by
T. Austin-Sparks
September-October 1931
The "Witness and Testimony"
We have often had enquiries as to the title of this paper.
Apparently the two words, "Witness" and "Testimony," convey the same
idea to many minds, and the title seems to them to be but a
repetition of the same thing. At the time when from being but the
magazine of a local church it moved out into its world-wide ministry
- a ministry which has continuously grown and is widening with every
issue, so that there are very few nations into which the paper does
not go - we asked the Lord for a title which would rightly represent
the position to which He had brought us. This title came to us very
clearly, and we believe from Him.
In Psalm 66:16 we have these words, "I will declare what He hath
done for my soul." There are two sides to this. One is the one who
is speaking, as personally representing something done by the Lord.
The other is the telling forth, or the message which he gives. One
is the Witness himself, the other is the testimony given out. It is
in this sense that our title is what it is. The Lord has done
something, and is doing something in us, constituting us a witness
on experimental ground. Out of His dealings with us there grows the
message which we have, and so the "Testimony." It is always
important to remember that for a message to be vital and effective
it must be wrought out and kept closely in touch with the living
person or persons who give it. This is not something done and
finished with, but something ever deepening and expanding. For a
message to be kept in life the messenger must be kept in the path of
living experience in relation to the message.