THE MAIN CONTENTS OF THE LORD'S RECOVERY
The Divine Revelation of the Word of God
Scripture Reading: Eph. 1:5, 9; 2 Tim. 3:16; John 6:63; 1 Tim. 1:4; 2 Cor. 13:14; Matt. 28:19
I. The Lord's recovery is not an ordinary Christian work; the Lord's recovery is something from deep in the heart of God and revealed in His Word; our understanding and exposition of the Bible are different from traditional theology because we care for the desire of God's heart, which He has shown to us from the Word—Eph. 1:5, 9; Phil. 2:13.
II. We need to know the essence of the Word of God:
A. "All Scripture is God-breathed"—2 Tim. 3:16a:
1. The Word of God is the divine breath, the breathing out of God; God's speaking is God's breathing.
2. On God's side, the Word is God's breathing; on our side, the Word is for us to receive as our profit in teaching, conviction, correction, and instruction in righteousness—v. 16b.
B. The Word of God is spiritual milk (1 Pet. 2:2), the bread of life (Matt. 4:4; Deut. 8:3), and spirit and life (John 6:63).
C. The Word of God is Christ; it is the embodiment of God Himself—1:1:
1. We do not consider that the written words in black and white are the living God.
2. The written words contain God Himself, and this God is Christ.
III. There are three lines of truth in the divine revelation in the Word of God—the central line, the line of supplemental points, and "the leaves and the branches":
A. The central line includes the Word (v. 1; 1 John 1:1), the Triune God (Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14), the economy of God (1 Tim. 1:4; Eph. 1:10; 3:9), the all-inclusive Christ (John 1:1, 14; 1 Cor. 15:45b; 2 Cor. 3:17), the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b; Acts 16:7; Rom. 8:9-11; 1 Cor. 12:13; Eph. 4:4), the Body of Christ (1:22-23; 4:16), and the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:2):
1. In all our handling of the Scriptures the central line should stand out.
2. We should be particularly careful not to confuse the central line and the line of the supplemental points.
3. We receive all believers according to the standard of the central line, not according to the line of the supplemental points—Rom. 14:1.
B. The line of the supplemental points includes the prophecies concerning Christ; the Old Testament types (Gen. 2:7, 20-24; Exo. 25; 1 Chron. 28:11); the church (supplementary to the Body of Christ) (1 Cor. 1:2); and the kingdom, including the judgment seat and the wedding feast (2 Cor. 5:10; Matt. 22:2).
C. The leaves and the branches are other items in the Bible that are helps to the central line and the line of the supplemental points:
1. These items are either manifestations of the other lines (leaves) or channels of the organic supply for the working out of the other lines (branches).
2. The leaves and the branches include but are not limited to the God-ordained way, the Lord's table, the administration of the local church, head covering, the keeping of days, and the rapture.
3. We need the leaves and the branches, but we should not be distracted by them.
4. We must learn how to apply the leaves and the branches to help us progress in the central line in the Word of God, but we should never allow them to become our central line.
IV. We need to have a proper understanding of five crucial truths in the revelation of the Word of God:
A. God's economy is His household administration, arrangement, and plan—1 Tim. 1:4:
1. The mystery hidden in God is to gain a church to express His wisdom; this mystery became God's arrangement, and His arrangement is both His economy and His plan—Eph. 3:9-11.
2. Through the New Jerusalem God will head up all things in Christ so that the glory of God may be expressed eternally; this is God's economy—1:9-11.
B. God's dispensing is produced out of the economy of God, and it is the goal of His economy:
1. God's dispensing is to dispense the unsearchable riches of Christ in the operation of the Triune God to us, the believers in Christ—3:8; 2 Cor. 13:14.
2. The result of God's dispensing is the church becoming the fullness of Christ—Eph. 1:23.
C. The first time that the Bible clearly speaks of the Divine Trinity is in Matthew 28:19:
1. The Father, the Son, and the Spirit all are God, the only one God—Eph. 4:6; Heb. 1:8; Acts 5:3-4.
2. The Father, the Son, and the Spirit coexist simultaneously from eternity to eternity—Isa. 9:6; Heb. 1:12; 7:3; 9:14.
3. The Father, the Son, and the Spirit coinhere and are inseparable—John 14:10-11, 26; 5:43; 15:26.
4. All that the Father has is the Son's, and all that the Son has is received by the Spirit—16:14-15.
5. The Son is called the Father and became the Spirit—Isa. 9:6; 1 Cor. 15:45b; 2 Cor. 3:17.
D. The God-man Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35; Matt. 1:18-20), thus having the divine element, and He was born of a human virgin, thus having the human element (vv. 21, 23); He is the complete God (Rom. 9:5; Col. 2:9) and a perfect man (1 Tim. 2:5).
E. In both the Lord Jesus and the believers in Christ, there is the mingling of the divine element and the human element, without a third element being produced—Matt. 1:18, 20-21, 23; John 1:12-13; 1 Cor. 6:17.