Having the Living Revelation and the Living Word to Follow the Living Star of Christ

Finding Christ is a living matter, not a matter of mere doctrinal knowledge of the Bible; we need to have the living revelation of Christ, the living vision of Christ, and we need to follow it absolutely to be brought to Him, and we also need to have the living word of God, not any doctrinal knowledge of the Scriptures.

Lord Jesus, we want to know You in a living way. We open to Your shining. Appear to us. May we have a living vision of who Christ is. May we follow the vision absolutely to find Christ and be one with Christ. Amen, Lord, we come to You by exercising our spirit to touch You and we come to Your living word to know You and find You! Amen!

This week, we are focusing on Matthew chapter 2 where we see something quite peculiar related to the birth of the Lord Jesus.

We know that He was born in Bethlehem, in a manger, and the shepherds were directed by the angels to come and see the newborn King.

After this, however, there was another event, that is, the magi from the east being led by the star of Christ to find Him and worship Him.

These magi were not from the holy land; they did not know the Scriptures, and they were not seeking God.

Rather, they were learned men from the east, and they saw the star of Christ; they were captured. They followed this star until they found Jesus, but there were a few events on the way.

Instead of following the star all the way, they thought that, since the star was of the new king born in Israel, they should go to Jerusalem and ask to see the newborn king.

This caused a lot of problems. The whole city was troubled, and King Herod was troubled also.

Eventually, they went on their way and followed the living star until they found the baby in the house with His parents. There, they worshipped Him and offered Him presents.

We may say that this is an interesting story with twists and turns, but if we exercise our spirit and are enlightened by the Lord through the ministry of the age, we will realise that this is our experience many times.

May we not take the word of God for granted; may we come to God’s word in spirit, with the exercise of our spirit, and with an unveiled heart, so that we may see something living, new, and fresh from the Lord.

May He shine on us as the living star, and may we follow Him absolutely, even follow Him wherever He leads us so that we may be one with Christ and be with Christ.

Also, may we have not mere dead knowledge of the Word of God, knowledge in our head, but the living word of God to confirm His shining as the living star.

To Find Christ is a Living Matter: we need the Living Revelation of Christ Today

Matthew 2:1-12 reveals to us that to find Christ is a living matter; it is not merely a matter of doctrinal knowledge of the Bible.

The Lord Jesus was born in Bethlehem, but God arranged it in such a way that, far away from the Holy Land, far away from the genuine religion, far away from the temple, and far away from the Jewish religious centre, a star showing something of Christ appeared to some heathen people.

The magi were heathen people, not seekers of God; God caused the star to appear to them. God has mercy on whomever He has mercy, and He calls whomever He calls.

If the people of God do not offer Him the cooperation He needs, if there are no loving seekers of God among God’s people to open to Him and cooperate with Him, God has to go to another people, even to a people far away, who are open to Him.

The first case of finding Christ in the Scriptures was not by the Bible; the magi didn’t have a Bible, they didn’t know the Scriptures, but they had the living star.

On the other hand, the chief priests and scribes knew the Bible very well, but the Lord did not go to them; rather, He went to some Gentile wise men.

It is amazing to see that the star appeared far away from the scribes, the Pharisees, the priests, and from all the religious ones.

We may have the Bible today, but do we have the living star shining? Do we have the living revelation of Christ? Does the Lord shine on us in a living way today? Do we have the Lord’s appearing?

Do we cooperate with the Lord as He appears to us? We have the Bible in our hands, we have the Recovery Version of the Bible with the wonderful footnotes, but do we have the living star?

Does the Lord appear to us as we read His word? Do we merely take the Word of God as dead knowledge?

Are we full of doctrinal knowledge of Christ, of God’s economy, and of the high peak truths, or do we have a living revelation and vision of Christ?

May the Lord have mercy on us in this matter.

One example in the book of Acts of a person outside the church who was actually open to God and received His fresh revelation was Paul. He was very religious and zealous, but he was a genuine seeker.

When Christ met him, he did not rely on any doctrines or dead Scriptural knowledge; he went away for a time and spent time with God to receive revelation from Him (Gal. 1:12, 15-16).

He saw the living vision of Christ and realised that Christ is all-inclusive and extensive.

He saw that the church is the Body of Christ, and that all the law and prophets are about Christ and for Christ.

In Paul, the Lord had an open vessel who may not have been that positive outwardly but was unveiled and willing to cooperate with the Lord, so God could pour out the divine revelation of His eternal economy through him.

We today may know the Bible and we may even study to obtain a degree in Bible knowledge, but we cannot determine when will the living star will come.

May we be those who are open to the Lord today to receive His living revelation. May we ask Him to appear to us and unveil us to see Him.

May we not remain stuck in the old religion, old knowledge, and old ways. May we just open to the Lord and be like a blank piece of paper for Him to write Himself on us.

Throughout the history of the church, we see many examples of God being hindered by His people who have seen something of Christ but formed a religion and were stuck in it; therefore, He had to break through another person in order to reveal what is in His heart.

He broke through in and with Martin Luther, but his followers formed a religion and got stuck. He broke through the Brethren, but they also formed something and then got stuck.

So God went to China to a young man called Watchman Nee who was open to the Lord; God unveiled to Him the desire of His heart, and He had a way to pour out through him what God wants to show us today.

It is the same with Witness Lee; he was just open and unveiled, and the Lord had a free way to speak.

How about us today? We have all the books; we have all the life-studies, we have the Recovery Version, and we have the wonderful church life. Are we stuck? Are we open to the Lord freshly to receive the living revelation of Christ?

Do we remain in dead knowledge of the Scriptures or do we freshly open to the Lord daily so that He as the living star may appear to us?

What we need today is not mere Bible knowledge but the heavenly vision, the instant vision, even the living vision of Christ, the vision that human concepts cannot teach (Matt. 2:4-6).

For us to know Christ today is something living, not something according to the knowledge of the Bible in dead letters but according to the living, heavenly star.

Lord Jesus, we open to Your shining today. Appear to us. Shine on us. Appear to us as the living star. Grant us to have a living revelation of Christ. May we have the heavenly vision, the living vision, the vision that human concepts cannot teach. Oh Lord, we just open. Unveil us. Remove any veils of old concepts, religious thoughts, and dead Bible knowledge. Save us from being stuck in our Scriptural knowledge. Save us from not advancing with You. May we have Your fresh appearing day by day. Oh Lord Jesus, we come to You in Your word and we open to You throughout the day to have the living revelation of Christ, the heavenly vision! Shine on us! May we see You, follow You, and be with You! Amen, Lord, may we have not just some dead doctrines to which we hold but a living vision of Christ, even the living revelation that leads us to where Christ is and make su one with Christ! Have mercy on us, Lord, and unveil us to see You in a fresh way today!

Have the Heavenly Vision and the Living Word and Follow the Living Star without Paying attention to our Human or Religious Concepts

The living star that appeared to the magi was the living revelation, the living vision, not the old and dead doctrinal knowledge of the Scriptures.

It was not the dead knowledge of Micah 5:2 that led the wise men from the east to find Christ, but the living star. What we need today is not merely Bible knowledge but the heavenly vision.

We need to have the up-to-date, instant vision, the living vision of Christ; such a vision is not taught by human concepts or mere Bible knowledge.

Even if we have the knowledge of the Scriptures, we still need to have the instant, up-to-date, living star to lead us to the very street and the very house where Jesus is.

It is the living revelation from God that can lead us to where Christ is.

We may know that Christ is in His word and also in our spirit, but unless we have the living revelation from God, unless we see the heavenly vision, it will not be easy for us to find out exactly where Christ is.

In Numbers 24:17 we are told that there shall come forth a Star out of Jacob; this star, however, did not appear to any of the people of Jacob, but to some pagans.

If we look at the story in Matthew 2, after receiving the living vision, the magi were misled by their human concepts.

They thought that, since the star is of the newborn King of the Jews, they should go to Jerusalem and check with the people there about this.

Instead of following the living star absolutely and to the end, they followed their human concepts, and much trouble ensued.

They went to Jerusalem, and the king and the whole city were troubled, and eventually this resulted in the killing of many young boys – simply because the magi did not follow the living star to the end. Oh Lord Jesus!

Their being misled caused many young boys to be killed (Matt. 2:16).

We should not be governed by our natural concept. We need to have the living revelation of Christ, follow this revelation, and not allow any human or religious concepts to come in.

On the one hand, we need to have the living revelation from God; on the other hand, we need to exercise our spirit in coming to God’s word to obtain the proper spiritual knowledge of the Scriptures.

The two match: the living revelation from God and the living word of God in the Bible.

If we follow the living revelation from God and pay attention to the living word of God without bringing in any human concepts, we will find the Lord Jesus, and we will be one with Him.

He will be in us and we will be in Him, and we can be one with Him in all things.

May the Lord save us from our human concepts, even our religious and old scriptural concepts. These concepts bring in many problems in our Christian life and in the church life.

May we be fresh, new, an dliving with the Lord in our fellowship with Him, and may we have His living word in us, speaking to us and leading us.

Because the magi allowed their human concepts to lead them even for a little bit, they almost caused the loss of the little child Jesus.

If we allow our concepts to come in, if we allow our religious and natural concepts to lead us in our following the Lord, we will rather persecute Christ and put Him to death than be one with Him and find Him.

We see this in the book of Acts with the Jewish believers, who allowed their Jewish concepts and religious practices to saturate them to the extent that some became Judaizers, bringing in trouble among the Gentile believers.

May the Lord purify our heart and our mind by His living speaking in His word.

May we be renewed in our mind (Rom. 12:2) and have the mind of Christ. May we follow the Lord’s living revelation today and be in His living word until we are one with the Lord fully.

Lord Jesus, grant us to have the living revelation that leads us to where You are! Amen, Lord, we want to follow You by following the heavenly vision and being in Your living word! May we know Christ in a living way, not according to the knowledge of Bible in dead letters but according to the living, heavenly star! Amen, Lord, unveil us to see You! Shine on us as the living star! We come to You in Your word not to obtain more Scriptural knowledge but to gain more of Christ in a living way! Amen, Lord, shine on us and expose to eliminate any human concepts, any religious concepts, and any old and dead scriptural knowledge. May we faithfully and diligently follow the living revelation and remain in the living word of God with no human concepts so that we may find Christ and be one with Christ! Amen, Lord, we love You! We want to know You! We want to find You! Appear to us! Lead us to where You are. Make us fully one with You! Oh Lord, we are Your loving seekers today!

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 brother Ed Marks on this topic, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1970, vol. 1, “New Testament Service,” pp. 277-278, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The All-inclusive Christ as Revealed in Matthew (2025 Thanksgiving Blending Conference), week 1, The Up-to-date, Instant, and Living Vision of the Heavenly Christ as the Living Star – day 2.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – Oh, Lord, grant us revelation, / Grant us light and sight to see / That as life, within our spirit, / Thou art our reality; / And that from within our spirit, / Now You must possess each part / Spreading out to all our being, / Making home in all our heart. (Hymns #1136 stanza 1)
  – I heard the voice of Jesus say, / “I am this dark world’s Light; / Look unto Me, thy morn shall rise, / And all thy day be bright.” / I looked to Jesus, and I found / In Him my Star, my Sun; / And in that Light of life I’ll walk / Till trav’lling days are done. (Hymns #323 stanza 3)
  – Lord, I was blind; I could not see / In Thy marred visage any grace, / But now the beauty of Thy face / In radiant vision dawns on me. / Lord, I was deaf; I could not hear / The thrilling music of Thy voice; / But now I hear Thee and rejoice, / And all Thine uttered words are dear! (Hymns #599 stanzas 1-2)