REVELATION OR RELIGION
May the Lord grant us the grace to not only have some mental understanding of Christ but to have the inward revelation and seeing that will cause us to know Christ. Such a knowledge of Christ will affect us inwardly so that our living and daily walk will be directed by the Lord. As a result, our living and daily walk will be according to revelation and not according to religion. Whatever we are able to do without touching Christ or contacting Christ comes out of religion. Only when Christ touches us in our being will what we do be according to revelation.
Suppose a young brother realizes that children ought to honor their parents and, therefore, cultivates his character and disciplines himself so that he can wait upon his parents. Although this is good, this kind of goodness is religious and natural, because even without knowing Christ, without touching Christ, and without Christ being his Lord and directing him inwardly, he is willing and able to do such a thing. What does it mean to do something according to revelation? For this young brother it would mean that after he is saved, he fellowships with the Lord, knows and touches Christ, and has Christ as his Lord reigning in him and restricting him. He gets to know Christ in such a way that Christ directs him from within, causing him to be restrained and under control. He does not resolve to do anything, yet Christ in him regulates him, causing him to discipline himself, submit to his parents, and be an obedient son to them. Such obedience and submission are not of religion or of the natural man but are lived out by this young brother because inwardly he knows Christ, touches Christ, and has Christ reigning in him. The One who is reigning in him is Christ Himself. Christ reigns in him and lives out from him. This is something of revelation.
All of our living and daily walk that we express outwardly that issues from touching Christ and from inwardly being under the influence and control of Christ is according to revelation. All that we do by our own determination and effort without touching Christ, going through Christ, or being controlled by Christ is of religion and of the natural man. This is to do something apart from revelation. In simple words, whatever is the result of revelation is the result of seeing Christ and of His being the Lord within us, reigning over and controlling our being. When this happens, we have a living and behavior that are under His control and authority.
THE CONTENT OF THE HOLY WORD BEING CHRIST
How then can we see revelation? There is a way. In fact, there is a way for doing everything. Once we have found the way, it is easy for us to do something. We know that God reveals Christ to us first by the holy Word and second through the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we need to know Christ and see the revelation of Christ through the Word and the Spirit. We all know that Christ is the content of the Bible and that the entire Scriptures speak concerning Christ (John 5:39-40). God has put Christ in the Word, and if we read the Word properly, we should be able to find Christ in it. This may be likened to putting sugar into water. When we get the water, we get the sugar as well. If we cannot find Christ in our reading of the Bible, we are not reading the Bible successfully. Someone who knew God once said that Christ is in every chapter of the Scriptures. When he read about Adam, he saw that Adam typifies Christ; when he read about Moses, he saw that Moses typifies Christ; and when he read about David, he saw that David also typifies Christ. Whether it is the Old Testament or the New Testament, the whole Bible is full of Christ. God uses different ways, including types, prophecies, and parables, to portray Christ. When we read the Bible, if we merely read the types, the prophecies, or the parables without seeing Christ, then our reading of the Bible will be in vain. To read the Bible properly, we must see Christ in the Bible. Since the content of the Bible is Christ, we are reading the Bible successfully only if we are able to see Christ in every chapter, every verse, and every sentence of the Bible.
(The Path of Our Growth in Life, Chapter 5, by Witness Lee)
