X.　Cooperating in their ministry with Christ's heavenly ministry to shepherd God's flock for the ultimate consummation of the eternal economy of God—John 21:15-17:

A.　Christ's heavenly ministry and the apostles' ministry on the earth cooperate together to carry out God's economy.

B.　The heavenly ministry of Christ is mainly to shepherd the church of God as His flock, which issues in His Body:

1.　To shepherd is to take all-inclusive tender care of the flock.

2.　"God...brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, in the blood of an eternal covenant"-—Heb. 13:20:

a.　God raised up our Lord from the dead to be the great Shepherd to consummate the New Jerusalem according to God's eternal covenant.

b.　The eternal covenant is to consummate the New Jerusalem by shepherding.

c.　The eternal covenant is the covenant of the new testament to gain a flock, which is the church issuing in the Body and consummating in the New Jerusalem.

C.　The apostolic ministry has been incorporated with Christ's heavenly ministry to take care of God's flock, which is the church that issues in the Body of Christ—John 21:15-17; Acts 20:28-29; 1 Pet. 2:25; 5:1-4.

XI.　As ambassadors of Christ in representing Christ to accomplish God's purpose, the apostles reigning in life unto eternal life, unto the New Jerusalem—2 Cor. 5:20; Rom. 5:17, 21; John 4:14:

A.　Unto eternal life is a particular expression.

B.　John 4:14b says, "The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water gushing up into eternal life":

1.　Into (unto in Rom. 5:21) speaks of destination.

2.　The eternal life is the destination of the flowing Triune God.

3.　The eternal life eventually will become the New Jerusalem.

4.　Into eternal life means into the New Jerusalem.

C.　The New Jerusalem is the totality of the divine life, the totality of the life of God.

D.　The issue of our reigning in life will be the New Jerusalem, the consummate incorporation of God and man:

1.　God wants to be united and mingled with man.

2.　The God who has been united and mingled with man wants to be incorporated with man to be an incorporation.

3.　This union, mingling, and incorporation will consummate as the New Jerusalem.

E.　The goal of our reigning in life should be uniquely and ultimately the goal of God's eternal economy—the New Jerusalem as the universal incorporation of the union and mingling of divinity with humanity.

XII.　Other aspects of the apostles' work to work out the New Jerusalem:

A.　Serving as slaves—Rev. 22:3; 1:1; 2 Cor. 4:5.

B.　Ministering as royal priests—Rev. 22:3; Rom. 15:16; 1 Pet. 2:9.

C.　Blending the churches together with the New Jerusalem in view—Rom. 16:1-16, 21-24.

D.　Ushering the believers into the divine and mystical realm of the consummated Spirit and the pneumatic Christ—Phil. 1:19; Rom. 8:9; 2 Cor. 3:17-18.

E.　Recognizing the need of overcomers and laboring to produce them—2 Tim. 4:7-8:

1.　To overcome the degradation of the church—2 Tim. 2:19-22; Rev. 2—3.

2.　To build up the Body of Christ, which will consummate the New Jerusalem—Eph. 4:16.

3.　To build up Zion, the reality of the Body of Christ, within Jerusalem, the local churches, so that ultimately the entire New Jerusalem may become Zion—Rev. 14:1.