The Ministry of the Word, Vol. 24, No. 05
Author: Various Authors
Publisher: Living Stream Ministry
Published: 2020-06-01
Total Pages: 180
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis issue of The Ministry of the Word contains the eight messages of the international training for elders and responsible ones hosted by Living Stream Ministry on March 27-29, 2020. The messages were provided via webcast from Anaheim, California, and the mutual fellowship, prophesying, and studying by groups were practiced locally in the various churches that participated. The general subject of this series of messages is “The Will of God.” God created the universe to fulfill His eternal purpose based on His determined will. Ultimately, God’s will in the universe is to head up all things in Christ through the church as the Body of Christ. God’s working throughout the ages according to His economy will issue in the heading up of all things in Christ in the new heaven and new earth for eternity. We can know God’s great and lofty will and participate in His economy to head up all things in Christ. In order to be headed up in Christ, we need to grow up into Christ, the Head, in all things, in big things and small things, both in our daily life and in our work. The way we participate in God’s will and work together with Him to carry out His will is by our prayer for God’s will to be done on earth. God’s people must pray before God will move on earth to accomplish His will. Whenever God’s people place their will in harmony with God’s will, the will of God will be done on earth as in heaven. Since God’s great will is to head up all things through the church as the Body of Christ, the believers in Christ need to practice the Body life, that is, to have the living of the Body of Christ. We need to live a life according to God’s heart and will by daily enjoying Christ as the reality of all the offerings for the divine goal of the Triune God. The will of God is also our sanctification. To be sanctified is to be made holy, which is to be separated unto God and saturated with God as the Holy One. Sanctification is for sonship; actually, sanctification is God’s “sonizing.” The divine sanctification is the holding line in the carrying out of the divine economy to divinely sonize us, making us sons of God that we may become the same as God in His life and in His nature (but not in His Godhead) so that we may be God’s expression. We need to do the will of God in the realm that carries out His will—the kingdom of God. We do the will of God in the kingdom of God, of which the central government is the enthroned Son of Man, Jesus, who is Lord of all. When we do the will of God in the kingdom of God under the government of God, the church becomes the Israel of God, which fulfills God’s commission to subdue the earth, to exercise dominion, and to represent God with His authority. As the Israel of God, we represent God, exercise His authority, and carry out His administration on earth for the fulfillment of His purpose. If we take the Father’s will upon us as a yoke and learn from Him, we will find rest for our souls. Hence, in the church age we need to enjoy Christ as our rest—our perfect peace and full satisfaction—in order to be His expression and representation on earth. When there is a situation on earth in which man expresses God and represents Him, that situation is a Sabbath rest to God. Everything of God’s economy is not a heavy burden but an enjoyment. The Lord’s yoke (the Father’s will) is easy, and His burden (the work to carry out the Father’s will) is light. It is a divine principle that God does not ask us to work until we have had rest and enjoyment. It is in a full enjoyment with Him and of Him that we can work together with Him. A central aspect of God’s will is the church, which is the assembly of the called-out ones. As such, the meetings of the church are crucial to the carrying out of God’s will. Our doing God’s will depends on our knowing His will, and it is in the meetings that God makes His will known to us. Since the Christian life is a meeting life and much of the Lord’s work is carried out in and through the meetings, we should regard the meetings as being of great importance. The goal of our meeting together is to exhibit Christ; therefore, our Christian meetings should be an exhibition of our experience of Christ in our daily life. Since the Father’s eternal will and the desire of His heart are to build up the church as the Body of Christ, we do His will by functioning in the meetings according to the scriptural way to meet for the building up of the Body. The Announcements section at the end of this issue contains a list of upcoming conferences and trainings hosted by Living Stream Ministry and a website link for information related to similar events in Europe.
