Our Divine Right to Participate in God’s Divinity
“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the authority to become children of God, to those who believe into His name, who were begotten…of God.” (John 1:12-13)
“…He has granted to us precious and exceedingly great promises that through these you might become partakers of the divine nature…” (2 Pet. 1:4)
“Even as He chose us in Him…to be holy and without blemish before Him in love, predestinating us unto sonship through Jesus Christ to Himself…” (Eph. 1:4-5)
The phrase participate in means not only to partake of but to partake of for enjoyment. It indicates that we possess something and that we enjoy what we possess. We, the God-men, have the divine right to participate not in heaven but in God’s divinity. We all need to realize that we can participate in God’s divinity, that is, participate in God.
We human beings were created by God for this purpose. Man was created in God’s image and according to His likeness…Now as God-men, those who have been born of God to be children of God, we have the right to participate in what God is and even to become God in life, in nature, and an expression but not in the Godhead.
Through regeneration, we have been graced by God with his divine life…He has put, has dispensed, His life into our being. Since we have been born of the divine life and possess the divine life, surely we are divine persons. For us, God’s chosen ones, to be holy is to partake of God’s divine nature. Thus, we may participate not only in God’s life but also in God’s nature. When we partake of God, the aspects of what God is become our enjoyment. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 4, “Incarnation, Inclusion, Intensification,” pp. 214-215; vol. 2, “The God-men,” p. 437; The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 64-65)
Day by day, let us partake of God’s nature and enjoy all that He is, allowing Him as the Holy One to saturate and permeate our whole being. Wherever we may be, let us remember that we are God-men with the divine right to participate in God’s divinity!
Church in Los Angeles Joint Meeting
The whole church in Los Angeles-all halls, districts, and languages-will meet together at 10:00 am this Lord’s Day, December 10 at the LA Convention Center. There will be translation to Chinese, Korean, and Spanish via FM radio as well as on Zoom.
Please pray for a healthy attendance and blending, and for the timely speaking of the Lord to shepherd all the saints to develop a proper prayer life and become good ministers of Christ for a proper church life. May the Lord have a breakthrough in us for the sake of His testimony in Los Angeles and for the building up of the reality of the Body of Christ, the preparation of the bride of Christ, and the manifestation of the kingdom of Christ.
Semiannual Video Training Registrations
The general subject of the upcoming Semiannual Training is “Laboring on the All-inclusive Christ Typified by the Good Land for the Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ, for the Reality and the Manifestation of the Kingdom, and for the Bride to Make Herself Ready for the Lord’s Coming.” For saints in LA, the firm registration deadline to participate in this training by webcast is this Lord’s Day, December 10 ($130). Information and registration are at tinyurl.com/wintertrainingla.
Please pray for the release and receiving of the Lord’s speaking in this training. May the Lord grant us to treasure these trainings and seize every opportunity to attend them not only to see the intrinsic essence of the divine revelation but also to serve as a proper audience for the unhindered release of the crystals in the Word of God. (For more fellowship on the history and significance of the semiannual trainings, see the April 2022 issue of “Having This Ministry…”)
Croatia and Serbia
There are five local churches in the Serbo-Croatian speaking world in the Balkans with approximately 70 adults and 20 children. The sowing through free literature is going well; however, due to the lack of manpower it is not practical to raise up churches. There are many open ones, but the workers are few. We are currently working on the NT Recovery Version in the BCS language (Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian). This project is expected to take at least three more years. Our greatest need, as far as the work is concerned, is more visitation and blending. In Zagreb, most of the saints are quite young; pray that some would eventually go to the Full-time Training.
The cities where there are churches currently are Zagreb, Pula, Split and Hvar in Croatia, and Novi Sad in Serbia. The saints in Zagreb meet together almost every day. We feel that the Lord could spread from that city to other parts of the former Yugoslavia, where we have contacts in every large city. We are especially burdened for the city of Belgrade, which is the largest in the area. May the Lord gain what He is after in the Serbo-Croatian speaking world!
Israel
Please continue to pray for the physical safety and spiritual well-being of the young adults currently serving in the army. Also pray that the people from all backgrounds would hear the gospel and receive the Lord’s salvation. May the Lord preserve His interests and advance His move in Israel!
Announcements
- Morning Revival: Week 10 of An Overview of the Central Burden and Present Truth of the Lord’s Recovery before His Appearing. Next week, after our LA Joint Meeting, proceed to Week 11.
- Wednesday Night Ministry Meeting: The ministry meeting continues this Wednesday 7:25 pm.
- Semiannual Video Training: This Lord’s Day, December 10 is the firm deadline for LA saints to register for the video training (December 25 to 30) at tinyurl.com/wintertrainingla.
- Thanksgiving Conference: Audio and video recordings may be accessed at lsmwebcast.com at no charge until December 26. The subject of this conference was “The Enjoyment of Christ and Our Growth in Life unto Maturity.”
- LSM Digital Resources: Living Stream Ministry’s October 2023 newsletter has fellowship on using the hymns for speaking to one another, especially in smaller settings. LSM’s many digital resources, including newsletters and free booklets, may be found at lsm.org/daily.
- The LA Years: Chapter 4: Standing on the Ground of Oneness is now available at www.layears.org, an oral history project documenting the early years of the church life in LA from 1958-1974, including written history, photos, and first-hand accounts.
- GTCA: To learn more about the burden for migration within North America, visit gtca.us.
- A Timely Speaking of Supply: Enjoy a free weekly video from messages given by Brother Lee at lsm.org/timely-speaking.html.
- Ways to Give: Information about the church’s online giving platform, Subsplash, and where to mail checks, are at www.churchinlosangeles.org/members/offerings.