to help the newly saved. There should be good preparation for the

to help the newly saved. There should be good preparation for the

fellow workers. Fellow workers must be delivered from the control

of money. Money consciousness should be totally broken. We expect

that this will lead eventually to the reality of this: "all that believed were together, and had all things common" (Acts 2.44).

5. The need for the local church to pay attention in learning how

to help the newly saved. There should be good preparation for the

giving of clear instruction. Such instruction comes in two areas. In 66

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one area is the preaching of the gospel. The gospel should be

preached throughout the year. The other area is the instruction of new believers. Fifty-two basic lessons should be prepared as a basis for giving continuous instruction to new believers. These should be fixed lessons to be used from the year's beginning to year's end.∗

Those who instruct should be well prepared with adequate tools.

Concerning this matter of consecration, every saved individual

should be a consecrated person. All consecrated brothers and sisters work together with the workers.

The Lord told us that "ye have the poor always with you" (Matt

26.11). It is not right to accumulate things in the house of God. To help the poor is a basic principle in the Bible and is demanded of the believer to do. Whether the one in need is of your household or not, the call of God's word is for you to give away. Your heart will not expand if you do not care for the poor. But when you give, you learn enlargement of heart as well as expansion of horizon. Few there be today who have enlarged hearts and extended horizon. We are taught by the Scriptures not to be bound up by material things. And all

which the Scriptures teach must be kept. We will suffer loss if we

∗These 52 Lessons for new believers the author himself soon afterwards prepared and then presented in a sequence of spoken ministry before those assembled for the First Workers Training Session that was convened for several months during the summer and early fall of 1948 at Mount Kuling, near Foochow, China. Of these 52 Lessons, 48 of them were translated into English, re-arranged and variously grouped together into six volumes, and published under the general title of the Basic Lesson Series (New York: Christian Fellowship Publishers 1972-75). The six individual volume titles in this series are as follows: A Living Sacrifice (1972), The Good Confession (1973), Assembling Together (1973), Not I But Christ (1974), Do All to the Glory of God (1974), and Love One Another (1975). Of the remaining four Lessons, one of them was translated into English and incorporated into the chapter entitled "Sickness" found in Watchman Nee, The Spiritual Man, 3 vols. (New York: Christian Fellowship Publishers, 1968), III:179-95. The other three Lessons, also translated into English, appear as Part Two ("Three Basic Lessons") in Watchman Nee, The Spirit of Judgment (New York: Christian Fellowship Publishers, 1984), 55-94.— Translator

Commencement and Continuance of Recovery

fail to keep any of the Bible's commandments. It is easier to give to the brethren than to the outsiders. Nonetheless, the Bible instructs us to look after the poor— no matter who they be.

Many brothers and sisters are ignorant of the difficult way the

fellow workers spend their days. Some workers have not been able to cook any food for five days. Some are not able to take care of their own families' livelihood or their own children's education.

Brothers and sisters should be helped in the choosing of a

profession. In body coordination, some need to bring in money. But who will go out and earn money for the Lord? Only those who are fully consecrated will do so. Such earning of money is most useful.

When the children of Israel left Egypt they brought out the wealth of that land with them (Ex. 12.35-36). Then when they crossed the Red Sea, wealth, too,

crossed over. Such wealth would have been

unprofitable had it remained in Egypt. Only the people who crossed the Red Sea were able to use the gold and silver to build the

tabernacle. So here we see that first of all, men came out; second, wealth must follow out; and third, the tabernacle would be built.

Formerly I dared not say this, but lately I can say that unless

people first consecrate themselves, God will not ask for their money.

Unfortunately many must see the mistake of the golden calf before

they can see the issue of gold. In worshiping the calf idol, the gold which should have gone towards the construction of the tabernacle

went instead into the making of the golden calf. Hence, worshiping the golden calf was more than a matter of sin, it also involved a loss to the tabernacle. It was wrong for the gold to go towards the making of the golden calf, but it would have been right for this same gold to have gone towards the making of the tabernacle. Thus we see that the same material could go to either of two diametrically opposite

centers: to the idol or to the tabernacle. It is significant that the New Testament places together both covetousness and idolatry, thus

showing that they join hands (Col. 3.5). Accordingly, where the 68

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deliverance from idolatry is, there also is the deliverance from money and wealth. Today all fellow workers must go forth, bearing all

tribulations for the sake of the Lord. But brothers and sisters must also learn to be consecrated people. Saying this does not mean that all should step out to be preachers. It simply means that everyone must be a consecrated person. To be fully consecrated is the need of this day. Not all are preachers, yet all must serve God full time.

Wherever there is a company of people walking in the way of

God, there we shall see the appearing of the men of Acts 2. With consecration God finds His way; otherwise, the word of God will

suffer and be degraded. The people in Acts 2 are like people arriving at an intersection. They see the way ahead and know how to walk in it; and so they have the boldness to tell others of God's way. The more we harbor fear of people's unbelieving, the more we shall beg them to believe. But if we have sufficient spiritual weight, knowing clearly the way to go, we will have courage to speak and people will also dare to believe the full gospel. The reason they dare not believe us today is because we ourselves lack faith. But if we workers are clear, others will follow. Yet should we not be clear, we will tend to lower the word of God. Therefore, today's problem lies wholly with us.

2 The Ruin and Progress of the

Church∗

Let us pause for a moment and ask this question:

Does the Church today serve the Lord on a ground

different from that of the past? Or is the ground of

today's service the same as yesterday's? Here we shall discover two aspects that are absolutely opposite and contradictory to each other.

Many do not realize that the Church on the one hand is in ruin and on the other hand is progressing.

The View of the Church in Ruin

From one viewpoint, the way the Church has walked during these

two thousand years of her history has made her poorer and poorer

spiritually. Indeed, from God's viewpoint the Church is in total ruin.

Just look at the condition of the Church today: many sins and errors remain in her. Yet not just today is this true; from the Bible we learn that even the Church in the early days had fallen into ruin. Paul in his day was already talking about the presence of false shepherds, false prophets and false apostles. Though the situation in Ephesus seemed to be, in positive terms, well advanced, nevertheless, it was also

declining (see Rev. 2.1ff.). In his Letter to the Philippians, Paul wrote this: "they all seek their own, not the things of Jesus Christ"

(2.21). The letters of 1 and 2 Timothy were written not long before Paul's death. There we can also discern the ruinous condition of the

Church. For though in 1 Timothy he mentioned elders and deacons

(3.2,8), by the time of 2 Timothy he could now only commit the testimony to faithful men (2.2)—as though to say that even the elders

and deacons were no longer dependable. Again, in 1 Timothy, Paul

∗Delivered at Church Meeting on Hardoon Road, Shanghai, 19 April 1948.— Translator 70

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had exhorted the elders to be faithful; but by the time he wrote 2

Timothy he could not but acknowledge when speaking of the Church of God that "in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth" (2.20). Yet not only Paul, but

Peter too told us that there would soon be people "denying even the

Master that bought them" (2 Peter 2.1). It can be seen, therefore, that the Church neither fell just in the Middle Ages nor began to be taken into Babylonian captivity only in the fourth century: nay, even during the apostolic age she had already come into ruin. How appropriate, therefore, for Peter to assert that the time had come for "judgment to begin at the house of God" (1 Peter 4.17).

But there is further Scriptural evidence of the Church's ruin

during the apostolic age. The letters of John were written thirty-odd years after those of Paul. From them we learn that even back then

there were people in the Church who did not confess Jesus as the

Christ. They were denying that "Jesus Christ is come in the flesh . . .

and this is the spirit of the antichrist" (1 John 4.2-3, cf. 2.22). Yet not

only this testimony do we have from the apostle John; in his Book of Revelation that was written between 90 and 95 A.D., seven local

churches of his day were mentioned by John as having received for

the most part disturbing messages from the Risen Lord. Apart from

the two churches which received no reprimand, the remaining five

churches were all sharply rebuked by the Lord (Rev. 2 and 3). From

the fall from first love of the Ephesian church to the spitting out from the Lord's mouth of the Laodicean church, all five of them bespoke the undisputable fact of a fallen condition. The threatened removal of the lampstand from Ephesus and the spitting out of Laodicea were

dramatic evidences of major decline and ruin. Though some

recoveries did occur, as is learned from Church history, on the

whole, ruin was the norm. Indeed, the New Testament Letter of Jude mentioned that there are "certain men [who have] crept in privily, . . .

turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying our

only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ" (verse 4).

The Ruin and Progress of the Church

From the historical standpoint such ruinous conditions continued

on. As early as the second century the Catholic Church began to take shape. During the second and third centuries the practices of the local assembly were gradually destroyed. By the early fourth century, at the time of Constantine the Great, the Church had taken upon itself the form of an outward organization.

In the early Church, as soon as people believed in the Lord they

forsook the world. All occupations were for the Church, not for

accumulating money: "all that believed were together, and had all

things common; . . . and they continued steadfastly in the apostles'

teaching and fellowship. . ." (Acts 2.44,42). Although the Book of Acts recorded that three thousand and then five thousand were added to the Church, many more probably dared not believe because they

were afraid of endangering their positions and popularity. Hence,

Pentecost not only draws people in, it also drives people away. Who dares to touch Pentecost? For it demands one's very life.

The conditions of the very early Church are the very opposite of

the conditions of the Church today. How can we live on earth

pretending that the Church in our day is not in ruin? We should not be like Cain. The teaching of Cain is that in the face of man's fall, one should live as though there was no fall (Gen. 4.37). Before Cain

there had been Adam. God had commanded Adam to till the ground

and added that by the sweat of his brow would he eat bread. This was to be a curse upon Adam for his sin (Gen. 3.19). The error of Cain

lay not in his refusal to accept the discipline of cultivating the ground. No, his error lay in his failure to condemn the fall of Adam.

For Cain felt quite satisfied as he went out each day to till the ground by his sweat. Here was a person who sinned without having any

sinful consciousness. Such is the principle of Cain: that clearly one is in sin and yet he says he has never sinned. On the other hand, as a shepherd Abel watched over the flock. God accepted Abel's offering because he acknowledged the existence of sin and knew the power of the blood. Cain was just the opposite. He acted as though nothing

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bad had happened and that therefore there was no need of judgment.

Today as we live on earth, we cannot but have a sense of ruin. We

realize the Church has fallen. How can we be devoid of having any

feeling against the fallen condition of the Church?

The View of the Church in Progress

Such is the view of the Church in ruin. Viewing from a different

perspective, however, one can say that during these two thousand

years of Church history she has always been progressing. Looking at her outward appearance, the Church is indeed in ruin. But inwardly, in the lives of the faithful ones who love the Lord, the recovery of God is growing deeper all the time. Church history is like our

personal history. When is life the richest in our personal spiritual history? Is it not this, that when we are saved we are justified,

sanctified, and regenerated? that Christ dwells in us, and that the Holy Spirit is our power? All these we receive at the time of

salvation. All these riches are in us, though we do not necessarily know that we have them. But when do Christians become poor? The

answer is: when they in later days keep losing all their spiritual riches. Days after our salvation, we fall into darkness and trials, and we gradually let go of

these riches. Yet in the mercy of the Lord, after some days, we regain that which we had lost. This process

repeats itself again and again. In the mercy of the Lord, regaining becomes firmer and stronger than before. And finally, after a certain period, these riches truly become ours. The example of Jacob comes readily to mind. In his lifetime, Jacob fell and rose many times. But before his departure from the world, he could lean on his staff and worship God. All that he had lost had ultimately returned to him. He could return to his God as one saved to the uttermost.

The Ruin and Progress of the Church

From the Age of Church Fathers to Luther's Reformation

Church history, as was said earlier, is not unlike our personal

history. The revelation to be found in the Letter to the Ephesians reaches the peak, though the Church at that time might not have

experienced it so deeply. The Church in view in the Letter to the

Ephesians is in a condition like to a new Christian. In the progress of the Church, such matters as justification by faith, sanctification, oneness of the Church, gospel preaching, the word of the cross, and so forth become clearer as time goes on. What things are recovered are much more transparent. We can see from the letter to the

Corinthian church written by the church father Clement that their

understanding of the gospel is not as clear as ours today. Even the truths discerned by Augustine in his Confessions and by Thomas a Kempis in his Imitation of Christ are not as clearly seen as we today see them. In their various writings there is often sand as well as treasure.

Let us see that the Church today stands in the midst of these two

opposite states or conditions. Looking at her outward appearance, the Church is corrupted more and more. But looking inwardly, her

quality becomes better all the time. Darby in his writings spoke of the Church as the House of Ruin. Yet many do not realize that there is also the side of the Church which is the House of Revival. Few if any can compare with Paul in revelation. He had such clear

understanding of the truth. Unfortunately, he has long since departed the earth. If Paul were still living and you were able to ask him for his opinion about the Church today, he would probably say that on

the one hand the visible Church has fallen deeper and deeper, but that on the other hand the inner quality of the Church has advanced better and better.

Truth once recovered cannot be lost again. Take, for example, the

truth of justification by faith. Some fourteen hundred years before Martin Luther's time, both the Letter to the Romans and the Letter to 74

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the Galatians, which originally dealt with this matter, were already in existence. Yet this truth concerning justification by faith was lost.

Imagine it! That within the past two thousand years of Church

history, for over a thousand years of it this important truth had been lost to the Church! But it was recovered in the midst of a fiery trial through the instrumentality of Luther in the sixteenth century. Will the Church lose it again —say, after another thousand years?

Formerly, people had argued about the truth of justification by faith.

Now, though, after many had been burnt and many had shed their

blood in defense of this truth, it cannot be lost again. What the

Church possesses today is now something unshakable. And all such

truths become firmer with time.

From the Reformation to the Present Time

Since Luther's day God has raised up other individuals and groups

as instruments for the recovery of other significant truths. Madame Guyon, for instance, was especially used in the revival of the inner life. J. N. Darby and the Brethren movement saw the heavenly vision as well as the crucifying of the flesh. Pearsall Smith was instrumental in recovering sanctification by faith. George Muller saw faith and put it into practice as few others have. And Evan Roberts understood

spiritual warfare and prayer ministry in a remarkable way. Most

recently, brother T. Austin-Sparks has been used to recover both the eternal purpose of God and resurrection life. We may therefore say that the Church has never been so clear and so spiritually rich as she is today.

The entire Bible is composed of sixty-six books. Only one of

these has no ending, and that is the Book of Acts. Why is it that this book has a beginning but no ending? Because today we are still

continuing on with the Book of Acts. The gospel has not been

preached to all peoples, and the Lord has yet to come. Even now we continue to write this book. How glorious it is for us to read in

The Ruin and Progress of the Church

Ephesians 2 and 4 about the holy habitation of God and the many gifts with which the saints are to be perfected so that all in the body of Christ might someday arrive at the unity of the faith, and unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, the Church having built herself up in love! Furthermore, we are told in Ephesians 5 that the Church shall one day be spotless and without wrinkle, holy and without blemish. Today, though, we have not yet arrived at this

enviable state. We are thus continuing in the recovery of Christ's Church and the writing of the Book of Acts.

When I was in England some ten years ago, brother Sparks asked

me which chapter in the Bible I thought was most difficult to be

fulfilled. I said the most difficult aspect to be fulfilled would be the perfecting of the saints as described in Ephesians 4. I explained to

him that I was quite worried after reading this chapter of Ephesians. I had confidence in other chapters, but regarding this chapter I

wondered how it could possibly be realized. For there seems to have been no way for such a fulfillment even after all these two thousand years of Church history. According to her present condition, this will probably not be fulfilled in the Church till after another two hundred years. In men's eyes it seems that the Lord will never be able to

return. Nevertheless, though indeed the visible Church is in a ruinous state, today's issue rests on whether there is a group of people who will stand on God's side and accept His riches, on whether such

people are willing to pay any cost to obtain these riches.

On what ground are we standing today? We stand in the midst of

these two opposite conditions of the Church. As to the outside, or external condition, we must learn to condemn such a ruinous state.

We need to come out of its fallenness. For this reason, we have to be clear on the ground of the Church. It cannot be an equivocal yea and nay. In the house of God we should separate the vessels of honor

from those of dishonor. Vessels of honor are not born honorable; they become so through purification. The Bible explains it as

follows: "If a man therefore purge himself from these [vessels of

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dishonor], he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, meet for the master's use, prepared unto every good work" (2 Tim. 2.21). Honor

comes from separation. All who do not purge themselves from

dishonor remain in dishonor. Who are the vessels of dishonor? All

who mix together with vessels of dishonor without any sense of

shame. These are of dishonor.

Meanwhile, as to the internal state of the Church, we must also

learn to enter into the life of the body, learn to be sons of God, and learn to walk in the way of recovery. What the Lord does today far surpasses that which He has done before. Today's Christians ought to strive to enter into the progressive work of God which He is doing in this age. Only seeing the outward ruinous condition of the Church is inadequate. We must go a step further to see the Lord's present-day work. We have no idea at what point the Lord will stop working. We only know God is currently preparing the temple stones to be fitly framed together. One day all things shall be ready. And that will be the time when the Holy Temple of God is finally built.

Types of the Recovery of the Church

In the Old Testament there are two types concerning the Church.

One is the tabernacle, the other is the temple. Many have been the people who have spoken on the tabernacle. Over one hundred books

have been written on it. But one can hardly purchase a single volume written on the temple. People pay much attention to the type of the tabernacle, but they neglect what the temple typifies. They consider the tabernacle and the temple to be alike, they being redundant types of each other. The fact of the matter is that these two types are not altogether the same. The tabernacle is temporary and external,

whereas the temple is permanent and bespeaks the internal. The

tabernacle was built in and for the wilderness, but the temple was built by Solomon in the promised land.

The Ruin and Progress of the Church

The tabernacle in the wilderness serves as a type of the condition of the Church on earth, while the temple represents before God the permanent condition of the Church in the kingdom. Seeing such light will enable us to understand clearly today's situation. In the Book of Exodus we read that God had first had the tabernacle set up. It then traveled with the children of Israel till it rested in Shiloh (Joshua

18.1). At that time, though, the children of Israel sinned against God:

"In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which

was right in his own eyes" (Judges 21.25). In due course the

Philistines became their enemy. Samuel, Saul and David were raised up one after another. But the two sons of old Eli the priest sinned, and the Israelites were defeated by the Philistines. So the children of Israel thought of bringing the ark to the battlefield. The ark was the ark of the testimony, and it was also the ark of peace. They therefore presumed that the ark could help them. But after the ark had left the tabernacle it was taken captive by the Philistines and placed in the house of their god Dagon. God would not protect Israel because of

the ark, nor did He want Israel to protect the ark.

After the ark left the tabernacle, it never returned. It waited to be removed to the holy temple after Solomon had finished building it.

Jeremiah 7.12 says, "But go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh, where I caused my name to dwell at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel." Evidently even in Jeremiah's time, people still went to Shiloh. With the departure of the ark from the tabernacle, God too departed from the tabernacle. So that the ark, as it were, had its back towards the tabernacle and its face towards the holy temple. Just such a situation characterizes the condition of the Church today.

At the time of Solomon, the latter went to Gibeon to sacrifice.

There on the altar Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings (1

Kings 3.4). He prayed for wisdom, and the wisdom he received far exceeded that of anybody else. 2 Chronicles 1 tells us that in Gibeon were to be found the brazen altar and the priests. But in the tent of 78

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meeting there was no ark (vv.3-5). For the ark had already turned its back towards the tabernacle and had turned its face towards the

temple (it was even then in Jerusalem in David's tent). This is the testimony of Jesus Christ, and it is also our way. Our way is in

following the ark—yet not towards Gibeon but towards the temple.

Today God is preparing gold, silver, wood, stone, brass and iron

for His temple. The building materials for Solomon's temple had all been readymade, they not having been fashioned at the temple site.

Thus they were noiselessly fitted together to form the temple, and then King Solomon appeared. One day the time shall arrive for our

own King Solomon, the Lord Jesus, to appear. On that day no sound

of working tools shall be heard because all the materials will have

been well prepared beforehand (see 1 Kings 6.7). When our Solomon arrives, that will be the sign that the holy temple has been finished.

Today there are sounds, but on that day all shall be perfectly fitted together to be the Holy Temple of God.

The Church in ruin is a fact, yet the testimony of the temple has

continued on throughout these two thousand years. Truths are being recovered one after another. As a matter of fact the number of truths which have been recovered is quite high. Although all manner of

sounds are being heard today, one by one the materials are being

gathered. Viewing the matter from the perspective of the building of the temple,

the Church of God is unquestionably making progress.

All the materials are now being prepared. What is needed is for them to be put together. The work of God today is for the purpose of

completing the body of Christ so that all the saints may arrive at the unity of the faith and full maturity in Christ (Eph.4.12-13). God has

been doing this work throughout the ages. But today's work is more advanced than yesterday's. The Lord Jesus once said, "My Father

worketh even until now, and I work" (John 5.17). The Lord's work is

getting better all the time, and the result of His work is that the Church is becoming increasingly richer spiritually. If we proceed on

The Ruin and Progress of the Church

this way of recovery, we shall not fail to see the working of God in our midst.

P A R T T H R E E

THE RECOVERY OF BODY LIFE

1 The Recovery of Body Life∗

We surely know by now that the Church is a body.

And if that be true, then our work can no longer be

independent but must be related to the body of Christ.

People may be very good Christians individually, but as

they gather together, their "self" will be exposed. Only

those who know body life know how to deal with their own selves,

thus enabling them to be rightly coordinated with other people.

Someone may appear to have reached the summit of spirituality in an individual way. This, however, cannot be taken as true spirituality.

As he walks together with other people, his genuine progress and

true dealing with self is revealed. For where self reigns, one can see only himself and nobody else. But if self has been dealt with, then he sees others instead of seeing himself.

Let us always remember that our individual life is but a portion of the whole body of Christ. We must live in the body. In it there is strict discipline. The cross is the way of the body. He who does not know the cross knows not the body of Christ. When relatives live far apart, they can afford to be kind to each other. But in close

proximity, they soon can become enemies. When a person lives

alone in a house, there are peace and joy. But when two brothers

dwell together, they will need to learn the cross. The more people dwell together and the closer they live together, the more necessary will be the cross. Sometimes it may almost seem as though crosses

hang all over the person. What man reckons as spiritual progress

cannot be counted as such till it is tested in body life. Only that which passes the test of the whole body of Christ is true. No matter how great is the work, how rich the gift, even how beautiful the life,

∗This message, together with the four shorter words that are appended at the end, were all delivered at Hardoon Road, Shanghai, 12 April 1948.— Translator 84

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all these are unacceptable at their face value unless they have been placed in the context of the life of the body. As you place yourself among the fellow workers or among the brethren, you begin to

realize how sketchy is the cross you know and how little is your

deliverance from self.

The first thing to know is the body of Christ. Once people see this, they will spontaneously see the need for coordination. The Lord

places His authority in the body. Where is the authority? Where the ministry is, there is the authority. For ministry is authority. We all need to accept our personal limitation. We all must realize that we each have but one ministry before God; hence, we need to work

together with other ministries for the full supply of the body. Let us seek for coordination. One member alone is unable to cope with all needs. It requires the coordination of the other members. With

coordination, we shall receive the supply of the body in all things.

Thus we need to experience the coordination of the members as well as to accept the limitation imposed upon each of us by the life of the body.

Authority represents the Head. In our physical body the eye sees

things; yet it is not the eye but the head that sees. Hands and feet are moving; yet it is not they but the head that moves. All the

movements of the human body depend on the head. What, then, is

ministry in the body of Christ? Ministry is the activity of the Head, who is Christ. When there is controversy with the ministry, there is actually controversy with the Head. It is not that we are at odds with a certain member, we are really at odds with the Head who controls the ministry. In the Bible the preponderance of authority that is

mentioned is exercised by delegated authorities. When we say we

need to submit to authority, therefore, we mean we need to submit to delegated authority. And hence, to obey that authority is to obey the Head. For this reason, God's children must learn to obey.

The Recovery of Body Life

A ministry has two sides to its manifestation: first, through gift; and second, through authority. Gift is the power of ministry as well as the manifestation of authority (see 1 Cor. 12.4-11). We cannot

accept gift without at the same time accepting authority. For

example, in our physical body the eye has the ability of seeing. It must be accepted by the other members of the body. Whatever

member would reject the seeing eye would deprive itself of the

supply of its ability. The same holds true for the body of Christ. If you are a member of Christ's body, you need to accept the gifts of the other members; moreover, you do not need to duplicate these

gifts. Today you are not supposed to duplicate the many ministries of other people; all you need to do is to accept their ministries.

Never forget that you are but one member, you are not the entire

body of Christ. No one is an all-round person. If a person is all-

round, then for all practical purposes he ceases to be a member. For example, auto parts are but parts of the automobile, they are not the entire car. Just so, we as individual members do not constitute the entire body of Christ.

Being members, we individually can enjoy the riches of the whole

body. My physical finger, for instance, will never complain of not hearing. My ear will never murmur about not walking. It will not say,

"How pitiful that I cannot walk as do the feet!" Just so, there are many diverse gifts in the body of Christ, and all these gifts are for the perfecting of the saints. Because of this, there is never any division in the body, nor is there any different goal, aim or cause. Though the hand cannot speak, it is well if the mouth speaks; for as the mouth speaks, it is as if the hand does so too. The life we each have in

Christ is a shared life, not a complete life. Only as we experience the riches of the other members is the body of Christ truly established.

And if this be true, can any member of the body be poor or useless?

Many consider what is theirs is theirs and what is others is not

theirs. This kind of individualistic thinking is the worst thing possible 86

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in the body of Christ. Individualism must be exterminated from it.

The greatest test of the self life lies in the church meeting, among the brothers and sisters. On the one hand, we do indeed see ourselves as individual members. On the other hand, if we have seen the body life we shall avoid individualism and join with many other members to

be the body of Christ. It is much easier to deal with strangers since as soon as they come in they know they have come to the wrong

address. But it is most difficult to deal with individualism. For the latter often enters the church unawares. In joining with other

members, the self life receives its deepest dealing. Rightly living a coordinated life is the evidence of self being dealt with.

Living in the Reality of Body Life

We need to see body life first before we can discuss the issue of

whether the church in Antioch may become centralized. First, body

life, then the church in Antioch. If there is the reality of the Holy Spirit, there will not be the necessity of centralization. But in the absence of the reality of the Holy Spirit, the passing of proposals, work plans and decisions will not only bring in centralization but even what is akin to the Roman Catholic Church.

The Roman Catholic Church announces that there is but one

Church and that their priests and bishops alone can interpret the

Scriptures. Moreover, in its view the Roman Church is the only one.

Indeed, the Church is one, but the explanation of the Roman Catholics is wrong. How did it fall into such error? We must

acknowledge that their emphasis on the unity of the Church is a

correct one, but unfortunately in the Roman Catholic Church man's

thoughts, maneuvers, organizations, and so forth have prevailed so as to lead it astray. In reaction to the errors of the Roman Church,

Martin Luther brought in two things for us. One was justification by faith and the other was an open Bible. True, in the recovery of the Lord, everyone could now read the Bible; yet this does not mean that

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in the body all believers may teach the Bible. Unfortunately, some who are not given that gift insist on teaching, thus leading to errors.

Somebody may piece together two or three verses in the Bible and

invent a doctrine. Yet not only the teaching may be wrong; such error may keep people from God's grace. For when the pseudo-teacher is

told of his wrong teaching, he may continue to propagate it instead of acknowledging his error. Such persons are unteachable.

In the Church God sets up teachers (Eph 4.11). The teachers are

the ones who interpret God's word. Even in the meeting mentioned

in 1 Corinthians 14, the prophets occupy a central place. Not

everyone can interpret the word of God (vv.26-32). In the meeting, when those who are able to expound the Scriptures rise up to speak, the rest are to discern. This therefore means that the few who

expound do not decide on the truth alone. No, a few speak, but all discern. Even if all should fail to discern, what the prophets say is still to be judged by the Spirit of the Lord.

Now Antioch was not a center, it was not the product of human

organization. It was born of the Holy Spirit. When a local church is severed from the Spirit it no longer has any spiritual reality.

Furthermore, it has the danger of becoming a centralized church.

Such a centralized church development can also happen in our own

midst. The fundamental issue is how we live. Are we living in

spiritual reality? That is the basic question. Will a local church become a centralized one? The answer lies in whether or not that

church is spiritual.

As a historical fact Antioch could never become a central

headquarters because it never controlled other churches. A local

church should not control other churches; the work, though, in contradistinction to a local church, has a larger jurisdiction than just being local. The church in Antioch controlled no other church, but the apostles coming out of Antioch had spiritual authority over many churches. When there is a serious problem in a local church that

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involves the work, it is brought to the workers for resolution. It is stated in the First Letter to Timothy: "Against an elder receive not an accusation, except at the mouth of two or three witnesses" (5.19).

Accusation cannot be made on the basis of rumor. It cannot be

judged by hearsay. There must be witnesses, and their accusation had to be

delivered to Timothy. Timothy was a worker. He was able to

deal with the problem of local eldership because he labored in their midst. Antioch was a local church; Jerusalem was also a local

church. So far as the local church is concerned, its development into a central church should never happen. But so far as the work is

concerned, that is a different story.

The body of Christ is one. What is manifested in many localities is the same life. And this life is the reality of this body. Work comes forth out of this same reality. This is the Lord's standard. In the light of this standard, our work in our midst exhibits weakness. Individual work can never be compared with body work. We shall come up

against a wall if we fail to see this. All works which do not proceed from body life will sooner or later reach an impasse. The Lord has led us to walk in this way of the body. We will not survive if we do not so walk. The Lord has pressed us to ask for help, to be delivered from independent work. Accordingly, the starting point of any work is the oneness of the body of Christ.

This that we have been speaking of can be likened to the electric

plant that is one, yet the light which issues forth from it shines in various localities. Though the localities of shining are different, they are all supplied by the one plant. Today, works conducted in various places should exist in relation to the fellowship of the body. We

should not set up our own fortresses and defenses in these places.

Rather, at different places there should be the flow of the one body life. It is wrong to reduce the churches to local competing kingdoms.

In the New Testament there are two groups of workers brought

into view. They are the Jerusalem group and the Antioch group (Gal.

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2.8-12). Besides these, there are also other workers mentioned—such as those others cited in the Philippian letter who preach Christ (1.15-

17). It seems, however, that God devotes little space to them in His word; on the other hand, He emphasizes both the Jerusalem group

and the Antioch group. Consequently, what the Bible emphasizes let us also emphasize; and what it slights let us also slight. The two lines of work on which we must be clear are therefore the Pauline line and the Petrine line.

The appearing of centralization is due to a lack of life. When life is lacking, organization is bound to come in. In the body of Christ, organization is a most heavy burden. In the physical realm, when the body is healthy, you do not feel the weight of your body. But when the body is sick, you feel the burden of body weight. The worse the health, the heavier the sense of its body weight. Indeed, in death the body becomes so heavy that it requires other people to bear it up. So when there is life, it is the body. Without life, it becomes a corpse.

Now the same principle applies to the body of Christ. When life is missing, centralization comes in. For the absence of life requires organization to arrange and maintain everything. As long as there is life in the body of Christ, and no matter how large it grows, it will not create any problem. But once the body is devoid of life and

becomes a corpse, it is transformed into a heavy burden.

Today we must not reduce the truth of the local church to a

method. Were it to become a method, death would set in; and that

death is the deadliest. The question is not whether there is to be a centralized church or a local church. The issue before us is whether or not the church shall rest in truth and in life. I fear method just as I fear a centralized church. The local church should never become a

method. Once it becomes that, it becomes very, very heavy. This is today's fundamental challenge.

Appended (a)

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Concerning "Hand Over" ∗

I would like to say something more about the so-called "hand

over" term. Let us never ever put this "hand over" into our teaching.

For it is not a teaching; it is merely a remedial measure. Because the matter to which the term has reference was not handled well at the beginning, there is therefore a need to remedy it. Let us be clear that as soon as a person is saved, he should be fully consecrated (Rom

6.6,12-14). He should not wait to have his lack of consecration remedied at a later date. Unfortunately many Christians among us

have not done well in this area up to this point; moreover, the Church has failed to present this matter of consecration to them at the outset.

Indeed, we may say that today's Church has favored believers by

letting them continue on without confronting them on this vital point.

We will not ask newcomers to "hand over" themselves. Rather, newcomers must be shown their need to consecrate themselves.

Hence this matter of "handing over" is to remedy the consecration

that had not been done well at the beginning. Heretofore the standard of salvation had not been high enough, resulting in the fact that what should have been done at the time of salvation was not addressed or not addressed well enough. Logically speaking, once a person is

saved, he ought to be fully consecrated and live wholly for the Lord in spreading the gospel. Accordingly, as soon as people come in,

they should henceforth be asked to respond to all which the Lord

demands of any disciple of His. By so doing, no one would be saved and still hold fast to the world, waiting for some future day to be consecrated.

∗"Hand Over"—A term that was adopted as a way of dealing with the special circumstances confronting both the churches and God's workers at that time. What is presented here is no more than the original concept of consecration found in the Bible.— Translator

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In the four Gospel accounts, we find that when the multitude

thronged the Lord, the latter made His stringent demand. He

explained how one must take up his own cross and follow Him

(Matt. 10.38, 16.24). Our Lord had not lowered His demand; instead, He placed His requirement very high. He called people to come and

He told them how. Each follower must forsake the world and get rid of individualism. In fact, these matters should be clearly settled at the time of salvation.

To "hand over" oneself is now an emergency measure. We today

use this term "hand over" only temporarily. Then one day when

everyone has consecrated himself, this term shall be eliminated. But because of our initial laxity in this area, the situation must now be remedied.

Yet I am fearful that after some days this expression of "hand

over" will become a fixed terminology. It is even possible for the application of "hand over" to assume a strange way. Bible teachers, for example, will question what the Scriptural basis for "hand over"

might be. There is, of course, no such term as "handing over" in the Bible. Let it be known that we today only talk about "handing over"

because Christians in the past have not begun well. If all had started out right, there would be no need for the matter of "hand over" today.

How great is the difference between being well saved and poorly

saved. It can be likened to the birth of children: one might weigh only 12 ounces while another might weigh 12 pounds. Ministers of

the Church have the responsibility of giving new believers a good

start. A good or bad start will result in a great difference as to their future walk. Among those raised up by the Lord in the past centuries, many of them had a good beginning. Because they commenced well,

they could proceed well. If the beginning for a saint is clear, the walk shall be straight, regardless the degree of understanding or seeing.

But if the beginning be confused, the future is questionable.

Therefore, immediately after a person is saved he must be challenged 92

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to make a clean break with sins and with the world. The issue of

money must also be resolved, and the matter of consecration,

including that of individualism, must be settled. Thereafter, what lies ahead for him shall be in God's hand, even as Paul, after bringing people to salvation, committed them to the grace of God (Act 13.43,

20.32). The future days depend on the grace of God, but at the

beginning of a believer's walk, these problems must be clearly

addressed. For with a bad start, it will be difficult to remedy the situation later on.∗

Appended (b)

The Minister of the Gospel

There are at least six approaches to the preaching of the gospel.

The preaching may lay stress on love, righteousness, judgment, sin, the world, or vanity. Yet whatever approach one may use, each needs the working of the Holy Spirit. The result of the Holy Spirit's

working is one; which is, that it causes people to capitulate. The true gospel will always convict and convert. Whoever thinks that he does God a favor by believing is being totally foolish. If one really sees the gospel, and regardless whether he meets with love, righteousness, judgment or whatever, he is always "softened up" by the Holy Spirit.

Whenever we preach the gospel we must set before the people the

straight path. The issues surrounding the world as well as service must all be resolved. Let us see that the center of the gospel is God, not we ourselves. It is not what we get, but what God gets. As a

person receives salvation, he must recognize that henceforth all

belongs to God. As soon as a person is saved, we should tell him that hereafter he is no longer an independent individual but that he now

∗For further helpful amplification of the term "hand over," see a few pages hence at Appended (c).— Translator

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belongs to the body of Christ as one of its members. Therefore, he must learn to listen and obey.

If the Church fails to walk in this way, it will forever remain

below standard. According to truth, the Church is always obedient.

But sometimes we ourselves need to return and learn obedience. If

we who are God's workmen walk aright we shall work all these

matters through with the newly saved. The saved must have a good

beginning.

The gospel is not only to be preached but also to be lived by us

who preach. It must be seen as well as heard. Preaching is not as

powerful as martyrdom. The latter gains more people than the

former.

The true story is told of a sister in the Lord who was only about 19

or 20 years old. For the sake of the Lord she was exiled to Siberia to be punished. On the way in the train she comforted her family by

telling them, "Do not weep for me, weep for those without God.

What I have far exceeds what they have. For in loving my Lord, I

gladly suffer for Him. My suffering can never be compared to what

my Lord had suffered." At that time there was a thirteen-year-old lad sitting nearby. He was greatly moved upon hearing these words of

hers. And as a result he believed in the Lord and later on he became one of those who was greatly used of God in the southern part of the Russian Empire.

Strictly speaking, we workers need to be the kind of men

portrayed in Acts 2 before we can preach the word of Acts 2 which

they preached. What we must do today is more than preach God's

word; we ourselves must have an impact upon the people. And were

the gospel to be propagated in such fashion, a fleshly person would dare not come to the church. People with such a life as those in Acts

2 will have an impact upon the assembly and will pass on their zeal and joy. Life

is a matter of consciousness, of sensation. You may

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shake hands with someone and fail to touch any spirit in him. You

are unable to touch the real person. But if that person carries with him the things of God, he will cause others to touch those very

things. A person with God's life enables others to touch life.

All God's appointed ministries have the Lord's word. A person

with ministry usually carries within him some weighty words. These words constitute his burden. Even though sometimes the burden

seems light, yet the more it is discharged the more it is increased. It can be likened to a woolen ball whose string you draw out. The more you draw it out, the more woolen thread you will have. All

worthwhile ministries are ministries with burden.

Some while speaking speak from their mind. Their mind is

actively turning all the time. So that what is spoken are mere words, empty words. As people listen, only the sound enters them, but not the spirit. All true ministries must have burden in the words uttered.

A man with true ministry goes forth with a heavy burden inside him, but when he returns home his inside is light, for the burden has been discharged. If a person has no burden, his speaking or preaching is of no use, no matter how actively he uses his brain or how eloquently he speaks with his mouth. A ministry has its ministerial burden. The painful thing is that sometimes when one comes with a burden he

may not find an audience that will receive the words. This results in carrying back the burden he had originally come with.

Appended (c)

Know the Supply of the Body

I am convinced that in our present situation we need a drastic

deliverance. Men are naturally rebellious and individualistic. They are unwilling to hand themselves over. But today for the Lord's sake we are willing to lay down ourselves. This is the meaning of the term

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"hand over," a term we have adopted in dealing with our present

circumstances. (We hope people would not view it as traditional

terminology.) Some may find themselves unable to hand themselves

over to the Lord. But if they try, we believe that as soon as the

sacrifice is on the altar, the altar will sanctify the sacrifice. It is similar to the situation in which some say they cannot believe

because they have too many problems; yet as soon as they believe,

all their problems are resolved; they now exercise their faith in Jesus in spite of their doubt and problems. The same shall be true in this matter of handing over: if only a person is willing, God will do the work. Now if anyone has a problem in handing himself over to the

Lord, let him ask a few in the local church to help him. And as he makes a positive move, God too will move.

Let us be clear that the "handing over" we are talking about today is not only an individual "handing over," it is a "handing over"

through corporate fellowship. It is not as though man attempts to lay himself on the altar and God attempts to accept him. Not so. The fact of the matter is that whether this is a trying or a real handing over, God will always accept. By

handing over oneself, one commits

himself to the body of Christ. But in turn the body serves as a great protection. In time we shall see what loss we suffer if we do not live in the reality of the body, for the supply of ministry is there. Being separated from the body separates a person from the supply of

ministry.

The Book of Acts tells us that when Paul was in Athens "his spirit was provoked within him" (17.16). But when Silas and Timothy arrived in Corinth, he immediately received encouragement (18.5).

This that Paul experienced can be likened to the way you sense

supply when a certain brother passes by or when a new brother

comes to the meeting. Sometimes just having certain brethren sitting there, even without the need of their speaking to you, you receive spiritual supply in ministering the word of God.

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Because we are a body—even the body of Christ, therefore we

naturally affect one another. We cannot comprehend how this mutual influence works, but we sense a special intimacy with the Lord or

experience some unusual sensation. This is because in the body of

Christ there is a supply. Indeed, the life of the body is that supply.

Let not any brother or sister be a waster of this body supply. Instead, let all of us learn well to recognize the body and our relationship to it. For if there be any failure or wastefulness on our part, such will be largely due to our being individual Christians rather than coordinated members of Christ's body.

In 1900 at the time of the Chinese Boxer Uprising, many

Christians, as noted earlier, were martyred.∗ Now it so happened that during the initial stages of the Uprising, the Churches throughout the world had begun sensing that something dramatic and most alarming

was about to happen. Many were pressed in their spirit for a number of days and felt the need to pray. One such believer was Miss

Margaret Barber who was in England at the time. She has since

testified how deeply distressed she had been in her spirit and how she had felt the urge to pray. Such a sensing for the need to pray by so many around the world had not come from the knowledge of seeing

and hearing; its origin had arisen instead from the reality of the body of Christ. Very soon thereafter came the brunt of the Boxer Uprising in China and the subsequent martyrdom of literally tens of thousands of God's people there. Who would dare to say that the faithful

martyrs of that day did not receive a supply as a result of such a worldwide prayer ministry in the body of Christ?

When any part of the body is sick, all other parts of the body rise up together to deal with the sickness and to help this sick member.

∗For a brief informative historical sketch on the Boxer Uprising, please see earlier, Part Two, Chapter 1 ("Commencement and Continuance of Recovery"), in that chapter's subsection entitled "Recovery of Kingdom Reality (Welsh Revival)."— Translator

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Just so, in the body of Christ there is a supply that is available to any needy members. The life of the body of Christ is not an empty set of words. It is a reality. Many consider the Church to be nothing but a mystical, abstract entity; they do not realize that this entity we call the body of Christ is a reality. 1 Corinthians 11.29 mentions this very matter of discerning "the body." Here, this phrase has two meanings: (1) the body of the Lord; and (2) the body of Christ the Church. Here it simply mentions the body, without specifying the Lord's

body or the body of Christ. And hence, it points on the one hand to the Lord's own body and on the other hand to the body of Christ which is the

Church. This body has the Lord's own riches and it also has the

riches of Christ. Every Christian, being in the body of Christ,

receives the supply of the Lord's grace as well as the supply of the

Holy Spirit (see Phil. 1.19). Nevertheless, the great lack among Christians today is in not knowing the supply of the body of Christ.

May the Lord show us the reality of this body that we may know its supply.

Appended (d)

Concerning the Rule of Offering

The Bible mentions several different areas of offering. We would

focus on but two of these areas. First, there is the offering of wealth.

The Scriptures do not specify how much wealth one ought to offer.

There is no fixed principle. Some offer more, some offer less; and some offer their all. Jesus said to the rich young ruler, "Sell [all] . . .

which thou hast, . . . and come, follow me" (Matt. 19.21). John the

Baptist declared: "He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that

hath none" (Luke 3.11). The Gospels tell us to take care of the poor.

The Epistles advise the local church to care for the widows in their midst as well as to look after their own households. This we see in 1

Timothy 5.16,8. And 2 Corinthians 8.15 admonishes us as follows: 98

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"He that gathered much had nothing over; and he that gathered little had no

lack."

Today's problem does not lie in how much to offer, but in how

tight a grip money has on a person. In God's work it is impossible for anyone to retain money on the one hand and to say on the other hand that he loves the Lord in his heart (see Matt. 6.24). For the Lord

declares: "where thy treasure is, there will thy heart be also" (v.21).

In order not to allow money to control us, we must send it out. As money goes out, the heart also goes out. If a person loves the Lord, he is willing to be poor voluntarily. Voluntary poverty is the way for the release of the heart. Sometimes God asks us to sell everything.

Sometimes He calls us to give what is left over. In any case, the heart must be set free. It is recorded in the Book of Acts that the apostle reprimanded Ananias for lying to the Holy Spirit about the fact that he had held back part of the price of his sold land though pretending he had given it all to the Lord (Acts 5.4-5). Today we should not

have anything left over. To have something left over is a shameful thing in the church. All the excesses should be distributed. Yes, we of course need to live. We must look after our own personal

necessities and those of our families. But if we are able to set aside just a fraction of our income by lowering our living standard a little, we will have something left over to give away.

In our discussion about "handing over" we were not aiming at the

management of money; rather, we had in mind the need of offering

to the Lord and for the gospel's sake. The Lord wants brothers and sisters who hold a profession to have ministries through their

professions. These years we are in lack of new workers, both men

and women, to come forth. Formerly at our peak we had almost four

hundred fellow workers. Now we have but two hundred, which

means that two hundred are missing. In order to replenish these

vacancies in the work we need a group of people to go out and earn money. In the past I dared not mention this; but today I dare to say that some people should go out and earn money and bring that

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money in to the church for the service of God. In other words, some brethren should offer themselves to earn money for the Lord and for the sake of the gospel. Perhaps one might earn even as much as a

million dollars. He would take from that only what would be needed for his own living and give the rest to the church.

Naturally God does not want us to go to an extreme on this issue.

He wants us to be balanced. He asks for "us" first and then for "ours"

(see 2 Cor. 12.14). We ourselves must first come, and then what is ours will follow. If "we" do not come, God will not want to have

"ours." Brothers and sisters must see that all is the Lord's; everything centers upon Him. Though some may fulfill their ministries by

earning money and some others may do so by the ministering of

God's word, the center must ever be the same: it is the Lord.

Let us note that apart from the offering of wealth, the Bible also mentions a second area of offering; that is, the offering of our

occupation or profession. Yet the Scriptures show us a that not all professions can be taken up by a Christian. Money surely needs to be earned, but how it is to be earned is equally important to consider.

There are ways of earning money which are disapproved of by God.

We can only take the professions approved by Him. We should not

be occupied with jobs of which He disapproves. Today leading

brothers in many places do not have the right concept concerning

occupations and professions. They have brought this wrong concept

into the Church and the Church is therefore adversely influenced.

May the Lord have mercy on us.

A Prayer

O Lord of work, we ask You for men for the Church's sake. Today the Church lies in ruin. There is a lack of personnel. May You give men to the Church. May You give all kinds of gifts to the Church. O

Lord, have mercy on us. Grant us men and women who are

consecrated, handed over to You, and submitted to Your mighty

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hand, so that we may serve You with all the saints. We especially ask You to be merciful to us during this time of ruin. Raise up young people, raise up fellow workers. Cause the Church to maintain Your testimony on the earth. May more people place themselves in Your hand that their professions, positions and dwellings be worthy of the gospel. May young people rise up to offer themselves to You for Your work. May brothers and sisters be partakers of the gospel. We

believe You can do the work of recovery. May You do a more

complete work by raising up more people who will serve You full time and will go out with the gospel. We ask You to raise up a multitude. We do not ask for money and time, but we first ask for their entire beings. Let people consecrate immediately and

absolutely. May You take away the ruin and give us people. O Lord, be gracious

to us. We ask You for men. The Lord alone is worthy to possess us. You alone can cause us to serve You unconditionally and single-heartedly. We are willing to pour upon the ground the

precious water of Bethlehem [see 2 Sam. 23.15-17] . May there be no one who draws back, no one who hides away, and no one who stands by. May the Lord be merciful to us. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

2 Absoluteness of Truth and the

Relationship between the Body

and Its Members∗

The Absoluteness of Truth

In doing God's work there is one basic lesson among many that

we must learn, which is, to be absolute to the truth. No truth in the Bible is according to man. Today people are not absolute towards

truth because they subjectively relate it to themselves. If truth is associated with man, then he cannot speak truth which he has not

personally experienced. Yet truth itself is absolute. It is not subject to man's experience. On one occasion David had declared that all men

are liars. When he said this he had not thought to except himself. To the contrary, before God he reckoned himself to be included in the truth that all men without exception "speak falsehood every one with

his neighbor" (Ps. 12.2). God's servants should not look within themselves, for God's truth is pure and it transcends them and us. For this reason, we need to set ourselves aside.

How often we bend the word of God to suit our situation.

Frequently we force God's truth to follow us. We connect truth to

ourselves, therefore we insert ourselves into truth.

Last year two brothers came to me and asked whether what the

responsible brothers had done in a certain matter was right. My

answer to them was that because they were not the responsible

brothers they considered it wrong, but that if they themselves had been the responsible brothers they would have reckoned it right. This underscores the fact of how men may affect the truth.

∗Delivered at Hardoon Road, Shanghai, 17 April 1948.— Translator 102

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Let us see that what we are has nothing to do with God's truth. If a truth falls under the influence of man, it no longer is truth. Unless truth is absolute in your life, you will neither know how to study God's word nor how to really know God.

We must not judge truth by people's relationship with us. If they

are on good terms with us, we say their opinion or assumption is

truth; if, though, they are not rightly related to us, we proclaim their assertions as false. As soon as truth is touched by human

relationship, it turns into something else. Your way will not be

straight if truth is not absolute in your life. Truth should never be swayed by the considerations of men. Not because you are my

fellow-student or countryman, therefore you are right. Many

problems in the world and many diverse teachings are attributed to human reasoning. Truth itself never changes.

What is meant by the absoluteness of truth? Paul's First Letter to Timothy mentions the pillar of truth (3.15). Why refer to it as the

pillar of truth? Because a pillar is something immobile. It can neither be raised nor lowered. It is not like a chair that can be moved about.

Unless we are pure in heart, truth will have no affect on us. For truth cannot be entrusted to those who follow their emotion. This is a real test. Men ought to stand on truth's side even if it be against

themselves. Only then can they maintain the truth instead of

supporting themselves. He whose self has never been dealt with will never know what truth is. For when he is wrong, he will lower the

truth; and when he is right, he will raise the truth.

He is like an elevator, with truth being lifted up or lowered

according to his every whim. Only those who have dealings with

themselves are able to maintain the truth. Thank the Lord, He is the elevator, and He lifts us up or down.

The main reason for today's darkness lies in our forcing truth to

follow us. If you take truth as sole standard and if you dare proclaim

Absoluteness of Truth; Body-Member Relations

that whatever the Lord says is right, then a new light and new way will come to you. Otherwise, you are the only good Christian in the whole world; everyone else must follow you, and even the truth must follow you. He who tries to be convenient to himself is not of much use in the Lord's hand. But if a person can say before the Lord, "this is truth and I am wrong," that person has not bent the light and light will lift him higher. Blessed are they who follow the truth. Hopeful are they who judge themselves. Those who fail to follow the truth but tend to pull it down to their standard shall forever be in darkness and light will never shine upon them.

On the one hand we cannot preach what we have not experienced.

Yet on the other hand we need to understand that truth is not subject to us. When we are afflicted and condemned by the truth, we receive light. And such is the basis of revelation, the secret of having

revelation.

From ancient to modern times, from East to West, whoever has

seen the light does not bend God's word. If I am behind, I must

pursue and follow the word of the Lord. I must confess that I have sinned. Then the way will become clearer. The more I walk, the more light I receive. Otherwise, it is all vanity, both in the studying and in the preaching of the truth. Human affection should never affect

God's word.

If a thing is right, we must do it. If it is wrong, we must not do it.

Let us see that God's word is right and we are wrong. I personally may have some problem with you, but it has no effect upon truth.

God's work suffers through human relationships. Truth is not

absolute because it is influenced by men. If we sacrifice truth today, what will happen to the next generation? Or to people a hundred

years later? They will not be able to see the truth. To be absolute we must pay a very big price. But in so doing, others will be blessed.

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I must determine to draw near to the pillar of truth. Indeed, I will not move the pillar two feet; instead, I will move my chair two feet towards the pillar. I can move, but truth's pillar should never be moved. I can change, but the pillar cannot change. How many

change truth because of human relationship, history, or sentiment.

Relationship between the Body and Its Members

Today we ask for God's mercy that we may be taught a remedial

lesson. We must come to see that what God's children receive is not an individual life but a corporate life. God looks upon us as constituting one body, whereas we notice only individual members.

For example, here before us is a sheaf of wheat. We may only see

grains of wheat, yet in actuality it is one sheaf. Again, a loaf of bread, according to our focus, is made up of many grains of wheat.

Our focus is elsewhere than on the loaf. Let us see that in Christ ours is a corporate life. We should therefore not ask when individuals

become the body. For the body is not formed by calculating and

adding up the members; instead, out of the body comes forth those

many members. No, the real question to be asked is, When do we

become individuals out of the body? or, When is there individual life in the body? The Bible speaks of the Church as the body of Christ.

Accordingly God emphasizes the body, but we tend to emphasize its

members.

In speaking of the Church, 1 Corinthians 12.12 makes this observation: "the body is one, and hath many members." Here the

body is first being mentioned, and then the members. With us, though, the order of our priorities is reversed: we usually commence with the members and then go to the body. But the Biblical order

shown here is that the body is mentioned before the members are. In other words, first there is the corporate life; and then, after returning home, there is the personal life. These two approaches indicate two different grounds. Difference in ground produces difference in

Absoluteness of Truth; Body-Member Relations

consequence. In standing where I presently am, I may see a certain star. But if I should stand two steps farther away, I may no longer see that star. The ground we stand upon is therefore most important.

Today we would stand on the ground of the body.

The life we have received is body life. Accordingly, only after we go back home do we take up our personal walk.

Let us realize that our local church life is corporate in nature.

Today, however, we tend to see it as primarily personal in nature.

Our personal experiences and even our conscience are all personal.

But in the future we shall see the conscience of the church.

Whenever we have an important decision to make, we should learn

to touch the body and to have fellowship with the brethren who are spiritually ahead of us. Let us not assume that it is a difficult matter to seek out advice. In reality, to be asked for advice is maybe

something equally as difficult. For no one likes to be put in the

position of appearing to meddle in another's affairs. No one has so much interest in other people's lives. Things are complicated and

responsibility is great. Nevertheless, if we wish to pursue the

corporate way, we must have fellowship. What you eat and wear are

matters belonging to the Adamic realm; hence, they are personal in nature. But if you should exceed the personal boundary by spending all your earnings in gluttonous behavior, then you need to be dealt with corporately for it has now become a body matter. Suppose, too, that a sister dresses beyond Christian modesty; then she should be spoken to about it, since this has now become a

matter of caring for the Lord's corporate testimony. These interventions cannot therefore be deemed as constituting "busybodiness" on the part of the church.

Some people like to be heads apart from Christ. These are the true busybodies. No authority should be delegated to them. Authority is received from the Head. Before our words have authority in them we need to see the Head, that is, to see that the Lord is backing us. We have no interest or intention to interfere with the affairs of other 106

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people. All who love to tamper with others' lives or love to be heads should step aside. Otherwise, those who seek for prominence will

become the dictatorial ones. In the body of Christ neither wantonness nor dictatorship is right. The spiritual ones, those who have weight before the Lord, should alone stand up and speak. Not that we like to speak, but that we have to speak as before God. Actually, those who naturally do not like to meddle in others' affairs or who have no lust to speak should be the ones to rise up and speak; whereas those who are naturally inclined to meddle should be under restraint. What we require is the coordination of the body, not the coordination of the flesh.

In our physical bodies the feet are not as comely as the head.

Accordingly, we wear shoes more than we wear hats. In the church,

the stronger members of the body are able to supply more, and the

weaker ones need to receive more (see 1 Cor. 12.22-24).

3 The "Body" in 1 Corinthians 12∗

1 Corinthians 12 is a very brilliant chapter in the

Bible. It reveals the relationship which exists between

the Holy Spirit and the body of Christ. Our becoming

one body in Christ is dependent upon the Holy Spirit.

What joins us together is the Holy Spirit and what we

receive inwardly from the Lord is also the Holy Spirit.

Let me use an illustration here. In foreign countries people use

cement blocks in the building of their houses. On the outside these blocks look like the bricks in China, but they are hollow on the

inside. Now when the construction workers build walls in other lands they fill the blocks with cement and also pave them together on the outside with more cement. The nature of the blocks' exterior and that of their interior are therefore precisely the same. Even so is it with the body of Christ and its members: we as the members of Christ's

body—were baptized together into one body by one Spirit and were

all made to drink of one Spirit (v.13). What is outside and what is inside are the same. And thus did we become one body with its many members.

Hence, that which unites us is exactly the same as that which we

receive from the Lord. Spiritual fellowship is based on the same

principle as spiritual life. We can therefore say that the body of Christ is one because it has the same nature as its life. And its life is the life of the Holy Spirit whose nature is one. The oneness of the body comes from the oneness of the Holy Spirit. Let us understand

that members come out of the body. Though many are the members,

the body is one (v.12). In short, the origin of the members is the body. It is the body which produces many members and it is the Holy

∗Delivered at Hardoon Road, Shanghai, 18 April 1948.— Translator 108

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Spirit that joins them into one body. It can be likened to a wall that is made up of

many bricks, and in turn its many bricks form the one

wall. Oneness constitutes more than there being one mind: it signifies the possession of one nature. Having therefore drunk of the Holy

Spirit and been baptized in the Holy Spirit—such constitutes the

oneness of the saints. We as members come out of the body and,

again, we return to the body. Looking backward, a person can see

one body; looking forward, he can likewise see one body. And

because we as members are one, we can be coordinated.

Due to this oneness, there is body consciousness. The movement

of the Holy Spirit is in the body. The Holy Spirit is not just the power of individuals; He is even more so the power of the body that

comprises those individuals. Body ministry is the manifestation of the power of the Holy Spirit. Before God an individual is like a two-dimensional plane; the body, however, is like a three-dimensional

cube. Today the age of independent work is past. The gospel needs to be preached by the church as a body, but so must matters which

come before it be dealt with by the church as a body. In the past, individuals may have worked effectively, but now all needs to be

done in and through the body. As we touch the body, the far greater power of the Holy Spirit will be manifested. Many times matters

cannot be solved by just one or two brothers. Many of God's people think the power of the Holy Spirit is given merely to individuals: brethren, they believe, can simply bring home as it were a power

package of the Holy Spirit and gradually use it. But we ought to

know that the power of the Holy Spirit resides in the body.

We believers too frequently consider ourselves as members first

and only secondarily do we view ourselves as a body of members

that came into being through baptism. The fact of the matter is that we begin as the body. Whether or not we like it, we each are members of the body. If we as believers stand on the ground of the individual, we shall lose the powerful corporate effect of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. The body proceeds from oneness and returns to

The "Body" in 1 Corinthians 12

that oneness. How we need to readjust our understanding of truth

here. Today if all Christians were to stand on the ground of the body, everything could be resolved easily. But when they do not stand on this ground, they create many problems—problems which emanate

from a spirit of individualism. In the body there is the corporate life.

Whatever rebels against the body as well as against the Head does

not belong to this corporate life.

Let us acknowledge where the riches of the Lord are to be found:

they are in the body. For example, with the body comes God's light.

As a matter of fact, the body is a "storehouse" of light; therefore light is fullest in the body. Yet so, too, is it with all the other riches.

Hence, what one cannot obtain in himself can be secured in the body.

As an individual member, each believer has his specific function. But that which one member lacks is found in the body's other members.

Indeed, their functions become the possession of the individual

members. Thus there is mutual help to be found in the body.

The Love of the Body

Love in a fuller measure can be found in the body of Christ. In

referring to it, Ephesians 4 mentions "the building up of itself in

love" (v.16). Only in the body can we know what love is in its fullest. We are told in Revelation that the church in Philadelphia had manifested itself in love rather than in doctrine. 1 Corinthians 12 tells

us that "whether one member suffereth, all the members suffer with

it" (v.26). And Ephesians 5 speaks of the love in the body of Christ,

"for no man ever hated his own flesh" (v.29). You may see people beat up on others' bodies but you rarely see them beating up on

themselves. In the love of the body there can be the speaking of the

truth (see Eph 4.15). But you cannot admonish a person who is outside the body. Only in the love of the body may you so persuade.

Outside the body no frank talk in truthful terms is possible, yet in the 110

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love of the body such talk can take place. In the body alone is there real love.

Many words in the Bible are hard to put into practice if there is

not the proper setting for them. They can easily be obeyed or carried out, though, if there is the body of Christ. For example, the Bible says that we are all priests. But suppose you tell a "lay" member of a denomination that he is a priest. If he should accept this Biblical truth of the universal priesthood of believers, then at the next communion service of his congregation he may wish to go forward to assist the pastor, saying: "You and I are both priests. We both, therefore, can officiate in the communion." Immediately, trouble will arise. For

such a word has no way to be implemented in their denominational

context or setting. Or take as another example, this: Suppose a person talks about

guidance but ignores body life. Confusion will quickly arise, for guidance is in the body just as love is in the body. No correct result will come outside the body context.

Let us see and understand that love and authority are in the body

of Christ to deal with the flesh. If we are truly living in the body, nothing will stumble us.

4 Exercising Authority in the Body

and Body Consciousness∗

The Tongue and Body Life

In the area of discipline the tongue must first be

controlled. For it is the most difficult element to be put under control.

One who has a controlled tongue dares only to utter the words of the instructed. Let us realize at the outset that the one who is not

disciplined in words is a loosely controlled person.

In London I once met a Christian couple who were insubordinate

to their responsible brothers in the assembly. Both husband and wife were nice people; only, they were too talkative. They acknowledged that whenever they spoke in a provoking manner their spirits were

irritated. Let us realize that when our words are uttered, our spirits come forth. Both 2 Peter and Jude mention this matter of slander, and slander is done through speech. If we carelessly vilify the brothers ahead of us, we easily destroy the unity of the church.

But our listening to slanderous words bears equal responsibility to our uttering slanderous words. To be or not to be a garbage can is one thing; to receive or not to receive garbage is another. One of the reasons for the division and destruction of the Church is the

slanderous words of men. For the sake of the unity of their church, brothers and sisters must resist such slanderous words.

Michael occupies the highest place among the angels. In the

beginning he was evidently under Lucifer. Although Lucifer has now fallen to be Satan, Michael "durst not bring against him a railing judgment, but said, The Lord rebuke thee" (Jude 9). Michael referred

∗Delivered at Hardoon Road, Shanghai, 28 April 1948.— Translator 112

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to a higher authority to rebuke Satan. From this we may see the

importance of speech.

Some people's tongues are very oily. Such persons do not and

cannot know the body of Christ. They will unconsciously destroy the body with their very words. Having a wound is bad enough for a

person, but having sand rubbed into the wound as well makes it even worse.

Such is the adverse effect of slanderous words. If the tongue is not brought under control, all other controls are false (see James

3.2). Man's tongue is most slippery. The double-tongued will sooner or later discover that he has no one to speak to because he has driven away all his audience. If you are a curious person with an itching ear, you love to have people talk with you to relieve your loneliness. But those who have been instructed of the Lord need to reprimand the

curious.

The consciousness of sin comes from the knowledge of God. On

the other hand, the consciousness against engaging in or receiving a slanderous word comes from knowing the life of the body. For any

slanderous word is opposite to the testimony of the body of Christ.

Learn Not to Be Head

The head expresses its headship through its thoughts and intents.

Thus in the body of Christ, for a member to obey the authority of the head is quite simply for him to refrain from entertaining many ideas and opinions. Hence the Christian who lives in the body and

observes body life may be said to be a simple person.

There is a basic difference in the understanding of the Bible by the Protestant Church and the Roman Catholic Church. The latter

considers the Pope and this Church's hierarchy to be the only ones who can interpret God's word, whereas the laity, this Church

believes, should not comment on it. Indeed, the decision of the Pope and his Council is final. Thus, many forms of idolatry have been the

Exercising Authority in the Body and Body Consciousness

result; such, for example, as worshiping the image of Mary. On the other hand, the Protestant Church takes a more liberal stance on the matter than the Catholic Church. For its teaching carries within it the implication that there are as many popes as there are Christians! For its teaching holds that everyone may read the Bible and each may

decide on the Bible's interpretation. Yet if we have light, we shall see that both are wrong; because in the body, only certain members whom the Lord sets forth therein have the authority to interpret the word of God. Hence, let us not hasten to be popes.

We may illustrate this matter in the following way. Concerning

the paths of life, the Lord has raised up in the local church certain brothers to help us in this matter. If any one of us has a problem with regard to the path of life he should pursue, he can go to these brethren for instruction. Thank God that in the body there is not just one brother who can supply you with life; there are several others.

Yet if you desire their ministry, you will need to submit to their authority for their ministry implies authority. And such authority is given by the Head of the body. Any member who strives against the

mouth or the eyes of the body of Christ is striving against the

ministry set up by the Head. For in reality insubjection to these

members is insubjection to the Head. Insubjection is first expressed in many words, then in many thoughts. Yet the simpler we are the

more we shall be united. This does not mean to say that in submitting to others you yourself have no ministry, since in the body of Christ we have authority towards one another.

Ministry is authority. In giving ministry, the Lord gives authority.

As members of Christ's body, we need to learn not to be head. This is in fact the meaning of head covering. Head covering exhibits the fact that only the Lord is Head. And this therefore means that the responsible brothers themselves cannot decide on their own. A

disciplined person has no pleasure in interfering with others' affairs.

In order to exercise authority properly, he must learn not to take 114

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pleasure in meddling in the business of others. For God himself

never interferes with or forces people.

Before the fall, the entrance to or exit from the Garden of Eden

was never barred to man. Hell has no hedge, which means that

people can quite easily fall into hell if that is their wish, since many are the roads which lead to destruction. Today twentieth-century man knows how to install a security fence charged with twenty, sixty, or more volts of electricity. But our God never interferes with, compels or prevents anybody. All who are naturally busybodies seeking to

impose their will on others must be dealt with, otherwise they can never represent authority. The delegated authority is one who lets people know that he takes no delight in probing into another's

affairs. To the contrary, the only reason he must speak is because he has received authority from the Head of the Church. One who has

been taught does not offer his opinion casually.

Which chapter in the New Testament reveals the depth of a man's

experience? It is unquestionably 1 Corinthians 7. There Paul said in

one breath, "I have no commandment of the Lord" (v.25); yet not

many verses later he said this: "I think that I also have the Spirit of

God" (v.40)! In the same passage Paul also said, "I give my judgment"; yet it was "as one that hath obtained mercy of the Lord to

be trustworthy" (v.25). Since he had received much dealing on many things, Paul

was able to apply the same principles to other matters.

He had followed the Lord for many years and had learned much;

therefore he had arrived at the point of knowing the heart of God.

Both Abraham and Enoch walked closely with God. They

therefore knew the way of God. It was not necessary for God to

speak to them; they could know His heart. How strange for a person who has followed the Lord for many years to not know the pace, the direction and the way of the Lord?

Exercising Authority in the Body and Body Consciousness

We ourselves need to be instructed and disciplined. Only those

who do not speak carelessly and who do not offer opinion casually

can begin to be representatives of God, who is the Head. These also can begin to lead brothers and sisters on the way ahead. God will

never delegate authority to those who are naturally critical. To be in subjection, you must be one who refuses to be head. Then as soon as anybody raises his head, you will immediately sense it as though you were shocked by electricity. You will know because having been

judged before, you are sensitive to any similar situation. A brother who has been dealt with both in speech and in learning not to be head should have no trouble in exercising authority. All who have any

problem with these two things cannot know the body of Christ.

Body Consciousness

What is the Church? So far as outward appearance is concerned,

the Church is local. What are the content and life of the Church? If a group of

believers does not stand on the ground of the local church, it basically is not a church. But if a local church subjects itself to the authority of the Head, it naturally is a church. In the church, we are members one to another, which means that no one keeps anything for himself. Our heart desire is to fellowship with all the children of God; that is to say, with all the members of the body of Christ. Just as our personal experience of the Head should be absolute, so our

consciousness of the body should also be absolute. The body has its consciousness. This consciousness causes a member to submit to the authority of the Head as well as enables him to be open to the body for fellowship. This is called body consciousness.

As we have indicated, in natural appearance the church takes

locality as its boundary. In its inner content, it takes the Head as authority and all the saints as one in Christ. The local church is not just a matter of locality, it also bears the testimony of the body which is holding fast the Head.

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When I am in fellowship with all the children of God, I will not be tempted to criticize other members. So, the basic requirement lies in producing in our hearts a body consciousness.

What is the turning point from our not having body consciousness

to having body consciousness? In much of spiritual reality we need to know both the positive and the negative sides. It is not enough just to know the positive, there is need to know also the negative, else we will fail to learn a thing well. For example: The negative side of forgiveness is sin. The opposite of justification is ungodliness. The contrast to salvation is the world. In other words: To know

forgiveness, we need to know sin. To be justified, we must be

delivered from ungodliness. To be saved, we should be aware of the world. (The Bible seldom speaks of being saved from hell; it speaks mostly of our being saved from the world.) We see, then, that many of the truths in Scripture are

presented in pairs. If we mispair them, we bring in confusion.

Now the opposite of the body is individualism. So in order to see

the body, we need to see first the negative—which is individualism.

An individual must have some dealings with his self life before he can see the body. Many try to have dealings with such issues as

loving the Lord and hearing the Lord. Yet the more they deal with

these matters the more they establish themselves in their own righteousness, holiness and strength. And thus it becomes more

difficult for them to unite with other people. It is much more difficult to call them to follow the footsteps of the flock.

We need to be taught by God in every area, including the area of

individualism, for the latter lies in the deepest recess of man. Today people may come to see personal holiness, as is proclaimed in the

Keswick movement; yet why is not corporate holiness emphasized as

well? For the holiness in view in Hebrews 12 is corporate holiness.

Many today are talking about personal faith. Yet why are we not

stressing corporate faith too? The phrase in the Bible, "the faith,"

Exercising Authority in the Body and Body Consciousness

points to truth, whereas the word "faith" without the definite article preceding it means "a believing." "The faith" refers to the faith of the whole Church. The reason we are not paying attention to corporate

faith and corporate holiness is because we are not aware of our

littleness. If we saw our smallness as an individual member, we

would see the much larger body; and therefore, we would see the

corporate side of our walk with the Lord.

A piece of glass may retain a little water but it cannot contain a full cup of water. Each and every Christian has his portion of grace.

But the individual Christian is not the whole body of Christ. Even if he receives much grace, he still can only be likened to a larger piece of glass that can retain a little more water. He is like a plane and not a cube. Today we need to lay aside our individualism. For what the Lord desires is not pieces of broken glass, but a glass cup. The

principle of God to be followed is for "one [to] chase a thousand, and two [to] put ten thousand to flight" (Deut. 32.30). Today the Church

is full of individuals. But if two (or more) should agree, they could put ten thousand to flight! The eight thousand overage is the excess gain. Today God wants the Church to preach the gospel and the Church to preach His word. Everything must be put into the Church.

The salvation we have through seeing the body is much fuller and

richer than the salvation we initially experience. After one is touched by the revelation of the body, he can no longer say that it is well for him to just be a Christian individually. We need to let God do this work in us. For having body consciousness is not something arrived at or deduced by reason. Only as a person is being dealt with by God shall he see his body consciousness appear. He shall begin to

understand that he is a member in the body of Christ. As he sees the sinfulness of individualism he will naturally submit to God. With

such seeing, many problems shall be solved. It will not be hard for him to love, to live a life of faith, and to have prayers answered.

Unless he sees the body, he is not able to work the work of God.

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Any problem with body consciousness is the outcome of a

problem with individualism. For a brother to be submissive, he must first set aside his opinion. Does not my hand listen to the words of my head my entire lifetime, and does it not always remain in its place without any murmuring? It causes no problem in my physical body at all. Indeed, were my heart to have another head (the hand), my body would be in conflict from dawn to dusk. So, too, would it be in the body of Christ. Hence individualism must be dealt away. We each

must lower our heads and learn to be taught to speak, to think and to act.

Coordination does not depend on human thoughts and interests. If

the coordination of our physical body is so good and well ordered, how much more should that of the body of Christ be? I believe in

Christ coordinating His spiritual body. Its goodness and pleasantness and effectiveness are beyond our comprehension.

5 Obeying the Authority of the Body∗

How can we see and experience the authority of the

body of Christ? The obedience of some members of

Christ's body is selective. For each of us to practice

obedience, the first thing to determine is, Who is above

me? In the business world, the first question an

employee will need to have answered is, Who is my immediate boss?

If this is not clearly recognized, nothing can be done. Instead, there will be reprimand. There will be authority and there must be obedience. And this principle applies to companies and

organizations. Unfortunately, too many imagine themselves as

masters. Such people need to learn to obey. It is a lesson everybody must learn before God. In fact, all of us need to be disciplined to such a degree that we come to possess the very nature of obedience.

And the result: everywhere we go we look for authority to obey.

For example, the brothers and sisters who live in the church guest house should obey the authority there. At church meetings, brethren should sit where the usher has led them to. And while staying at

someone's home, brethren need to obey the authority of that home,

since each home has its authority. Christians need to discern who is in authority and to submit to it. All who pretend to be head know

nothing of the position of the head in the body of Christ.

I have never seen a man who truly knows the Head who does not

submit to Christ's delegated authority. Such a man never chooses

wrongly in this matter of obedience. Any brother or sister who has never thought of learning to obey God's delegated authority falls into a very great deception. The Bible clearly declares: "the powers that be are ordained of God" (Rom. 13.1).

∗Delivered at Workers Meeting, Shanghai, 9 April 1948.— Translator 120

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In Scripture, perhaps only a few places mention direct obedience

to God; most relevant passages speak of submitting to man.

Wherever we go, we need to practice obedience instead of voicing

casual criticism. Many have not learned this lesson; consequently, they do not control their tempers and they destroy authority

everywhere. These are disobedient ones. May the Lord have mercy

upon us that we not be wild Christians. We should seek positively the object of obedience.

When I was in London our daily schedule was determined by the

host: rising at six o'clock, lunch at twelve, and tea at three. One Swede who came from Japan shook his head and sighed. I asked him

why he was so unhappy. He was fifteen years older than I. He earned tens of thousands of pounds a year and had thousands of laborers

under him. He told me he felt great uneasiness for he had been a

student for some twenty-odd years. Staying now in the guest home

whose host was not much educated, he felt most uncomfortable to

have to be under the authority of such a person. It so happened that I remained in London for eighteen months. Had I not learned

obedience, I too would have been criticizing and resisting; for like this Swede, how could I feel comfortable inside? Yet obedience is

the very nature of the life of our Lord; and if we learn to obey God's authority, that becomes our protection.

Christians need to learn to be coordinated, yet coordination

derives from obedience. An insubordinate and independent person is not and cannot be coordinated. Christians must learn to be in

subjection to one another. There must not be any rebellious action or words of slander and criticism. Not only in the Church, that is to say, in the body of Christ, but even when one is alone, he needs to have the consciousness of authority. Let me say that we ought to learn

obedience first in the Church, for it is much more difficult to learn obedience outside the Church. This is because, with God's life within us, it is quite natural

for us to learn obedience in God's Church. And

Obeying the Authority of the Body

this serves as His protection against exposing ourselves. Yet in so learning obedience, we also rid ourselves of the spirit of Antichrist.

P A R T F O U R

THE RECOVERY OF BODY MINISTRY

1 All Serve and the Recovery of

Authority∗

Today's difficulty lies in the unwillingness of the

members of the body of Christ to receive supply. As

members refuse to receive, all ministries are checked.

When people have problems, they are not able to receive ready

supply in the local assembly. They would rather go three miles away to obtain encouragement and supply. How can we speak in such a

situation? We are not able to address even the fringe of their

problems, let alone speak deeper and more open words to the

brethren. Hence the need for today is for members of the body to put themselves under the authority of the Head. If they see the body they will not be hurt or stumbled.

In the past there were supplies in our midst, but these supplies

could not be effective. Hereafter, we must ask for God's mercy.

Brothers and sisters must recognize especially the necessity of

having authority in the local church. Romans 12 speaks of ministry;

Ephesians 4 speaks of ministry too. But the ministry mentioned in these two passages is different the one from the other. Ephesians 4

speaks of the work of "the ministry" in singular number (v.12 KJV).

This ministry is the same as the apostles' "prayer and . . . the

ministry of the word" mentioned in Acts 6.4. For the particular

ministry in the Ephesian letter is "the ministry" which is specific and unique and refers especially to the ministry of God's word. It

includes among its ministers or laborers the four or five classes of gifted persons cited there. Thus not all participate in the ministry of God's word. Here the apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers have this ministry. Romans 12, however, gives an

∗Delivered at Hardoon Road, Shanghai, 14 April 1948.— Translator 126

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enumeration of many and varied ministries—indeed a plurality of

them. All the children of God participate in the variety of ministries listed suggestively but by no means exhaustively in Romans 12. All

the brothers and sisters in the local church take part in such varied ministries. In this case, therefore, each member must examine

himself or herself and function according to the part given to each one by God.

Romans 12 begins with referencing the mercies of God as delineated from chapter 1 to chapter 11. Chapters 1-8 deal with sanctification; and chapters 9-11 can be encapsulated by the passage of chapter 9 that reads: "[God] saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy . . . So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that hath mercy" (vv. 15-16). And

then

chapter 12 follows up immediately with "the mercies of God" (v.1).

Such mercies produce one result: consecration. And the purpose of

consecration (as is made clear further on in this same opening verse) is for ministry, that is, for serving God; it is not for the purpose to produce preachers. Service is ministry, and ministry is service.

Originally they are one word. This service is like the priestly service which figured in the Old Covenant period, as was alluded to by Paul in his first Corinthian letter: "they that minister about sacred things eat of the things of the temple, and they that wait upon the altar have

their portion with the altar" (9.13).

It can be likened to the cook who prepares food in the kitchen but does not bring to the dining table the dishes he has prepared. This latter is instead the work of the waiter. Such is the picture of

ministry. Ministry is to bring things to you from another place.

Formerly you could not enjoy the food. Now, though, the one who

serves brings the food to you so that you can enjoy it. On the one hand he who sows receives supply from the Head and on the other

hand he passes on the supply to the brothers and sisters. A person's ministry comes from God. He receives this ministry for the sake of serving brothers and sisters—that is to say, for serving the Church,

All Serve and the Recovery of Authority

the body of Christ. Brothers and sisters serve together in a local church setting. Everyone contributes his or her share. No single

ministry can serve in a representative way. What is mentioned in

Acts 6, however, is a different story.

Today the supply of the local church is meager. The reasons are

twofold: on the one side there are the works of the flesh; on the other side brothers and sisters have not learned well the lesson of obeying the authority of the church. In view of the flesh, the brothers in responsibility have dared not allow these fleshly ones to participate lest there be more destruction than construction. Thus, they help the one-talent people to bury their gifts. As a result, these people bring neither profit nor loss to the church. Their flesh is not brought in, but neither is their one talent brought in. Today, let us make a drastic turn. We cannot despise the one-talent brethren anymore; on the

contrary, henceforth we want to gain these one-talent people.

Naturally, when the one talent comes in, the flesh comes in too. But let us not be afraid of this dilemma. We shall address this matter in a moment when we discuss the recovery of authority in the local

church.

What is the church? The church is where all the one-talent

brethren are used. When all the brothers and sisters begin to function, the many one talents shall be utilized. That is the church. Today's need is not the ministry of the ministers (this there is no shortage of) but the ministry of the entire local church. Here there shall be not only the ministry of God's word; even more so, there shall be all

kinds of services. Let us not bury the one-talent service.

Recover Authority and Deal with the Flesh

Authority needs to be recovered. Its recovery is necessary for

dealing with the flesh. On the one side, all the brothers and sisters must rise up; though some may have only one talent, they still need to rise up. On the other side, there must also be the recovery of

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authority; for this is because where all the one talents come in, there is bound to be flesh; and as flesh comes in, church authority is

needed for it to be dealt with. Brethren should be told that such

expression of the flesh is not right and will not be tolerated. Yet they should still be encouraged to participate. Otherwise, brethren will stop functioning and only a few will end up serving.

Everybody should have a part in service. No one should be

allowed to be passive. We must reject the pastor system, for the

single pastor arrangement is wrong; even a ten-pastor arrangement is wrong. There should not be one person, nor should there be only a

few persons. Today, the one-talent problem must be dealt with. All those of one talent must come in with their service. There should not be one group serving and another group not serving. The local

churches everywhere should inaugurate a turnaround. First, the

fellow workers and responsible brothers need to be coordinated.

Then, second, there will be strength to deal with the flesh in the church, to deal with rebellious and insubordinate brothers and sisters.

And thus will the authority of the church be established. Five years from now you will understand what I am saying today.

In the local church the people need to learn to ask for instruction.

Service is produced through asking. The emphasis in the church

should not be on doing things, but in learning while doing. Each time something is done, the lesson of coordination must be learned. Learn to ask the church in all things. The brethren must not be opinionated but learn to obey. Those with ministry should speak responsibly, and also the rest of the brethren should lay

aside their opinion in a

responsible way. All need to learn to submit to Christ the Head.

In the church everything is under the authority of God. The

responsible brothers need to learn how to give an order and the

brothers and sisters must learn how to listen to an order. Those in responsibility must learn how to speak and how to be silent. Whether speaking or not speaking, they live under the authority of the Head.

All Serve and the Recovery of Authority

To live out church life demands our lives. The first and foremost

thing to do is to obey. The brethren will bring a matter to the elders, and the elders will bring the same to God. Thus the brethren come to God through the elders, and likewise, through the latter, authority comes from God to the brethren.

Let those who are materially rich or who may have position in the

world see and understand that the church does not beg for their

service. They are asked to serve only in order that they themselves may be edified and perfected while performing their service. They

should also be taught how to care for the poor in material things.

Recover Gospel Preaching by the Entire Church

In this matter of the gospel, we need to restore the preaching of it by the whole church. This is done not by advertising in the paper but by brothers and sisters going out to invite people in (see Luke 14.23).

There is a world of difference between personal invitation and

invitation through advertisement. The whole church will rise up and serve. Such

service is body ministry. We do not arrive at God's

standard if only a few people are serving.

Today's way lies in authority plus galvanizing the one-talent

services. Authority plus the one-talents, and vice versa: that is the church. Whether a local church does well depends on how many of

the one-talent brethren come forward. It is not enough simply to have the twotalents and the five-talents brethren. Our work is a failure if we are unable to bring in the one talents.

Nevertheless, let us be aware that the flesh follows closely on the heels of the one-talent service. Before you yourself as a worker learn submission, you are ignorant of any insubjection against you. But

once you do learn submission, you immediately sense the presence of insubordination. If we who are responsible in the church are well

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coordinated, there will be authority in our midst. And with authority present, all rebellion and insubjection can be dealt with.

May I ask my fellow workers if you feel tired after having labored unceasingly? Perhaps God now wants us to let go. For the way for

this day lies not in individual endeavor, but in body ministry and body action. The Church is a reservoir of Christ, that is to say, all the

fullness of Christ dwells in the body (Eph. 1.23). If one day we see

the entire local church preaching the gospel, how beautiful and how effective this will be.

Today there are few spiritual giants. A century ago, with the

Keswick movement, there were many. At that time people's

knowledge of God's word was quite shallow. So that when an A. J.

Pierson spoke, people found it hard to understand. Today our

knowledge of the Bible has increased. Indeed, when someone begins

to speak, we know more or less by his first words what he is going to discuss. Nowadays, a five-talent person such as Paul is most rare.

Yet in spite of the rarity of such spiritual giants, the working together of a few oneand two-talent believers may well be equal to a Paul.

Because there are so few Pauls, we must not wait for such spiritual giants to appear. We believe the time has arrived for the whole

church to work, to save, and to preach the gospel. The way of the

individual is over. Indeed, this is the day to follow the way of the body. We must be of one heart with God. We criticize

denominations, and rightly so, denouncing their brand of

sacerdotalism; but we are no different in principle from them if the service of the church is monopolized by a worker plus a few elders in the place of all the brothers and sisters laboring together.

Hence, as fellow workers our work today is not to work on behalf

of the people, but to provoke them to work. Paul took Timothy into apprenticeship, and Timothy committed to other faithful men what

he had learned from Paul (2 Tim. 2.2). These faithful ones then went

All Serve and the Recovery of Authority

out and energized more people. This is to be the way of our work

today.

Heretofore we always worked for others: we worked till we

contracted tuberculosis; it was all of no avail. Today's way is to instruct the brothers and sisters to serve. This alone will succeed.

If one person monopolizes the work, this discourages brothers and

sisters to serve. Such a path is definitely wrong. Today's work of our fellow workers is to lead and help others to serve. Apportion to them the various services and let them do the work.

A deceased elderly brother once served in the navy. He told me

that in firing the ship's gun the cannon shells had first to be

transported from the storage at the bottom of the warship to the

gunner's platform above in order for the gunner to shoot. The gunner himself did not go down to the storage to get the shells; not so. Now this elderly brother who told me this said that he served on this ship for many years. Yet during that entire period he himself had never once fired a shot; rather, he was always helping others to shoot.

Today we need to do the work, as it were, of transporting the

spiritual "ammunition" to the brothers and sisters to let them do the

"shooting."

One day we workers shall pass away, and the next generation will

carry on. In readying the next generation we cannot train merely a few for service. We must help the whole church enter into service. If one day there is such a church that does all things together—in the edification of the saints as well as in the preaching of the gospel—

then that day will be marked out as a most wonderful

accomplishment of the church. Thus, the entire responsibility rests upon us. We must see to it that every brother and sister is serving.

For everyone is a priest of God. Brothers and sisters may possibly bring in the flesh, yet they must still be allowed to function; but in so doing there will be the opportunity for their flesh to be dealt with.

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Some brothers may say to us, "But I have only a little, so I will not contribute my service." In response we must tell them, "No, you

cannot be passive." It is so easy to bury the one talent. Many brothers and sisters are so frustrated by not knowing what is the right thing to do that they just give up. We must encourage them, however, to

continue to serve. Believe me, this is the way. There will be such local churches in the near future. Then shall people see

Philadelphia—the manifestation of genuine brotherly love.

Today's responsibility lies with us. God must first find His way in us workers, and then in the local churches as a whole. God wishes to recover the Church of Christ to her early state. He has been working ceaselessly from the Garden of Eden, next through the period of the tabernacle and the temple, onward, then, to the Church, and finally to the Holy City—the eternal dwelling place of God. At that time, Satan can intrude no more.

2 Body Guidance and Body Ministry∗

What is the connection between submitting to the

authority in the body and submitting to God personally?

What is the difference between personal guidance and

group guidance?

The Roman Catholic Church and the Protestant Church belong to

two different systems. In Protestantism each one is guided by his

own free conscience. In Roman Catholicism all must accept

absolutely the guidance of the Church. For it reckons that all God's guidance comes through the Church. In other words, people cannot

approach God directly; they must go through the hierarchy of the

Catholic Church to come to Him. Protestantism opposes such a

concept. It confesses that all can follow God according to their free conscience. The Protestants reject Roman Catholicism, but they

nonetheless bring in Sardis and pave the way for Laodicea (see again

Rev. 2 and 3). Nevertheless, God calls His people to come out of Sardis (Protestantism) as well as out of Thyatira (Catholicism).

Personal guidance is based on inner life consciousness. The Bible

speaks of guidance in two separate passages. One is in 1 John where

it mentions the guidance of the Anointing (the Holy Spirit) (2.20,27).

The other is in Hebrews where it speaks of the guidance of the New

Covenant (8.8-12). The former stresses the recognition of spiritual consciousness; while the latter, the recognition of God's law. The New Covenant causes us to know the law of God, and the Anointing

enables us to know the way of serving God. Unless one lives before God, he will not be able to understand His law. Nothing should be

decided through outside rule. A decision made needs to be the

response to inner life. The same principle applies to the Anointing in

∗Delivered at Hardoon Road, Shanghai, 15 April 1948.— Translator 134

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us. Not by outside instruction, but by the Spirit's anointing within.

He will tell us what is of God and what is not of God.

We should be aware that these aspects of guidance are related

only to our knowledge of God. They do not include other aspects. If we are so careless as to think that these guidances are all-inclusive, that is, to think that all instances of guidance must come directly from God, we will get ourselves into trouble. For both 1 John and

Hebrews speak only of the guidance in knowing God. To know the

guidance of our way in service we must go to the Book of Acts (see, for example, 16.6-10). The error of Catholicism lies in holding in her hand both the guidance to the Christian's way and the guidance to his personal life.

The guidance for our way leans heavily on group guidance. The

Book of Acts is a guide to the way of our service to God and His

Church. This, in fact, is one of the few books in the Bible which tells us how the Holy Spirit guides us in spiritual work. Thus Acts tells us that to some places the Lord permits us to go and do, while to some other places He does not give permission. In some instances there is mention of what the Holy Spirit says and directs. But in other instances it tells us how Titus and Timothy are sent by others. Now besides Acts, we find that the Letters of 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus

are also Biblical books on work and service and they show us the

same principle as is found in Acts. From these New Testament books we may see that there is a corporate side to guidance as well as a personal side. But corporate guidance plays the major part. When

Peter stood up to preach on the Day of Pentecost, as recorded in Acts

2, the other eleven apostles stood up with him. What Peter said therefore became that which all of them said. He declared: "Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins" (v.38). Nobody afterwards said anything else. For example, we do not find John

standing up and saying,

"Peter, you should now leave some time for me to speak something."

Body Guidance and Body Ministry

Prior to Luther's day, the failure of the Roman Catholic Church

lay in having given little or no place to individual conscience, little or no place for the reality of the Holy Spirit. The Church had become the sole and supreme arbiter of man's conscience. In the Protestant restoration, individual conscience was indeed recovered. But because its recovery lay primarily on the individual side, Protestantism has had to resort to meeting and voting to settle matters relating to

corporate guidance concerning the way to labor for the Lord. True

guidance of this sort, however, does not come through planning,

consultation and resolution. It comes quite naturally without these human efforts. Where there is spiritual reality there will be no

problems in guidance. True guidance derives from the unity of the

Holy Spirit.

The Book of Acts at one point mentions the need of the newly-

saved brethren in Samaria. So, the apostles in Jerusalem sent two of their number there to help them (see 8.14). Or again, when some brothers were praying in the church in Antioch, the Holy Spirit sent two from among them to go abroad to labor for the Lord (13.2). If it

had been left up to us, we would probably have sat down to plan and consider how to go to Europe to work and serve God. But Acts

shows us it is not by plan or consideration or resolution but through corporate guidance by the Spirit.

Even in the case of Paul's salvation, God spoke to him through the local church. Yes, indeed, the Lord spoke directly to him, but even more so He spoke through a member of the body of Christ

(9.6,10ff.). Why did the Lord speak to Paul through another person?

Here was Paul, a person so zealous in serving God by shedding the

blood of believers. By this action he ignorantly thought he was

serving God. One day, though, God shed great light upon him and

turned his life around. Yet why did the Lord not speak exclusively directly to such a person? For we know from Acts that the Lord also spoke to him through another man—a believer in the church at

Damascus. And interestingly, He did not even call on Peter, John or 136

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Philip for this task. Instead, the Lord called upon a little brother by the name of Ananias. This man had never been heard of before, nor

was he ever to be heard of afterwards. The Lord sent a seemingly

quite ordinary believer to speak to Paul. This incident dramatically illustrates the fact that guidance is in the body.

Whereas the ministry of the apostle John relates to the Family of

God and that of the apostle Peter is concerned with the Kingdom of God, the ministry of Paul relates to the Church of God. And how did Paul's ministry begin? It began from the very day he was saved, for on that day Paul met up with a special feature of the spiritual life that is in Christ: the oneness that exists between the Lord and the Church: in other words, that the Head and the body are one and that the

members of the body are also one (see Acts 7.58-60, 9.1-5). From the first day of his Christian walk Paul learned these two fundamental lessons. He saw and experienced on his first day in Christ the life of the body. This is why later on he

could set himself aside and accept the work arrangement of the Church (Acts 15.22,25-27) as well as

make arrangement in the work himself. This demonstrates to us that God's speaking today is not only to individuals but also to the body.

Today among us workers we would ask God to do this one thing:

that there not be any guidance except the guidance of the body. The Lord's guidance in work is manifested through the body. If we

practice individualism, we will miss God's guidance. Work and

service are all in the corporate body. The work done on an

individualistic basis is very different from the work done on a

corporate basis. Moreover, individualistic work is fragmentary and is not related to God's movement. Working on an individualistic basis is either vain or false. Only by standing on the right ground will there be real work to do. Otherwise, all that is done will be vanity. A

person may be busily occupied, but from God's viewpoint he may be

very much at leisure. For not only doing nothing is deemed to be

idling: in the eyes of the Lord, doing works which do not count is also reckoned to be idling. If I am busily occupied with my own

Body Guidance and Body Ministry

things, this makes me an idler in God's sight. And hence what the

Lord is doing I have no part in; and what I am doing the Lord does not count as anything. So that one can be very busy, indeed, and yet the Lord may pass him over.

Corporate Guidance Better Than Personal Guidance

In God's work we need to learn to accept guidance from others.

This does not mean to say that today there is absolutely no individual guidance by the Lord, nor does it mean to say that instances of

corporate guidance today cannot be wrong. It is impossible for

corporate guidance to be absolutely without error. Sometimes there will be mistakes. But we as God's workers should ask ourselves this: If I have had personal guidance in my work, have I ever been wrong in such instances of guidance? I believe we shall have to

acknowledge that it is possible for personal guidance to be wrong

just as we must acknowledge that corporate guidance may be subject to error too. But in calculating the ratio, I believe we shall find that the decision of ten other spiritual believers is safer than my own decision. So let us learn this one thing before the Lord, which is, to learn to be a receiving vessel. Let us each learn to accept the

judgment of my more spiritual brethren as constituting my own

judgment. We must be able to accept another's decision as well as

have others accept our decision. For the alternative may well be the following: Suppose a young worker does something wrong. You

know this that he has done is wrong, and yet you dare not tell him because neither of you has learned this lesson. Thus, you allow him to continue in his error.

Sometimes a personal sensing of the Spirit's movement can be

very deep and strong. Sometimes it may differ from corporate

sensing. The sensing may indeed differ, but spirits must be the same.

I want to do God's will; he too wants to do God's will; in fact all want to do God's will; and hence, there is no difference in the spirit.

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But if you murmur and get angry, your spirit is wrong as well as your sensing is wrong. Suppose, for example, you complain, Why out of

all places am I asked to go to a certain locale to do God's work?

Such a spirit is a wrong one. A wrong spirit will result in disaster.

Let our spirits be right as well as be one.

The brethren having authority in the local church must learn to

pray together. The fundamental principle of church service is that the members be of one accord. The Bible does not teach majority rule. It teaches one heart and one mind. So let us gather the people together to pray. If there are people in the church who fast and pray, they will say the same thing. You yourself may have some thought, but in case you are not sure, it is profitable for you to submit to the body on the matter.

The church's spiritual course and the guidance of the Holy Spirit

are closely related. Why do we need the leading of the body?

Because with body leading we can avoid some unnecessary personal

trials. Without the corporate leading it may take a brother ten years to find the way, but with the guidance of the body he can know it in a day's time. By accepting the judgment of the body he can save much time. The usefulness of authority in the church is in sparing God's children many errors along the way.

The principle of church service is to involve all the one-talent

people. But as we said before, when the one talents come forth, the flesh will also be present. Hence for the local church to be a church, all the one-talent brethren must participate and authority must be exercised. Everyone needs to contribute, and everyone must obey. To have the exercise of authority but without the one-talent members'

participation does not constitute the church. On the other hand, to have the one talents' contribution but without the practice of

authority and submission will cause confusion. The problem with the church lies in not encouraging the one-talent saints to function,

though in fact the church is composed mostly of such saints. The ruin

Body Guidance and Body Ministry

of today's church is due to the burying of her one-talent members. If all the one talents come forward and all are obedient, the authority of the church is able to deal with the flesh.

Authority alone is empty; and to have only the one-talent people is confusion. But the presence together of both the one-talent factor and the exercise of authority constitutes the church. In obeying authority the fullness of authority comes to us. If people really know how to set aside their self life, there will be no problem in obedience.

The work of the Holy Spirit is in the body of Christ. 1 and 2

Timothy and also Acts all speak of the body and give intimations of the Spirit's movement therein. For instance, Paul said to Titus, "For

this cause left I thee in Crete" (Titus 1.5). He also told Timothy,

"Give diligence to come before winter" (2 Tim. 4.21). Here Paul did

not ask them to seek in prayer for guidance. He himself told them

directly where they should be and where they were to go and come.

Today God moves forward by His Spirit through the body.

Therefore, our work of service today must also follow the body.

In the beginning God planted a garden. There He went to find man

(Gen. 3.8-9). After man sinned, God had no resting place on earth.

Later, Noah's dove could not find any resting place for the sole of her feet on the earth that had come under God's judgment of the

flood (8.9). Typologically speaking, God again had no resting place on earth. This is why later on God built the tabernacle as His

dwelling place. It is then shifted from the tabernacle to the temple.

But subsequently the temple, too, came under judgment: not a stone was left upon another in 70 A.D. This, though, was followed by the

Church. For does not Ephesians 2 tell us that the Church is "a habitation of God in the Spirit" (v.22)? God does indeed dwell today

in the Church, the body of Christ (1 Tim. 3.15). In the Old Testament period there was neither lamplight nor sunlight in the holiest of all, and yet the holiest place of all was full of light because God dwelt there. According to the same principle, today if anyone seeks to have 140

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light he must come to the church. You are unable to meet that much light in an individual saint; but when you come to the local church, you receive very much light. It will be strange indeed if you come to the church and receive no light at all. If people refuse to come to the body, they remain in darkness. But the moment they come to the

church, they find light.

I would ask my fellow workers this: Where do you obtain more

light on the Bible—in the church meeting or during your private

study? From whence do you understand God's word more—from

being in your room or from being at the foot of the pulpit? What one individual brother does not see clearly is made plain among ten

brothers. Do you think your understanding comes from your mind?

Have you really given due thought about it? Let us understand that all revelations come as light. With the light there is revelation (see

Ps. 36.9). Today there is abundant light in the church. Consequently, we must recognize and acknowledge that to be an individual

Christian does indeed have its shortcomings.

Body Ministry

The Church has been on the earth for a long time now. Yet God

has never once asked anyone to manage a church, neither has He

called upon a few more advanced brothers to set up a church. To the contrary, the services of the local church are all governed by the Holy Spirit. On our part, though, do we not sometimes reflect that the best choice for service ought to rest upon some brothers who exhibit good behavior plus have some gifts? But the situation seems not to be that ideal: those people possessing a good reputation often lack the necessary gifts, whereas those people whose character is not too seemly possess the needful gifts: and thus through the latter, people get saved; but in the case of the former, no one gets saved. It would thus seem that the Lord often works in a way which leaves us

dumbfounded.

Body Guidance and Body Ministry

Today we not only cannot dictate the gifts, we cannot even pray

for gifts. All is in the sovereign hand of the Holy Spirit (see 1 Cor.

12.11). Men can do nothing except submit to the Lord's will. If God wants to choose a Saul of Tarsus, He just chooses him. Nowadays, of course, we consider Paul to be a very beloved brother; but back in those days had we gone to Jerusalem to inquire about him,

everybody we would have met would have appeared to have been

afraid of Paul (Acts 9.26). Even people in Tarsus had been afraid of him. No one in those days would have ever thought that Saul could

be saved, not even Saul himself! Today, therefore, we need to see the sovereignty of the Holy Spirit. All is in His hand. He who has not learned to obey the Spirit cannot serve well.

Paul did not receive authority by his having been sent out of men.

Sending does not in itself bestow authority. It is the Holy Spirit who gives authority. Paul said to the Corinthians, "Ye are our epistle" (2

Cor. 3.2). Where there is gift, there is ministry; and where ministry is, there is authority. This is something beyond human striving.

Having received the gift, Paul became a minister who had authority over all to whom he ministered. He therefore did not need any other epistle or letter of recommendation.

It is quite easy for us to say, "O Lord, You are the Head of the

Church." For all works are in truth done by the Lord himself. He is the one who raises up the gifted. What those people in responsibility do is but to cooperate with the Lord. Today if anyone intends to do things on his own, he should be put under some discipline by the

local church. Such discipline is for the purpose of dealing with the flesh. It is used to control the activity of the flesh. Whatever work done according to man's own thought should not intrude into the

Church. The revival of the Church is not brought in by man's

discipline but by the sovereign movement of the Holy Spirit. Without the sovereignty of the Spirit no measure of recommendation,

appointment and sending is of any avail. The most it does is to add more seals or signatures to the letter of recommendation.

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Today we must see that unless all the one-talent saints come forth to serve, the church has no future. Priesthood is universal. This is the greatest recovery of the past hundred years. Many envision service as being done by only a few, but true service is done by the whole body

(1 Peter 2.9). This, unfortunately, has not yet been fully recovered.

The Fall and Recovery of Priesthood

Those who serve God are called priests. In olden times they may

have been involved in many services, but only one service was

fundamental—to dwell in the holy temple of old. As we know, in the Old Testament times there was first the tabernacle and then the holy temple. In the latter there was a place set aside for the priests to dwell in. In the Psalms can be found seven or eight passages where

dwelling in the house of the Lord is mentioned. The work of the

priest was—and still is—to go to God for men and to go to men for

God. God wants to be among men, to dwell with men, and to find

rest among them. For this reason, there is need of the priesthood.

Through the priesthood God obtains His resting place on earth.

Sanctuary and priesthood are God's double requirement. The

work of the priests is to serve God. And sanctuary is the dwelling place of God as well as of the priests. Melchizidek was God's priest of old, but he was only an individual, so he was not able to satisfy the heart of God fully. What God has always desired is a kingdom of priests. For this purpose, therefore, He ultimately called out a people, the Israelites, brought them through the Red Sea, and had them enter the wilderness so as to make of them a kingdom of priests (Ex. 19.6).

In the eyes of God His people and His priests were one and the same.

As a matter of fact, He wished to have all Israel as priests: if they are My people, they are to be priests. This was why Moses as the

mouthpiece for God said to Pharaoh, "Let my people go, that they

may serve me" (Ex. 8.1, 9.1). All the people of Israel were to serve God. Everyone was to be a priest.

Body Guidance and Body Ministry

Now the law is the testimony of God. What the law requires is

that which men should give to God. The law testifies for God. As to what God says to men, let men say the same to God. And the law had said that all the children of Israel were to become a kingdom of

priests. But before the law had even reached the Israelites, when it was not yet even in Moses' hand, the children of Israel had fallen into worshiping the golden calf. So that after Moses had descended from the mountain and the presence of God, he commanded them as

directed by God to slay their own brothers and sisters. The sons of Levi did according to the word of God through Moses and they slew

about three thousand men. Hence God chose the tribe of Levi as

priests (Ex. 32.1-29; Deut. 33.8-10). Originally all the Israelites were

to have been a nation of priests. But now, from among the twelve

tribes of Israel, only one tribe could be priests. Thereafter, apart from the tribe of Levi, no one had the authority to be a priest. We read in the Book of Judges that back then only people with money could

engage a Levite to be their personal priest. We read elsewhere in the Old Testament that there was one king stricken with leprosy because he tried to be a

priest; and he remained a leper till the day he died

(see 2 Chron. 26.16-21). All who tried to serve according to their own ideas were overturned. For serving God is a position of

authority and of privilege.

Nevertheless, what the children of Israel long ago forfeited has

now been regained by the Church. Today God wants the Church to

be a kingdom of priests. Declared the apostle Peter: "ye also, as

living stones, are built up a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood"

(1 Peter 2.5). In the Book of Revelation we find the apostle John

saying this: "he made us to be a kingdom, to be priests unto his God

and Father" (Rev. 1.6). In the time of the Israelites gold and silver were to be earmarked for the temple and the tabernacle, not for the golden calf. The calf should certainly not be worshiped; but then, too, the golden calf must not be worshiped either. Today men need to learn to exercise the judgment of God to deal with the issue of the 144

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golden calf. Thus shall true service be produced and the true Levites come forth.

Today due to the insufficient understanding of our fellow workers, the work of God has been a huge failure. For example, though in the breaking of bread the saints know how to praise and pray, we

nonetheless see that in service not all the brothers and sisters function as priests. The matter of service has not become universal. Moreover, though in the meeting all are able to sing (the priests in the sanctuary had also sung), we know that service is more than singing. Only

when priesthood and God's children become one will there be the

church. Today our service is done by three or five people, not by the entire

congregation. We have turned to be like the Jewish nation of old, wherein only one tribe serves while the remaining eleven tribes among us depend on the numerically fewer Levites to carry out the

service of God. Apart from the few Levites among us, all others of us are adjudged unqualified to serve. Yet the will of God today is for all the tribes—the whole body of Christ—to serve.

Let me say to each of my beloved brethren in the work, that

notwithstanding how strong your ministry may be, how rich may be

your gift, and how useful you are, you are a Nicolaitan if you

monopolize all services (cf. Rev. 2.6,15). You have nothing to boast

of; rather, you must confess your sin. Your personal piety will

destroy the church instead of building it up. The right and correct way of work is to lead all the brothers and sisters into service. More service or less service is not the issue here. The pressing issue before us is that everyone must serve. Unless all serve, there is no church.

Here, then, is today's way: the work must be done by the entire local church; it is the church, and not just a few individuals, that preaches the gospel. No matter how well you each work, you become a

Nicolaitan if you are a substitute for other people in the body of Christ. You may have a ministry but you do not, as a consequence,

have the church in reality. However successful may be certain so-

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called spiritual giants or great revivalists, their works are a failure if they fail to bring in body ministry.

Today, preaching the gospel is to be our occupation. All other

things are mere sideline issues. We here and now make the gospel

our focus. Our various professions are for the sake of maintaining our livelihood. Our aim is for the gospel. Moreover, the gospel

preaching is to be done by the entire body and not by only a few.

Today's challenge is to universalize the service of gospel preaching; that is to say, all in the church must preach the good news. If brothers and sisters see the church as one body with its many members, then they cannot be individualistic anymore. The most blessed and happy event for us is to give our all for the gospel; and if that comes about, then there is no need to do much advertising or broadcasting. For all people will hear the gospel and witness the gospel in their very

midst. They shall see that every saint is serving. If, for instance, there be three thousand saints, all three thousand shall work together for the Lord as one. All shall be serving.

How, then, are we to answer God's call? Formerly, people of long

ago actually strove to gain the priesthood; now, though, priesthood is the portion of all God's people. Are we, in the end, to push it away from us? What the children of Israel had lost long ago can now be

regained by us. Shall we today make worthless the service of God in our hands? Some may serve God as though saving His face and

doing Him a favor, but we must see that being allowed to serve God is actually His favor to us. People who do not see the glory of God will count and recount the cost. But if they once see the glory of serving God, they shall climb up to Him and kneel before Him to

serve. All who stand afar off do not know the grace of God. But all who know God's grace and know themselves will count no cost at all in serving Him.

Body Ministry (1)∗

Nowadays there is to be found a strange

phenomenon among the children of God. It is as though

there is but one class of people serving God. Yet the

word of God makes clear that all who belong to God

serve Him. When the children of Israel were in Egypt

as slaves, they had no freedom. God delivered them out of Egypt and brought them through the Red Sea that they might serve Him in the

wilderness (Ex. 3.18). As many as were under the blood of the passover lamb were those who were delivered and went out to the

wilderness. As many of the people as were saved from the angel of

death, just so, they were the ones who were called out by God to

serve Him. In addition, as the children of Israel went out of Egypt they brought out with them gold and silver (12.35-36). Hence, as

many as were redeemed were the very ones who were to serve God

in the area of wealth and who were also to serve in the future

tabernacle. In other words, service was not to be performed by just a few. Both in the Old Testament and in the New, we find that there

was never the intention to make any distinction between people who serve and people who do not serve. No, it was always God's intent

that all of His redeemed ones would serve Him. Only in fallen Israel and in fallen Christianity does there exist such a distinction.

God said clearly to the Israelites, "Ye shall be unto me a kingdom

of priests, and a holy nation" (Ex. 19.6). Priests are those who wait

upon God and follow after Him. No other class of people may

approach Him as do the priests. Their vocation is to do nothing but serve God. And the children of Israel were to be nothing but a nation of priests. And hence, by definition, each and every one in the nation was to be a priest.

∗Delivered at Hardoon Road, Shanghai, 24 April 1948.— Translator 148

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The priests ate, and lived, and slaughtered the sacrifices—all in

the service of God. Their entire vocation was centered exclusively on serving Him. They might indeed do some other things, but these

would be their avocations. They were to be there not as teachers,

physicians, or other professionals—but as priests. Exodus 19 tells us that God meant to have all the Israelites, regardless whether young or old, male or female, to be priests.

The very purpose of God's salvation is for the obtaining of priests to himself (Rev. 1.5-6). The blood of the Paschal or Passover lamb delivered the children of Israel from the death angel for the sake of bringing into being a kingdom of priests. The highest calling is also the greatest grace by which men can be priests in the service of God.

As many as were the people who exited Egypt, precisely that many

were meant to be those who would worship and serve God. The very

number of those who arrived at Mount Sinai was to be the very

number who would serve God: no more, and certainly no less.

Sadly, however, at the foot of the mountain the children of Israel turned to worship the golden calf and thus sinned against God.

Consequently, as commanded by God Moses ordered the people to

slay their own brethren. The tribe of Levi alone among the twelve

tribes hearkened to Moses' word and slew three thousand of their

brethren (Ex. 32.1-29). The loss of these three thousand souls could not be compared with the much greater loss which the children of

Israel would now suffer; for henceforth, they could not all be priests!

Formerly, twelve tribes could be priests; hereafter only the tribe of

Levi could (Num. 8.5-19). Originally, God's thought for Israel was a kingdom— a nation—of priests; now it became merely a tribe of

priests. In obedience to God's word as delivered through Moses, the Levites had disregarded human affections and had stood on God's

side in the moment of crisis. And thus, they obtained the exclusive privilege of priesthood. Here, then, we may notice one very

significant fact: that most of the people had cast aside the priesthood Body

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of God: that due to idolatry, they had forfeited the priesthood. In short, they had engaged in other worship and service.

Later, in their striving for priesthood, the rebellious among the

Israelites were swallowed up by the earth when it opened up its

mouth (read Num. 16.1-33). To settle this issue of priesthood once and for all, God ordered the Israelites to lay up twelve rods before Him in the tent of the testimony, each rod representing a tribe and the rod of Aaron the Levite being among them. On the following day

only the rod of Aaron for the tribe of Levi had budded. The rest of

the rods were all dead (17.6-11). This thus served as dramatic confirmation of

the fact that only one tribe had been chosen by God to serve Him. It further confirmed that by this time in the history of Israel, most of the people had lost their privilege of directly

approaching God. If they now desired to come before Him, they had

to consign this privilege to the priests. Even in the case of those among the eleven tribes who had a heart for God, they could only

remain outside the tent of meeting. Thus, the eleven tribes were

distant from God, while the twelfth—that of the Levites—was alone

close to Him. The eleven tribes came to God indirectly, but the

Levites approached Him directly. The eleven tribes were the served, whereas the Levites were the serving ones. In the record of the Book of Judges, we learn that the Levites were quite in demand in those days. Only after much searching could someone engage a Levite to

come and serve in his home as priest. Even people with money could not serve; they had to ask Levites to serve God for them (see Judges

17).

Such a situation continued on for over fifteen hundred years. Of

the twelve tribes of Israel, eleven remained outside the pale of God's presence, leaving but the one tribe of Levi inside. Not for hundreds and hundreds of years would this change till one day, in the New

Testament period, Peter was moved by the Spirit of God to declare:

"ye are . . . a royal priesthood" (1 Peter 2.9). All of the redeemed are now once again to serve God. Furthermore, around 95 A.D., and

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before he went to be with the Lord, John the apostle, in what proved to be the

conclusion of the New Testament Canon, could also

announce this: "he [Christ] made us to be a kingdom, to be priests

unto his God and Father" (Rev. 1.6). Accordingly, the will of God

for the Church today is that all are priests: even more so, we are to be a kingdom of priests. That which the children of Israel had forfeited is now, in God's good will, regained by the Church. Due to their

unfaithfulness, the children of Israel lost the privilege of being a kingdom of priests; yet in this latter day God's will is for every Christian to be a priest.

Recovery of Universal Priesthood of Believers

Any service short of the service of a nation of priests is wrong. As a nation for God, the Church has been chosen out of the world;

therefore, there should not be any further choice made in the Church.

If there be neither the instance of sin nor fall nor golden calf, then God does not permit further separation. As many as are the redeemed by the Blood, just so, these many are they who are to serve. In other words, the number of sons redeemed back to God equals the exact

number of servants whom God expects: the number in God's service

is to be as broad as the number embraced by His salvation. Today

there are only backsliders, for in God's eyes every single one is a servant or a maid. Today there are only the rebellious, yet there is no one who is not called to serve God. All services performed are to

constitute the service of the entire local church together. This is what we have been talking about with respect to the "body ministry."

Today's major problem lies precisely here. God is not satisfied with the service of ninety-nine percent of the Church. He wants everyone to serve. We do not believe in the majority serving, without the

minority also serving. Nor do we believe in a few serving with the many not serving. Service is not the work of a few ministers. Why do we insist on body ministry? Because this ministry belongs to all the brothers and sisters.

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The word of God tells us what we who know the mercy of God

should do. But the current concept of Christianity is this: At the beginning I am saved through the grace of the Lord and by His

blood. After a while, as I advance a little, I should forsake the world.

Then sometime later, I should forsake all and serve God. Yet this is the teaching of fallen Christianity. According to God's word,

however, the moment I am saved I am to enter in through the narrow gate, from whence I am called by the Lord to take up the cross (Matt.

7.13-14,16.24). Nothing is required if one is not a disciple. But in

being a disciple, one must be absolute. To every saved person the

Lord clearly places before him in advance the cost of discipleship.

On the very first day of his salvation the believer meets the tomb. On that very first day he needs to forsake the world. We should not make the gospel cheap, thus rendering it powerless. The Lord never uses religious sales gimmicks to attract customers. On the one hand the gospel is the cheapest commodity; but on the other hand its cost is the highest—even the cost of Jesus' blood. We need to be soundly

saved. Only those who pay a cost can truly rejoice.

When the rich young ruler returned home from his encounter with

the Lord Jesus, he still had his money and his "great possessions"

with him but he had sorrow also (Matt 19.22). Where the grip of money is, there is bound to be sorrow. When money and its grip is

gone, however, joy comes. Such kind of salvation demands total

abandonment. Today many brothers and sisters are sorrowful like

that young ruler. In their hands they hold on to what they could not lay down. Their only difference from the young ruler is that they

have not yet turned away since they are still here meeting with the saints. To be joyful requires total consecration.

Last year I once asked a college student, "How would you feel if

somebody were to strike you on your right cheek?" Most likely, the more you would think about it the angrier you would become. Yet

the most hilarious person before the Lord is he who, having had his right cheek smitten, has then turned his left cheek to be struck also.

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He who has been twice struck on the cheeks will be joyous and full of praise. Let us understand that the way of the Lord is absolute. A relative person cannot sing praises. We do not invite people to come and serve, since all God's people are to serve. We only let you know that you are a God-serving person if you are one of His. God calls you to serve.

What kind of service is truly serving? Only body ministry is. As we have seen earlier, by definition being a Christian is to be a

servant. So in order to have body ministry, there is the need for

coordination of all the servant-Christians. What is coordination? It is not simply our being thrown together. To place my hand in the body at the latter's disposal

is useful, but if it is left upstairs it is useless.

Upon anyone becoming a Christian, has he consulted the Lord

about his occupation, dwelling place, and business? Is his occupation conducive to the gospel? Is the place he moves to helpful to his

spiritual life? All brothers and sisters are fellow workers and must give their all for the gospel. All need to be coordinated in service.

The Lord desires us to serve in this coordinated way.

We should therefore tell the younger brothers and sisters that

whatever they shall do in the coming days—whether that be as

physicians, teachers or other professionals—they must undertake

them as avocations. This is because each one of us lives to serve

God. They must also be encouraged to let go their wealth. And why

do they need to offer up their wealth? Because with it, they cannot serve God. The Lord declares that no man can serve two masters. No one can serve together both God and mammon (wealth, riches,

possessions) (Matt. 6.24). We all, like the colt, must be loosened for

service (Matt. 21.2).We all need to be freed from what ties us down in order to be able to serve.

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Serving God the Highest Glory

When I was in England I heard that someone once sent one of

brother C. A. Coates's books to the Queen of England and that the

Queen was much helped after reading it. Now Coates had written

eight books. So I asked the brothers and sisters in England why the person had not also sent the Queen the other seven books by Coates.

They all fell silent as though I had said something wrong. Later I inquired and found out that the English people cannot just casually give books to their Monarch. The latter might not accept the books people send.

Consecration is the King of Heaven's favor to us, not our favor to Him. It is God who accepts our persons, being favorable to us in

receiving that which we offer. It is not we who do God a favor;

rather, it is God who does us a favor. In His mere acceptance of us, He is bestowing upon us a great favor. If I kneel before God and He sends down fire, this is His favor to me in accepting my service. Do not think that you humble yourself in offering to God. You may not realize that this is actually the mercy of God. Why, then, do you

count the cost in serving God? You should learn to crawl on your

knees into His presence in order to serve Him. Let us learn to bow before God and beg to be accepted into His service.

The blind today are not those who cannot see, but those who do not see. We are fearful lest we give God too little, fearful lest He will not accept. Does our consecration profit God or profit us? Is it we who favor God or God who favors us? When we come before Him,

our fear arises in our not being accepted. All who know God will say,

"O Lord, here is something more." All who have met the Lord will

gladly give half to the poor. The Lord said to rich Zacchaeus, "Today is salvation come to this house" (Luke 19.9). Today's problem lies in

our not seeing the greatness of the Lord's salvation. Salvation is more than the saving of our souls. It means coming out of the former things. Let us recall the meaning of baptism. Why are we baptized?

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In baptism we declare that we have come out of this world and the

things of this world. The issue of service is not resolved by asking three or five people to serve.

Today for the sake of the gospel we need the whole body to rise

up and do the work of the gospel. We need to have our consecration renewed. What the Lord did in the first century must also be done

today. We dare to believe in the first-century gospel; we dare to

preach the first-century gospel; and we dare to do the first-century work. During that early period people could not freely preach the

gospel and there were no church buildings to go to. People of the

world believed in the gospel because they saw it portrayed right

before their very eyes: they saw the Christians. In that very early time, Christians met in homes. But when for their faith they were

burnt as torches, people heard them and saw them. The result of

seeing the gospel far exceeds that of hearing it. For such a gospel shows that salvation is not a casual thing. The prayers of the martyrs became their gospel. In fact, history tells us that in the city of Rome the believers were at first killed but later the rest were exiled because of the tremendous public impact the martyrs were having!

Today Christianity has no power on others because it has no

power upon us Christians. In the Church's early days people came to the

meetings in spite of their fear. Today lukewarm Christians have little effect, whereas the testimony of the early believers frightened the spectators on the one hand but attracted them to such a gospel on the other.

Today we must bear all responsibilities. If the Lord cannot get

through with us workers, how can He get through with the others in the churches? The Lord has been preparing us for the past twenty

years and we have been waiting in prayer. Let us give to the Lord all our wealth, time and heart that He may have His way in us. This way will lead us to our destination. Let not money block our hearts, nor let it block the way of others to God. All brothers and sisters must Body

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participate in spiritual work. And thus this will provide the Lord a highway.

Body Ministry (2)∗

I believe God is going to do great things in our day.

Indeed, He has already done great things for us. He has

given us so great and so complete salvation. As He

saved souls in the first century, so He saves souls today.

As He saved in the first century to the uttermost, so He

saves today to the uttermost. God will not change the gospel because of its twothousand year history. The demand and the result of the gospel remain the same. Do not think that though people in the first century had to pay a great cost in

following the Lord, today we need not pay anything. As a matter of fact, people who follow the Lord

today are required to pay just as much a cost as those of the first century. In those days, people had to forsake all; today this demand remains unchanged. Though there is a great difference between

putting the lamp under the bushel and placing it on the lampstand, nevertheless the lamp itself has not changed.

During the past two thousand years the gospel has not changed

one whit. When the Church was born on that first day, God looked

upon this newly created entity as being very good just as He had

pronounced all things and man to be very good after His six days of creation had been concluded. Unfortunately, however, after a while this very good condition in both Church and creation began to

change. Even so, no matter how much the changing condition, the

original beauty of the first day remains the same in both: the beauty of the Church on the first day at Pentecost is the same as the beauty of Eve on the first day of man's creation. But we must acknowledge that like creation the Church has gradually changed for the worse.

From Ephesus she gradually became Sardis (see again Rev. 2.1-3.6).

But by the time of Martin Luther, God commenced the way of

∗Delivered at Hardoon Road, Shanghai, 26 April 1948.— Translator 158

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recovery step by step to bring the fallen Church back to God's

original intent for her. So that during the past four hundred years God has done a work of recovery whose chief events can be traced as

having happened about every fifty years. In the most recent hundred years, God

has undertaken the work of recovery very intensely. It

seems as though, in fact, that in just the last few decades recovery has well-nigh reached its peak. What the Church therefore possesses today is that which is the richest of all.

Body Testimony God's Last Recovery Work

We believe that what God wants to recover today is the hardest of all. That which we are most anxious about in our day is the

implementation of Ephesians 4. Whenever we read John 3.16 there is

no doubt in our hearts that it will be fulfilled. About this we have neither fear nor anxiety. Even if people should say there is no eternal life after one has believed and even if they should say there is no consequence after faith, I entertain no worry or fear about these

matters. I have read the New Testament over two hundred times and

therefore have no fear regarding John 3.16 and many other passages.

I have read the Book of Revelation many hundreds of times, yet I am not even alarmed about its various passages. But I feel most

apprehensive about Ephesians 4. I dread the possibility of its unfulfillment.

Ephesians 4 declares that the purpose of ministry is that the Church may arrive at the unity of the faith and full-grown maturity

(vv.12-13). The Church is the body of Christ, and the Church is to

build herself up in love. We are not concerned about the new heaven and the new earth, the lake of fire, and so forth. On the other hand, as I lie in bed, I often worry that Ephesians can never be fulfilled. I read and pray, and yet I have no confidence that the objective of

Ephesians 4 can be fulfilled in today's Church. Presently there is such confusion and such divisions among the children of God; when, Body

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then, can they ever be one? Today there are such complexities in all kinds of ministry; how, then, can this chapter be adequately

recovered? Such has been the content of my dire musings of the

recent past.

But, my brothers and sisters, we believe one day God's recovery

will arrive at this stated objective. Ephesians 4 will be manifested.

Today God is doing the work of recovery everywhere. Of His

longstanding work of recovery, the last element to be recovered will probably be the testimony of the body. Currently God is causing us to see the beginning and to return to the earlier positive state.

Both 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12 show us that in the plan and arrangement of God there is not the substitution of one pastor or leader for the ministry of the body. Nor is there the dividing of God's people so that there is a group of brothers and sisters serving while another group of brothers and sisters are being served. In the word of God we see the universal priesthood of all the saints. The entire

Church is a priesthood (1 Peter 2.5). God's thought for Israel was

that she become a nation of priests (Ex. 19.6); though as it later

turned out not many were priests. Today there is some progress in the churches everywhere. Brothers and sisters are free to pray, sing,

preach, and take responsibility. But let us take note that what we have in our midst is still not the Church. For the Church is built on the universal priesthood of the entire body. The Church is not built on the service of a few brothers and

sisters or even on the service of many brothers and sisters. Without a universal priesthood, we see the Roman Catholic or the Protestant Church. But with its universality, we see the Church. Let us acknowledge that serving God is not a matter of three or five, thirty or even fifty or a hundred people.

Today all must serve.

In the days ahead it is not to be the ministry of the ministers but the ministry of the entire local church. In the past hundred years God raised up many spiritual giants who stood head and shoulders above 160

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the rest. From the 1820s to the present time an amazing number of

such people were continually being raised up. Yet today we witness very few spiritual giants as though they no longer exist. For it is now to be the ministry of the Church and not the ministry of her limited number of ministers. It is not to be personal evangelism but church evangelism as the focus. It is the church preaching the gospel by the coordination of all her members.

Not only in the area of evangelism, but in that of instruction we

also need to put the body to work. Formerly a larger number of

converts used to cause a problem for us. When people were saved

they needed to be instructed. Such instruction serves as spiritual education. Whether believers are educated or not makes a great

difference. Now, though, we need many brothers and sisters to do the work of instructing new believers. Only thus shall the Church build

herself up in love (Eph. 4.16).

So the issue now before us is whether we shall see the Church in

reality. Three or five people serving do not constitute the local

church. When all brothers and sisters in a locality are serving, there shall we see

the church. It is quite possible for a group of brothers and sisters to give money to engage a pastor to serve for them. And thus from this you may conclude that the difference between that and body ministry is something quite small. But I say that the difference is vast. Body-working is far different from personal-working; and

having all the brothers and sisters serving is also quite different from having just one minister serving.

The Way of Body Ministry

One—Engage All One-Talent Members

Formerly, we did have some new believers who were zealous in

serving. But as they served, their flesh also came in. So when their flesh was checked, their service soon ceased. Giving such brethren Body

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an opportunity to serve created trouble for the churches; yet not

allowing them to serve deactivated the churches: for when their flesh was silenced, their spirit too became silent. Such a situation was difficult to cope with. For this reason, authority must be recovered in the local church as well. On the one hand each must bring in his

talent, but on the other hand the churches must exercise authority to deal with the flesh.

Today people long to have the five talents of a Paul. But we may

have to wait for a hundred years before God will grant us such a

great gift, such a great minister; or have to wait fifty years for a great teacher. Hence today's way lies in body ministry. Although one

talent is not much, adding five one-talent servants together brings in five talents. Every redeemed person has at least one talent, with no one having less than one talent. So, in the local church you cannot find any member without a single talent except if he has buried it.

Whether the body of Christ is going to be built depends on whether the onetalent saints are being built in together. We thank God if He should raise up the five talents. So far as the effect of the work is concerned, it is commendable to have the working together of great gifts such as those with five or two talents. Nevertheless, what we need today is to have all the one-talent folk come forth. This shall open the way for the Church and its work.

In this matter of service, brothers and sisters must learn to hearken and to accept the cross. As the Holy Spirit works, the cross will

produce its effect on the human heart. On the other hand, the

authority of the Church must be restored to deal with the flesh and all resistance to the cross. It is not enough to recover just the one talents or to recover just the authority of the Church. Both must be

recovered together if the work of the Church is to be restored.

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Two—Restore Church Authority to Deal with the Flesh

Brothers and sisters need to learn to hearken, otherwise the

Church will become tumultuous. The young and the new believers

are naturally ignorant of many things. They need to be admonished

by the older and more advanced brothers and sisters to hearken. How very small we are! According to our nature, we will work when we

are excited but will go to bed when we are unhappy. But now in the body, we must serve whether we are happy or unhappy, are in joy or in tears.

Three—All Committed, All Serving, All Obeying

If we are all committed and serving with obedience, the Church

will soon experience its Pentecost. For with such commitment there will be coordination in service. We hope such a situation will appear all over the world. The foolish one looks at what he has in his hand; he does not see the world. Today we must enlarge our horizon to

include the entire world.

Four—All Need to Be Trained

All the brothers and sisters in the body of Christ should receive

training. What we need today is not theology but an education in the things of God. While the local assembly is young, brothers and

sisters do not have much outlet. But if the local assembly is strong and spiritually rich, there will be much work to be done. Even with all the young people involved, there is still not enough manpower.

Five—Sent Out

After brothers and sisters have received training, they can be sent out. Many who read the Bible think that it was the twelve apostles who went out from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. If so, how

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could twelve people cover the whole known world of that day? The

Bible tells us that the twelve apostles remained in Jerusalem. Philip went to Samaria. Peter's visit to Samaria was most temporary. It

would have been wrong for him to have stayed in Samaria. Gospel

work is like a relay; it is not accomplished by only one person. All brethren need to receive Church training. At the same time the

Church should also take care of the poor, the unbelievers, and the new believers in gaining them and educating them so as to send them out too. Such coordinated work is highly effective. Not just the

apostles preach the gospel; all brothers and sisters preach the gospel.

Philip was not called especially to be an evangelist, and Stephen was not particularly chosen to be a martyr. We imagine that only special brothers and sisters can do special works. But Philip was chosen to be one among the seven who served the tables (Acts 6.5). Therefore, remember that Samaria was taken for the Lord by one who was

chosen to serve tables. Coordination requires all the saints to be consecrated and committed.

Perhaps some will say, I am not eloquent, I do not know how to

preach the gospel. Today you need to learn. You must preach

whether or not you can preach well. Perhaps the first time you go

out, none will be saved. But the second time, some may be saved.

Six—The Professionals Give Their Wealth

In the Church every one must give his all. To the brothers and

sisters who are in various professions let us say this: without offering your wealth to the Lord your consecration is vague, since no one can know if or when you withdraw your consecration. Scripture tells us this: "neither was there among them any that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, and laid them at the apostles feet" (Acts

4.34-35).

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All Teachings Must Become Practical

Today all Christian teachings or understandings must become

practices before God and man. They must become practical realities in our work with one another in the church and before a watching

world. For example, Christ indeed said we are to be humble and to

love. But though these are good, the Lord's work does not stop there, for He also wanted His disciples to wash one another's feet just as

He had washed theirs (John 13.14-17). Today no one would confess

that he is proud. Neither would anyone bring out a sign announcing that he is humble. Whether one is humble or not depends on his

willingness to wash another's feet. This the Lord wants us to do just as He taught by both word and example. Teachings become real and

firm through practices.

The Epistle of James declares: "If a brother or sister be naked and in lack of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Go in peace, be ye warmed and filled; and yet ye give them not the things needful to the body; what doth it profit?" (2.15-16) Agape love is

unquestionably everlasting, but it serves no practical purpose unless it gives bread to the poor.

Suppose a brother has sinned against me. I should of course

forgive him. Yet if this forgiveness remains merely inward, who can see my forgiveness even after doing so fifty or a hundred times?

Forgiveness needs to be translated into practical expression.

The same is true with resisting the devil. If you only resist

inwardly, you do not know the effect. But if you speak out in words, Satan will flee from you. Externalizing the inward can be most

effective.

So it is with faith and baptism. After people believe in the Lord

they should be baptized (see Mark 16.16). Believing in the heart is something invisible: it takes a visible baptism to seal the faith.

Body

Ministry

(2)

Believing with the heart is something nebulous, but being baptized with water is most practical and visible.

Let us similarly consider the matter of consecration. Mystical

consecration is vague and obscure. Indeed, many consecrations stay in that realm. One may say to the Lord, I am willing to consecrate all; but the Gospel according to Luke shows how practical is

Zacchaeus's consecration, for he laid all his wealth at the feet of

Jesus (Luke 19.8). In these past hundred years the Church has witnessed many theoretical consecrations; but by contrast,

consecration during the apostolic time was most visible and practical in its expression. At that time they settled all matters by giving their all. Today every brother or sister must submit to the authority in the church. He or she must also come with his or her time and wealth.

According to 2 Corinthians God first receives "you" but then He receives "yours" (see 12.14).

All the brothers and sisters must take Christ as the center.

Everything is for the gospel, everything is for service. We do not consider being Christian an avocation. In English there is a familiar saying: "professing Christian." But we each should be a

"professional Christian," which means that we take Christ as our

profession. The Lord demands us to deny ourselves for the sake of

loving Him (Matt. 10.37-39). As was the Lord's demand in the first century, so is His demand today. In the word of God there is no half-and-half person when it comes to being a disciple of Christ; there is only the absolute person.

5 Ministry and Authority∗

Another point we need to see is the relationship

between ministry and authority. The eye of the body

has its ministry. It controls the power of seeing. If the

other members of the body desire to see, they must

depend on the ministry of the eye. The meaning of

coordination in the body of Christ is that I give others what I have and others give me what they have. The primary condition of

coordination is for me to accept my limitation, acknowledging that I am but a member, not the body. If I am an all-round individual, I

become the entire body and will need no coordination with others.

Yet I am but a member, so I cannot consider myself as having all.

However important is the eye, it cannot substitute the ear. Color can only be distinguished by the eye, and sound can only be detected by the ear. Perhaps I can speak but I cannot walk. I need to depend on you for walking. As soon as we

see this, we come to realize how

truly limited we each are personally. We have observed, however,

that very few brothers and sisters really know coordination in

practice.

For instance: the head covering of the sisters should speak to the brothers as well: yet frequently it does not. Christ declared: "I spake not from myself" (John 12.49). The Greek word ek used here means

"out from." The Son cannot speak anything out from himself. In

other words, Christ himself has His head covered before God. In turn the Church today has her head covered before Christ. And this reality of head covering is expressed through the head covering of the

sisters. Whenever we are in coordination of the body, we each must lay down our head. It is not fitting for us to plan and to decide. Christ the sole Head is the one fit for such work. Yet how people today

∗Delivered at Hardoon Road, Shanghai, 27 April 1948.— Translator 168

Revive Thy Work

want to be the head. Let us therefore learn to resist our own ideas and opinions.

Concerning the interpretation of the Scriptures and the

determination of doctrines, God has left for himself the teachers in the body of Christ. Today there are so many sects and so many

strange teachings in the Church. It is because everybody wants to be a teacher. The fact of the matter is, however, that not all are, or even can be, teachers. In the human body, for example, what would be the use of the ear saying that a particular color is white? Whether it is white or not cannot be determined by what the ear does. The matter has to be evaluated by the eye. The many heresies in today's Church are the products of such confusion.

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