Morning Nourishment - Pillars and Luminaries
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Day 1
Verses: 2 Cor. 3:3 Since you are being manifested that you are a letter of Christ ministered by us, inscribed not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God… 6 Who has also made us sufficient as ministers of a new covenant, ministers not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 9 …Much more the ministry of righteousness abounds with glory. For the carrying out of God’s New Testament economy, the ministry is uniquely one…The unique ministry, which is the ministry of the new covenant,…inscribes the saints with the all-inclusive God, who is the Spirit within us and righteousness as our expression outwardly. The Spirit and righteousness are the two aspects of the essence that is inscribed into us by the ministry of the new covenant. The living Spirit is the inward aspect, and the perfect righteousness is the outward aspect. Our ministry in the local churches must be a ministry of inscribing… Teaching does not require any essence; however, inscribing does require an essence, just as writing with a pen requires ink…In order to write, we must have the ink as the writing essence…Likewise, we must have the divine essence in order to inscribe it into the being of the saints. (Life-study of 2 Corinthians, pp. 225-226)
In 2 Corinthians 3:8 Paul speaks of the ministry of the Spirit, and in verse 9, of the ministry of righteousness. We may understand what the ministry of the Spirit is, but what is the ministry of righteousness?…I thought that by the ministry of righteousness he meant the ministry of justification, since in this chapter there seems to be a comparison between condemnation and justification, which is the opposite of condemnation. But instead of justification, Paul here speaks of righteousness. If he had said that the new covenant ministry was a ministry of justification, it would be easy to understand his meaning…Since Paul in 2 Corinthians 3 says that the new covenant ministry is a ministry of righteousness, not a ministry of justification, we must try to understand his meaning. To be sure, it is a very significant matter that the ministry of the new covenant is a ministry of the Spirit and of righteousness. As a result of experiencing the Spirit living and working within us, we become righteous. Spontaneously, our inner being is transparent, crystal clear, and we know the heart of God. Immediately, without effort, we know the mind of the Lord and have a clear understanding concerning His will and work. Then what we do is according to the Lord’s mind and will. This is righteousness. Many Christians have the concept that when we do something wrong, we are not right with God. This concept of righteousness is too superficial. Even when we do not do anything wrong, we still may not be right with God, for our being may not be in the mind and will of the Lord…We may not be according to the Lord’s mind, and what we are doing may not be His will. As long as we are not doing God’s will, we are not right. Instead, we are wasting our lives and everything the Lord has given us. If you are infused and saturated by the life-giving Spirit, your inner being will become transparent. Then you will know what is in the Lord’s mind. You will also understand what the will of the Lord is. Spontaneously, you will be in His will and do His will. As a result, you become right with Him. Moreover, you will realize how you should act toward others and even how you should deal with your material possessions. Then you will become a righteous person, one who is right in small things as well as in great things, one who is right with God, with others, and with himself. This is a person who expresses God, for his righteousness is the image of God, God expressed. (Life-study of 2 Corinthians, pp. 236-237, 239-240) Further Reading: Life-study of Revelation, msg. 15; Life-study of 2
Day 2
Verses: 2 Cor. 5:18-20 But all things are out from God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Christ and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation… and has put in us the word of reconciliation. On behalf of Christ then we are ambassadors, as God entreats you through us; we beseech you on behalf of Christ, Be reconciled to God. Paul’s composition in 2 Corinthians 5:20 is unusual. After saying, “We are ambassadors,” he says, “As God entreats you through us.” Paul seems to be saying, “We are ambassadors of Christ, and we are doing a reconciling work. This is like God entreating you through us. We are one with Christ and one with God…” The ministry of the new covenant is a ministry in which God, Christ, and the ministers are one…God, Christ, and the apostles were one in carrying out the ministry of reconciliation. (Life-study of 2 Corinthians, p. 318)
The believers in Corinth…had already been reconciled to God partially. However, they had not been fully reconciled to Him…In 1 Corinthians 1 Paul refers to them as saints, as those who had been called by God into the fellowship of His Son. Therefore, they surely had been reconciled to God to some degree. The books of 1 and 2 Corinthians show that the believers at Corinth, after being reconciled to God partially, still lived in the flesh, in the outer man. Between them and God there was the separating veil of the flesh, of the natural man. This veil corresponds to the veil inside the tabernacle, the veil that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies, not to the veil at the entrance to the Holy Place. The Corinthian believers may have been in the Holy Place, but they were not in the Holy of Holies. This means they were still separated from the place where God is. Therefore, they had not been reconciled to God in full. In 2 Corinthians 5:19 it is the world that is to be reconciled to God. In verse 20 it is the believers, those who have already been reconciled to God, who are to be reconciled to Him further. This clearly indicates that two steps are required for people to be fully reconciled to God. The first step is to reconcile sinners to God from sin. For this purpose Christ died for our sins (1 Cor. 15:3) that they might be forgiven by God. This is the objective aspect of Christ’s death. In this aspect He bore our sins on the cross that they might be judged by God upon Him for us. The second step is to reconcile believers living in the natural life to God from the flesh. For this purpose Christ died for us—the persons—that we might live to Him in the resurrection life (2 Cor. 5:14-15). This is the subjective aspect of Christ’s death. In this aspect He was made sin for us to be judged and done away with by God that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. By the two aspects of His death He has fully reconciled God’s chosen people to God. Although the Corinthians had been saved and reconciled to God halfway, they still lived in the flesh; that is, they lived in the soul, the outer man, the natural being. The veil of the flesh, of the natural man, still separated them from God. This means that their natural being was a separating veil. Therefore, they needed the second step of reconciliation…What the apostle Paul was doing in 1 and 2 Corinthians was to cleave the separating veil of the flesh so that the believers at Corinth could enter into the Holy of Holies. The blessings of God can be found in the Holy Place, but God Himself is in the Holy of Holies. In the Holy Place are the blessings of the Spirit, the lampstand, and the incense altar. But in the Holy Place there is not the direct presence of God. In order to have God Himself, we must be reconciled further and come into the Holy of Holies. We must take the second step of reconciliation to be brought into the presence of God. This is full reconciliation. This reconciliation brings us not only out of sin but also out of the flesh, the natural man, the natural being. Then we are brought to God and become one with Him. (Life-study of 2 Corinthians, pp. 318-321) Further Reading: Life-study of 2 Corinthians, msg. 37
Day 3
Verses: Rev. 3:8 …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. 12 He who overcomes, him I will make a pillar in the temple of My God… One church was unique and was highly appraised by the Lord—the church in Philadelphia. The Lord highly appraised them and even appreciated them because they kept the word (Rev. 3:8). This means that they did not turn away from the apostle’s proper teaching. Although they were weak, the Lord still appraised them highly, telling them that they had a little power and that they had kept His word. To turn away from the proper teaching is a terrible thing that will result in degradation and in picking up other teachings…I hope that we would follow the pattern of the church in Philadelphia—keeping the Lord’s word even though we only have a little strength. Let us keep the word of the Lord, which is to remain in the teachings of the apostle, to remain in the healthy words, to remain in the unique revelation from the Lord with the proper leadership. (CWWL, 1986, vol. 1, “Elders’ Training, Book 7: One Accord for the Lord’s Move,” pp. 173-174)
The believers are symbolized by pillars [Rev. 3:12]. First, the pillars are the prominent ones among the believers in the church today. This is indicated in Galatians 2:9 where Paul speaks of “James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars.” The pillars are also the overcomers among the believers in the temple of God in the coming age and in eternity. [In] Revelation 3:12…we see that the overcomer will be made a pillar built into the temple of God. Because he is built into God’s building, “he shall by no means go out anymore.” This promise will be fulfilled in the millennial kingdom as a prize to the overcomer. The Lord makes us pillars by transforming us, that is, by carrying away our natural element and by replacing it with His divine essence. Therefore, the meaning of “make” in 3:12 is to constitute us into something, to construct us in a creative way…The Lord’s work in the church is to work Himself into us as the divine flow to carry away our natural being and replace it with His substance that we may be gradually processed by His transforming element. As the result of this transforming work, we become pillars in the temple of God. Verse 12 tells us that the overcomers will be pillars in the temple of God in the coming age. However, 21:22, speaking of the New Jerusalem in the coming age and in eternity, says, “I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.” Here we see that in the New Jerusalem the Triune God Himself will be the temple. This means that for the overcomers to be pillars in the temple means that they will be pillars in the Triune God. This involves being mingled with the Triune God and constituted of Him. This is a mystery. Even in today’s church life, the overcoming saints are pillars in the Triune God. Furthermore, these saints sometimes have the consciousness that the church is actually nothing other than the Triune God. This fact is indicated by the golden lampstands as a symbol of the church (1:12, 20). Furthermore, the lampstand is the embodiment and expression of the Triune God. The gold of the lampstand signifies the nature of the Father; the form signifies Christ as the embodiment and image of God; and the seven lamps signify the Spirit as the expression…It is not too much to say that, in actuality, the church is the Triune God, because the lampstand is the church and also the embodiment of the Triune God…In the coming age these overcoming believers will be pillars in the temple of God, which is God Himself. From this we see that being made a pillar involves the Triune God being mingled with and constituted into the faithful overcomers. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 1214-1216) Further Reading: CWWL, 1984, vol. 2, “Elders’ Training, Book 2: The
Day 4
Verses: Rev. 3:8 …You have a little power and have kept My word and have not denied My name. Eph. 6:24 Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in incorruptibility. In Revelation 3:8 the Lord…said that the church in Philadelphia did not deny His name…The word is the Lord’s expression, and the name is the Lord Himself. The apostate church has deviated from the Lord’s word and become heretical. The reformed church, though recovered to the Lord’s word to some extent, has denied the Lord’s name by denominating herself, taking many other names, such as Lutheran, Wesleyan, Anglican, Presbyterian, and Baptist. The recovered church has not only returned to the Lord’s word in a full way but has also abandoned all names other than that of the Lord Jesus Christ…The church, as the pure virgin espoused to Christ (2 Cor. 11:2), should have no name other than her Husband’s…In the recovered church life there are no teachings of Balaam (Rev. 2:14), no teachings of the Nicolaitans (v. 15), no teachings of Jezebel (v. 20), and no mysterious doctrines of Satan (v. 24); there is only the pure word of the Lord…The deviation from the word to heresies and the exalting of many names other than that of Christ are the most striking signs of degraded Christianity. The return to the pure word from all heresies and traditions and the exalting of the Lord’s name by abandoning every other name constitute the most inspiring testimony in the recovered church. This is why the church in the Lord’s recovery has the revelation and presence of the Lord and expresses the Lord in a living way, full of light and with the riches of life. (Life-study of Revelation, p. 181)
The church in Philadelphia [is] the church in recovery (Rev. 3:7-13). In Greek Philadelphia means “brotherly love.”…Just as the reformed church, prefigured by the church in Sardis, was a reaction to the apostate Catholic Church, prefigured by the church in Thyatira, so the church of brotherly love was a reaction to the dead reformed church. (Life-study of Revelation, p. 175) We can tell [a] new one, “Whenever you call on His name, ‘O Lord Jesus,’ you sense something sweet within you…If you call on anyone else’s name, you will not have this kind of sense, but when you call on the Lord Jesus and say, ‘Jesus, I love You,’ you will notice the difference. Moreover, the deeper, higher, and richer your calling is, the more this sense within you will intensify. Calling on the name of the Lord will make you happy, even ecstatic. You may even jump for joy. This proves that Christ is real and living. Whenever you have problems, questions, difficulties, or hardships, you can call, ‘O Lord Jesus.’” In this way we can pass on a message to the newly baptized one, helping him to know Jesus Christ as the living Spirit. If we visit people in their homes, baptize them, and teach them concerning Jesus in this way, we will truly be revived. Moreover, this revival is in love. The phrase in love is used six times in Ephesians (1:4; 3:17; 4:2, 15-16; 5:2). This is the love that originally was in God, that became the love of Christ and in Christ, and that has been transfused into our being to become our love toward Him. The love of God is not a silent love. Rather, it is an operating love, working in us to stir us up to love Him…God first loved us in that He infused us with His love and generated within us the love with which we love Him and the brothers [1 John 4:19-21]. We love the Lord not only because He loves us but also because of His eternal purpose, heart’s delight, and good pleasure. We love Jesus because He has a plan to gain the church as His Body. Our love today is higher, deeper, and richer than the love that we had in the past. Previously, we loved Jesus with a selfish love, but now we love Him because He has given apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers to perfect all the saints to do the same things that they do. (CWWL, 1988, vol. 1, p. 495) Further Reading: The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 238
Day 5
Verses: Phil. 2:15-16 That you may be blameless and guileless, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine as luminaries in the world, holding forth the word of life, so that I may have a boast in the day of Christ that I did not run in vain nor labor in vain. The Greek word rendered “luminaries” [in Philippians 2:15] refers to luminaries that reflect the light of the sun. The matter of shining as luminaries indicates our ability to function. Praise the Lord that we are able to shine! We are not only children of God but are also luminaries with the heavenly function of reflecting Christ as the real sun. Every kind of life has its particular function…As sons of God with the divine life, we have the function of shining. In our daily living we should not merely behave ourselves according to a certain standard—we should shine. (Life-study of Philippians, p. 399)
As luminaries, the believers shine among those in this crooked and perverted generation [Phil. 2:15]. Actually, we have no light in ourselves; we are luminaries reflecting the light of the sun, Christ. Christ is the unique sun, and the church is the moon reflecting Him…. World here refers to the dark, corrupt world, which is usurped by Satan (1 John 5:19; 2:15-17). In the world can be rendered “in the universe.” The word of life [Phil. 2:16] is very different from doctrine in dead letters. The word of life is the living breath of God (2 Tim. 3:16), the Spirit who gives life (John 6:63). We have the Lord Jesus as our pattern (Phil. 2:6-11), we have God operating in us (v. 13), we are God’s children possessing God’s life and the divine nature (v. 15), we are luminaries qualified to reflect the divine light of Christ (v. 15), and we have the word of life to hold forth, to present to others…By such [a divine and rich provision] we are well able to carry out God’s salvation to the full extent. The word of life we are holding forth is actually Christ Himself (John 1:1, 4). To hold forth the word of life is to apply it, to present it, and to offer it to the world by living out Christ. In order to have the experience of Christ revealed in the book of Philippians, we need to have Christ as our pattern, we need to have the Triune God operating in us, we need to be children of God with the divine life and nature, and we need to be luminaries positioned to reflect Christ. We should allow the word of Christ to dwell in us, to inhabit us, richly [Col. 3:16]. Then we will have the word of life with which to shine. In order to hold forth the word of life, we must first have the divine life within us…The more we are nourished by feeding on the word of life, digesting and assimilating this word, the greater will be the accumulation of the word within us. Then spontaneously, we will shine with the very word of life we have taken into us. This shining will then be our holding forth, our presenting, the wonderful word of life to others…If we daily digest Christ as the word of life, accumulating the riches of the Word in a subjective, organic way, we will have something living and organic to share with others. This is the proper gospel preaching and proclamation of the truth…This is the way to magnify Christ and live Him. May we be liberated from every kind of bondage in our dealing with the Word and the Spirit. If we exercise our spirit to pray-read, sing, and psalm Philippians 2:14-16, we will praise the Lord that we are children of God and luminaries shining by holding forth the word of life. If we practice pray- reading these verses word by word and also exercise to sing the Word of God, we will be permeated and saturated with the rich supply from the living Word. Then our inner being will be filled with the riches of Christ. Spontaneously, unconsciously, and even unintentionally, we will live a life that expresses Christ and holds forth the word of life. (Life-study of Philippians, pp. 111-112, 400) Further Reading: Life-study of Philippians, msgs. 12—13, 21, 23, 29, 46
Day 6
Verses: Phil. 2:14-15 Do all things without murmurings and reasonings that you may be blameless and guileless, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverted generation… Murmurings are out of our emotion, mostly on the part of the sisters; reasonings are out of our mind, mostly on the part of the brothers. Both frustrate us from carrying out our salvation to the fullest extent, from experiencing Christ to the uttermost. Obedience to God slays all murmurings and reasonings. In order to work out our salvation, we must obey the very God who operates in us. He Himself is our salvation, and our obedience to Him is the working out of our salvation. Paul’s word in Philippians 2:14 about murmurings and reasonings is a further indication that his purpose in writing [this] book…was not related to doctrine but very much related to experience. Murmurings and reasonings are important factors that frustrate our Christian life…Often in important matters we may not murmur or reason. But in small matters we are prone to murmurings and reasonings. Any kind of murmuring or reasoning is disobedience to the inner working of the Triune God. How we need the Lord to save us from our murmurings and reasonings! (Life-study of Philippians, pp. 105-106)
Man’s rebellion is manifested in words, reasons, and thoughts. If a man does not know authority, there will be reviling words…Man speaks because he thinks he has a reason. Ham thought that he had a reason to revile Noah because he was naked. Miriam’s word concerning Moses marrying an Ethiopian woman was a fact; she had a reason. However, those who submit to authority and live under authority do not live in their reasons. Korah’s company and the 250 leaders said that Moses and Aaron should not put themselves above the others because the whole congregation was holy and Jehovah was in their midst. Again, their rebellion had a reason behind it. Reviling words often come from reasons. Dathan and Abiram had even more reasons. They charged that Moses had not brought them into the land flowing with milk and honey, that he had not given them the inheritance of fields and vineyards, but rather that they were still in the wilderness. They charged that Moses was just covering up their eyes, saying, “Will you put out the eyes of these men?” (Num. 16:14). This meant that their eyes were very clear. The more they thought, the more reason they had…The more thinking there is, the more reasons are stirred up. In the world everyone lives in reasons. What difference is there between us and the worldly people if we also live in reasons? Are our lives based upon reasons or upon authority?…Once the light comes, all reasons are gone. Once Paul was enlightened on the way to Damascus, he became truly blind. From then on he did not care for reasons (Acts 9:3, 8). Moses’ eyes were not put out, but he was like a man without eyes…A servant of the Lord must be blind. He must be delivered from a life of reasons. Reasoning in the heart is the first cause of rebellion. Hence, if we do not deal thoroughly with reasons, it is impossible to stop the words. Every time the Lord commanded the Israelites to do something in Leviticus 18—22, He inserted the words, “I am Jehovah,” in between the commands…There need be no other reason. “I am Jehovah” is the reason. If we see this, we will not live by reason from this day on. We have to say to God, “In the past I lived by my thoughts and reasons. Today I bow down and worship You. As long as it is of You, it is enough for me. I will worship You.” When Paul was struck down on the way to Damascus, all reasons vanished from him. Once light shines in, a person falls down. The first word that came out of Paul’s mouth was, “What shall I do, Lord?” (Acts 22:10). Immediately, he became obedient. Those who know God do not reason. When the light judges, the reason disappears. (CWWN, vol. 47, “Authority and Submission,” pp. 184-185, 189) Further Reading: CWWN, vol. 9, issue no. 21; CWWN, vol. 47, “Authority