Date: April 17, 1948Place: Hardoon Road, Shanghai
In learning to take care of God's work, one basic lesson is to be absolute for the truth. No truth in the Bible should be entangled with man's condition. Today man is not absolute toward the truth because he entangles the truth with his own condition. When man entangles the truth with his own condition, he feels that he cannot speak the truth if he has not experienced it. Yet we have to realize that it is not our experience which qualifies us to speak concerning a truth. Truth is absolute in itself. David said that all men speak vanity (Psa. 12:2). When he spoke this word, he was not considering himself. Before God, David considered himself as nonexistent. God's servants cannot look inward into themselves. God's truth is absolute; it is not involved with us in any way. Because the truth is absolute, we have to sacrifice ourselves and put ourselves aside.
Man always sacrifices God's word. Brother Yu and his wife are both here. Suppose there is something that a wife should not do in the church. Can our brother's wife do it simply because she is a responsible brother's wife? The responsible brothers often deal with themselves in one way and deal with others in another way. If we have to ask whether or not a thing should be done, then we have to put the same question to everyone involved in similar cases. A responsible brother cannot say that if such a case involves others, the question should be asked, whereas if such a case involves his own wife, the question can be skipped. We often want God's truth to follow us. We become involved with the truth. As a result, we are drawn into the involvement.
Last year two brothers came to me and asked if a certain responsible brother had done something wrong. I answered that they considered the matter to be wrong only because they were not the responsible brothers. If they were the responsible brothers, they would not have considered it wrong. This is what I mean by man affecting God's truth.
We have to realize that the condition of an individual has nothing to do with God's truth. If truth is affected by man, the truth is no longer the truth. If the truth is not something absolute for you, you do not know God, and you do not know God's word.
In Foochow twenty-seven brothers and sisters came and met with me. Originally, it was only going to be a talk between Brother Lee, Sister Wang, and me. In the end all the others came. I could only present the truth to the brothers there. What I am personally cannot affect what God's truth is. We cannot say that a teaching is right simply because others are good to us, and we cannot consider the same teaching wrong simply because others are not good to us. Once the truth becomes affected by human factors, it is no longer the truth; it becomes something else. If the truth is not absolute in you, you cannot go on. The truth can never be controlled by man. I cannot say that something is right simply because you and I are from the same school or were born in the same place. So many problems in the world and so many disputes in teachings arise because of changes in human factors, not because of a change in the truth itself.
What does it mean to say that the truth is absolute? First Timothy speaks of the pillar of the truth (3:15). Why does it say the pillar of the truth? It is because a pillar is something immovable. It cannot go up or down. It is not like a chair that can be moved from one place to another. If we are not sober, the truth will not have any effect on us. The truth cannot be entrusted to a person who walks according to his feelings. This is a great test. A man must stand on the side of the truth to oppose himself. Only by this can he maintain the truth instead of himself. Those who have never been dealt with do not know what the truth is. Some people lower the truth a little when they are wrong, and lift up the truth a little when they are right. This means that they are like elevators. The truth goes up and down with them. Only those who have dealt with themselves are able to maintain the truth. Praise the Lord, He is the "elevator''; and we are going up and down with Him!
The reason for so much darkness today is that man sacrifices the truth and forces the truth to yield to him. If you can take the truth as the unique standard and if you have the courage to say that since the Lord has done such and such a thing, you admit that you are wrong, new light will come, and a new way will be opened to you. Otherwise, you will end up thinking that you are the only right Christian on earth and that everyone else has to go along with you. Even the truth will have to go along with you. Those who make allowances for themselves are not of much use in the hand of the Lord. A person must be able to say before the Lord, "This is the truth, and I am wrong.'' If you do not sacrifice the light, the light will uplift you. Blessed are those who can go along with the truth. Only those who judge themselves have the hope of going on. Those who cannot go along with the truth, but instead lower the standard of the truth, will forever live in darkness. Light will have no way to shine on them.
On the one hand, a man cannot preach the truth unless he has the experience. But on the other hand, a person has to know that the truth has nothing to do with him. If a man is brought to a point that he can no longer withstand God's word and he finds God's word condemning him, he will receive the light. This is the basis of revelation; it is the secret to receiving revelation. Throughout history no one who has received God's light sacrificed God's word. If we are not up to the standard of God's word, we have to catch up, and we have to go along with God's word. If we cannot catch up, we can only say that we have sinned. If we do this, the way ahead will be clear, and we will have more and more light. Otherwise, our reading and preaching of the truth will become vain talk and vain preaching. Man's emotions can never affect God's word.
If a thing is right, we should do it. If it is not right, we should not do it. If we do not do something just because we forgot to inform a certain brother about it, the truth has slipped away because of our failure to inform him. In this case our informing becomes the truth.
We have to see that God's word is right and we are wrong. Personally, I can have problems with you, but this must not affect the truth. God's work is always sacrificed because of human relationships. The reason the truth is not absolute is that problems have developed in human relationships. We can sacrifice God's truth today, but what will happen to the next generation? What will happen to those a hundred years after us? If we sacrifice the truth, they will not be able to see the truth. In order to be absolute, a man has to pay a great price. But if we are willing to pay the price to drop ourselves, others will receive the blessing.
If I want to be near this pillar, the way is not for the pillar to move two feet closer to me; the way is for me to move my chair two feet closer to the pillar. I can move, but the pillar cannot move. I can change, but the pillar cannot change. Many people have changed the truth because of human or historical considerations or because of friendship.
Brother Tang: What is the relationship between the members and the Body? Where does the individual end and the Body begin?
Brother Nee: It is difficult to answer this question. Where does the individual end and the Body begin? Let me change your starting point a little.
We have to ask the Lord to give us the mercy to have a make-up lesson today. We have to see that God's children did not receive an individual life, but a corporate life. God sees us as one Body, but we pay attention to individual members. Consider a stalk of wheat. You may say that there are just grains of wheat. Actually, there is only one stalk of wheat. Bread is made out of many grains. We have a corporate life. What you should ask is when does the Body end and the individual begin. When does the individual life emerge out of the Body? You should not ask when does the individual end and the Body begin. One does not put all the members together and form the Body. Rather, it is in the Body that the many members are produced. In the Bible there is no such thing as individuals receiving life; it always speaks of the Body. We pay attention to the members, but God pays attention to the Body.
Do not think that by saying this, I am bringing you back to Catholicism. In the Catholic Church there is only the catholicity; there is no church. This is because it does not have life. The Body life that we are speaking of does not start from the Catholic Church, but from the corporateness of the Body. Since our salvation was not strong in that it did not originate in the Body, we have to go back to the starting point to make it up for our lesson today.
First Corinthians 12:12 says that the Body is one and has many members. It speaks first of the Body and then of the members. We proceed from the members to the Body, but this verse speaks of the Body first and then the members. First there is the life of the whole Body. Then we go home and live our individual lives. These two things point out two different stances. A different stance produces a different result. When I stand here, I can see a few stars. But when I step to the other side, I can no longer see them. The place where one stands is very crucial. The stance we need to take today is that of the Body.
What we have received is the life of the Body. It is only after I go home that I acquire personal inward knowledge. Brother Tang's question points out our problem in this age. We cannot say when the individual stops and the Body begins. When the next generation studies history, they will say that Brother Tang is surely a man of 1948. Today with the individual there is no way to go on. Only with the Body is there the way.
We have to know that the life we have is corporate. Today man thinks that the life he has received is individual, the experience he has is individual, and the conscience within him is individual. But in the future, we will realize what the conscience of the church is. In twenty years this matter will be as common as getting a haircut.
If a person comes up to any major decision, he has to learn to follow the Body and fellowship with the brothers ahead of him. Do not think that it is a difficult thing to ask others. You have to realize that it is more difficult to be asked of others. No one likes to mind others' business. No one can have so much interest as to take everything concerning others upon himself. This is troublesome, and it is too much responsibility. However, if we want to take the way of the Body, we have to fellowship. What you eat and wear by yourself are things in the realm of Adam; they are personal matters. But if you go beyond the normal limit, I will say, "This is wrong. You have taken all your monthly income to spend on eating. You have indulged yourself in eating. For this reason, I have to say something.'' I have to deal with the matter. This is a matter of the Body. The way a sister dresses may have gone beyond a certain limit. At such times someone can say, "We are not interfering with the way you dress, but this is something that is damaging the Lord's testimony.'' This is not being a busybody.
Some people like to assume headship apart from Christ. These are busybodies. You cannot entrust authority to them. Authority is received from the Head. Only after a person has received such authority can he execute it. Only those who are willing to accept authority can execute authority. The chief of police has received a commission. That is why he can execute his authority. No one is born a chief of police; he has to receive the responsibility before he can execute his authority. We must see the Head first, and we must first realize that He is behind us before we can have the assurance to speak. I have no interest in touching others' affairs. All those who are interested in touching others' affairs, who like to be the head, and who like to express opinions, have to be stopped. If we do not do this, all those who like to make a display of themselves will become the authorities. In the Body it is wrong both to be free and to be autocratic. Those who are spiritual and weighty before the Lord should rise up to speak. It is not because we love to speak that we speak. When we speak, we have to speak in the presence of God. Those who do not like to be involved with others and who do not like to speak because of their natural disposition should be strong to speak. Those who like to touch others' affairs because of their natural disposition should be restricted. What we want is the coordination of the Body, not the coordination of the flesh.
The feet are not comely. The head is comely. This is why more people wear shoes than hats. The stronger a member is in the Body, the more it can supply others. The weaker a member is, the more it should receive supply from others (1 Cor. 12:22-24).
We need to give a report concerning the work.
For many days, we have been waiting before the Lord, inquiring of Him as to the way to go on in the work. We think that we first have to concentrate our efforts together to maintain the testimonies along the coastal provinces. The apostles remained first in Jerusalem. Later, Philip went to other places to preach the gospel (Acts 8:1, 5). As far as our number is concerned, we do not have enough to meet the need of the places along the coast. The political situation in northern China is very unstable. Hence, we should concentrate on Foochow and Shanghai, and we should have a start in these two places at the same time. Presently, we have over thirty co-workers. The number is not large. We should not have other co-workers wait in their localities for too long. To maintain a local testimony, there is not too much difference between the effort of ten people and that of twenty people. If the Lord is merciful to us, Hong Kong can be linked up with Canton, in the same way that Nanking and Hangchow are linked up with Shanghai. These are only suggestions. If you think that this is right before the Lord, we can go ahead and try these things out.
Brother Chang Wu-chen, Chang Chi-jie, the two brother Chows, Hsu Jung-jieh, Weigh Kwang-hsi, Sister Liu Hwei-fen, Kwei Ru-yu, Wang Hsu-ching, Juo Fu-ru, Miao Yun-chun, Mrs. Lin Pu-ji, Mrs. Lee Yin-shin, and Mrs. Weigh Kwang-hsi should go to Fukien to join the first term of training.
Those co-workers who should remain in Shanghai are Brother David Hsu, Chang Yu-zhi, Chu Chen, Du Chung-chen, Ren Chung-shiang, Witness Lee, Jiang Shui-wu, Sister Ruth Lee, Phoebe Chang, Pearl Wang, Chow Ching-mei.
For Nanking, there are Brother Chang Yu-lan, Chi Yun-tung, and others.
Brother Hsia Hsi-ling will return to Tientsin. He should drop his job sooner or later.
Brother Lan Tsi-yi will return temporarily to Hankow. Later, if he can find others to substitute for him, he can also come to Foochow.
As far as the nature of the work goes, there is the need to resume the literature work. We still need to publish books and magazines. We hope that there can be the following publications:
(1) The Present Testimony — For the more matured ones. The content will be of a deeper nature. We ask Brother Yu to take responsibility for this paper.
(2) The Christian — For the new believers. We ask Brother Witness Lee to edit this paper.
(3) The Glad Tidings — For the gospel. We ask Brother Stephen Kaung to take more responsibility for this paper.
(4) Collection of Newsletters and The Open Door — Dealing with practical problems in the localities. We ask Sister Ruth Lee to be chief editor of these papers.
There is the need for mass publication of gospel tracts.
The editing and compilation of the hymnal will be taken care of by Brother Tang, Brother Chow, Brother Lee, and myself.
The publication and distribution of these papers will be the responsibility of Chang Hsi-nien.
To all the other brothers and sisters: The money that you have earned in the past, you can keep it for your own use. From now on, all the money that you make, other than what you need for your own expenses, should all be given to the work of the gospel.
To the sisters who take care of their families: We hope that you will bear a good testimony at home. At the same time, you should serve the Lord properly in the church.
To the brothers and sisters who are still in school: You should continue to go to school. There is a great possibility that in the future all of you will have to give up everything to preach the gospel. While you are studying, you should prepare yourselves for this. Wherever the church puts you, you should work there. Your future is governed by the gospel.
Today we present ourselves once again before the Lord. We hope that Brother Tang and Brother Kaung will come out in the near future. By the near future, we mean the very near future. I hope that my words will not be misunderstood.
Brother Chen Ke-san will first return to Foochow.
Brother Hsia came out of Tsingtao. The Communists have arrived in Tsingtao. Your coming out is not a running away, but a move under orders. All the other brothers and sisters are left in the Communist-controlled areas. Many want to leave and do not want to stay.
Brother Witness has come to Shanghai, but his family is still in Nanking. His children are growing up day by day. Mrs. Lee has ways to take care of them. Without the proper care, they may be difficult to manage in the future.
Today God's work requires that all the brothers and sisters give up everything they have. Individually, we should all try to save as much money as possible. The co-workers have given up their all. The publication of the magazines alone will need so many hundreds of millions in local currency [because of war-related inflation]. The meeting hall in Foochow, the guest halls, and the place for the long-term training in Kuling all need money. We have purchased much land already, but we have not bought everything we need yet.
The meaning of handing oneself over is that everyone does the same thing and lives the same way. Yesterday, rice cost 5.5 million in local currency per sack. I admit that I was very angry at this. In the co-workers' lodging here in Shanghai, even getting food has become a problem.
We should never say that money is not needed in the preaching of the gospel. We hope that God will bless us more and will bless the brothers and sisters to have more income. Everyone who has handed himself over has given his heart and body to the gospel. Everyone has his responsibility, and unless all of us give everything we have, we cannot go on.
