In Matthew 16
the way to build up the church
and the enemy of the building
are revealed:
Christ, the Son of the living God,
builds the church
on Himself as the rock,
with stones
such as Peter,
a transformed person.
The gates of Hades,
Satan’s authority
or power of darkness,
attack the church
to frustrate the Lord
from building up the church.
In order to build the church,
the Lord
had to pass through death
and enter into resurrection:
The church
was produced
through Christ’s death
and resurrection.
The way
to build the church
is to be crucified
and resurrected.
The church exists
and is built up
only in the realm of resurrection
through crucifixion.
Peter,
with a good heart,
rebuked the Lord
and tried to prevent the Lord
from going to Jerusalem
to be crucified:
It was not Peter
but Satan
who came out
through one of the gates of Hades,
the gate of Peter’s self,
to try
to frustrate the Lord
from building up the church.
The self, the mind, and the soul-life
are the main gates
through which Satan
comes forth
to attack and damage the church.
The building up
of the church
depends on
the shutting up
of the gates of Hades
through the exercise of three keys:
We need to learn
to exercise the key of
denying the self:
The flesh
is the created body
corrupted by sin,
the nature of Satan;
the self
is the created soul
plus the satanic mind,
the mind of Satan.
When the mind, the thought, of Satan
was injected into the human soul,
the human soul
became the self,
the embodiment of Satan:
Before Eve
took the fruit
of the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil
into her body,
the thought, the mind, of Satan
was injected into her soul.
After Eve’s mind
was poisoned
by Satan’s thought,
her emotion
was aroused,
and then
her will
was exercised
to make a decision
to eat of the fruit
of the tree of knowledge.
By this time
every part of the soul
—the mind, the emotion, and the will—
had been poisoned.
The self
is the embodiment
of the soul-life,
which is expressed
through the mind;
thus,
the self, the soul-life, and the mind
are three-in-one.
Behind these three
is Satan,
who manipulates the self
in order to damage
the church.
The self
is the soul
declaring independence
from God:
The Lord
does not have regard
for what we do;
rather,
He has regard
for our dependence on Him.
The enemy of the Body
is the self;
because the self
is something independent,
the self
is the greatest problem,
the greatest frustration and opposition,
to the building up
of the Body:
We should depend
not only on God
but also on the Body,
on the brothers and sisters.
The Lord and the Body
are one;
hence,
if we
are dependent
on the Body,
we are also dependent
on the Lord,
and if we
are independent
of the Body,
we are spontaneously independent
of the Lord.
When we are dependent,
the self is gone,
and instead of the self,
we have the Lord’s presence
and are full of peace.
Only when the self
has been utterly dealt with
by the cross
are we able
to touch
the reality of the Body of Christ
and come to know
the Body.
The following
are some expressions
of the self:
With the self
there are
ambition, pride, and self-exaltation.
With the self
there are
self-righteousness, self-justification,
and exposing, criticizing, and condemning others.
With the self
there are
introspection and self-despising.
When we
are in the self,
we can be offended by
the church, the leading ones, or the saints.
With the self
there are
disappointment and discouragement.
With the self
there are
self-love, self-preservation,
self-seeking, and self-pity.
With the self
there are
murmurings and reasonings.
With the self
there is
natural affection (friendship)
based on
natural taste and preference.
With the self
there are
the matters of
being opinionated and dissenting.
When we
are in the self,
we are
individualistic and independent.
If we exercise
the key of denying the self
to lock up the self,
it would be impossible
for us
to be offended;
blessed are those
who are
not offended:
If we
can be offended,
it is proof
that we
are full of self.
If my self
has been locked up,
I will not be offended
no matter
what you do to me
or how you treat me.
We need to learn
to exercise
the key of denying the self
to lock up the self
in every situation:
Whether a situation
is for you or against you,
whether the brothers
love you or hate you,
you must lock up the self.
If the self
is locked up,
the church
will be built up.
We need to learn
to exercise
the key of taking up the cross:
To take up the cross
simply means
to take up the will of God;
the cross
is God’s will:
The Lord Jesus
was not forced
to go to the cross,
like a criminal;
He was willing to go
because the cross
was God’s will.
The Lord Jesus
was willing to be crucified
so that through His death,
His life
might be released
to produce and build up
the church.
The cross
was a great suffering
to the Lord,
but He cared not
for the suffering
but for the fulfillment
of God’s purpose.
Let him
…take up his cross
(Matt. 16:24)
means that we
are not forced
to bear the cross
but that we
willingly take it up:
Our husband, wife, and children
are God’s will
and are therefore our cross.
The one church
is God’s will,
and every brother and sister
in the church
is God’s will;
thus,
to bear the cross
is to bear the church
and to bear all the saints
so that we
would have
the genuine oneness.
We need
not only to take up our cross
but also to carry our cross,
that is,
to remain on the cross,
keeping our old man
under the termination of the cross
day by day:
We have received
the divine life
through the Lord’s crucifixion;
now,
in order to be built up
in this life,
we need
to willingly and happily take up
the cross.
We
should not care for
our taste, feeling, or consciousness;
rather,
we should care only for
God’s will,
which is
that we
would have
the genuine oneness.
We need to learn
to exercise
the key of
losing the soul-life:
To save the soul-life
is to please the self
by allowing the soul
to have its enjoyment;
to lose the soul-life
is to lose
the enjoyment of the soul:
God created man
as a soul
with the need
for enjoyment.
Receiving God into his spirit
and expressing God through the soul
should be
man’s joy and amusement.
The Lord Jesus
lost the enjoyment of His soul
in this age
so that He
might find His soul-life
in the coming age;
we must do
the same.
If we
save our soul-life
in this age,
we will lose it
in the coming age,
but if we
lose our soul-life
in this age,
we will find it
in the coming age.
We need
to love
the Lord Jesus
and to hate and deny
our soul-life,
not loving our soul-life
even unto death.
If we
are willing to lose
all our present soulish enjoyment
for the Lord’s sake,
for the sake of the church,
and for the sake of all the saints,
others
will be nourished
by us
and will be built up
through us;
this is
not a suffering
but a joy.
If we
lose our soul-life now
for the Lord’s sake,
we will save it,
and it will be
saved, or gained,
at the Lord’s coming back.
The kingdom reward
of sharing the King’s joy
in ruling over the earth
in the manifestation of the kingdom
depends upon
whether we
save our soul-life
in this age
or lose it.
At the Lord’s revelation,
some believers
will enter into
the joy of the Lord,
and some
will suffer
in weeping
and gnashing of teeth;
to enter into the Lord’s joy
is the salvation of our souls.
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7 replies on “To Bring In the Kingdom of God (2) The Exercise of the Kingdom for the Building Up of the Church”
Prophecy note, 5 March 2017
In Matthew 16
the way to build up the church
and the enemy of the building
are revealed:
Christ, the Son of the living God,
builds the church
on Himself as the rock,
with stones
such as Peter,
a transformed person.
The gates of Hades,
Satan’s authority
or power of darkness,
attack the church
to frustrate the Lord
from building up the church.
In order to build the church,
the Lord
had to pass through death
and enter into resurrection:
The church
was produced
through Christ’s death
and resurrection.
The way
to build the church
is to be crucified
and resurrected.
The church exists
and is built up
only in the realm of resurrection
through crucifixion.
Peter,
with a good heart,
rebuked the Lord
and tried to prevent the Lord
from going to Jerusalem
to be crucified:
It was not Peter
but Satan
who came out
through one of the gates of Hades,
the gate of Peter’s self,
to try
to frustrate the Lord
from building up the church.
The self, the mind, and the soul-life
are the main gates
through which Satan
comes forth
to attack and damage the church.
The building up
of the church
depends on
the shutting up
of the gates of Hades
through the exercise of three keys:
We need to learn
to exercise the key of
denying the self:
The flesh
is the created body
corrupted by sin,
the nature of Satan;
the self
is the created soul
plus the satanic mind,
the mind of Satan.
When the mind, the thought, of Satan
was injected into the human soul,
the human soul
became the self,
the embodiment of Satan:
Before Eve
took the fruit
of the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil
into her body,
the thought, the mind, of Satan
was injected into her soul.
After Eve’s mind
was poisoned
by Satan’s thought,
her emotion
was aroused,
and then
her will
was exercised
to make a decision
to eat of the fruit
of the tree of knowledge.
By this time
every part of the soul
—the mind, the emotion, and the will—
had been poisoned.
The self
is the embodiment
of the soul-life,
which is expressed
through the mind;
thus,
the self, the soul-life, and the mind
are three-in-one.
Behind these three
is Satan,
who manipulates the self
in order to damage
the church.
The self
is the soul
declaring independence
from God:
The Lord
does not have regard
for what we do;
rather,
He has regard
for our dependence on Him.
The enemy of the Body
is the self;
because the self
is something independent,
the self
is the greatest problem,
the greatest frustration and opposition,
to the building up
of the Body:
We should depend
not only on God
but also on the Body,
on the brothers and sisters.
The Lord and the Body
are one;
hence,
if we
are dependent
on the Body,
we are also dependent
on the Lord,
and if we
are independent
of the Body,
we are spontaneously independent
of the Lord.
When we are dependent,
the self is gone,
and instead of the self,
we have the Lord’s presence
and are full of peace.
Only when the self
has been utterly dealt with
by the cross
are we able
to touch
the reality of the Body of Christ
and come to know
the Body.
The following
are some expressions
of the self:
With the self
there are
ambition, pride, and self-exaltation.
With the self
there are
self-righteousness, self-justification,
and exposing, criticizing, and condemning others.
With the self
there are
introspection and self-despising.
When we
are in the self,
we can be offended by
the church, the leading ones, or the saints.
With the self
there are
disappointment and discouragement.
With the self
there are
self-love, self-preservation,
self-seeking, and self-pity.
With the self
there are
murmurings and reasonings.
With the self
there is
natural affection (friendship)
based on
natural taste and preference.
With the self
there are
the matters of
being opinionated and dissenting.
When we
are in the self,
we are
individualistic and independent.
If we exercise
the key of denying the self
to lock up the self,
it would be impossible
for us
to be offended;
blessed are those
who are
not offended:
If we
can be offended,
it is proof
that we
are full of self.
If my self
has been locked up,
I will not be offended
no matter
what you do to me
or how you treat me.
We need to learn
to exercise
the key of denying the self
to lock up the self
in every situation:
Whether a situation
is for you or against you,
whether the brothers
love you or hate you,
you must lock up the self.
If the self
is locked up,
the church
will be built up.
We need to learn
to exercise
the key of taking up the cross:
To take up the cross
simply means
to take up the will of God;
the cross
is God’s will:
The Lord Jesus
was not forced
to go to the cross,
like a criminal;
He was willing to go
because the cross
was God’s will.
The Lord Jesus
was willing to be crucified
so that through His death,
His life
might be released
to produce and build up
the church.
The cross
was a great suffering
to the Lord,
but He cared not
for the suffering
but for the fulfillment
of God’s purpose.
Let him
…take up his cross
(Matt. 16:24)
means that we
are not forced
to bear the cross
but that we
willingly take it up:
Our husband, wife, and children
are God’s will
and are therefore our cross.
The one church
is God’s will,
and every brother and sister
in the church
is God’s will;
thus,
to bear the cross
is to bear the church
and to bear all the saints
so that we
would have
the genuine oneness.
We need
not only to take up our cross
but also to carry our cross,
that is,
to remain on the cross,
keeping our old man
under the termination of the cross
day by day:
We have received
the divine life
through the Lord’s crucifixion;
now,
in order to be built up
in this life,
we need
to willingly and happily take up
the cross.
We
should not care for
our taste, feeling, or consciousness;
rather,
we should care only for
God’s will,
which is
that we
would have
the genuine oneness.
We need to learn
to exercise
the key of
losing the soul-life:
To save the soul-life
is to please the self
by allowing the soul
to have its enjoyment;
to lose the soul-life
is to lose
the enjoyment of the soul:
God created man
as a soul
with the need
for enjoyment.
Receiving God into his spirit
and expressing God through the soul
should be
man’s joy and amusement.
The Lord Jesus
lost the enjoyment of His soul
in this age
so that He
might find His soul-life
in the coming age;
we must do
the same.
If we
save our soul-life
in this age,
we will lose it
in the coming age,
but if we
lose our soul-life
in this age,
we will find it
in the coming age.
We need
to love
the Lord Jesus
and to hate and deny
our soul-life,
not loving our soul-life
even unto death.
If we
are willing to lose
all our present soulish enjoyment
for the Lord’s sake,
for the sake of the church,
and for the sake of all the saints,
others
will be nourished
by us
and will be built up
through us;
this is
not a suffering
but a joy.
If we
lose our soul-life now
for the Lord’s sake,
we will save it,
and it will be
saved, or gained,
at the Lord’s coming back.
The kingdom reward
of sharing the King’s joy
in ruling over the earth
in the manifestation of the kingdom
depends upon
whether we
save our soul-life
in this age
or lose it.
At the Lord’s revelation,
some believers
will enter into
the joy of the Lord,
and some
will suffer
in weeping
and gnashing of teeth;
to enter into the Lord’s joy
is the salvation of our souls.
Day 6
Matt. 16:25-26
For whoever
wants to save his soul-life
shall lose it;
but whoever
loses his soul-life
for My sake
shall find it.
For what
shall a man
be profited
if he
gains the whole world,
but forfeits his soul-life?
Or what
shall a man
give in exchange
for his soul-life?
Heb. 10:39
But we
are not of those
who shrink back
to ruin
but of those
who have faith
to the gaining
of the soul.
To lose the soul-life
means to lose
the enjoyment of the soul-life,
and to gain the soul-life
means to have
the enjoyment of the soul-life.
…With respect to
the losing of the soul-life,
the Lord
did not speak about suffering.
Do not think
that if you lose the soul-life,
you will suffer.
If you
have had
some experience
with this matter,
you will know
that apparently
the losing of the soul
is a suffering,
but actually
it is
a real joy.
If a sister
loses her soul
by forgiving her husband,
that will be a joy
to her and to her family.
It will issue in
the building up
of the proper family life.
The same is true
in principle with
the building of the church.
To lose our soulish enjoyment
is a joy
because as a result
we see
the building up of the church.
If you
are willing to lose your soul
in a practical way,
others will be nourished by you
and built up through you.
This is
not a suffering;
it is
a joy.
Hebrews 12:2 says
that the Lord
endured the cross
because of the joy
that was set before Him.
The Lord
did not go to the cross
with tears;
rather,
He went joyfully.
His going to the cross
was His losing of His soul.
But because He
foresaw the result,
He did not feel sorry
for Himself
about losing His soul.
He knew
that through His death
many grains
would be brought forth.
The losing of the soul
is the basic factor
in our being built up together.
It is
not only a matter
of denying the self
or of bearing the cross
but of losing the soul-life.
We need to lose
all our present soulish enjoyment
for the Lord’s sake,
for the sake of the church,
and for the sake of all the saints.
If you
are willing to lose
your soul-life
for the sake of others,
those with you
will be
enlightened, nourished, and filled.
This is the way
the church is built.
If all the saints
are willing to lose the soul,
what a wonderful situation
there will be
among us.
There will be
no offenses
and even no need for forgiveness.
If we
are like this,
we shall be rewarded
with a prevailing transfiguration.
The soul
was made
to express God.
But when the soul
does something
to satisfy itself,
it becomes selfish.
This is the reason
we must deny ourselves.
To deny ourselves
means to reject
the soul’s desire, preference, and choice.
When the Lord Jesus came,
He lost
His soul;
that is,
He gave up
all His soulish enjoyment.
He lost
the enjoyment of His soul
in this age
so that He
might gain His soul
in the coming age.
As we
have seen,
in the coming age
the Lord Jesus
will enjoy the whole earth.
At that time
He will invite
us, His partners,
to share in this enjoyment.
The losing of the soul-life today
actually transforms the soul.
…When the Lord
comes back,
He will say,
“Well done,
good slave;
come into My joy.”
At that time
your soul
will be fully transformed.
You will
be prepared, perfected, and qualified
to enter
into the Lord’s enjoyment.
Although we
have been saved
in our spirit,
we still need
the salvation of our soul.
Now is the time
for us
to lose our soul
so that we
may gain it
at the Lord’s coming back.
…By losing our soul,
our entire being
will be
daily and gradually transformed.
Then
we shall have
the position
to be rewarded
with the saving of the soul
in the future.
Outwardly
we shall save our soul
at the Lord’s coming,
and inwardly
we shall be qualified
to participate in
the Lord’s enjoyment
in the coming age.
Day 5
Matt. 16:24
Then Jesus
said to His disciples,
If anyone
wants to come after Me,
let him deny himself
and take up his cross
and follow Me.
Matt. 26:39
And going forward a little,
He fell on His face
and prayed,
saying,
My Father,
if it is possible,
let this cup pass from Me;
yet not as I will,
but as You will.
In Matthew 16:24
the Lord Jesus
did not say
to deny Satan
but to deny the self.
Satan and self
are synonymous terms
used interchangeably
by the Lord.
To deny the self
is negative.
In this chapter
we need to see something
on the positive side.
The positive side
is the matter of
taking up the cross
and following the Lord.
We all
have our cross.
The Lord’s cross
is unique,
but our crosses
are many.
In order
for the church
to be built,
the Lord Jesus
had to take up His cross,
and we also
must take up our cross.
Crucifixion
was the method
used by the Roman government
to execute criminals.
…The criminal
…was forced
to be crucified.
The crucifixion of the Lord Jesus,
however, was altogether different.
He was not forced
to suffer crucifixion;
He chose it.
…He was willing
…because His cross
was God’s will.
…The Lord
was willing to
take up the cross
and be crucified
for the fulfillment
of God’s purpose.
In other words,
Christ was not forced
to die
like a criminal.
Rather,
He was willing
to be crucified
so that through death
His life
might be released
to produce the church.
No doubt,
the cross
was a great suffering
to the Lord,
but He
had no thought of
reducing the suffering.
Rather,
when He was offered
the wine mingled with gall,
He rejected it.
The Lord
did not care for
the suffering;
He cared for
the fulfillment of God’s purpose.
When He
was on the cross,
the Lord
suffered greatly.
But that suffering
was not forced upon Him.
He took it willingly.
In Matthew 26:39
the Lord
prayed to the Father,
“Not as I will,
but as You will.”
At that same time
He also prayed,
“Your will
be done”
(v. 42).
The Lord
was willing
to take up the cross,
to go to the cross,
and to remain on the cross
until God’s will
had been fulfilled.
This is
the significance
of the first mention
of the cross
in the Bible.
According to this principle
of first mention,
all the other crosses
must be the same
as the first cross.
This means
that we
are not forced
to bear the cross
but that we
willingly take it up.
Notice,
the Lord Jesus
did not say,
“Let him deny himself
and be crucified.”
No,
He said,
“Let him
…take up his cross.”
We
are not to be crucified,
but we
are to pick up the cross.
To take up the cross
simply means
to take up God’s will.
…We need to recognize
that the one church
is God’s will and ordination
and that we
have no choice
about it.
Therefore,
eventually the church
becomes the cross
that we must bear.
The question
is whether we
shall bear it
like a criminal
being executed
or bear it
willingly and happily.
…Not only
is the church God’s will,
but every brother and sister
in the church
is also His will
…and we
have no choice
regarding them.
We must have
no preferences,
no choices,
except the will of God;
and we
must take up the cross,
that is,
take up the will of God.
If we
have seen the vision
of the one church
and of all the saints
as the members
of the one Body,
then
we shall have
no choice
and no personal taste.
We
should not care for
our taste, feeling, or consciousness.
Rather,
we
should care only for
God’s will
that we
would have
the genuine oneness,
the oneness
that can stand
the investigation of
all the demons and the principalities and powers.
We
want to have
the testimony
before the evil powers
that we
are a people
with the genuine oneness
because we
are all willing
to take up the cross.
We
are not suffering
like criminals,
but we
are happy cross-bearers.
I believe
that at this end time
throughout the entire earth
there will be
a people
bearing such a testimony.
Day 4
Matt. 20:27
And whoever
wants to be first among you
shall be
your slave.
Phil. 2:3
Doing nothing
by way of selfish ambition
nor by way of vainglory,
but in lowliness of mind
considering one another
more excellent than yourselves.
In Galatians 6:12
Paul speaks of those
who desire to make
a good show, an outward show,
in the flesh.
People like to make
a show of
whatever they are,
whatever they have,
and whatever they can do.
…This
has much to do with
vainglory.
…It is
also absolutely fleshly
to be ambitious
for leadership.
…Self-righteousness
in the sense of
someone thinking
that he is never wrong
but always right,
…self-justification,
…and self-vindication,
the desire to convince others
that we are right,
to vindicate ourselves,
are also of the flesh.
…In the church service,
we have to condemn
self-confidence, self-righteousness,
self-justification, self-vindication,
and self-exaltation.
There should be
nothing of the self
in the church service.
When we
have these aspects of the self,
we are absolutely fleshly,
and the Spirit, the holy anointing oil,
has nothing to do with us.
…The Spirit
is gone
in our experience.
Paul tells us
in Philippians 2:3
to do nothing
by way of
selfish ambition,
or rivalry.
Rivalry
is different from competition.
In a school
the students compete.
In athletics
the athletes compete.
Competition is not bad,
but rivalry is evil.
Rivalry is
negative competition.
Someone
may give
a good testimony,
and another saint
may want to give
a better one.
Someone
may bring three persons
into the recovery,
and another
may see this
and want to bring in six.
If you
always want to be
higher and better
than others
and have something
more than others,
this is
rivalry.
Rivalry
is of the flesh.
Let me
honestly and lovingly say
a word
to you all:
It is
a very serious matter
to be offended.
Do not casually say,
“I have been offended
in the church life.
The elders and other leading ones
have offended me.”
…On the one hand,
I condemn
all the offenses;
but on the other hand,
I must say
that there is
no excuse
for your being offended.
If we
were not in ourselves,
we could not be offended.
If I exercise
the key of self-denial
to lock up the self,
it will be impossible
for me
to be offended.
The reason
we are offended
is that the self
is so open and prevailing.
Through the open gate
of the self,
Satan comes forth,
and we are offended.
Do not think
that the church
is no longer the church
because it is wrong.
For example,
when your child
makes a mistake,
he is
still your child.
Whether the church
is right or wrong,
it is
still the church.
Although you
may be offended
by something or someone
in the church,
do not make any excuses
for yourself.
This frustrates
the building up of the church.
Matthew 16
speaks about
the building up of the church
and also about
the gates of Hades
and the keys of the kingdom.
Without the keys
to lock the gates,
the church
cannot be built.
Because there
has been
so little exercise
of these keys,
the church
has not yet been built.
We may talk
a great deal
about the building.
However,
when certain things
take place
to touch us,
the self
is open.
Because we
are open to Hades,
something from Hades—Satan—
comes out.
How we
need to use
the key of self-denial
to lock the self!
The way
to keep from
being offended by others
is to lock up yourself
by denying yourself.
Blessed are those
who are
not offended.
…If my self
has been locked up,
I will not be offended
no matter
what you do to me
or how you treat me.
To be disappointed
is a proof
that you
are in the self.
…If the self
is locked up,
we shall have
the building.
If you exercise
the key of self-denial,
others
may be offended,
but you
will not be offended.
Instead,
you will be built up
because the self in you
has been locked up.
We all
need to use
the prevailing key
of self-denial
to lock
the self, the soul, and the mind.
Otherwise,
the building up of the church
will be frustrated.
Day 3
Exo. 17:11-13
And when Moses
lifted his hand up,
Israel prevailed;
and when he let his hand down,
Amalek prevailed.
But Moses’ hands
were heavy,
so they took a stone
and put it under him,
and he sat on it;
and Aaron and Hur
supported his hands,
one on one side
and one on the other side.
So his hands
were steady
until the going down of the sun.
And Joshua defeated
Amalek and his people
with the edge of the sword.
Two great problems
are sin in the body
and self in the soul.
In addition,
…there is
the problem of the world
outside of us.
…The origin of the self
was Satan’s injecting his thought
into the human mind.
Now
we need to see
that the self is
the soul being independent of God.
Whenever the soul
is not dependent on God
but is independent of Him,
the soul
immediately becomes the self.
This means
that whenever we
do something by ourselves
without depending on God,
we are
in the self.
No matter what we are
and no matter what we do,
as long as we are
independent of God,
we are
in the self.
God created man
as a soul
to be always dependent on Him.
Man is a soul,
and as a soul
he should depend on God
for everything.
We may use married life
as an illustration
of the dependence of the soul
on God.
A wife
should depend on her husband.
This is indicated by
a bride’s wearing a head covering
on her wedding day.
Her wearing a head covering
signifies that she
will take her husband
as her head
and will depend on him.
Otherwise,
there will be
two heads,
and this will lead to
contradicting, fighting, and even divorce.
Just as a wife
should depend on her husband,
so the soul
should depend on God.
However,
the soul
has become the self.
The self is
simply the soul
declaring independence
from God.
If we
have the vision of the self,
we will see
what the self is
—the soul
declaring its independence
from God.
If we
see this vision,
we will realize
that we
can no longer be independent
of God.
Then
we will say,
“I must depend on God
all the time.
Whatever I do,
I must depend on God.
Whatever I am,
I must depend on God.”
Because the self
is something independent,
the self is
the greatest problem
to the building up
of the Body.
We should be dependent
not only on God
but also on the Body,
on the brothers and sisters.
Whenever we
are independent
of the brothers and sisters,
we are
in the self,
in the independent soul.
For us today,
being independent of the Body
is equal to
being independent of God.
This is a matter
not of doctrine
but of experience.
If you
check with your experience,
you will realize
that when you
were independent
of the brothers and sisters,
you had the sense
that you
were also independent of God.
Likewise,
when you
were isolated
from the brothers and sisters,
you had the sense
that you
were also isolated
from God.
Having the Lord’s presence
depends on
whether or not you
are dependent
on the Body
and are rightly related
to the Body.
If you
are rightly related
to the Body,
you will have
the Lord’s presence
in every place.
But if you
are not rightly related
to the Body,
then no matter where
you may be,
you will not have
the Lord’s presence.
Therefore,
having the Lord’s presence
depends on
our relationship with the Body.
If we
are wrong with the Body,
we will not sense
that we have
the Lord’s presence.
If we
are right with the Body,
wherever we may go
we will have
the sense of His presence.
In order to be dependent
on the Lord,
we must be dependent
on the Body.
…You do not have the Lord’s presence,
because you are isolated
from the Body,
because you are not properly related
to the members of the Body.
Endeavor
to be built up
and to be right with the Body.
If you
are right
with the Body
and are built up
in the Body,
you will surely sense
the Lord’s presence.
Day 2
Matt. 16:23-25
But He turned
and said to Peter,
Get behind Me,
Satan!
You are
a stumbling block
to Me,
for you are
not setting your mind
on the things of God,
but on the things of men.
Then
Jesus said to His disciples,
If anyone wants
to come after Me,
let him deny himself
and take up his cross
and follow Me.
For whoever wants
to save his soul-life
shall lose it;
but whoever loses his soul-life
for My sake
shall find it.
At man’s fall
his body was corrupted,
and then
it was transmuted, changed.
Galatians 5
speaks of the lusts of the flesh
and of the passions of the flesh.
The lusts and the passions
are the evil things
of our fallen body.
The flesh
is the corrupted and transmuted body.
This is
the most proper definition
of the flesh.
God
created a body for man,
but He
did not create the flesh.
The body
became the flesh
by being corrupted.
In the same way,
the soul
was created by God,
but the self
was not.
The soul
became the self
by becoming
fallen and rebellious.
The source of the flesh
is the body,
and the source of the self
is the soul.
Three terms in Matthew 16:23-25
are related to one another:
mind, himself, and soul-life.
Our mind
is the expression of our self,
and our self
is the embodiment of our soul-life.
Our soul-life
is embodied in
and lived out by
our self,
and our self
is expressed through
our mind, our thought, our concept, our opinion.
When we set our mind
not on the things of God
but on the things of men,
our mind
grasps the opportunity
to act and express itself.
This was
what happened
with Peter.
Hence,
the Lord’s subsequent word
indicated that Peter
had to deny himself,
that is,
not save his soul-life
but lose it.
Losing the soul-life
is the reality of denying the self.
This is
to take up the cross.
First,
the self
is the embodiment
of the soulish life.
Second,
it is
one with Satan.
Third,
it is expressed
through the mind,
which is
actually the opinionated thoughts.
We have seen already
that the fallen soul
is the source of the self,
so the self
is just the soul.
The self
is the embodiment
of the soulish life.
At man’s fall
Satan
not only entered into man’s body
but also entered into man’s soul.
This is
because Eve
first accepted Satan’s thought
into her mind.
Then
she ate of the fruit
of the tree
of the knowledge
of good and evil,
which entered
into her body.
Before the fruit
entered into her body,
Satan’s thought
had already entered into her mind.
Therefore,
the fallen soul
is one with Satan.
This is also based upon
what we see
in Matthew 16,
where the Lord
rebuked Peter
by calling him
“Satan” (v. 23).
At that time
Peter was
in the self,
in his soulish life,
so he
became Satan.
This proves
that the self
is one with Satan.
After addressing Peter
as “Satan,”
the Lord said,
“You are
a stumbling block to Me,
for you
are not setting your mind
on the things of God,
but on the things of men.”
This shows
that the self,
which is one with Satan,
is expressed
through the mind
as opinionated thoughts.
Thus,
Matthew 16:23-24
shows us
that the self
is the embodiment
of the soulish life,
is one with Satan,
and is expressed
through the mind,
that is,
the opinionated thoughts.
The mind
is the channel, the means,
for the self
to express itself.
Throughout history
the church
has not been damaged
mainly by
Judaism or Gnosticism;
it has been damaged
mainly by
the self.
Martin Luther
once said
that although he
was afraid of the pope,
he was more afraid of
the stronger pope, the self,
within his own heart.
Nothing
damages and frustrates
the building up
of the church
more than the self.
Self is
the embodiment of the soul,
which is expressed
through the mind.
Thus
the self, the soul, and the mind
are three-in-one.
Behind these three
is Satan,
who manipulates the self
in order to damage
the church life.
We all
need to heed this word
for ourselves.
Day 1
Matt. 16:16-18
And Simon Peter
answered and said,
You are
the Christ, the Son of the living God.
And Jesus answered
and said to him,
Blessed are
you, Simon Barjona,
because flesh and blood
has not revealed this to you,
but My Father
who is in the heavens.
And I also say to you
that you are Peter,
and upon this rock
I will build My church,
and the gates of Hades
shall not prevail against it.
In Matthew 16:18
the gates of Hades
refer to
Satan’s authority
or power of darkness.
The authority of darkness
denotes the authority of Satan.
God is light,
and Satan is darkness.
Satan’s authority of darkness
is the authority of evil
in the heavenlies, in the air.
This evil
refers to something
that is
in rebellion against God.
…Satan has
his kingdom,
the authority of darkness,
the gates of Hades.
However,
the gates of Hades
cannot prevail against
the genuine church
built by Christ
upon the revelation
concerning Him as the rock,
with stones
such as Peter
and all the believers
as transformed human beings.
The gates
are mentioned
in verse 18 of Matthew 16,
and the keys
in verse 19.
The enemy
has the gates,
but we
have the keys.
…The enemy’s gates
are much bigger
than the keys,
but the gates
are nonetheless
under the control of the keys,
just as the doors of a building
are controlled
by the keys
that open and close them.
Hallelujah,
we have
the keys!
In Matthew 16
Christ, the Son of the living God,
the church, the kingdom,
the gates of Hades,
and the keys of the kingdom
are all revealed.
Verse 21 reveals
what must take place
for Peter
to be transformed
from a Simon
to a Peter.
For this,
the Lord Jesus
had to be crucified
and resurrected.
It was
through the crucifixion and resurrection
of Christ
that Simon, the son of Jonah,
became Peter, a son of God.
Without this transaction
it would have been impossible
for Simon Barjona
to become Peter.
Verse 22 says,
“Peter took Him aside
and began to rebuke Him,
saying,
God
be merciful to You, Lord!
This
shall by no means happen
to You!”
With a good heart
Peter was telling the Lord
that God
should be merciful to Him.
Verses 21 through 26
are necessary
for the interpretation
of verses 16 through 19.
As we have seen,
verse 18
speaks of the gates
and verse 19
of the keys.
In order to know
what the gates and the keys are,
we need to consider
verses 21 through 26.
Satan
comes out through the gates.
The first gate
is the self.
This means
that we ourselves
are one of the gates of Hades
through which Satan
comes out.
Satan
may come out
through the gate of self
even when we
have a good heart.
Whether our heart
is good or evil,
self
is the first gate
through which Satan
comes out.
In addition to the self,
verses 21 through 26
also speak of
the mind and the soul,
both of which
are also gates
through which Satan
comes out.
Thus,
the self, the soul, and the mind
are the main gates
through which Satan
comes forth.
Many times
Satan has come out
through your mind
because your mind
has been
an open gate for him.
Verses 21 through 26
not only expose the gates
but also reveal the keys.
The first key
is the denial of the self.
Self
is an open gate,
but self-denial
is the key
that shuts it.
The second key
is the taking up
of the cross.
This means
that the cross
is a key
to shut up
the self, the soul, and the mind.
The third key
is the losing of the soul.
Therefore,
the three keys here
are the denying of the self,
the taking up of the cross,
and the losing of the soul.
Day by day
we need
to use these keys.
Yes,
Peter used the keys
on the day of Pentecost
and in the house of Cornelius.
But we also
need the three subjective keys
found in this portion of the Word.
…The self, the soul, and the mind
are three crucial subjective gates.
If these subjective gates
are locked,
no principalities or powers
will be able to come in.