Time with a Brother

Two weeks ago a brother from USA came to visit India for a training class at FTTND. By the way, he also spent a couple of days with the saints in the church in Grurugram. I was privileged to be able to pick him from the Airport, drive him around, and took him to different meetings of the church. In fact, I have been learning how to give hospitality to the visiting saints. I have enjoyed much hospitality in many localities in different parts of the world. As much as I enjoyed the saints' love and care, I am reciprocating the same within my capacity. 

Time with the brother was a good time of learning for me. Not merely in physical matters of taking care of a "guest" but much more in the matter of spiritual and mutual fellowship. Every time I drove him, we enjoyed praying together for different burdens as the Lord led us to pray. At times, we fellowshipped on different matters and learn from one another. In fact, it was this brother who inspired me in the matter of giving hospitality to the saints. Because he himself was the one who took care of us when we visited California last July. He had been with us and driving us around the entire Bay area of California, and took us to different localities for fellowship, blending, and church visit. I personally was very impressed by his sense of duty and responsibility despite he not even been a "full-timer." He really served us like a full-timer. To me, he was a wonderful pattern in serving the saints and the church, though he himself had not officially served a full-timer. Praise the Lord for such a wonderful pattern; a very human yet divine way in which he cared for us. It was a blessing to learn from him and a privilege to be able to serve him when he visited my locality. 

Praise the Lord for such a brother!

Family Day Out

Last Friday being a holiday for my children, my wife and I decided to take a day out with all the children. The day out was mostly for the purpose of health checkup from Tibetan healthcare center using natural cure technique for healing. I have heard of this technique from different people but have never gone myself. I decided to go and find out for myself by consulting the "doctor" and checking them out. Perhaps, that was the first time all the members of our family did a health consultation. Though we did not have any specific disease, for health sake, we got some naturally blended health products. It was more of a prevention rather than cure approach and backed up with health supplements.

Besides, we also enjoyed a time together over Tibetan meal. Eating out as a family was overdue for our family. We clubbed the matter of eating out and health check-up together and enjoyed a family day out.

Time with the family was much needed. Despite my busy schedule I often need to spend time with my growing children. They are very precious; my wife and I are really blessed with wonderful children. My bonding with my children, especially my son, became sweeter and sweeter these days. The two girls are sometimes too smart to handle; they know exactly how to convince me with what they want from me. Out of my love for them, in most cases, I comply with their "demands" as I deemed them OK for their ages for now. The point is, spending time together with the family is a great joy! Family life is God's gift. Family life also typifies, in miniature, God's big family life- the church life. What a blessing to have a family and be a part of the family! 

God bless my family! God bless the church life!

Afternoon Revival

Two weeks ago, a brother and I visited a new one who has been in contact for the past ten years but has never been properly shepherded nor brought into to the church life. Our visit that day was a turning point for this family, though for me it was my first visit. The Lord used that visit to get introduced to the family and I also invited him to come over to my house for a lovefeast.

A week later, the family came to our home for a lovefeast. Though we met for the first time, the fellowship and bonding were very sweet. Parent and parent with children and children; a wonderful time of bonding and blending! Hope one day, we all will be built up together in the church.

The meeting on Saturday night was so enjoyable that the brother opened up his spiritual situation. It was all very clear that the Lord has been working on him and his family, and the time has come now for them to be shepherded into the church life. The many years of shepherding have begun to yield fruit. I firmly believe, the Lord is faithful to reward all the labor put in by the saints. Discerning his need, I fellowshipped on the matter of the church using relevant Bible verses, briefed him on the church history, expounded some crucial portions of the word on the ministry and the Body of Christ, and also gifted him with a New Testament Recovery Version Bible and HWMR Crystallization-study on Leviticus Vol. 4.

The following Lord's day, the Lord burdened me about this family, especially the brother. I was led to send a text message if I could spend time with him over the phone in the afternoon for an "afternoon morning revival." He replied back emphatically with an agreement on my proposal. Therefore, beginning from the following Monday, I have been enjoying a time of afternoon revival with him over the phone; pray-reading Bible verses, reading through the text of HWMR, sharing and fellowshipping over the crucial points and ending with prayer. To my surprise, the brother's grasp of the truth was amazing; the Lord has already prepared him to receive the ministry of the word. We could easily get into the same flow in our pursuit of the ministry of the word. Most importantly, he amened to all the points of truths and received the word of God as a hungry and thirsty seeker and lover of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I am so glad, that the Lord blessed and filled my hands with new ones. In shepherding I am being shepherded. And in such a process, my understanding and enjoyment of the truths have become richer and higher. Praise the Lord for the afternoon revival!

I have been blessed with morning revival in the morning with my family, in the afternoon with a brother over the phone, and in the evening with another brother. Hallelujah, for the revival in the morning, revival in the afternoon, and revival in the evening!

Glory, Glory, and Glory

Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens.Blessed are you when they reproach and persecute you, and while speaking lies, say every evil thing against you because of Me.Rejoice and exult, for your reward is great in the heavens; for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Mathew 5:10-12

It was on the 3rd of Nov 2018 that my father was called by the highest authority in the village, Peikai, to clarify his stand, basically, our family's stand, on the village dictate of everyone participating in the rituals of the tradition and custom of the Rongmei Naga which from ages have been handed down from generation to generation. The Lord graced my father to stand for the truth that there can be no compromise on our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ that we professed; that we cannot participate in the rituals of the villages whatsoever as we have been saved and have become Christians and have forfeited the old heathen traditional religion of our forefather in the flesh; that we will not and cannot compromise on our standing for the truth; and that the village authority may take whatever action if they deem our faith and standing for the truth of the Bible as a violation of the pagan practices of primitives. The action taken for our stand for the truth was, in a single word, ex-communication. This means that none of our family members can communicate either verbally or in visitation with any of the other villagers and vice versa.  

When the decision was conveyed to me in our family fellowship, my first reaction was, "Glory, glory, glory...to the true and living God!" We have been graced and counted to be persecuted in such a glorious way we do not deserve. The Bible verses that came to me are the Lord's word as quoted above: Blessed are you..., Blessed are you..., and Rejoice and Exult...

I felt like the glory of God has finally been bestowed on our family. I could imagine our two families, my family and my aunt's family, in our village who are in the church life are like to pillars of cloud by day and pillars of fire by night. And that we have come nearer to what the Lord has promised us, what we are and what we should be - the salt of the earth and the light of the world in Mathew 5:13-16.

You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt has become tasteless, with what shall it be salted? It is no longer good for anything except to be cast out and trampled underfoot by men.
You are the light of the world. It is impossible for a city situated upon a mountain to be hidden.
Nor do men light a lamp and place it under the bushel, but on the lampstand; and it shines to all who are in the house.
In the same way, let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in the heavens.

I also reckon this incident as a direct answer to our prayer for the salvation of my village Keikhu and my own people in the flesh, the Rongmei Naga. As we have been praying regularly, the hand of the Lord has started to move. This is the first step of separation that is very much needed as we live in the midst of the heathen. What will follow is sanctification by the blood of Jesus Christ and saturation by the life of God. This first step has stamped a clear-cut distinction between the believers and the non-believers. It is like crossing the "red sea" so that there can be no going back to "Egypt." I see this as an answer to our prayer for my younger brother too. What man cannot sanctify positionally, God has to do it by all means. Therefore, whatever has transpired was the Lord's doing; His invisible leading hand behind the visible. 

Since the incident, our prayer for the salvation of our village Keikhu and the Rongmei Naga has been much more intensified, with much more faith, and with much more hope. My overall reaction is to simply thank the Lord and give Him all the glory. 

Glory, glory, glory to God the Father who planned,

Glory, glory, glory to God the Son who accomplished,

Glory, glory, glory to God the Spirit who applies.

Salvation to Keikhu! Salvation to the Rongmei Naga!

Coordination in the Body

The most important experience in the recent World Christian Expo 2018 at Mumbai was the coordination in the Body. The church in Mumbai was so burdened for contacting seeking believers in the city. They have been praying for the Lord to gain many more saints for the increase of the church. Christian exhibition that we attended was a good opportunity to contact seeking believers. The church had arranged everything for our hospitality. Besides, some saints would come every day during the exhibition to be with us. Sometimes, they invited us for a meal to their homes, other times they brought a meal for us at the exhibition center, and other time they brought tea, snack, and fruits. We enjoyed the love and care of the saints. Praise the Lord for the Body!

The coordination, love, care, and concern of the saints touched us so deeply. In return, we strongly prayed that the Lord would gain five seeking families. The number "five" was an instantaneous burden the Lord gave us as we prayed in our corporate prayer. Our burden became very strong when we realize the church in Mumbai needs a strong testimony. The city is the financial capital of India, and we have the burden that the Lord must gain a strong testimony in this city.

Faithful is the Lord and He ever will be. As we prayed for five seeking families, the Lord gave us five seeking families for the church to follow up. During the five days exhibition, we know who are the genuine seekers and who are not. There is a principle by which we know the genuineness of a seeker: A genuine hunger and thirst for the word of God, an ardent love for the Lord Jesus Christ and an appreciation for the ministry of the word. Two such seeking brothers came and fellowshipped with us at length. Both had left the denomination they were in before, and both are meeting with few believers at homes and pursuing the word. Both of them also have few other families with them with the same burden. Both of them also meets in small groups in the suburban area of Mumbai, thereby, opening new doors for the Lord's testimony to be raised in two new cities, Besides these two brothers, there are also sisters in three groups, all of them received the ministry books and are open for further follow up. May the Lord gain all these ones for His testimony in Mumbai.

In addition to the seeking believers, there are also seeking unbelievers from Muslim and Hindu background. The Lord brought them to come into contact with us. We preached the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to them. They all heard the word, and two men among them genuinely received the Lord. These two also were gifted with the New Testament Bible. 

We pray that the Lord would fully recover the five seeking families into the church life in Mumbai, and also raise up two new local churches, in Vasai and Virar. Though we did not witness many attendees during the exhibition as expected, we definitely thank the Lord for bringing some genuine seekers whom He has sovereignly reserved. We praise the Lord for all His arrangement. 

Lord, bless the church in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Panvel, Thane, Kalyan Dombivali and gain the entire stare of Maharastra!

Seeker, Seeker, and Seeker

The Lord has His chosen ones everywhere. It is for this reason that we came all the way to Mumbai to attend a World Christian Expo 2018. Our main burden is for the introduction and distribution of the ministry of the word. It is in an expo like this that the genuine seekers will come to search for what they have been thirsting and hungering for. We are willing to pay the price to participate in such an event mainly to attract seekers to the Lord through the ministry of the word. The Lord knows our burden and has been blessing us too.

Here are seekers who came and found the Lord and His heart's desire.

A Seeking Christian 

A brother who received a book from our stall on the first day of the expo came again to get hold of more ministry books. Besides purchasing a bag full of books including the Holy Bible Recovery Version, I also fellowshipped with him on some crucial aspects of the truths concerning Christ and the church. 

Our fellowship began with "sonship" -being born of God in His life and nature, then "priesthood" -being called to serve as holy and royal priesthood, then "the ministry" -being the perfecting of the saints for the building up of the Body of Christ, "the church" -being the Body of Christ comprising every genuine believers irrespective of time and space with her local expression in a locality, and finally the present day recovery of these truths with its life practices. The seeking brother was so amazed and joyful that he finally found us, as he out of his spiritual draught and desperation, left the denomination he used to be in. Now he meets with few believers at home, following the pattern in the book of Acts. I was so glad as much as he was too, to have met each other. It was definitely for seeker like him that a price need to be paid to receive him into the flock of God. 

May the Lord fully recover him into the church life in Mumbai and may He also recover the church in Vasai, the families of believers he has been shepherding.

A Seeking Muslim 

A group of young men came to our stall and were addressed by a brother, introducing the word of God. When they were done, I got the opportunity to speak to them. One of them introduced himself as a Muslim, truly seeking for the true God. That statement was a shot in my arm. 

I testified of how I found the true and living God at the age of nineteen. I encouraged them to open to God and ask Him to reveal Himself to them. Since He is God, He would definitely reveal Himself. I also told them not to seek God in religion. Religion is serving God without God Himself. Debating over holy scriptures of different religions leads to nowhere. It is only religion that divides people. The true and living God has no religion. He is the Lord Jesus Christ who is the very God incarnate and is now the Spirit to be receivable and dispensable. In Christ Jesus is the answer to all questions on God and in Him is the end of all spiritual search. He must be experienced subjectively, not merely known. And He can be experienced by simply calling upon His name, Lord Jesus Christ, and praying to receiving Him as life and life supply, and believing into Him. The seeking man was gifted with a New Testament Recovery Version. May the Lord save them soon!

A Seeking Hindu 

A young man walked into the expo with a quest to learn something about God. The Lord sovereignly brought him to our stall. He introduced himself as a believer in Jesus but a Hindu by religion. His statement truly caught my attention. On further conversation, I discovered that he is an MBA student from Yale University  USA. Since I know of a professor from Yale University, he immediately requested me to introduce to him and the brothers in Yale at the University or its vicinity. He being so seeking for God, I deemed it best to preach the gospel afresh, and I showed him crucial Bible verses and lead him to receive the Lord. He prayed to receive the Lord and was so happy. A New Testament Recovery Version was gifted to him for his daily study.

At least for these genuine seekers, it is worth paying every price to shepherd them to the true Shepherd and the true living God, the Lord Jesus Christ, and to the flock of God, the church. 

Leprosy in the Bible

The first time I heard about leprosy as a spiritual sin due to rebellion was when a rebellion actually happened in the local church where I was recovered into the church life when I was a student fifteen years ago. Later, through the ministry of the word, the truth and spiritual significance concerning leprosy has become clearer and clearer. My appreciation of this subject became so enjoyable when I entered into the in-depth study on the Crystallization-study of Leviticus and when I studied point by point in the Holy Word for Morning Revival. Every day for the past week as I enjoyed the Lord's speaking I could not help but share it to some select group of believers. Finally, what I shared became a whole message; all credit to the minister of the age who ministered the ministry of the word and the publisher, Living Stream Ministry.

Leviticus 13:2-3When a man has a swelling or an eruption or a bright spot on the skin of his body, and it becomes an infection of leprosy on the skin of his body, then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons the priests. And the priest shall look at the infection in the skin of the body; and if the hair in the infection has turned white and the appearance of the infection is deeper than the skin of his body, it is the infection of leprosy. When the priest has looked at him, he shall pronounce him unclean.

Leprosy signifies the serious sin issuing from within man, such as willful sin, presumptuous sin, and opposing God with determination (Lev. 13).

As seen in the cases of Miriam (Num. 12:1-10), Gehazi (2 Kings 5:20-27), and Uzziah (2 Charon. 26:16-21), leprosy issues from rebellion against God’s authority, against God’s deputy authority, against God’s regulation,and against God’s economy.

In the biblical sense, sin is rebellion; thus, leprosy signifies sin (1 John 3:4). The first case of sin in the Bible was Satan’s rebellion against God; hence, sin as rebellion was invented, inaugurated, by the rebellious archangel Lucifer (Ezek. 28:13-18; Isa. 14:12-15). Eventually, this sin, this leprosy, entered into mankind through Adam, and having entered into man, it issues from within man as many kinds of sins, that is, many manifestations of rebellion (Rom. 5:12, 19a; 7:20). Hence, a leper represents the fallen descendants of Adam, all of whom are lepers; as signs of leprosy, a swelling, eruption, or a bright spot on the skin of one’s flesh signifies man’s outward expressions in unruliness, in friction with others, and in pride and self-exaltation (Lev. 13:2). The condition in Leviticus 13:24-25 signifies that a saved person’s acting by the flesh, that is, his losing his temper, his justifying himself, and his not being willing to forgive others, is a sign of spiritual leprosy.

The Cleansing of the Lepers

Leviticus 14:1-3Then Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, This shall be the law of the leper on the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought to the priest, And the priest shall go forth outside the camp. Then the priest shall look, and if the infection of leprosy has been healed in the leper.

The matter of [the] cleansing [of the leper] is the all-inclusive salvation God has prepared and accomplished for us. Here we see a Christ who is all-inclusive. He has the blood, the Spirit, and everything we need to be cleansed. In Him we have the rich, complete, and extensive provision of God’s salvation. We all need to know this cleansing, this salvation, and experience it in full.

The leper being brought to the priest [in Leviticus 14:2] signifies an unclean person being brought to the Lord. In preaching the gospel we are actually bringing unclean persons, sinners, to the Lord. (Life-study of Leviticus, p. 365)

The priest going outside the camp to examine the leper (Lev. 14:3a) signifies the Lord Jesus leaving His original place and humbling Himself to be nigh to the sinner.…

Seeking for Healing and Cleansing from Our Spiritual Leprosy

In Leviticus 14:4-9 we see that the leper who was to be cleansed needed to seek for cleansing before God. This signifies that the one who is sick of the sin of leprosy, although he has been healed by the life within, still needs to have his shortcomings and defilement dealt with before God that he might be cleansed. Cleansing from leprosy requires not only the action from God’s side but also the coordination from our side. As lepers, as sinners, we need to seek for cleansing. Our seeking is our cooperation with God’s grace and love.

Healing and Cleansing

The one who had been healed of leprosy still needed to be cleansed. To be healed is one thing, and to be cleansed is another.

The Process of Cleansing from Our Spiritual Leprosy: Two Living Clean Birds

Leviticus 14:4-5Then the priest shall command that two living clean birds and cedar wood and scarlet strands and hyssop be taken for the one who is to be cleansed. And the priest shall command that one of the birds be slaughtered in an earthen vessel over running water.

These two birds,which are clean and full of life, are types of Christ. Christ is here typified by the bird life, the life that is able to fly in the air above the earth.

Birds

Birds are able to transcend the earth. The birds in verse 4 signify that Christ came from the heavens and that He belongs to the heavens and transcends the earth.

Living

The live birds signify that Christ is full of life. He is living because He is full of life.…

Clean

The clean birds here signify that only Christ is clean and is without any defilement. In this matter, Christ and we are opposite. With us everything is unclean; with Him everything is clean. We are uncleanness, but He is cleanness.

Two

The two birds signify, on the one hand, that Christ died for us that our filthiness might be taken away and, on the other hand, that He rose for us that we might be delivered from our weakness. Christ died on the cross to take away our sins. This is typified by the first bird. Christ rose from among the dead for us that we might be delivered from our weakness by the power, strength, and energy of life. This life is the resurrection life, life in resurrection. It is also the divine life, the eternal, uncreated life of God. We receive this life from the resurrected Christ, who is typified by the second bird. Hence, these two birds signify two aspects of Christ—Christ in crucifixion and Christ in resurrection. (Life-study of Leviticus, pp. 365-367)

The Process of Cleansing from Our Spiritual Leprosy: Cedar Wood, Hyssop, Scarlet Strands, Earthen Vessel Over Running Water, Sprinkling of Blood

Leviticus 14:5-7And the priest shall command that one of the birds be slaughtered in an earthen vessel over running water. As for the living bird, he shall take it and the cedar wood and the scarlet strands and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was slaughtered over the running water. And he shall sprinkle it on the one who is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times and shall pronounce him clean. Then he shall let the living bird go into the open field.

Cedar Wood

Cedar wood (cf. 1 Kings 4:33) signifies the honorable and uplifted humanity of Jesus, which enables Him to be our Savior. 

Hyssop

Hyssop, being one of the smallest plants, signifies that the Lord Jesus was willing to become lowly in His “becoming in the likeness of men” (Phil. 2:7) that He might be near to man and become man’s Savior (cf. Matt. 8:2-3). 

Scarlet

Scarlet, a dark red color, signifies the shedding of blood and also implies kingship (27:28-29).

All of this signifies that in order to cleanse us from our leprosy, the Lord lowered Himself to become a man of high standard but of low status that He might do the will of God and shed His blood on the cross for our redemption, thereby being glorified in His resurrection and becoming the honorable and high King (Phil. 2:5-11).

Earthen Vessel and Living Water

The earthen vessel signifies the humanity of Jesus (cf. 2 Cor. 4:7), and the living water signifies the living and eternal Spirit of God (John 7:37-39; Rev. 22:1); the bird being killed in an earthen vessel over living water signifies that through His death in His humanity the Lord Jesus offered Himself to God through the eternal and living Spirit who was within Him (Heb. 9:14).

Hebrews 9:14How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Sprinkling of Blood

The sprinkling of the blood of the slain bird on the leper who was to be cleansed signifies that the blood shed by Christ was sprinkled on us, the sinners (1 Pet. 1:2), and this sprinkling connects us to Christ, the Redeemer; the sprinkling of the blood seven times signifies the completeness of the cleansing of the Lord’s blood (1 John 1:7, 9).

Leviticus 14:6-7a…signifies that the Lord’s perfect redemption not only causes man to be cleansed objectively in his position, but also causes man to experience subjectively in the Holy Spirit the Lord’s suffering in shedding His blood in His noble, high, and lowly humanity, and to experience His death, resurrection, ascension, and glorification. All these matters are implied in the type. (Life-study of Leviticus, pp. 368-369) 

The Process of Cleansing from Our Spiritual Leprosy: Washing Clothes and Shaving Hair

Leviticus 14:8-9And the one who is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes and shave off all his hair and bathe in water, and he shall be clean. And after that he may come into the camp, but he shall dwell outside his tent seven days. And on the seventh day he shall shave off all his hair; he shall shave his head and his beard and his eyebrows, even all his hair. Then he shall wash his clothes and bathe his flesh in water, and he shall be clean.

This signifies that, on the one hand, a sinner who is to be cleansed needs to experience Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension and, on the other hand, he needs to bear the responsibility himself to deal with and cut off all that is of his old 9living and natural life. (Life-study of Leviticus, p. 371)

The leper has to “shave off all his hair…and bathe his flesh in water, and he shall be clean” (v. 9). The hair, which is something grown out from a man’s body, signifies the difficulties within ourselves. Therefore, shaving the hair means dealing with the difficulties of our own self.This is the work of the cross in dealing with our being. After one passes through the dealing of the cross, his whole being is cleansed in a practical way. This kind of dealing is not once for all; it must be repeated again and again to become thorough.

The shaving of the hair of the leper for his cleansing signifies dealing with the difficulties of the self, which is the enemy of the Body; *the razor signifies the cross* (Lev. 14:9).

Hair

The hair of the head signifies the glory of man; everyone has his boasts in certain areas; some boast of their ancestry, some of their education, some of their virtues, some of their zeal in their love for the Lord; almost everyone can find an area in which to boast, to glorify himself, and to make a display before man.

Beard

The beard signifies the honor of man; people esteem themselves honorable with regard to their position, their family background, or even their spirituality; they always have a superior feeling that they are above others. The eyebrows signify the beauty of man; we have naturally good and strong points, which did not issue from the experience of God’s salvation but from natural birth.

Body

The hair of the whole body signifies the natural strength of man; we are full of natural strength, natural methods and opinions, thinking that we can do this or that for the Lord and that we are capable of doing all things.

When all the aspects of the self are dealt with through the “razor” of the cross, and when we have nothing and are nothing, we shall be clean (cf. Phil. 3:7-11). We should utterly reject the self by doing everything through the cross and by the Spirit to dispense Christ into one another for the sake of the Body of Christ.

The leper’s shaving of his entire body, washing his clothes, and bathing his flesh a second time after waiting and watching seven days (Lev.14:9) signifies that a sinner who is to be cleansed needs to bear the responsibility for dealing with every part of his natural life and daily walk; this shows that if we deal with our sin and our sinful self seriously, in a definite, thorough, and absolute way, we shall be clean.

The Process of Cleansing Our Spiritual Leprosy in the Church

The house in Leviticus 14…typifies the church as our house, our home, and the leprosy in a house signifies sins and evils in the church (vv. 33-48).…[Verse 36b] signifies that the Lord or the apostle comes to examine. This kind of examination is not a matter of condemnation; rather, it is a kind of grace for healing.…[Leviticus 14:39-40] signifies that after the observation of a complete period of time, if the problem of the church is still spreading, the believer or believers involved in the problem should be removed from the fellowship of the church and be considered unclean, like the outsiders (cf. 1 Cor. 5). This means that when the church is sick of a certain disease, the elders should first observe the situation. If the problem is becoming worse, the source of the problem—the believer or believers who have become involved in the disease—should be removed from the fellowship, the communication, of the church in order to stop the spread of the disease and to eliminate the disease. (Life-study of Leviticus, pp. 385, 387-388)

Remove

Leviticus 14:40 Then the priest shall command that they take out the stones on which the infection is and throw them away outside the city into an unclean place.

Romans 16:17 Now I exhort you, brothers, to mark those who make divisions and causes of stumbling contrary to the teaching which you have learned, and turn away from them.

Titus 3:10 A factious man, after a first and second admonition, refuse.

The removing of the infected stones after seven days (Lev. 14:40) signifies that after the observation of a complete period of time, if the problem of the church is still spreading, the believer or believers involved in the problem should be removed from the fellowship of the church and be considered unclean, like the outsiders; this is done to stop the spread of the disease and to eliminate the disease (Rom. 16:17; Titus 3:10).

Replace

Leviticus 14:42 And they shall take other stones and put them in the place of those stones, and he shall take other plaster and replaster the house.

Putting other stones in the place of the removed stones (Lev. 14:42a) signifies using other believers (1 Pet. 2:5) to fill in the gap.

Renew

The replastering of the house with other plaster (Lev. 14:42b) signifies the renewing of the church with new experiences of the Lord’s gracious works; this is needed for a new start in the church life.

Break Down

Leviticus 14:45 And he shall break down the house, its stones and its timber and all the plaster of the house, and he shall bring them outside the city into an unclean place.

The breaking down of the house after the infection of leprosy returns (v. 45) signifies that if the situation of the church reaches the point where it cannot be cured, healed, that church should be terminated (cf. Rev. 2:5).

Healed and Cleansed

Leviticus 14:48 But if on the other hand the priest comes in and looks, and if the infection has not spread in the house after the house has been replastered, then the priest shall pronounce the house clean because the infection has been healed.

If no sin is spreading after the renewing of the church with the new experiences of the Lord’s gracious works, the church is clean and has no problem; the whole church needs to be cleansed with the eternally efficacious blood of Christ and His eternal and living Spirit so that the church is fully clean to be the mutual dwelling of God and man (Lev. 14:48-53; Heb. 9:14; 10:22; 1 John 1:9; Titus 3:5; John 14:2, 23).