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When the new way reaches a critical point, it will come to a peak, which is the home meetings. The way to lead the home meetings, perfect the home meetings, and go on in the home meetings is altogether critical to the success of the new way. Going door-knocking, visiting people, leading people to believe in the Lord and be saved, and baptizing them are only the basic matters. After a person is saved, establishing a meeting in his home, leading people in the meeting, and perfecting the meeting are the key matters. For us to climb this high peak is not easy at all. All of us, older ones and younger ones, need to understand this burden, receive this burden, and bear this burden in one accord.
There is a definite principle that the Spirit and the Word are needed for leading and perfecting a meeting. The Spirit and the Word are the two fundamental elements of Christian meetings. The Spirit is the Holy Spirit, and the Word is the Bible. For us to be filled with the Spirit, we need to seek the Lord every day, pray unceasingly, be dealt with before the Lord, and be emptied and open to the Lord completely. In so doing, we can be filled with the Spirit every day. Therefore, to be filled with the Spirit simply requires our seeking, which is not too difficult.
To deal with the Word is not as simple. The Word is the Bible, which has existed among Christians for almost two thousand years. During the Dark Ages, the Bible was locked up by Catholicism for almost ten centuries. It was not until the early 1500s that the Reformation under Luther began to open the lock to release the Bible from the imprisonment of Catholicism. Along with the Reformation, the invention of printing and the use of newspapers brought a noticeable benefit for Christianity. The Bible began to be printed for public distribution, later spreading to every kind of Christian meeting. Today almost all Christians have a Bible in their hands. Unfortunately, although this Bible was unlocked and released, its intrinsic revelation and the profound meaning of its contents still remained unopened.
In the 1800s, three hundred years after the Reformation at the time of Luther, the Lord raised up the Brethren in England. They were very blessed before God and were full of light and revelation. The Bible, especially the New Testament, was opened up at that time. From that time onward, the Bible was no longer a locked-up book. It was not only an opened book but an interpreted book. It is sad, however, that most of Christianity at that time rejected the teaching of the Brethren. In addition, a number of ministries of the Word appeared among the Brethren themselves, and this brought in different opinions and caused divisions. By 1918, just after World War I, the Brethren had already been divided into hundreds of sects, and during the last forty years they have become even more divided. This division has almost completely annulled the Brethren. This is the real situation that we have witnessed.
According to the situation we have observed, the understanding of the Word of God is desolate. In Christianity as a whole, the Bible is mostly still not opened or interpreted. Although at one time the Brethren had opened up the Bible, they eventually declined due to their internal tumults, disagreements, and serious contentions regarding the truth. The United States has many seminaries, but today two in particular are considered as leaders in terms of theological teaching. One is Dallas Theological Seminary in Dallas, Texas; the other is Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Illinois. Both of these receive the theological teachings of the Brethren.
Around 1900 the Scofield Reference Bible was very popular in the United States, and even today many people are still using it. More than ninety-five percent of the footnotes in this reference Bible originate from the theology and teachings of the Brethren. In other words, the footnotes are based on the light the Brethren saw from the Bible.
The light the Brethren saw from the Bible can be summarized by three main points. First, they saw the church in the New Testament. Beginning from them, people no longer regarded the church merely as a physical building. Before the Brethren were raised up, Christians in America and Europe generally believed that their chapels were the church. After the Brethren were raised up, however, they boldly declared that the church of God is not a chapel but an assembly that is called out by God. Because of this, they changed the word church to assembly, which means “a called-out congregation.” What they taught was good, but what they saw was still too superficial. They did not see the intrinsic principle of life in the Body of Christ. They saw something concerning the Body and understood it a little. They realized that the Body of Christ is constituted with all the saved ones everywhere and at all times throughout the age of the Lord as the Spirit, but they did not thoroughly see the principles of life, resurrection, and the cross and the move of the Holy Spirit. Nevertheless, we were helped very much by the Brethren in the matter of the church.
Second, the Brethren saw the types in the Old Testament. Throughout the previous generations not one group of Christians had supplied a better interpretation of the types than the Brethren did. In this regard they helped us a great deal. However, after much in-depth study in the past few decades, we have seen something further that they did not see.
Third, they saw much related to the prophecies. Before the emergence of the Brethren, people in general were not clear about the second coming of the Lord Jesus. Some realized that the time of the resurrection of the Christians will be at the time of the coming of the Lord Jesus, but others said that the millennial kingdom would come when the gospel and truth have improved human society. People were not clear about the Lord Jesus’ coming, nor did they fully understand the interpretation of the other prophecies in the Bible. Few people understood the prophecies in Daniel 2, 7, 8, 11, and 12 in a clear way, and there were even fewer who could open up the book of Revelation. It was the Brethren who opened up the book of Daniel, and they also opened up Revelation, at least on the surface. Although the Brethren were not accurate enough in many of the minor points, they did unlock something of what the Bible reveals concerning the church, the types, and the prophecies. However, only a portion of the true lovers and seekers of the Lord have accepted the teachings of the Brethren in the past one hundred sixty years.
Today the Bible is in our hands, but I am afraid that the way to use it still remains a big question. Consider the many publications we have put out. According to the statistics, it takes someone at least four years to read through all of this material. It seems that all these riches are so abundant today that we do not know how to use them. When we go to lead and perfect a home meeting, we may not even know what kind of truth materials we have and how to use them. There are at least three to four kinds of materials for the edification of the new believers, but we need to decide which one to use. This shows us that to properly use spiritual materials is not an easy matter.
Moreover, we all have a heart to take the leading of the new way and go out to perfect the home meetings, but we find that the way to speak in a home meeting is a very difficult lesson to master. Speaking too much is not right, but neither is speaking too little. Speaking too profoundly may be unacceptable, but speaking too shallowly is not good, and speaking nothing is even worse. This causes us to be unsure about what to do; it is hard to find a principle to follow. The key to the matter depends on two things. First, we all need to be filled with the Holy Spirit and go out with the Spirit. Second, we need to be well prepared with the Word. However, dealing with the Word is truly a problem. Our difficulty lies in how to use the Word of God properly. Once we use it properly, everything is fine.
Six thousand years of the development of human culture have produced an educational system that is commonly used throughout the whole world today. Education begins from kindergarten and continues through six years of elementary school, six years of middle and high school, and four years of university. Since this system is used worldwide, students who graduate locally can go to another country to further their education with more advanced research. This is the result of a scientific approach to education.
Spiritual education should be the same in principle, but where is our scientific approach? How can we arrange the truths in the Bible in a systematic way so that someone who has a heart to learn can enter into the depths in a simple way and study in a progressive, consistent, coherent, and logical way? If we can carry out such a way, this will be very good.
Christianity has been on the earth for two thousand years, and the truth in Christianity is unshakable. We can compare the truth of the Bible to the earth itself. Men can build bridges and roads, fly airplanes, and launch satellites into the sky, but no one can change the earth itself; it is God’s creation, and there is no way to change it. The Bible cannot be changed; however, the way to interpret the Bible and use the Bible requires much consideration. In these two thousand years, no one has dared to make a definite conclusion regarding the proper way to meet and to preach the gospel, nor would anyone dare to say that he has been altogether successful in these matters. Even the giants of the gospel do not say that they are absolutely right. Therefore, even until now there is no definite way to preach the gospel. It is still in the stage of study and research.
It was not until the last few years that we definitely saw that the gospel of God and the salvation of God revealed in the Bible take the household as the unit. For example, Acts 16:31 says, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household,” and Luke 19:9 says, “Today salvation has come to this house.” It does not say that today salvation has come to this man, but to “this house.” The types in the Old Testament also take the household as the unit. There were eight in Noah’s household. He did not enter into the ark by himself, but his whole household entered (Gen. 7:1). At the Feast of the Passover there was not a lamb for a person but a lamb for a household (Exo. 12:3). These all took the household as the unit.
The New Testament shows us that from the beginning the believers, who were brought in through the New Testament economy, had meetings in their homes, and they met from house to house. The Bible gives detailed descriptions of the content of the home meetings of the saints at that early stage. They were teaching in the homes, breaking bread in the homes, praying in the homes, fellowshipping in the homes, and preaching the gospel in the homes (Acts 2:42, 46; 5:42). Besides these five things, there was not much need of anything else in the Christian meetings. Although they still met in the synagogue, they may not have done it willingly, and there was no record of what they did there. In conclusion, it is clear that meeting in the homes is the most basic and complete way to meet. Because we have clearly seen this point, we changed the system that we have been practicing for years.
Meanwhile, we also saw that our former practices, though not absolutely according to the denominations, were not completely detached and different from the form and the element in the denominations. We can say that we are still much the same as they are. We have changed in form but not in content. Therefore, we have fallen into the same pitiful condition as the denominations. With regard to multiplication and propagation, our progress has been very slow. This is because we took the wrong way. If we were still using an oxcart to travel from Taipei to Kaohsiung, it would take at least two days to get there. In contrast, flying from Los Angeles to Taipei today requires only thirteen hours, which includes crossing thousands of miles over the Pacific Ocean. This illustrates why we must change our method and change the system.
In the past sixty years we have inherited and have been following the old way for too long and to too great an extent. To continue to conduct our meetings and preach the gospel according to the old way would be like going back to the oxcart. Not only is it outdated, but it is also unable to meet the need. However, changing one’s nature is harder than changing mountains and rivers. It is hard for a man to change. We say that the oxcart is not good, but those who are accustomed to it still like to use it. They consider that taking the train is too troublesome; they say they are too limited by time and might miss the train. The oxcart, they say, is much more flexible; it is always available and can go and stop anywhere as one wishes. Yes, the oxcart has its advantages. We do not mean that the old way has no advantage at all, but when we compare the two ways, it is clear to us which way we should take.
We can apply the above matters practically in the following way. Whenever we fellowship in a home meeting, we must release our spirit every time we open our mouth. Whenever our spirit is released, we are not shy or fearful. We can compare this to a basketball game. Once the players get onto the field, they forget about heaven, earth, and even their own name. The only thing they know is to win the game. By being this way, they will surely win. Likewise, our spirit must be released. Second, before we go to lead a home meeting, we should have adequate prayer so that we will be bold in the release of the spirit. At the same time, we should also exercise to be equipped with the truth. If we exercise well enough, everything will become easy. We all should take heed to this point. Not only the young brothers and sisters but also the middle-aged and older ones should endeavor to exercise. This is the biggest lack in all of Christianity. There are many people who love and seek the Lord, but very few know how to lead others or what to do. This is due to the lack of exercise. I hope that we can be strengthened in this matter.
The foremost thing is that we need to know the truth. This is like teaching mathematics; if we are not good in mathematics, it is very difficult to teach it. The truth that we must know is first the truth concerning the church. We should help others to know the church in a thorough way. When we teach others, we need to make everything simple. Again we can compare this to a coach teaching his players. The coach first needs to teach them the basic movements, expecting that they would practice these basic matters thoroughly. When they play on the field, they do not need to perform every move that the coach taught them. They need only to apply them with flexibility according to the real situation with the goal of shooting the ball into the basket. I hope that we all understand these two sides. On one side, we need to know and be equipped with the truth; on the other side, we need to speak the truth in a simplified and concise way, presenting it clearly to the new believers.
We can take the meaning of church as an example. The church is God’s called-out assembly. In any place that there are believers like you and me coming together, there is God’s called-out assembly. This is the first meaning of the church. If there is a need to explain the Greek text, we can simply mention that the word church in Greek means the “called-out assembly.” In order to avoid difficulties, however, do not be overly concerned with using Greek. Second, the church is the Body of Christ. Everyone has a body. We all know that our human body is a composition and that it is not a lifeless organization. Rather, it is a living organism. The principle of the Body of Christ is the same as that of the organic members of our body. The key concept is the life within the body. Like our human body, the church as the organic Body of Christ is full of life within. The life of the Body of Christ is the life of God. On the other hand, a person’s body is for expressing him. If a person has only a head but not a body, he has no expression. The body functions with the head to be an expression. The church is the organic expression of Christ. Therefore, the church is the fullness of Christ. Fullness is an overflow. If something does not overflow, it cannot be expressed. Once it overflows, the overflow becomes an expression.
Every saved one should abandon the sects. Sects are parties that are formed into divisions. During earlier years in mainland China, some Christian groups liked to use the word denomination, as in “the Baptist denomination” and “the Presbyterian denomination.” Later, the Lord raised up the churches in the Lord’s recovery as a testimony that denominations are parties formed into sects. Galatians 5:19-20 says that sects are the work of the flesh. Paul condemns sects in 1 Corinthians 1, and God Himself condemns them. Since we “blew the trumpet” concerning sects, mainland China has been affected, and it is still affected to this day. Now many Christian groups no longer call themselves denominations. Although the word denomination sounds good on the surface, in reality it is condemned by many Christians. Therefore, they are not willing to use this term today.
Why should Christians not have sects? First, it is because Christ is not divided. We believe in one Lord. Christ is the unique One in the universe. Christ is the universal One and the eternal One. He is not divided, He cannot be divided, and He should not be divided. Paul asks the divisive ones, “Is Christ divided?” (1 Cor. 1:13). The answer certainly is in the negative: “No, Christ is not divided.” Since Christ is not divided, we who believe into Him also should not be divided.
Second, the church is the Body of Christ. Everyone has only one body; the body of every human is unique. A person with two bodies would be a monster. Likewise, the Body of Christ is also unique. In Ephesians 4:4 Paul says, “One Body,” in which is one Spirit. In this light we see that the Body is unique and that Christ cannot be divided. The Body of Christ, which is the church, is unique. Therefore, there is no ground — and there should be no ground — for division.
Third, to divide Christians into religious sects is one of the works of the flesh. Galatians 5:19 says that the works, the fruit, of the flesh are manifest. Then Paul lists several items, one of which is sects. Where do sects come from? Verse 20 connects three things: factions, divisions, and sects. Initially there are factions and then divisions, which issue in the formation of sects. This is the condition of the whole of Christianity today. Without the shining of the light, people proudly claim that they belong to a certain group. Once the light shines, however, they see that these so-called groups are sects, which are condemned by God.
Sects are indicated in 1 Corinthians 1. The church in Corinth was an early church, raised up around A.D. 50. By the time 1 Corinthians was written, it was already in a condition of division. This means that shortly after this church was established, it was divided into different groups. What was the basis of their divisions? The divisions were according to the persons who led them. Some preferred Paul, so they were “of” Paul; some preferred Cephas, so they were “of” Cephas; and some preferred Apollos, so they were “of” Apollos. Thus, the church was divided into at least three groups. Still others said that those were wrong and that Christ was best, so they were “of” Christ; eventually four groups were formed. In rebuking them, Paul seems to say, “Is Christ divided? Why do you say that you are of Paul? Was Paul crucified for you? It was not I who was crucified for you; it was Christ who was crucified for you. Or were you baptized into the name of Paul? No, you all were baptized into the name of Christ. Therefore, none of you should be ‘of’ me.”
Then in 3:21-22 Paul seems to tell them, “Do not say that you are of me. Rather, I, Paul, am yours, for all things are yours, including me.” Paul strictly condemns the sects. In 1:10 Paul says, “That there be no divisions among you,” and in Titus 3:10 he also says, “A factious man, after a first and second admonition, refuse.” He points out clearly that we should reject and not encourage or promote factions. As a result, there should not be factions among Christians; that is, there should be no sects.
What is a sect, and what constitutes a sect? There are three obvious items in a sect. First, it has a special creed; second, it has a special fellowship; and third, it has a special name. These three “specials” can be found in almost all the groups in Christianity today. For instance, the Baptist Church strongly emphasizes baptism by immersion in water. We all know that baptism is in the Bible, but to make it a special designation, that is, to make it a special creed, is not of the Bible. The Baptist Church not only requires people to be baptized, but they also emphasize that people must be baptized in their church and in their water and that other baptisms do not count. If someone has already been baptized and wants to attend the meetings in the Baptist Church, he will have to be baptized again by them. This is according to a special creed, which is a matter of their faith that one must follow. As a result, a sect has been produced.
All those who are saved have a common faith. The common faith is this: First, in this universe there is only one God, who is self-existing and ever-existing, who created the heavens and the earth, and who is the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. Second, God in the Son one day became flesh to be a man. He died on the cross to accomplish redemption for us and was buried. On the third day He resurrected to bring life to us. He then ascended to the heavens, and in heaven He exercises His power for the preaching of the gospel to save sinners and to produce the church on the earth. At the end of this age He will come back again to gather those who have believed into Him. This is our common, fundamental faith. What issues from this common faith is the producing of the church.
To make a special creed out of any condition or matter other than this common faith, even if such a matter is in the Bible, eventually forms a sect. Some Christians were baptized not by immersion but by sprinkling, and some even passed through the flag-waving ceremony of the Salvation Army. No one can say that these people have not believed. Like us, they also hold the common faith of the Triune God, the redemptive death of the Lord Jesus, and His resurrection and ascension. Their distinction is only that they were not baptized by immersion. The Baptist Church treats this belief as a special creed, which has caused them to become a sect.
In accordance with their special creed, the Baptist Church, for example, has a certain fellowship among themselves. This is a special fellowship. Whenever a Baptist Church is about to take the Lord’s supper, someone may make an announcement that those who are not members of that church have to leave. This practice indicates a special fellowship. The Presbyterian Church also has their special fellowship, in which the church is administered by elders. They emphasize this even to the extent that they take the administration of the elders as their name. Theirs is a special creed, and this special creed has produced a special fellowship.
Some say that they are of the Baptist Church, and others say that they are of the Presbyterian, Lutheran, Methodist, Anglican, or Episcopalian Church. When you drive through Orange County in Southern California, you may see a sign that says, “The American Anglican Church,” and not long after that you may see another sign that says, “The Taiwanese Church in Orange County.” This is truly saddening. All these special names completely divide the children of God.
All these special names are considered as a sin in the Bible. My own wife should be called Mrs. Lee. To name herself Mrs. Cheung, for example, would be a serious problem. Likewise, the church belongs to Christ. How can it be named the Lutheran Church or the Methodist Church? All these names are wrong. Any name other than the name of Christ is not only divisive but indicates a spiritual sin before God. Therefore, we should not have special creeds, special fellowships, or special names.
We should endeavor to keep the oneness of the Body of Christ. This oneness of the Body is the oneness of the Spirit in Ephesians 4:3. The Spirit who dwells in us is the oneness. As long as we walk according to the Spirit, we will have oneness. But when we do not walk according to the Spirit, differences are produced. The situation in today’s Christianity is mainly due to these three matters — special creeds, special fellowships, and special names. All those who take these three items commit the same transgression of ignoring the Spirit. If all the children of God were to care for the Spirit and walk according to the Spirit, there would be no special creeds, special fellowships, or special names, and spontaneously we all would be one. Our oneness is the Spirit.
When we go to perfect a home meeting, we should not be rigid and unchanging; we need to be flexible. In perfecting people, we need to know their condition. For instance, some people may have been baptized by us, but they were taken away by the denominations. Or some may have thought that they should attend a “service” on the Lord’s Day, so they went by themselves to a certain chapel of a certain group. If this is their condition, we need to receive the Lord’s leading to help them see that the church belongs to Christ and that Christ cannot be divided. The church is the Body of Christ and is unique. Then we should lead them to read the Bible to see that division is fleshy and condemned by God and that we should reject it completely.
We also have to teach them that any group that has a special creed, special fellowship, or special name is a sect. We should discard all these things and follow the Spirit in keeping the oneness of the Body of Christ. This is the proper situation of the church. I believe that the new ones will receive help from this kind of fellowship.
