The testimony of Jesus

  Scripture Reading: Rev. 1:2

  The book of Revelation speaks of "the testimony of Jesus" several times. The apostle John was exiled to the island of Patmos for "the testimony of Jesus" (1:9). The saints of old were slain because of "the testimony" (6:9). The kind of people Satan attacks the most are those who "have the testimony of Jesus" (12:17). When the Lord Jesus comes back again, those who will reign with Him are the saints who have maintained "the testimony of Jesus." The angel said to John that "the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of the prophecy" (19:10). Paul said in his Epistles that "the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you" (1 Cor. 1:6). What is the testimony of Jesus?

  It would require a considerable amount of work to answer this question fully. We can only explain it in a brief and concise way here. The testimony of Jesus includes four aspects: (1) who He was and who He is, (2) His relationship with man, (3) His accomplishments on the cross, and (4) His relationship with God's eternal plan. These four aspects include everything about the testimony of Jesus. Many things are included in these four points, and we can only cover them briefly.

  First, who was Jesus, and who is Jesus now? This has everything to do with Himself; it relates to the person of Christ. We must realize that the person of Christ occupies a very important place in theology. Do not think that theology is merely an exercise in fine technicalities. The deepest, craftiest, and most penetrating deceptions of Satan are directed against the person of Christ. Satan has many ways to lead men into some type of esoteric or philosophical interpretation of the person of Christ. Once he stumbles a devout believer with this question, he will destroy the ministry of that person for his entire life. We should always bear in mind that the devil will use any means to subtly set traps to stumble and ensnare God's children with doubts about Christ's person. The more we follow the Lord, the more Satan will try to ensnare us and create doubts in us about this matter. Satan knows that the minute he strikes this matter, he has struck the center of all matters. As long as he can put doubts and questions about the person of Christ within us, we are finished in the eyes of God. As long as there is a little doubt or error in our teaching about the person of Christ, we are finished in God's hand. Satan is intent on attacking those who have a heart to consecrate themselves to the Lord; he wants to distract them from the orthodox way of the truth concerning the person of Christ. We have to discern clearly the different so-called theological thoughts and must not be deceived or follow blindly to the extent that we fall into Satan's snare.

  Who is Jesus? This is the foundation of our testimony. All false teachings and heretical doctrines directly or indirectly take this central question as their target of attack. They all try to tear down the person of Christ. Many people try to explain Christ in a roundabout way. In the end they do not acknowledge that Christ is God and do not want others to acknowledge that Christ is God. The first point concerning the testimony of Jesus Christ is the person of Christ.

  What is Jesus' relationship with man? One term explains and expounds His relationship with man: representation. He did things that were absolutely superhuman, things that no man could ever do. This is because He is God, and He acts as God. Yet at the same time, everything He did represented man. He was joined to man, and He became flesh. He is the "mystery of godliness" (1 Tim. 3:16). He has physical organs and limbs like we do; He is man among men. Hence, He is a representation of man. His human living on earth, His work, His death, His burial, His resurrection, His ascension, and His position and work in heaven today are all representative in nature. The testimony of Jesus includes His relationship with man. It speaks of His representation then and now.

  What did Jesus accomplish on the cross? He accomplished death, burial, resurrection, and kingship. This is universal and all-inclusive — involving His all-inclusive death, all-inclusive burial, all-inclusive resurrection, and all-inclusive kingship, reign, and subjection of all things. This is the testimony of Jesus.

  What is Jesus' relationship with God's eternal plan? God ordained in eternity past that the Lord Jesus be Head over all things. He is the King of kings. This is the testimony of Jesus Christ.

  We believe the above four points are the testimony of Jesus; they include the whole scope of the Bible. You can trace a line from the Old Testament to the New Testament, from Genesis to Revelation, concerning these things. Today this testimony is contained within a vessel. This vessel is the church, His Body. This testimony is contained within this vessel and is manifested in two ways: (1) It is the sum total of all the truths that are revealed, and (2) it becomes the power of the truths that are constituted in this vessel. It is true that the testimony of Jesus is contained within this vessel; this truth was created in Jesus through the Spirit. Hence, it is not merely an objective truth that can be understood by the mind. This truth has to become our life, our nature, and part of our experience through the Holy Spirit. The testimony is found in the vessel, and the vessel is the church, His Body, of which we are the members. The Holy Spirit is revealing this testimony and constituting it into the church.

  Has the Holy Spirit revealed the Lord Jesus to you? You must not confess that Jesus is the Son of God simply because you agree with others who say that He is the Son of God. You must believe that the Lord Jesus is the Son of God because of the revelation of the Holy Spirit. This is something that comes from the Holy Spirit.

  Do we see the representative work of the Lord Jesus through the Holy Spirit? Is the vision continually clear that Christ was and still is our Representative? Has our vision become part of our life? All these matters need to be examined carefully. The Lord Jesus is our Representative at the right hand of God. The Lord Jesus represents us in His moral and spiritual perfection to meet all of God's demands. Before God, we are perfect in Him (Col. 1:28). Within the man Jesus, God has found human perfection. God reckons His perfection as our own. He no longer needs to find another perfect man; He has gained One already. Now God is sharing Christ's perfection with us. This is the work of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit dispenses the Lord Jesus to us through our faith and obedience. Has this become a part of us yet? This requires the revealing and constituting work of the Spirit. It is not a theory, concept, or creed. When we truly see it, we will know the difference between the two. This is why we say that we need the revelation and constitution of the Spirit.

  We need the Holy Spirit to reveal what the Lord Jesus has done on the cross before His work can become a part of us. The Lord Jesus not only died for us; He died as us. When He died, we died also. When He was buried, we were buried also. When He resurrected, we appeared in Him also. Has the Holy Spirit shown us these things, and do we know them? With resurrection as our position and foundation, judgment is over. There is now no more condemnation, and we are no longer condemned. This may be only in the Bible, or it may truly be a part of our life as a revelation in us. This is what it means to have the testimony of Jesus contained in the vessel, which is the church, the Body of Christ, of which we are the members. We are called to testify of the truth that is contained in this vessel so that the testimony of the truth will be constituted in us through revelation. Hence, we must "earnestly contend for the faith once for all delivered to the saints. For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who of old have been written of beforehand for this judgment, ungodly men, perverting the grace of our God into licentiousness and denying our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ" (Jude 3-4).