The Preaching Of the Gospel

And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. (Matthew 24 :14)

Week 1 The Gospel of God Monday Scripture reading: Job 6:21-30; 42:3-6; John 3:3,5; Rom 1:1-7; 3:23 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole inhabited earth for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come. (Matthew 24:14) Every Man Needs the Gospel The topic of this new series of the Daily Food is Preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom, and that of this week is The Gospel of God (Matt. 24:14; Rom. 1:17). The first record about preaching the gospel of the kingdom is in Matthew 24:14. The four gospels deal especially with matters referring to the kingdom, and, more specifically, the Gospel of Matthew covers questions concerning the kingdom of the heavens. The gospels of Mark and Luke speak about the kingdom of God while at the same time indicating aspects of the kingdom of the heavens to us. The Gospel of John, for example, shows us more clearly that we are mainly born anew in order to enter into the kingdom (John 3:3, 5). The main aspect of the dialogue between the Lord Jesus and Nicodemus is to show that the requirement for entering into the kingdom is to have the

life of God. So these four gospels cover this important matter of entering into the kingdom. In the New Testament we find two aspects regarding the gospel: the gospel of grace and the gospel of the kingdom, since grace is for the kingdom (Rom. 1:1-4). The gospel means the good news. The good news of the four gospels consists of the Lords salvation that was accomplished for us. Furthermore, they are limited to speaking about the period of the Lord Jesus three and a half years on the earth and do not cover so much the preaching of the gospel. The content of the gospel we preach to people is mainly described in Pauls Epistle to the Romans. In the first chapter we see Paul defining that the gospel is concerning the Son (Rom. 1:1, 3), which has two aspects; as we read, Concerning His Son, who came out of the seed of David according to the flesh, who was designated the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness out of the resurrection of the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord (vv. 3-4). Thus, according to the flesh the Lord Jesus is the descendant of David, and, according to the Spirit after His death and resurrection, was designated the Son of God. He was the Son

of God already, but according to the verse above, this was only manifested after His resurrection from among the dead. So the gospel of God has these two sides: on one hand, the Lord Jesus is the Son of Man, and, on the other, the Son of God. The Lord Jesus, as the Son of Man having flesh and blood, was qualified to pass through the experiences of human life that He might deliver and save us. We know that sin, which is also Satans nature, came into our flesh (Rom. 7:18-20). According to the Bible, all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). Some sin visibly, and others have sins that are invisible to peoples eyes. Nevertheless, if we are all under Gods enlightening, we will see that we are sinners. When we studied the book of Job, we saw that at first he considered himself to be without sin. He was always defending his position of not having made mistakes that would bring sufferings upon himself (Job 6:21-30). But when God enlightened him, he saw that he was in his soul-life and that he was a person full of sins. Therefore, he repented (42:3-6). Adam and Eve disobeyed God when they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This sin not only

reached the body but also the soul, for knowledge is something related to the mind. By eating of this tree, a life that was independent of God was developed within mans soulthe soul-life. Hence, their descendants, represented by Cain, began to serve God in their natural being (cf. 1 Cor. 2:14). By rejecting Cains offering, God wanted to show us that the things that come from our soul-life are not acceptable. The gospel of God came to us to deliver us from sin and save us from the damage it caused to our entire being. For the purpose of saving us completely, the gospel is, on one hand, of grace, and, on the other, of the kingdom. Key Point: Saving us completely. Your Key Point: Question: What is the purpose of the gospel?

Week 1 The Gospel of God Tuesday Scripture reading: Lev 1:2-5; Matt. 16:24-28; John 3:16; Heb 9:22; 1 Pet.1:3 In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of offenses, according to the riches of His grace (Ephesians 1:7) The Forgiveness of Sins As we saw yesterday, the main damage that Adam and Eves disobedience brought to man after they ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was the emergence of a life that was independent of God, the soul-life, inducing man to want to worship God in his own way. But God made it clear that He accepts nothing that comes from mans soul. In the messages of Peters epistles, we saw that after revealing the church to Peter, the Lord showed him how he should live the church life. According to the revelation he received, this living is not restricted to loving the Lord, loving the brothers, going to the meetings, praying, breaking the bread and preaching the gospel. We must do all these things, but the most important point is that the church life is a life of following the Lord. To follow Him, we need to deny ourselves

(Matt. 16:24). On one hand, if we lift ourselves up and at the same time want to follow Him, the Lord will not accept us. Even if we gain the whole world, if we dont lose our soul-life, we will not have the right to the joy of the kingdom (vv. 25-28). Therefore, it is worthwhile to repeat: no matter how good it is, whatever comes from our soul-life is not accepted by God. Moreover, in these last six months we have been brought into a new realm. Doctrinally, we already knew about denying our soul-life, but we had not before received so much help as we have received recently from the writings of the apostle Peter. In his epistles, Peter tells us that we have already received the divine life, that is, we received life through the gospel of grace (1 Pet. 1:3). But how is our living? After being regenerated, we now need to take another step: we need to grow in the divine life and advance toward the gospel of the kingdom. Even with respect to the gospel of grace, we see that it includes the Lords death for us, through which His life was released (John 12:24). When we are enlightened, we realize our condition as sinners and understand that we sin because we live in our soul-life, which is constantly used by Satan. Under this light,

we are led to confess our sins and helped to repent. When we take this way, the Lord grants us the forgiveness of sins through His blood. For example, in the Old Testament when anyone violated Gods law, he had to offer Him a sacrifice. This person had to take a bull or a sheep to the tabernacle. Firstly the sinner would put his hands on the offering to identify himself with it. From then on the animal was his substitute. This animal was slain, and the priests then sprinkled the blood on the altar (Lev. 1:2-5), for without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness (Heb. 9:22). By shedding the blood of this animal, the problem of sin was dealt with. At that time there were not so many sins nor were they so strong as today. Some sins we commit are inward, originating from intentions and thoughts. If we were living at the time of the Old Testament and still had to sacrifice animals, how many would we need? Would ten sheep or ten goats be enough? Do we have that many animals? Nevertheless, God sent His only begotten Son to the earth (John 3:16), and He was crucified for our sins. When Paul preached the gospel of grace, he showed us that we need to believe that the Lords shed

blood was actually the shedding of our blood and that all that the Lord accomplished on the cross was for us. When we believe that the Lord died for our sins, this reality reaches us. Key Point: Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. Your Key Point: Question: What is the relationship between the sacrifice in the Old Testament and Christs death?

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Week 1 The Gospel of God Wednesday Scripture reading: Gen 3:22-24; 1Co. 1:30; 6:11; Col.2:14; 1Tim.2:5 Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters, and you who have no money; come, buy and eat; yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. (Isaiah 55:1) The Gospel of Grace When we receive the gospel of grace, we are enlightened, realize our condition of being sinners, confess our sins and repent. In this way the Lords forgiveness is extended to us. Another important aspect of the gospel of grace is our justification. Adam was cast out of the garden of Eden because he was a sinner (Gen. 3:22-24). On the other hand, we who have received the Lords blood are no longer sinners. Now we are righteous because the Lord has become our righteousness (1 Cor. 1:30). He fulfilled righteousness for us and brought us to a holy position. The Holy Spirit washed away all the record we had as sinners; thus, not only were we justified, but we were also sanctified (6:11; Col. 2:14; Titus 3:5). Being thus freed from sins, we can receive

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Gods life. We are accepted by God through the gospel of grace. The Lord Jesus is the Mediator between God and men (1 Tim. 2:5). Since He died for us, He Himself as our Mediator assures us that we can come before God, because our problems of sins have been dealt with before Him. We were reconciled to God and have become newborns, having no problems with sin. Impurities and the problem of our position were also dealt with. Who did all of this? It was the Lord Jesus. This is grace! According to the Bible, grace is something we receive freely without any price (Isa. 55:1). If today we can have our sins forgiven, it is because the Lord has done everything for us. He not only shed His blood but also brought us to Gods presence. He is the One who justifies and sanctifies us. As people who do not sin, we can come before God, for He wants us to receive His life. Praise the Lord! The gospel of grace, therefore, shows us that we can receive Gods life and become His children. Christians groups generally preach this gospel that makes us children of God (Rom. 1:16; John 1:12). According to this gospel, since we have believed, our sins are forgiven and we were also justified, sanctified and reconciled with God. So by receiving

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Christ as eternal life, which was lost in Adam, we return to Gods original purpose. Hallelujah! This is the gospel of grace. Key Point: Return to Gods original purpose. Your Key Point: Question: What does the gospel of grace cause us to gain?

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Week 1 The Gospel of God Thursday Scripture reading: Rom 8:29-30; 5-10; 1 Pet.1:23 Has regenerated us unto a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, unto an inheritance, incorruptible and undefiled and unfading, kept in the heavens for you. (1 Peter 1:3b4) From Regeneration to Maturity In order to save us, the Lord Jesus became flesh and blood (Heb. 2:14). He obtained a human form through Mary, but there was no sin in Him and He did not sin (Rom. 8:3; 1 Pet. 2:22; 2 Cor. 5:21). We who have partaken of flesh and blood sin because the sinful nature dwells in us. When the Lord Jesus was crucified, not only were our sins forgiven but our flesh was also crucified (Gal. 5:24). When we heard the gospel of grace and believed in Christs redeeming work on the cross, we were justified, sanctified, reconciled with God, received the divine nature and became His children. Nonetheless, after this we need to advance toward the gospel of the kingdom, which is Gods purpose for us. We mustnt think that by receiving forgiveness of

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sins and being reconciled that this is all. We still need to grow and mature. The Lords incarnation, death and resurrection were for us to receive His life. The Lord as the incorruptible seed was sown into us, according to what Peter has said to us: Having been regenerated not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible, through the living and abiding word of God (1 Pet. 1:23). We were born of God and are therefore His children. Besides being children, we became heirs of God, for which reason we must not remain in a childish condition. If we do not grow in life to attain to spiritual maturity, we will not be qualified to receive the inheritance. Since we have been regenerated and have received this incorruptible seed, we need to allow it to germinate and grow. This is the gospel of the kingdom that Christian groups in general do not preach, because most of them have stopped with the new birth. We need to realize that the Lord as a man according to the flesh came from the descendants of David. Because of this He could die in our place. Now that the Lord has died, resurrected and accomplished His work, this seed that was sown into us needs to germinate and grow. So we need to grow in life.

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Paul preached the gospel of grace and also the gospel of the kingdom of the heavens, which is an organic gospel For example, in Romans chapters one and eight, the main emphasis is the gospel of grace. After the problem of our sins has been dealt with and we have been sanctified and justified, we can be conformed to the image of Christ and consequently glorify God (Rom. 8:29-30). At the end of chapter eight, Paul shows us how to be an overcomer. In chapters nine and eleven, which are parenthetical chapters, Paul shows his burden for the Jewshis brothers in the flesh. They knew much about the law, but were still living according to their soul-life, like those who lived in the second two thousand years. Pauls will and his petition to God for them was that they would be saved (Rom. 10:1). Regarding ourselves, we also need to advance from the initial experience of redemption that was accomplished by the Son of Man, to the experience of organic salvation that was developed by the Lord as the Son of God, by His life (Rom. 5:10).

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Key Point: Grow and mature. Your Key Point: Question: What is the main emphasis of the first eight chapters of the Epistle to the Romans?

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Week 1 The Gospel of God Friday Scripture reading: Rom 10:9-13; 1 John 1:7 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all and rich to all who call upon Him. (Romans 10:12) Calling to Be Saved in Our Living When the apostle Paul wrote chapters 9 to 11 of the Epistle to the Romans, he showed us that the Jewish people had much knowledge, but they were not in the spirit. Paul, however, did not present more knowledge, since this would only provoke more discussions and confusion. In order to avoid this, the apostle showed them a very simple way to be saved: calling on the name of the Lord (10:13). They only needed to believe in their heart and confess with their mouth (vv. 9-10). It was as if Paul were saying to the Jews, Dont stay reasoning in your mind, in your soul-life. You just need to say, Oh, Lord Jesus, and you will be saved. The practice of calling saves our spirit as well as our living, because the salvation of both depends on the Lords name. We know the situation of saints in several countries that called on the Lord in the past

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when they found out that whoever calls on the name of the Lord is saved. They practiced this and received grace, but after receiving salvation by grace, being in the church life and participating in the meetings, they thought they didnt need to call so much any more. Once I went to visit a group of saints who had stopped calling, and I testified to them that the churches in Brazil still call on the name of the Lord. It was as if they had graduated from this and didnt need to call anymore. But we are still calling because the Lord is rich to all who call on Him (10:12). Hence, we dont just call to be saved in our spirit but much more to be saved in our living. When we call on the name of the Lord, God gives us all His riches, for He is so rich. If we have sins, we have the Lords blood at our disposal, and when we take it, we are cleansed from our sins (1 John 1:7). Whatever we need, He is. He is the supply; He is very rich! When we call on the name of the Lord, He gives us all His riches. The church life is the environment to develop the organic salvation. By calling on the name of the Lord and pray-reading the word, the life God has given us keeps growing day by day. This is the burden Paul had regarding the Lord Jesus as

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the Son of God. This is the gospel of the kingdom. Key Point: He is rich to all who call on Him. Your Key Point: Question: Why should we not graduate from calling?

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Week 1 The Gospel of God Saturday Scripture reading: Matt. 16:18; 1 Pet. 1:7 So that the proving of your faith, much more precious than of gold which perishes though it is proved by fire, may be found unto praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 1:7) The Gospel of the Kingdom The gospel of the kingdom is the gospel that we practice after we are regenerated. When we are born again by Gods life, we are like a child that needs to grow. This growth is obtained by living the church life. So the Holy Spirit gathers those who are children and brings them together. In the Bible, the people who have received grace, been saved and are meeting are called the church (Matt. 16:18). The church is the place where Gods life can grow. In order to grow, we need to call on the name of the Lord and pray-read the word of God, because in this way we will get into the Spirit, and in the Spirit we will receive more of the divine life. We have already passed through the stage of grace and are now in the gospel of the kingdom of the heavens, which is leading us to grow in life.

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We have seen clearly through Peters epistles the matter of the gospel of the kingdom, which corresponds to the organic salvation. This means that we who have Gods life need to let this life grow so that there may be the metabolism to produce new cells within us. By calling on the name of the Lord and prayreading His word, the old cells are removed, and we grow in life. When the word of God comes to us, we must not receive it merely as doctrine. The Lords word is the truth, and this truth needs to be practiced and become our reality so that we are growing day by day. Praise the Lord! In addition to this, mainly through the study we did on Peters epistles and by his experiences, we received something fundamental for the church life: from among the many aspects of the practical church life, such as meetings and preaching the gospel, the main one is to deny our soul-life. With the help of Peters epistles, many saints have realized that formerly they did not practice this in the way it has been presented under the present light. When Peter made a mistake, the Lord did not harshly rebuke him, but exposed his condition. With each time, place and action, Peter was learning to discern whether or not his soul-life was present when

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he was doing things for God. Hence, he was enlightened and understood that each situation he passed through was an opportunity for the holy fire to burn away his natural things and refine the gold even more (1 Pet. 1:7). Even though this burning was not comfortable, Peter understood that it was all for his good. He took advantage of each occasion to turn to his spirit and learn lessons for his growth in life. We should not lose sight of Gods goal for us today. All the experiences of fire that we pass through are so that we will grow in life, reach maturity and lay hold of the inheritance. Key Point: Lay hold of the inheritance. Your Key Point: Question: What lessons do we learn from Peters experiences?

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Week 1 The Gospel of God Lords Day Scripture reading: Luke 8:1; 2 Co 2:4-15 But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in the Christ and manifests the savor of the knowledge of Him through us in every place. (2 Corinthians 2:14) Following the Lord In the past we tended to believe that we were always right and others were wrong. But under the light we have received from the writings of the apostle Peter, the Lord has led us to realize our mistakes. We are no longer able to see that the other is wrong. On the contrary, we are enlightened concerning the condition of our soul-life, that is, whether it is active or is being denied. Hallelujah! This is very good! We are not only receiving the gospel of the kingdom and growing in life but are also sensing that we need to follow the Lord. After revealing the church and how it would be produced in Matthew 16 (vv. 18, 21), the first point cited was to follow the Lord (v. 24). The Lord is not seated on the throne telling us, Come to hear My preaching. Instead, the Lord is the One who entered the

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Holy of Holies and afterward went out to suffer outside the camp (Heb. 13:12-13). As far as we are concerned, we need to ask ourselves, Have we followed the Lord? Where is He? The Lord is not only in the meeting. When He was on earth, He did not stay in one fixed place with His disciples but went from city to city and village to village preaching and announcing the gospel of the kingdom of God, and the twelve went with Him (Luke 8:1). Today it is our turn to follow Him to every place in this triumphant procession. We are being filled with Christ and are coming to know Him more and more in our daily experience. Hence, we are becoming the savor of Christ and, as such, must follow Him wherever He is going, manifesting the savor of the knowledge of Him in every place (2 Cor. 2:14-15). We have been enlightened concerning the growth of Gods life in us, but many people who have this life still dont know about this and therefore are not growing. So we must go out to every place to take this fragrance and scatter this perfume and preach the gospel of the kingdom of the heavens to people. We have to help those who have been regenerated and called by God to be together as the

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church to grow in the divine life day by day. Hallelujah! Let us preach the gospel of the kingdom. Amen! Key Point: Scatter the fragrance of Christ in every place. Your Key Point: Question: What must we do to follow the Lord?

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Week 2 Repent, for the Kingdom of the Heavens Has Drawn Near Monday Scripture reading: Matt. 3:1-6; 4:17; 10:5-7; Luke 1:41; 3:4-5; 16:16 Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near (Matthew 3:2) A Change of Mind The topic this week is Repent, for the Kingdom of the Heavens Has Drawn Near (Matt. 3:2; 4:17; 10:5-7). The four gospels speak about the kingdom of the heavens. The Lords forerunner, John the Baptist, leaped while still in his mothers womb when she received Marys greeting. This was a sign that he realized that the Son of God was about to be born (Luke 1:41). John the Baptist knew that his mission was to prepare the way for the Lord and make the rough ways smooth (3:4-5). Moreover, his commission also consisted of carrying out the transition from the Old Testament to the New Testament (16:16). The revelation that was given to him was that the dispensation of the kingdom of Israel was coming to an end and the kingdom of the heavens had drawn near. He was born in a priests house and was therefore of the Old Testament line of priests (1:5-9), but he knew

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that the function of this line was about to end (Matt. 3:1-2). Even though John the Baptist was a priest, he did not live according to the regulations of the Old Testament priests. Both his diet and the way he dressed were not according to the law. Although he had the right to eat the barley bread and the flesh of the animals that were sacrificed and to be clothed with a priestly robe, he wore garments of camels hair, and his food was locusts and wild honey (Matt. 3:4; cf. Exo. 28:4 - 29:33). In other words, the dispensation of the kingdom of Israel ended with John the Baptist so that the kingdom of the heavens could come. Gods revelation is that He desires to establish His kingdom on earth. Beginning from Genesis we have a picture of the kingdom in the Garden of Eden. Just as the garden established a limit, the kingdom also has its limits. In the Old Testament the Lord had revealed that a kingdom should have arisen, but Nimrod appeared as a mighty hunter before the Lord who was exalted by men (Gen. 10:8-9). From the time of Nimrod, whom Satan used to anticipate the kingdom of God, the kingdom of men began (v. 10), which was an imitation of the kingdom of God. This man built a city and a tower there so that its

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top would reach to heaven. In this kingdom, however, they did not call on the name of the Lord but exalted the name of man (11:4), which lasted until the age of the Patriarchs. In the midst of this situation, the Lord sought out Abraham to continue His kingdom on the earth. Throughout the second period of two thousand years, He chose Abrahams descendants to make them a kingdom, a great nation according to His promise (12:1-2). Starting with Abraham and his descendants, Isaac and Jacob, the Lord developed the nation of Israel (32:28). Gods intention was that His kingdom would arise on the earth through this nation, so He brought them together on Mount Sinai and told them that He would make them a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Exo. 19:2-6). The kingdom of Israel came into being, but it also was not able to accomplish Gods will and was therefore abandoned by the Lord. God Himself then became a man in order to bring His kingdom to the earth and made His Son the King of the kingdom of the heavens. John the Baptists function was to make the transition from the dispensation of the kingdom of Israel to the kingdom of the heavens. This was why he preached the need for men to repent, for by having a change of

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mind they would all be able to follow the King of the kingdom of the heavens when He came. Besides, this change of mind would bring about the end of religious traditions. John the Baptist baptized them in water as a sign that all the old things should be buried (Matt. 3:56). Praise the Lord! Key Point: Repent in order to enter into the kingdom of the heavens. Your Key Point: Question: What commission? was John the Baptists

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Week 2 Repent, for the Kingdom of the Heavens Has Drawn Near Tuesday Scripture reading: Matt. 3:5-12; 16:24; 1 Pet. 1:7; 4:12 Beloved, do not think that the fiery ordeal among you, coming to you for a trial, is strange, as if it were a strange thing happening to you. (1 Peter 4:12) Baptism in Fire In Matthew 3:5-7 we read, At that time Jerusalem and all Judea and all the surrounding region of the Jordan went out to him, and they were baptized by him in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, Offspring of vipers, who prompted you to flee from the coming wrath? The Pharisees and Sadducees stressed that they should keep the law of the Old Testament, but they themselves did not have a living that was according to what they taught. Therefore, they needed to repent and also produce fruit worthy of repentance so that they might not suffer the coming wrath (v. 8). Going on to verse 9, we read, And do not presume to say within yourselves, We have Abraham as our father; for I tell you that God

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is able, out of these stones, to raise up children to Abraham. Although God had established the kingdom of Israel to represent His kingdom and to do His will on earth, the religious people did not do it. However, John the Baptist introduced his ministry in this way: I baptize you in water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is stronger than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He Himself will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire (v. 11). We need to pay attention to the part of the verse which says, He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire. It is not written, or in fire. The text makes it very clear that this is dealing with being baptized in the Holy Spirit and also in fire. Finally, in verse 12 we read, Whose winnowing fan is in His hand. And He will thoroughly cleanse His threshing floor and will gather His wheat into His barn, but the chaff He will burn up with unquenchable fire. Because of the influence of the United Brethren, for many years we interpreted this verse in the following way: If you receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, you will live eternally. If you do not receive the Lord Jesus, there will be an eternal fire waiting for you. The problem, however, is that the word fire

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is taken as corresponding to the term unquenchable fire. But this is not what is written. The conjunction used in verse 11 is not the alternative or, which would cause us to interpret it as one option or another. The Bible uses the conjunction of addition, and, to express two facts: the first is baptism in the Holy Spirit, which indicates the matter of believing, and the second is baptism in fire, referring to the burning away of the impurities in our soul-life. We will use Peters experiences in order to better understand the baptism in fire. He passed through the baptism of John the Baptistthe baptism in waterand after that, through the Lord Jesus baptism in the Holy Spirit. In addition to this, Peter passed through the Lord Jesus baptism in fire, because through his experiences he realized that his soul-life needed to be terminated. He heard the words the Lord spoke in Matthew 16 concerning the normal church life that were about denying the soul-life (v. 24). Even though we have said much about this matter in Peters messages, it will still be important to be reminded of some aspects. In the apostles experience, after his regeneration the divine life, that is, the life of God he had received, still needed to grow. He had received

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a life in the flesha physical life and many natural thingsfrom his parents, including his soul-life. When the Lord Jesus spoke to him about the church life, the first important point mentioned was that in order to follow the Lord it was needful to deny oneself, deny ones soul-life. We have experienced denying our soul-life, for which we know there is the need of tribulation and sufferings. Regarding sufferings, in the past we have seen how we need dealings and discipline as means by which we deny ourselves. Peters experiences, however, show us that we can deny our soul-life without having to pass through the outward experiences of suffering. When we receive the Spirit, we also receive His holy fire inside of us that wants to burn away everything that does not belong to God (1 Pet. 1:7; 4:12). Thank the Lord! Our natural life needs to be denied. Key Point: Be burned by the fire of the Spirit. Your Key Point: Question: What is the relationship of Peters experiences to the baptism in fire?

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Week 2 Repent, for the Kingdom of the Heavens Has Drawn Near Wednesday Scripture reading: Matt. 3:2; John 3:15; Rom. 8:3; Heb. 2:14; 4:15; 1 pet. 1:7 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot be touched with the feeling of our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all respects like us, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15) Fulfill All Righteousness We should not have a false impression that Peters experience is related to receiving many outward dealings to discipline him. Rather, in his day to day life the Lord Jesus was always exposing his natural life. For Peter, this kind of experience was not easy, for it represented an inward burning, like gold being refined by fire. We likewise need this fire that refines gold (1 Pet. 1:7). The Lord Jesus is the One who will come to baptize us in the Holy Spirit and fire: in the Holy Spirit to receive the divine life, and in fire for our soul-life to be burned. Once we are willing to practice this word and even to dive into this experience, we need to take advantage of the occasion of having our natural life exposed. In this way our soul-

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life will be burned away and we will grow in life. We do not need tragic situations or outward dealings and disciplines; simply, when our natural condition is exposed, we can turn to our spirit where there is a holy fire to burn us. Thank God! John the Baptist came to prepare the way for the Lord Jesus by baptizing in water unto repentance that he might bring men before God. From then on, men would be qualified to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit and in fire. Hence, John the Baptist preached, Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near (Matt. 3:2). At that time the kingdom had still not come, but it was near. The kingdom of the heavens would only come after the coming of the King. When the Lord Jesus came, He needed to be baptized by John the Baptist. We think of Him only as the Son of God, but we need to realize that He was brought forth by the Holy Spirit in Mary, which gave Him a body of flesh and blood, and He was called Jesus. As the Son of Man, He came to save men from sins (Matt. 1:18, 20-21). Since men have shared in blood and flesh, He had to likewise be a man with blood and flesh in order to save them from sins (Heb. 2:14).

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His body, however, had only the likeness of the flesh of sin but not the sin (Rom. 8:3). In order to deal with the problem of sin in man, the Lord Jesus bore upon Himself all the sins of mankind on the tree (1 Pet. 2:24). By the shedding of His blood on the cross, He was able to destroy the sinful nature in mans flesh and crucify Satan. In order to understand this better, John 3:14 gives us an analogy in which the Lord Jesus is compared to the bronze serpent that Moses made in the desert, which had only the form of the serpent but not its poison. Everyone who was bitten by a serpent would be saved by looking at the bronze serpent (Num. 21:9). The Lord Jesus was hanging on the tree as this bronze serpent. He had a body of flesh and blood, but there was no sin in Him (Heb. 4:15). When He was lifted up on the cross, the Lord shed His blood to wash away our sins and thus crucified both the flesh and Satan. Thank the Lord! During His time of passing through the earth, the Lord needed to be baptized; however, John the Baptist said to Him, It is I who have need of being baptized by You, and You come to me? (Matt. 3:14b). John the Baptist knew that he was the one who should be baptized by the Lord, but God had

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ordained that John the Baptist should baptize Him according to His will. Then the Lord Jesus said, Permit it for now, for it is fitting for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness. Then he permitted Him (v. 15b). This righteousness is according to what God had ordained, and we need to fulfill it. Thus, as the Lords body that He received from Mary needed to be buried in the water, we also need to be baptized in order to be qualified to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit and fire. Key Point: Turn to the spirit. Your Key Point: Question: Why did Jesus need to be baptized?

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Week 2 Repent, for the Kingdom of the Heavens Has Drawn Near Thursday Scripture reading: Matt. 3:14-16; 4:12; 9:14; 14:3-5; John 3:26 And behold, a voice out of the heavens, saying, This is My Son, the Beloved, in whom I have found My delight. (Matthew 3:17) Be the Lords Disciple In Matthew 3:16 we read, And having been baptized, Jesus went up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon Him. The Lord Jesus received the anointing and began to be called the Christ, which means one who has received the anointing of the Holy Spirit. He came with the commission to baptize in the Holy Spirit and fire according to Gods righteousness (3:11). Righteousness is all that God has ordained. According to this righteousness we need to repent and be baptized. The baptism that John practiced was in water. On the other hand, the Lord Jesus came to baptize us in the Holy Spirit and fire. John the Baptist knew that he was the forerunner, the one who went before to prepare the way and make the

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paths straight. Even though John the Baptist was clear concerning this, we do not see it recorded in the Bible that he followed the Lord in order to one day receive His baptism. Rather, we see later that he had many problems and ended up distancing himself from the Lords work. He had his own disciples and continued his own work, baptizing the people who came to him (John 3:23-26). Thus, John the Baptist with his baptism was competing with the baptism of the Lord Jesus. The forerunner of the Lord did not receive His baptism, and, in addition to this, his disciples considered him a teacher. This situation was tolerable until the Lord came but had to reverse afterward, so that John the Baptist should have followed the Lord. If he had followed the Lord, John the Baptist would have been baptized in the Holy Spirit and fire after the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and his followers would have become the Lord Jesus disciples. However, in the Bible we see that he still kept his disciples (Matt. 9:14). This serves as a warning to us, seeing that among us who are doing the Lords work there are clearly those who accompany and constantly follow us. We must be aware to

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never make them our disciples. Remember that although the disciples of John the Baptist helped their teacher, they unfortunately did not follow the Lord Jesus. Paul, in his first epistle to the Corinthians, mentioned the following: For it has been made clear to me concerning you, my brothers, by those of the household of Chloe, that there are strifes among you. Now I mean this, that each of you says, I am of Paul, and I of Apollos, and I of Cephas, and I of Christ (1 Cor. 1:11-12). Those who were causing division in the church the apostle called fleshy, as infants in Christ (3:1). In the same way, if we have disciples, we will probably be doing a work of division and making parties. We may have people under our care, people who follow us, but we must always bring them to the Lord, whose disciples they should truly become. Because of the lack of discernment on the part of John the Baptist, a circumstance was raised up, and he was imprisoned (Matt. 4:12; 14:3-5). Furthermore, because John the Baptist did not follow the Lord Jesus, he did not receive the Holy Spirit but lived only according to his soul-life. He knew that the Lord was the Son of God, but at that time he put forth a big question: When John heard in the prison of

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the works of the Christ, he sent word through his disciples and said to Him, Are You the Coming One, or should we expect another? (Matt. 11:2-3). Then the disciples went to speak to the Lord Jesus, who did not answer directly but only spoke to them about the work that He was carried out, warning them at the end: And blessed is he who is not stumbled because of Me (v. 6). Those who are soulish argue and justify themselves very much to defend themselves and are not able to see their soul-life, their natural life. John the Baptist did not want to follow the Lord Jesus. It was probably because he had the ambition of having his own disciples and being the leader of this group that the Lord left him to follow his own course and did not take him out of prison. As a result, he was killed (14:6-12). We can learn some lessons from the story of John the Baptist: when we are leading people, it is not so that they may be our disciples but the disciples of the Lord Jesus. Key Point: Bring people to the Lord. Your Key Point:

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Question: What was John the Baptists main problem?

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Week 2 Repent, for the Kingdom of the Heavens Has Drawn Near Friday Scripture reading: Matt. 3:2; 16-17; 4:17-22; 10:2-4; 7-8; Luke 1:5-9 For in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly and bountifully supplied to you. (2 Peter 1:11) The Kingdom of the Heavens Has Drawn Near The Lord Jesus used all the circumstances, events and people He met to teach the disciples, and these experiences have been recorded for our instruction. In the matter of baptism, for example, we can learn some lessons regarding the baptism in water, in the Holy Spirit and in fire. Whoever has not received the baptism of the Lord Jesus is still living in his soul. Therefore, by virtue of the fact that he is a soulish man, he ends up hindering the Lords work. We need to remember that the purpose of the coming of John the Baptist, who was a priest, was to introduce the Lord Jesus as the King of the kingdom of the heavens. All the kings in the Old Testament needed to be anointed by a priest (1 Sam. 16:1; 1 Kings 1:32-34). When a king arose he was confirmed

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by a priest. In Davids experience, for example, we see that God used the priest Samuel to anoint him as king. It is always the priesthood that introduces the kingship. Thank the Lord! The Lord Jesus came to be the King of the kingdom of the heavens. For this purpose God used a priest, who was John the Baptist (Luke 1:5-9). The priesthood of John the Baptist introduced the Lord Jesus as the King of the kingdom of the heavens. Then the Lord began to preach in the same way John preached before the kingdom had come (Matt. 3:2): Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near (4:17). So through His preaching Jesus also led people to repent and those who received Him became His disciples and were used so that His ministry could be propagated (4:18-22). In Matthew 10:1-8 Jesus called His twelve disciples and gave them instructions to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers and cast out demons. Among His many followers, the disciples, He chose twelve to continue the ministry He had received by being anointed by the Holy Spirit (3:16-17). Among the twelve there was every kind of person. Some were very educated, but the great majority was composed of fishermen

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from Galilee (10:2-4). In order for His work to go on, the Lord Jesus recommended to them that they should not enter into the houses of the Samaritans or go to the Gentiles, for salvation would begin with the house of Israel (vv. 5-6). Therefore, they went out preaching that the kingdom of the heavens was near (v. 7). We mentioned three portions of the Bible that speak about the kingdom of the heavens being near in order to show clearly that Gods will is that we preach the kingdom. Both John the Baptist, the priest, and the Lord Jesus, the King, and His disciples preached the same thing: Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near (Matt. 3:2; 4:17; 10:7). This means that Gods main burden is to preach the kingdom, for everything is for the kingdom. Even we ourselves, the regenerated ones, are for the kingdom (2 Pet. 1:11). Therefore, our preaching must correspond to Gods burden of always emphasizing the kingdom. First Peter speaks to us about our living after we are regenerated (1:3-4) that we might gain full salvation. Gods salvation is of three stages. The first stage is related to the salvation of our spirit. When the Lord Jesus became the Spirit, He brought us into Himself

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and we received the salvation of our spirit by believing into Him (John 3:6). The third stage is related to the salvation of our body. All those who have been regenerated will be redeemed when the Lord comes back, and the salvation of our body will be accomplished (1 Cor. 15:51-54). Today, however, what we are short of is the salvation of our soul (1 Pet. 1:9). This second stage of our salvation is our responsibility, that is, we need to allow the Lord Jesus to work in us. We received the baptism in the Holy Spirit when we believed into Him, but now, while we are living in the church life, we need the baptism in fire. This fire does not stop burning, just like the fire on the altar of burnt offering that could never go out. Peter compared the fire used to refine gold to what is continually burning within us. This fire is able to burn away all of our impurities and natural things that do not belong to God (1 Pet. 1:7). Praise the Lord! Key Point: Burning continually. Your Key Point:

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Question: What was the main burden of the preaching of John the Baptist, Jesus, and His disciples?

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Week 2 Repent, for the Kingdom of the Heavens Has Drawn Near Saturday Scripture reading: Lev. 6:12-13; Isa. 2:2-3: Zech. 8:20-23; Matt 17:1-5 While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is My Son, the Beloved, in whom I have found My delight. Hear Him! (Matthew 17:5) Priests, Kings and Apostles In Matthew 16:24 we read, Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. This himself includes our opinions and concepts. Those who are still natural and soulish always manifest their self and are filled with opinions in the church: I think it should be this way, I dont think it should be that way. In order to follow the Lord, we need to deny our self with its opinions, take up our cross and reject our soul-life, that is, always put our natural life to death. However, we should not just wait for dealings that come from outward disciplines. According to Peters experience, in order to be transformed he allowed himself to be purified by the very fire that was inside him and that

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never stopped burning, just like the fire on the altar of burnt offering (1 Pet. 1:7; cf. Lev. 6:1213). Every time when his natural life was exposed he immediately tossed his natural life into the fire. We can say that in the end, his soul-life was completely eliminated, which resulted in the salvation of his soul. This trial is more precious than perishable gold refined by fire. Peter had assurance because he knew that at the manifestation of the Lord Jesus at His judgment seat, the judgment would no longer be a matter of sins, for this was resolved when we believed in the redeeming work and the power of the blood of the Lord Jesus. This is an item of the gospel of grace which we preach. If we are not enlightened when we sin, it is because we are still in darkness. One day the Lord sought us and came with His light. Then we recognized our condition as sinners, confessed our sins and He forgave us. This forgiveness is based on His dying in our place on the cross. So we were justified, sanctified and also reconciled with God. Now He accepts us and restores us to the condition of man without sin that we might receive Gods life. Thank the Lord! For us who believe, the Lord will not come in His second coming to judge the matter of sin

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but how much we denied our soul-life or how much our soul-life was saved. What we have learned up to today is that our soul-life is denied through difficult circumstances and through Gods discipline. Now as we look at Peters experience, if we are willing at all times, we will cast our soul-life into the holy fire of the Spirit. In Matthew 17 we read that the Lord Jesus took His three disciples to the mountain and was transfigured there. His garments became white like the light, and His face was shining because He is the King of the kingdom of the heavens. Moses and Elijah appeared and were speaking with Him (vv. 1-3). However, Peter again manifested his natural life and said, Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You are willing, I will make three tents here, one for You and one for Moses and one for Elijah (v. 4). Then God the Father immediately said, This is My Son, the Beloved, in whom I have found My delight. Hear Him! (v. 5b). Peters mistake was that he wanted to put Moses and Elijah on the same level as the Lord Jesus. Moses and Elijah represented the Old Testament overcomers. They have their position in the kingdom of the heavens. The people of Israel will be the earthly part of the

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manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens as priests and also as prophets to bring the nations before God (Matt. 8:11; Zech. 8:20-23; Isa. 2:2-3). The other group of people, represented by Peter, James and John, are the New Testament overcomers. Thank the Lord! Whether they are New Testament or Old Testament overcomers they will probably sit on thrones, we should only hear one person: This is My Son, the Beloved, in whom I have found My delight. Hear Him! These three disciples are our models. As they exemplify, many who also deny their soul-life and allow Gods life and nature to grow in them will likewise be overcomers. As we have seen, the priesthood is to bring man to Gods presence, and the kingship is to bring Gods authority to be carried out on earth. John the Baptist was preaching that the kingdom of the heavens was near and was introducing the King of the kingdom of the heavens through his priesthood. On the other hand, the King had twelve disciples who were also preaching the kingdom of the heavens. Key Point: Preach the kingdom of the heavens. Your Key Point:

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Question: What is the difference between a priest, a king and an apostle?

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Week 2 Repent, for the Kingdom of the Heavens Has Drawn Near Lords Day Scripture reading: Exo. 28:4; 12, 30; Heb. 3:1 Who, being the effulgence of His glory and the impress of His substance and upholding and bearing all things by the word of His power, having made purification of sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high. (Hebrews 3:1) A Colporteur a Priest and an Apostle The Lord Jesus was brought into the kingship through the priestly service of John the Baptist and immediately sent the apostles to exercise His authority by preaching the gospel of the kingdom. We need to be impressed with this revelation and realize that today the Lord is also sending us as apostles with His authority to preach the gospel of the kingdom, for this is His goal. Firstly God used a priest at the transition from the Old Testament to the New Testament that He might bring in the King of the kingdom of the heavens. This King in turn sent His apostles, giving them authority to preach the gospel of the kingdom.

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The Lord has given us the burden to be colporteurs for more than ten years. At first we considered them to be book sellers, but little by little the Bible was revealing to us that they are more than this; they are being sent by God. A colporteur carries a bag that contains the word of God. In the XI century, the Roman Catholic church controlled everything, and, except for a few who belonged to the clergy, the people in general did not have access to the word of God. In France there was a merchant who had many vendors. He secretly ordered portions of the Scriptures to be copied, and they were put into a bag that the vendors hung around their neck under a garment so that no one could see. In this bag was the word of God. When these vendors contacted people and realized that they had the desire to receive the Lord Jesus, they would bring out a copy of the Scriptures and give it to them. That was where the term colporteur came from in our dictionary. Then the Lord showed us that He was not only the High Priest of the order of Melchizedec but also the Apostle. A high priest brings man to Gods presence, and an apostle brings God to man. In Hebrews 3:1 we read, Therefore, holy brothers, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and

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High Priest of our confession, Jesus. The Lord Jesus is in us who believe and wants to make us His expression. A colporteur functions as an apostle and a high priest, because he not only takes spiritual words to people but also brings God to them. Colporteurs present the word of God to people, who, when they receive it, are brought into His presence. In this function the colporteur is like a high priest. The high priest had a garment called an ephod over which was placed the breastplate (Exo. 28:4). The breastplate was folded, and inside it were the Urim and the Thummim (v. 30). The high priest had on his garment two shoulder pieces with two onyx stones; one onyx stone with the name of six of the twelve tribes engraved on it on one shoulder, and the other onyx stone with the remaining six names on the other shoulder (vv. 9-12). This signifies that, although the high priest was from the tribe of Levi, he was not just for that tribe. Rather, he bore the twelve tribes of Israel on his shoulders, which represented responsibility. The breastplate had twelve precious stones, which represent the twelve tribes of Israel. The high priest not only bore the responsibility of the twelve tribes on his shoulders but also upon his heart to love

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them (Exo. 28:29). Similarly, it is not because a certain brother is from the tribe of Levi that he will care only for that tribe. We need to love all the children of God. Although the colporteurs of today dont carry a bag around their neck, they take books in their briefcase that bring the explanation of the Bible. This is equivalent to the Urim and Thummim in the Old Testament that explain the word of God to us. When I received this revelation, I began to encourage the saints to be colporteurs. At that time many colporteurs rose up. Hallelujah! So according to the light in the Bible, a colporteur is like a high priest. Through the Urim and Thummim, which represent the spiritual books that we have, a colporteur brings the revelation of the word of God to people on one hand, and brings people to God on the other. A priest brought in the King and the King brought in the apostles to bring man to God and God to man. Their burden is to tell men that the kingdom of the heavens had drawn near. The Lord Jesus has come to the earth: the King has been brought in. Through the gospel of the kingdom that apostles preach, more people are gained. Today we are clear that as colporteurs we have the function of a high priest as well as that of an apostle. We

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can all be colporteurs who, on one hand, are those who left our profession and, on the other, we can be colporteurs with a profession. The important thing is that each one of us must be an apostle and a high priest. God wants to send us. The gospel of the kingdom needs to be propagated. We hope that more people will pick up the Lords burden and make a vow before Him: I want to be a colporteur. If we have this desire, we can be perfected and afterwards function as colporteurs. The place for us to be perfected is in the GPP (Gospel Propagation Perfecting). Hallelujah! We should not only bring man to Gods presence as priests but also bring the King to man as apostles. Amen! Key Point: Bring man to Gods presence. Your Key Point: Question: What does it mean to be a colporteur?

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Week 3 The Birth of the King of the Kingdom of Heavens Monday Scripture reading: Matt. 16: 27-28; 1 Pet. 4:2-13, 17; Rev. 20:4; 6 For the Son of Man is to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will repay each man according to his doings. (Matthew 16:27) Life and Authority The topic this week is The Birth of the King of the Kingdom of the Heavens (Matt. 1:1, 18, 23). The King of the kingdom of the heavens is the most important person in the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom. When John the Baptist went out to preach, he said, Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near (Matt. 3:2), because the King had still not come; but He was about to come. When the Lord Jesus, the King of the kingdom of the heavens, came, He received the baptism of the priest John the Baptist. Thus the priesthood brought in the kingship (3:16-17). When the Lord began to preach, He also spoke about the kingdom of the heavens drawing near (4:17). Further on we see that He chose and called the first twelve apostles to also preach this gospel (10:7).

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After His death and resurrection, the Lord became the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45) to enter into us and produce the church, which today is the reality of the kingdom of the heavens. The church life is the realm where we can grow and mature in life. When Gods life grows in us, more of His nature is added to us. All those who have grown in life and matured will exercise authority with the Lord in the manifestation of His kingdom in the coming age (Luke 19:17, 19; Rev. 3:21), for they will be approved at the judgment seat of Christ, which will be established at His second coming (2 Cor. 5:10). This judgment will not be concerning sins, for we have the precious blood of Christ to deal with them (Acts 5:31; Eph. 1:7; Heb. 1:3). When the Lord forgives our sins, even its records are erased by the Holy Spirits washing (Col. 2:14; Titus 3:5). In His second coming, the Lord will come to judge us regarding how much we denied our soul-life (Matt. 25:10, 19-23; 1 Cor. 4:5). In the previous edition of the Daily Food, the matter regarding complete or full salvation was well detailed. We saw that at our regeneration we received the salvation of our spirit. This was the result of the redeeming work the Lord accomplished at His first coming. The salvation of our body will take

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place at His second coming. Our body will be redeemed, transfigured (Rom. 8:23). Our redeemed body will no longer be under the influence of the force of gravity because our corruptible body will be clothed with incorruptibility (1 Cor. 15:52-53). Then we will be raptured to the air, and we will meet the Lord. He will establish His throne of judgment in the air (1 Thes. 4:17; 1 Pet. 4:17). Since the judgment will be concerning how much our soul-life has been denied, today we must allow our soul-life to be worked on to burn away its natural elements on the negative side and to allow it to be completely saturated with the Spirit on the positive side (1 Pet. 4:12-13; Matt. 25:4). In this way we will enter into the joy of our Lord that we might participate in His wedding feast for a thousand years (Rev. 19:7-9; 20:4, 6). Finally, we will receive authority from the Lord according to the level of the growth in life we have reached. If we have grown in life to the point of being like the Lord in life and nature, we will reign with Him. Praise the Lord! Key Point: Enter into the joy of the kingdom.

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Your Key Point: Question: What is the condition for us to be raptured?

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Week 3 The Birth of the King of the Kingdom of Heavens Tuesday Scripture reading: Matt. 1:1; Rom. 6:6; 7:20-21; 8:28; Heb 2:9-10, 14-15 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. (Matthew 1:1) The Son of God Became the Son of Man Today we will speak about the birth of the King of the kingdom of the heavens, the Lord Jesus Christ. According to the Gospel of Matthew, the Lord Jesus is the son of David, the son of Abraham (Matt. 1:1). Here we see Him as the Son of Man. This indicates that even as the Son of God, He needed to become a man, for He had the responsibility and commission upon Himself to save sinners according to Gods righteousness and holiness. In order to save man, the Lord firstly needed to deal with the matter of sin referring to the fallen nature, and sins referring to sinful acts. The fact that Adam ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil caused the sinful nature to come into man. Because Satan led us to sin, our physical body became flesh (Rom. 7:20-21). Therefore, when the Lord Jesus came it was to

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deal with the problem of our flesh, which had become the body of sin (6:6). In addition to dealing with the problem of sin, the Lord Jesus desires, on the positive side, to bring many sons to glory (Heb. 2:910). He gave us His life, and we became children of God. In Hebrews 2:11 we read, For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of One, for which cause He is not ashamed to call them brothers. He was the only begotten of God, and, with the intention of leading many sons into glory, became the firstborn Son of God (Rom. 8:29). All of mankind was under the fear of death and subject to Satans slavery. The Lord Jesus came to deliver us. In Hebrews 2:14-15 we read, Since therefore the children have shared in blood and flesh, He also Himself in like manner partook of the same, that through death He might destroy him who has the might of death, that is, the devil, and might release those who because of the fear of death through all their life were held in slavery. Because Satan was dwelling in mans flesh (Rom. 7:17, 20, 23), the Lord put on the flesh (yet without sinRom. 8:3), so that He could destroy Satan on the cross. Besides being the

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Son of God, the Lord became the Son of Man to deal with the flesh and destroy Satan. The Lord Jesus took on the likeness of the flesh of sin, but there was no sin in Him. This is what we see in the illustration of the bronze serpent in John 3:14-15. On the cross the Lord Jesus was like the bronze serpent lifted up by Moses in the wilderness (Num. 21:4-9). The rebellious Israelites that were bitten by the fiery serpents were healed by looking at the bronze serpent. Likewise, we are saved when we believe in the Lord Jesus, who was lifted up on the tree. The bronze serpent had no poison. In the same way, the Lord Jesus became in the likeness of men (Phil. 2:7) but without the poison, without sin. Thus, the King of the kingdom of the heavens needed to become the Son of Man. This is what is recorded in the Gospel of Matthew by stating that Jesus Christ is the son of Abraham and the son of David. He was the Son of God but also the Son of Man (Matt. 1:1). Key Point: In the flesh, destroying him who has the might of death. Your Key Point:

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Question: Why is the Lord the Son of Man in addition to the Son of God?

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Week 3 The Birth of the King of the Kingdom of Heavens Wednesday Scripture reading: Gen. 10:810; 38:6; Matt. 17:5; 1 Tim. 4:7; Rev. 5:6-9 And one of the elders said to me, Do not weep; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so that He may open the scroll and its seven seals. (Revelation 5:5) The Lord is the Only King Now we will look at another aspect of the Lord: He is the only King. He is the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, and He overcame to open the scroll and its seven seals. Moreover, the Lord is the Lamb who is worthy to open this scroll (Rev. 5:6-9). Five women are mentioned in the genealogy of the Lord Jesus in Matthew 1: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, the wife of Uriah, and Mary. Mary was chosen from among them to be the mother of Jesus. She was a virgin and found herself with child by the Holy Spirit (v. 18). Tamar was married to Judahs oldest son, called Er (Gen. 38:6). As she was widowed without leaving descendants to her husband, and Ers brothers did not fulfill the obligation of giving him descendants, Tamar set up a strategy to make Judah lie with her. Apparently, based

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on the law Tamar acted correctly, but according to human conduct from a moral point of view, she did not. Rahab was a prostitute who became the wife of an Israelite and brought forth Boaz. Ruth, because she was a Moabite, could not enter into the assembly of the Lord (Deut. 23:3). She lost her husband and followed her mother-in-law, Naomi, back to Judah. She was married to Boaz, an Israelite, in the land of Judah and brought forth Obed, the grandfather of King David. These records show us the condition of mankind and the need we have for the Lord as the King. He came to all of us to give us the kingdom. We are not going to analyze each one of the Lord Jesus ancestors. If we do that we will be distracted and fall into the realm of the soul, the mental realm (1 Tim. 1:4). We just need to see that the Lord Jesus was the son of Abraham, the Lion of the tribe of Judah and the Root of David. Even though we know the Lord is the King, there are examples in the Bible of people who made kingdoms for themselves. Let us take Nimrod as an example. He was a mighty and very capable man whom everyone began to worship. He established a kingdom on the earth for himself, and the Bible records that

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the other kingdoms arose from it. This was nothing more than an imitation of the kingdom of God. Man made his own kingdom for himself, which was the city and the tower of Babel (Gen. 10:8-10). In the city of Babel they made a tower that would reach to heaven and cause mans name to become famous instead of Gods name. Babel represents the kingdoms of the earth. This shows that at the end of the first two thousand years, mankind rebelled to the point of not wanting to know about God. We also run the risk of worshiping or exalting a man without wanting to. Even when we receive help from someone and take on his method or way of leading us, we should not consider this person to be a hero, like the mighty man mentioned above, for this is very dangerous. We should not replace our Lord with any man. It does not matter how good a brother may be, how much help or support we have received from him, we must listen to the voice that comes from the heavens, saying, This is My Son, the Beloved. Hear Him! (Matt. 17:5b). The Lord Jesus is the only King. We should not idolize anyone. Of course, our heart is grateful for the help we receive from some people, but we must be careful not to make them an idol, to the detriment of God

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and the leading of the Spirit. We must never say, So-and-so says. No. Rather, we must say, The Spirit says, the Bible says, God says. Key Point: We should not replace the Lord with any man. Your Key Point: Question: What lesson can we learn from Matthew 17:5b?

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Week 3 The Birth of the King of the Kingdom of Heavens Thursday Scripture reading: Gen. 12:10; 13:1; 25:24-26, 31-34; 49:5-7, 8-12 Judah, your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons will bow down before you. (Genesis 49:8) Treasure the Birthright We must be careful not to fall into the condition of Babel of exalting mans name instead of the Lords name (Gen. 11). The Lord simply abandoned them because of their sins. He could have terminated these people with a flood, but He didnt do it because of the covenant He had made with Noah. After Noah came out from the ark and offered clean animals, the fragrance of the burnt offering reached the Lords nostrils, and He accepted the offering. At that moment God established a covenant with man according to which He would never again judge sinful mankind with a flood, and He left the rainbow as a sign (9:13). Since they were all concentrated in one place and because He could no longer destroy mankind, the Lord scattered them to many places and confused their language (11:9).

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In the midst of this idolatrous people, God chose Abraham and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans, a land of idols, thus delivering him from idolatry (Joshua 24:2). God used Abrahams father to take him out from there, and the two came to a city called Haran in the region of Assyria, which represents the land of sin, just as Nineveh was the capital of Syria and represents a sinful place (Gen. 11:31; cf. Zeph. 2:13; Jonah 1:2). There the Lord appeared to Abraham again to take him to the land of Canaan. This typifies that the Lord not only calls us to come out of the realm of idolatry but also out of the realm of sin. After being in Canaan for awhile Abraham underwent a trial of famine, and his lack of faith made him go down to Egypt (Gen. 12:10). Because the Lord loved Abraham and wanted to bring him back to Canaan, He allowed him to be put to shame in the land of Egypt (Gen. 12:18-13:1), which represents the land of livelihood. Abraham was someone especially chosen by God, and God promised him, I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing (Gen. 12:2). Abraham begot Isaac, who begot Jacob (Matt. 1:2), who begot twelve sons. At that time they very much treasured

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the birthright, which gave them the right to the fathers inheritance. There was no problem concerning Isaacs birthright, because in Gods eyes the son recognized as Abrahams heir was only Isaac. Isaac begot Esau and Jacob (Gen. 25:24-26). According to the record in the Bible, the one who came out first from his mothers womb was Esau, and therefore he had the birthright. But on a certain occasion, Esau sold it to his brother Jacob in exchange for a bowl of lentils. Because Esau despised the birthright, it came to Jacob (vv. 31-34). Jacob had twelve sons, and the eldest was called Ruben, who, as the firstborn, could receive all the inheritance of the father. However, according to Jacobs words in Genesis 49, Ruben lost the birthright because he gravely sinned in profaning his fathers bed. The birthright in the Old Testament involved three important things: the kingship, a double portion of the land and the priesthood. This all belonged to Ruben by right, but he lost it. This shows clearly how the Lord considers those who commit fornication abominable (vv. 3-4). Now, through the revelation of Christ in the New Testament, even if we have sin, we can repent, confess

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our sins and be washed by the blood of Christ (1 John 1:9; Heb. 9:14; cf. John 8:4, 10-11). The birthright should have gone to Simeon and Levi, Jacobs second and third sons, but they also lost it. They were instruments of violence, especially in what happened in Shechem. They used trickery and managed to finish off all the Shechemites (Gen. 34). Because of this the Lord did not pass on the birthright to them (49:5-7). Later, however, Levi received the priesthood because he took the Lords side in the matter of the golden calf (Exo. 32:26). The kingship, one of the items of the birthright, was given to the fourth son, Judah (Gen. 49:10). We know that the King came out of the tribe of Judah. Thus the Lord is not only the son of Abraham, the son of David, but also the Root of David and the Lion of the tribe of Judah (Rev. 5:5; Matt. 1:1). Key Point: Dont let go of the birthrigh t. Your Key Point: Question: What lessons do we learn with Ruben, Simeon and Levi?

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Week 3 The Birth of the King of the Kingdom of Heavens Friday Scripture reading: Gen.49:9-11; Isa.9:6; Matt.1:1-2; John 21:18-19,21-22 Binding his foal to the vine, and his donkeys colt to the choice vine. (Genesis 49:11a) A Donkey Tied to the Vine As we have seen, the birthright in the aspect of the kingship belongs to Judah (Gen. 49:9-10). The line of the kingship proceeds from Judah, until Shiloh comes, which means peacemaker. Shiloh refers to the Lord Jesus, the Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6). The line of the kingship of Judah lasted until Jesus (Matt. 1:1-2). There is one aspect that deserves our attention. The experience of Judah as a lion cub is preceded by the experience of the donkeys colt (Gen. 49:11). The donkeys colt represents common people whose character in general is stubborn, of a stiff neck, and who live in filth. We are like this colt, but we need to be transformed because we aspire to be kings. Therefore, we cannot eat just anything, just any pasture. We need food that will cause life to increase in us.

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This donkey used to eat any kind of pasture a green pasture here, another pasture there. But now it is not like this because he is tied to the vine. This is an indication that Judah needed to pass through this process to become a lion, a king. In todays terms, he was being perfected. This donkey that was a stubborn, improper and despised animal was passing through a process of transformation that was not outward, nor did it come from training that taught him to have a certain behavior and attitude. Just taking care of outward things does not work, because one will continue to have a donkeys character and will not be transformed. A donkey is a very stubborn animal, and neither advice nor beatings do any good to change its nature. This is shown by Balaams experience. Even though it was the presence of the angel of the Lord that caused the donkey to annoy him, we can apply this to the matter of a donkeys stubborn nature (Num. 22:22-27). We are all stubborn like a donkey, and it is not easy to transform the natural life of a donkey. We have a very strong character, like that of a donkey. Dont think outward discipline or dealing will have an effect on the donkey, because when it is beaten, it stops and sits

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down on the ground. It is impossible for people with this kind of character to advance. Moreover, a donkey tries to hurt whoever is on top of him, as the donkey did by pressing Balaams foot against the wall to crush it (v. 25). A donkey represents the natural aspect of our old man. The apostle Peter was also like this at first, but the Lord Jesus did not stop supplying him with life. It was not with exhortations, rebukes or discipline, but by exposing his natural life so that he himself could see how much of his soul-life was still present. In the beginning he didnt want to recognize this and instead resisted with his reasons (Matt. 26:33-35, 69-75; John 13:610; 21:21-22). Nonetheless, after enjoying the Lord so much, like a donkey eating the fruit of the vine, Peters soul-life was transformed. When he encountered resistance, he didnt react because he had matured (John 21:1819). The way for us to be transformed is to eat and give others to eat the fruit of the vine. We need to care for the brothers and sisters as the Lord took care of Peter. We used to seek for ways to discipline the brothers and sisters and deal with those whose character was very stubborn. Sometimes we disciplined them like

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our own children. We cannot say this didnt have any result, but there was very little result. Now we know the way: tie them in Christ to the most excellent vine to just supply them with more and more life. Although they may still look around, wanting to eat from other pastures, the rope that ties them doesnt allow it. The only way is to turn to Christ and the church and continue to feed them grapes, that is, the divine life. Hallelujah! Key Point: Supply life. Your Key Point: Question: How should we take care of the brothers and sisters?

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Week 3 The Birth of the King of the Kingdom of Heavens Saturday Scripture reading: Gen.48:1,5;49:5,11-12; Exo.32:25-29; Josh.16:1-4 Dark are his eyes with wine, and white are his teeth with milk. (Genesis 49:12) Being Filled with Life and Standing on Gods Side In Genesis 49:11a we read, Binding his foal to the vine, and his donkey's colt to the choice vine. We have seen that, like Judah, in order to be kings we must first pass through the stage of transformation. We need to be restricted and not stop eating grapes even if there are other pastures. Although many times we may be led to think that speaking about denying our soul-life is repetitive and that there are other teachings, we need to realize how essential this word is for our transformation. Even if we try to leave this realm of life, we cant because the Holy Spirit in us is our rope. In this context, the donkey described above was little by little being transformed. Going on in verse 11b, we read, He washes his garment in wine, And his robe in the blood of grapes. How abundant and rich

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the fruit of the vine is! Here, the fruit of the vine is so abundant that it is possible for us to wash our garments and robes in the blood of grapes. The amount of liquid necessary to wash clothes indicates the abundance of grape juice produced by the vine. Hallelujah! How abundant are the grapes in the church life! Among us there is nothing else to eat except grapes and more grapes, life and more life. By doing this, the day will come when the donkey will be completely transformed. His eyes will be dark red (v. 12a) because of being drunk with wine. In Ephesians 5:18 we read, And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissoluteness, but be filled in spirit. Our eyes have to be red, not by being drunk with wine, but with the Spirit! Our teeth should also be white (v. 12b). How can a dirty donkey have white teeth? This transformation occurred because of the change in his diet. This donkey has now begun to eat grapes, grapes and grapes. By this his old cells were removed, giving place to dark eyes and white teeth. After seven years of this metabolic process, people can say about us, This isnt the donkey that I knew. Now he has dark eyes and white teeth because he is filled with life. All that we have seen about

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the need for transformation is for us to enjoy the kingship, which is an aspect of the birthright. Another aspect of the birthright was the double portion of land. All the sons of Jacob received a portion of land, but the tribe of Joseph received a double portion. Joseph had two sons: Ephraim and Mannasseh, and when the lands were distributed, they were included in this distribution. A double portion of the blessing was given to Joseph (Gen. 48:1, 5; Josh. 16:1-4). Finally, the last aspect of the birthright is the priesthood. In 1 Peter 2:9 we read that we are a royal priesthood. Hallelujah! We are not only a nation of priests but a royal priesthood. The priesthood among the sons of Jacob fell to Levi. Although Levi could not receive the birthright because he was violent, like Simeon, (Gen. 49:5), he repented. When Moses realized that the people had become corrupt and had deviated from the way God had ordained, seeing the golden calf standing at the entrance of the camp, he said, Whoever is for Jehovah, come to me. At that moment all the sons of Levi gathered themselves to Moses and stood on Gods side (Exo. 32:7-8, 25-26). From then on the sons of Levi acted firmly, not in their natural life but

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according to the word the Lord had commanded Moses (vv. 27-29). All of our natural capacity and ability have to pass through death. Only after this can God use us. The Bible records that Moses was eloquent for the first forty years of his life, since he was brought up under the principles of a king. After spending forty years in the wilderness, however, he lost his eloquence, because God wanted everything natural in Moses to fall in the wilderness. It was only after this second period of forty years that the Lord called him. Moses was the leader of all the people, but God gave him Aaron to be his voice, because Moses himself recognized before God that he was not eloquent (Exo. 4:10). Similarly, even our joy in the church meetings should also not come from anything natural, like what happened with the children of Israel when Moses came down from the mountain and saw them worshiping the golden calf and dancing. We should have the joy of the Spirit in our meetings. If we are only enthusiastic in our soul, we need to pass through the wilderness and die, that is, deny our soul-life. Following the example of this donkey with red eyes and white teeth, we

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must always drink the wine of the Spirit and allow the divine life to operate in us.

Key Point: The joy of the Spirit Your Key Point: Question: What does Genesis 49:11b want to tell us?

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Week 3 The Birth of the King of the Kingdom of Heavens Lord's Day Scripture reading: John1:18; Gal.3:14; Eph.1:5; Heb.2:10;12:23 But you have come forward...to the universal gathering; and to the church of the firstborn, who have been enrolled in the heavens. (Hebrews 12:22b-23a) The Sonship Moses was indignant upon coming down from the mountain and seeing the confusion of the people and broke the two tables of stone that God had given him. Confronting this situation he said, Whoever is for Jehovah, come to me (Exo. 32:26a). Only the tribe of Levi stood on Gods side, and He commanded them to go throughout the camp among the tribes and eliminate whoever should come out in rebellion. Thus, we see that the priesthood fell to the tribe of Levi and the kingship to the tribe of Judah. Thank the Lord! The Lord Jesus is the son of Abraham. God promised Abraham that his descendants would be a great nation and that in his seed all the nations would be blessed. This was a promise to Abrahams seed (Gen. 12:2; 21:12; Gal. 3:16). The kingship came from Judah of the descendants of Abraham and produced

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the kings (Matt. 1:1-3). David came from the tribe of Judah, and our Lord Jesus came from his descendants. The Lord Jesus is the One who has the birthright, which includes the kingship, the double portion of land and the priesthood. All of us who have been sent to preach the gospel of the kingdom also have these three aspects of the birthright. Peter shows us in his first epistle that we are a royal priesthood (2:5, 9). We have the kingship, which is to bring Gods authority to men. We also have the holy priesthood in order to build up a spiritual house that we might offer spiritual sacrifices that are well-pleasing to God (Rom. 15:16), that is, to bring people to Gods presence. We have a double portion of the blessing, which is the promised Spirit, the blessing of Abraham that has come to us, the Gentiles (Gal. 3:14). The Lord Jesus is the only begotten Son of God who has revealed the Father to us (John 1:18). Through His death and resurrection, He became the Firstborn, for many sons of God were brought forth. Now the many sons of God are being brought into glory (Heb. 2:10). Through the Lord Jesus we receive the birthright, full sonship. In the Old Testament this full sonship was only for the

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firstborn, but in the New Testament it is the right of all. God chose us before the foundation of the world and predestinated us unto sonship (Eph. 1:5). Formerly, there was just the only begotten, but at the end of everything there will be the church of the firstborn. Those who grow in life and deny their soul-life today will be like the Firstborn Son. They will be like the Lord Jesusfilled with Gods life and nature and will inherit the kingdom. Eventually, after the millennial kingdom all the children of God will be part of the universal assembly, the church of the firstborn, the New Jerusalem (Heb. 12:23). May we all grow until we reach the stature of the firstborn (Rom. 8:29). Key Point: We are the assembly of the firstborn. Your Key Point: Question: What is the difference between the birthright in the Old Testament and in the New Testament?

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Week 4 The Kings Earthly Ministry Monday Scripture reading: Matt. 4:17; 3:1617; 4:4, 10; Deut. 8:3 And Jesus answered and said to him, It is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve. (Luke 4:8) Worshiping Only the Lord The topic for this week is The Kings Earthly Ministry (Matt. 4:17-23). After the Lord Jesus was born, he was taken to Egypt because King Herod wanted to destroy Him (2:13-14). After the death of Herod, His parents took Him to Nazareth, thus our Lord was known as Jesus the Nazarene (vv. 19, 23). When He had lived on the earth for thirty years, He went to John the Baptist to be baptized. As soon as Jesus came up out of the water after He was baptized, behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and the Spirit of God descended upon Him like a dove (3:16). Then a voice from heaven said, This is My Son, the Beloved, in whom I have found My delight (v. 17). Jesus began His earthly ministry beginning from His baptism. He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by

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the devil (4:1). After fasting for forty days and forty nights, he became hungry, and the tempter then came to Him and said, If You are the Son of God, speak that these stones may become loaves of bread (vv. 2-3). The devil tempted the Lord in this aspect based on Deuteronomy 8:9-10, seeking to put Him in the position of God, because he knew that, as God, He could transform even the stones into bread. But Jesus stood firm in His position as a man and answered him, It is written, "Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out through the mouth of God (Matt. 4:4; cf. Deut 8:3). Thus, the Lord Jesus overcame the tempter as a man. The devil also led Him to the holy city and set Him on the wing of the temple and said to Him, If You are the Son of God, cast Yourself down; for it is written, To His angels He shall give charge concerning You, and on their hands they shall bear You up, lest You strike Your foot against a stone. (Matt. 4:6). Indeed, according to what is written in Psalms 91:1112, the Lord Jesus, as the Son of God, could have thrown Himself down, because there would surely have been angels to bear Him up in their hands. But the Lord answered him, Again, it is written, You shall not test the

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Lord your God. (Matt. 4:7; cf. Deut 6:16). Again the devil was defeated. Then the tempter took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, saying to Him, All these will I give You if You will fall down and worship me (Matt. 4:9). God had delivered all the kingdoms of the world to Satan to have dominion over them (Ezek. 28:12-15). The devil had power and authority to give the world and its glory to the Lord Jesus (Luke 4:6; Rev. 13:2, 4, 7). The temptation was very great, but the Lord answered him, Go away, Satan! For it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve. (Matt. 4:10; cf. Deut. 6:13). We must only worship our God and only serve Him. After this, the devil left Him and angels came and ministered to Him (4:11). The Lord Jesus overcame Satan and his temptations and therefore was qualified to exercise His earthly ministry. Key Point: He overcame the tempter. Your Key Point: Question: How did the earthly ministry of the Lord Jesus begin?

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Week 4 The Kings Earthly Ministry Tuesday Scripture reading: Matt. 4:1822; Acts 19:1-7, 11-12 And He said to them, Come after Me, and I will make you fishers of men. (Matthew 4:19) A Fisherman, a Builder and a Mender The Lord Jesus first act when He began His earthly ministry was to seek for people. Jesus came as the light of the world to enlighten those sitting in darkness so they might see their real situation (Matt. 4:14-16). In this seeking He left Nazareth and went to dwell in Capernaum, which is beside the sea. There Jesus began to proclaim and to say, Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near (v. 17). The first ones to be called were Simon, called Peter, Andrew, his brother, and two other brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee. All were fishermen on the Sea of Galilee and were led to salvation (Matt. 4:1822). To Andrew and his brother Peter, Jesus said, Come after Me, and I will make you fishers of men (v. 19). The Lord gave them the commission of fishing for men, and they followed Him immediately as His disciples. Concerning James and John, both were in the

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boat with their father mending their nets (v. 21). In the book of Acts, we see later that the Lord used Peter to fish for men when about three thousand men received the word and were baptized after he preached the gospel (Acts. 2:14-40; 10:34-48). At the end of the first century, it was Johns turn to be used as a mender of nets to help the churches that had been distracted away from Gods will (Rev. 1:4, 9). After the ministry of the twelve apostles, God yet raised Paul up to carry out His work to establish many churches. The Lord used him to bring these fish-men as material to build the church. This was his main commission or responsibility (1 Cor. 3:10). Pauls profession was to make tents (Acts 18:3). So it is as if God called Paul to go places to sew tents, that is, to build churches. At a certain time, however, there came to be holes in these tents, which endangered their building up. The churches Paul had raised up were experiencing problems (2 Tim. 1:15; 4:16). Holes were appearing in the tents. An example of this can be seen in the church in Ephesus that was established by Paul on his third ministry journey. The

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church should have practiced the word, that is, Gods New Testament economy, so that His will could be done. The problem was that because this church did not follow the Spirit, it remained in the doctrinal, mental realm and therefore holes in the tent appeared through which life had begun to leak out. Although the church in Ephesus bore the name of Ephesus, which means desirable, at Pauls time it was abnormal. Apollos was the one who preached the word first to the Ephesians, but Apollos knew only the baptism of John (Acts 18:24-28). When Paul came to Ephesus, perhaps in an attempt to fill up the lack in Apollos ministry, he laid his hands on them so they could receive the Holy Spirit, that is, the baptism of the Holy Spirit in its outward aspect (19:1-7). There were also no ordinary miracles carried out through his hand, to the point of bringing handkerchiefs and aprons for personal use to Paul, before whom the sicknesses fled from the victims and the evil spirits went out (vv. 11-12). Furthermore, Paul developed the custom of discussing doctrines, especially with the Jews. This situation initially lasted for three months in the synagogue. After this, Paul separated himself and the disciples from them and, for more than three years, discussed

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daily in the school of Tyrannus (Acts 19:8-10). Discussing and arguing always come from the mind and result in gaps in the building. Apparently there was no problem with these practices, but they left the impression that they were essential for the church life. Because of this, the church in Ephesus was distracted from Gods economy, from what is essential for producing Gods economy in faith (1 Tim. 1:3-4), and ended up leaving their first love (Rev. 2:4). In order to deal with this problem, God later raised up John, whose ministry was to mend the nets. He was used by the Lord to mend the holes in the tents that Paul had raised up. Key Point: Dont be distracted from what is essential. Your Key Point: Question: What is the difference between the ministries of Peter, Paul and John?

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Week 4 The Kings Earthly Ministry Wednesday Scripture reading: Acts 16:6-10; 1 Tim. 1:3-4; 2 Tim. 2:15 And the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. (2 Corinthians 3:17) Led by the Spirit Yesterday we saw that during his stay in Ephesus on his third ministry journey (Acts 19:1-12), Paul led the church in a different way than he usually did. Because of this, holes appeared in the tent of the church he had built up in this city. Today we will see the positive experience that Paul and Silas had on their second ministry journey (15:40-41). May we learn from this experience how to follow the Lord and care for the churches! On this second journey, Paul followed the Spirit. At first he tried to go to Asia, but the Holy Spirit forbade it, so he stopped. He tried to go north, to Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow him to, so he didnt go. When he came to Troas, a vision came upon him in which a Macedonian man was standing and entreating him to come and help them. Thus he understood that God was leading him to go to Macedonia (16:6-10).

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The Holy Spirit directed him, and Paul submitted to this leading. It was during this journey that he came to a place of prayer beside a river and spoke to the women who had gathered there. It was also in Philippi that Paul and Silas, being prisoners because of the gospel, were praying and singing praises in prison (16:11-40). Paul established a church in this city that was very normal and committed to the gospel (Phil. 1:3-4). After Philippi, there was the beginning of the church in Thessalonica (Acts 17:1-9). Later, Paul raised up the churches in Achaia, among which the most significant was the church in Corinth (18:1-11). Since Paul was successful on his second journey, it is fitting for us to learn lessons, both from these experiencesto submit to the leading of the Spirit, as well as from Pauls third journeyin which we see that arguing and discussing surely lead us to the mental and doctrinal realm. We are also warned to not excessively stress the outward aspect of the Spirit, but seek the practices that help us to grow spiritually and build the church (1 Cor. 13:1-11; 14:1-4, 12, 26). In spite of the fact that Paul later asked Timothy to remain in Ephesus, the church was not able to overcome its problems (1 Tim.

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1:3-4; 4:7; 6:20; 2 Tim. 2:15; 4:3-4). We know through history that not long after this, many leaders of the churches were taken prisoners and killed, including Peter and Paul, who were martyred by the Romans. Just twenty years later, approximately, the Lord commissioned the apostle John to mend the net of church in Ephesus and repair its holes with Spirit and life. Key Point: Submit to the leading of the Spirit. Your Key Point: Question: What are the lessons that we learn from Pauls second ministry journey?

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Week 4 The Kings Earthly Ministry Wednesday Scripture reading: Acts 16:6-10; 1 Tim. 1:3-4; 2 Tim. 2:15 And the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. (2 Corinthians 3:17) Led by the Spirit Yesterday we saw that during his stay in Ephesus on his third ministry journey (Acts 19:1-12), Paul led the church in a different way than he usually did. Because of this, holes appeared in the tent of the church he had built up in this city. Today we will see the positive experience that Paul and Silas had on their second ministry journey (15:40-41). May we learn from this experience how to follow the Lord and care for the churches! On this second journey, Paul followed the Spirit. At first he tried to go to Asia, but the Holy Spirit forbade it, so he stopped. He tried to go north, to Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow him to, so he didnt go. When he came to Troas, a vision came upon him in which a Macedonian man was standing and entreating him to come and help them. Thus he understood that God was leading him to go to Macedonia (16:6-10).

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The Holy Spirit directed him, and Paul submitted to this leading. It was during this journey that he came to a place of prayer beside a river and spoke to the women who had gathered there. It was also in Philippi that Paul and Silas, being prisoners because of the gospel, were praying and singing praises in prison (16:11-40). Paul established a church in this city that was very normal and committed to the gospel (Phil. 1:3-4). After Philippi, there was the beginning of the church in Thessalonica (Acts 17:1-9). Later, Paul raised up the churches in Achaia, among which the most significant was the church in Corinth (18:1-11). Since Paul was successful on his second journey, it is fitting for us to learn lessons, both from these experiencesto submit to the leading of the Spirit, as well as from Pauls third journeyin which we see that arguing and discussing surely lead us to the mental and doctrinal realm. We are also warned to not excessively stress the outward aspect of the Spirit, but seek the practices that help us to grow spiritually and build the church (1 Cor. 13:1-11; 14:1-4, 12, 26). In spite of the fact that Paul later asked Timothy to remain in Ephesus, the church was not able to overcome its problems (1 Tim.

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1:3-4; 4:7; 6:20; 2 Tim. 2:15; 4:3-4). We know through history that not long after this, many leaders of the churches were taken prisoners and killed, including Peter and Paul, who were martyred by the Romans. Just twenty years later, approximately, the Lord commissioned the apostle John to mend the net of church in Ephesus and repair its holes with Spirit and life. Key Point: Submit to the leading of the Spirit. Your Key Point: Question: What are the lessons that we learn from Pauls second ministry journey?

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Week 4 The Kings Earthly Ministry Thursday Scripture reading: Matt. 5:1-12; 1 Cor. 6:17; James 3:18; 1 Pet. 4:14, 16 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens. (Matthew 5:3) The Requirements to Enter into the Kingdom The Lord Jesus main burden in His earthly ministry was preaching the gospel of the kingdom. He went throughout the regions of Syria, Galilee, Jerusalem and Judea, teaching in the synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every kind of sickness and disease among the people (Matt. 4:23-25). He came to save men and lead His disciples to enter into the kingdom of the heavens. In Matthew chapters 5-7, the Lord Jesus shows what kind of people belong to the kingdom. Brother Witness Lee said that Matthew chapters five to seven are like the constitution of the kingdom of the heavens. Although we dont find the word constitution in the Bible, the content of these chapters is similar to the constitution of a country, showing us the way we can enter into the kingdom of the heavens and what kind of people the citizens of the

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kingdom are. In other words, this portion shows us what is needed to practice the kingdom. The most important points in Matthew 5 are the nine blessings. The Lord Jesus sat down and began to teach His disciples, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens (v. 3). The spirit mentioned here, refers to the human spirit. First we have to fully empty our human spirit, then we can receive the King of the kingdom of the heavens, who has become the Spirit to join and mingle Himself with our spirit (1 Cor. 6:17). If our spirit is not emptied, there is no way for the King of the kingdom of the heavens to come in and fill it. Whoever is in the kingdom of the heavens must always empty and humble himself so that the King of the kingdom of the heavens may dwell in him. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted (Matt. 5:4). When someone is constrained and enlightened to see the humble, despised and rejected condition in which the Lord Jesus lived on this earth, they will realize how poor and pitiful their own condition still is. The only thing to do is to mourn in their spirit. This kind of people are blessed and will be comforted by the Lord Himself.

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Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth (v. 5). In the previous message, we saw that Nimrod conquered the lands by violence in order to make them his kingdom. In the kingdom of the heavens, however, it is not like this. In the kingdom of the heavens, the meek are blessed. It is not a matter of inheriting the earth by violence, but by meekness. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied (v. 6). As we have seen, this righteousness is related to Gods will (3:15). It is not related to the justification of our sins but to the fervent desire that His will and all that God has ordained may be fulfilled (7:21). Those who have such a fervent desire will be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy (5:7). Before the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens, we must be merciful toward others, because, if we measure others with mercy, we will also be measured with Gods mercy (7:2). He will be merciful toward us and will surely give us His grace and love. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (5:8). Toward God we must not have any mixture, no impurity. In order to enter into the kingdom of the heavens, our

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heart has to be completely turned to God. In the church life we fight for Gods interests, that is, we are simply for Him (1 Pet. 1:22; 2:1). The blessed ones will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God (Matt. 5:9). The Lord Jesus came to the earth to bring peace to men. Even though there was enmity between the Jews and the Gentiles, the Lord Jesus put an end to this through His death and resurrection: For He Himself is our peace, He who has made both one and has broken down the middle wall of partition, the enmity, abolishing in His flesh the law of the commandments in ordinances, that He might create the two in Himself into one new man, so making peace, and might reconcile both in one Body to God through the cross, having slain the enmity by it (Eph. 2:14-16). In the church life we must live without any wall of partition by promoting peace between the brothers and reconciling the Gentiles to God (Rom. 14:19; James 3:18). The Lord calls these sons, because they have Gods life and nature (Rom. 16:20). Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens (Matt. 5:10). The persecution the Lord is referring to is related

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to fighting for Gods will to be accomplished by keeping Gods word and what He has ordained. If we are persecuted because of this, we are blessed. Furthermore, we saw when we studied the First Epistle of Peter that if we suffer for the sake of righteousness and are reproached, we are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon us (1 Pet. 4:14, 16). Blessed are you when they reproach and persecute you, and while speaking lies, say every evil thing against you because of Me (Matt. 5:11). Today we are experiencing this situation; however, we must not resist or strike back, but practice 1 Peter 2:23: [Christ] Who being reviled did not revile in return; suffering, He did not threaten but kept committing all to Him who judges righteously. To be blessed in this verse of Matthew does not refer to striking back but to being persecuted. Our attitude must rather be: Rejoice and exult, for your reward is great in the heavens; for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you (Matt. 5:12). Key Point: Be emptied in spirit.

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Your Key Point: Question: In light of the nine blessings of Matthew 5, what is needed to practice the kingdom?

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Week 4 The Kings Earthly Ministry Friday Scripture reading: Matt. 5:13-15; Eph. 5:8 You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt has become tasteless, with what shall it be salted? It is no longer good for anything except to be cast out and trampled underfoot by men. (Matthew 5:13) The Salt of the Earth and the Light of the World Yesterday we saw that the nine blessings must be practiced by us so that we may receive the reward of the kingdom of the heavens. Today we will look at the two very important functions the kingdom people must have while living in the world: to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. In Matthew 5:13 we read, You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt has become tasteless, with what shall it be salted? It is no longer good for anything except to be cast out and trampled underfoot by men. As the people of the kingdom of the heavens, we must be like the salt of the earth. We used to stress that salt is a germicide that kills germs and keeps food from spoiling, since a food may be

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preserved for a much longer time when we salt it. The people of the kingdom of the heavens have to be like the salt of the earth. In the verse that was cited, the salt has the function of giving flavor. It is hard to eat food without salt, so we need it. As the people of the kingdom of the heavens, we have the function of giving flavoring. For example, if there is a problem between two brothers, we should bring them some salt to restore the flavor of their fellowship; be those who bring harmony, like peacemakers. To be the salt of the earth is not to rebuke others, but is for a more important function: restoring the flavor. Brazilians are accustomed to seasoning their own salad with the amount of salt considered adequate for each person. If they put in too little salt, the flavor is not so prominent, but if they put in too much salt, it is hard to eat. In the meetings of the family groups of mutual care (FGMC), for instance, we must speak within a certain measure, not too much; otherwise we will oversalt this small meeting. There needs to be the right amount of salt so that the meeting may very enjoyable. In Matthew 5 we read, You are the light of the world. It is impossible for a city situated

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upon a mountain to be hidden. Nor do men light a lamp and place it under the bushel, but on the lampstand; and it shines to all who are in the house (vv. 14-15). The light cited in this verse is for shining to all who are in the house. As the light of the world, we scatter all the darkness. In the book of Ephesus, it is written that we are children of light, because God our Father is light (Eph. 5:8). Some brothers and sisters may be in darkness but dont realize or admit it and make mistakes because of this. As children of light we must only bring them to the light that they may realize their condition. Another application we can make is to relate the light to a lamp, as we read in Matthew 5:15. A lamp is not for putting under a bushel, but on a lampstand; to shine on all those who are in the house. A bushel, an ancient measure of volume for grains, was a square container made of non-transparent wood or metal, that held a little more than thirty-six liters. This bushel is also related to our livelihood. To place the lamp under the bushel is the same as hiding its light. As the light of the world, we cannot let the light of the candle go out because we are worried about our livelihood. Instead, we need to put it on the lampstand so that it may fulfill its

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function of shining, enlightening, all those who are in the house. Key Point: Give flavor and shine. Your Key Point: Question: What is the spiritual application of salt and light for the church life?

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Week 4 The Kings Earthly Ministry Saturday Scripture reading: Gen. 1:27-28; Rom. 8:29; Gal. 4:2; 1 John 3:1-2 You are the light of the world. It is impossible for a city situated upon a mountain to be hidden. (Matthew 5:14) Shining and Spreading A lampstand in Revelation represents a church (1:20). In one city there can only be one golden lampstand, which signifies that in one city there must only be one church. According to the light in Revelation 1:11, there are not many lampstands in one city. The church in Ephesus, for example, has one golden lampstand, and the church in Smyrna has another golden lampstand. The church in So Paulo only has one golden lampstand, and when it begins to shine, it shines on all who are in this city. This shining golden lampstand represents the testimony of the church in this city. As a golden lampstand, the church should shine, that is, express Gods nature and testify of the oneness of the Body of Christ. One simple way of testifying of the oneness in the city where we live is to have the Lords table there. In the bread we see the oneness the Lord desires to have among His

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children. Though we are many, we are one bread (1 Cor. 10:17). We must testify in every city that we are one with all the children of God where we live. The more this lampstand shines, the more attractive it is to all the children of God to take part in the same bread and cup. In these last years we have received the burden for the work of the spread. Through the word of God, we have seen what Gods will is. He created male and female according to the image of the Lord Jesus (Gen. 1:27; cf. Col. 1:15; Rom. 8:29) so they would be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and have dominion over it (Gen. 1:28). Gods will for the church today is for us to be fruitful and multiply Gods life. He desires to establish His testimony, His expression, in every city, and for this we need to beget and raise up people. These two matters are related to life. On one hand, to beget corresponds to Gods life that came into us; on the other, to bring up corresponds to growing in life until we become adults. In the church we have those who instruct and those who supply food. In Galatians these two functions are applied to the guardians and custodians, who stand for teachers and stewards that supply the church (4:2). When

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the colporteurs go out for the work of the spread, they are like these teachers and stewards, presenting books to people and feeding them with the words of the truth (Matt. 24:45). The words of the truth that we take to people shouldnt be mere knowledge, but food. Peters two epistles, for example, contain the present truth that we are practicing: God became man that man might become like God in life and nature, but not in the Godhead. In this present truth, we have seen that through the dispensing of the Triune God, that is, through the work of the Father (life and godliness), the work of the Son (glory and virtue) and the work of the Spirit (the precious and exceedingly great promises), we become partakers of the divine nature and can be delivered from the corruption which is in the world by lust (2 Pet. 1:3-4). Since His nature is added to our human nature, we grow in life and the divine nature increases in us until we fully manifest God. The more Gods life grows in us, the more we will become like Him. If we continue to grow in Gods life, one day we will be saturated with His nature and will express the agape love. We will be like God (1 John 3:1-2) and will be able to enter into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

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If we practice these truths and help others to practice them, our testimony will shine before men (Matt. 5:16) and the testimony of the oneness of the church will be like a city built on a mountain (v. 14). Key Point: Beget and bring up. Your Key Point: Question: What is the function of the church as a golden lampstand?

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Week 4 The Kings Earthly Ministry Lord's Day Scripture reading: Gen. 1:28; Matt. 16:19; Luke 23:38 And God blessed them; and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion (Genesis 1:28a) Being Faithful to the Portion the Lord Has Entrusted to Us The necessary requirements for those called to be the people of the kingdom of the heavens are in Matthew chapters five to seven. The Lord Jesus, as the King of the kingdom of the heavens, had the commission in His earthly ministry of leading many people into His kingdom. Because of this commission, He went out to preach the gospel of the kingdom. The nine blessings reflect how the living of the kingdom people must be. If we practice these blessings in our living, we will be blessed because we will take part in the kingdom. In this week we also saw that the kingdom people have the very important function of being the salt of the earth and the light of the world. As salt, we do not have the function of rebuking people, pointing out their mistakes. Instead, our function is to restore flavor to them (Acts 2:46-47). We must be

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those who always have a pleasant word, seasoned with salt (Col. 4:6), applying it in the right amount. The Lord Jesus, as the King of the kingdom of the heavens, came to call us. He called us apart from whatever profession we had and led us to follow Him that He might use us in His building. He placed us in the church so that we could carry out our function. The Lord also gives the opportunity for everyone to be perfected. In order to register for the GPP (Gospel Propagation Perfecting), for example, the Lord doesnt demand to have people with a high education or a high status in society. The criterion for His calling is that they have a heart full of love for the Lord and an earnest desire to seek the Lords interests. They are people who want to consecrate their life to follow Him. The perfecting is for all who desire to fulfill Gods eternal will. May we all receive the commission from Genesis 1:28 to be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, subdue it and have dominion. The Lord has commissioned us with the Latin-speaking countries. At the time the Lord was crucified, there were only three main languages in the world around the Mediterranean Sea: Greek, Roman and

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Hebrew (Luke 23:38). These languages were used to record the inscription of accusation against Jesus: This is the King of the Jews. In todays world there are very many languages. However, we can classify people by using a system of languages in three main groups: the Anglo-Saxon languagesEnglish being the main one; the Oriental languages Chinese being the main one; and the Latin languagesSpanish and Portuguese being the main ones. The Lord has given us the burden of preaching the gospel of the kingdom of the heavens to all the inhabitants of the countries that speak Portuguese and Spanish. This is our portion. We must be fruitful, multiply and fill this part of the earth and deliver it to the Lord. Hallelujah! Let us be faithful to the portion that He has entrusted to usthe countries of the Latin language. We are the Lords many disciples, among whom He chooses a group of apostles to be sent to preach the gospel of the kingdom. Key Point: Faithful to the portion the Lord has entrusted to us. Your Key Point: Question: Who does the Lord want to perfect?

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Week 5 The Mysteries of the Kingdom of the Heavens Monday Scripture reading: Gen. 22:17-18; Matt. 10:1-4, 7; 13:1-2, 10-23 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. (Matthew 13:16) The Sower and the Seed of the Kingdom The topic this week is, The Mysteries of the Kingdom of the Heavens (Matt. 13:10-16). As we have seen before, John the Baptist was sent by God to prepare the way for the Lord. He was of the priestly line, and his commission as a priest was to introduce the King of the kingdom of the heavens. However, his garments and diet were peculiar; not like those of the Old Testament priests. This denoted a period of transition, for the priestly service would no longer be carried out in the Old Testament way. After being baptized by John the Baptist, the Lord Jesus began His earthly ministry by calling His disciples. The first to be called were Peter, Andrew, James and John. From among His many disciples He chose twelve, who became apostles (Matt. 10:1-4; cf. Luke. 6:12-16). The word apostle means sent. These sent ones also preached to people that the

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kingdom of the heavens had drawn near (Matt. 10:7). Before sending them, Jesus showed them how to practice the kingdom life through the nine blessings of Matthew 5:3-12. To be blessed signifies to be happy. In the Old Testament God had promised Abraham that in his descendants all the nations would be blessed (Gen. 22:17-18). We who are living in the New Testament receive the blessing promised to Abraham when we receive the Spirit (Gal. 3:14). We can apply the nine blessings to the Spirit that we receive. When we are in the spirit we empty ourselves and receive the kingdom of the heavens; those who mourn will be comforted; the meek will inherit the earth; those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be satisfied, the merciful will be shown mercy; the pure in heart will see God; the peacemakers will be called the sons of God; those who are persecuted and reproached rejoice and exult, for great is their reward in the heavens. The the blessing promised to Abraham in the Old Testament and which comes to us in the New Testament in Jesus Christ is the Spirit! In Matthew chapter 13 we have the parables of the mysteries of the kingdom of

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the heavens. The main requirement to understand the parables is to be in the spirit. Otherwise, in the realm of our mind we will be led to have a thousand and one interpretations of them. When we are in the spirit, however, our eyes and ears are blessed because we can see and hear (v. 16). In the first parable we read, Behold, the sower went out to sow (v. 3b). In this parable the sower is the very Lord Jesus. The seed refers to the word of God, which regenerated us when it was sown into us. We were regenerated of incorruptible seed through the word of God, through the living and abiding seed (1 Pet. 1:22-23). We were regenerated and received the life of God. This was possible because the Lord died for us on the cross and released His divine life to us (John 12:24). The four gospels portray the Lords crucifixion and show the importance of the blood. While He was still on the cross, one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately there flowed out blood and water. The blood is to deal with the problem of sin. On the other hand, we see through the gospel of John that besides the blood, water also flowed out from the Lords side (John 19:34). In other words, once our problem of sin has been dealt with, we are

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qualified to receive the divine life. This is typified by the water that flowed from the Lord Jesus side. It is directly related to the incorruptible seed that He sowed into us through His word, which is living. The Lord Jesus is the living Word (John 1:1, 14). He is the incorruptible seed that was sown into us. When the Lord announced the gospel, He preached this living Word, in which was the seed of life (1 Pet. 1:22-23; cf. John 6:63). So, in the first parable we can see that the Lord Jesus, in addition to being the sower, is also the very seed of life that was sown into us. Key Point: The seed is the living Word of God. Your Key Point: Question: What is the main requirement for us to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens described in the parables?

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Week 5 The Mysteries of the Kingdom of the Heavens Tuesday Scripture reading: Gen. 49:22; Job 14:9; Matt. 5:8; 13:4-5, 19-21 At the scent of water it will bud and will produce branches like a new plant. (Job 14:9) Earth, Water and Moisture The first parable of the sower shows us that, in addition to being the sower, the Lord Jesus is the very seed of life that was sown into us. Today we will see two situations that the seed encounters in our heart and has to overcome in order to grow and bear fruit after it germinates. The first situation is the earth beside the way (Matt. 13:4). A road appears when there is much traffic on the earth. The more traffic there is, the bigger it gets. In this parable the earth was very hard because of constant traffic. Thus, when the seed was sown it stayed on the surface and the birds came and devoured it. As we can verify, the problem is not with the seed, since it is divine, but with the earth, which initially was good earth but became hard because of the intense traffic upon it.

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In verse 19 we read, When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand, the evil one comes and snatches away that which has been sown in his heart. This is the one sown beside the way. The Lord explained that because of the many worries, that is, because of the constant traffic in our heart, the word of life that was sown is not able to penetrate it. The heart is hardened by other things that take away its purity and hinder the seed from penetrating it. Consequently, the birds come and devour the seed. The second situation is the rocky places (13:5). The good earth is that which is able to absorb the right amount of water and thus maintain the right amount of moisture. When the earth has rocks, even though it has soil, it is not able to absorb enough water. The seed needs water in order to germinate. Josephs bough, for example, is fruitful and the branches run over the wall only because they are planted beside a fountain of water (Gen. 49:22). So a sufficient amount of earth and water are needed in order for the plant to germinate and also grow and develop its roots. There are other kinds of plants that utilize the moisture from the air when they are not able to absorb water from

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the soil. According to what we read in Job 14:9: At the scent of water it will bud and will produce branches like a new plant. For this there needs to be favorable moisture in the atmosphere. Water represents the Spirit in us (John 7:38-39). We all need the Spirit, for without the Spirit we dry up. Our meetings need to be filled with water, filled with the Spirit. Through this kind of atmosphere the seed of life is sown and is able to grow. Without soil, water, or moisture from the air, the seed is not able to grow. In order for this plant to grow, it needs to absorb moisture from the atmosphere through its leaves. Even so, if it has no deep roots, the sun will burn its leaves because of the lack of water. Using the example of this plant, some people stumble when anxiety or persecution come because of the word (Matt. 13:20-21). Recently the Lord has spoken to us, especially through Peters words, that we must pay more attention to spirit and life in order to help the brothers and sisters. If we want the brothers and sisters to grow, we need to supply them with water, with the Spirit. The atmosphere of Spirit and life will be sufficient for the saints to receive life. Otherwise, if the earth is rocky it will not be able to retain

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moisture, and for lack of deep roots, the plant will be burned by the sun. Key Point: The seed needs water to grow. Your Key Point: Question: What application can we make from Job 14:9?

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Week 5 The Mysteries of the Kingdom of the Heavens Wednesday Scripture reading: Matt. 6:1920, 25-26; 13:7, 22-23; 16:24 But others fell on the good earth and yielded fruit, one a hundredfold, and one sixtyfold, and one thirtyfold. (Matthew 13:8) Earth Softened, Stones Removed and Thorns Burned The third situation is of the seed that fell among the thorns (Matt. 13:7). The seed in this soil sprouts because the earth is good, since even the thorns grow. The problem is that they choke the word (v. 22). The thorns represent the cares of the world, anxieties, worries and pleasures for the things of the world and the fascination or deceitfulness of riches, which choke the word. There are two things in our daily life that can be a great hindrance to our growth in life: the concerns of the world and the deceitfulness of riches. In the first case, in which the earth was hard and the seed was not able to penetrate, we can reverse this situation by softening the earth. We need to remove the traffic from our heart and repent for being involved with the anxieties of life. We still need to turn to the

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spirit, calling on the name of the Lord and taking His word in prayer. By doing this we will soften our earth and will be qualified to produce fruit. We can also change the situation in the second case. The rocks in mans heart are concerning the soul-life, our natural, fallen human life that is hidden within us. In Matthew 16:24 the Lord Jesus spoke specifically to Peter, showing him the rocks that he had in his heart. In every situation of his life, Peter learned to deny himself and take up his cross and follow the Lord. Therefore he could be transformed. As far as we are concerned, we need to identify the rocks we have and cast them into the fire of the Holy Spirit that is inside of us, in our spirit. By having this attitude the plant can grow. In the third case, however, the thorns grow and choke the plant. The Lords explanation for this case was, And the one sown in the thorns, this is he who hears the word, and the anxiety of the age and the deceitfulness of riches utterly choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful (13:22). The thorns represent the anxieties of the age and the deceitfulness of riches. The many worries dont allow us to grow. We spend the whole day thinking of our livelihood, and the result

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is that we choke the life in us and hinder it from growing. The cares and worries of the world bring with them the anxiety of this world. In Matthew 6:25 we read, Because of this, I say to you, Do not be anxious for your life, what you should eat or what you should drink; nor for your body, what you should put on. Is not the life more than food, and the body than clothing? In order to make us clear, the Lord illustrates in several ways: Look at the birds of heaven. They do not sow nor reap nor gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father nourishes them. Are you not of more value than they? (Matt. 6:26). We have never seen a little bird worried about what to eat or what to wear. This is applied to us who are children of God and were created especially for Him. We should not worry about the things of this world or be deceived by the deceitfulness of riches. In verse 19-20 we read, Do not store up for yourselves treasures on the earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves dig through and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not dig through nor steal. There is no security on earth, and the people of the world are very

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worried about these things. When our heart is inclined to seek after the resources of this earth, it is like the thorns that choke us. We must soften the hard earth, take away the rocks from the rocky ground and burn the thorns in order to remain simply with the good earth. As a result we will hear the word and understand it, be fruitful and produce a hundred, sixty and thirty fold (13:23). Thanks to the Lord, the incorruptible seed has already been sown into us. Let us cooperate with Him so that everything that hinders the growth of the seed of life in us may be removed. The hard earth will be softened, the rocky soil will have its rocks removed, and the earth filled with thorns will have its thorns burned. Let us deny our soullife by casting it into the holy fire of the Spirit. Lets practice Matthew 6:33: Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. When we seek Gods kingdom and righteousness first, we do not need to be concerned about all these things, seeing that they will be added to us! Key Point: Let us cooperate with Him! Your Key Point: Question: What must we do to make our heart fruitful?

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Week 5 The Mysteries of the Kingdom of the Heavens Thursday Scripture reading: Matt. 13:24-30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, Collect first the tares and bind them into bundles to burn them up, but the wheat gather into my barn. (Matthew 13:30) Let Both Grow Together Until the Harvest The parable of the tares and the wheat is the second parable of the mysteries of the kingdom (Matt. 13:24-30). Just like the parable of the sower, it is related to food. As we have seen, the seed has already been sown, and the Lord Jesus is the sower who went out to sow. In verse 25, however, we read, But while the men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares in the midst of the wheat and went away. What Satan does is always in the darkness, at night. While the men slept, he came and sowed tares in the midst of the wheat. Tares and wheat are very similar when they are young. Once the grain is formed, however, it is easy to see that they are different. In the ear of the wheat the grain is golden yellow, but in the ear of the tares the grain is black.

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The servants, who represent the apostles, saw this and asked the master if they could pull out the tares. However, in verse 29 we read, No, lest while collecting the tares, you uproot the wheat along with them. He gave this recommendation because the roots of the tares were intertwined with those of the wheat. The Lord has a better solution for this problem: Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, Collect first the tares and bind them into bundles to burn them up, but the wheat gather into my barn (v. 30). The tares were planted by Satan. When we are in the spirit and are seeking the growth in life, Satan tries many ways to take us away from the spirit. The Lord is wise and knows what the wheat needs. The tares appear in order to hinder the growth of the wheat from absorbing all the nutrients from the earth as well as the light of the sun. When the tares grow they cover the wheat, which eventually would die for lack of light. In order to not be choked, the wheat needs to grow more in order to receive the sunlight. This struggle for the light forces it to grow more. Following the example of the pressures and persecutions the wheat suffers searching

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for light for its growth, we must always be going forward without letting ourselves be cut down, and dedicate ourselves to the work of the spread. Many brothers and sisters who are seeking to come out of the situation of spiritual defeat and ease are seeking to be perfected in the GPP and become colporteurs. Lets not fight against the tares but seek to grow. May we be faithful to the commission we have received of being priests and apostles. Although the tares may be negative, they end up becoming an incentive for our growth. We must have a grateful heart to the Lord, because without the tares we would be standing still, that is, we wouldnt be growing. But because of these situations, we are motivated to fulfill Gods will. Key Point: Dedicate ourselves to the work of the spread. Your Key Point: Question: What help do we receive concerning the parable of the tares and the wheat?

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Week 5 The Mysteries of the Kingdom of the Heavens Friday Scripture reading: Matt. 13:19, 3133; 16:12 But holding to truth in love, we may grow up into Him in all things, who is the Head, Christ. (Ephesians 4:15) Normal Growth and Flour without Leaven The third parable is that of the mustard seed (Matt. 13:31-32). However, in this parable we have an abnormal situation. Mustard is an herb whose seed is very small, but it became a great tree, and the birds of heaven came and roosted in its branches. The birds in the first parable represent the evil one (13:19). Because of the abnormal development of this herb, the evil one came to roost in its branches. The fourth parable is that of the leaven (v. 33). In the previous parable, the grain of mustard seed shows an abnormal and outward situation. This one, however, is inward, for the leaven was put into the flour, whose dough became leavened. The purpose of putting leaven into dough is to make it softer and easier to eat. In Matthew 16:12 we read, Then they understood that He did not say to beware of

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the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Leaven in this verse refers to the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. The truths are very good, and we need them because they contain life and they supply us. However, when they are not practiced, they become mere doctrines. Lets not take the truths in this way but as the lifesupply to be able to practice them. In this parable the Lord Jesus spoke about the leaven put into three measures of meal, which serves as food for man. We need to regularly receive the supply of life. The truths must be practiced so that we may grow in life, but if we put leaven into them, they become empty or dead knowledge. The three measures of meal refer to the Father, the Son and the Spirit as food so that we may grow in life spiritually. Furthermore, the number three also represents resurrection. Many like it when there is leaven because the dough is soft. Some doctrines are also very beautiful to listen to, but they may not be useful to us. When we only emphasize the doctrinal teachings, we begin to argue with people. We need to practice the words of the truth so that they may become real to us and so that we may grow in life.

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These first four parables are related to food, to the life-supply. May we feed ourselves and supply others with healthy food, leading people to the spirit so that they may be encouraged to live and practice the word. Key Point: Regularly receive the supply of life. Your Key Point: Question: What similarity is there between the two parables mentioned today?

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Week 5 The Mysteries of the Kingdom of the Heavens Saturday Scripture reading: Matt. 13:44-46; John 3:5; 1 John 3:1-2 And He said to them, Let us go elsewhere into the nearby towns that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I came out. (Mark 1:38) Building the Church and Spreading the Kingdom The fifth parable is of the hidden treasure (Matt. 13:44). This parable and the next, of the pearl (vv. 45-46), form a pair because of their similarity. In verse 44 the Lord says, The kingdom of the heavens is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid, and in his joy goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field. In this parable we have a person who, when he found a treasure, sold all that he had and paid the price for the field. However, the treasure remained hidden, that is, it was not taken out. In the Bible, this treasure, no doubt, refers to the Triune God, who became the lifegiving Spirit. In addition to the Triune God, we can say that the kingdom is also a great treasure that we find in the Lords recovery.

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Many times we have given messages about the kingdom of the heavens and about how we can enter into it (John 3:5). Other times, however, even though we know it, we dont go out to speak about it to others. Many already have the vision of the kingdom of the heavens and believed, but they havent put it into practice. In spite of having bought the field, the treasure continues to be hidden. Therefore, this time when we cover the term the kingdom of the heavens, we dont want to merely speak about it. We want to move, have some action. We want to preach the kingdom of the heavens and not just know the doctrine, that is, only knowing about the kingdom and not practicing. We must buy the field, but we also need to dig it up in order to take the treasure out and show it to others. The church is built with goldGods nature; silverthe Sons redemption; and precious stonesthe transformation of the Spirit. The building of the church is also for producing the kingdom (Matt. 16:18-19). Therefore, our burden is not only to see the treasure but also to apply it. We want to take this treasurethe gold, silver and precious stonesand build the church with it.

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Gods life is now within us, but it needs to grow. The more it grows, the more His nature is added to us. Thus, little by little we are becoming like God (1 John 3:2) and are being transformed into material for the building, and the kingdom is spreading in us and through us. We must no longer keep the kingdom of the heavens buried. We need to not only preach the gospel of the kingdom among ourselves but go out to preach to others. Key Point: Take the treasure to others. Your Key Point: Question: treasure? Why should we not hide the

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Week 5 The Mysteries of the Kingdom of the Heavens Lord's Day Scripture reading: Matt. 13:4550; 20:22; John 21:2-3, 6; Eph. 1:22-23 Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like a merchant seeking fine pearls; and finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it. (Matthew 13:45-46) One Pearl of Great Value In the sixth parable in Matthew 13, the Lord Jesus said, Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like a merchant seeking fine pearls; and finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it (Matt. 13:45-46). A pearl merchant is a specialist that knows good pearls. He found a pearl of great value, so he sold all that he had to buy it. This pearl is concerning Christ, who is the pearl gate, the entrance into the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:21-22; cf. John 10:9). The pearl also refers to the church, which is the Body of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23). A pearl is produced inside an oyster. It is the product of the wound a grain of sand causes to an oyster. When a grain of sand enters, it causes intense pain. This pain is like

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a speck of something in our eyes that spontaneously cause tearing in an attempt to get rid of it. The speck comes out easily because our eyes are round. When a grain of sand accidentally gets into an oyster, it hurts it. Then the oyster secretes a liquid, trying to get rid of the sand. Being different from our eyes, the flesh inside the oyster is very soft and is composed of layers. Once a grain of sand gets in, it lodges itself deeply in the flesh of the oyster and it cannot get it out. The wounded oyster secretes a liquid that begins to surround the grain of sand until it becomes a pearl. The Lord Jesus is also like a great oyster that came one day to the waters of this world and was wounded for us. His sufferings were so that we could become these pearls (Isa. 53:5). While we take the cup of blessing at the Lords supper, He first took the cup of bitterness for our sake (Matt. 20:22). The Lord Jesus is like the oyster that suffered for us the grains of sand. Now this pearl is no longer just Christ but all of us! We are this little stone that entered the oyster, and when we wounded the Lord Jesus, He surrounded us with the liquid of His love. The longer we remain in this oyster, the more we are surrounded with the Lords love, which

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transforms us into a pearl. Through Christ and the church the pearls are growing more and more. Everything now is to produce the pearl. Because of the pearl the Lord sold all that He had to obtain it. Finally, the last parable is that of the net (Matt. 13:47-50). In this parable someone cast the net into the sea, which in the text represents the world. When we preach the gospel, we are casting the net into the sea. When we begin to haul it in, we feel the weight of the net, but when we open it, we realize that it is filled with many other things and that the number of fish is very few. In our experience of bringing in the net, we realize that we have wasted much time with useless things. This was also the experience of the disciples. After the Lord Jesus resurrection, they didnt see Him anymore and didnt know where He was. Then Peter once again expressed his natural man and went fishing, and six others, including John, went with him (John 21:2-3). Even though they were specialists at fishing, they spent the whole night and caught nothing. It is possible that in trying to catch fish they had brought many other things into the net, but not fish. It was when the Lords word came, Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and

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you will find some. They cast therefore, and they were no longer able to haul it in because of the abundance of fish (v. 6). When we try to cast the net with our natural strength, what we bring in is only weight. We pay a high price, but we bring in useless things. The first four parables are related to life, and the last three to building the kingdom and the church. Thanks to the Lord, the mysteries of the kingdom have been revealed to us. Lets practice this word of preaching the gospel and paying the price for the sake of Christ, the church and the kingdom. Key Point: Dont waste time with useless things. Your Key Point: Question: Relate the producing of the pearl to your experience.

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Week 6 The History of the Church Monday Scripture reading: Matt. 13:1-50; Eph. 3:9-10; Col. 2:2; Rev. 1:8-11 I turned to see the voice that spoke with me; and when I turned, I saw seven golden lampstands. (Revelation 1:12) The Mystery of Christ is the Church The topic this week is The History of the Church. We will cover it beginning from the relationship between the seven parables of Matthew 13 and the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3. The parables of Matthew 13 show the mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens, which are directly related to the church. What is described in Revelation concerning the condition of each of the seven churches reveals prophetically what was to happen to the church historically from the age of the apostles to the second coming of the Lord Jesus. The church is the mystery of Christ (Eph. 3:3-4, 9-10), and Christ is the mystery of God (Col. 2:2). This was revealed in Matthew 16:16-18. The Lord led His disciples to Caesarea Philippi and asked them who the people said He was (v. 13). They then answered saying what some said and what others said. Since this answer didnt satisfy

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Him, Jesus redirected the question to them: But you, who do you say that I am? (v. 15). Peter answered Him, You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God (v. 16). The revelation Peter had did not come from himself, from his flesh, but the Father who is in the heavens revealed it to him. Jesus then continued, And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of the heavens (vv. 18-19a). Therefore, the mystery of Christ is the church, which has the keys of the kingdom of the heavens. In order to know the kingdom, we need to know the church. As we mentioned above, the seven parables concerning the kingdom of the heavens cited in Matthew 13 can be applied to the seven churches in Revelation. The Lord used the name and the condition of these churches in Asia Minor to explain the mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens and to describe the history of the church in these last two thousand years. In Revelation 1:10-11 we read, I was in spirit on the Lord's Day and heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, saying, What you see write in a scroll and send it to the seven

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churches: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamos and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea. When the apostle John turned to see who was speaking with him, he saw seven golden lampstands, which represented the seven churches of Asia (vv. 12, 20). Immediately the Lord asked John to write to the messenger of each church: Ephesus (2:1), Smyrna (v. 8), Pergamos (v. 12), Thyatira (v. 18), Sardis (3:1), Philadelphia (v. 7) and Laodicea (v. 14). There werent only seven churches in Asia Minor, there were others such as the church in Colossae. But these seven were chosen to describe and explain the seven mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens and also the history of the church. This week therefore we are going to relate the first mystery to the first church, the church in Ephesus; the second mystery to the church in Smyrna; the third to the church in Pergamos; the fourth to the church in Thyatira; the fifth to the church in Sardis; the sixth to the church in Philadelphia; and the seventh to the church in Laodicea. Key Point: Turning to see. Your Key Point: Question: What is the key for us to know the mysteries of the kingdom?

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Week 6 The History of the Church Tuesday Scripture reading: Job 14:9; Jer. 17:8; Ezek. 36:26; Matt. 13:1-23; Phil. 4:6-7 But these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing, you may have life in His name. (John 20:31) The Parable of the Sower Ephesus The first mystery is the parable of the sower and is related to the church in Ephesus, which represents the condition of the church from the apostolic period until the end of the first century (Matt. 13:1-23; cf. Rev. 2:1-7). In this parable the seed that was sown fell into four kinds of soil, which represent four conditions of our heart: beside the way, rocky soil, soil with thorns and the good earth. In the first situation, some seed fell beside the way onto hard earth. The birds came and devoured them (Matt. 13:4). This indicates that the earth of our heart needs to be softened so that the word can penetrate it (Ezek. 36:26). In the second situation, part of the seed fell on rocky soil, where there was little earth. This kind of soil shows us that if the rocks are not removed, the roots cannot grow deeply. In a normal situation, in order

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for a plant to sprout it sends out roots in search of water (Jer. 17:8). In this parable, therefore, since there is little soil, it sprouts rapidly so its leaves can draw moisture from the air (Job. 14:9). Since the soil is rocky, it isnt able to develop its roots, so when the heat of the sun comes, the plant dries up. In the third situation, part of the seed fell among the thorns, which grew and choked it. These thorns represent the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches, which choke the seed. We shouldnt put our confidence in the earthly things or be anxious. Rather, we should cast all our anxiety on the Lord (1 Pet. 5:7). Finally, in the fourth situation, the seed fell on the good earth and produced a hundred, sixty and thirty fold. In our experience, by softening the earth, removing the rocks and burning the thorns, our heart becomes the good earth that can bear fruit. In the church in Ephesus, represented by the parable of the sower, we also have four situations. The first of them, beside the way, can be related to the beginning of the church in Ephesus. When Paul preached to the Ephesians, they didnt receive the word as life. Therefore, this word wasnt able to get into them, just like the seed that was sown and fell beside the way. The reason was that they were

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in the realm of their soul, only taking the word to discuss instead of to enjoy (Acts. 19:8-9; cf. 1 Tim. 1:3-4; 6:3-4). Consequently, the birds came and snatched the word out of their heart. In the second situation, the earth had many rocks, indicating a church that was living in the realm of opinions. Because of the gravel in the heart of the saints in Ephesus, even Timothy, who was sent to help the church, was weakened (2 Tim. 1:6-7). As a result of the soulish realm that was reigning in the church in Ephesus, the word of life that Paul sowed didnt find a favorable environment to grow, and it eventually dried up. In the third situation, the seed was choked by the thorns, which represent the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches (Matt. 13:22). When we are in our soullife, the cares of the world make us anxious, but whoever is in the spirit doesnt become anxious (Phil. 4:6-7). Paul also tried to help them concerning the danger of falling into the deceitfulness of riches. In the fellowship he had with the elders of the church in Ephesus in Miletus, among several matters dealt with he reminded them of the Lord Jesus words: It is more blessed to give than to receive

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(Acts 20:35b). Based on these words, we can see that the church in Ephesus had difficulty giving, offering (1 Tim. 6:9-10, 17-19). The fourth situation is related to the good earth, which took place after the apostle John, according to history, came out of exile on the island of Patmos and went to serve in the church in Ephesus. Although the church there had received much help for three years from Paul (Acts 20:31), who surely conveyed to them the words of Gods New Testament economy, they didnt absorb them. Instead, these healthy teachings became doctrines for discussion (1 Tim. 1:4). Considering this picture, Johns primary attitude in restoring the church in Ephesus was to bring the church into the Spirit and life, emphasizing the Lords name and His word (John 1:12; 20:30-31; John 1:1; 1 John 1:1-2). So when the church in Ephesus began to call on the name of the Lord and take the word of God with prayer (Eph. 6:17-18; Heb. 4:12) after the example of the seed that fell into the good earth, it produced much fruit to the point of the church sending brothers to cooperate in other regions and develop the work of the spread (3 John 3-7). The church in Ephesus was helped to return to a

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desirable condition, according to the meaning of its name. Key Point: Emphasize the Lords name and word. Your Key Point: Question: What made Ephesus the good earth?

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Week 6 The History of the Church Wednesday Scripture reading: Matt. 13:2430, 36-43; John 19:39-40; Acts 7:59 Do not fear the things that you are about to suffer...Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. (Revelation 2:10) The Parable of the Tares and the Wheat Smyrna The second mystery is the parable of the tares and the wheat and is related to the church in Smyrna, which represents the condition of the church under the persecution of the Roman Empire between the end of the first century and the beginning of the fourth (Matt. 13:24-30, 36-43; cf. Rev. 2:8-11). Smyrna signifies myrrh, an aromatic spice with a very bitter flavor used in the preparation of the body for burial (John 19:39-40). Myrrh, therefore, is related to suffering. The church in Smyrna is the continuation of the church in Ephesus, that is, after it became desirable. She passed through much suffering under the persecution of the Roman Empire because she called on the Name and read and prayed the word. This happened

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because the enemy, being frustrated, came to attack her. A similar situation happened at the beginning of the church in Jerusalem. As soon as it was raised up, the brothers and sisters were calling on the name of the Lord (Acts. 2:21; 7:59). Then the Jewish religion used people like Saul to persecute those who called on the name of the Lord (9:14, 21). Because of this situation, the church in Jerusalem stopped calling on the Lord. But it was not like this with the church in Smyrna. She was the continuation of the church in Ephesus, and the saints continued to call on the Name and pray-read the Lords word, even unto death. It doesnt matter how much we are persecuted; we must continue to call on the name of the Lord, because in the spirit we receive life. According to history, the church in Smyrna passed through ten great persecutions during this time (Rev. 2:10). During this period many saints died, but the church continued to be living and steadfast. Their stand was due to the Name they were calling on and the word they were reading and praying. Because they exercised their spirit by calling and pray-reading, the saints remained faithful and struggled to advance, in spite of

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the actions of the enemy who sowed tares in the midst of the wheat. Revelation 2:13 records the death of Antipas. Even though his name is mentioned in the letter to Pergamos, everything indicates that he was a contemporary of Smyrna because it is dealing with a martyr of the church. The name Antipas means against all. The Bible calls him the faithful witness. The church was calling on the name of the Lord and pray-reading the word while he was living. The Lord encouraged the church in Smyrna to not fear the things that she had to suffer. She should be faithful unto death in order to receive the crown of life (Rev. 2:10). The Parable of the Mustard Seed Pergamos The third mystery is related to the parable of the mustard seed, represented by the church in Pergamos (Matt. 13:31-32; Rev. 2:12-17). The word Pergamos signifies marriage, union, or high tower, and corresponds to the condition of the church from the beginning of the fourth century until the sixteenth. At the time of the church in Smyrna, the strategy the enemy used to destroy it was persecution. During the period of Pergamos, however, false Christians came in and were lifted up by the Roman emperor,

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Constantine, who began to give them benefits and privileges. This attitude gave entrance into the church to many self-seeking people. In other words, his intention was to exalt the Christians and put them in a high tower. The church in Smyrna was not so numerous, but after the emperor Constantine began to exalt the Christians during the time of Pergamos, it rapidly increased in number. In the parable in Matthew, the small mustard seed that should have become an herb, became a great tree in which many birds roosted. These birds represent Satan (cf. Matt. 13:4, 19). When the church joins the world or politics, Satan comes to roost, that is, establish his throne and produce an abnormal growth in the church (Rev. 2:13). Key Point: growth. Persecution produces normal

Your Key Point: Question: What happened to the church after the death of Antipas?

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Week 6 The History of the Church Thursday Scripture reading: Matt. 13:33; 16:11-12; Rev. 2:18-19 Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless the grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. (John 12:24) The Parable of the LeavenThyatira The fourth mystery is the parable of the leaven and is related to the church in Thyatira, which represents the condition of the church at the end of the sixth century (Matt. 13:33; cf. Rev. 2:18-29). Thyatira means unceasing sacrifice. The mystery of the parable of the woman who took leaven and hid it in three measures of meal until the whole was leavened is opened by the church in Thyatira. This leaven doesnt refer to the leaven of bread but to the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees (Matt. 16:11-12). In the New Testament we live in the spirit. The word we receive from God is the truth and we must practice it. When we dont practice the words that we hear, they end up becoming doctrine and mere teaching. In Revelation 2:18, 20 we read, And to the messenger of the church in Thyatira write: These things says the Son of God, He who has

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eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet are like shining bronze. But I have something against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, she who calls herself a prophetess and teaches and leads My slaves astray to commit fornication and to eat idol sacrifices. Jezebel represents the woman who took leaven and hid it in three measures of meal until the whole was leavened. At the time of the church in Pergamos, the politics of the Roman Empire were prevailing. Later, at the time of the church in Thyatira, the Roman religion began to prevail, chiefly through the Papal system. Everything began to be decided, not by Gods word, but by this woman, by this system that had its own teaching, its leaven, that caused mixture and confusion. The subtlety of this system is that the leaven of its own teaching is put into three measures of meal, which typify the Triune God: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Thyatira has the word, but it is mixed with leaven. It has a namenot the name of the Lord but of this prophetess. According to history, the Catholic Church adopted the teaching of this woman and replaced the name of Jesus with the name of Mary. The Papal system and the traditions of the Roman church were valued more than the Lords word.

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As a reaction against this, the Lord raised up Martin Luther. At that time only the clergy had access to the Bible. As Luther was studying the Bible, he read that justification is by faith and not by works. Through him this important truth was recovered, and the Bible became public. Moreover, at this same time the printing press was invented and the Bible became accessible to all the Christians. Key Point: Treasure the word of God. Your Key Point: Question: What does leaven refer to in this parable?

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Week 6 The History of the Church Friday Scripture reading: Matt. 13:44-46; John 10:7; 1 Cor. 3:12; Col. 1:18 And finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it. (Matthew 13:46) The Treasure Sardis The fifth mystery is the parable of the hidden treasure and is related to the church in Sardis, which represents the condition of the church from the beginning of the sixteenth century (Matt. 13:44; cf. Rev. 3:1-6). Sardis signifies restoration, but its restoration was not complete. The church in Sardis came out of the Roman Catholic Church, that is, it came out of Thyatira. The same thing that happened in the parable of the treasure also happened to the church in Sardis. The treasure hidden in the field, even after it was found by a certain man, remained hidden. Although the church in Sardis had found the kingdom, they didnt practice it. This treasure, composed of gold, silver and precious stones, is the material used to build the church, which is the kingdom of the heavens (1 Cor. 3:12). The Lord said to them, I know your works, that you have a name that you are

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living, and yet you are dead (Rev. 3:1). They had a name of restoration, but they didnt do the work of restoration. The treasure had been discovered and a high price was paid to buy it, but it still continued to be hidden in the field. The church in Sardis only has the knowledge of the kingdom. Through the Bible they found a very precious treasurethe kingdombut they didnt build the church with it. Instead, they left it hidden in the field. We will only have the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens when the church is built. The PearlPhiladelphia The sixth mystery is the parable of the one who does business and seeks for fine pearls and is related to the church in Philadelphia (Matt. 13:45-46; cf. Rev. 3:7-13). Philadelphia signifies brotherly love. In Matthew 13:45-46 we read, Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like a merchant seeking fine pearls; and finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it. Christ and the church are typified by this parable. Christ is the Head, and the church is His Body (Col. 1:18). When this man discovered a pearl of great value, which is Christ, he paid everything to get it. On one hand, the pearl refers to Christ, because in the New Jerusalem the twelve

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gates are twelve pearls (Rev. 21:21; cf. John 10:7). On the other, Christ is like an oyster through which we become the many pearls. Just as an oyster suffers when a grain of sand comes into it, Christ suffered to the point of giving His own life while we were still sinners. Like an oyster, He didnt cast us out, but is forming, protecting and surrounding us day by day. The longer we remain in Christ, the more Christ we will have and the greater the pearl will be. This picture is very similar to the auditorium at the Estancia Arvore da Vida, which is in the shape of an oyster and which represents Christ. Inside this great oyster, we represent the pearls that remain in Christ and receive life through the word in order to grow as much as possible. In the parable of Matthew 13, the merchant sold all that he had to buy the pearl because it was a pearl of great value. Great is the mystery of godliness: God manifested in the flesh. On one hand, this pearl is Christ, and on the other, it is we who are surrounded by Christ and expressing Him. So we have the reality of this great mystery: Christ and the church! Key Point: Dig up the treasure and remain in Christ

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Your Key Point: Question: What is the difference between the parable of the hidden treasure and the pearl?

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Week 6 The History of the Church Saturday Scripture reading: Matt. 13:47-50; Rev. 3:11, 14-22 Hold fast what you have that no one take your crown. (Revelation 3:11b) The Parable of the NetLaodicea The seventh mystery is the parable of the net and is related to the church in Laodicea (Matt. 13:47-50; cf. Rev. 3:14-22). Laodicea signifies the opinion of the common people. In Matthew 13:47-48 we read, Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like a net cast into the sea and gathering from every species, which, when it was filled, they brought onto the shore, and sat down and collected the good into vessels; but the foul they cast out. This refers to the church in Laodicea, which thinks it understands everything. Even though what it contains is equal to a few fish, it is very satisfied: I am wealthy and have become rich and have need of nothing (Rev. 3:17a). But the Lord told her, [You] do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked (v. 17b). The Lord placed us in the church so that we would also pass through these seven stages. Just like the situation of the church in Ephesus at the beginning, sometimes we

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begin with a very hard heart toward the Lord. Then we start to receive the word, but since there are many rocks we arent able to grow. After we take the rocks out there are still thorns growing and they choke us. However, through the Spirit and through the help of the ministry of the apostle John, we have been helped to call on the name of the Lord and pray-read His word. In this way we began to live more in the spirit. Hallelujah! We became the good earth where more fruits of the Spirit are produced. The last four churches cited in Revelation will remain until the Lords second coming: the church in ThyatiraCatholicism; the church in Sardisthe recovery in name only; the church in Philadelphiathe Lords recovery; and the church in Laodiceathe proud recovery, with no practice. The church in Philadelphia, which means brotherly love, is constituted of all those who call on the name of the Lord and read and pray His word. This church already has its crown. The Lord tells it, I come quickly. Hold fast what you have that no one take your crown (Rev. 3:11). Those who are in Philadelphia must continue in the spirit. If we dont hold fast to what we have, we may fall into the situation of Laodicea: proud, closed

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and lukewarm, with no reaction to the word of God. The commission given to the church in Philadelphia was: Hold fast what you have that no one take your crown! Key Point: The seven mysteries are explained by the seven churches. Your Key Point: Question: What care should we take in order to not fall into the condition of Laodicea?

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Week 6 The History of the Church Lord's Day Scripture reading: Matt. 13:11, 16-17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. (Revelation 3:13) Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea Thanks to the Lord, the mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens have been unveiled by the churches in Revelation. We are blessed to practice what the Lord has revealed to us through the Spirit. And He answered and said to them, Because to you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens, but to them it has not been given...But blessed are your eyes because they see and your ears because they hear. For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men have desired to perceive the things that you see, and have not perceived them, and to hear the things that you hear, and have not heard them (Matt. 13:11, 16-17). May we apply the revelation of these mysteries to our living so that we may have the reality of the kingdom of the heavens today. May it never happen that the relationship of the parables with the churches in Revelation become merely beautiful messages.

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From the conclusion of each letter to the churches cited in Revelation 2 and 3, we can make a distinction between two groups from a historical and prophetic point of view: the first is composed of the first three churches, whose prophecies have already taken place, and the second is composed of the last four, which will remain until Christs second coming. At the conclusion of the first three letters to the churches, firstly it is said, He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches, and afterwards, To him who overcomes (Rev. 2:7, 11, 17); whereas in the last four this order is reversed (2:26, 29; 3:56, 12-13, 21-22). In other words, through history we can verify that the prophecies of the churches in Ephesus, Smyrna and Pergamos were fulfilled, but the prophecies of the churches in Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea are being fulfilled. These churches will remain until the Lords return. Who will be able to pass through Gods judgment when it comes? The church in Thyatira will not be able to bear this judgment because it put leaven into the three measures of meal and replaced the name of the Lord with another name. The Lords name and His word were replaced by the name and

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teachings of Jezebel, which will not be able to pass through the Lords judgment. The church in Sardis, because of only having the name of recovery yet being dead, will not be able to enter into the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens. All the knowledge of the truth they obtained was not put into practice. They were very divided because of doctrinal questions and strong opinions. When the Lord comes to judge them, they will be full of opinions and their soul-life. How are they going to pass through Gods judgments if they remain like this? Since the church in Philadelphia already has the crown of life (cf. Rev. 2:10 Philadelphia follows the line of Smyrna), the Lord warns them to keep their crown. However, the Lord says to the church in Laodicea, I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined by fire that you may be rich, and white garments that you may be clothed and that the shame of your nakedness may not be manifested, and eyesalve to anoint your eyes that you may see (Rev. 3:18). If she doesnt repent, she also will not have the way to pass through the judgment. Only by living in the spirit through calling on the name of the Lord and pray-reading His word will we be kept from falling into the

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situation of Laodicea. In Laodicea they know all the truths, but they are proud, poor, blind and naked. The different situations of the seven churches in Revelation explain to us the mysteries of the seven parables in Matthew 13 and help us to see where we are and to choose where we want to be. Key Point: Keep the crown. Your Key Point: Question: Where are you and what is your choice?

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Week 7 The Church is Revealed Monday Scripture reading: Matt. 13:24-25, 30; 16:17-19; Eph. 3:9-10; Col. 2:2 Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in the heavens. (Matthew 16:17a) Life and Building The topic this week is The Church is Revealed (Matt. 16:17-19). The Lord Jesus said that the kingdom of the heavens is a mystery, thus He used parables to speak about it (13:10-11). The Lord also revealed that the seven golden lampstands seen by the apostle John were seven churches (Rev. 1:20). These seven churches were in seven cities in Asia Minor. A city corresponds to a church, since a letter was written to each one of them. However, the Lords word in each letter was not just for the church addressed in the letter, because to each it was also said, He who has an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches (Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22). The Lord has revealed to us that the names of the seven cities may be used to explain and illustrate the mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens in the seven parables of Matthew 13.

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Through the Bible we know that God has a mystery, which was revealed to us in Colossians 2:2: the mystery of God is Christ. In Ephesians 3 Christ also has a mystery, which was made known to us through the church (vv. 3-4, 9-10). In addition to these, last week we also saw the mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens recorded in the seven parables of Matthew 13. The first is the parable of the sower (vv. 3-8). The second deals with the tares that are sown by the enemy after the wheat has been planted (vv. 24-25). At the time of harvesting the grains the wheat is gathered into the barn, and the tares are burned (v. 30). The third is the parable of the mustard seed, the least of all the seeds. It should have grown as an herb, but it grew in an abnormal way and became a great tree (vv. 31-32). In creation at the beginning of Genesis we see that every plant was brought forth according to its kind: the grass, the herbs and the trees (Gen. 1:11-12). The abnormal growth of the mustard seed into a great tree allowed the birds of heaven to roost in its branches (Matt. 13:32b). The fourth parable is of the leaven which a woman put into three measures of meal. In a normal situation, these three measures are for food. As we can see, the first four parables are

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related to food, which in turn is fully related to life. The last three parables are related to building, to work. So we have four parables related to life and three to work and can conclude that life is more important than work. In the churches we must pay more attention to life than to work. We are anxious for the building up, but we firstly need life. For this we must feed the brothers and sisters more. When life grows, the building spontaneously follows it. Thus, according to the leading we have received from the parables in Matthew 13, we must place more emphasis on life. Key Point: Emphasize life. Your Key Point: Question: How can we identify life and building in the parables of Matthew 13?

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Week 7 The Church is Revealed Tuesday Scripture reading: Matt. 7:23; 14:15-21; 15:32-38; John 6:26; Rev. 3:8 And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve handbaskets full. (Matthew 14:20) The Lord Pays Attention to Life Philadelphia means love among brothers, brotherly love. The church in Philadelphia continually calls on the name of the Lord and keeps His word (Rev. 3:8b). To those who only call on Him from time to time, the Lord says in Matthew 7:23, I never knew you. Calling on the name of the Lord and keeping His word is a matter of life and must be part of our living (Psa. 116:2; 1 Cor. 1:2). Most of the brothers and sisters already call on the name of the Lord when they wake up. We can also testify that they have the habit of enjoying the Daily Food at home or at work (as you are doing now) and reading the word of God. As we practice this, we are placing emphasis on the divine life and its growth in us, so we are growing together and being built in a very spontaneous way. It is fundamental for our growth that we deny our soul-life. In the church life those

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who have grown more, who are more mature in life, continually deny their soul-life. Those who dont deny themselves make it hard for the building of the church; besides the problems their own self causes the rest of the brothers and sisters. If we insist on our own opinions, we will be like the church in Laodicea, whose name means the opinion of the people, which is not normal. First, we must stress life because life is fundamental, and as it grows we will have the building of the church. After the Lord spoke about the mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens by way of the parables, He departed and went to other places (Matt. 13:53). On one occasion when He saw a great crowd following Him, Jesus had compassion on them and spoke to them about the kingdom and healed those in need of healing (14:13-14; cf. Luke 9:11). In order to deal with the problem of the crowds hunger, the Lord didnt order each one to buy food for himself but told the disciples that they themselves should give them something to eat. Since among them there were only five loaves and two fish, Jesus took what they had, lifted His eyes to heaven and blessed them. After this He divided the loaves and gave them to the disciples and they to the crowd (Matt. 14:17-19). Those who ate

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were about five thousand men. If we were to count the women and children it might come to about ten thousand people (vv. 20-21). This was really a great miracle, and it shows us that the Lord was concerned with peoples lives and that He was interested in satisfying their hunger. His emphasis while He was doing His work was life. In Matthew chapter 15 we see another instance of the Lord Jesus paying attention to life, again having compassion on the crowds that remained with Him, and He fed them. Now, this time those who ate were about four thousand men, in addition to women and children (vv. 32-38). This typifies the need man also has of spiritual food. In chapter 6 of the Gospel of John, we see that people followed the Lord because of the food which perishes (John 6:26). So He said to them, Work not for the food which perishes, but for the food which abides unto eternal life (v. 27). The Lord cared for their physical supply in order to lead them to the spiritual food. Whoever eats the physical bread will be hungry again after a few hours, but whoever eats the bread that comes down out of heaven will receive life and will live eternally!

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Key Point: Work for the food which doesnt perish. Your Key Point: Question: What was the Lords concern when He fed the crowds?

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Week 7 The Church is Revealed Wednesday Scripture reading: John 6:3133, 35, 48, 54, 63, 66 He who eats Me, he also shall live because of Me. (John 6:57b) The Physical Food is for the Spiritual Food The Lords purpose in caring for peoples physical food was to lead them to the spiritual food (John 6:31-33), because their real need was the Lord Jesus Himself (v. 48). We eat the physical food through our mouth; we eat the spiritual food, which is the very Lord Jesus, the bread of life, by faith, that is, by believing. When we believe in the Lord Jesus, He gives us the bread from heaven (v. 35); therefore, we receive the true food. In addition to this, the Lord said to His disciples, He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up in the last day (v. 54). This statement by the Lord produced many doubts and questionings, and in view of this many of His disciples left Him and no longer walked with Him (v. 66). The twelve disciples, however, remained because they knew they needed the Lords words of eternal life (vv. 68-69).

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There are four important phrases in verse 63: The flesh profits nothing, it is the Spirit who gives life, the words which I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. The first phrase is: The flesh profits nothing. If the Lord were referring to His physical flesh, it wouldnt be enough to feed so many people and neither would all of His blood be enough. Therefore, when the Lord spoke about eating His flesh and drinking His blood, He wasnt referring to anything material, since the flesh profits nothing. Immediately we have the second phrase: It is the Spirit who gives life. He meant that only the Spirit can give us the true food, the true life that we need. It would be useless to eat His physical flesh because it profits nothing. We need the Spirit in order to have life, and the easiest way to get it is to call on the name of the Lord. The third phrase is: The words which I have spoken to you are spirit. In the Lords word there is Spirit, and this Spirit is the One who gives life. This was why the disciples should follow the Lord; not because of the physical food that perishes, but because of the spiritual food that comes from His words. Finally, the last phrase: And are life. As the Lords words are Spirit and life and the

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Spirit gives life, His words give us the true life, the life of God. This is the true food, the true bread that comes down out of heaven. We shouldnt just work for the food which perishes, for even if we eat it, we will still be hungry. God wants to lead us from our physical need to our spiritual need, so we must pay attention to the Lords name and His word. When we call on the name of the Lord, we turn to our spirit where the Spirit is. When we read and pray His word, He gives us life. Key Point: Eat the true food. Your Key Point: Question: What are the four important phrases mentioned in John 6:63?

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Week 7 The Church is Revealed Thursday Scripture reading: Matt. 13:33; 16:5-12; Luke 12:1; John 6:33, 48 Purge out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, even as you are unleavened; for our Passover, Christ, also has been sacrificed. (1 Corinthians 5:7) Beware of Leaven The word of God is the bread that came down out of heaven to feed us and give us life (John 6:33). Life is the Lord Jesus Himself as the bread of life (John 6:48), which we need in order to grow in the divine life. The more we eat the word, the true bread, the more we are nourished and strengthened inwardly in the Lord. Spiritually speaking, that which is not the living bread, that does not come from the mouth of God, does not serve us as food and we must reject it. In Matthew 16:5-12, after being tempted by the Pharisees and Sadducees who asked for a sign from Him, Jesus warned His disciples to beware of their leaven. But the disciples didnt understand and thought that Jesus was speaking about them not having brought bread. Only after the Lord explained did they understand that they should beware of the leaven that the Pharisees and

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Sadducees put into the word of God through their teachings (v. 12). When leaven is put into dough, all of it is leavened (Gal. 5:9). The Pharisees and Sadducees werent the only ones who put leaven into the flour, for also in Matthew 13:33 we see that a woman hid leaven in three measures of meal. In the church cited in Revelation that corresponds to this parable, we also have a woman, Jezebel, putting leaven into the flour, for she was teaching and seducing the Lords slaves to practice fornication and to eat things sacrificed to idols (Rev. 2:20; Matt. 13:33). Leaven is used to raise bread dough and thus make it easier to eat. There are groups that use the Bible together with books that contain leaven. Because of this we must be careful and beware of them. During the period of the church in Thyatira, much leaven came into the church and leavened all the healthy teaching of the apostles. At the time of the Lord Jesus, the teaching of the Pharisees was the leaven that they brought into the midst of Gods people. The Lord Himself said that their leaven was hypocrisy (Luke 12:1). They had good teachings regarding the law, but they themselves didnt practice them (Matt. 23:3). In our days we know that there is still much

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leaven, there are many teachings that have been added and hidden in the flour. It is very important that we always turn to the word of God, the Bible, to see if something is in fact so. If a persons teachings are contained in the word of God, we accept them. However, if someone comes with a teaching that doesnt come from the word of God, we must not accept it. We must pay exclusive attention to the word of God. When we minister a word in the church meetings, we must use the Bible. We need to give the three measures of meal, but without the addition of leaven. We cannot add other teachings to Gods word. Every word must come from God, and our goal must be to lead people to contact Him. Key Point: Eat the pure word of God. Your Key Point: Question: What is the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees dealing with?

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Week 7 The Church is Revealed Friday Scripture reading: Matt. 16:13-18; John 1:18; 1 John 5:12 He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. (1 John 5:12) The Son of the Living God The Lord Jesus is very wise. In order to feed the crowds, He had them sit down in order on the green grass in groups by hundreds and by fifties (Matt. 14:19; 15:35; cf. Mark 6:39-40). The church is just the gathering of those who believe, the meeting of those who have been saved by grace and called out from where they were; that is why they are the church (Matt. 16:18). When the Lord wanted to reveal the church to Peter, He did not choose Jerusalem. If He had revealed the church there, there would have been the possibility that His disciples might have received something mixed with human and religious tradition. Each one could have had his own interpretation or way of seeing it. Therefore the Lord took them to Caesarea Philippi (Matt. 16:13a) at the foot of mount Herman. That was the proper place for the Lord to reveal what He desired without

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interference from the heavy religious atmosphere in Jerusalem. The Lord brought His disciples together there and asked them about what the people were saying about Him as the Son of Man. The answer was: Some, John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets (v. 14). They considered the Lord Jesus as one of the prophets, someone who spoke for God. The Lord, however, was not satisfied with this answer and went on, But you, who do you say that I am? (v. 15). Peter then answered, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God (v. 16). The affirmation, You are the Christ, emphasizes the aspect of work, for Christ is the anointed One. God anointed Him and gave Him a commission to build the church. In the second affirmation, The Son of the living God, the stress is on life, for the Son is related to life (1 John 5:12). In order for the church to exist, it needs both the Son of the living Godlife, as well as Christwork, for its building. After making this affirmation so filled with revelation, Peter was praised by the Lord, who said to him, Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in the heavens

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(Matt. 16:17). In other words, the Lord was saying that this revelation did not come from Peters natural being. We need to remember that Peter was living in the realm of his soullife. It was not yet possible for him to live in the spirit, for up to that time the Lord Jesus had not died and resurrected to dwell in him. The Spirit had not entered into Peter, but even so, he was used by God the Father to speak about His mystery. The Lords affirmation was to make us clear that the source of the revelation was not Peter, but God the Father, who was in the heavens. Key Point: Revelation comes from the Father. Your Key Point: Question: What does it mean: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God?

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Week 7 The Church is Revealed Saturday Scripture reading: Matt. 16:18; 13:45; 1 Cor. 3:11 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. (Matthew 16:18) The Church is Built upon the Rock After the Father revealed His mystery to Peter, the Lord Jesus, the very Christ, went on to say to him, And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it (Matt. 16:18). After Christ was revealed, He Himself revealed His mystery to Peter: the church. The revelation of Christ as the mystery of God and the church as the mystery of Christ is the revelation of a pearl of great worth. In the parables about the mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens, we see that the sixth parable speaks concerning one who did business and sought for fine pearls. Having found one pearl of great worth, he sells all that he has and buys it (13:45-46). Where did this pearl come from? As we saw last week, a pearl is formed when a grain of sand enters an oyster and causes it some discomfort, some

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suffering. Since its inwards parts are not smooth, the oyster secretes a liquid over this grain, surrounding it little by little with the best that it has until the grain of sand becomes a pearl. To the Lord, we are like this little stone, like this grain of sand. He was wounded for us, and the result of His suffering brought satisfaction to God. Eventually, we became a pearl, the fruit of His travail (Isa. 53:11). On one hand, we can say that the pearl refers to Christ; on the other, it also refers to the church. Formerly we were the many grains of sand, the many little stones that wounded the Lord, but after His death and resurrection we were brought forth in Christ to be the church. In this way the pearl of great worth was produced. In Matthew 16:18 we read, Upon this rock I will build My church. This is the first time the church is mentioned in the Bible. Although the church was revealed by the Lord in this passage, it only came into being after His death and resurrection. The church is the place God prepared to bring people to who would believe in the Lord Jesus. The church is the house of God which is built on the very Lord Jesus as the Rock. The word stone in the verse above signifies rock in Greek. Christ is the foundation of the building

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of the house of God (1 Cor. 3:11). Because Christ is this Rock, even if rain should fall, rivers overflow and winds blow impetuously against it, it will not fall, because it is build on this firm foundation (Matt. 7:25). Key Point: Build upon the Rock. Your Key Point: Question: What must we be built upon?

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Week 7 The Church is Revealed Lord's Day Scripture reading: Matt.16:18-19 I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of the heavens, and whatever you bind on the earth shall have been bound in the heavens, and whatever you loose on the earth shall have been loosed in the heavens. (Matthew 16:19) The Keys of the Kingdom of the Heavens Again, with respect to the revelation of the church, in Matthew 16:18b we read, Upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. Because of the church being built by the Lord Himself and upon Himself as the firm foundation, the power of Satan cannot prevail against it. In the world there is evil power, but in the church there is authority from the Lord; therefore, Satan has no place. Hallelujah! Moreover, we have the keys of the kingdom of the heavens (v. 19), because they were given to the church. Before we enter into the kingdom, we have to enter the church, because the keys were given to her. When we enter the church life, we enter into the kingdom life. In spite of not yet having the manifestation of the kingdom, we do have the reality of the kingdom of the heavens. We are

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in the church life in order to learn to exercise the life of a citizen of the kingdom of the heavens, learning to do what a citizen of this kingdom should do. All those who are of the kingdom of the heavens must have the life of God; and not only so, this life must grow until one day we are like God in life and nature, but not in the Godhead. The church has the keys of the kingdom of the heavens. This means that the church has the authority of this kingdom. Therefore we read, Whatever you bind on the earth shall have been bound in the heavens, and whatever you loose on the earth shall have been loosed in the heavens (v. 19). When we pray and bind any situation here on earth, it is also bound in the heavens. When Satan wants to cause any kind of trouble or disturbance in the church, we can pray to the Lord to bind him. The church has been revealed, and we are included in it! Praise the Lord! Key Point: Bind the enemy. Your Key Point: Question: How does the power of Satan not enter the church?

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Week 8 The Normal Church Life Monday Scripture reading: Lev. 11:2-3; Matt. 16:16, 24-27; Rom. 8:29; 2 Cor. 3:17 He who eats me, he also shall live because of Me. (John 6:57b) Chewing the Cud The topic this week is The Normal Church Life (Matt. 16:24-27). When God created man, He made him according to His image (Gen. 1:26). He immediately planted a garden in Eden, and in it put the man He had formed. Out of the ground the Lord God made every kind of tree to grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, as well as the tree of life in the midst of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:8-9). Then He gave this commandment to the man He had created: And Jehovah God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden you may eat freely, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, of it you shall not eat; for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die (vv. 16-17). Gods desire was that man would eat of the tree of life and live forever (3:22b). But the man disobeyed this commandment and ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (3:6), bringing death into his being (cf. Rom. 5:12, 19). Consequently, mans soul then had a life

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that was independent of God, which could know good and evil. Because of this the Lord God cast man out of the garden (Gen. 3:22, 24). Cain, one of Adams descendants, following the good side of this independent life that he inherited from his parents, desired to please God and serve Him. For this purpose he devoted himself to work hard as a farmer to bring an offering to the Lord from the fruit of the earth, yet in his own way and by his own sweat and toil (cf. vv. 17-18) . However, God was not pleased with Cain and his offering (4:2, 5). His brother, Abel, on the other hand, chose to be a shepherd of sheep. His offering was accepted because it was based on the principle established by God Himself of sacrificing an animal (vv. 2, 4; cf. Gen. 3:21; Heb. 9:22). Even though Abels service may have been less laborious than Cains, God was pleased with him and his offering. His sacrifice which was burned on the altar ascended as a pleasant fragrance to God. In Abels experience we see another important spiritual principle in addition to this: he took care of sheep (Gen. 4:2), which were clean animals, ruminants (Lev. 11:2-3). The digestion of food by these animals has

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four stages: firstly, what they eat of their fodder goes to the stomach; then they lie down in the grass and regurgitate it, that is, they bring the food found in their stomach again to their mouth to be chewed another time. After being chewed a second time, it goes to the second compartment of the stomach, and so it happens until the food passes to the third and fourth stomachs. It happens this way because the sheep, being ruminating animals, need to completely digest the food they eat. Their organism is thus able to absorb all the nutrients from the food. Pigs and dogs, for example, being different from sheep, are animals that dont chew the cud, and according to the Bible are unclean animals (v. 7). They arent able to taste their food. Especially dogs; if one is given a piece of meat, it immediately disappears because he swallows it whole. So his organism isnt able to absorb all the nutrients from the food. The process of digestion begins in the mouth and takes place with the help of saliva. When we chew our food, saliva is produced to aid in digestion. Once a brother invited me to eat with him. I ate my portion quickly, but he ate slowly, and he asked me, Brother, have you finished?! I answered him, Yes. There wasnt much food and I ate it fast. Then he

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gave me the following advice, Every time we put some food in our mouth, we must chew it at least thirty times. We need to chew well in order to produce enough saliva to work on the food and make it easier to digest. When food reaches the stomach it still encounters gastric juice, which also aids in digestion and facilitates its absorption by the organism. The Lord Jesus compares us to sheep (John 10:14). He is our bread of life (6:48), so we need to take Him as our food. This is not a matter of eating the Lords flesh, but of eating His words, for they are He Himself as Spirit and life (1:1, 14; 6:63). When we eat the Lords word, we should be like clean animals. Our spiritual chewing takes place through reading and praying the word, for we are able to digest it better this way. The more we chew it, the more we become well nourished spiritually. This is a great help to us. Key Point: Chew by pray-reading the word. Your Key Point: Question: Why was God pleased with Abel and his offering but was not pleased with Cain and his offering?

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Week 8 The Normal Church Life Tuesday Scripture reading: Gen. 3:7-8, 21; John 1:29; Rom. 4:25; Gal. 3:17 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became wisdom to us from God: both righteousness and sanctification and redemption. (1 Corinthians 1:30) Justified, Sanctified and Reconciled The first thing Adam and Eve realized after they had sinned was that they were naked (Gen. 3:7a). They knew that what they had done did not please God. Being ashamed, they attempted to cover their nakedness and sewed garments for themselves with fig leaves (v. 7b). As time passed, however, the leaves began to wither and were not adequate to make them worthy to be in Gods presence. Then, being afraid of meeting Him, they hid from the Lords presence (v. 8). On the other hand, He made coats of skins to cover mans nakedness (v. 21). We may infer that an animal, probably a sheep, was sacrificed and its skin removed to produce this coat that became righteousness to man. He was justified. Mans flesh, which before was exposed by sin, was then covered by an animal skin. This typifies the Lord Jesus, the Lamb of God who was sacrificed on the cross

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to justify us (John 1:29; Gal. 3:17; cf. 1 Cor. 1:30; Rom. 4:25). The Lord Jesus is the Lamb that was slain and shed His blood from the foundation of the world (1 Pet. 1:20; Rev. 13:8) for the forgiveness of our sins (Eph. 1:7; Heb. 9:22; 1 John 1:7). He is not only the reality of all the Old Testament offerings but also the reality of each part of the sacrifices. Skin taken away from an animal signifies that the Lord Jesus, as this lamb that was slain, became our righteousness, covering all of our shame. The flesh and the fat burned on the altar, and what remained after the burningthe ashes something clean and pure, all typify the Lord Jesus. He is the Holy One, the One who gave Himself completely to sanctify, separate, us unto God. The smoke of the offering that ascended to God as a pleasant fragrance (cf. Gen. 8:20-21) also typifies the Lord as the beloved Son, who through His death and resurrection reconciled us to God (Rom. 5:10). Considering this we are able to understand why God was pleased with Abels offering. Although it seems so, Abels work must not have been that easy. The fact that it is mentioned that he took the firstlings of his flock and its fat implies slaying and shedding the blood of an animal, in addition to skinning

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it and burning its flesh as a well-pleasing sacrifice to God. Abels offering takes in a very deep and broad significance. In Hebrews 11:4 we read that Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice than his brother and obtained the testimony of being righteous and of being approved by God. Thus we can conclude that his sacrifice produced a well-pleasing fragrance to God. His offering satisfied Him and through it, which typifies Christ, Abel could be justified, sanctified and reconciled to God. Thank the Lord for the important principle we receive from Abels service, whose offering came from the tree of life and was according to Gods will. Furthermore, the Lord Jesus as the Lamb of God is the reality of Abels offering. Through Him we are also justified, sanctified and reconciled to God. Today we can take Him as our offering to become acceptable before God. Everything has already been done by the Lord Jesus, the Lamb that was slain; therefore we enjoy this grace. We are also accepted by God, are reconciled to Him, and all of our sins are forgiven. This is the gospel of grace that we preach. We are also learning that our service to God must be according to His will and from our spirit (Rom. 1:9), where the Lord Jesus

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dwells as the reality of the tree of life (John 14:6; 15:1). Cains offering, on the other hand, shows us the desire to serve God according to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. At first his offering came from the good side of his soul-life. But after he was rejected, he used the other side, the evil side, which comes from the same tree. With the rejection came dissatisfaction, and afterwards, when he compared himself to his brother, came jealously, from which he began to hate him, and eventually he killed him (Gen. 4:5, 8). Cain then became a fugitive, a wanderer on the earth, because he had lost Gods presence (4:14). May we learn from these lessons and always check what is the source of our service to God. Key Point: Serve in the principle of the tree of life. Your Key Point: Question: What significance offering have for us? does Abels

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Week 8 The Normal Church Life Wednesday Scripture reading:Matt.16:18-25 Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. (Matthew 16:24) A Life of Following the Lord When the Lord revealed the church to Peter, He said, Upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of the heavens, and whatever you bind on the earth shall have been bound in the heavens, and whatever you loose on the earth shall have been loosed in the heavens (Matt. 16:18-19). The church has the keys of the kingdom. This signifies that it has the authority of the kingdom; thus, what she binds on earth will have been bound in the heavens. The church had been revealed by the Lord Jesus, but up until that time it had still not been produced. In order for it to be produced, the Lord began to show to His disciples that it was necessary to go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders, chief priests and scribes and be killed and on the third day be raised (v. 21). This word was spoken to the

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twelve disciples, and Peter, their leader, in particular heard it. Peter was still a natural man. Since the Lord Jesus had not been killed and raised, the life-giving Spirit was not yet. Peter didnt have the Spirit dwelling in him, so he lived according to the impulses of his soullife. According to his soul-life, what the Lord was saying was unacceptable, thus he began to reprove Him (v. 22). But the Lord, turning to Peter, said, Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me, for you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of men (v. 23). The one who was actually trying to hinder Jesus from going to Jerusalem was Satan, but he did it through Peter. Without the Lords crucifixion there would not be the shedding of blood for the forgiveness of the sins of all mankind (John 11:49-52), and we would continue to be slaves of sin. The gates of Hades, that is, of hell, only have an entrance. It is as though it has a retaining valve so that whoever enters can never go out again. In order to accomplish our redemption, the Lord Jesus needed to pass through death; however, death could not hold Him because there is a power in Him called resurrection. Satan didnt want Him to be crucified because he was against the Lord

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doing Gods will, and he didnt want Him to be resurrected because he himself, Satan, would be destroyed. For this reason the enemy used the good part of Peters soul. As we have seen, the Lord Jesus did not rebuke Peter but rather Satan, saying, Get behind Me, Satan! Our soul has a good side and an evil side. God rejects both sides, because that which comes from the soul-life does not serve to cooperate with Him. Just as God could use Peters soul to express the revelation of His mystery, Satan could also use it to express his desire: to frustrate Gods plan by trying to stop Christ from going to the cross. In Matthew 16:24 we have a very important verse: Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. This verse points to the church, where we follow the Lord. We do not follow men. Even though we have brothers ahead of us to lead and give us direction, we must follow the Lord. If we want to have a proper church life, we need to satisfy one condition: deny ourselves, that is, reject our self. Our self is our soul-life, in which there are many human opinions that stop us from following the Lord. The lack of

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harmony among the leaders in the church, for example, is due to too many opinions coming from the soul-life. In some places the number of saints isnt growing because there are those among them who insist on their points of view, and when they are crossed, they dont cooperate with the church. Knowing our condition, the Lord Jesus gave a very simple principle for us to live the normal church life: Deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow the Lord. Although there are many matters concerning the normal church life, the main one is to not bring our self with its opinions to the church. We need to put it on the cross. Every time our soul-life and our opinions come up, we must take up the cross and kill them, that is, reject them, since the Lord then said, If anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me (v. 25). Key Point: Follow the Lord. Your Key Point: Question: What is the most important matter in the church life?

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Week 8 The Normal Church Life Thursday Scripture reading: Matt. 16:26; 1 Cor. 15:51-55 For what shall a man be profited if he gains the whole world, but forfeits his soul-life? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul-life? (Matthew 16:26) Gaining the Whole World but Forfeiting Our Soul-Life The most important thing in the church life is to follow the Lord, which implies denying ourselves and taking up the cross. We need to fulfill this requirement if we want to enter into the kingdom of the heavens. In order for His life to grow in us, God has placed us in the church life. The Lord has brought us into the church life so that we may have the opportunity to deny our soul-life. We have many opportunities in the church life to grow spiritually. It affords us an excellent environment to exercise our spirit, renounce our soul-life and allow the divine life to grow in us. How much we deny our soul-life will determine how much Gods life will be added to us. If we are filled with our soul-life, Gods life will find no room to grow.

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God desires to save us completely, therefore He has prepared a complete salvation to reach all of our tripartite being: spirit, soul and body. The salvation of our spirit took place when we were saved by believing in the Lord Jesus (John 1:12; 3:6). This was done by the Lord Jesus in His first coming. The salvation of our body will take place when He returns the second time, that is, when the seventh trumpet sounds. This fleshly body will become a body of resurrection. Although today we have a corruptible body, in that day in the future we will receive an incorruptible, resurrected body (1 Cor. 15:51-55). Thus we will overcome all the power of Satans attraction (v. 56) and will be able to go to God. This refers to the redemption of our body. The salvation of our soul is therefore our responsibility, and it depends on our cooperation with the Lord. In order to enter into the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens in the future, we need Gods life to grow and mature in us. We also need the divine nature to be developed to the point of us becoming as God is in life and nature, but not in the Godhead. It is for this that we have the church life, where we can deny ourselves

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and obtain the end of our faith: the salvation of our soul (1 Pet. 1:9). In Matthew 16:26 we read, For what shall a man be profited if he gains the whole world, but forfeits his soul-life? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul-life? Many truths that we have learned came from a group denominated the United Brethren. This verse, for example, was applied by them to ambitious people who aspire to gain a lot of money. When I was a little more than thirty years old I was working in the area of commerce and industry. At that time I was living in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, and was importing products from Japan, so I used to travel very much. Since most of the members of my family had been converted to the Lord, after one of these trips they were waiting for me so that I could be baptized together with them. One day, as soon as I arrived from a trip, my oldest brother took me from the airport directly to the meeting hall of the church so I could hear the word and consequently decide to be baptized. In that meeting I didnt understand anything that was spoken. At the end, one of the brothers came to me and told me that I had sinned. I retorted, telling him that he was the one who had sinned. In my concept, sin referred to

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gross, sinful acts. Since we were seeking to follow the teachings of Confucius, we tried to keep the principles of morality and ethics. My brother grew sad and thought there was no way that I would be saved. However, he took me to the meeting hall once more so that I could hear the word of God again. Then a brother read Matthew 16:26 and interpreted the text in the following way: What will it profit a man to gain a lot of money and forfeit his soul? Since I though that to forfeit the soul meant to die, I was convinced and said, Yes, you are right. If I die, where will my riches go? Because I agreed with the verse, that was the basis for me to be baptized. When we study Peters epistles, however, we realize that Matthew 16 is fully related to Peter. I was enlightened within by reading this verse again. I realized that this text isnt talking about earning money, but about those who live by their soul-life and are ambitious to have a work of great proportions, something that reaches the entire world. Thank the Lord that we were enlightened and corrected to carry out the work for the Lord in the spirit, not desiring to have any merit or recognition. What does it profit if we gain the whole world, establishing churches all over the earth, if our soul still remains

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intact? We must open ourselves to the Lord today and deny our soul-life so that we may not be disqualified for the kingdom when the judgment at the judgment seat of Christ comes. Key Point: Do the work in the spirit in order to not be disqualified. Your Key Point: Question: What is the relationship between saving our soul and denying our soul-life?

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Week 8 The Normal Church Life Friday Scripture reading: Matt. 16:24, 27; 25:10, 19; 2 Cor. 5:10; 1 Thes. 4:17 For the Son of Man is to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will repay each man according to his doings. (Matthew 16:27) The Son of Man Will Come in the Glory of His Father In Matthew 16:27 the expression: The Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father refers to when the Lord will come to the air (1 Thes. 4:17). This refers to the parousia that will take place before His judgment, which will occur three and a half years after the great tribulation. The Lord will establish His throne in the clouds in the air to judge all of His children (Matt. 25:19; 2 Cor. 5:10), for the judgment will begin from the house of God (1 Pet. 4:17). Going on in Matthew 16:27b, we read, And then He will repay each man according to his doings. We need to realize that it is not written: He will repay according to the sins that people have committed. This judgment is not essentially to evaluate our sins. It is not referring to reviewing our sins as in a movie. If this were so, where would the efficacy of

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Christs blood be? (cf. Heb. 9:12). Evidently, if we have committed sins and still not confessed them or repented, the Lord will judge them. If this is the case, we need to take the opportunity to repent today, making use of the precious blood of Christ and asking Him to wash us of our sins. This judgment will mainly take into account how much we have denied our soullife. If at the time of the judgment we have not adequately dealt with our soul, we will be punished. If we have denied our soul-life, we will receive its salvation in the future. When we come before the Lords presence, that is, before His judgment seat, our spirit will have already been saved, our body will be redeemed, and if today we take advantage of the opportunities we have to renounce our soul-life, we will experience the salvation of our soul on that day. We will be approved by the Lord and will enter into the manifestation of His kingdom (Matt. 25:10). In order that our soul-life may be renounced today, the Lord Jesus allows sufferings to come upon us. God disciplines us like sons (Heb. 12:7). He allows us to be persecuted, slandered, defamed and criticized. All of this is to lead us to deny our soul-life. For example, if while driving you crash the car

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and get hurt, you will think this is dealing that comes from the Lord for you to deny your soul-life. However, these sufferings are only related to outward circumstances. Through Peters experiences recorded in the gospels and the lessons he received recorded in his epistles, we can see that the Lord not only uses sufferings that come from outward circumstances to work on us. When the Lord exposed Peters natural life, he was enlightened. Then he repented, because within him there was an inward constraining burning away the negative things. Based on what he had learned, Peter said, Beloved, do not think that the fiery ordeal among you, coming to you for a trial, is strange, as if it were a strange thing happening to you; but inasmuch as you share in the sufferings of Christ, rejoice, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice exultingly (1 Pet. 4:12-13). Let us keep our spirit burning within us so that, whether through outward or inward sufferings, we may put all the natural things of our soul into the sanctifying fire that our soul-life may be terminated and our soul purified.

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Key Point: Put the natural things into the sanctifying fire. Your Key Point: Question: How is the Lord going to judge us?

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Week 8 The Normal Church Life Saturday Scripture reading:1Pet.1:5-6; 4:12 In which time you exult, though for a little while at present, if it must be, you have been made sorrowful by various trials (1 Peter 1:6) The Sanctifying Fire Every time Peter was exposed in his soullife, he put it into the sanctifying fire to be terminated. Moreover, in his epistle he tells us, Beloved, do not think that the fiery ordeal among you, coming to you for a trial, is strange, as if it were a strange thing happening to you (1 Pet. 4:12). Many times we think the Lords discipline comes upon us because we have done something wrong; so we accept the dealing. The suffering Peter is referring to, however, is like the purifying of gold by fire. It is necessary even though we havent done anything wrong. Even if we love the Lord with all our heart and do many things rightly, our soul still needs to pass through fire. When the Lord Jesus said that He would go to the cross, the good part of Peters soul was used by the enemy to rebuke the Lord and try to stop Him from going to the cross. Peters soul-life came out again, so the Lord said to him, Go away,

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Satan! When we realize that a similar thing is happening to us, we must immediately put everything natural into the sanctifying fire of the Spirit in our spirit by praying, My soullife was used by Satan. Oh, Lord Jesus! Forgive me! Give me Your light! In this way our soul will be purified further, and the natural things in us will be burned up. The sanctifying fire is like the fire that purifies gold; it is a fire that never goes out. We must learn from Peters experience in a way that we attain the salvation ready to be revealed at the last timefull salvation (1 Pet. 1:5). This is the salvation that must be manifested at the Lords second coming. We hope that our soul might be in the continual process of salvation. In 1 Peter 1:6 we read, In which time you exult, though for a little while at present, if it must be, you have been made sorrowful by various trials. If on that day our soul-life is still intact, we wont be able to exult, because we are going to pass through the judgment. But if we allow the Lord to burn away what is natural in us today, when we pass through the sanctifying fire we will be able to rejoice and exult before the Lord. There is a sanctifying fire in our spirit that is always burning , just like the fire that

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purifies gold. When we find out that we have a soul-life, we need to use this fire that it may be burned up. When a husband is going to argue with his wife, he should realize that his soul-life is trying to be express itself. Since he possesses the sanctifying fire within himself, in his spirit, he will be able to put his soul-life into this fire so that it may be burned up and purified. We have this kind of living in the church life; we have the Lord to help us discern whether our soul-life wants to be expressed and also the fire of the Spirit to kill it. This sanctifying fire also helps us to discern whether we are functioning in a improper way in the meetings. Sometimes we dont have the conviction that we are in the spirit when we are joyful and jumping as we sing the hymns. At that moment we must pray, Oh, Lord Jesus! Im going to put this enthusiasm of my soul into the sanctifying fire of the Spirit. I dont know how to discern whether it is my soul or my spirit. Help me, Lord! If it is from our soul, we can immediately put it in the sanctifying fire, but if it is from our spirit, we can overflow and release the Spirit. In his experience, the apostle Peter came to have the assurance that his soul-life had

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completely been denied and that Gods life had come to be fully expressed in him. If we want to be like Peter, being praised by God, receiving glory and having the honor of reigning with the Lord, we need to take the opportunity today in the church life to deny our soul-life and put it in the sanctifying fire to be burned up. In this way our soul-life will be denied and Gods life will grow. Hallelujah! Key Point: In which time you exult. Your Key Point: Question: In your necessary or not? experience, are trials

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Week 8 The Normal Church Life Lord's Day Scripture reading: 1 Cor. 2:1415; Heb. 13:13; 1 Pet. 5:4; Rev. 1:13 And soon afterward He journeyed from city to city and village to village, preaching and announcing the gospel of the kingdom of God; and the twelve were with Him. (Luke 8:1) Within the Veil and Outside the Camp According to what the Lord tells us, the most important thing in the normal church life is to deny our soul-life: Deny himself, take up his cross and follow Me (cf. Matt. 16:24). In addition to denying our soul-life, we also need to follow the Lord. Where is the Lord today? In relation to His redeeming work, He is seated on the throne, but in relation to His work of bringing His kingdom to the earth, He is moving. Revelation shows us that the Lord is walking among the golden lampstands (Rev. 1:13). He is walking among the churches. If you want to follow the Lord, follow His footsteps. One shouldnt feel satisfied and say, How good the church life is! What a rich meeting! The Lords day morning meeting, breaking the bread, was so enjoyable! I never miss a meeting of the church. Not that this is wrong,

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but we can say that it isnt enough to have a church life like this. What we have to do is follow the Lord. For this we must enter within the veil and go outside the camp (Heb. 6:1820; 13:13). If we follow Him, this will be our journey. During the period of the three and a half years in which the Lord was with His disciples, He didnt stay seated in the temple giving classes to the disciples. Instead, He walked and traveled with them, and when they encountered people, circumstances and events, He used these to teach them (Matt. 9:35; Mark 1:38; Luke 8:1). Since the Lord Jesus has overcome on the cross, He wants to lead us in triumph and manifest the fragrance of the knowledge of Himself through us in every place in a triumphant procession (2 Cor. 2:14). Paul speaks of Christs triumph, encouraging us to follow Him and spread His fragrance (v. 15). We have already met Christ; now we have more knowledge of Him. Christ is our pattern so that we may deny our soul-life. He was not content simply with ministering His teachings, but sought to go out to put His words into practice and strengthen His disciples. Regarding His redeeming work, when the Lord ascended to the heavens the word tells us that He sat down at the right hand of the Father

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(Mark 16:19). However, regarding the building of the church and the spread of His kingdom, He is moving. We shouldnt remain comfortable; we need to go out and follow the Lord, scattering His fragrance. In this way our soul-life will be denied and we will have this assurance when the Lord comes, according to what Peter says, And when the Chief Shepherd is manifested, you will receive the unfading crown of glory (1 Pet. 5:4). Key Point: We cannot stand still. Your Key Point: Question: How can we follow the Lord in our practice?

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Week 9 The Miniature of the Manifestation of the Kingdom

Monday Scripture reading: Matt. 4:17-25; 57; 9:9; 10:1-7; 13; 16:17-18 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. (Matthew 13:16) The Calling of the Disciples and the Standard of the Kingdom The topic for this week is The Miniature of the Manifestation of the Kingdom (Matt. 17:1-8). When the Lord Jesus was on the earth, He had many disciples and always led them to follow one direction, one line. We also must adhere to this model: following one line toward the goal and thereby advance. For example, in the study we did of Peters epistles, we saw the high peak of the divine revelation: God became man to make man God in life and nature, but not in the Godhead (Psa. 82:6). God became man so that we could have His life and that it might grow in us until we would express His nature, which will be fully manifested in the New Jerusalem. However, this process will not take place suddenly. The way to the New Jerusalem is gradual; it must be trod step by

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step. If we follow this line, we will go on little by little until we reach our goal: not only being sons of God, but being filled with His divine life and nature. Since the Lord had this purpose in view, upon beginning His earthly ministry He began to preach and to say, Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near (Matt. 4:17). The kingdom of the heavens had drawn near, but it had not come. For this it was necessary for the King of the kingdom of the heavens to be brought forth. Although the Lord Jesus was already present, He had still not taken His position as the King. Firstly, He needed to know and experience human nature so that after His death and resurrection, Gods life and nature could be added to the human nature. While He was walking on the earth as the Son of Man, His burden was to preach the gospel of the kingdom of the heavens so that all people could be brought into this kingdom. For this purpose, in His first seeking He called four disciples: Peter, Andrew, James and John (vv. 18-21). Others were added later, like Matthew, a tax collector who left all to follow Him (Matt. 9:9). In order to be manifested as the Son of God, the Lord taught in the synagogues, preached the gospel of the

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kingdom and healed every kind of sickness and disease among the people (4:23-24). Hence, among the numerous multitudes that followed Him, many people also wanted to become His disciples (v. 25). The Lord also taught His disciples to conduct themselves as citizens of the kingdom of the heavens. In Matthew chapters 5-7 we have a description of the standard the Lord established for the people of the kingdom of the heavens. Those whom He had called personally and all those who were brought into His kingdom needed to follow this standard of life. When Jesus began to preach, He firstly came to explain what the kingdom is by bringing out many details concerning it in these three chapters of the Gospel of Matthew. After this, among the many disciples who followed Him, the Lord chose twelve in particular to become apostles and be sent (Matt. 10:1-6; cf. Luke 6:13-16). From then on it was not only the Lord who was preaching the gospel of the kingdom; His disciples and apostles also continued to preach that the kingdom had drawn near (Matt. 10:7). This shows that the Lords work has an order; it follows a line and advances. Just as He did, His disciples also went out preaching that the kingdom of the heavens had drawn near.

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Besides showing His disciples how the kingdom people should live, the Lord also let them know the mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens through the seven parables described in Matthew chapter 13. The seven mysteries represented there can be explained by the seven churches mentioned in Revelation 2 and 3. These seven churches correspond to the history of the church throughout these last two thousand years. After speaking about the mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens, the Lord Himself revealed the church, which also is a mystery. Firstly, God the Father revealed His mystery, which is Christ, the Son of the living God. Then Christ revealed the church (Matt. 16:1618). In this way two great mysteries were revealed: the mystery of God, which is Christ, and the mystery of Christ, which is the church (Col. 1:24, 26; 2:2). The church in itself also has a mystery, which is the mystery of godliness, expressing God here on earth (1 Tim. 3:15-16). The word church signifies the assembly of the called out ones, that is, those who have been saved are called to meet in one place. When the Lord was on the earth and called many people to be His disciples, He earnestly desired that they would become the

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people of the kingdom of the heavens. But the called ones still had very much of their natural life. Knowing this, the Lord prepared a place to gather them together, where this natural life, the soul-life, could be removed and denied and they could live according to the standard of the kingdom of the heavens. This place is the church! Key Point: The Lord has prepared a place for us to become the people of the kingdom of the heavens. Your Key Point: Question: What are the mysteries presented today?

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Week 9 The Miniature of the Manifestation of the Kingdom

Tuesday Scripture reading: Matt. 8:12; 14:19-21, 24; 16:26-27; John 6:10-13, 27 For whoever wants to save his soul-life shall lose it; but whoever loses his soullife for My sake shall find it. (Matthew 16:25) The Church, the Reality of the Kingdom of the Heavens A short while before the Lord revealed the church to His disciples, He multiplied the loaves and fed five thousand men, in addition to women and children (Matt. 14:19-21; cf. John 6:10-13). Nonetheless, He said to this crowd that ate of the loaves, Work not for the food which perishes, but for the food which abides unto eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you; for Him has the Father, even God, sealed (John 6:27). He wanted to tell them that the true food that abides unto eternal life is the word of God. This word is in the church, which is the place where the people of the kingdom of the heavens are being prepared to enter into the millennial kingdom in the coming age. The Lord has brought us to the church, the reality of the

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kingdom of the heavens, so we can be fed in order to grow in life. In order for us to enter into the millennial kingdom in the coming age, we need to grow and mature in life until Gods life in us grows in such a way that we are as God is in life and nature, but not in the Godhead. The church is the place prepared by God for this growth in life to take place and it is by denying our soullife (Matt. 16:24). As much as we deny our soul-life is exactly how much Gods life will grow in us (John 3:30). The function of the church in these two thousand years is this: to prepare Gods people so that this may become reality. We praise the Lord that in the church we have what we need to deny our soul-life in order to prepare us so that we may reign with Christ in the millennial kingdom. According to what the Lord has revealed, the normal church life consists of denying ourselves, denying our soul-life, so that Gods life may be added to us more and more. There are many, however, who have not become clear about this and are concerned only with doing works. Even if they gain the whole world as a result of their work, if they havent denied themselves, they will lose the salvation of their soul (Matt. 16:26). Lets pay attention to this verse. It is not speaking about gaining the

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whole world with respect to the riches of this world, but with respect to works (v. 27). If the work we do issues from our soul, even if we are able to gain the whole world, it will be worthless because it will be something from our soul-life. Verse 27 shows us clearly that the Lord, the Son of Man, is to come in the glory of His Father with His angels to repay each one according to his works, that is, He will come to judge us. He will judge how much our soullife has been denied. If there is still something remaining that has not been denied, surely the Lord will carry out this work of removal. For those who havent denied their soul-life adequately, there will be a place prepared outside of the Lords glory, which the Bible calls the darkness or the outer darkness, where there will be the weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matt. 8:12; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30). Although there will not be the fire of perdition in this place in the outer darkness, there will be the fire that sanctifies to burn away everything that still remains of our soul-life (1 Cor. 3:14-15). Eventually, if we are approved before the judgment seat of Christ, we will receive a reward. We will be able to be like Peter, who will be praised before the Lord, that is, he will

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be approved at the judgment with praise and will receive glory and honor. Glory is the realm of the millennial kingdom, and honor is related to the position in the kingdom according to how we have done business with our talents we have received (Luke 19:16-19; 1 Pet. 1:7). As a reward, if we are approved, we will be kings with Christ and will enter into the manifestation of the kingdom; for Gods life and nature will be fully expressed in us. In Matthew 17 we read that six days after having revealed the church and showing how to practice it, the Lord took three of His disciples with Him to a high mountain and was transfigured there (vv. 1-9). He wanted to help them to see a miniature of the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens, and we likewise have been very helped with this word. We can see that there is a progression in the divine revelation: first, the producing of the church; later, how to live the church life and grow in it; and finally, how to enter into the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens, where we will hear and see only the Lord. Hallelujah! We are in the church life, which has the keys of the kingdom of the heavens (16:19). This being so, now is the time to deny our soul-life, to live and practice the reality of the kingdom of the heavens in

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our days so that when the Lord returns we may be richly and bountifully supplied the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Key Point: kingdom. Practising the reality of the

Your Key Point: Question: Between the producing of the church and the manifestation of the kingdom, what do we need to do?

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Week 9 The Miniature of the Manifestation of the Kingdom

Wednesday Scripture reading: Matt. 17:1-9 And after six days Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and brought them up to a high mountain privately. And He was transfigured before them. (Matthew 17:1-2a) Entering into the Manifestation of the Kingdom of the Heavens

The church life is the place where we are learning lessons to deny our soul-life that we might enter definitely into the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens. For this to take place we will pass through the judgment seat of Christ and either be rewarded to reign with Him, or we will be punished to go to the outer darkness. Those who are approved at the judgment seat will be the overcomers, those who have fully grown in life and express Gods nature. They will be able to enter into the manifestation of the kingdom (Matt. 25:10, 21, 23). In Matthew 17 we read that the Lord took His disciples to a high mountain and showed them a picture, a miniature, of how the kingdom of the heavens in its manifestation will be (vv. 1-9).

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In verse 1 we read, And after six days Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and brought them up to a high mountain privately. Although at that time they had still not fully grown in the divine life, the Lord was showing what would happen in the future. The fact that the Lord took Peter, James and John to witness His transfiguration was a sign that they would be overcomers. This passage of the Scriptures encourages by showing us that it is possible for all of us to be in the kingdom of the heavens one day. Every time we deny our soul-life and let Gods life grow in us, Gods nature will be expressed more through us. Consequently, our unique destiny will be to enter into the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens. This vision needs to attract us. The three disciples were taken by the Lord because in the future they would surely be overcomers. They would be the New Testament overcomers. Firstly, the Lord revealed the miniature of the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens to them privately. He didnt do this openly, that is, publicly, because verse 1 mentions, privately. At that time the Lord simply took them to open their eyes that they might see how the manifestation of the

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kingdom of the heavens will be. We believe that this is what we all long for! In verse 2 we read, And He was transfigured before them, and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as the light. Here we see that the Lord Jesus human nature had been saturated with the divine nature. He began His ministry with the purpose of bringing Gods life and nature into man. The Lord Jesus was a man like us, yet without sin. He received the human life from Mary (1:18), but He appeared in the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens with a transfigured body, for His human nature had been completely clothed, filled and saturated with the divine nature. Still in verse 2 we read, And He was transfigured before them. This shows that in the millennial kingdom, the human nature, by being clothed with the divine nature, will undergo transfiguration, that is, a transformation that fully manifests Gods nature. Likewise we also, if we deny our soullife in the church life today, thereby allowing Gods life to grow, we will be completely saturated with the divine nature, that is, we also will undergo a transformation.

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The divine nature added to us more and more will allow God to have His full expression through us, just like the Lord Jesus who expressed Gods nature; as we read, His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as the light (v. 2b). We believe that Peter, James and John were very encouraged when they saw this. Even though the church at that time had not been brought forth, the Lord showed them that by living the reality of the kingdom in the church life, they would gain His nature until they would be in the manifestation of the kingdom, such as what happened on the mount of transfiguration. Key Point: Be an overcomer. Your Key Point: Question: What will our condition be in the millennial kingdom?

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Week 9 The Miniature of the Manifestation of the Kingdom

Thursday Scripture reading: Matt. 17:1-2; 1 John 3:2; 2 Pet. 3:9 And He was transfigured before them, and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as the light. (Matthew 17:2) Shining Like the Sun and Having Garments as White as the Light Considering the example of Peter, James and John, we need to seek the growth in life, which is only possible by denying our soullife. If we dont deny our soul-life, Gods life wont grow in us, that is, there wont be any room for the divine life to get in. Our whole church life consists of this process: removing our soul-life that there might be room for Gods life to be added to us. An overcomer, therefore, is someone whose soul-life has been completely denied. As overcomers, we will be as the Lord Jesus is, for we will fully express Gods life and nature (1 John 3:2). When we see this picture, we are very encouraged and also earnestly desire to be overcomers. One day our face will

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also shine like the sun and our garments will be white as the light because we will be as the Lord Jesus is in life and nature, but not in the Godhead. The Lord Jesus is the Son of God, and we are to grow until we are as He is in life and nature. The Lord Jesus was adding the divine nature to the human nature during the three and a half years of His ministry. He caused the divine nature to be expressed in the human nature He possessed. This is why His face shone like the sun and His garments became as white as the light. We also want to be in this condition! This is not a matter of dressing in the best clothes or wearing makeup. Our transformation will be the result of the growth of Gods life and nature in us. This is what we long for! The Lord is giving us such a revelation, but we need to be honest with ourselves and ask, Has our soul-life been denied enough? Actually, we still have very much of it in our living. Since the Lord Jesus still hasnt returned, we have the opportunity daily to deny ourselves and follow Him, that is, allow His divine life to grow more and more in us. There have been three periods of two thousand years since the creation of man. According to this time period, we should

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already be in the age of the millennial kingdom. But we cant ask the Lord to come back now because we cant guarantee that we are ready to enter into the manifestation of the millennial kingdom. The Lord Jesus has still not returned because He is being longsuffering toward us (2 Peter 3:9). If He should come right away, many people will be destined for the outer darkness, since few will be qualified to enter into the kingdom of the heavens and receive glory. Few are those who arrive at the stage of maturity. Since the human nature is still so strong in them, there has been no transformation, that is, Gods life has not grown in them. Many times when we are touched in our soul-life, it is quickly expressed. When the Lord looks at our condition, it is as if He is saying: I still need to wait for some years; maybe five. Meanwhile I will be more longsuffering. For some, these five years still wont be enough, and maybe the Lord will have to wait for another fifteen years. The longsuffering of the Lord is expressed in the church life, where we have the opportunity to deny our soul-life. In this sense our prayer should be, Lord Jesus, thank You so much for Your mercy. You know my

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condition. I havent denied my soul-life adequately. Oh, Lord Jesus! Lord, please, dont come now. Please let me still seek after You for another one, two, three, five years so that my soul-life may be completely denied. Then at Your second coming my face will be shining like the sun and my garments will be white like the light. If we pray in this way, surely the Lord will answer us. Key Point: Having our face shining like the sun. Your Key Point: Question: What is our condition?

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Week 9 The Miniature of the Manifestation of the Kingdom

Friday Scripture reading: Gen. 47:6, 11; Exo. 1:7-8, 11-19, 22; 2:2-10 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God took notice of them. (Exodus 2:2425) Moses and Elijah Old Testament Overcomers (1) In His transfiguration the Lord Jesus fully expressed Gods life; thus His face was shining and His garments became as white as the light (Matt. 17:2). After this, in verse 3 we read, And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with Him. Moses was the leader who brought the people of Israel out of Egypt, and Elijah was a prophet of God. These two are Old Testament overcomers. Before the Lord raised Moses up to deliver the people of Israel out of Egypt, the Israelites had a very comfortable life there; for when Joseph, Jacobs next to the last son, became governor in Egypt, he separated the best portion of land for his family (Gen. 47:6, 11).

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It was a land beside the banks of the Nile River, which had many tributaries. Whatever was planted there grew quickly because there was never any shortage of water to supply the agricultural production. They reaped abundantly from everything they planted. There were cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic (cf. Num. 11:5). It was even easy to fish, for the fish were abundant in the Nile River. Hence, all the people multiplied and increased (Exo. 1:7). In Canaan, however, the ground began to crack because of the drought. But in Egypt the land was still moist, even without rain, since it was not dependent on rain but on the abundance of water in its rivers. Due to this plenty, the children of Israel multiplied and became exceedingly strong so that the land was filled with them. Meanwhile, a new king rose up over Egypt, who did not know Josephs deeds and works (v. 8). Fearing that the people of Israel would rise up against the Egyptians because they were stronger and more numerous, they took them as slaves and set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens, mistreating them to make them build the storage cities, Pithom and Raamses (v. 11). Furthermore, even though they subjected the people to forced labor, they still

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multiplied and spread out (vv. 12-14). In order to contain this, Pharaoh ordered the midwives to kill all the baby boys born to the Hebrew women (vv. 15-16). These midwives, however, feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt ordered them; instead, they let the little boys live (vv. 17-19). Moses was born in these circumstances and, according to Pharaohs order, should have been killed (1:22), but his mother hid him for three months (2:2). At that age it is very common for an infant to cry a great deal, making it impossible to hide him any longer. Even so, Moses mother took a basket of reeds, plastered it with tar and pitch, and placed the child along the bank of the river. The childs sister, nevertheless, stood looking at a distance to see what would happen to him (v. 4). It was right then that Pharaohs daughter was bathing in the Nile River and saw the child in the basket (v. 5). Having compassion on the child and recognizing it to be a Hebrew child, she took it. Moses sister went to her and said to her, Shall I go and call a nurse from the Hebrew women for you that she may nurse the child for you? (v. 7). She answered, Go. Moses sister went and called his mother (v. 8). As far as the daughter of Pharaoh was concerned, it

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was a Hebrew nurse, but it was actually Moses own mother. This was the Lords sovereign arrangement to save Moses life. When Moses grew, his mother had to return him to Pharaohs daughter, who took him as her own son (v. 10). Moses began to be part of the royal family and, like the others, also received a special education. All skills and knowledge given to Pharaohs relatives, such as politics, economics, administration, the military, laws, and speech, were also taught to Moses. For forty years Moses received education to be the future Pharaoh of Egypt. During this time the situation of the children of Israel grew worse, to the point that they began to groan and cry out to God. The Lord heard them and took notice of their condition (2:23-25). In other words, in the condition in which they found themselves, there was no other solution except to call on the name of the Lord. During the forty years of comfort in Egypt, they probably stopped calling on the Lord. But as they faced this new situation, they surely called, Oh, Lord, deliver us! Their cry ascended to the heavens, and God, hearing their groanings, remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and

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looked upon the condition of the people of Israel. Key Point: Calling on the name of the Lord every moment. Your Key Point: Question: Why didnt the people of Israel call on the Lord before they were mistreated?

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Week 9 The Miniature of the Manifestation of the Kingdom

Saturday Scripture reading: Exo.2:1121;4:10-16; 2 Kings2:9-14;Matt.17:3 And he shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be as a mouth for you, and you shall be as God to him. (Exodus 4:16) Moses and Elijah Old Testament Overcomers (2) We saw yesterday that Moses was educated in all the knowledge of the Egyptians and was powerful in word and works. At forty years of age he had already learned everything he needed: the art of speaking and judging, and he surely was also in good shape physically. In spite of having grown up in Pharaohs palaces, Moses was by nature an Israelite. One day he went out to his brothers, and, besides seeing their hard labor, he saw an Egyptian mistreating an Israelite (Exo. 2:11). Even though he had received a rigorous education in Pharaohs palaces, when he exercised his ability to judge, he ended up killing the Egyptian aggressor and hid him in the sand because he wanted to help the Hebrew (v. 12).

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On another occasion Moses saw two Israelites struggling together and said to the one who was in the wrong, Why are you beating your companion? (v. 13). To Moses surprise, however, the Hebrew answered him, Who appointed you a ruler and a judge over us? Are you thinking to kill me as you killed the Egyptian? (v. 14). Egyptian law in this respect was very severe. If anyone committed a murder, he should be condemned. Thus, by law Moses also had to be killed. His way out was to flee to the wilderness, where we know there is nothing. When Moses was fleeing from Pharaohs presence, he stayed in the land of Midian. Because of the help he gave to the daughters of Jethro, Moses was received by him (2 :1720). Later he married Zipporah, the eldest daughter, and started to care for his father-inlaws flocks (v. 21). Since he was only caring for a flock of sheep, when the Lord called him to serve Him, Moses told Him, Please, Lord, I am not a man of words, neither in the past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant, for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue (4:10). The slow speech and tongue Moses was referring to were equal to losing the eloquence he had because his job was restricted to caring for sheep. The most Moses learned

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during those forty years in the wilderness of Midian was the bleating of the sheep. So everything he learned in the palaces of Egypt was lost in the wilderness. However, the Lord went on, saying to him, Who gave man a mouth? Or who makes him dumb or deaf or seeing or blind? Is it not I, Jehovah? Now go therefore, and I will be with your mouth and will teach you what you shall speak (Exo. 4:11-12). Moses continued insisting, Please, Lord, send word through someone else whom You will send. And the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Moses, and He said, Is there not Aaron your brother the Levite? I know that he can certainly speak. And even now he is coming out to meet you; and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. And you shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth, and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and will teach you what you shall do. And he shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be as a mouth for you, and you shall be as God to him (vv. 1316). The Lord made Aaron Moses mouthpiece and set Moses as God to Aaron. In other words, Moses was considered to be a man who represented God, a man of God (Deut. 33:1), and Aaron should have realized that God was speaking through his brother. In this way God

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prepared Moses so that he also would become an overcomer. He could appear in this miniature of the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens because he was already an overcomer. Taking up Matthew 17:3 again, we read, And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with Him. Elijah as well as Moses appeared on the mount of transfiguration. The Bible relates that Elijah was the one in the Old Testament who did many signs and wonders as the result of the prayer he made to God. God could carry out His work through Elijah. Elijah was also considered to be a man of God (1 Kings 17:24; 2 Kings 1:10), that is, someone who spoke for God and through whom God could manifest His will in the Old Testament. As we know, he didnt die, since he was caught away alive (2 Kings 2:11). When he was being caught away, his disciple, Elisha, received from him a double portion of his spirit when he kept his mantle (vv. 9, 1214). This indicates that Elijah was a person filled with the Spirit. The Spirit is not only for us who are living in the New Testament age. In the Old Testament God also put His Spirit upon some. Thus, they were called men of Godmen who

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fully expressed God. Moses and Elijah appeared in the miniature of the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens because they represented the overcomers of the Old Testament. Key Point: Being like God in life and nature, but not in the Godhead. Your Key Point: Question: What made Moses and Elijah overcomers?

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Week 9 The Miniature of the Manifestation of the Kingdom

Lord's Day Scripture reading: Exo. 7:17-19; 1 Kings 17:1, 7; Zech. 8:20-23; Isa. 2:2-3 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands which stand before the Lord of the earth. (Revelation 11:4) Overcomers of the Old and New Testaments The Lord has preserved Moses and Elijah in order to use them during the great tribulation. We find two witnesses in the book of Revelation (11:3). In verse 4 we read, These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands which stand before the Lord of the earth. The expression two olive trees may also be translated as sons of oil (cf. Zech. 4:3, 11-14), indicating that these two witnesses were men filled with the Spirit. We think that this passage refers to Moses and Elijah. Moses was disciplined by God for having smitten the rock twice and did not have the right to enter into the land of Canaan but only see it from Mount Nebo, at the top of Pisgah. This is the place where he was for the last time, but his body was not found (Deut. 32:48-52; 34:1-6). We can affirm that Moses did not go to Hades because his body was not found nor did Satan have access to it, as we read, But

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Michael the archangel, when he contended with the devil and disputed concerning the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a reviling judgment against him but said, The Lord rebuke you (Jude 9). In other words, it was as if Moses body had not gone to Hades. When Satan went to search for Moses body, the archangel, Michael, fought against him. Thus we see that the archangel, Michael, is protecting Moses body. Another aspect that shows that Moses and Elijah are these two witnesses is related to their acts: And if anyone desires to harm them, fire proceeds out of their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone desires to harm them, thus must he be killed. These have the authority to shut heaven that no rain may fall during the days of their prophecy; and they have authority over the waters to turn them into blood and to smite the earth with every plague as often as they desire (Rev. 11:5-6). To have authority to shut heaven that no rain may fall speaks about Elijah, when God wanted to discipline Ahab, king of Israel (cf. 1 Kings 17:1, 7). Moses in turn was used by God to turn the waters of the Nile River into blood, bringing all kinds of plagues on the land of Egypt (cf. Exo. 7:1719).

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Therefore, in the New Testament the overcomers are represented by three: Peter, James and John, and in the Old Testament by two: Moses and Elijah. The overcomers of the New Testament will be in the heavenly section of the millennial kingdom (Matt. 24:46-47; 25:19-23; Luke 19:15-19; Rev. 2:26-27; 3:21; 2 Tim. 2:12). The earthly section of the millennial kingdom will be the burden of the Israelites, who will exercise their function as priests, represented by Moses and Elijah (2 Sam. 7:13; Acts 15:16; 1:6; Matt. 13:41; Rev. 11:15; Rom. 11:26-27; Zech 8:20-23; Isa. 2:23). We mustnt take this word only as history, but ask ourselves, Where are we in all of this? In order to enter into the kingdom, we need to do something: deny our soul-life. If we are still saving our soul-life, the Lord will come to judge us (Matt. 16:27). If it has still not been saturated with the divine life, we will not be able to enter into the kingdom of the heavens. But if we are like Peter, who let all his natural life be burned away, the kingdom of the heavens will be our portion, our reward. Lets not take Matthew 16 and 17 as mere doctrines to be repeated. Only knowing the truth is not enough because it will lead us to the mind. We must advance by practicing

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what we have heard. We must earnestly desire the Lords reward, and for this we cannot remain in our soul-life. The Lord has become the Spirit of reality. We need to be filled with this Spirit and be saturated with Gods divine life and nature. One day we will be able to say to Peter, James and John, Look, we are also overcomers. We have part in the kingdom. We have denied our soul-life, grown in life and have become like God in life and nature, but not in the Godhead. Hallelujah! Jesus is Lord! Key Point: Overcome by denying ourselves. Your Key Point: Question: What qualifies us to be overcomers of the New Testament?

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