Our preaching of the gospel depends on how much we have experienced of the Lord and how much we have enjoyed Him. If we have experienced and enjoyed the Lord to a considerable degree, we shall surely have a sufficient measure of life. Then what we say to others concerning God, Christ, and salvation will not merely be a doctrine or theory. On the contrary, through our speaking we shall infuse others with the elements of God, Christ, and salvation.
To infuse others with the elements of God, Christ, and salvation is to write Christ into their being with the divine Spirit as the spiritual ink. Day by day, we may write Christ upon the hearts of those with whom we come in contact. Their being is a soft “tablet” that absorbs the “ink” of the Spirit.
I believe that if we have an adequate measure of life and experience of Christ, after a period of time some of our co-workers will be saved. To be sure, if we write on them continuously, day by day, for several months or even a year, much of the element of Christ and His salvation will be written on them. As a result, eventually they will believe and be saved. This is the proper gospel preaching.
In Acts 1:8 the Lord says that we shall be His witnesses. He does not say in this verse that we shall be preachers. The experiential preaching of the gospel based on our enjoyment of the Lord is actually the testimony of a witness. Through experiencing the Lord Jesus, we become His living witnesses. Therefore, our gospel preaching is not merely preaching; it is a testifying.
Day by day we may testify to our fellow workers. We testify to them not by presenting ideas, concepts, theories, and doctrines; instead, we testify by letting them know how real and precious the Lord is to us and how much we enjoy Him. Then what we speak to others concerning the Lord will be our testimony. Such preaching definitely depends on our life experience.
The Apostle Paul preached the gospel in this experiential way. For this reason, in chapter two of 2 Corinthians he portrays himself as a captive in Christ’s triumphal procession. As one in the ministry, Paul was a captive of Christ. Simultaneously, as a captive in Christ’s train, Paul was an incense-bearer scattering the fragrance of Christ.
In 2 Corinthians 3 Paul changes the metaphor from that of captives and incense-bearers to that of a letter writer. In addition to being a captive and a bearer of incense, Paul was also one who wrote upon those who received his ministry. As a result, they became letters written by him.
What did Paul write on those who received his ministry? He wrote Christ on them. Christ was every word, phrase, and sentence written upon their hearts through his ministry. The “ink” used by Paul was the Spirit of the living God.
Preaching the gospel without the adequate measure of life and experience may be compared to trying to write with a pen that has no ink. But if we speak to others according to our experience and enjoyment of the Lord, we shall write upon them with the Spirit, for the Spirit is actually the element of our experience. Our experience of Christ is constituted mainly of the Spirit. Therefore, when we speak to others of our experience, the ink of the Spirit will flow. However, if we only study the Bible in a doctrinal way or learn theology but do not have experience, we shall not have the ink of the Spirit with which to write Christ upon others.
If we try to speak for the Lord without experiencing Him, our speaking will be dry, lacking the divine ink. But if we speak something that is according to our experience, we shall realize that while we are speaking the ink of the Spirit is flowing. Furthermore, through our speaking, the ink will be applied to those who are listening.
As those who would compose letters of Christ, we do not use mere theological knowledge or philosophy as the elements of our composition. Rather, we compose with Christ and His redemption, and we write with the ink of the living Spirit. Then as we minister, others are impressed with Christ.
Paul wrote upon others in this way, and we should do the same thing today. In the meetings, as we give a testimony or offer a prayer, we may write Christ upon others with the ink of the Spirit.