Lord, we thank Thee. Thou hast gathered us together here, willing to reveal Thy heart’s desire to us. From everlasting to everlasting, Thy heart’s desire is precious.
Thou hast drawn us and kept us in Thy will. We must confess in Thy presence that we are foolish by nature. We can only touch earthly matters; we are not able to follow into a heavenly arrangement.
But we praise and thank Thee, Lord, for Thou hast done a great work. Not only hast Thou saved us, but Thou hast placed us in this position according to Thy original will. After the Holy Spirit, Thou hast placed even Thine own life within us, so that we who are not qualified have now been qualified to pursue and understand Thy will.
Therefore, as we come into Thy presence, we look to Thy mercy. Thou hast placed such a great spiritual mission before us, and the more we see, the more we see our own unworthiness. Yet Thou hast counted us worthy, and we bow our heads and worship Thee.
Let us not only see that it is because of Thee that we are counted worthy to be taken in, but also that it is because of Thee that we are able to live out such worthiness.
This afternoon, as we fellowship in Thy word, Lord, may Thou personally speak to us through the Holy Spirit. May we not merely hear a man speaking, but continue to follow the flow of the Holy Spirit and listen.
Lord, we look to Thee. Once again, we say: honour and glorify Thine own name. Draw us to follow after Thee without any reservation, that Thou may gain all the honour, glory, and authority.
We look to Thee and pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Let us first turn to our Bible passages. We will begin with Ephesians 1:8.
Wherein He hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence,
having made known unto us the mystery of His will,
according to His good pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself:
that in the dispensation of the fulness of the times
He might gather together in one all things in Christ,
both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him.
Continuing with Ephesians 1:11-12:
In Whom also we have obtained an inheritance,
being predestinated according to the purpose of Him
Who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will:
that we should be to the praise of His glory,
who first trusted in Christ.
For the sake of time, we will now read Ephesians 1:19-23.
And what the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe,
according to the working of the strength of His might,
which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead,
and made Him to sit at His right hand in the heavenly places,
far above all rule, and authority, and power, and dominion,
and every name that is named,
not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:
and He put all things in subjection under His feet,
and gave Him to be head over all things to the church,
which is His body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all.
Let us also turn to Ephesians 4:11-13.
And He gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets;
and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
for the perfecting of the saints,
unto the work of ministering,
unto the building up of the body of Christ:
till we all attain unto the unity of the faith,
and of the knowledge of the Son of God,
unto a full-grown man,
unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.
We thank the Lord for giving us this opportunity. Brothers and sisters, we all know the theme of this conference. According to the arrangement of the brothers, I have the responsibility of sharing concerning the testimony of the New Testament.
We thank our Lord because He has placed us under this new covenant, that we may personally experience how God manifests His work in the new covenant.
I believe brothers and sisters still remember that Acts 1 tells us something very clearly. When the Lord ascended back to heaven, He made a very clear proclamation: He would send the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit would abide in every one of us who believes in the Lord.
What is the Holy Spirit to do? The Lord also tells us that we are to be His witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judaea, in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
We praise and thank our Lord. The Lord has made an arrangement, and this arrangement is not merely for us to receive grace. This grace is also given in order that we may be sent.
The purpose is not merely that we count all the blessings we have received. Of course, according to our feelings, we often love to count His blessings. But when we see the commission of the Lord, we see that the purpose is very clear.
The purpose is not merely to count how much grace and mercy He has given us. It is for us to be His witnesses, to make known His testimony, and to declare His testimony.
A very long time ago, when I read these words, they made a deep impression on my heart: the Lord calls us to be His testimony. Now, what does it mean to be His testimony? Indeed, this is a great matter.
Our brothers have already shared with us in the previous meetings. Although much time has passed, if we speak of the old covenant, it has been a couple of thousand years from our present time. Even in the new covenant, it has now been two thousand years.
If we look ahead, the Lord has shown us many clear signs that His return is near. Yet, in reality, we see that there is still some ground ahead of us.
Throughout this long period of time, what is God doing? Has the work of God ever changed? If it has changed, then we can say that it is not important. But if the work of God has never changed, then, brothers and sisters, we ought to have a very normal response.
The work God purposes to do is exceedingly great. It cannot be changed; it must be finished.
Now then, we are placed in the midst of this work of God—His testimony. What, then, is this testimony?
If we consider the order of the Lord’s work, we need to look at this matter more closely. Personally, I cannot forget one thing.
This happened a few decades ago, when I was still in China. In those days, I had tasted something of the difficulty which the church experienced. At that time, I was still a student.
For those in my situation, to follow the Lord seemed to have little meaning. There seemed to be no future ahead and no path before us. Yet the older brethren brought us into a fact: the glorious, eternal will of God.
The words shared by the brethren were very simple. They said that men are very serious about changing this and changing that in society. But regardless of how earthly matters move ahead, they cannot change heavenly matters.
In those days, the brothers shared that we follow after the Lord because of His desire to bring in His kingdom. We thank our God. Those words opened our eyes and showed us the proper path of following the Lord.
This time, as the brothers arranged for me to share in this area, it naturally caused me to remember those former years and also to think of the present.
The conditions we encounter today are completely different from what I encountered in years past. Yet the temptations and trials have the same purpose: to draw us away from the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, so that our entire life may not go in the direction of the Lord.
These things seek to cause all our pursuit not to remain in the good pleasure of the Lord’s desire. But we praise and thank our Lord. Even though the visible condition may be this way, in grace God has raised up His children all around the world.
His children are still willing to follow His desire and His guidance. Therefore, we must ask: What, in fact, is the eternal will of God?
Throughout such a long period of time, God has not changed His will. What is that purpose? Of course, if God does not tell us something, we cannot guess. But what God desires us to know, He has not withheld from us.
Let us pay attention to the spoken word of God. Although my responsibility this time is to speak only concerning the new covenant, we must recognise what God desires to complete during this new covenant.
We can put it this way: this is the most important and crucial point of His work. If the work of God in this period of the new covenant is not successful, then there is no hope for the completion of God’s eternal will.
Of course, with God nothing is impossible. But in order that we may understand the solemnity of this period, we must take note of God’s arrangement in this dispensation.
This is the most crucial time in the completion of God’s eternal will. When we read Ephesians 1, brothers and sisters, we can see this very clearly.
When we speak of God’s eternal will, we must see that it is not merely an empty thought. God has made it very clear that He intends to complete one great matter: all things are to be gathered together and summed up in Christ.
Brothers and sisters, take note of that expression: all things. It refers to all things that exist, without exception. This shows us the breadth of this matter.
In the dispensation of the fulness of the times, all things are to be gathered together and summed up in Christ.
In these days, many have paid attention to the solar eclipse. People travelled to different places in order to see it. When people see such a phenomenon, they may have different thoughts.
One person may say, “How great and magnificent this phenomenon is,” yet conclude that it proves there is no God. Another may see the same visible phenomenon and recognise the great God behind it.
Unfortunately, few are able to look beyond visible matters and see the reason behind them. Why do I mention this? I want brothers and sisters to pay attention to the passage we have read.
In the dispensation of the fulness of the times, God is to gather together all things and sum them up in Christ. This tells us, first, that all things are not presently in Christ in their proper way. Second, they are not yet summed up together as one.
This is what we see in the present condition of the world. Nothing is in harmony. There is no harmony between men. There is no harmony between man and other things. Even among created things there is no harmony.
God also tells us the reason there is no harmony. Yet God’s purpose is to deal with this condition so that all things may be gathered together and summed up in Christ.
Sometimes, when we encounter these words, we cannot understand them. We ask, “How can this happen? Is there a way for this to become reality?” But God has repeatedly told us in His word that He will complete this work.
How will God bring this great work to completion amid the confusion that exists today? Last night our brother pointed out many words which God spoke and many things which He did. Yet all those words and acts point to one thing God must accomplish.
God spoke much, and He especially chose the race of Israel. He gave them the holy priesthood so that they might draw all nations back before God. Yet the Israelites were not able to follow on.
Therefore, this is a crucial time for us who live in the New Testament, in the new covenant.
I often ask brothers and sisters, “What is the name of your Bible?” They say, “It is the Bible.” Of course, it is the Bible, but there are also the terms Old Testament and New Testament.
Then I ask, “What is the Old Testament, and what is the New Testament?” Some say that before the Lord Jesus came is the Old Testament, and after the Lord Jesus came is the New Testament.
But the issue is this: the Old Testament and the New Testament speak of two different covenants. Yet we cannot separate the new covenant from the old. If we see the new covenant properly, we cannot forsake the old covenant.
Why is this so? We must return to what Ephesians 1 tells us: God has a plan that, in the dispensation of the fulness of the times, He will gather together all things and sum them up in Christ.
What is the basis of this fulness of time? It is that those who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.
For us who live in the new covenant, this shows us how we are to follow in the testimony of God. I believe that there are many younger brothers and sisters among us in this conference, so I want to spend a little more time clarifying this matter.
If we are to understand this matter, we cannot neglect God’s purpose in the creation of man. Many today, especially unbelievers, do not believe in God’s creation. Even among believers, there may be those who do not understand the purpose of God’s creation.
We cannot be careless concerning this point because it is connected with the theme of God’s testimony.
In Genesis 1, we can clearly see God’s proclamation concerning His creation of man. Before creation, God tells us that certain things had happened, though He does not give us all the details. We can nevertheless see the result of what happened before creation.
In His creation, God’s purpose was focused upon dealing with the result of those things that occurred before creation. God said, “Let Us make man.”
How was man to be? First, man was to be created in God’s own image. Second, God would delegate His authority to man.
When we read Genesis 1, we see these two matters clearly: God’s image and God’s authority. I will not go into great detail, but I point this out so that we will not be careless concerning it.
God’s purpose was, first, to manifest Himself; second, for His authority to be exercised without hindrance.
Who opposed this arrangement of God? The answer is very simple: Satan, who had fallen.
The very purpose of God’s creation was to deal with Satan, his fall, and all the consequences of that fall. There is an obstacle in this matter, and this obstacle comes from Satan.
Satan disrupted God’s plan, and man fell. Yet Satan’s disruption does not bring God’s plan to an end.
Therefore, we can see God’s proclamation in those early days. Our brother mentioned this last night, but I will mention it again: the seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent’s head.
From the words of God, we can take note of one thing: God intends to bring fallen man back to the original purpose of His creation. Therefore, God sent His own Son to complete salvation.
But in order for man to receive this salvation from God, we must consider our own experience. When we first heard of salvation, were we immediately joyful and willing to receive God’s salvation?
Perhaps some were, but such cases are rare. Most of us struggled and struggled until, under the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, we submitted.
God says that we are all sinners, and we ask, “Why are we sinners?” God says that there is eternal judgment, and we may say, “When I die, that is the end of everything.” There are many reasons that hinder us.
But we thank our God. He proclaimed that the seed of the woman would bruise the serpent’s head.
God also took the skin of an animal to cover man’s nakedness and shame. Of course, this is a type. Through the sacrifice of an animal and the shedding of blood, shame and nakedness were covered. This pointed to the day when the Son of God would come.
Brothers and sisters, we must ask a question: God has done so many things—for what purpose? Why do you want to believe in the Lord?
Each one of us has experienced that stage. When God exposes our sin to us, we realise that we must believe in the Lord. If we do not believe in Him, there is no way out.
But the purpose is not for us to see only this aspect of salvation. If we see only this aspect, then we do not realise God’s purpose in giving His own Son for salvation.
Is it merely that, one by one, we believe in Jesus and do not perish? If that is all we see, then what is the purpose of God’s salvation?
When God shows us more clearly, we realise that receiving salvation and no longer being condemned is only the beginning of His salvation.
Gradually, God shows us that the purpose of His salvation is very high, very great, and very meaningful. Why? Because the grace of God’s salvation is the manifestation of the restoration of His testimony.
God brings us back to the original purpose of His creation of man. It is not merely that we see, “Now I will not perish, but have everlasting life.” At the beginning, we all view salvation this way.
But gradually, as we desire God and are willing to follow Him, we clearly see that God is restoring us to the original purpose of His creation.
When we return to Ephesians 1, we see that all things are to be gathered together as one in Christ on the foundation that those who first trusted in Christ are to be the praise of His glory.
If this work is not completed, then the original purpose of God’s creation of man will not be restored. But if God’s purpose is restored successfully, then the condition of the world and of all things will not remain as it is today.
What condition will be seen then? In Romans 8, we read that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together. These words are closely related to what we have been considering.
Why does creation groan? Because it is suffering. It is not referring only to man, but to all things. All things are suffering and travailing, yet they have a longing.
For what are they waiting? They are waiting for the revealing of the sons of God.
What does it mean for the sons of God to be revealed? It concerns the completion of our testimony. It speaks of those who are in Christ becoming mature and full-grown.
In the words of Ephesians, we are to be the praise of God’s glory. At that point, the sons of God are manifested. When the sons of God are revealed, the glory of God is revealed.
When the glory of God is revealed, not only do the sons of God receive complete freedom and liberty, but all things also receive that liberty.
Where, then, is the key to the completion of this matter? Again, it brings us back to Ephesians. Those who first trusted in Christ are referred to in Romans as the sons of God.
When the sons of God are revealed, it means that all the redeemed of the Lord have become full-grown and can manifest His glory without hindrance. This is the fulness of time.
Sometimes brothers and sisters ask, “God is all-knowing. Did He not know that the Israelites would not be able to follow? Why would God spend thousands of years upon them? Would it not have been better simply to send His Son?”
Such questions bring us to a spiritual reality and expose our own spiritual condition. The root of man’s fall is that man desires to come forward and be like God.
When man desires to be like God, he wants to see many things, become his own master, and make every arrangement according to his own desire. This is the condition of Adam and all his descendants.
Brothers and sisters, it is very difficult to turn this condition around.
Especially in North America, we may know something of this condition. We may be doing well, and then an economic crisis comes—not merely an economic crisis, but an economic tsunami. It comes in waves and affects our work and our circumstances.
Consider this: if everything happens in such a way that you are exalted, will you be joyful? Certainly. But if you are adjusted in your work and, in man’s view, lowered, can you still be joyful?
In our natural disposition, we cannot. Through such examples, God shows us our own nature.
In the old covenant, God gave Israel a spiritual mission. They were to live well before God and draw all nations to God. How would they know whether they were living well? God gave them the law.
The law became their standard. If they lived according to it, they thought they had lived well before God. If they did not, then they had lived wrongly. But the result was that the Israelites could not follow according to God’s desire.
God did not waste His time. He knew how foolish man is by nature. Through that long period and through that reality, God exposed man’s nature.
If you rely upon yourself, you have no path. Therefore, you must turn and look to the salvation God has prepared.
When God gave Moses the law, He spoke words that are very important and are repeated many times in the New Testament. May God put these words in our hearts so that we see that He does all things in order and in stages. God does not waste His time.
In Deuteronomy 18, through Moses, God declared to Israel that He would raise up a prophet from among their brethren, like Moses.
I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee;
and I will put My words in His mouth,
and He shall speak unto them all that I shall command Him.
And it shall come to pass,
that whosoever will not hearken unto My words which He shall speak in My name,
I will require it of him.
If we only look at the surface, we may say that God gave the law and that man would be accepted if he followed it. But God was saying something deeper: “I will raise up one among your brethren like Moses, and when He is made known, you must obey Him.”
If a person has kept every part of the law, as Paul could say he had kept it from his youth, yet refuses to obey the One whom God raises up, can that person continue among the people of God? Clearly, he cannot.
God used the law to expose the weakness and lack of the Israelites, and to bring man into the presence of His Son. Even before God’s Son came, God had established this principle among Israel.
The Jews in the period of the four Gospels fell into this foolishness. They believed that, according to the law, they were living well. Yet they considered the word spoken by the Lord to be less authoritative than the law.
If man fulfils all the law but refuses to obey the Lord when He speaks, can that person live? No. God’s purpose in the law was to bring man to His Son.
The Lord did not break the law; He fulfilled the law. Therefore, He is able to reveal a requirement even greater than that of the law.
When we understand this, we can see that God’s salvation is not merely to bring us from condemnation into freedom, from wretchedness into abundance, or from the law into grace.
The purpose of God’s work is that His original purpose in creating man may be restored in us. This restoration will bring all things together as one in Christ.
This matter is exceedingly important. If this work of God is not successful, then God’s plan cannot move forward. Therefore, this point must be completed.
In recent years, God has used many things on earth and in the heavens to cause us to take note that the Lord’s return is near. We dare not say that the Lord will return even tonight, but we all realise that one day we shall stand before Him.
Again I ask: Why do you believe in the Lord? You may say, “I want to be saved.” Of course, we need to be saved. In all service and in every matter of the church, we cannot be careless concerning salvation.
But because we are careful concerning salvation, it does not mean that salvation is the sole purpose of God’s work. Our being saved is only the beginning of our entrance into the abundant grace of God.
God’s grace continues to lead us forward until one day His will can be manifested in us without hindrance, and His glory can be manifested through us.
Before God, I dare not say that I have already reached that condition. I can only say, “God, I hope this may be the case.” I am not there today.
Yet, though this is our reality, the work of God upon us will surely bring us to that condition.
In God’s salvation, we have been created as the body of Christ. God has made us into this organism, the body of Christ.
There is much more to be said concerning this. Brothers and sisters, pay special attention when you read Ephesians. In chapter one, through the Holy Spirit, God opens to us His eternal will and the mystery of His will.
Then Paul offers a great prayer. The words may not be many, but the content and detail of this prayer are exceedingly great. We do not have time today to consider all of Paul’s prayer.
I will point out only one aspect. Do not misunderstand and think that it is the only important aspect; all of Paul’s prayer is important. I highlight this point because it is one we cannot neglect.
I have asked you two questions, but they are really one question: Why do you believe in the Lord? What is the purpose of your faith in the Lord?
If we do not return to the word of God, we may not realise the purpose of our believing. We may think that faith in Him merely qualifies us to meet Him one day.
But God Himself tells us that He has called us and chosen us for His purpose. Of course, we may have our own purpose, but God has His purpose. Regardless of our original intention, God will complete His purpose in us.
What is this purpose? May the Spirit of God open our eyes. We can scarcely believe that this is the great work God intends to do, yet it is plainly revealed in His word.
This is not merely head knowledge. It is not only doctrine. God intends for us to have a correct understanding that becomes real in our experience.
Paul prays that God will grant us the Holy Spirit so that we may know God and know what He is doing.
One point is this: those who believe in Him are to know the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe.
When we read the Scriptures, we may have some thoughts, but they may not be deep. When the Holy Spirit gives more light within us, we begin to realise how solemn these words are.
The words tell us that we may know the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe. These words are not spoken to others; they are spoken to us. Who are we? We are those who believe.
The Lord speaks these words to believers. The truth itself is not complicated, but our experience of it can be very complex.
How great is this power? It is the power God wrought in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places.
Christ is far above all principality, authority, power, dominion, and every name that is named—not only in this world, but also in the world to come. Everything is included in this.
Pay close attention to this matter. We do not have enough time in this meeting to go into all the practical details. But if we grasp the reality of the Lord’s words and the condition they reveal, we should leap for joy and worship and praise God.
What does this tell us in simple words? God intends to make the experience of Christ our experience.
This is the experience of Christ becoming our experience. We may know the exceeding greatness of His power toward us. How great is it? It is the same power wrought in Christ.
This is why I ask, “Why do you believe in the Lord?” May the Lord deliver us from our first, limited inclination in believing and lead us into the reality of the grace He has prepared for us in salvation.
God intends to bring about in us the same experience that He brought about in His own Son. Brothers and sisters, think about this: Who are we? By what means can we receive such a great blessing from God?
In our thoughts, it is already great enough that we are not condemned for our sin. Yet God says that He will bring the same experience wrought in Christ to be our own. This is something we scarcely dare to imagine.
If we turn to Ephesians 2, we see that we have been quickened together with Christ, raised together with Him, and seated together with Him.
Then we know how great the calling of God is upon us. From Ephesians 1 we can see clearly that what Christ experienced is to become our experience.
The result of Christ’s experience is to become ours. Beyond the fact that we shall not perish, all that is Christ’s is to become ours.
If we read these words again, we see that this is the result. Yet it does not end there.
Not only is the experience of Christ to become our experience: as He was raised from the dead, we also are raised from the dead. As Christ is seated, we are seated together with Him.
When Christ is King in the kingdom, according to the arrangement of salvation, we are to reign with Him in the kingdom.
If we fully receive the experience of Christ as our own, all the glory and riches of Christ will become ours. Indeed, we praise and thank God.
But the word of God does not end there. At the end of Ephesians 1, God tells us that the church has become the body of Christ.
We will leave the fuller consideration of these words until tomorrow. But the important point is that we have become His body, which is the fulness of Him Who filleth all in all.
Who is the One who filleth all? Clearly, it is God Himself. Through the experience of Christ, we are brought to the point where the fulness of God becomes our fulness.
Brothers and sisters, this is not merely a proclamation. If we had time to read Ephesians 3, Paul’s second prayer, we would see how God brings us into the completion of this glorious fulness.
We see that God, through His Son, has laid the foundation for the completion of His eternal salvation. He has brought those who have been redeemed and placed us in Christ.
Through the working of the Holy Spirit, God adds to us, bit by bit and one by one, the experience of Christ as our own. At the same time, one by one and bit by bit, He removes from us everything that has nothing to do with Christ.
Until one day, we will fulfil the requirement that we, who first trusted in Christ, should be to the praise of God’s glory.
Then the eternal will of God will have a channel through us. We praise and thank our Lord.
When we reflect upon our journey from not knowing the Lord to knowing Him, it is not merely a simple matter of being saved. We have been brought into the glorious will of God.
God, according to His glorious arrangement, will bring us into completion. May God, through His spoken word, enlighten the eyes of our hearts, so that we may realise that we are not merely receivers of grace, but vessels to manifest His glory.
Let us bow for a word of prayer.
Lord, even though man’s words stop here, may Thou continue to speak to us. Use Thy spoken word to speak to us once again, and speak until we are all enlightened.
In these last days, may we be able to follow Thy will according to Thy desire. We thank Thee, Lord, because with Thee there is no changing and no shifting of shadow.
The zeal of the Lord shall perform it. We give Thee all the glory. May Thou use Thy glorious work to compel us to walk in Thy desire, pleasure, and delight.
Lord, we look to Thee to lead us forward. We pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.