2022 LORD’S MOVE TO ASIA (LMA) CONFERENCE

Message Two
Perfecting the Saints for the Building up
Issuing in the Manifestation of Christ

Scripture Reading: Eph. 4:11-16; Col. 1:28-29; Acts 20:20, 31; John 21:15-17; 1 Pet. 5:2

I. The intrinsic building up of the organic Body of Christ is by the gifted persons’ perfecting of the saints in the divine dispensing, that all the saints may be able to do the work of the New Testament ministry, that is, to build up the Body of Christ—Eph. 4:11-16: (2001 WT, msg. 8)

A. The gifted persons perfect the saints by nourishing them according to the tree of life with the life supply for their growth in life—Gen. 2:9; 1 Cor. 3:2, 6. (2001 WT, msg. 8)

B. The gifted persons should perfect the saints to function in the same way that they themselves do; The church as the Body of Christ is built up directly by all the members of the Body who have been perfected—Eph. 4:11-16. (CWWL, 1988, vol. 3, “Being Perfected to Build Up the Body of Christ,” ch. 11)

C. This perfecting will cause every member of the Body of Christ to be a building member in love—growing up into the Head and functioning out from the Head—vv. 15-16. (Life-study of Ephesians, msg. 45)

D. The joints supplying and the parts functioning cause the growth of the Body, in the dispensing of the Divine Trinity, unto the building up of the Body itself in the divine love—v. 16, Col. 2:19. (2001 WT, msg. 8)

II. What Paul did in struggling to present others full-grown in Christ is an example of laboring to perfect the saints for the building up of the Body of Christ—1:28~29: (2001 ITERO-Spring, msg. 2)

A. To perfect a saint is to complete him, to equip him, and to furnish him—Eph. 4:12. (Life-study of Ephesians, msg. 41)

B. The way to perfect the saints is to feed them so that they may grow and to train them so that they may learn certain skills; so that they may function with the proper skill—Acts 20:20, 31; 1 Tim. 4:11-13. (Life-study of Ephesians, msg. 42)

C. Presenting others full-grown in Christ is a very difficult task; Paul endeavored to do this by announcing Christ, by warning every man, and by teaching every man in all wisdom—Col.1:28~29. (Life-study of Colossians, msg. 17)

D. In Acts 20 we can see that after Paul established the church in Ephesus and appointed the elders there, he did not leave that church alone; he stayed with them for three years, admonishing each one with tears night and day (20, 31) to perfect the Ephesian saints with all the knowledge concerning the things of God. (CWWL, 1989, vol. 1, “The Practical and Organic Building Up of the Church,” ch. 6)

E. Paul was an apostle, a perfecter; he perfected a young man, Timothy; this equipped Timothy with the good deposit and qualified him to perfect others; in 2 Timothy 2:2 the first generation perfecter charges the second generation perfecter to perfect the third generation. (CWWL, 1989, vol. 3, “The Exercise and Practice of the God-Ordained Way,” ch. 23)

III. We have to do the same kind of perfecting work that Paul did; through this perfecting, everyone is enabled to do the work of an apostle, a prophet, an evangelist, and a shepherd-teacher; only by this will the organic building up of the Body of Christ could be realized and practiced among us—Eph. 4:15-16: (CWWL, 1989, vol. 1, “The Practical and Organic Building Up of the Church,” ch. 6)

A. The apostles perfect the saints by visiting the churches (Acts 15:36, 40-41; 20:20, 31), by writing epistles to the churches (Col. 4:16; 1 Cor. 1:2), and by assigning their co-workers to stay in certain places to perfect the saints. (2001 WT, msg. 8)

B. The prophets perfect the saints by teaching them to speak the Lord into people, by speaking in the meetings to set up a model, and by helping the saints to live a prophesying life by being revived every morning and overcoming every day; Prophesying is the peak of the work of perfecting the saints—1 Cor. 14:31. (2001 WT, msg. 8)

C. The evangelists perfect the saints by stirring them up to be burning in the gospel-preaching spirit, by teaching them with the gospel truths, by training them to preach the gospel, by helping the saints to be equipped with the power of the economical Spirit, and by setting an example of loving the sinners and praying for them—2 Tim. 4:5. (2001 WT, msg. 8)

D. The shepherd-teachers perfect the saints by shepherding—feeding and nourishing the young saints and teaching the growing saints—Acts 11:25-26; 13:1. (2001 WT, msg. 8)

E. When each member of the Body of Christ is perfected one by one in this way, and when they all grow in life and function organically, the Body of Christ will be built up—Eph. 4:11-16: (CWWL, 1988, vol. 4, “A Timely Trumpeting and the Present Need,” ch. 3)

1. We need to live an overcoming life by consecrating everything that we have to the Lord out of our love for Him and to strive to redeem every bit of time to contact people for shepherding and perfecting them—John 21:15-17; 1 Pet. 5:2. (2017 TGC, msg. 5)

2. If we would labor on step by step, to struggle and to strive, we would work effectively, the reward will be everlasting; our labor is not vain in the Lord; it will be remembered even in eternity—1 Cor. 15:10, 58. (CWWL, 1989, vol. 2, “The New Testament Priests of the Gospel,” ch. 9)

IV. The purpose of God’s economy is to perfect the saints to build up the body of Christ; God’s economy on this earth will eventually issue in the manifestation of Christ—1 Tim. 3:15-16; 2 Tim. 4:1: (Life-study of Hosea, msg. 1)

A. Christ, God’s King, is the Lord, the Possessor, of the earth; He is not only the Lord but also the Manager, managing the entire world situation; at present this is somewhat hidden, but one day He will be manifested—Acts 5:31. (Life-study of Hosea, msg. 1)

B. This manifestation began with the incarnation of Christ and has been confirmed and strengthened by the outpouring of the Spirit, for through that outpouring the individual Christ became the corporate Christ, the church (1 Tim. 3:15-16). (2012 ST, msg. 4)

C. The church as the manifestation of Christ will bring in the glorious day of restoration (Joel 2:25-27), the age of the millennial kingdom (3:16-21), in which Christ will be manifested in a fuller way; the restoration will consummate in the fullest manifestation of Christ in the New Jerusalem in the new heaven and new earth (Rev. 21:1-2). (2012 ST, msg. 4)

D. The church must live under the Lord’s authority through His inner rule in life, must exercise His authority in binding and loosing prayer, and must engage in spiritual warfare to bring in the manifestation of the kingdom with the authority of Christ—Matt. 5:3, 8; 16:19; 18:18; Eph. 6:10-20; Rev. 12:10; 11:15. (CWWL, 1957, vol. 3, “The Kingdom and the Church,” ch. 3)

E. When the Body of Christ be built up with His redeemed and regenerated ones and that the bride will be prepared for Him to return as the King in the next age in the manifestation of His kingdom—19:7-9; 2 Tim. 4:1. (2011 ST, msg. 6)