CHAPTER TWO

CHRIST IN THE ACTS

Scripture Reading: Acts 1:3-5, 8-9, 12-14; 2:1-4, 16-18; 4:8,31; 13:9, 52; 6:3, 5; 7:55; 11:24; 8:29, 39; 13:2; 16:6-7

OUTLINE

1. In His resurrection, after breathing Himself as breath into those who believed in Him, He was physically with them for forty days, sometimes appearing and sometimes disappearing to train them to be accustomed to His invisible presence so that they would realize the kingdom of God as the reality and sphere of the living of the divine life—John 20:26; 21:1; Acts 1:3.
2. After charging the disciples to wait for the Spirit promised by the Father to fall on them so that they could be His witnesses unto the uttermost parts of the earth, He visibly departed from them according to God’s economy and was taken up into heaven—Acts 1:4-9.
3. As far as God’s essence is concerned, He was still with the disciples by being in them. Hence, they were able to withstand the threat of the Jews and remain in Jerusalem to wait for the promised Spirit of power from God, and the one hundred and twenty people were able to pray in one accord for ten days, cooperating with God’s administration in heaven to bring in the great act of God at Pentecost—Acts 1:12-14.
4. At Pentecost this exalted God-man, who has ascended to the throne to be made Lord and Christ and Head of all things by God (Acts 2:33, 36; Eph. 1:22), poured Himself out as the Spirit of power on those disciples who had already received Him as the Spirit of life and who were waiting for the Spirit of power. In this way the ascended Head baptized His Body into Himself as the all-inclusive Spirit—Acts 2:1-4, 16-18.
5. From now on those who believe in Him are filled outwardly with His Spirit of power (Acts 2:4; 4:8, 31; 13:9), and they are filled inwardly with His Spirit of life (Acts 13:52) to be inwardly full of His Spirit (Acts 6:3, 5; 7:55; 11:24), becoming a group of people mingled as one with this all-inclusive Spirit. He is in them as the Spirit of life to be lived out of them to express Himself. He is also outside of them as the Spirit of power to be preached and propagated by them as His continuation and spread on the earth.
6. Those who are filled and saturated with His all-inclusive Spirit within and who are filled and equipped without are led by Him to spread His kingdom on earth that His church may be established— Acts 8:29, 39; 13:2; 16:6, 7.

KNOWING THE TRIUNE GOD
THROUGH REVELATION

The Triune God cannot be analyzed by our limited logic and wisdom. The Bible gives us the fact of the Triune God, but if man tries to understand Him by analysis and deduction, he will be like a blind man touching an elephant; what he touches will be only a little part of the whole elephant, and he will still be very unclear. The Bible is not for man to reason with. It is a book of revelation. Only by revelation will man know the mysterious part of the Bible, that is, the Triune God. First, revelation includes facts. For example, tonight I am standing here and all of you are sitting there; this is a fact. Second, there is the light. With the fact, there is the light. In addition, there is the third matter, a healthy sight. When you put the three together, you have revelation. Although the Bible is not for us to reason with, but is rather for us to see, we need to see it without any colored glasses. Many times, although man has all three of the above matters, he looks into the pure, clean word of God with a pair of black glasses. As a result, the Bible appears black. The Bible is not black. It is the glasses that are black. What man needs is to change his glasses. We must have revelation. It is through revelation that we can understand with a pure mind and an open spirit the deep truth concerning the Triune God.

The Lord’s recovery began sixty-two years ago in 1922 in Foochow, the hometown of Brother Watchman Nee. From mainland China we spread to Taiwan and then to America. We have always given people a strong impression that among us we emphasize the truth very much. The Lord’s recovery among us can be considered a recovery of truths. From the first day until now, not only have we not changed our attitude; rather, we have strengthened it. I hope very much that through these four messages and by revelation, we can have a deeper understanding of the Triune God. We should not be shallow Christians, saying what others say in a superficial way. Rather, we should be equipped by the truth of Christ that we may become those who preach this truth.