Genesis, Message 15: The Seed for the Fulfillment of God's Purpose

My Great Delight in God's Word

Crystallization-Study of Genesis, Message 15

The Seed for the Fulfillment of God's Purpose

Last week, we had a journey with Abraham, starting from Ur of Chaldea, crossing the river (thus the name Hebrew), and entering the promised land, Canaan. Most importantly, we could see that God kept appearing and speaking to Abraham again and again regardless of Abraham’s failure to fully obey His commands. What a patient and gracious God have we! 
Before leaving his hometown, God gave him a threefold promise: giving him a land, making him a great nation, and blessing all the nations through his seed. The first and the second ones seemed not too difficult. He was soon given the land and had so many people with him. But what about the last one? He was 75 years old when God appeared to him and called him out of Haran. He waited year after year, and there was no any clue that the seed from his own body would become real. It was not until when he was about 100 years old that he was given the seed.
What can we learn from Abraham's experience of choosing the heir? What does this seed really represent? Let's start the investigation together.

Isaac - the promised son of Abraham

Before Isaac was born, Abraham had been tempted to consider some other people to be his heir. Throughout his life, there were 4 potential candidates for the heir: Lot, Eliezer, Ishmael and Isaac. Given that through this seed God would fulfil His purpose of blessing the world, choosing the right seed was really important. Let's consider each of them and see why Isaac was chosen as the son promised by God.

- Lot

It is so easy to exclude this man from the list. Even though he was his relative and used to be his companion, it was obvious that he was so worldly minded.

- Eliezer of Damascus

After entering the promised land, Abraham's life was not perfectly smooth. Despite of being one of the heroes of faith, he was just a human being and had the time of fear too. In Genesis 14, Abraham had a great victory over many kings. However, very soon after the great victory, Abraham fell into a great fear. He had offended the 4 kings by saving his relative, Lot, and offended the king of Sodom by declining his goods. It was possible that the kings would take revenge on him for those offenses. Graciously, God appeared to him again, and gave him a great comfort.

After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward." (Genesis 15:1 NKJV)

Why should he not be afraid? Simply because God Himself was his shield and his exceedingly great reward. What a blessed assurance! What else would he need if he already had the Lord with him?
Then Abraham proposed Eliezer as a potential candidate.

But Abram said, "Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?" (Genesis 15:2 NKJV)

I wonder if Abraham's question sounds a bit sarcastic, politely blaming God that He had not given him the seed so far. At this point, we see how patient and merciful God was. Even though Abraham's question sounds somewhat sarcastic, God kept appearing, speaking and promising to him. So we don't need to be anxious that what we say to God may offend Him. As long as we keep coming to Him and talking with Him, God always wants to hear from you and talk with you.
Reasonably, as until then God still had not given Abraham a son, Eliezer chould be the seed. Moreover, this servant was a good man and had been so helpful to Abraham.
However, God answered him clearly that Eliezer was not the one who would fulfil God purpose. The seed that would come from his own body was yet to come.

And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, "This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir." (Genesis 15:4 NKJV)

Eliezer represents what we have. As Eliezer was not the means whereby God fulfilled His purpose in Abraham, our possessions are not essential for God to fulfill His purpose in us. One may think that he has to become very rich so that he can use his money to fulfil God's purpose. He has got a great misunderstanding. Money is not what God needs the most. Only the right seed can He uses to accomplish His plan on the earth. 

- Ishmael

Ten years after God's promise was given to him, when he was 85, he still had no son. With his strong desire to help God fulfil his purpose by producing the seed for Him, he obediently followed Sarai his wife to take Hagar her maid to be his wife.

Then Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan. (Genesis 16:3 NKJV)

The mission was so successful. He eventually had a son who came from his own body. The thing he did seemed to be right, good and according to God's will. As God wanted a seed that would come out of his own body, Ishmael may have been the promised seed. 

¹⁸ And Abraham said to God, "Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!"
¹⁹ Then God said: "No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him." (Genesis 17:18-19 NKJV)

Abraham proudly presented his own achievement. He had already produced the seed for God. And God answered him plainly that Ishmael could not be the one. The seed must be born of Sarah.
Ishmael represent what we can do. One may think that if what he is doing is fulfiling the criteria of "good," "right," and "according to God's will," they are the things God wants him to do. However, the big question is not only whether what we are doing is good, right, and according to God's will or not, but also what the source is. Yes, it is great to do the things that are good, right, and according to God's will. But if the source is not God, He cannot accept it. 
Watchman Nee explains more about Ishmael, saying "What then is Ishmael? Ishmael is anything born prematurely. It is doing things by oneself. We can say that Ishmael includes two characteristics: the first is a wrong source, and the second is a premature timing."
Following the Lord is not easy, is it? We may need to wait for His perfect timing, which is not usually as fast as we want. Moreover, most people love to do and achieve things by their own. Like a boy scout, they want to earn badges from God when they do good, hoping that one day they will have enough merit badges on their uniforms to make God happy. But that is not what God wants. God wants us to totally rely upon Him. Let Him do His job through us at His perfect timing. He is the only Source. Without Him as the source, all things we do in our flesh are worthless, and God can never use them to fulfill His purpose in us.

 -Isaac

Now there is only one choice left - Isaac. God gave him a covenant to Abraham that Sarah would bear him the real promised son, through whom God would fulfil His purpose, and all the nations would be blessed.

But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time next year. (Genesis 17:21 NKJV)
And He said, "I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son." (Genesis 18:10 NKJV)
And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken. For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. (Genesis 21:1-2 NKJV)

Isaac represents what we can receive by God's grace - the promise of God. Before the time God gave Isaac to him, He led Abraham to the point that he was completely desperate. God waited until Abraham realised that he could do nothing to help God fulfil His purpose, and only God could do in His timing. It was not what he had or what he could do, but what he could only have by receiving. It was all about God's grace. The principle of Isaac is that God's goal has to be achieved only according to God's time and through God's power.
 May I conclude this first session with the words from Watchman Nee.

May God bring us to the point where we can say to the Lord, "I want to do Your will! You are within me and You must enable me to do Your will. I am not here to do Your will by myself! It must be You, not I!"
We will not please God if we sin, and neither will we please God if we try to do good by our flesh. Whether or not we please God depends on whether the cross has done its work in dealing with our flesh and the natural life. Are we saying, "God, I cannot do anything, and I am not qualified to do anything; I can only look to You"? A person who truly believes in God is one who does not act according to his flesh. God is the Master of the work. The thing that offends God the most is usurping His place in the work. This is often where our mistake lies. We cannot believe, we cannot trust, and we cannot wait. We cannot commit everything to God. This is the root of our offense against God.

Jesus - the real promised Seed of Abraham

Without the light of the New Testament, we can never see how this seed relates to us. In typology, Isaac represents Christ. And allegorically, the apostle Paul demonstrates to us that this singular seed actually is the Seed, Christ Jesus.

Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, "And to seeds," as of many, but as of one, "And to your Seed," who is Christ. (Galatians 3:16 NKJV)

It was not Isaac who fulfilled God's purpose that all the nations would be blessed. No one can be blessed apart from the redemptive work of Christ on the Cross. He was not only cursed in our place, but He also became the curse for us, so that Abraham's blessing would come upon us who receive the promise of Spirit through faith.

¹³ Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"),
¹⁴ that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. (Galatians 3:13-14 NKJV)

Hallelujah for the Seed! He has fulfilled God's promise to Abraham for all the believers. In Him as the Seed, the blessing of Abraham has come upon us!

The Church - the corporate seed of Abraham

The apostle Paul explains that not only Christ, but also all the believers are the seed and heirs according to the promise.

26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:26-29 NKJV)

In God's part, Christ as the Seed has fulfilled the promise. In our part, the Church as the corporate seed is only to enjoy the promise and the inheritance, which is Christ Himself.
Let's come back to Abraham's story. Through Abraham's faith in the Seed, all the Gentiles could become the descendants of Abraham, which were revealed to be as many as the stars in the heaven. All these were not the work of Abraham, but of God who worked in him and through him. All he had to do was function as the vessel through which the Seed was being brought forth. All he had to do was put his faith in the Lord, and by this faith, God accounted him for righteousness.

⁵ Then He brought him outside and said, "Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them." And He said to him, "So shall your descendants be."
⁶ And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness. (Genesis 15:5-6 NKJV)

What kind of faith did Abraham have? It was by no means the faith that God would provide for him the outward blessing, or the prosperity. For Abraham, it was the faith that God was able to work something into him to bring forth the seed. Interestingly, the righteousness that was accounted to him was not directly associated with sin, as God did not mention about sin at all in the context. On the one hand, the justification is needed for salvation, as it is an essential process of it. On the other hand, this particular justification for Abraham was for fulfilling God's purpose of bringing forth the seed for the blessing to all the nations.
We need to have the faith like Abraham. It is not the faith that God can provide good health, wealth, good family, success and all other worldly blessings. Yes, God can do all of them. But that is not the kind of faith God is after. We are to have the faith that God can work Himself into us to bring forth Christ. Through this faith, God justifies us, thereby bringing us to salvation and enabling us to fulfill God's purpose of creating the church to express Him and exercise His dominion on the earth.

Further reading

• The Holy Word for Morning Revival: Crystallization-Study of Genesis, week 15.

• Collected Works of Watchman Nee, The (Set 2) Vol. 35: The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, chapter 4.

Thirayost Nimmanon (Tony)

Genesis, Message 14: Living by Faith - Being Today's River Crossers to Live the Life of the Altar and the Tent

My Great Delight in God's Word

Crystallization-Study of Genesis, Message 14

Living by Faith - Being Today's River Crossers to Live the Life of the Altar and the Tent

In the last week's message, we learned about the experiences of the Triune God - the Father, the Son and the Spirit - in the life of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The experience of only one or two of them is not enough for us to be God's people. We need the experiences of all the 3, realising that God is the Source of everything, we are the receivers of God's grace, and we are to have our natural life dealt with.
And now we are coming to the life of Abraham, the father of all the believers. No one who has read the book of Genesis can ever forget the name of this man of faith. He is one of the most important persons in the bible. God called Him out from his home to the promised land, Canaan. Even though he lived long time ago, we can by no means say that we have nothing to do with him. All the believers have received God's grace and blessing through his Seed, Jesus Christ, and by corporately becoming his sons, the Hebrews.

Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all. (Romans 4:16 NKJV)
... just as Abraham "believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. (Galatians 3:6-7 NKJV)

Let's learn some spiritual lessons from Abraham's life together. Firstly, I'm going to discuss about God's appearing to him. Then I will detail the 3 key places in Canaan in which an altar was built, and conclude with the principles of the altar and the tent.

God's appearing to Abraham

God's purpose of calling Abraham

¹ Now the Lord had said to Abram:
"Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father’s house,
To a land that I will show you.
² I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." (Genesis 12:1-3 NKJV)

In Haran, God appeared to Abraham, and and called him. He clearly told him what the purpose, the plan, the promise and the predestination of his calling were. The threefold promises to Abraham shown in these 3 verses: the land, the nation and the blessing to all the families of the earth. And in these three promises, we also see the threefold goal of his calling.

1. To show him the land of Canaan

God called Abraham to leave his home, his country and his kindred, to cross the river, and to enter the land of Canaan.
Why did Abraham have to leave his home and his relatives? His home was in Ur of Chaldea, which was referred to in Joshua 24:2 as a land that served other gods. Moreover, his father was an idol-worshipper. God therefore called him out of the land so that his life would be fully consecrated to God, being set apart for Him, to fulfil His purpose in the promised land. The first goal of his calling was that he and his descendents would possess the land, carry out His authority, and express His glory to the land.
To enter the land, he needed to cross the river. This may be the reason he was later called "Abram the Hebrew," since the word Hebrew means "to pass over." In the context of his life, the Hebrew probably means the river crosser. Symbolically, Chaldea and Babylon signify the ruined and corrupted man filled with idolatry. In order to fulfil God's purpose, Abraham had to cross the river and become a new man, as symbolised by Canaan.
Like Abraham, we are also called to cross the river. We are to be consecrated people, being in the world but not of this world. Every believer is to be the river crosser, by going through the process of baptism, according to its spiritual meaning, and coming out of the water, thereby becoming a new man who belongs to God and lives for God. By this means, we can be used by God to express Him and participate with Him in bringing His authority and His will to the earth.

2. To make him a great nation that would become God's people

God called him out alone, but He would eventually make him a nation. His desire was to gain a group of people who would become His people. And this people would be His vessel of mercy that contained Him and become His testimony on the earth.
Brothers and sisters, one-man show or individualism is not the means whereby God carries out His plan on the earth. We all are called by Him individually, and we are also to experience Him subjectively and individually, but we cannot live alone and grow alone. We are to be with His people. Only when we all are His corporate vessel can we become an effective testimony on the earth, bringing many people to His kingdom. We are not made a great man, but His great nation.

3. To bless all the families of the earth through him.

Even though God selected Abraham to be his testimony and to be made a great nation of His people, God's grace was by no means limited to this nation. God's ultimate aim was that all the nations will also be blessed through Abraham and His nation. Not only did God call him to receive grace, but he also called him to transmit this grace to all the families of the earth.
Likewise, through our faith in Christ, we have become "a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people." (1 Peter 2:9) This is by grace alone. However, we are not only called to receive grace, but we are also called to transmit this amazing grace to other people. We are blessed to be blessing. We are given grace so that we can give this grace to others. We are to be the nation through which God blesses all the nations.

The callings of Abraham

If we read Abraham's story superficially, we may think that Abraham must have been a super human being with giant faith. It seems that he obediently followed God's calling without any delay or reluctance, thereby being recorded in the hall of fame in Hebrews 11. And it is also tempting to think that because we have too little faith, we cannot do a great thing for God as Abraham did.
However, if we carefully investigate his story, we will see that God appeared to Abraham more than once, and Abraham refused to fully obey what God told him to do. As he was a human, he was not without flaw. God had appeared to him at least twice until he successfully entered the land.

The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran, and said to him, "Get out of your country and from your relatives, and come to a land that I will show you." (Acts 7:2-3 NKJV)

God first appeared to him while he was living in Mesopotamia, and called him out of the land. The instruction indicated that he had to leave his relatives as well. But according to Genesis 11:31-32, we know that he failed to completely follow God's command. He left the land, but for some unknown reason, he stopped in Haran and did not go further to the promised land. Moreover, instead of being the leader who came out of the land, he was a follower being led by his Father. Instead of leaving his relatives, all members in his family came out with him.

³¹ And Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they went out with them from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan; and they came to Haran and dwelt there.
³² So the days of Terah were two hundred and five years, and Terah died in Haran. (Genesis 11:31-32 NKJV)

Not until his father died did God appear to Abraham again in Haran (Genesis 12), and told him to continue his journey to the promised land. Even though he eventually got into the land this time, he took Lot with him. And the story afterwards tells us that bringing Lot with him was a big mistake. Abraham had to go through difficult situations because of Lot, and Lot's descendants were becoming enemies of Israel.
However, regardless of Abraham's failure to follow God's command, God kept appearing and speaking to him. God never gave up on Him. God was the One who initiated the plan, and God was also the One who accomplished it. Doesn't this show God's loving-kindness and grace?
Furthermore, God did not only speak to Abraham, but He also appeared to him. In the previous chapters, we see that since the fall of Adam, God had spoken to quite a few people, such as Noah, but He had never appeared to anyone. He started to appear to man again here. This implies that Abraham's calling was so special. God was about to start His redemptive plan, delivering man from sin, with Abraham. Therefore Abraham's calling was not a little thing. It was a part of God's greatest plan to redeem the people He loved. Hallelujah that God did not appear to a perfect one. God appeared to Abraham, an ordinary man, and accomplished His redemptive plan through him.
Brothers and sisters, we are not different from Abraham. Perhaps we are just ordinary people among numerous people in this world. But you must know that the same God will never give up on us. He keeps speaking and appearing to us. The rest is our part to pay attention at His speaking, behold His appearing, and voluntarily respond to His calling.

The land of Canaan

In the land of Canaan, God appeared to Abraham quite a few times, and he built an altar in the places that God appeared to him. There are 3 key places in which the altars were built: Shechem, Bethel, and Hebron. These three places represent the whole land of Canaan, which symbolised a new man in Christ. The meanings of these names tell us what the land is like.

1. Shechem (Shoulder)—the Place of Strength

Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land. (Genesis 2:6 NKJV)

The word "Shechem" means "shoulder," which is a strong part of body. Therefore the first characteristic of Canaan is the strength. It is not our own strength, but God's. And it not only represents God's miraculous strength, but it also signifies His power of love that brings us to eternal life!
In this place, there was also the oak of Moreh, which means "teaching." The oak was in Shechem. Therefore this teaches us that without the power of life, the doctrine and knowledge are but nothing. We need to abide in this power of life so that we can comprehend the spiritual truth and can teach it to others.

2. Bethel (the House of God)—the Body of Christ

And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord. (Genesis 2:8 NKJV)

Bethel means the House of God. The second characteristic of the land is the house of God, which is the Body of Christ.
It is very important that we see the principle of the Body, the Church. God needs to build a house for Himself, and this house is not a material one. It is an organism composed of His people who are fulfilling His purpose. And to create this house, He needs to deliver us from individualism, and blend His people together. This is not only a principle; it is life. We not only need the power of life, but we also need to live in the Body and avoid doing anything independently.

3. Hebron (Fellowship)—the Principle of Fellowship

Then Abram moved his tent, and went and dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built an altar there to the Lord. (Genesis 13:18 NKJV)

Hebron means fellowship. And in this place, there is another oak named Memre, meaning "fatness" or "strength."
When we clearly see the meaning and the significance of the principle of the Body, we will automatically see how important the fellowship is. Consequently, we will treasure the fellowship with other brothers and sisters, and spontaneously do it. We will not feel that spending time with saints is a burden, but a joy. We will treasure this fellowship without the feeling that it is a burden to us. And it is by this fellowship that we will gain all the fatness, riches, and strength from the Lord.
May God open our eyes so that we see how important it is to experience the power of life, to live in the Body and to fellowship with His children.

The Principles of the Altar and the Tent

The principle of the altar

Wherever Abraham encountered God, he could not help but build an altar. And the altar was for burnt offering.
Likewise, whenever we encounter God, we can't help but build an altar. And the burnt offering that we are going to offer to God is our bodies as a living sacrifice. We are to offer all that we are, so that He can live the resurrection life in us. We are to realise that we are not our own, but we are already crucified with Christ, and the life we now live is Christ. This is the principle of the altar.

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:1-2 NKJV)
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

The principle of the tent

Abraham not only built an altar when God appeared to him, but he also built a tent. Interestingly, Abraham did not build a big palace or castle, even though he seemed to be rich enough to build one. He decisively built a tent, which was temporary. Therefore the principle of the tent is that all that we have are just temporary. This world is not our permanent home. We are just strangers and pilgrims on the earth. We have to see this principle. If we do, we will be able to praise the Lord even when we experience losses or face troubles. We will confess that there is nothing else on the earth that we will desire but God. And when we fix our eyes upon the Lord, we will have the mind like this automatically, as we will see the things on earth grow strangely dim in the light of Christ's glory and grace!

"Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
And naked shall I return there.
The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away;
Blessed be the name of the Lord." (Job 1:21 NKJV)
Whom have I in heaven but You?
And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You.
My flesh and my heart fail;
But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (Psalm 73:24-25 NKJV)
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
(Helen Howarth Lemmel, hymn "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus")

Further reading

• The Holy Word for Morning Revival: Crystallization-Study of Genesis, week 14.

• Collected Works of Watchman Nee, The (Set 2) Vol. 35: The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, chapters 2 and 3.

Thirayost Nimmanon (Tony)

Genesis, Message 13: God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob

My Great Delight in God's Word

Crystallization-Study of Genesis, Message 13

Knowing and Experiencing the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob to Become the Israel of God

Principle of God's work in the Old Testament (OT) and the New Testament (NT) is the same. And God in the OT is the same God that we have today. Therefore the experiences of our forefathers as recorded in the OT are such a pattern for us to follow and helpful for us to know God better.
In the OT, one of the titles that God used to identify Himself is "the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." God introduced Himself to Moses using this title.

I am the God of your father --- the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. (Exodus 3:6 NKJV)

The title was also quoted by Jesus in the NT (Matthew 22:32; Mark 12:26; Luke 20:37). Furthermore, Jesus mentioned the names of these 3 gentlemen in one of His promising prophecies that, through faith in the Lord, many the people all around the world throughout the history will come to enjoy the feasting with them in the heavenly kingdom.

And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 8:11 NKJV)

Why are these people so important that the Lord exclusively mentioned their names in these particular teachings? Because they are the group of people chosen by God to be under His name and to be His people. According to their experiences, God revealed Himself to them and dealt with them in 3 different ways. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, these experiences have been purposefully recorded in the book of Genesis so that we can learn more about their God, and gain the total experiences of the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. The 3 experiences are different yet interrelated, and to become an Israel of God, we need to have all the spiritual experiences of the God as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob did.

God of Abraham: God the Father

Until he was given the name Abraham (father of multitude; Genesis 17:5), he had been called Abram (exalted father). Both names come from the same root word, Abra, which means father. And the experience of God in his life describes the experience of God as the Father.
God called him out from the other side of the Euphrates River (Genesis 12:1-5) to a promised place he did not know (Hebrew 11:8). God was the One who first came to him and called him out. God was the Initiator in His marvelous plan for him.
Later in his life, he had another experience of God. At his old age, he still did not have a child with his beloved wife Sarah, because she was barren. God came to visit him, foretelling that he was going to miraculously have a child with Sarah, and this child was obviously a gift from God, since both of them were too told to have a child. They did not initiate this plan. God the Initiator did.
Altogether, the experience of Abraham teaches us that to know God as the Father is to acknowledge Him as the great Creator and Initiator from whom everything originates, and have faith in Him. He is the Source of everything.

God of Isaac: God the Son

Isaac was the promised son of Abraham and Sarah (Galatians 4:23). His life seemed quite ordinary, having relatively short record when compared to Abraham and Jacob. Unlike Abraham his father and Jacob his son, he did not face so many challenges and did not have to struggle much. His experience was mainly about enjoying his father's inheritance, giving us the picture of God the Son, who is full of grace. It portrays God as the great Giver, and us as the great receivers.
Therefore to experience God of Isaac, we need to acknowledge that our God is the God of grace. All the spiritual blessings, including salvation, victory, justification, sanctification, forgiveness, freedom and peace, are not what we can earn. They all are received by God's grace through the faith in Jesus Christ. To have these blessings, all we need to do is receive from Him. The experience of Isaac shows us the principle of receiving.

God of Jacob: God the Spirit

Jacob was a cleaver ambitious deceiver. He tried to achieve everything he wanted, including the birthright and the blessings from his father, using his own schemes. He seemed to live a toilsome and hard life. However, we can clearly see that his life was gradually transformed after each encounter with God. And the greatest encounter, which was probably the best night of his life, was when he wrestled with God. After then, his life could never be the same. The life of Jacob clearly demonstrates the discipline of the Holy Spirit, leading to life transformation.
God of Jacob is the God who transforms us from inside out. He loves us too much to let us be the same. To perfect us, He needs to deal with our natural life by breaking it apart. As a result, we will know how lame and weak we are, and come to realisation that we can do nothing apart from God. The experience of Jacob informs us that we need to have our natural life dealt with, by allowing the Holy Spirit to work within our life.

Further reading

• The Holy Word for Morning Revival: Crystallization-Study of Genesis, week 13.

• Collected Works of Watchman Nee, The (Set 2) Vol. 35: The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, chapter 1.

Thirayost Nimmanon (Tony)

The Mending Ministry of John, Message 6

My Great Delight in God's Word

The Mending Ministry of John, Message 6

Eight Aspects of the Church as the Testimony of Christ

In the book of Revelation, the Church as the testimony of Christ is gradually revealed in 8 aspects, starting from the lampstands (revelation 1), and ending with the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21-22), which is the consummate expression and testimony of Christ.
This week's message is too complicated for me to cover every point. First, I'm going to give you an overview of all the 8 aspects. Then I will go deeper into detail about what I have learned from the first aspect, the lampstands.

Eight aspects of the testimony of Jesus

1. The seven golden lampstands (Revelation 1:12, 20)

The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches. (Revelation 1:20 NKJV)

In Revelation 1, Jesus revealed Himself as the Son of Man who was in the midst of the lampstands, which were also hold in His right hand and explicitly revealed to represent the seven local churches. This is the first obvious aspect of the church as the testimony of Christ, and will be further discussed in the next section.

2. The great multitude serving God in the temple (Revelation 7)

After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands (Revelation 7:9 NKJV)
So he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." (Revelation 7:14 NKJV)

Next, the testimony of Jesus is the great multitude from all nations, tribes, peoples and tongues. The multitude consists of those who have victoriously come out of the tribulations, sufferings, persecutions, and afflictions throughout the ages.
How wonderful it is that this multitude as the testimony of Jesus is not limited to Jews only! By the grace of Christ, our great Cornerstone, the Jews and the Gentile are united, and this great opportunity is widely open to all the people in the world. Everyone who trusts in the Lord who has already overcome the world will also overcome all the tribulations. Not only can he enjoy Christ and all of His spiritual blessings in this life, but one day he will also be raptured to the heavens to enjoy His presence forever.

3. The universally great bright woman with her man-child (Revelation 12)

Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. (Revelation 12:1 NKJV)

This heavenly woman represents the Church, and her man-child represents the stronger part, which is the overcomers. Here we can see that the Church is not of the world. It is heavenly in nature. As the story continues, we also see that only the overcomers (the man-child) will be raptured to God's throne to rule with Him, whereas the rest of the believers (the woman) will have to go through the great tribulation before being reaped at the end of the great tribulation.
After being raptured, the overcomers will defeat the great dragon, which represents the Devil and Satan. They will cast him and his angels down to the earth. Interestingly, they do not fight using any high-tech military weapons. They overcome the great dragon by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony!
Why will God rapture the overcomers? Because He needs the overcomers who will fight against His enemy for Him and cast him down from the heavens. Even though He can easily defeat Satan, He chooses not to do it by Himself. He wants the overcomers to execute Christ's victory over Satan. Would you like to be this man-child who will surely accomplish this job for Him?

4. The firstfruits and the harvest (Revelation 14)

These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. (Revelation 14:4 NKJV)
And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has come for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” (Revelation 14:15 NKJ)

Revelation 14 shows a parallel imagery to the vision of the great women with her man-child. The firstfruits, signifying the overcomers who have received the Lord as the seed of life into their heart and wholly dedicate themselves to the Lord, will ripe and be reaped (raptured) first, while the other believers will be reaped at the end after the great tribulation.

5. The victorious ones standing on the glassy sea (Revelation 15)

And I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God. (Revelation 15:2 NKJV)

These victorious ones are the late overcomers who will pass through the great tribulation. The sea of glass signifies the process of baptism. Therefore these victorious ones are those who completely separate themselves from the world by daily experience of baptism, meaning a burial, so that they can come out of the world through the water with their new resurrection lives.

6. The bride of Christ (Revelation 19)

Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. (Revelation 19:7 NKJV)

Ultimately, the overcomers who have made themselves ready for the marriage will not only be the invited guests of the wedding. The wedding is theirs. They will become the bride of Christ, and will reign with Him during the millennium.

7. The bridal army (Revelation 19)

And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. (Revelation 19:19)

Then the overcomers who has cast Satan and his angels down from heavens will also a part of the Christ's army coming down to fight against Satan on the earth. Eventually, the Antichrist will be completely defeated.

8. The New Jerusalem (Revelation 21-22)

9 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, “Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.”
10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
11 having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. (Revelation 21:9-11)

This passage is so perplexing. The angels said they would show the bride, the Lamb's wife, to the apostle John. But then what they showed him was not a lady, but a great city! They showed him the New Jerusalem, which was descending out of heaven from God! Why? Because the New Jerusalem is not only the place where we will dwell; it actually is the church as the Bride and the consummate testimony of Jesus. It is the mutual abode of the Triune God and all of His people. We will abide is Christ and He in us for eternity!

The seven golden lampstands

In the bible, the lampstands are demonstrated in 3 stages: the lampstand in the tabernacle (exodus 25:31-40), the lampstand in the vision in Zechariah, the lampstands in Revelation 1:12 and 20. More information can be found here.
Exodus 25 describes the appearance of the lampstand like this, with the picture from agodman.com blog (credited to Inspiration Unlimited Facebook page) shown below.

³¹ You shall also make a lampstand of pure gold; the lampstand shall be of hammered work. Its shaft, its branches, its bowls, its ornamental knobs, and flowers shall be of one piece.
³² And six branches shall come out of its sides: three branches of the lampstand out of one side, and three branches of the lampstand out of the other side.
³³ Three bowls shall be made like almond blossoms on one branch, with an ornamental knob and a flower, and three bowls made like almond blossoms on the other branch, with an ornamental knob and a flower—and so for the six branches that come out of the lampstand. (Exodus 25:31-33 NKJV)

According to the revelation of the lampstands, there are some implications concerning the church that are so crucial for the mending ministry of John.

1. The lampstands are divine in nature

The lampstands are made of gold, which signifies God. Therefore the vision reveals that the churches are divine in nature.
According to the bible, a church never refers to a building. It is not an organisation created by man, but an organism built up by God with Christ as its centre and its everything. It is a household of God consisting of all the genuine believers in Christ in whom the triune God dwells. It is not only a group of people gathering together; it is a household of God-men being built up together.
As members of this household, our job is to let Him express Himself through us, so that everyone who see us will see God who lives in us.

2. The lampstands are living and growing

According to Exodus 25, the lampstand has some remarkable characteristics. It is described to have branches, bowls like almond blossoms, knobs and flowers, all of which are components of a living tree. Therefore this lampstand is not only a material thing. It is a living tree that grows, buds and blossoms.
Likewise, as our God is living, the true church of God is also living. God has given Himself into us to be the tree of life within us, and the church basically is the outcome of the tree of life growing within us. All we need to do is let this tree grow up and grow out of us, so that the issues of life will be clearly evident in us.

3. The lampstands are shining in darkness

From the picture above, inasmuch as the lampstand is a branching tree, its blossom is at the flame of light. Therefore it can be said that the blossom of life is light. When a church is full of life, it blossoms and expresses the issues of life. This is the means whereby the church shines.
According to the lampstand in the book of Zechariah, this lampstand is fuelled by the golden oil, representing God the Spirit. Likewise, the church is not burning itself as the fuel, but having God as its divine fuel. This truth teaches us that the shining of the church is not by our own power, but by the Spirit. Consequently, we will never be burned out and stop serving the Lord. If that is the case, it can be implied that we are using a wrong type of fuel. On the contrary, if we serve the Lord using the power of the Spirit, the divine oil, as fuel, we will never retire from serving Him.
Additionally, this shining is not for our own glory. This shining aims to show Christ who is in the midst of the lampstands, so that people will clearly see Him, come to Him and receive Him as their life.

4. The lampstands are identical with one another

Even though the lampstands are seven, they are identical with one another, having the same nature and shape. Likewise, even though there are so many local churches throughout the world, they have the same God, the same Christ and the same Spirit. Substantially, all the local churches are but one.
On the one hand, the local churches are to shine in different localities. On the other hand, they all are collectively shining by universally bearing the same thing, the testimony of Jesus.

Further reading

• The Holy Word for Morning Revival: The Mending Ministry of John, week 6.

Thirayost Nimmanon (Tony)

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)