It’s not easy to take a stand. Especially when you’re being mowed down by people’s ridicule. In chapter seven of the Life-Study of 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah Witness Lee shares about a time when his coworker Watchman Nee took a stand for the truth concerning the assurance of salvation.
 |
| Out on a trail with our grandkids |
That might be surprising to you because about a hundred years have passed, and today this truth is very clear, largely in part because this truth was published in the booklet The Assurance, Security, & Joy of Salvation.
But I read that back in the early 1900s the missionaries laughed at Watchman Nee when he shared that believers can have the assurance of salvation. They thought he was proud to say that people could have this certainty. Because of Watchman Nee’s speaking though, thousands of Chinese people believed this truth. And today millions of Christians all over the world have been blessed by the stand he took. Witness Lee states that since that time several other truths have been recovered, like the truth concerning the New Jerusalem. I learned on pages 46-47 of chapter 7 of the Life-Study of 1 & 2 Chronicles that Witness Lee's speaking on this matter was influenced by other men of God:
Very few Bible teachers have written anything about the spiritual significance of the New Jerusalem. Among these few are a German teacher from long ago named Tersteegen and our dear friend T. Austin-Sparks, whom I regard as the last of the inner-life teachers. Like Tersteegen, T. Austin-Sparks saw that the New Jerusalem is not a physical city but a sign with a spiritual significance. Brother Sparks pointed out that the spiritual things concerning God, Christ, and the church are mysterious and that God uses signs to reveal the truth regarding such spiritual things. We took his word and still hold to it (Lee, Witness. Life-Study of 1& 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah & Esther. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1995, Print).
The first verse of Revelation even states that God made things known to the Apostle John by signs. And a lot of the meaning of the signs were even given to John by the Angel. For instance, the seven lampstands refer to seven churches in Asia, and the Lamb signifies Christ as the Redeemer. Because of this, surely the last sign in this book which is the New Jerusalem must also have spiritual significance.
So what does the New Jerusalem portray? In chapter 13 he gives this awesome statement about the New Jerusalem: The consummation of the Bible is the New Jerusalem—divinity mingled with humanity. Divinity becomes the dwelling place of humanity and humanity becomes the home of divinity. In this city the glory of God is manifested in man, brightly and splendidly (page 89). In both the Life-Study of Revelation and chapters 29-44 of God's New Testament Economy he speaks extensively on the spiritual meanings found in the New Jerusalem. These writings have opened my husband's and my heart to understand a little bit more what the Apostle John was saying here. I'm really thankful that both of these men of God were faithful to stand for the truths that God made real to them!
You can listen to excerpts of Witness Lee's speaking the Life-Study of 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, & Esther on Life Study of the Bible with Witness Lee. You can also read the online Life-Studies of these books and check out other resources available to enhance your study of the Bible on Living Stream Ministry's website.
Other Posts from the Life-Study of 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, & Esther:
From the Life-Study of 1 & 2 Chronicles - How did Watchman Nee & Witness Lee Take a Stand For the Truth?
From the Life-Study of 1 & 2 Chronicles - Why Did God Make Man in His Image?
From the Life-Study of Ezra - How God Used a Gentile King to Fulfill His Purpose
From the Life-Study of Ezra - Why Did Ezra Return to Jerusalem?
How Did God Use Nehemiah's Aggressiveness in Nehemiah 2:20?
Why Did Nehemiah Charge Ezra to Read the Bible to the People in Nehemiah 8:1-8?
What's Really Happening in the Story of Esther?
So what does the New Jerusalem portray? In chapter 13 he gives this awesome statement about the New Jerusalem: The consummation of the Bible is the New Jerusalem—divinity mingled with humanity. Divinity becomes the dwelling place of humanity and humanity becomes the home of divinity. In this city the glory of God is manifested in man, brightly and splendidly (page 89). In both the Life-Study of Revelation and chapters 29-44 of God's New Testament Economy he speaks extensively on the spiritual meanings found in the New Jerusalem. These writings have opened my husband's and my heart to understand a little bit more what the Apostle John was saying here. I'm really thankful that both of these men of God were faithful to stand for the truths that God made real to them!
You can listen to excerpts of Witness Lee's speaking the Life-Study of 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, & Esther on Life Study of the Bible with Witness Lee. You can also read the online Life-Studies of these books and check out other resources available to enhance your study of the Bible on Living Stream Ministry's website.
Other Posts from the Life-Study of 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, & Esther:
From the Life-Study of 1 & 2 Chronicles - How did Watchman Nee & Witness Lee Take a Stand For the Truth?
From the Life-Study of 1 & 2 Chronicles - Why Did God Make Man in His Image?
From the Life-Study of Ezra - How God Used a Gentile King to Fulfill His Purpose
From the Life-Study of Ezra - Why Did Ezra Return to Jerusalem?
How Did God Use Nehemiah's Aggressiveness in Nehemiah 2:20?
Why Did Nehemiah Charge Ezra to Read the Bible to the People in Nehemiah 8:1-8?
What's Really Happening in the Story of Esther?
No comments:
Post a Comment