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In the preceding chapters we examined the first Epistle of John chapter by chapter as a pattern for leading the saints in the churches to read the Bible. At the beginning of our practice of leading the believers to read the Bible, we must point out the characteristics of studying the Bible in the way of life so that their old concepts may be adjusted. The features of studying the Bible in the way of life can be summed up in two major points.
The first major point concerning reading the Bible in the way of life is that we read the Bible by exercising our spirit and not merely our mind. We have become accustomed to reading the Bible with our mind to the extent that we cannot help but use our mind whenever we read it. However, the emphasis of studying the Bible in the way of life is not on comprehension with the mind, because we cannot touch life by merely thinking with our mind. Anything that is of life does not require us to ponder over it or understand it by merely using our mind. Rather, while we read the Word, we must be touched by God inwardly; only this is genuine. God’s children must learn to distinguish between what is of life and what is of mere teaching.
For example, while reading the Bible, a young saint may come to a verse concerning honoring one’s father and mother. After reading the verse, he may immediately say to himself, “Now I see that the biblical teaching is that a man ought to honor his parents. This shows the great importance of this matter. Now I realize that as a man, I must honor my parents.” Is this life or teaching? According to the way that he read the Bible, he has received teaching, not life, because he remains the same; he still does not honor his parents. Even though he is determined and makes up his mind to honor his parents, no action of honoring his parents is produced as an issue from within.
However, if that brother reads the word concerning honoring one’s parents, is touched inwardly without having to ponder the matter, and is enlightened and convicted that he does not honor his parents, he has touched life. He may not feel that he has understood the teaching concerning honoring one’s parents; nevertheless, he is convicted that he is a sinful person before God because he does not honor his parents. Thus, he may thoroughly confess his sin to God and repent with weeping and beating his breast. After such confession and repentance, he will have no need to make up his mind to honor his parents; something will spontaneously burn within him and compel him to honor his parents. This is life.
In Mark 16:15 the Lord Jesus said, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to all the creation.” A person can read and understand this verse without sensing that his negligence in the preaching of the gospel is a sin. Since he does not have the spirit of the gospel, even after reading and understanding that verse, he does not preach the gospel. He may be able to speak to others concerning how the Lord Jesus commanded His disciples to go into all the world to proclaim the gospel, yet he himself does not preach the gospel, not even to his neighbor next door, much less to all the world. This is the result of reading the Word and merely understanding a doctrine or receiving a teaching.
On the other hand, suppose a believer reads Mark 16 verse by verse, without any particular motive of seeking to understand, and is touched in his spirit but cannot get through inwardly when he reads verse 15. In this case, he has touched life. Being convicted, he may immediately confess his sins with weeping and pray, “O Lord, I have fallen short in the preaching of Your gospel. I have not preached to all my relatives, schoolmates, and neighbors, much less to all the world.” After touching life in such a way, he cannot help but fast and pray in order to preach the gospel, because he is fervent and burning within. Such an experience will issue from his touching life when reading the Word. In the former case, a believer exercises only his mind to study, understand, and comprehend the words in the Bible; hence, he receives teaching and letters. In the latter case, a believer exercises his spirit to touch the words in the Bible and thus receives spirit and life.
The second characteristic of studying the Bible in the way of life is paying attention to the two central lines of life and living. We must be careful not to diverge from these two lines. Whenever we are inspired and touched inwardly by some portion of the Word, we must examine it based on these two lines, whatever we are touched by. If that matter is neither of life nor of living, we should realize that it is not of the spirit but of man’s imagination and should thus reject it. For instance, while eating a piece of fish or chicken, a person may find items other than the flesh of the fish or the chicken, such as bones, scales, or feathers. After finding these items, he will set them aside and eat only the meat. Similarly, the Bible contains words that are like the bones in a piece of chicken or fish, words that are supplementary to its main content. In our reading of the Bible, we do not need to spend much time on supplementary things. Instead, we need to pay attention to the central points and absorb the supply of life that is in them.
An example of supplementary words in the Bible can be seen in 1 John 1:1b, which says, “Which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we beheld and our hands handled.” If we have the proper understanding, we will realize that these words are secondary. Once, when I heard a brother speak in detail concerning these words, I asked, “What have you seen, and what have you handled?” His speaking was similar to that of a person who tells others, “I had a big lunch today, and I am full.” Those who listen to him will ask, “What did you eat that made you full? Did you eat shark fin or steak?” Actually, in 1 John 1:1 the apostle John is emphasizing life, not the matters of seeing and handling. He is emphasizing that he had seen and handled life.
If a person reports to others, “Earlier today I ate beef. It was delicious, tasty, and fresh. It was neither too salty nor too plain but just right. It was simply mouthwatering!” When others hear such a description of the beef, they will spontaneously realize that the reporting one has eaten to the full. If all that a person acquires after reading 1 John 1:1 is seen and handled, that person has acquired only secondary points that are on neither the line of life nor the line of living. In our reading of the Scriptures, we should receive and pay attention to the things of life. For instance, after reading 1 John 1:1-2, we should see and pay attention to the fact that the Lord was manifested as the eternal life, the apostles saw and handled the Lord as such a life, and we with them report this life to others. In our reporting we may say, “In the past we considered and preached Jesus only as the Lord; however, 1 John 1:2 says, ‘We...report to you the eternal life,’ indicating that the apostle John reported the Lord Jesus as life. Thus, the Lord is announced not only as the Savior to be our Savior but also as the eternal life to be our life.” This is altogether central to the thought in 1 John and in the Bible.
As another example of paying attention to central points, we may consider 1 John 1:3. This verse indicates that as soon as the eternal life enters into us, we cannot avoid having fellowship with God and with all those who belong to Him, for this life brings with it a fellowship in which man and God and God and man become one. To see such a point is to see something central. However, to neglect this point on fellowship and pay attention only to joy in verse 4 is to touch something secondary, for when we have fellowship, our joy will spontaneously be made full; that is, joy is the issue of fellowship.
When the children of God read the Word, they must learn to read and focus on the central points. Those who can focus only on seen, handled, and joy but not on life and fellowship do not know the precious things. They are like children who, upon receiving a pair of expensive diamond rings in a jewelry box, do not treasure the pair of diamond rings but instead fight over the beautiful box. Such an attitude is the result of not recognizing the central things but focusing on the secondary matters.
I hope that the children of God will learn these two points: first, to exercise the spirit and not merely the mind when reading the Bible, and second, to pursue and know the central points and let go of the secondary points in the Bible. Even if we are inspired by the secondary points, we should not treasure them excessively. The Bible contains many riches. We should not feed merely on the secondary points but should feed mainly on the central points. Why should we feed on having “seen” and “handled” when we have “life”? Why should we feed on “joy” when we have “fellowship”? Since we have the central points, we should give up the fragmentary and the secondary points. We must learn in this matter.
In our reading of the Bible, we should be strictly regulated by the two lines of life and living, and whatever we touch in the spirit must be examined by these two lines, meaning that we must give up everything that does not match life and living. We do not need to spend time turning the secondary items into prayer; rather, we must absorb everything that matches life and living. If we read the Bible in the way of life, we will gradually see that we are not only nourished in life but also that the nourishment we receive is of high quality, for we eat of the fatness in the Bible.
