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Ephesians 1:17 says, “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the full knowledge of Him.” In this verse the apostle speaks of a spirit of wisdom and revelation in order that we may know God. In other words, if we desire to know God, we must have a spirit of wisdom and revelation.
We often think that wisdom comes from revelation, but instead of starting with revelation, this verse speaks first of wisdom. A person must first have wisdom, not revelation, in order to know spiritual matters. We think that it does not matter whether we have wisdom, because we will know spiritual matters when the Holy Spirit comes and gives us revelation and seeing. But this is not the case in reality. A person must have spiritual wisdom first and then spiritual revelation in order to know spiritual matters. Wisdom is related mainly to our mind, but revelation is mainly in our spirit. If we are void of wisdom in our mind, we will not understand spiritual matters even if we have received a revelation in our spirit.
For example, a large factory with many different machines may be opened for students to visit. This opening, in spiritual terms, is a revelation. Formerly, this factory was closed to people; it was a mystery. People could not see or even know the actual situation of the factory, but once the factory is revealed and opened, everything is within plain sight of the students. Because of inadequate training in mechanical knowledge, however, a student may still not understand what he has seen. He does not have the capacity to understand the machinery. On the contrary, another student may have studied three or four years of mechanical engineering, gained a certain amount of knowledge concerning machinery, and been trained in his mind with a knowledge of mechanics; that is, he has wisdom concerning machinery. When the factory is opened to him, he will understand the machines as soon as he sees them. Hence, we need to see that even if a person has revelation, he may still not have understanding; he must first have wisdom. One who does not have wisdom will not have understanding, even if he has revelation. In order to see revelation and understand the significance of revelation, one must first be equipped with wisdom. This is the reason the apostle spoke first of wisdom and then of revelation.
It is the same in our experience. While revelation can be seen instantly, wisdom requires preparation over a long period of time; this is the reason we need training. Formerly, when we had problems and needs in our service, we often could not find the way to deal with the problems and meet the needs. It has only been in recent years that we have found the way and realized the source of the problem; that is, even though we have a heart for the Lord, we are short of spiritual wisdom, which comes from training.
Because of our lack of training and practice, we have been short of spiritual wisdom, and because of our lack of spiritual wisdom, we have been unable to understand the spiritual revelation that has been given to us. Therefore, over the past few years, we have placed a special emphasis on training, and our expectation is that we will be prepared for the spiritual matters. This preparation is to lay a foundation for wisdom so that we may develop a common sense in our mind, thoughts, and perception. Then when the Holy Spirit enlightens us and gives us an inspiration or a revelation, we will be able to understand it readily.
Some people strongly question whether our trainings should be for training our minds. What they mean is that our trainings are not spiritual enough. It is true that our trainings, for the most part, focus on training one’s mind. But please remember that if we pay attention only to being spiritual and neglect the training of the mind, we will still have no way to be spiritual in the end. When a factory is opened to someone who has spent five to ten years in mechanical engineering, he is able to understand and comprehend the machinery in the factory. However, if someone has not received training, he will not be able to understand anything when a factory is opened to him. Even after he has examined every piece of machinery, it will be as if he has not seen anything.
If we have not been trained and have not learned how to meet, we will not know what to do and how to release the inspiration that the Holy Spirit gives us; this is because we do not have wisdom. If we have been trained and our mind has received practice in spiritual matters with spiritual wisdom as a foundation, we will have the wisdom to follow the inspiration and meet the need of the revelation when we receive inspiration and revelation in the meetings. As trained ones, we will be able to offer a prayer immediately, release a testimony, or select a hymn.
Sometimes when we listen to the prayers of the saints in the Lord’s table meeting, we can tell there is a problem with their person even though their spirit is strong. This is because their mind is confused, and their thinking has not been trained. While they have revelation, they are short of wisdom. Of course, we cannot rely on wisdom alone. If we rely only on wisdom, we will be fully of the mind. Therefore, we need both wisdom and revelation. It is a spirit of wisdom and revelation that enables us to know God. Hence, we need to be trained so that we may lay a foundation of wisdom in all spiritual matters and be able to apply wisdom when the revelation of the Holy Spirit comes.
First John 1 speaks of the fellowship of life. We all know that the central goal of the Bible is life, and the central goal of the universe is also life. The record of creation in Genesis 1 and 2 shows that life is the center of everything. Many scientists consider the record in Genesis to be meaningless because it contains no record of the great matters in the universe related to astronomy and geography; instead, it records matters that are of no interest to astronomers, geographers, and scientists. The center of this record is life. In brief, on the first and second days there was no life. On the third day God caused the dry land to appear so that plants might grow. On the third day there was plant life, which is the lowest life, a life without consciousness, without feeling. The plant life is the first kind of life spoken of in creation, and this life is the lowest life. On the fifth and sixth days the record goes from the lowest animal life to the higher mammal life, and among the mammals the highest is the human life.
Thus, at the end of the record of creation, the human life created by God is the highest life among created life. Once this life was created, God’s image and authority were present. Both image and authority come with the highest created life. In other words, once human life was created, God’s image was with this human life, and God’s authority was also committed to this human life. All these matters are recorded in Genesis 1. On the sixth day, when man was created, it can be said that life reached its highest point. But, in fact, this is still not the highest life. Hence, in chapter 2 God put the man He created in front of another life, the divine life. God put man in front of the tree of life (vv. 8-9); that is, He put man in front of the divine life.
According to the revelation of the Bible, the divine life is the highest life in the universe. As far as created life is concerned, human life is the highest life; however, apart from created life, there is still an uncreated life, as indicated by the tree of life, the eternal life of God. To put created life in front of uncreated life implies that the created life should receive the uncreated life, and the two should mingle together. This is the fellowship of life. The joining together of the created life with the uncreated life is the fellowship of life.
Genesis 1 and 2 show that life comes from light. The record of God’s creation tells the story of creation in seven days. On the first day God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light (1:3). On the second day God separated the waters above from the waters below. On the third day the dry land appeared, and there was the lowest plant life. On the fourth day the light was intensified, and the sun, the moon, and the stars were manifested; once light becomes stronger, life also becomes stronger. The light on the first day is for producing plant life on the third day; the light on the fourth day is for producing animal life on the fifth and sixth days. Thus, the plant life was produced by the light of the first day, and the animal life was produced by the light of the fourth day.
When we come to the tree of life in Genesis 2, we may not realize the kind of life that is referred to by “the tree of life.” Psalm 36:9 says, “With You is the fountain of life.” This shows that the source of life is God. At this point we may have a little realization that the source of life for the tree of life is God. However, this is not clear enough. If we continue our reading concerning the line of life and pay attention to life, we will eventually come to John 1:4, which says, “In Him was life.” Here Him refers to the Word in verse 1, which says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The Word was God, and in Him was life. Now we should be clearer that the life in the incarnated Christ is what is spoken of in Genesis 2.
However, because this is still not enough, we need to read further. John 11:25 says, “I am...the life.” Then 14:6 says, “I am the way and the reality and the life.” We need to be clear that the life spoken of in Genesis 2 is the incarnated God. The incarnated God is life.
Furthermore, John 10:10 says, “I have come that they may have life”; then 1 John 5:12 says, “He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.” Also, Colossians 3:4 says, “Christ our life.” Finally, Revelation 22:2 speaks of the tree of life. We may say that the tree of life in the beginning of the Bible reappears at the end of the Bible after passing through the Old and New Testaments.
In the book of Revelation life is God’s ultimate goal and the ultimate enjoyment of the believers. In Genesis 2 God put man in front of the tree of life for man to receive life; in Revelation 22 the tree of life has entered into man to be man’s enjoyment. In the beginning of the Bible the created life was put in front of the tree of life in order that the created life might receive the tree of life. At the end of the Bible the tree of life has become the enjoyment of the created life. The created and the uncreated life are fully mingled as one. Hence, life is the central goal of the entire Bible, and in the whole universe life is the central goal of God.
