I.　Most of the work in today's Christianity is natural and is carried out in the natural life, not in the resurrection life of Christ—1 Cor. 2:14; John 11:25; 2 Cor. 1:9; 4:12, 14:

A.　Most Christians work in their natural life, which belongs to the old creation, not in resurrection.

B.　"The Lord condemns Christianity because it has become a religion carried out by man's natural strength and man's natural ability. There is no development of the divine element there" (Basic Lessons on Service, p. 153).

II.　The church as the Body of Christ is absolutely in resurrection—1 Pet. 1:3; Eph. 2:6; Matt. 16:18; cf. Gen. 2:21-24:

A.　The church is a new creation in Christ's resurrection and created by the resurrected Christ—Gal. 6:15; Heb. 2:10-12.

B.　"God sees the church as a being that can endure death. The gates of Hades are open to the church, but the gates of Hades cannot prevail against her and cannot confine her; thus, the nature of the church is resurrection" (The Orthodoxy of the Church, pp. 21-22).

C.　The golden lampstand, typifying the church as the Body of Christ, portrays Christ as the resurrection life, growing, branching, budding, and blossoming to shine the light—Exo. 25:31-40; Num. 17:8; Rev. 1:11-12.

III.　To be in the reality of the Body of Christ, we need to be absolutely in the resurrection life of Christ—John 11:25; 1 Cor. 15:45b; 2 Cor. 1:9:

A.　In our natural life and in the old creation we are not the Body; we are the Body in the new creation germinated by Christ's resurrection life—5:17; Eph. 1:19-23.

B.　The Body of Christ is in resurrection, that is, in the Spirit, in the pneumatic Christ, and in the consummated God—John 7:39; 2 Cor. 3:17; Matt. 28:19.

C.　The reality of resurrection is Christ as the life-giving Spirit—John 11:25; 20:22; 1 Cor. 15:45b.

D.　If we do any work which is not in resurrection, the life-giving Spirit will not honor it; the Spirit honors only what is in resurrection—vv. 45b, 58.

E.　The principle of resurrection is that the natural life is killed and that the divine life rises up in its place—2 Cor. 1:9.

F.　When we do not live by our natural life but live by the divine life within us, we are in resurrection; the issue of this is the Body of Christ—Phil. 3:10-11.

G.　Everything we say, everything we do, and everything we are in the church life must be in resurrection.

IV.　Our natural strength and ability need to be dealt with by the cross to become useful in resurrection—vv. 10-11:

A.　The natural strength and ability have no divine element; they act on their own, not according to God's will; and they seek their own glory and satisfy their own desire.

B.　Our strength and ability need to be brought into resurrection through the dealing of the cross—vv. 10-11.

C.　In resurrection something divine is wrought into our ability; thus, our "dealt-with" ability is full of God.

V.　In our service to the Lord, we must reject our natural enthusiasm and control our natural affection—Lev. 10:1-11; Matt. 10:37-39:

A.　We must be burning in spirit with the fire of God's life—Rom. 12:11; Luke 12:49-50.

B.　We should not serve with strange fire, signifying the natural enthusiasm not dealt with by the cross and not in resurrection—Exo. 3:2; Lev. 10:1:

1.　Strange fire in the priestly service, a sin of presumption, causes death before God—9:24; 10:1-2.

2.　Nadab and Abihu were not judged because they did something that was not for God; they were judged because they acted according to the natural life, doing something for God in a natural way—vv. 1-2.

3.　In our priestly service our natural enthusiasm should be rejected, and our natural affection should be controlled—vv. 6-9; Matt. 10:37-39.

4.　We all need to learn not to touch the holy things of God with the natural life; everything natural in us needs to be dealt with.

VI.　The result of being conformed to the mold of Christ's death is that we may attain to the out-resurrection from the dead—Phil. 3:11:

A.　To attain to the out-resurrection means that our entire being is gradually and continually resurrected—1 Thes. 5:23.

B.　The out-resurrection is a resurrection out of the old creation into the new creation—2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 6:15-16.

C.　It is by the power of Christ's resurrection that we, the lovers of Christ, determine to take the cross by denying our self—S. S. 2:8-13; Matt. 16:24.

D.　It is by the power of Christ's resurrection that we are enabled to be one with His cross as those staying in the clefts of the rock, in the covert of the precipice—S. S. 2:14.

VII.　The budding rod signifies our experience of Christ in His resurrection as our acceptance by God for authority in the God-given ministry—Num. 17:8:

A.　The budding, blossoming, fruit-yielding rod signifies the resurrection life of Christ.

B.　Whether or not we are an authority depends on whether we have passed through death and resurrection; there is nothing in ourselves that sets us apart as a spiritual authority—2 Cor. 1:9; 4:10-12; 10:8; 13:10.

C.　Resurrection means that we ignore what we are and trust only in what God is—1:9; 4:14.

D.　That which passes through death and still remains is resurrection—Phil. 3:11:

1.　Resurrection is something that has come out of death and that is beyond the natural realm.

2.　Resurrection is an eternal principle in our service to God.

E.　The leadership among God's people must be Christ Himself as the resurrection life which buds, blossoms, and bears almonds to feed God's people—Num. 17:8.