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

Message Seven Being Perfect as the Heavenly Father Is Perfect by Being Perfected in His Love

I. At the end of Matthew 5, to conclude an exceedingly high section of the constitution of the kingdom of the heavens (vv. 17-48), the Lord Jesus said, “You therefore shall be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” (v. 48):

Matt. 5:1 And when He saw the crowds, He went up to the mountain. And after He sat down, His disciples came to Him.

Matt. 5:2 And opening His mouth, He taught them, saying,

Matt. 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens.

Matt. 5:4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Matt. 5:5 Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Matt. 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Matt. 5:7 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy.

Matt. 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Matt. 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God.

Matt. 5:10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens.

Matt. 5:11 Blessed are you when they reproach and persecute you, and while speaking lies, say every evil thing against you because of Me.

Matt. 5:12 Rejoice and exult, for your reward is great in the heavens; for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Matt. 5:13 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.

Matt. 5:14 You are the light of the world. It is impossible for a city situated upon a mountain to be hidden.

Matt. 5:15 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.

Matt. 5:16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in the heavens.

Matt. 5:17 Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have not come to abolish, but to fulfill.

Matt. 5:18 For truly I say to you, Until heaven and earth pass away, one iota or one serif shall by no means pass away from the law until all come to pass.

Matt. 5:19 Therefore whoever annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called the least in the kingdom of the heavens; but whoever practices and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of the heavens.

Matt. 5:20 For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall by no means enter into the kingdom of the heavens.

Matt. 5:21 You have heard that it was said to the ancients, "You shall not murder, and whoever murders shall be liable to the judgment."

Matt. 5:22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, Raca, shall be liable to the judgment of the Sanhedrin; and whoever says, Moreh, shall be liable to the Gehenna of fire.

Matt. 5:23 Therefore if you are offering your gift at the altar and there you remember that your brother has something against you,

Matt. 5:24 Leave your gift there before the altar, and first go and be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

Matt. 5:25 Be well disposed quickly toward your opponent at law, while you are with him on the way, lest the opponent deliver you to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison.

Matt. 5:26 Truly I say to you, You shall by no means come out from there until you pay the last quadrans.

Matt. 5:27 You have heard that it was said, "You shall not commit adultery."

Matt. 5:28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman in order to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Matt. 5:29 So if your right eye stumbles you, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish than for your whole body to be cast into Gehenna.

Matt. 5:30 And if your right hand stumbles you, cut it off and cast it from you, for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish than for your whole body to pass away into Gehenna.

Matt. 5:31 And it was said, Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.

Matt. 5:32 But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the cause of fornication, causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries her who has been divorced commits adultery.

Matt. 5:33 Again, you have heard that it was said to the ancients, "You shall not break an oath, but you shall render to the Lord your oaths."

Matt. 5:34 But I tell you not to swear at all; neither by heaven, because it is the throne of God;

Matt. 5:35 Nor by the earth, because it is the footstool of His feet; nor unto Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King;

Matt. 5:36 Neither shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black.

Matt. 5:37 But let your word be, Yes, yes; No, no; for anything more than these is of the evil one.

Matt. 5:38 You have heard that it was said, "An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth."

Matt. 5:39 But I tell you not to resist him who is evil; rather whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also.

Matt. 5:40 And to him who wishes to sue you and take your tunic, yield to him your cloak also;

Matt. 5:41 And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.

Matt. 5:42 To him who asks of you, give; and from him who wants to borrow from you, do not turn away.

Matt. 5:43 You have heard that it was said, "You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy."

Matt. 5:44 But I say to you, Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you,

Matt. 5:45 So that you may become sons of your Father who is in the heavens, because He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the just and the unjust.

Matt. 5:46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?

Matt. 5:47 And if you greet only your brothers, what better thing are you doing? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?

Matt. 5:48 You therefore shall be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.

A. The kingdom people, the audience for the Lord's decree of the constitution of the kingdom of the heavens, are the regenerated believers of the New Testament, as the title sons of your Father in verse 45 indicates:

Matt. 5:45 So that you may become sons of your Father who is in the heavens, because He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the just and the unjust.

1. They are the Father's children, having the Father's divine life and divine nature.

B. The demand of the new law of the kingdom is much higher than the requirement of the law of the old dispensation (v. 22, footnote 2); this higher demand can be met only by the Father's divine life, not by the natural life:

Matt. 5:22 footnote 2: The law of the old dispensation deals with the act of murder (v. 21), but the new law of the kingdom deals with anger, the motive of murder. Hence, the demand of the new law of the kingdom is deeper than the requirement of the law of the old dispensation. To meet the demand of the new law of the kingdom, the higher life of the new creation is needed.

1. The kingdom of the heavens is the highest demand, and the divine life of the Father is the highest supply to meet that demand.

2. The demand of the new law of the kingdom is actually the expression of the new life, the divine life, which is within the regenerated kingdom people; this demand opens up the inner being of the regenerated people, showing them that they are able to attain to such a high level and to have such a high living.

3. We become God's regenerated children by the coming of the Spirit of God into our spirit to regenerate us (Rom. 8:16; John 3:6) and to make our spirit the dwelling place of God (Eph. 2:22); if we walk according to our regenerated human spirit indwelt by and mingled with the divine Spirit (1 Cor. 6:17), we are living by God's life to fulfill the righteous requirement of the law (Rom. 8:4).

Rom. 8:16 The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God.

John 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Eph. 2:22 In whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in spirit.

1 Cor. 6:17 But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit.

Rom. 8:4 That the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit.

Morning Nourishment

Matt. 5:44-45 But I say to you, Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may become sons of your Father who is in the heavens...

48 You therefore shall be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.

[The Lord’s word in Matthew 5:48] concludes [the] section of the constitution [vv. 17-48], a section which is exceedingly high. After reading all these requirements, we all would say that we cannot possibly fulfill them. Then we come to verse 48, which tells us that we must be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect. This verse is an indicator that we have the Father’s life and nature within us. We have been born of Him and we are His children. Because we are His children possessing His life and nature, there is no need for us to imitate Him or copy Him. As long as we grow in His life, we shall be the same as He is. Thus, all the requirements of the law of the kingdom of the heavens reveal how much this divine life and nature can do for us. Our only need is to be exposed so that we may give up all hope in ourselves...Then we shall renounce our natural life, turn to the life of our Father, and stay with the divine nature. Spontaneously, this life will grow in us and fulfill the requirements of this highest law. Our need today is to turn to our spirit and walk in our spirit. Whenever we do this, we live by our Father’s life and nature; then spontaneously we fulfill the righteous requirements of the law. (Life-study of Matthew, p. 251)

I have the life of my heavenly Father within me!...I am now living by this life in my spirit and walking according to the spirit. By this life in my spirit I spontaneously fulfill the highest requirements of the law of the kingdom of the heavens. This is not my boast; it is my humble testimony to give glory to the Lord. This does not mean that I am able to do anything. It means that He is able, for He is in me as my life. He is able to do the same in you and for you. In order for this to be your experience, you need to have a vision of the hopelessness of your natural life. After your natural life has been thoroughly dug out and exposed, you will realize that it is a hopeless case, that you should have no trust in it, and that you must turn to the Father’s divine life and nature within you...You can easily turn to the Father’s life because at this very moment it is in your spirit. Simply walk according to your spirit, and all the righteous requirements of the law will be fulfilled in you.

We are not only God’s creatures; we are also His regenerated children, possessing His life and nature. Thus, we are not God’s creatures trying to copy and imitate Him; we are the Father’s children living the Father’s life. How did we become the children of God? It was by the coming of the Spirit of God into our spirit to regenerate us and to make our spirit the very habitation of God Himself (Eph. 2:22, Gk.). Here, in our spirit, we have become God’s children having God’s life and nature. If we walk according to this regenerated spirit, we are the children of God living by God’s life. When we live and walk in the spirit, spontaneously we shall be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect.

Consider a brother who has four children...These children are not four monkeys trying to imitate a human being. No, they are children of their father who are growing into the image of their father. The more they grow, the more they live their father’s life. Likewise, we are not monkeys—we are children of God. Although some of us may be rather babyish or childish, we are growing nonetheless. These young ones may be naughty, but they are growing. Wait for a certain number of years, and you will see that all these naughty little ones will be perfect as their heavenly Father is perfect... Eventually they will grow. We are not trying to imitate God. Rather we are the Father’s children growing in the Father’s life. This is the reason the Lord Jesus said that we should be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect. (Life-study of Matthew, pp. 251-254)

Further Reading: Life-study of Matthew, msg. 20; CWWL, 1932-1949, vol. 1, pp. 535-540