Christ, as the High Priest, takes care of the churches as the lampstands in His divinity with His divine love, signified by the golden girdle on His breasts, to nourish the churches (Rev. 1:13b). Christ is not only human but also divine. He is the Son of Man wearing a golden girdle, signifying His divinity as His divine energy. His divinity as the divine energy nourishes the churches in many ways.
Revelation 2 and 3 reveal Christ's care for the lampstands. On the one hand, He trims the wicks of the church lamps, cutting away all the wrongdoings, shortages, failures, and defects mentioned in the seven epistles to the seven churches. Christ did the best trimming work in His humanity to cherish the churches. On the other hand, in each of these seven epistles, we see Christ's nourishing.
In the first epistle to the church at Ephesus, Christ says, "To him who overcomes, to him I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God" (2:7). We may say that this is a prophecy referring to the kingdom age, in which the overcomers will enjoy Christ as the tree of life in God's Paradise. But if we do not enjoy Christ as the tree of life in the church life today, surely we will not participate in the tree of life in the kingdom age. According to my experience, today the church in Anaheim is a paradise to me. In this paradise I eat much of Christ as the tree of life every day. If I do not eat Christ here today, I will not eat Him in the kingdom age. I have to eat here first.
In the second epistle to Smyrna, a persecuted and suffering church, Christ said that He would give the crown of life to those who overcome (v. 10). A crown signifies victory. If we are not a victor today, overcoming persecution and suffering, how can we be victors in the kingdom? Our victory today is out of Christ's being our life. If we do not have such an enjoyment today, how can we wear the crown of life in the coming age?
The third epistle was to the church in Pergamos. Pergamos was a church married to the world. The Lord will give the overcomers in Pergamos to eat of the hidden manna (v. 17). In the Old Testament, a portion of manna was preserved in a golden pot concealed in the ark (Exo. 16:32-34; Heb. 9:4). Today we must enjoy the hidden Christ in God's golden divine nature. Then we will enjoy Christ as the hidden manna in the coming age. Also, the Lord will give us a white stone and a new name, signifying that we have become a transformed person to be material for God's building.
The Lord promised the overcomers in the church in Thyatira that they would have the authority to rule, to reign as kings, over the nations (Rev. 2:26). First, we need to reign as kings today. According to Romans 5:17 we must receive the Lord's abounding grace to reign in life today. If we do not reign as kings today in Christ's life, how can we be kings in the coming age to rule over the nations?
In His fifth epistle, the Lord told the church in Sardis that they were dead and dying. He promised the overcomers that they would be clothed in white garments (Rev. 3:5). White garments signify the walk and living that are not stained with deadness. The way the overcomers walk in this age will be a prize to them in the coming age. We have to become living so that we can have the white garments.
The Lord told the church in Philadelphia to hold fast to what they already had (v. 11). Those who overcome to hold fast what they have in the Lord's recovery will be built into the New Jerusalem, the temple of God, as a pillar (v.12). In the seventh epistle, the Lord counseled the church in Laodicea to buy gold, white garments, and eyesalve to be saved from their degradation in lukewarmness (v. 18). He promised to dine with the ones who would open the door to Him (v. 20). We can see that this is the nourishing of Christ in His divinity exercised by and with His love.
He is also the High Priest with His divinity as the "energy belt" to nourish us with Himself as the all-inclusive Christ in His full ministry of three stages.
His nourishing the churches in His divinity is so that the churches may grow and mature in His divine life and become the overcomers in His sevenfold intensification.
Our Christ today is our High Priest. In His humanity He is easily touched with the feeling of our weaknesses. He sympathizes with our weakness because He was tempted in all respects like us. He is cherishing us in His humanity. Meanwhile, He is nourishing us in His divinity with all the positive aspects of His person revealed in the seven epistles to the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3. He is taking care of the churches in the recovery in both ways. In His humanity He is cherishing us to make us proper so that we may be happy, pleasant, and comfortable. In His divinity He is nourishing us so that we may grow and mature in the divine life to be His overcomers to accomplish His eternal economy.