Message 59
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Scripture Reading: 119:25, 50, 105, Psa. 119:130; 19:8; 1:1a, 2-3; 19:7; 119:41, 110, 170, 28, 76, 103, 116-117
The law as the living word of God has many functions. To the loving seekers of God these functions are the blessing received through God’s law as His living word. In this message and in the message following we shall consider the blessing we may receive from the living Word of God.
Although the loving seekers of God receive blessing from His Word, it is possible to come to the Word of God and not receive anything. I know of many who have read the Bible and even studied it without receiving anything from it. This is the situation among many Christians today. When they read the Scriptures, many Christians do not receive any blessing. The only thing they get is vain knowledge. Using the knowledge they gain from reading the Bible, they engage in controversies over matters in the Bible. Instead of being truly helped by reading the Bible, they argue about the Word of God. As a result, first they themselves are killed by their kind of Bible knowledge, and then they use this knowledge to kill others. To them, the Bible is not a book that gives life; it is a book that kills.
Throughout the centuries, many have been killed by taking the Bible as nothing more than a book of knowledge. Perhaps the most striking example of those killed through Bible knowledge is the so-called higher critics of the Scriptures in the nineteenth century. In their study of the Bible, these higher critics exercised their mind to an extreme. Consequently, they did not receive any blessing from their study of the Word of God.
If our condition is normal, we should be helped and very much blessed whenever we come to the Word of God. If we do not receive any blessing, there must be something wrong with us. All Scripture is God-breathed (2 Tim. 3:16); therefore, the words of the Bible are God’s breath. Furthermore, as the embodiment of God (Col. 2:9), the Lord Jesus is Himself called the Word (John 1:1, 14; Rev. 19:13). Thus, coming to the Word should be the equivalent of coming to God. Because the Word is the embodiment of God, it contains the riches of God. The Word of God contains all that God is. This is the reason the Word of God is so rich, substantial, living, and enlightening. All that God can be to us, the Word can be also. Provided we have no problems within us which cause a hindrance, we should receive blessing whenever we come to the Word of God.
If you fail to receive help when you come to the Word, there is probably a problem of some kind in your heart. Your heart is not right. It may be that you have no genuine exercise of heart in coming to the Word. You read the Bible, but you have no heart for the Word. In human life it is possible to do many things out of necessity without having a heart for those things. For example, a young person may be forced to attend school, but he may have no heart for education. He goes to school only because he is compelled to do so. Likewise, although we may read the Word of God, perhaps out of a sense of duty, we may not have a heart for the Word.
Another problem you may have in your heart is the problem of a divided heart. It is possible that your heart is divided into two or three parts, perhaps even more. This may especially be true of young people. A young person may love many different things. This causes the heart to be divided. One thing occupies one part of the heart, and something else occupies another part. Suppose a young man has a heart for his studies, but also has a heart for a particular form of worldly entertainment. This will cause his heart to be divided.
If a person’s heart is divided into two parts, one part for something good and another part for something evil, the evil tendency will always prevail. This seems to be a natural law or principle. In his heart a person may have two opposite intentions; he may intend both to lie and to tell the truth. The evil intention, that of telling a lie, will prevail over the good intention, that of telling the truth. Whenever our heart is divided, reading the Word of God will not help us. If we come to the Bible halfheartedly or with a divided heart, we shall not receive blessing from the Word. Whenever we come to the Bible, we must come with a whole heart and with a single heart. It is not profitable to read the Word of God in a halfhearted way.
Another problem of the heart in relation to the Word is that of not having any heart at all for the Word. We have pointed out the problem of not using or exercising our heart in reading the Word. However, there is a difference between this and not having a heart for the Word. There are some people who seem to have no heart at all. Inwardly, they are like dead wood. No matter how much such a person may read the Bible, he will not receive any blessing from his reading, for he lacks the function through which to comprehend what the Bible is saying. He simply has no function of heart in reading the Word. This is a very serious problem. When many Christians come to the Bible, they are like dead wood, without a heart.
Another problem with the heart is related to things that cover you, separate you from the Lord, or frustrate your contact with the Lord. In reading the Word of God, you may cry out to the Lord and be desperate to receive something from the Lord. However, there may be hindrances or frustrations within you. There may be a certain sin that besets, captures, and possesses you. On the one hand, you love the Word of God. On the other hand, a certain sin may lie hidden in your heart, and you may not be willing for the Lord to deal with it. Such a hidden sin will prevent you from receiving blessing from the Word. Suppose, for example, someone has offended you, and you are not willing to forgive this offense. You may not consider that your unwillingness to forgive is a sin, but it is in fact a sin. You may hide this sin, or other kinds of sins, from man, and you may even attempt to conceal it from the Lord. If you come to the Bible with such a sin hidden within you, you will not be able to receive anything from the Word, even though you have a heart for the Word. If you have a tendency toward something which does not please the Lord and at the same time desire to come to the Word, you will not be blessed by reading the Word of God.
We know from our experience that at times we struggle with the Lord, perhaps over the issue of consecration. We may not be willing to consecrate ourselves, to be subdued by the Lord, or to be convinced by Him. We may insist on holding to our opinion regarding a particular matter. Even though the Lord speaks to us again and again, we still are not willing to be convinced, because His speaking is contrary to our opinion. We cling to our concept and insist on it. Such an insistence is a veil that covers our heart. Do you think that you can receive help from the Word if your heart is covered in this way? To be sure, reading the Word when you are in such a condition will not be a help to you.
If we want to receive blessing from the Word of God, we must first deal with our heart and turn to the Lord absolutely and with our whole heart. We also need to deal with anything in our heart that is negative or that causes separation between us and the Lord. If we deal with our heart and with the negative things between us and the Lord, our condition is likely to be normal. Then it is very possible that we shall receive help from the Word.
Even if we deal with our heart and with the negative things in our heart, we may still have some complications. All of us, young and old alike, are complicated. Within us there are a number of factors which cause complications. These complications also make it difficult for us to receive blessing from the Word.
As we read Psalm 119, we see that the psalmist was right with the Lord. There was nothing between him and the Lord. I appreciate the line in the hymn, “Nothing between, Lord, nothing between.” However, it is one thing to sing this hymn, but it is another thing to practice having nothing between us and the Lord. How much we shall receive from the living Word if there is nothing between the Lord and us!
If a person studies diligently for a number of years, he may receive a Ph.D. in a certain field, perhaps in nuclear physics. Although I have known a number of young people who have earned a Ph.D., I do not know many who have attained a comparable measure of understanding in spiritual matters. Some have had the Bible, a book of heavenly, divine, and spiritual science, in their hands for decades, but still they have only an elementary understanding of it. This indicates that although they have acquired a certain amount of knowledge, they have not been blessed through their reading of the Word. Earning a Ph.D. degree requires much study, but it does not require that you deal with your heart. For example, does refusing to forgive someone hinder you from earning a doctoral degree? Of course not! But such a thing can keep you from receiving blessing from the Word of God. A sister, Margaret E. Barber, used to say that even a small leaf can hide a bright star. Likewise, even a small matter can keep us from receiving blessing from the Bible.
The Bible requires more of us than any other book. The Bible demands that we humble ourselves and put aside our self-confidence and self-assurance. In coming to the Word, we need to pray that the Lord will have mercy on us. If we do not receive the Lord’s mercy, something within us unconsciously may continue to cover us and keep us from the Lord’s Word. Let us learn to pray, “Lord, have mercy on me. I don’t want to be covered by anything, and I don’t want to have anything between You and me. Lord, grant that there will be nothing between us.” This should be not only our prayer, but also our attitude toward the Lord.
In coming to the Word we should not have any self-confidence. We should not presume to have the assurance that there are no problems between us and the Lord. We simply do not have the ground for this kind of assurance. Although we may not realize it, there may be still a number of problems between us and Him. Therefore, we need to humble ourselves before the Lord. The Bible says, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6). If we do not humble ourselves in coming to the Word, we shall be greatly hindered in receiving help from the Word.
Some may think that as long as we love the Lord, everything will be all right. However, loving the Lord is somewhat general. We may love Him without ever having humbled ourselves before Him. Realizing that there are still apt to be negative things within us, we need to humble ourselves. If it is difficult to clean our physical surroundings in an absolute way, how much more difficult it is to clean our heart! Can you say that in cleaning your house you clean thoroughly? It is very difficult for anyone to say this. Years ago, when our youngest daughter needed minor surgery, the physician told us that he could not perform the surgery in his office. To us, the office seemed very clean. But the doctor realized that because the ceiling of his office could not be thoroughly cleansed, his office was not a proper place for surgery to be performed. When he said this, I thought that this is also true of the “ceiling” of our inward being. Because our inward ceiling is not absolutely clean, it is difficult for surgery to be performed within us. Therefore, we should have no confidence in ourselves, but humbly look to the Lord for mercy.
Recently, some of the young people have completed a special training. Although they have passed through a very good training, they should not think that everything is right between them and the Lord. They should not assume that everything has been rectified or sanctified. They still may have many problems in their heart. If we realize this about ourselves, we shall not be so confident as to think that in everything we are right with the Lord. Instead, we shall humble ourselves before the Lord and ask Him for mercy.
If we have a humble attitude when we come to the Word, not having any trust in ourselves, we shall be enlightened. To have no trust in ourselves means that we have no reservations. Nothing remains as a problem between us and the Lord. However, if instead of having a humble attitude we still have confidence in ourselves, we shall have serious problems in receiving blessing from the Word. Perhaps you are wondering why you do not receive light from the Word, even though you have been reading the Bible regularly for a long time. The reason may be that you have too much confidence in yourself. Again I say, we must let go of our confidence, humble ourselves before the Lord, and pray that He will have mercy on us. We should say, “Lord, I do not have any confidence in myself, and I do not insist on anything. Lord, I open to You, and I ask You to have mercy on me.” If this is your attitude in coming to the Bible, you will receive blessing from the Word, no matter what portion of the Word you read. Even the first seventeen verses of the Gospel of Matthew will have something as a help for you. The crucial matter is that you humble yourself before the Lord.
Often saints testify that they see light in reading the Word. This is true. Through the Word we do receive light. But in my experience I have found that whenever I humble myself, do not insist on any opinion, and ask the Lord for His mercy, I have the sense that I come into a realm of light whenever I come to the Word. Even if I do not receive any particular light, I have the consciousness that I am in the light.
Whenever we come to the Word, we come to the light, because the Word is the embodiment of God, and God is light (1 John 1:5). When you stand under the light of the sun, you do not need to receive light, for you are already in the light. Likewise, when we come to the Word with a proper attitude, we have the sense that we are in the light and under the light and are not merely receiving light. Then, the whole Bible in our experience becomes a book of light. No matter where we may be in our reading, we sense that the Bible is a shining light.
As the embodiment of God, the unique light, the Word of God is a shining light. This light is actually God Himself in the Word. Because the Word is the condensation of the divine light, we enter into an atmosphere of light whenever we come to the Word. This is like entering into a lighted room. When we are in a lighted room, we do not simply receive light, but we are in a realm of light.
Whether or not the Bible is shining in our experience depends on our attitude and condition. If we are humble and ask the Lord for mercy, the Bible will be to us a book of light. After reading a portion of the Word, you may not have much understanding, but you have the sense that you are in light. This proves that the Bible is the divine Word. You do not have the sense that you are in light when you read a newspaper or magazine. But if you read the Word or pray-read some verses of the Scriptures with a sincere heart and in an attitude of humility, you will be conscious of having been brought into light. Whenever we come to the Word in a proper way, we have the conviction that we have come into the light and are in a sphere of light. Then spontaneously we receive light, and we become people who are absolutely in light.
In 119:130 the psalmist says, “The entrance of thy words giveth light.” The Word has an entrance. This means that the Bible has an opening, a gate. According to my experience, the bar to this gate is not on the inside, but on the outside. It is on our side of the gate. This means that if the gate is closed, we are the ones who have closed it. Whether the Word is open to us or not depends on how we deal with it. Sometimes we pray that the Lord would open the Word to us. However, when we pray in this way, the Lord may tell us that, on His side, He has already opened His Word. Now we, on our side, need to open the gate of the Word. Our experience testifies that if we have no problems with the Lord when we come to the Word, the Word will be open to us. But if we come to the Word when we have problems with the Lord, the door will be shut. This indicates that the bar to the gate is on our side. When we come to the Word and open it, then in our spiritual experience, the Word will have an entrance, an opening.
I wish to emphasize the fact that whether the gate of the Word is open or closed depends on us. We need to thank the Lord that the Word has an entrance, a gate, and that the bar of the gate is on our side. We should say, “Lord, thank You for the entrance, the opening, to Your Word.” Often in our experience we sense that, because we come to the Word in the right way, the Word has an opening. This opening seems to depend on the Lord and come from Him. However, it actually depends on us and comes from approaching the Word in a proper way.
In verse 105 the psalmist says a practical word about light: “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” This is not a matter of doctrine or teaching, but of experience in the daily life of the psalmist. Step after step in his daily life, the Word was his light.
In ancient times, there were, of course, no street lights. Those who traveled at night needed a lamp, lantern, or torch to light their way. This is what the psalmist has in mind when he refers to the Word as a lamp unto his feet and a light unto his path. The Word was a lamp that enlightened his footsteps. In a very practical way, to the psalmist the Word of God was such a lamp casting light on his pathway.
Psalm 19:8b says, “The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.” This verse indicates that God’s living Word enlightens our eyes. If we do not sense that we are in light when we come to the Word, this is a sign that our condition is not right. It is not adequate simply to pray that the Lord will give us light. We need to humble ourselves, have a thorough dealing with the Lord, and ask Him to have mercy on us. The knowledge many Christians gain from reading the Bible actually becomes a veil or covering that keeps them in darkness. Those who have such a knowledge of the Scriptures need to humble themselves before the Lord so that the coverings may be removed. If we humble ourselves and receive the Lord’s mercy, the Bible will no longer be mere knowledge to us — it will be light to our eyes.
It is important to differentiate between knowledge and light. We may have the Bible just in the way of knowledge, or in our experience the Word may be the shining of the divine light.
The loving seekers of God also receive the life supply, the enlivening, the quickening, through His living Word (119:25, 50). In our spiritual experience we first have light. But then the light must become life. Life is deeper than light. Whenever light comes, life should come also. In fact, life is the container of light. John 1:4 says, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” It is difficult to determine which comes first, life or light. As a rule, light comes before life. According to Genesis 1, we first have light, then the various aspects of life.
In our experience it is possible to have light without life. Light is mainly in the realm of the soul, especially in the sphere of the understanding. Life, to be sure, is in our spirit. Although it is good to have light, the light must penetrate deeper until it becomes life.
We have pointed out that if our condition is proper or normal when we come to the Word, we have the sense that we are in the light. Whatever we read in the Bible thus becomes light to us. Then as we exercise ourselves to pray, we shall spontaneously exercise our spirit and go deeper into the Word. Through this exercise of spirit in prayer, the light will enter into our spirit and become life. In our understanding in the realm of the soul, the Word is light, but when the Word goes deeper, into our spirit, it becomes life.
Our experience indicates that the life supply does not come before the light. Light comes first. But whenever through our prayer this light goes deeper, reaching into our spirit, it becomes life, and we receive the life supply. This shows us the necessity of praying when we read the Word. It makes no difference whether we read first and then pray, or pray and then read. The point is that we need to pray as well as read.
When we come to the Word of God, we need to open our entire being. We need to use our whole being, our body, soul, and spirit. We use our eyes to read the words and our mouth to sound out the words. We also use our mind, the main part of the soul, to understand what we read. We may need to use lexicons, concordances, and different versions and translations. God created us with a mind, and we need to use it in understanding the Word of God. The study of the Bible also requires the exercise of our emotion to love the Word and the exercise of our will to take God’s way in His Word. This exercise of the mind, emotion, and will is the exercise of the soul. But we also need to exercise our spirit. Primarily this is to pray so that our inner man may be strengthened. If we use our whole being in contacting the Word, we shall receive light and life supply.
From our experience we know that the life supply we receive causes us to be watered. First we have enlightenment; second, life supply; and third, watering. The psalmist also experienced this.
According to Psalm 1, those who muse upon the Word of God are like trees planted by a river of water. In order for a tree to grow, it must have roots, and on these roots there must be tiny root hairs to absorb the water. In reading the Bible, many Christians are like trees planted by the river. Some, however, do not have proper roots, whereas others have roots, but no root hairs.
Perhaps you are wondering what, experientially, I mean by root hairs. To have root hairs requires that we go deeper into the Word in a very fine way. Often we fail to receive the life supply because we are too rough. Lacking fineness, we are short of the tiny, delicate root hairs. Because we care only for the big roots, not for the root hairs, we are not able to receive the life supply, which always comes through the fine contact of the root hairs with the water. If we would be watered through the Word, we need to contact the Word not in a rough way, but in a very fine way.
What does it mean to contact the Word in a rough way? It means that you simply read it with your eyes and utter something with your mouth, not even caring for a proper understanding of the Word. Rough people are shallow. Although they may be trees planted by the river, they do not have proper roots. I am afraid that some of the saints in the Lord’s recovery are like this. Yes, they are trees planted by the river, but they are too rough. With them everything is outward, a matter of what they see with their physical eyes and utter with their mouths. Their knowledge of the Bible goes no deeper than what they see and speak. Because those who are rough in coming to the Word do not have proper roots, they do not grow in life.
As we have pointed out, some Christians have roots, but they do not have any fine root hairs. We need to let the Word go deeper in us in a fine way, and we must also allow our being to sink deeper into the Word, also in a fine way. When we go along with the Word and the Word comes into our spirit, in our experience we shall have the root hairs. These root hairs will then absorb the life supply. Our experience testifies that when we go deeper into the Word and the Word enters deeper into us, into our spirit, we have a finer contact with the Word and receive life.
When we are in the spirit, we are very fine, not at all coarse or rough. It is not possible to be rough and still be in spirit. Everyone who enters into the spirit becomes a very fine person. If someone is rough, he is surely in the flesh. If he is somewhat fine, he is in the soul. But if he is very fine, he has entered into the spirit. The root hairs which absorb the life supply are found only in our spirit.
Through the root hairs we absorb the life supply, which is food in the form of water. Even in eating our physical food we need water. We cannot masticate our food and swallow it without water. In spiritual experience, the food supply is in the water. The trees planted by the river receive nourishment from the water. All the nourishment is contained in the water. The tiny root hairs absorb the water and thereby absorb the nourishment that is in the water.
The word of the Bible must enter into our spirit and become the water containing all the elements of nourishing food. This water is not in our mouth, nor in our mind, but only in our spirit. The water of the life supply always goes down to our spirit.
When we read the Bible only with our eyes and mouth, we are rough. When we try to understand the Word by exercising our mind, by loving it, and taking it with our will, we exercise our soul. This is somewhat fine. But when we exercise our spirit to pray, our whole being is brought into the spirit, and the Word enters into our spirit also. Actually, we bring the Word with ourselves into the spirit, and there we find the water.
The Spirit of God does not inhabit our mind; He dwells in our spirit. In the Bible the Word is likened to food, whereas the Spirit is likened to water. The Word as food may remain in our mind, but in order for it to become the Spirit as water, it must enter into our spirit. When the Word becomes water in our spirit, we receive its nourishing elements. Then we have the enlightenment, the life supply, and the watering.
When we experience the enlightenment, the life supply, and the watering, we shall have other blessings through the Word: restoration (19:7a), deliverance (119:41, 170), strength (119:28), comfort (119:76), nourishment (119:103), upholding (119:117), and safeguard. The reference to strength in 119:28 refers not to something doctrinal, but to something that fills us inwardly and energizes us. This must denote an organic element, for only something organic can enter our being to strengthen us. The fact that the Word of God strengthens us indicates that it imparts an organic element into us.
As we are strengthened by the Word, we are comforted, nourished, and upheld by it. In ourselves we can easily be shaken: it is very easy for us to fall. In order to stand, we need a living support. The living support by which we stand is the Word of God which upholds us continually. Furthermore, the Word of God is our safeguard and protection.
The living Word is not a systematic theology; it is God Himself. From experience I have learned to care for the real enjoyment of the living God in His living Word. I do not care for theology — I value the genuine experience of God through the Word.
If we consider all the matters we have covered in this message in the light of our experience, we shall be able to testify that through the Word we receive enlightenment, quickening, and watering. By the living Word of God we are restored, strengthened, delivered, comforted, nourished, upheld, and safeguarded. May we all be encouraged to be in a proper condition whenever we contact the Word, so that the Word may come into our mind and then pass through our mind into our spirit, where it becomes the life supply. If the Word becomes life in our spirit, then we shall enjoy all the other blessings afforded to God’s loving seekers through His living Word.
