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Scripture Reading: Matt. 25:14-30; 1 Cor. 3:10-15; 4:4-5; 2 Cor. 5:9-11a; 1 Pet. 4:17a; Rev. 1:13-17a; 22:12
In the previous chapters we saw that God desires that His Son gain a kingdom on earth. The reason God desires that His Son gain a kingdom is so that God may exercise His authority and express His glory. However, what Satan does in the universe is to frustrate this matter. Satan’s activity on earth is to insult God and damage God’s work; hence, God needs to deal with Satan. However, if God were to deal with Satan directly, it would not be a shame to Satan, nor would it be a glory to God. Satan might say to God, “There is no creature who would submit to Your authority.” Thus, God keeps a principle of not dealing with Satan directly. God is the Creator; He will not deal with His creatures in His status of Creator. Therefore, He created another creature—man. His desire is that man would stand in the position of a creature to deal with Satan, another creature. God’s intention is to show Satan that there is a creature who is subject to God’s authority and who chooses to stand on God’s side. Although Satan as a creature rebels against God, there is another creature who submits to God’s authority.
God desires not only to deal with Satan but also to shame him and shut his mouth in His dealing with him. God wants to prevent Satan from being able to say, “God, because You are the Creator, You force man to submit to Your authority. I am not willing to submit to Your authority, and other creatures also are not willing to submit to Your authority.” If God were to allow Satan to have this kind of mentality, this would be an insult to Him. How do we know that Satan has this kind of mentality? We can see this from the book of Job. One day Satan came before God, and God gave him a specific chance to speak. He asked Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered, “From roving the earth and going about in it.” Then God asked him, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is none like him on the earth, a perfect and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil” (1:7-8). This means that there was no one who submitted to God’s authority like Job. To fear God is to submit to God’s authority. God showed Satan that there was at least one person on earth who was ruled by God, who feared God, and who was subject to God’s authority; this person was Job.
God asked Satan if he had observed Job. Satan immediately answered, “Does Job fear God without cause? Have You not set a hedge around him and his household and all that he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his possessions are spread throughout the land” (vv. 9-10). This word was a great insult to God. What Satan’s word meant was that God had bribed Job with blessings so that he would fear God. Satan meant that since God treated Job well and bestowed on him much blessing, Job could not but fear God. Satan implied that if God had not blessed Job, Job would not have feared God. This was Satan’s thought and his insult toward God. God answered, “All right. I will remove the hedge around him and will not protect him. I allow you to ill-treat him. I intend to prove to you that this creature on earth fears Me.”
Satan received God’s word and came out to stir up trouble for Job; he sent the Sabeans, the Chaldeans, the fire, and the wind to destroy Job’s possessions and kill his sons and daughters. We should all be familiar with this story. Eventually, there was plundering, there was burning by fire, there was the blowing of a great wind, and there was crushing to death by falling houses (vv. 13-19). At that time Job was in exceeding pain. He saw that all his blessings were gone, all his protection vanished, and he was completely in a situation of suffering. But what did Job say? Job still feared God and did not say anything against God; he still submitted to God’s authority. Moreover, he submitted to God’s authority to the extent that he said, “Jehovah gives and Jehovah takes away; / Blessed be the name of Jehovah” (v. 21b). This shows that Job praised God not only when God gave him blessings; he still praised God even when God took away his blessings. Because He was the Lord, Job was subject to His authority. Job was not rebellious before God; he had nothing to say.
Then some time later Satan came before God again (2:1). We may think that since Satan is so evil, God should simply move His finger so that Satan will be terminated and will be in the lake of fire. However, our God still preserves Satan. He not only preserves Satan, but He also allows him to go to the habitation of God in heaven and to express his opinion in God’s habitation in heaven. Our God is truly great. Although Satan rebels against God and opposes Him, God is so great that He still allows Satan to come before Him. He asked Satan again, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered, “From roving the earth and going about in it.” God asked him again, “Have you considered My servant Job?” (vv. 2-3a). God was asking Satan to consider how Job reacted after Satan had asked God to remove the hedge around Job, and God had permitted Satan to ill-treat Job. Although he passed through much suffering, Job not only kept his integrity, but this servant of God still submitted to God’s authority and did not rebel against Him (v. 3b).
Satan is truly evil. He knows that the most difficult thing for man to take is the suffering in his own skin and flesh. The pain of losing his possessions outside of him is only temporary; a man’s possessions do not mean as much to him as his own body. Thus, Satan answered God immediately, “Skin for skin! Indeed all that a man has he will give for the sake of his life. But stretch forth Your hand, and touch his bone and his flesh; and he will surely curse You to Your face.” Then God said to Satan, “Here he is, in your hand; only spare his life” (vv. 4-6). Then Satan went forth from Jehovah’s presence and struck Job.
We know what happened to Job after Satan struck him. He had severe boils all over his body, which is an unbearable suffering for man (v. 7). Nevertheless, Job did not offend God but still submitted to God’s authority and ruling and confessed that God is Lord. From this point on in the book of Job, we no longer see Satan coming out to say something. He had nothing to say because his mouth was shut by Job. On that day, when Job had severe boils and was in terrible pain, if Job had murmured, saying, “O God, how can You treat me like this? I will not submit to Your authority, nor will I fear You anymore,” Satan would have applauded and shouted for joy. He would have immediately come before God and said, “You see, it is not only I who rebel against You and dislike You; Job also rebels against You and dislikes You. It is not only I who dislike You; man also dislikes You and rebels against You. You, Lord, are not lovable or worthy to be feared by man.” Satan’s mouth would not have been shut. However, no matter how much Job suffered or how much he was troubled and afflicted, he still knew that God was his Lord, his King. He submitted to God’s authority and ruling without any resistance, rebellion, or murmuring. He was entirely subject to God’s authority, thus shutting Satan’s mouth and silencing him.
The Bible shows Job’s experience as an example. God desires that His Son reign, yet Satan constantly rebels against God. God will not and must not deal with Satan by Himself. If God Himself were to deal with Satan, Satan’s mouth would never be shut. God’s desire is not only to deal with Satan but also to silence him; this will be a shame to Satan. God can silence Satan by showing him a group of people on the earth whom He has gained and who submit to His authority.
If a brother today submits to God’s authority in the same way that Job did, the events that took place in heaven in the book of Job will be repeated; Satan will again go before God to argue with Him. This is not a hypothetical statement. Revelation 12 says that Satan is the one who accuses our brothers before God day and night (v. 10b). In the Old Testament age Satan spoke of Job before God in such a way; likewise, today in the New Testament age Satan still accuses our brothers before God.
How does Satan accuse our brothers? He always comes before God and tells Him, “Has So-and-so not been redeemed with Your precious blood? Has he not been regenerated by Your life? Does he not have Your Holy Spirit in him? Yet have You seen how he lives today? He plays cards at home all the time and goes to the movies on the weekend. Moreover, he went dancing only a few weeks ago. This is a person redeemed with Your precious blood, regenerated by Your powerful life, and indwelt by Your Holy Spirit. This person who watches movies on the weekends, goes dancing, and plays cards all the time is one of Your redeemed!” It is not too much to say this. This is the way Satan accuses us before God in order to insult God.
According to Satan’s feeling, he is not the only creature who does not submit to God’s authority; he thinks that all of Adam’s descendants, people created by God, do not submit to God’s authority. He feels that even Christians, those who have been redeemed with Christ’s precious blood and regenerated by His life and who have the Holy Spirit in them, do not submit to God’s authority. Hence, he has the boldness to challenge God. If we, as saved ones, give ground for Satan to make such accusations, our God will be forced to remain silent in heaven. If this were the case, He could only say, “Satan, I have nothing to say. I have lost to you completely. You were created by Me, and you rebel against Me. Adam’s descendants were created by Me, and they too rebel against Me. These Christians have been redeemed and regenerated by Me, and they also rebel against Me. What else can I say?” If this were the case, how could God’s kingdom come? How could God deal with and get rid of His enemy, the rebellious Satan? There would be absolutely no way. Not only so, but God’s mouth would be shut by Satan.
However, this has not been the situation in the past two thousand years. When Satan says to God, “This one played cards this week, went to the movies last week, and went dancing the week before,” God can answer him, “Have you considered My servant Brother Chen?” Such persons make it possible for God to open His mouth; they enable God to speak to Satan. God asks Satan, “Have you considered Brother Chen?” Then Satan says, “Does he love You without cause? It is because You bless him, enabling him to make a great deal of money in his import and export business.” This is merely a hypothetical illustration; the principle is always the same. God will then say to Satan, “All right, Satan, I will show you that he truly loves Me. You may bring down his business.” Then Satan joyfully goes to bring down Brother Chen’s business.
As a result, although others make money by importing goods, Brother Chen loses money; although others make money by exporting merchandise, Brother Chen loses money. Eventually, he loses all his money. At that time his wife asks him, “Do you still love the Lord? You have loved the Lord, yet in the end you have gone out of business; are you going to still love Him? I think you should not love Him anymore. Also, do not be an elder anymore. Why should you continue to be an elder? Your store has closed down, and your business is gone. What else can you say?” Nevertheless, Brother Chen simply bears the cross and prays, “Lord, I know that You are my King. You bestow the blessing, and You strip off the blessing. I worship You. I have nothing more to say. You are my King.” This brother truly gives God the ground to speak.
Then one day Satan comes again. God asks him, “Have you considered My servant Brother Chen? Have you seen him?” After thinking for a while, Satan says, “Poverty does not mean much. If you allow Brother Chen to be seriously ill and bedridden, we will see what he will be like. He will surely forsake You and deny You as the King of kings.” God says, “All right, Satan, I give you his body, but spare his life.” As a result, Satan does something, and this brother becomes seriously ill. His wife comes again and says to her husband, “Do you still pray? You have loved the Lord, but in the end your store is closed down. You have prayed, but in the end you are seriously ill. Will you still believe in the Lord? Will you still fear Him?” Although his wife tries to provoke him in this way, this brother would still testify that the Lord is the Lord and the King. He says, “When He treats me kindly, He is the Lord; when He treats me harshly, He is still the Lord. I worship Him. I have nothing more to say.”
God can point to this redeemed one and say to Satan, “There is one who submits to My authority. Although you do not submit to Me, he does. Satan, I can show you not only this one brother but also many more like him; they all submit to My authority.” We must see that this matter of submitting to authority puts Satan to shame. If we as God’s children do not submit to God’s authority, our God will suffer a great shame. He will have no way to deal with or judge Satan. But thank God that among His children there have been some throughout the ages who have loved Him and submitted to His authority.
John Bunyan said in his autobiography that when he was facing death, if the God whom he served would not come to intervene, he would die without regret, “come heaven; come hell.” Even if the Lord would not save him at the end, he would willingly face death for the Lord’s name. This shows that there was someone on the earth who was faithful unto death; he was subject to God’s authority and ruling. This person was a shame to Satan; through him God was able to shut Satan’s mouth.
I believe that God will raise up more believers like John Bunyan at the end of this age. These believers are the man-child spoken of in Revelation 12:5; they are the overcomers in the church. They neither covet pleasure nor fear suffering. They know only God’s kingdom, and they submit to God’s authority and accept God’s ruling. Hence, the kingdom has come upon them today. They disregard temptation, suffering, and sickness. Neither worldly enjoyment nor earthly position can shake them. They are subject to God’s authority, and there is a kingdom in them. Their being subject to God’s authority puts Satan to shame and shuts his mouth. In these last days there should be more and more of God’s people like this every day, to the extent that Satan will eventually find no place in the universe. This will be a silent judgment to Satan. This silent judgment, this silent shame, is the kingdom life lived by God’s children, those who are ruled by God.
The kingdom life, a life under God’s ruling, will be a judgment to Satan. When the man-child is fully formed within the woman, God will be able to judge the world and bring in His kingdom through His judgment. When God comes to judge, He will first judge His children, those in the church. I have no intention to speak a threatening word, but I would like to say that we, as God’s children, should never think that today we can behave in any way or live however we want. No, there will be a day when we will be required to stand before the Lord and be subject to His judgment.
One day the Lord will come back, and He will come to judge us. It will be the overcomers who, by submitting to His authority, will bring Him back. The overcomers submit to God’s authority, shut Satan’s mouth, and enable God to execute His judgment. On the day of judgment He will first judge us saved ones. The time will come for judgment, and it will begin from the house of God (1 Pet. 4:17a). God will judge all the saved ones first. After judging the saved ones, He will judge the world (2 Pet. 3:10). After He has judged all kinds of people, this judgment will bring in His kingdom (1:11). His first way to bring man into submission to Him is through the gospel; when this is almost done, He will come to judge in order to bring in His authority and kingdom.
Today in the age of the gospel, the age of grace, God allows man to do whatever he desires, but this does not mean that He does not care or consider. He is the Lord of the universe, the Lord of creation, the Lord who governs the universe. He will judge the rebellious ones. However, there is a basic requirement: among His created ones He must save a group of people who submit to His authority and who allow Him to execute judgment. If there is not a group of created ones who submit to His authority, He will have nothing to say. Hence, He is always waiting for this matter. Even until today He still has not come back to judge the earth because there are not enough overcomers to allow Him to begin this judgment. He has been waiting for enough overcomers to be raised up so that Satan can be put to shame. At such a time God will come; the Christ of God will come. He will come to judge the earth, the world, and bring in His kingdom by judgment. His judgment will begin from His house; He will first judge His children, the saved ones.
In the future God will judge not only our conduct but also our work (1 Cor. 3:10-15). After a Christian is saved, he is accountable before God in two aspects. One day the Lord will judge us regarding how we conducted ourselves after we were saved; when He comes, He will also judge us regarding how we worked and served Him after we were saved. Some brothers and sisters have an attitude, thinking in themselves, “As long as I do not commit great sins, it should not matter if I commit small mistakes. It should also not matter if I watch a movie once every two weeks.” Today we can tell ourselves and others that it does not matter, but one day Christ will come, and His eyes will be like a flame of fire. He will not only look at our face, but like a flame of fire, His eyes will look at us in our heart (Rev. 1:14b). He will ask us, “Did you go to watch a movie that day?” At that time we will not be able to say, “It does not matter.” Every saved one will be manifested before the judgment seat of Christ that each one may receive the things done through the body according to what he has practiced, whether good or bad; those who practice good will receive a reward, and those who practice evil will receive punishment (2 Cor. 5:10). We should not say that it does not matter. I do not dare to say such a word. One day the Lord will judge us. He said, “Behold, I come quickly, and My reward is with Me” (Rev. 22:12). We should never think that the Lord’s word is a joke.
There was a believer who was very cold toward the Lord. One night he had a dream. He dreamed that he was watching a movie at a movie theater. As he was captivated by the movie, at the happiest moment there was great thunder and lightning in the sky, and there was a voice saying, “Christ has come!” He was frightened to the point that his entire body trembled, because Christ came when he was sitting in a movie theater. At the very moment when he became frightened, he woke up and discovered that it was a dream. He was soaked with sweat and said immediately, “Thank the Lord that this is only a dream. If I am actually watching a movie at the Lord’s coming, I will be in serious trouble.” Although this was only a dream, it should give us an indication.
Today we may think that it does not matter if we are loose in certain areas, but one day Christ will come, and we will all stand before His judgment seat. One day we will all stand before Him whose eyes are like a flame of fire. The word in Romans 14 is even more vivid. It says, “We will all stand before the judgment seat of God...Each one of us will give an account concerning himself to God” (vv. 10-12). This is truly not an easy matter. Sometimes when our children have done something wrong, we say to them, “What have you done wrong? Tell me yourself.” Usually, they are not very willing to disclose their wrongdoing clearly. However, this will be the situation when we stand before the judgment seat of Christ in the future. It may be difficult for us to tell the Lord what we did in the period of time before we saw Him. It will be unacceptable to tell Him, “That day I went to watch a movie; I still loved the world very much. Although I knew that You loved me and that I should have loved You, the world was lovelier than You.” Neither will we be able to tell Him, “Since You desired that I love You, why did You create the world to tempt me? If You had not created the world, I would have loved You very much. I loved the world with good reason. This is not a serious matter anyway.” I would like to ask, will we be able to tell the Lord this on that day? At His judgment seat we will have to tell Him item by item all that we have done. Hence, it is not true that as long as we are a Christian, everything will be all right.
One day we will stand before the judgment seat and tell the Lord all our past living, walk, and conduct. It is because of this that even the apostle Paul says that he dared not examine himself, but He who examined him was the Lord (1 Cor. 4:3-4). Paul says, “Do not judge anything before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and make manifest the counsels of the hearts, and then there will be praise to each from God” (v. 5).
I do not wish to threaten anyone, but I must speak the word of God in an honest way. When He comes, God will judge not only our conduct but also our service. Some may say, “I think that I am all right, and my conscience is clean. I neither go to the movies nor go dancing. At night when I search my conscience, I can say that it is without offense.” However, as we live on the earth, it is not sufficient for us to merely have a conscience without offense; the Lord must still judge the way we serve Him. We have all received at least one talent, at least one spiritual gift, from the Lord. We may not have received two talents or five, but we have received at least one talent. We cannot say that we are not saved, that we do not have the Lord’s life, or that we do not have the Holy Spirit. We have all these things. As a result of our having received these things, we have at least one talent, one spiritual gift, and we must use this talent properly and gain a profit for the Lord (Matt. 25:14-30).
The Bible shows that after the one who received five talents gained another five talents, the master said to him, “Well done, good and faithful slave...Enter into the joy of your master” (v. 21). The one who received two talents likewise gained another two talents. They both served the master faithfully and used their gifts to the fullest extent. In the same way, when we use the life, the Holy Spirit, and the talent we have received from the Lord, there will be a full result. The master said to both slaves, “Well done, good and faithful slave...Enter into the joy of your master” (vv. 21, 23).
The master also called for the slave who had received one talent. He cautiously came and said, “Master, I knew about you, that you are a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not winnow. And I was afraid and went off and hid your talent in the earth; behold, you have what is yours” (vv. 24-25). This slave was like a saved one who says to the Lord, “You are truly a hard man. You always ask me to do work that is very difficult. You sent me to preach the gospel in places where no one would believe in You. The people there are cold-hearted and hardhearted; it is impossible to lead them to believe in You. They hardened their hearts toward You, yet You sent me to preach the gospel to them. Lord, since I was afraid, very afraid, I did not do the work. I have kept Your talent here. See, the life You gave me is here, the Holy Spirit You gave me is here, the salvation You gave me is here, and the talent You gave me is here. All Your gifts are here; I did not waste or lose any of them. This explanation should be good enough.”
I would like to ask, Is this explanation good enough? Of course, it is not good enough, for this one did not faithfully use the gifts that he had received from the Lord. After listening to the slave who had received one talent, the master did not refute him or say, “Your word is not true. I am not a hard man. The work that I sent you to do was easy. If you had sown, there would have been growth; if you had reaped, there would have been a rich harvest. What you said is actually inaccurate.” The master did not refute him this way. Rather, he acknowledged the fact and answered him, “Evil and slothful slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I did not winnow. Therefore you should have deposited my money with the money changers; and when I came, I would have recovered what is mine with interest. Take away therefore the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he shall abound; but from him who does not have, even that which he has shall be taken away from him. And cast out the useless slave into the outer darkness. In that place there will be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth” (vv. 26-30). The master meant that since the slave knew that he was forcing his slaves to do what they could not do, the slave should have tried his best to use his talent. In the end the master took the one talent away from him and gave it to the one who had the ten talents; moreover, he cast out the useless slave into the outer darkness.
We should never think that once we are saved, we will have no problems. We should not think that as long as we do not do anything contrary to our conscience, we will be void of offense toward both God and man, nor should we think that as long as our conduct is perfect, we will have no problems. Actually, the way we serve and work for the Lord after we are saved is a great matter. In 1 Corinthians 3 Paul says, “Let each man take heed how he builds” (v. 10b). This means that we must all take heed concerning our work. We may build with gold, silver, and precious stones or with wood, grass, and stubble. One day the nature of our work in our service to the Lord will be tested by fire. If we have built with wood, grass, and stubble, our work will immediately be consumed when it passes through the fire. Only the work that is of gold, silver, and precious stones will remain. Hence, Paul says, “If anyone’s work which he has built upon the foundation remains, he will receive a reward” (v. 14). Apart from salvation, there is also the matter of reward. Therefore, it is not that if we work well, we are saved. The matter of salvation has already been resolved, but the matter of reward is an issue that has not yet been resolved. It depends on how we serve the Lord after we are saved.
If our work for the Lord is of gold, silver, and precious stones, we will receive a reward; if it is of wood, grass, and stubble, we will suffer loss (v. 15a). Some think that to suffer loss is to lose one’s salvation, that is, to perish. No, we will still be saved, “yet so as through fire” (v. 15b). Hence, we must not think that once we are saved, we will have no problems. After we are saved, there are still great issues to be taken care of. Our conduct is an issue, and our work also is an issue. When the Lord comes back, there will be a judgment. In that judgment He will determine whether we will receive a reward or punishment.
If we still live our life in a casual and sloppy way, the word in this message will be to our condemnation. One day Christ will descend and be manifested. His eyes will be like a flame of fire, and out of His mouth will proceed a sharp two-edged sword. His face will shine as the sun shines in its power, and His feet will be like shining bronze, as having been fired in a furnace (Rev. 1:14-16). He will come to judge His children. The sequence in Revelation 2:1 through 3:22 is first the church and then the world. Christ will bring in His kingdom through His judgment. People may rebel against Him and disobey Him today, but they should be prepared to face His judgment. Only one group of people, the overcomers, will be able to stand before the judgment seat in the future. Today they already live in the training of the kingdom, allowing the heavens to rule and reign, and on that day they will enter into the kingdom in full.
