«　WEEK 5　DAY 5　»

　　Psa. 133:3 Like the dew of Hermon that came down upon the mountains of Zion. For there Jehovah commanded the blessing: life forever.

　　2 Cor. 12:9 … My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness. Most gladly therefore I will rather boast in my weaknesses that the power of Christ might tabernacle over me.

　　According to Psalm 133:3, the oneness is … like the dew that descends upon the mountains of Zion. The anointing oil is upon the person, Aaron, but the dew is upon the place, Zion. The dew signifies the grace of life (1 Pet. 3:7). The grace of life is the supply of life. In the church life we are not only under the anointing; we also receive the supply, the grace, of life. As we are anointed, we are also graced.

　　The apostle Paul abundantly experienced the Lord’s grace. Three times he prayed that the “thorn” that was afflicting him would be removed. The Lord replied that His grace was sufficient for Paul. By this word the Lord indicated that He would not take away the thorn, but He would supply Paul with His sufficient grace. (CWWL, 1979, vol. 2, “The Genuine Ground of Oneness,” pp. 299-300)

　　[In the church] we experience the anointing, the “painting,” of the processed Triune God. Simultaneously, we enjoy the processed God as grace, as the life supply for our enjoyment. By this grace we can live a life that is impossible for people in the world to live. The brothers can love their wives to the uttermost, and the sisters can submit to their husbands in a full way. Such a living is possible through the grace we receive on the mountains of Zion.

　　We should never underestimate the importance of the church as a corporate person who receives the ointment and as the place under the descending dew. If we separate ourselves from the church in these two aspects, we have no further share in the anointing, and we are finished with the enjoyment of the dew. Other Christians may criticize us for bearing such a testimony concerning the church life…These believers may say that as long as they pray and read the Bible, they can experience the Lord in a full way outside the church life…Yes, we can pray and read the Word alone at home. When we do this, we receive a certain amount of grace. This measure of grace, however, is not as sweet, rich, powerful, inspiring, or sufficient as the grace we receive in the church. I can testify that, no matter whether the meetings of the church are high or low, rich or poor, I experience the ointment and the dew whenever I come to the meetings. The more I come to the meetings, the more I am preserved in the Lord’s grace. Those, on the contrary, who separate themselves from the church life, cut themselves off from the full supply of grace. Apart from the Lord’s mercy, they may find themselves wholly back in the world after a certain period of time.

　　Simply by attending the meetings, we are preserved, for the dew still descends upon the mountains of Zion. Thus, simply by being in the meetings, we are under the watering dew. (CWWL, 1979, vol. 2, “The Genuine Ground of Oneness,” pp. 310-311)

　　It is by the power of grace, the strength of grace, and the life of grace that we can be right with God, with one another, and even with ourselves. Grace produces righteousness …Therefore, Romans 5:21 says that “grace might reign through righteousness unto eternal life.” Thus, righteousness and grace always go together.

　　We are not righteous because of ourselves, but because of grace… Righteousness not only became a boast to Noah; it was also a boast to God. God was able to boast to His enemy. God could boast of Noah’s righteousness to that crooked and perverse generation. Noah’s righteousness strengthened God’s standing to execute His judgment upon that ungodly generation. (Life-study of Genesis, p. 381)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1979, vol. 2, “The Genuine Ground of Oneness,” chs. 6-7