After the ascension, from the day of Pentecost, Christ started the collection of God’s chosen materials. One was Saul of Tarsus. He was so religious and traditional, and he even persecuted the church (Gal. 1:3-14). But one day while he was on his way to suppress the believers of the Lord, the wonderful Lord came to him, and he was knocked to the ground. The Lord said, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” (Acts 9:1-5). He was surprised. He had been persecuting Stephen and many other believers on the earth, but not one in the heavens. So he said, “Lord, who are you?” He did not know who the Lord was, yet he called on the Lord. And he got saved! When he said, “Lord, who are you?” the Lord Jesus got in! Then the Lord told him that He was Jesus, the One whom he had been persecuting. It was in that way that Saul was saved, gathered, and collected.
The principle is the same with all of us. When we were saved, not one of us had any intention of coming into the church life. In fact, some of us intended to oppose it. Yet the Lord found a way to collect us. Praise the Lord, we were collected! Many among us can testify that just by attending one meeting, we were caught! I do know what the Lord is doing here. He is collecting His material for His building.
About twelve years ago, we were only a handful of people in Los Angeles. Yet we prayed boldly that we would take the earth! If someone had heard us at that time, they would have said that we were crazy. How could such a small group of people take the earth? Yet we were led by the Lord to pray that way. Now the signs are here. The U.S.A. has been taken already! And the recovery has gone to Germany, Britain, Switzerland, Denmark, France, Africa, New Zealand, and Australia. And this is just the beginning! Christ is collecting all the materials for His building.
Have you been “hooked” for the Lord’s recovery? I have really been “hooked.” Once you are “hooked,” you can never extricate yourself! This is Christ collecting materials for His building. More and more will get “hooked.” This is not just the crucified Christ for redemption, or the resurrected Christ for life. This is the ascended Christ collecting all the materials which the Father has given to Him. We can be sure that the Lord has a way to get all the materials He needs.
Many of the young people can testify that after they were hooked for the Lord’s building, they loved the Lord more. They never enjoyed life as much as they are enjoying it now. Surely when the Lord collects us, He will put us into the abundant life. So many people today are talking about the baptism of the Holy Spirit. But the real baptism of the Spirit is to be put into the Spirit. Many times in our meetings we have the real sense that we have been immersed in the Spirit. It seems that we are in the heavens, but we are still on the earth. This is the proper and real experience of the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Once we have been collected by the ascended Christ, it is really hard to get away. I do know of some young people who came into the church life, and after a while they left. But some time later they came back. They testified that they tried desperately to get away, but somehow they could not quite make it. Once we have been collected by the Lord, it is really hard to escape. This is because we have been put into the real enjoyment of the Spirit with the riches of the abundant life.
Once we have been collected, we have the life within, we have the Spirit, and we have all the persons as gifts to the Body. Unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. We all have a measure of something of Christ, and all have been given to the Body as gifts. Regardless of how weak and small we are, as long as we are in the church, we are gifts.
The materials, the life, the Spirit, and the gifts, are all for the producing and the building up of the Body. This is the work of the ascended Christ to carry out God’s project. He is doing this work right now! Day by day the ascended Christ is collecting the materials, putting His life into them, pouring out the Spirit upon them, and imparting the abilities to them that they may be gifts to the Body.
Eventually we see in Ephesians 4 that the gifts are the persons. “When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men....And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, to the work of the ministry, to the building up of the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:8, 11-12). All of these persons are the materials collected, filled with life, empowered with the Spirit, and talented with the spiritual abilities. Eventually they all become the gifts. These gifts are for the perfecting of the saints to the work of the ministry, which is the building up of the Body of Christ. The ascension of Christ is for the building up of the Body! Christ, the wonderful ascended One, has been fully inaugurated by God. He is the builder to carry out God’s project, which is the church life today and which will eventually consummate in the New Jerusalem in the future. This is the real meaning of the ascension of Christ.