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: (The Divine Dispensing of the Divine Trinity, ch. 9)
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. (The Divine Dispensing of the Divine Trinity, ch. 9)
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. (The Divine Dispensing of the Divine Trinity, ch. 9)
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. (The Divine Dispensing of the Divine Trinity, ch. 9)
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. (The Divine Dispensing of the Divine Trinity, ch. 9)
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: (The Divine Dispensing of the Divine Trinity, ch. 9)
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. (The Divine Dispensing of the Divine Trinity, ch. 9)
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. (The Divine Dispensing of the Divine Trinity, ch. 9)
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. (The Divine Dispensing of the Divine Trinity, ch. 9)
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. (The Divine Dispensing of the Divine Trinity, ch. 9)
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. (The Divine Dispensing of the Divine Trinity, ch. 9)
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. (The Divine Dispensing of the Divine Trinity, ch. 9)
G. According to Peter, Christ is a lamb without blemish and spot; this also is for life dispensing—1 Pet. 1:19: (The Divine Dispensing of the Divine Trinity, ch. 9)
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. (The Divine Dispensing of the Divine Trinity, ch. 9)
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. (The Divine Dispensing of the Divine Trinity, ch. 9)
H. Peter ministered Christ as a living stone, to dispense life into us—1 Pet. 2:4, 7. (The Divine Dispensing of the Divine Trinity, ch. 9)
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. (The Divine Dispensing of the Divine Trinity, ch. 9)
J. The result of all the life dispensing by what Christ is, is that the believers are produced—1 Pet. 1:23: (The Divine Dispensing of the Divine Trinity, ch. 9)
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. (The Divine Dispensing of the Divine Trinity, ch. 9)
2. Then they are sanctified, or separated, to receive life—v. 2. (The Divine Dispensing of the Divine Trinity, ch. 9)
3. Finally, they are regenerated of the incorruptible seed of God to receive life—v. 23. (The Divine Dispensing of the Divine Trinity, ch. 9)
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. (The Divine Dispensing of the Divine Trinity, ch. 9)
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. (The Divine Dispensing of the Divine Trinity, ch. 9)
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. (The Divine Dispensing of the Divine Trinity, ch. 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. (The Divine Dispensing of the Divine Trinity, ch. 9)
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: (The Divine Dispensing of the Divine Trinity, ch. 9)
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. (The Divine Dispensing of the Divine Trinity, ch. 9)
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. (The Divine Dispensing of the Divine Trinity, ch. 9)
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. (The Divine Dispensing of the Divine Trinity, ch. 9)
D. Eventually this is unto eternal life and will set us before His glory without blemish in exultation—v. 24. (The Divine Dispensing of the Divine Trinity, ch. 9)
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. (The Divine Dispensing of the Divine Trinity, ch. 9)
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. (The Divine Dispensing of the Divine Trinity, ch. 9)