General Subject:Loving the Lord and Loving One Another for the Organic Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ
Message Eight Taking the God-ordained Pathway for the Church— the Way of Philadelphia—according to the Lord’s Up-to-date and Ultimate Recovery to Bring Us into a New Revival to Turn the Age
Outline
I. We need to see, live, and practice “the present truth,” the “up-to-date” truth, in order to change the age and bring Christ back; we need to hear what the Spirit is speaking to the churches, the voice of God in the present hour—2 Pet. 1:12; Rev. 2:7; Matt. 16:18; Gen. 2:22; Eph. 5:25-27; cf. John 1:23; S. S. 8:13-14:
2 Pet. 1:12 Therefore I will be ready always to remind you concerning these things, even though you know them and have been established in the present truth.
Rev. 2:7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.
Matt. 16:18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
Gen. 2:22 And Jehovah God built the rib, which He had taken from the man, into a woman and brought her to the man.
Eph. 5:25 Husbands, love your wives even as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her
Eph. 5:26 That He might sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing of the water in the word,
Eph. 5:27 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.
John 1:23 He said, I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness, "Make straight the way of the Lord!" as Isaiah the prophet said.
S.S. 8:13 O you who dwell in the gardens, / My companions listen for your voice; / Let me hear it.
S.S. 8:14 Make haste, my beloved, / And be like a gazelle or a young hart / Upon the mountains of spices.
A. All the truths are in the Bible, but through man's foolishness, unfaithfulness, negligence, disobedience, and degradation, many truths were lost and hidden from man—cf. 2 Kings 22:8-11; 23:24-25.
2 Kings 22:8 Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of Jehovah. And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it.
2 Kings 22:9 And Shaphan the scribe came to the king and brought back word to the king and said, Your servants have emptied out the money which was found in the house and have delivered it into the hand of those who do the work, who have the oversight of the house of Jehovah.
2 Kings 22:10 And Shaphan the scribe reported to the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest has given me a book. And Shaphan read it aloud before the king.
2 Kings 22:11 And when the king heard the words of the book of the law, he tore his clothes.
2 Kings 23:24 And moreover Josiah utterly removed the mediums and the soothsayers and the teraphim and the idols and all the detestable things that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might confirm the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of Jehovah.
2 Kings 23:25 And before him there was no king like him who turned to Jehovah with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might according to all the law of Moses, and after him no one has risen up like him.
B. These freshly revealed truths are not God's new inventions; rather, they are man's new discoveries; every worker of the Lord should inquire before God as to what the present truth is—Eph. 1:17; Ezek. 1:1-3; Rev. 1:10; 21:10.
Eph. 1:17 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,
Ezek. 1:1 Now in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth of the month, while I was among the captives by the river Chebar, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.
Ezek. 1:2 On the fifth of the month (it was the fifth year of King Jehoiachin's captivity)
Ezek. 1:3 The word of Jehovah came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of Jehovah was upon him there.
Rev. 1:10 I was in spirit on the Lord's Day and heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet,
Rev. 21:10 And he carried me away in spirit onto a great and high mountain and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,
C. God's truths are cumulative; later truths do not negate the former ones; what we see today are the cumulative revelations of God; today we are living in the tide of God's will, which is a continuation of all the past works of God in the previous ages; may God be gracious to us so that we do not become castaways of “the present truth”—1 Cor. 9:27; cf. 2 Cor. 3:3, 6, 8-9; 5:18-21.
1 Cor. 9:27 But I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest perhaps having preached to others, I myself may become disapproved.
2 Cor. 3:3 Since you are being manifested that you are a letter of Christ ministered by us, inscribed not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tablets of stone but in tablets of hearts of flesh.
2 Cor. 3:6 Who has also made us sufficient as ministers of a new covenant, ministers not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
2 Cor. 3:8 How shall the ministry of the Spirit not be more in glory?
2 Cor. 3:9 For if there is glory with the ministry of condemnation, much more the ministry of righteousness abounds with glory.
2 Cor. 5:18 But all things are out from God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Christ and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
2 Cor. 5:19 Namely, that God in Christ was reconciling the world to Himself, not accounting their offenses to them, and has put in us the word of reconciliation.
2 Cor. 5:20 On behalf of Christ then we are ambassadors, as God entreats you through us; we beseech you on behalf of Christ, Be reconciled to God.
2 Cor. 5:21 Him who did not know sin He made sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
D. The present truth of the Lord's up-to-date and ultimate recovery is to bring us into a new revival to turn the age by our choosing to take the way of Philadelphia; only the recovered church, the church of brotherly love, signified by the church in Philadelphia, can fulfill God's eternal purpose and satisfy His heart's desire—Rev. 1:1-3; 3:7-13; Hymns, #880.
Rev. 1:1 The revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave to Him to show to His slaves the things that must quickly take place; and He made it known by signs, sending it by His angel to His slave John,
Rev. 1:2 Who testified the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ, even all that he saw.
Rev. 1:3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy and keep the things written in it, for the time is near.
Rev. 3:7 And to the messenger of the church in Philadelphia write: These things says the Holy One, the true One, the One who has the key of David, the One who opens and no one will shut, and shuts and no one opens:
Rev. 3:8 I know your works; behold, I have put before you an opened door which no one can shut, because you have a little power and have kept My word and have not denied My name.
Rev. 3:9 Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, those who call themselves Jews and are not, but lie-behold, I will cause them to come and fall prostrate before your feet and to know that I have loved you.
Rev. 3:10 Because you have kept the word of My endurance, I also will keep you out of the hour of trial, which is about to come on the whole inhabited earth, to try them who dwell on the earth.
Rev. 3:11 I come quickly; hold fast what you have that no one take your crown.
Rev. 3:12 He who overcomes, him I will make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall by no means go out anymore, and I will write upon him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which descends out of heaven from My God, and My new name.
Rev. 3:13 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Hymns, #880—To the foe my word is always, No
1 To the foe my word is always, “No,” To the Father it is “Yes,”
That His plan and all His counsel Be accomplished with success;
When Thine orders I'm obeying, Grant me, Lord, authority
To fulfill Thy plan eternal Thru the Spirit's power in me.
2 To the foe my word is always, “No,” To the Father it is, “Yes”;
'Tis my attitude eternal; May the Lord protect and bless,
Lest while walking in obedience Satan undermine the way;
When I'm list'ning to Thine orders, Grant me mercy, Lord, I pray.
3 To the foe my word is always, “No,” To the Father it is, “Yes”;
I completely would obey Him, Though deep suff'ring may oppress.
If the Lord will save and keep me, As I forward press with Him,
Then no trials shall prevent me, Nor will opposition grim.
Morning Nourishment
2 Pet. 1:12 ...I will be ready always to remind you concerning these things, even though you know them and have been established in the present truth.
Rev. 2:7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches...
[In 2 Peter 1:12] the “present truth” can also be rendered the “up-to-date truth.”...Actually, all the truths are in the Bible...Although they are all in the Bible, through man’s foolishness, unfaithfulness, negligence, and disobedience many of the truths were lost and hidden from man. The truths were there, but man did not see them or touch them. Not until the fullness of time did God release certain truths during particular periods of time and cause them to be revealed once more.
These freshly revealed truths are not God’s new inventions. Rather, they are man’s new discoveries... In past generations God revealed different truths. During certain periods of time, He caused men to discover these specific truths. We can see this clearly from the history of the church. (CWWN, vol. 11, “What Are We?” pp. 843-844)
Today’s Reading
Take, for example, the raising up of Martin Luther in the sixteenth century. God opened his eyes to see the matter of justification by faith...The fact already existed before Luther’s time. Luther was merely the one who realized this truth in a stronger way; he was particularly outstanding in this truth. For this reason, this truth became the “present truth” in that age.
Every worker of the Lord should inquire before God as to what the present truth is... Although there are many major and crucial truths in the Bible, what we need to know is God’s present truth.
We know that God’s truths are cumulative; later truths do not negate earlier ones. All the past truths of God form the foundation of the truths today. What we see today are the cumulative revelations of God. When God opens our eyes to see this fact, we begin to realize that we are living in the tide of God’s will. This tide is a continuation of all the past works of God in previous ages.
From 1926 on, we began to release many messages concerning salvation, the church, and the cross, and we testified much concerning these things. By 1927 we concentrated our attention on the subjective work of the cross. We saw that concerning the cross, there is not only the truth concerning Christ’s death, but there is also the fact of resurrection. In the past the resurrection which we preached was mainly a matter of faith; it was not related to our experience. What we speak of today is resurrection as a principle of life. It is not just a doctrine but a spiritual fact. It is like a grain of wheat that dies and brings forth many grains; it is the principle of resurrection. After this, God showed us what the Body of Christ is and where the reality of this Body is.
As Paul said, “Neither did I receive it from man” (Gal. 1:12). In the same way, we can say that although we have received help from our brothers, these revelations were not received from man. We received help from Luther, Zinzendorf, the Moravian Brethren, and the Keswick messages. Today we believe that God’s ultimate goal is to have Christ as everything...I believe that God has only one work today. It is the message of Colossians 1:18 which says that God desires to see Christ have the first place in all things. The basis of everything is the death, the resurrection, and the ascension of Christ. Other than Christ, there is no spiritual reality. This is God’s “present truth.”
We thank God that we can touch God’s grand purpose. We need to humble and prostrate ourselves and to deny ourselves. We need to be clear that our work today is not just to save some souls or to help others become spiritual...Thank God that we can know God’s “present truth.” May God be gracious to us so that we do not become the castaways of the “present truth.” (CWWN, vol. 11, “What Are We?” pp. 844, 856-858)
Further Reading: CWWN, vol. 11, “What Are We?”
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