Message Two

The Church in the Triune God
(2)

Scripture Reading: 1 Thes. 1:1, 3-6, 10; 2 Thes. 1:1

1. The church is in God the Father—1 Thes. 1:1; 2 Thes. 1:1:
   1. For the church to be in God the Father, God must become the Father to us, and we need to have a life relationship with Him—John 20:17:
      1. In a way that is organic and full of life, God the Father has made it possible for the church to be in Him—1 John 5:11.
      2. In the New Testament, especially in the Gospel of John, the Father denotes the source of life—5:26.
      3. The title God refers to creation; the title Father refers to the impartation of life and indicates a relationship of life—20:17:
         1. The Father, the source of life, is for the propagation and multiplication of life—1 John 3:1.
         2. God is no longer merely our Creator; He is also our Father, our Begetter, for He has begotten us with His life—John 1:12-13.
         3. We call God our Father because we have been born of Him, and now, as His children, we have a life relationship with Him—Rom. 8:15-16.
      4. Through His life-releasing death and life-imparting resurrection, the Lord has made us, His believers, one with Him; thus, His Father is now our Father—John 20:17.
      5. By His death and resurrection, the Lord Jesus has brought us into Himself; since He is in the Father, we are in the Father by being in Him—14:20.
   2. The church in God the Father is a composition of the sons of God—Heb. 2:10-12:
      1. The New Testament reveals that God wants many sons and that He has predestinated us unto sonship—Gal. 3:26; 4:4-6; Eph. 1:5.
      2. God’s good pleasure, the desire of His heart, is to have many sons for the expression of His Son—Matt. 5:45; Gal. 1:15-16; Heb. 2:10.
   3. For the church to be in God the Father means that the church is in the One who is the unique source, Originator, and Initiator—1 Cor. 8:6:
      1. This implies that the church is in God’s purpose, plan, selection, and predestination—Eph. 1:5, 9, 11; 3:11.
      2. To know God as the Father is to know that everything originates from Him and that everything proceeds from Him—Matt. 15:13; Rom. 11:36.
      3. In the church life the Father should be the unique source, and we all should be in His unique purpose and plan—2 Tim. 1:9; Rom. 8:28.
   4. In the church life, we need to have the loving, receiving, and forgiving heart of our Father God—Luke 15:11-32.
2. The church is in the Lord Jesus Christ—1 Thes. 1:1; 2 Thes. 1:1:
   1. When Jesus Christ becomes our Lord, we are in Him, organically united to Him—1 Cor. 1:30; 6:17; John 15:5.
   2. In the New Testament, the name Jesus refers primarily to the Lord in His experiences from incarnation to resurrection—Matt. 1:25:
      1. Jesus is the name of the Lord with respect to His humanity; this name denotes His life experiences and the things He passed through before His resurrection—2 Cor. 4:10-11; Eph. 4:21.
      2. Jesus means “Jehovah the Savior” or “Jehovah our salvation”; for Jehovah to become our Savior and our salvation, it was necessary for Him to pass through a long process—Matt. 1:21.
   3. The title Christ refers to what the Lord is in resurrection and to His experiences, position, life, and actions after His resurrection—Acts 2:36:
      1. As the Christ, the anointed One, the Lord Jesus has been appointed and commissioned by God to accomplish His eternal purpose—Matt. 16:16.
      2. The church is in Christ, who in His resurrection has become the life-giving Spirit—1 Cor. 15:45b:
         1. In Christian experience, Christ is identical to the Spirit—2 Cor. 3:17a.
         2. By the Spirit, with the Spirit, through the Spirit, and in the Spirit, we are in Christ.
      3. To be in Christ is to be terminated and buried, for to be in Christ is to be in His death, where all the negative things—sin, the flesh, the self, the old man, the natural life, the world, death, and Satan—have been terminated—Rom. 6:4-5.
      4. The title Christ implies all the riches of the Lord’s resurrection; thus, to be in Christ is to be in resurrection—v. 4; 8:10-11.
   4. According to the New Testament, the title Lord is all-inclusive—Phil. 2:11:
      1. This title applies to the entire life and ministry of the Lord Jesus.
      2. As the incarnated, crucified, resurrected, and ascended One, Jesus Christ has been made the Lord of all; all this process and everything related to it is implied in the title Lord—Acts 10:36; Rom. 10:12.
3. Seeing that the church is in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ is basic to living a holy life for the church life—1 Thes. 1:1; 4:7; 5:23:
   1. If we see that the church is an entity in the Triune God, we will realize that we have been absolutely separated by God Himself and are now encompassed by the Lord Jesus Christ—1 Cor. 1:2, 30.
   2. To be in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ is to be in sanctification:
      1. Only when we are in the Triune God are we truly separated unto God from everything other than God—1 Thes. 5:23.
      2. This makes us a holy people, living a holy, separated life; this life is for the church—3:13.
4. The church in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ should be composed of those who are increasing and abounding in love to one another and to all men—v. 12:
   1. The church in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ is characterized by this increasing and abounding love—Phil. 2:2; 1 Pet. 1:22.
   2. If we truly are a church in the Triune God, the love we have for one another will increase and abound—2 Pet. 1:7; 1 John 4:7, 11; 5:1.