Search
Scripture Reading: Phil. 1:1-2; 1 Tim. 3:15; 1:3-6; Gal. 2:11-14
In his first Epistle to Timothy the apostle Paul wrote, “If I delay, I write that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God” (3:15). Timothy needed some instruction to know how to conduct himself in the house of God, which is the church. We too need such instruction today. We may think that the church is simply the coming together of the saints with some leading ones and the carrying out of some services. However, the truth concerning the church is not so shallow or simple. If it were, Paul would not have needed to instruct Timothy concerning how to conduct himself in the church life. The burden in this chapter is for us to see how to conduct ourselves in the church.
Based on my own learning and experience, I would say that to know how to conduct ourselves in the church, we first need to see the headship of Christ. The entire New Testament unveils that today God has ordained in His economy that we respect, regard, and exalt the headship of Christ to the uttermost in everything. Matthew 1 through Revelation 22 reveals that God’s intention is that no head other than Christ should exist among God’s people. In the Old Testament there was a series of kings; there was no unique head. In the New Testament, however, there are no heads other than Christ. It is true that Peter is always listed first in the four Gospels among the twelve disciples, but the Lord Jesus never said that Peter was the highest disciple. The Lord never gave even a hint to indicate that anyone was first. He did not establish a leadership with Peter. Rather, the Lord always placed Peter in difficult situations. In his natural man Peter desired to take the lead. In John 21 he threw himself into the sea to be the first to meet the Lord on the shore, but he was shamed by the Lord (vv. 7, 15-17). Peter also was the first of the disciples to speak on the Mount of Transfiguration, but he was stopped by God (Matt. 17:4-5). The four Gospels show no sign that the Lord had any intention to establish Peter as the leader among the apostles.
In Mark 16 when the angel sent the sisters to tell the disciples of the Lord’s resurrection, the angel particularly added the phrase and Peter (v. 7). Some may think that the phrase and Peter indicates that Peter was first among the apostles, but this is not the meaning. And Peter was added because Peter had a complete failure when he denied the Lord. Rather than being first in something positive, Peter was first in denying the Lord. No one denied the Lord as many times or as seriously as Peter did. Peter denied the Lord to such an extent that he probably did not have any confidence to come back to the Lord. Therefore, the Lord added the phrase and Peter so that Peter would know that the Lord would never forget him but had forgiven him already and was waiting for him to return.
There is no indication in the four Gospels that Peter was appointed to be first among the apostles. On the day of Pentecost Peter took the lead to stand with the eleven and speak a message to the Jews (Acts 2:14). At that time Peter was certainly the leader, but he was not an official, permanent, organizational, or positional leader. Rather, he was a leader temporarily according to his spiritual capacity at that time. Later, Peter became weak, not in a small matter but in a great matter. Paul said that Peter was not walking in a straightforward way in relation to the truth of the gospel (Gal. 2:14). Peter, who was a Jew, ate with the Gentile believers. This was against the law of Moses, but it was according to the truth of the gospel. However, when some Jewish believers came to Antioch, Peter withdrew from eating with the Gentiles (v. 12). This shows Peter’s weakness. This weakness was not a small thing but a great thing that damaged the truth of the gospel. This shows that at that time Peter was no longer a spiritual lion but had become a spiritual chicken. Therefore, he was no longer the leading apostle. The Bible records that James had become the leading apostle (vv. 9, 12).
Suppose that there are five elders in a certain locality today. One may always take the lead. If this leading one becomes weak to the extent that he damages the truth of the gospel, the other brothers may not have the boldness to allow another one to take the lead. However, the record of the Holy Spirit in the Bible has the boldness. As soon as Peter became weak, the record of the Bible recognizes another one as the leader. There is no indication before this in the New Testament that James was spiritually strong. I do not know why James was the one to replace Peter, but according to Acts 15:13-21, as soon as Peter became weak, James rose up to take the lead. The point here is that there is no official or permanent leader in the New Testament. God does not desire that there be an official or permanent leader among His people in the New Testament age, because such a leader would be an insult to the headship of Christ.
The Lord’s word in Matthew 23:8-12 indicates that we should not have any leader. Today in the New Testament age there is only one unique Leader, that is, Christ. The headship is assigned solely to Christ; only He has the headship (Eph. 1:10, 22; Col. 2:10; 1 Cor. 11:3). This point has been fully missed by today’s Christianity. Christ’s headship has been insulted by organized Christianity, not only today but even since the second century. The entire organization of Christianity, both in the Catholic Church and the Protestant churches, is a complete insult to the headship of Christ. No group or denomination in Christianity today has the proper regard for the headship of Christ. Rather, they are concerned only for their organizations, all of which have a human leader.
According to the concept of most believers, including those in the local churches, any time a group of believers comes together to meet, they immediately wonder who will take the lead. There are some practices in the Lord’s recovery that have partly transformed our concept, but much of our old concept remains. Allow me to illustrate. When I was young, my family met in a denomination. When we went to church gatherings, we had the concept that there were specific leaders. When we entered into the church building, we would wait for the leader to arrive. We did not have any feeling of responsibility for the meeting. The mentality of almost all believers is filled with the thought of having leaders. In contrast, it seems that whenever we come together in the Lord’s recovery today, everyone is a leader, for all can call a hymn, offer a prayer, or share a testimony. The saints do not wait for a leader to come and direct the meetings. However, our practice is still not up to the standard. There remains within us a concept that certain ones are leaders. For practicality and coordination the elders often sit in the first row in the meetings. However, this does not mean that they are official leaders in the meetings. Indeed, in some meetings the elders sit in the back.
We need to realize that in the New Testament age God does not intend for His people to have any official, permanent, organizational, or positional leaders. The Lord’s word in Matthew 23:8-11 is clear. He said, “Do not be called Rabbi, for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers...Neither be called instructors, because One is your Instructor, the Christ. And the greatest among you shall be your servant.” There is no thought of any human leadership in God’s New Testament economy, because the headship of Christ should be uniquely respected and regarded. Nevertheless, the actual situation among Christians today is exactly the opposite. Even the mentality among the saints in the Lord’s recovery has not been thoroughly purified concerning the matter of leadership. However, no one should take this word as a basis for rebellion. Human leadership is not right, but neither is rebellion. On one hand, God has ordained that His people be in a proper order, but on the other hand, God does not desire that there be any kind of official, permanent, organizational, or positional leadership.
Peter, who was the leading apostle and the leading elder in Jerusalem for some time, wrote to the elders, “Nor as lording it over your allotments but by becoming patterns of the flock” (1 Pet. 5:3). The elders are not lords; rather, they are patterns. According to the natural human mentality, in any organization or group the leaders are in a position above others and give orders. If a restroom needs to be cleaned, a leader in worldly society customarily gives an order for someone to clean the restroom. However, in the church the elders should be the first to clean the restroom in order to establish a pattern, an example. It is the elders’ responsibility to be the first to carry out a service, and all the other saints simply need to follow. However, this is not the practice among many churches today. Regrettably, in many churches the elders are lords over God’s flock. This is wrong. The elders should not be in a position over the saints. Rather, the elders should be under the saints, serving them. The elders should not lord it over the saints but should establish an example. This God-ordained concept that is found in the Bible is beyond our human mentality. The kind of leadership that is according to our human mentality is not found in the Bible. The Lord said, “The rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you; but whoever wants to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you shall be your slave” (Matt. 20:25-27). Among us there is only one Leader, that is, Christ. We are all slaves.
First Corinthians 12:28 says, “God has placed some in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then works of power, then gifts of healing, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues.” Helps refers to the services of the deacons, and administrations refers to the functions of the elders. In this verse the apostle Paul listed the functions of the elders after the services of the deacons. When this Epistle was written, the church in Corinth was entirely in a situation of disorder. In such a situation the elders in Corinth may have esteemed themselves too highly, and Paul may have therefore purposely listed the functions of the elders after the services of the deacons in order to bring down the elders’ estimation of themselves. Paul intentionally placed things in a healthy and helpful order. Our concept is that the administrations of elders are higher than the helps of deacons. However, Paul’s concept was that the helps are higher than the administrations. We need to recognize that there is no human leadership in the New Testament economy. On the other hand, God has ordained that there be a decent order among His people. Therefore, we need to learn how to conduct ourselves in the house of God. We must see the headship of Christ and the constitution of the church to know how to conduct ourselves in the church.
Philippians 1:1 says, “Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the overseers and deacons.” This verse addresses not the saints and the overseers and deacons but the saints with the overseers and deacons. The word with is very significant, for it reveals that the major group of persons in the church is not the elders and the deacons but all the saints. According to our natural concept, we usually consider the most important group of persons in a local church to be first the overseers, then the deacons, and finally the saints. Paul’s careful listing of all the saints first and his use of the word with are very meaningful. He did not write this in a careless way. This verse indicates that the saints, not the overseers and deacons, are the principal persons in the church. In God’s consideration in the New Testament economy there is no human leadership. The headship belongs only to Christ.
In order to know how to conduct ourselves in the house of God, we first must be careful not to insult the headship of Christ in anything we do. Suppose a brother does not make decisions for himself and instead prefers to depend on an elder to make decisions for him. In a sense, it is good that a young believer who is unlearned and inexperienced would not trust in himself but would seek help from an elder. In another sense, this is not good, because no believer is a leader with the authority to make decisions for another believer. The unique Leader is the Lord Jesus.
In this situation, because the younger brother is inexperienced, the responsibility to know and apply this principle does not fall mainly upon him but upon the elder. The elder should immediately begin to instruct him and establish him, saying, “Brother, I can render some help to you, but you must know that I am not the Lord. I have no right to make any decision for you. The Lord Jesus is your Lord and my Lord also. You must learn how to exercise your spirit. Yes, you are a new believer, but the Lord Jesus is in you as the Spirit. Do not ask me whether or not you should go to see a movie. Instead, you should ask the Lord in prayer.” In this way both brothers will respect the headship of Christ. If an elder makes a decision for a new believer, regardless of whether the elder does it with a good heart or with a critical attitude, he insults Christ’s headship. Many brothers often unconsciously insult the headship of Christ. It is a serious thing for an elder to become the lord by telling a saint what to do. We must properly conduct ourselves in the house of God by helping our fellow believers in a way that honors the headship of Christ and by encouraging the dear younger ones to learn how to contact the Lord. This will make a great difference.
The situation in Christianity today is poor. Most in the Catholic Church seek guidance only from priests; they do not know the Lord. Obeying the instructions of a priest without contacting the Lord is a great insult to Christ’s headship. I was never a Catholic, but I visited several Catholic cathedrals to study the situation. I realized that the whole of Catholicism with all its practices is a great insult to the headship of Christ. Most Catholics are never helped to know Christ in a living and direct way. Even when they pray, they do so under human direction. They are instructed to repeat certain prayers a certain number of times in front of the image of a certain saint, and they are told that this will reduce a relative’s time in purgatory. This is not only superstition but also an insult to the headship of Christ. Our Lord is living, and He is the only Head. We need to bring people to Him. Even in the churches we have often overstepped and insulted the headship of Christ. We are not the Head or the Lord. We should not make any decision for anyone. We should instead usher them to the Lord so that they can receive a decision directly from Him. By doing so, they honor the Lord and respect the headship of Christ.
In his instruction in the Epistles to Timothy, Paul was always careful to respect the headship of Christ. Paul did not overstep in this matter. Christ is the unique Lord and Head. In order to know how to conduct ourselves in the house of God, the first principle that we must keep is to honor the headship of Christ. It is crucial that we not overstep or do anything to insult the headship of Christ. If all the elders practice this, the saints will be forced to contact the Lord directly. Regardless of how many times a brother may ask me, I would never make a decision for him. Neither will I teach him how to make decisions for himself. Rather, I will instruct him to pray to contact the Lord directly. We need to contact the Lord again and again until He tells us His decision for us. If we practice this, we will have a healthy Christian life. Regardless of how young or old we are, we all need to learn to contact the Lord in order to have a healthy Christian life. The totality of all the saints living a healthy Christian life will be a healthy church life.
First Timothy 3:15 says that the church is the pillar and base of the truth. The pillar and base of the truth is the entire church, including all the saints, not only the elders and leading ones. In ancient times buildings were supported by pillars or columns, each of which rested on a base. Paul referred to this architectural feature to illustrate that the church is the pillar and base to bear the truth. Most of the saints probably do not have a deep sensation that they are responsible to bear the truth. I hope that the Lord’s speaking in this chapter will impress us that all the believers together are the pillar and base to bear the truth.
To understand what it means to bear the truth, we may consider the example of Paul in Galatians 2:11-14. Peter’s shrinking back from eating with the Gentiles was contrary to the truth of the gospel, and Paul saw this. We need to remember that when Peter was the leading apostle, Paul was a young persecutor of the church. Compared to Peter, Paul was a young apostle. However, Paul saw that Peter did something contrary to the truth. Perhaps if we had been in Paul’s place, we would not have rebuked Peter. We might have instead said to ourselves, “I know that Peter is wrong, but he is older, more experienced, and more qualified than me. I dare not do or say anything.” Paul, however, wrote, “When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he stood condemned” (v. 11). Paul rebuked Peter, for although Peter was older and more experienced, at that instant Peter was doing something that was not according to the truth. Paul was thus bearing the truth; he was a pillar and base of the truth.
Paul was an apostle, but the Bible does not say that the apostles are the pillar and base of the truth. Rather, the Bible reveals that the church, which includes every believer, must bear the truth. If every saint does not bear the truth, the church will not be strong but will merely be a group of people who do not know and practice the truth but leave everything to the elders. This is a poor church. The United States is a strong nation because all the citizens bear the responsibility of upholding the Constitution. Even the president cannot violate the Constitution. If he does, he will be removed from office. In many other countries no one can touch the leader. The churches in the Lord’s recovery need to be like the United States in that all the saints need to bear the responsibility of upholding the truth. The people of the United States should respect the presidency and the president, but if the president violates the Constitution, the people need to exercise their right to uphold the Constitution. Likewise, the saints in the churches need to respect the eldership and the leading ones, but if the leading ones do something contrary to the truth, the saints should be responsible to uphold the truth.
The church, which is the pillar and base of the truth, includes all the brothers and sisters. The sisters should not excuse themselves from knowing the truth simply because they are sisters. We should not come to the meetings only to shout and sing to have a good time. Merely to have a good time is not profitable. We need to practice to know the truth. If a student attends a university only to have a good time, after four years the student will go home with nothing. The best universities give the students a difficult time, not a good time. The church life is not for us to have a good time. The church is not a nightclub; it is the kingdom of God and the house of God. There is the need of some discipline. To be a citizen of a country or even a member of a family, one must learn and be disciplined. We need to practice to know the truth. When we come to the meetings, it is wonderful to have some pleasant singing and praising if the Lord leads. However, we should not go to the meetings mainly to have a good time but to receive some discipline and be instructed and edified.
The New Testament reveals that the church in ancient times met in a solid way, in a way to edify and instruct the saints. First Corinthians 14:29 says, “As to prophets, two or three should speak, and the others discern.” If we came together only to have a good time, we would not need to do anything. However, because we come together to learn and to minister to one another, we must be sober and exercise our discernment. While a brother is speaking, all the saints need to discern whether or not he is speaking according to the truth. If what he speaks is not according to the truth, every saint should be ready to stand up and say something to uphold the truth. The saints should also be prepared to ask the elders to stop someone from speaking anything that is not according to the truth. Regardless of who is speaking, we must discern whether or not what is being spoken is according to the truth. We should never blindly trust that a person is speaking according to the truth. We should not care for the person but for the truth. The United States is a strong country because the Constitution is regarded more highly than any person. If someone even as high as the president violates the Constitution, he will be stopped. Likewise, in order for the church to be strong, every brother and sister must know the truth. I hope that if I were to say something contrary to the truth, even the young sisters would be prepared to stand up and exhort me in a proper way to stop.
In 1 Timothy 3:15 Paul refers to “the church of the living God, the pillar and base of the truth.” We are each a living member of the church with the living God in us. The church being the pillar and base of the truth implies that every member of the church should know the truth. We need to make a decision to learn the truth. If the young saints do not make such a decision, the church has no future. For the sake of the spreading of the church to new localities, there is a need of leading ones, some who can bear responsibility. We are short of such ones because in the daily church life we do not learn or practice the truth. If we learn the truth and practice the truth in the daily church life, every member will be able to bear some responsibility. Then wherever we spread, there will be no problems; every local church will be strong.
In summary, in order to know how to conduct ourselves in the church life as the house of God, we need to be careful to always do two things: never insult the headship of Christ and always learn, guard, and bear the truth. The headship of Christ and the truth are two basic factors that direct, control, and safeguard the church life. We need to honor, respect, and not insult the headship of Christ, not overstepping in any matter related to Christ’s headship. We also need to learn and practice the truth. If we do these two things, we will be clear regarding how to conduct ourselves in the house of God.
Question: Do the sisters have the same responsibility to bear the truth as the brothers?
Answer: To illustrate, in ordinary times the wife should follow the husband. However, if a thief breaks in or the house is on fire, a wife should not wait for her husband’s permission to call for help. That is being too legal. For a sister to act in urgent situations is not overstepping. If someone stands up in a meeting and speaks something heretical, no one should hesitate. Everyone, including the youngest sister, should rise up to reject such speaking. If every saint is able to bear the truth in this way, it proves that the church is strong.
Question: How can the young ones see the light in the Word when they read the Bible? I feel that even if I read the Bible hundreds of times, I would never receive the kind of light that has been opened up in these messages.
Answer: The main purpose of spending time in the Word is not to understand it but to come into the presence of God, His breathing, and to be washed. To go further and see the light in the Word requires much labor in the Word. For instance, two years ago I was clear that God does not want any permanent, official, or organizational leadership in His church, but I had not yet gathered the verses to prove this point. In the past two years I gathered verses such as Matthew 23:8-12, 1 Peter 5:3, and 1 Corinthians 12:28, and examples such as Peter’s case and Paul’s case. Such study takes time. The New Testament mentions a category of workers called teachers (Acts 13:1; 1 Cor. 12:28; Eph. 4:11). To be a teacher requires much time. Furthermore, the church is the house of God. Every local church is a family with people of all ages. The young ones will gradually come to know more things, not by waiting passively but by contacting the Lord and the Word. As we gradually accumulate knowledge of the Bible, the light will come to us from the accumulated truth in our being.
Question: I have heard some say that we should all “stay in one boat” whether we are right or wrong, that if we “go over a cliff,” at least we will be one, that we should not disturb the oneness even if we sense an objection within, and that we should simply go along and trust that the Lord will bless the oneness and bring us through somehow. What do you think about this?
Answer: Such talk is childish, foolish, superficial, and altogether illogical. We need to have a logical church life. No other book is as logical as the Bible. Every truth is logical. We should not accept such foolish, superficial talk. We need to learn the truth so that we can discern such speaking. We should not be rebellious or disobedient or cause trouble or turmoil, but our obedience must be based upon the proper knowledge of the logical truth. If someone stands up in a meeting and speaks something blasphemous or heretical, we should not be deceived to think that if we “stay in the boat to keep the oneness,” everything will turn out all right.
Some have said in recent years that the saints should not have any discernment and that to discern is not to love. However, 1 Corinthians 14:29 says that we should discern. Philippians 1:9 says, “This I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in full knowledge and all discernment.” Love should abound in discernment, not in foolishness. We need to love soberly, not blindly. The proper love is in full knowledge and all discernment.
I do not mean that the saints should rebel against the church or the elders. On one hand, God does not ordain any official, permanent, organizational, or positional leadership in His New Testament economy. On the other hand, Hebrews 13:17 says, “Obey the ones leading you and submit to them.” First Peter 5:5 says, “Younger men, be subject to elders.” Every truth has two sides. We need to hold both sides of every truth in order to be balanced. One side of the truth is that every member is responsible to know and practice the truth; the other side is that we also need to learn to know and subdue our flesh to be humbled and submit to others.
Question: Could you explain the meaning of the word truth in 1 Timothy 3:15?
Answer: The word truth means something that is real. In the Bible the word truth refers to God Himself, for only God is real. The Greek word rendered “truth” in 1 Timothy 3:15 is the same word rendered “reality” in John 1:17, which says, “The law was given through Moses; grace and reality came through Jesus Christ.” This verse indicates that when Jesus came, grace came; that is, God came to be our enjoyment. When Jesus came, reality also came; that is, God came to be the reality. Thus, all the truths in the Bible refer to God Himself. However, some items in the Bible are not truths but are mere doctrines. Most Christians consider the doctrines in the Bible to be truths, but there is a difference.
Let us consider some examples in order to see the difference between truth and doctrines. The teachers among the Brethren studied many doctrines concerning the Lord’s table. They studied the proper time to have the Lord’s table. This is a doctrine, not a reality. They also studied what kind of cup and bread to serve, the way in which the elements should be distributed, and who has the right to participate in the Lord’s table. All these matters are doctrines, not the reality. However, there is also the truth of the Lord’s table. The truth is that Christ is the Head and the church is the Body. The death of Christ is displayed at the table because the wine, signifying the Lord’s blood, is separate from the bread, signifying the Lord’s body. Christ’s resurrection also is displayed because there is one loaf on the table made from many grains, signifying the believers, who were produced in Christ’s resurrection (1 Pet. 1:3). Christ as the Head, the church as the Body, and the death and resurrection of Christ are not doctrines but the truth.
Another example of the difference between doctrine and truth can be seen in the matter of baptism. Many Christian teachers study doctrines concerning the outward forms of baptism, such as what kind of water to use, what temperature of water to use, what name or names to baptize people into, the number of times to immerse a person, and the direction in which to immerse a person into the water. These matters are all doctrines, which are not very important. The truth of baptism is the death and resurrection of Christ.
The church does not bear doctrines; it bears the truth. That God is the unique God is a truth, a reality, not a doctrine. All the truths in the Bible refer to God Himself directly or indirectly by referring to items such as Christ, the Spirit, Christ’s redemption, Christ’s crucifixion, or Christ’s resurrection. These are the factors of the truth. The church bears only the truth.
Question: How is the church safeguarded from confusion?
Answer: The church should be the safeguard by bearing the truth. However, the churches today are lacking in the truth and are therefore weak. The shortage of every member learning and practicing the truth is the reason that the churches suffer from turmoil. If the churches are strong and full of the truth, we will be safeguarded. Turmoils are proof that the churches are weak and lacking in the truth.
