THE CHURCH

SERIES ONE
THE INTRINSIC ESSENCE AND THE ORGANIC REALITY

Message One
The Intrinsic Essence and the Organic Reality

Scripture reading: 1 John 1:2, 5:1, Eph. 4:4-6, John 12:24, 1 Cor. 15:45, Rom. 8:2, 10, 2 Cor. 3:18, Rev. 21:2

I.The intrinsic essence of the church is the divine life that produces the church—1 John 1:2, 5:1:

A.The intrinsic essence of the church is the divine life, the indestructible life, which is the processed Triune God dispensed into us and being dispensed into us—John 14:6, 10:10b, 1 Cor. 15:45b, Rom. 8:2, 10, 6, 11, 2 Cor. 5:4:

1.　The divine life produced us through regeneration by The Spirit in our spirit; the divine Spirit begot the human spirit, and these two spirits are mingled as one—John 3:3, 5-6, Rom. 8:16, 1 Cor. 6:17.

2.　When we were regenerated, we became the children of God to be the bride for Christ the Bridegroom, that He might have an increase, as typified by Eve as the counterpart of Adam—John 1:12-13, 3:29-30, Gen. 2:21-23.

B.Christ became the intrinsic essence of the church by being a grain of wheat falling into the ground to die and release the divine life for His multiplication—John 12:24, Luke 12:49-50.

C.Christ became the intrinsic essence of the church by becoming the firstborn Son of God in resurrection to dispense His divine life that God may have many sons as the many brothers of Christ—1 Pet. 1:3, Rom. 8:29, Heb. 2:11-12.

II.In this constitution, God the Father is the source, God the Son is the element, and God the Spirit is the essence, constituted together with the believers as the constituents—Eph. 4:4-6:

A.Every substance has a source and an element, and every element has its essence; the essence is the intrinsic part of the element, the element is the reality of the substance, and the substance has a source—Eph. 4:4-6.

B.God is the source, the Son is the element, and The Spirit is the essence; we, the believers, are the constituents containing the source, the element, and the essence to become a divine and human constitution—Eph. 4:4-6.

C.This divine and human constitution is expressed as the Father’s house in John 14, the Son’s vine in John 15, and The Spirit’s child in John 16—John 14:2, 15:1, 16:21.

III.The Body of Christ is the organism of the processed and consummated Triune God, constituted of the following—Eph. 4:4-6:

A.The believers in Christ, the many God-men, as the outward human framework—Eph. 4:4-6.

B.The life-giving Spirit, who is the compound Spirit, as the divine essence—Eph. 4:4.

C.The All-Inclusive Christ, who is the unlimited Christ, as the divine element—Eph. 4:5.

D.And God the Father, who is over all and through all and in all, as the divine source—Eph. 4:6.

IV.The Spirit is the reality of the organism of the Triune God, and this Spirit is the essence of the Triune God—John 4:24, Eph. 4:4:

A.The Spirit as the essence of the Triune God has become the essence of the Body of Christ—Eph. 4:4:

1.　The Spirit, through regeneration, brings the processed Triune God into the Body of Christ—John 3:5-6, 29, Eph. 4:5-6.

2.　The Spirit as the consummated processed God, including divinity and humanity, the all-inclusive death of Christ, and His transcendent resurrection, has become not only the element but also the essence of the Body—Exo. 30:23-25.

B.Since the Spirit of the essence of the Triune God has become the essence of the Body of Christ, because of this essence, there are some precious abilities—Phil. 1:19, 2 Cor. 4:16, Rom. 8:13b, Phil. 3:10a:

1.　The essence of the Body of Christ contains the divinity of the Triune God and has the ability to supply the divine life—Phil. 1:19.

2.　The essence of the Body of Christ contains the transcendent humanity and has the ability to supply the transcendent humanity—2 Cor. 4:16.

3.　The essence of the Body of Christ contains the all-inclusive death of Christ and has the ability to put to death the negative things—Rom. 8:13b.

4.　The essence of the Body of Christ contains the transcendent resurrection of Christ and has the ability of transcendent resurrection—Phil. 3:10a.

V.We need to see and experience the organic existence of the church—Eph. 1:17, Rev. 1:4, 11:

A.The church exists in the universe as the one universal church of God for God’s universal expression, which is the fullness of God—1 Cor. 10:32, 12:28, Eph. 3:19b.

B.The church is distributed in many localities on earth to become the many local churches for His expression in the localities—Rev. 1:4, 11:

1.　In God’s eyes, the universal church and the local churches are “the church”; the processed and now-dispensing Triune God is one, and He is the essence of the church—1 Cor. 12:28.

2.　Today, the local churches on earth also have only one intrinsic essence, so the church cannot be divided and cannot be separated—1 Cor. 10:17.

C.When we return to the intrinsic essence of the church for the organic existence of the church, we will not teach wrongly that the local churches can be different from one another; the churches are the one unique organism of the processed and dispensing Triune God—John 15:5, Rev. 1:20.

VI.We must continually exercise our spirit and turn our heart to the Lord to remain on the way of life in the reality of the intrinsic essence of the church for the organic existence of the church—1 Tim. 4:7, 2 Cor. 3:16-18:

A.We must walk on the way of life, living by the tree of life according to the spirit, and not walk on the way of death, living by the tree of the knowledge of good and evil according to the self—Gen. 2:9, Rom. 8:4, 6, 2 Cor. 2:13, Matt. 16:24.

B.We remain on the way of life by loving the Lord to the uttermost; believing in the Lord is to receive Him as life, and loving the Lord is to enjoy Him as life—Mark 12:30, S. S. 1:4a.

C.The love between us and the Lord depends on our thoughts—2 Cor. 11:2-3:

1.　Our mind may be corrupted from the simplicity and the purity toward Christ—2 Cor. 11:3.

2.　To enjoy Christ as the intrinsic essence of the church, we must have a fervent love for the Lord and give Him the first place in all things—Rev. 2:4-5, 7, Col. 1:18b, Rom. 12:11, 2 Tim. 1:6-7.