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TEACHING — 1 Cor. 4:17; 7:17; 16:1; Acts 2:42; Rom. 16:17; 1 Tim. 1:3-4; 6:3; Eph. 4:13-14
PRACTICE — 1 Cor. 11:16; 14:33b-34
THINKING, SPEAKING — Phil. 2:2; 4:2; 1 Cor. 1:10; Rom. 15:6
ESSENCE, APPEARANCE, EXPRESSION — Rev. 1:11-12
The verses listed above show us a oneness in seven aspects: teaching, practice, thinking, speaking, essence, appearance, and expression. These aspects are not a doctrinal oneness but a oneness in our practice. There are another seven items concerning our oneness in doctrine: one God, one Lord, one Spirit, one church, one recovery, one testimony, and one work. The first three “ones” are the Triune God. Nearly all of us would agree with the seven aspects of oneness on the doctrinal side. If anyone would have a dissenting spirit, mind, or attitude concerning these seven aspects of the doctrinal oneness, it might be concerning the last one — the work. We may say that the work belongs either to doctrine or to practice. I like to classify the work on the doctrinal side because through my continuous observation I have discovered that few among us would dare to say that they are doing a work separate from the unique work for the Lord’s recovery. We all agree with this sevenfold oneness doctrinally concerning the one God, the one Lord, the one Spirit, the one church, the one recovery, and the one work.
Among the many denominations and groups in Christianity, none would dare to say that they have two Gods, two Lords, or two Spirits. They would argue doctrinally, however, concerning the church. They would say that we are all one church but that in practice it is impossible to have one church. To them it is necessary to have many churches — the Chinese church in the Philippines, in Malaysia, in Indonesia, in Thailand, and in California, and even the Anglican Church in China. When I was a young boy, I wondered how the Church of England could be in China. The various denominations and other groups in Christianity do not have the standing to proclaim “one church.” They have to admit to having different churches. The Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Arminian, and Protestant churches are the four major groups. Some among the Protestant churches are named after a leader, such as the Lutheran and Wesleyan churches.
Every kind of denomination bears its own testimony. The Baptist Church testifies for baptism by immersion, and the Presbyterian Church bears the testimony of their presbytery system to manage and administrate their churches. The Episcopal churches bear a testimony of controlling their churches by a hierarchy of bishops (bishop, from Latin episcopus). This hierarchy was also adopted by the Catholic Church, which has the pope at the top of its hierarchy. Because of all these different testimonies, there are spontaneously different kinds of works. There are different churches with different testimonies by different works. We do not admit that there are many churches in existence. All those “churches” are not churches in reality but denominations. They are denominated sects. They are not the testimony of Jesus, which John refers to in Revelation (1:2, 9; 12:17; 19:10; 20:4). According to the Bible, we can only recognize that there is one church with one testimony by one recovery today. We have to admit to there being one God, one Lord, one Spirit, one church, one testimony, and one recovery. Also, it is impossible for us to have more than one work. There must be one work on the earth today.
I fully realize that there is nearly no problem among us concerning these seven aspects of the doctrinal oneness, but I also realize that we do have problems concerning the sevenfoldness of the practical oneness. I am concerned that not many of us have thought about the seven aspects of the practical oneness. I believe that the people in the recovery are thoughtful. In the recovery there should not be anyone who is unreasonable, illogical, unthoughtful, or unfair. As those who are reasonable, logical, thoughtful, and fair, I would ask you to consider these seven aspects listed at the beginning of this chapter.
The Bible tells us that we need to be one in teaching, practice, speaking, and even thinking. Some may feel that this is too much and that this is the controlling of people’s thinking. They may feel that this is not workable in such a democratic age, especially in a country like the United States. The Americans practice democracy and grow up in an environment where nearly everybody expresses his own feeling. None of us should follow the recovery blindly, foolishly, or ignorantly. We need a sober consideration of the truth in the Bible. One may consider that to be one in speaking is somewhat against the First Amendment of freedom of speech. If you want to remain in your status as an American citizen, you are through with the recovery because the recovery does not practice many speakings. The recovery allows only one kind of speaking. I have a question as to whether or not we in the recovery are really one in speaking.
The last three items that we need to be one in practically are related to the golden lampstands in Revelation 1:11-12. The seven lampstands do not have more than one essence and one substance. The pure gold is the unique substance of the lampstands. Within one substance there can be only one essence. All the lampstands should furthermore be one in appearance. At this point in the Lord’s recovery I seriously question whether all the churches have the same appearance. The lampstands all have one substance, which is gold, and they all have one form, one shape. The seven lampstands are identical in appearance. If you do not number them, it is impossible to tell them apart. They all look exactly the same.
The Brethren insisted on having separated local assemblies, and they even taught that all the local assemblies should not resemble one another to encourage them to be different. That was their boast. Sometimes they purposely practiced something to show people that one assembly was different from another. They wanted to show people that they were not catholic. They said that the churches having a uniform appearance was something of the Catholic Church. They said that the churches should be different based upon the fact that each epistle to the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3 is different from the others. This is absolutely right. All seven epistles are different from one another, but they are different in negative things. The particular characteristic of the church in Ephesus was the loss of the first love (2:4). The church in Pergamos became worldly; worldliness was their particular characteristic (v. 13). The specific, particular characteristics of the apostate church in Thyatira were Jezebel, idol worship, fornication, and adultery (vv. 20-22). The characteristic of the church in Sardis was deadness (3:1), and the characteristic of the church in Laodicea was lukewarmness (v. 16).
The churches are different from one another in negative things, but the lampstands in Revelation 1, among whom Christ as the Head was walking, are altogether identical. They all look the same. They are uniquely one in their essence, in their appearance, in their form, and in their expression. Each lampstand has seven lamps to express it, and all the seven expressions are uniquely identical. Do we follow the negative side, or do we stand for the positive side? Based upon the wrong teaching of the Brethren, their assemblies are encouraged to have different appearances. This kind of poison may still remain unconsciously or subconsciously in the minds of some of us. Some may doubt or question the fact that the appearance of the churches should be the same, thinking that we are going to unify all the local churches to carry on a kind of “catholic” church.
My burden is to look into the real situation in the Lord’s recovery regarding the practices. We have to study this. We are not carrying out the Lord’s recovery in a way to blind people’s eyes. We are doing our best to open everyone’s eyes. I have been kept in the recovery for over half a century with much consideration and observance. If you believe the Bible, you have to admit that we should be one in teaching, practice, thinking, speaking, essence, appearance, and expression. There is not a verse in the Bible that even gives us a small hint that allows the churches to have different appearances. Some may say that God does not care for the appearance, but Paul tells us to abstain from the appearance, from the form, of evil (1 Thes. 5:22, KJV). Even in sinful things God takes care of the appearance. If a brother stays in a closed, dark, and even locked room with a female for three hours, he may still declare he has a pure conscience and is not sinful. God knows the heart, but other people do not. Because God cares for the appearance, He tells us to abstain from every form of evil. God not only cares for the essential and substantial reality of the lampstand but also for its shape, its form. It has to be in the shape of a lamp; otherwise, it cannot be called the lampstand. The recovery must have a proper appearance; otherwise, it is not the recovery.
The recovery does not have a creed. From the very beginning of the Lord’s recovery in mainland China, Brother Nee declared that the Bible with its sixty-six books is our creed. The recovery does not have different, single doctrines. It has only one whole Bible. We have come back to the Bible. There were two slogans practiced by the Brethren in their early days — back to the Body and back to the Bible. They used these slogans but did not practice them in full. Then they set up their teachings. We do not like to set up our teachings, but we like to open up the pure Word of God to the Lord’s people.
The local churches having one appearance today is doubtful and questionable. I also have a question concerning the churches bearing one expression. What kind of expression do the brothers from Germany, England, Brazil, and Taiwan see when they come to the churches in the United States? Do they see the same one expression? If they do not, we are not properly compressed into the golden lampstands, because all seven lampstands bear one, unique expression. There is no difference at all between the expression of these seven lampstands. Their expressions are also uniquely identical. I heard from some that certain places in the United States have different tastes and different colors. If we have different colors and tastes, we unconsciously annul what we proclaim to be.
I want to have a thorough fellowship with you concerning what I have seen in the recovery. Many of you can testify that the recovery I brought to the United States was altogether one in teaching, in practice, in thinking, in speaking, in essence, in appearance, and in expression. Although we are not promoting a so-called catholic church, the denotation, connotation, and significance of the word catholic is altogether proper. The word catholic, however, was damaged and applied wrongly. We are not promoting anything of that kind of apostate Catholic Church, but we are here carrying out the Lord’s recovery of the proper church life. According to our over sixty years of study, the proper church life has to be one in teaching, practice, thinking, speaking, essence, appearance, and expression. You may proclaim that what you do and what you stand for is the recovery, but the way of your thinking, speaking, practice, appearance, and expression annuls your declaration. It does not confirm your declaration. The recovery does not bear more than one expression. What do people see, taste, and smell when they come to your locality?
When some rose up to oppose the ministry in 1959 in Taiwan, I told them that I sacrificed my whole life for the way of the Lord’s recovery and would never change my way. I told them that if they did not feel that this was the right way, they should take their own way. I also said that they should not remain in the recovery pretending to be something. At that time I was giving a message on John 2, where the Lord told the Jews, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (v. 19). I told the saints that if this is my work, it has to be torn down, but if this is the work of the Lord, you cannot tear it down. The more you tear down this work, the more this work will be resurrected.
It has been twenty-seven years since I spoke that word, and history has shown that those who opposed the ministry were divided again and again. I warned them that if they would not take my word, they would be divided endlessly, and this has been the history. The work of the Lord’s recovery, though, on the island of Taiwan has been solidly founded and very much blessed by the Lord. I cannot protect the Lord’s divine glory. Only He Himself can do that. What I can do is to bring the recovery to you all and tell you the truth concerning the different aspects of the recovery. This is my word of love, my word of warning. As those who are taking care of the churches and participating in the recovery, you have to realize that the recovery of the genuine church life is altogether, absolutely, wholly, and ultimately one in teaching, in practice, in thinking, in speaking, in essence, in appearance, and in expression.
First Corinthians 4:17; 7:17; and 16:1 indicate that Paul taught all the churches the same thing. All the churches were under one teaching, the teaching of the apostles (Acts 2:42). Whatever I have been teaching is the teaching of the apostles. I do not desire to pass on anything of myself, but whatever I have ministered is altogether according to the apostles’ teaching. I do not have my own teaching. My teaching is a part of the apostles’ teaching, the unique teaching. The three thousand who were added to the church on the day of Pentecost continued steadfastly in the apostles’ teaching. Paul carried on the same teaching. The Lord’s word in John 16 tells us that He would have more to speak when He came back as the Spirit of reality (vv. 12-13). The teaching of the apostles was completed by Paul’s teaching. Paul told us clearly in Colossians 1:25 that his ministry was to complete the word of God, which means to complete the teaching of the apostles, to complete the revelation of the New Testament. I had no part in this completion work, so I do not add anything to the apostles’ teaching.
I must testify that the Lord has given me many visions (Ezek. 1:1; Acts 2:17) but not visions like those of Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism. The visions I have received all come from the printed pages of the Bible. I reject, condemn, and even curse any teaching that is not from or that is not according to these printed pages. I only take whatever is revealed in the Bible, so whatever I minister is not my teaching but the apostles’ teaching. The apostles do not include me, because the teaching of the apostles, who gave the complete revelation of God, has been fully completed.
After the final writing of John the apostle, the book of Revelation, the entire divine revelation had been completed. It is in this final book that the Lord through John testifies concerning the words of this book: “If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this scroll; and if anyone takes away from the words of the scroll of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and out of the holy city, which are written in this scroll” (22:18-19). Only the book of Revelation declares this, because this was the Lord Jesus’ declaration at the very end of His holy, divine revelation. After its completion the Lord Jesus, the One who was qualified to open the scroll of the new covenant (5:4-5), declares that this is the end. After the book of Revelation, no one has any position to add anything or to take away anything, because the divine revelation has been fully finished and completed.
Today very few would add something to the revelation, but many are deducting something. Too many deductions have transpired already. Some cut off any portion of the Word that does not fit their understanding. No doubt, they will suffer loss (1 Cor. 3:15). They will lose the participation in the tree of life and in the blessing of the eternal, holy city. I dare not add anything. Please do not think that I am passing on my teaching. I dare not have any teaching. I am not teaching anything of my thought or my invention. I am teaching the Bible; I am teaching the teaching of the apostles. Paul instructed the church in Corinth to do what he had directed the churches of Galatia to do (1 Cor. 16:1), so all the churches under Paul’s ministry were one in the apostles’ teaching (Acts 2:42).
Romans 16:17 tells us that some “make divisions and causes of stumbling contrary to the teaching which you have learned.” “The teaching which you have learned” is the teaching of the apostles. Since I came to the United States, whatever I have ministered to you has been something of the apostles’ teaching, and you have to learn of this. Be cautious of anyone who would cause you to practice in a way that is contrary to the teaching of the apostles.
In 1 Timothy 1:3-4 there are two main points: (1) do not teach different things; and (2) the economy of God is in faith. Paul urged Timothy to remain in Ephesus to charge certain ones not to teach different things. In other words, do not teach anything that differs from the apostles’ teaching. The apostles’ teaching is not the teaching on a particular doctrine, like baptism by immersion. This is a little part of the apostles’ teaching, but it is not the main thing, the central lane. The main thing, the central lane, of the apostles’ teaching is God’s economy, not the economy of the Old Testament of the law but God’s economy in faith, His New Testament economy. The constituents of God’s New Testament economy are the very person of Christ, the very redemptive work of Christ, and the very reproduction of Christ and His work, the church.
I did not come to you to teach you baptism by immersion, tongue-speaking, healing, types, or prophecies. Many of you can testify that when I touch typology and prophecy, I touch them with much stress on Christ, on His redemptive work, and on His church, the Body, as the reproduction of His being and His work. These are the categories of all my teachings throughout the years. This is the teaching of the apostles. Any stress or emphasis on things other than these major items in the central lane have to be considered as different teachings.
If you read 1 Timothy 1 carefully, you can realize that what was condemned by the apostle as different teachings was not altogether heresy. Some taught things from the Old Testament, such as genealogies (v. 4) and the law given by God to Moses (vv. 7-8). The law is not heresy, but to teach the law is a different teaching from the teaching of the apostles. Different teachings stress something other than Christ and the church. To be one in teaching is to be uniquely one in the teaching of the apostles, not in the minor things such as the presbytery, the gifts, baptism by immersion, foot-washing, head covering, or the ordinances of the Lord’s table. We should not stress things that are not so crucial to the central lane of God’s New Testament economy. We should not ignore them, but if we are taking care of the apostles’ teaching, they should not be the emphasis of our teaching.
First Timothy 6:3 says, “If anyone teaches different things and does not consent to healthy words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the teaching which is according to godliness.” The healthy words are those of our Lord Jesus Christ. Has the Lord Jesus ever stressed baptism by immersion? Has He ever stressed healing? Has He ever stressed tongue-speaking, gifts, presbytery, foot-washing, or head covering? The answer to these questions is no. John 14—17 and Matthew 5—7 and 24—25 are the stress of the Lord’s teaching. These are the healthy words of the Lord Jesus. If any one of us would stress something based upon the Scripture yet other than what the Lord stressed, that would be a different teaching.
First Timothy 6:3 also refers to the teaching, which is according to godliness. This is the teaching of the apostles after the Lord’s ascension, which is mainly Paul’s teaching. First Timothy 3:16 tells us that the great mystery of godliness is God manifested in the flesh, which is first Christ and then the church as the continuation of Christ’s manifestation of God in the flesh. The teaching which is according to godliness, the teaching of the apostle Paul, is altogether regarding the church as the great mystery of godliness. First Timothy 6:3 covers the Lord’s words in the four Gospels plus all that He has been speaking since His ascension through His apostles from Acts through Revelation. If we are teaching things other than what the New Testament stresses, we are teaching differently, and it will be hard for us to be really one. If we have many different teachings, we will also have many different practices resulting in division. It would then be impossible to have the one accord, the oneness.
In Ephesians 4:13-14 “the oneness of the faith” and the “wind of teaching” are mentioned. The faith is the contents of the complete gospel according to God’s New Testament economy. Whatever the Lord spoke in the four Gospels and whatever He continued to speak in Acts and in the Epistles through the apostles is the faith. The very contents of the New Testament are the very contents of God’s New Testament economy as the faith in which we have our belief. We all need to arrive at this faith, so we should not stress the different winds of different teachings. If you would be carried about by the winds of teaching, this indicates that you are still a little child according to Ephesians 4:14.
We are not for the teachings that can be considered as winds, but we are for the oneness of the unique faith that is the very contents of God’s New Testament economy. To have different teachings in the Lord’s recovery is altogether not authentic. We have to keep the principle of one teaching, not my teaching or your teaching but the teaching of the apostles. Our one teaching has to be the teaching that is our faith, the very contents of which are the New Testament, the very constituents of God’s New Testament economy. This is the teaching that we should pass on, and this is the teaching all the churches should take and should remain in. By this way we surely can be one in one teaching. We will not carry out anything different, which would produce different divisions.
There are two portions in 1 Corinthians concerning head covering and concerning women’s ministry that show our need to be one in practice. There were many different thoughts concerning the matter of head covering, but Paul told the saints in 11:16 not to be contentious concerning this: “If anyone seems to be contentious, we do not have such a custom of being so, neither the churches of God.” The custom spoken of here is the custom of contention, disputation, and debating. Neither the apostles nor the churches tolerated any disputation concerning the apostles’ teaching. The plurality of the churches here indicates that all the local churches are independent of one another, yet they all act in the same way according to the apostles’ teaching. The practice of all the churches should be uniquely one.
First Corinthians 14:33b-34 says, “As in all the churches of the saints, the women should be silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak; but they should be subject, even as the law also says.” This indicates that all the local churches should be the same in practice. This prohibition of the sisters speaking in the church means that women are not permitted to teach with authority concerning the defining of doctrine (cf. 11:5; Acts 2:17-18; 21:9; 1 Tim. 2:12 see footnote 342 in 1 Cor. 14, Recovery Version). The two practices concerning head covering and concerning women’s ministry confirm that all the churches should be one in the same kind of unique practice.
Romans 15:6 tells us that we should be “with one accord” and “with one mouth.” The word accord includes the mind, will, and purpose in the soul and the heart. We need to have one mind and one mouth. This means that we have only one Head because only the head has a mouth and a mind. We all take the Lord Jesus as the Head. Only He is fully qualified to have the mind and to have the mouth. We do not have the right, because we are members of the Body. We do not have the mouth or the mind, so we have to think with the mind of Christ (Phil. 2:2, 5; 4:2). Then we have to speak with the mouth of the Head. The mouth has only one head.
If we considered this matter, we would not speak so loosely or freely; we would not speak whatever we like. You may like to speak something that the Head does not like. You are not the mouth. In the whole universe there is only one new man, and the one new man has only one Head with one Body. The mouth is not on the Body but with the Head. We must learn to not speak things so easily. Your speaking interferes with or profanes the mouth of the Head. You do not have any mouth. What the church has as the mouth is the mouth of the Head.
What does it mean that we all have one mind and one mouth? This means, “It is no longer I...but...Christ who lives in me” (Gal. 2:20a). It is no longer I but Christ the Head who lives in me. He has a mouth, He has a mind, and I take Him as my person, so I would never use my mouth any longer to speak anything. Who could believe that so many millions of Christians with different languages could have one mouth? The Bible tells us this, and we need to practice the one mouth to be one in speaking.
The sign of the lampstands in Revelation 1:11-12 shows us that the churches need to be one in essence, appearance, and expression. In the lampstand we can see the Father as the gold substance with the essence; the Son as the embodiment with a definite form, shape, and style; and the seven Spirits as the seven lamps expressing the lampstand. The lampstand is a very complete consummation of the Triune God. Every local church must be such an expression. The very essence of the substance of every church should be God the Father; and the form, the appearance, the shape, and the style of every church must be the very embodiment of the Triune God, which is our dear Lord Jesus Christ. We should not have any other kind of appearance. Are we a group of people merely teaching others the Bible? Are we a group of people in evangelical activity? Are we a group of people teaching tongue-speaking and other gifts? Are we people who bear the testimony of the healing power? What is the appearance of your local church? It has to be the appearance of the all-inclusive Christ.
Every local church should be in the unique appearance, in the unique form, shape, and style of that unique One who is not only the Son of God but also the Son of Man. The Son of God was His essence on this earth, and the Son of Man was His appearance. While He was walking on this earth, His very essence within was the Son of God, and His appearance outwardly was the Son of Man. When He was walking among the lampstands, He was the Son of Man. John said that he saw “One like the Son of Man” (v. 13). We must bear such an appearance. We must have such a shape, such a style, such a form, that is the real appearance, the form, of Jesus Christ.
A local church should not have the appearance of Bible teachings. This might be a very good appearance, but it should not be the appearance of the local church. The local church’s appearance should be uniquely the form, the style, and the shape of the Lord Jesus, the unique Son of Man. Then our expression must be the shining of the sevenfold intensified Spirit as the ultimate consummation of the Triune God. This is our expression, which is the very testimony of Jesus Christ.
