Samuel Jeng

The Precious Word of God, Message Two
The Bible—God’s Breathing
Day 6

V. The way to receive God’s breathing by praying and singing

Ephesians 6:17–18   And receive the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which Spirit is the word of God, by means of all prayer and petition.

Colossians 3:16   Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another with Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to God.

Use the outline points & verses above and the hymn below for your prayer to spend time with the Lord in the Word in the morning. After your prayer time, jot down in your notebook one or two things that the Lord touched you with.

Reading Portion

BREATHING IN GOD’S WORD THROUGH PRAY-READING

When contacting the Lord through the Word, we should not separate the Word from prayer. When we read the Word, we may have an inward feeling to pray. Whenever we receive some inspiration from the Word, we will instantly desire to pray. We need to practice to pray every time we come to the Word. We do not need to interpret the Word in order to compose a prayer; we can simply use the words of the Bible as the words of our prayer. To pray the words of the Bible is to breathe in God’s breath. This is a mingling breathing—God is breathing, and we are breathing. God breathes out, and we breathe in. This mingled breathing makes us spiritually healthy. (The Healthy Word, Chapter 6)

THE WORD OF CHRIST DWELLING IN US RICHLY – SINGING THE WORD

In Colossians 3:16 Paul says, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to God.” What does it mean to let the word of Christ dwell in us richly?… Paul gives us the way in Colossians 3:16, where he says “in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to God.” Here Paul indicates that we should teach and admonish, not in an ordinary way, but in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs…. We need to sing with the exercise of the spirit. The more we sing in this way, the more we shall be inspired and set on fire. By this kind of singing, we let the word of Christ dwell in us richly.

The more we take the Word by reading, pray-reading, and especially sing-reading, the more the riches of the Word will saturate us and make us one with the Lord. Then we shall do things not in our own name, but in the name of the Lord Jesus. Let us first read the Word and then pray-read it. Following this, let us sing the Word. Then we shall become thoroughly saturated with the riches of the Word.

THE WORD BECOMING THE BOUNTIFUL SPIRIT

Whenever we are saturated with the riches of the Word, the Word within us becomes the bountiful Spirit. This takes place through our unceasing prayer. Perhaps you are wondering what this kind of prayer has to do with singing. Singing is an excellent way to pray. When you sing by exercising your spirit, you pray. Often the best prayer we can offer to God is our singing unto Him. Suppose you sing “Oh, what a life! Oh what a peace! The Christ who’s all within me lives.” This is an excellent prayer.

By praying, singing, and thanking we are infused with Christ, permeated by Him, and mingled with Him. Many of us can testify that, as we were enjoying a certain portion of the Word, spontaneously a melody welled up from within. Then we began to use this melody to sing the Word to the Lord. By singing, we were saturated with the Word and nourished by its riches. This caused us to be thankful to God. At that time we were truly one with Christ. Whatever we did in word or work was done in the name of the Lord Jesus. Again I say, this is to live Christ.

Once again I would urge you to combine the rich Word, the bountiful Spirit, and unceasing prayer. Take the Word of God not only by reading, but also by pray-reading and sing-reading. Also praise the Lord and give thanks to Him. Combine the rich Word and the bountiful supply of the Spirit with unceasing prayer. Then you will enjoy the Lord, partake of Him, be one with Him, live Him, grow in Him, and magnify Him. This is what God desires today. (Life-Study of Philippians, Chapter 37)

The Precious Word of God, Message Two
The Bible—God’s Breathing
Day 5

C. Light—the Holy Scripture not only dispels the confusion but also furnishes divine light and revelation

2  Peter 1:19   And we have the prophetic word made more firm, to which you do well to give heed as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

Psalm 119:105   Your word is a lamp to my feet / And a light to my path.

Ephesians 5:8   For you were once darkness but are now light in the Lord; walk as children of light

Use the outline points, verses and hymn above for your prayer to spend time with the Lord in the Word in the morning. After your prayer time, jot down in your notebook one or two things that the Lord touched you with.

Reading portion

Light is in the Word of God

Since life rests with light, with what then does light rest? From the Bible we see that light rests with the Word of God. This is also a great principle in the Bible. Psalm 119:105 says, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.’’ And verse 130 says, “The opening of thy words giveth light.’’ These verses show us that light rests indeed with the Word of God. Therefore if we want to obtain light, we must obtain the Word of God. Whenever we obtain the Word of God, we obtain light. The reason we do not have light is that we lack the Word of God.

The Word of God we speak of here does not refer to the written word in the Bible, but to the word the Holy Spirit speaks to us from within. The Bible is God’s written Word; this is certainly correct. But such a Word, composed of mere fixed letters, does not have the power of shining light and cannot be light to us. However, when the Holy Spirit reveals anew the word of the Bible, opening and quickening it to us, the Word then has the power of shining light and can be our light.

Light is the Inner Sense of Life

In the old creation God commanded the light to shine outwardly, but in the new creation, God Himself has shined into our hearts (2 Cor. 4:6). When we talk about light, we are not talking about the light outside of us, but we are speaking of God as light shining inside of us. This light actually is the sense of life.

What we are in our self is different from what He is. He loves, while we hate. He is holy, while we are worldly. He is righteous, while we are unrighteous. He exposes us for what we are, which is not what He is. This is the inner sense of life. For example, you may say something to criticize or joke about your brother. The Lord did not say it, but the law of sin in your flesh made you say it. Right away, you may feel that was wrong. That sensation is light, the inner sense of life. What do you do now? All you have to do is to say, “O Lord Jesus, forgive me. That was not You speaking. Fill me up with Yourself.’’ As you are praying according to the light, the Lord forgives you, cleanses you and grows in you so that you are more conformed to the image of Christ.

(Lesson Book, Level 4: Life – Knowing and Experiencing Life, Chapter 4)

The Precious Word of God, Message Two
The Bible—God’s Breathing
Day 4

B. Life—eternal life not only swallows up death but also renders the life supply

1 Corinthians 15:54b …the word which is written will come to pass, “Death has been swallowed up unto victory.”

1 Peter 1:23   Having been regenerated not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible, through the living and abiding word of God.

Hebrews 4:12   For the word of God is living and operative and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit and of joints and marrow, and able to discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Song – Jesus, O living Word of God (For the whole song go to:  https://www.hymnal.net/en/hymn/ns/74)

Jesus, O living Word of God,
Wash me and cleanse me with Your blood
So You can speak to me.

Just let me hear Your words of grace,
Just let me see Your radiant face,
Beholding constantly.

Jesus, living Word,
My heart thirsts for Thee;
Of Thee I’d eat and drink,
Enjoy Thee thoroughly.

Use the outline points, verses and hymn above for your prayer to spend time with the Lord in the Word in the morning. After your prayer time, jot down in your notebook one or two things that the Lord touched you with.

Reading Portion

The Bible is the Word of God, the expression of God. God expresses Himself in order that He may enter into us to be our life. God is so mysterious that without the Word, it would be very difficult to contact Him. Thankfully, He is the Word. When we touch and contact the Word, we can touch and contact God. Therefore, in order for us to contact God and enjoy Him as life, we must read the Bible. However, when we read the Bible, we must be careful not to fall into the temptation of merely studying with our mind. We must have the firm realization that the Bible is the expression of God. Therefore, we need to use our heart and spirit to contact the words in the Bible. If we do this, we will be inwardly satisfied, restful, and watered. When we read the Bible, our goal should be to contact God.

The Word Being outside of Us and the Spirit Being within Us

In actuality, the Word is the Spirit, and the Spirit is the Word. Outside of us, the Spirit is embodied in the Word; inside of us, the Word is realized as the Spirit. Whenever we receive the words of the Bible into our being, these words become spirit and life and are realized as the Spirit. Although the words in 2 Corinthians 6:14 seemingly speak only of not being dissimilarly yoked with unbelievers, we can sense the operation of the Spirit in us when we read this verse. As soon as these words enter into us, we realize them as the Spirit.

When the words of the Bible become the Spirit in us and operate in us, they are life to us. Even though the Bible is a book of life, this is not readily apparent because outwardly the Bible appears to be just a book. The words in the Bible must be read and received into us so that the words in the Bible can become life to us through the operating Spirit. The Lord said, “The words which I have spoken to you are spirit and are life” (John 6:63). This shows that His words are life only when they are spirit to us. If the Bible is merely words to us, it will not be life to us. The words in the Bible must become the Spirit to us, and then they also will be life. The words in the Bible become the Spirit when they enter into us. Strictly speaking, if the Bible is only a book in our hands, its words will not be life to us but rather letter, because they are only in our mind. The words in the Bible will become the Spirit to us when we read the Bible with our spirit and allow the words in the Bible to touch our spirit and enter into us.

Experiencing God as the Word and as the Spirit

If we desire to know God and experience Him as our life, we must experience Him as both the Word and the Spirit, because today He is in His words and also in the Spirit. Touching God and contacting God is not something that should be abstract to us. Rather, it is something that can be genuine and real if we calm down our outer man, rein in our mind, and exercise our spirit to read and contact the Lord in the Word. Then His Word will become the Spirit operating in us. In this way we will contact God in our spirit.

I hope that we will learn to use the Bible outside of us and to contact the Spirit within us. We are truly rich! We have the Spirit in us, and we also have the Bible in our hand. The riches in these two items are inexhaustible! For two thousand years no one has exhausted these riches; the more a person touches them, the richer they become…. The riches that we have received cannot be exhausted in our experience. We do not possess silver and gold (Acts 3:6), but we have something much more valuable; we have the Word and the Spirit. (Leading the Young People with the Word and the Spirit, Chapter 14)

The Precious Word of God, Message Two
The Bible—God’s Breathing
Day 3

A. Truth—truth replaces the vanity of corruption with the reality of all the divine riches

Ephesians 5:26   That He might sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing of the water in the word.

John 17:17   Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.

Titus 3:5   Not out of works in righteousness which we did but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit,

Read over the outline points and verses above and use these for your prayer to spend time with the Lord in the Word in the morning. After your prayer time, jot down in your notebook one or two things that the Lord touched you with. Afterward, read the following portion, either in your morning time or sometime later in the day.

Reading Portion:

THE CLEANSING OF THE CHURCH BY THE WASHING OF THE WATER IN THE WORD (Ephesians 5:26)

We must notice this phrase “by the washing of the water in the word.” In the New Testament two Greek words are used to denote word. One is logos, referring to the word in a general sense; the other is rhema, which although translated as word in Scripture, means something quite different from logos. Logos refers both to things which have been eternally determined and to things used in an objective way. This is word, as we generally use it, and word, as it is generally known in Christianity. But rhema refers to words which are spoken. This is more subjective than logos. Let us look at several passages in the New Testament where rhema is used.

In Luke 2:29 Simeon said, “Now You release Your slave, Master, according to Your word, in peace.” “Word” in this verse is rhema. Before the Lord Jesus came, God spoke His word to Simeon that he would not see death until he had seen the Lord’s Christ. But on the day he saw the Lord Jesus, Simeon said, “Now You release Your slave, Master, according to Your word, in peace.” Simeon had rhema from the Lord. It was not according to a certain chapter or a certain verse in the Bible, but it was according to the word spoken to him on that day by the Lord. Merely having the word from a certain chapter and verse in the Bible is not sufficient. Only the word which the Lord speaks to us is of any use. The rhema reveals something to us personally and directly; it shows us what we need to deal with and what we need to be cleansed from. We must specifically seek after this very matter, because our Christian life is based on this rhema. What word has God really spoken to us, and how has He spoken to us?

We will always treasure the fact that the Lord still speaks today. He not only spoke in the Scriptures, He not only spoke to Paul and John, He is also speaking to us today. The word of the Lord has never ceased…. May God have mercy upon us and give us rhema. May He speak personally and directly to us today. Only when we have rhema can we move ahead and have the living water to supply to others. What we need is rhema. (The Glorious Church, Chapter 3)

The Precious Word of God, Message Two
The Bible—God’s Breathing
Day 2

III. God’s breathing to sustain us

2 Timothy 3:16-17   All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for conviction, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. 17 That the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work.

IV. God’s breathing brings the element of God into us

John 4:24   God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truthfulness.

John 6:63   It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words which I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.

Hymn 255: (To learn the tune, you can go to https://www.hymnal.net/en/hymn/h/255)

Stanza 1

O Lord, breathe Thy Spirit on me,
Teach me how to breathe Thee in;
Help me pour into Thy bosom
All my life of self and sin.

Chorus

I am breathing out my sorrow,
Breathing out my sin;
I am breathing, breathing, breathing,
All Thy fullness in.

Simple prayers:

“Lord, teach me how to breathe You in! I open to breathe in all Your fullness!”

“Lord sustain me, maintain me all day by Your breathing. Breath Yourself into me throughout the day. I love You! Thank you for being my breathable God!”

Use the outline points, verses and hymn above for your prayer to spend time with the Lord in the Word in the morning. After your prayer time, jot down in your notebook one or two things that the Lord touched you with.

Reading Portion

The Scripture – All God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

The expression “God-breathed” indicates that the Scripture, the Word of God, is the breath of God. God’s speaking is God’s breathing. Hence, His word is spirit (John 6:63), pneuma, or breath. Thus, the Scripture is the embodiment of God as the Spirit. The Spirit is therefore the very essence, the substance, of the Scripture, just as phosphorus is the essential substance in matches. We must “strike” the Spirit of the Scripture with our spirit to kindle the divine fire.

As the embodiment of God the Spirit, the Scripture is also the embodiment of Christ. Christ is God’s living Word (Rev. 19:13), and the Scripture is God’s written word (Matt. 4:4)

To Complete the Man of God

Many Christians misuse 3:16 and 17. They point out that the holy Scripture is for teaching, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness and that it enables the man of God to be equipped, completed, and perfected. Although all this is true, it neglects the element of life in the Word. Those who regard the Bible as a book of teaching, reproof, correction, and instruction often ignore the life essence of the Word. As human beings we have a physical body outwardly, but inwardly we have a spirit and a soul. Our person is composed not mainly of the outward part, the body, but of the inward parts, the spirit and the soul. The principle is the same with the Bible. The Bible has not only a “body” of letters in black and white; it also has a spirit, because it is God-breathed. If in reading the Bible we exercise only our mind to study it, we shall not receive the life supply.

Most Christians neglect the spirit and take the Bible as a book of letters. The Lord Jesus once said, “The words which I have spoken unto you are spirit and are life” (John 6:63). Furthermore, we have pointed out that every word of the Bible is part of God’s breath. Thus, we should not only study the Word, but also breathe in the divine breath embodied in the Word. If we do not breathe the divine breath by exercising our spirit, we shall not receive life from our study of the Bible. But when we breathe in God’s breath, we are enlivened by a divine, heavenly, and spiritual element.

We thank the Lord for showing us that in reading the Word we need to exercise our eyes, our mind, and our spirit. We may say that with the eyes we contact the body of the Word, that with our mind we contact the soul of the Word, and through the exercise of our spirit to pray the Word, we contact the spirit of the Word. Then we not only understand the meaning of a certain portion of Scripture; we also inhale the divine breath to receive the life supply.

Many of us can testify that a certain verse of the Bible may be very precious to us as we read it. However, disciples of Confucius may also regard certain statements made by him as precious. But with the teachings of Confucius there is no divine breath. God’s Word contains His breath. Within the letters of the Bible there is the Spirit who gives life. This is the reason that in reading the Word we must exercise our spirit in addition to our mind. Then the verses we read will be not only precious to us, but they will nourish, refresh, and water us.

Actually, the function of the Word in teaching, reproof, correction, and instruction is all related to transformation. The Bible corrects us not primarily outwardly, but inwardly in the way of transformation. This means that the word of Scripture works within us in a metabolic way. Just as the food we eat and digest nourishes us from within, metabolically changing and transforming us, so the Word of God transforms us by inwardly teaching, reproving, correcting, and instructing us.