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It is not easy to change the atmosphere in the churches, because we have been entrenched in old concepts for many years. Our need is to change our concept. We are not aware of the influence Christianity has upon us. For example, every believer has the concept that they should attend a worship service. They may not use the phrase worship service, but they have this concept. They also have the concept that a worship service consists of singing hymns, praying, listening to the Scriptures, and listening to a sermon. If we do not drop this concept, every change that we make will be superficial. For example, we can paint a podium a different color. Even though the color has changed, the nature of the podium has not changed. It seems as though we still want a meeting with singing, praying, reading the Scriptures, and one person giving a message. Hence, when we encourage everyone to participate by calling and pray-reading, we still may be changing only our method.
Furthermore, due to the influence of Christianity we do not bear responsibility in the meetings. We know that there will be some brothers to lead the meeting. Therefore, we do not come to the meeting with a sense of responsibility. Our meetings should not be led by some designated brothers. If anyone is designated to lead the meeting, it should be everyone. All the brothers and the sisters who come to the meeting should bear responsibility for the meeting. If we all have the attitude that others should bear the responsibility for the meeting, our meetings will have no impact.
We subconsciously have the concept that Christians do not have to bear any responsibility when they meet. Christians in the denominations have pastors who bear the responsibility for the meetings. We also have brothers, such as elders or co-workers, who bear the responsibility for our meetings. When we go to a district meeting, there are brothers who bear the responsibility. I would advise the responsible ones in the districts not to sit on the first row; instead, they should sit on the last row. If the brothers and sisters do not function, the responsible brothers should not function in their place. If the responsible brothers resign, the meetings will still continue. The meetings are not for the responsible brothers. The meetings are for all the saints. Hence, the elders and co-workers should sit in the back rows. At the end of the meeting an elder can go to the front and give the announcements. The meeting is the responsibility of the saints, not the elders.
The concept that we attend a meeting but are not responsible for the meeting is a fundamental error. It is a ploy of Satan to render the members of the Body of Christ useless so that they cease to function. As members of the Body, we function mainly in the meetings (1 Cor. 14:26). We should never think that we have a “hidden” function, such as sweeping the floor, cleaning the windows, or visiting the saints, that excuses us from functioning in the meetings. These are good services, but they are not our main function. Our main function is to offer up our portion in the meetings. The main function of the members of a basketball team is to play basketball, not to run errands or buy sports shoes. Running errands and buying shoes cannot compare to playing basketball. As Christians, we are members of Christ, and our most important service is to meet. The meetings are the best opportunity for us to exhibit Christ. As Christians, we are commissioned to exhibit Christ in the meetings. If our meetings do not exhibit Christ, they are a failure. Whether a local church is strong or weak depends on its meetings. If the meetings are good, the church is strong, but if the meetings are poor, the church is weak. We overlook the importance of the meetings because we have been blinded by Satan.
Some believers are blinded to the extent that they are indifferent toward the meetings. They think that it is good enough to fear God, love the Lord, fellowship with Him, and love others. This kind of attitude is a proof of the success of Satan’s scheme. Everything that a Christian does on earth is for the cultivation of the meetings. A basketball team exists to play basketball. If there were no basketball games, there would be no need to have a basketball team. Similarly, if there are no meetings, there is no need to have the church. The church exists for the meetings. Our concept needs to be changed. We must understand that the meetings are the main place for Christians to function.
The way we function in the meetings depends on the way we live our life. First Corinthians says that Christ is the portion given to us by God (1:2), and Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God (v. 24), who became righteousness, sanctification, and redemption to us (v. 30). He is everything to us. Christ is the First and the Last. He is the first One raised from among the dead, and He is also the last Adam (15:20, 45). He is also the second man (v. 47). After He accomplished redemption, He became the life-giving Spirit so that we may be joined to Him as one spirit (v. 45; 6:17). Now we are learning to live by our mingled spirit. Our living is to experience and enjoy Christ in our spirit. This is to live by our spirit. Our meetings are an exhibition of this living. Christian meetings are the exhibition of our Christian life.
The meetings are an exhibition of our living when we use a strong spirit to exhibit the Christ we have experienced. Christ is the “harvest” that we exhibit. Hence, we must pay attention to two important points: our spirit must be strong, and Christ must be our content. We need a released spirit, and we must be filled with the riches of our experience of Christ. This is a basic principle.
First Corinthians 2:1-2 shows how Paul was among the Corinthians: “I, when I came to you, brothers, came not according to excellence of speech or of wisdom, announcing to you the mystery of God. For I did not determine to know anything among you except Jesus Christ, and this One crucified.” Paul’s speech and proclamation were “not in persuasive words of wisdom but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power” (v. 4). He did everything according to the expression and demonstration of the Spirit. His speech was simple, not eloquent, but it expressed the Spirit. His speaking was the expression and demonstration of the Spirit and of power.
When Paul was with the Corinthians, his spirit was strong, but his speech was not eloquent, nor did he express human wisdom. When he opened his mouth, his spirit came forth. He did not express eloquence, literary attainments, or philosophy; rather, he demonstrated his spirit. The content of the demonstration of his spirit was not mathematics, science, or philosophy; it was Christ. Christ was Paul’s content. This should be a pattern for our meetings.
When Paul was with the Corinthians, he demonstrated a strong spirit, and Christ was his content. In the same principle, we should have a strong spirit, and Christ must be our content in our meetings. Our spirit must be strong, and it is released through our speaking. The content of our speaking should not be stories about our daily affairs, nor should we relate how gracious God has been to us or how we have received His care. The content of our speaking should be Christ, the mystery of God. We should minister Christ with a strong spirit. This is the meaning of prophesying. Our speaking in the meetings is to exhibit, to display, the Christ we have experienced. In this way we present Him as our offering to God and, at the same time, supply Him as food to others. Furthermore, we also enjoy Him. This is the meaning of prophesying.
To prophesy is to declare Christ with human words. It is to speak forth Christ as the mystery of God. According to chapter 14, the most important matter in a Christian meeting is to prophesy. Prophesying is the most important element in the Christian meeting. Verse 1 says, “Pursue love, and desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.” Verse 12 says, “Since you are zealous of spirits, seek that you may excel for the building up of the church.” Prophesying is the gift that builds up the church. Verses 23 through 25 say that if an unbeliever is present in our meetings and we speak in tongues, he will say that we are insane because he cannot understand us, but if an unbeliever is present and we all prophesy, he will be convicted and examined by all. Furthermore, he will worship God and declare that God is among us. Verse 31 says, “You can all prophesy one by one.” The above verses show that prophesying is the main activity in the Christian meeting.
In order to prophesy, our spirit must be strong, and Christ must be the rich content of our speaking. These two matters — a strong spirit and Christ as the content — are the conditions for prophesying. We should prophesy whenever we meet.
Christians meet for the expression and exhibition of Christ. Although we say this, we still want to attend a Sunday service and listen to a sermon. According to our natural concept, the purpose of a Christian meeting is to worship God quietly and listen to a sermon. This is what religion teaches. Christians go to a chapel to render such worship to God, and then a pastor gives a sermon with some teachings. This is the practice in religion. It is not what God desires.
The types in the Old Testament show the worship that God desires. Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible, the Pentateuch. The main content of these books concerns how to worship God. Moses did not say that to worship is to kneel down and prostrate oneself. He did not use such terms in his books. Rather, he said that worshipping God consists of presenting offerings. When we worship God, we should bring offerings to God so that He can enjoy the offerings with us. This is worship. The offerings are types of Christ. Hence, the worship that God wants from us is for us to exhibit Christ. When we all bring Christ, we worship God.
Three times a year in the Old Testament, at the Feast of the Passover, the Feast of Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles, the children of God gathered together before God and worshipped Him. They did not worship for an hour. They worshipped for seven to eight days. Their worship was based on God’s commandment, that is, His ordination, His requirement. God did not say, “When you worship Me, prepare your heart and be somber and full of sincerity. When you come to My temple, you should be quiet and prostrate yourselves before Me.” There are no such commandments in the Pentateuch or in any other books of the Bible. In the Pentateuch Moses said that the children of Israel had to bring offerings when they worshipped God. They could not appear before God empty-handed (Deut. 16:16).
The offerings were the produce of the land of Canaan. Some Israelites brought offerings from the herd or the flock, some brought grains, some brought fruit, and some brought new wine, oil, or flour. These were the produce of the land of Canaan. In order to gain the produce of the land, the Israelites had to labor on the land of Canaan for at least a year. They had to till the land, plant seeds, turn the soil, and water the plants, or they had to tend cattle. Eventually, there was a harvest. The Israelites put aside one-tenth of their harvest. This was the best portion of the land. When it was time for the Feast of the Passover, the Feast of Pentecost, or the Feast of Tabernacles, they brought the best portion of the land to God (12:17-18; 14:23).
God does not want us to worship Him by praying somber prayers, bowing down, or even being quiet. He wants us to bring offerings of Christ to Him. After we bring our offerings, we still need to learn how to offer them. We need to learn how to offer Christ as the burnt offering, the meal offering, the peace offering, the sin offering, the trespass offering, the wave offering, and the heave offering. Some portions of the offering are for us to enjoy, some portions are to be enjoyed with the other saints, and some portions are for God to enjoy. When we bring our offerings and enjoy them in this way, God is satisfied, others are satisfied, and we are also satisfied. This is our worship to God. The worship that God wants is for us to offer Christ to Him.
God does not want us to devoutly sing a hymn of praise and kneel before Him. This is a religious ritual. God does not want it. God wants Christ from us. Christ is our good land. We should regularly labor on Him. As long as we labor on Christ, we will have experiences of Christ. Then when we come to a meeting, we should bring our experiences of Christ — the produce of the good land — for God to enjoy, for others to be supplied, and for us to be satisfied. In this way, we enjoy Christ together with others before God, and we also enjoy Christ together with God. Thus, God has the worship that He desires.
To prophesy is to use our living, strong, and fresh spirit to speak forth the Christ we have experienced. Religion may not consider this to be worship, but this is true worship to God.
In John 4:24 the Lord Jesus said, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truthfulness.” Truthfulness denotes Christ, and in spirit refers to our strong, fresh, and living spirit. The Lord Jesus said that true worship is in our spirit and in truthfulness. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must do so in spirit, not in the Holy Spirit but in their human spirit. They must also worship in truthfulness, which is the Christ they have experienced. This does not refer merely to singing hymns or to praising, much less to bowing down or kneeling. It is entirely a matter of having a strong spirit to exhibit Christ. This is worship.
It seems as though Paul did not say much concerning worshipping God, but the prophesying he spoke of is true worship. The worship that God desires is for us to bring our experience of Christ so that both God and man can be satisfied. God desires that His Son would be appreciated among men. This is one of the commissions that the church has on earth. The church must display Christ for others to appreciate. The more people there are who appreciate Christ, the more God is satisfied. This is the way to worship God.
Our meetings do not emphasize singing, praising, praying, giving a sermon, or listening to a sermon, because God wants us to appreciate Christ. In our meetings we display Christ with the demonstration of the spirit by prophesying. This is the principle of our meetings.
Since our meetings are the exhibition of our daily living, they are based on our living and supported by our living. Our meetings should not differ from our daily living; they should match each other. We should daily live in our spirit, exercise our spirit, and use our spirit to contact Christ who is the Spirit. When we fellowship with Him, experience Him, and enjoy Him, we will have rich experiences of Christ. Then when we come to the meetings, our spirit will be strong, released, uplifted, and fresh, and we will be able to sing, pray, testify, or read the Bible. Whatever we do should be in our spirit. In such a demonstration of our spirit, the content of our speaking will be the Christ we have experienced. This is our speaking for Christ, our prophesying.
Our present need is to have a change in concept. We also need the skills that enable us to function with others. We need to be trained so that we know when to call loudly and when to be quiet. As soon as we hear another person speaking, we should listen. When a person speaks, he should speak clearly so that others can hear him. These points require practice. We should be flexible in our practice; otherwise, we will have a method, a regulation.
We can no longer depend on the methods we used in the past. A method deals with only one need, but there are many needs in a meeting. We must open to the Lord in every meeting and not follow the procedures we used in the past. In order to do this, we must practice. If we want to follow the Lord in this age, we must have a change in concept and learn the skills that are needed in order to meet in spirit and in truthfulness.
