At the beginning, it says, “Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses.” These witnesses are assigned to us.
Yesterday, at the end, we were sharing about Abraham. In Abraham’s story, he was looking—Abraham was waiting for a city with foundations. Now, in Hebrews 12, this city appears in verse 22.
But ye are come unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable hosts of angels,
to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
and to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaketh better than that of Abel.
When these witnesses finally come to the city, they find five parties. First of all, there is God, the Judge of all. Second, there is Jesus, the Mediator. Third, there is an innumerable company of angels. Fourth, there are the spirits of just men made perfect. Then there is the fifth party: the assembly of the firstborn.
I would like to call the brothers’ and sisters’ attention to these many firstborns. That is the first thing we want to share.
The second thing we would like to share today is about David. In particular, how could David receive so much revelation, especially the revelation of Jesus Christ?
I would like to read one or two verses from Psalm 139, verses 23 and 24.
Search me, O God, and know my heart:
Try me, and know my thoughts;
And see if there be any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.
Brothers and sisters, pay attention to this man David. He did not want any shadow between God and himself.
We are going to spend a little time on the apostle Paul. I thank the Lord that many of us who speak at this time are drawn to this brother Paul. Brother Dana has already shared why he was drawn by Paul: Paul sought the excellency of the knowledge of Christ.
Our dear brother also shared yesterday on Philippians 3, mentioning fellowship in the death of Christ. In the remaining time, I want to share why this brother Paul was able to receive revelation from the Lord continuously throughout his whole life.
Perhaps this can help us to seek the Lord’s revelation, to live in it, and to obey it. I would like to read a few verses from Acts 26. Brother Dana already read these verses, but because they are so important, I will read them again.
And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice saying unto me in the Hebrew language, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the goad.
I would like to underline this part: “It is hard for thee to kick against the goads.”
But arise, and stand upon thy feet: for to this end have I appeared unto thee, to appoint thee a minister and a witness both of the things wherein thou hast seen me, and of the things wherein I will appear unto thee.
To open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among them that are sanctified by faith in Me.
Let us bow down and have a word of prayer.
Lord, we come to You this afternoon. Lord, we seek Your grace. Lord, we pray that You will show us Your own face. Lord, we really need You. We know that in Your heart, You have something to tell us.
We pray that Your Holy Spirit will help us to communicate and help us to hear, that we really can receive what You are trying to tell us. Thank You, Lord. In the name of the Lord Jesus, we pray. Amen.
Yesterday, at the end, we spoke about Abraham. When we review those witnesses of old, their stories really inspire us. Abel worshipped. Enoch walked with the Lord. Noah worked for the Lord.
When we come to the story of Abraham, we see how the Lord led him to walk in a heavenly way. This heavenly way he had to walk on earth, and it was very, very difficult.
For fifty or sixty years, he did not know exactly where the Lord was leading him. The Lord corrected him on the way, and the Lord led him to experience one thing after another.
Finally, he was totally with the Lord. The whole story is bound up in his son Isaac. We thank the Lord for that.
His whole family—Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Jacob, and even Joseph—had an old country to which they could have returned, but they chose not to. They desired a better country, a heavenly one.
Dear brothers and sisters, what is the difference between this better country in heaven and their homeland on earth? There is only one difference: the God of glory.
In this heavenly country, the God of glory is there. To them, the heavenly country was a very personal relationship.
At the same time, the Bible also says that Abraham waited for a city with foundations.
It is wonderful because, while Abraham was waiting, he and his family were walking with the Lord on this heavenly way. The Bible says that the Lord was very pleased with them. He was not ashamed to be called their God.
When we want to be witnesses, there is no better praise from the Lord than for Him to say, “I am not ashamed to be called your God.”
But the Lord continued to say that He had prepared for them a city. Abraham was waiting for that city. He did not know what the Lord was doing, but the Lord had prepared a city for them.
What is the difference between a country and a city? A country is more of a personal relationship. You can say it is a family relationship.
But a city is different. A city has many people. Not only Abraham and his family are there; other people come too.
The city for which Abraham was waiting was a city with foundations. It means that it will not perish; it lasts forever.
More importantly, this city is built and made by God Himself. What does that mean? It means that it has the character of God.
Because He built it and made it, it has His character. Therefore, it is a matter of testimony. When people see that city, they think of the Builder—they think of God.
Somehow, in Abraham’s heart, he was waiting for that city. Abraham and his family so pleased the heart of God that God prepared the city for them.
Coming to Hebrews 12, this city is described to us in a very vivid way. These witnesses come into that city, and when they enter, they find five parties.
God is there. Jesus is there. Many angels are there. There are the spirits of righteous men made perfect. Then there is the fifth party: the firstborn.
What does it mean that there are spirits of righteous men made perfect? We know that the righteousness of these people is not their own. Their righteousness is the righteousness of God, and by faith they have received it. God was pleased with them and counted them righteous.
What does “perfect” mean? Perfected means being brought to the very end. If we stop along the way, we are not brought to the very end. But these righteous men were brought to the very end. Their spirits are in that city.
Then there is the fifth party: the firstborn. Who are these firstborn? I think we have to look to Jacob for the answer.
Remember that, while Jacob was at home, he longed for a relationship with God. He cheated to obtain the birthright of the firstborn, and he also cheated to receive the blessing of the firstborn. These were bad things—really bad things that he did.
Yet he did these things for a reason: he longed for a relationship with God. Of course, he was driven out from his family, and he was away for twenty years.
During those twenty years, he suffered, learned many lessons, and became prosperous. At the end of those twenty years, he ran away from his uncle.
At the place called the ford of Jabbok, he sent his wives, his children, and all his possessions across the river. Then an angel came and wrestled with him through the night.
The angel could not prevail against him. When daybreak was near, the angel said, “I have to go.” Jacob said, “No, You have to bless me.”
Jacob was not asking for another wife, another child, or another camel. He had found out that what he truly needed was a relationship with the Lord.
The angel said, “What is your name?” He answered, “My name is Jacob.” Then the angel said, “Your name shall be called Israel.”
Israel means “prince with God.” It means that, in the future, you are going to represent Me, and you will manage the inheritance. Jacob could never have imagined that this would come to him.
Four hundred years later, his descendants were suffering in Egypt. When God sent Moses to bring them out of Egypt, God told Moses, “Tell Pharaoh, ‘Let My people go, that they may serve Me. Israel is My son, My firstborn.’”
The firstborn represents an inseparable relationship with God. The firstborn cannot allow that relationship to be broken.
The firstborn also represents responsibility. He does not allow himself to be separated from the purpose of God. He must be for the purpose of God. That is the essence of the firstborn.
When we see the witnesses in Hebrews 11, they are all like this. When Abel thought about the relationship with God that his parents had lost, he wanted to regain it. He wanted to live for the Lord. The spirit of the firstborn was with him.
When the God of glory appeared to Abraham, Abraham wanted to have that relationship with God. From that time, he went out from his own country, never to return, and he walked with God wherever God led him. The spirit of the firstborn was with Abraham.
Hebrews 11 speaks about David, Samuel, and the prophets. Consider Isaiah. Isaiah’s heart was connected with God. He saw the condition of Israel and foresaw that one day they would be taken captive. He named his son “A remnant shall return.”
Thank the Lord, in the later Old Testament period, these remnants did not want anything to separate them from God. Neither did they want anything to damage the purpose of God.
Coming to the New Testament, there are the overcomers. They do not want anything to separate their relationship with God, and they do not want anything to damage the purpose of God.
Finally, in Revelation, these people are called the firstfruits. Wherever the Lamb goes, they follow the Lamb.
Here we finally come to the city, and we see these firstborn. Brothers and sisters, we have a good opportunity now. If we are willing, if we see the examples of these wonderful witnesses in the past, and if we want to walk as they walked and follow God in a heavenly way, we will end up in that city.
If we want to follow the Lamb wherever He goes, we will end up in that city. This is the wonderful thing the Spirit is telling us in Hebrews 12.
Now we change direction and look at David. In David’s story, we can find the things we see in Abel, Enoch, and Noah. But because our time is short, I want to share one thing about David.
It is amazing how clearly and specifically David saw Christ. Let us turn to Psalm 110.
The Lord saith unto my Lord,
Sit thou at My right hand,
Until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
This is a psalm of David. He saw two Lords. One is the Lord, and the other is “my Lord.” Who is this “my Lord”?
In 2 Samuel 23, David’s final words say:
Now these are the last words of David:
David the son of Jesse saith,
And the man who was raised on high saith,
The anointed of the God of Jacob,
And the sweet psalmist of Israel:
The Spirit of the Lord spake by me,
And His word was upon my tongue.
The God of Israel said,
The Rock of Israel spake to me:
One that ruleth over men righteously,
That ruleth in the fear of God,
He shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth,
A morning without clouds,
When the tender grass springeth out of the earth,
Through clear shining after rain.
At the end of David’s life, he spoke of a righteous ruler. He said, “Although my house is not so with God,” there is a ruler of righteousness. This ruler is like the morning light, like the sun rising, and like grass growing after the rain.
Who is this righteous ruler? David was king, yet he said, “My house is not like that.” This ruler guided David’s kingship all the way. That is why David could be such a king: this ruler was always in his vision and always led him on.
Consider also Psalm 133:
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brethren to dwell together in unity!
If you read through Psalm 133, you see that David saw a beautiful picture: oil coming from Aaron’s head down upon the body, and dew coming down from Hermon upon Zion.
What did David really see? He saw the reality of the body of Christ. That picture could not be found on earth, but he saw it: “How good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.”
How could David see so many things? He did not merely see broad or general things. All these pictures had a focus. That focus was Christ Jesus.
Just as Abraham’s focus was the seed, so Paul, throughout all his ministry, had this focus: Christ.
Why could David see these things so clearly? From the time he was about twenty until he was thirty, he suffered greatly. God gave him a tremendously hard time. But thank the Lord, David stayed before the Lord.
When David finally had an opportunity to kill Saul, his followers said, “The Lord has already anointed you to be king. You do not have to do anything. Let us kill him, and your problem is over.” But David said, “No. You cannot touch him. We cannot touch the Lord’s anointed.”
David even cut off the edge of Saul’s robe, but immediately his heart struck him. The Lord could discipline David in different ways and at any time.
The Lord could also use other people to correct him. Abigail could correct him. Nathan could correct him. David became David for a reason.
Why was David able to write so many psalms that help us so much? Why could he write psalms of such immense depth and width? David depended on grace.
He allowed all these things to come to him. He considered everything that came to him as discipline from the Lord. By the grace of the Lord, he accepted everything. Therefore, the Lord could work in him richly.
When we read Psalm 139, David says, “Lord, search me and know my heart. Prove me and know my thoughts. See whether there is anything wicked in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
Here is a brother who did not seek gifts; he sought grace. He depended on the grace of God, and God could do anything to him. God could ask other people to do anything to him.
Finally, in the New Testament, the Lord says, “I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who shall do all My will.” This is David’s story.
It is a great lesson to us that we ought to depend on grace rather than seek gifts. Gifts are often the mercy of God, given for His purpose. They are often tools that enable us to serve the Lord more effectively.
But the purpose of gifts is that the life of Christ, the life of God, may come out. Especially now, the life of Christ must come out. That is the purpose of our service.
How can the life of Christ grow in us? It is by grace. That is David’s story.
All the stories I have told were in the Old Testament. But when we come to the New Testament, there are many precious witnesses. There is one apostle, Paul, whose life the Bible describes in detail. This helps us see the various aspects of Paul.
When we read Acts 26, we find two things. Acts 26 records Paul’s testimony near the end of his life. He was probably about sixty years old when he gave this testimony before kings, rulers, and Jewish religious authorities.
He was telling them his own story. The first part concerns when he met the Lord on the road to Damascus. A bright light came from heaven, and a voice said, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me? It is hard for thee to kick against the goads.”
That part speaks about the past. The next part speaks about the future: “I want to send you to do something.” One part speaks about his past; the other speaks about his charge.
What were the goads? If we look at the history, there were at least three things during the years when Saul was in Jerusalem.
The first was the name of Jesus of Nazareth. This man Jesus of Nazareth came and brought people to God—the poor, the sick, the desolate, and those without hope. Jesus gave them hope and brought them to God.
All the way from Nazareth to Jerusalem, He healed the sick, made the lame walk, raised the dead, and preached the gospel to the poor. Everybody went to Him.
The problem was that He did not go through Judaism. Saul did not like that. The Bible says that Saul made up his mind to persecute and wipe out the name of Jesus.
The second goad was Stephen. Stephen said things that pierced Paul’s heart. Saul could not stand it, yet he remembered every word Stephen said.
Stephen was stoned to death, and Saul was consenting to it. Yet, later, Paul could never forget Stephen.
The third goad was the people of the Way. They were simple people whose hearts were full of Jesus. Wherever they went, they expressed the character of Jesus.
They did not follow Jewish religion; they simply followed Jesus of Nazareth. Whether Jesus was on earth or had already ascended into heaven, they followed Jesus alone. Saul did not like that, and he set his mind to persecute them.
Then, on the way to Damascus, he met the Lord. The Lord told him, “Go into the city, and someone will tell you what you must do.”
Saul was blind. Then Ananias came and told him, “The One whom you saw on the road to Damascus is the Righteous One. He is Jesus. He wants to open your eyes and fill you with the Holy Spirit.”
These were the three things Saul used to hate. But toward the end of his life, he could not forget them. These were the things that helped him so much.
The Lord gave Paul a charge: “I will appoint you to be a minister and a witness.” What was he to do? He was to tell people what he had seen.
What were the things he had seen? He had seen the goads of the past, and he had seen the Lord who appeared to him from heaven and said, “I am Jesus.”
Before, he hated the goads. He hated the name of Jesus of Nazareth. But now he remembered the people he had formerly called goads, and Jesus was the One he served.
What he had seen was no longer merely a matter of outward observation. It had become revelation. The Way and Jesus of Nazareth now appeared to him in an entirely different light. What had been his enemy had become his inheritance.
The charge also said, “I will reveal Myself to you.” The Lord was telling Paul, “You must bring to people what you have seen, and in the future I will continue to reveal things to you. Then you must bring those things to people.”
What was the purpose of bringing these things to people? It was to open their eyes. The Lord’s charge to Paul was to open eyes.
Paul’s own eyes had to be opened. In the future, the Lord would continue to reveal things to him, so his eyes had to remain open. When he brought these things to others, their eyes also had to be opened.
This opening of eyes was Paul’s experience and his charge. When I read Acts 26 this time, it struck me that Paul’s whole ministry was to open eyes.
How did he carry out that ministry? His own eyes had to remain open. The basis was revelation, and the purpose was revelation. The whole thing was revelation. The whole thing was opened eyes.
Why is this important to us? When we go out to be witnesses, can we witness to something we have not seen? No. We can only witness to what we have seen.
This is a spiritual matter. What we see is not merely physical; it is spiritual. It is revelation. We can only witness to others what God has revealed to us.
Strictly speaking, we cannot simply say, “I am telling you this because the Bible says so.” God must have said it to us personally. The Spirit has to prove it within us. Then we are fully convinced that it is true.
We often read the Bible, attend Bible studies, and hear messages at conferences. But we cannot remain merely at the point that the Bible has spoken to us or that a certain brother has spoken to us. We must ask the Lord, “Finally, are You speaking this to me?”
The Holy Spirit has to speak it to us. This requires us to be extremely humble.
Paul’s whole life and ministry were about revelation. The Lord told him, “There are things I am going to reveal to you.” That was the basis of his ministry.
When we look at Paul’s history, he must have paid extreme attention to revelation. Unless the Lord spoke to him, unless the Holy Spirit spoke to him, he would not take it as something upon which he could build.
Remember, the Lord said, “I will continue to reveal to you.” That was said at Paul’s conversion. During the next thirty years, Paul wrote thirteen letters. The content of what the Lord revealed to him is in those thirteen letters.
He was faithful. We thank the Lord that he continued to seek revelation, wait for revelation, and obey revelation.
Think about Enoch, of whom we spoke yesterday. For three hundred years he walked with the Lord. At the end, the Lord was pleased with him. The Lord continued to reveal things to him day after day, month after month, and year after year for three hundred years.
Enoch was not passive. The Bible says that God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. That is Enoch’s example.
When we come back to Paul, Paul was exactly like that. Throughout those thirty years, he diligently sought the Lord. He never stopped. Nothing could make him stop, and nothing could make him doubt.
There were other things Paul required of himself so that he could become a vessel with capacity. I would put them in three aspects:
All these things have to do with Paul being a vessel able to receive revelation.
How did Paul look at the Lord? There are two aspects. First, the love of Christ constrained him. Second, he pursued the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus.
There are three unusual places in the Bible that speak about the love of Christ. The first is 1 Corinthians 13.
I have always been amazed when it says that love bears all things, believes all things, and endures all things. I think these were Paul’s own experiences.
Human love can endure only what is endurable, and it can believe only what is believable. But the Lord bore with Saul, and the people of the Way bore with him.
Saul was a persecutor, a hard-hearted Pharisee, absolutely determined to persecute them. Yet the Lord bore with him. The people of the Way came to him and said, “Brother Saul.” This must have been overwhelming for him.
The Lord Jesus believed that one day Saul would change. These people, whom Saul did not call brothers and sisters but merely “the Way,” also believed that one day this man Saul would change.
This was Paul’s personal experience. The love of Christ is so different from worldly love. This love comes with revelation.
It takes revelation to see this kind of life. It is agape; it is God’s love. The wonder is that it can come to us through Christ, through our Lord Jesus.
This is what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13. In Galatians 2:20, he says, “He loved me, and gave Himself up for me.”
I think this is why Paul could say, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me.” Why could he say that? Because Christ loved him and gave Himself for him. The love of Christ changed him completely.
In 2 Corinthians 5, Paul says, “The love of Christ constraineth us.” He considered that One died for all, therefore all died. Now we no longer live for ourselves; we live for the One who died and rose again for us.
Because of the love of Christ, we have a new direction in life. We no longer live for ourselves. We live for the One who died and rose again for us.
Because of the love of Christ, Paul also saw the power of death and resurrection. The One who died and rose for us is the power that propels us for the rest of our lives.
Why is the love of Christ so important to revelation? Romans 5:5 says that the Holy Spirit given to us has shed abroad the love of God in our hearts.
The Holy Spirit has a purpose. One purpose is to shed abroad the love of God in our hearts. The same Holy Spirit has another purpose: He is the Spirit of wisdom and revelation.
His other purpose is to give us revelation and to open the eyes of our hearts. If the love of Christ comes to us and we do not resist it but open ourselves to it, then the Holy Spirit comes in.
When the Holy Spirit comes in in a large measure, He reveals Christ to us. Therefore, the love of Christ is so important.
Allow me to give you a little testimony. When I was young, I went to a conference. At that time, I loved the Lord, but I did not understand many parts of the Bible. Hebrews was one of the hardest books for me to understand.
That year, at the conference, a sister led an afternoon meeting and spoke about the cross. I knew that the Lord Jesus died for everyone in the world, and I knew that He was great because He died for everyone.
But that day, the Spirit showed me that He died on the cross for me. It changed me. I thank the Lord for that.
It was as though a little window opened in my heart, and the Spirit came to me.
After that conference, I regularly attended a Bible study. One afternoon, I arrived too early. I sat in the park on the grass, opened my Bible, and turned to Hebrews.
It was amazing. Within ten minutes, I turned one page after another. Every page I turned, a few words or phrases would come out and jump at me. That was the beginning of my understanding of the book of Hebrews.
We have to humble ourselves before the Lord. The Holy Spirit is eager to shed abroad the love of Christ in our hearts.
When we let the love of Christ come in, the Holy Spirit comes in also. He finds freedom in us, and He begins to open everything.
The second thing about how Paul saw the Lord Jesus was the excellency of Christ. Paul pursued Him without end.
When Paul wrote Philippians 3, he had already written Romans, Galatians, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, and 1 Thessalonians and 2 Thessalonians. Around that same time, he had written, or was about to write, Ephesians and Colossians.
We might ask Brother Paul, “Is there anything more about Jesus that you do not know?” Yet here he says, “That I may know Him.”
To Paul, Christ was so great, so immense, that it was impossible to know Him fully. This was Paul’s heart, and this is why the Lord could lead him forward.
If we were in a Bible study with Paul, perhaps five years later we would still be there, moving only a little. Paul would be far ahead of us in knowing Christ.
May the Lord have mercy on us so that we may have that ambition and that capacity. Christ is unlimited, and it pleases God to reveal Him to us.
The second area is how Paul required himself before God. I think there are three things. First, he required himself to be absolutely honest before God.
There are four times in four different books where Paul says, “I do not lie.” In 2 Corinthians 11, he says, “The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, He who is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not.” He says similar things in Galatians and 1 Timothy.
Sometimes this sounds like a trivial matter, but why was it so important to Paul? I think Paul did not want any shadow between himself and the Lord.
When Adam and Eve sinned, the Lord came into the garden and asked, “Where art thou?” The Lord knew exactly where Adam was. The Lord knew exactly what had happened. The Lord knew exactly what was in Adam’s heart.
Why did the Lord ask him that question? The Lord was giving him an opportunity to tell the truth, an opportunity to be sincere before the Lord.
Unfortunately, Adam gave an excuse: “The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.” That must have saddened the heart of God.
We ought to be absolutely honest before the Lord. It comforts me to know that whether I lie to Him or am honest with Him, He knows me inside and out anyway.
He wants to give us the opportunity to be honest with Him so that we can come back to Him. At night, simply tell the Lord what happened: “Lord, this thing happened.”
Let there be no shadow between the Lord and you. Is there anything you do not want to tell the Lord? If there is, I think revelation will stop, because we do not give Him freedom to tell us things.
The second thing Paul required of himself was that he was a bondservant. He said this many times.
The major matter about a bondservant is that the Master is always right. Even if I do not understand, I want to understand, but He is always right. I cannot consider myself; I must consider Him.
In my own little experience, I have found that unless I read 2 Timothy from the point of view of a bondservant, I cannot really understand it.
If I ask, “Lord, what is in this book for me? What blessing can I find in this book for me?” I cannot understand the book. The reason is that 2 Timothy is from one bondservant to another bondservant, and it is about being a bondservant.
The same is true of Revelation. The book of Revelation was written by a bondservant, John, to many bondservants. If I do not look at it from the point of view of a bondservant, I will not understand it.
If you ask, “What is in this book for me?” you probably will not understand it, because “me” is not important. A bondservant knows that only He is important. Only His mind is important.
Another point is that Paul depended on grace, not on gifts. This is the same as David.
We often use the verse, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for My power is made perfect in weakness,” in a broad way. There is nothing wrong with that. But Paul wrote this verse in the context of revelation.
Paul said that fourteen years earlier the Lord had brought him to the third heaven. But because the Lord did not want him to become proud, a thorn was given to him.
The Lord’s grace was sufficient, and His power was perfected in weakness. Paul was saying that, although the third-heaven experience was thirteen or fourteen years earlier, the Lord would continue to give him revelation. He had to continue in obedience to that revelation.
The Lord did not want him to become proud, so there was a thorn. Yet His grace was sufficient. Whenever Paul was weak, he was strong. He could still walk with the Lord, still lift his eyes to heaven, and still receive revelation. He could not complain.
Lastly, how did Paul look at his fellow believers? First, Paul never thought of himself as separate from the body of Christ. He never thought of himself as above the body of Christ. He was always one of the body.
In Philippians 3, after speaking about seeking and pursuing the Lord, Paul says, “Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, be thus minded.” He did not think that only he could seek the Lord in that way. He believed that all of us could do the same thing.
At the end of 2 Timothy, Paul says, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith.” He says there is a crown of righteousness reserved for him, but he does not stop there. He says that the same crown is reserved for all who love His appearing.
In Philippians 2, Paul says, “Your faith is a sacrifice to God, and I will be poured out as a drink offering upon your sacrifice.” He did not think that he was so great that he had a different sacrifice. He wanted to pour himself out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice of the brothers and sisters.
One love, one mind, one sacrifice. Why is this so important to revelation? It is God’s heart and God’s purpose.
The Father had this thought in Psalm 133. The Lord prayed in John 17, “That they may all be one; even as We are one.” Oneness is the work of the Holy Spirit.
Here is a brother whose whole heart and mind were for the unity of the body. God found in him someone upon whom He could pour out His heart.
Finally, at three different stages of his life, Paul said, “I am the least.”
The first time is in 1 Corinthians 15. He says, “Among the apostles, I am the least.” This was not mere diplomacy. He had a reason: the other apostles saw the Lord first, and the Lord sent them first. Therefore, he considered himself the last.
Five years later, when he wrote Ephesians, he said, “I am less than the least of all saints.” He had a reason. The riches and mystery of God had been revealed to the apostles and prophets, but these things were accessible to all the saints.
Paul considered himself the least because the saints were ahead of him. Yet God gave him grace to bring the mystery of God to the nations.
About two years later, in 1 Timothy, he said, “I am the chief of sinners.” He had persecuted the church while he was ignorant. Yet, no matter what, he had sinned against God.
Paul said that God wanted to use him as an example to show His patience and mercy. Paul was saying, “Although I am not good, God is a God of mercy and patience. I am that example.”
His spirit was so humble, just like his Master. His Master emptied Himself, and Paul also emptied himself. As a result, he became an empty vessel before the Lord.
The Holy Spirit could fill him. The love of Christ could flow through him to others. The revelation of God could be deposited in him.
The wonderful gospel for the poor, the desolate, and the hopeless could be entrusted to him.
Our brother Paul was such a humble vessel, such a diligent pursuer of the Lord, and such a receiver of the love of Christ.
In him, you can find Abel’s lamb. In his pursuit, you can see the pursuit of Enoch. In his whole life’s work, you can see the work of Noah. In the whole purpose of this man, you can see the seed that Abraham saw.
Praise God. He is all wisdom. He is all patience. He knew exactly what He was doing through the generations and through so many people.
Today, I believe the Lord is seeking you and me to be His witnesses—the kind of witnesses that He wants.
Lord, we thank You, and we really praise You. Lord, we thank You because You have looked upon us. You have an expectation for us to be Your witnesses.
We praise You because Your way is so wonderful. Lord, we pray that Your grace will be with all the brothers and sisters here.
By ourselves, we will surely come short. Lord, we depend on Your mind, Your purpose, and Your grace. Thank You, Lord. In the name of the Lord Jesus, we pray. Amen.