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In Galatians 1:11 Paul says, “I make known to you, brothers, concerning the gospel announced by me, that it is not according to man.” According to man shows that we can announce the gospel according to the will of man. In verse 12 he says, “Neither did I receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation by Jesus Christ.” This shows that the will of man is versus the revelation of God. It is possible to announce the gospel according to the will of man and contrary to the revelation of God.
In verse 13 Paul says, “You have heard of my manner of life formerly in Judaism, that I persecuted the church of God excessively and ravaged it.” As an orthodox religion, Judaism teaches man to worship God and to carry out God’s will. However, Saul of Tarsus’s zealous service in this God-worshipping and God-serving religion actually contradicted God’s will. In his service he persecuted and ravaged the church that God had established. It is God’s will to gain the church, but Saul persecuted and ravaged the church. This should be a warning to not be too confident concerning our service in the church. It is possible for our zealous service to contradict God’s will. Although Saul of Tarsus persecuted and ravaged the church to the point of killing Christians, his persecution and ravaging were really the work of Satan. It is possible for Satan to use a person’s zealous service even in an orthodox religion. Thus, we should not think that Satan can never be involved in our service. Such confidence brings in self-deception. If Saul of Tarsus could be deceived, we can be deceived.
In verse 14 Paul says, “I advanced in Judaism beyond many contemporaries in my race, being more abundantly a zealot for the traditions of my fathers.” Perhaps no one was more diligent than Saul of Tarsus, because he advanced beyond many contemporaries in his race. If others woke up at 5:30 in the morning to worship God, he probably woke up at 3:30. He was not slothful in his zeal for Judaism, but Satan used his diligence. Although slothfulness is an indication that a person is not in the spirit, diligence is not necessarily an indication that a person is in the spirit. It is possible for both a slothful person and a diligent person to not be in the spirit. We should never just condemn slothfulness while justifying diligence, because a person’s diligence is not necessarily associated with being in the spirit. Saul served God diligently in an orthodox religion and advanced beyond all others, being more abundantly zealous for the traditions of his fathers. Since zealousness requires diligence, a person who lacks diligence will not be zealous. However, it is possible for such zeal and diligence to be apart from God’s will.
In Acts 26:9-11 Paul said, “I thought to myself that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus the Nazarene, which also I did in Jerusalem; and I both shut up many of the saints in prison when I had received authority from the chief priests and cast a vote against them when they were being done away with. And in all the synagogues I punished them often and tried to compel them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly enraged at them, I persecuted them even as far as foreign cities.” Saul was very diligent in doing things contrary to the name of Jesus, and he often persecuted the saints exceedingly. Although he was more diligent than others, his diligence was not in the spirit. We must condemn this kind of diligence in the same way that we condemn slothfulness. Although some local churches suffer loss because of the slothfulness of the responsible ones, other churches are damaged by their natural diligence.
We need to consider how to touch God’s heart’s desire without damaging the church. In verse 16 the Lord said to Paul, “Rise up and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a minister and a witness both of the things in which you have seen Me and of the things in which I will appear to you.” This indicates that Paul’s service did not depend on slothfulness or on diligence but on the things he had seen concerning the Lord, that is, the knowledge of Christ he received through the Lord’s appearing. It is possible for a person to receive a vision of many things but not necessarily of the things concerning Christ. Thus, the Lord appeared to Paul and said that He would appear to him again so that Paul might see the things concerning Him. The things in which He would appear to Paul were the things concerning the church. On his way to Damascus, Paul gained knowledge of Christ, and then the Lord gradually revealed the church to him.
In verses 17 and 18 the Lord spoke to Paul and said that He was sending him to the Gentiles “to open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light and from the authority of Satan to God.” Saul thought his eyes were open, but once a great light flashed around him from heaven, his blindness was exposed. Before the light flashed around him, he thought his eyes were opened because he was taking the lead to serve God. Once the light came, however, he was blinded and had to be led by the hand by others (9:8). Formerly, he led others; now others led him. His inner eyes were not opened until he was blinded outwardly. Hence, when the Lord told him that he was being sent to open the eyes of others and to turn them from darkness to light and from the authority of Satan to God, he understood.
Like many zealous Jews, Saul of Tarsus was in darkness. The Jews thought that they were living in the light and that they were guides to the blind and teachers of babes (Rom. 2:19-20), but they were actually in darkness. Therefore, when the Lord spoke to Saul of Tarsus concerning opening the eyes of the Gentiles to “turn them from darkness to light and from the authority of Satan to God” (Acts 26:18), this was a strong indication that Saul’s service was related to Satan’s scheme. Saul persecuted the church and was zealous for religion and the law, but he was fully under the authority of Satan. Those who are under the authority of Satan are blind and in darkness. Like other Jews, Saul worshipped in the temple, and he supported the priestly service of offering sacrifices, burning incense, lighting the lamps, and presenting the bread of the Presence. However, he served God without knowing that he was blind, in darkness, and under the authority of Satan. Hence, before the Lord sent Saul to the Gentiles, He sent him to His people for help.
A person may receive revelation without vision. In Acts 26:19 Paul testified to King Agrippa, saying, “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.” On his way to Damascus, Paul received not only revelation but also a vision “that the Christ would suffer and that He, being the first to rise from the dead, would announce light both to the people and to the Gentiles” (v. 23). The people refers to the Jews who worshipped God, not to Gentiles. The Jews who worshipped God in the temple needed to receive light. The gospel was preached to the Jews first and then announced to the Gentiles.
We need to come into the Lord’s presence, consider and look to the Lord, and let Him shine upon us anew. We may have fallen into the same condition as the Jewish people. They worshipped God in the temple according to the law of Moses, and we serve in the church according to what we have been taught over the years. We should never think that it is impossible for us to fall into darkness, blindness, and the authority of Satan, as the Jews did. Just as they fell into darkness under the authority of Satan, we can fall and perhaps fall even further.
Every tree is known by its fruit (Matt. 12:33; Luke 6:44); this is an ironclad law in the Bible. Whether our service is good or bad is not determined by the words that we speak but by the fruit that we bear. In order to have proper fruit, we must be in the spirit. The fruit in the churches in the Far East is not convincing evidence that the saints are living in the spirit. I do not say this to condemn others or the church but to remind us of our need to examine ourselves. If we are living in the spirit, where is our fruit? A grain of wheat that falls into the ground and dies bears much fruit (John 12:24). If we say that we are grains of wheat and that we have fallen into the ground and died, where is the issue of our death? If we are the same as those who have no experience of death and bear no fruit, have we truly died? If a grain of wheat bears no fruit, is it any better than a grain of sand? It is useless to debate about the reasons for our fruitlessness; even bandits have reasons for being bandits. We cannot rely just upon words; we must check to see if there is any fruit.
If we have been co-workers or elders for many years but do not have any fruit, we need no further proof of our lack. The fruitlessness of others is not the concern. If we have no fruit ourselves, our work is meaningless. If the Lord came to settle accounts with us today, He would not look at whether we are right about certain things but of whether we have fruit. The churches in the Far East should have a strong ability to beget many children. If the elders, co-workers, and responsible brothers have no children, we will lose a generation over the next ten years. As co-workers who have been working for so many years, we need to ask ourselves who will carry on the work? Where is our next generation? If the co-workers and elders do not produce a new generation, the consequences will be worrisome.
A responsible brother once promoted the matter of rising up at 5:30 in the morning for morning watch, but his promotion yielded no fruit, because he was promoting only human diligence. Being diligent, however, is not the same as being spiritual. Although it is difficult to know whether something is spiritual, it is easier to know whether something is not spiritual. Although few saints can give a clear definition of spirituality, everyone knows whether the promotion of a certain practice in the church is spiritual, especially when the promotion is not in the spirit. Diligence and faithfulness are valuable in every human circumstance but not necessarily in the spiritual realm. Spirituality is related to the release of the spirit. A brother should never stir up people to simply rise up at 5:30 in the morning. For the sake of the saints, it would be better if he slept more. This would be his salvation. Although it would be good if slothful ones would rise earlier, it would be better if this brother would rise later. The more he promoted rising early in the meeting, the more he deadened the meeting. His good intentions produced the opposite effect, and it was easier for the saints to receive a supply of life when he did not speak.
Whenever we are given an opportunity, we look for methods. In 1968 the churches in the Far East began to imitate the churches in America by being loud, but soon there was no spirit or even a taste for this. Just as being quiet is not necessarily a matter in the spirit, neither is being loud necessarily a matter in the spirit. I have no desire that we become a “loud church” or a “quiet church” but rather a “living-in-the-spirit church.” The spirit is living and spontaneous, causes no confusion, and does not necessarily forbid a particular practice. Whatever is of the spirit causes people to touch the spirit; whatever is not of the spirit damages the church. There are no set church practices. I deeply feel that the churches in the Far East have grown accustomed to a living that looks for and follows methods while neglecting the matter of living in the spirit.
I hope that we will examine ourselves under the Lord’s light. According to our present situation, almost all the co-workers and elders need a “surgical operation.” We are like a couple who has been married for thirty years but has no children; our lack of fruit must be due to some “illness.” Truthfully, I have no way of knowing the details of our various situations; I can only point out that we have no fruit. We need to go before the Lord and examine our situation to determine the reason for our lack of fruit. The elders especially need to do this. Some elders have no fruit because they trust only themselves. A person who does not trust others has too much confidence in his own meticulous considerations and actions. Although he may derive some human benefit from his conduct, there is nothing spiritual about his conduct because it comes entirely from his good self. We must be in spirit in order to produce fruit. Our meticulous considerations cannot produce fruit, and the “fruit” that it can produce is not needed in the church.
Although the elders need to be broken and to pass through the dealing of the cross, this subject seems to have become old. When I speak on the breaking and dealing of the cross today, there is not much response. The best speaker on the breaking of the cross was Mrs. Jessie Penn-Lewis, whom the Lord raised up fifty years ago. Many saints throughout America have her books in their homes, but these books are practically useless. It is hard to find anyone who has read her books and experienced being genuinely broken. People may hear a message, but they have no ear for it. This does not mean that the truth of the breaking of the cross is not the truth. Although this truth is still the truth, the emphasis in this age is not on the breaking of the cross. Truth is needed according to the age. Therefore, it is not enough for me to speak only on the breaking of the cross. Every businessman knows that items that were highly sought after fifty years ago may be undesirable today, even to antique dealers. The truth is always the truth, but we must pay attention to the need of the age.
Thus, I have no desire to exhort the elders merely to accept the dealing and breaking of the cross; rather, I must speak of our need to live in the spirit, not in our knowledge, consideration, or views. This is the age of our spirit. Based on my recent experience of speaking, I have found that no subject draws the attention of people more than the spirit; people respond only to speaking related to living in the spirit. When I speak of living in the spirit, I am referring to our spirit, not the Holy Spirit.
When we are in our spirit, we will be open to others and willing to let them serve. Whether they are able to carry out the responsibilities related to their service is up to the Lord. I believe that at least eighty out of a hundred saints will be able to carry out the responsibilities that are placed in their hands. We should not think that things will be taken care of properly only if they are in our hands. Even if only eighty percent can carry out certain responsibilities, we will still have a worthwhile outcome. However, if everything remains in our hands and we have no “apprentices,” there will be no subsequent generation. We must learn to live in the spirit, and we should release our spirit to supply those who are bearing responsibility.
The focus of the church is not on doing things well but on releasing the spirit and supplying life. Hence, we should not place too much trust in our insights and ways; we also should not linger in teachings from the past. It was right to speak on the teaching of the anointing twenty-five years ago, but we need to be up to date. Although Edison invented the electric light bulb, there has been much improvement in electric light bulbs. We must not stay in the past; we must go forward. What we once called the anointing, we now know as the Spirit. We must know the Spirit more and live in our spirit more.
Some elders hold on to authority and exercise authority over everything, even to the point that morning watch must be in their homes. Although they may not be holding on to authority intentionally, this is the actual situation. Holding on to authority can easily produce “power struggles.” I really do not like to use this term, and it is a shame if such a thing occurs in the church. Nevertheless, some elders think that since they are the leading ones, the ones with the most function, everything should be under their authority. This is not a situation in the spirit; instead, it is a killing situation, and there is no release of the spirit. Every elder should forget about authority and live in the spirit. Once the elders live in the spirit, there are no problems related to holding on to authority.
Some may say that Paul speaks of the elders taking the lead (1 Tim. 5:17). However, when the Lord Jesus spoke to His disciples in the Gospels about authority, He said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you; but whoever wants to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve” (Matt. 20:25-28). Furthermore, He said, “You call Me the Teacher and the Lord, and you say rightly, for I am. If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet” (John 13:13-14). The Lord did not regard the exercise of authority as a matter of being great and first but rather as a matter of serving others and washing others’ feet. When we live in the spirit, authority is not a consideration, and we are willing to wash our brothers’ feet and let others be higher.
However, if we regard being lower as being better than higher, we may not necessarily be in the spirit either. When I say this, some may respond that they do not know what to do. People often say to me, “Brother Lee, you say that something is good today, but you say something different three days later. You speak on this and then on that; we do not know what to do.” I reply, “Exactly. I do not want to tell you what to do. Your desire to do things is too rigid.” Rather than trying to determine what to do or not to do, we should turn to our spirit. We need to train the saints to turn to the spirit.
A brother once came to me and accused the elders of being domineering, overbearing, and controlling. I responded, saying, “You are more overbearing than the elders because you want to overthrow them. They were appointed to be elders, but your overbearing attitude toward them shows that you are a ‘self-appointed elder.’” In contrast to this, some elders speak of their desire to be humble and to resign from the eldership so that the more capable ones can function. In reality this is an even more severe case of being in the flesh rather than in the spirit. When I say this, they do not know what to do because when they labor diligently, people say that they are overbearing, but when they consider resigning, I say that they are in the flesh. Being overbearing or resigning is not the issue; living in the spirit is all that matters. This is the most difficult truth to understand in the Bible. If we live in the spirit, we are right even if we show anger, but if we do not live in our spirit, we are wrong even if we show love. Being angry or being loving does not matter; living in the spirit is all that matters. We are not a social group that needs to focus on condemning the assertion of authority; we should focus on learning to live in the spirit. An elder’s assertion of authority only proves that he is not living in the spirit; if he lives in the spirit more, he will assert less and less authority.
An elder who was a businessman in America once warned me, “Brother Lee, you must be careful. If you teach the American brothers all these points about the eldership, they may begin to ignore you.” His words exposed that he was fully in the flesh. He had only a mental understanding of the church. It was no wonder that he was lacking in life and had not borne any fruit in the church. He thought that the way to maintain control of the eldership was to not teach anyone the “secrets” of being an elder. Although I said nothing, I knew he was finished. An elder should never be afraid of people rejecting him after they have been perfected by him. If an elder holds on to such a thought, he is finished. Many do not have fruit because of such a thought. Once this thought is present, a person is absolutely in the flesh. If we are in the spirit, we will not care for position. If the Lord wants us to be an elder, we will be an elder, but if we scheme to hold on to a position by not perfecting the brothers, we are not in the spirit. When we are not in the spirit, we have no fruit. We should yearn for others to be more capable and better.
Jealousy is also a problem when a person is not in the spirit. Sometimes when elders work on a matter together, one of them has a desire to do everything, and there is jealousy when another elder is given responsibility. No one is without jealousy; consequently, we must learn to live in the spirit. The result of every arrangement is in the Lord’s hand. No matter what the result is, we should be concerned only with whether or not we are living in the spirit. If all the elders are living in the spirit, their leading will produce fruit. Fruit is produced only when we are in the spirit.
We also are subjective and tend to hold on to old things. We think that what was done in the past should never be changed. However, according to the Bible and the history of the Lord’s recovery, God never stays with things that are old. In Genesis God’s work among men progressively advanced. In the first generation Adam was shown the way of salvation (3:21). In the second generation Abel presented offerings for fellowship with God (4:4). In the third generation Enosh began to call on the name of the Lord (v. 26). In the seventh generation Enoch walked with God (5:22), and in the tenth generation Noah received revelation from God concerning the building of the ark (6:13-16). God’s work in man advances with every generation.
Some say that we are speaking about things today that Brother Nee never spoke of when he was alive. Such criticism is inevitable because, since the time of Brother Nee’s imprisonment in 1952, the Lord has indeed given us new light. We should realize, however, that Brother Nee gained new understandings of the truth while he was ministering. For example, his book The Assembly Life, which was published in 1934, was edited from a Bible study that he had with co-workers in January 1934. In this book he said that there are no apostles today and that no one could appoint elders. He spoke of “unofficial” apostles who appointed “unofficial” elders and of the various local assemblies as being “unofficial” churches.
Three years later in 1937, Brother Nee saw further light and released messages on the line of Antioch at a co-workers’ meeting in Hankow. Those messages are compiled in the book The Normal Christian Church Life, in which Brother Nee boldly said that there are apostles today and that an apostle is one who is sent by God to establish churches and appoint elders. He also said that the various local assemblies on the proper ground are churches. In less than three years his understanding had changed completely.
Another example of change involved the matter of sisters functioning in the meetings. When I was in Shanghai in 1933, Brother Nee felt that it was a great loss for the sisters to not be able to open their mouths in the meetings. We were under the influence of the Brethren, and the sisters could not open their mouths to testify or even pray in the meetings. They could only attend the meetings and sing along with the brothers. Brother Nee, however, studied the Scriptures, and he eventually felt that the sisters should be allowed to pray in the meetings. However, some brothers, who were influenced by the Brethren, did not approve.
One day Brother Nee said to me, “Witness, when the sisters do not open their mouths in the meeting, the meeting is like a half-paralyzed body.” At that time the brothers and sisters sat completely apart from each other. Therefore, all the prayers came from the brothers’ side, while the sisters’ side remained silent. The meeting truly resembled a half-paralyzed body. Because I was influenced by the Brethren and even by northern Chinese concepts, I felt that women should not stand out in the meetings. Only after Brother Nee spent much time to pray, wait, and fellowship did it become acceptable for the sisters to pray in the meetings and then only barely. Even then the sisters could not stand up to speak; they could only pray in the meetings. If the sisters wanted to speak, they had to speak in a separate meeting of just sisters.
Ruth Lee and Peace Wang were two very gifted sisters among us. Whenever they spoke, people were touched, and everyone loved their fellowship. Sister Lee and Sister Wang helped many people in various places, and even the brothers desired to hear their supplying fellowship. Consequently, there was soon another change. The sisters were encouraged to open their mouth to speak in the meetings, but they could not give messages or speak with a teaching tone; they could only give personal testimonies. The brothers were separated from the sisters by a folding screen so that the brothers could sit behind the screen and listen to the sisters.
There were also changes in the work. For example, when we visited the churches in the Fukien and Kwangtung Provinces in 1948, Brother Nee fellowshipped on the line of Jerusalem. When he spoke on the line of Antioch in 1937, he wanted the co-workers to spread to different places. Once a church was established in a locality, he charged the co-workers to go to another place. Eleven years later, however, when he spoke on the line of Jerusalem, he wanted the co-workers to stay. There have been numerous changes even among us.
The revelation of the Bible is always advancing; this is the case in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Gospel of John speaks of the Lord Jesus as a Lamb (1:29), whereas Revelation speaks of Him as a Lion (5:5). In the Gospels the Lord Jesus has two eyes, but in Revelation He is revealed as having seven eyes that are like a flame of fire (5:6; 1:14). The Lord is living; He is still working today, and His work and leading are progressive. It is the same with the history of the Lord’s recovery. Beginning with Luther’s recovery of justification by faith, the Lord’s recovery has advanced; no two ages are the same. If we preached only justification by faith today, we would be quite outdated.
If we are still meeting according to the way that we met thirty-five years ago — gathering in the Lord’s name, calling a hymn after everyone arrives, having some prayer, remembering the Lord, giving thanks for the bread and the cup, and then worshipping the Father — and every part of our meeting is according to ritual, the saints will lose interest because the meetings are not up to date. There was once a co-worker who opposed pray-reading and calling on the name of the Lord. He was determined to continue to preach as he had always preached. Eventually, however, his way was rejected and he left. Then the saints began to call on the name of the Lord, and everyone was released. Pray-reading and calling on the name of the Lord are part of the flow in this age, and a flow cannot be stopped when it comes. The co-workers and elders should not be subjective. Neither should they stay with the old things or follow a crowd blindly; they should learn to live in the spirit. The spirit will spontaneously lead us to call on the Lord’s name and pray-read His Word. Today some elders are not up to date, and others are neither solid nor stable, because they are following only in a casual way.
We should all exercise to live in the spirit. Before the bread-breaking meeting, every co-worker, elder, and responsible one should be burdened in spirit to prepare for the meeting. If these serving ones are prepared and live in the spirit, the spirit of all the saints will be living when they arrive at the meeting, and the meeting will not be poor or fall into rituals and routines. Regrettably, we often do not live in the spirit, and we are unprepared for the meeting. If we are indifferent when we arrive at the meeting, we will be able to meet only according to a prescribed order and in formality. Once there is a prescribed order, we are not in the spirit, and once there is formality, there are regulations. This is the reason that the meetings are empty and weak in various localities. It is easy to follow a prescribed order and to be in formality because people do not need to exercise their spirit in order to sit and listen to a message. After two or three such meetings, however, everyone will be “deflated,” and they will not want to return.
The ones serving in the church must establish an atmosphere of living in the spirit so that everyone is encouraged to live in the spirit. If there is a bread-breaking meeting and our spirit is on the alert, our spirit will be uplifted in the meeting, and there will be a response in others’ spirit. Then the meetings will be a rich outlet for the Lord. Without the exercise of the spirit, the meetings will become like bean dregs in plain water, and our numbers will decline over time. People will not be attracted if they cannot touch spiritual things in a meeting. However, if all the serving ones are strong and alert in spirit and if they are serious rather than indifferent, the new ones, young ones, and weak ones will touch spiritual reality when they come to the meeting, and they will be drawn to return. Only in this way can we bear fruit. Regrettably, our condition is often routine and old, and we do not use our spirit enough to contact the Lord and to have spiritual transactions with Him. Such a condition is not attractive to people.
In principle, there are not many ministries that can be used by the Lord as a source of supply in each age. This is because a ministry is like a trumpet. If there are too many ministries, there will be too many uncertain sounds, which makes it difficult for people to take the way of the church. Therefore, the Lord may not necessarily raise up many ministries simultaneously to be a source of supply.
Whoever is not used by the Lord as a source of supply for the ministry should receive the supply that is available so that he may supply others. However, such a one must still use his spirit to enter into the spirit of the ministry. Regrettably, ministers of the word in various localities have not generally entered into the spirit of the supplying ministry in their release of messages; that is, they have not entered into the flow of the ministry. Thus, their supply of the word has no direction or goal; it is like a ship drifting without a compass. In helping a local church, the co-workers should be in the flow and the spirit of the ministry to follow the direction of the compass. They should be like a ship that has set sail from Keelung to Hong Kong; everyone should know where the ship is going. The co-workers, however, seem to speak as they wish. They say one thing today and another thing tomorrow, and they are indifferent about whether or not there is fruit, despite working for a month, a few months, or even a few years. The churches being helped are also indifferent. Thus, it is difficult to bear fruit in such a situation.
The co-workers must spend more time living in the spirit to enter into the spirit of the ministry and the flow of the ministry. If our spirit is strong, our work will not be aimless. The cause of our illness is our not being in the spirit. According to doctors, a weak constitution is caused by malnutrition. But once there is proper nutrition, the germs in us are killed. If we are not in the spirit, we will have many “infections” that bring in weakness, but as soon as we begin to live in the spirit, our illnesses will go away. For example, everyone is selfish, and as long as we do not live in our spirit, we will care only for ourselves. However, as soon as we are in the spirit, we are delivered from such a selfish realm. I hope that we will go before the Lord and let Him expose our true condition so that He may have mercy on us and save us.
