Let us read a Scripture: 1 Corinthians 2:1-5. I will read in Chinese, and my brother will read in English.
And I, brethren, when I came unto you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God.
For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.
And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.
And my speech and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
Let us pay special attention to the first verse. In Chinese, it says, “to proclaim to you the mystery of God,” but in the original language it says, “to announce to you the testimony of God.”
This time, we would like to fellowship concerning testimony and witness. We know that testimony has a very important position in the Bible.
But today, what we are fellowshipping is not the testimony that a person gives in a court of law. Certainly, that is also an important matter in the world.
Neither are we speaking simply of believers giving testimony to the world concerning the salvation of our Lord Jesus Christ, or testifying how the Lord saved us. Although this is our duty as Christians, it is not the kind of testimony we are considering this time.
Nor are we speaking merely of the testimonies that saints share with one another when we gather together—the various graces we have received from God. Certainly, this also is something we should do.
The testimony we are referring to is the testimony of God. It is the testimony of Jesus Christ; it is the testimony of the church. In the Bible, this is a matter of central importance.
Therefore, we would like to look at this matter before God together. The testimony of God is the testimony that we should have. We also want to mention the witness, for the witness is as important as the testimony.
Before we speak further, I would like to clarify this terminology. In Hebrew and Greek, testimony and witness are almost the same.
When translated into English, some versions say “witness,” while others say “testimony.” But in the original language, they are usually the same thing.
In a modern dictionary, testimony means to proclaim or declare a fact or truth. Sometimes it is used to proclaim a religious experience.
A witness is a person who has seen or heard something. The witness relates what he has seen or heard. Sometimes this word is also used as proof.
Even in English, then, the terms are not clearly separated. For the sake of understanding, let us use the words in this way: let “testimony” refer to the fact being witnessed to, and let “witness” refer to the person who gives the testimony.
The testimony is the content of the testimony, and the witness is the one who gives it. For now, let us distinguish between the matter and the person. But we must remember that, in fact, these two things are inseparable.
The testimony and the witness are not separable. This morning, we would like to share before the Lord concerning the testimony of God.
The testimony of God comes from God. Its source is God. God reveals Himself through the Holy Spirit, revealing what He is, so that we may know our God and be His witnesses on this earth.
You remember that Paul says in Romans 11:36 that all things are of Him, through Him, and unto Him. When we speak about the testimony of God, we see that this testimony comes from God, is through Him, and returns to Him.
God reveals Himself to us so that we may receive this revelation in our spirit. Then we can rise up to give testimony for Him.
Let us remember that testimony does not come from man. Testimony comes from God. If God does not testify concerning Himself, nobody on this earth can know Him.
But when He testifies concerning Himself, we begin to know our God. God does not need men to prove anything for Him. Rather, He reveals His testimony for our benefit. If God did not testify concerning Himself, we could never know Him.
When Paul came to Athens, he saw that the people worshiped many gods. There were many altars and idols. He saw an altar inscribed, “To an unknown god.” They did not know the God whom they worshiped.
Brothers and sisters, if you do not know God, how can you worship Him? How can you come to Him? But when God testifies concerning Himself, then we know Him.
Not only can we know Him; we can also serve Him. We can rise up to give testimony to Him. Therefore, at the beginning, let us remember this: the testimony of God is for our benefit.
There are two important elements in testimony. Without either of these elements, there is no testimony.
First, there must be a fact. Testimony must be according to fact. Without a fact, it is false testimony.
Second, the fact must be something that we have personally seen, personally heard, or personally experienced.
There may be a fact, but if you have not seen it, heard it with your own ears, or personally experienced it, then even if you give testimony, it is false testimony. Although what you say may be a fact, you have not experienced it personally. It is secondhand.
Before God, that is only a false testimony, not a real one. We must see that there are two essential things in testimony. If one of them is lacking, it is not testimony.
In the Bible, there is a great difference between false testimony and true testimony. The Bible pays great attention to this matter of testimony.
For example, Deuteronomy 19 says that there must be two or three witnesses before a matter is established. The Lord Jesus also said in John 8 that by the mouth of two witnesses every word may be established. Testimony is extremely important in deciding a matter.
On the other hand, false testimony is a very serious matter. Deuteronomy 19 says that if someone gives false testimony in order to put his brother in trouble, the trouble his brother was supposed to receive will fall upon him.
Therefore, we cannot give false testimony.
In the Old Testament, the word testimony appears most frequently in the Pentateuch and in the Psalms. In the books of Moses, it appears most frequently in Exodus; in the Psalms, it appears most frequently in Psalm 119.
In Exodus, the word testimony is used ten times. We may have some difficulty when reading the Chinese version, because we may not see the word testimony in that translation. The Chinese translation renders it as “law.” This is not merely a translation; it is an interpretation.
When you see the word “law” connected with the ark, the tablets, and the tabernacle in Exodus, the original language means testimony: the ark of testimony, the tabernacle of testimony, and the tablets of testimony.
The relevant passages include Exodus 16:34; 25:16; 25:21; 27:21; 30:6; 31:18; 32:15; 34:29; and 38:21.
Why is the word testimony translated as “law” in Exodus? It is because the testimony of God in the Old Testament is the law of God.
When God saved the Israelites from Egypt, He brought them to the foot of Mount Sinai and gave them the Ten Commandments.
What are the Ten Commandments? The Ten Commandments, or the law, are the revelation of God. God uses the Ten Commandments to reveal His own character.
If God were silent, men would not know what kind of God He is or what His character is. But when He speaks and gives His commandments to the Israelites, they know what kind of God they worship.
Through the Ten Commandments, God reveals to the Israelites what kind of God He is.
For example, the first commandment says that besides Him there can be no other god. God is the unique God. He is most holy and most honorable. Besides Him, there is no other god.
The second commandment teaches that we shall not make an image of God, because our God is Spirit. It also shows us that when we worship Him, we must worship Him in spirit and truth.
He is the only God worthy of our service and worship. Besides Him, we shall have no service or worship.
The commandment also tells us that God is a jealous God. Why is He jealous? Because He is the unique God. Nothing can be compared with Him or placed with Him on equal footing.
If you put anything in the same position as God, that is an idol, and it is detestable to God. Our God is a holy God. You cannot put anything else in the same position as Him.
You remember when our Lord brought three disciples to the Mount of Transfiguration. Moses and Elijah appeared also, and Peter felt that it was very good.
Peter said, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. Let us build three tents: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
Before he finished speaking, the cloud covered them. The glory of God covered them, and Moses and Elijah disappeared.
Then a voice said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him.” When they opened their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus Christ.
Why? Because God is holy. You cannot put anything or anyone in the same position as God. This is something God dislikes. Because God is righteous, He will punish.
But we thank God that He is loving. When He punishes, He punishes unto the third and fourth generation; but His lovingkindness is forever. Our God is a faithful God.
In the third commandment, we are told not to take the name of the Lord falsely. Some people use the name of God falsely to cover their own lives, but our God is a faithful God. Therefore, we cannot take His name falsely.
The fourth commandment says that we shall observe the Sabbath. What is the meaning of the Sabbath? When God created all things in six days, God’s work was accomplished.
On the seventh day, He rested. When man was created, the next day he entered into rest. Everything was done by God. We should believe and enter into what He has prepared for us.
This shows that God is a God of rest. In the first tablet, God reveals His own character to us. He relates His own testimony to us.
He is the only God. He is Spirit. Only He is worthy of service and worship. We shall have no idol, because He is a jealous God. He is a holy God, a righteous God, a loving God, a faithful God, and full of grace. This is the testimony of God.
Once Moses prayed, “God, reveal Your glory to me.” God said to Moses, “No man can see My face and live, but I can let you see My back.”
In Exodus 34, God put Moses in the cleft of the rock. When the glory of God passed by, Moses heard a proclamation from God. God declared Himself.
This is Exodus 34:6-7:
And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed,
The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness and truth;
Keeping lovingkindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin;
And that will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, upon the third and upon the fourth generation.
Here we see the proclamation of God. It corresponds completely with the first four commandments, because God testifies concerning what kind of God He is.
When Moses heard this, he prostrated himself. Dear brothers and sisters, if God relates His own testimony, and if we truly hear and truly see, we can only fall to the ground and worship. We acknowledge that only He is God.
We also see the remaining six commandments. These commandments tell us about the right relationships among men.
Why does God tell us about human relationships? Because man is created according to the image of God. God’s will is that man should represent Him.
He wants those whom He created to be like Him. Otherwise, we come short of His glory. In the latter six commandments, God desires to make His character our character so that we may be His witnesses.
Thus, we see that the testimony is the law.
Our dear brother Watchman Nee once said, “The testimony of God is the law of God. On the side of God, it is the testimony; when it comes to the hands of men, it is the law.”
God testifies concerning Himself. When the testimony comes to man, in the hands of man it becomes the law.
What is the law? On the one hand, the law declares the heart of God. On the other hand, the law is the requirement of God. We can say that the law is the standard of God.
When God reveals Himself, He gives us a standard so that we may walk and live according to that standard.
God’s giving of the law to the Israelites was a great and wonderful thing. Among all the peoples and nations of the world, God had not declared His laws and commandments to another nation as He did to Israel.
He gave His law and commandments to the Israelites. Thus, He separated the Israelites from the nations.
In Deuteronomy 4, Moses reminded the Israelites:
The day that thou stoodest before the Lord thy God in Horeb, when the Lord said unto me, Assemble Me the people, and I will make them hear My words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days that they live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children.
And in Deuteronomy 4:5-8:
Behold, I have taught you statutes and ordinances, even as the Lord my God commanded me, that ye should so do in the midst of the land whither ye go in to possess it.
Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, that shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.
For what great nation is there, that hath a god so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is whensoever we call upon Him?
And what great nation is there, that hath statutes and ordinances so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?
When God gave this law to the Israelites, He separated them from the nations. This was a great glory, but it was also a great responsibility, because God entrusted His own testimony to the hands of Israel.
The people of Israel had to be, on earth, a testimony to God.
In Psalm 119, the word testimony appears most frequently. Most of the time, it is plural: testimonies. Whether singular or plural, testimony appears twenty-three times in Psalm 119.
In the Chinese translation, there is a further difficulty, because the word testimony is not used. Instead, it uses a term meaning “law and measure.” But the original language is testimony.
Psalm 119 uses various terms to explain the laws of God: law, precepts, statutes, ordinances, and testimonies. It expresses the attitude of one who loves God.
The psalmist says, in effect: “I contemplate Your words. My heart is inclined to them. My steps walk toward Your testimonies. Your testimonies are my delight. Your testimonies are my inheritance. I shall observe them. Your testimonies are what I know. Your testimonies are what I love.”
Brothers and sisters, after all, what is our attitude toward the testimony of God?
God gave the law to the Israelites; we can say that God entrusted His own testimony to them. The Israelites received great grace because God spoke Himself to them, but their responsibility was equally great.
On earth, they were to be the vessels of the testimony of God. Their relationship with God was according to this law. If they observed the law of God, they would be blessed. If they did not observe the law, they would be cursed.
The psalmist’s attitude toward the testimony of God is a blessed condition. But when we look at the history of the Israelites, we see that they did not observe the law of God.
When God saved the Israelites out of Egypt, after they passed through the Red Sea and journeyed toward Mount Sinai, they complained continually. They complained that they did not have good things to eat and did not have water to drink. Again and again, they sinned against God.
Yet God did not punish them. God allowed them to complain and supplied what they needed.
But after they arrived at Mount Sinai, God gave Israel His law and entrusted His testimony to them. If you read Numbers, you see that they complained as before, about what they ate and drank. The Lord still treated them with grace, but whenever they sinned, punishment came upon them.
Why? God had not changed, but before He gave them the law, He had not dealt with them according to the law or testimony. But once God gave them the law, their relationship with Him was according to that law. Whoever sinned against the law was punished.
Although our God is still full of grace and mercy, the testimony of God cannot be sinned against. Even in the Old Testament, when one violated the testimony of God, God declared Himself.
The Israelites were not punished merely because of their complaints, but because they sinned against the testimony of God. That generation could not enter into Canaan.
Even Moses sinned against the testimony of God once. The Israelites provoked him until his spirit was troubled. God had said, “Take the rod, and speak unto the rock, and water will flow out.”
But Moses, in agitation, reproached the Israelites and struck the rock twice. The rod was Aaron’s rod, which was before the ark of testimony and had budded, blossomed, and borne fruit.
When Moses struck the rock, he did not sanctify God before the people. He sinned against the testimony of God and could not enter into Canaan.
Brothers and sisters, we see how great a matter the testimony of God is. In the history of Israel, God did not entrust His testimony to the other nations.
Does this mean that God had no testimony from the beginning of the world? No. When the heavens and the earth were created, God’s testimony was in His creation.
For example, Psalm 19 says that the heavens declare the glory of God. From day unto day they utter speech, and from night unto night they show knowledge. There is no speech nor language; their voice is gone out through all the earth.
Through the heavens and earth that God created, He declares His own glory and testifies concerning Himself.
Romans 1 says that the things concerning God have been clearly seen through the things that are made. Since the creation of the world, His everlasting power and divinity are manifest.
God has already placed His testimony in the heavens and the earth that He created. Men ought to worship God because He is mighty, and His divinity reveals His character.
Although not much is revealed, God has given sufficient revelation. But men were foolish. They were not willing to believe in God or receive the testimony that God had placed in creation. Instead, they turned to idols and left God.
Finally, God appeared to Abraham. At that time, all the people of the world paid homage to idols and denied the testimony of God.
But there was one man named Abraham. The Bible says that the God of glory appeared to him. We do not know how God appeared to him.
Perhaps Abraham was looking at the heavens at night when God appeared to him. As Psalm 8 says:
When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers,
The moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained;
What is man, that Thou art mindful of him?
Perhaps at that time Abraham received this revelation from God. He believed in the one God.
For this reason, God gave the testimony to the Israelites, who were Abraham’s descendants.
But when the Israelites received this testimony, we see from their history that they did not observe the law. They violated the testimony of God.
Although God raised up many prophets to warn them and tell them to return to the testimony of God—to return to the laws of God, to righteousness, and to lovingkindness—the Israelites would not hear.
God pays attention not only to the words of the law. Even if the Israelites outwardly observed the words of the law, if they violated its essence, they violated the testimony of God.
At times, the Israelites outwardly observed the sacrifices, the festivals, and the Sabbath, but inwardly they were far away from God.
Therefore, God sent the prophet Isaiah to reprove them. God said, “I am tired of the offerings that you give.” Even the last prophet, Malachi, said the same thing.
God said, “Oh that there were one among you that would shut the doors, that ye might not kindle fire on Mine altar in vain!” Even if you do things outwardly, when inwardly you are far away from God, God is not satisfied.
Even in Old Testament times, God gave the law to the Israelites, but He paid attention to the testimony behind the law. If the testimony was lost, God was not satisfied.
The Israelites were taken captive to Babylon, and their nation was destroyed.
Brothers and sisters, we know that God’s testimony is a very grave matter. On the one hand, it is a great glory; on the other hand, it is a great responsibility.
We may take many things lightly, but when we touch the testimony of God, there are grave consequences.
If today you observe and keep the testimony of God, God’s blessing will come to you. If you violate the testimony of God, God will make it clear concerning Himself.
We see that the testimony of God is a very great matter. I think that this morning, this is where we should stop.
If the Lord permits, tomorrow morning we shall share concerning the testimony of the Lord Jesus. Let us pray.