2022 LORD’S MOVE TO ASIA (LMA) CO-WORKERS’ MEETING
Message Two
The God-Man Living
Scripture Reading: 1 Thes. 5:17-20; Gen. 1:26; John 3:3; Phil. 1:21; Rom. 8:4-5; Eph. 4:21; Rev. 19:7; Gal. 2:20
I. A God-man is a man who is regenerated and transformed to be one with God, taking God as his life, his person, and his everything; eventually, this one becomes God in His life and His nature, but not in His Godhead; this is a God-man; in the recovery today we should practice to live the life of such a God-man—Gen. 1:26; John 3:3; Phil. 1:21:
A. Our practice is to live the life of a God-man; this life is a life of crucifixion by and in and with resurrection—John 11:25; Rom. 6:5; Gal. 5:24; Phil. 3:11:
1. It is a life in which I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live but He who lives in me—Gal. 2:20; 6:14.
2. He lives with me, with the result that I live with Him; we two live together in the way of mingling, a mingling of God and man—John 14:19; Phil. 1:21.
B. The highest family life, marriage life, and social life come out of such a life; this life is the life of the church and the life of the Body of Christ; such a life is the reality of the Body of Christ—Eph. 4:21.
C. Such a life, like that of Jesus Christ in His thirty-three and a half years on the earth, saves us from all negative things—1 Pet. 2:9; Luke 1:35; Phil. 1:21; 2:14:
1. In our marriage life it saves us from separation and divorce; in the church it saves us from opinion, division, despising, criticizing, and murmuring—v. 14.
2. In such a life we live the life of a God-man; with Him everything is heavenly, and everything is divine, divinity mingled with humanity—Luke 1:35.
D. A vital group is a group of this kind of people; our living the life of a God-man will save people, edify others, and build up the local churches even to the building up of the Body of Christ—Matt. 18:15-22; Eph. 4:16, 21.
II. All of the God-man living is related to the Spirit, so we must be a man of the spirit that we may have a proper God-man living—Rom. 8:4-5; 1 Thes. 5:17:
A. If we would become a reproduction of the first God-man and live Christ as the God-man, we must be reborn of the pneumatic Christ in our spirit and be transformed by the pneumatic Christ in our soul—John 3:3, 6; 2 Cor. 3:18.
B. We live the divine life, the spiritual life in our spirit, by the exercise of faith, which is stimulated by the presence of the life-giving Spirit—Gal. 2:20 and footnote 7:
1. When we love the Lord, pursue Him, and fellowship with Him, we spontaneously live in a condition that is beyond human description; we live not according to the environment but according to the Lord’s moving and leading within us—2:12-13; 4:11-13; Rom. 8:4-5.
2. We should live by the Spirit, have our life dependent on and regulated by the Spirit, live in the new creation, pursue Christ in order to gain Him, and practice the church life—Gal. 5:16, 25 and footnotes 1, 2.
III. A God-man’s life is a life of calling on the Lord, pray-reading His word as the Spirit, praying unceasingly, not quenching but fanning the Spirit into flame, and not despising but respecting prophesying—1 Thes. 5:17-20:
A. To carry out God’s economy according to the high peak of God’s revelation, we need all these practices; if you cut yourself off from these things, you are finished; you can never live the life of a God-man—vv. 17-20:
1. These things are common among us; but in our practice, there is a big shortage—vv. 17-20.
2. How much have you called on the Lord today? Do you pray-read the word consistently and adequately? Do you pray unceasingly? Do you fan the Spirit into flame? We are told not to quench the Spirit, but nearly all of us quench the Spirit every day—2 Tim. 1:6.
B. We need to try faithfully to practice living a God-man’s life—1 Thes. 5:17-20:
1. You should practice calling on the Lord; When you open your mouth with the exercise of your spirit to call on the Lord, right away you are under His shining; you are enlightened and exposed; then you see all your defects, shortcomings, and mistakes—2 Tim. 2:22.
2. You should practice pray-reading the word as the Spirit; the Spirit is the word of God; we have to pray this word, and we have to be watchful concerning this kind of prayer—Eph. 6:17-18.
3. You need to practice the unceasing prayer; to pray unceasingly is to have uninterrupted fellowship with God in our spirit; it requires perseverance with a strong spirit—v. 18.
4. You need to practice never quenching the Spirit, but rather, fanning the Spirit all the time into flame—1 Thes. 5:19.
5. You need to practice not despising any prophesying; to prophesy is to speak God’s word to people; in this speaking, Christ is spoken forth by you; to prophesy is to speak Christ forth into people; this mainly means to minister Christ—1 Cor. 14:31.
C. May the Lord bless us that we may touch Him in the mingled spirit by these life practices—1 Thes. 5:17-20; 1 Cor. 6:17.
IV. If we practice living the life of a God-man, which is the reality of the Body of Christ, spontaneously a corporate model will be built up, a model living in the economy of God; this model will be the greatest revival in the history of the church to bring the Lord back—Eph. 4:21; Rev. 19:7:
A. We need a model; I do not mean that only some individuals should become a model; I mean that we need a corporate model, a Body, a people who live the life of a God-man—Phil. 1:8, 19-21a; 2:19-30.
B. All the elders and co-workers should pursue this reality and take the lead to practice living a kind of living that belongs to God-men so that they will be made into a model by the Lord; then they and their churches will become such a model; this is the genuine revival—Rev. 2:7; John 13:15.
Ministry Excerpts:
OUR PRACTICE BEING TO LIVE THE LIFE OF A GOD-MAN
This Life Being a Life of Crucifixion
by and in and with Resurrection
Our practice is not to live the life of any kind of natural man, good or bad. Our practice is to live the life of a God-man. A God-man is a man who is regenerated and transformed to be one with God, taking God as his life, his person, and his everything. Eventually, this one becomes God in His life and His nature, but not in His Godhead. This is a God-man. In the recovery today we should practice to live the life of such a God-man. This life is a life of crucifixion by and in and with resurrection. It is a life in which I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live but He who lives in me (Gal. 2:20). Yet when He lives in me, He lives with me, with the result that I live with Him (John 14:19). He lives with me, and I live with Him. We two live together in the way of mingling, a mingling of God and man.
This should be and this must be our church practice from today onward. If not, we are practicing something in vain. Our practice is not merely to have a church life in which everything is according to the Bible, a church life in which we baptize people by immersion, forsake the denominations, practice head covering, and have the Lord’s table, absolutely according to the Bible. Some have come into the recovery because of these practices. They appreciate our family life, the church meetings, and the way we train our young people. However, these things should not be the goal of our practice. The goal of our practice should be to live the life of a God-man. This is the goal we should reach.
The Highest Family Life, Marriage Life, and Social Life
Coming Out of Such a Life
The highest family life, marriage life, and social life come out of such a life. This life is the life of the church and the life of the Body of Christ. Such a life is the reality of the Body of Christ. Such a life, like that of Jesus Christ in His thirty-three and a half years on the earth, saves us from all negative things, from small things and big things. In our marriage life it saves us from separation and divorce. In the church it saves us from opinion, division, despising, criticizing, and murmuring. In this life there is no criticism, no despising, no partiality, no division, no dissension, no opinion. In such a life we live the life of a God-man. With Him everything is new, everything is heavenly, and everything is divine, divinity mingled with humanity.
Living the Life of a God-Man Saving Us from All Negative Things
Wherever there is division, there is spiritual fornication, idolatry, self-glorification, and self-exaltation. Without self-exaltation, there could be no division. Living the life of a God-man saves us from all these negative things. To live such a life is to live Christ (Phil. 1:21), the very model of the God-man life.
Going Out to Contact People for the Preaching of the Gospel
If We Live Such a Life
If we live such a life, surely we will go out to contact people for the preaching of the gospel. A vital group is a group of this kind of people. The vital groups should not be practiced as a formality; they should be groups of people who live such a life. Our living the life of a God-man will save people, edify others, and build up the local churches even to the building up of the Body of Christ. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 1, “Living a Life according to the High Peak of God’s Revelation,” ch. 5)
ONLY A MAN OF THE SPIRIT HAVING A PROPER GOD-MAN LIVING
All of the God-man’s living is related to the Spirit, so we must be men of the Spirit. Only a man of the Spirit can have a proper God-man living. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 3, “The God-man Living,” ch. 2)
The reproduction of the God-man requires that we be reborn of the pneumatic Christ in our spirit, that we be transformed by the pneumatic Christ in our soul, and that we live Christ as the God-man. (Life-study of Luke, msg. 62)
We live the divine life, not by sight or by feeling in the way we live the physical and soulish life. The divine life, which is the spiritual life in our spirit, is lived by the exercise of faith stimulated by the presence of the life-giving Spirit. (Life-study of Galatians, msg. 10)
A GOD-MAN’S LIFE BEING A LIFE OF CALLING ON THE LORD,
PRAY-READING HIS WORD AS THE SPIRIT, PRAYING UNCEASINGLY,
NOT QUENCHING BUT FANNING THE SPIRIT INTO FLAME,
AND NOT DESPISING TO PROPHESY
Let us read 1 Thessalonians 5:16-20: “Always rejoice, unceasingly pray, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophecies.” In this portion of the Word, I ask you to pay attention to three points. First, pray unceasingly. Second, do not quench the Spirit. Third, do not despise prophecies.
You may think that we cannot see anything high in all these verses and that these things are common among us. My fellowship, which is my burden, is this. Yes, all these things have been gradually unveiled to us by the Lord in the past years, and they have even been printed in books. But in our practice, there is a big shortage. How much have you called on the Lord today? Do you pray-read the word consistently and adequately? Do you pray unceasingly? Do you fan the Spirit into flame (2 Tim. 1:6)? We are told not to quench the Spirit, but nearly all of us quench the Spirit every day.
Now in our church practice, we promote the matter of prophesying. But even thus far, not many churches are practicing this prophesying. Most of the saints who do practice prophesying do not realize what it means to prophesy in the church meetings. Some give a word of their kind of experience or feeling, or they tell a story in the meeting. That is not prophesying. To prophesy is to speak God’s word to people. In this speaking, Christ is spoken forth by you. To prophesy is to speak Christ forth into people. This mainly means to minister Christ. We minister Christ to others by our speaking. You may excuse yourself by saying that you do not have the gift to speak as some brothers have. But can you say that you do not have the gift to speak for the Lord, to speak forth the Lord, and to speak the Lord into people? We all have this gift, a gift to speak Christ (1 Cor. 14:31).
Needing All These Practices to Carry Out God’s Economy
According to the High Peak of God’s Revelation
To carry out God’s economy according to the high peak of God’s revelation, we need all these practices. We were charged to walk, to live, and to have our being in and according to the mingled spirit (Rom. 8:4). How can we do this? We can do this only by these few steps: calling on the name of the Lord, pray-reading His word as the Spirit, praying unceasingly, not quenching the Spirit, and not despising or ignoring prophesying. If you cut yourself off from these things, you are finished; you can never live the life of a God-man. A God-man’s life is a life of calling on the Lord, pray-reading His word as the Spirit, praying unceasingly, not quenching but fanning the Spirit into flame, and not despising but respecting prophesying. If you miss any part of these few things, you miss a lot. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 1, “Living a Life according to the High Peak of God’s Revelation,” ch. 4)
Needing to Try Faithfully to Practice Living a God-Man’s Life
Dear saints, this is my burden. We all need to live such a life—the older ones and the young ones, the brothers and the sisters, the elders and the common saints. If we do, we are faithful to what we have heard. Then the Lord will have not a model only by individuals but a model by a group of us. This is the model that the Lord needs to show to today’s Christianity, a model of what His church should be.
In conclusion, I would encourage you to try faithfully to practice living a God-man’s life by contacting Him through calling on His name, pray-reading His living word, praying unceasingly, not quenching the Spirit, and not despising prophesying. May the Lord bless us with Himself as the life-giving Spirit that we may touch Him in the mingled spirit by these life practices.
A MODEL BEING BUILT UP IF WE PRACTICE WHAT WE HAVE HEARD
If we practice what we have heard, spontaneously a model will be built up. This model will be the greatest revival in the history of the church. I believe that this revival will bring the Lord back.
Needing a Corporate Model,
a Body, a People Who Live the Life of a God-Man
we need a model. I do not mean that only some individuals should become a model. I mean that we need a corporate model, a Body, a people who live the life of a God-man. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 1, “Living a Life according to the High Peak of God’s Revelation,” ch. 5)
All the Elders and Co-workers Pursuing This Reality
So That They Will Be Made into a Model by the Lord
This is my strong burden I would fellowship with the elders. Every local church needs this. Do not invent many formalities. You yourself should practice calling on the Lord. You yourself should practice pray-reading the word as the Spirit. You need to practice the unceasing prayer. You need to practice never quenching the Spirit, but rather, fanning the Spirit all the time into flame. You need to practice not despising any prophesying. You elders should take the lead to practice this. First, you be the model. Then your practice in such an intimate way with the Lord will influence the saints in your church. Especially as elders, you can exercise much influence over the members of the church.
Probably after about one year, your church will become a model. When we talk to people about the vision we have seen, they will say, “Where is such a church?” Then we can say, “I’ll bring you to one so you can see the model.” This is what we need now. I do not believe that we need further revelations. We have seen enough. The urgent need today is the practice of a kind of living that belongs to God-men, and the God-men are the very components of God’s economy.
All the elders and co-workers should pursue this reality so that they will be made into a model by the Lord, a model living in the economy of God. Then they and their churches will become such a model. In my prayer, this is what I call the genuine revival. There are over two hundred churches in the United States. Just in Southern California alone, there are fifty churches. If all these churches would be such a model, that would be a prevailing testimony. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 1, “Living a Life according to the High Peak of God’s Revelation,” ch. 4)