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In this lesson we will continue the previous lesson and look at further matters concerning the believers’ having the highest standard of morality and virtues through experiencing the dispensing of the Divine Trinity. We will also consider the believers’ experience of the dispensing of the Divine Trinity in the matter of watching and praying.
Second Thessalonians 2:16 and 17 say, “Now our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope in grace, comfort your hearts and establish you in every good work and word.” These verses indicate that by experiencing the dispensing of the Divine Trinity we can have a good testimony in what we do and say; we are established in every good work and word.
In 1 Thessalonians 5:20 and 21 Paul says, “Do not despise prophecies, but prove all things. Hold fast to what is good.” In these verses Paul reminds us not to despise prophecies but instead to prove all things. To prove all things includes to discern prophecies (1 Cor. 14:29), to discern the spirits (12:10), to prove the spirits (1 John 4:1), to prove what the will of God is (Rom 12:2), and to prove what is well pleasing to the Lord (Eph. 5:10). On the one hand, we should not despise prophecies; on the other hand, we should not follow blindly. We should have the habit of proving everything that we intend to do, of testing everything, and then of holding fast to what is good.
First Thessalonians 5:22 says, “Abstain from every kind of evil.” This indicates that the believers who live in the divine dispensing should abstain from evil in any form and of any kind.
The fact that the believers have the highest standard of morality and virtues is also seen in their enduring suffering for doing good. First Peter 2:20 says, “For what glory is it if, while sinning and being buffeted, you endure? But if, while doing good and suffering, you endure, this is grace with God.” In this verse grace refers to the motivation of the divine life within us and its expression in our life, becoming in our behavior gracious and acceptable in the sight of both man and God. We are able to express endurance in our living by the working of God’s grace within us and through us.
In Philippians 4:8 Paul says, “What things are true, what things are dignified, what things are righteous, what things are pure, what things are lovely, what things are well spoken of, if there is any virtue and if any praise, take account of these things.” In this verse we first see the expression of six virtues, which are six governing aspects, in a life that lives Christ. Next, we see the summing up of the six virtues expressed in the Christian life.
The first virtue of these six governing aspects is “what things are true.” The word true means “truthful ethically,” not merely true in matter of fact. In the expression of the life that lives Christ there can be no falsehood, no lying. Everything that we do or say must be truthful. No one who lives Christ should practice falsehood of any kind. A life that is the expression of Christ is a truthful one. The second virtue is “what things are dignified.” This indicates that if we live Christ, we must be dignified, noble, grave, solid, weighty, and honorable before man. When others see us bearing such dignity, they will be inspired and have a profound respect for us. The third virtue is “what things are righteous.” This refers to what is right, not just, before God and man. A person who lives Christ always maintains a proper relationship with God and with man. The fourth virtue is “what things are pure.” The word pure means “single in intention and action, without pretense and without any mixture.” The fifth virtue is “what things are lovely.” The word lovely means “lovable, agreeable, and endearing.” The last virtue is “what things are well spoken of.” This indicates that as Christians we should do whatever is of good repute, renowned, attractive, winning, and gracious. If we live Christ, we will surely have a life that is an expression of all these virtues.
On the basis of Paul’s word, “To me, to live is Christ” (1:21), we can rightly say that the virtues in verse 8 of chapter 4 are not things apart from Christ. These are not merely human virtues; the reality of these virtues is Christ Himself. Not only so, if we carefully consider these virtues, we will realize that in ourselves it is impossible for us to have such a life and to have such an expression. Therefore, we must experience what Paul speaks of in verse 13, “I am able to do all things in Him who empowers me.” Now that Christ dwells in us (Col. 1:27), He empowers us, makes us dynamic, from within. By such inward empowering, Paul could do all things in Christ; that is, he could express Christ in all these virtues.
Toward the end of Philippians 4:8 Paul changes his expression and says, “If there is any virtue and if any praise, take account of these things.” Virtue means “excellence,” that is, ethical energy exhibited in vigorous action. Praise here refers to things worthy of praise, as the companion of virtue. Virtue and praise, categorized as “if any,” are not two additional items but values of the six items already covered. Virtue and praise sum up the six items into two categories. This is to say that every item of the six foregoing virtues is excellent and has something worthy of praise. Paul says that we should “take account of these things”; that is, we should think on them, ponder them, consider them.
How excellent is the expression of the life that lives Christ! In each of these excellent aspects there is some virtue and something worthy of praise. The picture portrayed by these items is much more virtuous than that portrayed in the Ten Commandments. These virtues produce excellence and praise. The praise is not only to God but also to us; others will praise us for all these excellent virtues. In our experience of Christ we must attain to the point that whatever we do is true, dignified, righteous, pure, lovely, and well spoken of. These virtues will be an excellency in our behavior and will cause others to praise God and also to praise us.
In our enjoying the dispensing of the Divine Trinity we must learn to watch and pray. We should not remain in any kind of sleeping condition. Rather, we need to watch over the situation concerning ourselves, the brothers and sisters, the church in which we are, and even the Lord’s recovery. We should also watch and pray concerning the Lord’s interest, His present move, the world situation, and the condition regarding the unsaved. As believers, we should be concerned for these things, learning to watch over and to pray concerning them.
Matthew 26:41 says, “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” The Lord’s word here indicates that in spiritual things our spirit is often ready, but our flesh is weak. It is possible for us to be tempted in anything, at any place, and at any time; therefore, the Lord reminds us to watch and pray so that we do not enter into temptation.
In Luke 21:34 and 35 the Lord Jesus said, “Take heed to yourselves lest perhaps your hearts be weighed down with debauchery and drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day come upon you suddenly as a snare. For it will come in upon all those dwelling on the face of all the earth.” This generation can be compared to Noah’s generation. In the days of Noah people were eating, drinking, marrying, and being given in marriage (17:27). They were in debauchery and drunkenness, being stupefied by enjoyment and anxiety. Today people are living in the same way. Therefore, when the Lord comes unexpectedly, “that day” will come upon them as a snare, as a net cast over all those dwelling on the face of all the earth.
However, the Lord said, “Be watchful at every time, beseeching that you would prevail to escape all these things which are about to happen and stand before the Son of Man” (21:36). To prevail is to have the strength and ability to escape the great tribulation. This indicates that those who prevail will be taken, raptured (17:34-36), before the great tribulation (Matt. 24:21). The great tribulation will be a severe trial upon the whole inhabited earth (Rev. 3:10). By their watchfulness and beseeching, those who prevail will have the ability to escape and to be kept out of the hour of trial, which is about to come on the whole inhabited earth, to try them who dwell on the earth. As Christians living on this earth, we should not be caught in the trend of today’s world nor be stupefied by enjoyment and anxieties. We should be vigilant. At every time we need to beseech. We need to pray not in a general way but in a particular way so that we may prevail, have the strength and ability, to escape the things of the great tribulation which are about to take place.
The believers should watch and pray not only to escape the great tribulation but also to “stand before the Son of Man” (Luke 21:36). Before the great tribulation the Lord Jesus will probably still be on the throne. The Lord’s parousia (presence) will begin from the throne. This parousia will continue with His coming to the air and will end with His coming to the earth. At the beginning of His parousia, certain believers, such as the one hundred forty-four thousand firstfruits in Revelation 14, will be raptured to the throne of God and stand with the Savior on the heavenly Mount Zion. This is according to the Lord’s word in Luke 21:36: if we are watching and praying, we will not only prevail to escape the great tribulation but also be those who prevail to stand before the Savior on the heavenly Mount Zion before the great tribulation.
The downward trend on earth is very strong. This trend has become a tide that carries everything and everyone along with it. It is extremely difficult for believers in Christ to stand in the midst of this tide. Therefore, we need to be watchful and pray daily in a particular way so that we may receive the strength that comes from the resurrection life within us and not be caught by the trend of this age but stand against the trend, the tide, of the world. If we pray, we will be filled with Christ as the divine air, and we will be buoyant. Eventually, we will be taken away to meet Christ on the throne. Whether we will become those who prevail to be raptured before the great tribulation does not depend on the Lord. It depends on our watchfulness and on our praying in a particular way. We need to be watchful and pray at every time so that we can prevail to escape the great tribulation and stand before the Son of Man.
We need to watch and pray because we do not know the day and the hour of the Lord’s coming (Matt. 24:42; 25:13). As the believers who are still living, we must be ready to be raptured. “If the householder had known in which watch the thief was coming, he would have watched and would not have allowed his house to be broken into” (24:43). The Lord will come secretly as a thief to those who love Him and will take them away as His treasures. Hence, we should watch. The Lord said, “For this reason you also be ready, because at an hour when you do not expect it, the Son of Man is coming” (v. 44). It is a serious mistake for any believer to think that he can know the exact day and hour of the Lord’s coming. According to the prophecies in the Scriptures, we may know approximately the time of the Lord’s coming. However, the prophecies do not tell us clearly and exactly the day and hour of the Lord’s coming. If we think that we know the day and the time, we are cheating ourselves. In an unexpected hour the Lord will come secretly to the overcoming believers. This is a very serious matter. Hence, we need to be watchful.
According to the context of Matthew 25:13, to be watchful is to be filled with the Holy Spirit. If we want to be prudent virgins, our spirit needs to be burning every day, and our soul, our being, needs to be filled with the extra portion of the Holy Spirit every day (v. 4). The Spirit within us is the saturating Spirit, whom we must allow to saturate our entire being; He needs to spread from within our spirit to reach and penetrate our soul. This is what it means to be a watchful person, one who is ready for the Lord’s coming back.
From Level 2, volume 3 of Truth Lessons up to this lesson, we have gradually and carefully looked into the believers’ experience in the progressing stage of God’s full salvation, the stage of transformation. This stage includes five major items: (1) experiencing and enjoying the processed Triune God in His Triune dispensing; (2) experiencing God’s redemption continually; (3) enjoying the dispensing of the Divine Trinity in the divine transformation for the divine conformation; (4) experiencing the dispensing of the Divine Trinity corporately by entering into the kingdom of God, by living in the church, and by living in the Body of Christ; and (5) experiencing the dispensing of the Divine Trinity in other aspects. These five items constitute the progressing stage of God’s full salvation. In this stage of transformation we are saved from the power of sin, the law of sin and of death, our old man, our flesh with its lusts, our self, our soul (natural life), our individualism, Satan, the world with its present age and its religious aspect, the law of letters with its ordinances, and the degradation of the church with all its mixtures. We are being saved from these things by the dispensing of the processed Triune God into us. The issue of our experience of the dispensing of the Divine Trinity brings us into two glorious results: first, becoming, as the bride, one with the Spirit; second, expecting and waiting for the Lord Jesus’ second coming to usher us into our future.
Through experiencing the dispensing of the Divine Trinity, the believers can have the highest standard of morality and virtues. By experiencing the dispensing of the Divine Trinity, we are being established in every good work and word. Therefore, we need to have the habit of proving everything that we intend to do, to test everything, and then to hold fast to what is good. We also need to abstain from every kind of evil. The highest standard of morality and virtues is also seen in our endurance, which is the working of God’s grace within us. We need to take account of what things are true, what things are dignified, what things are righteous, what things are pure, what things are lovely, what things are well spoken of, if there is any virtue and if any praise. The six virtues of being true, dignified, righteous, pure, lovely and well spoken of are the expression of a life that lives Christ; virtue and praise are the values of these six virtues and also the summing up of these six excellent virtues. These virtues will be an excellency in our behavior and will cause others to praise God and also to praise us.
In our enjoying of the dispensing of the Divine Trinity, we must learn to watch and pray so that we may not enter into temptation. The Lord reminds us to watch and pray because it is possible for us to be tempted in anything, at any place, and at any time. While living in this age, we need to take heed to ourselves lest perhaps our hearts be weighed down with debauchery and drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day come upon us suddenly as a snare, for that day will come upon all those dwelling on the face of the earth. If we are watchful and praying at every time, we will prevail to escape all these things which are about to happen and to stand before the Son of Man at His throne in the heavens. Furthermore, we need to watch and pray because we do not know the day and the hour of the Lord’s coming. We must be ready to be raptured by being filled with the Holy Spirit all day long. We need to allow Him to saturate our entire being, spreading from within our spirit to reach and even to penetrate our soul. This is the life of a watchful person, a person who is ready for the Lord’s coming back.
