Date: April 18, 1948, Lord's Day, 3:00 p.m.Place: Hardoon Road, Shanghai
Brother Chi Yung-tung: How do you explain 1 Corinthians 12?
Brother Nee: First Corinthians 12 is a brilliant portion of the Scriptures that reveals the relationship between the Holy Spirit and the Body. We can consider the matter by an illustration. In the Western world men build houses with concrete blocks. These blocks are like the Chinese bricks, except that they are hollow inside. When men build walls, first they fill up these blocks with cement, then put cement outside the blocks to join the blocks together. The life that we received is the Lord's life; it is not the life of our flesh. We become one Body through the one Holy Spirit. What we have received within from the Lord is the Holy Spirit, and the nature of our oneness without is also the Holy Spirit. It is like the concrete blocks which have cement within and without. The nature of what is within is the same as the nature of what is without. We are baptized into one Spirit, and we are given to drink of the same Spirit (v. 13). That which is first put into us is the same as that which is added on to us later. This is why we can become one Body. What we have received from the Lord is the same as what is joining us together. The basis of life is the basis of fellowship. We can say that there is only one Body because all the members are of the same nature. The Body is one because there is only one Holy Spirit. The members issue from the Body, and though there are many members, it is still one Body (v. 12). The origin of the members is the Body. From the one Body the many members are produced. Later, the Holy Spirit joins these many members into one Body again. It is like a wall being composed of many bricks and the many bricks put together becoming one wall. Oneness is not based on having the same heart. It is based on having the same nature. We drink of the Holy Spirit within, and we are baptized into the Holy Spirit without. This is the oneness of the believers. As members we proceed from the Body and consummate in the Body. Looking back, we are one Body, and looking forward, we are also one Body. Because we are one, we can be coordinated together.
Based on this oneness there is the consciousness of the Body. The operation of the Holy Spirit is found in the Body. The Holy Spirit is not simply the power of single individuals, but the power of the Body. The service of the Body should be the manifestation of the power of the Holy Spirit. An individual before God is like a one-dimensional plane, whereas the Body before God is like a three-dimensional object. Today the age of individual ministry is over. The gospel has to be preached by the whole church. Everything needs to be dealt with by the whole church. In the past a single individual might have been able to preach the gospel and to have results in his work. But today all these things must be done in the Body. Once we touch the reality of the Body, the power of the Holy Spirit is manifested. Matters often cannot be taken care of by one or two brothers alone. Many people think that the power of the Holy Spirit is for individuals and that a man can take home a bundle of the Holy Spirit's power and use it bit by bit. However, we have to realize that the power of the Holy Spirit is in the Body. Life issues from the Body and returns to the Body.
We think that we are first the members and then become a Body after we are joined together at baptism. Actually, we start out being the Body. If you like to be a member, you are a member. If you do not like to be a member, you are nevertheless a member. If you stand on the ground of an individual, you will miss the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The Body issues from oneness and culminates in oneness. There needs to be a great change in our realization of the truth. If everyone would stand on the ground of the Body, things would become much easier. If a man does not stand on the proper ground, much trouble will result. One piece of a jigsaw puzzle that is out of place will put many other pieces out of place also.
The more we deal with the flesh individually, the more flesh there will be. In the Body there is no individual life, only the corporate life. Anything that is contrary to the Head and the Body does not belong to this life.
Many riches are in the Body. The Body is full of light. Where there is the Body, light spontaneously comes. The Body is the place where light is deposited. In the Body we have the greatest light. God's light is found in the Body. How much individual guidance can one have? If you are not the eyes, how are you going to see? The Body is also full of supply. What one cannot obtain individually, he obtains in the Body. If you only existed as an individual member, it would only be a matter of whether or not you were individually useful. But if you are in the Body, whatever function you do not have, others will make up for it. Their function will become your function. The hands can touch, and the feet can walk. This causes the members of the Body to build each other up.
Brother Chow asked concerning love in the Body.
Brother Nee: It is difficult for an individual to love by himself. Love is in the Body. Ephesians 4 speaks of the "building up of itself in love'' (v. 16). Only when one is in the Body does he know what love is. Philadelphia is manifested in love, not in doctrines. Ephesians 5 speaks of the love in the Body. Verse 29 says, "No one ever hated his own flesh.'' First Corinthians 12:26 says, "Whether one member suffers, all the members suffer with it.'' One only sees a person hurting others' bodies. One seldom sees anyone hurting his own body. When we have the love in the Body, we can speak the truth one to another. With some people, you cannot rebuke them apart from the Body. But when you are in love, you can rebuke them. With some people, you cannot say an honest word apart from the Body. But in the love of the Body, you can say an honest word to them. Love can only be manifested in the Body. Only in the Body is there genuine love.
It is difficult to put many things in the Bible into practice unless these things are placed in the right position. When they are in the right position, they can be accomplished easily. It is difficult for one to love individually. But in the Body it is easy to love. For example, the Bible says that we are all priests, and that the office of the priesthood is universal. But if you say to a nominal member in a denomination, "You are a priest,'' and he takes your word and goes to the pastor the following week during the Holy Communion and says to the pastor, "We are all priests; either of us can conduct the ceremony,'' you will find that there will be immediate trouble. What we have spoken cannot be realized in certain places. Some speak of guidance but ignore the Body. Immediately, there is confusion. Guidance is in the Body. Love is also in the Body. When a person is not in the Body, he cannot see the right result.
Many words which are difficult to say to individuals can be spoken in the Body. This is because with the Body we have the right position. For over twenty years I have not dared to speak concerning money. But today I dare to speak about money. This is because I am in the Body. If a brother has need today, I can take off my hat and ask you for money. If the same thing happened before and we were standing on a different ground, it would have been unthinkable for me to do it. Today, since we are in the Body, if I do not ask you for money, who do I ask for money? In the Body asking others is just like asking oneself.
This is what we mean by the Body. Only in this Body is there love and authority, and only here can we deal with the flesh. If we are in the Body, not a single word will irritate us or cause us to stumble.
Brother Witness Lee: What is the difference between the way of the church and the way of the co-workers?
Brother Nee: We covered the way among us in 1937. At that time we spoke of the difference between the local churches and the work. Our line then began from Acts 13. But during the past few years, we found our problems. We found that we have to begin from chapter one. The Acts of the Apostles begins with chapter one. It is wrong for us to pay attention to the difference between the church and the work before the church is ever built up. We should start from the basis of the church and the work being one. Our mistake lies in the order and the sequence; it is not a mistake in the truth itself. We were not wrong in the truth, but we were wrong in the timing. Our work must first return to the principle of Jerusalem. The starting point of the church is the work.
Before the Lord there is first the church and then the giving of the gifts of the apostles and prophets and so forth. In Ephesians 4 the Holy Spirit and Paul did not even acknowledge the existence of the twelve apostles. The order there is first the ascending on high of the Lord, then the giving of the gifts. These gifts are given after the church has been produced. The prophets there do not include such prophets as Elijah, nor do they include such people as Peter before the Lord's death. Peter was an apostle in two different ministries. One was before the formation of the church, and the other was after the formation of the church. The Peter in the Gospels is the Peter before the formation of the church, and the Peter in Acts 2 is the Peter after the formation of the church. This is why we say that in Ephesians 4 there is first the church and then the work.
Before God, there is first the church and then the work. But on earth, there was first the work and then the church. There were the apostles in Jerusalem first, then the church in Jerusalem. Afterward, there were deacons and elders. In the church in Jerusalem there were first the deacons and then the elders. Many people become a deacon first and an elder afterward. Some need to serve first in the matter of food before they can take care of the administration. The situation in Jerusalem is different from that of an ordinary church. There we have the elders, deacons, and apostles as well.
Please remember that Peter carried out his work in Jerusalem. Only Philip was sent to Samaria. Under normal circumstances, we should send all the Philips out. Today the co-workers should come together and work in one place, whereas the brothers and sisters should be sent out. The believers in Jerusalem should go out everywhere for the gospel. If we do not migrate today, persecutions may come and force us out.
During the past years small meetings have been raised up in many localities. These are not the works of the workers, but the works of the brothers and sisters. These brothers and sisters moved to these localities for the sake of their jobs. Presently, small meetings have started everywhere, and we have to go back and deal with every one of them. Our problem lies in the fact that we did not pay attention to the sending out of the workers from the beginning. This is why many local churches developed problems. It is true that the apostles should remain and work in Jerusalem, but their view should be enlarged to include other places.
The church in Antioch is of a different principle. Antioch is the case of the church producing the work, whereas Jerusalem is the case of the work producing the church. Today we should first come back to take the way of Jerusalem. Later, we hope that some local churches can practice the principle of Antioch. First Corinthians 12 speaks of the Body on earth. It deals with the question of the church on earth. That is why it says that the apostles and the prophets produce the church.
Today we need both principles. On the one hand, the church produces the apostles. On the other hand, the apostles produce the church. If our work can progress along these two lines simultaneously, we will see great blessings ahead of us. On the one hand, we should consolidate the work. On the other hand, as soon as people are saved, we should tell them that they live for the gospel. We should not wait until persecution arises. We should send them out immediately. This is the Lord's way.
The following is a report on the work:
How should Shanghai go on? What kind of way should the church in Shanghai take? The foremost question is the building of the meeting hall. Either we do not build anything at all, or we have to build a big hall. Before the Lord, what we see is not just what we have right now. The brothers and sisters should have some foresight. Other than the big meeting hall, there is the need to divide the work into five districts: Chia-Bei, Yang-She-Pu, southern French Concession, Fu-She Road, and Inner-city. Shanghai has a population of 4.2 million; there are many things that need to be taken care of. Foochow has only 320,000 people. Recently, a thousand people were added to Foochow, and there was no way that we could take care of them all.
More important than business responsibilities, there are spiritual responsibilities. These are works such as bringing friends to the gospel meetings, visiting new believers, and so forth. You should take care of the friends and relatives that you bring to the meetings. When the new ones stand up in the meetings to answer the call, the speaker will not necessarily notice them, but you will. The speaker on the platform can be deceived through oversight, but you will not be deceived easily. If every brother and sister will bring their own friends, men will not be saved in a loose way. You can be very sure that certain ones are saved or not saved, and it will not be easy for false believers, or false brothers, to slip in.
After a person is saved, the more matured ones should take up the responsibility to care for him. Sometimes it takes five to ten persons to take care of one. You have to help such a one to read the Bible and to pray. You have to follow up with him and check if he has consecrated himself. If you do not do your job, the brothers have to rise up to reproach you. You have to see whether the new ones are coming to the meetings and what their family backgrounds are. If a brother cannot come for any reason, you have to go to him to make up the lessons for him. Brother Cheng, if you are the one responsible for the make-up lessons, and others do not come to the meetings, you cannot sit there and rest. Concerning the matter of preaching the gospel and the visitation of the new believers, I hope that every brother and sister will participate in the work.
Another more basic work is caring for the poor among us. No matter how high a position a person occupies or how reputable his name is, he has to learn to go along with the lowly. We should gather together all our used items, such as old clothing, old socks, and so forth, and invite those who cannot make a living otherwise to come and mend, wash, and iron this clothing, and we should preach the gospel to these people. Whether or not they will believe, we will still ask them to come to work. If we do not do this, our heart will be too narrow. By doing this our hearts will be enlarged. Many brothers and sisters do not have any patience with the poor. By doing this our hearts will be enlarged. If we do this, one day we may not be able to find any used items in the church any longer; all the old things will have been given away. The early churches always cared for the poor (Gal. 2:10). It is wrong for a church to preach spiritual teachings only. Among us, every one of us has to deal with unbelievers, every one has to deal with new believers, and every one has to deal with poor people.
Another matter we have to take care of is the edification of the new believers. We have been Christians for over thirty years. The more we go on, the more we are clear about the things that a Christian should have. There are many basic truths that every Christian should know, such as rising up early, reading the Bible, praying, consecrating, dealing with one's past, dealing with money, meeting, singing hymns, and so forth. There are fifty to sixty items of truth that every Christian should know. We workers have a bad habit. We do not like to repeat any message that we have preached before. We hope that the manna will be different every day. In conducting the basic trainings, not only must we be strict regarding the topics, but we must pay much attention to checking on the practice of the new ones and overseeing them. All the co-workers have to be living persons. If we are not living, we will produce something like the Common Prayer Book, which is dead. In order to make our service truly church service, everyone has to be living, and everyone has to take up some responsibility. The matter of serving the Lord is a Body matter. As such, everyone has to serve. If we exhort others to serve, yet we have no work for them to do, our exhortation becomes impractical. We must give everyone something to do. When the whole church is working, no one will be idle.
I hope that the church in Shanghai can be opened up for others to come and personally observe the way the work is conducted here. They can come and see how new ones are brought in and how they are being sent out. I hope that in the future we can see something spiritual established both in Shanghai and in Foochow. We expect to see that after a certain point everyone will be a priest, and everyone will aggressively preach the gospel and care for the new ones.
The matter of migration depends on how much the brothers and sisters have learned the lessons. If they have learned the lessons properly, they can migrate. Hence, we have to help the new ones to serve both in business affairs and in spiritual affairs. All these must be practiced by the whole Body. We have to know how to deal with the new ones, and we have to know how to send these new ones out. If we do not do this, we will not know how the other churches are doing. But if we do this, we will help the other churches instead of just criticizing them. This is our hope. At the same time we hope that the brothers who are sent out will have the same footsteps and set up a high standard. Those who are willing to join us can join us, and those who are afraid are free to go. It is not enough to be recovered to the churches in the first century in doctrine only. We have to offer up everything we have for God. Unless we are fully brought back to the beginning in our living and our practice, we are not doing any meaningful work. We ourselves must first be brought back. The co-workers must consecrate themselves, and the brothers and sisters must also offer up their careers. This kind of consecration has to be absolute. We have to produce a group of Christians who are different, who glory in offering up everything to God. We have to be such standard Christians.
How can the brothers and sisters who are in their jobs serve God in an absolute way? In order to do this, the co-workers must first consecrate themselves in an absolute way. Only when the co-workers are absolute in their consecration can such consecration be wrought into the other working brothers and sisters.
