聖經是我們獨一無二的標準 - 生命.. 結晶.. 啓示

The Nature of God's Word of Grace

Grace is the Triune God received and enjoyed by believers. It is the word given to the saints for their enjoyment after God went through the processes of incarnation, human living, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension

As the concrete embodiment and expression of the Triune God, it becomes the foundation and source of believers' spiritual life

Paul spoke God's word of grace to the saints daily during his three years in Ephesus; the Life-study messages contain God's word of grace

Through Bible reading, pray-reading, and studying Life-study messages, making God's word our daily spiritual food

Acts 20:32 Now I commit you to God and to the word of His grace

Acts 15:40 being committed by the brothers to the grace of the Lord

Function 1: Building up the Saints

Growing in the divine life requires nourishment of the divine element and being perfected and equipped with divine knowledge

Provides all the nourishment needed for spiritual growth, enabling believers to continually grow and mature in the divine life

Paul committed the Ephesian believers to God and His word of grace to build them up; both young and older people can be constituted by the Life-study messages

Young people spending years being constituted by Life-study messages; older people can still be constituted and then serve the Lord; carrying out God's New Testament economy throughout the earth

Acts 20:32 which is able to build you up

Eph. 4:12 for the perfecting of the saints unto the work of the ministry, unto the building up of the body of Christ

1 Pet. 2:2 as newborn babes, long for the guileless milk of the word

Function 2: Receiving the Inheritance

The divine inheritance is the Triune God Himself with all that He has, all that He has accomplished, and all that He will do for His redeemed people; it is a legal, proper, and eternal inheritance

Enables believers to receive the inheritance among all the sanctified ones, enjoying the Triune God as their eternal heavenly inheritance

Christ is the portion allotted to all the saints; the Spirit is the foretaste, pledge, and guarantee of this divine inheritance; believers enjoy this inheritance in the New Testament jubilee

Receiving the right to partake of the inheritance at regeneration; daily partaking of and enjoying the inheritance; not working for the inheritance but receiving it; enjoyment from this age to eternity

Acts 20:32 and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified

Col. 1:12 to partake of the allotted portion of the saints in the light

Eph. 1:14 who is the pledge of our inheritance

1 Pet. 1:4 unto an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and unfading, reserved in the heavens for you

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

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

1 Thes. 5:23 And the God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly

Rom. 6:19,22 dispositional sanctification

Col. 2:9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily

Rom. 8:23 the Spirit as the firstfruits

Matt. 23:17,19 positional sanctification

Heb. 4:12 For the word of God is living and operative

Isa. 55:11 So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty

Function 3: Sanctifying Believers

Being separated from the world and the world's occupation unto God and God's purpose; including both positional sanctification and dispositional sanctification

God's living word works within believers, separating them from all worldly things and making them sanctified

The Lord Jesus prayed for His disciples, asking the Father to sanctify them with the truth; God's word is the truth that can actually sanctify believers

Being sanctified through God's word; being separated from the world in God's word; partaking of God's inheritance requires being sanctified first; practical application of the word of truth in life

Overall Characteristics

God's word of grace possesses the qualities of divinity, completeness, effectiveness, and eternality

The three functions are interrelated: building up → sanctification → receiving inheritance, forming a complete cycle of spiritual growth

From Paul's ministry experience to today's Life-study messages, all demonstrate the continuous function of God's word of grace

Personal level: daily Bible reading and pray-reading; Church level: sharing and building up in meetings; Ministry level: proclaiming the word of grace; Life level: practical application and transformation by the word

Practical Points

God's word of grace is not merely knowledge or teaching, but the concrete embodiment and practical supply of God Himself

Requires continuously receiving, digesting, and applying God's word of grace, allowing it to function in life for building up, sanctification, and inheriting

Paul's committing the believers to God and His word of grace shows that this word has sufficient power and authority to accomplish God's work in believers

Establishing a regular life in the word; practicing the sharing of the word of grace in church life; practically applying the truth in daily life; being constituted and transformed by God's word long-term