THE HEAVENLY
MINISTRY OF CHRIST
Chapter 3
CHRIST IN THE BUILDING OF THE CHURCH
WEEK 1 – SATURDAY
Bible Reading: Acts 2:33; 9:10-16; Eph 1:20-22; Rev 1:5
Read and pray: “and from Jesus Christ, the Faithful Witness, the Firstborn from the dead, and the Ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood” (Rev 1:5)
Among the various offices into which Christ was inaugurated at His ascension, the two greatest are that He is the Ruler of the kings of the earth (Rev 1:5) and the Head over all things to the church (Eph 1:22).
CHRIST AS RULER
As the Ruler of the kings, He administers all earthly governments. The purpose of this administration is undoubtedly the spread of the gospel. By this means God’s chosen ones are gathered. By studying world history we can perceive that the course of events has the propagation of the gospel as its purpose.
Our common calendar, used throughout the world, is based on the birth of Christ. Even atheistic countries, such as Russia and China, use this calendar, which also suggests they are under Christ’s sovereign rule.
According to the Christian calendar, we are in the year 1980. This date does not refer to the Roman Caesars or the Russian czars, but to the number of years counted since the birth of Christ. Our Christ is the Ruler over all the earth so that the gospel may be spread.
The Lord’s sovereign rule over our work
I would like to testify of this from my experience. Near the end of World War II, I told the saints that China would be liberated from Japan, would become a republic, and we would be free. This indeed occurred.
Japan surrendered unconditionally in 1945. We rejoiced in our freedom. From 1946 to 1948 the preaching of the gospel among us spread rapidly and widely. In 1948 a missionary traveled throughout China and then reported to his mission that the gospel work was in the hands of the “little flock” (as the churches were commonly called) and that it was so successful that there was no longer any need to send other foreign missionaries.
This was truly the case. I was in Shanghai in those days. How happy we were! There were already between four hundred and six hundred churches throughout China. One day, in Tsingtao, a former German concession and a beautiful, modern seaport, more than seven hundred people were baptized.
In the 1930s the number of those baptized was very small, hardly more than ten persons at a time. After 1945, however, the number of those baptized at a time was usually more than one hundred. But our joy was short-lived. Practically overnight, it seemed to us, the political situation changed, and beginning in 1949 the work became very frustrating.
I left in April 1949, and from that date I no longer maintained free correspondence with those I knew there. All those years I was distressed because of that great work.
Watchman Nee was imprisoned in 1950 and died in prison in 1972. I was devastated, fearing that all the work had been lost. My only consolation was that through the loss of the work in China, the Lord brought His recovery to the United States and then to Europe, South America, Africa, and Australasia.
However, whenever I thought about the work in China, my heart was afflicted. Many of my contemporary co-workers died in prison after spending years there. Brother Nee’s sentence was the longest.
He died the day before he was to be released. In 1979 we had another change in the situation. The United States and China restored diplomatic relations. Red China opened its doors to visitors.
From that point on, news began to circulate again. My heart is no longer distressed but leaping with joy! I discovered that in some cities, since 1949, the Lord’s table had never been stopped.
The saints on the mainland consider the years 1949 to 1970 as a period during which the church was asleep. Then in 1970 a new generation emerged, born and educated under the present government.
Some of these young people were raised up by the Lord and were crucial. Although they had no Bibles, only copies of a few verses, they began to preach the gospel.
The response was surprising! The way had been prepared for the gospel. The new generation of the church began to preach by teaching an evangelical hymn to the young people. Those empty young people very much enjoyed singing hymns that spoke about Jesus.
Furthermore, many sick people were healed in a miraculous way. Thousands of young people believed. The authorities tried to make things difficult for them, but with no effect.
Some believers were imprisoned, but they were far too numerous, especially in the countryside. When ten were arrested, two hundred went to visit them. They told the authorities they preferred prison, because then they did not need to work and could simply stay singing hymns. When they were released, their faith increased!
In one province alone there were three hundred thousand believers. In one city alone there were more than twenty thousand. I tell you this to show you that Jesus is the Ruler of the kings. I used to think that China, with its nine hundred million inhabitants, was lost as far as the gospel was concerned.
Last year, however, the international situation and China’s needs caused her to open up. Would this not have to do with the Lord’s government? Praise Him! His office as Ruler is primarily for the spread of the gospel. Through the Lord’s control over the world situation, the recovery reached the West.
Now, thirty years later, His sovereign hand has caused China to open again. Hundreds of thousands of young people have been saved. Who can hinder the Ruler of the kings? This is the year 1980, the year of the Lord, according to His calendar!
The Chinese red government printed one hundred thousand copies of the Bible last year. They also opened the doors of the major city cathedrals so that Christians could meet. In Shanghai more than fifteen hundred people crowded into the first cathedral opened. Since then, two more have been opened.
All these events prove that Jesus is the Ruler of the kings! He is carrying out His heavenly ministry. He is administrating the whole earth so that the gospel may spread.
🌿 Enjoy more:
Hymn: “My firm goal is God Himself”
https://hinario.org/detail.php?tab=1&mainmp3=admin/Uploaded-mp3-Files/0350.voz_piano.mp3&id=420
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