Int’l Training for Elders and Responsible Ones (Fall 2013)
Entering Into the Fourth Stage of the Experience of Life
to Arrive at a Full-Grown Man for the Fulfillment of God’s Purpose
Message Six
The Fourth Stage of the Experience of Life (5)
Full of the Stature of Christ
Scripture Reading: Heb. 6:1; Eph. 4:13, 16; Col. 2:7; S. S. 4:8; 6:13; 7:8
Outline
Day 1
I. When we speak about being full of the stature of Christ, we mean that our life in Christ has attained to the realm of full maturity—Heb. 6:1:
A. The growth of life is the increase of the stature of Christ within us.
B. We need the growth in the divine life to arrive at a full-grown man,at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ—Eph. 4:13.
II. If we are lacking in spiritual stature—the stature of Christ—we cannot be built up as the Body of Christ—Col.2:7; Eph. 4:16:
A. The words being built up in Colossians 2:7 do not refer directly to the building up of the Body of Christ; this expression denotes an increase in our spiritual stature, an increase of the stature of Christ within us.
B. For us to be built up does not first mean that we are built up as the church, the Body; rather, it means that we are built up in the Lord and that we experience an increase in stature.
C. The building up of the Body depends upon the individual and personal building up of all the believers; when we have become builtup members, we will be able to be built up with others in the Body—Eph. 4:16; Col. 2:7.
Day 2
III. The growth of the stature of Christ within us has five steps:
A. Christ enters into us to become our life—John 1:12-13; 3:15; 1 John 5:11-12; Col. 3:4.
B. Christ lives in us and gradually grows in us—Gal. 2:20; Eph. 4:15.
C. Christ is formed in us—Gal. 4:19.
D. Christ makes His home in us and is manifested through us—Eph. 3:17;Phil. 1:20-21a.
E. The result of Christ entering into us, living in us, being formed in us,and making His home in us and being manifested through us is that we are full of the stature of Christ and arrive at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ:
1. Every part of our being is filled with the elements of Christ;thus Christ becomes matured in us, and we are full of the stature of Christ—Eph. 3:19.
2. This is what God planned and intended in eternity past for the believers in Christ to be—persons who are full of the stature of Christ—1:4-5.
IV. The experience of being full of the stature of Christ involves the following crucial points:
A. Being full of the stature of Christ is not an individual matter—it is a corporate matter, a Body matter—4:13, 16:
1. No believer can reach this stage individually; this experience is attainable only in the Body; only the Body can be full of the stature of Christ—vv. 13, 16.
2. If we have experienced the breaking of our natural constitution,we will see the Body and realize that apart from the Body we cannot live or even be a Christian and that our spiritual life and experience are in the Body—Col. 2:19.
Day 3
B. Being full of the stature of Christ means that we are full of the life and nature of Christ—Gal. 4:19; Eph. 3:17; 1 Thes. 5:23:
1. When a believer’s experience of life reaches the highest stage,the life and nature of Christ have permeated the inward parts of his being—Eph. 3:17.
2. The more our mind, emotion, and will are dealt with and broken by the cross, the more Christ as the life-giving Spirit can enter into these parts; eventually, all the elements of our mind,emotion, and will become Christ, and the stature of Christ is fully grown in us—1 Cor. 15:45b.
C. When a believer arrives at the full stature of Christ, he is in the same position as Christ, both in objective fact and in experience—Eph. 2:6;Col. 3:1-3:
1. Christ is seated in the heavens and is on the throne,and the mature believer also is seated in the heavens and on the throne—Eph. 1:20-21; Heb. 1:3; Rev. 5:6.
2. As Christ Himself is unshakable in the heavens, so are those who are full of the stature of Christ and who share His position—Eph. 1:20; 2:6.
Day 4
D. One who is full of the stature of Christ reigns with Christ—Rom. 5:17,21; 2 Tim. 2:12:
1. Only those who have become mature in the life of Christ can reign with Christ—Rom. 5:10, 17, 21.
2. When life matures, it can reign; when our life attains to the full stature of Christ, we will be able to reign with Christ.
E. One who is full of the stature of Christ deals, together with Christ,with the enemy—Heb. 2:14; Phil. 2:9-11:
1. When we are full of the stature of Christ and our life has reached full maturity, our spiritual warfare is over, for we are seated far above all in a victorious position and need only to deal with the enemy—S. S. 4:8.
2. When we arrive at the stage of dealing, together with Christ,with the enemy, it is a proof that our life has reached the highest peak and that we are full of the stature of Christ.
F. When the life of a Christian reaches this stage, every part of his being has come to maturity, and he is waiting to be raptured to enter into glory with Christ—Rev.12:5;14:1.
Day 5
V. As a portrait of the progressive experience of an individual believer’s loving fellowship with Christ, Song of Songs reveals how a lover of the Lord becomes full of the stature of Christ—1:9; 2:2, 14; 3:6-7, 9; 4:12; 6:4, 10,13; 7:1, 8, 11; 8:1-5a:
A. She has been called to live with Christ in His ascension, and as the sanctuary of God, she is as beautiful as Tirzah and as lovely as Jerusalem and as terrible as an army with banners—4:8; 6:4.
B. She has attained to a transcendent and heavenly state and has been transformed into the heavenly bodies; she looks forth like the dawn,she is as beautiful as the moon, and she is as clear as the sun—v. 10a.
Day 6
C. In the maturity of Christ’s life, the lover of Christ becomes the Shulammite, signifying that she has become the reproduction and duplication of Christ to match Him for their marriage—v. 13; Rev.19:7-8.
D. She is likened to a palm tree, indicating that, in her mature stature,she has the fullness of the stature of Christ—S. S. 7:8; Eph 4:13.
E. The Shulammite wants to carry out with her Beloved a work that is for the entire world by sojourning from one place to another and working together with the Beloved for His Body—S. S. 7:11; Eph. 4:12.
F. Through her growth and transformation, the lover of Christ becomes mature in life, and for the fulfillment of God’s purpose, her hope is to be raptured through the redemption of her body—S. S. 8:1-5a; Rev.12:5, 7-11; 14:1, 4b; 19:7.
Entering Into the Fourth Stage of the Experience of Life
to Arrive at a Full-Grown Man for the Fulfillment of God’s Purpose
Message Six
The Fourth Stage of the Experience of Life (5)
Full of the Stature of Christ
Scripture Reading: Heb. 6:1; Eph. 4:13, 16; Col. 2:7; S. S. 4:8; 6:13; 7:8
Outline
Day 1
I. When we speak about being full of the stature of Christ, we mean that our life in Christ has attained to the realm of full maturity—Heb. 6:1:
A. The growth of life is the increase of the stature of Christ within us.
B. We need the growth in the divine life to arrive at a full-grown man,at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ—Eph. 4:13.
II. If we are lacking in spiritual stature—the stature of Christ—we cannot be built up as the Body of Christ—Col.2:7; Eph. 4:16:
A. The words being built up in Colossians 2:7 do not refer directly to the building up of the Body of Christ; this expression denotes an increase in our spiritual stature, an increase of the stature of Christ within us.
B. For us to be built up does not first mean that we are built up as the church, the Body; rather, it means that we are built up in the Lord and that we experience an increase in stature.
C. The building up of the Body depends upon the individual and personal building up of all the believers; when we have become builtup members, we will be able to be built up with others in the Body—Eph. 4:16; Col. 2:7.
Day 2
III. The growth of the stature of Christ within us has five steps:
A. Christ enters into us to become our life—John 1:12-13; 3:15; 1 John 5:11-12; Col. 3:4.
B. Christ lives in us and gradually grows in us—Gal. 2:20; Eph. 4:15.
C. Christ is formed in us—Gal. 4:19.
D. Christ makes His home in us and is manifested through us—Eph. 3:17;Phil. 1:20-21a.
E. The result of Christ entering into us, living in us, being formed in us,and making His home in us and being manifested through us is that we are full of the stature of Christ and arrive at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ:
1. Every part of our being is filled with the elements of Christ;thus Christ becomes matured in us, and we are full of the stature of Christ—Eph. 3:19.
2. This is what God planned and intended in eternity past for the believers in Christ to be—persons who are full of the stature of Christ—1:4-5.
IV. The experience of being full of the stature of Christ involves the following crucial points:
A. Being full of the stature of Christ is not an individual matter—it is a corporate matter, a Body matter—4:13, 16:
1. No believer can reach this stage individually; this experience is attainable only in the Body; only the Body can be full of the stature of Christ—vv. 13, 16.
2. If we have experienced the breaking of our natural constitution,we will see the Body and realize that apart from the Body we cannot live or even be a Christian and that our spiritual life and experience are in the Body—Col. 2:19.
Day 3
B. Being full of the stature of Christ means that we are full of the life and nature of Christ—Gal. 4:19; Eph. 3:17; 1 Thes. 5:23:
1. When a believer’s experience of life reaches the highest stage,the life and nature of Christ have permeated the inward parts of his being—Eph. 3:17.
2. The more our mind, emotion, and will are dealt with and broken by the cross, the more Christ as the life-giving Spirit can enter into these parts; eventually, all the elements of our mind,emotion, and will become Christ, and the stature of Christ is fully grown in us—1 Cor. 15:45b.
C. When a believer arrives at the full stature of Christ, he is in the same position as Christ, both in objective fact and in experience—Eph. 2:6;Col. 3:1-3:
1. Christ is seated in the heavens and is on the throne,and the mature believer also is seated in the heavens and on the throne—Eph. 1:20-21; Heb. 1:3; Rev. 5:6.
2. As Christ Himself is unshakable in the heavens, so are those who are full of the stature of Christ and who share His position—Eph. 1:20; 2:6.
Day 4
D. One who is full of the stature of Christ reigns with Christ—Rom. 5:17,21; 2 Tim. 2:12:
1. Only those who have become mature in the life of Christ can reign with Christ—Rom. 5:10, 17, 21.
2. When life matures, it can reign; when our life attains to the full stature of Christ, we will be able to reign with Christ.
E. One who is full of the stature of Christ deals, together with Christ,with the enemy—Heb. 2:14; Phil. 2:9-11:
1. When we are full of the stature of Christ and our life has reached full maturity, our spiritual warfare is over, for we are seated far above all in a victorious position and need only to deal with the enemy—S. S. 4:8.
2. When we arrive at the stage of dealing, together with Christ,with the enemy, it is a proof that our life has reached the highest peak and that we are full of the stature of Christ.
F. When the life of a Christian reaches this stage, every part of his being has come to maturity, and he is waiting to be raptured to enter into glory with Christ—Rev.12:5;14:1.
Day 5
V. As a portrait of the progressive experience of an individual believer’s loving fellowship with Christ, Song of Songs reveals how a lover of the Lord becomes full of the stature of Christ—1:9; 2:2, 14; 3:6-7, 9; 4:12; 6:4, 10,13; 7:1, 8, 11; 8:1-5a:
A. She has been called to live with Christ in His ascension, and as the sanctuary of God, she is as beautiful as Tirzah and as lovely as Jerusalem and as terrible as an army with banners—4:8; 6:4.
B. She has attained to a transcendent and heavenly state and has been transformed into the heavenly bodies; she looks forth like the dawn,she is as beautiful as the moon, and she is as clear as the sun—v. 10a.
Day 6
C. In the maturity of Christ’s life, the lover of Christ becomes the Shulammite, signifying that she has become the reproduction and duplication of Christ to match Him for their marriage—v. 13; Rev.19:7-8.
D. She is likened to a palm tree, indicating that, in her mature stature,she has the fullness of the stature of Christ—S. S. 7:8; Eph 4:13.
E. The Shulammite wants to carry out with her Beloved a work that is for the entire world by sojourning from one place to another and working together with the Beloved for His Body—S. S. 7:11; Eph. 4:12.
F. Through her growth and transformation, the lover of Christ becomes mature in life, and for the fulfillment of God’s purpose, her hope is to be raptured through the redemption of her body—S. S. 8:1-5a; Rev.12:5, 7-11; 14:1, 4b; 19:7.
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