Please turn to Genesis 28. We will read from verse 10.
And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, and went toward Haran.
And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set.
And he took one of the stones of the place, and put it under his head, and lay down in that place to sleep.
And he dreamed; and behold, a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold, the angels of God ascending and descending on it.
And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord, the God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed.
And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee whithersoever thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.
And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not.
And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.
And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put under his head, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it.
And he called the name of that place Beth-el; but the name of the city was Luz at the first.
And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,
So that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then shall the Lord be my God,
And this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house: and of all that Thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto Thee.
Now turn to Genesis 31:45.
And Jacob took a stone, and set it up for a pillar.
And Jacob said unto his brethren, Gather stones; and they took stones, and made a heap: and they did eat there by the heap.
And Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha: but Jacob called it Galeed.
And Laban said, This heap is witness between me and thee this day. Therefore was the name of it called Galeed;
And Mizpah, for he said, The Lord watch between me and thee, when we are hidden one from another.
If thou shalt afflict my daughters, or if thou shalt take wives besides my daughters, no man is with us; see, God is witness between me and thee.
And Laban said to Jacob, Behold this heap, and behold the pillar, which I have set between me and thee.
This heap be witness, and the pillar be witness, that I will not pass over this heap to thee, and that thou shalt not pass over this heap and this pillar unto me, for harm.
The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge betwixt us. And Jacob sware by the Fear of his father Isaac.
And Jacob offered a sacrifice in the mountain, and called his brethren to eat bread: and they did eat bread, and tarried all night in the mountain.
Now Genesis 35:9.
And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came from Paddan-aram, and blessed him.
And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and He called his name Israel.
And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins;
And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land.
And God went up from him in the place where He spake with him.
And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where He spake with him, a pillar of stone; and he poured out a drink-offering thereon, and poured oil thereon.
And Jacob called the name of the place where God spake with him, Beth-el.
And they journeyed from Beth-el; and there was still some distance to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labor.
And it came to pass, when she was in hard labor, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; for now thou shalt have another son.
And it came to pass, as her soul was departing, for she died, that she called his name Ben-oni: but his father called him Benjamin.
And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Beth-lehem.
And Jacob set up a pillar upon her grave: the same is the Pillar of Rachel’s grave unto this day.
May we look to the Lord.
Our Father, we do praise and thank Thee that Thou dost draw us to Thyself to worship Thee and to listen to Thy Word. We ask that Thy Holy Spirit will quicken Thy Word to our hearts and make Thy Word living to us, that through Thy Word we may receive Thy Son. In the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.
Without going back to Adam, we remember that Abraham erected altars, Isaac dug wells, and in Jacob we find that he set up pillars.
An altar signifies the cross. A well signifies the Spirit of life. And a pillar signifies the testimony of God.
Out of Abraham came Isaac; out of Isaac came Jacob. Out of the cross, you come into the fullness of the Spirit; and with the fullness of the Spirit, you bear the testimony of Jesus.
A pillar, in the Scripture, always stands for a testimony—a witness, something set up visibly to be seen.
The first mention of a pillar in the Bible—do you remember where it is? It is in Genesis 19. You find that Lot’s wife, as she looked back to the city of Sodom, turned into a pillar of salt.
It is a negative testimony: her testimony to those who are the Lord’s, and yet who linger after the world.
The second mention of a pillar is in the life of Jacob. We will touch upon that later.
After that, when God took the children of Israel out of Egypt, He led them through the wilderness by the pillar of fire and of cloud. In New Testament terms, we know that it is the Holy Spirit, Who dwells in us and leads our way through the wilderness according to the testimony of Jesus.
Then we find pillars in the tabernacle. The pillars in the tabernacle served as supports. They signify strength to support the house of God.
In Solomon’s temple, he had two pillars standing before the temple—not for support, but as ornaments, as signs of strength. One is called Jachin, which means, “He will establish”; the other is called Boaz, “In Him is strength.” The pillars before Solomon’s temple stand for strength, beauty, and testimony: the strength and beauty of God.
When you come to the New Testament, you find Paul mentioning in 1 Timothy 3 that the church of God is the ground and pillar of truth. Why? Because the church of God stands in the truth and testifies to the truth, and nothing but the truth.
Then in Galatians, Paul mentions how Peter, James, and John are the three pillars in the church in Jerusalem. Why? Because they are strengths and supports to the church there.
Later, in Revelation 3, our Lord promised the overcomers in the church in Philadelphia that they would be made pillars in the temple of God, and the name of the Lord would be inscribed upon them. They are all supports; they are testimony to the Lord Jesus.
So we may say that pillars in the Scripture represent testimony. They are symbolic of strength and support.
With this in mind, let us go back to the life of Jacob. In Jacob’s life, you find that he erected four pillars altogether.
You do not just erect a pillar at random. These pillars were erected at certain times and out of certain experiences. They were testimony to the experience of God that Jacob had in his life.
Brothers and sisters, this is very true with us today. We are not only to experience the cross, and we are not only to be filled with the Holy Spirit, but we are to bear the testimony of Jesus.
In other words, the testimony of Jesus today is upon us. But how are we going to bear the testimony of Jesus? Something first has to be wrought into our lives. Or, to say it another way, Christ has to be incorporated into us.
Out of that inworking, or incorporation, of Christ in our lives, a pillar—a testimony—is set up for all to see. This is not something we can do at any time by our own will. It has to come out of our life as the result of a new experience of Christ.
When Christ is wrought into us and becomes a part of us, then out of us the testimony of Jesus will be seen by those around us.
Jacob had a desire for spiritual things. Because he had such a desire, he robbed his brother of the birthright and also of the blessing of the firstborn.
Of course, he did all this by carnal means. He had a spiritual aspiration, but he used fleshly means. Why? His religion was traditional, not personal.
He knew about God. He knew about God’s blessing, and he wanted God’s blessing—the blessing of the firstborn. But he had no personal encounter with God. He did not know God in a personal way; he only knew God through tradition, by hearing from his father.
He desired spiritual blessings and spiritual things, but he used carnal methods. The result was that even though he got the birthright and the blessing of the firstborn from his father, and it seemed as if he had everything in his hand, at the very same time he lost everything.
He had to flee for his life. He had to leave his home. He became a fugitive and a wanderer.
He was travelling toward Haran. He was in the wilderness; it was night. He found a stone for his pillow, lay himself down, and went to sleep.
Now, I always feel that this is a picture of great tragedy. Why? When you take a pillow and put your head upon it, what kind of pillow would you choose? Of course, we would choose a soft one, so we can rest our head upon it and go to sleep.
But here you find Jacob’s extremity. He was in such a desperate situation that he could find nothing upon which to lay his head, so he found a hard stone to be his pillow.
Can you sleep by resting your head upon a hard stone? I think unless you are in such exhaustion, such fatigue, that you will go to sleep, otherwise you would never go to sleep.
It depicts a picture of extreme distress. He was at the end of himself—exhausted, completely exhausted. He was in a hopeless position. So even with a stone as his pillow, he slept.
And he dreamed a dream. God met him at the most unlikely place, under the most unlikely situation, at the most unlikely time. Jacob did not expect to meet God at that time or under those circumstances, but God met him there in a dream.
There was a ladder joining earth with heaven, and the angels of God ascending and descending. That is communication. God was standing at the top of the ladder, Jacob was lying at the end of the ladder, and God spoke to Jacob.
God gave him promise. God blessed him. God promised to give him the land that He had promised to his father Abraham and to his father Isaac. God promised to bless him, that his seed would be as the sand of the seashore, that He would protect him, be with him, and bring him back to that land.
Jacob awoke, and he was frightened. He said, “God is here, and I did not know it.” He said, “This is dreadful.” Why was it dreadful? It was dreadful because he was not prepared to meet God. He was not ready to see God.
He said, “This is the house of God, the gate of heaven.” He took the stone that had served as his pillow, set it up vertically as a pillar, poured oil upon it, and vowed a vow.
He said, “If God will keep me safe, give me clothes to wear and food to eat, and lead me back to my father’s house, then I will make God my God. This stone, this pillar, shall be the house of God, and I will give one tenth of all that I have to Him.”
I call this pillar the pillar of awakening—spiritual awakening.
Jacob’s religion was traditional. He aspired after spiritual things, but he did not know God. All he knew were human ways. Because of that, he was severely disciplined by God.
God had to use drastic means to wake him up out of his complacency and out of his traditional religion, so that he might have a personal encounter with God. And that makes all the difference.
The gate of heaven means revelation. When the gate of heaven is opened, revelation is given. Through revelation from above, Jacob saw God, heard God, and had a personal experience of God.
The gate of heaven is also the house of God. Why? Because revelation always leads us to God’s house. Why does God reveal His Son in you? That He may build you, with other believers, into His house.
So the gate of heaven is also the house of God, and the house of God is the gate of heaven. In the house of God, heaven is open to you. In the house of God, you receive revelation from above, that you may know Him Who is in heaven more and more.
As you know Him more and more, the house is built higher and higher and becomes more complete. These two things cannot be separated. It is the house of God as well as the gate of heaven. That is the beginning of spiritual awakening.
Of course, at that time Jacob understood very little. God promised him a great deal, but all he thought of was very little. God promised to give him the land, to make his seed as the sand of the seashore, and to lead him back to inherit the land.
But all Jacob asked of God was clothing, shelter, safety, and a return home. He even bargained with God. God promised him without condition, but Jacob could not understand anything of grace—of free grace—because that was not in his dictionary.
He could not think of free grace, so he began to bargain with God. He said, “Now, God, if You would just give me this little, then I will make You my God, make this pillar Your house, and give You one tenth.”
It shows that Jacob knew very little, yet he had a beginning. This pillar of awakening is a beginning—the beginning of a spiritual life.
He poured oil upon it. When oil is poured upon anything, it means that it is being sanctified, set apart for God. At least in that experience of Jacob, something in his life was set apart for God.
It was not much at that time, but there was something that had begun. This is the first pillar: the pillar of awakening.
I believe, brothers and sisters, that we all need to set up that pillar. If our religion is merely traditional, if all we know about God is what we have heard from our fathers, we may be very religious, zealous for spiritual things, or able to do many spiritual works.
We may seem to have spiritual things in our grasp, but if it is only traditional, one day we will lose them all, because they are not ours really.
But God knows your heart. If you truly have a heart for God and for spiritual things, when you do not expect it, God will meet you. He will meet you in a way you do not expect, and He will awaken you into a real spiritual knowledge of Himself.
Even though in the beginning you may know only a little, and even though that bargaining spirit may still be within you, there is a beginning in your life. You may not yet understand what grace is or what gift is, but at least there is some testimony to the Lord Jesus in your life.
Jacob went to Paddan-aram. We do not want to go into that interesting history of twenty years. He went to his uncle Laban’s house, and there he served Laban for twenty years—the first fourteen years for his two wives, and the last six years for the flocks and herds.
During those twenty years, it was a tremendous history, because they were very difficult years for Jacob.
After twenty years, Jacob fled, because his father-in-law was not happy with him. Laban thought that Jacob had robbed him of all his property, so Jacob had to flee for his life again.
During those twenty years, Jacob seemed to forget to return to the promised land. He seemed to forget all about God. He was trying very hard to build up his own house.
He had many children, many flocks and herds, and servants. He built up his own house through difficulties, and he forgot about God’s house. He even forgot about returning to his native land. So God used circumstances to force him to return.
These were very difficult times. Later, when Laban chased him and found him in Gilead, Jacob said, “During those twenty years I was with you. You required everything out of my hand. Whenever there was any loss in the herd or flock, you asked it of me.”
He said, “In the daytime I was consumed by heat; in the night by frost; and sleep fled from my eyes. You changed my wages ten times. If it had not been for God, you would have taken away my wife, my children, and my flock, and left me all by myself.”
That was Jacob’s twenty years in Paddan-aram. Why? Because God wanted Jacob to know himself.
You do not know yourself; you cannot see yourself unless you hold a mirror before you. Do you know how your face looks if you have never looked into a mirror? You do not. But if you hold a mirror before you, then your face is reflected, and you come to know yourself.
Jacob did not know himself. There was no way for him to know himself. We love ourselves too much to really know ourselves.
So God sent him to Paddan-aram and held before Jacob a mirror: Laban. Laban was Jacob’s mirror, because the two men were very, very similar.
Jacob was a person who maneuvered, planned, and plotted—and so was Laban. Jacob met his match in Laban. In Laban, Jacob began to know himself.
Jacob began to see himself in Laban. His flesh, his self, began to be dealt with by Laban. The very thing that was wrong in Jacob was in Laban, and the very thing in Laban was in Jacob. These two men dealt with each other and helped each other to see themselves in the true light.
For twenty years, God put Jacob before Laban and let Jacob see himself.
These were painful years. Brothers and sisters, if you begin to see yourself, it is a very painful experience. If you are ignorant of yourself, you may have a good time. But when you begin to see what you really are in the sight of God—when you see the ugliness, sinfulness, and filthiness of your flesh—you hate yourself, abhor yourself, and are brought into dust and ashes.
That was Jacob’s experience throughout those twenty years. God was doing a separating work. God wanted to separate Jacob from Jacob—or, to say it another way, to separate Jacob from Laban.
After twenty years, Jacob fled. Laban chased him, and they came to a place where they had a controversy. But God intervened, and because of God’s intervention Jacob was not hurt.
Finally, Jacob set up a stone there and made it a pillar. He asked all the brethren to pile stones upon it, making a heap of stones. The place was called Gilead: a heap of stones, a testimony, a witness.
Laban said, “This pillar, this pile of stones, is a witness between us. I will not cross this pillar to hurt you, and you will not cross this heap of stones and pillar to hurt me. From now on, we are separated.”
So this pillar is called the pillar of separation. Jacob and Laban were separated forever. They were not to see each other again; they would not cross over this pillar from one side to the other.
For twenty years they had been tied together. They were as one. Jacob saw himself in Laban, but now the time had come for them to be permanently separated.
To put it in New Testament terms, it is the dividing of the spirit and the soul.
After we are awakened spiritually, it does not mean that we have reached the end of our spiritual experience. That is only the beginning. The Lord will lead us on, and the next important stage is the experience of separation.
It is not only separation from the world; it is the dividing of the soul and the spirit. This is a very painful experience, and it takes a long time. You need some mirror to reflect you; otherwise, you will never know yourself.
Often during that period, God puts you with somebody else. In that other person, you begin to see yourself, and you begin to be dealt with. This is the way we begin to see the ugliness of our flesh and the need for the separation of the spirit from the soul.
Jacob had to be delivered from Jacob, and Jacob was represented by Laban. We need to be delivered from our soul life and have our spirit freed from the bondage, persecution, and oppression of the soul.
That which is of the flesh always persecutes that which is of the spirit. The spirit will be under persecution until it grows stronger and stronger and, one day, is freed from the tyranny of the flesh.
This experience, the pillar of separation, represents the dividing of the soul and the spirit.
At the same time, that place was also called Mizpah. Mizpah means watchtower. Laban said, “God is watching. We do not see each other, but God is watching, that you do not ill-treat my daughters. God will take care of that.”
In other words, under divine watch, even that which comes out of the soul will be perfected. First comes the dividing of the spirit and the soul; then all the functions of the soul will be purified under the watchful eyes of God.
So the second pillar is the pillar of separation. Brothers and sisters, do we have this pillar? You cannot erect a pillar at any time. There must be something being done in your life.
Have you begun to see yourself? Have you begun to abhor yourself? Have you begun to cry out for God to deliver you from yourself? Is your spirit crying out that it may be delivered from the tyranny of the soul?
If you are crying out, gradually—and hopefully not over many years—you will be freed from the bondage of your soul. There will be a separation of the spirit and the soul. That will be the second testimony, the second pillar erected in your life.
After Gilead, Jacob moved on. As he moved on, he sent messengers to his brother Esau, telling him that he was coming. The messengers came back and reported that Esau was coming to meet him with four hundred men.
Jacob was afraid. Again, he tried to plan and plot. He sent gifts after gifts to his brother to appease him and soften his anger.
Still he did not feel safe, so he divided his family into two groups. He thought that if Esau attacked one group, the other could flee. That night he sent his whole family across the stream of Jabbok, but he remained alone on the other side.
He could not cross the stream because he had no sense of security. Then a man came—an angel of the Lord—and wrestled with him. They wrestled through the night.
The angel could not prevail against him until the day began to break. Then the man touched Jacob’s thigh, and Jacob was crippled. Jacob clung to Him and said, “Bless me.”
The man said, “Your name is Jacob, but you shall be called Israel”—a prince with God, or a wrestler. From that time onward Jacob was crippled.
He went to meet his brother and found Esau very favourable toward him. Esau had forgotten all the past. He loved Jacob and said, “Let us go together.”
But Jacob again played his trick. He said, “You go ahead, because my children are young, and the flocks and herds are tender. If we try to rush them, they will die. You go ahead, and I will come and join you in Seir.”
Esau, being a straightforward person, said, “All right, but I will leave some men with you to help you.” Jacob said, “No, do not do that. You do not need to leave any men. You just go ahead, and I will join you later.”
After his brother left, Jacob moved to Succoth and Shechem. He built there and intended to stay there. He was not going to join his brother. That was where he wanted to stay.
But the hand of the Lord was heavy upon him. A very shameful thing happened to the house of Jacob, because his daughter Dinah was put to disgrace. The result was that his two sons killed all the men of that city.
Jacob was put into great distress because enemies were all around him. He told his sons, “What you have done will mean the end of us, because all the people around will hear about it and suddenly come to destroy us.”
But at his extremity God appeared to him and said, “Jacob, go back to Bethel. That is where you should go.”
Jacob remembered what he had promised God, and he knew it was a serious thing. He told his family, “Put away all the foreign gods that are among you, all the images. Think of that—take out all the images—because we have to be purified for God.”
He buried all those images there, and then he moved on to Bethel.
As he moved on, Rebekah’s nurse, who was with Jacob, passed away. The last link with his mother was gone. Jacob loved his mother very much and was attached to her. Much of Jacob’s character followed his mother, and now that last link was gone.
He came to Bethel, built an altar, and called the altar El-beth-el: God, the God of Bethel, the house of God.
God appeared to him, gave him promise, and said, “I will bless you. Kings shall come out of you. Your seed shall be as the sand of the seashore. The land shall be yours. You shall not be called Jacob any more; from now on you shall be called Israel.”
After God went up from him, Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. He poured a drink offering, wine, upon it, and also oil, and called that place Bethel the second time.
This is the third pillar. What should we call it? We call it the pillar of transformation.
The dividing of the spirit and the soul is a negative thing. The spirit is so imprisoned by the soul that it has to be set free. To set the spirit free is the dividing of the spirit and the soul.
This experience is a preparation. It is a negative process, a freeing process. But you need a positive experience and a positive process, and the positive one is transformation.
What is transformation? Transformation in the Scripture happens in the soul. When all the faculties of the soul are purified, instead of being used by the self-life in the soul, they begin to be governed by the Spirit life in the spirit, which is the Holy Spirit.
Then your soul goes through a transformation. Your mind begins to be renewed, to have the mind of Christ; your emotions begin to be purified, to have the love of God; and your will begins to be changed, to will the will of God.
You see, your soul is being transformed. After the spirit is freed from the soul, the life of the spirit begins to penetrate the soul and transform it, so that all the faculties of your soul come under new management: the management of the Holy Spirit.
Thus you are transformed and conformed to the image of Christ. From Adam’s image, you are transformed into Christ’s image. That is transformation.
Remember: transformation is done in the soul.
After the pillar of separation, Jacob had a series of events in his life. During that period, the hand of the Lord was very heavy upon him. Why? Because God was transforming him.
He came face to face with God. He wrestled with God. He would not let himself go, but God finally prevailed over him. He had to let go because he was crippled, yet he hung on to God. He was blessed, and God changed his name to Israel.
But even after that experience, much of Jacob was still there. Though God had changed his name to Israel, Jacob was still there—still planning and plotting. But the hand of God was very heavy upon him. God would not let him go.
Under the disciplinary hand of God, God would transform him completely, until he was really Israel.
That is why such terrible things happened to his family. God was determined to transform Jacob into Israel. Thank God for that.
How are we transformed? In 2 Corinthians 3, as our hearts are turned toward the Lord, the veil is taken away from our hearts. Then we behold the glory of the Lord with unveiled face, face to face.
You have to be brought face to face with God in order to be transformed. If you do not see the beauty of the Lord, if you do not see the glory of the Lord, you will not be transformed.
You will be content with what you are. You may think that what you are is good enough. Maybe naturally you are gentle, kind, moral, or good.
Unless you are brought face to face with God and see the glory and beauty of the Lord, you will be quite content with yourself. You will think that you do not need to be transformed; your form is pretty good.
But when you are brought face to face with God and see the glory of the Lord, as 2 Corinthians 3 says, then you will be transformed according to His image, from glory to glory, as by the Lord the Spirit.
Brothers and sisters, how we need to be face to face with God. Face to face with Laban enables you to see yourself; face to face with God enables you to be transformed into the image of Christ.
After he returned to Bethel, God called his name Israel. From then on, he was Israel: a new person in Christ.
But this was not the end. They began to move on, and as they moved on Rachel, his wife, was in hard labour.
She was dying, and before she expired, a son was born. The midwife said, “You have a son.” But Rachel was in such pain that she called her son Ben-oni, which means “son of my affliction.”
Then she died. But Jacob—Israel—changed the name from Ben-oni to Benjamin, and Benjamin means “son of my right hand.”
There Jacob set up a pillar at Rachel’s grave. That is the last pillar Jacob set up.
What should we call that pillar? It may surprise you. We can call this pillar the pillar of resurrection power.
There was death, but out of death came life. Out of affliction came the son of my right hand—authority.
Ephrath means fruitfulness. Bethlehem means the house of bread. We are familiar with these places because Christ was born in Bethlehem.
This pillar speaks of life out of death: the power of His resurrection, being conformed to His death, that we may arrive at the out-resurrection from among the dead.
To put it into New Testament terms, turn to 2 Corinthians 4. Paul says, “I bear in my body the dying of Jesus, that the life of Jesus may be manifested in my body.” Not only that, but death works in me that life may work in you.
Out of this kind of experience comes bread, fruit, and ministry. All spiritual ministry comes out of death and resurrection.
The death here is not because of sin. The death is because of giving birth to life. Through the travail of our Lord Jesus, the church is born. Through the travail of Paul, the churches in Galatia were formed.
Through the travail of God’s people throughout the ages, spiritual ministry goes on for the building of the house of God.
How can we impart Christ to other people unless we know what travail is? Unless we know what death is? Unless we are willing to give up our rights and give up ourselves?
Unless we are willing to suffer and be spent, unless we are willing to sacrifice as a drink offering and pour out ourselves, life will not be imparted to other people.
There will not be bread. There will not be fruit. There will not be spiritual authority.
So this last pillar may be called the pillar of resurrection power. Here you find, in the life of Jacob, four pillars: the pillar of awakening, the pillar of separation, the pillar of transformation, and the pillar of resurrection power.
Put these together, and you have the testimony.
Today, of course, the testimony of Jesus is entrusted to the church. As members of the church, we are supposed to bear this testimony of Jesus in this world.
But this testimony of Jesus is not an outward thing. It is not a form. It is not merely doctrines and teachings. Being orthodox, scriptural, and accurate—these are all important—but the testimony of Jesus is something more.
The testimony of Jesus has to be Jesus wrought into our very being and then seen by all. That is the testimony of Jesus.
We need to be spiritually awakened. We need to have our spirit divided from the soul. We need to have our soul transformed. And we need to pour out our life, having the dying of Jesus upon us, that the life of Jesus may be upon others.
When these things begin to happen in our lives, then you have the testimony of Jesus. May the Lord help us. Shall we pray?
Our heavenly Father, we commit these words into Thy hands. Human words are useless and will soon be forgotten. But we pray that Thy Holy Spirit will bring the truth into our hearts and bring us into Thy truth.
Oh, that the testimony of Jesus committed to the church may be maintained in this world, that the world may yet see Who Jesus is and what He is. To Thee be all the praise and glory, in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.