Message 8 of the Life-Study of First Thessalonians is titled, “The Church in the Triune God (2).”
Like the previous message, this message covers 1 Thes. 1:1; 2 Thes. 1:1; Matt. 28:19; Acts 19:5; Rom. 6:3; Gal. 3:27; and Rev. 1:11-12.
The sections in this message are:
I. THE FATHER’S DESIRE AND PLAN
II. THE TERMINATION OF EVERYTHING NEGATIVE, NATURAL, AND OLD
III. A NEW BEGINNING
IV. A CONTROLLING VISION
V. CONTACTING THE SPIRIT
Keep reading, saints!
[Our] “Father is not a foolish Father,…Rather, He has a purpose and a plan….First He selected us and then predestinated us.” “…in the Lord Jesus Christ there are no weak vessels. Therefore we should not expect anyone to sympathise with our natural disposition…. For the church to be in the Lord Jesus Christ in a practical way, we all need to be terminated and buried.” “[If we] see that the Church is in the Triune God we will not care for teachings about improving our behaviour or becoming more ethical.” “We all must see that everything the Father planned and everything the Son accomplished is now in the Spirit and with the Spirit…. The Father is in the Son and the son is now the life-giving Spirit dwelling in us. What we need to do is stay in the Spirit and walk according to the Spirit. When we walk according to the Spirit we are actually walking according to the Triune God.”
How marvelous that the church is of certain people in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!
Today I was touched by the word that the church being in the Father implies that the church is in God’s purpose, plan, selection, predestination and calling. The church is in the One who is the Initiator and the Originator. I’m so happy to be one of the church people.
Reading these messages for the past week has been so watering. I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to do it with a newborn but the Lord has been faithful! We always have a few minutes here or half an hour there and it’s a blessing to redeem the time.
Today I enjoyed that the Father is the originator and the initiator. Anything in the church that is not initiated by the Father will cause division. Thank you, Lord, for revealing to us in this book that the church is IN the Triune God!
Hi Kristen, I also enjoyed so much that God the Father is the initiator and as the message pointed out, this has so much to do with our practical experience…I love this sentence, “we should not originate anything or initiate anything”. So in all the little and big matters in our life, we are learning to know Him as the initiator. What a rest…surely this will lead us to enjoy more of Christ and issue in a sweet oneness in the church 🙂
Amen! How encouraging, sister Kristin! Keep grasping every bit of opportunity to be feed!
Amen Kristin!! Here a little there a little!! 🙂
Whatever our status is in regard to earthly citizenship, we all need to realize that our real position is that we are in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Being in the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ implies that we have had a new birth, a new beginning. We have a new source—God the Father, and in the Lord Jesus Christ we have the termination of everything of the old creation.
I was enjoying reading of this chapter very much – especially that I read this on the phone with another sister 🙂 PRAISE THE LORD!
Wow! I am also thankful that “Our Father is not not a foolish father, one without a purpose… Practicly this means that only one—the Father—should be the initiator and originator. We should not originate anything or initiate anything… AMEN!
For the church to be in the Lord Jesus Christ in a practical way, we all need to be terminated and buried. “We need to die and then be placed in the tomb.” This is to be in the Lord Jesus Christ… It is basic to living a holy life for the church life to see that the church is in the Triune God… IF WE SEE the revelation that the church is in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall spontaneously realize that we should not hold to certain concepts or do certain things, for they are worldly, profane, unholy, not separated unto God. WE SHALL REALISE that such things are not for the church which is in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
What we need to do is STAY IN THE SPIRIT and WALK ACCORDING TO THE SPIRIT. When we walk according to the Spirit, we are actually walking according to the Triune God.”
AMEN!
What a wonderful word “the church… IN God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!” After reading this message I have a deeper appreciation of seeing where we are! We are IN the TRIUNE God. This is not a small deal.
” …we have been absolutely separated by God Himself and are now encompassed by the Lord Jesus Christ. This makes us a holy people living a holy, separated life. This life is for the church. “
I enjoyed this message very much. It was the first time, reading with a dear sister on the phone. Praise the Lord! Was so exposed about my caracter and even my culture. Praise the Lord, we are in the triune God, our chrurch is in the triune God, our spirit is in christ.
We have to learn to stay in the Spirit so that the Spirit can execute the triune God into our being. We can not even change our caracter by trying to improve.Praise the Lord!
The Purpose of The Father should be our purpose. He wants to have many sons.O Lord make Your purpose our purpose amen.
“Paul and Silvanus and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Farther and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace”
Wow what a vision that the Truine God is the center of the Church. When we are in the church we have the enjoyment and peace off the Holy Spirit! Praise the Lord that He is the church and we are the many members the many sons off God!!!
“The Spirit is not only the Spirit OF God and the Spirit OF Christ; He is the Spirit AS God and AS Christ” I was just really impressed by this!
… this impressed me: “as long as you want others to sympathize with you, that is an indication that in your experience you are not buried with Christ. For the church to be in the Lord Jesus Christ in a practical way, we all need to be terminated and buried… This is to be in the Lord Jesus Christ.” Lord! keep us in you in a genuine way!
I enjoyed, “As long as you want others to sympathize with you, that is an indication that in your experience you are not buried with Christ.”
Oh Lord. Isn’t this true? Sometimes we just want the sisters to sympathise with us! Especially the ones who are close to us, we feel like we can just whine a little bit. But these are the times when we need to take Christ! When we are in Christ, we are terminated (Rom 6:3)! We may not feel like we’re terminated, but we believe the accomplished fact! We do not doubt the power of the cross!
”Grace is our state of being in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ as the Church;a called out, selected people by mercy and grace.” This is the highest definition of grace and the church i realized until now. Its something to marvel at for eternity, Thank you Lord !
I enjoyed that the church is in the Triune God! When we walk according to the Spirit, we are walking according to the Triune God! The Father and the Son reache us through the Spirit! Everything that the Father planned and the Son accomplished is now in this Spirit. He is the Spirit as God and as Christ! Also, these msgs conveys to us a controlling vision that will control us for our whole life, out thinking and actions! PRaise the Lord for the vision! Praise the Lord for the church in the Triune God! In a sense, we are not Americans, chinese, but our position is in the Triune God! Hallelujah!
Hallelujah! Our Lord Jesus has terminated everything negative, natural and old! When we are in Christ everything that is not of God has been terminated. This is marvelous and wonderful! May we continue in our daily life and our church life to be IN Christ.
Hallelujah! The Father wants many sons!
God the Father has a definite purpose in producing many sons. He is not a foolish father, one without a purpose. Rather, He has a purpose and a plan. God’s selection and predestination are according to His purpose. First He selected us and then predestinated us. This indicates that God is the unique initiator and originator. Thus, for the church to be in God the Father implies that the church is in God’s purpose, plan, selection, and predestination. No doubt, the church is also in God’s calling. The church in God the Father is the church in the One who is the initiator and originator.
This understanding of the church in the Father is not merely a matter of doctrine; rather, it has much to do with us in our practical experience. A problem among Christians today is that they have many different purposes and plans. There are different initiators and originators. This is not right.
We Christians all should have the unique purpose, the purpose of our Father. We should also have the unique plan of the Father. This means that only one—the Father—should be the initiator and originator. We should not originate anything or initiate anything. Imagine what would happen if all Christians gave up their own purposes and plans and had only one initiator and originator. What oneness there would be among us all! There would be no division whatever.
Reading these messages made me appreciate “IN CHRIST” and “IN THE TRIUNE GOD”.. which many times I take for granted.
I was enlighted to see IN CHRIST = no sin, flesh, self, natural life, old creation, death, or Satan.
IN CHRIST , everything negative, natural and Old, have been terminated!
IN CHRIST , there should be no longer our own natural disposition, culture, etc.
“For the church to be in the Lord Jesus Christ in a practical way, we all need to be terminated and buried.”
O Lord, train us to live IN CHRIST practically, moment by moment !
Hallelujah! I also enjoyed this very much!! We are no longer in any of the negative earthly things! Christ has terminated everything on the cross and placed us in the church which is in God Himself!! may everything else be dealt with and removed from our living but the Lord! May we have such a clear and controlling vision all the days of our life!!
Praise the Lord saints! What touched me is the matter of our need to see that the church is in the Triune God as this would give us a controlling vision that would govern our “thinking, our activities, and our entire life.” O Lord, grant to us such a vision as we endeavor to prayerfully read through these messages so that we may have a holy life for the church life. We love You Lord!
THE TERMINATION OF EVERYTHING NEGATIVE, NATURAL, AND OLD.
“We in the Lord’s recovery claim to be practicing the church life. Whenever we make such a claim, however, we need to check to see whether we are still holding to our culture or disposition. Regarding this matter, sometimes we expect others to sympathize with us. On occasion sisters have said to me, “Brother Lee, don’t forget that we are sisters. According to the Bible, we sisters are weaker vessels.” But in the Lord Jesus Christ there are no weak vessels. Therefore, we should not expect anyone to sympathize with our natural disposition. As long as you want others to sympathize with you, that is an indication that in your experience you are not buried with Christ. For the church to be in the Lord Jesus Christ in a practical way, we all need to be terminated and buried. We need to die and then be placed in the tomb. This is to be in the Lord Jesus Christ.
When I say this, does it seem that I am comparing the Lord Jesus Christ to a tomb? Listen to what Paul says in Romans 6:3: “Are you ignorant that as many as have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?” This verse clearly says that to be baptized into Christ is to be baptized into Christ’s death. How, then, can we be in Christ without also being in His death? To be in Christ is to be buried, terminated. Do you like to hear such a word? Whether we like to hear it or not, it is the truth that to be in Christ is to be terminated.
During special times of conference or training, saints come together from different cities and regions. Outwardly, no one says anything in favor of his locality. But deep within we may be proud of coming from a certain place. In our heart we may say, “You have to realize that we are from such-and-such place. Our place is the best.” To think in this way is to exalt ourselves. When we claim to be of a certain place, we are excluding ourselves from the Lord Jesus Christ. The church must be only in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” -Bro. Lee.
Dear saints, what we do outwardly is of no avail as far as the accomplishment of God’s New Testament economy is concerned. Outwardly we may not be saying “anything” , such as saying something related our locality in large gatherings/conferences, but inwardly we may not be pure! There may be self-exaltation! And we will be excluded from being “in” the Lord Jesus Christ! So saints, praise the Lord that we are in Him and He is in your human spirit! It is through the S+spirit that we partake of all that the Father has planned and the Son has accomplished 2000 years ago; it is through this S+spirit that we have a new beginning, that we can walk by this controlling vision, and that we can contact the Spirit daily to live a holy life for the church life, to serve the Living God, conduct ourselves in a holy manner, and wait for the Lord’s second coming, amen! Today we not only need to remain “in” our S+spirit, but we also need to see that, through Paul’s revelation, that we are already “in” God the (our) Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, amen!
Praise The Lord? “God the Father has a definite purpose in producing many sons. He is not a foolish father, one without a purpose. Rather, He has a purpose and a plan”.
Hallelujah! The Father chose us according to his purpose and plan!
I appreciated that the implications of the church being in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ. Our being in the Father means that the Father must be the sole initiator and originator in our lives. Our being in the Lord Jesus Christ means that we have been called out of religion, philosophy, sin, culture, and all other things to be in the Son of God.
To be in Christ is to be buried,terminated!
What a healthy word to hear! We have this accomplished fact that Christ has dealt with all negative things, now we as the church in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ just have to by faith receiving the Father’s will and reckon and apply Christ’accomplishment on the cross.
He has won the victory! Praise Him!
“As long as you want others to sympathize with you, that is an indication that in your experience you are not buried with Christ. For the church to be in the Lord Jesus Christ in a practical way, we all need to be terminated and buried. We need to die and then be placed in the tomb. This is to be in the Lord Jesus Christ.”
“Whatever our status is in regard to earthly citizenship, we all need to realize that our real position is that we are in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Being in the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ implies that we have had a new birth, a new beginning. We have a new source—God the Father.”
We claim that we are practicing the church life but we need to check if we are holding onto our culture or disposition. If we are still holding onto these things, we are not, in experience, in the Lord Jesus Christ.
I have the full assurance that if you see what is covered in these messages on the church in the Triune God, you will be different both in your concept and in your activity. These messages convey a vision, a vision that will control our thinking, our activities, and our entire life. If we see the revelation that the church is in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall spontaneously realize that we should not hold to certain concepts or do certain things, for they are worldly, profane, unholy, not separated unto God. We shall realize that such things are not for the church which is in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Lord Jesus cause us to see this and may it be a reality to us. We don’t want to waste our time in vain things. Oh Lord may all the saints in your recovery be governed by this vision. Amen
Hallelujah! Praise the Lord ~~
Today as I read LS MSG8 I was pleased to find out the truth that the church is in the Triune God according to 1Thes. 1:1
What a pleasant to read the verses 1:1 again and again “Paul and Silvanus and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the
Lord Jesus Christ” According to the above, we can understand the church in God the father is the church in the One who is the initiator
and originator. A problem among Christians today is that they have many different purposes and plans. There are different initiators and
originators. This is not right. We Christians all should have the unique purpose, the purpose of our Father. We should also have the
unique plan of the Father.
Secondly, all negative and natural things were terminated when Christ died on the cross. From the church in the Lord Jesus Christ, I was confirmed again that all cultural things, natural concepts can’t belong to the church.
I came from South Korea. I’ve lived the country over 46 years. I can say that I’ve been constituted with Korean concepts and tradition, custom and so like for a long time…
But praise the Lord because there has been heavenly and divine reconstitution within me since my rebirth in Lord Jesus Christ! Hallelujah ~ ~ ~
Such a divine transfer from Korean things to the Church has transformed me as the church over 21 years after I firstly met the Lord’s recovery in college.
I’ve met and seen so many negative and cultural factors out of myself exposed from the light of Lord. This can be applied to other Koreans I think. In conclusion, repeatedly I was so impressed with the first verse of 1 Thes. 1:1 Since the Church is in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, the Spirit. The Father is planner and the Son is accomplisher, and the Spirit is executer!! Hallelujah ~
So we can declare the Church is in the processed Triune God! Amen
“It is a great matter to be in Christ”!
“I have the full assurance that if you see what is covered in these messages on the church in the Triune God, you will be different both in your concept and in your activity. These messages convey a vision, a vision that will control our thinking, our activities, and our entire life. If we see the revelation that the church is in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ…”
“Grace is the Triune God to be our enjoyment. When we are in the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, we are in the place to enjoy all the things of God.”
“The Spirit is the application, the reaching to us, of the Triune God.”
O Lord Jesus!
Contacting the Spirit
” We all must see that everything the Father has planned and everything the Son has accomplished is now in the Spirit and with the Spirit. In our experience the One we contact is the Spirit. This Spirit is the Son, and in the Son we have the Father. For this reason we may say that the Father is in the Son and that the Son is now the life-giving Spirit dwelling in us. What we need to do is stay in the Spirit and walk according to the Spirit. When we walk according to the Spirit, we are actually walking according to the Triune God.”
Thank You God the Father for You have purposed! You are our initiator and our originator!
Thank You God the Son for You have accomplished! In Christ there is no sin, flesh, self, natural life, old creation, death, or Satan! Hallelujah praise the Lord!
Thank you God the Spirit for executing and carrying out what the Father has planned and what the Son has accomplished! Oh Lord Jesus keep us walking according to our spirit! That the processed Triune God would be applied in our daily experience!
Praise You Triune God!