Life Study Of Philippians

"In God's dispensation and economy, the leading ministry is the priesthood. In this universe God has an administration, a divine economy. His economy is the way He arranges or dispenses. Therefore, it is a kind of dispensation. According to the Bible there are three main ministries in God's divine dispensation: the priesthood, the kingship, and the prophethood. The priesthood is the leading ministry of the three and brings the kingship and prophethood into function. In other words, both the kingship and the prophethood depend upon the leading ministry of the priesthood."

When God created man, He placed him before two trees: the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life. In warning man to avoid the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, God indicated His desire for man to eat of the tree of life, signifying that man should receive God as his life supply. Witness Lee unveils in The Tree of Life that God is not looking for well-behaved Christians; He is looking for those who will experience and enjoy Christ as the reality of the tree of life.

“We must realize that we Christians are a meeting people. A Christian is a meeting person. Without meeting, there is no Christian life and no church life. It is rather difficult for any Christian to grow without attending the meetings. There is no way for any Christian to serve God without meetings, and it is impossible for Christians to express Christ if there are no meetings. The church life is a meeting life.” In How to Meet Witness Lee offers much precious and practical guidance related to the biblical way to meet as Christians.

The subject of Philippians is the experience of Christ. Concerning the experience of Christ, each chapter of Philippians covers a major point. First, in chapter one, we have the magnification of Christ. No matter what the circumstances are in which we find ourselves, we need to express Christ in such a way that we magnify Him. In chapter two, Paul presents Christ as our pattern. In everything we do, we need a pattern, a model, an example. Even in the experience of Christ and the enjoyment of Christ, we need a pattern. This pattern is Christ Himself. Chapter three indicates that Christ should be our goal, our aim. We who love the Lord and seek Him are not aimless. Our aim is Christ Himself. He is the goal toward which we press. Finally, in chapter four, Christ is our strength. In 4:13 Paul says, “I can do all things in Him who empowers me.” Christ is not only the pattern and the goal; He is also the strength, the power, the dynamo. As the dynamo within us, he empowers us to live Him, to magnify Him, and to press on toward Him as the goal. In the four chapters of Philippians, we see Christ as the One lived out and magnified, Christ as the pattern, Christ as the goal, and Christ as our inward strength. This book on the experience of Christ covers four major points: the expression, the pattern, the goal, and the strength.