In the Scriptures the concept of the divine stream, the unique flow, is crucial, for the unique stream of the Lord’s work from the throne of God flows throughout the ages unhindered.
This week, our concluding week on the matter of the propagating of the resurrected, ascended, and all-inclusive Christ as the development of the kingdom of God, we want to see more about this stream.
In particular, this week we want to see The Divine Commission according to the Heavenly Vision for the Continuation of the Book of Acts in the Unique Flow of the Divine Stream.
What we have been seeing until now is the heavenly vision of God’s economy from many angles and with many facets. We need to have the heavenly vision in us, and this vision needs to govern us, direct us, and restrict us; the heavenly vision needs to be renewed in us day by day.
It is the Lord’s mercy if we see the vision of God’s economy and the Lord’s recovery and for us to be in the church life today; we should not come this way because of any person and we should not leave this way because of any person.
We don’t follow a person outwardly but the vision of the age inwardly, the flow of the Lord’s work, the unique divine stream that flows throughout the ages.
The book of Acts is a wonderful book showing us the propagating of the resurrected Christ in His ascension through the disciples by the Spirit for the producing of the churches as the kingdom of God.
This book doesn’t have an ending, rather, we today are in the continuation of the book of Acts, and we live in the divine history within the human history.
As we enjoy the Lord and remain in the church life, being saturated with the Lord and His word we refuse to take in the bad news of the human history (though we may need to know some things that are going on) and we always receive the good news of the gospel of God.
Hallelujah, Christ had two births – He was first begotten of Mary to be a man, and He was then begotten of God in His resurrection to be the Firstborn Son of God.
Christ was the first man to be regenerated, for in His resurrection His humanity was divinized, uplifted, sanctified, transformed, to be part of the divine sonship, and He was born again to be the Firstborn Son of God among many brothers.
Christ is the firstborn Son of God for His propagation on earth and we are part of His propagation, His living witnesses, living in the continuation of the book of Acts and in the unique flow of the divine stream.
We are here not because of ourselves or of someone else but because of the Lord’s mercy.
The unique flow of the divine stream proceeds from the throne of God and of the Lamb, and flows in the middle of the street of the New Jerusalem; the street signifies the divine nature, so the divine flow is in the divine nature.
When we are in this unique stream of the Lord’s work we can never get lost, but rather our work will be a bed of rest, and we will be supplied.
The Divine Stream Flows from the Throne of God and of the Lamb, into us, and with us into the New Jerusalem
In the Bible the matter of the divine stream can be seen from Genesis to Revelation, and this concept of the unique flow is crucial (see Gen. 2:10-14; Psa. 46:4a; John 7:37-39; Rev. 22:1). In Gen. 2 a river went forth from Eden to water the garden, and this river split in four branches, going to the four corners of the earth.
God planted a garden called, Eden (meaning pleasure) and put man there because God wants to be man’s pleasure, his satisfaction, his happiness, and his entertainment.
And this river signifies the flowing Triune God to water man and to reach man in all directions and all over the earth, to every tribe, tongue, people, and nation.
This stream flows from the throne of God and the Lamb and reaches all parts of the earth, including all the countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Praise the Lord, there is a river whose stream gladden the city of God; when this life flows in us, it gladden us.
In eternity God flows as a river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb in the middle of the street… Hallelujah!
The Bible reveals the flowing Triune God – the Father as the fountain of life, the Son as the spring of life, and the Spirit as the river of life (see Jer. 2:13; Psa. 36:9a; John 4:14; 7:37-39).
This stream of water of life is so dear and precious to God that in Jer. 2:13 God rebuked His people for forsaking Him as the fountain of living waters and hewing out for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that hold no water.
Nothing is more evil in God’s sight than not drinking Him, not enjoying Him. We need to give ourselves to enjoy the Lord and drink Him as the river of water of life.
Whoever drinks of the water that the Lord gives us shall not thirsty again but this water will become in him a fountain of water springing up into eternal life (John 4:14). When we drink of the one flow of the Lord, the living water will come into us, quench our thirst, and flow out of us into many rivers of water of life unto eternal life.
The flow of the Spirit flows in us, flows within us, and flows out of us and with us into the New Jerusalem, the totality of the eternal life. Hallelujah!
When God became a man, He flowed into man through Jesus; then, through Him as the life-giving Spirit, God has been flowing into humanity for many generations.
The history of the church shows us that the divine stream has continued to flow from generation to generation all the way to this day, and this stream is still flowing!
Where the stream of the life of God flows, there’s the fellowship of the Body, the testimony of Jesus, and the work of God; this is the stream of life, the stream of fellowship, the stream of testimony, and the stream of the work of God.
Hallelujah, there is a divine stream flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb into us and with us all the way to the New Jerusalem! Amen, Lord Jesus, show us this divine stream flowing from eternity to eternity, the unique flow of God. Keep us drinking of You, Lord, as the flowing Triune God until we are filled, saturated, and permeated with You, and until You flow in us, through us, and with us into eternal life. May we drink of the Spirit as the river of life, and may we never forsake God as the fountain of living waters!
We need to Keep Ourselves in the one Flow of God, the Stream of the Lord’s Work
The source of the one flow of God is the throne of God and of the Lamb (Rev. 22:1); God as the light is in Christ as the lamp, and from the throne of God and of the Lamb flows the divine stream.
In the Scriptures we see that there’s only one flow, one divine stream (see Gen. 2:10-14; Rev. 22:1); therefore, we should keep ourselves in this one flow.
Since there’s only one divine stream and since this flow is uniquely one, we need to keep ourselves in this one flow. We need to pray that the Lord would have mercy on us that we would cooperate with Him and keep ourselves in this one flow.
We need to have an inner sense that we are in this one flow every day.
We may have touched the stream of the Lord’s work a while ago, but what about today? Is life flowing in us right now, and are we in the fellowship of the Body?
If we go to a place to work and the flow of the Spirit is there and we enter into that flow, our work will be a bed of rest to us; but when we’re not in the flow, the work may be a bed of nails to us.
The divine stream, the unique flow, is the stream of the Lord’s work (see 1 Cor. 16:10).
This stream of the Lord’s work started from eternity, but in time we see it in Acts starting from Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, when God Himself in Christ flowed as the Spirit over and through the disciples. From Jerusalem the flow went to Antioch, and from there it turned west – it flowed to Asia, through Asia to Macedonia, and from there into Europe.
It is by this flowing – by the stream of the Lord’s work – that God flows, the gospel is preached, men are saved, and churches are established to be the kingdom of God. We need to see the divine stream and keep ourselves in the stream of the Lord’s work today.
If we’re out of the divine stream, we are out of life, we are out of the fellowship of the Body, the testimony of Jesus, and the work of God.
But if we are in the divine stream, we will have everything; we will have God, the Lamb, the throne of God, the fellowship of the Body, the testimony of the Lord Jesus, and the work of God.
This divine stream still flows today, and we need to make sure we’re in the one unique stream of the Lord’s work today.
We may have a good offer to go somewhere to school, and there may be a church life there, but if we don’t feel the flow within us, we need to stop; on the other hand, a place may not look so promising or welcoming, but if there’s a flow within us, we should go with the flow of the Lord.
The one flow of the Lord has to govern our life.
We need to be warned by the story of Paul and Barnabas in Acts 15:35-41; Barnabas wanted to take John Mark with them for the ministry, but Paul disagreed, and there was a sharp contention, and Barnabas took John Mark and went to Cyprus, while Paul chose Silas and was commended by the grace of the Lord by the brothers.
After this incident, Barnabas was no longer mentioned in Acts concerning the Lord’s move in God’s New Testament economy.
We may have contentions or disputes, but we need to give the flow the preeminence. We need to renounce our natural relationships, be in the Body, and have no ambition.
Furthermore, we need to learn to forgive others, not keeping unforgiven offenses in our heart but forgive others with Christ as our forgiving life. Amen!
The history of the church shows that throughout the generations there has been one stream of the Spirit flowing all the time; many have been working for the Lord, but not all have been in the flowing of that one stream.
Lord Jesus, we want to keep ourselves in the one flow of God, the one stream of the Lord’s work today. Save us from not being in the divine stream flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb today. Amen, Lord, show us the divine stream and keep us here, renouncing any natural relationships, having no ambition, and forgiving others with Christ as our forgiving life. Lord, may we be in the one stream of the Spirit which flows all the time! Amen, Lord, keep us in the divine stream of the Lord’s work on earth today!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by Ed Marks for this week, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1963, vol. 1, “The Divine Stream”, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Propagating the Resurrected, Ascended, and All-inclusive Christ as the Development of the Kingdom of God (2018 fall ITERO), week 9, The Divine Commission according to the Heavenly Vision for the Continuation of the Book of Acts in the Unique Flow of the Divine Stream.
- Hymns on this topic:
# The Father God, the deepest spring, / The rich eternal source, / Emerges as the living spring, / In Jesus Christ, the course; / The Spirit is the flowing spring, / A springing up in us; / The river of life, the triune spring, / Profoundly glorious. (Song on, This River)
# Out from the throne of God and the Lamb / Flows midst the street a living stream, / And on its banks, on either side, / The tree of life is thriving seen. / This signifies the life of God / Not just for food or water flows, / But carries God’s authority / As it throughout the city goes. (Hymns #979)
# In the stream! in the stream! let us work / in the Lord, / With the Church, with the saints, in the / light of His Word; / Give the Word, life supply to the people / in need, / Thus fulfilling God’s plan, in His flow we’ll proceed. (Hymns #909)
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