God’s Economy in Faith
Message One
The Governing and Controlling Vision of God’s Economy in Faith
Opening Word of the Prophesying Meeting
(Day1 ¦ Day2 ¦ Day3 ¦ Day4 ¦ Day5 ¦ Day6)
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
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.
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…
Word of Appetizer
What is the governing and controlling vision in the Bible? And in what sphere did God’s economy initiate and develop?
The governing and controlling vision in the Bible is the divine economy. The central subject of the Bible is the economy of God, and the entire Bible is concerned with the economy of God.
God’s economy is initiated and developed in the sphere of faith. Faith is a proclamation that we are unable to fulfill God’s requirements but that God has done everything for us and that we receive all God has planned for us, all God has done for us, and all God has given to us.
Spiritual Burden
God’s economy is God’s household administration, which is to dispense Himself in Christ into His chosen and redeemed people that He may have a house to express Himself, which house is the church, the Body of Christ.
Faith is the unique requirement for us to contact God in His economy and the unique way for us to carry out His economy. The faith that we need is not only faith in the Son of God but also faith of the Son of God; in and by this faith we can carry out God’s economy in faith.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
We in the Lord’s recovery must have a vision of God’s economy.
God’s economy is God’s household administration, which is to dispense Himself in Christ into His chosen and redeemed people that He may have a house to express Himself, which house is the church, the Body of Christ.
God’s economy is initiated and developed in the sphere of faith.
Faith is the unique requirement for us to contact God in His economy and the unique way for us to carry out His economy.
The Experience of Life
Christ is infusing Himself into us to be the faith in us; He becomes in us the faith by which we believe and the capacity to believe through our appreciation of Him. As we treasure Him, He causes faith to be generated in us, enabling us to believe in Him. As Christ operates in us, He becomes our faith; this faith is of Him and also in Him.
Practice and Application
On the negative side, to exercise faith is to stop our work, our doing; on the positive side, to exercise faith is to trust in the Lord.
Faith is the unique requirement for us to contact God in His economy and the unique way for us to carry out His economy. The faith that we need is not only faith in the Son of God but also faith of the Son of God; in and by this faith we can carry out God’s economy in faith.
PROPHESYING TOPICS—TWELVE TOPICS PER WEEK
T1 The major point in the Bible concerns God’s economy (Acts 26:19; Prov. 29:18)
(Please illustrate that we in the Lord’s recovery must have a clear vision of God’s economy.)
T2 God’s economy through His dispensing (1 Tim. 1:4; Eph. 1:22-23)
(Please illustrate that the center of God’s economy is to have a Body to express Christ.)
Further Reading: Life-study of 1 Timothy, msg. 1; CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 1, “The Central Line of the Divine Revelation,” chs. 2-3
T1 The New Testament revelation, is concerned with God’s economy (Eph. 3:9; 1 Tim. 1:3-4)
(Please illustrate that according to 1 Timothy 1:3-4, we may say that God’s economy is the general term for God’s New Testament revelation.)
T2 God’s economy is the vision that governs and controls us (Eph. 1:23; 2:15, 19; 5:25; Rev. 21:2)
(What is God’s economy?)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1990, vol. 3, “The Divine Dispensing for the Divine Economy,” ch. 1
T1 The divine economy is to produce the new creation out of the chaotic old creation (Gal. 6:15; 2 Cor. 5:17)
(Please illustrate that in the church life we experience the divine economy with the help of the satanic chaos.)
T2 We enjoy Christ as the hidden manna, a special portion of the nourishing supply (Rev. 2:17)
(Please illustrate that the difference between the hidden manna and the open manna. )
Further Reading: CWWL, 1984, vol. 3, “The Divine Economy,” ch. 1; CWWL, 1990, vol. 3, “The Economy and Dispensing of God,” ch. 1
T1 God’s economy is in faith (1 Tim. 1:4)
(Please illustrate that God’s economy is not by our doing but by our faith in God’s grace.)
T2 Faith is to stop ourself from doing anything (Heb. 11:6)
(Please illustrate that faith joins us with God to make God the only One who is.)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1988, vol. 1, “Living in and with the Divine Trinity,” ch. 2; CWWL, 1990, vol. 2, “Messages to Trainees in Fall 1990,” ch. 19
T1 To walk by faith (2 Cor. 5:7)
(Please illustrate that we believers walk by faith, by our unseen God, not by sight; this faith links us all the time to our wonderful God.)
T2 To be justified out of faith in Christ (Gal. 2:16)
( What it means to have faith in Christ?)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 1, “Crystallization-study of the Epistle to the Romans,” chs. 7-11
T1 Justification by faith is not merely a matter of position, it is also an organic matter (Gal. 2:20)
(Please illustrate that in order to be justified by faith in Christ, we need to believe in the Lord Jesus out of an appreciation of His preciousness.)
T2 The faith of the Son of God (Gal. 2:20)
(Please illustrate that the faith is the faith of the Son of God, not ours, but we can be in this faith. )
Further Reading: The Conclusion of the New Testament, msgs. 2, 128, 325; CWWL, 1986, vol. 1, “Elders’ Training, Book 7: One Accord for the Lord’s Move,” ch. 3