In the Old Testament we see Moses as the prophet, and in the New Testament we have Paul; Paul was one with God to the extent that even when he expressed his opinion, what he spoke was God’s speaking. Wow!
It was the same with Moses: many times what he spoke in Deuteronomy was from his heart to the children of Israel, and it may have not been God’s commandment but his own yearning, desire, and exhortation; however, his speaking became the word of God.
Christ is the real and true Prophet; when we spend time with the Lord in His word and allow God to infuse us with His element, we will have God’s living speaking. Then, whatever we say, will be something from God’s word, something from the Lord.
The Lord Jesus as the Prophet didn’t speak from Himself, He didn’t do His own work, and He didn’t preach His own teaching; rather, He spoke God’s word, He taught what He heard from the Father, and He sought the Father’s glory.
We may say that it was easy for the Lord Jesus to do this, since He was God; but if we read the Gospels we realize that His living was that of a man, He was a God-man, and He took much time to be with the Father.
Again and again it is mentioned in the Gospels how the Lord sent the crowds away and went away to a deserted place or to the mountain to pray.
Many times He spent the whole night in prayer, and His disciples already knew where were His favorite spots for prayer with the Father.
The reason the Lord Jesus could speak God’s word and do as God instructed Him, having God’s word in His mouth and not speaking His own thing, was because He as a man was in constant fellowship with the Father, and He was constantly in the Word of God.
He quoted verses and portions from the Old Testament and applied them to Himself and to the situation around Him.
As God’s prophet, Christ spoke for God, spoke forth God, and revealed God to the disciples; the four Gospels are filled with the speaking of this Prophet.
Today this Prophet, Jesus Christ as the Prophet of God, is still speaking for God to reveal God and speaking God into people, but this time He does it in the principle of incarnation, that is, in man and through man!
So we need to be one with the Lord, being infused with Him in His word and prayer, and be so one with God that what we speak would be the word of God and not merely our word.
How Paul was so One with God that even when he Spoke his Opinion, it was God’s Speaking
As a prophet typifying Christ as the true Prophet, Moses might have spoken something of his own feeling in Deuteronomy, but even though he did this, his feeling and opinion became the word of God.
Moses’ speaking in Deuteronomy was like Paul’s speaking in 1 Cor. 7.
Because Paul was a man constituted with God, his opinion became a part of God’s word as the divine revelation in the New Testament.
Paul was so one with the Lord that in his speaking he spoke what was God’s speaking.
Take for example the matter of fornication, of which he spoke in 1 Cor. 6; after dealing with this matter that is not so easy to deal with, he said that just as a man is joined to a prostitute and is one flesh with her, so he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit. Wow!
Even when dealing with the unsavoury things concerning fornication, Paul gave his own interpretation and application, and this became God’s speaking, recorded as God’s word in the Bible!
1 Cor. 6:17 says that he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit; Paul was joined to the Lord, he was one with God, and his word became the word of God recorded in the Bible.
Then in 1 Cor. 7:25 Paul said that regarding virgins he has no commandment from the Lord, but he gave his opinion as one who has been shown mercy by the Lord to be faithful; then he said that he thinks he also has the Spirit of God (v. 40).
His opinion became part of the word of God because he was one with God in his speaking. This is the same principle we see with Moses’s speaking in Deuteronomy.
We could say that Paul was very bold, very daring, for he himself was not married, he didn’t have any commandment from the Lord what to say concerning virgins whether to marry or not, yet he gave his own opinion, and his opinion is recorded as part of the word of God.
This is what God desires to gain today; He wants to gain some who are so one with the Lord and so constituted with His word that in their speaking they may not have a clear leading from the Lord what to speak, but they speak their own feeling and opinion, and this becomes God’s speaking.
This doesn’t mean that we should be presumptuous and speak whatever we want to speak, and then we claim that this is the Lord’s speaking.
Being a prophet doesn’t mean that we start our speaking with, Thus says the Lord…and then we speak what we think we should speak.
Being a prophet means that we are in God’s presence constantly, we contact the Lord continually, and we are fully constituted with Him in His word; then, what comes out of us is the word of God, God’s speaking, for we are one with the Lord.
May the Lord grant us His mercy that we may be such ones, those shown mercy by the Lord to be faithful to Him in their speaking and in their living.
Lord Jesus, grant us Your mercy that we may be faithful to You in Your word as we speak day by day. We want to be in Your word, be infused with Your element, and be filled and constituted with Your speaking, so that we may speak one with God and thus speak the word of God. Dear Lord Jesus, we simply want to be one with You in everything so that we may speak what You speak, we may not speak when You do not speak, and even our opinion and feelings would be an expression of Your speaking.
Loving the Lord and His Interests, Being one with God, and Submitting to Him in All things
The Apostle Paul was absolutely one with the Lord in all circumstances, situations, and conditions; also, he loved the Lord and was one with God in all things, so what he spoke was actually God’s speaking.
He was so utterly one with the Lord that his instructions and answers spontaneously and unconsciously expressed God’s speaking and also Paul’s absolute spirit.
Because he had such a spirit, he could answer the questions from the believers in Corinth in a clear and absolute way, in a way that would help them also become one with God in their situation.
If we go to a marriage counsellor today we would never get the answer that Paul gave in 1 Cor. 6-7; what we may get is human opinion and advice, and many times their answers are in rebellion against God and apart from God and His speaking.
But Paul was absolutely under God, he was for God, and he was one with God.
Even more, Paul loved the Lord, was for the Lord, and he was willing to accept any kind of situation and circumstance.
This is why he could say that if a brother’s unbelieving wife desires to remain with him, he should accept this situation, but if she decides to leave, he should also accept this.
Paul submitted to God and to His will, realizing that God was always in his circumstances. It is important for us to be one with God and be willing to accept any kind of circumstance or situation, realizing that God is coming to us in our circumstances.
We may even say that circumstances are God coming to us in disguise.
Apparently we are in a particular circumstance, but actually that circumstance is God coming to us and God with us.
We need to submit to God and to His arrangement, we should not seek to change our situation or circumstance but, in whatever status God called us in, we should remain with God (1 Cor. 7:24).
May we have an excellent spirit like Paul, a spirit which is submissive, content, and satisfied; such a spirit doesn’t have any complaints, no matter how others treat us.
No matter what the situation is, no matter how others treat us, we need to be one with God and love Him, care for His interest, and not complain or try to change our situation.
All situations work for good for us; good things, not so good things, not so pleasant situations – all things work together for good, when we take God in every situation and are absolutely for Him, one with God!
May we have such an excellent spirit who is submissive, content, and satisfied as a result of our being one with God in all things.
We can be the prophets of today who are one with Christ, the Prophet in our spirit, by caring for His interests on earth, loving the Lord, are absolutely for the Lord and one with the Lord, and in every respect we are obedient, submissive, and satisfied with God and the circumstances arranged by Him.
When we love the Lord and care for His interest, we will spend much time with the Lord in His word, and we will allow Him to infuse us with Himself; this will make us content with our circumstances and situations, and we will be one with God in everything.
Lord Jesus, we love You, we care for Your interests on earth, and we want to be absolutely for the Lord and even one with the Lord in all things. Lord, we thank You that everything in our circumstances and environment works out for good, for You are in control, all situations are from You, and we can be one with You in all things. Amen, Lord, in every situation we have our God, the One whom we love and the One to whom we belong absolutely! We love You, Lord, and we want to be absolutely one with God in everything, including in our speaking, so that we may speak the words of God even as God speaks in us and through us!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by bro. Minoru Chen for this week, and portions from, The Conclusion of the New Testament, msgs. 22, 69, 90 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization-Study of Deuteronomy, week 7, Christ — the True Prophet Typified by Moses.
- Hymns on this topic:
– He who is joined to the Lord is one Spirit. / Hallelujah! / This is our organic union with the Lord / Through believing into Him. / It is like that of the branches with the vine; / In and of life, the divine life. / Such a union with our resurrected Lord / Can only be in our spirit! (Song on, He who is joined to the Lord is one Spirit. Hallelujah!)
– Lord, we see You! Lord, we love You! / Lord, we submit everything to You. / Each day, Your ruling and Your reigning / Brings a sweet supply. / Oh, what a rich blessing! / We’re in the hand of our King. / Everything You hope to accomplish, / do in me. (Song on, Hidden Behind Every Scene)
– I am one with Thee, Lord Jesus, / One in spirit now with Thee; / All Thyself I now possess, Lord, / All Thou art now lives in me. / One with Thee, one with Thee, / One with Thee, one with Thee; / Day by day I share Thy riches, / Thou art everything to me. (Hymns #474)
About aGodMan
