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In the previous chapter we considered the age of the one new man and how the co-workers should continue to go on in the Lord’s up-to-date way. Concerning where the co-workers should go, we do not want much arrangement. The co-workers should touch the Lord inwardly to find out the area that they should have a burden for and where they should go. This does not mean that the work cannot make arrangements; however, too much arrangement may not be of the Lord. Nor does this mean that the co-workers can act independently. Acting independently will not produce results.
In this chapter we will consider a few things that affect the fruit of our work. Some people say that we cannot evaluate the fruit of our work until the Lord comes and that only the Lord’s evaluation counts. This may sound good, but it is not practical. When we work for the Lord, we should pay attention to the fruit of our work, because the Lord said, “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree corrupt and its fruit corrupt; for by the fruit the tree is known” (Matt. 12:33). In order to know a tree, we must look at its fruit. Our main problem is not that we bear corrupt fruit but that we do not bear any fruit. Therefore, we cannot afford to neglect the matter of fruit. There are four things that negatively affect the fruit of our work. We need to be aware of these things.
The first thing that negatively affects the fruit of our work is our disposition. Our disposition can limit and even nullify the fruit of our work. Our disposition is a stubborn enemy. Every person has a different disposition. Some people have good dispositions; others have bad dispositions. For example, some people are sensitive. This is a bad disposition. A sensitive person is self-conscious. A person cannot be self-conscious if he is to accomplish anything. If we are self-conscious when we stand up to speak for the Lord, we will not be able to say anything. We must not be self-conscious when we preach the gospel. In other words, we should preach the gospel without caring about our feelings so that our speaking will be strong and our spirit will be released. A sensitive person considers many things before opening his mouth to speak; his sensitivity kills him. Sensitive brothers should learn not to care about their feelings or others’ comments but to care only for the burden. Then they will be able to subdue their sensitive disposition.
Another kind of disposition involves the tendency to point out others’ mistakes. This is not a simple matter. We need to minister life before we have any ground to point out others’ mistakes. If we point out someone’s mistakes without ministering life, we will cause damage and accomplish nothing. A mother can rebuke her child because she gave birth to the child, raised the child, and taught the child. Even if she strongly disciplines him, the child will not leave. How can someone accept our pointing out of their mistakes if we have not begotten, nurtured, and taught him? If a co-worker goes to a local church and sees that the chairs are not properly arranged, he should not be concerned. His only concern should be to minister life. Only when we minister life can people be subdued. When they are subdued, we can point out mistakes. Then, even if they do not fully agree with us, they will not oppose, and they will eventually accept the correction.
Hence, the ability to point out people’s mistakes depends on how much life we minister. If we minister much life and criticize little, there will be no problem. If we do not minister much life but criticize much, we will create problems. If we do not minister life, we will not be able to perfect. If we continually criticize others, they will eventually leave. People with such a disposition easily damage others. In order to perfect others, we must first minister life. If we cannot minister life, we should not speak about perfecting others, for there is no perfecting without ministering life. If someone makes a mistake, it is his concern, not ours; we do not have the ground to interfere. A mother can rebuke her child because she gave birth to the child, raised the child, and taught the child. She cannot rebuke children whom she sees on the street. There will be problems if she rebukes them.
The problem of disposition exists not only in the East but also in the West. Some American brothers who were under my leading lost their usefulness because of their disposition. There is an old Chinese saying: “It is easier for rivers and mountains to change than for a person’s nature to change.” A person’s nature is his disposition. Spiritually weighty people should have great value and function, but some are peculiar by disposition, and this negates their usefulness. A person’s disposition affects his function. Everyone who desires to be used by the Lord must go against his disposition. Otherwise, he will not be useful. Our disposition can kill our function. Hence, we must stand against it. Not going against our disposition is the reason that we lose our function.
The second thing that negatively affects the fruit of our work is our inability to work with others. We must be able to use others and raise them up. Some co-workers have not manifested their usefulness because they do not know how to work with others or are unwilling to work with others. In the church, as the Body of Christ, there is the need for coordination. Even in the world, individualistic people are not successful. If someone wants to open a shop, he must hire employees. In northern China people say, “It is easy to sell things; it is hard to manage employees.” If one does not know how to manage his employees, his business will not be successful. In every occupation we need to know how to work with others. All the successful Chinese emperors knew how to work with people. They even knew how to work with those who opposed them. Working with others does not mean that we are encouraging political maneuverings. If we cannot work with others, we will not be useful. Some saints have not manifested their function because they do not work with others. Some are unwilling to work with others, and some do not know how to work with others. It is not a matter of the saints lacking talent. Everyone has a talent, but some are greater and some are lesser in measure. It is possible to make a table with top-quality wood or lower-quality wood. If top-quality wood is not available, we should use the wood that is available. It is better to have wood than to have nothing, because even lower-quality wood can be made into a table. We must be able to work with others. Otherwise, we will be useless.
The third thing that negatively affects the fruit of our work is that we are unable to work under others, to coordinate with others. This problem will also cause us to lose our function. There is only one universal administration. This is a great principle. Hence, there can be only one head in any situation. There is only one leader in a country. There can be only one emperor or one president. This principle applies to every government agency. There can be only one head, not two. As long as someone is not the head, he should follow the directions from the head, even if he is much more capable than the head. It does not matter how capable a person is; what matters is the time and the situation.
When the Lord brought me to work with Brother Nee, I was clear that Brother Nee was taking the lead. He may not have been more capable than I in every area, but he was taking the lead; therefore, I gave myself to follow him in everything. If he wanted me to go somewhere, I would go because he was taking the lead. I became very useful because I was used by him in this way. If I had thought that I was wiser and was unwilling to go where he sent me, he would not have asked me to go to the places where it was proper for me to go. We must know how to work with others and how to work under others so that we may be useful. Disposition, working with others, and working under others are not spiritual doctrines, but they are related to our usefulness.
The fourth thing that negatively affects the fruit of our work is playing politics. Although we do not have as much politics among us as other groups, we still have the residual influence of politics. We should never play politics in the Lord’s work. When I went to Shanghai, some people thought that I was a foolish countryman because I never played politics. It was later proved that this foolish countryman was victorious. When I was young, I worked in a foreign company where, in addition to Chinese, there were seven other nationalities: British, American, French, German, Russian, Greek, and Norwegian. I worked with them for six and a half years; I was not foolish. The difference between the northerners and the southerners is that the southerners tend to play more politics. However, those who play politics will eventually be harmed by their own politics. I can testify before the Lord that playing politics is like digging a hole for one’s own burial. Brother Nee fully trusted me because I did not play politics. Therefore, my advice is that even if someone has a history in the work, he should not play politics or manipulate things. Let our word be yes, yes, and no, no. If we do not agree, we do not need to oppose others, but neither should we play politics. This matter also has much to do with our usefulness.
Our disposition, working with others, working under others, and not playing politics are crucial to our being used by the Lord. I have my disposition. However, when I came into the work, I had to go against my disposition. Sometimes I failed. It is difficult to go against our disposition. However, even if we fail, we still need to go against our disposition. Beginning in 1934 I stayed in Shanghai for a long period of time. During this time Brother Nee put me at the center of the work. I can testify that I did not have any problem with anyone. I gave myself to be under others. I listened not only to Brother Nee but also to Sister Ruth Lee and Sister Peace Wang because both of them were older than I. Sister Peace Wang brought me to salvation and was six years older than I. Sister Ruth Lee was at least nine years older than I. They both knew the Lord and were useful to the Lord; they helped me greatly. Hence, I gave myself to be under them. I did whatever they said. I also learned from them how to work with others.
Coordination involves working with others and working under others. Two brothers in a family know who is older and who is younger. If you are older and I am younger, I will listen to you without complaint. This is coordination. By the Lord’s mercy and grace there are no arguments or conflicts among us, nor is there anger. Nevertheless, there is still the need to accomplish things. In order to accomplish things, we need to know how to work with others. We learn how to work with others by being under others. If we know how to be under others, we will know how to work with others. Whether in the church or in the world, we cannot do a work by ourselves; we need colleagues or helpers. Recently, the church in Taipei has been flourishing. Although this is the result of many factors, we must admit that knowing how to work properly with others is one of the factors. If we do not work properly with others, we will quench their function before they begin to “burn.” Hence, we must learn how to work with others.
May the Lord deliver us from these negative items by His mercy. If the co-workers are willing to go against their disposition and learn how to work with others and how to work under others without playing politics, our work will bear fruit. We all have been in the work for many years. We cannot say that we do not know how to work. We may not have a thorough knowledge of the Bible, but at least we have a general knowledge of the Bible. We may not have arrived at spiritual maturity, but we have a certain amount of growth. However, because of these four points, our function is still not manifested. We lack those who know how to work with others. We can do things by ourselves, but we do not know how to do things with others. Hence, not many of us are used by others. As a result, our work does not yield much fruit.
May the Lord give us the grace to learn to go against our disposition, to work with others, to be under others, and to not play politics. The co-workers should not be discouraged or consider themselves as hopeless; neither should they think that they are too old to be useful. Even if the co-workers are fifty years old, they still have decades before them of being in the Lord’s hand. No one is useless; everyone is useful. The younger saints have their strengths and surpass us in many ways, but this is their portion. We also have our portion. We have been in the Lord’s work for more than twenty years; thus, we have more experience, insight, and weight. The younger saints cannot replace the co-workers, nor can the co-workers replace the younger saints. We should not be proud, nor should we despise ourselves. The older co-workers should never think that they are not needed because the younger ones have risen up. The Lord still needs every one of us. Every one of us has received the grace of the Lord. We have a portion of the Lord’s grace, and we will give an account of this grace to the Lord. One day we will meet Him, and we will need to give Him an account of how we used our portion of grace. We need to be faithful to the church, and we also need to be faithful to the Lord. If we love the Lord, we should care for His interest on earth today. I hope that every one of us will take this way of being used by the Lord.
In addition to these four points, the flow of the Holy Spirit is also closely related to the fruit of our work. In principle, the Lord is still working on the earth. Therefore, He must speak because He works by speaking. His speaking is His work. He created all things by speaking, and He also preached the gospel by speaking. God works by speaking (Psa. 33:9; Heb. 1:1-3). Therefore, He has been speaking in every age. In the age of Abraham He spoke through Abraham. In the age of Noah He spoke through Noah. In the age of Moses He spoke through Moses. In the New Testament age the Lord Jesus spoke. Later, the Lord spoke through the apostles. In principle, the Lord is still working on the earth today because He works by speaking. Where is the Lord speaking? Some people say that He is speaking in the Bible. This is correct because the Bible is the complete revelation of God, but what is the Lord speaking today? Furthermore, the Lord must speak in a particular place, but where is He speaking today?
It was the Lord’s leading that brought me into His work. In October of 1933 I went to Shanghai to visit Brother Nee and stayed with him for a few months. One day Brother Nee said to me, “Brother Witness, the co-workers feel that you should move your family to Shanghai so that you can work together with us. Please bring this matter before the Lord in prayer.” When I brought this matter to the Lord, He showed me that in the book of Acts there was only one line, one flow in His move and work on the earth. This flow went from Jerusalem to Antioch and from there to Asia Minor. The co-workers who were later raised up by the Lord also entered into this flow. The Lord showed me that although I had a burden to work in north China, the work in north China should not start from north China; rather, I should first enter into the flow in Shanghai. Therefore, I felt that I could not begin anything in north China. I had to enter into the flow with Brother Nee in Shanghai. If there would be a work in north China, it had to flow out from Shanghai.
I respected Brother Nee not only because he was taking the lead; he was also the oracle of the Lord. At that time I understood many doctrines. I was taught and perfected in a Brethren assembly for seven and a half years, and I had learned many things concerning the prophecies and types. But what I learned was not the Lord’s speaking at that time. The Lord’s speaking was with Brother Nee. If I spoke what Brother Nee spoke, there was the fruit of life, but if I spoke about prophecies and types, there was no fruit of life, because the doctrines and knowledge related to the prophecies and types were not the Lord’s speaking at that time. The messages that Brother Nee gave were the Lord’s speaking. Whenever I spoke what he spoke, the Lord confirmed it, blessed it, and enlivened others.
In every age the Lord works by speaking. He does not speak through only one person. However, if He speaks through many people, they will speak the same thing. Moses was not the only person who spoke in his age, but everyone spoke the same thing that Moses spoke. In the New Testament age there have been many apostles, but they spoke the same thing in oneness concerning the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the regeneration and transformation of the believers, and the producing of the church, the one Body, the one new man. This was the Lord’s speaking at the time. In Martin Luther’s time, the Lord spoke of justification by faith through Luther. In the time of the Brethren, the Lord spoke through the brothers. In Brother Nee’s time, the Lord spoke the words of this age through Brother Nee.
Because the Lord’s work has not stopped, the Lord’s speaking also has not stopped. This does not mean that I am promoting myself or that I am asking everyone to speak my words. The co-workers are free to travel to other Christian groups if the Lord is speaking there. We worship the Lord that in recent years every local church that is using the Life-study messages has been enlivened. Many messages can be given concerning the different topics in the Bible. A message can be given concerning Noah or Abraham. However, what is important is whether our messages are the Lord’s speaking today. The Lord’s speaking is absolutely related to His move on the earth. When we see the flow of the Holy Spirit and where the Lord is speaking today, our work will be fruitful.
