«　WEEK 5　DAY 1　»

　　Phil. 2:12-13 So then, my beloved, even as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only but now much rather in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who operates in you both the willing and the working for His good pleasure.

　　Everything that is covered in the book of Philippians is under God’s operating move. God has a move on this earth, and He moves by His operating. Chapter 2 gives us the overall thought, the all-embracing thought, the all-inclusive thought, of the book of Philippians. This thought is that the moving God is operating in us. Whatever Christ is to us is for the operating of God. We should care for God’s operating in us. Our God is living, moving, and operating in you and me continuously. God’s operating in us can be compared to our blood circulation or to the circulation of electricity. If the flow of blood within us stops, our life will stop. The circulation of blood is life operating in us. The flow of electricity is the operating of the electricity. If the flow of electricity stops in a building, there will be no light there. (CWWL, 1988, vol. 1, “Living in and with the Divine Trinity,” pp. 371-372)

　　Many Christians do not think about God’s move in this way. Some in the Pentecostal movement like to shout, cry out, and even jump. They like a big, outward display, but God’s inward operating in us does not necessarily have such an outward display. The current of electricity in a building is a very good illustration of God’s operating. When we enter into the building, it may seem that nothing is working there because everything is quiet. However, there is an operating going on, and this quiet operating is vigorous. The operating of the electricity in the building enables all the appliances, machines, and devices in the building to move and function. If this electricity is switched off, everything in the building is shut down. The more I have experienced God throughout the years, the more I realize that God’s move within us is a very quiet, fine operation. He operates in us quietly and finely.

　　Although we are Christians, it may seem that we have nothing within us. We may wonder at times what the difference is between us and the unbelievers. The truth concerning regeneration and transformation is very high and great. Even though we have been regenerated and are being transformed, we may feel like common persons. Actually, however, God is operating in us. Although a big building is under the operation of electricity, this operation is quiet and calm. We need to see that God’s operating in us is a miraculous normality. It is altogether normal yet altogether miraculous.

　　D. L. Moody said that the greatest miracle in the universe is regeneration. I agree with this. No miracle is greater than regeneration. Regeneration means that we have the divine life in addition to our human life. We have the divine life, but we may not feel that we can see much of the manifestation of this life within us. We may feel that others who are not regenerated are actually better than we are. Even though we are regenerated, we may lose our temper again and again. However, our being better or worse than others is an outward matter. If we are regenerated, we have the inner realization that something is within us. This “something” is the living and moving God who is now operating in us. Whether a person is outwardly bad or good may be according to his natural birth. What matters is not whether we are good or bad according to our natural constitution but the fact that we have received the operating God. God is now operating in us. If we have the spiritual discernment, the spiritual realizing power, we can see that all the things in the book of Philippians related to God’s operating in us are great. (CWWL, 1988, vol. 1, “Living in and with the Divine Trinity,” pp. 372-373)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1988, vol. 1, “Living in and with the Divine Trinity,” ch. 12