In the New Testament age, God is doing a specific work in His Son and through the Holy Spirit. He is entering into people that they may be filled with the element of God, and He is bringing these people, who are filled with His element, into Himself. This is the mingling of God with man; this is the building of God. The believers who have been mingled with God are built up together in Him. “The builded church is not composed of only human beings. Rather, the building of the church is accomplished by building God into man. When God is in all of us, and we are in God, we are one Body. This is the way that we are built together.” This building depends on the New Testament priests. These priests are not a special class of believers but rather the believers who are in spirit and can be built together in God. In order for the church to be built up, it is necessary for every believer to enter into the Holy of Holies and carry out their priestly service, that is, to pray in their spirit. Only by praying in our spirit can we become living stones that are being built together (1 Pet. 2:5). The present need is for the believers to be built together in spirit to become a living, spiritual temple as the Body of Christ for Him to obtain rest, to be expressed, and to be glorified.

“The exercise of our spirit is for godliness, which is the manifestation of God in the flesh. God is Christ, who is in our spirit, so we need to deal with our spirit. Our spirit must be a spirit of a subdued and submissive will, of a properly exercised emotion, and of a clear, sound, and sober mind. This exercise also requires a good, pure, and single heart, one that seeks only the Lord Himself, and it requires love and faith. All these matters are the preparation for our exercise of the spirit.”

The Christian life is built on three seemingly unremarkable practices: reading the Bible, prayer, and fellowship with other believers. However, according to David Mathis, such “habits of grace” are the God-designed channels through which his glorious grace flows—making them life-giving practices for all Christians. Whether it’s hearing God’s voice (the Word), having his ear (prayer), or participating in his body (fellowship), such spiritual rhythms of the Christian life have the power to awaken our souls to God’s glory and stir our hearts for lifelong service in his name. What’s more, these seemingly simple practices grant us access to a host of spiritual blessings that we can only begin to imagine this side of eternity—and the incredible joy that such blessings bring to God’s children today.

Spiritual Activities for Groups and ChurchesActivate is a book of spiritual exercises that will change the dynamic of your life with God. Each Activity is designed to help you draw closer to the heart of God, improve your ability to listen to and work with the Holy Spirit, and equip you with spiritual power for doing the works that Jesus did. The spiritual exercises in Activate include devotional meditations, soaking in God’s presence, prophesying, casting out demons, laying hands on the sick, sharing the Good News, loving your enemies, and many others. These exercises can accompany the chapters of ACTS, a Bible study on the Book of Acts, or be done independent of the ACTS study. You and your church group are led step by step through each Activity so that you can break through barriers of resistance and encounter God in ways that you never have before. If you desire to go deeper in your experiences with God, then it is time for you to be Activated!

"Concerning the God-ordained way, the New Testament is full of revelation. God wants us to serve Him, but in the New Testament no one is allowed to serve God according to his own concept. We have to serve God according to God’s concept. God’s ordained way has been fully and clearly revealed in the New Testament, yet Christians through all the centuries, from the last part of the first century down to today, have neglected it." In this book Witness Lee offers a detailed view of God's ordained way for His people to function in preaching the gospel to sinners, caring for new believers, perfecting fellow believers, and prophesying for the building up of the Body of Christ.