Date: April 10, 1948, 9:00 a.m.Place: Hardoon Road, Shanghai
Questions: Do we first know the individual life and then the Body life? Is the basis of the Body life the individual life? Is individualism a hindrance to the Body?
Brother Nee: At the time of the Reformation, Luther emphasized justification by faith. That was, of course, a recovery of the truth. However, at that time men only saw that faith before God is needed, rather than work. Luther was supposed to have recovered the truth of justification by faith. Actually, he only emphasized faith; he did not fully realize what justification is. It was not until men like J. N. Darby were raised up in the last century that justification was covered. Even though the word "justification'' was used, they had not touched the reality of justification. They did not know what, in fact, is justification. In spite of this, they spoke much on the truth of justification.
In the last century some people also began to talk about the doctrine of regeneration. But what is the relationship between regeneration and justification? It is difficult to say which one comes first and which one comes later. There was a brother who once preached the doctrine of justification unceasingly; he had never heard of the doctrine of regeneration. After three years he began to hear about the doctrine of regeneration, and he realized that he was regenerated. From that time on, whenever he preached the gospel, he would always tell others that a man is justified and then regenerated. Not only was he preaching this, but all the people around him began to preach the same thing. Actually, for a person to say that justification always comes first and then regeneration is making too definite and too subjective a distinction.
A person who has no experience cannot preach God's word. But a person who only trusts in his experience cannot preach God's word either. A person who preaches God's word must be free from the limitation of his own experience. It is possible for a person to experience certain truths according to a certain sequence in time. But he must never think that the order of the truths is necessarily according to the way he experiences them.
There are two sides to the truth. Many times, some doctrines only cover one side of the truth. For example, we know that there are two aspects to the result of the cross. On the one hand, it removes our sins (Col. 2:14). On the other hand, it justifies us (Rom. 8:3-4). But we cannot say that the cross is clearly divided into these two things. They are actually two aspects of one thing. We are actually justified from sin through the cross. We who are dead have been freed from sin and justified from sin. This does not mean that being delivered from sin is one thing and being free is another thing. Neither does it mean that being delivered from sin is one thing and justification is another thing.
We often sacrifice God's word on account of our personal experiences. Because our individual experiences are partial and fragmentary, we do not have a complete, overall view of God's word. Men think that the sun comes out in the day and the moon comes out at night. They think that the moon only appears at night and disappears in the daytime. Actually, the moon is there in the daytime and at night as well. When a person comes to God, he often makes judgments based on his own experiences. Most people like to arrange the truth in a sequence, such as putting justification first and sanctification afterward. Yet the Bible puts sanctification before justification (1 Cor. 6:11). Actually, justification and sanctification are two sides of one truth.
Hence, we need to be delivered from human weaknesses. One cannot affect or sacrifice God's word on account of human weaknesses. Not only should we be delivered from doubting God's word; we must also be delivered from jeopardizing God's word. Under God's ordering, our knowledge of the individual life and our knowledge of the Body life should happen at the same time; we should not say which one comes first and which one comes later.
We cannot judge God's word by what we see in this age. What we see today is still limited. Perhaps fifty years from now, other brothers will rise up to say that we are in darkness. We only wish we could climb higher than we are to see God's word. Just as we are not saved and then regenerated, in the same way we do not first receive an individual life and then come to realize the Body life. Just as salvation and regeneration happen at the same time, the realization of the individual life and the Body life happen at the same time (Acts 9:17-18). In every age there are truths of that age. There are also errors of that age. We cannot make the truth of an age become an error just because we do not have enough knowledge about that truth. Take again the example of baptism and the laying on of hands. The two things should happen at the same time. After a person is baptized, he should immediately experience the laying on of hands, and he should immediately be brought to see the coordination, the Body, and be joined to the brothers and sisters. Due to the fact that some truths were recovered first and some later, men set a sequence to the order of the truth. This is wrong. This is why we cannot consider what we have seen today as the whole truth, nor can we judge God's word by our own experience. Never forget that we are ministers of God's word.
The oneness of the Body is based on the knowledge of the life of the Body. First, we have to see that we have received the same life. After this seeing, we become one in this life. Without this seeing, we have a big lack. A person who has not seen the Body will feel that he is not much different from a person who has seen the Body. But a person who has seen the Body will realize that there is a big lack with those who have not seen the Body. This is like an unsaved person considering a saved person to be more or less the same as he is. Yet the saved person sees a big lack in the unsaved person.
After we have such a realization, we come to the second step. The first step has to do with God's word. The second step has to do with us. First, we must have God's word. Then this word must be applied to us. In the Body the first thing we have to learn is to find those whom we have to submit ourselves to. We must know those who are ahead of us. All the authorities in the Bible are deputy authorities and not direct authorities. What we have to learn is not to have others submit to us, but to submit ourselves to others. When I go to work, I do not first ask who my subordinates are. Rather, I must first ask who my superior is. If you go to another person's house to be the maid, you do not first ask who the children are, but who the lady of the house is. If we allow the inner life to operate freely, we will find the ones whom we have to submit to. We may think that submission will make us unhappy. Actually, the opposite is true; submission makes a happy person, and insubordination makes an unhappy person. Only when we submit to one another will there be coordination one with another. This kind of coordination is most pleasant. The real submission is not one that is imposed from without, but one that comes as a result of the operation of the life within. It is wrong to submit to anyone because of his high position or material riches. To do so would make us no different from today's political organizations. Our submission is not brought about by any outward factors, but by the demand of the life within.
This kind of submission may bring us tears. Yet, at the same time it brings us joy. We may feel that we are suffering, but at the same time, we are rejoicing. Sometimes the ones whom you submit to may give you a hard time, but you can still say "amen.'' This is true submission. True submission neither makes a person suffer nor causes him to feel happy. However, it draws an "amen'' from his spirit and gives him peace in his spirit.
If we see the Body of Christ, we will see the matter of fellowship. The life that we received from the Lord makes us pliable and enables us to coordinate together. In this coordination there is no friction and there is no murmuring. To have such things in the Body would make us no different from the political organizations in the world.
In the Bible the Lord often did not speak to men directly. On the one hand, the New Testament says that a man can know God from within. On the other hand, we have to see that after the Lord met Saul, He did not speak to him directly. Instead, He asked Ananias to go to speak to Saul (Acts 9:6). On the one hand, the life that is seen in the New Testament is a very personal one. On the other hand, the Epistle of John says that "you also may have fellowship with us'' (1 John 1:3). This fellowship is mutual. On the one hand, we come to God individually by the blood and through the veil. On the other hand, we work together, walk together, coordinate together, and serve together. There are those who serve, and there are those who are served. From the records concerning Paul, Luke, Timothy, and others, we see that among them there was coordination. Whatever Paul suggested, the others would agree and carry it out right away. Timothy was a good brother. He could have written a letter to Paul, saying, "Brother Paul, I have believed in the Lord for many years. I can pray, and I can seek after the Lord. Please give me some liberty!'' But Timothy did not do this. On the one hand, every person comes to God independently and is individually responsible to God. On the other hand, no one can be independent, and no one can be free. If you are not coordinated with others, you do not have to tell others; within you, you know it yourself.
A man's mouth may be very clever, but his mouth does not necessarily represent his person. Sometimes, a person may say "yes'' with his mouth, yet disagree within. Some brothers and sisters only bring their mouths to the meetings; they themselves are not in the meetings. One sister once came to me to discuss the question of submission in the family. Her mouth was saying that she wanted me to handle the matter. But I knew clearly within me that her mouth and her ears had come, but that her being had not come. Once a person has given up his personal opinions, even though he may not readily consent with his mouth, he will acknowledge within that this is the right thing to do.
We have to learn to be persons who are delivered from ourselves. If fifty radios are receiving the same signal from a station, and my radio receives a different signal from the same station, my radio is definitely not functioning properly. Although we live under the New Testament and although we have the Lord within us, we are at the same time living in the Body. Therefore, there is the need for us to be joined to the other members. In the coordination of the Body, we have to learn to care for the feeling of the other members of the Body. Only then can we have good coordination.
The body is the most beautiful thing there is on earth. Yet the body can also become the most ugly thing on earth. A man looks very fine if he stands here with all his members attached. But if all I saw were isolated members detached one from the other, this would be the most ugly sight. If I came into this house and saw two feet at the door, a pair of ears in the room, and a pair of arms at the stairs, how horrible this sight would be! I would surely run away at once. In the same way, if a person acts independently and is not joined to the Body, he will become a very ugly member. It is one thing for a person to acknowledge that he is a member. It is another thing for this person to be coordinated as a member. Independent actions in the Body are the ugliest things there are.
Authority is related to the Head. Authority is also related to ministry. Please remember that all the members have their special gifts. The ears, the eyes, the mouth, the hands, and the feet all have their gifts. These gifts are the ministries. As long as there is the ministry, there is authority. Why does the ministry have authority? It is because each member receives different ministries. The difference in ministries produces authority. At the same time, with the authority in the ministry there are the limitations. God may grant grace to me to be an ear and to enable me to hear. On the one hand, He intends that I serve the Body with my hearing. On the other hand, He intends that I accept my own limitations. If I want to see, I have to ask the eyes to help me. The problem today is that those who cannot hear insist that they want to hear, those who cannot speak insist that they have to speak, and those who cannot run insist that they have to run. We have to realize that for others to do something is equal to our doing the same thing. Their gift is our gift. At the same time, we have to learn to be limited and to realize that the church is a Body.
Some people simply do not know how to study the Bible or teach the Bible. Yet they insist that they have to do it, and the result is many problems. If the Lord is gracious to you and He makes you a hand, you can raise up this hand as high as you want. But if you say that in addition to being a hand, you want to see also, you will not succeed even if you try it as long as you live. You should pray, "Lord, cause me to see my limitations.'' If you were all-inclusive, then you would become the whole Body. The acceptance of our own limitations is a principle of coordination, and it is also the greatest test. Those who realize their own limitations will fellowship in everything and will seek help and counsel in everything.
We must realize that authority is in the ministry. The ear has a ministry of hearing. Hence, the ear has the authority of hearing. If we do not see our own limitations, we will not be able to submit to authority even if we want to. Only those who have seen their own limitations can coordinate with other members.
Some brothers think that they can expound the Bible. They think that they are Bible expositors. Actually, they do not know how to expound the Bible. Yet they insist that they have to do it. The result is many strange teachings. With a Christian there is not much difference between the self and the individual life.
Some people never understand what Paul meant when he said that "all are yours'' (1 Cor. 3:22). We have to realize that we were born into a rich family. We can rejoice because we are rich. Within us there is always the feeling that we should accept authority. Our inner man always wants to submit and accept the authority of the ministry. On the one hand, we have to see our limitations. On the other hand, we have to see that whatever the Lord has established is an authority. It is the Lord who gives some the ability to do something. That ability is that person's authority.
While we are learning to submit to the ministry, we are submitting to God. A person cannot say that he will only submit to God directly. Of all the authorities that God has established on this earth, ninety-nine percent of them, that is, the overwhelming majority of them, are deputy authorities. The Bible says that we have to submit to our husband and our rulers, and the younger ones have to submit to the older ones. Other than one or two instances, all the cases of submission are submission to deputy authorities. Those who cannot submit to deputy authorities cannot submit to God. Although the eyes see, it is actually the head that is causing the eyes to see. If the eyes are separated from the head, they are finished. What we touch may be the eyes, but behind the eyes is the head. If we see the Head behind the gifts, it is not difficult for us to submit.
The teachings in the sermon on the mount in Matthew are not there to cause us to feel uncomfortable. Rather, they are there to make us happy. If we walk with others for a mile, it may make us feel uncomfortable. But if we walk with them the second mile, it will make us happy. The word blessed can be translated as "joyous.'' Submission is a joyful matter. The life that the Lord gave us is a joyful life. The Head gives the ministry. Where there is the ministry, there is the authority. When we submit to authority, we feel happy and joyful within.
In the work of the Lord we should find out who is ahead of us and then seek for the opportunity to submit. I do not believe that there is any brother who is not under some other brothers. Something within you will demand that you find out who is the object of your submission. When the sisters cover their heads, they cannot do so with the hair that grows naturally from them; they have to find a handkerchief to cover their heads. The finding of the handkerchief means that a person has to pursue submission. Why should we not pursue submission in the same way that we pursue love or knowledge? Why would men not pay attention to submission in the same way that they pay attention to work? Why would we not love submission in the same way that we love the preaching of the gospel? A person has to learn to come under one or more authorities in the church. Let me repeat, where there is no ministry, there is no authority. Where there is ministry, there is authority.
In a local church, not only is there spiritual authority, but there is also positional authority. Paul charged Titus and Timothy to appoint elders. These elders have positional authority. If you do not have the spiritual discernment and you appoint three elders, and after three years you find out that four other people are more advanced than these three, what should you do? Should you replace the old ones with the new ones? Should you ask the old ones to resign? We should honor all the authorities that God has established according to His will.
I can testify that God has His arrangements in the church. If you go along with these arrangements, these arrangements will perfect you. Ministry is authority. When you submit to the authority of the ministry, you will be perfected. One sister was very capable of assuming headship. She came to see me because she wanted to submit to her husband. She told me that she could not submit to her husband, because her husband was indecisive in everything. I answered, "Nevertheless, simply submit. Go and ask him everything. He cannot tell you every time that he does not know. By asking, you will force him to go to the Lord. You should learn to be godly and to fear God. When you submit, you are not debasing yourself. Rather, you are helping your husband. God has assigned you to be one who submits to others. If you would submit, you will help others.'' There is a reason for our being chosen: we are chosen to submit to others.
Paul could boldly say "my gospel'' (Rom. 2:16; 16:25). He could also remind Timothy to know "from which ones you have learned'' (2 Tim. 3:14). He could say this because he was a proper apostle and he had the greatest ministry and the greatest gifts. Hence, he had the authority to remind others concerning his gospel, his ministry, and his teachings.
A person must put himself under a few persons and submit to them. In this way, not only will he receive the benefit individually, but the church will also receive the benefit. A member in the Body is like a stone in the temple. The temple was built up because there were suitable stones that were coordinated and built up together. Building means that one stone is laid on top of another, and desolation means that no stone is laid on top of another.
The Lord is going on. What we considered as life yesterday may be death today. We must go on, and we must not stop at past experiences. I believe that the Lord is doing a greater and richer work today than yesterday. All those who have their eyes opened will see that we are living in the richest age. Yet these riches are accumulated amidst desolation. On the one hand, the church is advancing and progressing. On the other hand, the church is in an age of desolation. Some only see the desolation of the church and do not see the advance of the church. Others only see the advance of the church and do not see the desolation of the church. From the view of the Lord's work today, we can say that the Lord is advancing. But at the same time, when we consider everything around us, we can also say that the church is desolate.
God is raising up the testimony of the local church today in the midst of desolation to answer His call in an age of desolation and to recover the church out of its desolation through the testimony of the local church. Christianity has been deformed and has fallen into desolation. Therefore, Christians today are no longer typical. They have not come up to God's standard. A typical Christian is not only one who is a Christian individually, but one who is involved in the testimony of the church. Only the testimony of the church can bring the church back from desolation to abundance.
The Lord said, "My Father is working until now, and I also am working'' (John 5:17). The Father is always working; He never stops. For this reason we are also working today. Our work today is to secure for the Lord a testimony of the local church. Our ministry today is the ministry of the church, which is one that brings in a testimony of the church for the Lord.
Today the church is in a state of desolation. According to typology the church has been captured to Babylon. The thriving condition of the church as seen by Paul in the first century was lost soon afterward. From that time, the church fell into a state of captivity, which continued until the time of Thyatira. After Thyatira, there was Sardis, where God began His work. Thyatira typifies Roman Catholicism, and Sardis typifies Protestantism. God began His recovery work at the time of Sardis. Although the truths were buried for such a long time, when they were recovered, they immediately became actualities. When Paul spoke concerning the truths in the first century, those truths were spiritual realities, yet they were not actualities. For example, when he spoke about the church, it was a reality, but the actual church had not appeared yet. After the Reformation, not only were the truths recovered, but the actual things themselves were recovered. For example, justification by faith is no longer just a truth; it has become an actual thing. If the Lord delays His coming, the church will no longer exhort men to be justified by works. The actual matter of justification by faith has been recovered in the church.
What the church needs today is to raise up a ministry that will maintain the Lord's testimony. The problem with all the places today is that we only maintain a local church without maintaining a ministry that is for the Lord's testimony. Today's ministry must match God's work. We cannot merely have a so-called ministry. We must have a ministry that is a proper testimony. Our ministry must be the ministry of the church, a ministry that is a testimony of the church.
God's ministry today is in the local church and for the local church. The work of the ministry is to recover the proper testimony of the church. This is the real recovery. The unique ministry is for the unique testimony, and the content of the unique testimony is fulfilled in the local church.
These are not ordinary days. Our works today are not ordinary works. The way today is the way of the church. In this way we must not act presumptuously or carelessly. Once we act carelessly, the Lord will have no way to go on. The Body described in 1 Corinthians 12 is a testimony that a local church should have; it is the testimony of the Body. In this Body the eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you; nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you'' (v. 21). Every part must be in coordination. Ephesians 4 reveals to us the reality between the Head and the Body. The local church today must be a testimony that expresses the reality of this Body. It must be a practical and actual Body expressed in a locality.
