The Words of This Life

Bible Verses

Acts 5:19 But during the night an angel of the Lord opened
the doors of the prison, and leading them out, said, (20) Go
and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the
words of this life.

Words of Ministry

When the angel of the Lord rescued the apostles from prison,
he said to them, "Go and stand in the temple and speak to
the people all the words of this life." We need to pay
attention to the word "this," for it indicates a particular
life. The Greek word rendered "words" here is rhema,
denoting the present spoken word, not the constant written
word. Therefore, the angel was saying to the apostles, "Go
and speak the present words of this life."

What life is indicated by "this life"? It is the divine life
preached, ministered, and lived by Peter that overcame the
Jewish leaders' persecution, threatening, and imprisonment.
This word indicates that Peter's life and work made the
divine life so real and present in his situation that even
the angel saw it and pointed it out.

The apostles were not told to speak of the divine life in a
doctrinal way. Today certain Christians may talk about life,
but their talk is altogether doctrinal. We need to seek
mercy and grace from the Lord so that whenever we speak
concerning the divine life, we speak the words of the very
life we live. This means that the divine life becomes our
daily life. It is this life that we should minister to
others.

Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the
Bible and Words of Ministry, from Witness Lee, Life-
study of Acts, p.144. Both are published by Living Stream
Ministry, Anaheim, CA.