2022-5丨General Subject：Loving the Lord and Loving One Another for the Organic Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ

General Subject：Loving the Lord and Loving One Another for the Organic Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ

B. We need to love the Lord in incorruptibility in the spiritual experiences that match the church life as unveiled in each chapter of Ephesians:

1. Chapter 1 unveils our being chosen in Christ to be holy and without blemish before God in love (v. 4); chapter 2 unveils our being God's masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus for good works (v. 10); chapter 3 unveils the unsearchable riches of Christ becoming our enjoyment, Christ making His home in our hearts, and our being filled unto all the fullness of God (vv. 8,14-19); chapter 4 unveils our putting off the old man and putting on the new man (vv. 22-24); chapter 5 unveils our being filled in spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and psalming with our heart to the Lord (vv. 18-19); and chapter 6 unveils our being empowered in the Lord and putting on the whole armor of God (vv. 10-11).

Eph. 1:4 Even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blemish before Him in love,

Eph. 2:10 For we are His masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand in order that we would walk in them.

Eph. 3:8 To me, less than the least of all saints, was this grace given to announce to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ as the gospel

Eph. 3:14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father,

Eph. 3:15 Of whom every family in the heavens and on earth is named,

Eph. 3:16 That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit into the inner man,

Eph. 3:17 That Christ may make His home in your hearts through faith, that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

Eph. 3:18 May be full of strength to apprehend with all the saints what the breadth and length and height and depth are

Eph. 3:19 And to know the knowledge-surpassing love of Christ, that you may be filled unto all the fullness of God.

Eph. 4:22 That you put off, as regards your former manner of life, the old man, which is being corrupted according to the lusts of the deceit,

Eph. 4:23 And that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind

Eph. 4:24 And put on the new man, which was created according to God in righteousness and holiness of the reality.

Eph. 5:18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissoluteness, but be filled in spirit,

Eph. 5:19 Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and psalming with your heart to the Lord,

Eph. 6:10 Finally, be empowered in the Lord and in the might of His strength.

Eph. 6:11 Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the stratagems of the devil,

2. The key to all the spiritual experiences in Ephesians is to be strengthened into the inner man (3:16) in order to be supplied with the supporting grace (vv. 2, 8; 6:24).

Eph. 3:16 That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit into the inner man,

Eph. 3:2 If indeed you have heard of the stewardship of the grace of God which was given to me for you,

Eph. 3:8 To me, less than the least of all saints, was this grace given to announce to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ as the gospel

Eph. 6:24 Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in incorruptibility.

3. This is the miraculous yet normal way to live the church life, a revived life, a life that continually overcomes, and a life that loves the Lord in incorruptibility.

Morning Nourishment

Eph. 3:16-17 That He would grant you...to be strengthened with power through His Spirit into the inner man, that Christ may make His home in your hearts through faith, that you, being rooted and grounded in love.

Paul concludes Ephesians by saying, “Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in incorruptibility” (6:24). We can still love the Lord if we remain in our soul, but to love the Lord in our soul is not to love Him in incorruptibility. When we are strengthened into our spirit and allow the Lord to make His home in our heart, we are loving Him in incorruptibility... If we love the Lord in our soul, we may be too hot in our emotion, unable to bridle or control our emotion in responding to or proposing things. We may be easily offended [or] cause turmoil in the church. We need to love the Lord by turning to our spirit. This is to love Him in incorruptibility, and this kind of love edifies the saints and builds up the Body of Christ. To love the Lord in incorruptibility is to love Him in the things that are fitting for the church life. (CWWL, 1988, vol. 1, pp. 579-580)

First, we must turn to our spirit so that Christ can settle down in our heart. Then we will be rooted and grounded in love and will be able to apprehend with all the saints the dimensions of Christ. We will also be able to know the knowledge-surpassing love of Christ (Eph. 3:19a). Christ’s love surpasses human knowledge, yet we can know it by experiencing it. Finally, we will be corporately filled unto all the fullness of the Triune God (v. 19b). This is to be filled to the extent that we become the expression of the processed Triune God. These spiritual experiences in the divine life make us fit for the church life.

The secret to all the spiritual experiences revealed in Ephesians is in the last verse. [According to] Ephesians 6:24,... grace is the source [of loving the Lord in incorruptibility]. According to chapter 3, grace is unsearchably great because it supplies us with the unsearchable riches of Christ (vv. 2, 8). The key to experiencing this supporting grace is in verse 16, where the apostle prayed for us to be strengthened into the inner man... It is when we are in the inner man that Christ makes His home in our hearts. If Christ is making His home in us, everything He is and has will be available in us for our enjoyment. As He abides and settles down in us, He is gracing us, giving us all the riches of His grace. With this supporting grace we can be holy and without blemish, walk as God’s masterpiece in the good works prepared by God, put off the old man, put on the new man, be filled in spirit, be empowered, and put on the whole armor of God.

Regeneration is miraculous, yet it is normal... Similarly, to be holy, which is to be like God, is miraculous, but it is very normal because we can experience it simply by praying that the Father would strengthen us into our inner man so that Christ may make His home in our heart...We can experience all the things spoken of in Ephesians in this miraculous yet normal way.

We can be revived in a miraculous yet normal way every morning, and we can be revived again and again throughout the day in the same way. If we sense that we are sinful, we should immediately pray, “Lord, I am sinful. Forgive me of all my sinfulness and cleanse me with Your precious blood.” Right away we will be cleansed and revived. We do not need to pray for many days but can simply speak a brief word to the Lord in order to be instantly revived. In this way we can live Christ, walk according to the spirit, speak Christ everywhere and at any moment, and then come to the meetings and overflow, which is to have rivers of living water flowing out of our inner man... (John 7:38). This is the way to live the church life, a revived life, a life that continually overcomes, and a life that loves the Lord in incorruptibility. (CWWL, 1988, vol. 1, pp. 580, 582-584)