Date: December 20, 1940Place: Shanghai
The Bible is made up of words, but it is not man's word. It is God's word spoken through man. The Bible records the speaking of Daniel, Isaiah, Paul, etc. These men spoke on behalf of God, but this does not merely mean that God was speaking through Daniel, Isaiah, and Paul. It also means that the words that were spoken were also the words of Daniel, Isaiah, and Paul themselves.
It is not a question of how much of God's Word we can memorize or how well we can quote it. Nor is it a matter of how much we know or how familiar we are with God's Word. The real issue is whether or not we can represent God when we speak. We all know that Paul wrote two Epistles to the Corinthians. There are some words in his Epistles which he confessed were not commandments of the Lord (1 Cor. 7:25). He could say this because he had become one with Christ. We can say that he was speaking what the Lord was speaking. These words were not words of inspiration, but words that were the result of Paul's constitution. When Paul spoke, it was Christ speaking.
Words of inspiration and revelation can be received in an instant. But it takes a long process for Christ to be constituted and formed in us. This process cannot be accomplished within a short period of time. It is a prolonged work that goes on a little at a time. One has to maintain a continual hidden fellowship with the Lord before such constitution can be produced.
In quoting God's Word, we have to pay attention to one thing. It is not a matter of quoting the words that God spoke to men of old, like Moses, and applying it to situations today. It is a matter of whether or not we can speak what God wants us to speak when we quote such a word. In his time Moses spoke what God wanted him to speak. Can you say that God wants to speak the same thing to men today? Can you say that this is not just a quotation?
There was a time when I cared very much for Bible exposition and memorization. But today I consider them only as a means to reach God's goal. Frankly speaking, I am quite disappointed with our co-workers. Some have picked up what I have dropped. Some are still earnestly pursuing what I have given up. The Bible is the best gauge; it measures our real condition. The condition that many are in today does not qualify them to hear God's word. As far as we are concerned, we must not only have God's spoken word, the logos, that is, the black and white letters, but also the Lord's shining of these spoken words in our spirit to become the instant word, the rhema, before we can speak these words.
For example, many people can give a message on the story of Cain and Abel. But it is not a matter of whether one can extract more novel teachings from these passages. It is a matter of whether or not God can speak what He wants to speak to man today through such a message.
