Psalms (Program #4) – Christ in God’s Economy versus the Law in Man’s Appreciation (3)

In our natural common mentality, the law of God easily assumes a preeminent position.  We can relate to the notion of keeping a high moral standard of conduct.  And surely this seems in line with what must be God’s plan and desire for mankind.  After all God Himself gave the commandments to Moses to pass on to His people, the children of Israel.  But there is a fundamental problem; when we afford the law the central position in our relationship to God and that is although it is good and righteous and holy, the law is powerless and must rely on man’s fallen flesh to carry it out.  Try as we may and regardless of how much desperate prayer expressing our earnest desire to carry it out we add to it,  the result is inevitable, an utter failure, leaving us defeated and condemned and spiritually dead.  Oh that our eyes would be open to see that this righteous law that so vividly portraits God’s holy nature has never occupied the central place in His plan.  For that place throughout eternity is reserved unchangingly for the Christ of God alone.

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Ephesians (Program #52) – God’s Desire for a Glorious Church

What is the characteristic that you most desire in the Church?  Would it be a nice Church where you feel comfortable? Or how about I want a victorious Church, full of power? Or how about a spiritual Church with the highest teaching?  Well, in Ephesians 5, Paul tells us about the Church that God is seeking.

“Husbands, love your wives even as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her that He might sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing of the water in the word, that He might present the church to Himself glorious, not having spot or wrinkle or any such things, but that she would be holy and without blemish.”

So, the goal for the Church is not to be good, spiritual, victorious or even powerful. What God is after and what we should be focus on is a glorious Church.

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1 & 2 Samuel (Program #18) – The History Concerning David (5)

Saul, the first king of Israel, had a marvelous beginning, but the most tragic ending imaginable. In the Old Testament story of this tragic inclusion to Saul’s life, there are a number of valuable things that we, the New Testament believers, can learn concerning God’s economy. Foremost among them is the fundamental problem that Saul had, and that is that despite his early glory and successes, he was never properly related to God’s economy–God’s desire to build himself a house, and ultimately His kingdom. Rather, Saul’s heart was consumed with his own kingdom, and building something for himself. In first Samuel chapter 20 this hidden desire for his own kingdom is revealed. more…

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1 & 2 Samuel (Program #1) – An Introductory Word

The Bible is the divine revelation, the word revelation according to the Greek means to uncovered or unveil something that had been hidden or concealed. Though the Bible contains teachings and truths on many levels, fundamentally this book conveys God’s eternal purpose that which God Himself desire in His heart in the eternity past above all else and planned even before He laid the foundations of the earth and the universe. Surely for us to see such a divine and eternal purpose we need more than our merely mental faculties. We need what the apostle Paul prayed for, so earnestly in his epistle to the Ephesians believers. He prayed that “the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the full knowledge of Him.”  Welcome to our first life study from the book of 1 Samuel.

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Ephesians (Program #9) – To Head Up All Things in Christ (1)

The book of Ephesians presents the highest view in the entire New Testament. The apostle Paul identifies the focus of this book in the very first chapter when he says, “Making known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, Unto to the economy of the fullness of the times, to head up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth, in Him;” (Ephesians 1:9-10) This is not a book about improved behavior, how to raise our children or even how to have a successful marriage; yet in one sense, it’s on all these things. But fundamentally this book is altogether dealing with God’s eternal purpose which is according to His good pleasure and on how He is working in the world situation without and more specifically on how He is working within us to bring this purpose into reality.

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Ephesians (Program #1) – Introductory Word to the Book of Ephesians (1)

Many books in the New Testament deal with practical issues associated with sinful fallen man with his struggle with problems, failures and difficulties. These books are written from the perspective or point of view of the sinner. One book in the New Testament however, uniquely takes God’s perspective, God’s view – and that book is Ephesians. Because of this very fact, many scholars consider this book to be the highest of all in Scripture. What this book reveals primarily is the church – the church not as an organization, a society or a school but as the center and focus of God’s eternal purpose. God desires us to see the church and to value the church as He does. But in order to do so, we need to climb up to that same vantage point and view the church from the heavenlies as God does.

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John (Program #3) – A Foreword to the Life-Study of the Gospel of John (3)

The central thought of the scripture is life and building. What is life?  What is building? Firstly, life. God’s creation was centered on life. This has been fully revealed in Genesis chapter 1. And number two, man was placed in front of the tree of life, indicating that God wanted man to take it as life. This is revealed, thus, in two verses: verses 8 and 9 of chapter 2 of Genesis. Number 3, the Old Testament saints enjoyed God as their life.  Psalms 36:9 says “With Thee, there is the fountain of life.”..

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Zechariah (Program #15) – The Prophecies of Encouragement (6)

We all have our own favorite verses throughout the Bible. For many of us, some of our favorite verses are found in pages of the Old Testament. And we tend to avoid the Old Testament often in terms of its bigger meaning because it does seem to be somewhat veiled and obscure. However, the real meaning of all of our verses in the Old Testament match that of the revelation in the New Testament. And, that is that at the heart of God’s desire is an economy. In the life study of Zechariah, God’s economy is summarized: “The center of God’s economy is to have a Body to express Christ. Eventually, this Body will be Christ’s Bride to match Him as His counterpart and to come down to earth with Him to carry out the final step of God’s economy. Today, the world situation is ready for His coming, but the Lord has not yet gained His counterpart. Therefore, He has no way to come back. He is still waiting.”

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Mark (Program #50) – A Life Fully According To and For God’s New Testament Economy (7)

The book of Mark impresses us with God’s economy, which is God’s desire to saturate us with Christ.

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Ezekiel (Program #23) – The Priests and the Offerings

The Lord revealed to Ezekiel that above all, He desires a place on the earth where He can put the soles of His feet that would also be the place of His throne. In other words, God desires to have a dwelling place, a place of rest and satisfaction; and, a place where He can administrate His heavenly rule and His divine move over the entire earth. This is the real significance of the house of God as revealed to Ezekiel and as revealed to us, the church, which is the reality of the house of God in the New Testament. But after we receive such a high revelation concerning the significance of God’s building, we need a further realization as to the kind of persons that are qualified to serve Him in His house.

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