Date: April 26, 1948, eveningPlace: Hardoon Road, Shanghai
I believe that God is going to do great things today, and I believe that God has done something great already. God has given us a great salvation, a thorough salvation. In the first century God saved men. Today He is doing the same thing. The extent to which God saved men in the first century is the extent to which He is saving men today. God has not changed the gospel in the course of two thousand years of human history. There has been no change in the result and the demands of the gospel. We should not think that first century Christians were required to pay a great price, but that we do not need to pay the same price today. Those who follow the Lord today must pay the same price as those in the first century. At that time men had to forsake everything. The requirement has not changed. There is, of course, a difference between putting a lamp under a bushel and putting it on the lampstand, but the lamp itself has not changed.
During the past two thousand years, the gospel has not changed. On the very day that the church was produced, God saw this new creation and considered that it was good. This is like God considering everything as good in Genesis after He created everything in six days. After some time, the situation changed. Although the situation changed, the beauty of the original creation remains the same. The beauty of the church on the first day at Pentecost was comparable to the beauty of Eve on the day of her creation. However, the church gradually changed. It changed from Ephesus to Sardis. At the time of Martin Luther, God began to take the way of recovery step by step. For the past four hundred years, God did some recovery work every fifty years. During the past one hundred years, His work has been especially strong. It seems as if the last few decades have seen the peak of recovery. There has never been a time when the church has been as rich as it is now.
We believe that God is recovering the most difficult thing today. What worries us the most today is the fulfillment of Ephesians 4. It seems as though we do not have to worry about the fulfillment of John 3:16. We are not afraid that it will not be fulfilled, and we are not worried. Suppose someone says that he has believed and asks what he should do if he still has not received eternal life. He has believed, yet he has not seen any result. What should he do? We are not worried about this. I have read the New Testament more than two hundred times. I am not worried about any other passage. I have even read Revelation a few hundred times. I am not worried about that book either. However, I am worried about Ephesians 4. I am concerned about how this passage of the Scriptures will be fulfilled.
Ephesians 4 says that the work of the ministry is to arrive at the oneness of the faith. The church is the Body of Christ, and it builds itself up in love. We are not concerned about things like the new heaven, the new earth, and the lake of fire. But when I lie on my bed, I am always apprehensive about the fulfillment of Ephesians 4. I have studied the Bible, and I have prayed, but I still do not have the assurance that the condition in Ephesians 4 will be fulfilled in the church today. Among God's children today, there is much confusion, and there are all kinds of divisions. When will we be one? Today there are all kinds of ministries; the situation is very complicated. How can this chapter be recovered?
Yet, brothers and sisters, we believe that there will be a day when God's recovery will reach the fulfillment of Ephesians 4. God is doing a recovery work everywhere. The ultimate work among all these works may very well be the recovery of the Body testimony. God's leading today is to bring us back to the beginning and to recover us to the condition at the beginning.
First Corinthians 12 and Romans 12 show us that in God's arrangement or plan, there is no such thing as a pastor monopolizing the service of the whole Body. Neither is there such a thing as a group of brothers and sisters serving while another group of brothers and sisters is being served. What we see in the Bible is the whole Body being a priesthood. The church is comprised of priests. God's intention was for the Israelites to be a kingdom of priests. But in actuality, not everyone was a priest. The situation among the local churches today is a little bit better. The brothers and sisters have the liberty to pray, to sing, to preach, and to take up responsibilities. But we have to realize that this is still not the church. The church is built upon the universal priesthood of the whole Body. The church is not built upon a few brothers and sisters. If the priesthood is not universal, we have Roman Catholicism. If the priesthood is universal, we have the church. We have to see that service to God is not a matter of three or five people serving, or thirty or fifty people serving. Our service to God today must be entirely different. In order to serve God today, everyone has to rise up to do the work.
When we were in Foochow, we noted the fact that in the past century, God raised up many spiritual giants, and that all of them were outstanding people. From 1820 until now, many spiritual giants have been raised up. Yet strangely, among us today we see very few spiritual giants. It seems as if the spiritual giants are all gone. Today we do not see the work of gospel preaching being done through the so-called great evangelists, men like Charles Finney and Stanley. It is not easy to find giants like these anymore. It seems as if God is taking a different way today. Today is the day of the service of the church, not the service of the ministers. It is no longer a matter of individuals preaching the gospel, but a matter of the church preaching the gospel. Previously, we had to invite famous and eloquent speakers to come to preach the gospel, and we had to use much propaganda. But today the church is coordinating together to preach the gospel.
Take the case of Foochow. Recently, when the brothers were preaching the gospel, we had some brothers giving messages on the platform, but there were no advertisements and no famous speakers. One brother who had been saved for only two or three years was doing the preaching, and all the other brothers and sisters went out to invite friends. Twenty to fifty brothers and sisters could bring in four or five hundred people, and four or five hundred people could bring in a few thousand. Before the speaker stood up, two or three hundred people were saved already. Those brothers and sisters who brought their friends along with them knew if the friends sitting next to them were saved or not. The speaker on the platform could be deceived, but the brothers and sisters were clear about the condition of their friends. They could say that this one who stood up was genuine, and that one who stood up was not genuine. After the meeting they helped their gospel friends become clearer concerning the gospel. They helped them write down their names, showed them the direction to the meeting halls, and visited those who expressed their willingness to believe in the Lord.
Within one month in Foochow, almost a thousand people were saved. Today some people are still opposing, and this is why our work is still not that strong. If there is no frustration, I believe that all of Foochow can be taken over by us. Today the church is not a few special brothers rising up to preach the gospel; it is the whole church rising up to preach the gospel.
Concerning the perfecting of the new believers, we also have to do it as a Body. Previously, whenever the number of saved ones increased, we faced problems. Today, as soon as a person is saved, he has to be perfected. This kind of perfecting is a kind of spiritual education. There is a big difference between those believers who have received the proper education and those who have not received the proper education. In Foochow over twenty brothers and sisters are devoted to the work of caring for the new believers. We have divided up all the streets in the city, and we have assigned definite brothers to take care of every district. The whole city of Foochow is divided into five districts, and all the brothers and sisters are charged with the responsibility of taking care of these districts. The older brothers and sisters who cannot move around freely stay behind to count the attendance. When someone is absent, they inform the brothers who are responsible for the visitation work. These visiting brothers and sisters will look up the absent one and conduct make-up lessons with him. If he has not come to the meeting, the brothers go to his home and repeat the same thing to him. An absent one may end up saying that it is too much of an imposition on the brothers, and that rather than having them come to his home, he would go to the meetings. Although we cannot say that the new believers are advanced in any kind of extraordinary way, we can say that they are more advanced than the old ones. This is the church building itself up, or perfecting itself, in love.
Therefore, the question is whether or not we have seen the church. The service of three or five people is not the church. Only the service of all the brothers and sisters is the church. Perhaps a group of brothers and sisters spend some money to hire a pastor and ask the pastor to do everything for them. They may even still love one another. You may say that there is very little difference, but I say that there is a big difference. It is the difference between the Body working and one individual working. There is also a difference between a minister working and every brother and sister working.
Formerly, we had new believers who were zealous to serve. But as soon as human zeal came in, the flesh also came in, and as soon as the flesh was stopped, the service also stopped. If we allow such people to serve, the church will be brought into confusion. But if we do not allow such people to serve, the church will become silent. If we put down a person's flesh, his spirit will be put down as well. This was a problem for the co-workers, and this is the reason we did not find the way in the past. This is the reason that authority needs to be recovered in the church. On the one hand, all the one-talented ones have to rise up. On the other hand, the church has to exercise its authority to deal with the flesh.
Today men always wait for ones with Paul's five talents to come along. But we may have to wait a hundred years before God will give us a great gift or a great ministry. We may have to wait decades before a teacher is raised up. The way today is the way of the whole Body serving. Although the one-talented ones are not worth much, they equal a five-talented one when a few of them are put together. As soon as a person is saved, he has at least one talent. No one has less than one talent. In the church one cannot find anyone who does not have at least one talent, unless, of course, such a one has buried his talent. Today the building up of the church hinges on the building up of the one-talented ones. If some five-talented ones are raised up, we praise the Lord for it. In terms of function and result in the work, the great gifts are surely good when they are coordinated together. It is good to have the help of the five-talented ones and the two-talented ones. But what we need today is for the one-talented ones to rise up. The way to deal with the flesh is by the authority. But at the same time, the one-talented ones have to rise up. Only this will afford the church a way to go on, and only then will there be works for the church to do.
In serving the Lord, the brothers and sisters have to learn to be obedient and to take the cross on the one hand. Once the Holy Spirit operates, the cross will function within a person's heart. The authority of the church needs to be recovered on the other hand. This deals with the flesh and deals with those who will not take the cross. In order for the work of the church to be recovered, there is first the need for the recovery of one-talented ones. In order to recover the work of the church, there must also be the recovery of the authority of the church. It is not enough just to recover the one-talented ones, and it is not enough just to recover the authority of the church. If all the one-talented ones rise up, we will be able to take over China in a short time. Who can withstand the mobilization of all the one-talented ones? If God will do this work among us, we will see an unprecedented work of salvation among us.
At the same time, the brothers and sisters have to learn to listen to others. If they do not listen, the church will fall into confusion. Naturally, the young and the new believers have many things that they do not know. The more advanced and mature brothers and sisters should exhort them to listen to others. We are people with a very small capacity. According to our disposition, we do things when we feel like doing them, and we go home and sleep when we do not feel like doing them. However, in the Body today, whether we like it or not, we have to do what we should do. Even if we have to cry with tears or sacrifice ourselves, we still have to do it.
Co-workers, brothers, we have to receive something from the Lord. We cannot let anyone slip by. We cannot be so foolish in our work as to be unable even to tell the real believers from the false ones. We cannot leave a person alone for three to five months after baptism without rendering the proper care to him. We are our brothers' keepers. Those who do not act as their brothers' keepers are those who murder their brothers (Gen. 4:8-9).
If we do these things, a church according to Pentecost will soon appear. If everyone hands himself over, if everyone is learning and working, and if everyone offers up his material riches and is obedient, we will have the proper coordination. I hope to see this situation not only in one or two places, but throughout the entire nation.
During the war we had over four hundred co-workers among us. If the material supply had been adequate, we could have increased the number to a thousand. Whether in the east or in the west, most of the ones who are actually doing some kind of work are our brothers and sisters. In Chekiang there are over ninety co-workers. In the province of Fukien alone, we see God's blessings everywhere.
The foolish ones only see what they have in their hands; they do not have eyes for the whole earth. Today we have to enlarge our view. In China today there are close to one thousand churches. But what is that to the Lord? We need tens of thousands of churches.
All the brothers and sisters in the church have to be trained. What we need today is not theology, but education in the things of God. When a local church is young, there is no way for the brothers and sisters to serve. But when a church is strong and rich, there will be much work. By that time, there will still be a shortage of manpower, even if all the young saints put themselves into the work.
After the brothers and sisters are trained, they can be sent out. The apostles are the ones who should remain in Jerusalem. In reading the Bible many people think that the twelve disciples were supposed to go to the ends of the earth. If that were the case, how could the twelve disciples travel through the whole earth? The Bible shows us that the twelve apostles remained in Jerusalem and that Samaria was taken by Philip. Peter's visit to Samaria was a temporary one. It would have been wrong for him to settle in Samaria. The gospel work is a relay race; it is not done by one man alone. Today the co-workers should remain in their own Jerusalems. After they gain some people, they should send them out. If they do not send out people, persecutions will come and difficulties will arise. In order for the gospel to go out, there is the need for migration. The apostles should remain in Jerusalem and work there, and all the brothers and sisters should receive training from the church. At the same time, the church should care for the poor, the unbelievers, and the new believers; it should learn how to deal with them and how to gain them. After they are perfected, they should be sent out. This kind of coordination will be effective; it will spread to all the places. Not only do the apostles have to preach the gospel; all the brothers and sisters have to preach the gospel. Philip was not specially ordained to be an evangelist, just as Stephen was not specially ordained to be a martyr. We think that only special brothers can do special works. Yet, Philip was simply one of those who served tables. We have to realize that Samaria was taken over by such a table-server. Coordination requires that everyone be consecrated and that everyone offer up what he has.
Perhaps many will say, "I do not have the eloquence. I do not know how to preach the gospel.'' You have to start learning today. If you preach well, you have to preach. If you do not preach well, you still have to preach. Perhaps when you preach the first time, the sinners will not be saved. But when you preach the second time, they will be saved.
Whoever wants to be a Sunday-goer or a spectator can continue to be a pew-member. But in the church, everyone has to offer himself up. To the brothers and sisters who are holding jobs, I have to say that you are no longer working for money. If a person does not offer up his riches, his consecration is invisible and intangible. No one can tell when he has taken back such a kind of consecration. The Bible says that the disciples laid everything at the feet of the apostles (Acts 4:35).
Today every mystical thing has to become practicable. For example, Christ says that we have to humble ourselves and love others. Is this good? Yes, it is good. But the Lord's Word does not stop here; He charges us to wash each other's feet. Today no one would admit that he is proud. Neither would anyone put up a sign and say that he is humble. Yet whether or not you are humble depends on whether you have washed each other's feet. All the mystical things have to become tangible before they can become reliable.
The book of James says that if there are poor brothers among us, and we love them, we cannot merely lift our hands and say, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled'' (2:16). Mystical love is eternal; yet it is useless as far as practical matters are concerned. It is more practical to give the poor brother a bowl of rice.
If a brother offends me, I have to forgive him. But if this forgiveness remains mystical, I can forgive him fifty or a hundred times, and others will still not realize it. This kind of forgiveness must be transformed into a kind of tangible dealing.
The same is true about withstanding Satan. If you withstand Satan in an inward way, you do not know whether or not the withstanding works. But if you say a few words, Satan will go away.
The same is true with baptism. Once a person believes, he needs to be baptized. Perhaps some will think that it is too quick to baptize a person right after he believes. But this is wrong. Believing with the heart is something that is invisible. One must have the visible baptism before the matter is settled. Believing with the heart is mystical; being baptized in the body is tangible.
The same is true with consecration. A mystical consecration is not solid. Many consecrations remain mystical. Many say to the Lord, "I consecrate everything.'' But the Gospel of Luke shows us that Zaccheus' consecration was very concrete. He offered up his possessions (19:8). The Lord's command to him was also very concrete. During the past one hundred years, the church has received many mystical consecrations. But the consecrations at the time of the early apostles were tangible. At that time, when a man handed himself over, everything was settled. Every brother and sister should hand over himself or herself; everyone should submit to the authority of the church and be coordinated together with other brothers and sisters. Brother Witness said it well: When the church is advancing and the material offering falls behind, it is the fault of the brothers and sisters; however, if the material offering is adequate, yet the gospel falls behind, it is the fault of the co-workers. The brothers and sisters who participate in the spiritual services have to be coordinated, and the brothers and sisters who are holding jobs should also be coordinated. Some sisters wanted to offer up something, but I declined their offerings, because they had not offered up themselves yet. First Corinthians tells us that God first receives us, then ours. The person has to be given first, before possessions and time can be given.
The coordination that we are speaking of today is one that costs the co-workers' their lives. It is one that also costs the other brothers' and sisters' their lives. All the brothers and sisters must have the Lord as their center, and they have to offer up everything for the gospel and for the service. We do not consider being a Christian as our second profession. Some are professing Christians, but we should be "professional'' Christians. Christ should be our first profession. All the brothers and sisters who are holding jobs should offer up all their time. The Lord demands that we deny ourselves for the sake of loving Him. The Lord's demand is the same today as it was in the first century. In God's Word there is no place for halfway ones; there are only absolute ones.
Brother Weigh Kwang-hsi: May the Lord forbid that tonight's words be merely mysterious words in our heart. May they be transformed to outward realities. May they not be merely notions, but realities. May they not be merely doctrines, but life. May they not be something that is nice to hear, but something that is good to see. May we not have fragmentary services, but complete services. May we not only have a consecration of the heart and the mouth, but a consecration of the hands and the feet. Amen.
