II. LIVING ORGANS TO SPEAK CHRIST
God created wonderful living organs for us to speak to dispense God as life to others. [God created us with vocal chords, a tongue, lips, and teeth that we may be filled with Christ who is the Word of God. When we are filled with Christ as the Word of God, we speak. We speak Christ in a language such as Chinese, English, Greek, or Hebrew, not in nonsensical utterances. We speak Christ in our mother tongue. We speak Christ in our borrowed tongue. All the denotations of our speaking concentrate on one Person, Christ.] We should not use our God-created organs to speak nonsensical speech such as foolish talking, coarse jesting, and foul abusive language (Eph. 5:4; Col. 3:8). Ephesians 4:29 says, “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but only that which is good for needful building up, that it may give grace to those who hear.’’ We should use our speaking ability to speak the words of Christ to minister life to people that they may be built up into the Body of Christ.
III. SPEAKING FOR THE DISPENSING OF LIFE
For you to be filled in spirit with the Word [is not only for your nourishment, it is for you to dispense. It is for you to generate. Every human being is made by God to propagate, to generate. Therefore, everybody has to bring forth children! Now we all have to learn how to generate, how to dispense, how to impart into others what we have received into our being. This is to reproduce, this is to generate, this is to bring forth new Christians by speaking. Therefore, speaking is generating, speaking is imparting, speaking is dispensing.]
IV. SPEAKING IN THE HOLY SPIRIT
[In 1 Corinthians chapter twelve, Paul refers to the matter of speaking in the meetings. In verse 2 he reminds the Corinthians, “You know that when you were of the nations, you were led away to dumb idols, however you were led.’’ The worship of dumb idols had made them a dumb people. Because the object of their worship was a dumb idol, their worshipping made them a dumb people. But now the Corinthian brothers were different. They were not worshipping the dumb idols any more. They were worshipping the living God, who is the speaking God. This speaking God is just the speaking Spirit, who is the Spirit of God, who is also the Holy Spirit. Therefore, in verse 3 Paul says, “No one speaking in the Spirit of God says, Jesus is accursed; and no one can say, Lord Jesus, except in the Holy Spirit.’’]
Because of our background, the tradition of Christianity, and our old habits, we do not speak for Christ. We may speak many other things, but we do not have the habit of speaking the word of Christ in the Holy Spirit. We are all like the dumb idols who have mouths but cannot speak. We need a break-through. We need to repent to the Lord, exercise our spirit, and boldly speak forth the word of Christ we have received. This is the way to be in the Holy Spirit. Because He is living and speaking, whenever we speak His word, His Spirit fills us within (Eph. 5:18-19), and we are in the Holy Spirit. Inward filling is essential for life. Being in the Holy Spirit implies that we are clothed economically with the Holy Spirit of power for God’s economy. Therefore, when we speak the word of Christ, we have the authority and power to overcome the evil one.
V. SPEAKING BY THE SPIRIT OF FAITH
Second Corinthians 4:13 says, “Having the same spirit of faith, according to that which is written, I believed, therefore I spoke; we also believe, therefore also we speak.’’ [Speaking by the spirit of faith in our practical life is a great, crucial point. This very particular expression is used only once in the entire Bible. The spirit of faith is a mingling of the Holy Spirit with our spirit. The phrase “spirit of faith’’ places the spirit in apposition to faith. Faith is of the spirit. Therefore, the spirit of faith is faith. Our faith is just the mingled spirit. Furthermore, faith comes from hearing and hearing comes from the preaching of the Word (Rom. 10:14, 17). This is why we must get into the Word. The more we get into the Word, the more we will have faith, and this faith is the spirit. Now by such a spirit you may speak the Word which is the source of your faith. Here is a cycle. The Word produces faith, faith is the spirit, and by this spirit you speak the Word. Your speaking will become the source of faith in others. The faith in them then becomes the spirit by which they speak.]
As we are speaking to our friends, we must exercise our spirit of faith to impart faith, which is the spirit, which is life imparted into our friends. They may not have faith in the beginning of the conversation. But by hearing the word of Christ from your wonderful mouth, faith is generated in them. Romans chapter ten tells us that this kind of speaking puts the word of faith into your friends’ mouths and hearts. Therefore, we do not have to worry about whether our friends believe or not. We speak by the spirit of faith to impart the believing ability, faith, into them. Their response to our speaking in the spirit of faith is their faith Their salvation does not depend on them, but it depends on our speaking.
(Lesson Book, Level 4: Life—Knowing and Experiencing Life, Chapter 22, by Witness Lee)
