The Mending Ministry of John, Message 5

My Great Delight in God's Word

The Mending Ministry of John, Message 5

Christ's Heavenly Priesthood Ministered to the Churches for the Producing of the Overcomers

In the last message, we learned what our glorious Christ looks like, and what His appearance teaches us about Himself. He is the great High Priest who is fully human and is ministering to us with His divine authority. He is not Someone living far way. Instead, the vision reveals that He is here in the midst of His beloved Bride, the Church.
In this message, we are going to explore what the messages to the seven churches, which appear in Revelation 2-3, teach us about Satan's scheme by which the Church has been degraded, and the antidote by which Christ recovers the degraded Church.

Satan's Scheme: Hindrances to the growth of the Church

Let us explore first what Satan has used throughout the history to degrade the Church.

1. Religion

I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. (Revelation 2:9b NKJV)

This is the message to the church in Smyrna. God condemns those who claim to be Jews, but they are not. They are those who have turned back to Judaism, which is the representative of religious system.
You may have thought, "Are you serious when you say that a religion can be a weapon of Satan?" My answer is, "Yes, indeed."
Well, I totally agree that according to man's standard, all the religions are basically good. They teach people how to live a good life. However, if their systems draw us away from God, they can never be good in God's eyes. God does not want us to be a good man. He wants us to be a God-man, being totally like Christ. Even Christianity as a religion itself is not an exception.
May I emphasise again that true Christianity has nothing to do with religious system. It is all about relationship with God through Christ. It is all about our enjoyment in the fellowship with Him.
Unfortunately, the Church has been poisoned with the religious system, which has drawn many brothers and sisters away from the enjoyment of the Lord. The complicated regulations and traditions have become their priorities, instead of the relationship with God, which is so simple according to the Scripture.
Watchman Nee clearly describes the fourfold contrast between the religious mindset (Judaism) and the authentic Christian mindset, as summarised here.

• The religious mindset causes people to care much about the glory of material temple in which the believers worship the Lord, rather than the spiritual temple, which is actually the worshippers themselves (1 Corinthians 6:19).
• The religious mindset makes people obsessed with written law, while ignoring the indwelling law of life which is written on our hearts (Hebrews 8:10).
• The religious mindset puts the thought in people's mind that only a small subset of people can be priests, whereas the bible strongly confirms that every believer is to serve Him as a labouring priest, a member of the holy and royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9).
• The religious mindset focuses on the material promises and earthly blessings, with very little interest in the heavenly promises and spiritual blessings (Ephesians 1:3; Galatians 3:14).

May God help us see the danger of this first poison, and keep us from it. In my opinion, it is perhaps the most dangerous one, as it seems good. However, a good thing cannot be good if it draws us away from the best, can it?

2. Worldliness

But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality. Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. (Revelation 2:14-15 NKJV)

This is the message of warning against the doctrines of Balaam and the Nicolaitans to the church in Pergamos, which represents the compromising church. What are these doctrines about and how can they harm the Church?
In Numbers 25:1-3 and 31:16, we see that Balaam enticed Israel people into fornication and idolatry. And according to the footnote of Recovery Version, Nicolaitans refer to a group of people who esteem themselves higher than common believers and whose doctrine promotes hierarchical system, thereby destroying the function of the believers. Therefore the doctrine of Balaam destroys the relationship between the Body and the Head, whereas the doctrine of Nicolaitans destroys the relationship between the Body and the Head.
May God help us that we will be the overcomers who do not fall into the trap of worldliness, but come forward to abide in the presence of the Lord.

3. Evil things

Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. (Revelation 3:20 NKJV)

This message contains harsh words against the church in Thyatira, which signifies the corrupt church.
This woman, Jezebel, is the one mentioned in Matthew 13:33. She adds leaven, which represents evil, heretical and pagan things, into the fine flour, which signifies Christ. She therefore mixes the evil things with the good things. Her teaching is only half-truth. And we all know that a half-truth is actually a lie. She represents the false prophets and false teachers who deceive the believers into false Christian beliefs.
Moreover, she is also the great harlot detailed in Revelation 17-18, which is the Babylon. The principle of Babylon is related to pridefulness, hypocrisy, and self-glorifying, all of which are hated by God and will be severely judged by Him.
May God open the eye of our hearts so that we will see the danger of any false teachings and the principle of Babylon, and protect us from them.

4. Lukewarmness

So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. (Revelation 3:16 NKJV)

This is a message to the Lukewarm church, the church in Laodicea. This church best describes the Church in this present age, which has significantly been degraded from the condition of Philadelphia.
Being Lukewarm is not necessary the same as being lazy. I believe that the Laodiceans are not lazy. They say they are rich (v. 17). They are only not after the desire of God's heart, but their own wealth and success, which have become a big trap into which they fall. The people become lukewarm and spiritually pride.
May God protect us from being lukewarmness, and bring us back to the condition of Philadelphian church, the faithful church.

Christ's high priestly ministry

According to the vision in Revelation 1, we know that Christ is in the midst of the church, ministering the high priestly service to us. If we want to know what a high priest does to the lampstands in order to make them brightly shine in the dark, we have to take a look at the duties of the high priest in the Old Testament.

Aaron shall burn on it sweet incense every morning; when he tends the lamps, he shall burn incense on it. (Exodus 30:7 NKJV)

Every morning, the high priest tends the lamps by trimming them. He cuts off the charred ends, so that the lampstands can do its function, which is to brightly shine in the dark. Likewise, in order to make the lampstands, signifying the local churches, brightly shine in this dark world, Christ must trim away all the hindrances to the growth of churches. He has to remove all the poisons of Satan, which have severely damaged the Church throughout the history. He is to cut off the religious system, worldliness, evil things, and lukewarmness form the Church, so that she can be His fully-shining lampstands.

And you shall command the children of Israel that they bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to cause the lamp to burn continually. (Exodus 27:20 NKJV)

Furthermore, the lampstands can never function without oil. The high priest therefore needs to fill the lampstands with oil, so that the lamp can burn continually. Hallelujah. Christ as our Great High Priest has provided Himself as the tree of life (Revelation 2:7) and the hidden manna (Revelation 2:17) for us to eat of, and as a special Guest knocking at the door for us to let Him in and enjoy feasting with Him (Revelation 3:20).
These 2 duties of a high priest remind me of the principle of management of poisoning or drug overdose. (There are quite a few technical terms in this paragraph. I'm not speaking in strange tongue, I promise. Please continue reading, and you will see how it amazingly relates to the message.) For example, when a patient comes to a hospital with a history of acute paracetamol (or acetaminophen) overdose, the doctor will first give him activated charcoal in order to eliminate the drug from the body. However, a proportion of the drug has been absorbed into the body, and its metabolites have depleted glutathione in the body, which functions as the most important defence mechanism against the toxic effects of paracetamol's metabolites. Therefore the doctor also needs to administer N-acetylcysteine, the specific antidote to paracetamol poisoning, which will replenish the glutathione store and prevent the patient's liver from being damaged by the toxic metabolites.
In parallel, the Church has been poisoned with the nasty things, including religious mindset, worldliness, evil things and lukewarmness, and has been severely damaged by them. These things have depleted the Church of "life," which is crucial for the growth of the Church. Christ as our high priestly Doctor therefore has to rescue us first by eliminating these things from the Church. But the damage is still there. He therefore replenishes the Church with His "life" by administering Himself as the specific Antidote into the Body. In order for the Body to receive this wonderful Antidote, we need to eat of the tree of life, eat of the hidden manna, and feast with Him!
Brothers and sisters, are you willing to let Him trim away these nasty things today? Do you want the Church to be brought back to the condition of the church in Philadelphia? Would you like to be an overcomer who eats of Him as your tree of life and hidden manna for your spiritual nourishment and for your enjoyment? Would you open the door to Him, let Him in, and feast with Him today? Would you like to participate in God's economy today to make the Church brightly shine in this dark world and get ready for His coming?

To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God. (Revelation 2:7 NKJV)
To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. (Revelation 2:17 NKJV)
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. (Revelation 3:20 NKJV)

Further reading

• The Holy Word for Morning Revival: The Mending Ministry of John, week 5.

Thirayost Nimmanon (Tony)

The Mending Ministry of John, Message 4

My Great Delight in God's Word

The Mending Ministry of John, Message 4

The Vision of the Glorious Christ

What do you think the book of Revelation is about? I used to think, like what many people do, that it is only about the prophecies of future events. It is so difficult to understand, because it is full of symbols and probably the most complex books in the bible. I previously thought that I did not have to pay much attention to this book, as I did not see how it could be linked to my daily Christian living other than a solemn warning that Christ was coming soon, and if I did not actively follow Jesus, I might be left behind at His second coming and have to appear in the scenes as described in this book. But is this book only talking about future events? Does it really have nothing to do with our Christian walk today? I did learn so many things from this week's message, and would like to share some of them to you.

Revelation of Jesus Christ

¹ The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John,
² who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw.
³ Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near. (Revelation 1:3 NKJV)

The first verse of this book describes what this book is about. It is the "Revelation of Jesus Christ." Not only is it about the prophecies of the future events revealed by Jesus Christ, but it is also about Jesus Christ Himself. It is the revelation of Jesus Christ, through Jesus Christ and concerning Jesus Christ. As all the other books in the bible, this book is absolutely Christ-centred.
Praise the Lord for His appearing to the apostle John, who had been exiled to the island of Patmos because of his faithful witnessing to the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. His appearing must have been very comforting to the apostle, confirming that He had never forsaken him. And all the visions John recorded in this book clearly reveal our glorious Christ.
Interestingly, there is a promise for those who read, hear and keep the words of the things written in this book, with a warning that "the time is near"! Would you like to be blessed? Then read this book, see Christ in it, and obey what He said through the writer.
As brother Watchman Nee wrote, the goal of this book actually is that "more people would know such a Christ so that they would be watchful until the day when they can see Him face to face." So let's see Christ in this book, so that we will not be surprised when we will meet Him face to face!

Vision of the Son of Man

What did the apostle John start with in his letters to the seven churches? He first greeted them (Revelation 1:4-8), and then showed them the vision of Christ (Revelation 1:9-20). It was crucial that all the believers in the particular churches would see Christ. He therefore put this vision before all the specific commendations, warnings and promises to the churches.
What does the vision of Christ tell us about Him?

¹³ and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.
¹⁴ His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire;
¹⁵ His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters;
¹⁶ He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. (Revelation 1:13-16 NKJV)

1. Christ as the Son of Man in the midst of the seven lampstands.

"Son of Man" is the title that Jesus used to call Himself most often. Even though He has always been God, He willingly used this title, as seen in the synoptic Gospels. Interestingly, even after His crucifixion, resurrection and exaltation, here He humbly manifests Himself as the Son of Man to the apostle John. He has by no means lost His humanity at the cross, or become only God as the life-giving Spirit at His resurrection.
Praise the Lord. Since His incarnation, Christ has always been both fully God who have all the power to help us and save us, and fully man who can be touched by the feeling of our weaknesses. And this Christ is not Someone far away from us. He is in the midst of the lampstands, signifying the churches. What a comfort to those who are facing difficulties, especially those who are in persecutions or distresses for Christ's sake, that Christ is always the Immanuel, God with us!

2. The golden band around His chest.

According to the vision, Christ is wearing the priestly robe with golden band around His chest. He is a great High Priest who connects us to God and God to us. The golden band signifies His divinity, since gold signifies divine nature. The location of the band around His breast signifies that His priestly ministry for us is motivated by His divine love.
Praise the Lord. The Son of Man is taking care for the churches in His humanity with His divine power and divine love!

3. His white head and hair.

The whiteness of His hair signifies His ancientness. He has been in existence since before the beginning of all things. Even though He does not become old, He is ancient.
Moreover, as a wool is white by nature without the need of colouring or bleaching, Christ is ancient by nature. And as the snow comes down from heaven and pure, Christ is from the heaven and absolutely holy.

4. His eyes like a flame of fire.

He does not have only 2 eyes like us. He has 7 eyes (Revelation 5:6), and His eyes are like a flame of fire. These eyes are for watching, observing, searching, and judging by enlightening. Furthermore, His watching is also for infusing all that He is into our life. His watching is altogether for our ultimate good.

5. His feet like refined fine brass.

His feet signify His walk on earth. His walk was refined during His walk on earth. He completely overcame all the temptations and trials, even His death on the cross. As a result, He came out brightly shining as the brass that has been refined in a furnace.

6. His voice as sound of many waters.

This signifies the seriousness and solemnity of His speaking.

7. The seven stars in His right hand.

The stars represent the leading ones in the churches.
Being a star has nothing to do with any official position in a church. It does not necessarily represent a pastor, an elder or a deacon. We need not seek any of these highly-respected positions. In fact, a star is a faithful servant of the Lord who is fully dedicated himself to God. And the promise here is that Christ is holding him in His right hand.

8. A sharp two-edged sword proceeded from His mouth.

The sharp two-edged sword here is the words of discerning, judging and slaying. During the time of the church's degradation, what we need the most is His dealing with negative persons or things. We do need His judgment so that we will discern the sins hidden in our heart and let Him deal with them.

9. His countenance like the shining sun.

This shining is the judging enlightenment for bringing in the kingdom.

¹⁷ And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, "Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last."
¹⁸ I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death. (Revelation 1:17-18 NKJV)

Christ reveals Himself in His speaking to John as "the First and the Last." One of the interpretations is that He always finishes what He has started, including our lives. He has never given up on us.
Moreover, He is the One who lives forevermore and holds the keys of Hades and of Death. We therefore need not fear death anymore. Everyone who believes into Him shall also live forevermore. Hallelujah for our glorious Christ and His promise that "everyone who believes in Him, though he may die, he shall live" (John 11:25)!

Further reading

• The Holy Word for Morning Revival: The Mending Ministry of John, week 4.

Thirayost Nimmanon (Tony)

The Mending Ministry of John, Message 3

My Great Delight in God's Word

The Mending Ministry of John, Message 3

The Shepherding of Christ for the Church as the One Flock and the Father's House

The LORD is our Shepherd.

"¹ The LORD is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
² He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters." (Psalm 23:1-2 NKJV)

Psalm 23 is probably one of the best-known psalms. It has encouraged millions of believers and helped them through their difficult times. Inspired by this psalm, so many hymns have been written. I think numerous believers can even recite the whole chapter. I know one dear sister who could perfectly recite this psalm in 3 different languages. That is so impressive, is it not?
In this psalm, the picture of God as the Shepherd is clearly portrayed. He leads His people, His sheep, to the green pastures and the still waters in order to feed them with Himself as both the pastures and the waters. What a wonderful imagery that we are His sheep and shepherded by Yahweh the great Shepherd.
However, there are also 2 other analogies of God in these 2 verses. These 2 items are not referred to quite often, but by no means less important. God is not only our great Shepherd; He is also our Pasture and our Water. He is our true food and true drink, of which we eat and drink, and from which we receive abundant life supply.

Jesus is our Shepherd.

⁷ Then Jesus said to them again, "Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
⁸ All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.
⁹ I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
¹⁰ The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
¹¹ I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep" (John 10:7-11 NKJV)

In John 10, the apostle John recorded the teaching of Christ explaining that He is actually the great Shepherd and the nourishing Pasture portrayed in Psalm 23. Christ is Yahweh (the LORD), who claims Himself as the Shepherd who takes care of us, and the Pasture from whom we receive the life supply. This great Shepherd loves His sheep so much that He gave up His soul-life (from Greek word psuche) on the cross (v. 11), so that He might become the spiritual life (from Greek word zoe) for His beloved sheep (v. 10). This zoe life has been given to us freely and abundantly. Furthermore, the Shepherd also leads us to Himself as the Pasture, so that we may enjoy Him, the only source of true joy, all the time.
Another metaphor that Jesus claimed Himself to be is the Door.

Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. (John 10:1 NKJV)

Jesus says that He is the Door through which God's people in the Old Testament came to His sheepfold, signifying Judaism as religion and law, which was the only way available to man before Christ to have fellowship with Him. That was God's grace. He opened a way for the sinful man to have an access to the holy God and enjoy the fellowship with Him.
However, I don't think being in a fold would be terribly comfortable. It brought much limitation to man, and that was not the ultimate plan of God for restoration of the relationship between God and man. Through the redemptive and life-giving works of Jesus Christ in His incarnation, human living, crucifixion and resurrection, this Door not only allows His people to come into the fold, but also let them get out from the fold and freely enjoy Him as the Pasture. Hallelujah for the Door that give us freedom to fully enjoy Him as the Pasture. We don't have to be in the fold any more. Even though God's law is perfect and we are to obey it, it is not the ultimate means whereby we can have fellowship with God. Praise the Lord that we have Christ as the Shepherd lead us through Himself as the Door so that we can enjoy being fed by Him with Himself as the Pasture. What a wonderful all-inclusive Christ we have!

We are called to shepherd others.

Christ not only claimed to be a good Shepherd, but also demonstrated Himself as the good Shepherd. And in John 21, He commissioned His sheep to be a good shepherd to other sheep too.

"He said to him again a second time, 'Simon, son of Jonah,do you love Me?'
He said to Him, 'Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.'
He said to him, 'Tend My sheep.' " (John 21:16 NKJV)

Do you love Jesus? Then do what He asks you to do: to shepherd His sheep!
Shepherding is one of the biggest tasks for a local church to do. It is perhaps the most important thing we need to do in order to build up the Church, which is Christ's body and the house of God that will consummate at the New Jerusalem. Therefore the apostle John summed up the book of John as a P.S. in chapter 21 that we are to shepherd His sheep.
How can we do this? Everyone who has had a first-hand experience with Christ can do it. Brother Witness Lee gives us an instruction that before we can shepherd anyone, it is necessary that we first "seek Christ, experience Christ, gain Christ, enjoy Christ and participate in Christ." Only when we have the experience of being shepherded by Christ as our good Shepherd and fed by Him as the Pasture are we able to be a faithful and influential witness for Him. Then all we need to do are tell the people how wonderful Christ is in your life and invite them to come to Him. And whenever they taste Christ, they will see how good He is, put their trust on Him, and enjoy living a new life that they receive from Him. Would you like to express your love for Him by shepherding His beloved sheep today?

Further reading

• The Holy Word for Morning Revival: The Mending Ministry of John, week 3.

Thirayost Nimmanon (Tony)

The Mending Ministry of John, Message 2

My Great Delight in God's Word

The Mending Ministry of John, Message 2

The Revelation of the Triune God and of the Consummated Spirit

The Revelation of the Triune God

Trinity is perhaps one of the most mysterious topics in the bible. One can write a big text book just to find that he does not understand it at all. It is not surprising, as it is impossible for us to fully comprehend our incomprehensible God using our limited brain. The only valid resource we have for the knowledge of God is the Holy Bible, which contains more than enough information about God in order for us to know Him and experience Him.
Even though this mysterious word does not appear in the Scripture at all, this concept is clearly evident in so many passages in the bible. There are 3 distinct Persons in the Godhead - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Yet all the three Persons are one God.

To you it was shown, that you might know that the LORD Himself is God; there is none other besides Him. (Deuteronomy 4:35 NKJV)
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen. (2 Corinthians 13:14 NKJV)
For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. (1 John 5:7 NKJV)

We need to be careful of the 2 extreme beliefs that are obviously non-biblical. One claims that only God the Father is God, while the Son and the Spirit are not. The other says that there are 3 gods. Our God is not like what they think. He is the 3-in-1 God.
We may only partly understand this. And what we understand may be totally useless unless we know how to apply our understanding to our spiritual walk.
I really appreciate how brother Witness Lee summarises, in regard to the Gospel of John. In this wonderful Gospel, we can clearly see "the Father as the source, the Son as the expression, and the Spirit as the realisation." This is very clear and applicable to our life. We need to acknowledge God the Father as the source of everything and every blessing in our life. We can never know God, unless we know the Son, as Christ is the embodiment and perfect expression of God the Father. The stories of Jesus may be enough for us to know Him intellectually, but we can never know Him experientially unless we have the Spirit in our life, as the Spirit is the reality of the Son. Hallelujah! We have the entire Triune God within our life. We can now therefore have Him as our Source of every blessing, see Him clearly through the life of the Son, and experience Him daily in our walk in the Spirit.

The Consummated Spirit

The Holy Spirit not only appears in the New Testament (NT), but He is also mentioned so many times in the Old Testament (OT), from the very beginning of the bible (Genesis 1:2). He has always been with the Father and the Son since the beginning even before the creation.
However, there are some difference between the Spirit in the OT and the NT. In the OT, He was the Spirit of God with purely divine nature. In the NT, the Triune God has been processed through incarnation, human living, crucifixion and resurrection. Later on, the processed Triune God as the Spirit was referred to as "the Spirit of Christ" (Romans 8:9) or "the Spirit of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:9). This Spirit is the consummated Spirit, having the components of all the 3 Persons of the Triune God. The Spirit of Christ therefore has both divine element, with all power to help us, and human element, with all capability to understand us.
The processing of the Triune God to become the consummated Spirit is indicated in the Gospel of John.

But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. (John 7:39 NKJV)

In the original language, the word "given" was not there, thus appearing in italic in most bible translations. It was added to help us understand this passage. Therefore the apostle John actually wrote, the Holy Spirit was not yet.
Why did he write that the Holy Spirit was not yet, while the Spirit had previously been with some chosen people in the OT? Why did Jesus need to be glorified before the Spirit could be given to the believers? Because the Spirit that God would like to give to His children was not only the Spirit of God, as appeared in the OT. He wanted to infuse all of Himself as the consummated Spirit compound of the Triune God into the life of all the believers according to His economy. In order to accomplish that, He had go through the processes of incarnation, human living, crucifixion and resurrection first. Then He could give Himself as the Spirit of Christ to us. Therefore not until His resurrection did Jesus tell the disciples to receive the Holy Spirit, i.e. to receive all of Himself as their life and their everything.

And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit." (John 20:22 NKJV)

Further reading

• The Holy Word for Morning Revival: The Mending Ministry of John, week 2.

Thirayost Nimmanon (Tony)

The Mending Ministry of John, Message 1

My Great Delight in God's Word

The Mending Ministry of John, Message 1

The Mending Ministry of Life

The Mending Ministry of john

¹⁸ While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.
¹⁹ And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."
²⁰ Immediately they left their nets and followed him.
²¹ And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them.
²² Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. (Matthew 4:18-22 NKJV)

This bible passage describes the scene in which the first 4 disciples were called by Jesus. I have read through it many times, but have not realised that what Peter and John were doing when they were called by Jesus have some hidden implications. According to the passage, Peter was fishing in the sea, while John was mending the nests. Interestingly, if we follow their stories afterwards, we will see that Peter's ministry was mainly about fishing, preaching the Gospel and leading people to Christ, which is clearly seen in the book of Acts, whereas John's ministry was focusing on mending, as implied by what he wrote in the Gospel of John and all his 3 Epistles. After the death of Paul, the church was insidiously attacked and damaged by the contamination of heresies and false teachings. John's ministry was therefore aimed to restore the damaged spiritual net, and to strengthen and perfect it.
What does the word "mending" mean? According to Mickelson's Enhanced Strong's Greek and Hebrew Dictionaries, this word comes from the Greek word "katartizo," which means "to complete thoroughly, i.e. repair or adjust." This word appears a few times in the New Testament, and KJV renders the word as fit, frame, mend, (make) perfect(-ly join together), prepare, and restore. Therefore the nest need not have a hole in order to be mended. What James and John were doing might not be only repairing the nests, but also strengthening or perfecting them.
Yes, the Church nowadays still needs the "fishing" ministry. Many people in this world have not heard the Gospel, and they do need someone who would preach the Gospel to them and bring them to salvation through the faith in Christ. This is the means whereby the Church becomes bigger. But the Church today needs the people who would participate in the "mending" ministry much more. In order for the Church to be built up, it does need mending, perfecting, equipping and attuning, which are included in the mending ministry of life. This is the means whereby the Church is strengthened and built up, so that it would eventually attain to "the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (Ephesians 4:13 NKJV).
I really appreciate the analogy given by brother Witness Lee. Piling up materials and building them up are totally different things, are they not?
My room has got many piles of books and stuff, but one may call them anything but a "building." They are in a real mess. I'm really good at fishing, as I have bought many books online and they were brought into my room. But I'm really bad at organising or tidying them up. When I need a book, I need to carefully take it out, or that pile of books may totally collapse, because it is weak.
Likewise, on local church may be really good at evangelism and bring so many people to the church. That church may have up to millions of people gather together, but if there is no one in that church who has burden for the mending ministry, the large number of people will never result in the building up of the body. It will be just a gathering of the people. That church does need the mending ministry, which will unite the people together into a complete oneness, and will perfect them so that they will be conformed to the image of the Son, as they are predestined to be.
Are you willing to participate in this crucial ministry for the building up of the Church today?

The Ministry of Life

If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. .... (1 John 5:16 KJV)

To participate in the mending ministry is simply to minister life of Christ to others. And this verse is the clearest one that describes the ministering of life.
Many modern translations render the second "he" in this verse as "He," or "God." However, according to the grammar of the original language, the second "he" should be the same person as the first "he." The asker therefore is the life-giver. Therefore, brothers and sisters, it clearly is our responsibility to minister life to the ones who are falling into the temptation, in order to restore them, strengthen them and perfect them.
May God help us that we will understand the desires of His heart, and wholeheartedly participate in the mending ministry of life, by receiving more life from Him, enjoying the abundant life we have in Him, and dispensing this life to others, for the building up of the Body.

Further reading

• The Holy Word for Morning Revival: The Mending Ministry of John, week 1.

Thirayost Nimmanon (Tony)

Genesis, Message 8: The Type of Eve as the Counterpart of Adam

My Great Delight in God's Word

Crystallization-Study of Genesis, Message 8

The Type of Eve as the Counterpart of Adam

There are four items that appear both in the first 2 chapters (Genesis 1-2) and the last 2 chapters (Revelation 21-22) in the bible: the tree, the river, the precious materials, and the couples. We are going to explore the last item in this message.
It cannot be wrong to say that the bible is all about a love story. Genesis 2:18-25, which perhaps is the first obvious love story in the bible, tells us about the first couple in human history. Adam searched for his counterpart. He tried his best to find one, but none was appropriate for him. Finally, God gave him a perfect counterpart, Eve. His counterpart must be originated from Adam himself.
I'm sure that God did not inspire Moses to record this just for giving us the knowledge of how Eve was created from Adam. This short story comes with many spiritual implications. It gives us a big overview of what the rest of the bible is all about. It is about a Man searching for His counterpart. It is about Christ looking for His counterpart. But none was good enough to be His counterpart. None was compatible with Him, because His counterpart must be originated from Christ Himself. He therefore built His Bride with His own flesh and blood on the cross. He eventually found His perfectly matched counterpart, who was originated from Christ Himself!
Now let us go into more detail about the first couple as the type of Christ and the Church.

1. Eve is a type of the Church

In the New Testament, it is obvious that Adam is a type of Christ.

¹² Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned ---
¹³ (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
¹⁴ Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. (Romans 5:14 NKJV)

Through Adam, all are doomed to death. Through Christ, all are delivered form the eternal death, and predestined to the eternal life.
Even though Adam and Christ are much different, it is clear that Adam, particularly before the Fall, invariably is a type of Christ.
If Adam represents Christ, Eve therefore represents the Church. The relationship between Adam and Eve was linked to the relationship between Christ and the Church by Paul in the book of Ephesians. He taught about husband and wife with a quote from Genesis 2:24, and said it was a great mystery about Christ and the Church.

³¹ "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh."
³² This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. (Ephesians 5:31-32 NKJV)

Therefore, in the light of this concept, we can learn some spiritual implications about Christ and the Church from the story of Adam and Eve.

2. Eve is produced during Adam's deep sleep.

And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. (Genesis 2:21 NKJV)

Genesis 2:21 tells us that to build a wife for Adam, the first thing He has to do is make Adam sleep. Only when Adam slept can God build Eve with his rib. Sleeping was crucial for the building process.
The word "sleep" is frequently used as a euphemism for "death." Jesus told His disciples when Lazarus was dead that "Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up." (John 11:11 NKJV) Paul also used this word for death when He gave a comforting word to Thessalonians about Christ coming, saying "But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope." (1 Thessalonians 4:13 NKJV) So could it be that Adam's sleep represents Christ's death?
Yes, in order to build the Church, the death of Christ was necessary. If there is no death, there is no resurrection and no life.

Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. (John 12:24 NKJV)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. (1 Peter 1:3 NKJV)

With love, Christ died on the cross for the redemption of our sins. But that was not all. His death also resulted in the other equally-great thing. It resulted in life!
The Gospel is not only about deliverance of sinners from the eternal death, but it is also about the precious promise that everyone who believes into Him has eternal life.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16 NKJV)

And only by having this life can we be His counterpart!

3. Eve is built with Adam's rib

It is also interesting that Eve was built with Adam's rib. Why did God specifically choose this part of the body?
Some have impressively explained that God did not create Eve from skull, because He did not intend a wife to be the head or leader of her husband. And He did not create Eve from a foot bone, because He did not make wife inferior to her husband or under the control of him. Instead, He created Eve from a rib, so that a wife would be the partner of her husband who stays beside him, facing all the situations with him, either good or bad, all her life. I like this way of interpretation. It is so romantic, is it not?
However, there is one big similarity to consider about. God took one of Adam's rib, which is at the side of his body. And Christ was pierced at His side on the cross!

But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. (John 19:34 NKJV)

Could that be just a coincidence? I don't think so.
In order to build Eve, Adam's side had to be opened. In order to build the Church, Christ's side had to be pierced, flowing out blood and water. The blood represents redemption, and the water represent regeneration. We need both in order to have life. We need both to be united to Him. We need both to become His perfect counterpart!

4. Eve is Adam's bone of bones and flesh of fleshes

23 And Adam said: "This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man."
24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. (Genesis 2:23-24 NKJV)

When Adam saw Eve, he gave a great speech that she was the bone of his bones and the flesh of his flesh. Eve was not created out of nothing. She was built with Adam's bone and flesh. Eve came out from Adam, and she ultimately would join to Adam again. Even though they were 2 persons, they should not be two. The should become one flesh.
In parallel, the Church is not created from nothing, but built with Christ. We are the bone of His bones, and the flesh of His flesh. We are taken out of Him. And we are joining to Him again. Christ and the Church shall become one!
In Revelation, we our destiny is revealed. Like how most, if not all, fairly tales end, the bible as a love story has an extremely happy ending. Christ and us, the Church, will be together, living happily ever after in the New Jerusalem. What an amazing promise it is!

Further reading

• The Holy Word for Morning Revival: Crystallization-Study of Genesis, week 8.

• Collected Works of Watchman Nee, The (Set 2) Vol. 34: The Glorious Church, chapter 2.
  (Available online: http://www.ministrybooks.org/books.cfm?id=2F2D99)

Thirayost Nimmanon (Tony)

Genesis, Message 7: The River of Water of Life

My Great Delight in God's Word

Crystallization-Study of Genesis, Message 7

The River of Water of Life

There are 4 items that appear in both Genesis 1-2 and Revelation 21-22. They consist of the tree of life, the river of life, the precious materials and a couple. In the last message, we learned about the tree of life, which represents Christ as the only source of life. Here we are going to explore a little about the river of life with some spiritual implications which may benefit our spiritual walk.

¹⁰ Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads.
¹¹ The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which skirts the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold.
¹² And the gold of that land is good. Bdellium and the onyx stone are there.
¹³ The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one which goes around the whole land of Cush.
¹⁴ The name of the third river is Hiddekel; it is the one which goes toward the east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates. (Genesis 2:10-14 NKJV)

This 4-verse passage contains many specific names that tempt us to just read through it very quickly or just skip over it. It is reasonable, as the names sound strange and we cannot see any benefit from reading through them. Some of them do not exist anymore on Google Maps. Don't worry. I'm not going to talk about geography here. I'm really bad at it. But I think I have learned something about life from this passage.
Given that God's re-creation in Genesis 1-2 is all about life, this river is also about life making. Throughout the bible, we see that river is closely connected to life. Without river, the trees cannot grow and living creatures therefore cannot survive. We can live for many days or even weeks without food. But we will die much sooner without water. And of course, our spiritual life will immediately die without life supply from the river of the water of life.

1. God is the only source of life.

The bible indicates that there is only one river coming out of Eden to water the garden. There is no any other river from there. This indicates that there is only one source of life supply. Other parts of the bible indicate that this river closely associates with our Triune God. God the Father is the fountain. God the Son is the spring. And God the Spirit is the flow.

For My people have committed two evils:
They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters,
And hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water. (Jeremiah 2:13 NKJV)
Jesus answered and said to her, "...but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life." (John 4:13-14 NKJV)
On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." (John 7:37-38 NKJV)

All we need to do is come to the Father, the only source of life, and receive God the Son by joyfully drinking Him. At first, we are just the drinker or receiver of the water of life. But as soon as we drink it, the water of life will become the fountain within us. Not only does this fountain bring us into eternal life, out of our innermost being will flow out the rivers of living water. We are going to be the vessel though which the rivers of living water flow to others. We are going to be the dispenser or minister of life, bringing life to others and bringing them to the very source of life.

2. The river becomes four riverheads.

Even though there is only one river come out of Eden, it divides into four riverheads, which go forth to 4 lands. This means that it is the desire of God's heart to reach man in every direction. Only one is not enough. God needs to surround and cover every area of our life and every corner of our heart. God needs our whole being to be filled with His life!
Is there any area in your life that you keep from God's loving care? Be open to Him and allow Him to take care of your whole life. God comes to us in every direction to provide us the abundant life supply that we can never resist.

3. The river issues precious materials.

Genesis 2:11-12 says that wherever the river goes, there will be the issue of precious materials, consisting of the gold, the bdellium and the onyx. This implies that whenever the river flows into our life, God is gradually transforming us to become like Him, represented by the precious stones. We are becoming the precious building blocks of God's precious building, the Church, which will be consummated in the New Jerusalem.

4. All the rivers flow to the same place.

One river comes out of Eden and divides into 4 riverheads. Just as all the rivers from different places run into the same pool of water, the sea or the ocean, all the 4 rivers are also flowing to the same place, the New Jerusalem, in which Christ and all believers dwell together forever.
There are many ministries and many Christian groups all around the world. But if they are really in the flow of God, they are included in the same ministry, the ministry of life. They are moving in the same direction towards the same goal - to build up the Body of Christ by ministering life to people.

5. The meanings of the four rivers tell us some characteristics of the water of life.

I'm sure that the names of the rivers are not just indicated for historical or geographical study. Like many other names in the Old Testament, their meanings are likely to teach us something.
The first river's name is Pishon, meaning "increase" or "full flowing." It teaches us that God does not supply us only a few drops of the water, or only fill us until we are nearly full. He is flowing into us with Himself until we are completely full of His life. The life that He gives is so abundant.

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. (John 10:10 NKJV)

The second river's name is Gihon, meaning "bursting forth" or "gushing." God does not stop filling us when we are full. He continues to infuse us with Himself until the water is springing us up to the eternal life and overflowing us.

On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." (John 7:37-38 NKJV)

The third river's name is Hiddekel, meaning "swift" or "darting." Like a dart that is thrown towards a particular target, this water of life is flowing us to a particular goal. Our life will be precisely determined. The water of life will transform us be the man God created us to be. We are determined to be the man who glorifies Him and enjoys Him forever.
The last river's name is Euphrates, meaning "sweet" or "fruitful." This water is so sweet that we will not want to stop drinking it. It also nourishes us and makes our life more fruitful. The more we drink of this water, the more we will bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit, which consists of love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23), and the more we will glorify Him.

Further reading

• The Holy Word for Morning Revival: Crystallization-Study of Genesis, week 7.

• http://www.tonycooke.org/free_resources/articles-tony-cooke/rivers-of-eden.html

Thirayost Nimmanon (Tony)