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To the brothers who are of the same mind in all localities:
Our intention when first publishing Collection of News- letters was that through this little publication the brothers in all the localities might be able to share their news with each other and that the assemblies in various places might be able to fellowship with one another. We had also hoped to obtain more news concerning the personal spiritual experiences of the brothers and sisters so that all the saints in different localities could be mutually edified in their spiritual life. Our work is spiritual, and our emphasis is life. This has already been pointed out in "The Origin" in the first issue and in "A Letter about This Publication and the Co-workers" in the ninth issue. It was also pointed out in "Some Words from the Responsible Brothers" in the tenth issue.
However, although this was our intention and hope, the letters which we received from the saints have for the most part not paid attention to this matter. And even we ourselves have not held firm to our purpose in the way we have edited the material. Articles in the past have mostly dealt with outward matters such as baptism, leaving the denominations, etc. Thus, it seems that this paper has become a special publication on leaving the denominations.
It is now clear to us that since this is the case, we have not only failed to achieve the objective of this publication, but have also fallen short of our testimony. Brothers, we have deviated from the Lord's heart in this matter. We can therefore only seek the grace of God and hope for a change.
We have pointed out before that "our work is spiritual and that our emphasis is life. We are clear that God wants us to manifest the life of Christ in the local churches. Hence, the reality of our work is the life of Christ, and the outward expression of our work is the local church. In this present time, when the outward church is desolate, we do not have the slightest intention to start a new `movement,' `group,' `organization,' or `denomination.' We dare not even call ourselves the churches in the various places. We stand only on the position of the local church.
"What is our center? Is our work to preach Christ as Lord or to preach leaving the denominations? I am really fearful that in every locality there are brothers who, being limited in understanding and spiritual experience before God, only have a little knowledge about outward matters such as baptism, head covering, and denominations, and exhaust their effort to publicize these matters. By doing so, they cause outsiders to misunderstand us, thinking that we only emphasize these outward things and that we do not exalt Jesus Christ as Lord. We know that if anyone follows the Lord, he will certainly take care of these outward matters. But it does not mean that anyone who practices these outward things is necessarily following the Lord completely. We must emphasize again and again for the sake of the ignorant brothers among us that although we believe in these outward matters, yet our testimony, that which makes us different from others, is not in these outward things." (See Issue Nos. 9 and 10 of this publication.)
We have, therefore, decided that after this issue we shall no longer publish this paper. We hope our decision will seem good to the brothers. Hereafter may we pay more attention to the inward testimony than to the outward matters. This is not to say that we are neglecting the outward matters but that we should not overemphasize them. We admit they have their place, but they are neither our center nor our testimony. We can only ask God's forgiveness and the brothers' forbearance for the past failure. May the Lord cause us to pay attention to what is important to Him. The Lord bless you all. Peace be with you in the Lord.
Your brother,Watchman Nee
Several years ago seven believers from England and America visited Shanghai and requested fellowship with us at the Lord's table. We immediately received them because they were brothers in the Lord. We received them in the same manner we usually received brothers from different denominations. Because they were of the "Closed Brethren," we made it clear to them that we received only their person, not the organization they represented. Later, they urged us to take the same attitude and stand of which they were persuaded. We brought it carefully to prayer, asking God to give us light and utterance to make this matter clear. Our reply is made in the following pages. When the brothers in different localities read our answer, they will know the kind of fellowship in which we believe and why we cannot join the "Closed Brethren." We desire that the brothers in every locality not presume that we fellowship merely with those who have left the divisions. We must realize that what we emphasize is the fellowship in the Holy Spirit.
[Translator's note: The following letter is a translation from the Chinese. The original letter (in English) to the Closed Brethren in England is not available.]
It has been some time since we received your letter touching the matter of fellowship. We should have replied earlier but have lacked clear light from God; thus, we delayed our definite answer until today. Your love and patience are required to bear with our delay, for we did not want to be hasty in our reply, thereby neglecting God's will. We beg your pardon, regretting the inconvenience we have caused through our tarrying. In addition, our brother Mr. Nee has had a heart ailment since last February and is only now gradually recovering. This was another factor which contributed to the delay in answering you.
We believe that those who have been taught of God should not trust themselves. "The flesh profits nothing," including the matter of understanding God's Word. It is very easy for one to acknowledge a certain truth in his mind. But the same person can be completely ignorant of everything, as if he has never heard the truth. The only condition for the realization of spiritual matters is for us to be in the Holy Spirit and in the life. It is exceedingly easy for one to stand upon others' revelation and light, while at the same time he himself falls into law. The New Testament dispensation is a spiritual dispensation; therefore, man can (or should) be taught of God from within and have the inner knowledge (Heb. 8). Every matter coming from without (including everything from the avenue of the mind), which stops short of reaching the inner depth, has no spiritual value, and those who acquire it have never actually known anything. By saying this, we do not mean that we are unwilling to be taught by our brothers. However, we are assured that we can do nothing when the Holy Spirit within does not make the truth alive. The situation of death and weakness among the saints today is due to the fact that they merely receive and obey the truth in their minds. This is the law. Although their words are accurate, they are absolutely independent of the Holy Spirit.
For this reason, we could only wait before God, trusting His Holy Spirit rather than depending upon our own minds. We say with thankful hearts that by His grace He has given us light and utterance. We have the assurance that this light is from Him, we desire to share it with you. We earnestly beseech Him that this letter may be entirely of Him, without the slightest element of our human opinion.
(1) God's original desire toward the church is that she be the increase or fullness of Christ. The Lord Jesus and the church are Christ (1 Cor. 12:12). When the individual Christ is joined with His church, they together become the corporate Christ. The church in her life and testimony should manifest Christ and express His life, His victory, and His glory. God's original intention for this generation is that every child of His should be in the real church and become the testimony of His only begotten Son.
(2) Notwithstanding, how the flesh has missed God's goal! Even before the apostles passed away, the church outwardly became desolate. Although man has had his sins forgiven and has become a child of God, he cannot manifest Christ or testify of His life, victory, and glory; only a minority can still fulfill God's original desire. The majority may have had a good beginning, but by their controversy with God, their life and testimony have been choked. Even to the present day, the church is divided into two groups, the overcomers and the defeated ones (Rev. 2—3). It is not that the overcomers are those who are above the standard of ordinary Christians but that the defeated ones are below the standard. The overcomers are those who can fulfill God's original desire.
(3) The matter of fellowship was not a difficult problem for the early church at Pentecost — all believers at that time were saved sinners and saints with a testimony (we will not speak of the exceptions). Today's difficulty is that these two matters have been separated among the saints. Although today's saints are saved, they do not live in the Holy Spirit. Should we then open our fellowship absolutely to all of God's children regardless of their condition? Or should we limit our fellowship only to those who are overcomers? Should we start a Christian laity movement? Or should we answer the call for overcomers and go forward towards God's perfect goal?
According to the letters to the seven churches, the Lord's call now is evidently for overcomers. Although the Lord did not reject the (ordinary) Christians, His eyes were on the overcomers who would fulfill His original desire.
Since we are meeting on the ground of the church in each locality as a local assembly, we ought to make such an assembly a vessel for the "testimony of Jesus" as the answer to God's desire. To have a people's movement consisting of many saved people is not enough. The assembly must be a special vessel for the testimony of Christ.
The overcomers are those who rise to fulfill the responsibility which the church herself has failed to fulfill. The overcomers are in God's sight just as the church is in His sight (we can compare them with the remnant in the former dispensation). Therefore, the meetings which stand on the ground of the church should have the character of the overcomer.
(4) Does this mean then that we should segregate the children of God or decide which believer can have fellowship with us and which cannot? Who then could judge which one is an overcomer? Can we reject, therefore, the fellowship of those whom we deem unspiritual and unworthy of our fellowship?
The Bible has revealed the basis upon which we "receive one another." We must receive one another as "Christ also received" us (Rom. 15:7). Therefore, we can say that we receive a person because "God has received him" (14:3). For this reason God commands, "Him who is weak in faith receive" (v. 1). This command is clear, unequivocal, and draws a very clear boundary. To reject one whom God has received is sin, even though such a one is in weakness and darkness.
This does not mean that those who are defeated can have fellowship with God's children. Not only will worldliness, flesh, and sin cause the church to be loose in its character and fellowship, but even a little departure from His will and from the leading of the Holy Spirit will cause man to lose touch with God. An overcomer must not only be correct in outward position but also live a life in the Holy Spirit.
Who then is worthy among God children to choose or decide who can come into fellowship? According to our knowledge of the Bible, our duty is to examine only those who have moral corruption (1 Cor. 5:10) or who hold heresy regarding the person of Christ (2 John). Any difference regarding the explanation of the truth should never be the cause for division. Apart from these two reasons, we must receive all whom God has received in Christ.
(5) We must differentiate between the "sin" which hinders fellowship with God (moral or doctrinal) and the "sin" which cannot hinder fellowship with God. Unquestionably, adultery as well as the denial of the Lord Jesus Christ as the One coming in the flesh are sins which hinder fellowship. However, the "sectarian companion" or a wrong interpretation of prophecy are sins which do not hinder fellowship with God. This is a fact which you cannot deny. It is quite evident that many who do not separate themselves from what you call "evil companions" and who have a different interpretation of prophecy definitely have a very close fellowship with the Lord — even closer than we do. This clearly proves that "evil companions" and "evil doctrines" are not "sins" which hinder fellowship. It also proves, on the other hand, that even if one stands in a correct position regarding the church or the truth, it does not necessarily mean that he has an intimate touch with the Lord. There is one thing that is more important than an outward position or truth that is received through the mind — that is, to live in the Holy Spirit and not to yield to the flesh.
The fellowship among God's children is the fellowship with the Son of God. It is also a fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, regardless who it may be, one must live in the Holy Spirit in order to have fellowship. No place is ever found for the flesh in the Holy Spirit. It is excusable for beginners to be babes, but none should be babes for a long time. Actually, whether people are received or not can neither bring them into the fellowship of Christ nor drive them out of Christ. In fact, if one is in the reality of fellowship, he remains in fellowship; if one is not in fellowship, he simply is not in fellowship. The outward form does not count, only the reality. The Holy Spirit alone knows who is not rebelling against His authority, who is not grieving Him, and who is living by Him in Christ. Therefore, it is the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit alone, who can decide who is in fellowship and who is not. We are not qualified to do this.
We are assured of the Lord's mind in this: We should not receive anyone without judging his obvious sins or by neglecting his heretical doctrines. However, the decision as to who should be in the fellowship must be made by the Holy Spirit and not by us. Each individual must also bear the responsibility of examining himself before the Lord to discern whether he has a problem in the matter of his fellowship (see 1 Cor. 11:27-32).
On the basis of scriptural authority and the leading of the Holy Spirit, we have decided that if a man has not been received by us, he cannot have fellowship with us (Acts 9:26-28; Rom. 14:1-3; 15:7; 16:2; 2 Cor. 3:1 etc.). However, we are not saying that each one who has been received by us can have fellowship. Everyone must first examine himself before the Lord to determine if he is worthy to come and have fellowship. The only thing we can do is to separate God's children from the children of this world. The Lord has not ordained us to be the judge to separate God's children from each other.
(6) Therefore, in our practice, after a brother is received, we tell him that as far as we (those standing on the ground of the church) are concerned, we are satisfied, but as far as his status before God is concerned, we leave with him the responsibility to examine himself. Only those who have fellowship with the Lord are qualified to share the Lord's table. In every such meeting the brothers should make clear to all such responsibility and practice. Then no one would presume that since he is not excommunicated, he must be one who is in fellowship.
(7) Frankly, we have doubts about your present method of receiving others. Is the Holy Spirit the Head in every matter, or is man doing the receiving? Your practice of receiving others may have been living in the beginning, but through years of habit it may have become a set of rules. Hence, the root of our question here is whether man is receiving others or the Holy Spirit is exercising His lordship.
(8) Some people may have doubt about our practice of receiving others, a practice which is based only upon whether they are Christians and which leaves the responsibility of attending the bread-breaking meeting to them. Some may fear this is not safe. However, we should realize that the fellowship among Christians is too spiritual a matter, with which no human hand should interfere nor defend. Furthermore, if we are spiritual rather than being in the mind, we will see the lordship of the Holy Spirit in His power and authority. However, if our acquaintance with the Holy Spirit is but a knowledge of the mind rather than of our experience, confusion is the sure consequence.
Have we not acted in the meeting according to the direction and guidance of the Holy Spirit? We have given Him the unlimited place of exercising His headship to choose and use His vessel rather than accommodating an arrangement of man. Therefore, why not trust the Holy Spirit to keep the purity of the fellowship in the bread-breaking meeting, and why not trust Him to urge the saints to come or to hinder the saints from coming to this meeting? If we really give ground to Him to exercise His lordship, there is no need to replace it with a closed form of receiving that is of human invention.
We also considered the question regarding the distribution of God's servants. Some, seeing the vast land of China, are tempted to attain the position of director over all of God's servants. How good this seems from a human point of view, because workers would then be distributed evenly, no one area having either too many or too few. We would say, however, that regardless of how man seeks after God's will, the Holy Spirit is always the unique Executor. He never needs man to be His manager.
We need to exercise such faith in the lordship of the Holy Spirit that we will never form an economic center for the work. Man delights to divide money equally with all of God's servants so that no one will gain too much or too little. However, if we do this, where is the lordship of the Holy Spirit? During the past ten years we have endeavored to the best of our ability to give the Holy Spirit the complete lordship in this matter, letting Him direct the saints themselves or the local meeting. The result has been: "He who gathered much had no excess, and he who gathered little had no lack." We must allow the Holy Spirit to exercise His lordship in everything.
No matter how we have sought after His mind, we are never His assistants. We must allow the Holy Spirit to do everything according to His will. We must also be clear whether the Holy Spirit is now exercising His authority or if we have set ourselves up as a guard over the fellowship.
(9) The reason for the lack of life in the present meetings is that man's hands have been substituted for the lordship of the Holy Spirit. In the beginning, during the past century, it was not so. According to what we have heard and read about the meetings a century ago, they were filled with life and power. At that time there was not the matter of receiving others for fellowship as we know it today; the Holy Spirit was the only leader in the work and in the fellowship. It was only after man's failure (the Bethesda incident), that man's hands began to take control of the matter of receiving.
Church history reveals to us that each denomination started in revival. At such times the Holy Spirit began His work through His own chosen vessels. During the first period of such a work, the Holy Spirit was honored and held all the authority. The blessing flowed out like rivers of living water. However, in order to keep the blessing and maintain the truth, men invented many rules, systems, and an organization rather than pursuing the ruling of the Holy Spirit in each believer. Consequently, after a certain period, the work of the Holy Spirit was stopped, but the system, the regulations, and the organizations remained, and these gravitated towards more strictness as time went by.
(10) Now we must make our position clear. We do not stand in such an open position that will tolerate any matter that would bring shame to our Lord. No, absolutely not! Neither do we stand in such a closed position that we close our fellowship according to the human will rather than the work of the Holy Spirit. What we stand upon is a spiritually closed fellowship, which means that all of our fellowship must be completely in the Holy Spirit without the slightest mixture of the flesh. In order to enjoy this kind of fellowship, the flesh must be thoroughly dealt with by the cross of Christ. The flesh has no share in this kind of fellowship. It is not enough to refuse the "evil companion"; the whole life of the flesh must be dealt with. The power of the cross must be experienced through the Holy Spirit in our daily life. The knowledge of this in our mind is of no use. This alone is our fellowship. Hence, we are as open as the first churches in receiving all Christians, and we are as closed as the Holy Spirit in rejecting everything that is of the flesh. There are many people whom you presume to be in your fellowship, but in reality they are really not. The numbers of these people may be far beyond our expectation. How sad this is! Many believers who have been received under strict examination are not living in the Holy Spirit. They think they are in fellowship and are qualified to break bread because they do not have any obvious sin! Do we not agree that this standard of fellowship too low?
The danger of man's choice often is that those who should not be in fellowship have been received, while those who should be in fellowship have been rejected. Has not this situation arisen many times among us? But if we would leave the choosing entirely to the Holy Spirit and be willing to stand aside and fully trust in Him, this difficulty would not arise.
(11) This may conflict with your concept of what is right or wrong. Many of God's children whom you judge to be "wrong" in their conduct could never be accepted by you. However, we must honor the Holy Spirit in the meeting. If the Holy Spirit can supply, encourage, or even send them to a work, we too must act accordingly with the Holy Spirit. If the Holy Spirit can overlook a certain matter that is in them, then why not we? Regardless of what others look like, the fact is that many of God's children follow a different system than you do. In your sight they are not worthy of fellowship. Notwithstanding, they do walk with God and have a very close fellowship with the Lord. This clearly shows us that fellowship is based on one's spiritual condition and demands that we stop all of our actions in the flesh.
Some may reject this, thinking that such a way will certainly destroy the outward uniformity. We know that our flesh cannot suffer external differences, because the flesh delights to see all outward matters in uniformity. The flesh demands that everyone conform to a set of regulations. The New Testament has letters and laws in the same way that the Old Testament has them. Only as we live in the reality of the Spirit and apprehend all truth in life, and only as we are not in the mind, are we able to put the emphasis on the reality of the Spirit rather than on the uniformity of externalities.
(12) We can recall how the apostles gave freedom to man regarding food and the keeping of days (Rom. 14). If it were up to us, we would have thought that these external differences were of extreme significance and would not have allowed anyone the freedom of choice regarding them. Once we would discover that some in our midst eat herbs and keep the Sabbath, how uneasy and anxious our hearts would be! However, the oneness and fellowship among Christians are too deep for us to fathom and beyond the touch of these external things.
Furthermore, there is no record in the Bible that those who preach and teach out of envy and strife should be excommunicated (Phil. 1). If an assembly cannot do its duty to remove the evil one (1 Cor. 5:2), that assembly and that evil person are not formally dealt with! The apostle only exercised his spiritual authority (vv. 4-5). It is recorded in the Scriptures that even the antichrists went out from the church according to their own volition (1 John 2:19). In other words, they were not excommunicated. These examples tell us that an outward uniformity during an age of desolation is not in the Lord's heart. Recall the ark in the houses of Abinadab and Obed-edom. There God was only interested in the perfect testimony of Christ (i.e., the ark) and not the details of worship in the tabernacle. During the revival of Nehemiah and Ezra, quite a few things were different from before; nevertheless, God acknowledged them. During the time of Christ, we see a group of people who had outward correctness, but we also see how Christ intentionally put aside all of these external things in order to pay attention to the weightier matters. We believe that in today's apostasy the Lord will lead His people to see the value of spiritual matters and to be lenient on outward correctness. The Pharisees of the past were really good at keeping the law — "as to the law, a Pharisee."
Now I must inquire about your position concerning the meetings. Do our brothers surpass other Christians in spirituality, in zeal for Christ, and in the separation from the world? Or do they surpass others only in their position regarding the church? If the chief characteristic of our assemblies is not in the spiritual realm, but rather in the correctness of our meeting, then our best is but an equal to the activity of the Pharisees. How regrettable it is to have so much light but fail to serve the Lord with the singleness of those who do not have as much light!
(13) We are not here to forsake the least of God's commands; neither are we here to strain out the gnat but swallow the camel. We feel regretful about those who always overlook the small matters because of a dull conscience. The small matters are the same as the large matters when both are the commands of God. However, we are assured that the more important matters need to be taken care of first.
Have you seen the danger of possibly losing the living water of blessing which you once possessed in the beginning and of being left with a system of meeting, like one of the many movements? If you do not see that the fellowship should be in the Holy Spirit, and if you replace it with outward correctness, have you not then become one of the denominations?
Once several brothers came together to talk about "the fellowship of the apostles." They touched upon the matter of the orthodoxy of fellowship, and a brother said that orthodoxy is simply the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the orthodox fellowship has nothing to do with who is first and who is last; it is not a question of scriptural methods. It has to do with the Holy Spirit having the full lordship.
If you try to have outward uniformity in practice and in Bible interpretation, you will, on the contrary, cause divisions among God's children. Even the most spiritual ones will divide themselves into different organizations. We have no intention to ignore the external matters, because these outward matters are the testimony (not the forms) of the spiritual things. We can only cause others to accept the outward things through teaching and love; we cannot achieve our goal through excommunication. If we do this, we will become a sect and will find death rather than life in our meetings. Many divisions are the result of this.
(14) We must know the "oneness of the Holy Spirit" before we experience the fellowship in the Holy Spirit. Within each believer, there is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit in one believer, plus the Holy Spirit in another believer, plus the Holy Spirit in all the saints becomes the oneness of the Holy Spirit. We all must do our best to keep this oneness. Notwithstanding, the flesh in us makes us different; it creates "strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, divisions, sects." If we endeavor to keep the oneness of the Spirit, we must know in experience how to apply the cross to our flesh. When the Holy Spirit becomes the Lord in us and we follow His leading, then we will have the oneness among us. We cannot keep what we do not have. If the life of the flesh has not been dealt with, there will never be the unity of the Spirit in our practice. It is of no use to make the keeping of the "oneness of the Spirit" mere talk. Only when we live in the oneness of the Spirit do we fully enjoy the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. The deadly root in the saints today is that they do not know the crucifixion of their flesh; consequently, they do not know the Holy Spirit. We beseech God to grant this revelation to the saints so that they may lay aside and judge the life of the flesh. May the Lord do a deeper work in us until the flesh is fully exposed and judged.
(15) Dear brothers, the fellowship in the Holy Spirit is too spiritual a matter and is beyond our power to guard. All we can do is keep our fellowship from evil doers. The Holy Spirit alone can keep His own fellowship. Human hands are completely useless in guarding the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.
If the Holy Spirit is not Lord in our lives, we cannot enjoy the glory and the smile of His face, regardless of how careful we are with outward matters. We are convinced that confusion sets in where the Holy Spirit is not the Lord and the human hand is taken away. Therefore, we must cause the fellowship in our meetings to become very spiritual so that all who are of the flesh dare not join. When the Holy Spirit has the authority, the fleshly ones will not dare to partake.
Dear brothers, will you bring this matter which we have presented into much prayer and consideration? We believe that this is of God. Would you be willing to lay aside your former prejudice, which you have put in writing, and consider the matter in a fresh way as if you have never known it before? At the same time would you ask the Lord to reveal whether or not our word is right and whether it is written according to His will? This is a very serious matter, since the Lord is coming back soon. Now is the time for us to make matters clear before the Lord, for eternity is nigh.
We want to thank you for what you have done in the past. May the Lord bless you for the patience you have had in this matter, for which we thank you. Again, may we request your forgiveness for making you wait so long due to our delay in answering.
Your brothers in the Lord,Tu Chung Ch'en, Lin Kuang Piao, Wu Hsi Ku, Chang Kuang Jung, Witness Lee, and Watchman Nee representing the brothers who meet at N. Sze Chuan Road and Hardoon Road, Shanghai
Because I was suffering from heart disease in February of last year, I do not have much strength even when I am feeling somewhat better. For this reason, I have not been able to answer many letters in a timely fashion; some have not been answered at all. I really apologize to you brothers. I hope that you do not blame me. Please relay this message to others.
There is not much strength left in me, so I dare not expend it all. Furthermore, our ministry is prayer and preaching the word. Although other matters benefit the brothers and sisters, we cannot take care of them all.
From,Watchman NeeJuly 15, 1935
We no longer run the brothers' apartment which we had here. If brothers and sisters from other localities have business in Shanghai and need hospitality from the church in Shanghai, please send a letter beforehand to the responsible brothers here. We will do our best to give you hospitality. If you try to make arrangements on the spur of the moment, it will be hard to avoid oversights, and we will all be inconvenienced. We will notify you when our brothers' apartment is resumed.
The responsible brothers in Shanghai,Wu Hsi Ku, Tu Chung Ch'en, Lin Kuang PiaoJuly 15, 1935
In the Shanghai Overcomer Conference last year we saw what God's center is and how Christ should be the Head over all things. Unfortunately, in the past two years we have not seen more loyalty, faith, or love toward Christ. In other words, our spiritual edification and growth have not been what they should be. On the contrary, leaving the denominations, forms of meeting, baptism, and head covering have become the center of our truth. Who is responsible for this change?
We have heard the terms obedience, consecration, and walking in the way. But what is obedience? Are you obedient just because you have left the denominations?! Are you consecrated because you have not cared for anything and left man's organization?! Are you walking in the way because you have left the denominations?! It seems that apart from these outward matters, nothing else requires obedience and consecration. It is almost as if not being obedient only refers to not leaving the denominations or not being baptized. Are these outward matters our only testimony?
In another aspect, we have seen the lack of growth among the churches in various places; there is laziness in the work, coldness for the gospel, almost no prayer life, a shortage of the power of the Holy Spirit, a lack of faith, and not enough love. All this should cause us to repent before God in sackcloth and ashes with fasting. We must beg God to revive us. The spirit of Laodicea is among us. First, our works are not blameless. Second, we do not have eyes to see ourselves. Third, we do not have the faith to receive; rather, we proudly think that we lack nothing and are better than others. We should ask ourselves what makes us different from others. Are we willing to accept God's call for overcomers and strive onward to accomplish God's complete plan? Are we merely a group of people who are better than the denominations and different from others? Are we the same as the so-called Brethren? We should spend some time before God to answer these questions well.
Therefore, brothers, we should know that our testimony is Christ as God's centrality and that our position is one of hoping to become overcomers of God. Denominations and other outward matters are side issues. If we pay attention to them, we do not know God's centrality and the position of the overcomers.
Furthermore, there is a great problem with the method. When we studied the question of the church, we already mentioned that this study is not our testimony. It was prepared merely because those who had already consecrated themselves to God did not know how to deal with this question. We have asked the co-workers many times to realize that a person can be taught the truth concerning the church only after he has completely consecrated himself to God, submitted to the Holy Spirit's authority in life, and refused the activities of the flesh. If he has done all these and has been enlightened by God to seek for understanding concerning the ground of the church, then we should tell him about the truth concerning the church. After the meeting some brothers wanted the messages to be printed, but I refused because I was afraid that some ignorant ones would use them as messages to outsiders. After the 1931 Overcomer Conference, I openly wrote in The Present Testimony, Issue No. 22:
In our conferences our intention is only to speak forth the message of the victory of Christ, not to speak of other matters. The preaching of this message is our particular responsibility. If there had not been some outside brothers raising some questions, perhaps we would have seen more spiritual accomplishments in this conference. In reality, unless a person knows God in the aspects of trusting and obeying Him, it is of little use to speak to him concerning other matters. We can mention many other matters to those who are faithful, but if we share them with those who are yet unwilling to serve God faithfully, it will only give rise to disputes. It is our desire that anyone's commitment concerning issues of the church or issues of prophecy would result from a spiritual background acquired in the presence of God. We do not want any person to have an outward commitment in his stand concerning the church just because he has listened to our exhortation. Our Bible study meetings, on the other hand, are of a different nature: they are conducted for those who are willing to serve God faithfully and are seeking to have a clearer understanding of Bible truths. For this reason, we are free in these meetings to bring up those things which we would be reluctant to bring up in conferences. We hope that in our future conferences, neither the speaker nor the listeners will bring up, either publicly or privately, any matters outside the victory of Christ, in order that we might have God's full blessing. In other words, the content of our preaching in the October conference was the same as what we have preached all these years in The Present Testimony. I deeply believe that those who have been taught in the presence of God know that The Present Testimony preaches a special message. Just as we have not mentioned other matters in The Present Testimony, we have tried to avoid these same matters in our past as well as future conferences. This does not mean that other matters are not important; but it does mean that when men sincerely desire to receive the victory of Christ and to believe and obey the Lord, He will spontaneously direct their attention to these other external matters, and they will automatically obey. There will not be the need for much exhortation from others, and there will not be many disputes. At this stage, if certain things are not clear to some, we would be most willing to help them in the Bible study meetings. We deeply sense that what the church of God urgently needs and what she absolutely must experience today is the victory of Christ — the facts and principles which He declared through His death and resurrection. In this matter we need to be faithful and steadfast, and we need to preach it wholeheartedly.
In the past two or three years, however, our brothers have not endeavored to preach the Lord Jesus as (1) the Savior, (2) the overcoming life, (3) the Holy Spirit who fills man, (4) the Bearer of the cross, or (5) the Captain of God. We have not seen brothers leading people to experience these aspects, but we have seen brothers exhorting those who have different opinions concerning the ground of the church to leave the denominations, get baptized, and cover their heads! This kind of work is very effective. Many people have been touched to obey the Lord and walk in the way because they know the error of the denominations; they have left the denominations to break bread with us! We are full of those who have left the denominations but who do not know how Christ is the overcoming life, nor do they know the filling of the Holy Spirit! They do not know how to bear the cross and know even less about spiritual warfare. As a result, outsiders think that our testimony concerns nothing but leaving the denominations. Even we ourselves have forgotten our own commission and think that our testimony is indeed leaving the denominations. Dear brothers, we cannot allow this kind of situation to continue. Otherwise, we will only become another "Brethren Church," and we will never be witnesses to accomplish God's will. Therefore, the time has come and we must change.
If we do not have faith and obedience, and do not know in our experience what overcoming, filling, self-denial, and warfare are, how can we testify concerning these matters for Christ? In that case, we will choose the easy matters, such as leaving the denominations, as our testimony!
Therefore, we must pursue the deep experiences of Christ. It is not enough just to know Him as our Savior. We must gain the Lord personally as our overcoming life. We must have the specific experience of being filled with the Holy Spirit. We must continually know the way of the cross. At the same time, we must help the church and the kingdom through spiritual warfare. If we do not have these things, what do we have that is different from others apart from leaving the denominations? We should each be an overcomer before God so that we can be worthy to testify for Him.
Brothers, perhaps my word is a little harsh, but what I say to you, I also say to myself. I confess that many experiences are gained after a loss. Therefore, in these past few months, I have asked God to open the way for me so that I might be quiet and that I be recovered. I also ask for God's grace again and hope that in the near future I can give a good testimony for God. However, in this time of transition, I hope that the co-workers know that when they testify for God, they cannot leave out the five points mentioned above. I also want the brothers and sisters who have fellowship with us to know that every one of us must have these five points or we cannot stand in the position of the church. Our fellowship today should be a fellowship of the overcomers.
Dear brothers, if our testimony was only the gospel, we could just be revivalists. If our position was only leaving the denominations, we could just join the "Brethren." But if our testimony is the "testimony of Jesus" (Rev. 19:10), we should have the experience. Only then can we hope to accomplish God's plan. From now on we must have a change in our work, our meetings, our testimony, and ourselves.
To my knowledge, I am the first one who needs to be dealt with anew by God. If God is gracious to me, I hope that in the near future I can secure a place just for cultivating and training believers. This will serve as a new beginning in the work. Although we have decided on many things, we need to wait on God to accomplish them, so I do not want to say anything more here.
One thing is certain: If we continue on in this way, we will not be very useful in God's hand. Just comparing oneself to man is not spirituality. Even though our brothers and our meetings may be one step above those of others, we must remember that our current condition is still very far from God's plan!
It is not that I despise our brothers and sisters, nor do I depreciate many of the truths that we have preached, but we are far from God's goal. If we do not want to be sifted out, we must pursue again. Dear brothers, only you could allow me to write this kind of letter to you. I could never discuss these problems with others. Thank you!
Therefore, please allow me to ask that from now on we forbid our mouths from debating with others over outward matters. If we persuade someone concerning an outward matter, what has the Lord really gained and what have we really gained? We must learn to discern between the camels and the gnats. Please do not imitate the Pharisees in swallowing the camels and straining out the gnats. Other things are more important, and we should pay attention to them first; we should pay attention to outward things last. Therefore, I ask, brothers, let us please resolve to refuse to discuss questions about the denominations, etc., with anyone who has not completely consecrated himself to God and is not ready to walk in the way of the cross. We can only speak of these outward matters with those who live in God's will. We must absolutely not make The Assembly Life a propaganda matter to outsiders. We should not forget that our goal is not to build up our assemblies but to allow God to gain something. Is man's need life or fellowship (with respect to the ground of the church)? Brothers, we must wake up.
We should not despise the brothers who are already among us, nor should we deal with them strictly. We must remember that our own spiritual condition is not very good. How can we place heavy requirements on them? We can only strive to pursue deeper experiences and serve them in love. Their future spiritual edification will depend on our pursuit of the Lord today.
Your brother,Watchman NeeJuly 15
We forgot who borrowed the entire manuscript of "God's Centrality" from Mr. Nee's Overcomer Conference in January of last year. After reading this message, would the borrower please send it back to us in a double registered package? We desperately need to use this manuscript now.
July 16, 1935Shanghai
