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Concerning the Christian life, the New Testament reveals that firstly we need to receive the Spirit of God into our spirit so that we may be regenerated. Following this, we need to grow. To grow is to be transformed, and to be transformed is mainly to be renewed in the spirit of the mind. Transformation and the renewing of the mind issue in the infilling of the Holy Spirit in our soul. Our mind is the leading part of our soul. To be renewed in the spirit of our mind is to have our mind filled and saturated with the Spirit. Then the Spirit that has saturated our mind will renew our whole being. Thus, our being, our soul, will be saturated with the infilling Spirit. This is the way to have the extra portion of oil in the vessel.
As we pointed out in the foregoing message, to be regenerated, to have the new birth, is to have the Spirit in our spirit, that is, to have the oil in our lamp. To have the Spirit in our soul means that we grow in life, are transformed, are renewed in our whole being, and have our soul saturated with the Holy Spirit of God. This is to have the oil in the vessel. This is the way to be watchful and to be ready for the Lord’s coming. It is also the way to be prepared to be raptured into the Lord’s presence.
Having covered the parable for watchfulness (Matt. 25:1-13), we proceed in this message to the parable for faithfulness (Matt. 25:14-30). The parable of the virgins is for watchfulness, but the parable of the talents is for faithfulness.
When we were on chapter twenty-four, we pointed out that concerning the believers, there are two aspects: the aspect of watchfulness and readiness and the aspect of faithfulness and prudence. The believers have these two aspects because they have a dual status. The first aspect of this dual status is related to life, and the second aspect is related to service. No Christian should neglect these two aspects; rather, we must pay the proper attention to both, becoming proper in life and in service. Regarding life, we are virgins; regarding service, we are slaves. This means that in watchfulness we are virgins. This relates to what we are. But in faithfulness we are slaves. This relates to what we do.
Although we may like the term “virgins,” we may not like hearing that we are slaves. Nevertheless, we are not only virgins, but also slaves. To the virgins, the Lord is the Bridegroom, but to the slaves, He is the Master. Thus, not only we have a dual status, but the Lord also has a dual status. On the one hand, He is our pleasant Bridegroom and, on the other, our strict Master. Sometimes He is very pleasant with us, but at other times He deals with us in a strict way.
The virgins need something inward — the inward filling of the oil in the vessel. The slaves, however, need something outward — the spiritual talent. The infilling of the Holy Spirit is inward, but the talent, the spiritual gift, is outward. As vessels we need the oil inwardly, and as slaves we need the talents outwardly.
The oil that fills the vessel reaches the very bottom of the vessel. It is from within that the renewing of our being takes place, and it is from within that transformation transpires. There is a great lack of this inward working among Christians today. Rather, many Christians are striving to improve their outward appearance in order to make a show. Religion is concerned with outward show, but God’s grace in the infilling of the Holy Spirit gets into us and transforms us from within. The inward oil is very different from outward makeup. Makeup changes our complexion immediately. But God’s way is that we drink of the Spirit and let the Spirit saturate our being. Then our appearance will change from within. For example, I eat and drink well, and nourishing food saturates my being. This gives me a healthy complexion.
The fact that we need to be renewed from within does not mean that we do not need outward activities. The one who received five talents traded with them diligently and gained another five talents. This indicates that we need both the inward renewing and the outward service, the inward growth and the outward actions. We need to be deeply impressed with this principle. Regarding the aspect of life, we need to be renewed from within, and regarding the aspect of service, we need to be very active outwardly. Sometimes we may be so active outwardly that we neglect the inward renewing. But at other times we may care so much for the inner life that we do not work adequately. To be like this is to be an unturned cake (Hosea 7:8). On one side we are burned to charcoal, and on the other side we are raw. Neither side is good for eating. We need to be a turned cake. If we work too much, the Lord will tell us to rest. But if we rest too much, the Lord will tell us to work.
Verse 14 says, “For it is as a man who, going into another country, called his own slaves and delivered to them his possessions.” The word “it” refers to the kingdom of the heavens, indicating that this parable of the talents, like the parable of the ten virgins, is also concerning the kingdom of the heavens. The man here signifies Christ, who was going into another country, that is, into the heavens.
Verse 14 says that this man delivered his possessions to his slaves. The slaves signify believers in the aspect of service (1 Cor. 7:22-23; 2 Pet. 1:1; James 1:1; Rom. 1:1). As we have seen, the status of the believers in their relationship toward Christ is of two aspects: in life they are the virgins living for Him; in service, in work, they are His purchased slaves serving Him.
I believe that the possessions delivered to the slaves include the gospel, the truth, the believers, and the church. The believers are God’s inheritance, God’s possession (Eph. 1:18). Matthew 24:45 indicates that the believers are also His household.
Verse 15 says, “And to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one; to each according to his own ability.” While oil in the parable of the virgins signifies the Spirit of God, talents in this parable signify spiritual gifts (Eph. 4:8; Rom. 12:6; 1 Cor. 12:4; 1 Pet. 4:10; 2 Tim. 1:6). For life we need oil, the Spirit of God, even His fullness, that we may be enabled to live the virgin life for the Lord’s testimony; for service, for work, we need the talent, the spiritual gift, that we may be equipped as a good slave for the accomplishment of the Lord’s work. The fullness of the Spirit in life is for us to use the spiritual gift in service, and the spiritual gift in service matches the fullness of the Spirit in life that we may be perfected as members of Christ.
Verse 14 says that the man gave his slaves his possessions, but verse 15 says that he gave them talents. This indicates that the talents in verse 15 are the possessions in verse 14. In other words, the Lord uses His possessions as talents for us. For example, the gospel is the Lord’s possession. But when it is given to us, it becomes our talent. Likewise, the truth is the Lord’s possession. But when the truth is given to us, it becomes a talent. In the same principle, all the believers are the Lord’s possessions. When the believers are given to us, they become our talents. Without all the believers, my talent would not be very big. Furthermore, the church is the Lord’s possession. When the church is given to us, it becomes our talent. The more of His possessions the Lord gives to us, the more talents we shall have. In like manner, the more the Lord burdens us, the more talents we shall have.
Many Christians know that in this parable the talents are gifts. However, they do not know that the source of the gifts is the Lord’s possessions. Today the Lord’s possessions primarily are the gospel, the truth, the believers, and the church. If you do not care for these things, you will not have any talents. The gospel needs to become our possession. The same is true of the truth, the believers, and the churches. My talents are not natural. Rather, they are the gospel, the truth, the believers, and the church. If you took all these things away from me, I would have nothing left. I have a strong talent because I have not only the gospel and the truth, but also thousands of believers and hundreds of churches. This is the reason this ministry has had impact.
We should not wait in an indifferent way for the Lord to give us something. No, we must diligently seek the gospel and the truth. We should be eager to know the fall of man, redemption, regeneration, salvation, the cleansing of the blood, and the washing of the Spirit. All these are aspects of the full gospel. The more you receive of the gospel, the more talents you will have. We need to pray that the Lord would help us to know the truth and to experience it. We need to experience the truth concerning the church, God’s eternal purpose, and God’s economy. Eventually, these truths will become our talent. Then we shall be able to minister them to others. In this way, the Lord’s possessions become our talent. Furthermore, we need to pray, “Lord, I want to take care of the saints and bear their burdens. My heart is for them.” If we have a heart for the saints and are burdened for them, they, the Lord’s possession, will be given to us as a talent. How thankful I am that so many saints and churches have become my talent! My ministry is strongly backed up by all the saints and all the churches in the Far East. If the Lord sent me to another place, I would also have the support of the churches in the United States, for the churches here have become an addition to my talent.
If you want to receive more talents, you must have a heart to care for the saints. For example, when someone is unemployed, you need to pray for him and bear his burden. This will be a proof that the Lord has given that one to you as a talent. However, not to bear the saints or care for them means that you forsake the Lord’s possession. Every dear saint is a precious part of the Lord’s possession. It is not a small matter to be concerned for the saints, for they are the Lord’s possession.
When the Lord’s possessions are in His hand, they remain His possessions. But when they are delivered to us, they become our talent. Do not drop any burden that the Lord has given you. No matter how busy I am, I cannot drop any talent, for to do this is to drop the Lord’s possession. The Lord has a vast work in His recovery. For this work, He needs thousands of young brothers and sisters to be raised up to bear the responsibility.
The talent is not something of your natural birth; rather, it is altogether related to your burden. If you take up a burden, you will receive a talent. If you take up a burden for one local church, you will receive one talent. But if you take up the burden for five churches, you will have five talents. During the past twenty-eight years, more than two hundred eighty churches have been built up under this ministry. Recently, when I was accused, criticized, and condemned, I asked the Lord whether or not this ministry was wrong. At that time He pointed out to me that the way to know the tree is by its fruit. He told me to look how many churches have been established and built up by this ministry. However, if we are ambitious for ourselves, this ambition will kill the talents.
Although the talents are not our ability, but the Lord’s possession, they are delivered to us according to our ability. Our ability is constituted by God’s creation and our learning. The capacity of our ability is based upon the willingness of our heart. If we do not have any willingness in our heart, then we shall not have the capacity to receive the talent. The capacity to receive the talent is measured by the willingness of our heart.
Verses 16 and 17 say, “Immediately, he who received the five talents went and traded with them and gained another five; similarly, he who received the two gained another two.” To trade with the talents signifies using the gift the Lord has given us, and to gain other talents signifies that the gift we received from the Lord has been used to the fullest extent, without any loss or waste.
According to chapter twenty-four, the slave is to supply food to those in the household. This refers to the ministering of the nourishing Word with the riches of Christ as the life supply to those in the Lord’s house. Here, however, it speaks of trading with the talents to cause the talents to multiply. Therefore, the result of our service has two aspects. The first aspect is that others are fed and given rich nourishment. The second aspect is that the Lord’s possessions are multiplied. For example, the more we preach the gospel, the richer the gospel becomes. It is the same with the truths. As we minister the truths to others, the truths multiply. This is also true of the saints and the churches. Both the believers and the churches will multiply. Thus, five talents are multiplied into ten, and two talents are multiplied into four.
Verse 18 says, “But he who received the one went away and dug in the earth and hid his lord’s silver.” The main emphasis in this parable is on the one-talented one, the one who received the smallest gift. It is very easy for the least-gifted ones to fail to make the proper use of their gift.
As the earth signifies the world, so to dig in the earth signifies getting into the world. Any association, any involvement with the world, even a little worldly talk, will bury the Lord’s gift to us. Hiding the Lord’s silver signifies rendering the Lord’s gift useless, letting it lie waste under the cloak of certain earthly excuses. Any excuse for not using the Lord’s gift is to hide it. This is always the danger with the one-talented ones, those who consider their gift as the smallest.
With the one-talented slave in this parable, there is no multiplication. For instance, in a certain area there may be one church. Ten years later, there is still just one church in that area. Some may think that the one-talented slave did well in not losing his talent and in returning to the Lord what was His. The one-talented slave seemed to say, “Lord, here is what is Yours. You gave me one talent, and I have been faithful to keep, guard, protect, and preserve it. By Your mercy and grace, I have kept it.” But the issue of our service must be the multiplication of our talents. It is not the Lord’s will for us simply to maintain what He has given us. If you are faithful merely to keep the gospel, the truth, and the church without any multiplication, the Lord will say that you are slothful. Furthermore, He will call you an evil slave. In the eyes of the Lord, it is evil to bury the talent and not to multiply it. The Lord does not care for our argument or excuses. He cares only that the one talent is multiplied into two. This is a serious matter. Our service must issue in the feeding and satisfaction of others and in the multiplication of the talent.
