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Concerning the truth, we need to understand and explain it. Concerning Christ, we need to experience Him and minister to others what we have experienced. The Christ we are referring to here is not the objective Christ who is sitting in the heavens but the subjective Christ who is our life. Hence, to experience Christ is to experience life, and to minister Christ is to minister life.
Today among Christians there is a lack related to both the truth and to Christ. Most preachers can cover many topics in their sermons, but it is difficult for them to definitely present a particular truth to people. For example, most preachers cannot give people a precise definition of incarnation. In addition, even when a clear and precise definition of incarnation is presented, most people still forget what they have heard right away. For this reason we have to study the truth again and again and practice speaking it until we are so familiar with it that we can speak it accurately even in our dreams. For instance, when we speak about God’s attributes, the sequence should be love, light, holiness, and righteousness; we should never reverse the order. This is clearly explained in detail in the Life-studies and the footnotes of the Recovery Version of the New Testament. Footnote 3 on 1 John 1:5 says that love is the nature of God’s essence, and light is the nature of God’s expression. In other words, love is the essence, and light is the expression. Love is first, and light is second, because love is God’s essence, and light is His expression. Holiness is related to God’s nature, and righteousness is related to God’s move. God’s nature is holy, whereas His move, His actions, are righteous. Therefore, holiness is before righteousness.
This requires us to learn and study the truth in a serious way. We must learn to differentiate between love and light and between holiness and righteousness, and we must also speak these things accurately. For example, suppose you go to a restaurant and order a meal that costs twenty dollars. After ordering, you pay the cashier one hundred dollars, and he gives you back ninety dollars. Suppose that after receiving the ninety dollars, you take it as if nothing had happened, eat and drink your meal as usual, and then go home and boast of what happened and show off to your family. This kind of behavior would not be related to holiness but to righteousness. If you take something that costs twenty dollars, but you pay only ten dollars, this is the same as stealing ten dollars. This kind of act is unrighteous. Let us use another example. Suppose you go to a restaurant and buy some food. In addition, you buy some cigarettes and wine. Then you eat, smoke, and drink to your heart’s content. Although this is not something unrighteous, it is unholy. God would never approve of drinking and smoking, because He is holy, and He would never take advantage of people, because He is righteous. Hence, we speak first of His holiness and then of His righteousness.
Love, light, holiness, and righteousness are virtues to man. To God, however, they are attributes. In His human living, the Lord Jesus expressed love, light, holiness, and righteousness as His human virtues. In His divinity He also had love, light, holiness, and righteousness, but they were not expressed outwardly. Rather, they were hidden inwardly as His divine attributes, the rich content of His virtues. For instance, both a glove and a hand have five fingers, but the five fingers of the hand are the inner enriching content, and the fingers of the glove are the expression. The five fingers of the glove are for the outward expression, for a nice appearance. Thus, they are like the human virtues. The five fingers of the hand are hidden in the glove; they are not for a nice appearance but for the rich content. Hence, they are like the divine attributes. The five fingers of the hand, as the attributes, are hidden in the five fingers of the glove to enrich and strengthen the glove. Hence, what is seen outwardly are virtues, and what is hidden inwardly are attributes.
The ancient Chinese sage Confucius also talked about morality and virtues, but the virtues that he taught were not enriched and strengthened with the divine attributes. In the end they were like a glove without a hand inside, having five empty fingers. The virtues referred to in the Bible have the divine attributes as their content and are thus enriched, strengthened, and excelling. This is similar to a glove with a hand inside it. The Lord Jesus was God yet man. He was God, and He was man, so He was a God-man. He was a man with humanity, and He was God with divinity. In His humanity were virtues, and in His divinity were attributes. His human virtues contained His divine attributes, and His divine attributes enriched His human virtues. Because of the strengthening of His divine attributes, His human virtues were enriched. This is the highest standard of morality—the morality of the God-man. The Lord Jesus had such a living on the earth—the God-man living.
Merely having the truth without experience is vanity; hence, we all need to have experience. What is the truth? The truth is God, and God is Christ. Hence, concerning the truth, we cannot have just the doctrinal knowledge; we must also have the experience. In other words, we must experience Christ. For instance, you may tell people that Christ possessed humanity, in which were human virtues, including the virtues of love, light, holiness, and righteousness. You may also tell them that Christ also possessed divinity, in which were the divine attributes, including the attributes of love, light, holiness, and righteousness, and that since Christ had the divine attributes, the human virtues that He expressed were excellent. However, they might ask you, “What does that have to do with me?” If they ask this, you can tell them, “Man was created in God’s image. Since you are a man, you were created in God’s image, but you do not have God in you. God is a God of love, light, holiness, and righteousness, so you also have the virtues of love, light, holiness, and righteousness. Yet these virtues are like the five fingers of a glove, which are soft and limp. This is because you do not have God inside of you. However, God was within the Lord Jesus as the rich content of love, light, holiness, and righteousness. You need to receive this Jesus into you. He died for you, was resurrected, and has become the life-giving Spirit. This Spirit is Jesus Christ, God Himself. Once you call upon the name of the Lord Jesus, this Spirit will enter into you; that is, God will enter into you. Then His real love, light, holiness, and righteousness will fully enrich your love, light, holiness, and righteousness.” This kind of speaking will stir up their inward need.
To make it easier for people to experience and apply these truths subjectively, we may use the following illustration. Suppose a person loves his wife very much. This love was created by God, but his human love cannot last long. Once his wife becomes angry and gives him a long face, his human love falls short. This proves that man’s love is like the soft, limp fingers of a glove; it is not enriched and is without the strengthening and supply of God’s love. However, if a person receives Jesus Christ as the life-giving Spirit, he will have God. God’s love will be in his love, and as a result, he will be able to love his wife, regardless of how she treats him. In other words, as an empty “glove,” he will be filled with God as the “hand.” With the real fingers inside, the glove’s fingers are enriched and strengthened. In the same way, now he will be able to express an excellent love. Just like the person in this illustration, we have patience, which was created by God, that is like the fingers of an empty glove. We also need to receive God into us. Once we do, He will become the patience in us to enrich and strengthen our patience. In the end our patience will be strengthened just as the empty fingers of the glove are made firm when they are filled with the fingers of the hand. God’s patience will be put into our patience, and the patience that we express will be an excellent virtue. Therefore, in order to have excellent virtues, we must have the divine attributes within us.
I hope that all the saints, especially the young people, would learn the truth in this way. Paul says that God desires all men to be saved and to come to the full knowledge of the truth (1 Tim. 2:4). We should no longer be like the elderly church members in Christianity who have been saved for decades but are still ignorant of the truth. For example, many Christians have been saved for years yet are not clear about the meaning of the name Jesus Christ. Some may think that Jesus is the same as Christ and that Christ is the Savior. If you ask them what the difference is between the terms Redeemer and Savior, they probably think that the two terms are nearly the same in meaning. Even many of the saints among us may not know the intrinsic significance and hidden mystery of these terms. I do not mean to expose other people’s weaknesses, but I want to show you that we are too much under the influence of the old Christian traditions. Although we have spoken many high truths in the past, we have never precisely defined the meaning of the name Jesus Christ. The result is that we probably know something about the meaning but are not altogether sure about it. This is the general situation of Christians today.
In brief, Jesus means “Jehovah the Savior.” In detail, the Hebrew word for Jesus is composed of two words. The first word means “Jehovah,” and the second word means “Savior.” Hence, Jesus means “Jehovah the Savior.” This is the clear definition of the name Jesus. The word Christ means “God’s Anointed.” Thus, Jesus Christ means that Jehovah the Savior is God’s Anointed.
The advantage of a school education is that every thing and every matter are given precise definitions so that we can learn the proper definitions for things that we know only in a general way. If a person does not quite understand the definitions of various things, his speaking concerning them will not be so definite and accurate. When people listen to him, they will know that he has not received much education. Today Christians go to church every week, worshipping God fifty-two times a year, yet after ten or twenty years they still may not be certain about biblical truths. Almost none of them can explain the meaning of love, light, holiness, and righteousness. This is why Christians today are so weak and so poor. It is because they have not been properly educated.
The churches in the Lord’s recovery must learn from this. Every saint in every church should be educated in the truth. There is a hymn which says that the church is not a school or a factory but an organic garden of God for growing Christ (Hymns, #1237). What we do in this garden is the work of planting and watering. However, we should not open a school to teach the Bible. Rather, Bible education should be carried out in the homes. The parents, the older generation, should teach the children, the younger generation. In ancient times the Jews did not have schools. Their education was conducted in their homes with the parents bearing the responsibility of teaching their children. Although the church is not a school but a family, it still needs to carry out the function of teaching. We should receive education in the church, not in the way of school education but in the way of home education—parents teaching the older brothers and sisters, and the older brothers and sisters teaching the younger ones. Eventually, everyone will know how to speak and teach. In this way the church will be filled with the atmosphere of mutual learning and mutual teaching, and all the saints will make much progress in the truth.
These days I am very happy because while traveling through Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and the Philippines, I have observed that the young people in the churches are pursuing the truth. They can teach one another and even teach the elderly saints. They are able to tell people definitely that Jesus is Jehovah the Savior and that Christ is God’s Anointed, because they have learned these things from the Life-studies. In the past the old doctrines that we preached were like clouds and fog floating in the air—nothing was definite. But now the Life-study messages present the truth in a clear and precise way so that people can readily understand the truth after reading them. So from now on, we have to change our family tradition. We must not be influenced by confused Christianity any longer; instead, we should completely renounce all the old practices. This does not mean that we should discard the Bible but that we should come out of the clouds and fog. We desire to have a clear sky with every truth having a clear definition. We have to learn until we thoroughly understand and are able to speak to others what justification is, what sanctification is, what renewing is, and what transformation is.
After we have learned the truth, we still have to experience Christ so that He may become our reality. In this way, when we speak to people, we will not give them knowledge or doctrines, but we will minister Christ to them. For instance, if we tell people about the benefit of Coca-Cola yet do not give them a can of Coca-Cola to drink, then no matter how interesting our speaking is, they will not be able to enjoy the benefit of Coca-Cola. This is mere speaking without supply. In the past we mostly knew only to supply but not to speak; that also was wrong. The proper practice is that we would all learn to speak Christ and minister Christ to others.
Acts 5:42 tells us that the early disciples announced the gospel of Jesus as the Christ; this means that they announced Jesus Christ as the gospel. What they announced was not an empty doctrine or an elusive gospel but a living Jesus Christ, who is the reality and content of the gospel. After their preaching, once men received the gospel, they spontaneously received Jesus Christ.
In Ephesians 3:8 Paul says that he announced to people the unsearchable riches of Christ as the gospel. This means that Paul did not announce some doctrines; rather, he supplied people practically with the riches of the Lord Jesus Christ. For example, Paul tells us that Christ has both divinity and humanity (Rom. 1:3-4). This means that He was God and man, possessing all the divine attributes and human virtues. This is an item of the riches of Christ. Moreover, He also passed through human living, experienced all the trials and ordeals of human life, and endured all the pains of humanity. Then He went to the cross and died, and in His death He terminated all things and accomplished redemption for us. After His death He resurrected and became the life-giving Spirit. This life-giving Spirit is the Triune God, comprising the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. All the attributes of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, including love, light, holiness, righteousness, life, power, authority, peace, and joy, are items of the unsearchable riches. However, how can all these riches become our practical experience? How do we minister such a Christ to others in our speaking?
We must tell people that this Christ, who possesses all these unsearchable riches, is now the life-giving Spirit. He is the Redeemer who has accomplished redemption for us, and He is the Savior who is waiting to save us. This Spirit, being omnipresent, is in our heart and in our mouth. As long as we confess, repent, and call upon the name of the Lord Jesus, opening our mouth and believing in our heart, the Spirit will enter into us. When the Spirit comes into us, He comes with all His riches. From then on, as long as we call on Him, breathe Him, and enjoy Him day by day, all His riches will become our experience, and His attributes such as love, light, holiness, and righteousness will become our virtues. Then we will realize that our love is boundless, our patience is enduring and transcendent, and our power is strong. After speaking to people, we should also pray with them. Once they pray, the Spirit will come into them and enable them to touch the reality and comprehend and receive Christ. This is the way to minister Christ to people. First, we should speak the truth and present Christ clearly to them. Then we should pray with them to supply them practically in spirit with what we spoke to them so that they can receive the Christ whom we have announced.
The slow increase in the churches is due to the fact that we do not know how to speak the truth or how to minister Christ. We do not know how to present Christ clearly as the truth to people, nor do we know how to supply them with Christ as the living Spirit. This is why after all these years it has been difficult for us to have people remain in the church. I hope that from now on we all would spend time to learn the truth and minister Christ to others for the multiplication and spread of the church.
For instance, as college students, you probably have thirty to forty classmates in your class. You can find at least two or three friends from these to talk to about the truth. College students like to listen to the truth. If you do not preach the truth but only chat with them, talking about all sorts of topics every day, when you graduate after four years, you will not have brought anyone to the Lord. You must make a change now and redeem the time. Aside from time for your schoolwork you should not waste any time but always seize every opportunity to speak the truth to your classmates. The more clearly you present the truth, the more they will enjoy it. They will also respect you because you know the Bible and Christ. Perhaps they have attended mass in the Catholic Church for twenty years or have been to Sunday services in the denominations for more than ten years, but they may have never heard the things that you speak to them. As long as you speak Christ in a clear, well-founded, and logical way, they will take your word seriously.
We have to thoroughly and comprehensibly explain to people the truths concerning redemption and salvation. Redemption and salvation are two aspects. Redemption resolves the problem of our sins, redeems us back to God, and deals with the problem of our position. It includes forgiveness, cleansing, justification, reconciliation, and acceptance by God. Salvation is related to God’s purpose and includes God’s regenerating, sanctifying, renewing, transforming, and conforming us to His image. In addition, it also includes His glory eventually being manifested from within us for our full glorification. The more clearly we speak this, the more people will enjoy it, and in the end they will be subdued by us and will appreciate and respect what we speak.
If the young people would speak to their classmates in this way, they would build up some credibility among them and gain their respect and trust. If we cut straight the truth and reveal the light of the Word to them, they will spontaneously show their respect, and the Holy Spirit will also work in them. When we speak to people, the Holy Spirit will touch them, causing them to feel convicted and then to repent, confess, and pray unto their salvation. Thus, to lead people to be saved is not a hard thing. If we do not know how to speak the truth, we may only tell people, “Our church is really good; when we sing, everyone shouts Hallelujah joyfully, and when people share, everyone says Amen.” However, if someone asks us why we do this, I am afraid that we will not be able to give an answer, because we may not be clear ourselves. Then these people will have no way to believe.
We must practice this matter with wisdom. Do not say too much at a time. For example, in the four years of college you will have some classmates who attend classes and study with you. You can plan how to speak to them one by one. Perhaps in the first two months you will not find a good opportunity, but you can speak a little. Gradually, they will notice that your Bible knowledge is advanced and that your knowledge of the truth is very clear. At this time, whenever there is a chance, you have to open the Bible and speak to them. You can tell them that God created man in His image, that as a result of this we all have God’s image, and that we are not ordinary but noble people because we were created in God’s image. They will surely be surprised upon hearing this and will want to hear more. Then you can speak to them little by little every time you see them. If you do this, one by one, your classmates will be saved through you.
We should do this not only in the schools but also with our neighbors. In time all our neighbors will realize that we are those who know the Bible, who are clear about the truth, and who experience Christ. They will sense that we are well behaved and have a high character, so they will respect our speaking. Once we open our mouth, they will highly regard what we speak. Eventually, surely some will be saved. We should also speak to our parents and relatives in this way. Once they respect and trust us, it will not be too difficult for us to bring them to salvation. This is the way to minister the truth to people and to bring them to the Lord.
I hope that we all can bring one person to the Lord each year. Do not think that this way of increase is very slow; it is, in fact, very fast. Take Taipei as an example. Now there are five thousand saints in the church in Taipei, and the population of the city of Taipei is two million. There are three hundred and sixty-five days, or fifty-two weeks, in a year. It would be very easy for every saint to lead one person to be saved each year. In this way we will double our number each year. Then in less than ten years we will have gospelized the whole city of Taipei.
We have already pointed out that the church is God’s garden. Since it is a garden, it surely has to bear fruit. Suppose there is a fruit tree that bears only one piece of fruit a year, either one banana or one mango. If we saw this, would we be happy or sad? The increase is so slow because we do not know how to speak the truth. If we cannot even explain the names Jesus and Christ clearly, how can we touch people? If we merely rely on gospel meetings, we will waste our energy, and in the end, people will not want to come. We can no longer rely on evangelizing campaigns or gospel meetings. Instead, we should all speak the truth. We all should speak to our classmates, neighbors, and relatives. Do not speak too much at a time, but speak to them little by little, twice a week. One time you may tell them that man was created in God’s image, the next time you may tell them about man’s fall, and then you may speak of Christ’s redemption and God’s dispensing.
For instance, in the beginning we may simply tell people, “You are very good, but have you ever lost your temper? If we always murmur and envy people, this proves that we are fallen sinners. However, God was incarnated to become a man who possessed both divinity and humanity. He is the God of love, light, holiness, and righteousness. If we believe in Him and receive Him, we will be able to live out the human virtues of love, light, holiness, and righteousness. Therefore, we must believe in Him and receive Him.” If we speak to people like this twice a week, I believe that after some time we will surely bring one person to salvation.
However, the key is that we lead people to pray and call on the name of the Lord Jesus. We have to tell them, “Today the Lord is the real and living Spirit, and He is in your mouth. As long as you are willing to repent, open your mouth to call on Him, pray to Him, and believe in Him, He will enter into you and bring you into the experience of all His riches.” Eventually, you will not only lead one person to salvation in a year but perhaps four to five people. This kind of increase would be tremendous.
In short, the reason we cannot lead people to the Lord is that we do not know how to speak the truth or minister Christ. Hence, much of our labor is in vain. Now I hope that we all would be awakened, would rise up to learn the truth, and would experience Christ. Only the truth can subdue and gain people. We have to learn, starting with the basics and going on to understand the fundamental truths, and to study the deeper truths. If we do this, I believe that in five years we will become a group of wonderful saints who will not only know how to speak the truth but also will be able to minister Christ to people through the Spirit, to pray with them, and to open their eyes that they may also gain Christ and receive Jesus as their Savior. In this way the church will be able to gain the increase.
I hope that not one among us would say that he does not have time. Some people say that they are really busy, but once they get on the telephone, they spend half an hour to an hour gossiping. If we would save our time to learn the truth, we would have more than enough time. It is very easy for us to waste time in our daily life. Hence, Paul tells us to redeem the time (Eph. 5:16; Col. 4:5) and understand what the will of the Lord is (Eph. 5:17). To redeem the time means to grasp every opportunity, and the way to redeem the time is to not make any casual telephone calls, to not gossip, and to not waste time. Instead, we should save all our time to learn the truth.
In the past, when someone wanted to learn the truth, it was not that easy for him to find reference books, but now there are many spiritual publications among us, and most of them are related to the truth. If we have the desire to enter into the truth, there is no lack of reference books, and they are not difficult to get into. As long as we are willing to put in the effort, soon we all will be able to speak the truth. I hope that we all would meet the Lord’s demand and make such a vow so that from today onward we will save our time by not gossiping, not making unnecessary telephone calls, and not wasting our time. Rather, we would endeavor to use the time to learn the truth, to know the truth, to speak the truth, to experience Christ through the truth, and to minister Christ to people by the Spirit. If we do this, the Lord will be able to gain a broad and opened way in every place.
