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The Divine Trinity and the Kingdom of God
(An excerpt from HWMR and The Ministry of the Word Vol. 13, No. 1 on “Crystallization-Study of Acts”, Message 7, published by LSM)
Scripture Reading: Acts 1:3; 2:32-36; 8:12; 14:22; 16:6-7; 20:28; 28:23, 31
The Divine Trinity Being the Structure of Acts
Even as the Divine Trinity is the framework of the entire New Testament, so the Divine Trinity is the structure of the book of Acts. Chapter after chapter of Acts unveils the operation of the Divine Trinity for the carrying out of God’s New Testament economy (e.g., 1:1-2, 4-5, 8, 11, 21; 2:4, 17-18, 21-24, 27, 31-33, 36, 38; 13:2, 4, 7, 9-10, 12, 16, 23, 30, 33-39, 49-50, 52; 28:15, 23, 25, 31). The term Triune God refers to God in His being, in His person. In His personal being God is uniquely one yet three—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. All three are God, all three are eternal, all three coexist, and all three coinhere. Our God is three-one.
The expression the Divine Trinity in our usage refers to God in His primary attribute of threeness with an emphasis on His operation to carry out His economy. Acts does not give us a theology of the Triune God; rather, it shows us the move of God in His Divine Trinity through the disciples to propagate the resurrected Christ to establish churches, the kingdom of God. The book of Acts is full of the Divine Trinity. At least sixteen of its chapters mention all three of the Divine Trinity, while the rest speak of at least two.
The Father, the Son, and the Spirit Being Involved with the Son’s Ascension
The Triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit—was fully involved with the Son’s ascension and the pouring out of the Spirit (2:32-36). The Son ascended, the Father exalted Him, and the Spirit was poured out (Luke 24:51; Phil. 2:9; Acts 1:9-11; 2:32-36). The Father, the Son, and the Spirit were all wrapped up with the outpouring of the Spirit as the consummation of the processed Triune God (v. 33; John 7:37-39; Phil. 1:19).
The experience of the one hundred twenty on the day of Pentecost cannot be explained theologically. We can surely testify from our personal experience that the whole Divine Trinity has been poured out upon us and is on us right now. Our understanding of the outpouring of the Spirit is based entirely upon the divine revelation in the Holy Scriptures.
The Spirit of Jesus Being the Holy Spirit
In Acts 16:6-7 the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of Jesus are used interchangeably, revealing that the Spirit of Jesus is the Holy Spirit. Why does Luke use this designation for the Spirit in Acts 16? It is because the apostles were part of the divine-human incorporation. They were Triune God-men and kingdom of God-men. They moved as a company, and the Lord wanted them to go straight forward into Europe to open up that continent. The Holy Spirit is a general title of the Spirit of God in the New Testament (9:17, 31).
The Spirit of Jesus is a particular expression concerning the Spirit of God and refers to the Spirit of the incarnated Savior who, as Jesus in His humanity, passed through human living and death on the cross (16:7). This indicates that in the Spirit of Jesus there is not only the divine element of God but also the human element of Jesus and the elements of His human living and His suffering of death as well (Phil. 2:7-8). In his ministry the apostle Paul needed such an all-inclusive Spirit.
As a vessel containing the Triune God, Paul was fully constituted of the Holy Spirit, who was involved with the Lord’s incarnation and birth, and of the Spirit of Jesus, who was involved with the Lord’s humanity, human living, all-inclusive death, life-imparting resurrection, and ascension (Eph. 3:14-17; Luke 1:35; Acts 2:32-36; Phil. 1:19). Paul was constituted through his experience of the Spirit, His experience of Christ’s processes became what he was, part of his very being.
The kind of work that we do for the Lord depends on the kind of Spirit by whom we are guided, directed, instructed, and constituted. When the all-inclusive Spirit becomes our constitution, our work will be the expression of this Spirit (Acts 16:6-7; Rom. 8:9; Phil. 1:19).
The Spirit we must experience is the Spirit of the glorified Jesus, breathed into us and poured out upon us. We do not need to perform certain physical actions or to seek out any signs to experience the Spirit. We simply need to pray, “Lord, this is a bequest of the New Testament. This is an item in the will. Your Body has been baptized in the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit has been breathed into us. Lord, I am in oneness with the Body and claim the power of the Spirit. I would like to live and work by this Spirit, and be led, guided, directed, and instructed by this all-inclusive Spirit.
The Blood of Jesus Being God’s Own Blood
Acts 20:28 stresses that God obtained the church “through His own blood.” God purchased the church by paying the price of “His own blood.” Through incarnation our God, the Creator, the eternal One, became mingled with man (John 1:1, 14). As a result, He was no longer only God—He became a God-man, who had blood and was able to die for us (1 John 1:7). When the Lord Jesus, the God-man, died on the cross, He died not only as man but also as God. The blood that He shed was not only the blood of the man Jesus but also the blood of the God-man. Therefore, His blood, through which God obtained the church, is “His own blood” (Acts 20:28).
The Kingdom of God Being the Main Subject of Acts
The kingdom of God is the main subject of the apostles’ preaching in Acts (1:3; 8:12; 14:22; 19:8; 20:25; 28:23, 31). At the beginning of Acts the Lord appeared to the disciples and spoke to them the things concerning the kingdom (1:3), and at the end of Acts the apostles Paul remained two years in his own rented dwelling, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ (28:31). Acts begins and ends with the kingdom; therefore, the kingdom is the main subject of the apostles’ preaching in this book.
The kingdom of God is the realm of the divine life. Only God Himself possesses the divine life. Therefore, God Himself is the kingdom of God, and His life constitutes the kingdom of God. In Acts we see the kingdom of God as the kingdom-man Jesus, the resurrected Christ, propagating Himself through the disciples, those who are born of God with His life and have thereby entered into the kingdom of God as the realm of the divine life.
The kingdom of God is the resurrected Christ Himself, who is the realm of the divine life, the realm into which we all have been born through regeneration and in which we now live by the life of God. The fact that the resurrected Christ, in His appearing to the apostles through a period of forty days, spoke to them “the things concerning the kingdom of God” indicates that the kingdom would be the main subject of the apostles’ preaching in their coming commission after Pentecost (1:3).
The Kingdom of God Being the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself
According to the New Testament, the kingdom of God is not a visible, material realm. Actually, the kingdom of God is a person, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Wherever the Savior is, there is the kingdom of God. This was the reason the Lord could say that the kingdom was in the midst of the Pharisees. As the Lord’s word in Luke 17:20-21 indicates, this kingdom does not come with observation; that is, it is spiritual, not material and visible.
The Kingdom of God Being the Churches Produced by the Propagation of the Resurrected Christ
The churches and the kingdom of God go together; the churches produced by the propagation of the resurrected Christ are the kingdom of God on earth today (Acts 14:22; 20:25). Acts 5 illustrates that the kingdom of God is in the practice of the church life. In the church life, which is the kingdom, we also must live a life of fellowship. We must realize that we are now in the kingdom of God, which is the propagation of the resurrected Christ, and we do not have the liberty to do or say anything we please.
The resurrected Christ, who is propagating Himself in His ascension, by the Spirit, and through the disciples, is the reality of the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is His expansion (1:8; 8:12). The churches are the expansion of Christ, who came to sow Himself as the seed of the kingdom of God. This is revealed in the Gospels (Mark 4:3, 26). In the Gospels Christ was the seed of the kingdom. In the book of Acts we have the propagation of this seed to produce the churches as the kingdom of God (8:1, 12; 13:1-4).
We in the churches are the propagation of Christ and the expansion of Christ, and we are enlarging the kingdom of God (Rev. 1:9, 11). May this kingdom expand to countries that have heretofore been closed to the Lord. May the Lord open so many countries, many people, many hearts, and many cities for the expansion of His kingdom.
The Kingdom of God Being the Spreading of Christ as Life into His Believers
The kingdom of God is the spreading of Christ as life into His believers to form a realm in which God rules in His life (2 Pet. 1:3-11). To enter into this kingdom, people need to repent of their sins and believe in the gospel so that their sins may be forgiven and so that they may be regenerated by God to have the divine life, which matches the divine nature of this kingdom (Mark 1:15; John 3:3, 5). The apostles preached repentance just as the Lord began His ministry, like that of John the Baptist, by preaching repentance for the kingdom of God (Matt. 3:2; 4:17).
All the believers in Christ can share the kingdom in the church age for their enjoyment of God in His righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17). The kingdom of God will become the kingdom of Christ and of God for the overcoming believers to inherit and enjoy in the coming kingdom age so that they may reign with Christ for a thousand years (1 Cor. 6:9-11; Gal. 5:19-21; Eph. 5:5; Rev. 20:4, 6).
As the eternal kingdom, the kingdom of God will be an eternal blessing of God’s eternal life for all God’s redeemed to enjoy in the new heaven and new earth for eternity (21:1-4; 22:1-5, 14, 17).
The Believers’ Entering into the Kingdom of God
In Acts 14:22 Paul entreated the believers who were continuing in the faith to realize that through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God, because the whole world opposes our entering in. To enter into the kingdom of God is to enter into the full enjoyment of Christ as the kingdom.
Satan’s Fighting Against the Kingdom of God
In Acts 19 we see that Satan is fighting against God’s spreading of His kingdom on earth; the prevailing ministry for the propagation of Christ is a fighting, a battle, for God’s kingdom (vv. 23-41).
Paul’s Proclaiming of the Kingdom of God
Paul’s proclaiming the kingdom of God in 28:31 was the propagation of the resurrected Christ. This is proved by the words teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, which things go together with the kingdom of God (v. 23).
To teach concerning Christ is to spread the kingdom of God. Therefore, the kingdom of God is actually the propagation of the resurrected Christ—a process that continues to be carried out through the believers today (v. 3). This is because we are still in Acts 29. May the Lord spread and propagate the kingdom of God through the whole earth.
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The Enjoyment and Propagation of the Resurrected Christ as the Jubilee in Acts
(An excerpt from HWMR and The Ministry of the Word Vol. 13, No. 1 on “Crystallization-Study of Acts”, Message 8, published by LSM)
Scripture Reading: Acts 2:21; 7:58-60; 9:14, 21; 22:16, 20; 26:18-19
Enjoying and Propagating Christ as Our Possession, Our God-Given Portion, and as the One Who is Able to Set is Free from the Slavery of Sin
According to Leviticus 25, to enjoy and propagate the resurrected Christ as the jubilee is to enjoy and propagate Him as our possession, our God-given portion, and as the One who is able to set us free from the slavery of sin for us to be returned to the church as our divine family (Lev. 25:8-17, 28, 39-41; Luke 4:18-22; Col. 1:12-13; John 8:32, 36; Acts 26:18-19; cf. Psa. 68:5-6).
Moreover, Isaiah 61:1-2 reveal that this is Messiah’s mission, to free us from slavery and to return us to our possession. Isaiah does not say that Christ has been sent to open the eyes of those who are blind as Luke 4:18 says, but the eyes of those who are bound. This indicates that we are blind because we are bound. Thus, it is clear that Christ was sent to proclaim the jubilee. Then in the Gospels the five things mentioned in Isaiah 61 are exactly what the Lord did in His ministry on the earth. In Luke 4 He unrolled the scroll of the prophet Isaiah and read from chapter 61, saying, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to announce the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of the sight to the blind, to send away in release those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, the year of jubilee.” (Luke 4:18-19).
Furthermore, according to Acts 26:18, Paul, who was chosen to proclaim the jubilee, was commissioned to do exactly the same thing. Every time we go out to preach the gospel and speak to someone about the gospel, we will be saved and enjoy the jubilee. Thus, the jubilee should be our living and our proclamation.
Enjoying Christ by the Jubilant Practice of Calling on the Name of the Lord
In Peter’s first proclamation of the gospel, he quoted from the prophet Joel and declared that we can enjoy Christ as the jubilee by the jubilant practice of calling on the name of the Lord (Acts 2:16-18, 21; Joel 2:28-29, 32a). This point ties the proclaiming of the jubilee to the matter of calling on the name of the Lord. This practice of calling on the name of the Lord is a wonderful, jubilant practice in the New Testament that God has given to us that we may enter into the enjoyment of the jubilee of grace.
In the Book of Joel
The book of Joel reveals the intrinsic divine history within the outward human history. Our divine history in the midst of human history is a history of calling on the name of the Lord to enjoy the riches of Christ for the building up of the Body of Christ as the fullness of Christ (1:1-4; Rom. 10:12-13; Eph. 3:8, 19; 1:22-23).
Calling on the name of the Lord began with Enosh, the third generation of mankind, in Gen. 4:26. It was continued by Job (Job 12:4; 27:10), Abraham (Gen. 12:8; 13:4; 21:33), Isaac (Gen. 26:25), Moses and the children of Israel (Deut. 4:7), Samson (Judg. 15:18; 16:28), Samuel (1 Sam. 12:18; Psa. 99:6), David (2 Sam. 22:4, 7; 1 Chron. 16:8; 21:26; Psa. 14:4; 17:6; 18:3, 6; 31:17; 55:16; 86:5, 7; 105:1; 116:4, 13, 17; 118:5; 145:18), the psalmist Asaph (Psa. 80:18), the psalmist Heman (Psa. 88:9), Elijah (1 Kings 18:24), Isaiah (Isa. 12:4), Jeremiah (Lam. 3:55, 57), and others (Psa. 99:6), all of whom practiced this in the Old Testament age. Isaiah charged the seekers of God to call upon Him (Isa. 55:6). Even the Gentiles knew that the prophets of Israel had the habit of calling on the name of God (Jonah 1:6; 2 Kings 5:11). The Gentile raised up by God from the north also called upon His name (Isa. 41:25). It is God's commandment (Psa. 50:15; Jer. 29:12) and desire (Psa. 91:15; Zeph. 3:9; Zech. 13:9) that His people call on Him. This is the joyful way to drink from the fountain of God's salvation (Isa. 12:3-4) and the enjoyable way to delight oneself in God (Job 27:10), that is, to enjoy Him. Hence, God's people must call upon Him daily (Psa. 88:9). Such a jubilant practice was prophesied by Joel (Joel 2:32) concerning the New Testament jubilee.
In the New Testament, calling on the name of the Lord was first mentioned by Peter, here, on the day of Pentecost, as the fulfillment of Joel's prophecy. This fulfillment is related to God's outpouring of the all-inclusive Spirit economically upon His chosen people that they may participate in His New Testament jubilee. Joel's prophecy and its fulfillment concerning God's New Testament jubilee have two aspects: on God's side, He poured out His Spirit in the ascension of the resurrected Christ; on our side, we call on the name of the ascended Lord, who has accomplished all, attained unto all, and obtained all. Calling on the Lord's name is vitally necessary in order for us, the believers in Christ, to participate in and enjoy the all-inclusive Christ with all He has accomplished, attained, and obtained (1 Cor. 1:2). It is a major practice in God's New Testament economy that enables us to enjoy the processed Triune God for our full salvation (Cor. 1:2; Rom. 10:12-13; 5:10).
We can enjoy seasons of refreshing (cooling, reviving, and relieving) from the presence of the Lord by calling on the name of the Lord (Acts 3:20; 2:21). Jesus is the Lord’s name, and the Spirit is His person; when we call, “Lord Jesus,” we receive the Spirit (1 Cor. 12:3b, 13). By calling on the name of the Lord, we enjoy the Spirit as the application of God’s salvation to us. When we exercise our spirit to call on Him, we breathe Him in and drink Him to enjoy His riches; this is the real worship to God (Acts 2:21; Rom. 10:12-13; Lam. 3:55-56; Isa. 12:3-4; John 4:14, 24). By practicing to call on the name of the Lord, we can continually receive the riches of the Spirit, and God fulfills His promise to restore to us “the years that the…locust has eaten” (Joel 2:25; Gal. 3:2, 5, 14).
In the Book of Acts
The book of Acts reveals that calling on the Lord’s name was a sign of the Lord’s followers (1 Cor. 1:2). This calling must have been audible; thus, it became a sign.
The early believers practiced this everywhere (1 Cor. 1:2), and to the unbelievers, especially the persecutors, it became a popular sign of Christ's believers (9:14, 21). When Stephen suffered persecution, he practiced this (7:59), and his practice surely impressed Saul, one of his persecutors (7:58-60; 22:20). Later, the unbelieving Saul persecuted the callers (9:14, 21) by taking their calling as a sign. Immediately after Saul was caught by the Lord, Ananias, who brought Saul into the fellowship of the Body of Christ, charged him to be baptized, calling on the name of the Lord, to show others that he too had become such a caller. By his word Paul indicated that in the early days all the Lord's seekers practiced such calling (1 Tim. 2:22). Undoubtedly, he was one who practiced this, since he charged his young co-worker Timothy to do this that Timothy might enjoy the Lord as he did.
The Greek word for call on is composed of on and call (by name); thus, it is to call out audibly, even loudly, as Stephen did (Acts 7:59-60). Isaiah 64:7 says that those who call upon the name of the Lord stir themselves up to lay hold of Him. We need to call by stirring up our spirit. The believers in Acts were known to be Christians by the fact that they called on the name of the Lord.
Enjoying and Propagating Christ in Spreading of the Gospel and in Practice of the Church Life
The book of Acts shows us the enjoyment and propagation of the resurrected Christ as the jubilee of grace in the disciples’ spreading of the gospel and in their practice of the church life.
The following verse quotations present a panoramic view in Acts, showing that the early believers lived in five ways. First, they lived in the enjoyment of the resurrected Christ. Second, they lived in the propagation of the resurrected Christ. Third, they enjoyed the jubilee of grace. Fourth, they were in the spreading of the gospel, Fifth, they practiced the proper church life—day by day and from house to house. The move of the gospel is carried out in these five ways; it is full of joy, propagation, grace, speaking, and the normal practice of the church life. We should try to identify these five elements in the following references:
A. “You shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (1:8b).
B. “Day by day,…breaking bread from house to house, they partook of their food with exultation and simplicity of heart, praising God…And the Lord added together day by day those who were being saved” (2:46-47).
C. “With great power the apostles gave testimony of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all” (4:33).
D. “So they went from the presence of the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to be dishonored on behalf of the Name. And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and announcing the gospel of Jesus as the Christ” (5:41-42).
E. “Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God…And they stoned Stephen as he called upon the Lord and said, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit! And kneeling down, he cried out with a loud voice, Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (7:56, 59-60a).
F. “Those therefore who were scattered went throughout the land announcing the word as the gospel…And there was much joy in that city” (8:4,  .
G. “When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away; and the eunuch did not see him anymore, for he went on his way rejoicing” (v. 39).
H. “So then the church throughout the whole of Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace, being built up; and going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it was multiplied” (9:31).
I. “Barnabas…when he arrived and saw the grace of God, rejoiced and encouraged them all to remain with the Lord with purpose of heart” (11:22b-23).
J. “The disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit” (13:52).
K. “They therefore, having been sent forward by the church, passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, telling in detail about the turning of the Gentiles; and they brought great joy to all the brothers” (15:3).
L. “About midnight Paul and Silas, while praying, sang hymns of praise to God; and the prisoners were listening to them” (16:25).
M. “They said, Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household…And he brought them up into his house and set a table before them; and he exulted because he had believed in God with all his household” (vv. 31, 34).
N. “These men who have upset the world have come here also” (17:6b).
O. “Now I commit you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who have been sanctified (20:32).
P. “To open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light and from the authority of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me” (26:18).
Acts 26:18 unveils the all-inclusive contents of our divine commission according to the heavenly vision of the jubilee; we need to pray over these contents, asking the Lord to make them our experience and reality so that we can bring others into this experience and reality. When we pray in this way, the Lord Jesus will appear to us, His appearing will give us a vision, and we will enjoy and propagate the resurrected Christ as the jubilee unto the uttermost part of the earth (vv. 16-19; 1 Tim. 1:4, 11; Acts 1:8).
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The Gospel, God’s Salvation, and the Need for a Dispensational Transfer
(An excerpt from HWMR and The Ministry of the Word Vol. 13, No. 1 on “Crystallization-Study of Acts”, Message 11, published by LSM)
Scripture Reading: Acts 1:6-8; 8:12; 13:39; 14:3; 16:31; 20:24
The Complete Gospel in Acts
The gospel preached in Acts is the complete gospel—the gospel of Jesus as the Christ (5:42), the word as the gospel (8:4), the gospel of the kingdom of God (v. 12), the gospel of the name of Jesus Christ (v. 12), the gospel of peace (10:36), the Lord Jesus as the gospel (8:35; 11:20), the gospel of the promise made to the fathers (13:32), Jesus and the resurrection as the gospel (17:18), and the gospel of the grace of God (20:24). These are the nine aspects of the gospel in Acts.
In Philip’s Preaching
We need to learn from Philip’s preaching of the gospel in Acts 8. Philip preached Christ as the gospel, as the good news (vv. 5, 12, 35). When Philip went to Samaria to preach the gospel, he did not go with any kind of method. Instead, he went with a person, preaching Christ Himself as the gospel. We must follow Philip to preach Christ alone as the gospel.
Philip also preached the kingdom of God as the gospel just as the Lord Jesus had done (v. 12; Mark 1:14-15; Luke 4:43). Like Philip, we should preach the gospel that is Jesus Christ and also the kingdom of God, preaching Jesus Christ as the kingdom of God (Acts 8:12). In the Gospels the Lord Himself was the seed. In particular, this seed spread through Philip’s preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ and the kingdom of God.
In Sauls’ Conversion
The conversion of Saul shows that the name of Jesus itself is an adequate gospel (9:4-5). Saul called Jesus as Lord and was saved, and the essential Spirit entered into him. For three days he could not eat or drink (v. 9), and he probably slept little because he was praying and pondering.
In Our Preaching
In our gospel preaching, we should proclaim both the person of Christ and the work of Christ (vv. 20, 22).
In Peter’s Preaching
The gospel preached by Peter comprises the divine blessings not only of forgiveness (5:31; 10:43) and salvation (2:21; 4:12) but also of the Spirit (2:38) and life; forgiveness deals with people’s sins, and life, with people’s death (John 5:24; 1 John 3:14; 2 Cor. 5:4). The two greatest problems among humankind are sins and death. The gospel deals with sins and death; the gospel gives us a reason to live and conquers death in our fallen being.
In Paul’s Preaching
In Athens Paul “was announcing Jesus and the resurrection as the gospel” (Acts 17:18). Paul’s preaching was a strong indication that he had been constituted with the all-inclusive Jesus Christ and His resurrection (Phil. 3:10). Whether or not we have power in preaching the gospel depends on our being, our person. If we would have power in our preaching, we need to be constituted with the all-inclusive Christ, as Paul was (1 Cor. 2:2, 4-5).
God’s Salvation in Acts
According to the record in the book of Acts, God’s salvation includes the Savior (13:23), repentance (5:31), faith (15:9), forgiveness (13:38-39), justification (v. 39), and eternal life (v. 48). A brief sketch of these crucial points will help us see what happened to us when we called on the Lord for the first time, and He entered into us as the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b).
God’s Salvation and Redemption, Repentance, and Forgiveness of Sins
Redemption is what Christ accomplished on the cross, and salvation is the application of this accomplished redemption to us (Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14; Acts 4:12; 28:28; Rom. 1:16; 3:24; 10:10; 13:11; Heb. 2:3, 10; 5:9; 9:12). From David’s seed, God brought forth a Savior, Jesus; with Him there is salvation (Acts 13:23). There is salvation with Jesus because He is the all-inclusive Father-Son-Spirit-kingdom of God-salvation-man. Salvation is Jesus.
As the Leader, the Ruler, and the Savior, the Lord is ruling the earth for the purpose of our salvation (5:31). The Leader is ruling all the aspects of our environment and the environment of those for whom we are burdened, including the circumstances of our parents, siblings, relatives, and friends who need to be saved. The Lord Jesus is ruling so that we may be saved, and now the Savior Himself is our salvation (v. 31; 2:21, 40, 47; 8:37; 16:31).
As the Leader and Savior, He gives repentance and forgiveness of sins; His sovereign ruling causes and leads God’s chosen people to repent, and His salvation, which is based on His redemption, affords them forgiveness of sins (Acts 5:31). We must proclaim repentance for the forgiveness of sins. We need to realize that people cannot simply choose to repent. To have a change of mind issuing in regret is not a human possibility but a gift. For the salvation of those for whom we are burdened, we need to pray in harmony to loose on the earth what has been loosed in heaven (Matt. 18:18-19). Repentance is for forgiveness of sins (Luke 24:47). On God’s side, forgiveness of sins is based on the redemption of Christ, which was accomplished through His death (Acts 2:38; 10:43; Eph. 1:7). On man’s side, forgiveness of sins is through man’s repentance (Mark 1:4). Forgiveness of sins is the initial and basic blessing of God’s full salvation; based on forgiveness, the blessing of God’s full salvation goes forward and consummates in the receiving of the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38).
God’s Salvation and Grace, Justification, and Faith
We are saved by grace, which includes Christ’s person and redemptive work (15:11; 11:23; Rom. 3:24). Grace means that we cannot make it, do it, or be it and that our Savior God has done everything in the person and through the work of Christ to save us.
Acts 13:39 says, “In this One everyone who believes is justified.” Our ability to believe is actually Christ Himself in us, enabling us to believe. We believe into this person, and thus we are “in this One.”
To be forgiven of sins is on the negative side (v. 38) and is for our release from condemnation; to be justified is on the positive side and is for our reconciliation to God and our being accepted by Him (Gal. 2:16; Rom. 3:24-26, 28; 5:1, 11). “This One” in Acts 13:39 is the One who has been resurrected to be God’s firstborn Son, our Savior (v. 33). The One by whom we are forgiven and in whom we are justified is Himself our forgiveness and justification; the resurrected Christ is our forgiveness and justification (vv. 33-34, 38-39).
God’s salvation is by faith, by believing, and in God’s salvation we experience the cleansing of our hearts by faith; this cleansing is by the Holy Spirit with the divine life (8:37; 15:7, 9; 16:31).
God’s Salvation and Eternal Life
Acts 13:48 says, “As many as were appointed to eternal life believed.” One God’s side, we have His sovereign predestination and appointment to eternal life. On our side, the human will has some amount of freedom to respond to the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit and believe. One’s rejecting the gospel is evidence that he is unworthy of eternal life (v. 46); one’s believing is proof that he was appointed or ordained by God to eternal life (v. 48). God’s ordination, or predestination, for man’s salvation is sovereignly of Himself, but He still leaves man to his own free will; whether man would believe or reject His salvation is up to man’s own decision (2 Thes. 2:13; Acts 8:37; 16:31).
A Dispensational Transfer Portrayed in Acts
The book of Acts portrays the need for a dispensational transfer in order to be brought fully into God’s New Testament economy (1:6-8; 1 Tim. 1:4). Dispensation denotes the divine arrangement in God’s eternal economy. Acts is not merely concerned with acts but with God’s economy and God’s arrangement in His economy (1:8; 9:15, 17).
Acts is a dispensational book because it describes a great transfer that was to be accomplished during a time of transition— the transfer from the Old Testament economy to the New Testament economy (15:7-11). To speak of a dispensational transfer in Acts means that in this book we see the need for a great turn from the old dispensation to the new (14:1-3). In Acts we can see God’s move for His New Testament economy and all the crucial dispensational turning points related to this move (1:6-8; 10:45).
The old dispensation was the dispensation of the law and of the temple, and the new dispensation is the dispensation of Christ as the law of life and as the living temple; between these two dispensations there was a transitional period in which God was transferring His chosen people from the old dispensation into the new (6:14; 7:48-49; Rom. 8:2; Eph. 2:21-22).
God in His New Testament economy had delivered and separated the Jewish believers in Christ from the Jewish nation; thus, the Jewish believers, as the church of God, should be as distinct and separate from the Jews as from the Gentiles (Acts 2:40; 1 Cor. 10:32).
According to Luke’s narration in Acts, the church among the Jews, including the early apostles, did not pass through this transition successfully due to the influence of their Judaic background (11:1-2, 17-18; 15:1-2, 13-21).
James, the elders in Jerusalem, and thousands of Jewish believers still remained in a mixture of the Christian faith with the Mosaic law (21:18-26). They were not aware that the dispensation of the law was over and that the dispensation of grace should be fully honored, and that any disregard of the distinction between these two dispensations would be contrary to God’s economical plan for the building up of the church as the expression of Christ (Rom. 10:4; Gal. 2:16, 21; 3:23-29). The Jewish believers in Jerusalem had formed a religious mixture of God’s New Testament economy with the Old Testament dispensation and even insisted on putting together both faith in Christ and the out-of-date things of the Old Testament (Acts 21:18-26). This mixture was not only erroneous but also abominable in the eyes of God, who left the church in Jerusalem as it was until the devastating mixture was terminated with the destruction of Jerusalem (Matt. 22:7).
The Lord carried out a complete dispensational transfer with Paul; in four crucial Epistles concerning this transfer—Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Hebrews—there is no ground remaining for any kind of mixture; there is room only for Christ (Eph. 3:14-21; Phil. 3:1-11; Col. 3:10-11; Heb. 8:6-13).
We need to know God’s New Testament economy and have a dispensational transfer (1 Tim. 1:4; Eph. 1:10; 3:8-11). God’s intention is to propagate the resurrected Christ by imparting Him into us so that we may become His living members saturated with Him and constituted of Him in order that Christ may have a Body on earth for His expression; then He will bring His kingdom in, and following that there will be the ultimate consummation of God’s New Testament economy (Acts 4:33; Eph. 3:14-17a; 4:16; Rev. 11:15; 21:1-2). We need to see the vision of God’s eternal economy and have a dispensational transfer so that we may live a life fully according to and for God’s New Testament economy (Prov. 29:18a; Rom. 8:4; Gal. 5:16, 18, 25). The way to keep ourselves in this dispensational transfer is to remain faithful to the vision of God’s New Testament economy (Acts 26:19). When we speak of vision, we are speaking of something spiritual in the divine and mystical realm. This vision did not originate with us, but we must see it, and it must become ours.
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The Continuation of the Book of Acts—the Corporate Continuation of Christ
(An excerpt from HWMR and The Ministry of the Word Vol. 13, No. 1 on “Crystallization-Study of Acts”, Message 12, published by LSM)
Scripture Reading: Acts 27—28
The Continuation of the Book of Acts Portrayed in the Personal Living of the Apostle Paul
The apostle Paul lived Christ for His magnification as His continuation (Phil. 1:19-21a; Acts 9:4-5, 15; 26:19; 1 Tim. 1:16). In 1 Timothy 1:15 Paul says that he is a pattern to the believers. What we see in Paul is a pattern to us as members of the Body of Christ. This pattern is that the wonderful, excellent, marvelous, mysterious, awesome, and completely lovable God-man seen in the Gospels has a free way in Paul as a member of His Body to live through Paul as His continuation. Paul’s pattern.
Living Christ by Being a Disciple of Christ, a Chosen Vessel of Christ, and a Man of Prayer
Paul was a disciple of Christ—seeing Christ, hearing Christ, and learning Christ as the reality is in Jesus (Acts 9:1-19, 25-27; 22:14-15; Eph. 4:20-21). We are all learning Christ. Learning this person means mainly that we are seeing Christ and hearing Christ. We need to be those learning Christ as the reality is in Jesus. The reality in Jesus is actually the reality of the Body of Christ. To learn Christ as the reality is in Jesus is to hear Christ, see Christ, experience Christ, and enjoy Christ as the corporate continuation of Christ. That is also the reality of the Body of Christ. The reality in Jesus is the actual condition of the life of Jesus as recorded in the four Gospels, He lived in God, by God, and for God. He lived in the mingling of God and man. As we hear Him, see Him, experience Him, enjoy Him, eat Him, drink Him, breathe Him, and are filled with Him, we are learning Him, and the actual condition of the life of Jesus seen in the four Gospels is being reproduced in us corporately.
Paul was a chosen vessel of Christ to contain Him, be filled with Him, and overflow with Him for His fullness (Acts 9:15; 2 Cor. 4:7; Eph. 1:22-23; 3:19). We need to pray that the Lord fill us with the Spirit so that He may overflow from us.
Paul was a man of prayer (Acts 9:11; 13:1-3; 14:23; 16:13, 25; 20:36; 21:5; 22:17; 28:8; Eph. 6:18; Col. 4:2). Prayer preserves the grace that we received. In prayer we need to be watchful and alert, not negligent.
Living Christ in the Body and Calling on the Name of the Lord
Paul depended on the Body, doing everything in the Body, through the Body, and for the Body (Acts 9:11, 17-18, 25-27; 1 Cor. 1:1; 12:14-27). In relation to the Body, to be poor in spirit means that we have the spirit of a learner and spirit of needing help from the Body.
Paul practiced calling on the name of the Lord (Acts 9:14, 21; 22:16; 2 Tim. 2:22; Rom. 10:12-13; Phil. 2:9-11). It is so good to have found those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart (2 Tim. 2:22). This means that when we call, we only want Christ and nothing else.
Living Christ by the All-Inclusive Spirit, in the Mingled Spirit, and Being Filled with the Spirit
Paul lived by the all-inclusive Spirit of Jesus (the Spirit of a man with abundant strength for suffering) for his preaching ministry, a ministry of suffering carried out among human beings and for human beings in the human life for the building up of the Body of Christ (Acts 9:16; 16:7, 22-34; Phil. 3:10; Col. 1:24; 2 Cor. 6:4; 11:23; Heb. 6:19-20; 13:13). The only way we can endure anything is because in our spirit there is not only the Spirit of God but also the Spirit of a man with abundant strength for suffering. This Spirit was for Paul’s preaching ministry, a ministry of suffering carried out among human beings and for human beings in the human life for the building up of the Body of Christ.
Paul lived in his mingled spirit (the divine Spirit mingled with his human spirit as one spirit) (Acts 17:16; 19:21; Rom. 8:4, 6, 16; 1 Cor. 6:17). Paul was filled with the Spirit of joy, essentially for his existence, and with the Spirit of power, economically for his function (Acts 13:9, 52; Eph. 5:18). Every day we need to be filled with the Spirit of joy inwardly for our existence. For our function, we take our standing in the Body, and we take care that there is nothing between us and the Lord and also nothing between us and the other members of the Body.
Living Christ by Having a Good Conscience,
Always Rejoicing in the Lord and Thanking Him
Paul exercised himself to always have a good and pure conscience (Acts 23:1; 24:16; 1 Tim. 1:19; 3:9). Our spirit is composed of three parts: the conscience, the fellowship, and the intuition. By the intuition we have a direct sense of God. By the fellowship we contact God and commune with God. The conscience also is a part of our spirit; therefore, to exercise our spirit is to exercise ourselves to always have a good and pure conscience. Our spirit will not be strong if we do not exercise to have a good conscience. Our conscience is the window of our spirit, that is, it is the gateway for light to shine out of our spirit into all parts of our soul. This is why we need to allow the Lord to shine in us, so that we can confess out shortcomings, weaknesses, failures, and sins and be washed by Him in His precious blood. Then we have Him as the goodness and purity of our conscience for His goal.
Paul lived a life of always rejoicing in the Lord and thanking Him (Acts 16:25; 27:35; Phil. 4:4; Col. 3:16; 1 Thes. 5:16-18). God’s will for us is to be filled with Christ and overflow with Christ. To do this we need to always rejoice. No matter how we feel, we need to say, “Praise the Lord!” We can also pray unceasingly. Regardless of how we feel, we can converse with the Lord. In everything we should give thanks.
Living Christ by Being Allied with God, Assisted by God, and Cherishing the Saints
Paul was allied with God and assisted by God to speak the gospel boldly in the name of Jesus to spread the testimony of Jesus unto the uttermost part of the earth (Acts 9:20, 27; 26:22-29; 28:31; 1:8; 1 Thes. 2:2; cf. Rom. 15:24, 28). In his testimony in Acts 26:22, Paul said that he had “obtained the help which is from God.” The Greek word for help in this verse originally meant “alliance.” Paul was allied with God, and he realized God’s inner assistance in his alliance with Him. He was a person constituted with the word, and he spoke the gospel boldly in the name of Jesus everywhere he went. We need to be the same.
Paul cherished the saints in the humanity of Jesus and nourished them in the divinity of Christ with all the truths of God’s eternal economy, displaying in his living the word of the Lord Jesus that it is better to give than to receive (20:18-38; 1 Thes. 2:1-12). The goal of cherishing is nourishing. In Acts 20, Paul spoke publicly, went from house to house visiting the homes of the saints, and admonished each one with tears. This is real pattern to us.
Living Christ, Magnifying Christ, Doing All Things in Christ, and Pursuing Christ to be Found in Christ
Paul’s fourth ministry journey (Acts 27—28) shows in a particular way his life of living Christ, magnifying Christ, doing all things in Christ, and pursuing Christ in order to be found in Christ (Phil. 1:19-21a; 3:8-9, 14; 4:13). All during the apostle’s long and unfortunate imprisonment voyage, the Lord kept the apostle in His ascendancy and enabled him to live a life far beyond the realm of anxiety. Paul’s life was fully dignified with the highest standard of human virtues, expressing the most excellent attributes. This life was fully dignified, with the highest standard of human virtues expressing the most excellent divine attributes (vv. 5-9). This was Jesus living again on the earth in His divinely enriched humanity! This was the wonderful, excellent, and mysterious God-man, who lived in the Gospels, continuing to live in the Acts through one of His many members! This was a living witness of the incarnated, crucified, resurrected, and God-exalted Christ!
In Paul’s living and ministry he expressed the very true God, who in Jesus Christ had gone through the processes of incarnation, human living, crucifixion, and resurrection, and who, as the all-inclusive Spirit, was then living in him and through him (Gal. 1:15-16, 24; 2:20; 3:14; cf. Acts 28:6). On the sea in the storm, the Lord had made the apostle not only the owner of his fellow voyagers (27:24) but also their life-guarantor and comforter (vv. 22, 25); now, on the land in peace, the Lord made him furthermore not only a magical attraction in the eyes of the superstitious people (28:1-6) but also a healer and a joy to them (vv. 7-10).
The warm welcome that Paul received from the brothers in Rome and the loving care of those in Puteoli (vv. 13-15) show the beautiful Body life that existed in the early days among the churches and apostles. Apparently, the apostle, as a prisoner in bonds, had entered the region of the dark capital of the Satan usurped empire; actually, as the ambassador of Christ with His authority (Eph. 6:20; Matt. 28:18-19), he had come into another part of the participation in the Body life of Christ’s church in the kingdom of God on earth. While he was suffering the persecution of religion in the empire of Satan (the satanic chaos in the old creation), he was enjoying the church life in the kingdom of God (the divine economy for the new creation); this was a comfort and an encouragement to him.
The Continuation of the Book of Acts Portrayed in the Corporate Living of the Body
The continuation of the book of Acts is the corporate continuation of Christ with the corporate living of the perfected God-men as the reality of the Body of Christ (28:31; cf. John 5:17). The book of Acts is really a book revealing the acting God; He is living, moving, and acting in a group of people who live, move, and act as one Body. They do everything in the Body, through the Body, and for the Body. Furthermore, we need to believe that God’s work is always advancing. He is always moving forward.
The book of Acts was actually not ended but left open that more may be added. The reason for this must have been that the work of the Holy Spirit in preaching Christ for His propagation, multiplication, and spread through the believers of Christ was not yet completed and needed to be continued for a long period of time. Such an evangelistic work for Christ’s propagation, multiplication, and spread is according to God’s New Testament economy for the producing of many sons for God (Rom. 8:29) that they might be the members of Christ to constitute His Body (12:5) for the carrying out of God’s eternal plan and the fulfillment of His eternal will; this is revealed in detail in the twenty-one Epistles and the book of Revelation, which follow the book of Acts.
Since God is after a corporate vessel, we must be brought into the reality of the Body of Christ and learn to live the Body life by denying our natural life; otherwise, we are useless in His hand and can never fulfill His goal. In the four Gospels God was incarnated, passed through human living, died, and resurrected, thus completing Christ, the embodiment of the Triune God (Col. 2:9). In the book of Acts this embodiment of God, as the life-giving Spirit, spreads Christ into His believers, working the processed Triune God into His chosen, redeemed, and transformed people to make them the constituents of the church, through which God may be expressed.
The ultimate issue of the church will be the New Jerusalem in eternity future as God’s full and eternal expression, which will also be God’s eternal kingdom as the sphere in which He reigns in His divine life in eternity forever and ever; this should be the reality and goal of all our gospel preaching today as we follow the pattern of the apostle Paul—“proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness, unhindered” (Acts 28:31). May the Lord continue to move forward in His recovery, unhindered!
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Continuing to Be Witnesses of the Resurrected and Ascended Christ and Continuing to Be Filled with the Holy Spirit Inwardly and Outwardly
(An excerpt from HWMR on “The Continuation of the Book of Acts”, Message 1, published by LSM)
Scripture Reading: John 5:17; Acts 1:8, 22; 4:33; 6:3; 10:39-40; 13:52; 28:31
John 5:17 But Jesus answered them, My Father is working until now, and I also am working.
Acts 1:8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
v. 22 Beginning from the baptism of John until the day on which He was taken up from us, one of these should become a witness of His resurrection with us.
4:33 And with great power the apostles gave testimony of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.
6:3 But brothers, look for seven well-attested men from among you, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint over this need.
10:39-40 And we are witnesses of all the things which He did, both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem; whom also they did away with by hanging Him on a tree. This One, God raised on the third day; and He has made Him manifest.
13:52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
28:31 Proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness, unhindered.
Acts Chapter Twenty-Nine
The book of Acts actually has not ended; rather, it has been left open so that more may be added (28:31). God is always advancing and never stops; if we know this and believe in this, we will praise the Lord (John 5:17; Acts 16:25).
The book of Acts is a book without an ending because this book is still being continued; although the written record no longer continues after chapter 28, God’s work has been going on (v. 31).
The reason for this must be that the work of the Holy Spirit in preaching Christ for His propagation, multiplication, and spread through the believers of Christ has not yet been completed and needs to be continued for a long period of time (1:8; 2:22-36; 28:30-31). The evangelical work for Christ’s propagation, multiplication, and spread is according to God’s New Testament economy for the producing of many sons for
God, that they might be the members of Christ to constitute His Body for the carrying out of God’s eternal plan and the fulfillment of His eternal will (Rom. 8:29; 12:5; Eph. 1:5, 9, 11; 3:11).
This is revealed in detail in the twenty-one Epistles and the book of Revelation, which follow this book. The church produced by Christ's propagation and multiplication is the sphere in which God is expressed and in which He reigns in Christ; hence, the church becomes the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God, along with Christ's propagation and multiplication, grows out of and spreads from God's life. Acts is a record of the spreading of Christ; it is also a record of the kingdom of God, because the kingdom of God is the expansion of Christ. The gospel that is widely preached in this book is the very Christ as the gospel (5:42), the gospel of Christ, and it is also the kingdom of God as the gospel (8:12), the gospel of the kingdom of God. The preaching of such a gospel will continue and advance until the whole earth becomes the kingdom of Christ (Rev. 11:15).
In the four Gospels God was incarnated, passed through human living, died, and resurrected, thus completing Christ, the embodiment of the Triune God (Col. 2:9). In Acts this embodiment of God, as the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45), spreads Christ into His believers, i.e., works the processed Triune God into His chosen, redeemed, and transformed people to make them the constituents of the church, through which God may be expressed. The ultimate issue of the church will be the New Jerusalem in eternity future as God's full and eternal expression, which will also be God's eternal kingdom as the sphere in which He reigns in His divine life in eternity forever and ever. This should be the reality and goal of all gospel preaching today.
The book of Acts presents a picture showing us that all the members of Christ are completely one with Him. Inwardly we must be filled with Him, outwardly we must be clothed with Him, and every day we must live, walk, work, and do things not by ourselves but one hundred percent by Him. We do not live by ourselves but by Him. At all times we must reject ourselves, deny ourselves, and repudiate ourselves, and we must depend on Him for our living, doing, walking, working, and everything…We must take Christ as our life and depend on Him.
If, as living members of Christ, we live by Him and for Him and depend on Him in everything, we will be in the “twenty-ninth chapter” of Acts (John 6:57; 15:4-5; Rom. 14:7-8; 2 Cor. 5:15).
The Need to be Witnesses of the Resurrected Christ
If we would be in the continuation of the book of Acts, we need to be witnesses of the resurrected Christ (1:8, 22; 2:24, 32; 4:2, 33; 10:39-40; 17:3, 18; 22:14-15; 23:11; 26:16).
In Acts the apostles and disciples were the Lord’s witnesses, His martyrs (1:8; 22:20). Witnesses in Acts 1:8 is literally martyrs, those who bear a living testimony of the resurrected and ascended Christ in life, differing from preachers who merely preach doctrines in letters. In His incarnation Christ carried out His ministry on the earth by Himself, as recorded in the Gospels, to sow Himself as the seed of the kingdom of God only in the Jewish land. In His ascension He would carry out His ministry in the heavens through these martyrs, in His resurrection life and with His ascension power and authority, as recorded in the Acts, to spread Himself as the development of the kingdom of God from Jerusalem, as a beginning, unto the uttermost part of the earth, as the consummation of His ministry in the New Testament. All the apostles and disciples in the Acts were His martyrs, His witnesses, of this kind.
The apostles were witnesses of the resurrected Christ, bearing witness of His resurrection (1:22; 3:13-15). In his narration of the Lord’s move on earth, Luke emphasizes the testimony of the Lord’s witnesses (4:33; 10:39-40). Speaking of Peter and John, Acts 8:25 says, “They therefore, having solemnly testified and spoken the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and they announced the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.” To be a witness is to testify of one’s personal experience of the Lord; in order to testify, we need experiences of seeing, participation, and enjoyment (22:14-15).
Acts 23:11 says, “But in the night following, the Lord stood by him and said, Take courage, for as you have solemnly testifies to the things concerning Me in Jerusalem, so also you must testify in Rome.: The Lord’s word in 23:11 about Paul solemnly testifying concerning Him in Jerusalem indicates that the Lord admitted that the apostle had borne a solemn testimony concerning Him in Jerusalem. Testimony differs from mere teaching. To testify requires experience of seeing, participation, and enjoyment.
In Acts 2:24-32 Peter speaks concerning the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Hus resurrection was God’s approval of Him to be the Messiah. Through the resurrection of Christ God was declaring the resurrected Christ was the real Messiah, the One anointed and appointed by God to carry out His eternal commission.
In verse 43 Peter gives a concluding word concerning Christ’s resurrection: “This Jesus God has raised up, of which we all are witnesses.” The apostles were witnesses of the resurrected Christ not in word only but also by their lives and actions (3:1-16).
Paul was an outstanding witness of Christ; he was the kind of witness whom the Lord spoke about in 1:8. The resurrected Christ propagated Himself by coming into Paul and making him a living witness of Christ (22:15). Paul not only preached the propagation of Christ—he lived this Christ (9:21-22; 13:33-34; Phil. 1:20-21a).
As one who lived Christ and was a living testimony of Christ, Paul was absolutely different from the Jewish religionists, the Roman politicians, and those in the church in Jerusalem (Acts 21:20-21; 23:14-15; 24:25-26).
In 26:16 Paul testified that the Lord had appointed him a minister and a witness. A minister is for the ministry; a witness is for the testimony. Ministry is mainly related to work, to what the minister does, testimony is related to the person, to what the witness is.
Satan could instigate the Jewish religionists and utilize the Gentile politicians to bind the apostles and their evangelical ministry, but he could not bind Christ’s living witnesses and their living testimony; the more the Jewish religionists and the Gentile politicians bound the apostles and their evangelical ministry, the stronger and brighter their living testimony became (7:54-60; 28:23-31).
The Need to be Filled with the Holy Spirit
If we would be in the continuation of the book of Acts, we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit inwardly and outwardly (2:17; 4:8; 6:3; 13:9, 52). The Scriptures clearly reveal to us that there are two aspects of the work of the Holy Spirit—the inward aspect for life and the outward aspect for power (John 20:22; Eph. 5:18; Luke 24:49; Acts 1:8).
Every believer in Christ should experience both aspects of the work of the Holy Spirit, being filled with the Holy Spirit inwardly and outwardly: According to its usage in Acts, pleroo denotes the filling of a vessel within, and pletho denotes the filling of persons outwardly. The disciples were filled (pleroo) inwardly and essentially with the Spirit (13:52) for their Christian living and were filled (pletho) outwardly and economically with the Spirit for their Christian ministry (9:17; 13:9). The inward filling Spirit, the essential Spirit, is in the disciples (John 14:17; Rom. 8:11), whereas the outward filling Spirit, the economical Spirit, is upon them (Acts 1:8; 2:17).
We all must be filled inwardly with the Holy Spirit as life and be clothed outwardly with the Holy Spirit as power (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:8; 4:8; 6:3; 13:9, 52). If we would be filled with the Holy Spirit inwardly, we must learn to exercise our spirit to have living contact with the living Lord, and we must learn to deny ourselves all the time. If we would experience the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, we must realize that the Lord today is ascended, that He is the Lord and Head of all to the church, and we must stand in a right position with respect to the Body. Then we may claim what the Body already has, and we will be clothed with power from on high.
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A Victory of the Gospel
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bible Verses ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Phil. 4: 21 Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers
who are with me greet you. (22) All the saints greet you,
and especially those of Caesar's household.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Words of Ministry ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Caesar's household included all who were attached to the
palace of Nero. Some of these were converted through contact
with Paul and became believers in Christ in Rome. The
expression "those of Caesar's household" is both puzzling and
encouraging. It is puzzling because we are not altogether
sure to whom it refers; it is encouraging because it shows
the furtherance of the gospel. The gospel had spread even
into the household of Caesar Nero. God's move in His economy
had gained even some of Caesar's household.
In verse 22 Paul does not say "the royal guard"; he says
"Caesar's household." Based upon his use of the word
household, we believe that certain members of Nero's family
actually were saved. What a tremendous victory! This
indicates how worthwhile it is to have fellowship which
results in the furtherance of the gospel, in the spread of
God's move on earth for His economy.
It is significant that in writing to the Philippians Paul
deliberately refers to "those of Caesar's household." I
believe that Paul had fellowship with these ones, perhaps
even telling them that he was writing a letter to the
believers in Philippi. Then those brothers and sisters must
have asked Paul to send their greetings to the saints in
Philippi. This was the reason Paul could say, "All the saints
greet you, and especially those of Caesar's household."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible, and
Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of Philippians, pp. 269.
Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA
Please visit us at www.emanna.com
Comments to: comment@emanna.com.
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Christ Our Life (1)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bible Verses ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Col, 3:4 When Christ our life is manifested, then you also
will be manifested with Him in glory.
Phil. 1:21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Words of Ministry ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Part 1 of 2)
Many Christians have a wrong concept about the Lord Jesus.
They think that the Lord set up a good pattern for us while
He was on earth and that we should imitate this pattern. It
is true that the Bible charges us to imitate the Lord. But
the Bible does not tell us to do this by ourselves. There is
something we must see before we can imitate Him. Many people
want to imitate the Lord, but they repeatedly fail. They
regard the Lord like they regard good Chinese calligraphy,
something to be copied stroke by stroke. They do not realize
how frail man is and that no fleshly energy could give man
enough strength to imitate Him.
The fundamental relationship between Christ and us is
conveyed in the words Christ our life. We can imitate the
Lord only because He has become our life. We can ask Him for
strength only because He has become our life. There is no way
to imitate Him or be empowered by Him unless we understand
the meaning of Christ our life. Hence we must first
understand, see, and grasp the secret of Christ our life
before we can imitate Him or ask Him for strength.
Colossians 3:4 says, “Christ our life.” Philippians 1:21
says, “For to me, to live is Christ.” This shows us that the
way to victory is for Christ to be our life. Victory is, “For
to me, to live is Christ.” If a Christian does not know what
is meant by Christ our life, and what is meant by for to me,
to live is Christ, he will not experience the Lord's life on
earth; he will not be able to follow the Lord, to experience
victory in Him, or to proceed on the course before him.
Christ Our Life (2)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bible Verses ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Col. 3:4 When Christ our life is manifested, then you also
will be manifested with Him in glory.
Phil. 1:21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Words of Ministry ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Part 2 of 2)
I hope that the new believers will pray much for God's
enlightenment and will see that Christ lives in us and that
we no longer need to live by ourselves. Unless we see this,
maintaining a testimony or living the Christian life is a
great burden. It is a great burden to fight temptation, to
bear the cross, or to obey God's will. They feel condemned
when they lose their temper, yet they cannot be patient. They
feel sorry for hating others, yet they have no strength to
love. Many people are exhausted from trying to live the
Christian life. They feel that the Christian life is like
climbing a hill with a heavy burden on their back; they can
never reach the top.
This experience clearly shows that they are practicing the
Christian life in a wrong way. Paul said, “It is no longer I
who live, but it is Christ who lives in me.” This is the
secret of Christian living. It is the Lord in you who is
living the Christian life, not you living it by yourself. If
you live the Christian life by yourself, endurance will be a
suffering to you, as will love, humility, and bearing the
cross. But if Christ lives in you, endurance will be a joy;
so will love, humility, and bearing the cross.
Brothers and sisters, you may be tired of trying to live the
Christian life. You may feel that the Christian life is
consuming you and binding you. But if you see that you no
longer need to live, you will agree that this is a great
gospel to you. Every Christian can be spared such a wearisome
living. This is a great gospel! You no longer have to exert
so much effort trying to be a Christian. You no longer have
to bear such a heavy burden for your Christian life!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible
(RcV) and Words of Ministry from Watchman Nee, Messages for
Building Up New Believers, pp. 393-394. Both are published
by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA.
Please visit us at www.emanna.com
Comments to: comment@emanna.com.
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thank you for posts spider, it helps a lot to read the scriptures. thank you for the reminders. god bless you and your family. 
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thanks for these Words of Wisdom, keep on
posting.. God bless you all!
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The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bible Verses ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Exo 3:15 And God also said to Moses, Thus you shall say to
the children of Israel, Jehovah, the God of your fathers, the
God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has
sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My
memorial from generation to generation.
Mark 12:26 But concerning the dead, that they are raised,
have you not read in the book of Moses, in the section
concerning the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ``I am the
God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob''?
27 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You err
greatly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Words of Ministry ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What kind of person was Abraham? He was a giant in faith. God
is the God of Abraham, meaning that God is the God of
extraordinary and outstanding persons. God is also the God of
Isaac. Isaac was an ordinary man. He was a man who would eat
when you gave him food, who would sleep when you gave him a
bed. He was not an extraordinary person. Nor was he an evil
person. However, God is not just the God of ordinary [and
extraordinary] men. He is also the God of evil men. He is the
God of Jacob. Jacob is the most crafty man in the Bible.
Through these three persons, God tells us that He is the God
of Abraham (the best persons), the God of Isaac (the common
persons), and the God of Jacob (the evil persons). He is God
to those who are outstanding in their faith. He is God to
those who are merely ordinary people. He is also God to the
vilest among all men such as the robbers, the thieves, and
the prostitutes. Are you exceptionally good? God has a way
with you. Are you an ordinary person? God has a way with you.
Are you a particularly evil person? God also has a way with
you.
From that day until now, God has always called Himself by
this name; He has never changed. Even when the Lord Jesus was
about to die, He declared that God is the God of Abraham, the
God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. God is the God of the
living, and that is why man will resurrect. God called
Himself this to show that He is the God of resurrection.
Although Abraham was good, he still died and stunk. However,
God will resurrect him. An ordinary person like Isaac also
died and stunk. But God will also resurrect him. Although
Jacob was crafty, he also died and stunk. But God will
resurrect him also. In the realm of resurrection, all natural
things will pass away. God is the God of the living; He is
not the God of the dead, nor the God of those who are about
to die. He is God to these three persons in the realm of
resurrection.
Our God wants to reconstitute us, so that we will receive
something new in Him. Although by our natural constitution we
have many differences, God will not obliterate these things;
He will be God to us just the same. He knows that what He
sees is not our natural self, but the life that He gives us.
Naturally speaking, there are many differences between
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But in resurrection, they have all
received the life of God. God does not care for our natural
constitution; He only cares for His own work in grace.
Therefore, He can give grace to, use, and perfect men who are
entirely different, treating them as if there were no
difference at all among them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(c) Living Stream Ministry. Bible verses are taken from the
Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from
Collected Works of Watchman Nee, The Present Testimony (2),
Chapter 5, Section 4. Both are published by Living Stream
Ministry, Anaheim, CA
Please visit us at www.emanna.com
Comments to: comment@emanna.com.
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| Hi Jiae05 and rcythree, may we enjoy our Lord in our daily life.
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Love God and Love Man
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bible Verses ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mark 12:28 And one of the scribes approached… he questioned
Him, Which is the first commandment of all? 29 Jesus
answered, The first is: “Hear, Israel: the Lord our God is
one Lord; 30 And you shall love the Lord your God from your
whole heart and from your whole soul and from your whole mind
and from your whole strength.” 31 The second is this: “You
shall love your neighbor as yourself.” There is no other
commandment greater than these.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Words of Ministry ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In 12:28-34 the Slave-Savior was questioned by a scribe. In
Matthew 22:35 this one is called a lawyer. "Scribe" is a
wider term that includes the lawyers, who were Mosaic
jurists. The lawyers were versed in the law of Moses; they
were professional interpreters of the law of the Old
Testament.
This scribe, who knew the law in a thorough way, boldly came
to the Lord Jesus. Knowing that He had answered well those
who were disputing with Him, the scribe asked the Lord,
"Which is the first commandment of all?" (v. 28). The Lord
answered, "The first is, Hear, Israel: the Lord our God is
one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God from your
whole heart, and from your whole soul, and from your whole
mind, and from your whole strength" (vv. 29-30). To love the
Lord in this way is to love Him with every part of our being,
with our spirit, soul, and body.
In verse 31 the Lord continued His answer: "The second is
this, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no
other commandment greater than these." These two commandments
are both a matter of love, either loving God or loving man.
Love is the spirit of God's commandments. The greatest
commandments, therefore, are altogether a matter of love, a
love toward God and toward man.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(c) Living Stream Ministry. Bible verses are taken from the
Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from
Witness Lee, Life-study of Mark, pp. 327-328. Both are
published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA
Please visit us at www.emanna.com
Comments to: comment@emanna.com.
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A Contrast between Vanity and Reality (1)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bible Verses ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Matt 12:38 And in His teaching He said, Beware of the
scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and like
greetings in the market places 39 And chief seats in the
synagogues and places of honor at the dinners, 40 Who
devour the widows' houses, and for a pretense make long
prayers. These shall receive greater judgment.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Words of Ministry ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Immediately after the Lord had subdued all the opposers and
had spoken to them concerning Christ, He went on to give them
a warning concerning the scribes. With the scribes there was
the matter of vain knowledge, even a vain knowledge of the
Bible. The scribes taught theology or doctrine in a way that
was vain. The scribes thought they knew the Bible and also
doctrine and theology. Although they may have known the
Scriptures in letters, they certainly did not know Christ.
Therefore, in His teaching the Lord asked how it is that the
scribes say that Christ is the son of David. The scribes
taught vain theology, a theology without Christ as reality.
It is possible that we may be today's scribes. Our teaching
may be right, but it may be empty, that is, without Christ.
The ancient scribes taught people according to the Old
Testament, but they did not have the light concerning Christ.
They did not have any understanding of Him as the God-man.
We need to discern whether a particular message or teaching
has Christ as its center, reality, and living essence.
Certain preachers and teachers are naturally eloquent and can
present doctrine to others in a way that pleases the itching
ears. Such teaching, preaching, or expounding of the Bible is
according to man's knowledge with human eloquence. We should
not think that as long as a teaching is scriptural, there is
no problem with it. There is a means for us to discern all
kinds of teaching, and that is to discern whether or not
Christ is the center, reality, and essence of every teaching.
If Christ is not the center, then that message is empty. In
principle, it belongs to the teaching of the scribes, and we
should beware of it.
A Contrast between Vanity and Reality (2)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bible Verses ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Matt 12:41 And He sat down opposite the treasury and watched
how the crowd cast money into the treasury. And many rich
people cast in much. 42 And one poor widow came and cast in
two lepta, which is a quadrans. 43 And He called His
disciples to Him and said to them, Truly I say to you that
this poor widow has cast in more than all those who were
casting into the treasury, 44 For they all cast in out of
their surplus, but she, out of her lack, has cast in all that
she had, her whole living.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Words of Ministry ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Part 2 of 2]
Those who gave out of their abundance did not touch the
Lord's heart. However, the Lord was touched by the poor widow
who cast in two small copper coins. He admired her for giving
in such a way. It is very significant that after the Lord
subdued all the opposers, He gave a warning concerning the
scribes and appraised a poor widow in her loyalty. First, He
warned His disciples to beware of the vain empty teachings of
the scribes. Then He encouraged them to appreciate a widow's
inward reality. He wanted them to look into the situation
among God's people, not outwardly according to man's way, but
inwardly according to a person's inward reality. Because He
had such a view. He could appreciate the poor widow.
The Lord had a little meeting with His disciples, a meeting
in which He spoke to them concerning the scribes and a widow.
With the scribes there is emptiness, vanity; with the widow
there is inward reality. We need to learn to appreciate
reality and to beware of vanity. Someone may be an excellent
speaker, eloquent and knowledgeable. However, his speaking
may be empty. By contrast, someone else may be poor in his
speaking, without eloquence or knowledge. Nevertheless, with
this one there is inward reality toward God. This is the
significance of the two incidents--the warning concerning the
scribes and the appraising of the poor widow--being placed
together at the end of chapter twelve.
Nothing proves a believer's inward reality more than the
matter of money. The reason money proves a believer's inward
reality is that in human life nothing is more tangible than
money or material possessions. Your money and possessions
test whether or not you have reality toward God.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(c) Living Stream Ministry. Bible verses are taken from the
Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from
Witness Lee, Life-study of Mark, pp. 335. Both are
published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA
Please visit us at www.emanna.com
Comments to: comment@emanna.com.
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A Contrast between Vanity and Reality (1)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bible Verses ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Matt 12:38 And in His teaching He said, Beware of the
scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and like
greetings in the market places 39 And chief seats in the
synagogues and places of honor at the dinners, 40 Who
devour the widows' houses, and for a pretense make long
prayers. These shall receive greater judgment.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Words of Ministry ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Immediately after the Lord had subdued all the opposers and
had spoken to them concerning Christ, He went on to give them
a warning concerning the scribes. With the scribes there was
the matter of vain knowledge, even a vain knowledge of the
Bible. The scribes taught theology or doctrine in a way that
was vain. The scribes thought they knew the Bible and also
doctrine and theology. Although they may have known the
Scriptures in letters, they certainly did not know Christ.
Therefore, in His teaching the Lord asked how it is that the
scribes say that Christ is the son of David. The scribes
taught vain theology, a theology without Christ as reality.
It is possible that we may be today's scribes. Our teaching
may be right, but it may be empty, that is, without Christ.
The ancient scribes taught people according to the Old
Testament, but they did not have the light concerning Christ.
They did not have any understanding of Him as the God-man.
We need to discern whether a particular message or teaching
has Christ as its center, reality, and living essence.
Certain preachers and teachers are naturally eloquent and can
present doctrine to others in a way that pleases the itching
ears. Such teaching, preaching, or expounding of the Bible is
according to man's knowledge with human eloquence. We should
not think that as long as a teaching is scriptural, there is
no problem with it. There is a means for us to discern all
kinds of teaching, and that is to discern whether or not
Christ is the center, reality, and essence of every teaching.
If Christ is not the center, then that message is empty. In
principle, it belongs to the teaching of the scribes, and we
should beware of it.
A Contrast between Vanity and Reality (2)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bible Verses ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Matt 12:41 And He sat down opposite the treasury and watched
how the crowd cast money into the treasury. And many rich
people cast in much. 42 And one poor widow came and cast in
two lepta, which is a quadrans. 43 And He called His
disciples to Him and said to them, Truly I say to you that
this poor widow has cast in more than all those who were
casting into the treasury, 44 For they all cast in out of
their surplus, but she, out of her lack, has cast in all that
she had, her whole living.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Words of Ministry ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Part 2 of 2]
Those who gave out of their abundance did not touch the
Lord's heart. However, the Lord was touched by the poor widow
who cast in two small copper coins. He admired her for giving
in such a way. It is very significant that after the Lord
subdued all the opposers, He gave a warning concerning the
scribes and appraised a poor widow in her loyalty. First, He
warned His disciples to beware of the vain empty teachings of
the scribes. Then He encouraged them to appreciate a widow's
inward reality. He wanted them to look into the situation
among God's people, not outwardly according to man's way, but
inwardly according to a person's inward reality. Because He
had such a view. He could appreciate the poor widow.
The Lord had a little meeting with His disciples, a meeting
in which He spoke to them concerning the scribes and a widow.
With the scribes there is emptiness, vanity; with the widow
there is inward reality. We need to learn to appreciate
reality and to beware of vanity. Someone may be an excellent
speaker, eloquent and knowledgeable. However, his speaking
may be empty. By contrast, someone else may be poor in his
speaking, without eloquence or knowledge. Nevertheless, with
this one there is inward reality toward God. This is the
significance of the two incidents--the warning concerning the
scribes and the appraising of the poor widow--being placed
together at the end of chapter twelve.
Nothing proves a believer's inward reality more than the
matter of money. The reason money proves a believer's inward
reality is that in human life nothing is more tangible than
money or material possessions. Your money and possessions
test whether or not you have reality toward God.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(c) Living Stream Ministry. Bible verses are taken from the
Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from
Witness Lee, Life-study of Mark, pp. 335. Both are
published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA
Please visit us at www.emanna.com
Comments to: comment@emanna.com.
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A Contrast between Vanity and Reality (1)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bible Verses ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Matt 12:38 And in His teaching He said, Beware of the
scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and like
greetings in the market places 39 And chief seats in the
synagogues and places of honor at the dinners, 40 Who
devour the widows' houses, and for a pretense make long
prayers. These shall receive greater judgment.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Words of Ministry ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Immediately after the Lord had subdued all the opposers and
had spoken to them concerning Christ, He went on to give them
a warning concerning the scribes. With the scribes there was
the matter of vain knowledge, even a vain knowledge of the
Bible. The scribes taught theology or doctrine in a way that
was vain. The scribes thought they knew the Bible and also
doctrine and theology. Although they may have known the
Scriptures in letters, they certainly did not know Christ.
Therefore, in His teaching the Lord asked how it is that the
scribes say that Christ is the son of David. The scribes
taught vain theology, a theology without Christ as reality.
It is possible that we may be today's scribes. Our teaching
may be right, but it may be empty, that is, without Christ.
The ancient scribes taught people according to the Old
Testament, but they did not have the light concerning Christ.
They did not have any understanding of Him as the God-man.
We need to discern whether a particular message or teaching
has Christ as its center, reality, and living essence.
Certain preachers and teachers are naturally eloquent and can
present doctrine to others in a way that pleases the itching
ears. Such teaching, preaching, or expounding of the Bible is
according to man's knowledge with human eloquence. We should
not think that as long as a teaching is scriptural, there is
no problem with it. There is a means for us to discern all
kinds of teaching, and that is to discern whether or not
Christ is the center, reality, and essence of every teaching.
If Christ is not the center, then that message is empty. In
principle, it belongs to the teaching of the scribes, and we
should beware of it.
A Contrast between Vanity and Reality (2)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bible Verses ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Matt 12:41 And He sat down opposite the treasury and watched
how the crowd cast money into the treasury. And many rich
people cast in much. 42 And one poor widow came and cast in
two lepta, which is a quadrans. 43 And He called His
disciples to Him and said to them, Truly I say to you that
this poor widow has cast in more than all those who were
casting into the treasury, 44 For they all cast in out of
their surplus, but she, out of her lack, has cast in all that
she had, her whole living.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Words of Ministry ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Part 2 of 2]
Those who gave out of their abundance did not touch the
Lord's heart. However, the Lord was touched by the poor widow
who cast in two small copper coins. He admired her for giving
in such a way. It is very significant that after the Lord
subdued all the opposers, He gave a warning concerning the
scribes and appraised a poor widow in her loyalty. First, He
warned His disciples to beware of the vain empty teachings of
the scribes. Then He encouraged them to appreciate a widow's
inward reality. He wanted them to look into the situation
among God's people, not outwardly according to man's way, but
inwardly according to a person's inward reality. Because He
had such a view. He could appreciate the poor widow.
The Lord had a little meeting with His disciples, a meeting
in which He spoke to them concerning the scribes and a widow.
With the scribes there is emptiness, vanity; with the widow
there is inward reality. We need to learn to appreciate
reality and to beware of vanity. Someone may be an excellent
speaker, eloquent and knowledgeable. However, his speaking
may be empty. By contrast, someone else may be poor in his
speaking, without eloquence or knowledge. Nevertheless, with
this one there is inward reality toward God. This is the
significance of the two incidents--the warning concerning the
scribes and the appraising of the poor widow--being placed
together at the end of chapter twelve.
Nothing proves a believer's inward reality more than the
matter of money. The reason money proves a believer's inward
reality is that in human life nothing is more tangible than
money or material possessions. Your money and possessions
test whether or not you have reality toward God.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(c) Living Stream Ministry. Bible verses are taken from the
Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from
Witness Lee, Life-study of Mark, pp. 335. Both are
published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA
Please visit us at www.emanna.com
Comments to: comment@emanna.com.
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