eph 1:20 Eph 1:21 rather than God's economy, which is in faith. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ, Even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blemish before Him in love, Predestinating us unto sonship through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, To the praise of the glory of His grace, with which He graced us in the Beloved; In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of offenses, according to the riches of His grace, Which He caused to abound to us in all wisdom and prudence, Making known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Himself, Unto the economy of the fullness of the times, to head up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth, in Him; In whom also we were designated as an inheritance, having been predestinated according to the purpose of the One who works all things according to the counsel of His will, That we would be to the praise of His glory who have first hoped in Christ, In whom you also, having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation, in Him also believing, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of the promise, Who is the pledge of our inheritance unto the redemption of the acquired possession, to the praise of His glory. Therefore I also, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which is among you and your love to all the saints, Do not cease giving thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers, 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, 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, And what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the operation of the might of His strength, Which He caused to operate in Christ in raising Him from the dead and seating Him at His right hand in the heavenlies, Far above all rule and authority and power and lordship and every name that is named not only in this age but also in that which is to come; 8
Eph 1:22 Eph 1:23 And He subjected all things under His feet and gave Him to be Head over all things to the church, Which is His Body, the fullness of the One who fills all in all. C. God s good pleasure is to be one with man and to make man the same as He is in life, nature, and expression but not in the Godhead vv. 5, 9. Eph 1:5 Eph 1:9 Predestinating us unto sonship through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, Making known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Himself, D. For the accomplishment of His economy, God created us in His own image with the intention that we would become God in life and nature but not in the Godhead Gen. 1:26; Rev. 4:3; 21:10-11. Gen 1:26 Rev 4:3 Rev 21:10 Rev 21:11 And God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of heaven and over the cattle and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth. And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance, and there was a rainbow around the throne like an emerald in appearance. And he carried me away in spirit onto a great and high mountain and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, Having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, as clear as crystal. E. God became man in order to have a mass reproduction of Himself and thereby to produce a new kind God-man kind John 1:1, 14; 12:24; Heb. 2:10: John 1:1 John 1:14 John 12:24 Heb 2:10 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us (and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only Begotten from the Father), full of grace and reality. Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless the grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and through whom are all things, in leading many sons into glory, to make the Author of their salvation perfect through sufferings. 1. God sent His Son to be a man and to live a God-man life by the divine life John 3:16; 1:14; 6:57. John 3:16 John 1:14 John 6:57 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that everyone who believes into Him would not perish, but would have eternal life. And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us (and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only Begotten from the Father), full of grace and reality. As the living Father has sent Me and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also shall live because of Me. 2. The God-man living issues in a universal, great man who is exactly the same as Christ a corporate God-man who lives a God-man life by the divine life for the manifestation of God in the flesh Eph. 4:24; 1 Tim. 3:15-16. Eph 4:24 And put on the new man, which was created according to God in righteousness and holiness of the reality. 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. 1 Tim 3:16 And confessedly, great is the mystery of godliness: He who was manifested in the flesh, / Justified in the Spirit, / Seen by angels, / Preached among the nations, / Believed on in the world, / Taken up in glory. F. God s economy, as recorded in the Scriptures, is that God became man to make man God in life, nature, and expression so that we may have a God-man living and become the Body of Christ Rom. 8:3; 1:3-4; 8:4, 14, 29; 12:4-5. Rom 8:3 For that which the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God, sending His own Son in the likeness of the flesh of sin and concerning sin, condemned sin in the flesh, 9
Rom 1:3 Rom 1:4 Rom 8:4 Rom 8:14 Rom 8:29 Rom 12:4 Rom 12:5 Concerning His Son, who came out of the seed of David according to the flesh, 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 the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. Because those whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brothers; For just as in one body we have many members, and all the members do not have the same function, So we who are many are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. II. The high peak of the divine revelation is that God became man so that man may become God in life, nature, and expression but not in the Godhead to produce and build up the organic Body of Christ consummating in the New Jerusalem for the fulfillment of God s economy to close this age and bring Christ back to set up His kingdom John 1:12-14; 1 John 3:1-2; Rom. 8:3; 12:4-5; Rev. 11:15: John 1:12 John 1:13 John 1:14 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the authority to become children of God, to those who believe into His name, Who were begotten not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us (and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only Begotten from the Father), full of grace and reality. 1 John 3:1 Behold what manner of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and we are. Because of this the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 1 John 3:2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not yet been manifested what we will be. We know that if He is manifested, we will be like Him because we will see Him even as He is. Rom 8:3 Rom 12:4 Rom 12:5 Rev 11:15 For that which the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God, sending His own Son in the likeness of the flesh of sin and concerning sin, condemned sin in the flesh, For just as in one body we have many members, and all the members do not have the same function, So we who are many are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. And the seventh angel trumpeted; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever. A. God has a heart s desire and an eternal purpose; He wants to make Himself man and to make man God so that the two God and man may be the same in life, nature, and expression Eph. 1:5, 9; 3:11; 4:16; 5:30, 32. Eph 1:5 Eph 1:9 Eph 3:11 Eph 4:16 Eph 5:30 Eph 5:32 Predestinating us unto sonship through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, Making known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Himself, According to the eternal purpose which He made in Christ Jesus our Lord, Out from whom all the Body, being joined together and being knit together through every joint of the rich supply and through the operation in the measure of each one part, causes the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love. Because we are members of His Body. This mystery is great, but I speak with regard to Christ and the church. B. God redeemed us for the purpose of making us God in life and nature so that He can have the Body of Christ, which consummates in the New Jerusalem as God s enlargement and expression for eternity 1:7; 4:16; Rev. 21:2. Eph 1:7 In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of offenses, according to the riches of His grace, 10
Eph 4:16 Rev 21:2 Out from whom all the Body, being joined together and being knit together through every joint of the rich supply and through the operation in the measure of each one part, causes the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love. And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. C. The One who is God yet man dwells in the one who is man yet God, and the one who is man yet God dwells in the One who is God yet man; thus, they are a mutual dwelling place John 14:2-3, 20, 23; 15:4. John 14:2 John 14:3 John 14:20 John 14:23 John 15:4 In My Father's house are many abodes; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I am coming again and will receive you to Myself, so that where I am you also may be. In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. 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. Abide in Me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. D. God became man to make man God in life, nature, and expression through a marvelous process: 1. With God this process was incarnation, human living, crucifixion, and resurrection 1:14; 6:57a; 1:29; 3:14; 12:24; 20:22. John 1:14 John 6:57a John 1:29 John 3:14 John 12:24 John 20:22 And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us (and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only Begotten from the Father), full of grace and reality. As the living Father has sent Me and I live because of the Father, The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless the grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. And when He had said this, He breathed into them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit. 2. With man this process is regeneration, sanctification, renewing, transformation, conformation, and glorification 3:6; Rom. 12:2. John 3:6 Rom 12:2 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 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. 3. In Paul s Epistles we see the ascended Christ ministering Himself to us as the lifegiving Spirit to transform us into His image, making us the same as He is in life, nature, and expression 2 Cor. 3:17-18; Rom. 8:29. 2 Cor 3:17 And the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 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 Rom 8:29 as from the Lord Spirit. Because those whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brothers; E. It is only by God s becoming man to make man God in life, nature, and expression that the Body of Christ can be produced and built up; this is the high peak of the divine revelation given to us by God v. 3; 1:3-4; 8:14, 16, 29; 12:4-5: Rom 8:3 Rom 1:3 Rom 1:4 For that which the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God, sending His own Son in the likeness of the flesh of sin and concerning sin, condemned sin in the flesh, Concerning His Son, who came out of the seed of David according to the flesh, 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; 11
Rom 8:14 Rom 8:16 Rom 8:29 Rom 12:4 Rom 12:5 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God. Because those whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brothers; For just as in one body we have many members, and all the members do not have the same function, So we who are many are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 1. The reality of the Body of Christ is a corporate living by a group of God s redeemed who have been made God, the God-men, by God and who live not by themselves but by another life, which is the processed and consummated Triune God 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. 2. The highest peak in God s economy is the reality of the Body of Christ Rom. 8:2, 6, 10-11; 12:4-5. Rom 8:2 Rom 8:6 Rom 8:10 Rom 8:11 Rom 12:4 Rom 12:5 For the law of the Spirit of life has freed me in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and of death. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace. But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of the One who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you. For just as in one body we have many members, and all the members do not have the same function, So we who are many are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 3. The reality of the Body of Christ is the union and mingling of God and man to live out a corporate God-man John 14:20; 15:4; Eph. 4:4-6, 24. John 14:20 John 15:4 Eph 4:4 Eph 4:5 Eph 4:6 Eph 4:24 In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. Abide in Me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. One Body and one Spirit, even as also you were called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism; One God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. And put on the new man, which was created according to God in righteousness and holiness of the reality. F. The New Jerusalem, the ultimate consummation of the Bible, involves God becoming man and man becoming God in life, nature, and expression but not in the Godhead Rev. 21:2, 9-11; 3:12: Rev 21:2 Rev 21:9 Rev 21:10 Rev 21:11 Rev 3:12 And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and spoke with me, saying, Come here; I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb. And he carried me away in spirit onto a great and high mountain and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, Having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, as clear as crystal. 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. 1. The New Jerusalem is a composition of divinity and humanity mingled, blended, and built up together as one entity John 14:20, 23; Rev. 21:9-11: John 14:20 In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. 12
John 14:23 Rev 21:9 Rev 21:10 Rev 21:11 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 one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and spoke with me, saying, Come here; I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb. And he carried me away in spirit onto a great and high mountain and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, Having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, as clear as crystal. a. All the components have the same life, nature, and constitution and thus are a corporate person. b. God and man, man and God, are built up together by being blended and mingled together; this is a matter of God becoming man and man becoming God in life, nature, and expression but not in the Godhead John 14:20, 23; 1 Cor. 6:17. John 14:20 John 14:23 In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. 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. 1 Cor 6:17 But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit. 2. The New Jerusalem is a composition of God s chosen, redeemed, regenerated, sanctified, renewed, transformed, conformed, and glorified people who have been deified John 3:6; Heb. 2:11; Rom. 12:2; 8:29-30: John 3:6 Heb 2:11 Rom 12:2 Rom 8:29 Rom 8:30 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of One, for which cause He is not ashamed to call them brothers, 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. Because those whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brothers; And those whom He predestinated, these He also called; and those whom He called, these He also justified; and those whom He justified, these He also glorified. a. For us to be deified means that we are being constituted with the processed and consummated Triune God so that we may be made God in life, nature, and expression to be His corporate expression for eternity Rev. 21:11. Rev 21:11 Having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, as clear as crystal. b. The deification of the believers is a process that will consummate in the New Jerusalem; this is the highest truth and the highest gospel 3:12. 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. 13
GENERAL SUBJECT: THE NEED FOR A NEW REVIVAL Message Three Living the Life of a God-man (1) Being Discipled to Live the Life of a God-man to Be Today s Overcomers for a New Revival RS, DK Hymns: 203, 403 Scripture Reading: 1 Pet. 2:21; Matt. 14:19, 22-23; 24:45-51; John 10:30; 5:19, 30; 7:18; 14:30b 1 Pet 2:21 For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered on your behalf, leaving you a model so Matt 14:19 Matt 14:22 Matt 14:23 Matt 24:45 Matt 24:46 Matt 24:47 Matt 24:48 Matt 24:49 Matt 24:50 Matt 24:51 John 10:30 John 5:19 that you may follow in His steps; And after commanding the crowds to recline on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed them and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples to the crowds. And immediately He compelled the disciples to step into the boat and to go before Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away. And after He sent the crowds away, He went up to the mountain privately to pray. And when night fell, He was there alone. Who then is the faithful and prudent slave, whom the master has set over his household to give them food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. Truly I say to you that he will set him over all his possessions. But if that evil slave says in his heart, My master delays, And begins to beat his fellow slaves and eats and drinks with the drunken, The master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, And will cut him asunder and appoint his portion with the hypocrites. In that place there will be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. I and the Father are one. Then Jesus answered and said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, The Son can do nothing from Himself except what He sees the Father doing, for whatever that One does, these things the Son also does in like manner. John 5:30 I can do nothing from Myself; as I hear, I judge, and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will but the will of Him who sent Me. John 7:18 He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of Him who sent Him, this One is true, and unrighteousness is not in Him. John 14:30b for the ruler of the world is coming, and in Me he has nothing; I. God needs a corporate people to be raised up by His grace through the high peak of the divine revelation to live a life according to this revelation: A. A revival is the practice, the practicality, of the vision we have seen. B. If we practice living the life of a God-man, which is the reality of the Body of Christ, spontaneously a corporate model will be built up, a model living in the economy of God; this model will be the greatest revival in the history of the church to bring the Lord back. II. The disciples of Christ (Matt. 5:1; 28:19) were discipled through Christ s human living on the earth, as the model of a God-man, through His living God by denying Himself in humanity (John 5:19, 30); this revolutionized their concept concerning man (Phil. 3:10; 1:21a): Matt 5:1 Matt 28:19 And when He saw the crowds, He went up to the mountain. And after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. Go therefore and disciple all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 14