In this sermon, the speaker emphasizes the importance of having life in order to walk in the ways of God. He explains that if we only have the natural, fallen life inherited from Adam, our walk will be influenced by our own desires and conscience. However, if we have received the new life in Christ, we can walk according to the light of His life within us. The speaker also discusses the eternal purpose of God and how it applies to believers, highlighting the need for daily walking in the light of this purpose. He encourages listeners to embrace the newness of life in Christ and to continually walk with the Lord, even through times of crisis and decision-making.

Well, first of all, I want to thank you all for allowing me to be here. Being among you, I feel myself a little younger. And I feel you, dear young brothers and sisters, are really very privileged. Because when I was young, I didn't have such privilege. I didn't hear about the eternal purpose of God at such a young age. And I do thank the Lord that you are here and you are very serious before the Lord. And I do believe that the Lord will greatly bless you. Now, I'm not a speaker here, but I do like to fellowship. And some brothers suggested to me that before I try to answer some of your deep questions, I should fellowship a little bit with you of what the Lord seems to exercise in my heart. Now, as I listened to our dear brothers who spoke on the theme, walking daily in the light of God's eternal purpose, I was deeply moved. And as I listened to them, a few thoughts came to my mind. And I would like to use this opportunity to share these few simple thoughts. Number one, now to walk requires life. If you do not have life, you cannot walk. When you are dead, you are not able to walk. So I think first of all, to solve this question of walking, you really need to solve first this matter of life. What kind of life do you have will determine what manner of walk you will have. Now, if all you have is what you are born with, what you receive from Adam, or to put it another way, all you have is that natural life, that fallen, Adamic life, then you will walk in a certain way. There is no way to walk otherwise. Because your daily life determines your scope, your manner of walking. Maybe turn to Ephesians chapter 2. Ephesians chapter 2. We read from verse 1. And you, being dead in your offenses and sins, in which ye once walked according to the age of this world, according to the ruler of authority of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom we also all once had our conversation, that is, have our walk, in the lust of our flesh, doing what the flesh and the thoughts will to do, and were children by nature of wrath, even as the rest. Now here you'll find, once we were spiritually dead, dead in sins and transgressions, our spirit was dead unto God. Even though we do have an animated natural life, that we inherited from our forefathers, from Adam. So, awkwardly, we are living, but we live by that old, fallen life. And when we live by that old, fallen, Adamic life, now what manner of walk do we have? Now it is clearly telling us here, we walk according to the age of this world. Or to put it in a more modern way, we walk according to the fashion of this age, to the current of this world. We walk as the rest of the world walks. That's only awkwardly, but actually, now you think you are just walking according to the fashion, the current of the world. You just follow what the world goes. But actually, without your knowing, you are walking according to the ruler of the authority of the air. There is a ruler, an authority of the air. A spiritual realm there. And this is the spirit that now works in the sense of disobedience. So, when we live in our Adamic life, we walk according to the way of the world. That's awkwardly. But actually, there is someone who is in control of this world. The Bible calls him the prince of this world. The enemy of God. The fallen angel. Satan. He is the ruler of the authority of the air. And that spirit works in the sense of disobedience. In other words, he was disobedient to God. And he put that disobedience in man. So by nature, we are all disobedient. We are disobedient to God. And we have our behavior in the lust of our flesh. We are just moved, motivated, pushed on by the lust of our flesh. Doing what the flesh and the thoughts will to do. We just do whatever we think we want to do. And we are children by nature of wrath. In other words, we are under the wrath of God. So, that's the way that natural life will work. But then God, in Ephesians chapter 2, it continues. But, God, verse 4. Being rich in mercy, because of his great love, wherewith he loved us, we too being dead in offenses, has quickened us with the Christ, you are saved by grace, and has raised us up together, and has made us sit down together in the heavenlies with Christ Jesus, that he might display in the coming age the surpassing riches of his grace in kindness towards us in Christ Jesus. Now once, because all we had was that natural, fallen, Adamic life, therefore, it was no wonder that we walk according to the way of this world. We just follow the evil spirit. He was the one who was driving us into destruction. But, God, rich in mercy, and one day his grace came upon us, and in Christ Jesus he has given us a new life. So, dear brothers and sisters, today we have a new life. It is a divine life. It is God's own life. It is in Christ Jesus. And we are born from above. We who believe in the Lord Jesus, we have this new life in us. And with this new life, then you can walk in a new way. So the Bible says, we now walk in newness of life. There is a new life. There is a new walk. Those who have that old Adamic life cannot walk in the light of God's eternal purpose. But those who have this new life ought to walk daily in the light of God's eternal purpose. So, that is the first thought that came to me. Life. Thank God for this new life. And with this new life, we are able to walk daily in God's eternal purpose. Now, number two. What is walking? Walking is a daily matter. In other words, we as believers, you know, we are always looking for some special experiences. While we come to a conference. And we expect that we will have a special, exciting, new experience. And with that kind of experience, we will be instantly spiritual. You know, today is a day of everything instant. Before I came to this country, 40 some years ago, I never knew there would be instant coffee. And to my surprise, in recent years, I understand there are instant tea, too. Everything is instant. And among Christians, you'll find that the same mentality is there with Christians. Christians want to be instantly spiritual. So, they are always seeking for some special experience. A leaping into another dimension. And with just one leap, they will be there. And that is a great temptation to Christians today. Especially to young people. But we need to remember that life is a daily walking. Daily we need to walk with the Lord. And that is what the Lord is expecting us. It is true. There will be time you will have some crises. And during those crises, you will experience something. But these crises are the result of your daily walking. You walk and walk and you come to a turning point. A crisis. And you get some experience. It enables you to walk on further. And as you walk on, you cover a certain distance. And then you come to another crisis of your life. You may have to make a choice. You have to make a decision. You have to renew your consecration before the Lord. In order to pass through the threshold of that crisis. And you get another experience. That will again enable you to go further on towards the Lord. So, life is a daily walking. Now if you neglect your daily walking. And you are only expecting crises to come. Expecting some special experience to come. Then you are in trouble. So I do feel that we need to emphasize, underline. That our daily walking is the most essential thing in our Christian life. If we do not walk daily with the Lord. When you come to a crisis, you will not be able to go over it. You probably will go under it. It is your daily walk that helps you through your crisis. Now that is the second thing that came to my mind. Now the third thing that came to my mind was. Now if you want to walk, you have to walk in the light. You remember our Lord Jesus said. There are twelve hours in the day. And if you walk in the light, you will not stumble. But in the night, you cannot walk. In darkness, you cannot walk. So we have to walk in the light. Now there are two different kinds of light. That we can walk in. If you turn to Isaiah chapter 50. Isaiah chapter 50 verse 11. Isaiah chapter 50 verse 11. Behold all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks. Walk in the light of your fire. And among the sparks that you have kindled, this shall ye have on my hand. Ye shall lie down in sorrow. You know it is possible for us believers. Not to walk in the light of God. But to kindle the light of our own fire. Instead of depending on the life of the Lord. It is possible for us to live again. By that old fallen Adamic nature. Now in our discussion group this morning. This question was raised. Are we not supposed to be dead to our old man? The apostle Paul said in Romans chapter 6 verse 6. Knowing that our old man was crucified with Christ. Our old man was crucified with Christ. Now if our old man was crucified with Christ. Then why is it that in our daily experience. We find that our flesh. Which is the personal name of the old man. You know the old man is singular in number. It refers to Adam. The federal head. The culprit man. Adam. And all who are in Adam. That's the old man. Now our old man was crucified with Christ. But flesh is a personal term of the old man. Every one of us has our own flesh. Your flesh is different from my flesh. We all inherit from Adam. But we inherit different things from Adam. Now why is it. Our old man was crucified with Christ. And yet we find that our flesh. Often times is still very much alive. Now why is it. Is it because the work of our Lord Jesus on the cross. Is not complete. Or is it because there is some misunderstanding. Somewhere. Now remember. Our old man was crucified with Christ. Now how. He was the last Adam. So in other words. He embraced all the Adamic race. In himself. And when he was crucified. The Adamic race was finished. It is done. It is finished. Our old man was crucified with Christ. But this fact. Eternal fact. Unchanging fact. Your condition does not affect. That eternal truth. The finished work of Christ. No matter how you feel. Even if you are still today living in the flesh. It does not change what Christ has done on the cross for you. Your old man was crucified in him. But it is only true in Christ. It is not true in Adam. So if you do not abide in Christ. Remain in Christ. Then you will find. What was true in Adam. Becomes very living in you today. So we need to abide in Christ. Because only in Christ. Your old man was crucified. Outside of Christ. Your flesh. Is still very much alive. And you need to deliver it. To the cross. By the power of the Holy Spirit. So brothers and sisters. You find it is possible. For us who have a new life. Who ought to walk in a new way. But. We can kindle. Our own fire. And walk by its sparks. We can still live according to flesh. We can still love the world. We can still go for things. That are against the will of God. We use our natural mind. Our own reasoning power. Our own will. Kindle our own fire. Surround ourselves with our own fire. And we think. This is a light. And we walk in that light. Now what will happen? God said. You will lie down in sorrow. So there is only one light. That we can walk in. Now walk daily. In the light of God's eternal purpose. Now I know. As our brother mentioned this morning. When you mention God's eternal purpose. We are lost. It's such a big word. Now what is God's eternal purpose? You know I was thinking. The other day. It's. I'm just fellowshipping talking with you. Moses said. A man's lifespan is. 3 score and 10. If he is strong. It can be 4 scores. 80 years old. But I'm 82 now. So in other words. I'm in my second childhood. So I'm going to daily talk. I do not understand. The light of God's eternal purpose. That's too much for me. Now what is this light? Of God's eternal purpose. Well. You know. To have a concept. An abstract concept as it were. You need to be grown up. Now as a baby. As a child. You are not able to grasp a concept. God's eternal purpose. That's too. Too vague. Too mystical to me. But. For me to recognize a person. That's easy. I know my father. I know my mother. I know my sisters. My brothers. That's easy. So. I feel well. How should I walk? Daily. I feel walk daily in the light. Of Christ. A person. That's easy. Because the eternal purpose of God is none other but Christ Jesus. Right? He is the purpose of God. We'll explain that later. Grown up in a few minutes. But for the present. Just say that. We as believers. We walk daily in the light of Christ. We know Christ. We who have believed in him as our savior, our redeemer. We know him. And in John chapter 17 verse 3 said. To know the only true God. And to know the one whom God has sent. Jesus Christ. This is eternal life. Thank God we have eternal life in us. We have Christ in us. We know Christ. And if we walk in the light of Christ. That's all that is needed. Do you know Christ? And as much as you know him. You'll walk in his light. In John chapter 1 verse 4 it said. In him was life. And the life was the light of man. Now this is the light. In him. That is in Christ Jesus. Is life. First of all you have to have life. And this life. Is the light of man. Is your light. Your light is not something. Coming from outside. Your light. In which you walk. Comes from within. It is the light of life. Now every believer has that life. In him or in her. And this life. Is the light of man. This light will shine upon your path. And will lead you. In your daily walk. In 1 John chapter 1. Verse 5. God is light. Verse 9. Verse 7. If we walk in the light. As he is in the light. We have fellowship. One with one another. And the blood of Jesus Christ. God's son. Cleanses us. From all our sins. If we walk in the light. Now what is that light? That refers back to verse 5. God is light. That refers back to John chapter 1. Verse 4. In him was life. And the life was the light of man. So brothers and sisters. Remember this. Just remember this. We walk daily. In the light. Of his life. His life within us. Will shine. Upon our path. So we just walk step by step. By that light. And that light. Is glowing. You know. If we walk in the light. That we have. Today. As God is in the light. Now God is light. He is full of light. To use an illustration. He probably is a hundred candles. Candle light. And when you first believe in the Lord Jesus. You have his life in you. But the light of that light. That shines upon your path. Is only one candle light. Because you just know him. As your savior. One candle light. But. If you walk in your one candle light. As he. Is a hundred candle light. You have fellowship. One with another. Because. The nature of light. Is the same. The degree. Are different. But. If you today walk in the light. You have today. You will discover. The next day. That light. Will grow. A little brighter. Maybe two candle lights. That light will tell you. What is right. What is wrong. That light will tell you. What is your own will. And what is God's will for you. That light within you. Will lead you. If you are obedient. To the light. Of life you have today. Then. That light will grow. And. You are obedient. To. The increased light. And. Light will further grow. And that's the way. That you grow. Spiritually. In life. So. Brothers and sisters. It's very simple. You know. Do not try to wrap your mind. Thinking now. What is God's. Eternal. Purpose. Just think very simply. Christ is in you. Life is in you. Learn to walk daily. In the light. Of. That. If you do. You will have fellowship with God. In spite of the fact. There are still many. Many darkness in you. Many things that needs to be dealt with. And yet. If you are obedient. To the light. Of life. What the Lord. Within you tells you today. You have fellowship with God. And through fellowship. You have further cleansing. And your life. Will grow. A little bit. Taller. So. That is the way. That we walk. Daily. Now be careful. Do. Not. Ever. Try. To walk. Contrary. To the light. Of life. In you. If you do. You will find your fellowship. With God. Is. Temporary. Interrupted. So that's why. As soon as we discover. We are not walking in the light. Of his life. We are. Walking maybe. In the fire. We. Kindle ourselves. Our conscience. Began. To. Bother us. The Holy Spirit. Within us. Will begin. To tell us. We are going. Wrong. Confess. Immediately. If. We confess. Our sin. God. Is faithful. And righteous. He will forgive. Our sins. And cleanse us. From all. Our sins. Then. Our. Fellowship. With. Our Heavenly Father. Will be restored. And. You can walk on. So. It's very simple. So. Try to make your. Christian life. Very simple. Do not make it. Too complicated. It's very simple. You just. Walk. According. To the light. Of. The life of Christ. In you. And that's all. That God requires. Of you. So. This. These. A few. Thoughts. That came to my mind. When I was listening. To. Our dear. Brothers. Now. Here are. Some questions. We know. That the theme. Of the conference. Is walking. Daily. In the light. Of God's. Eternal purpose. What. Exactly. Is the eternal purpose. Of God. So here. You have the question. How does it apply. To us. Young people. Our brother. Mike. This morning. Has already answered. This question. I don't know. If you. If you. Notice it. Or. If you. Have. Taken it. To your heart. It is very true. When you talk. About God's. Eternal purpose. Somehow. You are lost. But. First of all. Let me tell you. One thing. He said. How does this apply. To our. Young people. Now. Is there. A difference. Between the young people. And the old people. According to God's. Eternal purpose. I think. You already know. The answer. So. Whether. You are old. Or young. There is no difference. It all applies. The moment. You are saved. That. Principle. Applies. To you. You need. To walk. Daily. In the light. Of God's. Eternal purpose. But. It will be. Very. Very. Fortunate. If. You can. Know. God's. Eternal purpose. When you are young. Let me tell you. A story. In 1941. There is. Pearl Harbor. The world war. I was in Singapore. And the war broke out. I was stranded there. But. God. In his. Marvelous way. Let me. At the last minute. Escape. From Singapore. In a small boat. And we were ten days in the Indian Ocean. And finally. We landed. In Madras. India. It was a funny thing. Because. I came from Shanghai. Now. Is there anyone here coming from Shanghai? Yeah. Now. If you came. From Shanghai. Yeah. And. If you know. The old Shanghai. Proverbs. Now. Maybe you're too young to know. But. If you're old enough to know. In Shanghai. We have a proverb. If. You're. So. Unlucky. You land in India. Dao mei. Dao. Dao. In. Do. Guo. Yeah. That's our Shanghai. Proverb. So. Humanly speaking. That was the most unlucky thing. That could happen to me. Because. I was in India. But. Thank God. In his marvelous way. He's so overruled. As a matter of fact. Two months. And a half. I was in India. Was the most. What should I say. Luxurious. Days. I ever lived. I lived. Like. A prince. I was royally. Entertained. Why. Because. In God's sovereign way. If. Well. Maybe I should tell you a little bit. To see. How marvelous is God's way. You know. When I was in Singapore. One day. I was sick. And. I was away in the village. Resting. And. A telegram came to me. An English lady. Sister. Who used to work with us. In Shanghai. She. Sent me a cable. From the Philippines. She said she was passing by. Singapore. On a certain date. So I look at the cable. And found that it was the very day. That she. Would arrive. So I debated with it myself. Whether I should go out to meet her or not. Well. I said. Well. This is. Very unusual time. And. Probably. I will never. Meet her again. So. Even though I was sick. I went to Singapore. Just to meet that sister. For a few hours. And when we were talking. She told me she was going to India. To Madras. She said there would be brothers and sisters there. And then she would go to a certain place. And she even. Gave me her address. And said to me. Maybe the Lord. Will take you to India. You know. I laughed inside. Because. I would never go to India. You know. I was passing through Singapore. On my way to Burma. And take the Burma road. And back to China. But the war broke out. And when we. Escaped from Singapore. On that boat. Over. A little over a hundred. Chinese. Were on that boat. Without convoy. And. We all had to sign the paper. And. They could. Put us in. Anywhere. In the world. We are. Responsible. Ourselves. So. When they put us in Madras. We are responsible. For ourselves. After ten days. In the Indian Ocean. We finally arrived in Madras. But we have no visa. To India. India was under the British rule. At that time. So. The government. Told us. Go out. To the sea. You shouldn't. Be here. You have no right to be here. So. We were stranded. On the boat. For two days. We couldn't. Communicate. They say. You were not here. And. After two days. For some. Special reasons. Because. It so happened. One of the. Chinese. Civic leader. In Kuala Lumpur. He represented us. Negotiate with the immigration. And. After two days. In their talks. They discovered. That the immigration chief. And. This Mr. Lee's. Immigration chief's brother. And this Mr. Lee. Was schoolmates. In Cambridge. Before. So the connection was made. You know. In the audience. The connection is always important. And. With that connection. He guaranteed. The whole ship. So. I became a permanent resident. In India. And. On the third day. In the sea. When the captain announced. That we cannot go to Rangoon. Because Rangoon fell. To the Japanese hand. So we are going to Madras. Immediately. I said. Well. Madras. That sister mentioned about Madras. Before. So. I look at the map. And. Find. Her place. And on the map. It was pretty. Near. So I told my wife. If the Lord brought us to. India. Now. We have to contact that sister. And. See the brothers and sisters. Have some fellowship. With the brothers and sisters. And. Fortunately. Well. God knows. I didn't throw away that address. I still have that address with me. So. When finally. We were able to. Land. Before. That I sent. A cable. To that sister. I said. We are here. In Madras. We would like to see you. And. We went to a hotel. And. After a day. A cable came back. I asked them to cable to the travel agency. Because. I had no address. And. A cable came back. It was not sent by her. But by her hostess. Lady. Ogle. Maybe some of you heard. Of her name. She was a title lady. And. She sent a cable to me. She said. My home. Is yours. Come. Immediately. You know. How much it touched me. And my wife. At that time. We were refugees. Stranded. In a strange country. Knowing nobody. And. Suddenly. Someone. Whom we have heard. But we have never met. A sister in the Lord. She said. My home is yours. Come immediately. So. I told my wife. We have to go. It took. A day. A night. And. Another half a day. Train. To. The mountain. It was the best. Summer resort place. In India. The niggly hills. You know. That sister. She was all by herself. She inherited. Wealth. Millionaire. But. When I met her. She told me. Her parents died. Left her. Wealth. Her husband died. Left her. With title. Her. Doctor. Was the queen's doctor. And. She lived. She lived. In. Italy. She has a marble palace. In Italy. And every year. She will. Go back. To England. She was a believer. She attended. Catholic convention. The first one. A famous Catholic convention. Every year. But. She felt. Life. Was meaningless. No meaning to life. No purpose. One year. She went to England. Before the Catholic convention. She attended. The Swanic convention. And the Swanic convention. Was Mrs. Penn Lewis. Convention. Some of you. May have read. Her books. So. She went there. And. She listened. To a young man. Speaking. On. God's. Eternal. Purpose. For. The first time. She heard. God's. Eternal. Purpose. And. That transformed. Her. Whole life. She began. To see. That there is. Meaning. Purpose. And. Later on. She got led. To India. And. Her service. Was. She bought. Some beautiful. Homes. On the resort places. Staffed them. With maids. And servants. And. Every summer. She invited. God's servants. To come. To rest. And. She served them. That's her ministry. And. As a matter of fact. When I met her. She said. The Lord. Already told me. You will be here. Because. Every winter. She prayed. Whom shall. I receive. From. For the following. And. God told her. Egypt. And. China. Because. She lived a very. Close life. With the Lord. So. You see. God's. Eternal purpose. Is very. Very. Essential. Now. If. You know. God's. Eternal purpose. When you are young. How. Fortunate. You are. That sister. Already spent. A number of years. When. I met her. She was already in her. Sixties. She said. Life was meaningless. Purposeless. With. All the wealth. But. When. She knew. God's. Eternal purpose. Time. Is linked. With. Eternity. The way. You live. In time. Will determine. Your. Eternity. And. It makes you. Feel. How. Precious. Is. The. Time. How. Precious. Are. The. Days. That. God. Allowed. To. Live. On. This. Earth. You. Know. Oftentimes. I. Work. In. The. Morning. I. Will. Pray. Lord. Thank. For. Giving. Me. Another. Day. That. You. May. Finish. Your. Work. In. Me. So. Brothers. And. Sisters. Knowing. God's. Eternal. Purpose. Is. Very. Very. Essential. To. Your. Spiritual. Life. You. To. Know. God's. Eternal. Purpose. When. You. Are. Young. That. Will. Save. You. From. Wasting. Many. Many. Of. Your. Days. And. Make. Your. Days. Meaningful. You. For. God's. Eternal. Purpose. Now, what is God's eternal purpose? If you read Ephesians and Colossians, these are the two books that especially tells you what is God's eternal purpose. The reason why God's eternal purpose seems to be so difficult is because it is a mystery. You know, the Bible says it is a mystery. It is God's wisdom in a mystery. It is God's top secret. And God has that purpose in Him before He created anything. But He is not able to reveal that purpose to anybody. Why? Because it is so glorious. He has to prepare for the revelation, unveiling of that mystery, of that purpose in His heart. It takes ages, generations, to prepare until, at the fullness of time, He sends His only begotten Son into this world. Born of a woman. Born under law. That He may deliver us from the curse of the law, that we may receive sonship. And it is only after the finished work of Christ on the cross, then God is able to open up that secret. That purpose of His heart. So in Ephesians, you will find that the purpose of God's heart is centered upon His Beloved. God's purpose, God's heart, is focused, is all, in His Son. He loves His Son. And it is because of His love for His Son, He created all things. He created us for His Son. That His Son may head up all things. His Son is the heir of all things. That is God's eternal purpose. So that's why I say, if you are not able to receive a concept, at least you are able to receive a person. You will see that it is God's Son, Jesus Christ. That is God's eternal purpose. And together with His Son, God said, I will give Him a helmet, His like. That is the Body of Christ, the Church. It is not two centers, Christ and the Church. Two centers, no. Only one center, Christ. But united with Christ is the Body, the Church, you and me. So brothers and sisters, this is God's eternal purpose. God's purpose is that the Son may be all to you. That you may be transformed and be conformed to the image of His beloved Son. That you may be united together with Him as His Body. Now, that is God's eternal purpose. Walk in the light of that eternal purpose. Walk in the light of Christ. The life of Christ within you will lead the way. Whatever is not of Him, the light will shine upon that very thing and say, it has to go. And let it go. And whatever is of Him, He will build it in within you. You will be transformed according to His image. You will be like Him. That's why sermon on the mount is so important. The character of Christ be your character. By the working of the Holy Spirit in your daily walk. So walk in the light of God's eternal purpose. Now, that is the meaning of it. So as young brothers and sisters, you are really fortunate. That you can start right away. Not wasting your days. And walk in the eternal purpose of God. Walk in Christ. Rooted and grounded in Christ. Built up in Christ. And built up together in Christ. Now, that's the application. So I hope that may answer some questions. Now, the second one. Given our theme. Now actually, these questions should be answered by our speakers. Given our theme, how is being ready corporately for His coming different from being ready individually? Let me repeat. Given our theme, how is being ready corporately for His coming different from being ready individually? Now, we are all looking forward to the coming of our Lord. This is the day that Christians throughout the generations and the ages are looking forward to. He is with us in spirit. But one day, we will see Him face to face. And that is our blessed hope. Now, how are we going to be prepared, ready for His coming? Is there any difference between being made ready corporately or being made ready individually? Now, brothers and sisters, when we are talking, we can say this is individually, this is corporately. But as a matter of fact, you can distinguish them, but you cannot separate them. You know, our tendency is to separate our individual readiness from corporate readiness. Individual preparedness from corporate preparedness. You cannot separate them. It is true. We are members one of another. We are all individuals. And individually, we need to be ready. That's true. But remember, we are in the body. So you are not alone. We grow together. We make ready. And it is only when we are together, we are able really to be made ready. Let me put it another way. If you read Romans chapter 8, it looks as if you are to be ready individually. Whom He has foreknown, He has foreordained, that you shall be conformed to the image of God's beloved Son. Whom He has foreknown, He has called. Whom He has called, He has justified. Whom He has justified, He has glorified. He is leading many sons into glory. So, that seems to be individuals. Because we are individually responsible to be matured, to be perfected in Christ Jesus. But, on the other hand, when our Lord Jesus will come back, He is like the bridegroom, coming back for His bride. And the bride is composed of all who are His, to be made ready for Him. So, you find that we need to be prepared both ways. Individually, we need to seek the Lord and allow the Lord to really be built in within us. As Colossians chapter 1 said, to be perfect in Christ Jesus. Individually, we need to be perfect in Christ Jesus, matured in Christ Jesus. Let Christ be matured in us. We are conformed to His image individually. But, you cannot grow just by yourself. You have to grow and make ready with your brothers and sisters. Because the Bible said, we are to be fitted together, united together, ministered to one another. There are many lessons that you cannot learn alone. You have to learn in the body. You learn your limitation in the body. Because, if you are all by yourself, you do not know how limited you are. But, if you are in the body, you know your limitation. And it is very important to know your limitation. You have to learn how to fit in with one another. When you are all by yourself, you may think you are perfect. But, when you begin to touch other brothers and sisters, immediately you find you are not perfect. There are things that need to be chopped off. Things need to be chiseled. Things need to be smoothed in order to fit in with your brothers and sisters. Many lessons of the cross, you cannot learn all by yourself. You have to learn corporately. So, we have to be ready together. And that is the reason why we need fellowship. So, in other words, we need to be, there is the individual side, there is the corporate side, but you cannot separate them. You have to go on together to be really made ready for His coming. Now, here is another question. Is it possible for two believers who are both seeking the Lord to receive a different revelation concerning the same Christian principle? For example, many Christians view the body of Christ and its functioning differently. I think it is a very good question. Here you have two believers. They are both seeking the Lord. And yet, they receive different revelation concerning the same Christian principle. And they use the body of Christ as an example. Let me put it this way. So far as principle is concerned, you cannot have different revelation on the same principle. In other words, the truth is one. But, it is possible for us to receive different aspect of the same truth. And also, different degrees of the same truth. Now, that is possible. The body of Christ. If you receive the revelation of the body of Christ, no matter who you are, if it is a revelation, if it is a light of God's eternal purpose, then you are bound to see that it is not an organization, but an organism. If you say you receive revelation of the body of Christ as an organization, now I wonder whether it is the fire that you build up yourself. Because the scripture is so clear. God is never ambiguous. His truth is one. Now, if you really see light from God, you are seeking the Lord, and you see the body of Christ, no matter who you are, you will see it is not an organization. It is an organism. I think that is evident. But it is possible. Your degree of understanding, of seeing what the body of Christ is, that may differ. Or some people may see certain aspect of the body of Christ, and they do not see the other aspect of the body of Christ. That is possible. And that is the reason why. If the Lord will show you what the body of Christ is, remember, what you see is only the beginning. There is much more that we need to receive light from God yet, as to the body of Christ and how it works. Now, so far, as the truth of the church, as the body of Christ is concerned, that truth was recovered in the 19th century, through the Brethren movement. But even in our days, the working of that body of Christ is still something that we are still learning. So you find that the body of Christ is a living organism. It is the extension of Christ. It is the Christ. And there is so much that we still need to learn. So do not just be contented with a little light on the body of Christ. And you think you have it all. No. There is much more. So, in that sense, you can have different degrees of light and different aspects. So we need to humble ourselves and be always ready, open, to learn from one another. That we may enter into the reality of what the body of Christ is. And there are two more questions, but these are not really related with the conference. I will just mention a few sentences. One is this matter of in Christ Jesus and in Jesus. He said, I've been reading Living Sacrifice by Watchman Lee for the youth class at my church. And it has been... I've been wondering about, Brother Lee said, in the chapter concerning studying the Bible. He mentioned how we shouldn't be saying in Jesus Christ, but in Christ Jesus or in Lord Jesus Christ. Now, does that also have to do with prayer? Because I notice everyone says in Jesus name we pray. Should we say in Christ Jesus we pray? Now, it is true that the Holy Spirit is very careful and exact in using words. In the New Testament you do find the term in Christ or in Christ Jesus. It does not use in Jesus. Only one place in the whole New Testament it says in Jesus. Now, I will not tell you where it is. You have to find it out yourself. But people who know Greek say that in Jesus, in the original, there is an emphatic article before Jesus. That is to say, it underlines Jesus personally. That is what is personally in Him. And that is the only place in the New Testament. All the other places is in Christ. Or in Christ Jesus. For instance, Ephesians 1.3 Thanks be unto God who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus. Because in Christ is a corporate term. God has all the fullness of the cockpit dwells in Christ. And ye are complete in Him. So it is a corporate term. All the fullness of the Godhead are in Christ. And you are complete in Him. But, Jesus is His personal name. Not only the name given before He was born. The name He used on earth. But it is also the name that is above every name. And to that name, every knee shall bow. Every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord. So, in Christ, because it is corporate, Jesus is personal. So, when we pray, it really doesn't make a lot of difference. I mean, we do not need to be too technical. But, let me remind you one thing. You know, this is the, you are in the new generation. Now, in my generation, I don't know whether you are the third generation or the second generation. But, anyway, in my generation, people are very pious. And they will never say, Jesus. They always say, Lord Jesus. But, in the new generation, you feel Jesus is so near to you. So intimate. So, you always say Jesus without saying Lord. I would say, you need both. You need to realize that this Jesus is Lord. You know, it gives you a sense of reverence. Of all. But, you also need to know Him so personally as Jesus. He who is so dear and near to you. So, in your prayer, just be natural. Whatever the Spirit of God leads you, do it. God knows. And, this is a question, really, doesn't affect all of you. But, maybe, I won't go into details. There are certain things I would like to say, but I don't think I should. Because, it is a very special circumstances. He said, I come from a bilingual local assembly. And, as an American born Chinese, I find it difficult to participate in the worship and prayer times. Especially, during the fellowship times. Because, it's predominantly in Chinese. I have been told that if my spirit is truly worshiping on a high plane, then it doesn't matter what language is used. I will understand. However, this rarely happens. How should I deal with this when I go home? Even with translation, it's still difficult and different. Practically, what I should do during prayer meetings and the Lord's table. Please, do answer. So, I feel obliged to answer. I will not go into how I feel about the whole situation. It is a real situation. But, what I will exhort that brother or sister to do is, if you really walk in the light of God's eternal purpose. If you really see Christ and His body. And, you are with a group of believers who desire to honor the Lord under His headship. And, open for fellowship. Language shouldn't be a problem. You have to overcome that problem. So, learn to be patient. Try to participate as much as you can. And, in God's time, the whole situation will change. Because, the older generation use Chinese. Now, your generation is already using English. And, your next generation will be all English. So, that is only a temporary problem. And, if you endure to the end, you shall be saved. Thank you.