God speaks in two stages: to the fathers and to us. Of old, He spoke to the fathers; in these last days, He speaks to us. Before God spoke to men, He spoke to nothing. He spoke to that which was not being. At that time there was nothing; so He spoke to nothing. By His speaking He called things not being as being (Rom. 4:17, Recovery Version). He spoke, “Light!” and light came into being. The whole universe was created by His speaking, by His Word. The whole universe was framed by the Word of God (11:3). “He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast” (Psa. 33:9). God worked by speaking. The real working of God among us today is His speaking. If God does not speak among us, we can do nothing regardless of how much we work. If God does not speak, the elders and the leading ones in the churches can do nothing. But when He speaks, we must say, “Praise the Lord!” God speaks to nothing, yet something comes. He calls things not being as being. By His speaking everything came into being. The whole universe was made by His word. After this, mankind came into being.
After man was created, God spoke to the fathers. He spoke to the fathers of old in the prophets and in many portions and in many ways (1:1). In the Old Testament, God spoke to people not once for all and only in one way, but in many portions and in many ways: in one portion to the Patriarchs in one way; in another portion through Moses in another way; in one portion through David in one way; in other portions through a number of prophets in several different ways. Even the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old Testament, contains many different portions. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy—each book is a different portion and each book has many portions. Have you ever seen any writing that is as rich as the Bible? The Old Testament has various portions: the histories, the chronicles, the Psalms, the Proverbs, and many different prophets. Some books are long, more than sixty chapters; others are short, only a few chapters. All the different ways of speaking have been exhausted by the Bible: the way of prophecy, type, shadow, pre-figure; the way to use the women, the serpent, the man, the lion, the scorpion, and the lamb, the water, the sun, the moon, the stars, and different kinds of trees and plants; clear words, illustrations, proverbs, parables, allegories, and types. Every way of utterance has been used in the Scripture. When God spoke to Moses, He did not do it through a clear word, but through a bush that was burning yet was not burnt (Exo. 3:1-6). That was a most wonderful way of speaking. Moses understood by it that there was no need for him to be burnt. He needed to be burning, but he did not need to be burnt. God was not going to use him as the fuel. A little burning bush spoke a great deal to Moses. That was the way in which God spoke to Moses. Oh, the wisdom in the Bible! The most simple things are used in a profound way for God’s speaking. Truly God has spoken in many portions and in many ways.
Hebrews 1:2 uses the phrase at the last of these days. This may also be rendered “the end of these days.” This is a Hebrew expression indicating the end of the dispensation of law, with Messiah introduced (Isa. 2:2; Micah 4:1).
In the last of the days God spoke and still speaks in the Son.
The Son is the Word (John 1:1; Rev. 19:13). “In the beginning was the Word...and the Word was God.” He was God’s Word for God’s speaking. The Son is altogether the Word for the speaking of God.
The Son’s being the Word is mainly to declare God the Father (John 1:18), that is, to declare, define, express, and reveal God. The more the Son speaks, the more God is expressed and revealed.
The whole Person of the Son is the divine speaking. The Son as God’s Word and God’s speaking constantly conveys life to us. As the Word, He bears life. He always conveys life to us. When we receive Him, we have life.
As the divine Word for the divine speaking, the Son reveals reality through the Spirit (John 16:12-15). Reality is all that God is to us. This reality is revealed to us by the Son as the Word through the Spirit.
Whenever the Son speaks, He is the Spirit. The speaking Son is the Spirit. The Son of God is the Word. When the Word voices, it becomes the Spirit. This is proved by the seven epistles in Revelation 2 and 3. At the beginning of each epistle, it says that the Lord is speaking, but at the end it says that we should hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches. This proves that whenever the Lord Jesus speaks He is the speaking Spirit. Whenever the Son is speaking, it is the Spirit speaking. If you consider the seven comparisons in Revelation 2 and 3, you will see that whatever the Son speaks is the speaking of the Spirit (Rev. 2:1 cf. 7; 2:8 cf. 11; 2:12 cf. 17; 2:18 cf. 29; 3:1 cf. 6; 3:7 cf. 13; 3:14 cf. 22). We have the Son who is the Word of God. He is not only the Word of God, but also the speaking of God. Whenever He speaks, He is the speaking Spirit. “The words which I have spoken unto you are spirit and are life” (John 6:63).
Today the Son as the speaking Spirit is speaking with the churches. He not only speaks to the churches but also with the churches. Revelation 22:17 says, “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come.” At the beginning of the book of Revelation it is the Spirit speaking to the churches, but at the end of Revelation it is the Spirit speaking with the churches because the speaking Spirit and the church have become one. Hallelujah! This is God’s speaking.