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Besides the Lord Jesus, who is the very Word of God becoming flesh, there are two kinds of ministers in the ministry of the word. In the Old Testament there is one kind, and in the New Testament there is another. In principle, the Old Testament ministers were completely objective in nature; they did not have any subjective experience of their own. Although Jeremiah, Isaiah, and many other Old Testament prophets had many subjective experiences, these experiences pertained to their personal history only; they were not experiences in the principle of the ministers of the word. As a rule, God only needed to place His word in man’s mouth, and man only had to speak this word verbatim. This constituted a person an oracle of God. Man would receive God’s word on the one hand and release this word on the other hand. Under this rule, even Saul was considered as one of the prophets (1 Sam. 10:10). Balaam was another prophet. God’s word and those who spoke His word had little relation to each other. Man was like a water pipe; water flowed into one end and flowed out from the other end. The pipe remained the pipe with little relation to the water itself. With this kind of speaking, the only thing that was required to preserve God’s revelation was for man to be accurate. This was not too difficult.
But the ministers of the New Testament are different. If a New Testament minister matches God’s goal, his ministry is more glorious than that of the Old Testament ministers. If he does not match God’s goal, however, he is more dangerous than the Old Testament ministers. In the New Testament God entrusts His word to man. He places it before man and allows man to deliver it according to his own thoughts, feelings, understanding, memory, and words. If man delivers the word in a pure way, this ministry is many times more glorious than the Old Testament ministry. It is a most glorious thing for man to be involved in God’s word without changing or contaminating it. But if there is even a slight problem or flaw on the part of the speaker, God’s word suffers.
Some may wonder why God uses such a cumbersome method to release His word. This question is similar to those asked by unbelievers when they ask why God did not remove the tree of the knowledge of good and evil at the beginning, and why God did not create a man who could not sin. If God had done this, there would have been no danger of sinning, and God would have spared Himself the trouble of redemption. The answer to these questions can be applied equally to the question concerning ministers of the word. God does not want His creatures to be like a robot, something that does not have its own choice and which moves around only as a dutiful machine. It would be easy for God to create a machine that follows His directions completely. This would involve no effort on man’s part. Of course, it also would not give any glory to God. This kind of obedience and virtue is worth little. This kind of a man would never err or sin, yet he also would not have any holiness of his own. He could be pushed around like a machine. This is not what God wants. He desires a people who can discern the left from the right, who can choose good as well as evil, right as well as wrong. If the creature created by God chooses submission to God of his own volition, his choice gives God more glory than the obedience of a machine. God has given man a free will to choose between good and evil. If he chooses good, God gets the glory. Although the possibility of choosing evil is a risk, the decision to choose good is a great glory. This is why God did not create a dutiful machine. He did not create a machine that was only capable of performing good. Instead, He created a man with a free will who could choose between good and evil. God wants man to choose good and obedience of his own volition. This gives glory to God.
The same principle can be applied to the ministry of the word in the New Testament. There are numerous obstacles for God to speak His word through man. For God to speak directly by Himself poses no difficulty. Neither is there much problem for God to speak through angels. Even using a donkey poses less of a problem than speaking through man because a donkey is not as complicated as a man. A donkey does not form obstacles in its mind, understanding, memory, motive, and spirit. A donkey does not have these problems. If God’s word were placed in its mouth, it could repeat the word accurately. But using a donkey is something exceptional for God. God used a donkey to release His word only when the prophet failed. He has no intention for the donkey to replace the prophet; He still wants man to be His prophet. God wants to use man. Man was created especially for God’s use. When God created the world, His intention was not to have a submissive machine. In the same way, God is not after a machine that can preach. He is not after something without a will. He is after men who possess a free will. It seems as if He took a big risk when He chose man to be a minister of His word. But God would rather do this than not. God entrusts His word to man, a complicated man, one full of sin, defilement, and weakness. There are also the problems of the outward man, the natural man, and the carnal man. All these are factors against God. Yet God still entrusts His word to man. He wants to gain the greatest glory through overcoming the greatest difficulties. If God can break through these great obstacles, He will secure the greatest glory.
God desires to speak through man. Yet man can be both good and evil. Man can convey God’s word in a pure way, or he can damage God’s word. Obviously, therefore, God has to do a great and thorough work before He can entrust His word to man and before man can convey His word in a proper way.
First Corinthians 7 shows us that Paul was chosen by God to be a minister of His word. God perfected him to such an extent that his ministry became the very utterance of the divine inspiration. His speaking was so accurate that not a single word missed the mark. His word not only contains God’s word, but it is so accurate that every sentence and phrase hits the mark. How did he acquire this ministry? He acquired it by being thoroughly dealt with by God. God worked on him to the point that his thoughts, words, decisions, and opinions were all approved by God; they were all right and accurate in His eyes. With Paul, there was not the accuracy of a machine but the accuracy of a person. With Paul, we can see how God puts His word in man and how He releases it through man. He does not speak His word through man in the way of a verbatim repetition. If the release of God’s word were merely a matter of man repeating God’s utterances word for word, such a task would be easy. But God does not release His word this way. Instead, He puts His word in man; man has to search it out with his mind. God puts His light in man, and man has to capture this light with his mind. God lays His burden in man, and man has to express this burden through his own word. It is man who exercises his thought; it is man who searches and speaks. Yet when the word is released, God acknowledges it as His own word.
The New Testament ministry of the word is not one in which God dictates His message word by word and then man repeats it word for word. When His word is revealed to man in the New Testament, its light first shines into man’s spirit as a flicker. This creates a burden within man’s spirit for the word. This light can fade away quickly, and man must catch its glow by exercising his own mind. He has to “fix” this light with his own thoughts or else the light will seemingly disappear. He has to fix the light with his thoughts. He has to inquire of God for utterance that he may receive one or two sentences that crystallize his light. He may ponder, and a phrase may come to him. Then he may write down the phrase, or he may have a certain feeling, judgment, or opinion concerning a certain matter, and he may speak it out. While he is relating his feelings, inward judgment, and opinion, the burden within his spirit is released. The more he speaks, the more the light within his spirit that has been captured with his mind is released. At a certain point, the burden is fully released. He has spoken his own words, expressed his own thoughts, feelings, and opinions. But after he has finished his speaking, God acknowledges these words to be His own.
Do you see how vastly different this is from the creed-like declarations of man’s imagination? You are doing the speaking, the writing, and the considering. But because you have been so thoroughly dealt with by God, your speaking is acknowledged by God as His own word. This is the meaning of the ministry of the word. What is hidden within you is only a light, a burden. But you have your opinions, proposals, and feelings. While you are brooding over your opinions, feelings, thoughts, and judgments, God gives you a few words or sentences to enunciate your inner registration. When you utter these words and sentences, God acknowledges this as His word. For this reason, a man has to climb to a great height before he can be considered as a minister of the word. If there are flaws in his mind, emotion, or feeling, he cannot be a minister of the word. Unless his very person has passed through God’s dealings, his opinion will not be trustworthy. When his opinion is expressed, God will not recognize it as His own word. Many times you can tell that a brother’s word does not meet this standard as soon as he opens his mouth. You can tell that what he has are only his own words; they are not God’s word.
God puts so much trust in His ministers that He would give them a light, a burden, or an impression and would leave it up to them to grasp and sense the utterance and to make suggestions and proposals concerning it. Although such suggestions and proposals are their own, God puts His trust in their activities. He believes in His own ministers. God wants to operate in man to such an extent that man is like Him in his opinions, thoughts, feelings, and views. If our desire can be one with God’s desire and we can love what God loves, never deviating in any way, our speaking will always be accompanied by the Spirit’s presence. On the one hand, we will be saying something from ourselves. On the other hand, God’s Spirit will carry our word along. As we speak, He will bear our word onward. This is the preaching of the New Testament prophets. This is the ministry of the word in the New Testament.
Let us again consider Paul’s condition in 1 Corinthians 7. Verse 6 says, “But this I say by way of concession, not by way of command.” Paul was saying that even though he agreed with the proposition, the matter did not originate from him as a command. He was very clear concerning the degree of activity within him. He agreed with the matter, but he would not make this a command. We have to observe the fineness and tenderness in Paul’s inner registrations. He made a very clear distinction here. He was not only clear that the proposition was acceptable; he also was clear that it was not a command that he initiated but a concession to others’ ideas. When we come to verse 40, we see that this was the word of the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God gave His consent to Paul’s word. Paul felt that such a proposal was acceptable, and then the Spirit felt the same. God was fully involved in Paul’s tender feelings. When we were on the subject of God’s authority, we pointed out the tremendous significance of the Lord Jesus entrusting His name to us. In the same way God has entrusted His word to us. This is also a tremendous matter. Suppose a person is troubled by difficulties and seeks our help. We may say to a young brother, “Go and say something to this man.” The young brother may say, “I do not know what to say.” We may respond, “You can say anything. Whatever you say can be counted as our words. You can say whatever you want to him, and we will acknowledge it as our opinion.” This would be a tremendous charge, but it could result in great damage. If there is any problem with the brother, we could not trust him in this way.
This is what happens to ministers of the word today. God does not piece His message together word by word, hand it over to us, and then ask us to memorize it. It would not be difficult for us to memorize a message. It would merely require God to say a word or a sentence and then for us to repeat the same word or sentence. If a message has six hundred words, our responsibility would be over if we could recite all six hundred words. But God does not want us to convey His message in this manner. His intention is to put His word into us, that is, for us to take it in as living water and then to let it flow out of us. He gives us a light, a burden, and then a few clear words to speak to others. Those who can be used will be useful to Him, and those who cannot be used will not be useful to Him. It is as if the God of heaven has commissioned us to speak for Him on earth, yet the same God allows us to say whatever we want to say. Of course, those who know God would not dare say anything rashly.
The responsibility of a minister of the word is not a small one. When a man stands up to speak for God, he has to draw from his feelings, thoughts, and opinions. He has to have the proper judgments and proposals. Therefore, his responsibility is very great. If his feelings are wrong, his speaking will be wrong. If his thoughts, proposals, and opinions are wrong, his speaking will also be wrong. If his mind, feelings, opinions, and judgments are untrustworthy or if his heart and his spirit are unreliable, his words will be unreliable. If this is so, how can he call himself a minister of God’s word? This presents a fundamental problem. A man must be so thoroughly dealt with by God that his feelings become fine and tender. His feelings must represent God’s feelings. While these feelings certainly belong to him and are independent of outside influence, they are attached to God at the same time. Paul’s word in 1 Corinthians 7 is not a small matter.
In 1 Corinthians 7:7 Paul said that he wished. The same Greek word is used again in verse 32. This shows us Paul’s inward condition. Within him there was a wish for something. He wished to see the Corinthians be the same as he was. By the time we come to verse 40, we find that this was actually the wish and desire of the Spirit of God. Paul’s wish was God’s wish. His desire was God’s desire. Since this was the case, how careful Paul must have needed to be when he exercised his wish. If he wished wrongly, what would have happened? God’s word would have been confused. Paul’s wishing was a delicate feeling in his spirit. If he had made a mistake in his wishes and desires, what would have happened? God had full control over the delicate feelings of this man. This is the reason that when he wished for something, it was actually the Holy Spirit who was wishing.
Here was a man whose feelings were under God’s hand. The Lord was able to put His trust in Paul’s feelings. Brothers, can the Lord use our feelings? Can He trust us? We need to be broken. Without this, the Lord cannot trust our feelings. Paul’s feelings were fully under God’s hand; God could trust his feelings. They were dependable and accurate. In verse 12 Paul said, “But to the rest I say, I, not the Lord.” He did not have the clear registration that the Lord was speaking. He made it clear that he was speaking, not the Lord. In the end, however, he said that he had the Spirit of God. What a marvel that Paul could reach such a stage!
In verse 25 he clearly conveyed his feelings before the Lord. He said, “Now concerning virgins I have no commandment of the Lord, but I give my opinion as one who has been shown mercy by the Lord to be faithful.” Here was a man who had been following the Lord for many years. The Lord had shown him mercy again and again. This mercy had made him faithful. He was a steward of God, a minister of Christ, a steward of the mysteries of God. What is required of a steward is faithfulness (4:1-2). What was Paul faithful to? He was faithful to his ministry. He was a steward of the mysteries of God, a minister of the word of Christ. God had entrusted mysteries to him; He had placed His word in his hands. The main requirement of a minister of the word is faithfulness. Since Paul had obtained mercy from the Lord to be a faithful minister, he could tell others of his opinions. He did not receive any commandment from the Lord, but he expressed his wish. He had received mercy to be a minister and to exercise stewardship over God’s word. Yet God had not given him a commandment, and he would not dare say anything by himself. However, based on the numerous times that he had exercised stewardship over God’s mysteries, and through the numerous times he had served as an oracle for God’s word, he could tell others his opinion concerning certain matters. He had received mercy from God and had been in touch with spiritual things and had handled similar matters repeatedly in the past. He had learned some lessons before God and had picked up something little by little. In this instance he did not have a commandment from the Lord, yet he told the Corinthians something based on what he had seen and learned throughout the years. He dared not say that his word was the Lord’s commandment. He only told them his opinion. Yet in the end, God acknowledged this opinion. God recognized Paul’s opinion as being His own. What a glory! We have to praise the Lord for this! Here was a man who had obtained mercy to be faithful and whose opinion was fully acknowledged by the Lord.
This leads us to an important question which needs our attention. What is the work of the Holy Spirit within man? What do we know about His engraving work in man? We must realize that the Spirit of God not only resides in man but is doing an engraving and constituting work in man. This constituting work of the Holy Spirit is something that can never be erased. The Holy Spirit is in man and is one with man. Now He is engraving something into man. We should never consider that the Holy Spirit’s indwelling is like a guest taking hospitality in someone else’s house, residing for ten or twenty years and then leaving everything in the same condition when he leaves. No. The Holy Spirit does an engraving, building, and constituting work in man. Little by little the Holy Spirit constitutes the Lord’s character in man. Even a house takes on the characteristics of its occupants after a while. The enduement of gifts upon a person may not produce any change in the person, but the indwelling of the Holy Spirit will surely manifest heavenly character traits when the Spirit bears fruit in man. The very fruit of the Spirit is the changes that are produced in a man’s character. God reconstitutes man’s character through the work of the Holy Spirit. When the Spirit operates in man’s mind, He changes man’s mind. When the Spirit operates in man’s feelings, He changes man’s feelings. When the Spirit operates in man’s opinions and judgments, He changes man’s opinions and judgments. The Holy Spirit works and constitutes something in man. The result of this work is a change in man’s character.
Paul did not serve as a minister of God’s word merely because he afforded the Spirit the freedom to speak through him. The Spirit actually took up his very character. The fruit of the Spirit in the Divine Trinity is the very product produced in man’s character. The Spirit operates in man, a little today and a little more tomorrow, engraving and trimming more and more each day, until a certain character emerges. This character is distinctly man’s, yet at the same time, it is distinctly a work of the Spirit. The character fully belongs to man, yet at the same time, it is fully begotten of the Holy Spirit; it is the result of the Spirit’s work in man. When the Spirit builds up something in man, there is a transforming change in man from glory to glory.
We must realize that transformation is a basic truth as well as a fundamental experience in the Bible. Philippians 3 speaks of one kind of fundamental experience, and 2 Corinthians 3 speaks of another kind of fundamental experience. We readily admit that our flesh will never change. But at the same time, we believe that the Lord will transform us; He will create a new character in us. The Spirit of the Lord does not reside in us like a man residing in a house; He is in us as our life. It is unthinkable that the Lord could dwell in a man, being his life for ten or twenty years, yet the man would remain unchanged. When the Lord’s Spirit abides in us and becomes our life, our mind, feelings, judgments, and opinions all have to change. Our heart and spirit have to change. Formerly there was nothing within us except the flesh. Now the cross has dealt with the flesh and overcome it. There is a new constitution and new fruit in our feelings, thoughts, and judgments, as well as in our heart and spirit. What then is the constitution of the Spirit? It is what results from God’s building and constituting work within man. This will never go away. We should realize that the Lord’s work within man is always solid, firm, and unchanging.
Paul received mercy from the Lord again and again. The Lord continued to work in him until he became a faithful one. His faithfulness refers to his attitude towards his ministry. He admitted that he did not have the Lord’s commandment, yet he told the Corinthians his opinion. His opinion was the result of the constitution of the Holy Spirit. Paul’s words were no ordinary inspiration; they were the issue of an inward constitution by God. In the end, these words of constitution became words of inspiration. This is amazing! When a man is under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he is conscious of God’s word. When a man speaks under the constitution of the Holy Spirit, he may not have the consciousness that God is speaking. He may feel that he is speaking and expressing his own opinion. But because the constitution of the Holy Spirit has been wrought into him, his words become the words of the Holy Spirit. This is the reason that Paul said, “I think that I also have the Spirit of God.” We need the constitution of the Holy Spirit. We need the Spirit’s engraving work upon us. We need Him to work on us to the extent that our opinions, words, thoughts, and feelings no longer contradict God’s word. When this happens, we are qualified to be a minister of God’s word.
The character which the Holy Spirit constitutes within man is different from person to person. Paul’s preaching carried his distinctive features. Peter’s message carried his distinctive flavor. His Epistles are very different in style from Paul’s Epistles. John’s writings are also different from others’ writings. Everyone has his own style. The styles are personal. Yet it is an amazing fact that the Spirit would take up the style of those who have been constituted by Him. If the sixty-six books of the Bible were all one style, the Bible would be very dull indeed. God’s glory is manifested in man’s various styles. This can only happen when there is the constitution of the Holy Spirit. A word may be uttered in different ways, but it remains the word of the Holy Spirit. When a man submits to the discipline of the Holy Spirit, he is given the freedom to express his characteristics. No two items in God’s creation are identical. Every blade of grass is different. Every tree is different. No two faces are identical. The glory of one star is different from the glory of another star. In the same way, the constitution of the Holy Spirit is different in different people. Paul was full of the love of the Spirit, and so was John. But those who have been taught by God know that the Spirit’s love as manifested in Paul was different from that which was manifested in John. They each expressed the love of the Holy Spirit, but in a different way. God does not need uniformity. Everyone has his own characteristics, and the constitution of the Holy Spirit is different in everyone.
Brothers, do not misunderstand me. I am not saying that we can all follow the example of 1 Corinthians 7. In the whole Bible, only 1 Corinthians 7 presents such a noble example. If the Lord has no leading for us to speak in this way, however, it is a gross error for us to speak this way. First Corinthians 7 shows us the kind of person Paul was. This helps us to understand the books of Ephesians, Colossians, Romans, and Galatians. First Corinthians 7 reveals the person of Paul; it shows us the person who wrote Ephesians, Galatians, etc. We know that the book of Colossians is very high, but 1 Corinthians 7 tells us about the person who wrote Colossians. Romans contains a clear exposition of the gospel, but 1 Corinthians 7 tells us about the person who wrote Romans. This is what makes 1 Corinthians 7 precious.
In this chapter we clearly see a man whose feelings, thoughts, opinions, and words were worthy of God’s trust. When God’s word was put into him, this word became the highest revelation; it did not suffer any corruption. If we did not have 1 Corinthians 7, we could only know what the Holy Spirit had done through Paul; we would not know what the Holy Spirit had done in Paul. First Corinthians 7 shows us a man whose feelings, thoughts, and words are all trustworthy. When God’s word came upon this man, there was no frustration to the word, just as there was no frustration during those times when God’s word was not active in such a person. If we are not trustworthy, we become a frustration even when we have God’s word. The Lord cannot commit His revelation and light to some because they are not trustworthy. He cannot acknowledge them as ministers of the word because their thoughts, feelings, opinions, and words are not trustworthy.
Brothers, some of Paul’s Epistles, like Romans, Galatians, and Colossians, show us high revelations. His Epistle to the Ephesians even shows us the highest revelation. Yet in the two Epistles to the Corinthians, we find the kind of person to whom God would commit His revelation. Paul was qualified to receive these revelations because of the kind of person he was. If we only had his other Epistles, without having 1 Corinthians 7, we would not know the kind of person Paul was. He was a faithful and trustworthy person. That is the reason that God’s revelation did not suffer any corruption in him. In fact, there was so much glory in his constitution that his style was adopted to perfect God’s word. Paul’s personality and idiomatic expressions all contributed to God’s word; they made the latter more glorious and rich. What a glory that man can be used by God and that his human elements can be used by Him without compromising the perfection of God’s word, but instead enhancing its glory, riches, and perfection!
May God be merciful to us so that He can use us and release His word through us. No need is greater today than the need for the word. May all the brothers see that there is a pathway that must be followed in order to be a minister of God’s word. We have to beseech God to grant us much light, word, and inner dealings. We need deep and profound dealings. We need to be molded deeply, inwardly, and thoroughly. Even our most delicate feelings have to be faithful to God. When these feelings are expressed, they will be regarded as the Lord’s very own feelings. When our inclinations are expressed, they will be regarded as the result of the work of the Holy Spirit. Our own love and patience will flow out, yet this love and patience will be the fruit of the Holy Spirit. This fruit will be the result of the frequent, deep, and thorough work of the Holy Spirit in us. Through His operation in us we can bear this fruit. When we are constituted with the Holy Spirit, fruit is expressed in a spontaneous way. Brothers, as the Holy Spirit performs His work in us and as we are being reconstituted by the Spirit, our feelings spontaneously become the Spirit’s feelings, our thoughts become His thoughts, and our opinions become His opinions. When this happens, God will commit His word to us and allow us to transmit it to others. Others will acknowledge it as God’s word, and God will receive the greatest glory.
The fundamental question today is whether or not God can commit Himself to us. We have to see that the problem is not with His word but with the ministers. Without the ministers, there is no word of God. Today God is still speaking just as He did in earlier days. He has no intention of annulling the prophetic ministry in the church. Neither does He have the intention of removing the teaching ministry or the evangelistic ministry from the church. The biggest problem today is the scarcity of ministers. Whether or not there is ministry in the church and whether or not this ministry can be multiplied depend on us; the responsibility is on our shoulders. May we awake to the fact that the poverty and darkness of the church are related to us. May we pledge to the Lord solemnly, “Lord! I am willing to be broken. Break me so that Your word can get through in me.” May the Lord be gracious to us.
