15我们是信徒,不是信荒谬的事,乃是信神的话,而这话有三个阶段:写出来的话、活的话和应用的话。在二千多年前,只有写出来的话,没有活的话,因为基督尚未到这里来。今天我们有活的话。若没有基督作活的话,神的话就很难成为应用的话—那灵。这是因为在基督来以前,那灵大体上是客观的;祂还没有在神的子民里面。在基督之前,神的灵是临到神的子民身上。但今天我们有三一神具体化在基督里,并实化为包罗万有、复合、赐生命的灵,一直住在我们里面。因此,当我们摸着圣经,圣经立即就成为活的,也是可以应用的。
15We are believers, who do not believe nonsensical things. We believe in the word, and the word has three stages: the written word, the living word, and the applied word. Over two thousand years ago, there was only the written word, not the living word, because Christ was not here yet. Today we have the living word. Without Christ as the living word, it was very hard for God’s word to become the applied word as the Spirit. This is because before Christ came, the Spirit was mostly objective; He was not yet within God’s people. Before Christ, the Spirit of God was upon God’s people. But today we have the Triune God embodied in Christ and realized as the all-inclusive, compound, life-giving Spirit indwelling us all the time. Thus, when we touch the Bible, right away the Bible can become living and applied.