In Acts 1:8 the Lord Jesus said, "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." Apart from all the foregoing messages on the Spirit, we would not be able to understand what it means to be a witness to the Lord. To be a witness to the Lord is to be a person wholly saturated with the life-giving Spirit, a person inwardly filled by the life-giving Spirit and totally immersed into the Spirit. Both within and without, there is the life-giving Spirit. We have seen clearly that in God's dispensation the Lord Jesus Christ today is the life-giving Spirit. When we are filled with Him and immersed into Him, we are one with Him and thereby we are His witnesses. All the saints in the Lord's recovery should be such witnesses. Being a witness does not depend on what you say or do; it depends upon your being a person filled with Christ, immersed into Christ, and fully saturated and permeated with the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit. If you are like this, then your being will be a witness to the Lord Jesus. What you are will be the witness.
In Acts 1:8, the word "witness" is different from the word "testimony" used elsewhere. A witness denotes a person, whereas a testimony denotes that which this person bears. First we are the witness, then we bear the testimony. According to the book of Revelation, the saints, the believers, are the testimony of Jesus, and the testimony of Jesus is, collectively, the church. In Revelation the seven lampstands signify the seven churches (Rev. 1:20). These seven lampstands signify that the churches on earth today are the testimony of Jesus. In eternity, the New Jerusalem will be the testimony of Jesus. Collectively and corporately, the churches are the testimony of Jesus, but individually each of us is a witness to Jesus. Every one of us must be a witness to Jesus, a person saturated with Christ, immersed into Christ, and permeated with Christ. Whatever we are, within and without, must be Christ. This is a witness. Then when we come together, we shall be a corporate testimony, for we shall all bear the same thing. This is the testimony of Jesus.
In today's Christianity there is very little witness or testimony. We see many Christians, but not many witnesses. Instead of the testimony of Jesus, in Christianity there is merely a religion. But every saint in the churches in the Lord's recovery must be a living witness, filled with Christ, saturated with Christ, and immersed into Christ as the all-inclusive Spirit. If we are like this, then we shall immediately become the testimony of Jesus whenever we come together.
For the sake of such a testimony of Jesus, we all must have an uplifted daily life. Our daily life among our neighbors, classmates, relatives, and friends must be outstanding. In Matthew chapters five, six, and seven, the constitution of the kingdom of the heavens, reveal that the standard of the living of the kingdom people is very high. In our daily walk we must have excellency. This excellence will surprise people, causing them to admire our daily living. It will also be quite convincing. This is the basic factor in our testimony. If we would be real witnesses to Jesus, our daily walk must reach such a standard. This, however, is not a matter of outward behavior; it is a matter of living out Christ. Paul said, "For to me to live is Christ" (Phil. 1:21). It is not simply a matter of doing good or of behaving well. Much more, it is the living out of Christ to express Christ. If we do not have such an uplifted daily walk, we are a failure in the Lord's recovery. We are defeated, and in a sense, the Lord is defeated also. Of course, the Lord cannot actually be defeated, but due to our failure, the enemy may think that the Lord has been defeated. What a shame for those in the Lord's recovery to fall below the standard in their daily walk!