John (Program #13) – Life’s Purpose

Let the enemy do whatever he can, but whatever he does would just afford a chance for the Lord to do something more in resurrection.

In the changing of water into wine, we have seen the principle of life, that is to change death into life. Now, in the dealing of the temple, we can see the goal, the purpose of life. That is to build the house of God. This section of the Word is so short, but it has two aspects, which both are quite meaningful.

The first aspect is the cleansing aspect, and the second is the building aspect. With the temple of God, there is a need of these two aspects, the cleansing and the building. God’s enemy, Satan, always tries two things to damage or to frustrate the temple of God. Number one, to contaminate it, dirty with so many sinful things. So, this is why the house of God needs the cleansing. Number two, God’s enemy, Satan, always will try to damage, to tear down the temple of God. Today, with the Church life, it is the same. Satan always tries to get the Church life contaminated, dirtied with so many worldly things, sinful things. And then, Satan will always try to damage, if possible to tear down the Church life.

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John (Program #12) – Life’s Principle

One day your human life will run out, and the enjoyment will be over.

Chapter one gives us an introduction to the whole book. And, we have seen the introduction starts from eternity past and ends with eternity future. And in between, as we have seen, there is the bridge of time on which 5 main events transpire to accomplish God’s eternal purpose. We have seen this clearly. Now by the way, I must point out to you that John tells us that the Lord Jesus did lots of things. Thousands of things. But out of the thousand cases, John, the writer, only selected not more than 12 events. From chapter three through chapter eleven, it is so clear that there are 9 cases. From Nicodemus to the resurrection of Lazarus. Altogether 9 cases, plus 1 in chapter two. The changing of water into wine…

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John (Program #11) – An Introduction to Life and Building (7)

God drove His economical car from the first section of eternity through the time bridge to the last section of eternity. By driving through the bridge, He got everything finished.

We still have another message for chapter 1. This message in a sense is a kind review of what we have seen already. But, some different aspects are shown up in this message. Chapter 1 reveals to us two sections of eternity. In the beginning was the Word. That was the eternity in the past. At the end of this chapter, the Lord says, “you will see the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man”, and that we all know will happen in eternity future. In eternity past, Christ was merely the Word, and the Word was God. And, God by that time had only divinity, nothing human. By that time He didn’t have the humanity what He had was just divinity.  But in eternity future, His main aspect will be, not the Son of God, but the Son of Man. If He’s not the son of God, He could never be life to us. If He is not the Son of Man, He could never be the essence for the building of God. For life to us, He has to be the Son of God. For the building of God, Christ has to be the Son of Man. The Son of God is for life and the Son of Man is for building…

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John (Program #10) – An Introduction to Life and Building (6)

Christ as a man is the letter that opens the heavens, that joins the earth to heaven, and that brings heaven down to earth.

When John the Baptist said, “Behold, the Lamb of God”, two disciples were attracted. Not two thousand, but two. Not even twenty, but two. Two of John’s disciples got attracted, and John was happy. Who were these two? One of these two was Andrew. Who was the other one? John. And then Andrew got attracted, and Andrew went to catch his brother Peter. And, Peter came. The Lord Jesus changed his name from Simon to Cephas, which means Peter. And Peter, or Cephas, means a stone. The book of John is a book of allegories. The Lamb, the dove, the stone. This signifies the Lamb plus the dove produces the stone. Redemption plus regeneration and transformation produces stone…

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John (Program #9) – An Introduction to Life and Building (5)

God’s economy is not to have a giant, litter with power to accomplish some movement. No.  God’s economy is to send His son to be the little lamb with His Spirit as the little dove.

The main subject of this message is Christ as the Lamb of God with the Spirit as the dove to produce stones for God’s building. If I would ask you, what are the main points or main things in this title?  Number one, Jesus as the Lamb of God. You have to pick up Lamb. The second point, the dove. And the third point, stone. And the fourth point, the house or the building of the house. What is the last item? The Son of Man. These are the five main points: the Lamb for redemption, the dove for anointing and uniting, the stone for material, and the house as the building, and the man as the very substance. The substantial element of God’s building is man…

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John (Program #9) – An Introduction to Life and Building (4)

God embodied Himself in Christ for our enjoyment.  John 1:16 tells us “of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.”  The fullness of the Godhead dwells in this Jesus bodily, for our enjoyment. This is grace. Grace is just God Himself for our enjoyment. When you enjoy God, when you participate in God, that is grace. Grace is God for your enjoyment, not in doctrine but in your experience as your strength, as your life, as your comfort, as your rest, as your power, righteousness and holiness. Christ declared the Father to us in the way of enjoyment. The more we enjoy God, the more we know God…

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John (Program #7) – An Introduction to Life and Building (3)

The message we have covered tells us that Christ, as the Word, came as life and light for the purpose to produce many children. Keep this clear point within you deeply. John chapter 1:4 tells us that Christ as the Word, which was God Himself, came as life to us and as light shining with us for the purpose to produce, to bring forth many children of God, that God may have the enlargement, that God may have a corporate expression. This is revealed in the first 13 verses in chapter 1.

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John (Program #6) – An Introduction to Life and Building (2)

God is a mystery, but Christ is the Word of God. And, this Word defines God, explains God, and expresses God. So, this Word is the definition of God, and the explanation of God, and also the expression of God.

So eventually, this Word was God. Just God Himself. But not God hidden, not God concealed, not God mysterious, but God defined, God explained, God expressed. Not unseen God, but the seen God. Not the God invisible, but the very God so visible. This is the Word.

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John (Program #5) – An Introduction to Life and Building (1)

John’s ministry is a mending ministry, to mend the Church which is a net. The net has been torn. It is in need of mending. Even today, I think we all agree the Church has many holes, tears, and needs mending.

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John (Program #4) – A Foreword to the Life-Study of the Gospel of John (4)

You have to remember the first section of this book (John) is to bring God into man, and to declare God to man. This is the first section. Then the second section is to bring man into God.

We come to the position of John’s writings in the scripture. First of all, we have to realize John’s ministry is a mending ministry. When John was called, he was not fishing there; he was mending the net. When Peter was called, Peter was fishing, but John was mending. So in the later ministry, Peter did a lot of fishing. Peter brought in the people, but eventually it was John that mended the heavenly net. John’s ministry was a mending ministry, and this mending was one with life. Only life mends. Only life covers all the holes of the heavenly net…

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