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It is crucial that believers have the best attitude toward others. We are in the church, but the church is among human society. We cannot live a life outside human society. Hence, there is the need for us to know what kind of attitude we should hold toward unbelievers. In this message we will see that the believers experience the dispensing of the Divine Trinity in having the best attitude toward others.
In having the best attitude toward others, the believers first need to be subject to the government. This is strongly charged in Romans 13:1-7. In verse 1 Paul says, “Let every person be subject to the authorities over him.” A natural character is a rebellious character, and man’s natural response to authority is to rebel. But a transformed character is submissive. Hence, subjecting ourselves to the government requires a certain amount of transformation. Our being submissive to God’s appointed authorities in the government is an indicator that we have a certain amount of transformation. Such transformation is the issue of the growth in life through the experience of the dispensing of the processed Triune God.
The authorities are from God, appointed by God, as servants of God to the believers for their good. We need to recognize this. Paul says that the authority “is a servant of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, fear; he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is a servant of God, an avenger for wrath to him who practices evil” (v. 4). The New Testament clearly teaches that all authorities are from God. Human government with its authority was established by God during Noah’s time. After the flood God gave man authority to rule over others (Gen. 9:6). It was by this ruling authority among men that the nations were set up. Therefore, as Christians, we must recognize that the authorities are from God and respect them. Authorities have been appointed to the believers for their good. This means that through the authorities God allows us to live on the earth in peace to be His testimony. We surely need a peaceful situation while we are living on earth. In order to maintain a peaceful situation there is the need of a government with authority to rule over the people. Through this ruling, a good environment and a peaceful situation can be maintained. This is for our good.
Since authorities are from God, we should not resist them. “He who resists the authority opposes God’s ordination, and those who oppose will receive judgment to themselves. For the rulers are not a terror to the good work, but to the evil” (Rom. 13:2-3). If we resist authority, either judgment will descend upon us from the authority, or it will come to us directly from God.
Paul also says, “It is necessary to be subject, not only because of wrath but also because of conscience” (v. 5). This indicates that our subjection should not only be out of fear of punishment; even more it should be for the sake of our conscience. Because of our conscience, we need to learn, by being transformed through the divine dispensing, to be subject to authorities.
In being subject to the government, believers should pay taxes and customs to the authorities as God’s officers (vv. 6-7). On the one hand, we are in a good condition, enjoying a good country with a good government; on the other hand, we need to pay for this by paying taxes and customs to the authorities as God’s officers. To pay taxes and customs indicates that we are subject to authority. In relation to the government we must be honest and pay whatever taxes are due.
All believers need to learn how to subject themselves to authorities. Rendering fear and honor to whom they are due indicates that we are subject to the government (v. 7).
According to the healthy teaching in the New Testament, believers must keep a good relationship with the government and be ready to do every good work (Titus 3:1-8). Paul said to Titus, “Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready unto every good work” (v. 1). To be subject to rulers is to recognize God’s authority and to respect His government over men. To be ready unto every good work means to live a testimony for God.
Before Paul could teach the saints to respect the government, he had to experience a certain amount of transformation. When he was Saul of Tarsus, he was a patriotic Jew and wanted to be free from the yoke of the Roman imperialists. However, in Titus 3:1 Paul instructs the saints to subject themselves to rulers and authorities, being ready unto every good work. According to Paul’s word in Romans 13, governmental officials are appointed by God. Paul recognized that even the officials appointed by Caesar were rulers appointed by God; they were His deputy authority. If Paul had not been transformed from a natural person into a spiritual person with a spiritual understanding, it would have been difficult for him to give such instructions. In like manner, we need to be transformed through the divine dispensing in order to be subject to rulers and to be ready unto every good work. We have a proper relationship with the government not by ethical teachings, by philosophical instruction, or by our natural life and ability but through our experience of the dispensing of the processed Triune God. We have a heavenly, divine, and spiritual supply that enables us to be subject to the government.
First Peter 2:13-15 says, “Be subject to every human institution for the Lord’s sake, whether to a king as being supreme, or to governors as being sent by him for vengeance on evildoers and praise of those who do good. For so is the will of God, that by doing good you would muzzle the ignorance of foolish men.” The phrase every human institution includes “a king as being supreme” and also “governors as being sent by him.” To be subject to institutions means to be subject to the regulations, ordinances, and laws enacted by the legislature. In these verses Peter is telling us that for the Lord’s sake, that is, for the expression and glorification of God (v. 12), we should be subject to all human institutions according to the will of God.
For the believers to have the best attitude toward others, they should love their enemies. This is the topmost attitude that they should hold toward others. The Lord Jesus said to His disciples, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies” (Matt. 5:43-44). This requirement to love our enemies deeply touches our being and is a test to prove whether we live by ourselves or by Christ. We love our good neighbors because they suit our natural choice, and we hate our enemies because they do not match our natural choice. If the Lord arranged for us to have only good neighbors and no enemies, we would not be put to the test. The Lord uses our enemies to expose what is within us. If we read Matthew 5 through 7, we will see that the constitution of the kingdom of the heavens does not give any room to our natural being; instead, it kills all the “germs” within us. Through the divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity we are able to love our enemies.
As believers, we not only should love our enemies but also do well to those who hate us. Luke 6:27 says, “Love your enemies; do well to those who hate you.” This is the highest standard of morality. Verse 35 says, “Love your enemies, and do good and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He is kind to the unthankful and evil.” This verse contains the secret to loving our enemies and doing good to those who hate us. The secret is the life of God. If we would fulfill these requirements, we must have the life of God. We must be born of the Most High, born of God, and thereby become sons of the Most High. Therefore, in order to love our enemies, we must be born of God to be a God-man, a person saturated with God and mingled with Him.
God loved us even when we were His enemies (Rom. 5:8, 10). This One who is the Most High is kind to those who are unthankful and evil. His love has been dispensed into us. Therefore, the love with which we love others, especially our enemies, is the love of God our Father. The New Testament says that God is love (1 John 4:8). As Spirit is the nature of God’s person, and light is the nature of God’s expression, so love is the nature of God’s being. Hence, if we have been born of God, we surely have been born of the nature of God’s being, which is the divine love. As those born of God, we have His life and nature. Now we are spontaneously able to love our enemies even as God our Father loves them. The reason the Lord told us to love our enemies is so that we may be the sons of the Most High.
In Romans 12:20 Paul says, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in doing this you will heap coals of fire upon his head.” This is loving our enemies. Our love to them will be coals of fire heaped upon their heads to turn them to the Lord. It may be that by feeding our enemies and giving them a drink, we may, at least to some extent, move and turn their hearts and gain them for the Lord’s sake.
Romans 12:21 says, “Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.” To be conquered by evil is to repay evil with evil (v. 17). Suppose someone treats us evilly, and we treat him evilly in return. This indicates that we have been conquered by evil. We should not be like this. Instead, we should conquer evil with good. This means that if someone treats us evilly, we should treat him well in return. This is to conquer evil with good.
The Lord Jesus charged us to pray for those who persecute us (Matt. 5:44). This is a wonderful attitude to hold toward our persecutors. Stephen had such an attitude. When he was being stoned, even unto death, he knelt down and cried with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (Acts 7:60). Stephen prayed for his persecutors in the same way as his Lord, whom he loved and lived (Luke 23:34).
Not only should we pray for our persecutors; we should also bless them (Rom. 12:14). It is even more difficult to bless a persecutor than to pray for him. Nevertheless, through the divine dispensing this was Paul’s experience. Therefore, he could say, “Reviled we bless” (1 Cor. 4:12). First Peter 3:9 says, “Not rendering evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing one another, because you were called to this, that you might inherit blessing.” We have been called to bless others; hence, as a blessed people, we should always bless others so that we might inherit blessing. What we bless others with, we will inherit ourselves (Matt. 10:13; 7:2).
After charging us to bless those who persecute us, Paul goes on to say, “Bless and do not curse” (Rom. 12:14). It is very difficult for us not to curse a person who is persecuting us. Even if we would not curse him with our mouth, we may be cursing him deep within us. Therefore, in order to bless our persecutors and not curse them, we need to be saturated with the processed Triune God through His dispensing.
We also need to pursue peace with all men. Hebrews 12:14 says, “Pursue peace with all men.” To pursue in this verse means “to chase, even to chase vigorously.” In having the best attitude toward others, we need to pursue peace, to chase peace vigorously. We should not fight with anyone. Rather, we should pursue peace with all men. This means that we endeavor to keep a peaceful situation with everyone by living in peace with all men.
Romans 12:18 says, “If possible, as far as it depends on you, live in peace with all men.” We need to live in peace with others, as far as it depends on us to do so. Sometimes it is not possible to live in peace with all men, because others are not willing to have a life of peace. There is nothing we can do in such a situation. This is the reason Paul says that we should live in peace with all men “if possible.” As far as it depends on us, we should do our best to live in peace with everyone.
We are in the church, but the church is among human society. Hence, it is crucial that we have the best attitude toward others. We first need to be subject to the government through the dispensing of the processed Triune God. Authority is from God, and those in authority are appointed by God as servants of God to the believers for their good. We need to recognize this fact and not resist them. We should pay taxes and customs to them since they are God’s officers. We should also learn to subject ourselves to authorities, fear and honor them, and maintain a good relationship with the government. We do not do these things by ethical teachings, by philosophical instructions, or by our natural life and ability but through our experience of the dispensing of the processed Triune God. We should also learn, for the Lord’s sake, that is, for the expression and glorification of God, to be subject to all human institutions according to the will of God. Furthermore, we should love our enemies and do good to those who hate us. This is the highest standard of morality. If we would fulfill these requirements, we must be born of God to be a God-man, a person saturated with God and mingled with Him. As those born of God, we have His life and nature. Hence, we are spontaneously able to love our enemies even as God our Father loves them. Since His love has been dispensed into us, the love with which we love our enemies is the love of God our Father. We love our enemies by feeding them and giving them a drink, thus turning them to the Lord. If someone treats us evilly, we should treat him well in return. This is to conquer evil with good.
In addition, we have to pray for those who persecute us. Stephen had such an attitude. He was the same as the Lord, whom he loved and lived. Not only so, we should also bless our persecutors. We have been called to bless others, so we, as a blessed people, should always bless others so that we might inherit blessing. It is very difficult for us not to curse a person who is persecuting us. Therefore, we need to be saturated with the processed Triune God through His dispensing. We also need to pursue peace with all men, endeavoring to keep a peaceful situation with everyone by living in peace with all men. Sometimes it is not possible for us to live in peace with all men, because others are not willing to have a life of peace. However, as far as it depends on us, we should do our best to live in peace with everyone.
