The Sisters - The Blessing of a Local Church Life
Message Three: The Divine Blessing through the Virtuous Woman who Focuses on Truth and the Enrichment of the Living Truth

Introduction

Before we look at how the virtuous woman focuses on truth, we will continue with the topic of the last message. There are still a few matters to be covered regarding the virtuous woman's focus on life and the growth in life. We will begin by sharing more concerning the matter of "clothing her household with scarlet."

II. The Applications (continued)

E. "Clothes her household with scarlet" - helping the saints experience the redemptive work of Christ unto the reigning with Christ.
She is not afraid of the snow for her household; for all her household are clothed with scarlet. (v. 21)

1. Becoming a source of compassion and understanding.

2. Willing to be with the young ones, weak ones, and defeated ones.

3. Helping them to enjoy the redemptive work of Christ.

4. Helping them to be in life to reign with Christ.

In the church life we need sisters who can clothe the other saints with scarlet. It is too easy for us to see the faults in each other, to talk about the problems in the church life, and to expose other saints. We can even kill the very saints we love. Sisters, learn how to clothe your household with scarlet. When you see other sisters who have a lot of problems, remember that the Lord has saved them. The Lord is their Lord. You need to have compassion with understanding. Learn to protect and cover one another. This is a matter of life. It is easy for us to expose people who don't agree with us or who are a problem to us. But the virtuous woman clothes her whole household with scarlet. She doesn't just clothe one or two, or a few of her favorites. She clothes everyone in her household. That means the whole household, the whole church life, is protected by her. If you want to have a healthy and blessed church life, learn this secret. You have to see the saints the way the Lord sees them. No one is perfect, and no one is completely terrible. The Lord knows that everyone needs scarlet. Everyone needs the redemption of Christ. All the dear saints are covered by the Lord with His precious blood. This is a virtue that we all must practice. In the church life we should not only say, "I love you," we should also say, "I cover you. I protect you. I am with you. If you are weak or defeated, I will exercise understanding and compassion." If we are growing in life, then we will learn to clothe the other saints in scarlet.

F. "Makes herself coverings of tapestry" - consecrating herself for the advanced work of the Spirit.
She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple. (v. 22)

1. Having the ability to rest in the work of the Spirit.

2. Acting and walking in the work of the Spirit.

3. Bearing a testimony of maturity.

The virtuous woman not only clothes others, but she makes herself coverings of tapestry. This means that she consecrates herself for a mature work of the Spirit. Because the Lord loves us, He is always working on us. His work is actually the sewing of a tapestry. A tapestry always has a pattern sewn into the fabric. Perhaps it is the pattern of a beautiful flower. That flower is not separate or added to the material, it is sewn into the material. This is actually hard work. A woman who sews a tapestry works according to a pattern. Eventually that pattern is sewn into the tapestry. Similarly, when the Lord looks at us He has a pattern in view. If we want to clothe our household with scarlet, it also means that we will allow the Lord to work on us so that a tapestry can be produced. For us to become a tapestry we need three things. First, we must have the ability to rest in the work of the Spirit. Second, we need to act and walk in the work of the Spirit. Third, we need to bear a testimony of maturity. After the Lord works on our person, eventually there is a pattern that is manifested. This is the testimony of maturity. Others will say about us, "This person is special. She testifies of the Lord."

G. "Clothed with fine linen and purple cloth" - becoming constituted with the humanity of Jesus and is royal.
She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple. (v. 22)

Furthermore, the virtuous woman is clothed with fine linen and purple cloth. This means that she is becoming constituted with the humanity of Jesus, and that she is royal. When we grow in life, our living should eventually be like fine linen. There should be the fine expression of Christ. Also, our living should be like purple cloth. There should be something royal and dignified about us. This is greatly needed in the church life. Sisters who focus on life and grow into maturity will be clothed with fine linen and purple cloth. There will be something fine, dignified, and royal in their humanity.

H. "Makes fine linen and sells it" - bringing other saints into the fine humanity of Jesus.
She maketh fine linen and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant. (v. 24)

The virtuous woman not only is clothed with fine linen herself. She makes fine linen and sells it. She brings other saints into the fine humanity of Jesus.

1. She is not only a good example, but also a model for the saints to pattern themselves after.

The virtuous woman is a wonderful example. However, she is not only a good example, but also a model for the saints to pattern themselves after. In other words, when you see the virtuous woman you have an admiration for her. She causes you to think, "I hope one day I can be like her. Whatever priced she paid, I would like to pay the same price. If she can mature like this, I would like to have the same maturity." The young sisters in the church life not only need good examples, they need models to pattern themselves after. They need to see the fine humanity in the mature sisters, which causes them to desire to pay the price for the same maturity.

2. She is not only able to impart life, but also to teach.

3. She not only pays the price for maturity, she encourages all the saints to pay the price.

The virtuous woman is not only able to impart life, but also to teach. And she not only pays a price for maturity, she encourages all the saints to pay the price. Whenever she is present, other saints realize that they need to pursue Christ. Sisters, as you go on in the church life you should be very strong and desperate. "I not only want to be an example, I also want to be a model. I will pay a price. I hope that by my paying a price, the other saints will also be willing to pay a price." Then you will be a marvelous pattern.

4. The godly living of the humanity of Jesus in her generates the desire in many saints to pay a price to attain the same living.

Note: There are two Hebrew words for fine linen. The first word is shesh, used in verse 22, which comes from shayish, the word for alabaster. This shows that fine linen is not only for covering but is also a matter of constitution. The second word is cadiyn, used in verse 24, which comes from a root meaning "to envelop" ("to cover"). This fine linen is a material for people to possess, which shows that people must grow into their constitution.

The virtuous woman lives out the humanity of Jesus. The godly living of the humanity of Jesus in her generates the desire in many saints to pay a price to obtain the same living. This note concerning the Hebrew words for fine linen are very significant. There are two Hebrew words for fine linen. The first word is shesh, used in verse 22, which comes from shayish, the word for alabaster. This shows that fine linen is not only for covering but is also a matter of constitution. Remember the flask of alabaster that was broken upon the Lord? The word for alabaster and the word for fine linen are the same. This means that the weaving of the fine linen eventually becomes your constitution. In other words, the living out of the humanity of Jesus just becomes your very person. Fine linen is not only for a covering, it is also a matter of constitution.

Furthermore, the second word is cadiyn, used in verse 24, which comes from a root meaning "to envelop" ("to cover"). This fine linen is a material for people to possess, which shows that people must grow into their constitution. Young sisters, do you desire to pay a price for the high spiritual things? Do you know that to grow in life requires a high price? Then do you realize that it takes time for you to grow into your constitution? Growing in life ends up with the matter of constitution. Eventually the Lord Jesus will work on you by "sewing" on you. Then the fine linen will not be something theoretical to talk about, but it will be like alabaster. It will be your very constitution. It will not be something outward, but something inward. Your experience of fine linen will be something so real and subjective, yet it will also be so practical and applicable for other people to learn from. When you are young, it is easy to say, "I am for the Lord! I am for the Lord's testimony! I don't care about my future! I only care for the Lord's interests!" This is precious, and it is truly fine linen. But it will still take you many years for that fine material to become a piece of stone, like alabaster. It takes many years of paying a price for the fine linen to become your constitution. Sisters, can we all tell the Lord that we desire such maturity of life? Not only do we want fine linen, but we want our fine linen to be as alabaster. This is the consummation of our growth in life.

The Divine Blessing through the Virtuous Woman who Focuses on Truth and the Enrichment of the Living Truth

I. The Experiences

A. She is like the merchants' ships for bringing food (truth).
She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar. (v. 14)

B. She girds her loins with strength, and perceives that her merchandise is good.
She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms. She perceiveth that her merchandise is good; her candle goeth not out by night. (v. 17-18)

C. She has the ability to make the truth applicable.
She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff. (v. 19)

D. She is able to produce garments, and delivers girdles to the merchant - this shows that she is able to teach those who are able to teach others.
She maketh fine linen and selleth it, and delivereth girdles unto the merchant. (v. 24)

The virtuous woman should not only focus on life, but also on truth. In focusing on truth, the virtuous woman has four experiences. First, she is like the merchants' ships for bringing food (truth) from afar. Second, she girds her loins with strength, and perceives that her merchandise is good. Third, she has the ability to make the truth applicable. She not only has a lot of material, but she lays her hands to the spindle and her hands to the distaff. She turns the raw material into something applicable. And fourth, she is able to produce garments, and delivers girdles to the merchant. This shows that she is able to teach those who are able to teach others. These four points are very simple, and we will now look at their applications.

II. The Applications

A. The virtuous woman focuses on food both for herself and her household.
She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar. (v. 14)

1. When the truth is healthily applied, it must be food for the saints.
But He answered and said, It is written, "Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out through the mouth of God." (Matt. 4:4)

The virtuous woman focuses on food both for herself and her household. When the truth is healthily applied, it must be food for the saints. Remember how the Lord answered Satan during the temptation in the wilderness: "Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out through the mouth of God" (Matt. 4:4). In other words, the truth, which is the living word, must become food to us. If the truth is not food, then it is either theology or doctrine. What is truth? Truth is simply food. The Lord did not say, "You shall know the truth, and the truth will give you a lot of doctrines." He did not say, "You shall know the truth so you can compete with others about who knows more." Nor did He say, "You shall know the truth so the truth will become your entertainment." No, the Lord said that the truth will set us free. The truth we know should not be doctrinal to us. If we only talk about the truth but do not receive nourishment, then it is not really truth. The virtuous woman should be like the merchants' ship, bringing food from afar. That means she knows how to use the truth to feed herself and her household.

2. To have the rich supply of truth the virtuous woman must be as merchants' ships, i.e. she pays a price to obtain food from nearby and afar.

The virtuous woman travels afar to gain the food. This means that she pays a price for the truth. To have the rich supply of truth the virtuous woman must be as merchants' ships. She pays a price to obtain food from nearby and afar. Actually, it is even good to travel among the local churches. This will enhance your rich supply of truth. However, you shouldn't travel to the point where you don't care about your own local church. Sisters, you should not focus on the truth and then forget your household. It is good to have fellowship with many saints from many different localities. But it is for the sake of your own household, your local church. Usually we don't like to be as merchants' ships. We would rather just be in a library, enjoying lots of books. We like to read so that we can tell others what to do. But there is not much of a price involved. We should travel, spiritually speaking, which means we must pay the price to obtain food for the church life.

3. She is not isolated. Her fellowship is extended to different local churches to gain the riches for the building up of her own local church life.

The virtuous woman is not isolated. Her fellowship is extended to different local churches to gain the riches for the building up of her own local church life. Sisters, it is good to read spiritual books, but that cannot replace living fellowship. How many local churches have you been to? It is very healthy to travel among different localities. This is not a matter of "touring;" it is for the sake of obtaining food. You should not be isolated. You are living in the Body of Christ. Your fellowship should extend to all the local churches, so that you can gain the riches for the building up of your own local church life. Then the locality you are in will be so blessed.

B. She girds her loins with truth.
She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms. (Prov. 31:17)
Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth and having put on the breastplate of righteousness. (Eph. 6:14)

The virtuous woman is not only like merchants' ships, she girds her loins with truth. The verse says, "She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms" (Prov. 31:17). And then in the New Testament Paul says, "Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth and having put on the breastplate of righteousness (Eph. 6:14). Therefore to gird the loins is related to truth. The virtuous woman lets the truth regulate her living. There are three applications.

1. The truth becomes her strength - her subjective experience.

How can the truth become your strength? By becoming your subjective experience. Probably the first piece of truth you obtained was that Jesus is your Savior. This truth is not doctrinal to you. You are saved, and you know that He is your Savior. Before you were saved people told you about Jesus as the Savior. You may have even talked about it yourself. But there was no subjectivity. It was only an objective and theoretical doctrine. But one day, praise the Lord, you repented and believed in Christ. The Lord came into your spirit, and you were saved! Then all of a sudden, the very salvation you experienced became your strength. The truth that Jesus is the Savior made you strong. You could even go out and tell people, "You need to believe in Jesus! He's the Savior!" This shows that when the truth is yours subjectively, it makes you strong.

2. The truth generates the discerning ability.
She perceiveth that her merchandise is good; her candle goeth not out by night. (v. 18)

a. She knows the needs of the saints.

b. She knows what kind of food is best for the saints.

c. She becomes a faithful and prudent maid-servant who gives food at the proper time.
Who then is the faithful and prudent slave, whom the master has set over his household to give them food at the proper time? (Matt. 24:45)

In the virtuous woman, the truth generates a discerning ability. "She perceiveth that her merchandise is good; her candle goeth not out by night" (v. 18). After she gains the food, she has the spiritual ability to perceive that it is good. Practically speaking, when the virtuous woman tries to care for the sisters, she considers what their needs are. Not every spiritual book is the same, and not every truth is always appropriate. We often give people something to read without considering their real need. We give out a book to a new one, and when they are done we give them another. After they have read several books, they still don't really know anything. Their needs are not being met. But a virtuous woman is diligent. Like the merchants' ships, she travels to gain the food from afar. Then she considers the church life. She considers everyone as an individual. She discerns and perceives what the needs are. She spends the time to think about how she can give the best food to meet those particular needs.

We should remember what the Lord said. "Who then is the faithful and prudent slave, whom the master has set over his household to give them food at the proper time?" (Matt. 24:45) The virtuous woman becomes a faithful and prudent maid-servant who gives food at the proper time. There is nothing wrong with any spiritual food, but at different times we need different food. We know this practically. We would never feed a baby food for an adult. But for some reason we don't see this spiritually. We don't realize that people's needs are very different. Who is the woman of worth? She is a sister who has the ability to perceive what food is the best to meet a given need. She has the ability to ask, "What kind of spiritual food should be given to this person?" Sisters, many people need your spiritual food. When you learn to serve, you must learn to give the best food at the proper time. If in the church life all the sisters exercise this way, they would be very busy. There are so many needs to consider. There are so many people who need to be fed. If you can discern what kind of food is the best for the saints, then you will become a faithful, prudent maid-servant

3. The very truth becomes the light for the testimony. By her holding forth the word of life, the church life becomes a luminary in the midst of darkness.
That you may be blameless and guileless, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine as luminaries in the world, holding forth the word of life… (Phil. 2:15-16a)

The virtuous woman girds her loins with truth. Then the very truth becomes the light for the testimony. By her holding forth the word of life, the church life becomes a luminary in the midst of darkness. Do you know why many churches are not luminaries? Do you know why some churches become filled with all kinds of unpleasant things, and have very little of the Lord's testimony? It is because they are short of truth. It is not enough to say, "We have truth. We even have the highest truth!" If the church really has the truth, it will be a luminary shining on this earth. The church life will be prevailing and shining. People who walk into the church life will be convicted by all. And people will receive the Lord because they know the Lord is really among the saints. But we are often lacking this kind of testimony. Why? Because we are short of truth. For the truth to become the light for the testimony, we need to pay a price. We need to be like the merchants' ships, paying the price to get the riches of truth. Then these riches must become food to us - not doctrines, not teachings, not theology, but the real food of life. Then we must learn how to feed the saints with all our riches. In this way the church will become a living testimony.

C. She has the ability to make the truth applicable.
She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff. (Prov. 31:19)

The virtuous woman has the ability to make the truth applicable. "She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff" (Prov. 31: 19). No matter how much material you have, you need to work on it to make it applicable. It is not enough to have a warehouse filled with cotton. Someone needs to labor on the cotton to turn it into clothing. Then the cotton becomes something applicable. In the church life we have a lot of sisters who keep on holding onto bundles of cotton, showing people, "Look how rich we are. The Lord has really blessed us." But where are the clothes? In other words, why hasn't the truth become something applicable. The riches need our diligence. We need to give ourselves to labor in the truth, so that the riches become something applicable. We should tell the Lord, "Lord, I worship You. You have given us all these riches. These riches are like the best cotton. I want to labor on the truth and make it applicable. I want to work on the 'material' so that the church life can be blessed."

1. The truth she receives becomes the raw materials for her labor.

2. Out of her labor materials are produced for the saints' needs.

Sisters, even these very messages should be considered as raw materials for your labor. Develop these materials and make them useful. It would be very good to decide, "I'm going to meet with five sisters. These messages will be my land, my field on which I can work. I will produce materials for the sake of these dear sisters." You should be burdened to find some sisters and be together with them. Work on these materials until they become part of you. Be diligent to labor together until materials are produced for the saints' needs. Come to the material, enjoy it, pray-read it, and digest it. Let it becomes yours. Then you can also share in the church meetings what you have enjoyed, and how you sisters are laboring. Perhaps you can read this book in a home meeting. Lay your hands on the spindle with a group of sisters. Consider this book, or other books like it, as the raw materials, and develop the truth to make it applicable. Then when you speak about these things, whether among yourselves or in the church meetings, they will not be doctrinal to you. The truth will become your experience, and you will be able to meet the needs of many saints. Then you will become such a blessing to the church life.

D. She is able to produce garments - the truth she provides becomes the living of the saints.
She maketh fine linen and selleth it, and delivereth girdles unto the merchant. (v. 24)

The virtuous woman is able to produce garments - the truth she provides becomes the living of the saints. "She maketh fine linen and selleth it, and delivereth girdles unto the merchant. (v. 24) We said earlier that fine linen should not just be something outward. It is possible to be covered with fine linen, but it is not yet your constitution. To the virtuous woman the fine linen is like alabaster. But when she sells the truth to others, it is still fine linen. In other words, she can provide the truth to others, but it will still take time for the truth to become their constitution. Again, the truth should not merely be something we talk about. It must become our constitution, which requires the paying of a price.

E. She delivers girdles to the merchant - she is able to commit the truth to those who are able to teach others.
And the things which you have heard from me through many witnesses, these commit to faithful men, who will be competent to teach others also. (2 Tim. 2:2)

The virtuous woman delivers girdles to the merchant - she is able to commit the truth to those who are able to teach others. Often when you care for other saints, you eventually discover a problem. The problem is that everyone you feed only ends up eating for themselves. They don't learn how to feed other saints. This can be very frustrating. The saints that you serve should also be able to feed others. It is not normal for someone to remain as an infant, only caring for their own appetite. The virtuous woman helps the saints do what she does. She is able to commit the truth to saints who are able to teach and feed others. The top reward when you faithfully serve comes when those who receive your teaching become teachers too. They don't just feed off your teaching and say, "Thank you." They learn to feed the saints as you have fed them.

Too often we merely listen to the truth. We receive and enjoy it, and appreciate all the riches. But actually we are cheating ourselves. We haven't paid the price to make it ours, and we haven't labored on the truth so that we can feed others. But the virtuous woman is different. The virtuous woman pays the price to gain the truth. She considers the needs of the saints before she gives it to them. She labors on the raw materials until something applicable is produced. Eventually through her labor many sisters get raised up who are able to teach others also.

We should all tell the Lord, "Lord, we want to be such sisters. We want to grow in life, and we want to be equipped with truth. We want to pay the price to bring the food from afar. We want the truth to become our subjective experience. We want to feed the saints with the truth we enjoy. And we want to raise up more sisters who, because of our help, can learn to teach others also. Lord, may You make us such a blessing to the church life."

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