1
In all thy work, O Lord, Thou didst
At Calv’ry’s cross once come to rest;
Yet Thou art working still today,
But in another form expressed.
At Calv’ry’s cross once come to rest;
Yet Thou art working still today,
But in another form expressed.
2
Thy saving pow’r Thou still dost show;
Thou still dost speak, enlighten, guide;
Thou and the Spirit in one stream
Sweep many in Thy living tide.
Thou still dost speak, enlighten, guide;
Thou and the Spirit in one stream
Sweep many in Thy living tide.
3
Through Him Thy power’s not withheld;
Through Him Thy working does not cease;
Thou still dost comfort and command,
Encourage, strengthen, and release.
Through Him Thy working does not cease;
Thou still dost comfort and command,
Encourage, strengthen, and release.
4
Since Thou art with the Spirit one
His coming means that Thou hast come,
And His indwelling is Thine own,
Since Thou the Spirit hast become.
His coming means that Thou hast come,
And His indwelling is Thine own,
Since Thou the Spirit hast become.
5
He executes within my heart
All Thy desires and Thy demands,
As for the Father here on earth
Thou hast performed all His commands.
All Thy desires and Thy demands,
As for the Father here on earth
Thou hast performed all His commands.
6
By knowing Him we know Thyself;
Obeying Him we Thee obey;
Allowing Him ourselves to fill,
We’re filled with Thee, O wondrous way!
Obeying Him we Thee obey;
Allowing Him ourselves to fill,
We’re filled with Thee, O wondrous way!
7
Thou art not far away in heav’n,
Leaving us here alone, apart;
But Thou art still on earth; how grand!
Thou livest right within my heart.
Leaving us here alone, apart;
But Thou art still on earth; how grand!
Thou livest right within my heart.
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ENJOYING THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD AS THE SPIRIT IN THE CHURCH LIFE
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In the New Testament the first book, the Gospel of Matthew, has twenty-eight chapters. Chapter 1 gives us the genealogy of Jesus Christ and then speaks of His human birth. Matthew goes on to speak of Jesus’ youth, His baptism, His ministry on earth, His being arrested, His crucifixion, His burial, and His resurrection. After His resurrection He did not leave His disciples. Matthew does not record the Lord’s ascension into heaven (cf. Mark 16:19 ; Luke 24:51). In the final verse of Matthew, 28:20 , the Lord said to His disciples, “Behold, I am with you all the days until the consummation of the age. ” According to Matthew, the Lord Jesus did not leave His disciples. Furthermore, based on the Lord’s word, we can have the full assurance that the Lord is with us today (cf. 18:20). The Lord is with us all the days until the consummation of the age.
The Lord is with us all the days for our enjoyment. Before being processed, He was not available for us to enjoy. He was like a living chicken. But now He is like a processed, cooked chicken that has been put on our dining table and is ready for us to eat. Whether we eat Him or not is not up to Him but up to us. He has been fully processed and is ready for us to take in. We need to say, “O Lord Jesus, thank You for making Yourself available for me to eat. ” When we call on His name, we get His person. His name is Jesus, and His person is the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45). When we call on the name of Jesus, we get the Spirit because the Spirit is the person of Jesus (12:3b).
Participating in the Riches of Christ and Being Mingled with the Processed Triune God for the Church
Chapter 3 The Reality of the Church
the Mingling of Two Spirits
CWWL, 1973–1974, (LSM)
THE TREE OF LIFE SIGNIFYING THE GOD WHO IS MINGLED WITH MAN
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From Genesis 2 to Revelation 21 there are many portions on the orthodox relationship between God and man. These portions emphasize God’s entering into man to be man’s enjoyment and becoming man’s inward element, man’s life. For example, Psalm 36:8-9 says, “They are saturated with the fatness of Your house, / And You cause them to drink of the river of Your pleasures. / For with You is the fountain of life. ” In these verses the fountain and the river of pleasures are the same. With God, it is the fountain, but when it flows out, it is the river of pleasures. As believers, we drink of the water of life, which has its source in God. This shows how God becomes the intrinsic element of life within man.
The New Testament is clearer concerning the orthodox relationship between God and man. The Gospel of Matthew concerns the mystery of the kingdom; in chapter 1 it says, “‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel’ (which is translated, God with us)” (v. 23). The word with in the phrase God with us is not merely objective; it is not a matter of God being among man. Rather, with is subjective; it is a matter of God being within man. In chapter 18 the Lord said, “Where there are two or three gathered into My name, there am I in their midst” (v. 20), and at the end of chapter 28 He said, “I am with you all the days until the consummation of the age” (v. 20). The Gospel of Matthew speaks three times of God’s being with man: at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end. God’s being with man is His mingling with man.
The Gospel of John is even clearer concerning God being mingled with man. Chapter 1 says, “In Him was life” (v. 4). In chapter 6 the Lord said, “I am the living bread which came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he shall live forever; and the bread which I will give is My flesh, given for the life of the world... so he who eats Me, he also shall live because of Me” (vv. 51 , 57). In chapter 10 He said, “I have come that they may have life” (v. 10). In chapter 15 He said, “I am the true vine” (v. 1). This verse speaks of the vine, which is linked to the tree of life in Genesis 2:9 . The Lord is the vine. We have become branches in the Lord because we have been joined to Him. The Lord said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. He who abides in Me and I in him” (John 15:5). This indicates that we are abiding in the Lord and that the Lord is abiding in us, just as the branches are in the vine, and the vine is in the branches. In other words, the life of the vine becomes the life of the branches, and everything of the vine becomes everything to the branches.
In the Epistles the apostle Paul speaks of “Christ our life” (Col. 3:4), and he says, “It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). The Epistles contain many such expressions. At the end of Revelation the river of water of life proceeds out of the throne of God and of the Lamb, and the tree of life grows on both sides of the river (22:1-2). Thus, the thought of the tree of life runs throughout the Bible.
The Vision of the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil
Chapter 3 God’s Desire Being to Bring Man Back to the Tree of Life CWWL, 1958, (LSM)
Lincoln, NE, United States
Thank God that He has gone through such a process including incarnation, human living, crucifixion and resurrection to become the Life-giving Spirit Who can now indwell us and make home in our hearts! The Spirit, the compound Spirit, was not yet until Christ was glorified, that is crucified and resurrected! But He is now available to be received and enjoyed by us !
Suva, Fiji
Thank You Lord! As the Spirit You executes within our hearts all Your desires!