We thank the Lord that we have another chance to read His Word.
Let us first turn to the Bible, the book of Acts. We will go back to Acts 20 and start reading from verse 25.
And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I went about preaching the kingdom, shall see my face no more.
Wherefore I testify unto you this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men.
For I shrank not from declaring unto you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly, and from house to house.
Take heed unto yourselves, and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit hath made you bishops, to feed the church of God, which He purchased with His own blood.
I know that after my departing grievous wolves shall enter in among you, not sparing the flock;
and from among your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.
Wherefore watch ye, remembering that by the space of three years I ceased not to admonish every one night and day with tears.
And now I commend 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 them that are sanctified.
Please read Acts 20:32 again.
And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them that are sanctified.
We thank the Lord that yesterday we shared the word of life. What is the word of life based upon? It is based upon our Lord Jesus Himself, who is the Word.
As John introduced our Lord Jesus, he said:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The same was in the beginning with God.
In Him was life; and the life was the light of men.
This life is the true light, which enlightens every man. He came into the world, and the world was made through Him, yet they did not receive Him because they knew Him not.
But all those who receive Him are those who believe. God gives them the right to become children of God.
God tells us that in Him is life, and this life is light. If we receive this light, we receive life, and we have the right to become the children of God.
As our Lord Jesus said to Nicodemus:
That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Our Lord Jesus said that His words are spirit and life. When man receives this, he shall be born again.
Peter also tells us that we are born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible seed.
That is the word of the eternal God. Flesh and blood are like grass, and all their beauty is like the flower of the grass. The grass withereth, and the flower falleth away, but the Word of God is eternal. This is the gospel which is preached unto you.
This was what the early disciples preached to the early church: the word of life. When we receive this word of life, we receive life.
Our Lord Jesus says that He has come so that we shall have life.
Today we will share concerning this: after we have received this life, we still have some way to go. After we are saved, it is not as some would think—that now we are saved, we shall never perish, and that is all. After we are saved, what shall we do?
The words in Acts 20, which we just read, are the words Paul shared with the elders in Ephesus when he called them from Miletus.
Paul had spent the space of three years in Ephesus, feeding the flock there and warning them night and day with tears.
The words Paul gave them were not only the words he had always preached concerning the word of life. He also preached to them the word of His grace.
Paul realized that after his departing, grievous wolves would enter among them. These wolves would come from outside, and they would not spare the flock. They would eat the sheep.
Even from among themselves, some would arise to speak perverse things. These perverse things are things that are not according to the Word of God, things that cause people to depart from the Word of the Lord.
At that time, Paul and the brethren did not see anything inappropriate among them. At that time, they really loved one another.
Paul warned them that they would see his face no longer. As they prayed together, they knelt, embraced one another, and wept.
Why is it that, in this kind of situation, some would arise from among themselves and speak things to make disciples after themselves? This was a revelation by the Holy Spirit. Externally, everything may appear fine.
But by the revelation of the Holy Spirit, Paul knew that some would arise from among them and speak perverse things, causing the flock to depart from the true way. These matters would come from the church itself.
Then what should they do? Paul said, “I commend you to God, and to the word of His grace.”
What is the difference between the word of life and the word of His grace? When you receive the word of life, you receive life. You are born again. Now there is the word of His grace.
The word of His grace can build you up so that you can have an inheritance with those who are sanctified.
The gospel which Paul preached was a complete gospel. It saved sinners from sin for God’s purpose. God’s purpose is to build them up so that they shall become God’s inheritance.
In the past, I thought that God’s inheritance was in heaven, something very great that we could all go there to receive and enjoy.
I thought of the Lord’s words:
Let not your heart be troubled: believe in God, believe also in Me.
In My Father’s house are many abiding places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I come again, and will receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
When I heard this, I said, “Lord, this is great. You are preparing a place, and after You have prepared it, You will receive me. I have received Your word of life. I have life already. I am a child of God. So after You have prepared it, I can go. I am just waiting.”
But after I read what Paul wrote in Ephesians 1, I saw how great the riches of God are and how glorious His inheritance is.
Then I began to see that we are not merely going to receive an inheritance in heaven. How is it that we have become His inheritance?
God’s salvation for us indeed has a purpose. Apart from us, there is no other place for God to dwell. If none of us can be the dwelling place of God, then where will God dwell?
God does not dwell in temples made with human hands. We are the temple of God. If each one of us cannot become the temple of God, then He would not have a temple.
God is building us up as His holy temple. We are the temple made by Him; we are the land which He is cultivating.
If someone cultivates land and the land bears no fruit, what use is that land?
God was disappointed with the Israelites. He made a garden and planted a vine there, planting good seed. But the grapes that vine bore were not fit to eat.
A tree that does not bear good fruit is not a good tree. If God cultivates us as His land, and after a long period of cultivation we bear no fruit, would He not be disappointed?
In the same way, if God builds a house and, after He has built it, cannot dwell in it, what use is that house?
All that God does is eternal. The life which He grants us is eternal, and His desire to dwell in us is for eternity. Anything that cannot be eternal, God cannot use.
Therefore, God uses the word of His grace to build us up.
The word of His grace is mentioned several times in the Scriptures. Grace is often mentioned, but what about “the word of His grace”?
John’s introduction to our Lord Jesus is very special and unique. Matthew, Mark, and Luke also introduced the Lord Jesus, but John’s introduction is completely different from the other three. He said, “In the beginning was the Word.”
John continues by saying:
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
For of His fulness we all received, and grace for grace.
Our Lord Jesus is the Word, and He is also the Word of His grace. He has come to give us life, and to give us life abundantly.
The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth. From His fulness we have received grace upon grace.
To be truthful, today I want to share with you some of my experiences—how I came to know the word of His grace. What I bring to you is homemade. I am from the village.
Where I come from, eggplants are long. But when I went to another place, I discovered that their eggplants were round. I asked, “What kind of vegetable is this?” They told me, “It is eggplant.” I said, “No, eggplants are long!”
Sometimes, because of our own experience, we think that everything is the same. For me, eggplants are long, but perhaps in your experience they are round.
What I share with you is my own experience. But even though it may be different from your experience, let me tell you: it is true.
Grace is very important.
If you read all the epistles of Paul, there is a special characteristic. He always mentions, “Grace and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
But when he wrote to Timothy, there was something different. In the other epistles, it is grace and peace; but to Timothy, mercy is added: “Grace, mercy, and peace.”
What is the meaning of the word of His grace? How can it build you up?
Sometimes when we read the words spoken by the Lord, we stop at the first half and do not go on.
For instance, we speak of the Great Commission:
All authority hath been given unto Me in heaven and on earth.
Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Many would stop there and say that the Great Commission is to preach the gospel. But our Lord did not finish speaking. He went on:
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.
There is a special point concerning the word of His grace. If I am wrong, you can correct me. When you receive the word of life, there is one condition: if you believe, you receive it.
But with His gracious words, you must do. You have heard; you must do.
Many are willing to hear the word of life. When you preach the gospel, you urge people: “How come you do not believe? God has prepared all things for you. All you have to do is believe. It is free grace. You do not need to pay any price.”
The price has been paid. All you have to do is believe. Many may say, “Okay, I shall believe. I do not have to take a loss.”
But after they believe, some discover that something seems wrong. After you believe in the Lord, you have to give an offering. Then you have to go the way of the cross. You have to give things up. Once you go this way, you cannot turn back.
Then they may ask, “How come you did not tell me this earlier? If you had told me earlier, I might have considered whether to believe or not.”
“You said the price was paid and I did not need to pay anything—just believe. Now you tell me not to love the world, to go the narrow way, and that I cannot turn back.”
To be truthful, when I believed in the Lord, I thought all I needed was to be born again. I did not have that vision. I thought that now that I was born again, that was the highest thing.
Later I discovered that without the word of His grace, we cannot be built up.
At that time, I did not understand what it meant to be built up. I did not know anything about Christ as the Head and the church as the Body.
There is a hymn that says, “Jesus is all the world to me.” I questioned it. Jesus is my Saviour. He is my Lord. But how can He be all my world? I did not understand this.
Gradually, God brought me to a point where I finally discovered that there was still much I needed to know.
Before, when I read the Bible, there were certain passages that I really loved to read:
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
But there were other passages that I had to think about. For instance, to deny myself, take up the cross, and follow Him.
When I read Matthew 5 and Matthew 6, where it says that if your eye causes you to sin, you should gouge it out and throw it away, or if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off—these matters were hard for me.
It was also hard for me when someone strikes you and you have to turn the other cheek to him.
Even some of Paul’s words were hard for me to understand. Paul asked those brothers who were in a lawsuit, “How come you are not willing to take a loss?”
Perhaps we would ask Paul, “Why should I take a loss?”
At the time, I thought that some verses in the Bible I had to say “Amen” to, but some verses in Matthew 5 and Matthew 6 were too high for me. I thought perhaps they were useful only in heaven.
If someone struck my cheek in heaven, perhaps I could turn the other cheek. But if these words are true now, then I would be in trouble. Sometimes my eyes cause me to sin—not only one eye. Would I have to take both eyes out?
My hands cause me to sin. Would I have to cut them off? If my feet cause me to err, would I have to cut them off? Then what would I become? I would have died. I truly did not understand.
When the Jews did not understand the Lord Jesus saying that they must eat His flesh and drink His blood, they said, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat and His blood to drink? This is too hard. Who can understand?”
If I did not understand, I would just walk away. But the Lord said:
It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I have spoken unto you are spirit, and are life.
Indeed, the old man has to come to an end. If our old man is crucified with the Lord, then we will commit much less sin. The Lord is not literally telling us to take out our eyes.
There is a day when our hands cannot be used according to the old man, because our old man has been crucified with the Lord. It has been nailed to the cross. It has completely come to an end.
Some people, when they are baptized, put their hands up when they are submerged. It is as though they are saying, “You can bury all my body except this hand. I must keep it.”
Brothers and sisters, there are many times when we do not listen to the word of His grace, and therefore we cannot be built up.
Some say, “I would offer my body as a living sacrifice to God.” That is good.
When God wanted Moses to build the tabernacle, He needed materials. Moses had a vision, according to the pattern shown to him on the mountain. Without this vision, the tabernacle could not be built.
It is just like building a house: you must have a blueprint. But if you only have the blueprint and the vision, and no materials, you cannot build the house.
Moses told the Israelites that they had to build the tabernacle. Some had to work, and some had to offer. They needed gold, silver, bronze, wood, fine linen, blue and purple and scarlet thread, goats’ hair, rams’ skins, and skins for the covering.
If they did not have these materials, they could not build it. They had to bring all the materials—gold, silver, and all the rest.
When we offer something to God, we do not know what kind of material it is. Perhaps the gold is in the form of an earring or a bracelet. Perhaps the silver is in some other form. But if you offer it as it is, it is not yet usable.
God called workers to build the tabernacle. After God received all the materials, the gold had to be melted together.
Then the workers had to shape and form the gold into the golden lampstand and the other articles of gold.
Brothers and sisters, if you offer yourself for God’s use, He will change you. Otherwise, you cannot be useful to Him.
I think this may be our difficulty in becoming one Body. When you offer yourself, God has to do much work upon you.
What work is this? Who does this work? It is the word of His grace.
In Matthew 5, Matthew 6, and Matthew 7, our Lord Jesus said at the end:
Every one therefore that heareth these words of Mine, and doeth them, shall be likened unto a wise man, who built his house upon the rock:
and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon the rock.
The rock is Christ.
But our Lord also said:
Every one that heareth these words of Mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand:
and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and smote upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall thereof.
Paul also tells us that there is no other foundation than Jesus Christ. When we build, we must be careful.
Some build with gold, silver, and precious stones. Others build with wood, hay, and stubble. After it is built, it must go through the testing of fire.
After the testing of fire, the gold, silver, and precious stones remain. These are materials that can be used in the building of the New Jerusalem.
But the wood, hay, and stubble are burned up. Those materials cannot be used in building the New Jerusalem.
Such a person may be saved, but he suffers great loss, because he has nothing when he goes to the Lord.
The Lord warns us that not everyone who calls Him “Lord, Lord” shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but those who do the will of the Father.
Many shall say to Him in that day:
Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy by Thy name, and by Thy name cast out demons, and by Thy name do many mighty works?
But the Lord will say:
I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.
We love to hear that as long as you believe in Jesus, whether you are good or bad, you will have a portion in the New Jerusalem. But Paul warns us again and again that idolatry, greed, covetousness, and all evil matters have no part in the kingdom of God.
The word of His grace can build us up so that we can have an inheritance with those who are sanctified.
The Lord’s gracious words require us to do and keep His commandments. When you do so, you shall gain the blessing.
As a personal experience, the word of His grace must be obeyed and kept. When you hear and do it, then you shall gain the goodness of it.
We say that we love the Lord. How do we love the Lord? Our Lord tells us:
He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me: and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself unto him.
Who are those to whom the Lord manifests Himself? They are those who have His commandments and keep them. This is the requirement of the word of His grace.
What is grace? Grace is that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth. This gracious word can build us up and guide us. There is grace, and there is truth.
In 2 Corinthians, the final verse is one we often use:
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.
How do these gracious words teach us? The teaching of the anointing which we have received abides within us. This teaching is true; it is not false. The anointing teaches us, not by the teaching of man.
This is His gracious word: in His fulness there is grace and truth. The teaching of the anointing teaches us all things.
How did I gradually come to experience His gracious words? Regarding His gracious words, you not only have to believe; you must keep and obey.
For me, something very precious was reading Andrew Murray’s book Abide in Christ. It was one of the first books he wrote. It has about thirty-one chapters, and you read one chapter each day.
When I read that book, I was in college. I read it slowly. After reading what he wrote, he told us what to do.
He said this is the commandment of the Lord Jesus: “You must abide in Me.”
It is a commandment. You must keep it. At that time, I had a simple faith. If it was a commandment, I would obey it.
I knelt before the Lord and prayed, “Lord, to abide in You is Your commandment, and I want to abide in You.”
I had a very deep impression that, if you are to abide in the Lord, you must have absolute surrender. You must completely surrender.
I said to the Lord, “Lord, I surrender. How do I surrender?”
To surrender is to abide in the Lord, and the Lord abides in me. Any time He has a commandment, I would say yes.
He also tells us that we have to be humble, because apart from Him we can do nothing. We have to rely upon Him for everything. I said, “Yes, Lord, I will rely on You.”
Day by day, I followed what I had read. If I obey His commandments, His words abide in me. The words of the Lord do not merely remain as something memorized in my head.
Then I enjoyed the presence of the Lord. His presence was so sweet.
I enjoyed the Lord’s presence to the point that whatever He wanted me to say, I would not speak; and whatever He wanted me to do, I would do.
If He wanted me to think something, I would think it. If not, I would not. This is not easy, right?
But when you abide in the Lord, His word comes to take the place of your heart.
David wrote that the blessed man delights in the law of the Lord and meditates upon it day and night. According to ourselves, we cannot meditate upon His words day and night.
But when you have absolute surrender before the Lord, and you kneel before Him and pray, “Lord, abide in me,” then His word shall take the place of your thoughts.
I do not know whether you have had this experience: when you wake up in the morning, you feel the presence of God greatly with you. But after a while, after breakfast, perhaps half of it is gone; after a little longer, it seems as though it is all gone.
When I go to certain places, brothers and sisters ask me, “Can we have fellowship with God while playing ball?”
Indeed, this is by the grace of God. It is not because I am better than anyone else. But by His grace, at one point His presence was with me even while I was in class.
I entered into class with the presence of God. The teacher was teaching, and I was taking notes. It was very amazing.
As the teacher conducted the class and I took notes, I was clear-minded, yet my fellowship with the Lord had not been broken. I could continue to have fellowship with Him.
I was not even clear how this was possible, but it is indeed true.
Later, a fellow student came to me. An upperclassman had asked him about another student, giving him three characteristics.
The first was that he had a flat-top haircut. The second was that he wore a long coat. At that time, we all wore long coats. The third was that he was always smiling.
My fellow student thought the last point was very special. You cannot easily find someone who is smiling the whole day. So he came to me and said, “It must be you, because you are always smiling.”
Later I realized that as long as something is the truth, it is practical. It is real. As long as you do according to it, you will gain it.
I thought Andrew Murray was very great because he was able to write this, and I was able to follow what he wrote and enjoy the presence of God.
Later, when I read the biography of Andrew Murray, I found that he wrote that many of the principles in Abide in Christ had not yet been experienced by him personally when he wrote the book. I was very amazed.
How could he write it without having experienced it, yet I was able truly to experience it?
Brothers and sisters, I feel there is one important thing here. Sometimes we hear someone preach very high doctrine and say, “What a great vision he is preaching.” We may think that because he can preach such a vision, he must have experienced it. Not necessarily.
But if it is truth, will it bring forth fruit? It will. Whether that person has truly experienced it or not, as long as it is truth, it will be realized.
Paul said that he dealt harshly with his body so that, when he preached to others, he himself would not be rejected.
He dealt with his body so that the body would submit to him. When he preached to others, it was not merely the word of life; it was the word of grace.
When you do the word of His grace, you shall gain it. If you do it, you shall be built up.
If you do not do it, it is very possible that you may preach it to others. They may gain it, but if you do not do it, then you have lost it.
This is the difference from the word of life when we preach the gospel. In order for you to be built up, it is by the word of His grace.
When I read something, I simply followed it. I was just following it innocently. Sometimes when someone is too wise, he does not receive grace.
At home, when I was very young, they gave me a nickname. It did not sound very nice, because I was the fourth child. They called me “foolish number four.”
They called me that because whenever my older brothers told me to do something, I did whatever they said.
One time, after my brother had urinated, he told me that it could be used to fertilize the flowers. He told me to take it and pour it on the flowers.
The bucket was too full. As I was about to take it to the flowers, he said, “Forget it. Just throw it away.” Whatever they told me, I would do. All the bad ideas they gave me, I went and did.
But I did have one good point: I was very honest. My father was very fierce, and when we did something wrong, he would discipline us physically.
One night, it was raining heavily, with lightning and thunder. In the daytime, we had not emptied the bucket. At night, when it was dark, we were afraid to do so.
My brothers told me to go and pour it out. They said that because the rain was so heavy, no one would hear anything.
We lived on the second floor, and it was dark and scary to go downstairs. So I listened to them. They were wiser than me. I poured it out from the second floor.
It was true that when I poured it out from the second floor, I did not hear the sound. But you could smell the odor.
My father had a great sense of smell. He came screaming, “Who was pouring out the urine?” I said, “It was me.”
He asked, “Whose idea was it?” Yet I did not betray my brothers. I said, “That was me.” That was how I got my nickname.
But when you obey the Word of God, even if you are a little innocent or foolish, that is fine. You will not be at a disadvantage, because none of the words God gives us is bad.
When I was in college, there was one time I thought that we should go the way of the cross. If you are to follow Him, you must give up all to follow Him.
I said, “Yes, I am willing to do so.” Then another voice came—not audibly, but from within.
The voice said, “Why are you so foolish to go the way of the cross? If you do so, you will suffer much. The one who wrote the book—did he do so? Did they tell you to suffer? Do they suffer themselves?”
The voice was telling me to be a little wiser.
I said to the voice, “Whether the person who wrote the book did it or not, I do not care. As long as it is the Word of God, I will obey.”
If you obey the Word of the Lord, you will not struggle with God over a minor matter.
What I discovered later was that what is most important is that God wants us to obey His Word. It is His word of grace. His requirement is that we have absolute obedience to Him.
Even though we may have absolute obedience to His Word, we may lack knowledge of His Word. At that time, I did not have a complete understanding of the Lord. But as long as I knew that the Lord had said it, I would obey.
Then one day, the Lord indeed gave me a vision. This vision gave me much knowledge and a greater vision concerning the Lord.
The Lord tells us:
Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.
We must take His yoke, learn of Him, deny ourselves, take up the cross, and follow Him.
I said, “Lord, fine. No matter what, I am willing. Place Your yoke upon my shoulders, and I will go forward slowly. You may take the whip behind me. If I go wrong, You can strike me. If I go astray, You can hit me.”
I was willing to do so. In my thought, I had the yoke upon my shoulders, and I was walking while He held something to strike me with if I went astray. I dared not look back because I did not know what He was holding.
Yet while I was walking, I felt at ease.
Then I thought, “How come I am an ox, and suddenly there is another ox beside me?” This other ox beside me was leading me.
When I looked at the ox, I said, “Lord, that is You. Lord, how come You are beside me? I thought You would be behind me.”
The Lord said, “Take My yoke and learn of Me.”
When I saw the Lord beside me, I was moved. Because He was beside me, the yoke was light.
He was so gentle, and He went so steadfastly, because He bore the same burden.
Brothers and sisters, when the Lord has any requirement upon us, He will not depart from us.
We must see that all His requirements, strict as they may seem, are for the purpose of building us up and establishing us, so that we may have an inheritance with those who are sanctified.
May the Lord open our eyes so that we may truly know Him.
Dear Lord Jesus, how much You love us.
But we are not mindful of Your heart. Sometimes we feel that Your requirements are too harsh.
But Lord Jesus, if we do not obey Your words, then our building is not secure.
If we do not obey the teaching of the anointing, then we are not walking in the will of God. Indeed, we praise and thank You.
The anointing which You grant is real and true, and not false. It teaches us all things.
If we forget, the teaching of the anointing will remind us of all the words that You have taught us.
Your words are spirit and life. Lord, You also tell us that we must abide in You. Your life shall be with us always, so that we may have the strength of life and may be quickened.
So that we may escape all the falsehoods that are from Satan, we praise and thank You. We cannot say it clearly.
May the Holy Spirit reveal Your life and reveal Your glorious self to us. We truly desire to come before You and to desire You.
Dear Lord, may You truly gain those whom You desire to gain. In Jesus Christ’s name.