«　WEEK 1　DAY 5　»

　　Matt. 12:28 But if I, by the Spirit of God, cast out the demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

　　John 14:10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak from Myself, but the Father who abides in Me does His works.

　　In Matthew 12:28 the Lord said, “If I [the Son], by the Spirit of God [the Triune God including the Father], cast out the demons, then the kingdom of God [the Triune God] has come upon you.” Matthew 12:28 seemingly is a simple word, but we need to look into this verse to see its deeper meaning and revelation. We need to ask, “…Couldn’t the Lord have said that He cast out demons by Himself in order that His own kingdom might come upon the people? What would have been wrong with this?” If the Son would have done this, He would have acted individualistically….The way He cast out demons showed…that He was humble…. He was doing something by the Spirit of God and for the kingdom of God. He never did anything by Himself or for Himself. Is this not beautiful? This shows us the excellency in the Divine Trinity. (CWWL, 1988, vol. 1, “Living in and with the Divine Trinity,” pp. 307-308)

　　This is surely a good pattern for our coordination. The Lord has produced a Body constituted with many members, so all the members should learn of Him. He was working by the Spirit of God for God the Father. He never did anything by Himself or for Himself. Is this not a pattern for us to be coordinated in His Body? We should behave ourselves just like our Head. He behaved Himself in a way of neither doing anything by Himself nor doing anything for Himself. Today in the church life the Body of Christ has not been built up adequately because of the shortage of the proper coordination. If we want to be coordinated with all the members in the Body, we have to learn of Christ our Head, taking Him as our pattern. We should not do anything by ourselves or for ourselves. I may do something according to the will of God, but what I do should not be by myself but by some others. Furthermore, what I do should not be for myself but for the interest, the right, of God on the earth. This is a beauty, and this beauty is a real excellency, a real divine attribute, and an excellent virtue that we need to copy.

　　The Lord did not say that He cast out demons by Himself for His own kingdom. Instead, He said that He cast out demons by another One and for another One. His spirit was so humble, so selfless. He did nothing by Himself or for Himself. With Him there was no self, no element of selfishness. This is a beauty.

　　The move of the Divine Trinity as seen in… Matthew 12:28 is an excellent and beautiful example for us to follow…. He did not do things to Himself and for Himself, nor did He trust in Himself. The New Testament record shows us such excellencies, beauties, and virtues in the Divine Trinity. There are so many beautiful items in this dear One. He humbled Himself to become a lowly man, even a slave. While He was on the earth as a slave, He acted in a way of not trusting Himself and not doing anything by Himself, to Himself, or for Himself.

　　Suppose that in the church life there is a group of sisters and brothers who are serving and living in the reality of the Body of Christ. In their serving they are one and very harmonious. They are all humble. There is not one of them who is for himself, by himself, or to himself. In such a service in the Body, beauty and excellency are displayed. If there were thousands of saints on the earth living and serving in such a way, what beauty and excellency there would be!…To have harmony in the church life requires humility and selflessness….The Divine Trinity took the lead to exhibit this kind of beauty in the universe. Among the three, the Son took the lead to be so selfless, so humble, and so considerate of the others. (CWWL, 1988, vol. 1, “Living in and with the Divine Trinity,” pp. 308, 310, 312-313)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1988, vol. 1, “Living in and with the Divine Trinity,” ch. 5