God’s purpose is to work Himself into man and mingle Himself with man to produce and build up the church as the Body of Christ, the organism of the Triune God who expresses Him and represents Him on earth.
For this, He regenerated millions of people with His divine life, and He keeps working in them and around them, desiring to get into them and be mingled with them for the building up of the Body of Christ.
However, the church as a whole became degraded; the church today has failed from accomplishing God’s purpose. In the age of the degradation of the church, God is calling the overcomers, those who see God’s purpose and join themselves to God for His purpose to be fulfilled.
They are not “special people” or “super-strong Christians”, rather, they are normal believers in Christ who see God’s purpose and care for the Body, giving themselves to the Lord to be produced as His overcomers who carry out His economy to build up the church as the Body of Christ.
In Revelation we clearly see that today God is calling those who overcome, those who defeat anything that replaces Christ and are one with the Lord for His purpose.
The enemy today opposes the building up of the church, and he would even allow people to “go to church” and read the Bible, as long as they are not actively involved and concerned for the building up of the church as the Body of Christ.
Today we are in a warfare, fighting the enemy with one hand and building up the church as the Body of Christ with the other, and as we fight the enemy, we are built up in the Body of Christ. The Lord’s desire is to return and rapture His beloved and perfected Bride, but in order for the Bride to be prepared, the Body needs to be built up.
Who will rise up and be the Lord’s overcomer, answering His call in this age? Who will give himself to the Lord so that, no matter the cost, he would be part of the overcoming ones who fulfill God’s purpose on behalf of the church, so that Christ would build up His church and the bride would be prepared?
The Lord needs the Overcomers to Care for the Body and Carry out His Economy Today
What is an “overcomer”? An overcomer is a victorious fighter, one who fights the battle and overcomes. Fighting the enemy goes hand in hand with the building up of the Body of Christ.
According to the divine revelation, the building up of the church requires spiritual warfare. The enemy opposes the building up of the church, and as soon as the Lord said, I will build My church, He also said, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it (Matt. 16:18).
The building up of the church involves the clash of two kingdoms, and Satan hates the building up of the Body because the Body is the means for the ascended Christ to execute God’s administration.
The Lord has been given all authority in heaven and on earth, and right now He is carrying out His administration through His Body. If the Body is not built up, the Lord has no means to carry out His administration, and there are no prayers to release God’s economy to be fulfilled.
The Body of Christ is the organism for the Lord’s move on earth, and the enemy opposes the building up of the Body. There needs to be a group of believers who are produced by Christ as the sevenfold intensified Spirit to be His overcomers, those who overcome anything that opposes the building up of the Body of Christ.
We cannot be at ease in Zion; we cannot have a laid back lukewarm church life in the environment of our choice. We need to deny ourselves, pay the price required by the Lord, and give ourselves to Him to build up the Body of Christ in this age!
We need to overcome anything that is anti-Christ and anti-Body of Christ, that is, overcome anything that would replace Christ or hinder the building up of the Body of Christ. The Lord needs overcomers, victorious fighters, those who make the choice to be His overcomers to meet His need.
We cannot “will ourselves” into being an overcomer; Christ Himself is the first overcomer: He has overcome and has sat down at the right hand of God on the throne. In this age He is now ready and willing to reproduce Himself in us to be His corporate overcomer.
We need to be those who conquer anything of the self, the natural life, our constitution, our flesh, our natural affection, our natural love, and anything that hinders the building up of the Body of Christ, and pray to be produced as God’s overcomers in this age. We need to tell the Lord,
Lord, by Yourself as the sevenfold intensified Spirit, make us Your overcomers to conquer the degradation of the church, to build up the Body of Christ, and to consummate the New Jerusalem! Lord, make us Your overcomers for the Body and for Yourself! We don’t want to be produced as overcomers merely to escape the outer darkness but for You to have Your Body built up in the church life in all the churches all over the earth! Lord, raise up the overcomers in all the churches who are joined to You for Your heart’s desire!
Being the Lord’s Overcomers today to Build up the Church as the Body of Christ and Prepare the Bride
God’s purpose of mingling Himself with man is very much missed and overlooked among Christians today, and because most of God’s seeking ones don’t see it, there’s a prevailing degradation in Christianity today.
Christians focus more on marriage counseling, the prosperity gospel, healing, praise and worship, and so many other things, but they don’t focus on the building up of the Body of Christ by the mingling of God with man.
In this age today God wants to gain some overcomers who care for the building up of the Body and the preparation of the Bride for the Lord Jesus to return. The overcomers care for the Body, respect the Body, and are conscious of the feeling of the Body, honoring the fellowship of the Body.
Without the overcomers the Body of Christ cannot be built up, and unless the Body of Christ is built up, Christ cannot come back for His bride (Rev. 19:7-9). The Lord Jesus will return when His bride is prepared, and the bride is prepared when the Body of Christ is built up.
That which comes out of Christ to be built up is the Body, and that which is coming out of Christ and is presented to Christ (as Eve was presented to Adam) is the bride. When the Lord gains a group of overcomers, the Body of Christ is built up and the bride is prepared – and He will return!
How are the overcomers produced? It is by Christ in His sevenfold intensified heavenly ministry (Heb. 8:1; Rev. 5:6), and these overcomers build up the Body of Christ.
The overcomers overcome anything that is against Christ or replaces Christ, including culture, education, opinions, feelings, the natural man, the self, the flesh, and anything that replaces Christ. The overcomers overcome the principle of Anti-Christ – they overcome anything that is anti-Christ, anything that replaces Christ, and anything that is against the building up of the Body of Christ.
The overcomers make a resolution to be the vitalized ones; they are like the ones from Reuben who made a definite resolution to fight for God’s people (Judges 5:15). The overcomers are like Gideon’s 300 who did not care for their own necessities and needs but rather cared for God’s need more than their own (Judges 7:4-7; Matt. 6:33).
We need to seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness, and all other things that we need will be added to us. The overcomers see the Body, know the Body, honor the Body, and care for the Body, keeping the principles of the Body (see Rom. 12:4-5; 1 Cor. 12:12, 18, 24b-27; Eph. 2:16; 4:4, 16; Col. 2:19).
May the Lord make us those who are willing to pay the price required by the Lord to be His overcomers, those who are overcomers for the Lord, for the recovery, and for the Body of Christ (see Matt. 16:24; Rev. 3:18; 12:11; 14:1, 4).
May the Lord intensify His organic salvation in us to produce us as the overcomers He needs in this age, those who are willing to pay the price to build up the Body of Christ and prepare the Bride for the Lord Jesus to return!
Lord Jesus, we mean business with You to live for Your recovery, for the building up of Your Body. We give ourselves to You to be produced as the overcomers that You need in this age for the building up of the Body of Christ and the preparation of the Bride. Oh Lord, intensify Your organic salvation in us to produce us as the overcomers to are one with You for the building up of the Body of Christ. By Your mercy and grace we choose to be Your overcomers in this age for Your Body, for the recovery, and for Your return!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my Christian experience, bro. Ron Kangas’ sharing in the message for this week, and portions from, The Problems Causing the Turmoils in the Church Life, chs. 3-4, as quoted in, the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Vision, Practice, and Building up of the Church as the Body of Christ, week 9 / msg 9, The Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ (3) – The Organic Building by the Growth of Life and the Mingling of God and Man and the Lord’s Need of Overcomers to Care for the Body and Build Up the Body.
- Hymns on this topic:
# Will you be an overcomer? / Christ is calling now! / Will you then be such a follower, / Though you know not how? / Will you be an overcomer? / Will you make this choice? / Christ is calling, Christ is calling, / Listen to His voice! (Hymns #894)
# Raise up some to meet Your need, some Nazarites, / Voluntary consecrated ones, / Who through Your word are joined to Your desire; / Your living testimony on the earth. (Song on Being the Overcomers today)
# Bring forth a corporate model / As Zion’s peak today; / Produce Thine overcomers / To take Thine ordained way: / Train and perfect this remnant / To consummate this age, / Prepare Thy corporate army / To fight, Thy warfare wage. (Song on being produced as overcomers)
About aGodMan
The intensified work of God’s organic salvation is also for the complete preparation of the bride of Christ so that the Bridegroom may have His triumphant wedding in the millennium for His satisfaction according to His good pleasure (19:7-9). John 3 indicates that Christ is the Bridegroom coming for the bride, who is composed of all the regenerated people. But nearly two thousand years have passed, and the bride still has not been prepared. The overcomers produced by Christ’s intensified work will build up the Body of Christ, which will become the bride of Christ. Thus, Christ’s wedding will take place as a result of His intensified work. (Witness Lee, The Secret of God’s Organic Salvation—“the Spirit Himself with Our Spirit,” pp. 87-88)
Enjoy this new song, based on the note posted above, using a well-known tune from our hymnal:
tune: God Eternal Has A Purpose/1325
https://www.hymnal.net/en/hymn/h/1325
The intensified work of God’s organic salvation–
Is also for the complete preparation of the bride–
Of Christ, so that the Bridegroom may have His triumphant wedding–
In the millennium for His satisfaction according…
To His good pleasure. John 3 indicates that Christ is–
The Bridegroom coming for the bride, who is composed of–
All the regenerated people. But nearly two thousand–
Years have passed, and the bride still has not been prepared.
The overcomers produced by Christ’s intensified work–
Will build up the Body of Christ, which will thus become the bride–
Of Christ. Thus, Christ’s wedding will take place as a–
Result of His intensified work. Amen, for this work!
source: based on excerpt from: The Secret of God’s Organic Salvation—“the Spirit Himself with Our Spirit,” pp. 87-88; posted 1/24/15; song, with edit, from 1/24/15.