Class 1: The Full Ministry of Christ
The Lord's work to accomplish God's eternal purpose consists of three stages:
1) Incarnation (Most people know about this one) - God became a man, lived a human life for 33 1/2 years, and then died on the cross to redeem us. This was so that we would not be lost in our sins (John 3:16 - "...would not perish, but have eternal life). However, if there was only this stage, then at most we would only be a group of forgiven, cleansed, and justified believers. We could praise and worship God, but not be joined to Him in life and nature. This is why we need the next stage:
2) Inclusion: Here, the Lord operates in our being to make us the same as He is in life and nature. After He resurrected, He breathed into the disciples and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit (John 20:22)." 1 Cor. 15:45 says that the Last Adam became a Life Giving Spirit. This stage enables us to receive the life of the Lord, which allows us to abide in Him and Him to abide in us (John 15:5). This is the fulfillment of John 12:24, which says that the grain of wheat fell into the ground to produce many grains. 2 Cor. 3:18 "But we all with unveiled face, beholding and reflecting like a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord Spirit."
3) Intensification: At the end of the age, the Lord's work as the Spirit is intensified to fight against the degraded situation. This is why in the book of revelation there are many references to "Seven Spirits (Rev. 3:1)," which can also be translated Seven-Fold Intensified. As the situation in the world gets worse, the Lord intensifies His work so that the Church can shine brighter as His expression on the Earth.
Wednesday Meeting: Stewards of the Mysteries of God - Christ in the Fulfillment of the Old Testament Prophecies
Psalm 102:25-27 "Of old You laid the foundation of the earth and the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You endure; Indeed all of them will wear out like a garment, like clothing You will change them and they will be changed. But You are the same, and your years are without end."
The fulfillment of this is in Heb. 1:8-12 "But of the Son,...You in the beginning, Lord laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of Your hands; They will perish, but You remain perpetually; and they will become old like a garment...but You are the same and Your years will not fail."
One thing I liked about the message is that the focus wasn't on the fulfillment of the prophecy, but on the fact that the Lord is the eternal One. One thing the speaker said was that this word is so encouraging because it shows that we have Someone who is eternal and unchanging. " Persons may change, disappointments may come, dreams may be broken, yet there is the eternal One who is the eternal Life in us, and we can know Him in a subjective way." In a way, it's kind of nice to know that nothing in our circumstances, whether it's good or bad, will last forever. Christ is the only eternal one. If you get a chance, read Isa. 53:1-12. Crazy that that was written about 800 years before the Lord came.
*Interesting fact: Job is probably the oldest book of the bible, written before the Pentateuch ("First" Five books of the bible written by Moses). Evidence: It was definitely written before the Law given in Exodus because of the way Job offered a burnt offering for his children (Job 1:5, compared with Genesis 22:13). Job also had a nomadic lifestyle (Job 1:3), similar to the way in which Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob lived (From the class, The Triune God revealed in His Word).
That's it for now. But there were a lot of riches from the Training so I might put some more things down.
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