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The Lord’s recovery is not primarily a matter of doctrine. In the recovery today we are concerned for the experience of Christ and for the practice of the proper church life.
Martin Luther took the way of the state church. In this he made a mistake. It is a serious mistake for the government and the church to be mixed together. Approximately two hundred years after the Reformation, the Lord began the recovery of the church life under Zinzendorf and the Moravian brothers. In the following century the Lord raised up the brothers in Great Britain for the further practice of the church life. At first, their experience was wonderful, and Brother Nee even considered it the fulfillment of the prophecy concerning the church in Philadelphia. However, eventually there was a division, mainly because different opinions regarding the Lord’s coming were held by two outstanding Brethren teachers, John Nelson Darby and Benjamin Newton. If Darby and Newton had had the light concerning oneness, they would not have argued about the Lord’s coming but would have maintained the oneness of the church. The division between Darby and Newton was followed by many other divisions. I know of a Brethren assembly that was divided over the use of a musical instrument.
Today Christians are divided over many things — for example, over the method of baptism or over baptizing people in the name of Jesus or in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Because there has been so much division caused by debates over doctrine, we need to emphasize the fact that the primary concern in the Lord’s recovery today is not doctrine. This does not mean, however, that we do not study the Bible. We study the Bible and know it very well, but our primary concern is the recovery of Christ as life and of the church as our living. We are for the recovery of Christ and the church, not for the recovery of doctrines regarding head covering, foot-washing, or the method of immersion. If anyone still wants to dissent regarding doctrine, the church in the Lord’s recovery is not the place for him. He should meet with those whose doctrine he finds acceptable.
We are here as the Lord’s recovery, not as part of today’s Christianity. The church is composed of the redeemed, saved, forgiven, and regenerated people who have Christ as their life and who come together to express Christ in oneness. This is according to God’s economy for the fulfillment of His eternal purpose. Throughout the centuries the church has become degraded. Therefore, the Lord has raised up a testimony at the end of this age to recover the proper church life. In the church life we live by Christ as our life and come together in oneness to express Him.
The Lord does not require the believers to be uniform in doctrine. Chapter 14 of Romans proves this strongly. Concerning eating and the keeping of days, Paul’s attitude in this chapter is liberal. In verse 6 Paul says, “He who regards that day, regards it to the Lord; and he who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who does not eat, does not eat to the Lord, and he gives thanks to God.” In these matters the saints should not judge one another. On the contrary, they should receive one another. Verse 3 says, “He who eats, let him not despise him who does not eat; and he who does not eat, let him not judge him who eats, for God has received him.” Regarding the receiving of believers, Paul says, “Therefore receive one another, as Christ also received you to the glory of God” (15:7). God receives the believers no matter what they eat, and we also should receive them. The same is true with respect to the keeping of certain days. We should receive one another, not criticize one another or debate with one another. We all need to have a gracious and liberal attitude.
Suppose someone criticizes the church meetings for being too noisy and claims that noisy meetings are contrary to the verse in 1 Corinthians 14 that tells us to do all things becomingly and in order. One who holds such an opinion should go to a place he regards as becoming and orderly. If we impose our views upon others, we shall cause division. If you speak in tongues, you should not insist that others do so. Such a demand will cause division.
In Romans 15:5 Paul exhorts us “to be of the same mind toward one another according to Christ Jesus.” We cannot be of the same mind in doctrine; we can be of the same mind only according to Christ. Apart from Christ, believers from different cultures and with different dispositions cannot be of the same mind. A brother may not even be of the same mind with his wife. Although we may not be of the same mind concerning so many things, we can be of the same mind concerning Christ and the church. We are one in Christ, and we are one for the church. The Lord can testify that my wife and I do not have different opinions regarding Christ and the church.
Acts 2:14 says that Peter stood with the eleven. The eleven here refers to the apostles. At the time of Acts 2 the gifted persons were the apostles. There were no prophets or teachers. But Acts 13:1 says that in the church in Antioch there were prophets and teachers, also gifted persons. In contrast to the kingship and the priesthood, which were particular ministries, the prophethood was not a separate ministry but a supplementary ministry. When King David fell into sin, the prophet Nathan rebuked him. If David had not sinned, there would not have been a need for Nathan to speak a word of rebuke. This indicates that if the kings had always been proper, there would have been no need for the prophets. The prophets were raised up when the priesthood and the kingship were weak.
In the time of the Old Testament recovery, Joshua the high priest and Zerubbabel the governor, a descendant of David, were used by the Lord in His recovery. When they became weak and the work of recovery ceased, the Lord raised up the prophets Haggai and Zechariah to strengthen them. This indicates that the prophethood is not a separate, independent ministry. Rather, it functions to support the ministry of the kingship and the priesthood.
Romans 12 speaks of the functions of prophets, teachers, and exhorters. What is the difference between prophesying, teaching, and exhorting? The main function of a prophet is not predicting the future; rather, a prophet speaks for God as His spokesman. God’s prophets in the Bible were sent by God to speak for Him. Although they sometimes spoke concerning the future, most of the time they uttered words of rebuke, declaration, or condemnation. The prophets did not learn what they spoke from man; they spoke what they received directly from God. The prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel did not repeat the teachings of others; they spoke what was revealed to them directly by God. They spoke what they saw in God’s vision, God’s revelation. In contrast to the prophets, teachers do not have direct revelation. Instead, they teach according to what the prophets have spoken. In order to be a teacher, one must know what has been spoken by the prophets. An exhorter uses the teaching of the teachers to exhort others. For this reason, Romans 12 mentions the prophets first, then the teachers, and then the exhorters. The prophets receive the direct revelation, the teachers instruct others according to the revelation given to the prophets, and the exhorters do the exhorting according to this teaching.
Now we need to apply this to the situation in the church life today. We have pointed out that the middle-aged brothers and sisters are the ones most needed for the church life. Those in this age group care for the Tent of Meeting directly, whereas the young people are useful for fighting the battle, and the new ones, for guarding the tabernacle. Therefore, the testimony of the church today depends directly on the middle-aged ones. In order for the middle-aged ones to function normally, they need to set aside the ambition for leadership or eldership. Elders are necessary in the church, but their function is not all that is needed. There is also the need for prophets, teachers, and exhorters. In Anaheim there is a great need for the saints to be established and confirmed by those who teach and exhort. Many young ones need someone to teach them by feeding them through fellowship.
In the church the need for elders is limited. If all the brothers are seeking the eldership, they will find a “no vacancy” sign in front of the eldership “motel.” Do not waste your time waiting for a vacancy in this motel. Instead, go to the motel of teaching and exhortation, where there are many vacancies.
I am burdened that the saints in Anaheim open up their homes for the preaching of the gospel or for fellowship with the saints. There is no need for the elders to arrange this. Families in the same neighborhood may come together to pray and seek the Lord’s leading. The Lord may lead some families to hold an informal gospel meeting in one of the homes. Others may be led to invite their unsaved neighbors to a home for a time of refreshments. In doing this, we should not try to proselytize others. Rather, we should minister salvation to the unsaved ones and minister Christ to the believers. If we minister the riches of Christ to others, they will be stirred up to seek the Lord. It is the Lord who adds to the church. Our intention is not to proselytize; it is to minister Christ as life to others and to give them a testimony of our salvation, of our love for the Lord, and of our oneness. We are here to be a collective living testimony of those who live by Christ and for Christ.
In the Lord’s recovery there surely is the need for elders to care for the administration of the church and to make decisions regarding such practical matters as the times of the meetings, but not every brother in a local church can be an elder. Other functions, including teaching and exhorting, are urgently needed for the building up of the church. We need to preach the gospel to sinners, and we need to share the Lord’s testimony with Christians. The elders alone cannot do this. All the saints need to take up the burden for preaching the gospel, for spreading the Lord’s testimony, and for edifying the saints through fellowship. If we do this, the church will grow, and the recovery will spread.
Because many different functions are needed, let us set aside the thought of leadership. Whether or not you are a leader is unimportant. The important matter is that you are willing to preach the gospel, to care for other Christians, or to edify the saints.
As those in the Lord’s recovery, our spirit and our motive must be pure, and we must do everything possible to avoid division. The Lord’s recovery is a matter of Christ and the church in oneness. If we are divisive, then we are not for the recovery. Furthermore, we should not act independently of the church. Although there is no need to gain the permission of the elders to function by opening your home, do not be individualistic in doing this. Furthermore, do not be rebellious, for rebellion kills our purpose. There is no room for rebellion in the church. The saints should respect the elders as the leading ones in the church and have fellowship with them. The elders should not control the saints, but the saints should be willing to fellowship with the elders. However, we should not make fellowship a matter of legality.
We have seen that the believers need not be the same in doctrine. However, in 1 Timothy 1:3 Paul indicates that we should not teach differently. This means that we should not teach our particular doctrine. We are not for our doctrine but for the oneness of the church in Christ. Dozens of homes may be opened for the preaching of the gospel or for fellowship, but in these home meetings we should all teach the same things. Do not use a gathering in your home as an opportunity to teach your particular doctrine. Do not teach foot-washing, head covering, or a certain view of the rapture, but teach concerning Christ and the church.
Moreover, we should not have the attitude that our way is the way. Also, we should not try to be particular. Whatever you do, do not label it as something special. This causes division. In 1 Corinthians 1:10 Paul exhorted the Corinthians to be attuned in the same mind and in the same opinion. Do not have the attitude that everyone in the church should take your way, and do not insist upon any certain way. For example, there are many ways to drive from Anaheim to Los Angeles. Although some ways are better than others, those who take a better way should not insist that everyone do the same. Likewise, in the church life we should not say that we have the way to be spiritual, to be one, or to be built up.
In addition to all the matters we have already covered, we also need to point out the importance of loving others. We need to love all people, especially all those who confess the name of the Lord Jesus. If we do not love all believers, we are narrow and sectarian. We should love not only those who are lovable but especially the ones who are not lovable. In Matthew 5:46 the Lord Jesus said, “If you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?” In the church life we should give more honor to the uncomely members. According to 1 Corinthians 12, the uncomely members are more necessary. As a living testimony of Jesus and as an anti-testimony to this age, we are here not as part of today’s Christianity but for Christ and the church. For this we need to love one another.
In the church life we should never form a party. Whether the formation of a party is intentional or not, the existence of a party in the church life is always damaging. Throughout the years I have not had a special intimacy with anyone. Such intimacy is typified in the Old Testament by honey, which eventually becomes rotten. A personal intimacy is something of the natural life. Therefore, do not form intimate relationships according to your natural choice. The sisters especially must take heed to this warning. Because they are emotional, it is easy for them to have “honey” in their relationships with one another. Sisters, do not spend so much time with those who match your personal taste; rather, have fellowship with those who differ from your natural choice. If we are for the Lord’s testimony, we shall have nothing to do with any party.
If we practice all the points covered in this chapter, the church will grow and be built up, and the Lord’s recovery will spread. Then the church life will be a living testimony. In activities we may be different, but in our speaking of Christ and the church we are one, not because the elders endeavor to make us one but because we are for the testimony of the oneness of the church in Christ. A strong testimony of Christ and the church will defeat the enemy and pave the way for the Lord Jesus to come back. The Lord needs such a strong and living testimony today. This depends upon us all. May we not fail Him!
