LESSON FIFTEEN
THE LIFE-STUDY

John 5:39 You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that testify concerning Me.

40 Yet you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.

THE FEATURES OF THE LIFE-STUDIES

Pointing Out the Central Theme and All of Its Aspects

The Bible is a special work of literature. Although it does not focus on any particular topic, it has a central theme that is comprehensive, encompassing many matters. Over the ages, the greatest difficulty for Bible readers has been the difficulty of seeing the Bible’s central light and the comprehensiveness of its light. Thus, their understanding of the Bible has been fragmented and peripheral. They may have understood a point here and a point there, but they have not been able to gain a complete understanding. If we want to have a complete understanding of the Bible, we must see that the Bible has only one center and that this center encompasses many matters; it is comprehensive.

Under this principle the life-studies have a center. They also contain explanations and definitions of various matters, so they are comprehensive as well.

Checking These Types with Our Practical Experience and
Applying Them to Our Daily Living

Take the book of Exodus as an example, if we only read about the types and study the doctrines without comparing them to our own experiences, it will not be easy to understand Exodus. However, if we compare our experiences to these types, they are very easy to understand because they are descriptions of our normal Christian living.

THE BENEFITS OF THE LIFE-STUDY MESSAGES

Getting into the Truth of the Bible

Some criticize us, saying that we read the life-study messages and not the Bible. Those who speak this way are completely misinformed. The goal of the life-study messages is to bring people into the truths of the Bible. In the past when people read the Bible they could not find the way to enter in, so they had no way to understand it. This is like having a house with no entryway, no door, and no windows to allow people to enter in. The life-study messages do the work of paving a way, building a door, and opening a window so that people can enter the house and enjoy everything inside.

Leading People to Touch Life

Another function of the life-study messages is to bring people into life. The life-study messages are not a set of philosophical or classical writings apart from the Bible. The life-study messages do not merely expound the Bible and present the truth. They also bring people into the truth to enjoy and experience its riches. (cf. John 5:39-40).

Inspiring People to Speak the Profound Truth

Items such as God’s economy, God’s dispensing, the essential Spirit, and the economical Spirit are certainly very deep terms, but to the new believers, especially the young ones, they will not seem deep for very long. These new ones will gradually become familiar with the terms, and then they will clearly understand them. We must be willing to change our concepts and must encourage the young ones to learn the highest and deepest truths. I believe that if we do so, in the future when the saints speak to each other and even when they preach the gospel, their speaking will be of the very highest quality.

Enriching the Meetings

The richest meetings are those with the life-study messages as their content. If every Lord’s Day we would take two life-study messages as the content of our fellowship, the meeting would be very rich. (Truth, Life, the Church, and the Gospel—The Four Great Pillars in the Lord’s Recovery, ch. 1)

References: Truth, Life, the Church, and the Gospel—The Four Great Pillars in the Lord’s Recovery, ch. 1.