First Corinthians 7 shows us that Paul was chosen by God to be a minister of His word. God perfected him to such an extent that his ministry became the very utterance of the divine inspiration. His speaking was so accurate that not a single word missed the mark. His word not only contains God’s word, but it is so accurate that every sentence and phrase hits the mark. How did he acquire this ministry? He acquired it by being thoroughly dealt with by God. God worked on him to the point that his thoughts, words, decisions, and opinions were all approved by God; they were all right and accurate in His eyes. With Paul, there was not the accuracy of a machine but the accuracy of a person. With Paul, we can see how God puts His word in man and how He releases it through man. He does not speak His word through man in the way of a verbatim repetition. If the release of God’s word were merely a matter of man repeating God’s utterances word for word, such a task would be easy. But God does not release His word this way. Instead, He puts His word in man; man has to search it out with his mind. God puts His light in man, and man has to capture this light with his mind. God lays His burden in man, and man has to express this burden through his own word. It is man who exercises his thought; it is man who searches and speaks. Yet when the word is released, God acknowledges it as His own word.
The New Testament ministry of the word is not one in which God dictates His message word by word and then man repeats it word for word. When His word is revealed to man in the New Testament, its light first shines into man’s spirit as a flicker. This creates a burden within man’s spirit for the word. This light can fade away quickly, and man must catch its glow by exercising his own mind. He has to “fix” this light with his own thoughts or else the light will seemingly disappear. He has to fix the light with his thoughts. He has to inquire of God for utterance that he may receive one or two sentences that crystallize his light. He may ponder, and a phrase may come to him. Then he may write down the phrase, or he may have a certain feeling, judgment, or opinion concerning a certain matter, and he may speak it out. While he is relating his feelings, inward judgment, and opinion, the burden within his spirit is released. The more he speaks, the more the light within his spirit that has been captured with his mind is released. At a certain point, the burden is fully released. He has spoken his own words, expressed his own thoughts, feelings, and opinions. But after he has finished his speaking, God acknowledges these words to be His own.
Do you see how vastly different this is from the creed-like declarations of man’s imagination? You are doing the speaking, the writing, and the considering. But because you have been so thoroughly dealt with by God, your speaking is acknowledged by God as His own word. This is the meaning of the ministry of the word. What is hidden within you is only a light, a burden. But you have your opinions, proposals, and feelings. While you are brooding over your opinions, feelings, thoughts, and judgments, God gives you a few words or sentences to enunciate your inner registration. When you utter these words and sentences, God acknowledges this as His word. For this reason, a man has to climb to a great height before he can be considered as a minister of the word. If there are flaws in his mind, emotion, or feeling, he cannot be a minister of the word. Unless his very person has passed through God’s dealings, his opinion will not be trustworthy. When his opinion is expressed, God will not recognize it as His own word. Many times you can tell that a brother’s word does not meet this standard as soon as he opens his mouth. You can tell that what he has are only his own words; they are not God’s word.
God puts so much trust in His ministers that He would give them a light, a burden, or an impression and would leave it up to them to grasp and sense the utterance and to make suggestions and proposals concerning it. Although such suggestions and proposals are their own, God puts His trust in their activities. He believes in His own ministers. God wants to operate in man to such an extent that man is like Him in his opinions, thoughts, feelings, and views. If our desire can be one with God’s desire and we can love what God loves, never deviating in any way, our speaking will always be accompanied by the Spirit’s presence. On the one hand, we will be saying something from ourselves. On the other hand, God’s Spirit will carry our word along. As we speak, He will bear our word onward. This is the preaching of the New Testament prophets. This is the ministry of the word in the New Testament.