The Recovery Of The Church
Message Two
The Original Condition of the Church, the Degradation of the Church, and the Recovery of the Church
Opening Word of the Prophesying Meeting
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
Acts 13:1-2 Now there were in Antioch, in the local church, prophets and teachers….And as they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Set apart for Me now Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them..
Matt. 23:8 But you, do not be called Rabbi, for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers.
Word of Appetizer
What is the recovery of the church?
The word recovery means that something was there originally and then was degraded, damaged, or lost; thus, there is a need to bring that thing back to its original state and to its normal condition; When we speak of the recovery of the church, we mean that the church was there originally, that it became degraded, and that there is the need to bring the church back to its original state.
Spiritual Burden
Our history in the Lord’s recovery is not that of an organization or of a movement; it is a history of Recovery. The recovery of the church is for bringing us out of the unscriptural system of clergy-laity back to the beginning for the pure practice of the church life according to the divine Revelation. There should be no bridge between the local churches and Christianity; we should be what we are without compromise or pretense, maintaining the gap between us and Christianity.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
Our history in the Lord’s recovery is not that of an organization or of a movement; it is a history of Recovery.
We need to understand the recovery of the church in relation to God’s intention and accomplishment and Satan’s work of destruction
In order to recognize the need for the recovery of the church, we need to know the original condition of the church and the degradation of the church..
The recovery of the church has been gradual and Progressive.
The Lord’s recovery is different from today’s Christianity; it is impossible for there to be reconciliation between the recovery and Christianity
The Experience of Life
We kept the principle of the administration of the church being local and the fellowship of the church being universal
1 Cor. 10:16-17 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the fellowship of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the fellowship of the body of Christ? Seeing that there is one bread, we who are many are one Body; for we all partake of the one bread
Practice and Application
We emphasized the universal priesthood; that is, we stressed the fact that every believer is a priest
We also emphasized the Body’s coordination in service, exhorting all the saints to keep the principle of the Body by serving together in Coordination
we should be what we are without compromise or pretense, maintaining the gap between us and Christianity
Using Key Verses to Have a Bird’s-Eye View over the Whole Outline
Key Verses (1)
Matt. 19:8 – He said to them, Moses, because of your a hardness of heart, allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it has not been so .
Our history in the Lord’s recovery; understanding the recovery of the church
I. Our history in the Lord’s recovery is not that of an organization or of a movement; it is a history of Recovery. Recovery means to go back to the beginning.
II. We need to understand the recovery of the church in relation to God’s intention and accomplishment and Satan’s work of destruction：
• Satan produced many substitutes for Christ, divided the Body of Christ, and killed the function of the members of the Body by the clergy-laity System.
• God’s redoing of what He has accomplished is His recovery; this is to bring back whatever has been lost and destroyed by Satan and to recover the church according to His eternal purpose and original intention.
Key Verses (2)
Matt. 23:8 But you, do not be called Rabbi, for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers.
Acts 13:1-2 Now there were in Antioch, in the local church, prophets and teachers….And as they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Set apart for Me now Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.
The original condition of the church and the degradation of the church:
III. In order to recognize the need for the recovery of the church, we need to know the original condition of the church and the degradation of the church:
• The original condition of the church had the following characteristics: there was no hierarchy among the believers; completely separated from the world; forsook idols and fully allowed God to speak; There was only one church in a locality; The churches were one in fellowship, but each one was independent in Administration; The churches honored Christ as the Head and allowed the Holy Spirit to have authority.
• The degradation of the church involved hierarchy, union with the world, idols, divisions, not allowing God to speak, having organization for unification, and usurping the headship of Christ and encroaching on the authority of the Holy Spirit.
Key Verses (3)
Acts 14:23 – And when they had appointed elders for them in every church ……。
Titus 1:5 ……and appoint elders in every city, as I directed you
Rev. 18:4 … I heard another voice out of heaven, saying, Come out of her, My people, that you do not participate in her sins and that you do not receive her plagues
The recovery of the church has been gradual and progressive:
The Lord’s recovery is different from today’s Christianity;
• Before the end of the first century, the Lord’s recovery began
• In the sixteenth century Martin Luther rose up to begin the Reformation, and the sealed Bible was unlocked.
• In the eighteenth century Zinzendorf was raised up by the Lord to lead the Moravian brothers to a recovery of the church life
• In the nineteenth century the Lord raised up a group of brothers in England, who went further in the recovery of the church life;
•We need to see the crucial points of the recovery of the church in the Far East: the principle of the church taking a locality as its boundary; the administration of the church being local and the fellowship of the church being universal; churches in different localities should not have an organization for unification, for all churches should be directly under the ruling of Christ, the Head, and should directly obey the authority of the Holy Spirit; the universal priesthood; the Body’s coordination in service.
• The Lord’s recovery is different from today’s Christianity; it is impossible for there to be reconciliation between the recovery and Christianity
Prophesying Topics—Twelve Topics per Week
D1
T1 The principle of recovery (Matt. 16:18)
(Please illustrate that recovery means to go back to the beginning)
T2 To recover the church according to original intention(Matt. 19:8; 16:18.)
(Please illustrate that We need to understand the recovery of the church in relation to God’s intention and accomplishment and Satan’s work of destruction.)
D2
T1 Originally, all the members without exception were normal, functioning members.( Rom. 12:4-5)
(Please illustrate that Satan the evil used strategy of the enemy, the Body has been paralyzed.)
T2 The Original Condition of the Church( Rom. 12:4-5;2)
(What characteristics did the original condition of the church have?)
D3
T1 There was only one church in a locality(Acts 8:1; 13:1; 1Cor.1:2)
(According to the Bible, the original church was only one expression in each locality)
T2 The degradation of the church(Rev.2:15; Rom.12:2)
(Please illustrate that what factors the degradation of the church involved)
D4
T1 Martin Luther rose up to begin the Reformation(Gal.3:6-7;11b)
(In the sixteenth century through Martin Luther what did the Lord recover?)
T2 The recovery of the Moravian brothers(psa.133)
(In the eighteenth century what did the Moravian brothers recover whom was lead by Zinzendorf being raised up by the Lord?)
D5
T1 Brothers in England(Rev. 3:7-13)
(In the nineteenth century the Lord raised up a group of brothers in England, in which aspect they went further?)
T2 The recovery of the church in the Far East
( In twentieth century what are the crucial points of the recovery of the church in the Far East?)
D6
T1 The Lord’s recovery is different from today’s Christianity(Matt. 13:31-33, 44-46)
(Please illustrate the difference between the Lord’s recovery and today’s Christianity)
T2 It is impossible for there to be reconciliation between the recovery and Christianity (Gal.1:4; Rev.18:4)
(Please illustrate that the meaning of that there should be no bridge between the local churches and Christianity)