The Intrinsic and Organic Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ
Message One
The Intrinsic Essence of the Church for Its Organic Existence
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 John 1:2 And the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and report to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us.
Gen. 2:22 And Jehovah God built the rib, which He had taken from the man, into a woman and brought her to the man.
Word of Appetizer
What is the intrinsic essence of the church?
The intrinsic essence of the church is the divine life, which generates the church; The intrinsic essence of the church is the divine life, the indestructible life, which the processed Triune God has dispensed into us and is now dispensing into us; this divine life is actually the processed and now-dispensing Triune God.
Spiritual Burden
We must continuously exercise our spirit and turn our heart to the Lord in order to stay on the way of life in the reality of the intrinsic essence of the church for its organic existence; we must walk in the way of life to live by the tree of life according to the spirit, not in the way of death to live by the tree of the knowledge of right and wrong according to the self.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
The intrinsic essence of the church is the divine life, which generates the church—the indestructible life, which the processed Triune God has dispensed into us and is now dispensing into us; this divine life is actually the processed and now-dispensing Triune God.
We need to see and experience the organic existence of the church; the church exists in the universe as the one universal church of God for His universal expression, the fullness of God; the church is spreading in many localities on the earth as the many local churches to be His local expressions.
The Experience of Life
The many brothers of Christ are His many branches grafted into Him, the true vine in the universe, to bear much fruit for His enlargement in His spreading; when the branches of the vine receive a sufficient supply of the life-giving Spirit as the life-juice of Christ, they bear fruit as the overflow of the inner life supply.
May we continuously receive the merciful compassions of our God so that we may remain on the way of life, the line of life, and in the maintenance of life by enjoying Christ as the tree of life in the flow of life for God’s building in life by our growth in life.
Practice and Application
We must continuously exercise our spirit and turn our heart to the Lord in order to stay on the way of life in the reality of the intrinsic essence of the church for its organic existence.
To enjoy Christ as the intrinsic essence of the church, we must have a burning love toward Him by giving Him the first place in all things. The love between us and the Lord depends on our thoughts; we should pray, “O Lord, search my thoughts, and rescue my thoughts so that they can focus solely and entirely on You”.
Prophesying Topics—Twelve Topics per Week
T1: The divine life is the very essence of the church (1 John 1:2)
(Please illustrate the four intrinsic matters of the church. )
T2: The divine life is actually the processed Triune God (John 14:6; 1 Cor. 15:45b)
(Why we say that without God being processed, there is no ground for Him to dispense Himself into us?)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1989, vol. 4, “The Organic Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ to Be the Organism of the Processed and Dispensing Triune God,” ch. 1
T1: Regeneration makes us the children of God (John 1:12, 3:29~30)
(Please illustrate that individually, we are children of God, but corporately, we are the Bride of Christ. )
T2: Christ became the essence of the church through the release of the divine life (John 12:24)
(Please illustrate that the divine life has been imparted into us through Christ’s death and resurrection.)
Further Reading: Life-study of Exodus, msg. 23; CWWN, vol. 34, “The Glorious Church,” chs. 2-3
T1: The vine tree with its branches are the organic spreading of Christ (John 15:1, 5)
(Please illustrate that as the branches of the true vine, we are the multiplication of Christ, the enlargement of Christ.)
T2: The universal church is one and also the local churches are one (1 Cor. 10:32, Rev. 1:4a, 11)
(Why is it a wrong teaching to say that all the local expressions should be different from one another?)
Further Reading: Watchman Nee, Two Principles of Living
T1: In the eyes of God, the universal church and all the local churches are just “the church”(1 Cor. 12:28)
(Please illustrate that the word church in 1 Corinthians 12:28 implies the universal church and all the local churches.)
T2: The oneness in practice and the doctrinal oneness (Acts 2:42; 1 Cor. 11:16; Eph. 4:3~6)
(Please illustrate what the sevenfoldness of the practical oneness means in relation to another seven items concerning our oneness in doctrine. )
Further Reading: CWWL, 1986, vol. 1, “Elders’ Training, Book 7: One Accord for the Lord’s Move,” chs. 3-4
T1: To believe in the Lord is to receive Him as life; to love the Lord is to enjoy Him as life (Mark 12:30; S. S. 1:4a)
(Please illustrate we stay on the way of life by loving the Lord to the uttermost.)
T2: Our thoughts must be preserved and not corrupted (2 Cor. 11:3)
(Please illustrate the love between us and the Lord depends on our thoughts.)
Further Reading: CWWN, vol. 8, pp. 25-35; CWWL, 1967, vol. 1, pp. 139-146
T1: The man’s thoughts are all hindrances to the enjoyment of Christ as life (2 Cor. 10:4~5; 11:3)
(Please illustrate what are the four symptoms of problems with man’s thoughts.)
T2: Exercising to set the mind on the spirit (Rom. 8:6)
(Please illustrate what kind of prayers we can all have for our minds.)
Further Reading: CWWN, vol. 8, pp. 25-35; Life-study of Romans, msg. 62; Life-study of Job, msg. 37