give us a method which suits our special need. The Bible

These too must be recorded so that proper help can be rendered.

I do not say these things must be kept forever. I rather expect them to fade away when spiritual reality fails. In the days of blessing, these things are needed, method is useful. But when the blessing disappears, these procedures should not be preserved.

(4) The Needs in the Deacons Oﬃce

The Deacons Oﬃce

Here we require some training and some knowledge. I do not

expect every place to adopt exactly the same measure. Since our needs are somewhat similar, however, the steps taken will probably not be too far apart from one place to another. Please keep in mind that we wish to follow the principles given in Acts chapters 2, 4 and

6. We will use the principle of a book. We need to ask God to give us a method which suits our special need. The Bible does contain

methods, but it does not propagate them. Accordingly, we too will use methods, but we do not expect the methods adopted to be passed on. At the beginning, there is a need, and so we search out a way to meet that need. But after ﬁve or ten years, it may be necessary to adopt a new method for the need of that hour.

(a) Need a Place to Receive People

Because of the need, there must be a place where people can be received and matters can be transacted. At least a place where a few desks and shelves can be placed, and where people may have room to stand. You can call this place the deacons oﬃce if you wish. Such a place should be near or within the meeting place.

(b) Need People Working There

There need to be people working there to receive others. Such

people are deacons or whoever else may desire to help.

Now I realize that it is easy for the church to hire people to manage its daily aﬀairs, but I feel this is very much unlike a church.

If a church can hire Levites by paying them salaries, why not hire priests as well? In so doing, however, a salary system will be restored. I would hope that the works of the Levites and the priests would not be accomplished by hiring people but by the brothers and sisters themselves performing these tasks in rotation. It is best if some brothers and sisters can set apart a day or an hour in a week to take care of the various church aﬀairs.

The Church and the Work: Church Aﬀairs

To Notify and to Inquire

If a certain brother is sick, the deacons oﬃce can be notiﬁed.

Immediately the deacons can notify the responsible brothers or others concerned; moreover, as soon as something happens, notice may be sent from the deacons oﬃce so that within a short time all the brothers and sisters in the locality will know about it.

Or if any brother or sister wants to contact another brother or sister, he or she can call the deacons oﬃce. The person on duty can look at the record and give the address or telephone number.

Or another assembly elsewhere may write to ask if a certain

person was baptized in your assembly. What if the elders cannot remember? As the number of those to be baptized increases, there will be a need for a record to be kept. By examining the record, the answer can readily be ascertained. Another matter which can be solved in the deacons oﬃce need not go to the responsible brothers.

Only those things which it cannot handle should go to the responsible brothers. Otherwise, the latter will be so busy receiving people or whatever else, that they will have no time to take care of the church.

I thank God for the way things were managed during the time of the early apostles. For when there were murmurings among the

Grecian Jews concerning their widows, the apostles were able to hear them. This is actually the work of the deacons. Their eyes must be open. As soon as something develops, they should notify the

responsible brothers. Consequently, let us remember that a church is not as complicated as is a group in Protestantism, yet neither is it so simple as we sometimes tend to think.

Protestantism has tended to over-organize itself, but we have tended to overturn the organization that is mentioned in the Bible. Both tendencies are wrong. What we need is a place in which to take care of the necessary business of the church.

The Deacons Oﬃce

To Receive and to Care

There need to be people in the deacons oﬃce to receive all who come in. From morning till evening, whenever there is any inquiry, it can be readily answered. Local brothers and sisters must not only serve in other capacities but also serve in the deacons oﬃce. The deacons oﬃce can help the church in many ways.

Some may look at such an oﬃce as being unspiritual. Our reply would be this: Does not David say, "I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God" (Ps. 84.10)? Let us not become so spiritual that we cannot even keep the door of the house of God well. Do not assume that there is a great deal of diﬀerence between the Levites and the priests. They are equally important. Without the service of the Levites, there can be no local church.

May we all have the desire to spend two or three hours of each week working in the assembly. We are taking care of God's aﬀairs.

We are serving Him and serving His people so that all may grow.

Never make this a personal work. Let the entire body serve in the many church aﬀairs which need to be taken care of,

such as

arranging to meet brothers or sisters who come from abroad, taking care of orphans and widows, helping people to locate brothers or sisters, or assisting when accidents occur or family troubles arise.

Then, too, someone may come to the church to inquire about the gospel. As more and more tracts are distributed, there will naturally be more inquirers who will knock on the door of the meeting place.

The brothers or sisters who are in the deacons oﬃce can themselves talk to them or they can ﬁnd other people to talk with them. This is why we need a place and people to staﬀ such an oﬃce. Those

brethren who do such deacons work can immediately render helps of all kinds when needed.

The Church and the Work: Church Aﬀairs

To Record Works

Always remember the principle of the book. Except for

emergencies and unsettled matters, the brothers or sisters on duty should record all the works done. This will serve as a reference in future days. These records are very important. An assembly should keep a record of all who have been baptized; it should also keep a record of all who have been received to the Lord's table. It should have a record of all the letters of recommendation written as well as a copy of each letter. It should also have a record of the names and addresses of, and important information

concerning, all the brothers and sisters. It should keep a record of all who have signed their names at the gospel meetings, and also keep a record of visitation—

gospel, beginners, and elderly saints respectively. The works of the priests require a record too—how many people are put into what work.

The greatest use of record-keeping lies not in preservation but rather in inducement. Through such record-keeping, the responsible brothers are able to ascertain if certain matters are well taken care of by certain brothers and sisters. The responsible brothers are

overseers, and they can be helped in their oversight of the church through these records.

To sum up, at the very beginning tell the brothers and sisters in the deacons oﬃce that when people come in they must be received politely but not in too businesslike a fashion. All the records must be kept neatly and accurately. Nothing should be done carelessly, for this is God's work. Let me tell you that all the lazy people will soon resign. Let us mean business before God. Even only an hour put in will help the church to be built a day earlier.

The Deacons Oﬃce

The Way Today Is All Serving

Please understand that responsible brothers do not speak from the platform once and then their responsibility is ﬁnished. Their duty is to get all the brothers and sisters to work. Without accomplishing this, we have no future. If all is dependent upon the Sunday

preaching, then let us all be preachers. We rest six days and work one day, whereas God worked six days and rested one day. No wonder preachers have become lazy. No, we must work every day and cause all the brothers and sisters to work. The question is not whether you have done it, but whether the others as well as yourselves have done it.

Hence your work is, on the one hand, that you work, but on the other hand that you get other people to work too. You must lead them to work. Do not give them works and leave them alone. Follow up on them and see how the works have been done. Ask if there is any problem which you may help to solve. Thus shall the church be truly brought forth.

For the church to indeed appear, people must come forward. One day you shall see the whole church serving, the whole church

preaching the gospel. In this way shall God's endeavor of recovery begin on earth, and God will have His Church. Otherwise,

Christianity—which was taken captive into Babylon—will not have returned today. For currently people are still passive and there is still the intermediate class: on one side is God, on the other side are men, and in between is the intermediate class through whom men

approach God. I wonder if you have recognized this problem.

So we see that the deacons oﬃce is instrumental in managing

aﬀairs. Recognize it for what it is—the instrument by which the brethren manage church aﬀairs. By such records as are kept, the actual condition of the church may be known. Do

you now see what God's Work is? It is not only preaching from the pulpit. We

The Church and the Work: Church Aﬀairs

acknowledge the importance of the ministers of God's word. It is a very precious ministry. Even so, we want everybody else to serve.

Starting from Consecration

Someone may ask the question, How do we activate the entire

body to work? I think the way to do this begins with the matter of consecration. This is a new way, and therefore it needs to be well ordered. First of all, all the brothers and sisters must be shown that service belongs to the whole church and that every member in the body has his or her function. The universal priesthood of all believers needs to be aﬃrmed and underscored repeatedly. The truth about authority must also be told. Second, we must pay special attention to this principle of consecration—of selling all. Unless people sell all, their service will be false and unsuccessful. They must put

everything on the altar for the sake of serving God. Hence the basic thought is that all must oﬀer everything for the service of God.

Today the Lord calls all who belong to Him to serve. Otherwise, all that we have seen and suggested will become merely dead method which will end in nothing. It is not a mere method, it is a way given by God.

When this that we have just now said is presented to the brothers and sisters, it must be presented strongly. Do not deliver it in such a way as though asking for their help or asking them to help God. Such a position is totally wrong. We must let them see how noble and glorious it is to serve God. Tell them that their vocation today is to serve the Lord, that their professions are but avocations. The main purpose is to learn to serve God, the other professions are mere sidelines. Do not fall so low as to beg people for God. No, we cannot beg them to serve Him. They must come to be accepted by God. If He wants them to serve, they must come and serve. The entire body of believers must serve; but if not, there will be no church. All the

The Deacons Oﬃce

brothers and sisters must prostrate themselves before God and then rise up and serve.

Use Whomever God Has Apprehended

Some may further ask this: How are we to deal with a situation wherein some of the brethren do give themselves to God but others do not? The answer is that we can only use those whom God has

apprehended. As many as have been apprehended by Him, just that many will we draw in. Nevertheless, we must be careful to get the rest to also be committed to God.

Work Till Everyone Serves

This is the way we wish to establish this: Let all the workers put everything they have into the Work, and let us call all the brothers and sisters to put their all in too. This is not

something which a few can accomplish. It requires each and every one to be in the Work. All our strength, life and wealth must be put in. The higher we climb the more blessing God gives. The lower the note sounded, the fewer the number of people who will come. The more we are fearful, the less the number of people who will join in the Work.

Let us clearly understand that to be God's servants today is a great honor conferred upon us by the Lord. It is not we who favor God.

Otherwise, how can we ever serve Him? If someone asks you to do an earthly work, you will thank him for the privilege, will you not?

Then why should you think that God ought to thank you because you come to serve Him? Pardon me for having little patience with such thinking. If I hear someone say, "God loves you, therefore you ought to serve Him"—as though God should be very pleased to have that person's service— then let me tell you that I have no patience with such words. What you should say to that one is this: "You should be most pleased to be allowed to serve God, for shouldn't all people be 106

The Church and the Work: Church Aﬀairs

pleased when they realize that a person such as they may serve the true and living God?"

Serving God Is My Glory

I need to see that if in my life I could serve God by crawling, that that would be my glory. If God would want me, then that is my

greatest honor. How utterly foolish any of you are who think God needs to use such as you are. If He is willing to accept you, then this ought to be viewed as the highest grace. How odd for people to think they favor God or grant Him honor when they serve Him. I deem this to be most strange. I therefore hope that you all will see before God that there is no glory greater than that of serving Him. If I may stand at the gate and beg to serve God, that will be glory for me. For the Lord to be willing to accept me, that is most amazing. Does not God say, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have

compassion on whom I have compassion" (Rom. 9.15)? Such is His mercy that He wants me to be His servant. How totally wrong you are if you consider yourself cleverer, higher, richer, or wiser than other people by your coming to serve the Lord.

Hence do not persuade people to serve God. Instead, convey this attitude to them: If people reckon it glory to serve a president, how much more is the distance between that president and God! If I am able to serve the Lord, that will be my greatest glory. When people oﬀer things to God, it is not a question of how painful is the sacriﬁce but whether the Lord will accept them. For how do you know what He will accept? Do realize that this is more than even a matter of consecration, it is a matter of divine acceptance. Tell the people that whether or not God will accept them is really the central question. If He is willing to accept them, then that will be their glory.

Consequently, it is really not a question of whether men are willing to oﬀer, but a question of whether God will accept. Let the way be

The Deacons Oﬃce

straight and the position high. Speak from His ground and from His perspective.

How dare people be arrogant before God. How pitiful if anyone

should think about himself when he comes to serve. Will the Lord ever use such a person? Never! For man to be allowed to serve the Lord of Lords, that is the utmost glory! May God be gracious to us that we may walk straight in His way and manage the church aﬀairs well.

District Meetings

If a locality is too large and the people are too many,

district meetings become a necessary arrangement. We

do not believe in the congregational church system

which makes each congregation a separate unit. For the

Bible teaches locality, not a congregation, as the unit—

such as Corinth or Rome. So that when there are multitudes of

brethren in one locality, such as Jerusalem which had tens of

thousands of people, you realize immediately how impossible it was for them all to meet in one place. Even during the ﬁrst few days, what with three thousand and then

ﬁve thousand believers added, it was quite impossible for them all to meet together in one place. One can readily see, therefore, the need for some arrangement.

"By Hundreds, and by Fifties"

We do not use the particular portion of Scripture found in Mark

6.34-44 as evidence; we only take it as a guide. Recall how at the time our Lord Jesus multiplied the loaves, there were ﬁve thousand men present—besides the women and children. How, then, will you distribute loaves to such a multitude? Quite naturally, the Lord ordered them to sit in companies of hundreds and ﬁfties. Today we would accept the Lord's principle of such an arrangement. As the brothers and sisters increase in larger number, we can adopt the Lord's way by dividing them into hundreds and ﬁfties.

Please notice that our Lord did not divide the multitude into either all ﬁfties or all hundreds. He divided them both by hundreds and by ﬁfties. This means that the dividing was by convenient numbers. So that today as the brethren in a church increase, we can divide them in convenient, not in ﬁxed, numbers. According to convenience and geography ﬁfty or a hundred people may meet separately. Since the 110

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diﬀerence between these two numbers was double, the Lord merely gives us a convenient number.

According to this principle, I think responsible brothers in various localities should learn to make such an arrangement. As people increase, divide into districts. The

number of people meeting in one place or another will vary somewhere between these two numbers.

Such kind of dividing will be most convenient because there will be fewer people and they will be easier to look after. Furthermore, with fewer people in a given meeting, there will be more opportunity for all to participate.

Meeting Separately

The gospel meeting, the prayer meeting, and the beginners

meeting may all be held according to the individual districts. Even the ministry meetings and the breaking of bread meetings may be conducted in the individual districts. However, if a worker is in the region, and some special ministry of God's word is to be given, it will be more expedient to hold joint sessions.

District Care

Care may be performed according to district. The responsible

brothers should learn to so arrange themselves that there will be one or more of them in each district. Thus they can take up responsibility and take care of the spiritual situation of the district.

Possibility of Balanced Growth

If the districts are properly divided and district needs are well met, we can expect a general and balanced growth in the meeting. For people may all pray and share together before God.

District

Meetings

Church at Jerusalem Met in Districts

The Bible has not shown us how Jerusalem was divided into

districts, but as we read the book of Acts we nonetheless know that the church did meet in various district settings. We ﬁnd, for example, that their prayer meetings were held in diﬀerent homes. Recall the story of Rhoda the maid after Peter had been delivered by God from

jail (see Acts 12.3-17). In that home a prayer meeting was in progress when Peter knocked at the door. Let me reiterate the point made earlier that the Bible does not tend to describe in detail those matters which pertain to church aﬀairs, since God is not willing to let us have a framework. But it does contain a shadow of things arranged. Only shadows are found in the Bible in order that the Church throughout the generations to come might learn something from God when a similar circumstance arises requiring an

arrangement to be worked out for the management of a church

matter.

As a matter of fact, it was impossible for all the brothers and sisters to assemble together to break bread either. This was a physical impossibility. If there was but one cup, how big must that cup have been! If but one loaf, how could it have been passed? How long a time must have been consumed in passing the loaf and the cup to a group of a thousand people which later on grew to tens of thousands of people! This obviously became absolutely impossible. Even if all

seven days in the week had been used for the breaking of bread meeting, the passing of one loaf and one cup could hardly have been well distributed. Thus we can see clearly that there must have been district-type meetings held at that time. The house where Rhoda answered the door (in this case the home of Mary the mother of John Mark) was but one of the many houses for meeting.

The Church and the Work: Church Aﬀairs

Let Us Maintain This Principle

I trust we will be able to maintain this principle before God: on the one hand, we confess that the Bible does make some

arrangements; on the other hand, we concede that it does not give us the detailed rules and regulations concerning these arrangements.

The Bible mentions, for example, letters of commendation, yet it never tells us how such letters should be written. You will remember that Paul said he did not need such a letter: "Are we beginning again to commend ourselves? or need we, as do some, epistles of

commendation to you or from you?" (2 Cor. 3.1) This implies that there were letters of commendation. But Paul did not describe at all how these letters were written. So that as we write our own letters of commendation today, we must learn to write them well. There is no form which we can ﬁll in. We must instead learn to write them continuously.

As God touches upon various church aﬀairs in His word, He

always gives us a principle. He merely shows us there is something He does, for He never takes into consideration that the Holy Spirit will ever leave the Church. From God's viewpoint the Holy Spirit is Christ's representative in the Church. The Holy Spirit dwells in the Church. And consequently, if we truly submit ourselves to the Head of the Church, we will be taught by the Holy Spirit how to act according to the particular principle given.

I hope you will be able to understand this matter of the district meeting. Though we do not have any Scriptural evidence of rule telling us what to do, we nonetheless recognize that the district meeting is a must—physically speaking. In the book of Acts, we notice it was deﬁnitely created: "from house to house" (Acts 2.46

AV, literal Greek). And the house where Rhoda was present was one of these very houses. These passages disclose the principle of having district meetings.

District

Meetings

I therefore hope you will keep this principle ever in mind: that regarding spiritual things, the Bible gives us great details so that nothing signiﬁcant is left untold; but that regarding physical things (Levitical service) it only gives us hints but no rules and regulations.

It shows us something, but without revealing how. Yet as we do it, we realize that the Holy Spirit has not left us. The Holy Spirit is in the Church; He is the Head of the Church. We can wait and pray and receive light as to how to meet in districts.

8 The Local Assembly That Is Also a

Work Center

Another matter to be considered: a local assembly

where the Work center is. There are two kinds of local

assemblies: one is the ordinary local assembly, the

other is the local assembly where a Work center is located. These two are actually not much diﬀerent from each other, the only

distinction being what place the apostles have in a local assembly.

Elders, Deacons, and Brethren in a Local Assembly

Let us look at the church at Philippi. The church there had the saints, the elders, and the deacons: "To, all the saints in Christ Jesus that are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons" (Phil. 1.1 mg.).

This statement of greeting makes it very clear that the letter was written to all the believers in the church there with its elders and deacons. This is the arrangement for an ordinary local assembly.

Apostles in a Work Center

In a local assembly where a Work center was located, apostles

were being added. Ordinarily, in a local assembly the elders form the governing body; but in a local assembly that is additionally a Work center, apostles also reside there.

Apostles Who Are Also Elders

Apostles are responsible for the Work in a given region; they are there speciﬁcally for the Work. But at the same time some of these apostles may also be involved in the aﬀairs of

the local assembly. So that in the place where the local assembly and the Work center co-exist, some apostles act in a dual capacity both as apostles and as 116

The Church and the Work: Church Aﬀairs

elders. So far as the Work is concerned, the apostles take care of it in this region. But since this is where the local assembly is, they also take care of the church. However, they cannot govern the local assembly as apostles, but these apostles must also become elders.

The Bible shows us how things were done in a church council (the only instance of it, incidentally, recorded in the Scriptures). When a letter sent from this council was written, it was written by "the apostles and the elders, brethren" in Jerusalem (Acts 15.23).

I wish to point out here that Peter was an apostle, perhaps even the chief among the apostles. But in Jerusalem, he was also an elder (as his First Epistle in the New Testament would indicate: "The elders therefore among you I exhort, who am a fellow elder"—5.1). So that

Peter not only was an apostle but also an elder. Likewise with John:

"The elder unto . . ." (2 John 1), "The elder unto. . ." (3 John 1).

Hence John, one of the original twelve apostles, was an elder as well.

In 1 Peter 1.1, Peter tells us that he is an apostle. And he writes

the letter as an apostle. But in 5.1 of the same letter, he further reveals to us that he is also an elder. 2 and 3 John both begin with the

same greeting: "The elder unto . . ." John, however, does not mention that he is an apostle. This is rather unusual. He is neither like Paul nor Peter, in that these two always wrote as apostles.

In any case, the two great apostles in Jerusalem (Peter and John) were also elders in Jerusalem. They were noteworthy among all the apostles who were in that city, and they were also elders there at the same time. Except for James, the other original twelve apostles were not identiﬁed by name at all. Of the twelve, these three apostles—

Peter, John and James—were the only ones noted in the book of

Acts. But two of these three, from the record of the New Testament epistles, are singled out as also being elders.

The Local Assembly That Is Also a Work Center

Now there was another James—brother to our Lord Jesus— who

also being an apostle (Gal. 1.19) seems to have made the ﬁnal decision at the church council in question. Both from the word of the Bible and from Church history, we can be certain that at the time of this council, he too was an elder in Jerusalem. And it would appear as though he had surpassed even Peter in leadership, for it was he who made the ﬁnal decision of the council.

Apostles Cannot Deal with Aﬀairs in Local Assemblies Directly

From all of this, then, it becomes clear that if you are an elder of a local assembly, you cannot rule over things in other assemblies elsewhere. If you are an elder of the church at Jerusalem, you cannot manage local aﬀairs in the local assembly at Samaria. For the elders in the Bible are all local in character. You cannot transcend the scope of a local assembly and control other local assemblies. As apostles, you cannot touch matters in a local assembly directly. You may deal with the elders, but you cannot deal directly with local aﬀairs.

Take as an example the labors at Corinth done by Paul. It is quite plain in the book of Acts that Paul visited Corinth and labored there.

The relationship between him and the church at Corinth was indeed very deep and strong. He even wrote at least two letters to the believers there; not only he visited Corinth, but he sent Timothy and Titus on visits there as well. All this represents Paul's work. Even so, when in the church at Corinth a person had sinned, Paul himself had no way to cast him out, simply because he was an apostle and not an elder in the church at Corinth. He had no authority to post an announcement that said: "I have excommunicated soand-so." He

must instead write to the church at Corinth, saying, "(You) put away the wicked man from among yourselves" (1 Cor. 5.13b). He could not excommunicate that person for the church, for Paul was not an elder; he was only an apostle. Nowhere in the Scriptures are we shown that Paul ever became an elder in some local assembly. He 118

The Church and the Work: Church Aﬀairs

was strictly an apostle, an apostle to the Gentiles. He thus could not control any local assemblies. As elders cannot control other

assemblies but can only manage their own local assemblies, so

apostles cannot touch directly the government of any local assembly but can only govern the regional Work. And hence aﬀairs in the church at Corinth must be handled by the Corinthians themselves; Paul cannot manage for them.

So what did Paul end up doing? He wrote: "In the name of our

Lord Jesus, ye being gathered together and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, to deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction of the ﬂesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus"

(1 Cor. 5.4,5). As an apostle, he could exercise spiritual authority to deliver to Satan the brother who had sinned, but he had no way to excommunicate the brother. And this is the way the Bible prescribes for handling church aﬀairs.

Peter Bears Double Responsibility

In a local assembly, such as in Jerusalem, where there was also a Work center, the apostle Peter bore a double responsibility. He had authority to take care of the Work in the region surrounding

Jerusalem, but at the same time he also acted as an elder in the local assembly there. If you are not an elder in Jerusalem, you cannot directly control the aﬀairs of

Jerusalem. So that Peter and John were both elders in Jerusalem, and James was an elder there too. But Peter must additionally handle the Work in Samaria because he was also an apostle. He managed the Work in that region in the capacity of an apostle and managed the aﬀairs of the church at Jerusalem in the capacity of an elder. This is quite clear in Scripture.

This is why one day when there was a problem in Antioch and

people were sent to Jerusalem to make inquiry, the letter written by the brethren in Jerusalem could say, "The apostles and the elders, brethren . . . For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us" (Acts

The Local Assembly That Is Also a Work Center

15.23,28). The apostles in Jerusalem were in relation to the region; the elders in Jerusalem were in relation to the local assembly. Such decisions were thus made by both the apostles and the elders.

I feel good about all this, for in spiritual matters pertaining to the local church, God has not left anything for us to ﬁll in but has given detailed direction. The apostles are responsible for the Work while the elders are responsible for the local assembly. In this case, however, Peter held a double responsibility.

Some Apostles Were Not Elders

Some apostles were not elders, such as Paul and Barnabas. In

reading the New Testament carefully, we cannot ﬁnd any place

where Paul was also an elder. In the church at Antioch, Paul and Barnabas had part in the ministry of God's word but no part in any local oﬃce. They had ministry but occupied no governmental oﬃce.

They were neither deacons nor elders. They were instead prophets and teachers. Accordingly, in Antioch these two apostles belonged to ministry and not to government.

Antioch, Another Beginning of the Holy Spirit

Let us take note that just as Jerusalem was begun by the Holy

Spirit so Antioch was begun by the Holy Spirit too. Antioch did not conceive a new way of work by itself; it was simply another

beginning of God's Work by the Holy Spirit.

Antioch—Fatal to Roman Catholicism

Please be aware that this new beginning of the Work in Antioch has tremendous signiﬁcance for the Church. If we know God, we will bow our heads and worship Him each time we come to Acts

chapters 13 and 14. I often thank Him for these two chapters.

The Church and the Work: Church Aﬀairs

Chapter 13 serves as a fatal blow to Roman Catholicism. Without that chapter, we would have had to return to Rome —whether Rome was right or wrong. And why? Because the Holy Spirit had

commenced in Jerusalem, and Jerusalem had then become a center of the Work. And had the Holy Spirit not made a new beginning in

Antioch, we would have had to confess that God had but one center on the earth.

Do you now perceive this signiﬁcance? If you do not have the

Work in your mind, you will not sense the immensity of what

happened at the time of Acts 13. But if you have the Work on your heart, you can see that this was a great step—a most strategic step—

taken by the Holy Spirit. For up through the time of chapter 12, all

you could see was the Work of Jerusalem—that even the Work done at Antioch was also that of Jerusalem; for in reading from chapter 11

onwards you will notice that the Work in Antioch had been done by the brethren coming out of Jerusalem. If only this evidence were available, you would just naturally have to confess that God's Work has a single center on earth, which center was Jerusalem. At some future time in Church history it might have been removed to another place—this we cannot be sure about—but nevertheless there was a center. In other words, you would have to acknowledge, on the basis of only this amount of evidence from the Bible that

Christianity was to have but a single capital. Jerusalem would become the capital of Christianity just as Mecca became the capital of Islam and Chufoo, the capital of Confucianism. But thank God that the Holy Spirit made another beginning in the Work—this time at Antioch. Because out from Antioch the Holy Spirit sent apostles also.

Paul and Barnabas Become Apostles Too

How did Paul dare to take up the "title" of apostle? Barnabas was a good brother, but in Jerusalem he was just an ordinary saint and not an apostle. And Paul himself was certainly not an apostle originally.

The Local Assembly That Is Also a Work Center

However, after the Holy Spirit singled them out by name in Antioch, then set them apart and sent them out, we will notice that Luke in his narrative described them as apostles. Later in his account, Luke wrote: "The multitude of the city was divided; and part held with the Jews, and part with the apostles [Barnabas and Paul]" (Acts 14.4).

The Holy Spirit, through Luke here, did not declare that He had ordained them as apostles or had set them up as apostles; it was simply recorded that they were apostles. In other words, God himself made a new start by His own Spirit. It was not begun by Paul and Barnabas themselves. Had this new adventure been started by them, we could disavow it. But the Holy Spirit was the one who had

commenced anew at Antioch. He appointed apostles and sent them out to the Work. And immediately we come to realize from the

additional evidence that there is more than one Work center. For now there are at least two regional areas of God's Work in existence.

And the concept of one single center on earth is thus forever

destroyed. Christianity has no capital.

Let us thank God that wherever the Holy Spirit commences a Work, there is the capital of Christianity, and against such there is no human restriction. After all, the Lord is the Head of the Church, and the Holy Spirit is still His representative on earth. Oftentimes He uses us, but many other times He works outside of us. For Jerusalem and its saints had no way of monopolizing the Work of the Lord! We observe on the one hand that God had already set up Jerusalem as a center; but we observe on the other hand that He could also set up Antioch as a center too. He can therefore set up Shanghai as a center, and in addition set up Foochow as a center. Let us clearly see, then, that there is not just one center of God's Work. If there be but one single center, then the principle of Rome would be right.

The Church and the Work: Church Aﬀairs

May Have Third Or More Regions

This that we have been speaking about is a matter of great

consequence. Acts chapter 13 is a foundation stone of Christianity.

Without it, we would be confronted with many monumental

problems. Without it, the idea of a pope would be all right. Without it, the Roman concept of a capital for Christianity would undoubtedly be correct. But we now know that before God there is not just one center, but two centers; not only one regional area of God's Work but two regional areas. As a matter of fact, as it pleases the Holy Spirit, He can set up the third, the tenth, the hundredth, the thousandth or even the ten thousandth region on earth. Everything is according to the thought of the Holy Spirit in His labor on earth, for nothing is to be according to man's idea.

Apostles Not Being Elders May Go Out Continuously

The uniqueness about these two apostles who were sent out from Antioch is that they were not elders in the church at Antioch. Thus as they went out to work, they traveled as itinerants from place to place.

Paul and Barnabas did return to Antioch, but they did not return quickly. Paul, for example, stayed in Ephesus for three years. Had they been elders in Jerusalem, they would probably have been in Ephesus for three weeks and then would have returned to Jerusalem.

They could have ventured out from Jerusalem, but they would then have had to return quickly. They would have gone out because they were apostles; they would have returned within a reasonably short time because they were elders.

Paul and Barnabas being apostles but not elders could go out for many years without their absence creating any problem in Antioch whatsoever. They could go wherever the Holy Spirit led them. For they were only apostles, not elders as well. Peter and John, on the other hand, were both

apostles and elders. So they went out for a short while and returned quickly to Jerusalem; otherwise how could

The Local Assembly That Is Also a Work Center

they have ever taken care of their responsibility back in Jerusalem?

They could not but go out because they were apostles, yet they could not but come back—and that quickly—because they were elders.

This is truly something remarkable. They were apostles, so they frequently went out; but they were also elders, and therefore they always came back. They had to take care of their responsibility in Jerusalem, hence they could not travel too far away.

Need Strong Meeting

Why do we spend so much time these days together in explaining this matter? Because this has much to do with your future work. This is a principle you must accept. If you are responsible for the Work in a region as well as responsible in establishing a local assembly, you will need to learn to be apostles as well as elders. And this will also require you to have a strong meeting in the locality. A number of Bible commentators tell us that the church at Antioch was the

strongest one of that time. Many tell us that it was a model church. In fact, I recall in my youth having read a book called The Model Church, and it spoke at length of this very church at Antioch.

Now if anyone is not in responsibility for the local assembly, he should devote himself to apostolic work—that is to say, he should always go out to work and later return. Even if he should stay longer on the outside, he will create no problems by his lengthy absence.

Yet there will be other people who shall return shortly after they go forth, such as Peter did in going out to Samaria and to Caesarea but very soon thereafter coming back to Jerusalem because he also was an elder there.

Henceforth, those brethren who act as apostles must go out and those who act as both apostles and elders must return. The way is neat and clean.

The Church and the Work: Church Aﬀairs

Only Diﬀerence Is in Platform

A local assembly which is also a Work center is not diﬀerent from any other local assembly except in one respect; in a local assembly that is also a regional center live the apostles as well as the local elders; moreover, some of the apostles may also be elders. So that probably there will be some diﬀerence in the platform, for due to the presence of apostles and their willingness to share, there will undoubtedly be a special ministry of God's word. And this is

something which an ordinary local assembly would not have.

9 The Relation between a Local

Assembly and the Work

What is the relationship between a local assembly

and the Work? What is the relationship between a local

assembly and the apostles? We wish to look into this

matter. Local assemblies such as Jerusalem and Antioch were special and exceptional because they were Work centers as well as local assemblies. So far as being a local assembly was concerned, they were no diﬀerent from any other local assembly of that day. But so far as the Work was concerned, they at the same time were Work centers. And therefore we do acknowledge Jerusalem and Antioch as having been somewhat diﬀerent from other assemblies. So the

question now comes down to what the relationship of the other assemblies was to the Work?

In our book, Rethinking the Work,∗ we attempted at some length to show brothers and sisters that the local assembly is the highest church authority on earth. And why? Because apart from the

individual local assemblies, our Lord has not established any union of churches on earth whatsoever. The Scriptures do not contain any idea of a mother church; it only confesses a local assembly as a unit.

The local assembly is the only unit, above which there is no other church authority.

Highest Authority in Local Assembly Rests upon Elders

The highest authority in a local assembly is represented by the elders. Everything in the church is governed directly by them. An apostle cannot touch a local assembly directly— that is to say, he

∗See footnote on opening page of Chapter 4 above.— Translator 126

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cannot directly deal with local aﬀairs. A person in Corinth needed to be excommunicated, but Paul himself could not cast him out. This is a very revealing case. For here is shown the relationship between a given local assembly and the Work or between a local assembly and an apostle. In other words, the apostle cannot intervene directly; he must do it through the elders. For God has not ordered the local assembly to obey the command of the apostle directly, He only calls for all the brothers and sisters in a local assembly to accept an order of its eldership. If the spiritual condition of the elders is right, they themselves should receive the apostle's word.

Elders Are Appointed by Apostles

Let us note again that elders are appointed by apostles. Timothy and Titus were also apostles; they were especially sent by Paul. One was in Ephesus, the other was in Crete. They appointed elders in diﬀerent cities. Do not forget that the authority of the elders does not come from the church. No elder is elected by the local assembly.

Elders are not chosen by the local brethren; they are set up by the apostles. A local assembly has no right to choose its elders, and therefore should not do so. God shows us that it was Paul, Timothy, and Titus who appointed elders; that is to say, the apostolic workers appointed them.

Church Must Learn to Obey Elders, Elders Learn to Listen to

Apostles

A local assembly that has elders established must listen to the words of its elders, and not to the words of a Timothy or a Titus. For elders are the bishops or overseers of the church. The highest authority of a local assembly is vested in them. But elders do receive their authority from apostles. The apostles give elders authority to govern the local church's aﬀairs directly. So hence it behooves the elders to learn to listen to the words of the apostles. They must not

The Relation between a Local Assembly and the Work

despise the counsel of the apostles. It is possible for the church not to obey the apostle's order directly, but it is not permitted for the church not to accept the order of the elders. This is God's way with local assemblies.

Apostles Responsible for Work, Elders Responsible for Church

The apostles are responsible for the advancement of the Work;

they are not involved in the care of local church aﬀairs, which is the responsibility of the elders. The apostles are concerned with the promotion of the Work of the entire body of Christ. Thus the Bible gives us clear arrangements for workers, the local assembly, and the elders.

How the Church Decides on Issues

I believe all workers and elders share a common notion: a

preaching meeting can easily be handled, but a business meeting is rather diﬃcult to conduct. There does not appear to be much

problem in spiritual things; the biggest headache is tending to the church's aﬀairs. For in such situation it is quite easy for each one to have his own idea. Many things cannot be settled because of

diﬀering opinions.

Acts 15: the Pattern for Church Council

Acts 15 is the only place in the entire New Testament where there is a record of the church having met for business. As you know, the Roman Catholic Church has had many councils, but in Jerusalem

there was only one council held. Let us keep in mind that God puts this in the Bible as a pattern for all church councils. Do not incorrectly interpret Acts 15 as being a bad experience. On the contrary, it is a most precious chapter in the book of Acts. Without it we would be at a loss when we today try to manage church aﬀairs.

The Church and the Work: Church Aﬀairs

Acts 15 provides the pattern given by God for the Church to follow during these two thousand years ever since.

A Problem Arises

Here in Jerusalem a problem arose. Many foolishly assume that

having no problem is a sign of spirituality in a church. Let it be known that a sign of spirituality in a church is not that it is without any problem but that it has the means to solve problems. If a church is spiritual, it will have many diﬃculties because it has to consider many things. A church that is not spiritual is so permissive that it can do anything in any way. The more it is under the hold of a "strong man" (see Matt. 12.29), the more uneventful it will be; whereas the more spiritual it is, the more matters it will have that need to be solved.

Jerusalem has a problem. Where did this problem originate? Many who were formerly zealous in Judaism traveled widely to many

places, even to Antioch. They told the believers there that they must be circumcised according to the Mosaic Law. Under such a

circumstance, Paul and Barnabas felt it necessary to go to Jerusalem, and some other brothers in the church at Antioch went with them.

Apostles and Elders Meet, but Brethren Allowed to Speak

They went to Jerusalem to see the apostles and the elders: "Go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question" (Acts

15.2). "And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church and the apostles and elders" (v.4). The church received

them, the apostles received them, and the elders received them. All three received Paul and his party.

But there were believers present who had been Pharisees before.

With their Pharisaic background, they rose up and declared: "It is

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needful to circumcise them [the Gentile believers], and to charge them to keep the law of Moses" (v.5). I trust that all brothers and

sisters can begin to perceive from the Bible how a council on

business is to be held. The Jerusalem council was one consisting of the apostles and the elders. It was not a council of the local church.

Its responsibility fell on the apostles and the elders.

Now there was no diﬃculty over this matter of circumcision and the Mosaic Law among the apostles and the elders themselves. But some believers with a Pharisaic background were strongly

advocating that the Gentile believers be circumcised and that they keep the Law of Moses. Let it be understood right here that the main body which was discussing these Church matters were the apostles and the elders. They also were the ones to make the ﬁnal decision.

But before they made any decision, they felt they must hear what some opposing brothers had to say. It was a meeting of the apostles and the elders in Jerusalem, yet they allowed these brothers to come in and present their view. Those who opposed the matter of grace alone had their reason, and they were given opportunity to voice it.

Do not interpret this as being unspiritual, for God desires the responsible brothers—those with authority—to be persons who can listen. They should be able to sit there and listen to contrary views.

Anyone who cannot listen to an opposing view is not ﬁt to be a leader in the Church.

"And the apostles and the elders were gathered together to

consider of this matter. And when there had been much

questioning…" (vv. 6,7a). Many words had been said, all sorts of

arguments had been oﬀered, and many opinions had been raised.

Many brothers agreed and many brothers disagreed. The apostles and the elders allowed all who had opinions and who wished to express them to come forward and speak. Although the meeting belonged to the apostles and the elders, they permitted anyone and everyone from the entire body of believers to come and express himself as he wished. Let me tell you that this is the principle for managing such 130

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aﬀairs to be found in the Bible. It certainly is not by suppressing or by refusing to hear what people have to say. Even words which

appear weak and nonsensical have to be heard out. By so doing, the responsible brothers whose spiritual condition is right may, in the process, come to know how to decide as they sit and listen. Many responsible brothers in the Church lack this habit of listening. Or if they do listen, they may simply listen to one or a few, rather than all the brethren who may wish to speak. The Church is not like the Roman Catholic Church—which is as dictatorial as Thyatira was

(Rev. 2.18ﬀ.), nor is it democratic as was Laodicea (Rev. 3.14ﬀ.).

The Church follows the Jerusalem principle: let all the brethren speak, but let the responsible brothers decide. The people themselves are not to make any decisions.

Apostles and Elders Decide, Church and Holy Spirit Approve

How was the matter ultimately settled? It was really amazing. The brethren had spoken, and now the apostles and the elders spoke. The ﬁrst one among them who stood up to speak was Peter. He rose up to tell his experience and to oﬀer his own opinion: "Brethren, ye know that a good while ago God made choice among you, that by my

mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.

And God, who knoweth the heart, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Spirit, even as he did unto us; and he made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith. Now therefore why make ye trial of God, that ye

should put a yoke upon the necks of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?"

(Acts 15.7b-10)

Next Barnabas was invited to speak since he had originally been a part of the church at Jerusalem before moving to Antioch. He was followed up by Paul.

Here we see that Peter spoke, Barnabas spoke, and Paul spoke.

Finally, James rose up to speak. How beautiful verse 13 is: "And

The Relation between a Local Assembly and the Work

after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Brethren, hearken unto me." He stood foremost among the brethren in

Jerusalem. After Peter and Barnabas and Paul had all testiﬁed to the same eﬀect, we now observe what James had to say: "Brethren,

hearken unto me: Symeon hath rehearsed how ﬁrst God visited the Gentiles . . . Wherefore my judgment is [this is a word of authority], that we trouble not them that from among the Gentiles turn to God; but that we write unto them, that they abstain from the pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from what is strangled, and from blood. For Moses from generations of old hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath. Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole

church…" (vv.13-22). Thus was this matter settled. This was the ﬁrst church council ever recorded in the Bible and it was also the last one!

I wish you to see that this is the way the church should decide on issues. It is diﬀerent from the ways the world practices. In the world either the majority of the people rules (as at Laodicea) or one or two at the top make the decision (as at Thyatira). In the church, all the brethren have the opportunity to speak and to argue. Everyone who wishes to speak may speak. But this is not for the purpose of deciding there and then accordingly; rather, it gives the church time to wait upon the Lord, for a simple brother in the midst may quite possibly speak out the mind of God. And hence each may speak and argue, but the arguing does not continue endlessly. After much questioning and discussion, let the responsible brothers—those with spiritual stature before God, and whether apostles or elders—express their thoughts. Finally, through the one with the highest authority, God discloses His mind. And you see that the opinions of all the responsible brothers are the same. After hearing the same from them, the decision is at last made. And all the other brethren learn to accept this decision: "Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church." This is the way the church manages its aﬀairs.

The Church and the Work: Church Aﬀairs

In managing its aﬀairs, the church does not resort to casting a vote. It leaves the ﬁnal decision to those with spiritual weight. All the arguments must be heard; we must learn to allow all the brethren to speak, and to learn to listen to their arguments. Do not view this as wrong. Let them speak

indeed; but on the other hand, ask God to give you a right decision.

Subsequently, we ﬁnd that this was not only the decision made by the apostles, the elders and the whole church, it was also made by God. How marvelous is the word which follows: "It seemed good to

the Holy Spirit and to us" (v.28a). The anointing of the Holy Spirit was there. This matter was decided by "the Holy Spirit and us," who then direct the apostles and the elders to write a letter.

I expect all the brethren to see that the way the church manages aﬀairs is neither dictatorial nor democratic. In the church there is no such thing as the majority listening to the minority or the minority listening to the majority. It is neither one man's opinion nor a majority opinion. There is only the brothers and sisters speaking their minds and those who are spiritual deciding for them. The ﬁnal decision in church matters is indeed to be in the hands of those with spiritual authority; nevertheless, they must let all who wish have an opportunity to speak. And as those with authority are listening, they must try to touch the Spirit. And ultimately they may rise up and say that a few of us brothers make such and such a decision. And after a decision has been made, the whole church follows it with one accord.

How diﬀerent is this way from that of the world.

Touch the Spirit of Scripture

The most important thing in reading the Bible is for us to touch the spirit of the Scriptures. I hope you will take Acts chapter 15 and

try to touch its spirit. There was "much questioning" from the

brethren (v.7). When the Bible records "much" it must have been

The Relation between a Local Assembly and the Work

much. Possibly those believers who had formerly been Pharisees probably still had many foolish things to say.

Peter Untouched by Much Questioning

The spirit of the man we ﬁrst wish to touch is Peter's. When Peter rose up, what did he say? Evidently he was untouched by the

arguments of these men. As he stood up and spoke, he was like a newborn baby without any outward feeling, and in no way was he touched by the spirit of argument just manifested in these brothers.

This must be the condition of the responsible brothers. Each time when the church convenes for business, a responsible brother whose inside is touched by outside discussion is unﬁt to take responsibility.

When Peter stood up, he did not have any spirit of questioning. If anyone in responsibility joins in the argument, he is not ﬁt to lead or to exercise authority. For authority never argues. In arguing, the position is lost.

How beautiful it was that when Peter got up, he had not a word of questioning. How lovely when he said: "Brethren, ye know that a good while ago God made choice among you,

that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel, and believe" (Acts

15.7). It is not just today that I speak thus; I speak today what I have spoken before. And that was a good while ago. "And God, who

knoweth the heart, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Spirit,

even as he did unto us" (v.8). Peter had neither laid hands on them nor baptized them. If I myself had laid hands on them, Peter might have said, then you might be able to argue that it was because I was the one who had given them the Holy Spirit. If I myself had baptized them, you might be able to argue that this is what I have done. No, I neither laid hands on them nor baptized them nor even prayed for them. It was the Holy Spirit himself who came upon them.

Therefore, you cannot blame me for this thing having been done.

"And he made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their 134

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hearts by faith. Now therefore why make ye trial of God, that ye should put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that we shall be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in like manner as they"

(vv.9-11). So clear, so simple, and without any argument or spirit of questioning.

Let me declare to you that the Bible has a spirit behind its words.

And as you touch this spirit, you will be touching the Book. Peter put forth his case simply, without being aﬀected by much questioning and debate. He maintained his dignity and spoke as one with

authority. Hence I do hope that at a church council none of you falls into argument, for once you do, you are not ﬁt to make decisions.

Barnabas and Paul Brought in Presence of God

Let us next focus on Barnabas and Paul who rose to speak in

succession. Please notice especially the solemnity before God when these two brothers testiﬁed. They did not stand up to deliver some stirring but careless words. They did not utter any trivial statement.

This was the time to stop arguing, not a time to inﬂame the passions of argument. The best way to put argument to an end is to bring in the presence of God. In such a meeting, idle words must cease. Your words cannot stop any idle words, only the presence of the Lord will stop them. You need to be a person who brings in the Lord's

presence. After Peter ﬁnished speaking, "all the multitude kept silence" (Acts 15.12a) and listened to Barnabas and Paul. These two could then bring the people to the Lord. Though the people present were their seniors, they nevertheless brought them to the Lord and brought the presence of God to the meeting. All the noise of

argument ceased, and everyone was listening quietly to what God had wrought through them.

Every servant of the Lord should be able to bring the presence of God to His church. For when the Lord's presence is brought in, all

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will keep silent. I hope you can discern this fundamental principle.

Never use words against words, opinion against opinion, reason against reason, and strife against strife. It will be total failure if you resort to such tactics.

As we saw earlier, Peter began ﬁrst. As he rose, his spirit was not aﬀected at all by the much questioning of the brethren. He showed the brethren his condition before the Lord. He stood there and spoke as one who knew the authority of God. Thus he had opened a way for Barnabas and Paul to speak next. When they spoke, they brought in the presence of God, so that all hearkened silently. Allow me to say that as soon as God's presence and authority come in, opinion goes out. Without His presence and authority, no church council will ever be successful. For men's opinions create confusion.

James Brought in God's Mind

"And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying"

(v.13b). This is the last authority. As a recognized leader among the brethren, James arose and spoke brieﬂy: "Brethren, hearken unto me; Symeon hath rehearsed how ﬁrst God visited the Gentiles . . ."

(vv.13c,14a). And after he had concluded the word about Peter, James quoted a passage from the Old Testament Scriptures and then declared: "Wherefore my judgement is [here he made a decision], that we trouble not them that from among the Gentiles turn to God"

(v.19). Here was neither argument nor strife. The authority, the presence, and the word of God were all brought in. The deliberation brought in the mind of God. And thus the church council was

brought to a successful conclusion.

Not Imitating Scriptural Method, but Having Spirit of Bible

Consequently, let the brethren learn to touch the spirit of the Bible, instead of merely imitating the method in the Bible. Method 136

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without spirit is totally useless. We must have the spirit of those people in the Scriptures as well as have their method. If we live in such a spirit, we can shut the mouths of those who love to talk. But if we are loose and careless, and the presence and authority of God is not manifested in our lives, we will not be able to accomplish any good results in such meetings. If our ﬂesh is not under restraint, it will not be restrained in the meeting. Before we can bind the ﬂesh in our brethren, we must have our own ﬂesh bound. If we do not allow the presence of God to be manifested in our lives, we cannot expect His presence to be manifested in the lives of the brethren. Without submitting ourselves to the authority of God, we cannot make the brethren submit to His authority.

Hence the question lies in our spiritual condition. If our condition is correct, the result will be right. To take Acts 15 as but a method is utterly useless because no method in the Bible can be used

automatically. The word in the Bible is not a formula which we can adopt technically. Even if it proves to be useful, there is nothing of the Spirit in it. It is therefore not a matter of method but a matter of Spirit—not of formula but of Spirit.

0 The Coordination of the

Workers

We will now approach this subject of the

coordination of the workers.

(1) RECOGNIZE AUTHORITY

There is one thing we need to recognize, that in God's Work there are many workers but that some are like foremen set up by God in a particular work. This is intimated from what Paul says concerning himself: "According to the grace of God which was given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder . . ." (1 Cor. 3.10a).

Laying a Foundation and Building on It

We can see that some are laying a foundation whereas others are building on it: "As a wise master-builder I laid a foundation; and

another buildeth thereon" (v.10b). Everybody is at work building, but some are building the foundation and some are building upon the foundation. So that nobody is building according to his own pleasure.

Some people seem to be appointed by God to build the foundation, while others seem to be appointed to build upon the foundation.

Accordingly, some are set up as foremen.

I believe we all know what a foundation means. Those who lay a foundation must seek for the rock. They need to ﬁnd the place and select the proper location for the foundation to be laid. The people who build on it have no such need for locating and deciding on the place to build. They are only responsible to build on wherever the foundation has already been laid.

The Church and the Work: Church Aﬀairs

Paul also wrote this: "Yea, making it my aim so to preach the

gospel, not where Christ was already named, that I might not build upon another man's foundation" (Rom. 15.20). Here Paul was

referring especially to the work done by the brethren in and around Jerusalem. He had no wish to build upon their foundation, for he was set apart by God to be a man who lays a foundation. However,

according to 1 Corinthians 3, we see that other people must build on the foundation which Paul has laid. In the future, at the judgment seat of Christ, everyone will be judged

according to how each builds on it. Some build with gold, silver, and costly stones; some build with wood, hay, and stubble. Thus the judgment meted out at the

judgment seat of Christ will be according to how each builds on the

foundation (see 1 Cor. 3.10-15).

There are Bible passages which I personally feel are quite abused.

Many brothers and sisters quote them thoughtlessly. I frequently hear young people say they will not build upon another man's foundation.

This is really absurd, since God has not raised up that many to lay foundations.

God did indeed raise up some brothers in Jerusalem, and He also raised up Paul. It was right for Paul to say that he would not build upon another man's foundation. That was deﬁnitely what he ought not do, since God had called him also to be a foreman to lay a foundation. But if all God's children are thinking of laying

foundations like Paul and a few others, where will be the building? It will turn out to be what is described in Hebrews 6 as men always laying a foundation without ever building upon it. Paul declared that he came to lay a foundation, and that he had laid a good one. This was what he had been appointed by God to do, and he considered himself to have been a wise master-builder. He was not assuming a hypothetical position here, since God had truly appointed him as such.

The Coordination of the Workers

Now all who followed after Paul had to learn to build on the

foundation which he had laid. In the future each will be judged not on whether the foundation was right but on how each had built upon it. At the hour of judgment, the work done upon the foundation—

whether it be gold, silver, costly stones; or wood, hay, stubble—is to be judged. Not the foundation, but what was built upon the foundation. Consequently, we cannot thoughtlessly say that we in our day will not build upon another man's foundation. Paul could say this word in his day, but others could not.

Hence we see here that there was one who laid a foundation. Paul was a wise master-builder. And the other brothers who came after Paul were appointed to build on this foundation. Many had

responsibility for the work above the foundation, but Paul had the responsibility for the work of laying the foundation in the ﬁrst place.

This is quite clear.

Leaders Among the Apostles

Paul was an apostle, and so was Barnabas. Now there is no such thing as chief apostles—that is to say, there is no such position.

Nevertheless, in the Bible we can distinctly discern that some apostles are leaders among the apostles.

Andronicus and Junias

In Romans 16 we notice that Andronicus and Junias were "of note

among the apostles" (v.7). Evidently, some apostles are more prominent among the apostles, and some are less known among

them.

The Church and the Work: Church Aﬀairs

Peter

It is evident that Peter led among the original twelve apostles. On the Day of Pentecost, it was not a case of the twelve apostles standing up together; it was Peter who stood up, and the eleven who stood up with him. Please notice the arrangement found in God's word. During the time of Pentecost, many people came to Jerusalem.

They heard the sound from heaven and wondered what was

happening. They came to where the apostles gathered. The Bible records that "Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice and spake forth unto them" (Acts 2.14a). Peter stood up ﬁrst, and the

eleven other apostles followed in standing up with him. Peter then lifted up his voice and spoke. Naturally, we can recognize Peter as being the leading person there.

Further on in Acts (3.1ﬀ.), the record indicates that Peter and John went up to the temple. Again we shall see the Spirit of God putting the name of Peter ﬁrst. Although the beggar saw the two of them and asked alms from both,

Peter's name is again placed ﬁrst. Both Peter and John fastened their eyes on the beggar, yet the one who spoke was Peter and not John. Shortly afterwards, it was Peter, not John, who took the beggar by the right hand and raised him up. Still later in Solomon's porch, it was Peter and not John who addressed the

people (3.11ﬀ.).

In the case of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5), Peter once again

was the one who personally handled the matter. Even though all the apostles were in touch with God and worked closely together, it was Peter who was there taking the lead.

After the apostles were brought out of prison by an angel of the Lord and were subsequently brought to the council by its oﬃcers to

be judged, as recorded in Acts 5, we ﬁnd that Peter and the apostles

answered and said, "We must obey God rather than men" (v.29).

Here was Peter once more doing the speaking, even though the Bible

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states that Peter and the apostles together "answered and said." As we continue to read on through the ﬁrst part of the book of Acts, we shall notice how it repeatedly puts Peter especially at the front.

Then there was a great persecution against the church in

Jerusalem, and the disciples were all scattered abroad. They preached the gospel wherever they went. Even Samaritans heard the word of the Lord, and workers were sent out from Jerusalem: Peter and John went out again. And it was still Peter who took the lead here.

I suppose all are most familiar with what happened at the house of

Cornelius as recorded in Acts chapter 10. Although there were twelve apostles, Peter was the one sent for. And it was to this same apostle that the vision of a vessel as of a great sheet was given.

Afterwards it was Peter who brought some brothers from Joppa with him to the home of Cornelius. The Bible does not mention the names of these other brothers.

Hence up to this time, the way of God was such that among the

workers at Jerusalem there was one particular worker leading the rest, and that one distinctly was Peter.

Barnabas

Now as the brethren were scattered abroad from Jerusalem due to persecution, they went out preaching the gospel. The gospel was spreading out from Jerusalem to all of Judea and to Samaria. So that many believed in the word of the Lord in various places. Barnabas was then sent out from Jerusalem to visit these places. He went as far north as Antioch. He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And upon arriving at Antioch, he began to help the assembly there. After a while, he went to Tarsus to ﬁnd Saul, who had

in the meantime become a Christian, and brought him to Antioch. There Barnabas remained a whole year. He had no oﬃce in Jerusalem and therefore he could stay a year outside Jerusalem. He had no need to 142

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return as Peter and John would have had to do, since he was not an elder there. And we may surmise that during that year Saul received much help from Barnabas.

Some time later, the brethren in Judea suﬀered great destitution because of famine. The brethren at Antioch sent relief to the elders in the assembly at Jerusalem through the hands of Barnabas and Saul.

Since the relief was for the local saints, it was delivered to the elders and not to the apostles.

Later there were in Antioch in the assembly some prophets and

teachers. Barnabas and Saul were numbered among them. The Holy Spirit commanded by name that these two were to be set apart to be apostles, and were subsequently sent out to work abroad.

Keep in mind that, up to this moment, Barnabas was always

standing at the front. It was he and not Saul who established the assembly at Antioch. When relief was to be sent to Jerusalem it was these two who were sent: Barnabas being mentioned ﬁrst, with Saul next. And when the Holy Spirit sent out workers from among the prophets and teachers, the narrative reads that "the Holy Spirit said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them" (Acts 13.2). Barnabas still came ﬁrst.

God Is God of Authority and Order

Let us remember that in God's Work as well as in God's Church, there is an order. Even with but two persons, one is put ahead and one is placed next. When there are twelve together, one is at the front and the other eleven follow. For God is a God of order as well as of authority. The Bible never endorses a committee system of three or ﬁve members. Although there are a few elders, God does not set them up as members of a committee with a presiding oﬃcer.

Nevertheless, when elders manage the things of the Lord, God does indeed use one among them to give the ﬁnal word. Now in the Work,

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the same principle holds true. In Jerusalem there were twelve

apostles, yet God placed Peter at the front and the rest after him.

Later on we ﬁnd in the local assembly there that James (not the brother of John) stood at the front. Then, too, it is not simply a matter of Barnabas and Saul, but the fact that Barnabas stood ahead of Saul.

In the Work we shall see that there is always someone who is ahead.

The ﬁrst thing to observe in the coordination of God's Work is the coordination of God's authority. If that coordination is lost, everything coordinated is lost.

The word of the Bible is exceedingly careful: "And God hath set some in the church, ﬁrst apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly teachers,

then . . ." (1 Cor. 12.28). God is not a God of dis order. He is a God of order. He does not believe in confusion or chaos. He believes in order and authority. And hence this word says "ﬁrst" in this passage.

He is not saying that here is a system—a committee system —in

which everyone has the authority to speak and to cast a vote. God never endorses such a system, or any system for that matter. For that is the human way. When God states in His word—"ﬁrst . . . secondly

. . . thirdly," it reveals God's arrangement. So that whether in the Work or in the management of church aﬀairs, we need to recognize our place. We must learn to line up ourselves. We should know who is ahead of us that we may stand on the ground of submission. This is a principle of the church which is most marvelous. Yet such does not come by appointment or distribution. It comes quite naturally.

Whoever Is Ahead Is Vested with Authority

God never suggests that the authority He sets up is perfect, and that because of that we must hear him. No, he simply says that this one has more authority than you do, and therefore you should listen to him. It is not a matter of being more perfect but a matter of being ahead. The basis of submission is not perfection but priority (or precedence). For example, God declares that wives should be in 144

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subjection to their own husbands. Yet it is not because the husband is perfect that the wife should therefore be in subjection to him. If that were the case, then no wife in the whole world need subject herself to her husband because no husband is perfect. So that the question here is not one of perfection or imperfection in a husband. It is only one of whether he is a husband. If he is, then the wife should be in subjection to him.

Similarly, in God's Work, among the coordination of workers

there is also an order. Learn to take your place and say, "Brother, what do you say?", because that brother is ahead of you. Submission is not submitting to men's choice, but to God's authority. It would be most surprising if we can ﬁnd no one to whom to submit. If so, it is most likely because we have not seen God's arrangement about

authority.

Now when these two brothers at Antioch came together in the

Work, Barnabas just naturally stood ahead of Saul. That was the order and arrangement when they were sent out by the Holy Spirit.

Beginning from Acts chapter 13, we learn that Barnabas as they traveled along was always named ﬁrst in the account by Luke. For

instance, just look in verse 7: "The same called unto him Barnabas and Saul."

Let us also notice in the very ﬁrst verse of chapter 13 that among

the several prophets and teachers, Barnabas was mentioned ﬁrst and Saul was listed last. Do not imagine that Paul was most advanced spiritually soon after he began. No, not so! At the outset of his service to God, he was at the bottom of the list: "Now there were at Antioch, in the church that was there, prophets and teachers,

Barnabas, and Symeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen the foster-brother of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul." First Barnabas, then Symeon, next Lucius and Manaen, and last of all Saul. Even at the moment when the Holy Spirit separated them, God recognized that Barnabas was ahead of Saul: "And as they ministered

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to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them" (v.2)

Paul

But then, something odd happened. The Bible records that at a particular point in the Work, Paul was "ﬁlled with the Holy Spirit"

(Acts 13.9). Now we know he had been ﬁlled with the Holy Spirit

when he was baptized (see Acts 9.17,18). But that was diﬀerent from

this occasion. That had been after his repentance and salvation. On this occasion the record tells us that "Saul, who is also called Paul, ﬁlled with the Holy Spirit," was used

by God to perform a miracle which caused a person to experience immediate and total blindness!

Later on, when they came to Antioch of Pisidia they went into the synagogue on the sabbath day and sat down. The rulers of the

synagogue invited them to speak. Paul stood up. On the one hand Paul performed miracles, and on the other hand he preached. Now we ﬁnd that from the Day of Pentecost onward, the book of Acts recorded a number of sermons or messages. Peter gave several long ones, and they were recorded. Stephen also gave a long speech, and this too was set down. This message of Paul's was the ﬁrst one recorded since those earlier ones by Peter and Stephen. The Bible did not record any long sermon of Barnabas, though. Here the Holy

Spirit used Paul to deliver a very strong message. The Spirit used him as a minister of God's word.

And interestingly enough, hereafter the order in the Scriptures changes with respect to these two traveling apostles: "Now when the synagogue broke up, many of the Jews and of the devout proselytes

followed Paul and Barnabas" (Acts 13.43a). At this moment Paul now stands at the front. Here are further evidences of this from the record: "And Paul and Barnabas spake out boldly" (13.46a). "But the

Jews . . . stirred up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and cast them out of their borders" (13.50). All the way, Paul now stood at the 146

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forefront. Even at Lystra, it was Paul who spoke and Paul who

healed the cripple.

Yet this matter was not so conclusively ended, for later in chapter

14 Barnabas was once again placed ﬁrst as they entered Lystra: "And they called Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul, Mercury, because he was the

chief speaker" (v.12). Jupiter and Mercury were gods which the people in Lystra worshiped. They called Paul Mercury because he led in speaking. In verse 14, though, we read this: "But when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul." Barnabas' name was placed ﬁrst here.

This was exceptional, and there was a plausible reason for it. When the priests of Jupiter learned that their god had come that day in the form of a man, they hurriedly brought oxen and garlands to the gates and would have done sacriﬁce with the multitude. They thought Barnabas was Jupiter, and so they put him ahead. The priests of the temple of Mercury had not come, and therefore the priests of the temple of Jupiter would quite naturally sacriﬁce to their own god.

Accordingly, this is why, "when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of it, they rent their garments." Barnabas had only taken the lead because they had taken him for Jupiter.

Between here and chapter 15, there was one other instance in which the name of Barnabas was placed before Paul, and that too had a very good reason. Other than these two cases, however, Paul

always took the lead.

Some days later after the apostles had rejected their sacriﬁce,

"there came Jews thither from Antioch and Iconium: and having

persuaded the multitudes, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead" (Acts 14.19). Earlier they had wanted to oﬀer sacriﬁces, but now they nearly stoned Paul to death.

"But as the disciples stood around about him, he rose up, and entered into the city: and on the morrow he went forth with Barnabas to

Derbe" (v.20). Once again you see Paul in the center.

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The record of chapter 15 brings the apostolic party back to Antioch. Almost immediately a problem arose in Antioch. "And

when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and questioning with them, the brethren appointed that Paul and Barnabas, and

certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem" (Acts 15.2). Paul's

name was again listed ﬁrst.

However, at the council in Jerusalem, it was Barnabas who spoke ﬁrst and Paul followed afterwards. This order is ﬁrmly

understandable in that Barnabas had originally come out of

Jerusalem. So that quite naturally in the council meeting there he would speak ﬁrst and then Paul would give his own reply. The one with more weight usually spoke last. And hence in speaking later, it was given to Paul to have a more honorable position. In this

connection, did not James speak at the very last?

When in the council meeting, the decision had been made, "then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men out of their company, and send them to Antioch with

Paul and Barnabas" (v.22). Notice, once more, that Paul stood at the front.

Yet in the letter ﬁnally sent forth, it was written to read: with our

beloved Barnabas and Paul" (v.25). Barnabas was again named ﬁrst simply because he originally was of Jerusalem

Finally, "Paul and Barnabas tarried in Antioch, teaching and

preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also" (v.35). The

order resumes, with Paul at the forefront once again

No Submission, No Coordination

Before God, there is this natural, spontaneous arrangement. In the Work, there will be the worker who leads. Among Christians there must be submission as well as fellowship. What I hope is that

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brothers and sisters may so well learn this that they come to the point where, when two are together, one of them will be in subjection.

Remember that if there is no submission there can be no

coordination. Do not come to the place where, when two or more brothers are together, no one knows to whom to submit. This

indicates how little we have learned before God. If we have learned, we just naturally know whom to submit to as we come together. We know our place.

So that in God's Work, and as it pertains to the matter of the coordination of the workers, the ﬁrst thing is to ask the Lord to open our eyes that we may recognize the authority among us. As I am together with my brethren, I will know which brother is ahead of me and thus will seek to be a man of submission. This does not come through election or promotion. It comes naturally. I am to stand in my place, recognizing as I do that authority is the ﬁrst principle of coordination.

(2) HAVE FELLOWSHIP

In this matter of coordination of the Work, the ﬁrst principle is authority, as we have seen. The second principle is fellowship.

Co-Workers: People to Whom You Can Open Your Heart

There is a basic need among co-workers for people who work

together to be able to open their hearts to one another in real fellowship. Coordination opposes individualism. Coordination is for the sake of body ministry. I serve indeed, yet I serve according to the principle of the body. There must therefore be the kind of fellowship where heart is opened to heart and where there is mutual help given.

If one member is honored, the whole body rejoices. If one member suﬀers, the whole body suﬀers with it. If one member is sorrowful, the whole body is sorrowful. This is coordination.

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Not Two Persons, but As One Man

Coordination does not mean simply the being together of two or more persons. A brother whose outside shell is so extremely hard to crack is an individual when he is alone. Even when he is among ten people, he is still an isolated individual. This is not coordination at all. Many are the people who, when they are alone, pray alone and seek the Lord alone. But if they are put among ten people, they still pray and seek the Lord alone. How can anyone call this

coordination? For two persons to be co-workers, it is not simply a matter of putting two individuals together. Do not make the mistake of thinking that because you formerly worked alone, that you can still work that way when you are with somebody else and call it coordination. I assure you that there is no coordination at all. No, it cannot be two people still working individually. It must be two working as

one man. Yet how can this be? The two of them must be of one mind and one heart before the Lord. This means that before God I can open myself to my brother, and vice versa.

Open Your Burden up to Co-Workers

Many brethren cannot pray with other people. Nobody knows

their aﬀairs. They never open themselves up to their brethren. Many bear their burdens alone; they will not consult with their brethren.

Their problems are many, yet when they encounter them they hold on to their individualism. Their attitude is, "I take care of my own things before God, and I will do them myself." Do understand that with such an attitude as this, you may indeed live among the

brethren, but your spirit is not in their midst. Your body is with the brethren, but you do not live as a member of the body of Christ.

For this reason, coordination requires knowing fellowship as well as knowing authority. He who really desires fellowship is he who is able to open up himself. When there are one or more co-workers present, he will share his burden. He will say, "Brothers and sisters, I 150

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have something I cannot get through on by myself. What do you

think I should do?" or, "Brothers and sisters, I cannot get through before God in this matter; will you please make this

a matter of prayer and pray with me?" Whoever is unable to bear another's

burden cannot be coordinated with anyone. But likewise, whoever cannot open his heart to another is not able to be coordinated with anybody else either.

Bear Others' Burdens

Some people are so fully occupied with their own burdens that

they have no way to carry other people's burdens. From dawn to dusk they can only think of themselves. They do not pray for others even when they are requested to do so. They do not care for anything other than their own aﬀairs. There is absolutely no concept of coordination in them. They are strong individualists. Though they are members of the body, they act independently. Yet in the physical realm, if I cut oﬀ my ﬁnger and put it elsewhere, it becomes useless.

If I sever my foot from my body, there will be no unity nor

fellowship between my body and my foot and therefore the latter will be without usefulness. The basic principle of the body is fellowship.

And likewise, the basic principle of work is also fellowship.

Perhaps we are accustomed to following our own will, perhaps we are used to bearing our own burden and to disregarding others'

business. If so, we need to learn to bear the burden of others. In so doing we shall ﬁnd out how diﬃcult it is in fact to do; we shall ﬁnd that it is hard to submit and to fellowship.

Seek Fellowship

I do not suggest that some of you brothers are to cast all your burdens upon other people and consequently not bear your own

burdens. What we have been saying here does not mean that we

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never need to go to God and wrestle with our problems nor that we never need to inquire of Him. We still must bear our own

responsibility before the Lord; we still must seek to draw near to Him. We cannot push our responsibility onto others' shoulders and bear none ourselves. It is as we are bearing our own responsibility that we are to seek fellowship with our brothers and sisters. When I am confronted by some matter which I know could greatly aﬀect my future, I will say: "Brethren, will you not fellowship with me, and seek with me for God's mind? Will you wait on God with me?" So that I am bearing the burden myself, but at the same time I am fellowshipping in coordination with some other brothers and sisters.

We need fellowship and coordination in work as well as in life.

Let us therefore learn to be an open person. Many brothers and sisters can only be open when other people open ﬁrst to them. They have to wait till others open to them. Let me say that it is of course good to have other people open ﬁrst; but

it is equally important for you to learn to be a person who opens up too.

I can assure you that when you really understand the principle of fellowship, you will be surprised how much help you will receive from those who are commonly labeled as weak Christians. Those

members of the body who are deemed to be not very useful will

strengthen your hand beyond your imagination.

Seek the Lord Together, and Power Comes

In the Work, suppose some of you go to a certain place. If

everyone is an isolated individual, there can be no coordination. You may live together, but your spirits are not open to one another. Many may be working as you all go out to labor, but it will be useless if all go forth as mere individuals. If you all pray your own prayer, this is not of one mind. Physically you may be together, and you may call yourselves co-workers, yet everyone wraps himself up tightly and does his own work independently. Where can such a body be found 152

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on earth? Where can such members be found on earth? This is not members one of another, this is paralysis! No, the many of you must work as one man. After you arrive at the place, each one of you is to be an open person. Together you seek the Lord's face. And by so doing, you will see power coming from above. Because two or three are seeking with one accord, such prayer God will hear.

Forsake Individualism

We must forsake our individualism. Let us learn to be open. Open your spirit to your brethren. Open your thoughts and also frequently open your mouth. Sometimes when the mouth is shut, the spirit is shut too. Some people have never in their lives made any request. I hope some of us will at last be able to say to our brothers and sisters,

"For many years I have not been able to get through on this matter; will you please help me?"

Alas, we do not know how proud a person we are. Many of us are proud without realizing it. Many of us hold ourselves tightly without being conscious of it. Many profess to have been broken before God, but when we are in touch with people we reveal the fact that we are not broken at all. Let me tell you that a person who is broken before God is broken wherever he is put. This is fellowship, stretching forth the hand to seek out fellowship with others.

I repeat, do not lay your responsibility upon the shoulders of others. The prayer of a person who does this will not be answered.

But let a responsible person, one who seeks God, learn to be broken before Him. As a broken person, seek the help of the other members.

And as you do so, you will ﬁnd that wherever you go people will be praying and consulting with you. Otherwise, where will your co-worker be? In reality, you will have none.

A given brother may work for ten or twenty years, and yet— sad to say—I am afraid no one can bear responsibility together with him.

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He has never learned to work with other people nor ever learned to bear responsibility together. He may be too proud to share his burden with others. He may not wish to be concerned with the aﬀairs of other people. When requested to do so, he will not really pray and fast and seek to know the mind of God for other people. Oh, if such a brother never learns how to seek help for his own burden as well as how to bear the burdens of others, he will never know what the body is nor will he ever truly experience any coordination in the Work.

I hope that in every region of the Work, brothers and sisters will be praying together. This is an excellent phenomenon to behold: brothers and sisters praying together without any inhibition.

Naturally, there is a deﬁnite place for a person to touch God personally. However, in God's Work there are many things which can be shared in prayer through the opening up of hearts and the bearing of one another's burdens.

If, on the contrary, everyone is tight and unbroken—each taking care of his own aﬀairs without also caring for the aﬀairs of others—

each looking after his own labors without also helping in the others'

labors—then there is absolutely no coordination in the Work. It is right and good for a person to rise up before God and face any and every problem which comes, but if he never says, "I need the supply and support of my fellow workers," he does not know what body

coordination is. And the result? He will never be able to bear the burden of others since he is too busily occupied with his own.

The greatest test, then, is whether or not co-workers can pray together. Can they talk over matters with one mind before God? Can they bring themselves to say, "I have this problem before God, and you have that problem before God; let us lay these matters before Him"? This is a great test. I hope hereafter there will be no more bearing burdens alone. Burdens must be borne, but let us learn to seek fellowship in the sharing and the bearing of our burdens

together.

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Head Gives Authority, Members Have Fellowship

The use of the body lies in fellowship. The ﬁrst body principle is that of authority, the second principle is that of fellowship. The supply of coordination is based on the supply of authority and the supply of fellowship. What comes from the head is authority, what comes from the body members is fellowship. The head gives

authority that we may have order in the body—that is to say, order in the church. Further, though, within the members there is mutual fellowship. These are the two fundamental principles of body life.

May we test this out before God by saying, "O Lord, am I a

person whose heart is closed and who never asks for help?" If you search throughout the whole Bible, you will not ﬁnd

such a superior Christian. Superiority is not the path of a believer. Do not boast that you take care of everything yourself before God and that you never mind the business of your brothers and sisters. You cannot be such a Christian on earth and still serve the Lord. For as you learn to serve Him, you must learn at the beginning the necessity to coordinate with your brethren in the Work. Otherwise, you will be spiritually useless.

Learn on the one hand to submit to authority, and on the other hand learn to have fellowship with others to such a degree that you can say: "Thank and praise God, we bear the same burden together with one heart and one mind. We have fellowship and authority.

Everything is done step by step with order." Fellowship, you

discover, is absolutely necessary.

Today if there is any failure, you will see that such failure falls either into the area of authority or the area of fellowship

(3) AUTHORITY AND FELLOWSHIP IN THE BIBLE

In the New Testament, there is evidence of many arrangements—

involving both authority and fellowship in God's Work. Especially can this be seen in the life of Paul. Let us review at some length the

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record of the Scriptures that pertain to this matter in Paul's life and ministry as he relates to others in the Work. We shall see in many places where there were arrangements, and how the younger brethren followed these arrangements. These expressed authority, but they also indicated fellowship. In putting these arrangements before the younger ones, not only was authority used to get these brethren to work, but in addition, fellowship with them in knowledge and light was experienced. We here need to recognize that these arrangements in Scripture were not merely an expression of authority, for then the apostle could have simply said, "I, Paul, order you to do this, and so you had better do it!" Not so, for in these arrangements which Paul set forth, he received light from God, that is to say, he had

knowledge before the Lord. And thereupon he shared the knowledge and light which he had received from God in fellowship with those younger brothers. Authority on the one hand and fellowship on the other—these are what I trust we all will come to see as we now review Paul's experience in some detail.

Paul Sent Tychicus and Onesimus

"All my aﬀairs shall Tychicus make known unto you, the beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow-servant in the Lord: whom I have sent unto you for this very purpose" (Col. 4.7,8a). "Together

with Onesimus, the faithful and beloved brother" (v.9a). It was Paul

who sent both Tychicus and Onesimus to Colosse.

In God's Work, there is a foreman who has the authority to send out people. Tychicus was a very good brother. This is

revealed to us in a number of Paul's epistles. And Onesimus, as told to us in the Letter to the Colossians, was a very lovely person. And both of them were sent by Paul.

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Sent Timothy and Epaphroditus

"But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy shortly unto you, that I also may be of good comfort, when I know your state" (Phil.

2.19).

"But I counted it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus" (v.25a).

Timothy was like a son to Paul, just as Onesimus had been.

Epaphroditus was a fellow worker of Paul's, but he came to the Work later than had Paul. They were both young, and both were sent by Paul.

In the coordination of God's Work, those who act as foremen send out people. The younger must learn to listen, and the older must be certain before the Lord before they send out the younger: "I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy shortly unto you." Paul was quite certain before the Lord that he should send Timothy. May we all learn this.

Tychicus Went to Ephesus

"But that ye may also know my aﬀairs, how I do, Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, shall

make known to you all things: whom I have sent unto you for this very purpose"

(Eph. 6.21,22a). Paul sent Tychicus not only to Colosse but also to Ephesus.

Exhorted Titus and Sent Other Brother

"I exhorted Titus, and I sent the brother with him" (2 Cor.

12.18a). Notice that the word used here is "exhorted." This time Paul did not send Titus but exhorted him to go. Though Paul had authority over Titus to send him, he in this instance would rather exhort him.

Sometimes it was exhorting for Paul and not a sending. The other

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brother—whose name was not identiﬁed—was sent, however. Titus, on the other hand, went because he responded to an exhortation.

"Besought Apollos . . . Not His Will to Come . . . but He Will Come"

"But as touching Apollos the brother, I besought him much to

come unto you with the brethren: and it was not at all his will to come now; but he will come when he shall have opportunity" (1 Cor.

16.12). Here we can observe something quite remarkable. Paul exhorted Titus, and Titus being a young man listened

and he went.

Apollos, however, was not a young man but was a contemporary of Paul's. In other words, he was in generally the same age bracket as Paul. Cephas, though, was senior to them both. In the assembly at Corinth, some believers there had said, I am of Cephas, some others had said, I am of Paul, and still others had said, I am of Apollos (1

Cor. 1.12). The position of Apollos in the assembly at Corinth was equal to Paul's. Hence Paul besought Apollos, he did not send him; for Paul could not have sent Apollos but could only beseech him.

And he besought the latter, not once, but many times. How signiﬁcant it was that Apollos would not go. Paul had besought him again and again to go with the brethren, but Apollos replied that he would not go now. He emphatically said he would not go. Yet Paul added a word here, saying that Apollos would go later, for he had the assurance of it. How very beautiful it was that when an older one was besought to go but would not go, Paul was not disturbed at all but had the conﬁdence that Apollos would go eventually.

The exhortation given to Apollos described in 1 Corinthians 16

and the exhortation given to Titus mentioned in 2 Corinthians 12 are

diﬀerent. Paul could order Titus, but he would rather exhort.

Nevertheless, Titus took the exhortation as an order. On the other hand, Paul exhorted Apollos a number of times, but the latter would not go. Yet Paul had the conﬁdence that Apollos would go later on.

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Such is the arrangement in God's Work. There is fellowship as well as authority in the Lord's Work. And how precious that is!

Directed Timothy's Movement

"Now if Timothy come . . . set him forward on his journey in

peace, that he may come unto me" (1 Cor. 16.10,11b). Paul left a

word with the Corinthian believers to give to Timothy, that when the latter came into their midst they should do their best to send him forward to Paul, for, added the apostle, "I expect him with the

brethren" (v.11c). Do you perceive how Paul was directing the movement of Timothy here? The word of the Scriptures is quite

clear: the authority whom God has set up can control the movement of the younger worker, but with the older workers there can only be exhortation and not orders.

Look Further into Letters of Paul to Timothy: Paul Shared

Revelation

"This charge I commit unto thee, my child Timothy, according to the prophecies which led the way to thee, that by them thou mayest

war the good warfare" (1 Tim. 1.18). This plainly shows that Paul

gave direction to Timothy. He gave the young man a charge by

which the latter could wage a good warfare. "These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly; but if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how men ought to behave themselves in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground

of the truth" (1 Tim. 3.14,15).

In chapter 2 of this same letter, Paul had talked about the things pertaining to men and women. In chapter 3, he now speaks of the

things concerning elders and deacons. Why did he write these things to Timothy? He expected to be with Timothy shortly, yet he was afraid that if he were delayed in coming, Timothy might not know

The Coordination of the Workers

how to conduct himself in the Church well enough in the meantime to carry on well till Paul arrived. Hence Paul wrote ahead. In other words, Paul did not leave room for Timothy to search out his own way nor let him do what he pleased. He wrote to him speciﬁcally.

When Paul was present, Timothy could ask him. When he was

absent, Timothy could read his letter.

I repeat, this arrangement includes both the principle of authority and the principle of fellowship. Authority, because Paul was the older brother; fellowship, because he wrote to the younger brother.

Since he knew but Timothy did not, Paul shared what he knew with Timothy. And as Timothy submitted, he received the beneﬁt of

fellowship. Keep ever in mind that submission like this will never cause you to lose your position in the Work; rather, it will help you to gain what the older brother possesses, so that you may receive in your work that particular revelation which the older brother has received.

We can ﬁnd a number of other passages which are similar to what we have just quoted above. All of them point out to us the way in the Work of God.

"Give diligence to come shortly unto me" (2 Tim. 4.9). Paul was not consulting with Timothy, nor did he merely expect Timothy to come. For not long after he wrote this letter, Paul was martyred. This was his last letter. And hence he wrote in this fashion: "Give diligence to come shortly unto me."

"For Demas forsook me, having loved this present world, and

went to Thessalonica"(v.10a). Here was a rebellious soul who had

left.

"Crescens to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia"(v.10b). No doubt, these

two were being sent by Paul.

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"Only Luke is with me" (v.11a).

Brought Mark

"Take Mark, and bring him with thee" (v.11b). This was the

brother over whom Paul had contended with Barnabas. In Acts, we ﬁnd that Paul would not agree with Barnabas to take Mark along on their second apostolic journey, because on their ﬁrst trip—at a critical moment in the Work—Mark had left them. More than likely, Barnabas had wanted to take Mark along due to their kinsman

relationship to each other. Paul and Barnabas had such strong

contention over this issue that they parted from each other. The ironic twist to this whole matter was that later on Barnabas had no more chance to work with Paul, whereas Mark—as we learn from 2

Timothy—did have a further opportunity! We know that Mark later learned a great deal from Peter and was greatly helped by him

spiritually. In fact, the Gospel according to Mark most probably came from the mouth of Peter himself. So that before Paul died, he wrote in his Second Letter to Timothy: "Take Mark and bring him with thee." And why? Because "he is useful to me for ministering"

(v.11b). Yes, Mark was indeed useful to Paul in the ministry.

"But Tychicus I sent to Ephesus" (v.12). This implies that the Work was so arranged that Paul could ask Timothy to come to him with Mark and send Tychicus away to Ephesus.

"Erastus remained at Corinth" (v.20a). How knowledgeable was

Paul about the situation of the Work.

Left Trophimus at Miletus

"Erastus remained at Corinth; but Trophimus I left at Miletus

sick" (v.20). Trophimus was one of the noteworthy sick persons mentioned in the New Testament. Epaphroditus was another of these.

The Coordination of the Workers

"Trophimus I left at Miletus." Oftentimes a patient should learn to hearken. He cannot in all circumstances insist, "I want to travel."

Because of sickness, he may have to remain behind for a while. And in this instance, Paul felt he should leave Trophimus at Miletus. It was better for him.

To Timothy, however, Paul instructed: "Give diligence to come

before winter" (v.21a). He gave Timothy a deﬁnite time frame instead of leaving it to him to decide when to come.

Can we now begin to see this way in the Work? One who walked

before God as did Paul must be listened to by Mark, Timothy and Trophimus. From all this evidence we can begin to perceive that in the Church there just naturally develops not only fellowship but also authority.

Left Titus in Crete, He to Give Diligence to Come to Nicopolis

"For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that were wanting, and appoint elders in every city, as I

gave thee charge" (Titus 1.5). Titus was a younger brother. In Paul's letter to the Corinthians, it is recorded that the apostle exhorted Titus to go to Corinth. When Paul decided to go to Crete, Titus went along.

And then Paul left him at Crete to complete whatever unﬁnished business remained, according to Paul's instruction. Again, there is authority as well as fellowship.

"When I shall send Artemas unto thee, or Tychicus, give diligence to come unto me to Nicopolis: for there I have determined to winter"

(Titus 3.12). This is the way of the Work. Paul said he would send

either Artemas or Tychicus to Crete. Although the matter in Paul's mind was not yet fully decided, at least one of these two would come to Crete. And then Titus was to hurry to Paul at Nicopolis.

The Church and the Work: Church Aﬀairs

An elder brother arranged many things, whereas the younger

brother learned to listen to the word of the older brother.

Give Timothy Charge

Finally in this review, I wish to go back to Timothy for some

concluding comments.

"I charge thee in the sight of God, who giveth life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed the good confession; that thou keep the commandment, with out spot, without reproach, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Tim.

6.13,14). Notice how solemn this matter is. The charge was given before God who gave life to all things and before Jesus Christ who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate. And the charge was to keep the commandment.

"O Timothy, guard that which is committed unto thee" (v.20a).

Whatever charge Paul had given to Timothy, the latter was to keep.

I would say here that the younger brothers should learn to keep the charge which the older brothers give. As the younger workers learn to submit to the older workers, they can proceed on the way very well.

Paul Also Needed Fellowship

I hope we may today see what the Work, as spelled out for us in the New Testament, is: how it is arranged, and how it is

done with authority and how it is also done with fellowship. With respect to fellowship, let me point out that even though Timothy was a

comparatively younger person, the book of Acts records something quite revealing about Paul when Timothy came to him at Corinth:

"But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul was

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constrained by the word, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the

Christ" (Acts 18.5). I consider this to be a most excellent word found in the Scriptures. Paul was one greatly used by the Lord, one who knew God very well. Yet the record acknowledges that he was

constrained by the word only after Silas and Timothy had come to him from Macedonia. Paul too was in need of fellowship. The coming of Silas and Timothy was actually a good encouragement to Paul.

To be able to appreciate this more fully, we need to see the

background. "And then immediately the brethren sent forth Paul to

go as far as to the sea" (Acts 17.14a). Here Paul listened to the word of the brethren in Berea, who urged him to leave because of the Jews who had followed him there. "And Silas and Timothy abode there

still" (v.14b)—that is, in Berea which was a city in the region of Macedonia. "But they that conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens: and receiving a commandment unto Silas and Timothy that they should come to him with all speed, they departed" (v.15). By

means of those brethren from Berea who had accompanied the

apostle to Athens and who had then returned to Berea, Paul sent a message ordering Silas and Timothy to come to him quickly. After a while, he left Athens and went on to Corinth; and only when Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia was he constrained by God's word to preach again. How beautiful everything was! Fellowship, as well as authority, has its part to play in the Work of God too.

1 Co-Workers and Apostles—

Who Are They?

We have before us today a very

important question to be answered: Who are

co-workers and apostles?

A Great Misunderstanding

I think this question has been greatly misunderstood by the

children of God. Even today this misunderstanding still exists. Many people misconstrue the matter of ﬁnance as determining who co-workers are. In these people's estimation, co-workers are a class of people who lay down

their professions and trust wholly in God. If this is a correct deﬁnition, then Paul could never be our co-worker today because he did not completely give up his profession.

Who are apostles? Many people mistakenly think that those who

have no other income and who devote their entire time to the Work of God are apostles. If this concept be correct, then Paul was never an apostle because he did not leave his profession but continued to make tents. According to the current view of God's children, Paul was neither a co-worker nor an apostle. For he did not devote all twenty-four hours per day to the Work, because he sometimes made tents. Leaving aside any consideration as to why he made tents or what he did with the income from them, the very fact that he made tents disqualiﬁed him from being a co-worker or an apostle, in the view of modern Christianity. This, of course, is a fundamental error.

I hope that brothers and sisters will come to thoroughly

understand what God says in His word as to who are apostles and who are co-workers. Being an apostle does not depend on a person quitting his job. To be a worker is not based on whether or not he has 166

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a profession. In the Church today, due to tradition and custom, men always judge apostles by their ﬁnance or profession. In the opinion of many in the Church, if this matter of ﬁnance or profession is not solved, one cannot be an apostle or a worker. In their view, an apostle must quit his job and put all his time in the Lord's Work. I trust you will see that this misconception is not altogether without some

reason. It is not accurate to call it an error; but it is accurate to say it is a misunderstanding.

Apostles Must Abandon Profession

We know that when John and James were called, they at the time were mending nets. The Lord actually told them to forsake their nets and boats and follow Him. We also observe that when Peter was

called, he was casting a net. The Lord told him to leave his boat and ﬁsh and follow Him. Matthew was working in the customs house.

When the Lord called him, He asked him to quit his job and follow Him. Let us see clearly before God that an apostle is one who does indeed need to abandon his profession. What God in His word

requires of a worker is to accept His call and to relinquish his profession. He is truly to put all his time in the Lord's hand.

This is a fact, because it will be very diﬃcult for him both to be an apostle and also to have another profession on earth. An apostle will be sent abroad. He will be like the apostles in Jerusalem who were sent by God to Samaria and even as far as Caesarea. If an apostle has a job, he cannot easily leave because his work for the Lord must in that case be largely restricted to but one locality.

In. view of this, an elder, who is based locally, is not required to give up his profession; whereas an apostle does seem to have such an example in Scripture of leaving his trade. Some elders may need ﬁnancial supply from the church because they so give of their time (most if not all of it) to manage the church's aﬀairs that they have no time to earn a living. Under such circumstances, these elders are

CCo-Workers and Apostles—Who Are They?

worthy of double honor. Part of this honor is to be in the form of ﬁnancial support. Nevertheless, it is exceptional for an elder to leave his job. The Bible does not give such a command.

With apostles, though, it is diﬀerent. The Lord plainly tells them to forsake all and follow Him. To be an apostle is to accept the Lord's command to go places. Such a man should therefore lay down his profession; if not, he is not free to travel around to serve the Lord.

And thus we ﬁnd all twelve apostles received such a calling,

responded with such a following of our Lord, demonstrated such a forsaking, and evidenced such a looking to the Lord for their

physical and material needs. Obviously, therefore, this is to be the way. The Lord called all twelve of them to come out completely.

And as a matter of fact, He called Paul and his companion Luke to come out completely too.

But Paul Made Tents

Yet here I wish to point out that not only did Paul make tents but Aquila and Priscilla did also. Moreover, Luke remained a physician.

A careful reading of the Bible will reveal that as soon as a person leaves his profession, he is no longer identiﬁed as still being that in the rest of the Scriptures. Peter had been a

ﬁsherman. But after he left that trade he was no longer identiﬁed as Peter the ﬁsherman. The same with Matthew, who had previously been a publican or tax-collector.∗ But in the case of Luke, before God called him to the Work, he had been a physician by profession; but the Scriptures still continued to call him a physician, and therefore he must have

∗By the time of Matthew 10.3, this Gospel writer was still identifying himself as "Matthew the publican." Yet this only reﬂected the writer's humility (in the face of God's grace in saving such a one as he) and not the name by which he was called by others to identify the profession he pursued in life. After the Lord's call on his life, Matthew never returned to the customs oﬃce.— Translator

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continued on with that profession. Had Luke ceased practicing

medicine altogether, the Bible would no doubt subsequently have referred to him as Luke and not Luke the physician. We must see that Luke was still practicing medicine, that Paul was still making tents, and that Aquila and Pricilla were also still making tents. Hence let us be very careful in our ascertaining what the meaning of all this is.

Paul lived with Aquila and Priscilla because they were of the same trade of tentmaking as he. When he bade farewell to the elders of Ephesus at Miletus, he mentioned "these hands" (Acts 20.34). Allow

me to say that this is probably one of the most woeful passages in the Bible. When these Ephesian elders and

many other brethren were with him at Miletus, he put forward his hands for them to look at as he said: "Ye yourselves know that these hands ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me" (Acts 20.34). I must observe here that these two hands must have truly been noteworthy to look at! How diﬀerent in appearance they must have been from ordinary hands! For these two hands had gone through many trials and conﬂicts. There must have been wounds and scars from all those trials. But then too, because of his having to make tents to meet his own necessities, his hands probably suﬀered many additional

wounds; doubtless much skin peeled oﬀ as a result. Yet Paul here did not say how by these hands he had done many things in support of many people. He simply mentioned that those hands of his had

ministered to the needs of many others as well as his own. How diﬀerent indeed were these hands from the ordinary lazy kind!.

Paul's Occupation Is Apostle, Not Tentmaker

I hope you can perceive here what the relationship is between an apostle on the one hand and ﬁnancial resources and a profession on the other. By looking at Peter and his peers together with Paul and his companions you can discover the straight path. If you only look at the Gospels, you will not be able to discover the straight path,

CCo-Workers and Apostles—Who Are They?

because there you can only ferret out half the truth. Later on, with the establishment of the Church, Paul conducted

himself very

diﬀerently—or may I say it, he made an improvement. Yes indeed, an apostle must leave his occupation completely. In this respect he was no diﬀerent from Peter, for Paul too was one who completely forsook his former profession. As you read these pertinent chapters in Acts about this man, who can possibly imagine that Paul remained a tentmaker by trade? I can assure you that after anyone reads the book of Acts, he will go away with the distinct impression that Paul was in very truth an apostle. I myself have absolutely no notion of him being a tentmaker after reading Luke's narrative. Perhaps the professional tentmakers might argue that Paul was a tentmaker, but I can only acknowledge him as an apostle, not a tentmaker. Only those whose hearts are focused upon tents, the proﬁt to be had from making tents, and the advantages which living in tents provide will deem Paul a tentmaker. But I believe any simple believer, when he reads the accounts of Paul's life, will have but one impression: Saul of Tarsus who became Paul the servant of the Lord was in very fact an apostle appointed by God. He will never have the idea that Paul remained a tentmaker by trade after God's call on his life. Clearly Paul was an apostle and no longer a participant in the profession of tentmaking as an occupation.

Hence let us recognize that in apostolic ministry, one must

deﬁnitely be freed from his profession, but this only refers to one's not taking ﬁshing or tax collecting or even tentmaking as an

occupation anymore. If—for one who has been called to be an

apostle—making tents is an occupation, then that profession must be given up; otherwise, he cannot be an apostle. Why does God require a person to leave his profession in order to be an apostle? Because apostolic ministry is an occupation in itself, and one cannot have two occupations. Particularly in this occupation of apostleship, it is absolutely forbidden to hold down two jobs. Paul declares that we are ambassadors of Christ. How can an ambassador hold another job?

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No, all our time is to be devoted to being apostles. We have no time for other pursuits.

Hence after God's call to the Work, Paul's tentmaking was no

longer for him an occupation, neither was tentmaking the occupation of Aquila and Priscilla, nor was practicing medicine Luke's

occupation.

Conditions Were Diﬀerent Then

What do we see here? We see Paul being sent out from Antioch

by the Holy Spirit to do itinerant work. I trust we realize that the conditions for travel and work then were very diﬀerent from what they are today, especially with respect to communication! At that time, if the brethren at Antioch had wanted to send some money or other needy items to Paul, there would not have been a post oﬃce or telegraph oﬃce

or bank through which to remit the money or to deliver the goods. In the record of the New Testament, there were several occasions mentioned about gifts having been sent, but all were delivered in person. When Paul was at Antioch, he did this very thing once. On that occasion he had gone out not for the sake of preaching the gospel but for the purpose of bringing ﬁnancial relief to the saints of Jerusalem. He was then a messenger of the church.

Later on, when Paul himself received the gifts, they were all

delivered in person by messengers sent out by the various churches.

How diﬃcult it must have been without any telegraph, automobiles, airplanes, or many good roads! And those who went out for the sake of the gospel took nothing from the Gentiles.

Leaving Jerusalem for a short period and covering only a short distance would create no real ﬁnancial problem. For people could bring with them suﬃcient funds for the trip to Samaria—or even to Caesarea—without taking anything from the Gentiles. Furthermore, there were assemblies in both places. So that ﬁnance would not be a problem. But now Paul was sent out from Antioch on a diﬀerent

CCo-Workers and Apostles—Who Are They?

errand by God. He was to go to the Gentiles, he was to take long trips from place to place. So that anyone can readily see that supply would have been a big problem back in those days.

It needs to be pointed out here that Paul's way was quite diﬀerent from the way the gospel was preached during the earthly days of Jesus. At that time the twelve apostles had gone to cities and stayed in the homes of worthy ones. They were even told by Jesus not to

bring staﬀ or purse (see Matt. 10). But as the day of our Lord's death was approaching, He declared: "But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise a wallet; and he that hath none, let him sell

his cloak, and buy a sword" (Luke 22.36). This indicates that the

times would be changing. For in that new day, the gospel would be preached not only to the Jews but also, and especially, to the Gentiles. John made it very clear that "for the sake of the Name they went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles" (3 John 7). Thus one can

see how heavy must have been the burden on Paul—not only for

himself but also for the brethren who were with him.

In going out from Antioch, at ﬁrst there were only two men,

Barnabas and Paul. On later trips others went also—those such as Titus, Timothy, Luke, Silas, and so forth. These were added to his party from time to time. The farther they traveled, the larger the group grew. Aquila and Priscilla were also added. It was in light of this that Paul mentioned how "these hands ministered unto my

necessities, and to them that were with me" (Acts 20.34). We need to

understand that this was not a question of occupation. Paul's

profession was that of being an apostle. Where necessity arose along the way, however, he worked with his hands to supply the needs of his fellow companions as well as of himself.

How very beautiful all this was. Dean Alford has informed us that during those early days, tentmaking utilized a kind of dye with which to color the cloth. That kind of dye was fairly strong. It would stain the hands so that color was not easily washed away. Furthermore, the 172

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dye would soak one's skin and damage it. Paul could therefore say in so many words to the Ephesian elders: "Behold, my hands." This was truly a big problem then, and it still is today. I hope brethren here will recognize this ﬁnancial problem for the apostles. You who are to be workers in God's Work, be thankful to the Lord if supplies come in from the various assemblies. But if it does not come in, it does not mean that we can leave our occupation as apostles and take up other jobs. Quite the contrary, in order to maintain this apostolic

occupation, I—like Paul—must make tents. Today, for the sake of enabling those brothers with me to continue in fulﬁlling their apostolic mission, I as it were will make tents. Tentmaking was obviously no longer Paul's livelihood. Yet, for the sake of providing the needs of himself and of the younger workers with him, he did make tents. While Timothy, Titus, Silas, Luke and others were with him, he was able to supply their needs because he could make tents.

Behold, these two hands!

Making Tents Helped Him to Be an Apostle

Forsaking one's own profession and having but the one

occupation of being an apostle does not exclude a person from

earning some money. Paul became an apostle and always remained one thereafter. In reading the book of Acts, we would never dream that Paul would ever contemplate changing his occupation. Among the Ephesians Paul made tents, yet he remained an apostle. He

probably made more tents in Ephesus than anywhere else so that he might know what the church was. Whether making tents or

practicing medicine or doing something else, all was done by a given worker for the sake of fulﬁlling his occupation as an apostle and not to disqualify himself from being an apostle. It could well be that had Paul not made tents, he would not have been able to continue being an apostle. This point we must be clear on before God. For

oftentimes God permitted Paul to take up a little work in order to make him a better apostle.

CCo-Workers and Apostles—Who Are They?

I hope we see that this that Paul did is quite diﬀerent from a person taking another occupation. It was not the same as having a profession as such is commonly understood. If today Matthew were to go back to being a full-time taxcollector, we would probably say that Matthew had gone back to seeking an occupation. But when

Paul in his day busied himself to make a few tents, no one could legitimately say that he had found another profession. Matthew could not say today that by his being a taxcollector he could still be an apostle. Yet Paul could say, "Behold, my two hands. Without these hands, it seems as though I cannot be an apostle." This tentmaking of his enabled him, in fact, to be a better apostle. His aim, his life, his work, his living, his very all were for him to be an apostle. Those two hands, far from interfering with his being an apostle, actually helped him to be an apostle. Is the way now clear to all of us? I trust so.

Question of Avocation

A couple of months ago a brother asked me if it were necessary for us to completely leave our job in order to go out for the Lord to preach the gospel and to do apostolic work? Could we in the future have an avocation? This would be my answer today: Everyone who is to be an apostle must forsake his profession as it is commonly understood. But on the other hand, let us notice that while you are out working and traveling here and there for the gospel's sake, it is far better for you to do something on the side which will enable you to be an apostle rather than—as some other people are doing—

blaming the church for any lack of love shown. Instead of being weak in faith yet maintaining an outward appearance of trusting God while in actuality you are expecting from men, would it not be better if you could say as Paul, "Behold, these hands!"? At such a time, it would be much better to work with your hands that you may supply your own needs and the needs of other people. I consider looking for the love of the church as being far more dishonoring to God than lacking faith in the Lord. I also believe murmuring against men and 174

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not believing in God is very disgraceful. I think what is most shameful is for a person to give the outward appearance of looking to God but in fact inwardly his eyes are not looking at heaven but are instead looking around him.

The Principle of "Behold, These Two Hands"

I must reemphasize this point: that the principle of "Behold, these two hands" is for the sake of enabling me to be more of an apostle.

For many, these two hands have no need to go ﬁshing. We must

know ourselves as to what we are about on the earth. What kind of person are we before God? Let us not ever forget that you and I are called by God to be an apostle. And because we are to be such, we must forsake all our professions.

Hereafter, if you ever work again, it will not be as an occupation; it will simply be to supply the necessities for yourself and for your co-workers whoever may be in need. How come there are such

necessities? Because of the very fact that you are an apostle. You will therefore work with your hands because you will not allow any ﬁnancial lack to hinder the Work or to lead you away from your calling. You will do some outside work with the hope and intention of maintaining your coworkers as well as your own self in the apostolic work.

This is a diﬀerent way. Yet it is not a change of occupation but is a way to use an avocation in support of the apostolic ministry. It is not a change from being an apostle to being a

tent maker. It merely means making tents to sustain the apostolic mission.

Fishing and Tentmaking Are Two Diﬀerent Things

If some apostolic brothers ﬁnd their work too diﬃcult and their ﬁnances too inadequate, they go teach school or they go ﬁshing. Let

CCo-Workers and Apostles—Who Are They?

us be reminded that at the moment our Lord died many did go ﬁshing. Yet could they at the same time say that their Lord lived forever in heaven? Only the despairing and the disappointed went ﬁshing in that day—and they could not say this because of their unbelief. But here in Paul we ﬁnd a man who did not make tents because of any despair—he believed in the risen and ascended Lord.

These two reactions were very diﬀerent.

Peter's "I go a ﬁshing" (John 21.3) and Paul's tentmaking were not the same. Peter went ﬁshing only because he had nowhere to go—he was ﬁnished. He went ﬁshing because he considered the

Lord dead and everything else hopeless. He himself was a failure, and his Lord was no more; and so he went ﬁshing out of despair. But look at Paul. His making tents was not at all an occupation. He ﬁrmly acknowledged that the Lord was living and that therefore he could not help but be an apostle. Whether in comfort or in suﬀering, whether receiving supply from the brothers or not receiving any supply, he must still be an apostle. How diﬀerent this is from Peter's reaction and going back to ﬁshing. To live or to die,

Paul would still remain an apostle. He had to give his all to fulﬁll his apostleship.

And hence he put forth his two hands and did some work. Extra

though this outside work was to his regular labors and toils, he was willing to do something more so that his apostolic work might not be crushed. That was Paul's attitude. What his two hands did supported both his co-workers as well as himself. That was the way of Paul.

Not a Changing of Occupation, but Giving One's All

Today I believe brothers and sisters are going to see this

fundamental principle of which we have been speaking. All who are called by the Lord to go out and preach the gospel —all who are to serve the Lord as apostles—must forsake their professions in order to be apostolic workers. This is the correct way. Yet, in case need arises, you can work for a short period if you are able to bear the 176

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double burden, but not to go back as a tax-collector who has to work at the customs house from morning till night. If there is no such need, then you have no need to work. When there is no supply coming

from the church or when the church is not able to supply, you can work. Just as when the children of Israel, whenever they ceased oﬀering sacriﬁces, caused the Levites to suﬀer hunger, forcing them

to work in the ﬁelds (Neh. 13.10). At such a time of need, you can do something involving a side job to help your co-

workers as well as yourself. Nevertheless, during that time you do not automatically cease being an apostle.

Recognize that this principle of tentmaking does not dissipate your heart, but on the contrary, it actually increases your singleness of heart. It is not a hindrance, rather a help. It is not a changing of occupations, it is to fulﬁll your present and lifetime calling and occupation better. This means that you must give your all. You must do the work and responsibility which the Lord has given you, and you must try everything which will enable you to fulﬁll your calling.

It is right and proper for an apostle to travel on this path that we have described

Scope of Co-workers More Inclusive Than That of Apostles

With regard to co-workers, that really includes much more than the apostles. As an example from the Bible, we have Aquila and Priscilla who were co-workers. Phoebe too was a fellow worker. All the elders and deacons of the various assemblies are fellow workers.

Let All Vocations Be Avocations

We would ask all the brothers and sisters engaged in the Work to change their vocations into avocations. It would be very good if while serving God in a certain locality you forsake your profession because you have enough means to support yourself. Or if you are

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serving God by either bearing local responsibility or engaging in the ministry of God's word, and you work at some job in order to supply yourself and also others, that would likewise be good. Let us see that no brother or sister lives for himself or herself. Such being the case, this matter of vocation can easily be solved. With your ministry solved, your occupation will also be solved. Without having your ministry settled, your profession is really useless before God.

Purpose Is to Serve

One day a brother asked me if it was good to carry on an extra job. On that day I replied that it was good. But the question really revolves around what your principal work is. We all must have some sort of idea or desire before God: "Wherefore also," said Paul, "we are ambitious, whether at home or absent, to be well-pleasing unto him" (2 Cor. 5.9 mg.). Hence the ﬁrst question we have to answer is,

Why am I engaged in business today? Is it for earning money? For getting rich? Some people want to get rich simply to be rich, and not for earning money. Our aim before God should not be to get rich but to earn money to support the Lord's Work. We therefore need to have this foundation ﬁrmly established in our hearts. We must make a decision within ourselves as to what we really want before the Lord. Paul wanted to please Him; how about you? I have only one aim before the Lord, and that is, I want to serve Him, and I want to do His Work well.

Profession Is a Small Thing

In these days as all the brothers and sisters move forward to have this matter solved of wanting to give all to serve the Lord, I can tell you that the question of profession becomes

a very small matter indeed. If your heart before the Lord is weak and your service to God is weak, you cannot bear the pressure of a job because it will soon swallow you up. But if your service before the Lord is strong, you 178

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can take up an avocation and your way will remain straight before God. Some brothers may wish to go back into practicing medicine or to undertake some other trade, but these things must be as it were a sideline aﬀair. They are done only to maintain one's living. And if what brethren engage in on the side remains small, then it will not cause any problem to their ministry because their heart will not be in that undertaking.

Suppose a brother decides to return to manufacturing lace or

embroidery in order that he may use the money he receives from its sale to maintain his ministry before God. His ministry before God is so weighty and earnest that all the other things he does are but sideline activities to help support that ministry. And suppose further that there is another brother who also produces lace or embroidery for sale, but his heart is set on getting rich. In comparing himself to the ﬁrst brother this brother thinks that since both of them are doing the same thing, then the ﬁrst brother must without any doubt be aiming at getting rich just as he himself is. There is therefore no diﬀerence between them in the thinking of this second brother. Yet his way is not right before God, and his ministry will be bound. His aim is simply one of getting rich, whereas the other brother's aim is not. Outwardly they may appear to be the same, but only that which serves God—and not mammon— is the right way.

Whatever We Do Is to Serve God

If we want to serve, then everything we do must be done for His service. We must give our all. We need to realize that not only not making tents is for the sake of being an apostle, even making tents can be for that purpose. I therefore hope all who are working as apostles will not upset the priority, and that all who serve God locally will not miss the point. Serving God is our vocation, our basic occupation. Whatever we do is for the purpose of serving Him.

Earning money is for the purpose of serving God, and likewise not

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earning money. Devoting all our time is for that purpose, and

devoting part of our time can be also. Whichever way we take, we serve God. Even our very life is all given to him. This is how the problem of occupation is to be solved.

All Whose Everything Is for the Lord Are Co-Workers

All whose everything is for the Lord are our co-workers, for our principal vocation is the same. All the brothers and sisters in the Work are to serve the Lord. We can therefore say that all are our co-workers, even as Paul writing in Romans 16 said that all those whom he mentioned there were fellow workers. All who serve the Lord become our coworkers. When we really see this, then our concept of coworker will be diﬀerent from how we thought before. Many may put in twenty hours a day, but they are not our co-

workers. Some may work only two hours in the evening per day, and yet we can say that they are truly our co-workers.

Let us see that the matter of co-worker is neither dependent on profession nor on ﬁnance. It depends on how big a place God's Work is in your life. A person may wash clothes or sweep ﬂoors, and he is our co-worker. Another person may weave cloth or mend clothes, and he is also our co-worker. It does not depend on what he does.

One brother may work on the train, another may work in a steamer.

One may labor on land, another on the sea. Yet they all can be our co-workers. As long as we serve God, our basic aim is the same. For the sake of letting God have His way in China, we must put

everything into it—our time, our money, our very life. We all are therefore co-workers. We work with one another: we work with a Peter, and we also work with a Paul. We are fellow workers of all who now serve God and of all who have served Him throughout

these many centuries.

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Not Same Work, but Same Aim

There is an erroneous view abroad which causes people to look

always at the sameness of work but neglect the sameness of aim.

They tend to lay stress on how people do the same thing rather than on discovering how strong the aim is. Doing the same thing does not constitute a co-working relationship. There may be ﬁfty physicians working in the same clinic, yet they may not be considered co-workers. Their work is the same, but they are not strictly co-workers.

Only one thing determines the status of co-workers one to another, which is that we live here for the Lord, we live here for the gospel, and all our income is for the gospel.

Let me illustrate this point further as follows: Being a physician is a noble profession; and yet a washerwoman can be a co-worker to the physician. A young man who is highly educated and trained and another young man who is illiterate can likewise be fellow workers.

And yet, it is also possible that another Christian who has received a similar education to that of the ﬁrst young man may not at all be qualiﬁed to be a co-worker.

The principal and basic issue here is, Do you give your all? If people are really violent for the Lord, giving their everything to Him and caring nothing for the world, if they live on earth wholly for the Lord under any circumstance, then they will do everything to serve God. Notwithstanding where they are and what they do, you

recognize that they truly are the light of the world.

Serve God Anyway

We do not have many co-workers, and we have never had many

co-workers. May God in these last days do the work of recovery.

May He raise up many people who can serve Him in any

circumstance, whatever may come. I love those two hands of Paul.

Ordinarily, many things are not necessary. According to rule, the

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church ought to be responsible for the necessities of the apostles as well as for the needs of the Work. But the church is not being responsible. The church has failed in her responsibility. The church takes care of her own needs only. When the church forgets to support and begins to criticize Paul, Paul can assert. Behold, these two hands! I trust we have now seen through all this, how Paul's ministry not only did not decrease but was actually strengthened and more ﬁrmly established. His apostolic ministry depended on his two hands.

In other words, those two hands—which ought never to have had to work for a living if the church had been normal— those two hands were willing to work. As long as there is any possibility of serving, let us serve this way too!

Who are co-workers? Co-workers are people who have one mind,

one purpose, one ambition before God: they will serve the Lord alone and do everything to please Him. Notwithstanding what their hands may perhaps do, if the aim is the same, these people are co-workers in the Lord.

2 The Matter of Finance

We will now deal with the matter of

ﬁnance. How are the ﬁnances arranged?

On the one hand, how is the income the

church receives to be distributed? And on

the other hand, what should be the ﬁnancial

relationship among the fellow workers?

ONE: DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS BY LOCAL ASSEMBLY

(1) Current Expenses

The money a local assembly receives is ﬁrst of all to cover current expenses. A local assembly should not be in debt. It incurs a good deal of expenses, such as the purchasing of bread and wine for the Lord's Supper, payments for electricity, water, and sometimes rent, and so forth.

(2) Care for the Poor

God wants His people in the church to look after the poor,

especially the poor among the saints. Hence a primary responsibility of the local assembly will be to take care of the poor brothers and sisters.

However, in caring for the poor brothers and sisters, extreme

caution must be exercised. Under no circumstances are they to be treated ungraciously because they are poor. Do not create a sense of shame on their part when they receive

help from the church. In just the same humble attitude of spirit that you send money to your elderly parents for their use, so let the church give alms to its poor.

Just as you never allow your parents to feel you are pitying them, so those who from the church bring relief to the poor must likewise be 184

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very sensitive. Do not let those who are dull of spirit be the bearers of the gifts, for why must these brothers and sisters who must receive ﬁnancial help be hurt?

Suppose, for instance, that a brother falls and is injured. As we put him in bed, we cannot let people rough in hands and dull in minds do the job. His bones may not yet be broken, but rough handling could very well break them! I often feel that many brothers who take care of church funds are much too insensitive. When a brother or sister is in need, and you are helping him or her, you must be very careful; if not, something adverse may happen. Be very delicate in your

handling of the situation. Do not create the feeling that everybody is helping him or her. When a brother or sister is in distress, you must help that one to maintain his or her self-respect, for you do not know when you yourself will fall into the same situation. Let us not hurt one another in this regard.

(3) Care for Needs of Responsible Brothers

If a local responsible brother has to spend so much of his time in managing the church aﬀairs that his own profession suﬀers, the local assembly should replenish him with extreme care. This is what is meant by the phrase in 1 Timothy, "worthy of double honor" (5.17).

It cannot be that the church only provides money to workers but not to responsible brothers as well. It is not right to let the local responsible brothers suﬀer ﬁnancial loss because they have to spend more of their time in the church. A local assembly should learn to take care of the needs of its elders.

(4) Send to Other Local Assemblies

A local assembly can also extend funds to other local assemblies for their use. At times an unusual instance of ﬁnancial need or hardship may arise, such as occurred when Antioch felt a burden to

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send relief funds to the brethren at Jerusalem who were in distress because of famine. It is important to have such fellowship in this matter of ﬁnance among the local assemblies. You will recall how at the beginning, many brothers and sisters in Jerusalem had sold their houses and ﬁelds. But during the time of famine, Antioch now sent relief to them by the hands of Barnabas and Paul. I love the fact that the elders at Antioch did not ask if the assembly at Jerusalem had already spent the vast amount of money it had received at the

beginning or whether there was still some of it left over. That was surely none of their business. No, the saints at Antioch simply sent relief to the saints in Jerusalem to supply the latter's need, just as in an earlier time Barnabas had come from Jerusalem to provide help to Antioch. Now, Barnabas along with Paul were chosen to bear the funds forward. How ﬁtting! And how beautiful to behold!

(5) Gifts to Individual Workers

A local assembly should send gifts to individual workers. This was what the church at Philippi had done towards Paul. After the apostles had labored in Macedonia (including the city of Philippi), he left for Thessalonica; and the church at Philippi thereafter sent gifts to him repeatedly. As we read the letter to the Philippians, we know that while Paul was in Macedonia and Thessalonica, all his supplies came from Philippi; otherwise, he would not have been able to work in those places. Today the brethren in various localities need to learn to send gifts to those who labor for the Lord. The church at Corinth was a backward assembly; their spiritual condition was not good at all before God; for although they knew how to criticize Paul they did not support him in anything in this matter of supply. Let local assemblies be aware of the needs of those who serve the Lord and send gifts to them.

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(6) Gifts to Regional Work

There is another need. If our interpretation is correct, a local assembly not only can send gifts to individual workers but also to a regional Work. Paul advised the Corinthian believers to have their money ready to be sent to Jerusalem. At that time, the churches in Macedonia had already collected money to be sent to Jerusalem.

Macedonia was a province in which there were a number of local assemblies. Paul exhorted the church at Corinth to do what the churches in Macedonia had done. For there was now famine not only in Jerusalem but also in the whole of Judea. So that when the relief was sent, it was not just

earmarked for the local assembly there, it was also to be used to support the regional Work then occurring in the region of Judea as represented by the Work center— Jerusalem. In other words, the funds were sent to Jerusalem that from there relief could be sent out to all Judea. Hence we have a principle here: money can be sent to a local assembly for its own use, but it can also be sent to a local assembly for that church to distribute it to the brothers and sisters throughout the entire pertinent region.

I trust you are now clear as to what a local assembly should do with its money. The contributions it receives are to be used for local current expenses, for taking care of the poor among the saints, for caring for the responsible brothers, for the workers abroad, for the needs of the assemblies abroad, and for regional Work.

TWO: RELATIONSHIP AMONG CO-WORKERS

Leaders Should Care for Co-Workers

I want to mention here that besides the local assembly having

responsibility in this matter of ﬁnance, people like Paul have also a responsibility. Timothy, Titus, Silas, and Luke were known by the Church in the latter days. But at the beginning of their ministry they were not known. Consequently, all who are like Paul must learn this

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principle: "These hands ministered unto my necessities and to them that were with me" (Acts 20.34). No brother can be a leader in the Work and be extremely tight on money. I

have known two or three brothers in China who at the start of their ministry were probably quite useful in God's hand, yet they could not be leaders among the brethren because of this issue of ﬁnance. They could live by faith but they could not give by faith. Hence they were not able to lead other servants of the Lord on. I have also known a sister in the past who really knew God, was godly, and capable of helping people, yet she did not have the faith to supply others. All who are well known by the churches must learn to be like Paul, who cared for those whose names were little known. Be mindful of the fact that your income is not for your own self, it is for both you and your fellow workers. If you keep all your income for yourself, at a certain point it will become manifest that you are not ﬁt to lead your fellow workers.

Leaders among co-workers who are recognized everywhere must

cultivate the habit of giving—especially giving to fellow workers.

Those of you who fall into this category need to see that what the Lord has given you is for others' use as well as your own. If you hold the money tightly in your hand, sooner or later you will be taken away from the Work. If you are foolish, you may think you are

serving the church by spending on yourself alone what God has

given you, yet without realizing that only by giving to others as well can you really say that you are serving the church. Hence I hope all may do as Paul did, and learn to give to their co-workers so that they too may live. Older brothers in every place should use what they have received to care for

their fellow workers. They should not only remember their own needs, they must also remember the needs of their coworkers.

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Distribute According to Each Need

How should the leader distribute funds to his fellow workers? Let us suppose you have ten co-workers. How will you give to them? I believe the Biblical principle is to give according to each one's need and not according to each one's spiritual gift. Oftentimes brethren in the church will give only according to the spiritual gift of a brother in the Work. Yet to those who are useful in the Work, you must give not according to their spiritual gift but according to their personal needs. Some co-brethren in the Work may in fact act wrongly, but you cannot aﬀord to do wrong towards them in the matter of ﬁnance, for you are a leading brother in the Work. You ought to know better.

For this reason, in ordinary times, the brother who is responsible for the Work should prepare a list of all the brethren who are involved in the regional Work. I do not mean to say that you should have a formal document. All I mean is that you simply need to know.

You need to have their names and the number of children, if any, they have; for the need of a single person will be very diﬀerent from the need of a family with children. Further, you should note how many of these children are of school age. You ought to know which brothers have little family responsibility and which brothers have more such responsibility. By having such information at hand, you will

know how to distribute according to their respective needs whenever such funds come your way.

All Must Look to God, None Can Take Full Responsibility

In case the Lord does not bring in funds, all must continue to look to God for meeting their own needs. No one can take on the full responsibility, nor can anyone take on complete responsibility for other people. Only when there are funds can they be distributed—and then, not according to ministry but according to need. By doing so, there will be equity. A leader cannot assure any co-worker by means of any formal commitment. All the co-workers must learn to look to

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the Lord. I hope we may all do well in this matter of ﬁnance so that God will be gloriﬁed.

QUESTIONS

(1) How to Distribute in Practice

Question: In a local assembly where there is a Work center, how should funds be distributed? There are both workers and elders, and therefore some elders should be included in the distribution. How in practice is this to be done?

Answer: This is why there needs to be some arrangement. Though there is to be nothing formal, it requires a deﬁnite disposition nonetheless. In case of extra need, each must look directly to God.

In distributing funds, a local assembly must ﬁrst of all take care of its current expenses. In a certain assembly, for example, the monthly income is a thousand dollars. Its ﬁrst responsibility is to cover current bills and to take care of the poor among them. The need of the elders may often be included in the needs of the co-workers.

According to principle, the church should send out whatever is left over.

A local assembly keeping its funds within itself will soon cause some unpleasant things to appear. If, for example, Rome is the place where money is, all the apostles will go to Rome. No Roman apostle will go to the place where there is no money. And in England, if ever a pastor feels called to go to a place, he will more than likely say "I am called to Rome" (where, coincidentally, there is money). How strange that many are called to places where money is plentiful, but no one is called to a poor place! I must say that the world has invaded the Church. It is something very ugly and totally unspiritual.

The worldly concept of money has encroached on the Church.

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I have meditated much before God on this entire matter. I look at Paul (and Barnabas for that matter) and see that at the beginning of his time in Antioch he on the one hand was one of the messengers who carried money to Jerusalem, but that on the other hand he never once mentioned the need of Antioch nor of the need for the Work at Antioch. He simply delivered the ﬁnancial relief to Jerusalem. Later both Achaia (including Corinth) and Macedonia—with Paul's

encouragement—all sent contributions to Jerusalem and its region.

There might have arisen at that time a serious misunderstanding to the eﬀect that Paul probably had no need of support since evidently his tentmaking company was apparently very prosperous. Hence I think the best way is for a local assembly that is also a Work center to send extra funds abroad instead of expending all such funds on only the co-workers in the local region who will doubtless also receive gifts from other assemblies that are elsewhere. This will thus place the church there on spiritual ground.

Let the brethren in one region think of the Work in other regions.

How commendable was the way Paul did it. He came out of Antioch to deliver relief to Jerusalem. He exhorted the saints in the regions of Macedonia and Achaia to send help to Jerusalem. Without drawing their attention to himself and his co-workers' needs he made these people feel that there was great need in Jerusalem and its surrounding environs; but those same people thought that he himself had no need at all, when actually his hands never ceased working when it was required. For listen again to what he said to the Ephesian elders at Miletus: "Behold, these hands!" It is common for a man to think of his own needs ﬁrst. But not Paul. I hope you will learn to take care of the needs in other places ﬁrst and let God take care of your own needs. As to individual need, God will lead the brethren to care for you. For we believe in the control of the Holy Spirit, and therefore we do not need to be anxious about ourselves. If, for example, I have a special need today, I look to God for a special miracle: suddenly some brother sends me a gift, and my problem is solved. God is in truth a living God.

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On the other hand, we should not stick to a dead method. I am

fearful of having a formal way. I believe the brethren who have been with us for these years know how much we are afraid of anything formal or ﬁxed. Because the moment something becomes ﬁxed, it immediately becomes unspiritual. Yet I hope you can still maintain this principle about caring for others' needs. If as the funds arrive in a certain region, you decide to retain at most only a part of it —say, perhaps one third or one ﬁfth—and send the larger portion to other places, I think that would be excellent. By so doing, God can easily maintain the supplies in His Church.

Recall again how when the children of Israel failed to give, the Levites suﬀered hunger. The problem the Levites encountered was solely created by the unfaithfulness of the children of Israel. They would have had no hardship had the Israelites stood on the Lord's

side (see Neh. 13.10). We must therefore learn to send funds abroad that we may help to take care of the Work elsewhere. And on our side, we will naturally trust God to maintain His Work in our own region. And the beneﬁt to be derived by generally following such a principle will be that those places which have much will not have too much and those places which have little will not be lacking.

With respect to the need of the local responsible brothers and not just the need of co-workers, you ought to have some appropriate arrangement. It will avoid a great inconvenience and embarrassment if a percentage were

agreed upon for the need of each. Otherwise, how will you feel in distributing the money yourself? For in being a responsible brother, it will be highly inconvenient for you to take any funds for yourself. Your Christian sensitivity will not allow you to do this. Consequently, you who are responsible brothers must devise suitable arrangements to save one another from any such

embarrassment.

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Two Persons in Charge of Money

One other thing needs to be considered. I think it is best to have two persons in charge of money in a region. The principle of the Bible is always "two." Barnabas and Paul were sent by the church at Antioch to Jerusalem to deliver the relief. And later on, we ﬁnd that there was always at least two in every other such situation.

(2) Accounts Must Be Open

Question: Some local assemblies give a public report on church accounts, some do not. What is the principle which should govern this?

Answer: I think the accounts of a local assembly should be made public. As to the Work, the co-workers in a region should know the income and expenditure of the Work accounts.

(3) Current Expenditure First, Apostles Next

Question: Is it necessary to have separate slots in the oﬀering box for local use and for the Work since many believers do not know how to give?

Answer: Even if the givers do not distinguish their gifts, you should divide them. In a local assembly, the ﬁrst item to take care of is current expenses such as electricity, water, rent, and so forth; the second item is the poor among the saints; and the responsible

brothers and workers must be listed as the third item. This is a basic principle. The church at Jerusalem gave ﬁrst to the poor among the saints, not ﬁrst to the co-workers. Do not make the mistake of putting the apostles ﬁrst. It should be the poor among the saints ﬁrst, the widows ﬁrst, the orphans ﬁrst. These people need to be helped ﬁrst,

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and then the apostles. And it is obvious in the case of Jerusalem that distribution was done according to each one's need.

It is also in accordance with spiritual principle for the local church to always send money out, but let money be sent in as well. The local assembly may retain a third, a ﬁfth, a tenth, or whatever. But the less you keep the better, and then send the rest to other places.

When money is available, distribute it according to need

according to the agreed upon percentage. If there are special personal needs, you must look to God in a special way. This matter of money is a very diﬃcult task.

Nevertheless, I believe you will be close to scriptural teaching if you follow the principles we have just

enunciated.

(4) Concerning Distribution of Personal Trusts

Question: Someone entrusts me as a worker with funds to distribute. What should I do?

Answer: If there is not a list giving distribution by percentage, I will not take anything for myself if I myself am entrusted with the distribution. For if I take anything from the fund for myself, I will not appear to be faithful. No matter how clean one's conscience is, he will not feel peaceful. Conscience will never yield to reasoning. If I am to distribute the funds and I take but one dollar of it, my conscience will not be at peace. If, however, money is deﬁnitely designated for me, I can use it as I wish. But if it is for me to distribute, I will distribute all of it to other people— with none kept back for myself. And in case there is already a percentage list worked out in the region, I can distribute the funds accordingly without my having any misgiving. In short, without such a list, every penny goes out to others; with such a list, oneself may be included with a clear conscience.

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(5) Sending Circular Letter about Building Meeting Place

Question: Formerly, several localities sent out circular letters to notify others of their intention to build a meeting place. Is this a good practice?

Answer: It is not a very good one. It is all right for individuals to pass on such news because this will be less formal. I am afraid of formalizing such information.

(6) Regarding Double Honor towards Responsible Brothers

Question: We know it is right for the responsible brothers to receive double honor. But it is diﬃcult to make this known. Would it be advisable for an apostle to mention this matter when he visits various localities?

Answer: This arrangement is applicable only to a Work center, not to a local assembly where there is no such center.

Timothy Should Speak

Concerning the distribution of funds in a local assembly, in his letter to Timothy Paul explicitly charged the latter to pass on his instructions to various local assemblies. As a worker visits diﬀerent localities, he should gather the saints in each place and instruct them to give double honor to the elders. This was to be Timothy's

responsibility; it was not to be the responsibility of the elders. For Paul charged Timothy, saying: "Let the elders that rule well be

counted worthy of double honor" (1 Tim. 5.17). When workers like a

Timothy go to local assemblies and discover that some elders spend so much of their time in the church that their personal income suﬀers, they should instruct the local brethren to show double honor to these elders in the matter of ﬁnance.

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(7) Deacons Should Bear More Responsibility

Question: Why, in your priority as to the distribution of church funds, are the elders mentioned as the third item?

Answer: Without a doubt, the distribution of church funds according to Scripture was in the hands of the elders. But the actual use of church funds was not in the hands of the elders but in the hands of the deacons. In other words, the use of church funds in the Jerusalem assembly was not in the hands of the twelve apostles but in the hands of the seven deacons. For in due time, we know, the apostles would no longer be serving the tables, which meant that they themselves would not be using the money for that purpose any more.

The principle of distribution—that is to say, how the funds are going to be distributed—was probably still left in the hands of the apostles.

Yet the actual use of it was indeed in the hands of the deacons.

Therefore, it is true that in the practical arrangement of distribution, the deacons and not the elders will know the needs of the poor among the saints as well as the needs of current expenditures. In other words, using the money will be the work of the deacons and not the work of the elders. The deacons will take care of local expenses and relief to the poor.

And hence, in the matter of supply of ﬁnance to the elders, the deacons should bear even more responsibility. (This is

just my personal opinion.) For it is embarrassing for the elders to decide on such a matter themselves. It is well for the church to take good care of the responsible brothers. The church needs to know its

responsibility.

Here the ﬂesh must be cast aside. When the brothers and sisters give, no personal relationship should exist. When the funds are managed, only the command of God counts. There ought not to be any personal feeling whatsoever. As the money is given to God, it must be distributed according to God's way. The ﬁrst consideration, 196

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therefore, is to "owe no man anything" (Rom. 13.8), and hence all

current expenses must be paid. Second, the poor among the saints must be taken care of next. And third, the needs of the responsible brothers must also be met.

The responsible brothers cannot take anything themselves;

accordingly, the deacons should say, Let us give them double honor.

For remember that the deacons represent the church in serving, and giving honor is not something which one does to oneself; it is given to him only by others. The deacons can therefore represent the church in this matter of showing honor. They cannot make any

decision on other items, but in this regard they may.

I think this matter should be in the hands of the deacons. If the whole church must assemble to decide on this issue, it will become Laodicean in character. Consequently, it is best to entrust this matter to the deacons.

In our past history, church money was in the hands of the elders.

Now, though, it should be transferred into the hands of the deacons.

The elders make the decisions on the distribution of funds, but the deacons undertake the actual distribution. In other words, the deacons should be the treasurers.

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(1) CONCERNING ELDERS HAVING CHILDREN WHO

BELIEVE

Question: The Bible mentions elders as having children who

believe (Titus 1.6). Today there are several elders in the church whose children have not yet believed in the Lord. The children are young, in their early teens. They have been coming to hear the gospel, but they are not yet clearly saved. What should be done in such a situation?

Answer: I think this matter of believing children is to be stressed especially in connection with the phrase, "ruleth well his own house"

(1 Tim. 3.4). If the children are small, this should not be a problem.

But if the children are so disobedient, even to the extent of being deﬁant towards faith, then this is a sure indication that the brother is not ﬁt to rule the church. He may be able to be an apostle, but he is not able to be an elder. When the children are young, and are not rebellious or opposing the faith but still come to hear God's word, this should not pose a problem with respect to the question asked.

Naturally, when they are so young, it is diﬃcult to tell if they have truly believed or not. As they grow older, however, they should receive the Lord as their Savior. Hence I think the emphasis here should be more on "ruling his own home well" rather than on Titus 1.6.

(2) AS ASSEMBLY GROWS AND ORIGINAL ELDERS ARE

UNABLE TO BEAR RESPONSIBILITY: WHAT TO BE DONE

Question: In the past, when an assembly began, some brothers seemed to be able to take responsibility. But later on as more were added to the local church, the spiritual condition of these brothers 198

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became such that they did not appear to be able to take responsibility as before. What should be done in this kind of situation?

Answer: Judging from the arrangement which God makes in the church, I believe that as better men are raised up in the local assembly, we must learn to let them take responsibility and allow ourselves to step back into the position of listening.

Paul wrote this: "We have no such custom, neither the churches of

God" (1 Cor. 11.16). Now we do not wish to keep man's tradition, yet we would like to follow godly custom. A godly thing done in one assembly may quite naturally be taken up by other assemblies. And if so, it will be very beautiful. In the early days of any assembly being developed, you might become responsible. Later, however, when

other brothers come in, it would be well for you to learn to prefer the others who may be more mature: "Brothers, why not come and take responsibility? I am willing to be one who listens." Such a stance would not at all be passive. Yes, some people do stop doing

everything when they cease bearing responsibility. But you should be able to add: "I will be glad to help. But you take the responsibility, because you are ahead of me." If various assemblies end up

practicing this in the same way, you may think that a custom has developed in the Church. Well, if it is a godly practice, why not?

When younger brothers encounter more mature brothers coming in or developing in a local assembly, they should be able to invite the latter into responsibility. God's children ought to learn to recognize higher authority as soon as they touch it.

When a few brothers are together talking, naturally there will be one taking the lead and the others following. For in everything, whether large or small, God establishes an order. This is especially true in the local church. If some brother is taking responsibility and another brother comes in, the ﬁrst one ought naturally to know who is ahead of him. It will be disastrous if you do not recognize authority. You should introduce the latecomer to the brethren, and Let

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you yourself should gradually stand aside. If such a custom is practiced in the local assemblies, how gracious that will appear. For that is the church of God. Hence he who has the authority of God should obviously stand at the front.

Question: Suppose a brother does not recognize more spiritual maturity in another, then what?

Answer: I think sometimes the brother who works in the region should take a little more responsibility. In objectively judging a local situation, he is more likely to be in a position to see who should be responsible and who should not. It is evident in 3 John that there was

a man who held a diﬀerent view than John. John saw one way, and this man saw another: "Diotrephes, who loveth to have the

preeminence among them, receiveth us not" (3 John 9). The saints there were not clear about Diotrephes, for they thought he really had the authority. Actually, he loved to have the ﬁrst place. He himself did not receive the brethren, and he forbade others to receive them.

So John wrote: "If I come, I will bring to remembrance his works

which he doeth" (v.10a). From this we can infer that, according to custom, whether or not a person can bear responsibility in a local assembly should be the responsibility of the trustworthy worker of the Lord.

(3) PETER AND PHILIP MOVING INDEPENDENTLY?

Question: Philip went to Samaria alone and Peter went to Caesarea alone. Would they be considered as having made

independent moves?

Answer: I think we need to be careful about this term

"independent move." A brother may stay with several other brothers continuously and yet he can be guilty of taking independent moves.

Not making an independent move does not necessarily mean you

must eat with somebody else or travel with someone else. If a person 200

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has never seen the body of Christ, he will still be moving

independently in any case. Even though he may move together with other people, such a person will be moving alone because he has neither learned how to submit to authority nor how to fellowship.

Hence Philip may go out by himself, yet he was not reckoned as having made an independent move; whereas many others may indeed go out with other brethren, but they will be viewed as being highly independent.

Independent moves are to be judged by two basic principles: ﬁrst, is the person under authority? Second, is he in fellowship? If he is neither under authority nor in

fellowship, he may be with ﬁfty people, yet he will be moving independently.

Touching Authority

Concerning this subject of authority, it is a most amazing thing in the Church that when a few workers of God or a few believers are together, they will just naturally touch authority. God always does things in order. Even with two persons, God sets up one to represent authority.

Name Order

You will notice that the names listed in the Bible always follow an order. And whenever the order is later changed, there will be a special reason for it. In the Old Testament period, for instance, God had obviously set up Moses as an authority. And so, the Bible always mentioned Moses and Aaron in that order. You will not see the order reversed to read Aaron and Moses. When they were together, one represented authority while the other represented submission. Even when the Lord sent out His disciples or apostles two by two, all the people mentioned by name followed an order, one being ahead of the Let

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other. If this be true with two persons, how much more true it will be with a greater number of people.

Trusting in the Presence of the Holy Spirit

Whenever God's children are together, there will be a lining up.

Not a lining up according to the ﬂesh but a lining up because you see the brother before you. Whenever the Lord is working, there is a mouthpiece. Accordingly, let us believe in God's presence. Let us declare: "I believe in the presence of the Lord, I trust in the presence of the Holy Spirit." With the presence of God's Spirit, the next step will naturally follow by our acknowledging: "I believe the Lord has a mouthpiece here."

Not Submitting to a Perfect Man

Do you realize why the authority of God cannot be established

among His children? It is because the children of God are always criticizing and demanding perfection: "I only admire a person who is a perfect man! And since this man has never existed before, is not in view now, and will never come to be in the future, I will not submit.

I want to submit to a perfect man; and since this man is not present, I cannot submit." But God does not give authority to a perfect man; He only gives authority to that person who goes forward, to that one who goes ahead of you. This is a basic principle to be found in the Bible.

God gives authority to the brother who is ahead of another.

Hence it is quite natural for God's children to line up in such fashion when they are together. This is not a matter of organization.

This is not done by electing a captain. This is something natural. Let us therefore learn to be submissive. Wherever

we are, in whatever circumstances, we have our submission.

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As long as a person stands on such a ground as this, he will not commit any independent moves. But for that one who is not subject to authority, he will act independently even if he should be with many people. What is individualism? It means that a person cannot submit to authority. For once anyone submits to authority, his individualism vanishes.

Choose Not to Whom to Submit

I hope the brethren will see this to be not a matter of accepting one or more authorities; it is simply a problem of accepting authority in the ﬁrst place.

Let me illustrate this point. I once employed two servants, one in advance of the other. On the very ﬁrst day when they arrived at my house, I told them that they came to be servants, and that therefore the one basic condition was for them to listen. No matter how clever they were, they must do what they were told to do. I especially told the latecomer that he must also listen to the ﬁrst servant. It turned out that this latecomer was really good in listening to me, but he would not listen to the ﬁrst servant. Do you think this servant was being obedient to authority? I do not think so, for he always sought opportunity to accuse the ﬁrst one of being wrong.

What is obeying authority? Let me say that it is certainly not in choosing whom to obey. If you choose whom you will obey, you do not know what authority is. The one who knows authority will

recognize it wherever he goes. As soon as he meets authority, he knows to whom to submit. And if he cannot submit, it is proof that he never knew authority. He will be obeying man and not obeying authority. At most he is fearful of but one person, whom he will obey when he meets him. Authority is not a matter of location, nor of many locations, for there is authority everywhere. He who knows authority knows it wherever he goes.

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When a person is under authority, he can readily see that

individualism cannot exist. On the contrary, if he stands on

individualism, he has no way to submit to authority. I believe this is a very important principle for us to grasp hold of. For the Christian, it is not a matter of who, it is a matter of where authority is.

Seek Fellowship

A person who seeks for fellowship will also know that

individualism cannot exist. An individualist always maintains his spiritual life before God by himself. He keeps what he personally sees, and he does his individual work. He is always alone. It is hard for him to seek for fellowship. Actually, this is a problem we have in our midst. People cannot seek fellowship. They always do things by themselves. Although in words they may say they cannot do

without other brethren and cannot live without the church, in practice, they can and do live without either the church or fellowship. This proves they are still individualists. If you see someone who has accepted the concept of the fellowship of the body and yet he can still live his spiritual life and carry on his work for the Lord without fellowship, then you will know he has not been broken before God and that he is therefore totally immersed in individualism—for fellowship and individualism are opposites. Today it is not what you may say about fellowship but whether or not fellowship is life to you, whether or not you can live and live without fellowship. If one day God can bring you to such a place of not being able to live without it, then 1 feel that this could be a big step.

Not a Failure in Faithfulness and Faith

Many when they come to an impasse think this is due to their

failure in faith or in faithfulness. They do not see it is because of their failure in fellowship. For their past education teaches them of faith and faithfulness and of direct obedience to God. So that 204

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whenever they cannot get through a crisis, they naturally blame it on their weakness in faith or faithfulness. Now, of course, there is some truth to this. But they fail to see that there is another factor called fellowship in the Bible. And if they fail in fellowship, they can easily ﬁnd themselves in such predicaments.

The Lord must often let a Christian wander through faith,

faithfulness, and obedience until he ﬁnds out for himself that however he may believe, be faithful and obedient, he still can not get through. At that juncture, he may perhaps begin to see that he cannot get through as a single member. Though his union with Christ is basic and elementary, he still needs the union with the body in order to get through. Perhaps at this time he begins to realize his need of help from other Christians. Nevertheless, many Christians have yet to be brought to this road, because they are still traveling on the path of individualism.

Let me tell you, though, that the day God's children are brought to this dead end it will be a great revelation. Prior to that day, even such a big thing like faith does not help. Now faith is not a small thing.

Let us not despise it in any way. Faithfulness is also a big thing, and so is obedience. But the day will come when these big things which we think we had will fail to get us through. Then our eyes will be opened to see that fellowship too is a mighty big thing. That without fellowship, we cannot get through. Only those people who have

walked on this road can forsake the principle of individualism.

Merely hearing the teachings on fellowship and on the body of Christ will not deliver anyone from individualism. He may keep right on believing in fellowship and still live quite individualistically.

Peter Sought Fellowship under Authority

I believe when Peter went to Caesarea, he did not act according to the principle of individualism. For when he started out from Joppa, he took some local brothers with him. He was a man who always was Let

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under authority and who was seeking fellowship continually. That was why he returned to Jerusalem to report to the brethren there.

Although the work was done, he still sought fellowship as usual.

Philip Met the Holy Spirit

When Philip went to Samaria, he was under authority; otherwise the Holy Spirit would not have called him into the desert. Whoever is met by the Holy Spirit is on the road of God's choice because

everything in the Church is ordered and governed by the Holy Spirit.

Christ is the Head of the Church and the movement of the Head is through the Holy Spirit. We see that the Spirit led Philip to the desert; therefore he was under authority.

Not a Question of Number of People

Hence individualism is not a question which is to be judged by the number of people involved. It is judged by whether or not one is under authority, whether or not one seeks the fellowship of the body.

Today some brother may go out with several people each time, but he may still be individualistic. Let us learn to serve God on the ground of the body. We are a total failure if ﬁve

people are still ﬁve persons, or ten still remain ten individuals. That cannot be

fellowship. Fellowship has nothing to do with how many are in the room, how many sit by your side, or how many go out with you.

Even though the Scriptures do advocate the principle of two by two so that there may be someone to fellowship with when crises arise, nevertheless, we need to understand that it is not because there are many that there is fellowship, or that if there are few, there is no fellowship.

The basic need today is for God's children to know these two

principal lessons: they must recognize and submit to authority, and they must treasure the fellowship of the saints. We seek fellowship 206

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with the brethren in life so that we may receive strength to go on.

And once we learn these two lessons, we shall be delivered from individualism. But without these two lessons, individualism will undoubtedly prevail.

Basic Principle: Two or More

According to the biblical principle, the sending out is usually with two or more people together. Paul in his latter days usually traveled with more than two people. Yet we must grant the occasional

exception. If a person lives under authority and is in fellowship, an occasional exception will not hurt the principle.

It is not suﬃcient, however, merely to have more people. Unless we are one, and though we may go out together, we are still

individuals. We need to see that it is the body which goes out, and then there will be no individualism. Otherwise, one person will be one individualism expressed, ten persons will be ten individualisms.

The more the people, the more individualists we will simply have. It is either personal individualism or multiple individualism. That is not the body of Christ.

We must learn to know what the body of Christ is. It is a union in life and is to be under authority. This authority will be manifested wherever God's children are together. If each learns to stand in his proper place, then there will be no diﬃculty. And in such

circumstance, there is no place for false humility or selfdefense.

Everyone learns to accept the opinion of the other people with whom he is associated, and learns to submit to authority. This is the straight path.

(4) APPOINTMENT OF ELDERS AND APPOINTMENT OF

APOSTLES AS ELDERS

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Question: According to what Paul's First Letter to Timothy says,

elders must be appointed by somebody else, such as by a Paul, a Timothy, or a Titus. Did James appoint Peter and John to be elders at Jerusalem? Or in time of need, did they appoint themselves?

Answer: I believe elders need to be appointed. When the workers are at the various localities, they can appoint elders. However, we ought to pay special attention to the words of Paul spoken to the elders from Ephesus. This is diﬀerent from the church where the Work center is, though the principle remains the same. "The Holy Spirit hath made you overseers, to feed the church of the Lord" (Acts

20.28 mg.). So that whenever the workers appoint elders, they must seek earnestly with prayer until they have the assurance that those whom they appointed are the very same ones established by the Holy Spirit. If not, a serious problem will develop. If the Holy Spirit has set apart one person, but you appoint a diﬀerent person, the diﬃculty you give to the church will be enormous!

Let no one appoint elders carelessly. Paul dared to say that "the Holy Spirit has made you elders." He did not say, "I have made you elders." Let us do this with fear and trembling. Realizing what a tremendous responsibility it is, we cannot use our mind and judge people by ourselves. We must consider carefully before God and pray much. We need to ﬁnd out whom the Holy Spirit has made

elders. Otherwise, the appointment is not only useless but sooner or later great diﬃculty will arise.

The position of Peter and John in Jerusalem is fairly clear. They were apostles, and because elders were to be appointed by apostles, so Peter the apostle appointed Peter the elder, and John the apostle appointed John the elder. Since this responsibility had to be in the hands of the Jerusalem apostles, and since there arose a deﬁnite need in the locality, more than likely all among the apostles there felt that these two from among their number—or even more —should also

bear local responsibility. And thus these two apostles became elders 208

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at Jerusalem. Later on, after James the brother of John was martyred, another James (most likely the half-brother of Jesus) came into the circle of local leadership. And this James probably became the leading brother in the church at Jerusalem.

(5) MAJOR FACTOR IN SENDING IS FELLOWSHIP

Question: When Peter and John went to Samaria, the Bible tells us that the apostles who were in Jerusalem sent them out (Acts 8.14).

When Barnabas and Paul went out, the Bible notes that the prophets and teachers in the church at Antioch sent them out (Acts 13.3). Can

you explain this in terms of authority?

Answer: In the sending out of workers, there is obviously fellowship involved. One dare not say there is authority involved, but at least one can say there is fellowship involved.

Concerning Peter and John∗

There were twelve apostles at Jerusalem. When the news from

Samaria came to their attention (Acts 8.14), the apostles realized that

the Samaritan believers had not yet received the Holy Spirit. Philip only accomplished a part of the Work. So those in Jerusalem

ultimately felt that Peter and John should go to Samaria. It could very well have been that the Twelve, or perhaps even others, were waiting together in prayer, and that Peter and John felt they should go—

which feeling the other brothers present conﬁrmed. And then they were sent to Samaria. Can we not see a very beautiful picture here?

Although I dare not say the question of authority was totally absent, I nevertheless feel that authority was not very evident, whereas the

∗For concerning Barnabas and Saul, see sub-head below entitled, "Holy Spirit Spoke through Prophets."— Translator

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principle of fellowship must have loomed very large in the situation.

It was more a matter of fellowship than of authority.

Paul and Silas

The same was true with Paul and Silas (Acts 17.1-12). When they were at Thessalonica, they encountered danger. The brethren there sent them oﬀ to Berea. Most likely when the brethren in

Thessalonica met for prayer—in Jason's house or in other houses there—to seek the Lord's mind about the way ahead, they felt Paul and Silas could not stay on if it would only create more trouble.

Hence they sent the two oﬀ to Berea. Again, the ﬂavor of fellowship, rather than authority, was predominant.

We have mentioned before how Paul often sent Timothy out into

the Work. There must have been fellowship more than authority

when the way was not too clear. Paul would not say that he sent Timothy out by his own authority; most likely he simply

communicated the Lord's heart-desire to Timothy so that the latter might walk better in the will of God. Oftentimes, therefore, it is not preeminently a question of authority but is more than likely a question of fellowship.

In the case of Paul's leaving Thessalonica, perhaps it was the decision of the brethren, perhaps it was Paul's own decision.

Whosever decision this might have been, it was in the context of fellowship. The brethren were all together with the two of them, knowing that Paul and Silas were obviously in danger since the Jews wanted to seize them. What then should be done? The brethren felt it was better for them to go forward to another place. So, they went forward to Berea. They as it were left after consultation with the brethren. True, the record says that the brethren sent them to Berea, but it was only after fellowship in the Lord. And what was the result?

The result was excellent, in that the Bereans were nobler than the Thessalonicans because they were willing to search the Scriptures 210

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daily to see if those things which Paul preached to them were so!

And many of them believed (vv.11-12).

I will not dogmatically say here that there was no authority

involved, yet the principal factor was unquestionably one of

fellowship. Furthermore, it could very well be that there was actually no authority involved in this case. From this instance, we may conclude that on many occasions when Paul sent people out—and

even though he was a senior brother—he nonetheless did it in the context of fellowship. So that in the coordination of

God's Work, the two fundamental principles present will be authority and fellowship.

And when both principles are at work, one can obtain the highest guidance and witness the most perfect coordination.

Holy Spirit Spoke through Prophets

Question: Concerning the sending forth in Acts 13 ("the Holy

Spirit said"), was it a case of fellowship or was it something else?

Answer: At the time of the early apostles, the word of the Holy Spirit probably came forth through the mouth of the prophets. The Holy Spirit would speak through some prophets among them, saying, for example, "Separate out Barnabas and Saul for the Work to which I have called them." And this most likely came not through the mouth of just one person but was conﬁrmed as being of the Holy Spirit through the witness of two or three persons.

(6) HOLY SPIRIT MENTIONS ONLY TWO CENTERS IN ACTS

Question: Within ten years, there seemed to have already been two beginnings in the book of Acts—that is to say, two Work

centers: one in Jerusalem and one in Antioch. Was there any other new start?

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Answer: True, the Bible indicates that in one ten-year period there were only two such beginnings with respect to the Work. Please note, however, that Paul's Letter to the Philippians mentions that "most of the brethren in the Lord . . . are more abundantly bold to speak the word of God without fear" (Phil. 1.14). Although admittedly some of them preached Christ out of envy and strife, they were plainly not in Jerusalem nor in Antioch when they all went forth. They were

obviously another group, another beginning. We may thus deduce from this that at that time there must have been several new starts taking place.

I believe the record given in Acts was written from the same

perspective as was the record in Revelation chapters 2 and 3 of the

seven letters sent to the seven local churches. In the province of Asia there were many local assemblies, but only seven were chosen by the Holy Spirit to receive letters. Colosse, for example, was also in Asia even as Ephesus was, yet the latter church was mentioned but the former was left out. Possibly the spiritual condition of the church at Colosse was better than that of Ephesus, since the latter, we are told, had fallen from its ﬁrst love (Rev. 2.4); and consequently, for the

sake of proper instruction, the Lord selected Ephesus. The particular seven churches were so chosen in order that by means of history an appropriate teaching might be given.

I likewise believe that the history recorded in Acts was for the purpose of teaching too. And hence Luke's narrative

skipped over many things. Yet in so doing it does give us a clear understanding as to Peter's relationship with Jerusalem and Paul's relationship with Antioch. There must have been many other new starts, there must have been many other new Work centers established. History tells us, for example, that some of the apostles went to Africa. According to Church tradition, Thomas even went to India. So that understandably the gospel was spread all over the world. We cannot say that in the period covered by the book of Acts there were only two centers. We can only say that the Holy Spirit saw ﬁt to mention but two of them 212

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to serve His teaching purposes. Similarly, the Holy Spirit caused to be mentioned only Adam, Eve, Abel and Cain. Does this meager

record mean to imply that there were only these four persons in the world at that time? Hardly. Let us see that what is useful for teaching has been recorded in the Scriptures, but that what is not useful for teaching has been omitted.

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