God’s Economy in Faith
Message Five
Speaking by the Spirit of Faith
Opening Word of the Prophesying Meeting
(Day1 ¦ Day2 ¦ Day3 ¦ Day4 ¦ Day5 ¦ Day6)
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
2 Cor. 4:13 And having the same spirit of faith according to that which is written, “I believed, therefore I
spoke,” we also believe, therefore we also speak.
Eph. 5:18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissoluteness, but be filled in spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and psalming with your heart to the Lord.
Word of Appetizer
Speaking by the spirit of faith in our practical life is a great, crucial point. What is the spirit of faith?
The spirit of faith is a mingling of the Holy Spirit with our regenerated human spirit. The phrase spirit of faith places spirit in apposition to faith. Faith is of the spirit; therefore, the spirit of faith is faith. Our faith is the mingled spirit.
We must exercise such a spirit to believe and to speak, like the psalmist, the things we have experienced from the Lord, especially His death and resurrection.
Faith is in our spirit, which is mingled with the Holy Spirit, not in our mind; doubts are in our mind.
Spiritual Burden
“Having the same spirit of faith according to that which is written, ‘I believed, therefore I spoke,’ we also believe, therefore we also speak”.
A genuine Christian is a speaking Christian; everyone who has been saved, has been begotten of God, and has His life should learn to speak for Him and to speak His word.
In the church meetings, all the saints should be speakers. As speaking people, we should not be dumb or silent, for the God whom we worship is the speaking God. Christian meetings should be full of mutuality in speaking.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
Our God is a speaking God.
“Having the same spirit of faith according to that which is written, ‘I believed, therefore I spoke,’ we also believe, therefore we also speak”.
Christians are a speaking people; a genuine Christian is a speaking Christian.
The Experience of Life
The living God imparts and infuses Himself into us by speaking. When God speaks, the light shines, bringing us understanding, vision, knowledge, wisdom, and utterance.
By the spirit of faith we may speak the Word that is the source of our faith. The more we get into the Word, the more we will have faith, and this faith is the spirit.
Practice and Application
We must exercise such a spirit to believe and to speak, like the psalmist, the things we have experienced from the Lord, especially His death and resurrection.
As believers we have been made witnesses of the living Christ; witnesses are speakers. We are His witnesses, and we have to speak Him, speak for Him, and speak forth Him on every occasion.
As members of the Body of Christ, we need to be filled in spirit; that with which we are filled will overflow from within us; this overflow is “speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and psalming with your heart to the Lord”.
PROPHESYING TOPICS—TWELVE TOPICS PER WEEK
T1 God’s speaking to us proves that we are under His blessing (Heb. 1:1-2)
(Please illustrate with experiences that the more God speaks to you, the more His divine element will be imparted or transfused into your being.)
T2 The first element with God’s Word is light (Psa. 119:105)
(Please illustrate with experiences that when God speaks, the light shines.)
Further Reading: Life-study of Hebrews, msg. 2; CWWL, 1990, vol. 1, “The Apostles’ Teaching,” ch. 1
T1 When the Word comes, it also brings power (Mark 4:14, 26)
(Please illustrate with experiences that where the Word is, there is power in life)
T2 He created us that we might represent Him (Gen. 1:26)
(Please illustrate what are the two outstanding features that God created man with.)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1985, vol. 5, “Speaking for God,” chs. 3-4
T1 The spirit of faith (Psa. 116:10; Rom. 8:16)
(Please illustrate that the spirit here is not only the Holy Spirit but the Holy Spirit with our human spirit.)
T2 We speak, not by our mind but by the spirit of faith (2 Cor. 4:13)
(Please illustrate that faith is a wonder, a miracle, within us.)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1985, vol. 3, “The Divine Speaking,” chs. 2-4; CWWL, 1983, vol. 2, “The Divine Dispensing of the Divine Trinity,” chs. 31-32
T1 The source of faith is the word (Rom. 10:14, 17)
(Please illustrate that the more we get into the Word, the more we will have faith.)
T2 To speak in the Holy Spirit and speak by the spirit of faith (Rom. 10:17; 1 Cor. 14:19)
(Please illustrate that we speak by the spirit of faith and in the Holy Spirit build the church.)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1985, vol. 3, “The Living Needed for Building Up the Small Group Meetings,” ch. 5
T1 The witnesses of the living Christ are speakers (Acts 1:8; 2 Tim. 4:2)
(Please illustrate that t the word Paul charged Timothy to proclaim was the word in the sacred writings of the Scriptures that Timothy had known from a babe.)
T2 To be ready in season and out of season to proclaim the word (2 Tim. 4:2)
(Please illustrate with experiences that many times we say… that it is out of season. That is the right time for us to speak.)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1985, vol. 4, “Meeting to Speak the Word of God,” chs. 1, 3
T1 We are in the Spirit, and the Spirit is in us (1 Cor. 12:13; Eph. 5:18-19)
(Please illustrate that if we are filled in spirit, that with which we are filled will overflow from within us.)
T2 Christians must be a speaking people (1 Cor. 12:2; Psa. 100:1)
(Please illustrate that we should not be dumb, or silent, for the God we worship is the speaking God.)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1985, vol. 3, “The Home Meetings—the Unique Way for the Increase and Building Up of the Church,” chs. 4-5