Zoe: my spiritual life
ζωή — zoë — The divine life; the life that enlivens the human spirit; the spiritual life. This is about God’s search for man, and man’s search for God.
The Christian experience of Christ’s ascension
I’ve been enjoying recently the Christian experience of Christ’s ascension. I have appreciated for a long time that we experience the death of Christ when we experience His killing of our old man, our concepts, our opinions, our preferences, our self, our individualism, etc. I’ve appreciated that we experience His resurrection when we experience His giving us life when we feel dead and powerless, and overcoming our deadness, tiredness, oldness, and so on. However, only recently have I started to really appreciate that the...
read moreProphesying to build up the church
The prophesying meeting is not the centre of the church life, but it is extremely important. It is a critical aspect of the God-ordained way; in fact, in one sense, it can even be considered the goal of the God-ordained way: 1Co 14:4 … He who prophesies builds up the church. This is the only verse in the entire New Testament that tells us practically how to build the church: it is by prophesying. And it is not just some saints prophesying, but it is by everyone prophesying: 1Co 14:23-25 If therefore the whole church comes together in...
read moreProphesying as the goal of the God-ordained way
The prophesying meeting is not the centre of the church life, but it is extremely important. It is a critical aspect of the God-ordained way; in fact, in one sense, it can even be considered the goal of the God-ordained way: 1Co 14:4 … He who prophesies builds up the church. This is the only verse in the entire New Testament that tells us practically how to build the church: it is by prophesying. And it is not just some saints prophesying, but it is by everyone prophesying: 1Co 14:23-25 If therefore the whole church comes together...
read moreAscension is in the Spirit we have received
One of the items in the all-inclusive Spirit that we believers receive is the element of the ascension of Christ. Most basically, ascension was the last step before the dispensing of the Spirit, which was in two stages: when the Lord breathed the Spirit into the disciples in John 20, and when He poured out the Spirit upon them in Acts 2. These are typified by the Old Testament feasts of the Firstfruits and Pentecost, respectively.
read moreDispensational transfer in Revelation 4 and 5
This morning I was considering Revelation chapters 4 and 5. In chapters 4 and 5, praise is given to God and to the Lamb. In chapter 4 verse 8, the four living creatures give God the praise: "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God the Almighty," and in verse 11, the 24 elders give Him the praise: "You are worthy, God the Creator because You have created all things." All of this praise is in the nature of the Old Testament. It praises God as the Creator of all things, the Creator of the old creation.
read moreDon’t be a hypocrite—be true to your spirit!
We often wonder how we can reconcile the conflict between acting in an appropriate way towards people when we think or feel quite differently. For instance, there might be someone we don’t really like, but the person wants to shake our hand and greet us. So we smile, shake their hand and greet them, and feel like a hypocrite inwardly. Or perhaps I’ve been having a rough day emotionally, but someone greets me, asking how I’m doing, someone not close enough for me to share my inner struggles. So, I say, “Fine,” and feel like a hypocrite or liar.
On thinking about such situations, I realized that to think in this way is to act as if man only has two parts, a body and a soul. This kind of thinking is actually according to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, that merely considers whether a situation is right or wrong according to my own reasoning, feeling, or assessment. This is contrary to the tree of life, which determines the rightness of things according to the principle of eating God, becoming one with God, and living out God–when we live out God, God is always right, and we are right in Him, not apart from Him.
How I might think or feel inwardly is according to my soul, that is, my mind and my emotions. To consider that this is what I am sincerely is to consider that my soul-life, my self, is the primary and real aspect of my being. But no! In addition to my body (actions, including my speech) and my soul (my inner thoughts, feelings, and decisions), I have a spirit! My spirit is the aspect of me that can be one with God and that can contact God.
read moreGleanings from Joshua
In my reading from Joshua, I noted the following outstanding things:
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Joshua 10:3 mentions Adoni-zedek (Lord of righteousness), king of Jerusalem. I wonder what the similarity is in this name and Melchizedek (king of righteousness), king of Salem (peace, Jerusalem)—Hebrews 7:1-2.
Joshua 13:1 … Jehovah said to [Joshua], You are old and advanced in age, and very much of the land remains to be possessed.2 This is the land that remains: all the regions of the Philistines and all that of the Geshurites,3 From the Shihor, which is before Egypt, unto the border of Ekron on the north (this is considered to be Canaanite), with five lords of the Philistines: the Gazite and the Ashdodite, the Ashkelonite, the Gittite, and the Ekronite; and that of the Avvim … 6 … I Myself will drive them out before the children of Israel; nevertheless allot it to Israel as an inheritance as I have commanded you.
Contrary to my prior misunderstanding, God definitely alloted the land of the Philistines (that is, the Gaza Strip) to the sons of Israel, along with everything else from the Nile to the Euphrates.
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Growth in life, growth in numbers
This morning I was considering a conversation I had yesterday concerning growth in life versus growth in numbers. The Lord reminded me of the following story (this is a story about Elisha, not to be confused with a similar story about Elijah causing meal and oil to last throughout a famine):
2 Kings 4:1-7
2Ki 4:1 Now a certain woman from among the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared Jehovah. And the creditor has come to take my two children to himself as servants.
2Ki 4:2 And Elisha said to her, What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in your house? And she said, Your servant has nothing at all in the house, except a jar of oil.
2Ki 4:3 And he said, Go and borrow vessels outside, from all your neighbors, empty vessels, and not just a few.
2Ki 4:4 Then go in and shut the door behind you and your sons, and pour out into all those vessels; and each one you fill set aside.
2Ki 4:5 So she went away from him and shut the door behind herself and her sons; and they brought the vessels to her, and she poured out into them.
2Ki 4:6 And when she had filled the vessels, she said to her son, Bring me another vessel. But he said to her, There is no other vessel. And the oil stopped.
2Ki 4:7 And she went and told the man of God. And he said, Go and sell the oil, and pay your debt; and you and your sons can live off the rest.
The Lord showed me something quite remarkable concerning how He operates in His economy to multiply Christ as life in His believers to meet all the need in His economy. First, let’s look at a few passages from Ephesians:
read moreThe will of the Always
1 Thes 5:16 Always rejoice,
17 Unceasingly pray,
18 In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
This morning I pray-read this verse with my brother and sister-in-law, and I really enjoyed so much light:
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Always rejoice, in everything give thanks: First, I saw that God is the Always in whom we rejoice, and He is the Everything in whom we give thanks. Our rejoicing or giving thanks is not based on outward conditions that are joyful or worthy of thanks; no, our outward situation goes up and down. Nor is it based on our inward condition, whether we are sad, worried, anxious; it is not even based on whether we are victorious, defeated, sinful, holy, or unholy. None of these things, outward or inward, is presented as the basis of our rejoicing or thanksgiving. God alone is the Always, the One who never changes. He is always joy itself, always thanks itself. In Him, we have an eternal fountain of joy. Whenever I tap into Him, I touch the Always Joyful One in whom I can rejoice, regardless my inward or outward situation.
As for His being the Everything, Christ is all and in all (Col 3:11). In many situations in themselves, I cannot find a basis of thanksgiving. I do not believe the Lord is asking us to rotely give thanks for the sake of giving thanks. I believe He is saying here that we must see that He is in all things, and that in all these things we must give thanks because of Him who is in these things. So, as soon as I see Christ in any situation, I will spontaneously be able to give thanks.
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Only sinners can experience jubilee
Last night and tonight, in two separate meetings, we read Luke 5. I was so deeply touched by the relationship between the consciousness of sin in this chapter and the experience of jubilee in chapter 4. Tonight we also read most of Life-Study of Luke chapter 13. Here is a quote from pp. 107-108:
read moreThe cases 5:1—6:11 portray the spiritual condition of every fallen human being. Before we were saved, we were occupied. We were also lepers, sinful people, in need of cleansing. In addition, we were paralytics, those unable to walk or do anything according to God. Therefore, we were in need of the Lord’s healing.
No matter what a person’s occupation may be, when he is called by the Lord and released, he immediately realizes that he is sinful. When people are busy with their occupation, they may think that they are very good. But when they are released from their occupation to follow the Lord, they realize that they are sinful. Furthermore, after they are cleansed, they realize that they are paralyzed with respect to God and the things of God. They are not able to walk in God’s way. But after they are healed, they come to see that they are “tax collectors,” despised persons considered to be of no value. Eventually, they understand that they are under the bondage of certain regulations and are in need of both satisfaction and liberation.
After we are freed from our occupation, cleansed from our leprosy, and healed of our paralysis, we become in the Lord a person of value, for now we have Him as the new clothing to cover us outwardly and as the new wine to fill us inwardly (Luke 5:36-39). Following this, we are released from the binding regulations. As a result, we become persons fully saved by the Man-Savior.