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Scripture Reading: 1 Tim. 5:17; 3:5; Acts 20:17, 28
All the verses above show that the church is managed by the elders. The light concerning the elders’ administration of the church has been received and practiced by us for many years. Thank the Lord that during the past years, not only has the Lord set up many local churches, but He has set up a number of elders in each local church. This has been especially true in many places in Taiwan during the past ten years. Everywhere, brothers who love the Lord, who are willing to pay the price, and who are concerned for the Lord’s children have been raised up to manage the house of God with diligence and faithfulness. We cannot help but bow down to worship the Lord for this.
However, although these brothers have been constrained by the Lord’s love to manage the house of God, due to the fact that they have never done this before, they are at a loss both in their understanding of the biblical principles and, in addition, in their practice as to how to manage the church. The worldly method has indeed been rejected, and the natural wisdom has been reckoned worthless. But where is the proper way for the management of a church? For this reason the brothers serving as elders in the different places have often come to me to express their frustrations. They begged me to say something concerning the matter of the management of the church. This cry has become all the more urgent as the number of churches is multiplying rapidly.
For this reason I deeply feel that I should take this opportunity at this time, when most of the elders are here, to consider this matter in a thorough way. Perhaps this will help the management of the churches in all the places. Of course, due to the limitation in time we cannot take care of every aspect. We can point out only the most important subjects and cover them in fifteen chapters.
In the first chapter we will begin by covering the matter of the knowledge of an elder — what an elder has to know. Although this title is very simple, what it entails is very broad. There are many, many things that an elder has to know. We cannot cover all the items. We will bring out only a few items that are related particularly to the elders’ management of the church.
The first thing that the elders should know is God’s plan for the church. In order for an elder to manage a church properly, obviously he must first know God’s desire and plan for the church. If the elders lack knowledge in this matter, their administration of the church will surely be unsatisfactory both to others and to God. Although many elders are faithfully and diligently serving the church, their oversight of the church is often unsatisfactory to God because they do not have adequate knowledge concerning God’s plan for the church. Why does God want to have a church on earth? Why is it that in the New Testament age God desires to set up churches in every locality? If the elders are not clear concerning this vision and revelation and are not definite concerning this goal, it will be difficult to proceed with anything else in a proper way.
It is not enough for an elder to feel that since the Lord has granted him mercy and has set him up as one caring for the church, he would readily accept this arrangement of the Lord and would henceforth serve faithfully and diligently. This attitude is indeed commendable, but as far as knowledge is concerned, it is still very inadequate. An elder must have a very clear revelation and thorough vision concerning the position, the importance, the process, and the consummation of the church in God’s plan. Only then will he know what the church is that he is managing and what is its position and nature. Only when an elder acquires such knowledge will his management be up to God’s standard.
God’s plan for the church is a big subject. We have to point out this matter in a brief way.
First, we must know that from eternity past God has desired to have a Body for the expression of His Son. In other words, God desires to gain a Body for His Son, and this Body is for the expression of His Son. The Bible shows that the Son of God is very great, full, abundant, and rich. Everything that God is, is in His Son. The more you read the Bible, the more you feel the fullness and the abundance of God Himself; they are truly unlimited. His love is an unlimited fullness. His wisdom is an unlimited fullness. His glory is an unlimited fullness. His power is an unlimited fullness. All that He is in Himself is unlimited fullness. This is beyond man’s imagination and measurement. According to Colossians 2, all this fullness of God dwells in His Son, Christ, bodily. For this reason God desires to have a Body for His full Christ so that all the fullness can be manifested in the universe. This Body is the church. Hence, God plans to have a church for no other reason than for it to be the Body of His Son in the universe so that His Son can have a full expression in and through this Body.
Brothers, if you see this vision, it will be a tremendous deliverance for you. You will be delivered from the common religious concept of Christianity. Many Christians think that to believe in the Lord is for deliverance from hell so that they can go to heaven: if anyone fears God today and pleases Him, he will be blessed and will receive peace and prosperity. Some Christians have further knowledge; they realize that a person has to be zealous, to love the Lord, and to learn to be spiritual. But all these are common religious concepts of many Christians. If we have the vision concerning God’s plan for the church, we will see clearly that it is not enough to help others to be saved. It is not enough to help others pursue spirituality and love the Lord. God’s plan in the universe is to have a church. This church is the living Body of the Son of God. In this Body He is expressed. For this matter there is no distinction between something on earth today and something in heaven in the future.
There is a concept in Christianity today that is basically wrong. Man considers the church to be something on earth today and in heaven in the future. I fully agree that in God’s salvation there is such a thing as going to heaven. I do not deny that there is such a thing. Yet I do not like the expression going to heaven. What God wants is a Body for His Son, and this Body is to be the expression of the Son. This concept of God has no element of time or space in it. He never considers whether it is to be on earth or in heaven, or whether it is to be for today or for the future. He has only one concept, which is to gain a group of people in His created universe — including both time and space — to be the mystical Body of His Son, in order that His Son would have an expression in this Body. He is not concerned with the question of whether it is in heaven or on earth, today or in the future. He has absolutely no concept of this sort. If the Son of God is to be expressed in this Body in the future, so much more does He want to be expressed today. If the Son of God is to be expressed in this Body in heaven, much more does He need to be expressed on earth. Every elder should have such knowledge. The church is the Body that God seeks after for His Son in His plan, for the purpose of expressing Him in the universe. This does not have to wait until the future to come into being. It is here today. We do not have to wait until we go to heaven to see it. It should be here on earth.
We thank the Lord that He raised up the British Brethren one hundred years ago. They saw much light concerning God’s plan, the church, and the second coming of Christ. But we have to point out that the Brethren went too far in putting God’s plan off until the future through the application of prophecies. If you look at the reference Bible of Dr. Scofield, whose teachings were mostly from the Brethren, you will realize that he has pushed the prophecies too far to the extreme, to the extent that he even made a distinction between the visible and the invisible church. According to his teaching, the visible church has some true elements and some false elements; only the invisible church is all true. Some elements of the visible church are fleshly, whereas some are spiritual, but the invisible church is all spiritual. The visible church is on earth, and the invisible church is in heaven. It is unavoidable and tolerable for the visible church to be divided and denominated, for when the invisible church comes, all divisions will disappear. Dear brothers and sisters, this is not the teaching of the Bible. You cannot find such teaching at all in the Bible. The Bible says that the church is the Body of Christ and that it has no distinction between the present and the future, or between earthly and heavenly. If the church will be the Body of Christ in the future, so much more it is today.
We agree that there is a second coming of the Lord Jesus. We also agree that the church will be raptured. But it is not only when the rapture of the church occurs that the nature and function of the church are realized. It is something for today. Every elder has to know God’s plan for the church to such an extent. Otherwise, the management of the church will be affected. All the service has to be controlled by this vision. If you do not have a clear vision concerning God’s plan, you will not be able to come up to the standard of God’s plan in your management of the church. In order for the church to come up to the standard of God’s plan, you must surely have such a vision. Only by being under the control of such a vision can there be the service according to the standard of such a vision.
In God’s plan He desires to have a Body for His Son in the universe. Yet in a practical way, God desires those who are part of this Body to become churches in the different localities. God desires that each one of these churches be a miniature and a representation, in the different localities, of the mystical Body of the Son of God. This kind of understanding is very much lacking among Christians today. Even some who are very much for the pursuit of spirituality neglect this fact.
In the first point we talked about the universal church. In the second point we are talking about the local church. An elder must have this twofold knowledge concerning God’s plan for the church. He must know the universal church, and he must also know the local church. In other words, he must know the church in its universal aspect, and he must know the church in its local aspect. Never consider the universal church to be one kind of church and the local church to be another kind of church. There is only one church. Collectively speaking, it is the universal church, and locally speaking, it is the local churches. Strictly speaking, the local churches are the universal church. The universal church is simply the sum total of the local churches, and the local churches are simply the local manifestations of the universal church. Without the local churches, there cannot be the universal church. When the elders are managing the local churches, they are managing the universal church.
God’s plan is to have a church in the universe as the Body of His Son for His expression. However, to carry out this plan, He has to set up local churches in the different localities. If He does not set up churches in the different localities, God’s universal plan for the church will be only an empty ideal with no way to be carried out. In order to carry out this plan, God has to set up churches in the different localities.
If you grasp hold of these two points, you will be clear when you read the New Testament again. There is a great vision in the New Testament that tells how the church as the Body of Christ is the expression of the Son of God. This concerns God’s plan in the universe. On the other hand, the New Testament shows that the church appears in the localities. It is in the different localities that God’s plan is realized. Every elder should have a clear knowledge concerning all these matters. This is the elders’ knowledge concerning the church. Of course, there are a number of matters connected with this subject, such as the question of denominations, the question of the ground, and the nature of the church. We will not go into these other things. Here we only emphasize the church as the Body of Christ in God’s plan for the expression of Christ and the church practiced on earth in the different localities.
Every elder should realize in a sober and profound way that the eldership is a matter of government in the church. We all know that another name for the elders is the overseers. The word elder refers to the person, and the word overseer refers to the office. As far as the person is concerned, these ones are the older and more mature ones. As far as their office is concerned, they work as overseers. The office of overseership is a part of God’s government in the universe. For this reason the elders must know about God’s government.
In the New Testament there are a few ministers of the word, each with his own characteristics. The center of Paul’s ministry is the church. The center of John’s ministry is the house of God. It deals with God as the Father and the saved ones as the children of God. Although Peter’s Epistles are not as numerous as those of Paul or as the writings of John, he is nevertheless a great minister of the word. Peter’s ministry deals exclusively with God’s government, which is God’s administration. Among the Lord’s children today, many know that Paul’s ministry is concerning the church, and many others know that John’s ministry is about the house of God. But there are very few people who know that Peter’s ministry is on God’s government or administration.
Because the church has been degraded, whenever the word government or administration is mentioned, some begin to wonder immediately if this is Roman Catholicism. For this reason, among most Protestant Christians, and particularly among the more spiritual ones, there is a common concept that it is better to have no government and no administration than to have one. To them, as long as you understand that the church is the Body of Christ and the house of God, it is good enough. All that is needed is to help others to love the Lord and be spiritual. As long as others are helped to have the life of God and to walk before the Lord, everything is all right. To them, there is no need to have anything like government. But, brothers and sisters, we are not more wise than God. In the universe there is such a thing as the government of God and the administration of God. This is something ordained by God, and we cannot neglect it.
In the Bible the kingdom is a matter of government. The kingdom of God is the government of God. It is also the administration of God. Today the universe is in disorder because God’s government has not been honored. The elders should not only see that in the universe there is God’s salvation, God’s church, and God’s house; they must further see that in the universe there is God’s government and God’s administration. God is not a God of confusion. He is not a God without principle and rule. God is a God with principles, rules, order, and discipline. For this reason God must establish His administration and government in the universe.
Every book of the Bible shows God’s government and administration. Consider the story of the Israelites leaving Egypt to pass through the wilderness to enter Canaan. Whether in the book of Exodus or in Numbers, we can see a very tightly knit coordination and building. This coordination and building is fully under God’s government and administration. Among the Israelites, there was a situation full of God’s government and administration. God did not let one thing get by loosely. Not one thing was handled in a sloppy way. We do not see one instance where God told the Israelites, “Do as you please!” Instead, everything great or small was under God’s government and administration. Even minute details concerning the manner in which to wash themselves, the way to wash their clothes, and the way to shave their beards were not left to the choice of the Israelites. This was the Old Testament. Does this mean then that in the church God has no more government and administration? This cannot be true. In the New Testament every aspect of God’s dealing with the church is under His government and administration. When the New Testament mentions the church, on the one hand, there are words full of life and the Spirit. On the other hand, there are also words full of government and administration.
In order to manage a church properly, an elder has to know that God desires to execute His government in the universe through the church. The church is definitely not a place without government and administration. The church in the New Testament is a place where there is very much government and administration. You can read about the government of the church in the book of Romans. You can also read about the government of the church in the Epistles to the Corinthians. You can even read about the government of the church in Ephesians, 1 and 2 Timothy, and Titus. There is hardly a book among the New Testament Epistles that does not touch the government of the church.
Even before the Epistles, in the Gospels the matter of government has been touched already. The Lord Jesus only spoke about the church briefly in two instances. The first time is in Matthew 16. There He said that upon this rock He would build His church, against which the gates of Hades shall not prevail. The other time is in Matthew 18. There it says that if a brother sins and refuses to repent, in spite of repeated exhortation, the matter should be brought to the church. If he refuses to listen to the church, he should be considered as a Gentile. Let me ask you, brothers and sisters: Is what the Lord mentioned here in Matthew 18 not a matter of government? Up until today, among God’s children it is still difficult to get rid of a feeling that a certain brother is weak, and therefore we have to be merciful to him, or that a brother has sinned, and therefore the Lord has to grant him mercy. But in Matthew 18 there was the Lord’s mercy, and there was also the spiritual guidance. In the end the problem was solved by the way of government. When a brother sins and you render him the help while the two of you are together, it is a spiritual matter. But when he refuses to repent and two or three would go to him to help him, it is partly a spiritual matter and partly a governmental matter. If he would not repent and the matter is told to the church, it becomes more a governmental matter than a spiritual one. When the church steps forth to deal with the matter and there is still no sign of repentance, and the person involved is considered a Gentile, it becomes fully a governmental matter. The whole thing becomes a matter of administration.
I am afraid many elders today do not have the concept of government. They only consider that they are serving together with the brothers and sisters and are having spiritual fellowship one with another. On the one hand, this kind of humility is correct. On the other hand, it is very wrong. Every elder has to see that God has His government in the universe, and He also has His government in the church. Everyone who lacks a vision concerning God’s government will be unable to serve satisfactorily as an elder before God. God has His government in the universe; hence, He must also have His government in the church.
In order for the elders to know God’s government, they must first know God’s authority. Without authority, there is no government. Government is absolutely a matter of authority. How can there be government and administration without authority? The matter of administration is a matter of authority. In the universe God’s administration hinges on His authority. Whenever we mention the administration of a church by the elders, we should immediately have the concept of authority. Today, however, due to the degraded background of Roman Catholicism on the one hand, and the so-called democracy of the age on the other hand, God’s children do not like to hear about the matter of authority. Once the matter of authority is brought up, immediately people question whether we are in Roman Catholicism or whether we are having a pope again. It seems that among the Lord’s children, once authority is mentioned, they cannot have a democracy anymore. Some would even say that authority is now being assumed, as if authority is a matter to be condemned. Brothers and sisters, the pope should be condemned, and autocracy should be condemned, but authority can never be annulled. We have to see that in the universe, there is God’s administration, and there is God’s authority.
No matter how much man talks about democracy in these days, everywhere in the universe you are met with authority. Sometimes, man has stretched the meaning of democracy to such an extent as to make it an excuse for lawlessness. Yet he still cannot overturn authority. In the world and among human society, in everything you see the matter of authority. In the family there is authority, and in the school there is authority. In a business institution there is authority, and in the civil government there is authority. There is not a place where there is no authority. As a child, you have your parents as your authority. As a citizen, you have the government as your authority. As a student, there are the teachers and the principal above you. Even when you walk on the street, the traffic policeman is an authority to you. In the universe everywhere you will touch authority. But God’s children are so bold today as to say that the church does not need authority and that everyone is equal. What a strange thing this is! Therefore, we have to see that either we do not mention church administration at all, or we have to mention it by first touching the matter of authority. Without authority, there is no administration. In order for the elders to manage the church, on the one hand, they have to know God’s government in the universe; on the other hand, they have to know God’s authority in the universe.
We have seen that God has His government in the universe. We have to see that there is government also in the church. The New Testament revelation shows that the government of the church is very simple and practical: All the government of a church is entrusted to the elders. The elders are the government of the church. According to their spiritual stature, the elders are those who are mature and older. According to the affairs they handle, they are the overseers, which speaks of government and administration. Many times we consider the elders to be the leading ones, the shepherds, and those who take care of others. Seldom do we consider them to be the ones responsible for government. Please remember that shepherding, exercising care, and leading are all for government. The Bible has not called the elders teachers or shepherds. Although 1 Peter says that the elders should shepherd the flock, it does not call them shepherds. However, the Bible clearly calls the elders overseers (Phil. 1:1). Teacher is not a title ascribed to the elders, nor is shepherd a title ascribed to the elders. Only overseer is a title ascribed to the elders. The reason for this is that the elders are those responsible for government and administration. God set up elders in the church in order that they would manage and govern the church.
I would like the brothers and sisters to know that if the elders are truly managing and governing the church, the church will surely be strong. If the elders only shepherd and teach without managing, or if they are incapable of managing, the church will be weak. Even if it is strong and living for a while, the situation is not reliable and will not last long. In order for a local church to be strong, living, reliable, and stable, the elders must be able to govern and administer.
Perhaps the brothers would ask where in the Bible can we find the elders managing the church. In the New Testament, not only do we have examples, but we have the definite teaching as well. First Corinthians talks about the matter of excommunication. This is a matter of administration. First Timothy 3 says clearly that the elders are those who take care of, or manage, the church. First Corinthians 12 says that God appoints in the church apostles, prophets, and other kinds of people, including one kind that is for administration. Romans 12 says that those who lead should do so in diligence. The management and administration here speak of government.
In a locality where saints begin to meet, under normal circumstances, elders should be set up as soon as possible. This is the example of Acts 14. Not long after Paul had preached in Asia, he appointed elders in those churches. Without the elders, there will be no government in the church, and there will be no administration. The church will then be in confusion and will not be strong.
God’s government in the universe depends on God’s authority. In the same way, the church’s government also depends on the church’s authority. The New Testament shows clearly that the authority of the church is entrusted to the elders and is completely in the hands of the elders. Although the elders are appointed by the apostles, God has not entrusted the authority of the church to the hands of the apostles. The apostle Paul could set up elders in the church, but when the matter of excommunication was to be carried out, Paul did not have the direct authority to excommunicate others. The authority of excommunication was in the hands of the elders in Corinth. The apostles do not have direct authority to deal with matters of the church. All the authority in the church is entrusted to the elders.
Acts 15 shows that when one local church has a problem, and the problem is such that it affects the other churches, the question should be solved by the apostles and the elders together. In that particular instance in Jerusalem, the apostles did not make independent decisions apart from the elders. The apostles decided on the matter in conjunction with the elders. The reason for this is that the matter originated from the church in Jerusalem. Apart from the elders in Jerusalem, the apostles had no way to deal with the difficulty of the church there. Here we can see the importance of the elders’ authority. The apostles do not have direct authority to deal with affairs of a local church. The authority of a local church is fully in the hands of the elders.
I hope that the workers serving the different churches would be careful. Unless you are an elder in a local church, you have no authority to directly touch the affairs of the local church. Although some local churches have elders, the authority is in the hands of the workers; this is a big mistake. No matter how much help a worker renders to a local church, even if the church there has been established by him, if he is not an elder there, the authority of the church is not in his hands.
You could imagine that if there were no government in the universe and God’s authority were to be denied, the universe would surely be in chaos. In the same principle, if there is no authority or government in the church, it will also be improper, in chaos, weak, and off the track. If the spiritual condition of a church is normal, there will surely be government and authority. The government and authority there are the elders appointed by God in their midst.
I hope that the brothers and sisters would be delivered from the improper concept that considers this matter to be the Nicolaitans among us, or that this is the Diotrephes who loves to be the first, or that this is a contradiction of the teaching of Matthew 20. There the Lord says clearly that we should not be as the Gentiles, with rulers to lord over others. Rather, we are all brothers. Every time someone says this to me, I would answer him by saying that if he can rule over himself, then let him rule over himself. There is no need for others to rule over him. I encourage him to take this way of independence from the rule of others. I believe all of you know what I mean. One time I was in Manila, and an elderly sister came to me, saying, “Brother Lee, isn’t this talk about authority a way of manipulating everybody to submit to someone?” I smiled and answered, “In that case it would be better if you are the first one to refuse any obedience. Why should you be manipulated?” We have to see that there is a problem with our human concept. It is useless to argue in theory. What we need to see is the actual condition. Among God’s children, as soon as authority disappears, immediately the church will become very weak. There is a very clear light in the New Testament, which is that in the church there are the elders as the authority.
Last, we have to see that in the universe, only God is the direct authority to man. Other than God, all authorities are delegated. The parents represent God as the children’s authority, and the husbands represent God as the wives’ authority. The civil officers represent God as the citizens’ authority, and even the teachers in the schools, the managers in the offices, and the policemen on the streets are all delegated authorities. The elders in the church also represent God as authority. Today while living on earth, seldom do we live under God’s direct authority. Almost all the authorities that we submit to are delegated authorities. Please understand that to say that the church should have no authority amounts to saying that there should not be delegated authorities in the universe. But if this were the case, it would amount to the universe having no authority at all. The reason for this is that there are not many cases where God acts directly as authority. In almost all circumstances, God’s authority is delegated.
I would like the brothers and sisters to know that it is easy today for man to submit to God’s direct authority, but it is not easy to submit to the delegated authority God has appointed. The reason for this is that you may not consider the delegated authority better or stronger than you are. Right here, however, is the lesson you have to learn. The question is whether or not a certain one is a delegated authority in the universe. When you come to a local church, the elders there may not have been saved as long ago as you were. They may not be as spiritual as you are, may not have received as much education as you have received, and may not be as capable as you are. But when you are there, you have to accept that delegated authority and submit to it.
I say these words not to all the brothers and sisters but to the elders. The elders should know these things; only then will they be proper elders. This does not mean that you should be proud. It does not mean that you should boast that you are the authority of the church or that you are a delegated authority. If you do, that would be one of the ugliest things on earth. Every elder should know why there is the need of elders in the church. Why does God set up elders in the church? It is for no other reason than that the church would be strong on earth and would be delivered from the element of confusion and corruption. If you do not believe me, you only need to imagine what kind of confusion and corruption would come into a place if there were a city without any policemen or any law court. Hence, we should never despise that little bit of delegated authority. Of course, we all admit that human society is corrupt. Although human society is corrupt, nevertheless you cannot deny that a normal situation is established to a certain degree. This degree of normality is established by the delegated authority. If you were to overturn the police department, the whole city would immediately be thrown into turmoil, and much corruption would break out. In the same principle, we, the redeemed and regenerated ones, are children together in the house of God, serving the Lord in the church. If we were to remove from the church the delegated authority, the church would be thrown into a similar kind of confusion.
Hence, an elder has to know God’s plan for the church, and he also has to know God’s government and administration in the universe. Furthermore, he has to know God’s government and administration in the church. In the end he has to know that this authority in the church, like nearly all the other authorities in the universe, is a delegated authority and not a direct one. It is a great and glorious thing for an elder to be such a delegated authority in the plan of God.
