(2)
Scripture Reading: 2 Cor. 3:3, 6-9, 18; 4:1a
Today many Christians talk about different ministries and speak of receiving all kinds of ministries. The matter of the ministry or of the ministries is not simple. According to 2 Corinthians, there is just one ministry, the unique ministry. In 4:1 Paul says, “Therefore, having this ministry, as we have received mercy we do not lose heart.” On the one hand, here Paul says “we”; on the other hand, he speaks of “this ministry,” not these ministries. According to this verse, there are many who have the one ministry. However, in 1 Corinthians 12:5 Paul says, “There are distributions of ministries.”
How can it be that the ministry is unique and yet at the same time there are many ministries? The answer is that in the New Testament God has only one operation. Furthermore, He has just one ministry to carry out His unique operation. All the apostles — Peter, James, John, Paul, Timothy — carried on the same ministry. Peter did not carry on one ministry, Paul another ministry, and Timothy yet another ministry. This is the situation among preachers, teachers, and ministers today, who carry on different kinds of ministries.
Because there are different kinds of ministries, there are many different denominations. The Baptists carry on the Baptist ministry to accomplish the Baptist operation. The Presbyterians carry on another kind of ministry to accomplish the Presbyterian operation. The same is true of the Episcopalians, Lutherans, and Methodists. All these denominations carry on different kinds of ministries for the sake of their own operations. According to the New Testament, this practice is not right. The New Testament reveals that there is a unique ministry. Today the local churches are not carrying out different kinds of ministries to accomplish many operations. God has one operation to be carried out by the unique ministry.
Now we must see what this unique ministry does. The unique ministry in the New Testament serves Christ to others. It inscribes Christ into people as the Spirit within them and as righteousness outwardly. This is the function of the unique ministry. When we preach the gospel, we should preach in this way. Likewise, when we teach the Bible, edify the saints, or build up the churches, we should do these things in this way. Everything we do in the church life should be to inscribe Christ into the saints. Regarding this, we do not have many different ministries.
Although the New Testament clearly indicates that the ministry is one and unique, it also speaks of different ministries. These ministries refer to various services in the church. When 1 Corinthians 12:5 speaks of ministries, it means the different services. In the church life the saints are involved in different services. For example, some take care of the children. This is one kind of service. Some shepherd the younger ones or the weaker ones. This is another kind of service. These different services, however, all carry out the unique ministry, the unique service. As we have seen, the function of the unique service is to minister Christ into God’s chosen people. In what way should we take care of the children? We should do so in the way of ministering Christ to them. Likewise, how should we shepherd the younger ones or the weaker ones? In shepherding we should minister Christ to others. Even when the sisters meet together to pray, they all should minister Christ. The many services are for the unique service; the many ministries are for the one ministry.
We accept all ministries that are accomplishing the unique ministry for God’s operation. But we cannot accept a ministry that is seeking to establish or accomplish something different from God’s unique operation. For example, we cannot accept a ministry which has as its goal the establishing of the Presbyterian denomination; neither can we accept a ministry that seeks to carry out the Baptist, Lutheran, or Episcopalian operations. These ministries are divisive; therefore, we cannot accept them. The ministries we accept are those that are for the unique New Testament ministry.
If you take note of this understanding of the ministry and the ministries and read through the New Testament again, especially the Epistles, you will see that this understanding is accurate. I would encourage you to study the Epistles along this line, paying special attention to the words ministry and ministries. If you make such a study, you will see that the different ministries, services, are all for the carrying out of the one new covenant ministry.
For the carrying out of God’s New Testament economy, the ministry is uniquely one. But for the accomplishing of this unique ministry, especially in the church life, there is the need of many services, the need of diverse ministries. But again I would emphasize the fact that these different ministries and services are all for the carrying out of the unique ministry, which is the ministry of the new covenant. This ministry inscribes the saints with the all-inclusive God, who is the Spirit within us and righteousness as our expression outwardly.
As we pointed out in the foregoing message, the Spirit and righteousness are the two aspects of the essence which is inscribed into us by the ministry of the new covenant. The living Spirit is the inward aspect, and the perfect righteousness is the outward aspect. The essence of the new covenant ministry includes the two aspects of the Spirit and righteousness.
Our ministry in the local churches must be a ministry of inscribing. It should not be mere teaching. If we only teach others, the divine essence will not be inscribed into them. Teaching does not require any essence; however, inscribing does require an essence, just as writing with a pen requires ink. If you try to write with an empty pen, there will be no words on the paper. In order to write, we must have the ink as the writing essence. Then the more we write, the more words will be inscribed on the paper. Likewise, we must have the divine essence in order to inscribe it into the being of the saints.
The ministry of inscribing is unique, and the essence used for inscribing is also unique. Peter did not do one kind of inscribing with one kind of essence, and Paul a different kind of inscribing with a different kind of essence. No, the apostles were not divided; neither were they divisive. Rather, they all practiced the same inscribing with the same essence. However, today’s preachers have different kinds of inscribing, different kinds of teaching. As a result, the more they teach and preach, the more divisions are produced. Therefore, the unique inscribing must be with the unique essence.
What is the unique essence which needs to be inscribed into the saints? This unique essence is the Triune God as the Spirit. The term “the Spirit” as used in the New Testament is very meaningful. The Spirit denotes the processed Triune God to be the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit.
In Genesis 1:2 we read of the Spirit of God. Elsewhere the Old Testament speaks of the Spirit of Jehovah. In the New Testament the term the Holy Spirit is used. Then in Acts 16:7 (lit.) we read of the Spirit of Jesus; in Romans 8:9, of the Spirit of Christ; and in Philippians 1:19, of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. In Romans 8 we are charged to walk in the Spirit. In the New Testament the emphasis is not on walking in the Holy Spirit or in the Spirit of God; the emphasis is on walking in the Spirit. Finally, at the end of the Bible, in Revelation 22:17, we read of the Spirit and the bride. Thus, the Bible ends with a word not about the Spirit of God, nor about the Holy Spirit, but about the Spirit. The Spirit in Revelation 22:17 is the processed Triune God.
I realize that it is troubling to the religious mind to speak of God being processed. I can remember the first time I used the word processed concerning the Triune God in a message. Afterwards, I wondered if I had been too bold in saying that God is processed. In that message I pointed out that God today is no longer unprocessed, no longer the “raw” God. Today God is the processed God. But after I considered this matter further and prayed regarding it, I had the sense deep within, I believe of the Spirit, that if I did not use the word processed, I had no better term to use. I said to myself, “If you don’t use such words as raw and processed, how will you be able to give messages concerning the Triune God as your enjoyment? How will you be able to express the truth concerning the steps through which God has passed to become the all-inclusive Spirit? Are you timid, afraid of being opposed and criticized?” Therefore, after much prayer and consideration, I felt confirmed in using this expression. Recently, we have learned that William Law and Andrew Murray also used this term in their writings.
In the Bible certain words are not used; however, there are facts which give us reason to use particular words to describe them. For example, the word Trinity cannot be found in the Bible. Nevertheless, the Bible reveals the fact of the Trinity. There is one God, but He is the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. Is this not the Trinity? Certainly it is. Trinity actually does not mean three in one; it means three-one. The adjective form of the word trinity is triune, composed of two Latin roots: tri-, meaning three, and -une, meaning one. Therefore, triune means three-one, not three in one. Because the Bible reveals that God is triune, what is wrong with using the word Trinity to speak of God as the Father, Son, and Spirit? We must have some word to express the fact. In the same principle, the Bible does not use the word processed with respect to the Triune God. Nevertheless, the Bible reveals the fact of God’s process.
As I was struggling over the use of the word processed, I considered Christ’s incarnation. Christ, the eternal God, was conceived in the womb of a virgin and was born in a manger in Bethlehem. He then lived on earth for thirty-three and a half years. Eventually, He was crucified and buried in a tomb. After visiting Hades, He came forth in resurrection. As I considered all this, I said to myself, “If this is not a process, then what is it? Since it is a process, you must be bold to use this term in your messages.”
What is wrong in saying that God today is the processed God, that He is no longer the unprocessed God, the “raw” God? If you catch a fish and bring it home, that fish is raw. But after you cook it and serve it on the dining table for a meal, it is no longer a raw fish. It is now a processed fish. Our God is no longer raw. In Genesis 1 He was the raw God. Actually, throughout the entire Old Testament He was raw. He had not yet been “cooked.” He had not yet been processed through incarnation, human living, crucifixion, and resurrection.
The incarnation of Christ was part of His process. His being conceived in the womb of Mary and His being born in Bethlehem were aspects of this process. For nine months the Lord Jesus was in the womb of a virgin. This was a process. Then He lived on earth for thirty-three and a half years. When He was crucified, He was on the cross for six hours. He then was in the tomb for three days. Is not all this a process? Some may say that the Lord’s incarnation, human living, crucifixion, and resurrection were simply procedures, not a process. According to this understanding, incarnation was a procedure by which God became a man, and crucifixion was a procedure by which our Redeemer died for our sins. But even if you change the word process to procedure, the facts remain the same. Furthermore, this procedure, if you call it that, is actually a process.
In the New Testament the Spirit signifies the processed Triune God. Actually the Spirit is the ultimate expression of the processed Triune God. We have seen that Revelation 22:17 says, “The Spirit and the bride say, Come.” There is no expression in human language greater than this. The Spirit is the ultimate expression of the processed Triune God, and the bride is the ultimate expression of the transformed tripartite man. By the time of Revelation 22:17, the processed Triune God and the transformed tripartite man are married and become a universal couple. This means that the processed Triune God and the transformed tripartite man become one. What a wedding that will be! It will be the greatest wedding in the universe, and we all are invited to participate in it.
The Spirit as the processed Triune God is the essence inscribed into our being. Because this essence has been inscribed into us, we cannot remain the same. Transformation is taking place within us. Perhaps even as you have been reading this message, something of the divine essence has been inscribed into you. You may not remember the points of the message, but what has been inscribed into you of the divine essence will never be erased.
The divine essence that has been inscribed into us throughout the years in the local churches will have a particular expression, and this expression is righteousness. When we have righteousness as the expression of the essence inscribed into us, we become right with God, with others, and with everything in our daily life. This means that the indwelling God becomes our righteousness to be our appearance, our expression. This expression is God’s image. This Spirit and this righteousness are the essence of the new covenant ministry.
