Search
The Lord has shown us much concerning the central lane of Paul’s completing ministry. I believe that the revelation and vision concerning God’s eternal purpose in the central lane of Paul’s completing ministry has never been opened as thoroughly and as clearly as it has been opened today among us. However, it is one thing to see the vision, and it is another thing to live in the vision. We may receive the vision yet not be in the reality of the vision. Today, among the many local churches in the Lord’s recovery, there are few problems, and the situation is pleasant and encouraging. Nevertheless, we need to realize that our living does not adequately match what we have seen. We have seen the central lane of Paul’s completing ministry, but we do not have the living to correspond with our vision. This is a great need.
Since the first century the central lane of Paul’s completing ministry has been included in the Scriptures. We thank the Lord for Paul’s fourteen Epistles. What needs to be recovered today is mainly the things revealed in Paul’s ministry, which is strengthened by John’s mending ministry. John’s ministry mentions the lampstands, which are the local churches (Rev. 1—3), but without Paul’s ministry as a basis, we could not understand much about the church. The basic revelation concerning the church is in Paul’s writings. Only Paul’s Epistles reveal the great mystery — Christ as the mystery of God and the church as the mystery of Christ (Col. 2:2; Eph. 3:4; 5:32). What has been lost in the past centuries is mostly the revelation in Paul’s Epistles. Therefore, the purpose of the Lord’s recovery up to the present has been mainly to recover this revelation. We should not think that we already see the full revelation in Paul’s Epistles. We need to see much more. Paul’s Epistles are like a great field that contains many riches. We still need to explore this field. The Lord used Brother Watchman Nee to lay a foundation in His recovery, and He has been going on based on that foundation.
We need to humble ourselves to see that there is a shortage in our daily life of a practical living according to the vision that we have seen in Paul’s Epistles. We need to see still more of this vision, but we already see more than we are practicing in our daily living. On the one hand, we have seen something, at least doctrinally, concerning the central lane of Paul’s completing ministry, but on the other hand, we are short of a daily living that matches what the Lord has shown us. Although we have seen something, we do not pay adequate attention to what we have seen. As leading ones, we are often distracted by outward things, such as our work or the problems in the local churches. Actually, such problems are mainly due to a lack of living Christ.
Our daily walk does not adequately correspond to our vision concerning the central lane of Paul’s completing ministry. When I recently visited a church, a leading brother took me to see the church’s new meeting hall. However, my burden is not for the churches to build meeting halls but for all the saints to live Christ. Of course, meeting halls are useful and necessary, but what the Lord wants in His recovery is not our building of halls but our living of Christ. Our primary concern should not be anything outward but whether we are living the self or living Christ.
We should not be satisfied with merely knowing the truth; we must also seek to experience it. Our living should not remain the same after listening to many messages. Some saints begin to talk in a secular way as soon as a meeting is dismissed. This kind of talk is like the birds in Matthew 13:4 and 19 that come to snatch away the word. Recently, based on Romans 8:4, we saw the matter of walking according to the spirit. To see this is a great help, but we need to consider whether we are daily practicing to walk according to the spirit. To walk according to the spirit is to live Christ. The Lord wants a people who have such a walk and such a living.
Through the years the churches have had some growth in life, yet our living of Christ is not adequate. Moreover, our growth is slow because our living is short. Our growth may be helped or frustrated by our living. Thus, we should not be satisfied to see some growth in life; we must seek to have a proper living, which will produce normal growth. Our living needs to match our vision.
When the leading ones meet in the various localities, they should pray and fellowship concerning their living of Christ in their daily lives. Our real responsibility is our living, and our living should be according to the spirit. As leading ones, we know from our experience that when we are living Christ, we are best able to care for the church. We must see the need for our living to match our vision.
