Scripture Reading: Eph. 5:18-19; 1 Cor. 14:1, 5, 23-24, 31-32
In 5:18 Paul charges us to “be filled in spirit.” As members of the Body of Christ, we need to be filled in our spirit unto all the fullness of God. If we are filled in spirit, that with which we are filled will overflow from within us.
Verse 19 refers to this overflow: “Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and psalming with your heart to the Lord.” We do not overflow by meditating or by sitting silently in the meetings of the church. On the contrary, we overflow by speaking to one another. If we are filled in spirit unto all the fullness of God, we shall spontaneously speak to one another concerning Christ. Speaking, therefore, is the way to overflow.
Christians must be a speaking people. We should not be dumb, or silent, for the God we worship is the speaking God. Idols, on the contrary, do not speak; they are dumb. In 1 Corinthians 12:2 Paul mentions “dumb idols.” Because idols cannot speak, those who worship idols are also dumb. A dumb god needs dumb worshippers. If you visit a country where there is the practice of idol worship, you can see that idol worshippers worship their gods in a dumb way. But our God is not dumb; He is the speaking God. Therefore, those who worship Him must also speak. However, many who attend the so-called services in Christianity do not speak. Instead, they worship the Lord in a dumb way. What is our situation in the meetings of the church? Are we silent, or are we bubbling over with words about the Christ we have experienced in our daily life? In the meetings we should praise the Lord and speak of what He is to us in our experience.
Many Christians realize that their religious services should not be altogether silent. Therefore, they arrange to have soloists, quartets, and choirs to provide music. They also may hire outstanding preachers to speak. Nevertheless, most of the people sit silently in the pews, and, for the most part, are dumb worshippers.
The very architecture of many places of Christian worship is conducive to silence. For example, many spontaneously become quiet when they enter Catholic cathedrals. The steep roof, the dimly-lighted atmosphere, and the stained glass windows all encourage dumbness. Some worshippers may burn candles before images or pray in front of statues. How devilish! In principle, this is the same as the idol worship practiced in pagan countries. Much of Christianity has been permeated by the concept of silent worship. In effect, many who attend the Christian services are dumb worshippers.
Since our God is a speaking God, we as His worshippers must also speak. At times, we should even make a joyful noise to the Lord, as we are charged to do in Psalm 100:1. In a number of other verses we are told to do the same thing (Psa. 66:1; 81:1; 95:2; 98:4, 6). Often when we come together we should make joyful noise to the Lord.
As we speak to one another of our experiences of Christ, we should not wait for some kind of formal beginning of the meetings. To do this is to remain under the influence of traditional Christianity. If we have been set free from tradition, we shall speak spontaneously as we come together in the meetings of the church. Some may even begin to speak on the way to the meeting. The meetings need to be filled with speaking concerning the riches of Christ.
Ephesians 5:19 also refers to “singing and psalming” to the Lord. Such singing and psalming are not only the overflow of being filled in spirit, but also the way to be filled in spirit. Whenever we are filled in our spirit unto all the fullness of God, the first thing we shall do is speak. Then we shall sing and psalm with our heart to the Lord.
Many pride themselves on being scriptural. I wonder, however, if they are scriptural according to 5:19. This verse, found in a book that deals with the church, tells us that after we have been filled in our spirit unto all the fullness of God, we need to speak. Many who regard themselves as scriptural are scriptural only in a traditional way. They are not scriptural according to Paul’s word in verse 19.
In 1 Corinthians 14:1 Paul says, “Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy” (Gk.). Most people regard prophecy merely as a foretelling of future events. According to this understanding, someone predicts the future and concludes his speaking with the words, “Thus saith the Lord.” For example, in 1963 some prophesied that a great earthquake would cause Los Angeles to fall into the ocean. Prediction, however, is not the primary meaning of prophecy in the Bible, especially in the New Testament.
In the Bible to prophesy has three meanings. First, it is to speak for someone, to speak on behalf of another person. When one prophesies in this way, he speaks not for himself, but for someone else. Hence, someone may be called upon to prophesy for the Lord, that is, to speak on the Lord’s behalf. Second, to prophesy means to speak forth, to declare. In the Bible a person may not only speak for God, but he may also speak forth something of God. Third, to prophesy is to foretell, to predict. Therefore, the three meanings of prophesy are to speak for, to tell forth, and to foretell. However, the meaning of foretell is not the primary meaning.
Let us use the book of Isaiah as an example. Isaiah 1:3 says, “The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.” What kind of prophecy is this? Certainly it is not foretelling. Rather, it is a declaration, a speaking forth something that is of the Lord. The same is true of Isaiah 9:6: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” This word is a declaration, a telling forth. It is not primarily a foretelling of a future event. Of course, in the book of Isaiah there are a number of instances of such foretellings or predictions. Nevertheless, most of the book of Isaiah is either a speaking for or a telling forth. Only a relatively small portion of the book consists of foretelling. Thus, the content of the book of Isaiah illustrates the fact that the primary meaning of prophecy is not prediction, but declaration and speaking on behalf of another, especially on behalf of the Lord.
As we preach the gospel, we may prophesy in this way. We may say to a group of unbelievers, “Friends, you must believe in the Lord Jesus. Otherwise, you will be eternally lost.” To speak in this manner is to prophesy in the sense of uttering something of the Lord and on behalf of the Lord. To preach the gospel, therefore, is to declare something of the Lord and to speak on behalf of the Lord. Such preaching may contain an element of prediction — for example, the prediction of eternal loss for those who refuse to believe in Christ — but such prediction is not the main element. In a general way, we can say that whenever we speak regarding the Lord or for the Lord, we are prophesying. How different this is from the common and traditional understanding of prophecy!
If we intend to be scriptural in a comprehensive way, we need to accept the biblical understanding of prophecy. To prophesy is not to gossip or to speak for ourselves. Furthermore, it is not to speak forth something of ourselves. On the contrary, to prophesy is to speak for the Lord and to speak forth something of the Lord. As we have pointed out, such speaking may have the aspect of prediction. One who speaks for the Lord may say, “The Lord Jesus is faithful, available, near, and dear. Whenever we call on Him, He immediately comes, and we have the deep sense of His sweetness. But if we do not practice calling on the name of the Lord, our daily living will be pitiful.” To speak in this way is to prophesy.
In 1 Corinthians 14:31 Paul says, “For ye can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted” (Gk.). If prophecy were mainly a matter of predicting the future, how would it be possible for all the saints to prophesy? But we all can speak for the Lord and utter something of the Lord. Even the new ones and the young ones can prophesy like this.
The way to be spiritual is to speak for the Lord and concerning the Lord. The more we speak, the more we shall be filled in our spirit. However, if we remain silent, we shall find that we cannot be filled in spirit. In our daily living we need to be those who speak. We can speak concerning the Lord even when we are alone. If you speak in this way day by day, you will see that it produces in you a genuine spirituality and that it causes you to be filled in your spirit. When we have no other person to whom to speak, we can speak to our pets or even to inanimate objects. For example, you may say to a flower, “Little flower, you are very pretty. But your beauty is vanity. The real beauty is the Lord Jesus Christ.” How important it is that we all learn to speak!
We especially need to speak in the meetings of the church. In 1 Corinthians 14:23 and 24 Paul says that if we all prophesy when the whole church comes together into one place, the unlearned one will be convinced of all and judged of all. In verse 25 he goes on to say, “And thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest; and so falling down on his face he will worship God, and report that God is among you of a truth” (Gk.). Many believers regard 1 Corinthians 14 as a chapter that deals with speaking in tongues. However, in this chapter more attention is given to prophesying than to tongues-speaking. In verse 3 Paul says that prophesying is for the building up, exhortation, and comfort of the saints. Furthermore, the one who prophesies builds up the church (v. 4).
The more we speak for the Lord, the more our inward being is filled with Him. Often the reason we are offended by others is that our soul is empty. We are not occupied in a proper way. But when we are filled through speaking of the Lord, our being will be properly occupied, and there will be no room for anything negative to come in to usurp us.
Concerning this matter of speaking for the Lord, some believe that they should wait until the Spirit comes upon them. This was the practice in the Old Testament. But it is not the way revealed in the New Testament. In the Old Testament the Spirit of God came upon people, but the Spirit was not dwelling in them. In the New Testament age, however, as believers in Christ, we have the Spirit within us. Hence, there is no need to wait for the Spirit to come upon us. In 1 Corinthians 14:32 Paul says, “And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.” Since our spirit is subject to us, there is no need for us to wait for inspiration. Why should we wait for the Spirit to come upon us when we already have the Spirit in our spirit? We should take the initiative to exercise our spirit, giving our spirit the command to act. Then we should speak, not according to our thought, but according to the sense deep within. Every believer in Christ can speak in this way. This is the reason Paul tells us that we all can prophesy.
In the meetings of the church we all need to speak for the Lord and regarding the Lord. Everyone should be bubbling over with the Lord. If this is the experience of every one of us, there will be no need for so much singing or preaching in the meetings. In many Christian meetings singing and preaching are used to fill up time. Without singing and preaching, there would be large gaps in those meetings. The situation among us in the Lord’s recovery must be altogether different. We must be those who experience Christ, who live by Him, and who are filled in our spirit with Him. If we are filled with Christ in our spirit, we shall overflow by speaking of Christ and for Christ. Whenever we come to the meetings, we shall speak to one another of our experience and enjoyment of Christ. Of course, we shall still sing, but not because we have nothing else to do. We shall not use songs and hymns to fill the gaps caused by the shortage of speaking regarding Christ.
We need to labor on Christ day by day just as the children of Israel labored on the good land. Through their labor, they gained produce to offer to the Lord at the time of the feasts. When they came into the Lord’s presence, they had something in their hands to present to Him. The principle is the same with respect to experiencing Christ. Because many Christians do not labor on Christ, they do not experience Him in their daily living. Thus, when they come to meetings, they have nothing of Christ to present to God or to share with the saints. They have nothing to speak on behalf of the Lord.
May the Lord be merciful to us in the church life that we may contact Him day by day and live according to the index of His inner being. If we live by Christ, we shall be filled in our spirit unto all the fullness of God. Then spontaneously we shall overflow by speaking for the Lord. Through this kind of speaking we shall offer Christ to God and share Him with one another. Meetings that are filled with this speaking of Christ will be the expression of the living Christ. In principle, this is the proper way to have the church meetings.
I believe that the time is coming when the meetings of the local churches will be carried out in this way. However, we can do this only through experiencing Christ in our daily living. Only when we experience Christ do we have something to speak for Christ.
Many of the testimonies given by Christians concern miracles or material blessings. Some may testify about a good job or about a physical healing. But this is not the kind of testimony we need in the church meetings. We need testimonies of the experience of Christ. For example, we need to hear testimonies about how the saints have experienced Christ in a particular way, perhaps as their tenderness, meekness, or gentleness. Furthermore, we need testimonies about living and acting according to the index of the Lord’s inward being. We must confess that as far as such testimonies are concerned, there is still a great shortage among us. May the Lord be merciful to us that we in the local churches will be rich in the experience of Christ. Day by day we need to experience Christ as our life, our person, and our everything. Then we shall be filled with Him and spontaneously speak of Him. I encourage all the saints to practice speaking for Christ and of Christ. The way to take the Lord into us is to speak of Him. The more we speak, the more we shall be filled with Him; and the more we are filled with Him, the more we shall speak of Him. May we all be filled with Christ and be overflowing with the riches of Christ.
