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
Outline
D. In 2 Peter we see that the divine love, agape, is the ultimate development of the divine nature (1:7), and holiness is the manner of life that partakes of the divine nature (3:11):
2 Pet. 1:7 And in godliness, brotherly love; and in brotherly love, love.
2 Pet. 3:11 Since all these things are to be thus dissolved, what kind of persons ought you to be in holy manner of life and godliness,
1. We believers have received the divine life with the divine nature (1:4), which is God Himself for us to enjoy; when we enjoy this divine nature to the uttermost, love will be the consummation; then we become a being of love.
2 Pet. 1:4 Through which He has granted to us precious and exceedingly great promises that through these you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption which is in the world by lust.
2. The divine love sanctifies us, separates and saturates us, to make us a people who are fully holy, utterly golden; we become pieces of “gold” put together to be a golden lampstand (Rev. 1:12), bearing the testimony of the “golden” Jesus, and consummating in the New Jerusalem, a city of pure gold (21:18), for the accomplishment of God's economy.
Rev. 1:12 And I turned to see the voice that spoke with me; and when I turned, I saw seven golden lampstands,
Rev. 21:18 And the building work of its wall was jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass.
3. Our teaching and shepherding of the saints in the church life should be according to God's economy for the working out of the New Jerusalem.
Morning Nourishment
2 Pet. 1:7 And in godliness, brotherly love; and in brotherly love, love.
3:11 Since all these things are to be thus dissolved, what kind of persons ought you to be in holy manner of life and godliness?
Rev. 21:18 ...The city was pure gold...
When we enjoy the divine nature, we mainly enjoy God as Spirit, love, and light because these are the three main constituents of the divine nature. Spirit is the nature of God’s person, love is the nature of God’s essence, and light is the nature of God’s expression. To partake of the divine nature is to partake of the divine Spirit, the divine love, and the divine light. When we touch the Spirit, this issues in the person of God. When we touch God as the super, nobler, and higher love, the issue is that we are made distinct and different... Human society has been “darkened” by sin. In this respect, everyone in the human race is basically the same...When someone gets saved, however, and they contact the Lord daily, remaining in the fellowship and cooperating with the inward divine operation, they are filled with God as love. This inward love makes them different. They become distinct in their school, in their homes, and among their relatives, colleagues, and classmates. (CWWL, 1984, vol. 3, “God’s New Testament Economy,” p. 407)
Today’s Reading
The real meaning of the word holiness is separation and distinction...Gold typifies God in His divine nature. God is distinct, which means that God is holy. The opposite of the word holy is common. Gold signifies the “golden God” or the holy God, the very God of separation. Our God is separated and is a God of separation. To be holy is to be set aside, to be separated, to be made distinct, just as God is.
If you remain in the divine fellowship to enjoy not only what God gives or what God does for you but also what God is as love in His essence and as light in His expression, you will be bathed in the love of God. You will become not only a man of love, but you will become love itself. This love makes you distinct... If you would remain in fellowship with the Lord for a length of time, both your wife and your children will have the realization that you are different after this fellowship. The issue of remaining in the fellowship is that you become someone who is not common but holy. In your office all your colleagues realize that you are different. In your school the teachers realize that you are different. Among your relatives you are a different person, and they realize it. You are holy, which means that you are different from all the others. You are different, separated, and uncommon. God is distinct and separate from all the material things in the universe, and the New Jerusalem is a golden mountain, a distinct entity in the entire universe. Also, every local church as a golden lampstand is distinct and different.
In Peter’s second Epistle we also see love in holiness. Love is the ultimate development of the divine nature (1:7). Holiness is the manner of the life partaking of the divine nature (3:11). Love issues in holiness. When you partake of the divine nature to the uttermost, you will be filled with God as love. This issues in a manner of life, and this manner of life is a separated and distinct life, making you no more common but holy. Holiness is the manner of this life that enjoys the divine nature to the uttermost. When we enjoy God as love, we even become love, and this issues in holiness. Holiness is the manner...The divine love sanctifies us, separates us, and makes us different. We are a people who are so holy, so golden. We are no longer pieces of clay but pieces of gold, and when we come together, all the pieces put together become a golden lampstand, bearing a testimony of the “golden” Jesus. This is the central lane, the central thought, of Peter’s writing. (CWWL, 1984, vol. 3, “God’s New Testament Economy,” pp. 408-409)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1984, vol. 3, “God’s New Testament Economy,” ch. 32; CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 2, “The Governing and Controlling Vision in the Bible,” ch. 3
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