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We have traced the New Testament ministry from its initiation with John the Baptist through its foundation and its major part with the Lord Jesus Himself and on to its continuation and further development with the apostle Paul. In this chapter we come to Peter’s part in the New Testament ministry from his two Epistles and to John’s part from his Epistles and from the book of Revelation, which is the consummation of the entire Bible.
Lord, we thank You for this gathering; we have the assurance that You are with us. Grant us the mercy and the grace, Lord, that we may practice being one spirit with You. We pray that You would be one with us and that we may be one with You, even right now in this meeting, in the sharing, in the testimonies, and in the speaking.
Lord, we pray that Your word might be so clear to us, that we may see what is in Your heart, what is revealed in Your Word. Lord, grant us a sober mind, a seeking heart, and an open spirit. O Lord, we need You; we need Your word, and we need Your unveiling. Lord, do unload us, and take away all the veils, all the distractions. We trust in You, Lord, and we trust in Your blessing. Lord, everything is altogether up to You; we are here waiting on You. We pray that You would do something and work upon all of us. Amen.
In such a spirit and with such a prayer before the Lord, we want to continue our fellowship concerning the New Testament ministry. We all need to be clear that the line of Peter’s two books is life, the divine life, the spiritual life, the life that is the very Triune God being imparted into us. Without such a word I am afraid it would be hard for any one of you to tell what the line of Peter’s two Epistles is, even after we have completed our life-study on them in our training.
The first point that indicates that this divine life is the line of Peter’s two books is the fact that Peter strongly emphasizes that we have been regenerated with the incorruptible seed (1 Pet. 1:3, 23). Surely this regeneration is a matter of life. Then in chapter 2 of his first Epistle Peter tells us that Christ bore up our sins in His body on the cross in order that we might live (v. 24). Here Peter does not say that Christ died on the cross in order that we might be forgiven, but he says that Christ died on the cross in order that we might live. Peter’s word here corresponds to the Lord’s word in John 3:14-15, which says that the Son of Man would be lifted up as Moses lifted up the bronze serpent in the wilderness, that we may have eternal life.
Furthermore, Peter even says that the grace we received is the grace of life (1 Pet. 3:7). Even the weaker vessels, referring to the sisters in this verse, are the heirs of the grace of life. The grace of life is God as life and the life supply to us in His Trinity — the Father as the source of life, the Son as the course of life, and the Spirit as the flow of life flowing within us with the Son and the Father. All believers are heirs of this grace. In brief, the grace of life is the Triune God processed to become the all-inclusive, life-giving, indwelling Spirit. The Triune God is now within us as the grace of life. (See footnote 75 in 1 Pet. 3, Recovery Version, and Message 23, Life-study of 1 Peter.) Paul also touched the matter of the grace of life but never expressed it in these terms. You cannot find the expression the grace of life in Paul’s writings, but you can see the same thing covered in Romans 5. Paul used these two words, grace and life, in Romans 5:21, but he never composed these two words together into the phrase the grace of life.
Chapter 4 of 1 Peter also has some hint concerning life (see vv. 1-2, 6). Then in chapter 5 Peter’s exhortation concerning the eldership is altogether related to the living of the elders. Surely what Peter presents in these verses is altogether not merely in the realm of teaching or of practice (vv. 1-3). Peter exhorts the elders to live a life, which is their shepherding. The proper shepherding should be the elders’ living. The elders live a life that is an example for the flock, and that example is the shepherding of the flock. The example, or pattern, for the flock is a life (v. 3). You can never shepherd a church in a way that is apart from the way you live. If you do not live in a certain way, you can never shepherd the church in that way. This is life. The Epistles of Peter are on the line of life.
The first few verses of the first chapter of 2 Peter tell us that God has given us all the things which relate to life. How much I appreciate these verses! At the time of our regeneration God gave us all the various aspects of the divine life. We may say that regeneration brings in the richest deposit, for through regeneration God deposited into us a full supply of His riches of life to be what we may call our “capital.” Because God has already given us all the things concerning life, what we need now is to develop what we have received, not to receive these things again. According to 2 Peter 1:3-8, in the initial item of life given to us, we need to develop the second item. Then in the second, we need to develop the third, and in the third, the fourth. We need to go on to further develop all the items of life, one after another, until we reach the eighth item. With such a development in life we will have a rich entry into the kingdom.
Even 2 Peter 1 is adequate to show us that Peter is in the line of life and that his ministry is a continuation of the ministry of the Lord Jesus. Peter had seen the Lord’s ministry when He was on this earth, and Peter continued in the same line.
In Peter’s fifth message recorded in Acts, he also spoke of life. When he related the story to the Jewish believers of how he saw the Spirit fall on those in the house of Cornelius while he was speaking, he concluded by saying that he realized that the Gentiles could also repent to have life (11:18). We should not consider that Peter’s ministry is something away from the line of life. Peter did not go away from the line of life. We always consider that it is John’s ministry, his Gospel and his Epistles, that is on the line of life. Surely John is on the line of life, but Peter is also on the same line.
Furthermore, I would say a strong word concerning the way Peter confirms and recommends Paul’s ministry in the last chapter of his second book (2 Pet. 3:15-16). He says clearly that in Paul’s writings there are some deep points that are hard for people to understand. The way Peter refers to “our beloved brother Paul” and highly commends Paul’s writings indicates that Peter was for Paul’s ministry. (See last paragraph of footnote 162 in 2 Peter 3, Recovery Version.) Paul’s ministry is on Christ and the church, which is constituted of Christ, of the Spirit, and of life, that the church might be the expression of the Triune God. Therefore, by this confirmation and recommendation of Paul’s ministry you can see how much Peter’s part of the New Testament ministry is one with the Lord’s part and with Paul’s part.
John’s part of the New Testament ministry is also on the line of life. John’s first Epistle is simply marvelous. We all need to see that this is a book on life and on the divine fellowship of this divine life. First John unveils to us that in our experience and for our experience there are three points of the divine life: the fellowship, the anointing, and the birth. Because the training on John’s Epistles adequately covered these points, we do not need to say much here, but I would encourage you all to spend some time to study 1 John with the help of the footnotes of the Recovery Version and the Life-study messages. You need to saturate yourselves with these three matters of the divine life: the fellowship of the divine life, the anointing of the divine life, and the birth of the divine life.
Through the birth of this divine life, we have received a divine seed. The word seed is used by John in a particular way. In this divine seed are virtues, including the virtue to practice God’s righteousness, the virtue to practice God’s love, and the virtue to overcome sin, the world, and Satan. We need to remember that 1 John is on (1) the divine life, (2) its fellowship, (3) its anointing, and (4) its birth with the seed to provide us the virtues in three things — righteousness, love, and victory. If you get into these few points, the entire book will become your constituents so that you are constituted with this divine life.
In John’s last book we come to a threefold consummation — the consummation of John’s writings, the consummation of the New Testament, and even the consummation of the entire Bible. As such a consummation, the book of Revelation is crucial. As a part of God’s New Testament ministry, this book has never been opened up so much as it has been since 1969, which was the time when the Lord showed us the seven Spirits.
The first important principle in understanding the book of Revelation is that nearly every item in this book has been presented already either in the Old Testament or in the other books of the New Testament. You may be surprised or even shocked to realize that, basically, Revelation does not present anything new.
For example, the first point in the book of Revelation is the lampstands (1:12, 20; 2:1). In the Old Testament there were lampstands in the tabernacle in Exodus and in the temple in 1 Kings (Exo. 25:31-40; 1 Kings 7:49). Furthermore, in Zechariah there is the lampstand with the seven lamps as the seven eyes of the stone of grace (3:9; 4:2, 10). Therefore, this term, the lampstand, is not a new expression in Revelation but is clearly from the Old Testament. (See also Matt. 5:15.) Whatever is found in Revelation is not a new item but rather the full development of a particular item that has been presented already. The lampstand is not developed to its fullest extent until the book of Revelation.
Another illustration of this principle is the throne of God with the four living creatures before the throne (4:2, 6-11; 5:6). These are not new items, because Ezekiel saw and described them long before (Ezek. 1:5-26). Item after item that is presented in Revelation is the full development of something already presented in the Old Testament. This principle is crucial for our understanding of this book.
Even the New Jerusalem is not a new item in the book of Revelation. At the end of Ezekiel there is a city with twelve gates, a city called “Jehovah Is There” (48:30-35). The city with twelve gates is an old item renewed and developed in Revelation (21:12-13). You may be surprised and even shocked to find that one item after another in Revelation is not new but is rather a further development of something already presented. Without this principle you cannot understand this mysterious book.
Furthermore, even the revelation concerning the Divine Trinity has been developed in the book of Revelation. In Matthew we see the Father, the Son, and the Spirit (28:19). In theology, to indicate the Father you simply say the first in the Trinity, and everyone understands that you are speaking of the Father. Likewise, the second is Christ the Son, and the third is the Spirit. However, when we come to the first chapter of Revelation, the sequence of the Divine Trinity is altogether changed. Verse 4 says, “From Him who is and who was and who is coming.” This expression, Him who is and who was and who is coming, is triune and is equivalent to the Old Testament expression for Jehovah (Exo. 3:14). In the Divine Trinity revealed in Revelation, the first One is triune and is Jehovah, the great Eternal, the great I Am, the great To Be, the One who is, who was, and who is coming, or who is to be. Therefore, even from this one point we can see that the Divine Trinity is very much developed.
After naming first Him who is and who was and who is coming, Revelation 1:4 continues, “And from the seven Spirits who are before His throne.” Here the second is not the Son but the Spirit, and the Spirit here is not one Spirit but seven Spirits, a sevenfold development. In the development of the Divine Trinity in Revelation 1:4, the first becomes Jehovah, and the second becomes the seven Spirits. The third is in verse 5: “And from Jesus Christ, the faithful Witness, the Firstborn of the dead, and the Ruler of the kings of the earth.” Here the third is not the Spirit but the Son. This indicates that the sequence of the Divine Trinity is altogether changed. The faithful Witness refers to the Son’s earthly life, and the Firstborn of the dead refers to His resurrection. In addition, the Ruler of the kings of the earth refers to His ascension, to His present situation, and to His coming back.
Moreover, neither the term the Father nor the term the Son is used in these two verses, and the Spirit is mentioned as “the seven Spirits.” Surely this is the fullest development of the Divine Trinity, showing that all the creeds are inadequate. If you are going to accept any of the creeds, it is as if you need to cut your long feet to make them fit into a pair of short shoes.
In Revelation the Divine Trinity is not a new thing. At least in Matthew 28:19 the matter of the Divine Trinity has been developed. In fact, from Genesis 1:1 the Divine Trinity has been developed through all the books up to Matthew 28:19 and has been applied in Acts, in the Epistles, and all the way to the book of Revelation. Now at the very opening word of this book you have the fullest development of the Divine Trinity. Moreover, the development continues in chapters 4 and 5, where we are told that the seven Spirits are the seven lamps before the throne of God (4:5) as well as the seven eyes of the Lamb (5:6). The seven lamps before the throne are for God’s administration over the entire universe; the seven eyes of the Lamb are for Christ’s observing, judging, and infusing. What a further development of the Divine Trinity this is! In the development of the Divine Trinity, the Spirit becomes the eyes of the Son. The One called the third in traditional theology becomes the eyes of the second. How could you explain such a thing? Are They two persons or one? Surely the light in these few verses annuls the entire teaching of the traditional theology concerning the three persons. According to the terminology of traditional theology, if the third person becomes the eyes of the second person, you would lose one person so that eventually you would have only two persons among the Divine Trinity. How could you count your eyes as a separate person from yourself? This one matter gives you a strong reason not to follow the traditional teaching concerning the Divine Trinity.
I have especially encouraged the young people to study Greek for the purpose of going on to see further things in the pure Word of God, not to go back to study those traditional things. The verses we have been considering illustrate the way to get into the pure Word of God apart from any influence of traditional teaching. Even our brief consideration of these few verses in Revelation leaves no ground for the erroneous teaching that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are three separate persons. In fact, it destroys that wrong teaching.
Furthermore, the book of Revelation uses the developed Trinity for the fullest unveiling of the church. Revelation 1:4 begins, “John to the seven churches.” You need to take note of the word seven. “To the seven churches...from Him who is and who was and who is coming, and from the seven Spirits.” Again, you need to take note of the word seven. The seven Spirits match the seven churches, the seven churches are the seven lampstands (v. 20), and the seven Spirits are the seven eyes of the Lamb (5:6). The church in its fullest development is the seven churches as the seven lampstands, which need the seven Spirits as the seven eyes of the Lamb to match them.
In Revelation even Christ has been developed. He did not have seven eyes when He was on this earth. Peter and James did not see the seven eyes. John who reclined on the bosom of Christ surely saw the Lord Jesus with only two eyes, but in Revelation he saw the seven eyes of the Lamb. The seven eyes are a development. The One who used to have two eyes now has seven eyes.
The church in its fullest development needs to be matched by Christ in His development, and this matching is altogether a matter of the seven Spirits. This point is crucial. For the matching to be a matter of the seven Spirits means that we need not only to be filled but also to be saturated and even soaked in the seven Spirits. Then the church becomes the lampstand.
The lampstand is the embodiment of the Triune God. From 1975 we began to see the lampstand as the embodiment of the Triune God with three aspects — the substance, the form, and the expression. The substance of the lampstand is gold. In fact, the entire lampstand is a lump of gold (1:12; Exo. 25:31). Gold signifies the divine substance, which is God Himself. This lump of gold also has a form. It is not merely a bare piece of gold but a piece of gold in a definite form with a purpose. The gold is in the form of a lampstand, and this form signifies Christ. God took a definite form in His Son. Actually, the Son of God is the form of God. In addition, the seven lamps are the expression of the lampstand. Both Zechariah and Revelation tell us that the seven lamps are the seven Spirits (Zech. 4:2, 10; Rev. 4:5). Therefore, these seven lamps that are the expression of the lampstand signify the seven Spirits, that is, the Spirit of God. Based upon the Spirit as the expression of the lampstand, it is clear that the lampstand is the embodiment of the Triune God, the embodiment of the Father as the substance, of the Son as the form, and of the Spirit as the expression.
In Revelation the lampstands specifically signify not Christ but the church. (See footnote 3 on 1:12, Recovery Version.) Nevertheless, we should not say that the lampstands are not Christ; rather, we should say that the lampstands are the increase of Christ. In Exodus 25 only Christ is typified in the lampstand, but in Revelation Christ in His increase is signified in the lampstands. The lampstands in Revelation signify Christ in His enlargement, in His increase.
When we are talking about the ministry of the New Testament, we need to ask ourselves whether we know how to minister the embodiment of the Triune God as the very solid element of the church. We need to consider this matter soberly. Including myself, I would say that we do not know much about this matter.
We need to see what the ground is for saying that Christ with His seven eyes is for the churches in the fullest development. At least once in writing to a church in the two chapters following chapter 1, Christ declares that He has the seven Spirits (3:1). The fact that He has the seven Spirits indicates that what He has is to match the seven churches, and now the seven churches are the seven lampstands in the fullest development of the church.
In this book there is a long parenthetical section from chapter 4 through chapter 20. The first three chapters of Revelation are the basic chapters on the church, and the last two chapters are the basic chapters on the consummation of the church. In between is a long parenthesis of seventeen chapters that tells of God’s dealing with the universe by His governmental administration. This parenthetical section begins with the throne of God (4:2) and ends with Satan cast into the lake of fire (20:10). What is indicated in this section is God’s dealing with His enemy, from the throne to the lake of fire.
During the time that God is dealing with His enemy, the churches are going on in growth. Therefore, even in the parenthetical section of seventeen chapters there are several references to the church people. In chapter 7 is the innumerable multitude of believers, and in chapter 12 are the woman with the man-child (7:9; 12:1, 5). In chapter 14 are the firstfruits with the harvest, in chapter 15 are the overcomers on the glassy sea, and in chapter 19 is the wife of the Lamb (14:4, 15; 15:2; 19:7-8). Then in chapter 20 are the overcoming saints who will be co-kings with Christ in the millennium (v. 6). These references to the church people within God’s governmental dealings indicate that the church is being developed during the time that God’s governmental dealing with His enemy is going on. These six instances — the innumerable multitude, the woman with the man-child, the firstfruits with the harvest, the overcoming ones on the glassy sea, the wife of the Lamb, and the co-kings of Christ in the millennium — show that the church is still going on and being developed while God is dealing with Satan.
Eventually, when God has finished dealing with His enemy, the church will come into its fullest consummation in the new heaven and the new earth — the New Jerusalem. Therefore, we need to go on from the lampstand to the New Jerusalem. In the lampstand you can see the embodiment of the Triune God but not all the riches detailed in the Triune God applied to His church. In the New Jerusalem you can see all the riches of the Triune God applied to His redeemed people.
There the Triune God is flowing as the water of life, and the very embodiment of the Triune God, Christ as the Lamb, is the tree of life growing along the flowing river of life (22:1-2). There in the New Jerusalem you can also see God in the Lamb as the light to His redeemed (21:23). These three things, the river of life, the tree of life, and the light of life, will be the intrinsic essences of the living of the New Jerusalem. We need to see that the New Jerusalem will live by these three essences. The river of life, the tree of life, and the light of life are all of the essence of life. (For more details concerning the New Jerusalem, see chs. 8 through 11 of The Basic Revelation in the Holy Scriptures.)
In conclusion, we need to consider what the part of John’s ministry is in the New Testament ministry. When we consider this matter, we have to confess that there is nothing that we can say because we are short. Compared with this part of the New Testament ministry, we ourselves are in kindergarten. What poverty there is today compared with this part of the New Testament ministry! We have to confess that we are poor.
If you are burdened to go on in the New Testament ministry of God, you need to go on along this line, in this major, and in this school. I strongly encourage you not to get out of this school, not to get off from this major, and not to get on any other line. Here is a strong major in the unique school for you to explore in your spiritual study. In this line is what the Lord needs, and in this line you will never cause trouble. Your going on in this line will edify the saints, build up the church, and build up the Body to its fullest extent. Furthermore, it will never create any division or any confusion. If you take another way, you will be out of the unique school, off from this major, and not in the line of the New Testament ministry. In that case, whatever you preach, whatever you teach, and whatever you present will be a cause of division. I encourage you to consider this matter soberly.
In the Lord’s recovery, if we were to control people merely so that we could present our teaching, that would be foolish, and it would be low or mean. No one can control people except a strong sect. Nearly all the denominations exercise control over their preachers. For example, if you are going to be a preacher in a certain denomination, it is necessary for you to preach their teaching. Now we need to consider what is the teaching in the Lord’s recovery, whether it is Witness Lee’s teaching, Watchman Nee’s teaching, or some other teaching. It is on this point that I am burdened. We need to be very clear that we do not have anyone’s teaching. We are in the Lord’s recovery, and His recovery is to recover His unique ministry. This unique ministry is the ministry of the New Testament, which is to minister the Triune God embodied in Christ as life into His chosen people to make them living members to form the Body of Christ to express Christ as the very embodiment of the Triune God. If we say that we have some kind of teaching, surely this New Testament ministry is our unique teaching, and this ministry should control our preaching and our teaching. We are not controlled by any sectarian, denominational teaching, but we should be controlled by this unique New Testament ministry.
What we have seen in these seven chapters is the ministry of the New Testament of God. With this ministry as our basis, we will go on to see what the vision in the Lord’s recovery is today. Then we will have a ground, a view, and even a standard of measurement so that we will know where to stay, where to go, and where to be limited.
