Let us turn to the Bible: 2 Timothy 2:9. We will also consider Revelation 2:7 and Revelation 1:17-20.
Let us bow our heads in prayer.
O Lord, O God, we pray and thank You. You have led us all the way to this moment. You are the living God, and You are speaking to us. At this time, we commit ourselves into Your hands.
We plead that You will speak to us the last word. O Lord, complete Your work within us. We have only one desire before You: that we may apprehend that for which You have apprehended us. Make Your bride ready, that she may satisfy Your heart.
We completely look to You. We pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
This week, we have been considering the church. We have heard about the church, but we need to see His church. The church was conceived in the heart of God before the foundation of the world.
We know how the church was born on this earth. It was through the suffering of our Lord Jesus Christ. Out of His side came blood and water, signifying the birth of the church. Then, on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended.
True church history has two lines. On one hand, there is the outward appearance and the work of the enemy. On the other hand, there is the reality of the true church of God. From a heavenly and spiritual viewpoint, the church has never been conquered by the power of Hades. Praise and thank God for this.
The Lord Jesus Christ continues His work through His Spirit. The gates of Hades cannot prevail against the church. Not only can the power of Hades not overcome the church; the church overcomes the power of Hades.
We would like to share something concerning the church as God’s testimony and concerning the work of recovery. What is recovery? God’s work on earth is a work of recovery.
In the beginning, God made man according to His own image, that man might receive the life of God and communicate with God. God placed man in the garden that His purpose might be fulfilled.
However, man fell. From that time onward, God began His work of recovery. Our Lord said:
My Father worketh even until now, and I work also.
—John 5:17
God is doing the work of recovery. He will restore fallen man to the original purpose of His creation. Man will be conformed to the image of His Son and brought into the glory of God.
The same principle applies to the church. On the day of Pentecost, the church began in a glorious condition. The believers continued steadfastly in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. The glory of the Lord was among them, and the name of the Lord was exalted.
But shortly afterward, the church began to decline. Whenever God does something wonderful, the enemy seeks to spoil it. Yet man does not have the ability to completely destroy the work of God.
When we come to 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy, we see the changing condition of the church. First Timothy was written after Paul’s release from his first Roman imprisonment, around A.D. 63. Paul visited churches in that area and left Timothy in Ephesus.
Timothy was Paul’s true child in the faith. Paul wrote to him concerning how he should serve and guide the church. There were those teaching other doctrines, giving heed to fables and endless genealogies. Therefore, Timothy was charged to maintain good order in God’s house.
The church is the house of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. First Timothy gives much attention to the order of the church and the functioning of the elders.
Then, in A.D. 64, Nero burned Rome, and the situation changed. Paul was arrested again and taken to Rome. This time he was confined in a dungeon, and it was difficult for people even to find him. He knew that the time of his martyrdom was near.
Paul wrote 2 Timothy and urged Timothy to come quickly. In only a few years, the church’s condition had changed greatly. In 1 Timothy, the church is the house of God and the pillar and ground of the truth. In 2 Timothy, it has become a great house.
Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some unto honor, and some unto dishonor.
—2 Timothy 2:20
In other words, there was much mixture. Therefore, Paul’s burden in 2 Timothy was not merely outward order, but spiritual reality.
The things which thou hast heard from me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.
—2 Timothy 2:2
Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.
—2 Timothy 2:3
Flee youthful lusts, and follow after righteousness, faith, love, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
—2 Timothy 2:22
When we come to Revelation 2 and 3, many more years have passed. The risen Lord is walking among the churches. He examines the churches one after another.
Only the church in Philadelphia received no rebuke from the Lord. The church in Smyrna was not rebuked either. But the Lord urged the other churches to repent and return.
Repentance is not merely a word used when preaching the gospel to unbelievers. The church needs to repent. The church needs to return to her first love.
The Lord reveals Himself to the churches so that the churches may become His testimony. Yet we see that the churches fell. Therefore, the risen Lord gives an exhortation to return.
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches.
—Revelation 2:7
The Lord calls for overcomers in the church. Overcomers are not super-Christians. They are normal Christians—those who are willing to return to the Lord and remain faithful to Him.
This call to repent and return is the work of recovery.
When we view church history over two thousand years, we see that God has continually begun movements of recovery. The Spirit of the Lord has begun recovery work again and again.
Yet because man becomes involved, what begins in glory can become an organization. Revelation becomes tradition. Dear brothers and sisters, this is the picture of church history.
The question is not whether the Lord will do a work of recovery. He will. The question is whether we will respond to His calling.
In every generation, God has raised up those who love Him and respond to His call. The question before us is serious: Are we willing to be those through whom the Lord can carry on His recovery work?
God has not given up His purpose. The Spirit continues to work. No matter what the outward condition of the church may be, God has never been discouraged. He continues to call the overcomers.
Generation after generation, the Lord has preserved those who respond to Him. God will have His glorious church. What God has determined from eternity will surely be fulfilled.
Is there any choice for us? In our individual Christian life, can we choose to refuse growth? Can we choose to remain comfortable, avoid responsibility, and refuse the cross?
No. If we desire to grow, we must deny ourselves, take up the cross, and follow the Lord.
Many times we would like to turn around and go another way. But the love of the Lord constrains us. We have no other way to go. This is the only way.
The Lord came to this world seeking His bride. He went through the cross of Calvary in order to produce His church. The Holy Spirit patiently continues to work among us because God is preparing a bride for His Son.
That He might present the church to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
—Ephesians 5:27
Where can we find the way of the church? The way of the church is Christ.
The Lord said:
I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no one cometh unto the Father, but by Me.
—John 14:6
We often apply this word to individuals, and rightly so. When we come to the Lord, we come through Christ. But this word applies to the church as well. The way of the church is Christ.
The church is one Body with many members. The church is not a human organization. It is the corporate expression of Christ. Christ is the Head, and we are members of His Body.
In the church, there is no place for natural distinctions. There is neither Jew nor Greek, neither male nor female; Christ is all and in all. In the church, we see Christ.
Once we see that the church has been spoiled, we need to return to the cross. The cross removes everything other than Christ from us.
On the other hand, the cross makes way for everything that belongs to Christ. The cross has the sign of death upon it, but it also brings us into resurrection. The Lord said:
I am the resurrection, and the life.
—John 11:25
The way of the church is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is in the church. The authority of the Holy Spirit is the authority of the Head, because Christ has ascended on high.
We need to learn to wait upon the Lord and to hear what the Spirit says. In Acts, when the believers were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit spoke, and they followed His leading.
Philadelphia means brotherly love. Brotherly love is not merely a natural affection. It is the love of those who share the life of the Son.
We love the brothers because they are our brothers. We are all children of God, and we all share the life of the Son. Therefore, we need to love one another.
In the church, we may speak much about order and authority. Yet authority must be expressed in love. Christ gave His life. The authority of Christ is not worldly authority; it is the authority of the One who gave Himself for the church.
The Lord is looking for those who are humble in spirit and who tremble at His word.
Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool: what manner of house will ye build unto Me?
—Isaiah 66:1
But to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and that trembleth at My word.
—Isaiah 66:2
The church in Philadelphia kept the Lord’s word and did not deny His name. We do not want any other name. We want only the name of the Lord.
The church is the testimony of the Lord. According to life, the church is the Body of Christ, the bride, and the fullness of Him who filleth all in all.
In Revelation, the golden lampstand represents the church. Gold signifies the divine nature, and the lampstand bears the light. The function of the lampstand is to uphold the testimony of Jesus.
We are not here to preach ourselves. We are here to preach Jesus Christ as Lord. He is the King. He is the King. He is the King.
I would like to share something concerning the way of the church in China and how God has carried out His recovery. This is the testimony of the church. I can share only what I have seen, and my knowledge is limited. But what the Lord is doing is much greater than what any of us can know.
Christianity came to China in earlier centuries, but there were only short periods of its presence. Later, the Roman Catholic Church and various denominational missions came to China.
Robert Morrison was among the first Protestant missionaries to come to China. We thank God for those who came from the West and preached the gospel. They suffered greatly for the gospel, and some gave their lives for its sake.
Yet the gospel was not the only thing that came. Along with the gospel came many different forms, traditions, and denominational practices. Therefore, the need for recovery remained.
In the early twentieth century, revival broke out among students in China. Many young people were touched by the love of the Lord. They prayed, sought the Lord, and were burdened for the spiritual condition of the churches.
There were students and intelligent young people who began prevailing prayer. A revival came to the colleges. Many of the best students were set on fire for the Lord.
They preached in the streets. So many came to the meetings that people had to bring their own chairs. Those young people were deeply touched by the love of the Lord.
One young man, only seventeen years old in 1920, was greatly helped by the Lord. He gave himself to the word of God. When the fire of revival was kindled in the hearts of the young people, they began to ask whether their Christian practices could be found in the Bible.
They had one desire: whatever the Bible said, they would obey. What the Bible did not teach, they would not make their focus. This was a genuine response to the Lord’s call for recovery.