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We need to be strengthened in our exercise related to singing hymns. I hope that all the churches would provide opportunities for those who have this function to perfect the saints in the singing of hymns. In every message meeting we should set aside at least twenty minutes to practice singing. We have been short in leading the saints to sing hymns of praise to God. I hope that the responsible brothers in every place can pray about this matter so that some brothers can be perfected in leading the singing of hymns.
In our “classes” we should emphasize the crucial points of the message. For example, if the message concerns our need to turn to the spirit to fellowship with God in the Holy of Holies and to pray according to the sense of the Spirit, we should encourage the saints to exercise to pray in their daily life. Furthermore, we should encourage them to fellowship about any difficulties that they have encountered or any insights that they have gained from their exercise. In this way other saints will receive the benefit. Such a review will also emphasize the crucial points of the previous message.
In our present situation I have not seen this kind of leading and practice. After the message is over, there may be some further speaking and prayer when the saints meet in their “classes,” but the content does not necessarily correspond to the crucial points in the message. This gives the impression that the message and the subsequent fellowship are not related. The crucial points of the message should be the crucial points of the fellowship in the “classes.” Moreover, the speaking in this time of fellowship should be concise and not long.
After the crucial points have been reviewed, the saints who seldom open their mouth should be encouraged to pray and fellowship using one or two sentences, because one of the main purposes of these times is to enable the saints who rarely pray to break through in this matter. In the beginning of our pursuit, some saints may need to give a little demonstration of how to exercise. Every “class” needs some brothers and sisters who are lively and active and who do not deviate from the main subject of the message. There should be at least five or six saints who are lively and able to stir up the other saints; these saints should coordinate to help others. The lively saints should participate, respond, and pray. Their function will serve as a kind of demonstration and usher in an atmosphere for others to do the same. However, we need to be careful not to function so much that there is no ground for those who seldom pray to function. If this is the case, those who seldom pray will not pray. We must not lose sight of the burden that those who seldom pray, those who have not touched the key of prayer, those who have not tasted the sweetness of prayer, and those who have no desire to pray would be brought into this exercise. During our time together we should focus specifically on motivating these ones. This requires skill.
In our “classes” we need to emphasize the crucial points so that everyone has a deep impression, and we need to motivate the saints to open their mouth and to exercise in the meeting and even when they return home. We should ask them to be prepared to fellowship at the next meeting about the difficulties they encountered or the experiences they enjoyed so that we can mutually encourage and motivate one another. During our time together the saints can also pray. The active saints can pray in order to stir up others’ spirits, and the inactive saints can be encouraged to open their mouth and pray. This is similar to speaking to unbelievers in a gospel meeting. When we encounter some unresponsive ones, we can speak a little to strengthen the gospel message and lead them to gradually open their mouth to pray. It is always hard for a person to open his mouth for the first time, but once he does, it is easy for him to make progress.
This kind of contact is necessary because the weaker saints often need to be encouraged. When we see a saint with a particular need, we should be willing to fellowship with him as time allows. In this way we can learn about his situation and avoid the need to visit with him at a later time, which may be an inconvenience to him. Since he has heard the message and received some help, he simply needs a little strengthening. Just a few minutes of contact will be a great benefit to him. We should not be focused on those who are more lively and who always open their mouth; we should pay attention to those who do not open their mouth so that they may rise up.
The condition in Christianity is that most people go to “church” on Sunday in order to sit and listen to a sermon, and then they leave when the sermon is over. They do not pray in the meeting, and they rarely pray during the week. Even if they pray, their prayers are merely petitions based on their thoughts and memory. Since they do not know how to turn to their spirit and how to exercise their spirit to fellowship with God, they do not pray when they come to a meeting. This is even the situation of the saints among us. They listen to the message during the meeting, but they do not exercise their spirit. We need to correct this situation. As we lead the brothers and sisters to be built up as the church, we cannot depend on outward arrangements. Rather, we must lead the brothers and sisters to turn to their spirit and to live before God so that their spirit becomes strong and living. When all the saints are blended in spirit, there will be genuine building.
We need to help the brothers and sisters become strong and living by leading them to turn to their spirit to pray and fellowship with God, serving as priests and living a priestly life. As long as they know how to turn to their spirit to pray, they will not be hindered by occasional sins, mistakes, or other problems. Instead, the Spirit will move and flow in them to deal with their inward weaknesses and to relieve their weariness, enabling them to receive the supply from God. With a strong and released spirit, they will blend as one in spirit with other brothers and sisters in the church. We should not emphasize giving more messages but focus on motivating the brothers and sisters to exercise their spirit.
We must bear this responsibility together. It does not matter who gives messages, who visits others, or who contacts people in the meetings, because we have a common goal of bringing the saints into the spirit, into the experience and reality of fellowshipping with God. This is a new beginning for us.
Our bread-breaking meetings lack a spiritual supply because the saints are short of spiritual knowledge. Although some do not exercise their spirit, many other brothers and sisters are short of words of prayer, praise, and thanksgiving because they are short in matters related to knowing the Lord. The fact that our prayers and praises are nearly the same for every bread-breaking meeting shows that we are short in our knowledge of the Lord. Without a rich understanding of the things related to the Lord, there will be a shortage in our utterance. If we are short of utterance, it will be difficult to release our spirit.
We need to increase the spiritual supply in the saints by helping them to know the Lord Jesus and the Father according to the truth. The Lord Jesus is the central subject of the Bible, but when we read the Bible, we often do not have much light, and the words that pass before our eyes are quickly forgotten. However, when the truth is released through the ministry of the word, and the Spirit enlightens us inwardly, something solid enters into us and leaves a deep impression. We should supply the saints with messages related to knowing the Lord Jesus and the Father according to the truth. This will enrich the praise and thanksgiving in our bread-breaking meeting, especially when we worship the Father.
In order to strengthen the saints, we will provide a message outline to the responsible brothers and sisters so that they can spend time before the Lord considering, praying, and digesting these points in order to be able to fellowship with the saints in the “classes.” The saints need to know the truth so that they can be brought into a practice and exercise that is according to the truth. We should print the crucial verses and the main points, and we could even add some prayers. This does not mean that we are asking the saints to repeat the prayers as if they are reading a prayer book; rather, it is to give them some examples so that they can exercise before the Lord at home and in their daily living. This is a consideration to help the ones who are new in their spiritual life and limited in their spiritual knowledge. Providing them with Bible verses and crucial points will surely be a great help to them.
In addition to increasing the spiritual supply in the bread-breaking meeting, we should also strengthen the spiritual supply through hymns, especially hymns related to the worship of the Father. Because we are short in spiritual knowledge and spiritual exercise, our worship of the Father is weak and not much praise is offered to Him. This is a great lack among us. I hope that we would have more hymns to supply the bread-breaking meeting. Although we have quite a number of hymns that are suitable for the bread-breaking meeting, we have lost the taste for some of our hymns because we sing them all the time. This can be likened to eating the same food every day. Even if we eat the best food, the food will lose its “freshness” and become tasteless if we eat it every day.
The Lord is always moving forward. In every age He leads the church, and His leading brings in a new atmosphere. Presently, the Lord is bringing in a new atmosphere. If we continue to sing the same hymns, they will not always be suitable. Recently in a bread-breaking meeting, a brother led the saints to sing a new hymn, but because we were not familiar with the hymn, we could not sing it. At the same time, we could not go back to the old hymns because the atmosphere was different. This shows that we need a supply of new hymns, and we also need to practice singing these hymns.
The bread-breaking meeting needs a spiritual supply that comes from our knowledge of Christ the Son and our knowledge of the Father. In regard to our knowledge of the Son, many essential points need to be presented, spanning from eternity past to eternity future. Many details are involved in this chronology, but we can look only at the main points. For example, the Lord is the Word of God, the light, the Creator, the seed of the woman, and so on. The book of Isaiah speaks of Him as Immanuel who was born of a virgin (7:14), and also as a child born to us, a Son given to us, the Mighty God, and the Eternal Father (9:6). Many saints lack a thorough knowledge of these verses concerning the Lord Jesus; therefore, we need to present these verses point by point so that the Spirit can work in the saints to bring them into a richer knowing of the Lord.
We need a series of messages that begin by focusing on the eternal nature of the Lord. The Lord is eternal; He is the eternal Lord. This truth can be presented in five verse portions, including Micah 5:2; John 1:1 and 14; Isaiah 9:6; Hebrews 1:10-12; and 7:3.
Micah 5:2 says, “You, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, / So little to be among the thousands of Judah, / From you there will come forth to Me / He who is to be Ruler in Israel; / And His goings forth are from ancient times, / From the days of eternity.” According to Matthew 2:1-6, this verse in Micah refers to the coming Christ, that is, the Lord Jesus. There are three main points in Micah 5:2: first, His place of birth; second, His coming to be the Ruler for God; and third, His source being from ancient times, from the days of eternity. We will focus on the third point, the eternal nature of the Lord. The verse says that the Lord’s goings forth are from ancient times. This means that His source is in eternity. Although He was born in time at a certain place, in a definite point of time and space, He is from ancient times, and the source of His existence is from eternity.
There are two phrases in this verse that speak of the Lord’s eternal nature. The first phrase is ancient times, which denotes eternity. Psalm 90:2 says, “From eternity to eternity, You are God.” This means that the Lord is outside of time and space. In the Bible the expression eternity has the connotation of infinity, fullness, and completeness. The Lord is not limited by time or space. Although He was born as a man in time and space in the small town of Bethlehem, His source is infinite and eternal, transcending time and space. The second phrase days of eternity refers to the period before time began, a state that has no beginning. The Savior, who was born in the small town of Bethlehem, is the eternal One. He exists in eternity without beginning, before time even began. His source is without beginning; it is eternal.
John 1:1 and 14 also speak of the eternal nature of the Lord. Verse 1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God,” and verse 14 says, “The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us.” Although these verses present a contrast in terms of time, both refer to the Son. Verse 1 says that the Son, as the Word, was in the beginning, that He is God Himself. The Son is God in eternity without beginning and before the beginning of time. Verse 14 says that the Word became flesh; He became a man and dwelt among us. Even though He is the Word, the eternal God Himself, He became flesh in time and came among us as a man. On one hand, He is a man, and on the other hand, He is the Word, God Himself. Although He became flesh and was born in time, He is the God who exists in eternity.
Isaiah 9:6 says, “A child is born to us, / A Son is given to us; / And the government / Is upon His shoulder; / And His name will be called / Wonderful Counselor, / Mighty God, / Eternal Father.” There are parallel contrasts in this verse. The verse begins by speaking of the Lord as a child and a Son, and it ends by speaking of Him as the Mighty God and Eternal Father. Mighty God is in parallel contrast to the word child, and Eternal Father is in parallel contrast to the word Son. This is wonderful. This verse speaks of the Lord Jesus as the Son and as the Father. He is a child and the Mighty God. When speaking of the Father, there is also emphasis on Eternal, which shows that the Lord’s source is eternal. The Lord Jesus, who was manifested as the Son, is the Father in eternity; His source is in eternity. Although He is the Son given to us, He is also the Father in eternity.
In John 14:9 the Lord said, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father.” He also said, “I and the Father are one” (10:30). This is the fulfillment of the prophecy in Isaiah 9:6. The Son who was manifested in time is the Eternal Father. The Son who was given to us in time is the Father in eternity, which has no beginning. When He came into time and was given to us, He was revealed as the Son. The Son given to us in time is the Father in eternity. This shows that the Lord is eternal; He is not only the Son but also the Father.
Hebrews 1:10-12, which is a quotation of Psalm 102:25-27, says, “You in the beginning, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of Your hands; they will perish, but You remain perpetually; and they all will become old like a garment, and like a mantle You will roll them up; like a garment they will also be changed; but You are the same, and Your years will not fail.” In the first part of these verses Lord refers to the Lord Jesus, who laid the foundation of the earth and made the heavens through the works of His hands. This proves that before the heavens and the earth came into being, He existed; He created the heavens and the earth. Moreover, the heavens and the earth will perish, but He will remain perpetually. The first part of these verses speaks of His existence before the heavens and the earth came into being, and the second part speaks of His existence after the heavens and the earth pass away. Thus, both His existence in eternity past and His existence in eternity future are mentioned. He is the One who exists from eternity to eternity, without beginning or end. The heavens and the earth will change, but He is the same; His years will not fail. This proves that He is the eternal Lord.
Hebrews 7:3 says, “Having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but likened to the Son of God.” Having neither beginning of days nor end of life confirms that the Lord is without beginning or end, existing from eternity to eternity.
Simply presenting these verses without much explanation is sufficient. The brothers and sisters need to realize that even though our Lord was born in a small town, His source was from ancient times, from the days of eternity. He is the Word who was in the beginning before time, but He became a man in time and dwelt among us. Although He is the Son given to us in time, He is also the Eternal Father. Before the heavens and the earth came into being, He existed, and when the heavens and the earth pass away, He will remain perpetually. He has neither beginning of days nor end of life; He is without beginning or ending. We should memorize these verses about the Lord’s eternal nature.
We should also speak concerning the matter of knowing the Lord as the Word of God. John 1:1-2 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.” Verse 14 says, “The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us.” Revelation 19:13 says, “His name is called the Word of God.” When the Lord is spoken of in this verse, He is also revealed as the One who is called Faithful and True, who is sitting on a white horse, and who judges and makes war in righteousness (v. 11). Word in verse 13 in the original language does not refer to ordinary words but to a longer portion, either spoken or written. He is the Word of God for explaining God.
The words of a person express the person. A person is defined and his thoughts are revealed through his words. If we meet a person who does not open his mouth to speak, it will not be possible to truly know him. We may have some thought concerning him based on his appearance, but this is not sufficient. All real knowledge of a person is based on his words. Once his words come forth, his person comes forth. Being the Word of God means that the Lord Jesus is God’s expression and explanation. Conversely, we can say that the Lord Jesus is God expressed, God explained. The Word of God is God expressing Himself and explaining Himself. In other words, the expressed God, the explained God, the God who reveals Himself, is the Word.
John 1:18 says, “No one has ever seen God; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.” The Word of God is the expression of God; He is also God expressed. The Lord Jesus is the full expression of God. When God speaks to man, He speaks through the Son; hence, the Son is the Word of God. When God created the universe, He expressed Himself through the things that were created. This is the reason that all things came into being through the Word (v. 3). When God created the universe, He did so through the Son as the Word (Heb. 1:1-3). All these verses show that the Word is the expression of God, the explanation of God. The Lord Jesus is the Word of God; He is God expressed, God explained. One day the expressed God, the explained God, became flesh.
John 1:14 does not say that “God became flesh”; it says that “the Word became flesh.” God could become flesh only by being the expressed God, the explained God. If God were unwilling to express Himself, explain Himself, or manifest Himself, He could not have become flesh. God became flesh so that He could express and explain Himself to man. Hence, 1 Timothy 3:16 says, “Confessedly, great is the mystery of godliness: He who was manifested in the flesh, / Justified in the Spirit.” He who was manifested in the flesh emphasizes manifestation, expression, and explanation. The Word becoming flesh refers to the fact that the God who speaks, the God who desires to express, declare, and explain Himself, has manifested Himself in the flesh.
God created the universe through the Word, revealed Himself through the spoken and written Word, and accomplished redemption through the incarnated Word. He will also carry out His judgment in the future through the Word. In these four stages—creation, revelation, redemption, and judgment—God does everything through the Word. Through creation God declared His eternal power and divine characteristics (Rom. 1:20), through revelation God explained Himself (Heb. 1:1-2; 2 Tim. 3:16), through incarnation and redemption He declared Himself even more, and through judgment in the future He will further declare Himself in righteousness. Hence, whether in creation, revelation, redemption, or judgment, everything is done through the Word, the declared God. The Lord Jesus is God’s explanation, God’s declaration; He is the explained and declared God.
In spiritual matters nothing can be done apart from the Lord as the Word or without words. Every time we speak concerning the Lord Jesus, preach the Lord Jesus, or supply others with the Lord Jesus, we must use words. Every time we give praise or thanksgiving, we must use words. Without words, God cannot be expressed. I rejoice that there are words in the universe and that God created man with the ability to speak. If God did not create man with the innate ability to speak and understand words, the universe would be a silent place, and we would not be able to understand God in His expression and explanation of Himself; neither would we be able to preach the gospel.
God’s desire that we would speak shows His desire for us to be His children, and that we, like the Son, would be an expression and declaration of all that He is. If Adam had not fallen and, instead, would have partaken, along with his descendants, of the tree of life, what would be the content of our speaking? Surely the words that we would speak would be filled with Christ Himself. If human beings had not fallen and sin had not entered into man, we would have received the tree of life and would have been filled with God Himself. Then, every word we speak would be Christ. Christ is the real word. The more we love the Lord and the more we know Him, the more our words will be filled with the glorious Christ. He is the Word in eternity past, and His name will be the Word of God throughout eternity future. He is the Word that speaks God and expresses God, and when we speak Him, God is glorified.
The Lord is the Word of God, the declaration of God, and the declared God. Every time we preach the Lord Jesus, we are preaching the God who declared Himself, and every time we speak the Lord Jesus, we are speaking the God who has spoken forth Himself. If God were not the Word, we could not know Him. Although God is hidden and invisible, He is the Word, and He has been spoken of, declared, and expressed. The God who has been expressed is Christ. Romans 10:8-9 says, “‘The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart,’ that is, the word of the faith which we proclaim, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” If a person wants to be saved, he only needs to say, “Lord Jesus.” He does not need to ascend into heaven or descend into the abyss to look for the Lord. As soon as a person calls upon the Lord’s name, He receives the Lord and is saved (vv. 6-7, 13).
We also should speak concerning the Lord and all things.
The Lord created all things. John 1:1-3 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him not one thing came into being which has come into being.” The heavens and the earth, mankind, all matters, and all things were created through the Lord, that is, through the Word. In other words, all things were created by the expressed God. All things were created by the God who explains, expresses, and declares Himself, not by a hidden God. Romans 1:20 says, “The invisible things of Him, both His eternal power and divine characteristics, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being perceived by the things made, so that they would be without excuse.” This verse shows that in creating all things, God expressed Himself. Hence, John 1 says that He is the Word and that He created all things.
First Corinthians 8:6 says, “To us there is one God, the Father, out from whom are all things, and we are unto Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we are through Him.” We have only one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things were created, and we are through Him.
Colossians 1:16 says, “In Him all things were created, in the heavens and on the earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or lordships or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through Him and unto Him.” All things, whether in the heavens or on the earth, visible or invisible, were created through Him. The creation of all things and the existence of all things are for God’s expression. Christ is the Word of God, the expression of God; through His creation of all things, God is manifested.
Hebrews 1:2 says that God “has at the last of these days spoken to us in the Son, whom He appointed Heir of all things, through whom also He made the universe.” In the last days, God is speaking through His Son, and this speaking is God’s expression. Furthermore, God made the universe through the Son. This means that God expresses Himself not only through the Son’s speaking but also through the creation of the universe. The whole creation is God’s expression and God’s explanation. This explanation in creation is through the Word of God, the Lord Jesus.
No matter how much scientists differ in their opinions or explanations concerning the origin of the universe, they do not deny that the universe comes from one source. All scientific laws and theorems are predicated on the assumption that there is only one source, not dual sources. Even the author of the theory of evolution, Darwin, could not deny that the universe had only one source. Although there are many organisms, there is only one source, and the unique source of this universe is the Lord Jesus.
According to 1 Corinthians 8:6, “to us there is one God, the Father, out from whom are all things.” Although this verse says that all things are out from the Father, according to Isaiah 9:6, the Son is the Eternal Father. The Lord is the source of all things, and all things come out from Him. Romans 11:36 says, “Because out from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.” This is a sweet and precious verse in the Bible. We should help new believers learn and even memorize these verses.
Acts 10:36 says, “Jesus Christ (this One is Lord of all).” Being the Lord of all means that Jesus Christ is the sovereign Master. Although there have been many great men, sages, philosophers, and religionists throughout the ages, not one of them has said that he is the Lord. Throughout all of human history only Jesus Christ said that He is the Lord. Furthermore, those who preached Him said repeatedly that He is Lord of all (2:36). First Corinthians 12:3 says, “No one can say, Jesus is Lord! except in the Holy Spirit,” and 2 Corinthians 4:5 says, “We...preach...Christ Jesus as Lord.” In the universe only Christ is the Lord. Confucius is not the Lord; neither is Mohammed. Only Jesus is the Lord. He said that He is the Lord, and others believed that He is the Lord, called upon Him as Lord, and preached Him as Lord. Everything in the universe belongs to Him, and everything is under His sovereign ruling. He is the sovereign Lord of all.
