We need to be Constituted with the Truth by being Trained in the Divine Revelation

In order for us to be priestly teachers like Ezra, we need to be constituted with the truth, that is, have the truth wrought into us to become our organic constitution; we need to be trained in the divine revelation and learn to speak the truth for the perfecting of the saints and the building up of the church.

Today in the Lord’s recovery we have the highest truth, the truth that is the consummation of the truths recovered during the past centuries (2 Tim. 2:2, 15).

The Lord’s recovery is a recovery of the truth; beginning with Martin Luther, what the Lord has been recovering is the truth.

In the time of Luther, he saw the truth concerning justification by faith; this was the beginning of the Lord’s recovery.

Before that time, the word of God was locked away from people, and the entire human race was in darkness, devoid of the shining of the light of the truth.

But then the Lord unveiled and communicated the truth of justification by faith to some men, the most prominent of whom was Martin Luther.

And the recovery began with this one item of the truth, and it went on year after year, century after century, and more truth in God’s word was recovered.

The Lord’s recovery reached us in the last hundred years or so, and today we have the highest truth, the high peak of the divine revelation.

What we see, know, enjoy, and get into today is the consummation of the truths that were recovered in the previous centuries.

The truth is cumulative throughout the history, and it is progressive. Today we have the consummation of the truth.

The greatest need that we must meet today is to be brought into the truth to carry the recovery on (1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Tim. 2:2, 15).

We need to bring all the saints in the church life into the truth so that we may carry the Lord’s recovery on.

If you look at a country, those who are educated are very useful to take the country on; when a country educates its citizens, their culture, rights, responsibilities, and economy are maintained and preserved, and that country flourishes.

Today we need to be the priestly teachers like Ezra, giving ourselves to the Lord to be constituted with the truth; we need to be trained in the divine revelation to speak the truth.

We need to be educated with the divine truths; this is not a secular matter but a divine matter.

If we in Lrod’s recovery want to go on, we need to give ourselves to be in the truth day by day, week by week, month by month, and year by year.

We must pay attention to the matter of the truth in the Bible and in the ministry and get the top spiritual education.

We highly regard Christ, the Spirit, the divine life, and the church as the Body of Christ.

We need to give preeminence to these things, promoting them and carrying them out, and we need to bring the saints into these matters.

The standard of the Lord’s recovery depends on the standard of the truth that we put out; we need to be uplifted in our living and serving to the standard of the truth, and we need to be constituted with the truth.

Learning the Objective and Subjective Truths and seeing the Crystallized Significances of the Steps of God’s Economy and of the Body of Christ

In the Bible, we have both the objective truths and the subjective truths (see Luke 24:39; 1 Cor. 15:45b; Rom. 8:34, 10; Col. 3:1; 1:27).

There are two sides to the truth: the objective side and the subjective side.

The subjective truths are the truths that related to our experience of Christ and of God’s salvation in building up the church as the dwelling place of God, the Body of Christ.

For example, in Luke 24:39 the Lord met with His disciples and said, See My hands and My feet; this is I, Myself. They were afraid because they thought that they were looking at a spirit.

So the Lord told them that a spirit doesn’t have flesh and bones. And a few verses later they gave him some fish to eat.

This is one aspect of the truth; the Lord has a resurrected body, and it is physical, but it’s very mysterious, for it is also spiritual.

This is the objective side of the truth of the Lord’s resurrection, and in a sense, it doesn’t have to do with us.

But in 1 Cor. 14:45 we see that in resurrection Christ became a life-giving Spirit; this is the subjective truth, for as the Spirit He can come into us to regenerate us and be enjoyed by us.

Rom. 8:34 says that the Lord Jesus in His resurrection is at the right hand of God interceding for us.

Verse ten in the same chapter says that Christ is in us, and the spirit is life because of righteousness.

On one hand, objectively Christ is in the heavens interceding for us and, on the other hand, He is subjectively within us, living in us.

Col. 3:1 says that Christ is at the right hand of God; Col. 1:27 says that Christ in us is the hope of glory.

He’s both at the right hand of God and in us.

In our study of the Bible so that we may be constituted with the truth, we need to pay attention not only to the many “branches” but go deeper into the “roots” and the “trunk”.

We don’t ignore the branches; we simply emphasize the roots and the trunk more, and we pay attention to the central line of the divine revelation.

Even more, we need to see the crystallized significances of the steps of God’s economy and of the Body of Christ (see John 1:14; 1 Cor. 15:45b; Eph. 1:22-23; 4:4-6).

The first step of God’s economy is incarnation; the incarnation is not merely that God became man but even more, that God was mingled with man and man was mingled with God.

Then there’s another step, in 1 Cor. 15:45 Christ in the flesh became a life-giving Spirit; there is a crystallized significance of resurrection which is more than the fact that Christ was physically raised to be alive again.

We also need to see the crystallized significance of Christ’s ascension and realize that all things were subjected under His feet, and He was given to be Head over all things to the church, which is His Body.

Furthermore, we need to see that the church is the Body of Christ; the church is not only the gathering of the called-out ones as “ekklesia” says but even more, the church is the organic Body of Christ, His continuation and duplication.

Ephesians 4:4-6 reveals the mingling of the Triune God with the tripartite man; we need to see the crystallized significance of the Body of Christ.

We need to be Constituted with the Truth by having the Truth Wrought into us to become our Organic Constitution

We need to be constituted with the truth by having the truth wrought into our being to become our intrinsic being, our organic constitution (2 John 2).

The truth needs to be not only on the pages of the Bible but be part of our inner being.

The truth is not just doctrines, information, facts, and principles in the spiritual realm.

2 John 2 says that the truth abides in us and will be with us forever.

The truth must be the Lord Himself, for He is the way and the truth (the reality) and the life.

The word of God is the breath of God, the breathing out of God, and this breath is the Spirit.

We receive God’s breath by exercising our spirit, and we receive the Spirit; in this way, we are constituted with the truth.

The intrinsic element of the divine revelation must be wrought into our being to become our very constitution.

Col. 3:16 says that the word of Christ needs to dwell in us richly; we need to let, allow, permit, the word of Christ to dwell in us richly.

The word of Christ, the word spoken by Christ in the entire New Testament, is God’s speaking in the Son and through the Spirit in the entire New Testament.

We need to allow this word to dwell in us, that is, to inhabit us.

The word of Christ is not just some words in black and white as recorded in the Bible; the truth needs to be living to us to indwell us.

When we allow Christ as the truth to constitute us and abide in us, we will be richly supplied with all the riches of Christ.

Once the truth gets into us through our understanding, it remains in our memory; when we retain the truth in our memory, we will have an accumulation of the truth (1 Pet. 1:13; 2 Pet. 1:15; 3:1).

On one hand, we need to exercise our spirit to contact the Lord and even more, exercise our spirit in coming to Him in His word.

On the other hand, our mind is very important in the matter of being constituted with the truth, for the truth gets into us by means of our mentality.

We don’t merely need to memorize the verses in the Bible; we need the Lord to open our understanding so that we understand them and commit them to our memory.

If we don’t understand the truth, it will not get into us.

We need to read the Word and seek the Lord, and we need to read the ministry and open to the Lord so that He may cause us to understand the Word of God.

Our mind needs to be enlightened, and we need to understand what the divine revelation is conveying to us.

In Luke 24:45 we see that the Lord was with His disciples after His resurrection, and He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.

They already knew the Scriptures, and the Lord told them many times that He will be put to death and then will be raised after three days, but they did not understand this.

They had the scriptures in their hands but their mind was not open to understand them. But the Lord opened their mind to understand the Scriptures.

Whenever we come to the Word of God, we need to pray that the Lord would open our minds.

When we read the Bible or the ministry that opens up the Bible, we need our understanding to be opened; once we understand and apprehend what the Bible says, we can be constituted with the truth, for it becomes part of our intrinsic constitution.

Whenever we touch the word of God or read the ministry, we need to ask the Lord to open our minds so that we understand what we are reading.

Psa. 119:130 says that the opening of the Lrod’s words gives light, imparting understanding to the simple.

The unfolding and unveiling of the Lord’s words gives us light, shining inwardly over our heart and spirit to impart wisdom and revelation to us.

This is what we need to experience when we come to the word of God.

We should not settle for merely reading the Bible or the ministry and mentally understanding with what we read; we need to receive revelation and experience the opening of our understanding as we read.

When the truth gets into our memory, it becomes a constant and long-term nourishment; then, we will have an accumulation of the truth, and we are under the constant nourishment (Col. 3:16, 4; 1 Tim. 4:6).

The truth is not merely doctrines or teachings; the truth is a living person, Christ Himself.

We need to read the Bible and the ministry, asking the Lord to open our understanding, and we need to remain open to the Lord so that we may experience the truth.

May we learn to pay the price to be constituted with the truth day by day, little by little, so that the truth becomes a constant and long-term nourishment in our being.

May we be a good minister of Christ Jesus, being nourished with the words of the faith and of the good teaching which we have closely followed (1 Tim. 4:6).

The words of the faith that we are constituted with become a long-term nourishment and supply.

Lord Jesus, we want to be constituted with the truth by having the truth wrought into us to become our intrinsic constitution. Amen, Lord, open our mind as we come to Your word. Open our understanding. Grant us to have a revelation as we come to the Word of God. May the truth in the word of God become a revelation to us and be wrought into our being to be constituted in us. Amen, Lord, may there be an accumulation of the truth in our being so that we may be under the constant nourishment. Hallelujah for the words of the faith and of the good teaching which we closely follow and speak! Keep us in Your word, Lord, and keep us open to You to experience You according to the truth You reveal to us. Make us good ministers of Christ Jesus, those constituted with the truth who lay these things before the brothers, speaking the truth constituted into our being for the building up of the church!

All the Saints in the Church Life need to be Trained in the Divine Revelation to be Constituted with the Truth

Thank the Lord that He has brought us in the Lord’s recovery of the truth, of the church life, of Christ, and of the Body of Christ.

And thank the Lord for all the training that we can receive today so that we may be constituted with the truth.

All the saints in the Lord’s recovery should be trained in the divine revelation.

God desires all men to be saved and to come to the full knowledge of the truth.

On one hand, thank the Lord, we are saved; on the other hand, we need to come to the full knowledge of the truth.

We need to be educated and trained in the divine revelation so that we are constituted with the truth.

All the truths are in the Bible, but they may not be our constitution or long-term nourishment.

It is not an easy task to be built up in the truth; our constitution with the truth is not an overnight matter – it needs to take place all the time.

Nearly all the crucial revelations in the Bible have been covered in the ministry of brother Nee and brother Lee; we should pay attention to these pure and healthy things and not waste our time collecting “poisonous gourds” (see 2 Kings 4:38-41).

There are many poisonous gourds out there, but it is not healthy for us to collect them.

We need to remain in the healthy ministry of the age, the sound teaching of the apostles; this ministry betroths us to Christ and constitutes us to become a long-term nourishment in us.

We worship the Lord for the purity of the ministry in the church life in the Lord’s recovery and for the healthy supply of life, we receive when we come to the word of God.

As we read the Bible with the footnotes in the Recovery version, we are helped, enlightened, encouraged, and nourished.

We need to consider the text of the Recovery Version and the life-studies as a textbook; they do not replace the Bible but rather, they open up the Bible and bring to light the main points in God’s word, bringing us into the experience and enjoyment of Christ for the building up of the church.

We shouldn’t just read the Bible and the footnotes in a light way to receive a temporary nourishment; rather, we need to pay the price to be constituted with the truth.

When what we read becomes a truth in our being, this nourishment remains forever.

We all need to be helped through the life-studies and the Recovery Version with the footnotes to see the intrinsic significance of the word of the Bible.

As seen in Neh. 8:8, 13, at that time Ezra, Nehemiah, the priests and the Levites were used by the Lord to not only read the law to the people but to give its proper meaning.

Today we have the ministry of the age which opens up the Bible and points out the intrinsic significance of God’s word.

If we pay the price of our time and availability to get into the truth and allow the truth to get into our memory, it will become a constant and long-term nourishment.

We will know how to present the truth to others, and we will remain constantly under the constant nourishment of the words of the faith.

It is so unfortunate to see that many Christians read the Bible and understand that they need to be forbearing, patient, kind, righteous, and temperate, but they do not touch the desire of God’s heart nor do they see a vision of God’s economy.

Many Christians are ignorant of the revelation in the Bible regarding God’s economy and God’s mysteries.

May we pay the price to daily be in the word of God, even have set times to read the Bible and the life-studies, not being sloppy but being diligent to be constituted with the truth.

Then, we will be nourished, the saints will be supplied, and the church will be built up.

May we bring this matter to the Lord and, in His light and with His strengthening, may we pay the price to be constituted with the truth.

Lord Jesus, we give ourselves to You to be trained in the divine revelation so that we may be constituted with the truth in the Word of God. Amen, Lord, thank You for bringing us into the church life where we not only enjoy Christ but are also being trained in the divine truth. We want to pay attention to the pure and healthy things of God’s economy and not waste our time collecting “poisonous gourds”. Oh Lord, we worship You for the purity of the ministry of the age. We thank You for the healthy life supply in Your word and in the ministry. We want to get into the word of God and have our understanding open so that we may see the intrinsic significance of the word of the Bible. May we be those who have an accumulation of the truth day by day and year by year so that we may be under the constant nourishment and know how to present the truth to others!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by the brothers in the message for this week, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1984, vol. 2, “Elders’ Training, Book 3: The Way to Carry Out the Vision,” pp. 312-313, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization-study of 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther (2022 winter training), week 5, entitled, Ezra, a Priestly Scribe, and the Need for Ezras – Those Skilled in the Word of God.
• Further reading on this topic:
  – Being trained in the divine revelation, a portion from, The Vision of the Divine Dispensing and Guidelines for the Practice of the New Way, Chapter 7, by Witness Lee.
  – Brother Witness Lee’s Intrinsic Burden for Conducting the Semiannual Trainings, a portion via, Having this Ministry (LSM newsletters).
  – Being Daily Constituted with the Truth in the Morning Revival, article via, Living to Him.
  – Being Constituted with the Truth for the Church to be the Pillar and Base of the Truth with All the Saints Being Responsible to Uphold the Truth, an outline via, The Local Church in Toronto.
  – The History and Significance of the Life-study and Crystallization-study Trainings, a portion via, Having this Ministry, (LSM newsletter).
  – Knowing the truth, being absolute for the truth, and proclaiming the truth in the present evil age, week 3, via, The Church in Regina.
  – Being Constituted with the Truth for the Consummation of the Divine Economy (2) – Truth Series #47, a message by Don Pullen – watch it on youtube.
  – Being Constituted With the Truth for the Spread of the Lord’s Testimony, article via, Living to Him.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – If we miss the Lord in Scripture, / It is just as knowledge vain; / But when Christ we touch within it, / Then His life we may obtain. / When we read, the Lord not touching, / ’Tis but mental stimulus; / But when Christ we touch by reading, / It becometh life in us. (Hymns #816 stanza 3)
  – This outline of the healthy words, / In faith and love we’ll hold; / All different teaching, fruitless talk, / Reject with spirit bold. / Oh, healthful teaching, wholesome words: / The truth of godliness! / Oh, good deposit, common faith, / And life of holiness! / Lord, make us now those faithful men / Who pass on what we’ve heard; / Make us examples of the saints / In spirit, faith, and word. (Hymns #1285 stanzas 4-6)
  – Thy Word is like a storehouse, Lord, / With full provision there, / And everyone who seeks may come, / Its glorious wealth to share. / Thy Word is like a deep, deep mine, / And jewels rich and rare / Are hidden in its mighty depths / For every searcher there. (Hymns #804 stanza 1)