 |
|
Additional Quotes about the Local Church by Witness Lee and Watchman Nee
In verse 16 the Lord says, “Because you are lukewarm
and neither hot nor cold, I am about to vomit you out of My mouth.” When the
recovered church becomes degraded, she is in danger, unless she repents to be
hot in seeking the rich experiences of the Lord, of being vomited out of the
Lord’s mouth. To be vomited out of the Lord’s mouth is to lose the enjoyment
of all that the Lord is to His church.
In verse 20 the Lord says, “Behold, I stand at the
door and knock.” “The door” is not the door of individuals, but the door of
the church. The church in Laodicea has knowledge, but she does not have the
presence of the Lord. The Lord as the Head of the church is standing outside
the degraded church, knocking at her door. The degraded recovered church must
realize this!
In verse 18 we see the Lord’s counsel to the church
in Laodicea: “I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined by fire that you may
be rich, and white garments that you may be clothed and that the shame of your
nakedness may not be manifested, and eyesalve to anoint your eyes that you may
see.” To “buy” requires the paying of a price. The degraded recovered church
needs to pay a price for the gold, white garments, and eyesalve, which she
desperately needs….
Firstly, the Lord counsels the church in Laodicea to
buy “gold refined by fire.” In the Bible, our working faith (Gal. 5:6) is
likened to gold (1 Pet. 1:7), and the divine nature of God, which is the
divinity of Christ, is also typified by gold (Exo. 25:11). We partake of the
divine nature of God by faith (2 Pet. 1:1, 4-5). The degraded recovered church
has the knowledge of the doctrines concerning Christ, but not much living
faith to partake of the divine element of Christ. She needs to pay the price
to gain the golden faith through the fiery trials that she may participate in
the real “gold,” which is Christ Himself as the life element to His Body.
Thus, she may become a pure golden lampstand (1:20) for the building of the
golden New Jerusalem (21:18).
If we have experience, we shall realize that all
three things which the Lord counsels the church in Laodicea to buy—gold, white
garments, and eyesalve—are just the Lord Himself. As we have seen, in
typology, or in biblical figure, gold signifies two things: God’s divine
nature and the living faith by which we appreciate and appropriate the divine
nature. These two things are combined. If we do not have the living faith to
appreciate and apply the divine nature, it cannot be ours. The divine nature
can only become our enjoyment through our living faith. Christ is the
embodiment of the divine nature, and He is also our living faith. If we have
faith, then we can participate in the divine nature. This means that we must
have Christ. We must pay the cost and tell the Lord, saying, “Lord, I have
much knowledge of the Bible truths, but I admit that I don’t have much of You.
Lord, I would rather have You than mere knowledge or vain teachings. Lord, You
are the real gold, the embodiment of the divine nature. In order to appreciate
and apply this divine nature, I need living faith. Yet, Lord, I don’t have
this living faith, but I look unto You. Lord, be my living faith. I want to
live by You as my faith, the faith of the Son of God” (Gal. 2:20). If you
speak to the Lord in this way, He will immediately say, “All right, if you
would gain Me, you must pay the price. There is a certain thing that I want
you to drop because it is a hindrance and a frustration from My becoming your
enjoyment.” Dropping these things is the paying of the price. Many of us have
experienced the Lord in this way. Often the Lord has said, “I am here. Do you
want Me, or do you want that thing? If you want to keep that thing, then I
shall stay away. Your hands are full of many things. You must drop them, empty
your hands, and then grasp Me. Then you will have Me as your enjoyment.” Only
when we pay the price can we gain Christ.
NEXT PAGE
|
|
|
|
|
