In our life we may have many failures, but that is not the crucial thing. The crucial matter is whether or not the overall path of our life is right. For example, even Paul failed in the matter of compromising with James regarding Judaism, yet Paul still lived a life that was very much for God’s will, for His eternal purpose, and for His plan, His economy.

3 minutes 20 seconds • 0.8 megabytes

As human beings, we have many sins and offenses. The word “sin” means to “miss the mark,” while “offenses” means to “fall aside.” We may have much feeling regarding our offenses, but not much regarding our sins, our missing the mark, even though in the sight of God the sins are much more serious.

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As those who are called out by God, we partake of an element that is eternal, heavenly, and divine. Therefore, we must realize that the church is not merely the called-out assembly (1:22); it is also the Body of Christ (1:23), God’s masterpiece (2:10), the one new man (2:15), the fellow-citizens and the household of God (2:19). Eventually, the church becomes the temple as God’s dwelling place (2:21-22).

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We usually speak of Christ as being the Son, but we must realize that the Father, Son, and Spirit can never be separated. This is the Triune God.

The center of the Triune God’s operation is the church. First, the church is those who are called out by the heavenly, resurrected, and enthroned Christ; such a marvelous calling elevates us from the earthly to the heavenly realm, and it imparts to us the very element and nature of God. This is the base for everything of the church. Without such a view, we don’t really see the church.

This calling makes us the Body of Christ. So, the church is much more than just the assembly; rather, we are those who are one with God organically.

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The temple in the Old Testament provides us with a marvelous picture of the Christian life. After we are first saved, we often continue for many years just wandering in the outer court; on the one hand, we are for God, but on the other hand we care primarily for our own needs. One day, however, we touch the “altar,” the cross of Christ, and consecrate ourselves to the Lord for His desire, realizing that our entire life is just for God. This consecration is the basis for all of our further spiritual experiences.

This is the beginning of our Christian life. Now we desire to grow, so we come to the laver for its washing, and then into the Holy Place. Here we can seek the Lord to enjoy Him as our showbread, the bread of life, as our lampstand, the light of life, and as our incense altar, for us to contact God in prayer. Ultimately, we enter into the Holy of Holies, being those who are fully one with God, enjoying Him as our heavenly manna, the budding rod, signifying the resurrection life, and as the tablets of testimony, signifying who God really is.

3 minutes 45 seconds • 0.9 megabytes

If we have a proper view of the church we will honor and respect it, and never do anything to damage the church or to lower the standard of the church life. The church is called out, so the first thing to understand regarding the church is that it has nothing to do with the world. Secondly, it is organically the Body of Christ, then God’s masterpiece, the one new man, and eventually the temple of God.

The testimony of a local church is not determined by the number of members, but by how much the reality of Christ is there. Every local church needs to be tested until those who can really follow the Lord and be one with Him are manifested.

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To grow, we must be properly related to the servants of the Lord. One the one hand, the work should never control the churches, but on the other hand we must realize that the servants of the Lord are very necessary for the building up of the churches.

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For the local churches to practically become the Lord’s dwelling place, there are four pillars.

1. For the Body of Christ, there must be the apostles and prophets.
2. As a local church, we must be strengthened into the inner man.
3. Among the local churches, there must be the genuine New Testament oneness.
4. As the saints, we need to be perfected.

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For the local church to go on, all the saints must be strengthened into the inner man. If the life of the saints is strong, the church will be healthy. But, if there is no such strengthening, the church is no different from any denomination.

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The saints in the church life must be perfected, but who can do this work? It is the gifts the Lord has given to the Body of Christ. It is not merely because of the talents they have received, but rather because they themselves have learned the lessons concerning preaching the gospel, shepherding the saints, teaching the truth, and the other aspects of the church life.

2 minutes 25 seconds • 0.7 megabytes

In this excerpt Brother Titus gives an example of being perfected from his own experience. He tells the story of how a certain brother, Hudson Du, helped him very much concerning both his ministering and his person during his early days in the church life.

2 minutes 25 seconds • 1.2 megabytes

To serve the Lord we need a good base: We’re clearly saved, we love the Lord Jesus, we love the church where we are, and we have companions.

Then we need to come to another stage, in which we seek to be enriched. This begins with a real consecration in which we fully give ourselves to the Lord, giving Him the full ground to work in our life. Without such a consecration, our level of life will be very limited, but once we have this consecration we will be very much enriched in life, in the person of Christ.

3 minutes 3 seconds • 0.7 megabytes