THE CRUCIAL POINTS OF THE MAJOR ITEMS OF THE LORD'S RECOVERY TODAY
Message Six
The Recovery of the Church
Scripture Reading: Matt. 16:18; 18:17; Eph. 1:22-23; 3:9-11; 4:16; Rom. 14:17
I. When we speak of the recovery of the church, we mean that something was there originally, that it became lost, damaged, or misunderstood, and that now there is the need to bring that thing back to its original state—Matt. 16:18:
A. Because the church has become degraded through the many centuries of its history, it needs to be recovered according to God's original intention—Eph. 1:4-5, 11, 22-23; 2:15; 3:9-11.
B. Concerning the church, our vision should be governed not by the present situation nor by traditional practice but by God's original intention and standard as revealed in the Scriptures—v. 21; 5:23-27, 29, 32.
C. The church is the heart's desire of God—3:9-11; 5:25:
1. The church is the church of God, chosen and predestinated by God the Father, redeemed by God the Son, and sealed by God the Spirit—1 Cor. 10:32; Eph. 1:3-14.
2. The church is the house of the living God, the pillar and base of the truth, for His manifestation in the flesh—1 Tim. 3:15-16.
3. The church is the Body of Christ, the fullness of the One who fills all in all, for His expression—Eph. 1:22-23.
4. The church is the wife of Christ, His counterpart—5:23-27.
5. The church is the new man—2:15.
6. The church exists universally as the unique universal church, but it is expressed locally as many local churches—1:22-23; Rev. 1:4a, 11.
II. The recovery of the church is typified by the return of the children of Israel from their captivity—Ezra 1:3-11:
A. As typified by the latter part of the history of the children of Israel, the recovery is from Babylon—the capturing and divisive ground; the recovery of the church involves a return from the capturing and divisive ground signified by Babylon—v. 11; Rev. 17:5.
B. The recovery of the children of Israel was not only from Babylon but also back to Jerusalem, the God-ordained unique ground; Jerusalem was the place the Lord had chosen—Deut. 12:5.
C. Those who went back to Jerusalem from Babylon brought with them all the vessels of the temple of God, which had been captured to Babylon; these vessels, which were of silver and gold, signify the experiences of Christ and the riches of Christ—Ezra 1:5-11.
D. The recovery of the church is typified also by the rebuilding of the temple of God, the house of God, in Jerusalem after the return of God's people from Babylon; thus, the recovery is a matter not only of going back to Jerusalem with the vessels of the temple of God but also of rebuilding the temple of God—v. 3.
E. The recovery of the church is typified by the rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem—Neh. 2:11, 17.
III. The recovery of the church is revealed in the New Testament even though the word recovery is not used:
A. We need to be recovered from the factions—the sects and denominations—Titus 3:10.
B. The recovery of the church requires that we cleanse ourselves from the vessels unto dishonor in the great house—the apostate Christendom—2 Tim. 2:20-21.
C. We should not contact those who do not abide in the teaching of Christ—the teaching concerning Christ's deity and incarnation by divine conception—2 John 9-11.
D. We need to obey the Lord's word to come out of religious Babylon the Great—Rev. 18:4.
IV. We need to see what it means for the church to be recovered:
A. For the recovery of the church, we need to be recovered from the divisive and apostate ground with its deviations from the truths concerning the person of the Triune God and the person and work of Christ:
1. We must reject the heresies of modalism and tritheism and hold to the pure revelation of the Triune God according to the Word of God; the truth concerning the person of the Triune God is twofold—the aspect of the one and the aspect of the three—for the unique God is triune, three-one—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit—Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14.
2. We need to be recovered from all heretical teachings regarding the person of Christ and confess that Jesus Christ, God manifested in the flesh, is the complete God, the perfect man, and, as the all-inclusive One, the reality of every positive thing—1 John 4:2-3, 14-15; Col. 1:15-19; 2:17.
B. For the recovery of the church, we need to be brought back to the unique and pure ground of the oneness of the Body of Christ with its truths:
1. We need to be brought back to the truth concerning the New Testament faith and God's economy—Jude 3; 2 Pet. 1:1; 1 Tim. 1:3-4.
2. We need to be brought back to the truth concerning the person and work of Christ—John 1:1, 14, 18; 1 Tim. 3:15-16; 1:15; 1 Cor. 15:1-4.
3. The recovery of the church requires that we be recovered to the truth concerning the person and dispensing of the Triune God—Matt. 28:19; John 16:13-14; 2 Cor. 13:14.
4. The recovery of the church involves the recovery of the church as the Body of Christ, the corporate Christ:
a. The Body of Christ is an organism constituted of all the believers, who have been regenerated and have God's life, for the expression of the Head—Eph. 1:22-23.
b. The Body of Christ is actually the corporate Christ—1 Cor. 12:12.
5. The truth concerning the universal and local aspects of the church also needs to be recovered:
a. In the universal aspect the church is uniquely one—Matt. 16:18.
b. In its local aspect the church is expressed in many localities as many local churches—18:17; 1 Cor. 1:2.
C. In the recovery of the church, we are building up the Body of Christ, the temple of God, the house of God—Eph. 4:16:
1. This was typified by the rebuilding of the temple under the leadership of Ezra.
2. Today we are rebuilding the church as God's temple—2:21-22; 1 Cor. 3:9, 16-17.
3. All the damage that the enemy does to the church gives the Lord the opportunity to enlarge His Body in resurrection—John 2:19-21.
D. The recovery of the church involves the establishing of the kingdom life; the reality of the church life is the kingdom—Rom. 12:5; 14:17:
1. Romans 14:17 reveals that the kingdom of God is the living of the church; the kingdom is today's church life.
2. The kingdom of God as the living of the church is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit—v. 17.
3. To have such a living is to establish the kingdom life as typified in the book of Nehemiah by the rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem.
4. In the recovery of the church, we are building up the church as God's house and God's city.