Message Eight—The Divine Dispensing in the Ministry of Peter, Jude, and James

THE THIRD PART: 24 CRUCIAL LINES IN THE BIBLE

The Divine Dispensing
Message Eight—The Divine Dispensing in the Ministry of Peter, Jude, and James

Scripture Reading: Acts 3:13; 2 Pet. 1:17; Acts 3:15; 2:36; 10:36; 2 Pet. 1:1; 3:18; 1 Pet. 1:19; 2:4, 7, 25; 5:4; 2:9; 1:18; 4:17; 5:2; 3:7; 4:10; 2 Pet. 1:3-4; 1 Pet. 5:10

I. Compared to Paul’s writings, Peter’s are very brief; yet the crucial points in his writings are very similar to the crucial points in Paul’s writings; Paul, though, had at least two particular points which Peter did not mention—1 Pet. 1:11; 4:14; 2 Pet. 1:4:

A. Paul specifically told us that the church is the Body of Christ; He also told us that Christ as the last Adam became a life-giving Spirit, and that the Lord is the Spirit; Peter never told us this, though he mentioned the Spirit of Christ, and the Spirit of glory and of God; this indicates that according to Peter’s understanding the Spirit of God in the New Testament age has become the Spirit of Christ, and the Spirit of Christ is the Spirit of glory—Eph. 1:23; 1 Cor. 15:45b; 2 Cor. 3:17; 1 Pet. 1:11; 4:14.

B. Peter also has one precious point which Paul did not mention, that is, we are the partakers of the divine nature; this item in the Bible is a big diamond—2 Pet. 1:4.

C. Surely the biggest blessing in the whole universe is that we can partake of God’s nature and essence; this is far beyond our understanding and even the more is far beyond our ability to speak—2 Pet. 1:4.

D. We are children of God; we have been born of the divine life, and within the divine life there is the divine nature; now we are partaking of this nature and enjoying this nature unintentionally—John 1:12; 2 Pet. 1:4.

II. The aspects of Christ ministered by Peter for the dispensing of God into us—2 Pet. 1:1; Acts 3:13; 1 Pet. 5:10:

A. Peter ministered Christ as God; the main purpose of God being our Savior is so that He may dispense Himself into us as our life—2 Pet. 1:1.

B. Peter also ministered Christ as the Son of God; such a Son of God is for the dispensing of God’s life—Acts 3:13; 2 Pet. 1:17.

C. Peter said that the Jewish leaders had killed the Author of life, but that God had raised Him up; eventually their killing of the Author of life helped God’s dispensing—Acts 3:15.

D. He is the Lord of all people so that He might give eternal life to them; to have the authority over all flesh means to be the Lord of all the people so that He might give eternal life to them—Acts 2:36; 10:36.

E. Actually Christ is the agent of God’s dispensing, who carries out God’s dispensing by being the anointed One to anoint every one whom God has chosen—1 John 2:27.

F. Jesus is our Savior, not just to save us from our sins, but also to dispense the eternal life into our being for our subjective salvation—2 Pet. 1:1; 3:18.

G. According to Peter, Christ is a lamb without blemish and spot; this also is for life dispensing—1 Pet. 1:19:

1. We are sinful, and unless there is such a lamb without blemish and spot, our sins could never be taken away—John 1:29.

2. Christ’s redemption is not just to redeem us from sin or from hell, but to redeem us from our vain manner of life that we may live a godly life—1 Pet. 1:18.

H. Peter ministered Christ as a living stone, to dispense life into us—1 Pet. 2:4, 7.

I. The Lord Jesus is the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls; every item of what Christ is, is a life-dispensing matter—1 Pet. 2:25; 5:4.

J. The result of all the life dispensing by what Christ is, is that the believers are produced—1 Pet. 1:23:

1. First they are chosen by God; second, they are redeemed with the precious blood of Christ; they are chosen and redeemed to receive life—1 Pet. 2:9a; 1:18-19.

2. Then they are sanctified, or separated, to receive life—v. 2.

3. Finally, they are regenerated of the incorruptible seed of God to receive life—v. 23.

4. As those who have been born of the incorruptible seed we are newborn babes who long for the guileless milk of the word; every day and all the time we need to get into the Word; in the Word there is the milk—1 Pet. 2:2-3.

5. By growing we become the living stones to be built up a spiritual house, into a holy and royal priesthood; this is the result of the life dispensing; it makes us living stones for the building up of God’s spiritual house—1 Pet. 2:5, 9; 4:17.

6. This spiritual house is a body of priests, a holy and royal priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices to God and to tell out the virtues of God—1 Pet. 2:9.

K. Eventually we will be perfected, established, strengthened, and grounded by God’s life dispensing, that we may be brought into God’s eternal glory—1 Pet. 5:10.

III. Jude was surely a brother under God’s dispensing; in Jude there is the matter of building up ourselves in the most holy faith—Jude 20:

A. Faith is just the impartation of Christ into us; this is our faith; we all have to be built up in this faith; this is to be built up in the divine life dispensing—v. 20.

B. Then we can pray in the Holy Spirit and keep ourselves in the love of God as we await the mercy of our Lord—vv. 20b-21.

C. In the holy faith we have the Trinity for our enjoyment; this enjoyment of the Trinity is just to partake of the divine dispensing of life—v. 20.

D. Eventually this is unto eternal life and will set us before His glory without blemish in exultation—v. 24.

E. To get involved with the Trinity is to enjoy the dispensing of life which results unto eternal life and the divine glory—v. 24.

IV. James also has a few good points; he said that every good and perfect gift comes from the Father of lights; when the Father of lights begot us, He dispensed His life into our being to make us a kind of firstfruit among His creatures; this is the begetting for life dispensing—James 1:17-18.

Ministry Excerpts:

IN THE MINISTRY OF PETER

In the past two messages we saw God’s dispensation in the ministry of Paul. In this message we want to see His dispensation in the ministry of Peter, Jude, and James. Compared to Paul’s writings, Peter’s are very brief. Yet the crucial points in his writings are very similar to the crucial points in Paul’s writings. Paul, though, had at least two particular points which Peter did not mention. Paul specifically told us that the church is the Body of Christ (Eph. 1:23). He also told us that Christ as the last Adam became a life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45), and that the Lord is the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:17). Peter never told us this, though he mentioned the Spirit of Christ (1 Pet. 1:11), and the Spirit of glory and of God (1 Pet. 4:14). This indicates that according to Peter’s understanding the Spirit of God in the New Testament age has become the Spirit of Christ, and the Spirit of Christ is the Spirit of glory.

Peter also has one precious point which Paul did not mention, that is, we are the partakers of the divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4). This item in the Bible is a big diamond. It means that we are enjoying the divine essence of what God is. We are partaking of the divine elements of God’s being. Such an expression, partakers of the divine nature, is very strong! I am so happy that Peter wrote this. Otherwise, in the entire Bible there would not be a word telling us that we are now enjoying the very essence of God. What a great lack there would be if this were not in the Bible! I surely would like to have a sign to hang in my room saying: “Partakers of the divine nature.” Surely the biggest blessing in the whole universe is that we can partake of God’s nature and essence. This is far beyond our understanding and even the more is far beyond our ability to speak. We are short of the utterance to describe such a thing.

We are children of God. We have been born of the divine life, and within the divine life there is the divine nature. Now we are partaking of this nature and enjoying this nature unintentionally. There are too many things that this divine nature within us rejects. Although no one teaches us to reject this thing or to reject that thing, as Christians we just reject it because we have partaken of the divine nature within us.

AS GOD

Now let us consider the aspects of Christ ministered by Peter for the dispensing of God into us. First of all Peter also ministered Christ as God. Second Peter 1:1 has the phrase, “In the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” This indicates that Jesus Christ our Savior is God. He is our God-Savior. He is our God to become our Savior. The main purpose of God being our Savior is so that He may dispense Himself into us as our life.

AS THE SON OF GOD

Peter also ministered Christ as the Son of God (Acts 3:13; 2 Pet. 1:17). Acts 3:13 refers to Christ’s resurrection, and 2 Peter 1:17 refers to His transfiguration. Both are for Christ’s glorification. Christ was glorified in His transfiguration on the mount, and Christ was glorified in His resurrection. On both occasions it was made clear that He was the Son of God. Such a Son of God is for the dispensing of God’s life.

AS THE AUTHOR OF LIFE

Peter said that the Jewish leaders had killed the Author of life, but that God had raised Him up (Acts 3:15, lit.). Eventually their killing of the Author of life helped God’s dispensing. If the Author of life had not died, He could not have been released in resurrection for the dispensing of God into His chosen people.

AS THE LORD OF ALL

In Acts 2:36 Peter said that God had made Jesus both Lord and Christ. Then in Acts 10:36 while Peter was speaking in the house of Cornelius, he said, “The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:).” While Peter was speaking in the house of Cornelius, the Gentile ruler, he saw that the Lord Jesus is not only the Lord of the Jews, but also the Lord of the Gentiles. So Peter said He is Lord of all. In this verse the stress is not that He is the Lord of all things, but that He is the Lord of all people. He is the Lord of all people so that He might give eternal life to them. John 17:2 says, “Even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that He may give eternal life to all whom You have given Him.” To have the authority over all flesh means to be the Lord of all the people so that He might give eternal life to them. If Christ is not the Lord of all of us, He has no position to give us eternal life. But He is the Lord of all of us, so we are under Him. He has the position to dispense the eternal life to whomever God has chosen. The term “the Lord of all” indicates the dispensing of God’s life into God’s chosen people.

AS CHRIST

Because the title Christ is so familiar to us, we may miss its real significance. In Greek Christ is Christos which means the anointed One who anoints. He is the anointed One of God who anoints us. The anointing is for life giving, for God’s dispensing. Actually Christ is the agent of God’s dispensing, who carries out God’s dispensing by being the anointed One to anoint every one whom God has chosen. He anoints us with the Spirit of life so that we may have the divine life dispensed into us. By getting into the meaning of this title, you can see that Christ is for God’s dispensing.

AS SAVIOR

The Savior is also for the dispensing of the divine life (2 Pet. 1:1; 3:18). Jesus is our Savior, not just to save us from our sins, but also to dispense the eternal life into our being for our subjective salvation. He is our Savior for us to have life. So the Savior is for God’s dispensing to bring God into us.

AS A LAMB WITHOUT BLEMISH AND SPOT

According to Peter, Christ is a lamb without blemish and spot (1 Pet. 1:19). This also is for life dispensing. We are sinful, and unless there is such a lamb without blemish and spot, our sins could never be taken away. Furthermore, Christ’s redemption according to 1 Peter 1:18 is not just to redeem us from sin or from hell, but to redeem us from our vain manner of life. His blood redeems us from our vain and corrupted life that we may live a godly life. How could we live a godly life if we did not have a godly life? How could we have a godly life except through Christ’s redemption? By this view you can see that even Christ being a lamb without blemish and spot is for life dispensing.

AS A LIVING STONE

Peter ministered Christ as a living stone (1 Pet. 2:4, 7). A living stone doesn’t mean only a stone of life, but a stone which is living, acting, and working. The very Christ who lives in you is such a stone. You have a piece of living stone within you. Where is Christ today? Outside of us He is the stone of life, but inside of us He becomes the living stone. Christ as a stone is organic and living. We can become a living stone because this living stone has been dispensed into us and lives in us to make us living. By this we can see that Christ is a living stone to dispense life into us.

AS THE SHEPHERD AND OVERSEER OF OUR SOULS

The Lord Jesus is the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls (1 Pet. 2:25; 5:4). As we have mentioned previously the main point in taking care of the sheep is to feed them so that they may have more life. So the shepherding is also for life dispensing. The purpose of the overseer is to watch over the sheep so that they would not be hurt or carried away. The shepherd first takes care of us to feed us and eventually becomes our overseer to keep us always under the life dispensing. Every item of what Christ is, is a life-dispensing matter. Whatever Christ is, is for life dispensing.

THE BELIEVERS PRODUCED

The result of all the life dispensing by what Christ is, is that the believers are produced. First they are chosen by God (1 Pet. 2:9a). Second, they are redeemed with the precious blood of Christ (1 Pet. 1:18-19). They are chosen and redeemed to receive life. Then they are sanctified, or separated, to receive life (1 Pet. 1:2). Finally, they are regenerated of the incorruptible seed of God to receive life (1 Pet. 1:3, 23). On God’s side regeneration is to dispense life, and on our side it is to receive life. We all have been regenerated of the incorruptible seed of God. This is the Word of life, which is really life itself. The divine life is the incorruptible seed of which we all have been born.

As those who have been born of the incorruptible seed we are newborn babes who long for the guileless milk of the word (1 Pet. 2:2, 3). Newborn babes only know how to do one thing, and that is to take milk. They don’t know how to improve their behavior, and they don’t know how to care for their character. They only care for the milk. They don’t even know the word milk, but something in their nature longs for the milk. Right after regeneration we become the newborn babes. We have to long for the guileless milk of the Word. Every day and all the time we need to get into the Word. In the Word there is the milk. When a little baby is not happy, it means he is short of milk. When you are not so happy, it means you have not taken any milk from the Word. When I get into the Word I get into the milk, and my face is so broad and shining. When you have just a little time of morning watch in the Word, you will come out of your room with your face shining. As newborn babes you need the milk for growing.

By growing we become the living stones to be built up a spiritual house, into a holy and royal priesthood (1 Pet. 2:5, 9; 4:17). This is the result of the life dispensing. It makes us living stones for the building up of God’s spiritual house. This spiritual house is a body of priests, a holy and royal priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices to God and to tell out the virtues of God.

Through regeneration of the life of God, we also become the flock of God which is always receiving the life nourishment from the Shepherd (1 Pet. 5:2), and heirs of the grace of life, inheriting all the riches of life (1 Pet. 3:7). Then we become stewards of the varied grace of God (1 Pet. 4:10). We become not only heirs of grace to receive grace, but also stewards of grace to minister grace to others. Because we are so full of grace, we become stewards of grace to serve others with grace. This is wonderful! Even your serving others with grace is a kind of life dispensing. In our Christian life, we all are stewards. You are a steward to me, and I am a steward to you. You minister life to me, and I minister life to you. There is a mutual dispensing among us. Actually our fellowship with one another is a mutual life dispensing. By this kind of life dispensing we are partaking of and enjoying what God is. This is to partake of God’s divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4). For this purpose God has given us all things relating to life and godliness (2 Pet. 1:3), and also given us precious and exceedingly great promises (2 Pet. 1:4). To partake of God’s divine nature is to enjoy God’s life dispensing.

Eventually we will be perfected, established, strengthened, and grounded by God’s life dispensing, that we may be brought into God’s eternal glory (1 Pet. 5:10). Without God dispensing Himself into us as life, we could never be perfected, strengthened, established, grounded, and brought into God’s eternal glory. That is the ultimate issue of God’s dispensing of life.

IN THE MINISTRY OF JUDE

Jude was surely a brother under God’s dispensing. In Jude there is the matter of building up ourselves in the most holy faith (v. 20). What is faith? It is just the impartation of Christ into us. This is our faith. We all have to be built up in this faith. This is to be built up in the divine life dispensing. Then we can pray in the Holy Spirit and keep ourselves in the love of God as we await the mercy of our Lord (v. 20b-21). Here is the Trinity of the Godhead: the Holy Spirit, God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ. In the holy faith we have the Trinity for our enjoyment. This enjoyment of the Trinity is just to partake of the divine dispensing of life. Eventually this is unto eternal life and will set us before His glory without blemish in exultation (v. 24). To be built up in the faith, to pray in the Holy Spirit, to keep ourselves in the love of God, to await the Lord’s mercy, is altogether unto eternal life so that we may be set before God’s glory. This indicates clearly that to get involved with the Trinity is to enjoy the dispensing of life which results unto eternal life and the divine glory.

IN THE MINISTRY OF JAMES

James also has a few good points. He said that every good and perfect gift comes from the Father of lights (1:17). He also said that the Father of lights is the One who begot us by the Word of truth (v. 18) according to His own will that we should be a kind of firstfruit of His creatures. The firstfruit is surely something of life. Among all the creatures we believers are the first ones to receive and enjoy divine life. Because God has begotten us and we have the eternal life, we are the firstfruits of life among all the created items. We have to respect and thank James because he told us something about God’s life dispensing. To beget is to dispense life. When our human father begot us, he dispensed his life into us. When the Father of lights begot us, He dispensed His life into our being to make us a kind of firstfruit among His creatures. This is the begetting for life dispensing. (The Divine Dispensing of the Divine Trinity, ch. 9)