Message Two—The Truth Being the Shining of the Light

THE THIRD PART: 24 CRUCIAL LINES IN THE BIBLE

Truth Message Two—The Truth Being the Shining of the Light

Scripture Reading: John 8:12, 32; 14:17; Acts 26:16-19; Col. 2:2; 1:28-29; 1 Cor. 6:17; Eph. 3:20; 1 Cor. 4:9; Heb. 10:33

I. Truth is the realization and expression of light; light is the source, and truth is the expression; when light shines upon us, it becomes truth—John 1:4-5, 9; 8:12, 32:

A. The Lord is the light, the truth, and the Word; the Word, which is also the truth, gives light, for in the Word there is light—John 8:12; 14:6; 17:17; Psa. 119:105.

B. Truth is the shining of the light, the expression of the light; in other words, truth is light expressed—John 8:12, 32.

II. Truth is the divine light shining on the facts of the Bible and televising a heavenly, spiritual vision of these facts into our being; in the New Testament, truth denotes this kind of “heavenly television”—John 8:32; Acts 26:16-19:

A. Truth is not merely a report, not simply words written in the Bible; it is a heavenly, spiritual vision televised into our being—Acts 26:16-19:

1. To know the truth we first need the divine facts in the Bible and then the light that televises the vision of the facts into our being.

2. All the divine facts are contained in the Word and conveyed to us through the Word; when the Spirit shines upon the facts in the Word, we have “the heavenly television”; the light shines upon the facts in the Word and conveys a heavenly vision of these facts into our being, and we know the truth—cf. Eph. 1:17-18.

B. The all-inclusive Spirit is the current, transmitting the things in the heavens into us; in our spirit there is a heavenly “television”—Heb. 4:12, 16:

1. The Spirit is called the Spirit of truth, the Spirit of reality (John 14:17); the Spirit of reality is the heavenly electricity by which spiritual things are televised into our being.

2. In spirit we can touch the throne of grace in the heavens; day by day in my spirit I have a wonderful scenery; Christ is living, acting, and doing His job as the High Priest, and this scenery is being transmitted into our spirit—Heb. 4:12, 16.

3. The redemption that the Lord accomplished on the cross is made effective to us through the life-giving Spirit, when we call upon the name of the Lord, the life-giving Spirit transmits into us what the Lord accomplished two thousand years ago; in this way the cross of Christ becomes subjective to us.

C. Acts 9:9 says that Saul “was three days without seeing, and neither ate nor drank;” in the Lord’s word to Ananias recorded in verse 11: “Rise up and go to the lane called Straight, and seek in the house of Judas a man from Tarsus named Saul; for behold, he is praying.” Here we see that in those three days Saul was praying:

1. It is likely that as Saul was praying, vision after vision and revelation after revelation came to him concerning Christ and the church; his experience during those days may have been one of watching a heavenly television in which he saw many things concerning the Lord Jesus.

2. We need to be impressed with the fact that for three days Saul did not eat or drink; all he did was pray; while he was praying, the revelation concerning Christ was “televised” into his being; Saul beheld a wonderful view of the Lord on this heavenly television.

3. Ananias must have been praying, when a vision came to him from the heavens; the Lord spoke to him via heavenly television and directed him to Saul! Saul was also praying, when the heavenly television transmission came to him, and he saw Ananias coming!

4. In Acts 10 a Roman centurion named Cornelius was praying, when an angel came and told him to send for Peter; Peter, just before the men arrived, was also praying when the heavenly television transmission came to him! A vessel like a sheet descended from heaven, full of unclean animals; Peter was told, “Rise, kill and eat!” His reply was, “Not so, Lord!” This wonderful television program was repeated three times!

D. In the meetings of the church and of the ministry, it is as if we are all watching a heavenly television to see more of God’s economy; the more we see this heavenly television, the more we believe; when the heavenly view is conveyed into us, transmitted into us, we have the ability to believe.

E. We have the Spirit as the heavenly electricity and the Word as the divine cord; if we would enjoy the practical application of God, that is, if we would experience the transmission of the Spirit as the heavenly electricity, we need to read the Word of God prayerfully by exercising our spirit.

III. As the mystery of God, the all-inclusive Christ is the history of God; the whole “story” of God is in Christ; the word mystery in Colossians 2:2 may be interpreted as meaning “story”—John 1: 14; 1 Cor. 15:45b:

A. Christ is not only God Himself—He is also God’s history; God’s history refers to the process through which He has passed so that He may dispense Himself into His chosen people—John 1:14; 1 Cor. 15:45b; Eph. 3:16-17a.

B. As the embodiment of God, the effulgence of God’s glory, and the impress of God’s substance, Christ, the mystery of God, His story, defines, explains, and expresses God—Heb. 1:1-3; Col. 2:2.

C. The birth, living, and work of Christ is a Story of the Spirit; the story of Jesus is an extremely mysterious story—Matt. 1:20; 4:1; 12:28:

1. The story within the story of Jesus is of the Spirit; the Gospel of Matthew shows not only how Jesus lived, worked, and acted on the earth; it also shows the Spirit within His living, work, and actions.

2. There is not much value in knowing only the stories on the surface; we must see that within the stories there is another story—spirit and life; only then is the Bible of value.

D. The wind, the cloud, the fire, and the electrum should be a Christian’s spiritual life story; throughout our whole Christian life, our spiritual experiences should be a continual cycle involving these four matters—Ezek. 1:4.

IV. The three sections of the holy scriptures are like an interlude in a play, within which are many plots and events, twists and turns, ups and downs, and touching stories—Gen. 2:7-9, 21-25; 3:1; Rev. 22:2, 17:

A. The content of the Bible is wonderful; the first two chapters are one section, the last two chapters are a section, and the chapters from Genesis 3 through Revelation 20 are another large section.

B. God’s intention was beginning to be carried out in Genesis 1 and 2 when the serpent, God’s adversary, came in chapter 3; after the serpent came in, there were many efforts to undermine God’s intention:

1. This serpent seduced man and injected sin into man; consequently, death was brought in; from this point forward, the serpent, sin, and death continue until Revelation 20.

2. However, during this period God has His work of grace; God sent His Son Jesus Christ to deal with the serpent and work righteousness into man so that, through faith in the Son of God, man can be justified by God and thereby have life and live.

3. We can say that this major section of the Bible speaks of the serpent, sin, and death in contrast to Christ the Son of God, righteousness, and life.

4. The Son of God is versus the serpent, for the Son of God was manifested that He might destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8); the Son of God brought in righteousness to deal with sin, which was brought in by the serpent; moreover, the righteousness brought in by the Son of God gives man life, and this life deals with death, which was brought in by sin.

C. Genesis 1—2 and Revelation 21—22, the beginning and ending of the Bible, present a picture of God’s intention—God wants to gain a builded corporate man—Gen. 1:26; Rev. 21:2a:

1. God intends to accomplish His desire; ultimately, the problems related to Satan, sin, and death will be resolved, and the Son of God and the righteousness and life that He brings will gain the full victory; now God has entered into men of clay with His nature of gold so that they can be transformed into pearls and precious stones.

2. At the end of Genesis 2, God built one woman; at the end of the whole Bible, the issue of God’s work throughout the ages is one city, and this city is also one woman.

D. The history of the whole universe is like a play; a good play always involves changes in the plot to demonstrate the wisdom of the playwright; the plot of the play of the universe has numerous rich and epic developments that express God’s wisdom—1 Cor. 4:9; Heb. 10:33; Eph. 2:10; 3:10:

1. There are two forces existing in the universe; one force is God, and the other is Satan; God allows such a situation for the expression of His wisdom; He is like a great playwright who incorporates many plotlines and episodes in a play; to us the entirety of God’s plan seems to be beyond our understanding.

2. In 1 Corinthians 4:9 the believers are symbolized by the unusual figure of a spectacle, a public gazingstock: “God has set forth us the apostles last of all, as doomed to death; because we have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men.”

3. In the New Testament all the overcoming believers, not only the apostles, are likened to such a spectacle, such a gazing stock for the public—1 Cor. 4:9; Heb. 10:33.

4. On the one hand, we are made a spectacle; on the other hand, we become partakers with those who have experienced the same thing; many of the overcoming ones in the Old Testament had the experience of being a spectacle; now the apostles and the overcoming believers are partakers with them, being the continuation of such a gazing stock; therefore, we are a spectacle to the world.

5. We in the Lord’s recovery should be like the apostles—criminals doomed to death and a spectacle both to angels and to men; we should give others the impression that we are as criminals condemned to death and a spectacle to the whole universe.

V. The history of God revealed through human story; the Bible is a history of God in union with man; we can know God in His history only through man’s stories—1 Cor. 6:17; Eph. 3:20; Col. 1:28-29:

A. The bible is not a record of God in creation; rather, it is a history of God in His dealing with man, who is on His heart; in His dealings with man we can know Him, and we can see what kind of God He is.

B. Only three pages of Genesis are about God’s creation, while many pages are about this one man Joseph; of the fifty chapters of Genesis, thirteen are about Joseph; Joseph occupies such a long portion of the record, we see that our God in His history is very much related to humanity.

C. Chapters thirty-seven through fifty of Genesis are a man’s story, but that story comprises God’s history.

D. After we are saved, we have the Lord’s life; from that time onward, our relationship with the Lord is altogether a matter of union in spirit—1 Cor. 6:17:

1. The Triune God is great and infinite, but He desires to dwell in our human spirit; He also wants all that He is to be in us as our life.

2. Our being a Christian depends on our having a normal relationship with the indwelling God.

3. All that the Lord is doing in us is related to our being joined to Him; our spiritual life is the issue of being joined to the Lord—1 Cor. 6:17.

VI. Ephesians 3 tells us that Paul was sent to announce to us the unsearchable riches of Christ; we need someone to open our eyes, to show us the vision of the riches of Christ, scene after scene—Eph. 3:8:

A. In the latter part of chapter three Paul prayed for us, asking the Father to grant us, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit into the inner man—vv. 16-17.

B. The universe is a play with many scenes, and the Lord Jesus is not only the Director but also the Producer; the purpose of His forming the universe is to afford God the opportunity to obtain what He wants:

1. The universe includes not only time and space but also all the stories that happened in time and space; this is just like the scenes in a movie; in every scene the characters do not just stand still; rather, they are acting out the story according to the script.

2. Every scene is an age; the Lord Jesus not only created the roles for us but also established the content of each scene; thus, the universe came into existence; this is the entire history of the human race.

C. “Convict the world concerning sin and concerning righteousness and concerning judgment”—John 16:7-11:

1. In order to regenerate man, the Holy Spirit first convicts man; He convicts man first concerning sin, then concerning righteousness, and then concerning judgment.

2. The Holy Spirit convicts man concerning sin because he does not believe in the Lord Jesus; the Holy Spirit uncovers man’s iniquities, unveiling them in man’s inner consciousness scene by scene, as in a movie; thus, man sees that he is sinful, that he was born in sin, and that he will die in his sins unless he believes in the Lord Jesus (John 8:24).

3. When he speaks concerning the precious blood of the Lord Jesus, his speaking will portray in a living way how the precious blood of Christ flowed out for sinners; when he speaks concerning sins, his speaking will touch the inward feeling of sinfulness in his listeners and cause them to feel as if they were presently sinning; It will touch their conscience so deeply that they will not be able to help but condemn themselves before God.

Ministry Excerpts:

THE DEFINITION OF THE TRUTH

In this message we shall devote our attention to the definition of the truth. As we all recognize, truth is the opposite of falsehood. Many also regard truth as meaning certain true, reliable principles, such as the principle that honesty is the best policy. After speaking recently on the subject of the truth, I was approached by a learned man who said that truth referred to principles. As an illustration, he said that John 3:16 is a standing principle. This understanding of truth is worldly, an altogether natural concept different from the understanding of truth presented in the Bible. If we would know the meaning of truth in the Bible, we need to get into the depths of the Word.

THE WORD, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIGHT

In John 8:12 the Lord Jesus said, “I am the light of the world,” and in 14:6 He said, “I am…the truth.” John 17:17 tells us that the Word is also the truth. According to the Bible, the Lord is the light, the truth, and the Word. The Word, which is also the truth, gives light, for in the Word there is light. Therefore, the Word, the light, and the truth are one.

John 1:14 says, “The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us…full of grace and truth,” and verse 17 says, “The law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” When we believe in the Lord Jesus, we receive grace and truth. In his first Epistle, John says that God is love and that God is light (1 John 4:16; 1:5). When God comes to us, we receive grace; but when we go to God, He is love. Grace is the realization and expression of love. Love is the source, and grace is the expression. Likewise, truth is the realization and expression of light. Light is the source, and truth is the expression. The expression of light is the shining of the light. When light is concealed from us, it is merely light, but when it shines upon us, it becomes truth. (Truth messages, ch. 2)

TRUTH AS THE SHINING OF THE LIGHT

It is significant that in 1 and 2 Timothy life is not mentioned nearly as often as truth. Truth is spoken of again and again (1 Tim. 2:4; 3:15; 4:3; 6:5; 2 Tim. 2:15, 18; 3:8; 4:4). The reason for this is that these Epistles were written during a time of degradation. When the church is degraded, there is darkness; and when there is darkness, there is the need for the truth. Truth is the expression of light, just as grace is the expression of love. Whenever light shines, we receive truth. Light shines in darkness. In 1 and 2 Timothy, two books dealing with degradation, truth is mentioned often because during a period of darkness there is the need for the shining of the light, the expression of the light.

Truth is the shining of light. Wherever there is light, there is God, for God is light (1 John 1:5). When the light shines upon us, it becomes the truth. In Romans 8 Paul encourages us to walk according to the spirit, but in John’s second and third Epistles, also written in a time of degradation, John speaks of walking in the truth. Although in his other writings John emphasized life, in these two Epistles he spoke much about the truth. For example, in 3 John 4 he says, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in the truth” (Gk.). Whenever we are in a time of degradation and darkness, we need the shining of the light so that we may know how to walk in the proper way. (Truth messages, ch. 1)

A VISION TELEVISED INTO OUR BEING

Television is a very good illustration of this. Suppose there is a parade in Washington, D.C. Without television, you could not be on the West Coast and receive a vision of the parade. Although you could read about the parade the next day in a newspaper, the newspaper account would not make the parade real to you. Many Christians today use the Bible like a newspaper, but they do not have the vision of what is written in the Word.

For example, the pastors of the Lutheran Church in China believed strongly in justification by faith, and they trained others to preach and teach this doctrine. However, some of these very pastors were not themselves justified by faith, and consequently they were not saved. One such pastor was a man named Ai. Although he fought for the truth of justification by faith, he was an opium smuggler. He had the doctrine of justification by faith, that is, the newspaper account of it, but he did not have the reality. He had never received justification by faith through believing in the Lord’s redeeming blood. One day this pastor heard a Norwegian missionary named Miss Monson preach on regeneration. Miss Monson preached not merely the doctrine of regeneration, but the reality of regeneration. After her message, she greeted Pastor Ai at the gate and asked him if he had been regenerated. He angrily asserted that he had. But Miss Monson replied that by the tone of his voice and by the expression on his face, she knew that he had not truly been regenerated. Pastor Ai was insulted by having such a word spoken to him in the presence of members of his congregation. That night, filled with hatred for this Norwegian missionary, he plotted to kill her. As he was making his evil plans, the Holy Spirit said to him, “See how evil you are!” The Holy Spirit worked upon him, and he repented with tears, even rolling on the floor as he made confession to the Lord. That night Pastor Ai did not have merely a newspaper account of regeneration; he saw a vision of regeneration by means of the heavenly television. The vision was televised into him, and he was regenerated. The next morning he was happy, and he praised the Lord. In the meeting he stood up to give a testimony of his experience. Through that one testimony, given by a pastor who had been an opium smuggler, hundreds of students turned to the Lord.

Through the experience of Pastor Ai we can see what truth is. Many preachers give messages that are nothing more than newspaper reports. Such messages do not convey the heavenly vision. But thank the Lord for the speaking that televises a vision to us! The vision that is televised into our being is the truth, the reality. In the New Testament truth denotes this kind of heavenly television. Truth is not merely a report, not simply words written in the Bible; it is a heavenly, spiritual vision televised into our being. We all need to learn to differentiate the speaking that gives merely a news report from the speaking that televises a vision into us. Most of the sermons preached in the so-called churches today are like newspaper reports. Because many preachers use the Bible like a newspaper, there is very little of the heavenly vision.

HEAVENLY LIGHT SHINING ON THE WRITTEN WORD

The difference between a newspaper and television is that with the newspaper there is no light, only printed letters, but with television light and electricity are required. Through light and electricity the vision is televised into us.

Now we can understand that, in the Bible, truth refers to the shining of the light. The Bible contains many doctrines. However, when light from the Father in the heavens shines upon the words in the Bible, these words immediately become truth to us. First we have the doctrine in printed letters, and then the heavenly light shines upon words of the Bible to show us the truth. Many read the verses about Christ dying for sinners merely as a newspaper report; they have nothing more than a doctrine about the death of Christ. But when, by the mercy of God, the light shines on these verses, they see the truth of Christ’s death and are saved. Once they had the doctrine; now they have the vision and the reality.

Reality is the realization of what is real. The way to have such a realization of spiritual things is by heavenly television. Therefore, truth in the Bible can be compared to today’s television. (Truth messages, ch. 2)

COMING FORWARD TO THE THRONE OF GRACE IN OUR SPIRIT

The All-inclusive Spirit Being the Current

Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us therefore come forward with boldness to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace for timely help.” If the throne of grace is in the heavens, how can we come forward to it while we still live on the earth? Here again we need our spirit (v. 12). The throne of grace is in the heavens, but this heavenly throne is continually transmitted into us in our spirit. In spirit we can touch the throne of grace in the heavens. In one sense, we may even say that the throne of grace is within us because the heavenly Spirit is within us. Within the temple there was the Holy of Holies, and within the Holy of Holies there was the ark. The covering of the ark, the mercy seat, signifies the throne of grace (Exo. 25:17, 21). The ark is a type of Christ, and the ark is in the Holy of Holies. Therefore, since Christ is in our spirit (2 Tim. 4:22), our spirit today is the Holy of Holies. On the one hand, the Holy of Holies is in the heavens, but on the other hand, Hebrews 10:19 tells us that we must enter the Holy of Holies. If the Holy of Holies today were only in the heavens, how could we enter into it? All the heavenly things are transmitted to us in our spirit even while we are on the earth. In this way, our spirit is connected to the heavens. The all-inclusive Spirit is the current, transmitting the things in the heavens into us.

Christ as our High Priest in the heavens before God is constantly being transmitted into our spirit. We may also illustrate this with television. Although the scenes, the persons, and the places may be far away, television brings them into people’s homes. The scenery is far away, but it is transmitted to people by electricity. In a similar way, Christ is in the heavens acting and doing things as our High Priest, but this “scenery” is transmitted into our spirit. Day by day in our spirit there is a heavenly “television.” I do not care to watch television because within me is a better “television.” Many times when I close my eyes, I see something heavenly of Christ being transmitted into me. Day by day in my spirit I have a wonderful scenery. Christ is living, acting, and doing His job as the High Priest, and this scenery is being transmitted into our spirit. We simply enjoy Him in our spirit. Undoubtedly, the throne of grace is in heaven, but it is transmitted into our spirit. We simply come with boldness to this throne of grace in our spirit to receive mercy and find grace for timely help. We need to experience the Spirit in our spirit. This is altogether a matter in the spirit. (General Sketch of the New Testament in the Light of Christ and the Church, A – Part 3: Hebrews through Jude; ch. 26)

RECEIVING THE FULL MESSAGE OF THE GOSPEL

It is likely that as Saul was praying, vision after vision and revelation after revelation came to him concerning Christ and the church. His experience during those days may have been one of watching a heavenly television in which he saw many things concerning the Lord Jesus. As he saw these things, Saul may have said, “Jesus the Nazarene is Jehovah. He is my Savior. No wonder that His followers testified strongly that He was resurrected. He surely has been resurrected, for He appeared to me from the heavens.” Saul may have gone on to consider the Lord’s ascension, which implies His incarnation, human living, death, and resurrection. Saul may have come to realize that as the One who is now in the heavens, the Lord passed through the process of incarnation, human living, death, resurrection, and ascension.

We need to be impressed with the fact that for three days Saul did not eat or drink. All he did was pray. While he was praying, the revelation concerning Christ was “televised” into his being. Saul beheld a wonderful view of the Lord on this heavenly television. No longer did Saul have any doubt concerning Christ’s resurrection. He also came to believe in His incarnation and death. Through the visions that he saw during those days, Saul received the full message of the gospel. (Life-Study of Acts, msg. 26)