There are about one thousand two hundred messages in the Life-study of the New Testament. We should read one message a day, and we should also read the Recovery Version of the New Testament with its footnotes and marginal cross references. In other words, we need to read these four things every day: about ten pages of Life-study messages and several verses with their footnotes and cross references in the Recovery Version. If we read six messages a week, we will read at least three hundred messages in a year and one thousand two hundred messages in four years. We can read through the Recovery Version of the New Testament and all the messages in the Life-study of the New Testament in four years. The college graduates who will join the full-time training for two years will read two Life-study messages in four hours daily in the training. They will finish all the Life-study messages in two years.
The brothers and sisters who are willing to read all the Life-study messages and to study every word of the Recovery Version of the New Testament will have a solid foundation. This inexhaustible treasure will be within them for their whole life. I have already put into writing the riches that I accumulated through nearly sixty years of labor. Those who can spend four hours a day will be able to read through these riches in two years. This is truly profitable. The young people should also read all the Life-study messages. The saints, who make a schedule to spend two hours reading daily, can finish in four years. The saints who make a more intense reading schedule and spend four hours a day can finish in two years. If all the churches are willing to practice this, every saint will become a “scholar.” Then when we go out to speak the truth, we will be knowledgeable and able to clearly and logically present the truth.
Furthermore, I would encourage the saints who can read English to also read the messages in English. This will help them to use the reference books. Some of the young people should also spend the time to learn Greek. They should not expect to become a Greek scholar. It is good to be able to use the Greek reference books, especially the lexicons, dictionaries, and word studies. There are some good word studies of the New Testament Greek. We will receive much help if we use these reference books. I began to use an English-Greek Interlinear Bible in 1932, so I have been referring to the Greek text for fifty-two years. This has been a help to me.
It is not possible for every brother and sister to study the Bible as I did. Therefore, I wrote the footnotes of the Recovery Version of the New Testament and the Life-study messages to help the saints to enter into the truth. However, at least a few saints should spend some time to study Greek. Nevertheless, the Life-study of the New Testament is complete and is an asset to the Lord’s recovery. If the Lord delays and I go to be with the Lord, the saints will appreciate the preciousness of this asset. All the saints should receive the Lord’s leading and take this way to enter into the truth.
During the first seven years of the work in Taipei, my leading to the church was comprehensive. For example, the training in 1953 included truth, life, the church, and the gospel. The church should not have only one aspect. It should not seek only spirituality or only the preaching of the gospel or only the expounding of Scriptures. The leading of the church should also be comprehensive; it should pay attention to the pursuit of the truth, the growth in life, the practice of the church life, and the preaching of the gospel. Hence, these five chapters are given as guidelines. The first chapter is “Pursuing the Truth to Be Equipped” and is related to the truth. The second chapter is “Growing in Life to Live Christ” and is concerning life. The third chapter is “Loving to Live the Normal Church Life” and is related to the church. The fourth chapter is “Being Fervent for the Gospel by Preaching in the Homes and by Spreading through Migration” and is about the gospel. These four chapters are according to the comprehensive outlines that we used in the trainings held during the first seven years in Taiwan. Those trainings covered truth, life, the church, and the gospel. The fifth chapter is “Bearing the Responsibility to Shepherd and Teach in the Homes and Small Groups.” We need a foundation in the truth, the growth in life, and a normal church life. In addition, we need to be fervent to preach the gospel from house to house in our locality and also to spread and propagate the gospel to other places through migration. This is the way found in the Bible. As a result, we will bear some responsibility in the home meetings and group meetings to shepherd and teach the saints.
Of the first four items, pursuing the truth is the most difficult one to practice. The remaining three items have a shortcut, but there is no shortcut for learning the truth. Learning the truth can be compared to studying in school. There is no shortcut. A student must be diligent. When I was young, I memorized Chinese literature in order to be a top student. This was the fruit of diligence. When I learned English, I analyzed the grammar of every word and memorized numerous articles in English. Therefore, when I went to the United States, although I was weak in conversational English, in terms of writing I often corrected the grammar of the American brothers and sisters. I can also understand any verse in the Bible in English, no matter how difficult it is. Sometimes there may be one or two words that I do not know, but due to my proficiency in grammar, I can understand the meaning by analyzing the sentence. If the grammar is inaccurate, our understanding will be inaccurate. Hence, we should not choose an easy way to pursue the truth. Rather, we need to pay the price to learn.
We need to receive this plea and make a resolution to give ourselves to study the Lord’s Word. We have a great asset, and this is an excellent opportunity. If we do not understand English, the Life-study messages are in Chinese. Moreover, there are many treasures in The Ministry of the Word magazine, which we have printed from 1951 to the present. Nevertheless, we need to read the Life-studies every day; we should consider them as our main meal. We should consider the other treasures as something sweet that we eat after our meal. Then we will receive the help.
The Lord has blessed us with these rich treasures. The younger generation needs to expand these treasures so that the word of the Lord could increase. We did not have these treasures in the first seven years in Taiwan, but I rejoice that now these treasures are published. Even though there was not much increase in the last years in Taiwan, the churches continued steadily, and we have an asset. Furthermore, I went to the West, and from there the Lord’s recovery has spread to the whole world. By the Lord’s mercy we held two trainings annually for eleven years and completed the life-study of the entire New Testament. I am satisfied with these treasures.
This is an opportune time for the churches in Taiwan to be encouraged to pick up the way of truth, life, the church, and the gospel that we practiced in the first seven years. We are not poor; we have a rich family inheritance. I have been a Christian for sixty years, but I have not seen a place that can compare to Taiwan. The environment, the level of education, the convenience of transportation, and the prosperity in Taiwan are unprecedented. This is the Lord’s mercy. He has enabled us to maintain a good relationship with the different levels of the government these thirty-five years. We have an excellent opportunity to use these treasures so that others can share our blessings. They can share the blessing of the gospel and salvation and also the blessing of the truth and the divine life. This is our responsibility.