LESSON TWELVE – THE MEETING LIFE

Matt. 18:20 — For where there are two or three gathered into My name, there am I in their midst.

Heb. 10:24-25 — Let us consider one another so as to incite one another to love and good works, not abandoning our own assembling together, as the custom with some is, but exhorting one another; and so much the more as you see the day drawing near.

GOD’S ORDINATION FOR THE BELIEVERS

The assembling of ourselves together [in Hebrews 10:25] refers to our Christian meetings. God has ordained the way in which every living thing in the universe should exist. God’s ordination is the very law by which a particular species lives. If the living thing obeys that law, it will survive and be blessed. God is the same toward us who have believed in Christ. God’s ordination for us, which becomes our law of existence and blessing, is the meetings. As water is to the fish and air to the birds, so are the meetings to the Christians. As the fish must live in the water and the birds must exist in the air, so the Christians must maintain their spiritual existence and living by the meetings.

A REQUIREMENT OF THE SPIRITUAL LIFE

Every kind of life has its own characteristic and, usually, many characteristics. The spiritual life we believers have received, being the life of God in us, also possesses many characteristics. For example, the hatred for sin and the separation from sin are characteristics of this life. The desire to draw near to God and the willingness to serve Him are also its characteristics. One of the many characteristics of our spiritual life is to flock together, to meet together. John 10:3 and 16 show us that since we are saved, we are the Lord’s sheep. The characteristic of the sheep’s life is to flock together and to dislike isolation from the other sheep. Hence, the Bible says that we are not only the Lord’s sheep but, even more, His flock (Acts 20:28; 1 Pet. 5:2). In order to be a sheep that shares in the blessing of the flock, we must meet together with the flock. The characteristic of the spiritual “sheep life” within us requires this of us.

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE BELIEVERS’ MEETINGS

[In Matthew 18:20] the Lord especially promised that wherever two or three of us who belong to Him are gathered together into His name, that is, meet in His name, He is in our midst. When we meet in His name, we enjoy His presence in a special way. His very presence undoubtedly brings us enlightenment, grace, supply, and all kinds of blessing.

What is mentioned [in Hebrews 10:24-25] shows us that meetings can cause us to consider one another for inciting to love and to exhort one another for good works. This causes us to have spiritual fellowship with the saints to receive the life supply from them. Thus, we must not forsake the meetings, and so much the more as we know that the Lord will soon come back. Our Christian life is not like the life of a butterfly, which does well on its own; our life is like the sheep’s life, requiring that we flock together and live a meeting life. Consequently, we need to meet, and the meetings are crucial to us. (Life Lessons, vol. 2, pp. 15-17)

THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF MEETINGS FOR BELIEVERS

Bread-breaking Meeting

To break bread is to eat the Lord’s supper, remembering the Lord who died for us (1 Cor. 11:20, 23-25). This should be the first kind of regular meeting for us who have been redeemed by the Lord’s death.

The bread-breaking meeting is not for anything other than remembering the Lord with the remembrance of the Lord as its center for the Lord’s enjoyment. Everything in this meeting, whether hymn singing, prayer, Bible reading, or words of inspiration, should take the Lord as the center, speaking either concerning His person and work, His love and virtues, His living or suffering on the earth, or His honor or glory in heaven, that others may consider or realize these things in order to remember the Lord Himself. (Life Lessons, vol. 2, pp. 20, 27)

Prayer Meeting

[In Matthew 18:18-20] the Lord is speaking concerning the prayer of a meeting. This kind of prayer is more powerful than the prayer of an individual, being able to bind on earth what has been bound in heaven, and to loose on earth what has been loosed in heaven.

Meeting for the Exercise of Spiritual Gifts and for Mutual Building Up

The meeting mentioned [in 1 Corinthians 14:26] is for the exercise of spiritual gifts and for mutual building up. In this kind of meeting, there is not a special person doing a specific thing, but everyone is exercising the spiritual gifts; one has a psalm, one has a teaching, one has a revelation, one does this, and another does that. Each one may participate with the goal of building up and edifying others.

Meeting for Reading the Word

[In Acts 15:30-31] it says that when Paul and his companions arrived in Antioch, they gathered the saints together to read to them the letter written by the apostles and the elders in Jerusalem under the leading of the Holy Spirit. Hence, we may also need to meet together occasionally to read the word of God in the Bible.

Meeting to Listen to Messages

[In Acts 20:7 it says that] on that day, the believers in Troas met together to listen to Paul discoursing with them concerning the spiritual things of God, that they might be edified and established. Therefore, sometimes we should also meet to listen to spiritual messages spoken for God by the Lord’s minister of the word that we may be edified and established. (Life Lessons, vol. 2, pp. 20-22)

Reference: Life Lessons, vol. 2, lsns. 14—16

WHENE’ER WE MEET WITH CHRIST ENDUED

Meetings—Exhibiting Christ – 864

• Whene’er we meet with Christ endued,
  The surplus of His plenitude
  We offer unto God as food,
  And thus exhibit Christ.

Let us exhibit Christ,
Let us exhibit Christ;
We’ll bring His surplus to the church
And thus exhibit Christ.

• In Christ we live, by Christ we fight,
  On Christ we labor day and night,
  And with His surplus we unite
  To thus exhibit Christ.
• Our life and all we are and do
  Is Christ Himself, the substance true,
  That every time we meet anew
  We may exhibit Christ.
• In meetings Christ to God we bear
  And Christ with one another share,
  And Christ with God enjoying there,
  We thus exhibit Christ.
• The risen Christ to God we bring,
  And Christ ascended offering,
  God’s satisfaction answering,
  We thus exhibit Christ.
• The center and reality,
  The atmosphere and ministry,
  Of all our meetings is that we
  May thus exhibit Christ.
• The testimony and the prayer,
  And all the fellowship we share,
  The exercise of gifts, whate’er,
  Should just exhibit Christ.
• The Father we would glorify,
  Exalting Christ the Son, thereby
  The meeting’s purpose satisfy
  That we exhibit Christ.