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Scripture Reading: 1 Tim. 1:3-6; 3:15-16; 4:7-8; 6:3; 2 Tim. 2:15; 4:3-4; 3:16-17
In this chapter we will continue to consider the matter of how to conduct oneself in the house of God. The two Epistles to Timothy were written when the church was in degradation, and it was because of the degradation that these two Epistles were written. What Paul ministered to Timothy was entirely concerning how to conduct himself in the church in a time of degradation. In the previous chapter we covered mainly two points concerning how to conduct ourselves in the house of God. First, we saw that we must respect the headship of Christ. Whatever we are, do, and say should be in a spirit that respects the headship of Christ. Respecting the headship of Christ safeguards us from many kinds of mistakes in the church life. The headship of Christ is crucial to our church life. The main problem with Christianity today is that it disregards the headship of Christ. In the church life in the Lord’s recovery, the first thing that we need to take care of is to regard the headship of Christ. The second matter we saw in the previous chapter is that the entire church is the pillar and base of the truth (1 Tim. 3:15). Not the leading ones only but every member in the church should practice to know the truth so that we can be a pillar to bear God’s truth in this dark age. Respecting the headship of Christ and bearing the truth are two governing principles we must follow in order to know how to conduct ourselves in the church life.
In this chapter we will see a few more items that should govern our conduct in the church life. In 1 Timothy 1:3-4 Paul wrote, “Even as I exhorted you, when I was going into Macedonia, to remain in Ephesus in order that you might charge certain ones not to teach different things nor to give heed to myths and unending genealogies, which produce questionings rather than God’s economy, which is in faith.” We should not teach anything that is different from God’s economy. The word economy is an anglicized Greek word, denoting a dispensation, a stewardship, or an administration to dispense something. According to the revelation of the New Testament, God has an economy to dispense Himself in Christ into His chosen people to produce the church, the Body of Christ. The New Testament charges us not to teach anything other than God’s economy. In the church life we should not teach anything that produces questionings rather than God’s economy, regardless of how scriptural our teaching may be.
In the preceding chapter we saw that even the youngest believer needs to be bold to discern different speakings according to the truth. However, this does not mean that when a person speaks something that is not heretical or damaging to God’s economy, we need to boldly stand up to say something against it. This will only cause trouble. Suppose a brother says, “I do not like to see all the sisters with long hair. I prefer that the sisters have short hair.” When we hear something like this, we should simply ignore it. The length of the sisters’ hair does not mean much. Therefore, we can allow a brother to voice his opinion. We should not argue or fight over such insignificant matters. However, suppose someone says, “Christ is only a man. He does not have the divine nature.” Every brother and sister should immediately stand up to say no, for this is a blasphemy against Christ. Furthermore, such speaking damages God’s economy because God’s economy is to dispense the Christ who is both God and man. Because the church is the pillar and base of the truth, every member has the responsibility to protest against this kind of heretical speaking. We must bear the truth concerning Christ’s person. We all need to see God’s charge in the New Testament not to teach things different from God’s economy. The proper length of a sister’s hair, however, is not worthy of disputation. It is better to stay away from any disputation concerning such minor things.
In 1 Timothy 3:16 Paul says, “Confessedly, great is the mystery of godliness: He who was manifested in the flesh, / Justified in the Spirit, / Seen by angels, / Preached among the nations, / Believed on in the world, / Taken up in glory.” In this verse the manifestation of God in the flesh refers not only to Christ Himself but also to the church. Christ was taken up in glory in His ascension before He was preached among the nations and believed on in the world. Because taken up in glory is listed last in verse 16, it must refer not only to Christ’s ascension but also to the church’s rapture. This is a strong indication that the manifestation of God in the flesh, the great mystery of godliness, includes both Christ and the church.
The manifestation of God in the flesh includes both Christ and the church because Christ is the Head and the church is His Body. If the Head is the manifestation of God, the Body must also be the manifestation of God. Theologians may argue that only Christ is the manifestation of God, but this is illogical, for a person’s body has the same life and nature as the head. Based on this definite principle, it is clear that just as Christ, the Head, is the manifestation of God, so also the church, the Body of Christ, is the manifestation of God. This is logical.
First Timothy 3:15-16 reveals that the church is not only the house of the living God and the pillar and base of the truth but also the mystery of godliness, that is, the manifestation of God in the flesh. Although we are human beings in the flesh, God dwells in us. Therefore, when we are meeting together, we are the manifestation of God. First Corinthians 14:24-25 says that if the church is meeting properly, an unbeliever who comes into the meeting will say, “Indeed God is among you.” This indicates that God is manifested in the flesh in the church. Christ manifested God in the flesh as a man on the earth individually, but today God is manifested in the church corporately. This is a great mystery, the mystery of godliness.
The definition of godliness is God manifest in the flesh. Some have recently taught the young people that to always go to the Lord’s Day morning meeting is to be religious and that they should feel free to do something else on the Lord’s Day morning. Rather than being concerned about whether this teaching is right or wrong, we should simply consider whether going to do something else on the Lord’s Day morning is godliness. The two Epistles to Timothy were written at a time when the church was in degradation to instruct Timothy how to conduct himself in the house of God. These Epistles do not say that we need to do what is right; rather, they say that we need to exercise ourselves unto godliness (1 Tim. 4:7). Going to an event other than the church meeting on the Lord’s Day morning is not godliness. Playing basketball on the Lord’s Day morning is not a testimony of godliness to others. This is not a matter of right or wrong; it is a matter of fact. If the young people saw an elder playing basketball during the Lord’s Day morning meeting, they would be stumbled and perhaps feel free to begin to live in a loose way. If what we do is an expression of godliness, it will edify the saints and minister life to them. My heart was grieved when I heard that such things were being taught to the young people. This is not an opinion or an insignificant matter; it is a subtle teaching creeping in to lower the standard of God’s testimony in the churches and corrupt the young people. Another governing principle that we must follow to properly conduct ourselves in the church is to exercise ourselves unto godliness.
Paul says, “Bodily exercise is profitable for a little, but godliness is profitable for all things” (v. 8). He was fair, for he did not say that bodily exercise profits nothing. Yes, bodily exercise is profitable, but its profit is very small compared to the profit of exercising ourselves unto godliness. The way to conduct ourselves in the church life is to exercise ourselves unto godliness. We should not do anything that is not a proper testimony of godliness to others. We do not need to consider whether or not something is legal or right but whether it is an expression of godliness, God manifested in the flesh.
Let us consider another illustration. Some brothers may go to bars to drink beer. They may tell the other saints that they have been liberated from all bondage and that in the church life there should be no legalities. All the saints need to learn the truths, discern such speaking, and rise up to practice the truth. All the saints should reply, “No, in the church life we do not accept this kind of speaking.” We must be discerning and strong, not to cause division but to keep the church in the right lane to manifest our God. Our living should be godly, not loose. We should all bring this matter to the Lord. I do not condemn or accuse those who hold such concepts, but I hope that they will bring these things to the Lord, praying, “Lord, do You want me to be such a person in Your recovery?”
In our daily lives we should not live by regulations, but we should have one governing principle, that is, godliness. In deciding whether or not to wear a certain article of clothing, we should consider whether or not it expresses godliness. We should not care for any outward forms, but we need to take care of the facts. Whatever we say and do and wherever we go, we need to consider whether it is godliness. If we testify concerning the Lord’s recovery to our neighbors, some of whom may be Christians, yet one day they see us going into a movie theater, we will lose our testimony. Even though we may be going to see an educational movie, this is not godliness. Moreover, bringing our children to a movie theater, even if it is to see the best educational movie, will create a lust within our children to see movies. We will corrupt our children. The theaters are full of spiritual germs. The conscience of parents who exercise themselves unto godliness would not allow them to take their children into a movie theater. This is not a matter of what is right or wrong, legal or illegal. We should care only for the facts of what is a testimony of godliness to others. Godliness is another governing principle that we need to take care of in order to properly conduct ourselves in the church life.
In order to properly conduct ourselves in the house of God, the church, we also need to take care of the healthy teaching. Second Timothy 4:3-4 says, “The time will come when they will not tolerate the healthy teaching; but according to their own lusts they will heap up to themselves teachers, having itching ears, and they will turn away their ear from the truth and will be turned aside to myths.” The word tolerate is used to indicate enduring some kind of suffering. To some the healthy teaching becomes something that must be tolerated. In a recent training, while listening to my messages, some trainees wrote that they were bored. Listening to the healthy teaching is a suffering to these trainees. Such ones may prefer to hear teachings that will tickle their itching ears. We need to conduct ourselves in the church not according to our itching ears but according to the healthy teaching.
Some may say that it is overly legalistic to refrain from going to movie theaters or other places of worldly entertainment. Our ears may itch to hear such speaking, but we should be governed by the principle of taking care of the healthy teaching. Whether a teaching is boring or tickling does not mean anything; we need to consider only whether or not it is a healthy teaching. It may be a pleasant teaching that tickles our ears, but it is not healthy. It is altogether unhealthy to teach that the saints should watch movies. The teaching in the churches must be healthy. Heeding only healthy teaching is another governing principle for our conduct in the church life.
Paul used the terms healthy teaching, healthy words, and healthy speech seven times in the Epistles to Timothy and Titus (1 Tim. 1:10; 6:3; 2 Tim. 1:13; 4:3; Titus 1:9; 2:1, 8). He knew that when the church life is in degradation, people will be bored of the healthy teaching and will prefer to have their ears tickled. Therefore, the Epistles to Timothy and Titus reveal that caring for the healthy teaching is a principle that should govern our conduct in the church life. We need to conduct ourselves not according to our opinion or our likes or dislikes but according to the healthy teaching. We should receive and apply any teaching that is spiritually healthy, and we need to reject any teaching that is not healthy. The proper teaching is not a matter of our taste but a matter of what is healthy.
In the Epistles to Timothy Paul stressed the matter of truth. He wrote, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, an unashamed workman, cutting straight the word of the truth” (2 Tim. 2:15). He mentioned the full knowledge of the truth four times (1 Tim. 2:4; 4:3; 2 Tim. 2:25; 3:7). We need to see the difference between doctrines and truth. Matters regarding the Lord’s table, such as whether to serve grape juice or wine, what kind of bread to serve, and whether to pass one large cup or many small cups, are all doctrines. However, within the Lord’s table is the truth. The truth of the Lord’s table includes the Head, the Body, and Christ’s death and resurrection. The way to conduct ourselves in the church life is not mainly to take care of doctrines but to take care of the truth. We should not come to the Lord’s table merely to have another meeting or to keep certain forms; rather, we need to know and appreciate the truth of the Lord’s table. If we do not enter into the truth of the Lord’s table, the Lord’s table will become something formal to us. If the Lord’s table becomes something formal to the saints, some may want to drop it because our principle is not to keep any empty forms. This is a problem.
The way to conduct ourselves in the house of God, especially for the leading ones, is to take care of the truth, not merely to care for doctrines. Therefore, all the saints need to know the truth of the Lord’s table. I am concerned that many saints do not know this truth. They may come only to participate in something formal, concerning which they do not know the truth. We all need to realize where our lack is. Concerning baptism, we need to know the truth, not merely the doctrines. Whether to baptize by immersion or by sprinkling is a matter of doctrine. We need to know and live the reality of baptism. Every day we also need to live the reality, the truth, of the Lord’s table. The truth of the Lord’s table should be our life and our daily living, and we should come together on the first day of every week to partake of the Lord’s table as a testimony to the universe of our daily living. We should live daily as the Body for the Head in His death and resurrection.
In John 8:32 the Lord Jesus said, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” Loose teachings do not liberate us; they only lead us into a loose life. It is the truth that sets us free. In 17:17 the Lord went on to say that the truth sanctifies us. We need to know the truth. In this time of degradation we in the Lord’s recovery must know and live out the truth. This is another principle that should govern our conduct in the church. We need to make the truth our daily living and our daily standard of measurement.
In the entire Bible there is not another verse like 2 Timothy 3:16. Verses 15 through 17 say, “From a babe you have known the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise unto salvation through the faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for conviction, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work.” The apostle Paul wrote these words purposefully to indicate that when the church is in degradation, whoever desires to be a man of God, a godly man, must take care of the Scriptures. We need to know the Bible from our youth. The way to conduct ourselves in the church is by taking care of the Scriptures. I hope that an atmosphere of loving the Bible will be built up in the Lord’s recovery. Everyone in the Lord’s recovery should be a Bible lover, always eating, reading, and studying the word of God in the Bible.
The way to conduct ourselves in the church life is to know the Bible to the extent that others would call us a “Bible man.” If we do not know the Bible, we will not know how to conduct ourselves in the house of God. If possible, we should read three chapters of the Old Testament and one chapter of the New Testament every day. In this way we can easily read the whole Bible once a year. This is not difficult. We need to build up such a good habit in order to be a godly person.
If some young brothers come to my home one day and see that I read many secular magazines and newspapers, they will not think that I am godly. They may think instead that I am worldly and perhaps that I am fleshly. Whether or not we read the newspaper should not be a legal matter, but it is a spiritual fact that if we spend too much time reading worldly publications, we may be led into the indulgence of lust. Rather than spending much time reading worldly publications, we should redeem the time by reading the word of our Father.
The way to conduct ourselves in the church is by becoming someone who loves the Word of God. We should not make the excuse that we were not born with the kind of disposition necessary to be such a person. We have all been reborn with the same life, the life of God. Therefore, we all can study the Bible daily and diligently. We should try to read through the Bible once a year. Furthermore, we should spend at least ten minutes every morning to pray-read two or three verses. The more we pray-read, the more nourishment we receive. We need to eat the word every day to receive the nourishment and become constituted with the truth of the Bible. If we practice this, we will always impress others with godliness, and this will be a glory to God. If this is our daily testimony and this governs our walk in the church life, we will know how to conduct ourselves in the house of God. By reading the Bible day after day, we will accumulate much knowledge of the Bible. Based on this knowledge of God’s Word, we will know how to conduct ourselves in the house of God. We need to spend time before the Lord to consider the principles we have seen that should govern our conduct in the church. We need to pray about these principles and by the Lord’s grace put them all into practice.
The Lord’s recovery will spread not in the way of a movement but in the way of life. As we all grow in life, the churches will increase and spontaneously spread to other cities. Wherever the churches spread, there is the need of some to bear responsibility. For this reason many saints, especially the young ones, need to spend time to study the Word of God, to be saturated and thoroughly constituted with the Word of God. Then they will be prepared to teach the Word of God. According to the New Testament, teaching is the proper shepherding, for Ephesians 4:11 lists shepherds and teachers as one class of gifted persons. If we do not know how to teach, we cannot shepherd. Shepherding is based on teaching. Furthermore, 1 Timothy 5:17 reveals that teaching is the main function of the elders. In order to be qualified as an elder to bear responsibility in a local church, we must be able to teach (3:2). If we can teach, we will be able to shepherd. Therefore, if the young ones study God’s Word to be thoroughly saturated and constituted with the Word in the coming years, many of them will be good teachers. Then they will spontaneously become good shepherds and elders. This is the way that the leadership is prepared for the spread of the churches.
Suppose the young people in a locality come together only to have a good time, playing the guitar, singing hymns, and releasing their spirit, but they do not spend time in the Word of God and are not exercised in the spiritual experiences. Several years may pass, yet nothing will be built up. Such a situation would be worse than the situation in denominational Christianity, for Christianity at least has seminaries to train some leaders. To only have a good time is a waste of time. We need to come to the church meetings to learn something, to be built up, and to be trained. This is worthwhile. We should mean business in the church life. The Lord’s testimony is the most important thing in our life today. Therefore, we need to spend our time, our energy, and even our being to be constituted for the Lord’s recovery.
I encourage all the saints to spend a solid time to enter into the solid things. We should not relax or only seek to have a good time. The church life is not for a good time; it is for something solid. We need to pick up this burden and go to the Lord. We should not use the excuse that we are weak. We are all weak, but He who is in us is strong. We do not have the energy in ourselves, but His grace is sufficient for us (2 Cor. 12:9). We all need to look to the Lord for His grace that we may come up to His standard. I hope that all the saints will legally spend time in the Word of God. If we all practice this, the church life will be healthy, strong, rich, and genuinely living. We all need to honor the headship of Christ, bear the truth, exercise ourselves unto godliness, take care of the healthy teaching, and study the Word. By spending time in the Word, we will be filled with the knowledge of the divine Word and will know how to conduct ourselves in the house of God.
Question: What is the proper way to meet for saints who live in small cities near a larger city with an established church?
Answer: The principle we have practiced for many years has been that the saints living in the smaller cities initially meet with the church in the larger city. Then as the number of saints in a smaller locality gradually increases, we encourage them to have home meetings in their locality for prayer and fellowship. As they continue to grow, they eventually begin to have the Lord’s table and become the church in that locality. Once they begin to meet as the church in that locality, they have the same standing as the church in the larger locality. There are no higher or lower churches; rather, all are on the same level. Eventually, there may be one larger church in a central city and perhaps ten or fifteen smaller churches in the surrounding small cities. In such a situation, all are local churches and are on the same level. There is no head church. In this way the churches are prevented from becoming an organization, which would lead to hierarchy and insult the headship of Christ.
Question: What is the best way to study the Bible?
Answer: Brother Watchman Nee often said that we need to have two copies of the Bible: a clean copy without any marks in it to use in the morning for nourishment and another copy for writing notes. It is best to use a large Bible with wide margins during our times of reading and studying. When we gain new understanding and see new light, we should write notes in the margins. The way of being nourished in the morning and the way of reading a few chapters later in the day are common; they should be practiced by all the saints. However, some who truly love the Bible also need to study the Bible book by book. To do this, we first need to pray concerning which book to study. Then, besides our times of coming to the Word for nourishment and to read a few chapters, we need to spend time to study whichever book the Lord leads us to study.
To study a book of the Bible word by word, we need an interlinear version to find the accurate meaning of every Greek or Hebrew word. Then while studying the meaning of each word, we should try to expound each verse, explaining or interpreting it. This is the way to study a verse efficiently. We should study a book verse by verse until we finish the whole book. Then we can go through the book again to study its main topics or subjects. After studying one subject, word, or topic, finding cross-references in other books and comparing other portions of the Word, we should find and study other subjects in the book. Such topical studies will help us to dig into the depths of a book. By spending time to study in these two ways, we will fully enter into a book. Through the past twenty centuries many different ways have been used to study the Bible, the greatest of all books. Among the many ways to study the Bible, the most general and effective ways are the ways I have mentioned.
To study a book of the Bible word by word and according to different topics, we need the help of reference books, such as Greek and Hebrew lexicons and concordances. The best two concordances are Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible and Young’s Analytical Concordance to the Bible. Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words is a great help to us. Wuest’s Expanded Translation, the Amplified Bible, and Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament also are helpful. Furthermore, the Life-study messages are a great help to understand any book. If we use all the reference books and the Life-studies, we will gain a thorough, all-inclusive view of any book in the Bible. Every book of the Bible will become transparent to us.
Question: What other Christian books are beneficial to read?
Answer: All the books by Brother Watchman Nee and by me are healthy and helpful in life and truth. Besides these, there are other good books, such as Andrew Murray’s The Holiest of All on Hebrews and W. H. Griffith Thomas’s Commentary on Romans, the top exposition on Romans. These can help us to some extent if we have the time to read them.
Question: When we spend time to study the Word, what is the best way to release all these riches so that we do not store up an excess of riches?
Answer: When we spend time to study the Word, we will accumulate much knowledge. However, we need to remember that we must have Christ and the church as the governing vision. Otherwise, the more biblical knowledge we pick up, the more trouble we will make for the church. If our knowledge of the Bible is controlled and governed by the great mystery, Christ and the church, then our Bible knowledge will strengthen our vision, will be used properly, and will not damage the church life. Without the governing vision of Christ and the church, our biblical knowledge may become a damaging factor.
It is doubtful that we can accumulate an excess of riches from the Bible. If we try to share something, we will probably realize that we are not very rich. If we do not try to buy anything, we may think that a hundred dollars is a large sum of money. However, if we shop at a department store, we will see that a hundred dollars is very little. We do not need to purposely seek opportunities to release our riches. We only need to live Christ, grow Christ, and produce Christ. Then the Lord will lead us concerning where, when, and what to share to others. If we decide to visit other Christian groups to release our riches, we are making ourselves the lord. We have no right to make such a decision. Instead, we should pray, “Lord, I am Your servant. I live You, grow You, and produce You. Lord, whatever I do must be under Your command. If You do not direct me, I will not speak to anyone.” If the Lord leads us to speak to a certain person, we should simply follow His leading. When we speak to others under the Lord’s leading, whatever we need will come not only out of our accumulated knowledge of the Bible but also from the Lord’s instant supply. The Lord will instantly supply the words we need for such a living contact. This is the proper way to contact others. We do not need to make a decision to contact someone. If we simply live day by day in the Lord’s presence, He will lead us. In this way we respect His headship.
Question: Is it important to memorize verses from the Bible?
Answer: I am not against memorization, but the best and most helpful way to enter into the Word is not to memorize but to study. We should not memorize a verse without ever studying it. We need to study the meaning of each verse.
