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Once we are saved, our status is completely changed. After our salvation there are many aspects to our status. For example, we are children of God in His household and citizens in His kingdom (Eph. 2:19). We are also priests of God. Revelation 1:5-6 and 5:9-10 say that God saved us in order to make us not only His people but also His priests. The basis for our service after we are saved is our status as priests.
Priests are a group of “professionals,” just as teachers, lawyers, doctors, and engineers specialize in a profession. Teachers specialize in teaching, doctors in healing the sick, lawyers in handling legal affairs, and engineers in construction work. Priests specialize in serving God. Serving God is the profession of priests.
In today’s Catholicism and degraded Protestantism only a minority of people serves as priests. In Catholicism there is a group of people called priests, and in Protestantism there is a group of people called pastors. These people specialize in serving God, that is, in being priests, but the rest of the people are not priests. This condition is altogether unscriptural. God’s speaking in the New Testament clearly unveils that every believer is a priest of God. God desires that all those who belong to Him would serve Him.
The Old Testament shows that God’s original intention was for all the children of Israel to serve Him as priests. According to Exodus 19:6, God wanted them to be a kingdom of priests, a kingdom in which every Israelite would be a priest. However, because they worshipped the idol at the foot of Mount Sinai, they fell from God’s goal, and God separated a group of people, the tribe of Levi, to be priests. As a result, there were two groups of people among the children of Israel — the priests and the congregation, the rest of the people.
In the New Testament, however, God no longer wants such an abnormal situation to exist. God has no intention of having a group of people who are priests and another group of people who are a congregation. Rather, God desires all the believers to be priests. Hence, in the New Testament, the saints are the priests, and the priests are saints. Nevertheless, the Roman Catholic Church brought the degraded condition and system of Judaism into the church and divided the saints into two classes — the clergy and the laity. This was a great mistake and heresy. It is sad that during the Reformation Martin Luther did not completely purge out this evil influence of Roman Catholicism. Hence, in today’s Protestantism there still remains the distinction between clergy and laity. Even to this day in the English-speaking world, the title of Rev., meaning “Reverend,” is added to the name of pastors. This is a confounding heresy. This does not come from the New Jerusalem but is a product of Babylon the Great. It is also a great offense to God. One who serves God in a proper way could never bear the title Reverend. Although there are some among us who serve full time, this refers only to a way of service. These ones are absolutely not clergy; hence, we should never add the title Reverend to their name or call them pastors. Every believer is a saint, a holy person, that is, one who serves God. We should never forget our status.
We are not saved to go to heaven but to be priests who serve God. When we were saved, we may not have been clear that God did not save us to go to heaven but to be priests to Him. Going to heaven may have been sufficient for us, but God wants us to be priests. Hence, not only do we have the status of priests (Rev. 1:6), but we are also a holy priesthood offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God (1 Pet. 2:5). All believers are priests.
The believers also have another status pertaining to service — they are slaves of God. We are not merely servants of God; we are slaves of God. Being a servant is general, but being a slave is specific. When we speak of a slave, we are referring to a person who has sold himself to be a bondservant (Exo. 21:5-6). Romans 6:22 and 1 Corinthians 7:22-23 say that we are slaves whom God bought with a great price. God is not only our God but also our Master. As priests we must serve God devotedly, and as slaves we must serve Him faithfully.
We have yet another status related to service — we are members of the Body of Christ. Romans 12:4-5 says that we are members one of another. Since we are members of the Body, we have certain functions. Just as every member in our body carries out its function, so also every member in the Body of Christ has its function. This function is to serve.
Our statuses after salvation — a priest, a slave, and a member of the Body of Christ — speak forth our need to serve God. These are our statuses for service.
Service is not only a matter of status but also a matter of life. In the universe every life bears a certain characteristic and does certain things. Plant life produces flowers and bears fruit. Animal life also has a particular behavior and living. This is an unalterable law. The life that we obtained through salvation is Christ Himself. This life also has its characteristics, one of which is holiness. For this reason whenever we lead a holy life, the life within us feels at ease, but whenever we do not lead a holy life, this life feels uncomfortable. This is because the life within us has the characteristic of being holy. Another characteristic of the life of Christ is love. Whenever we love others, the life within us feels comfortable, but whenever we hate and envy others, this life feels uneasy and uncomfortable.
Another characteristic of the life of Christ is serving. The life of Christ is a serving life (Mark 10:45). If this serving life within us is not allowed to serve, we may feel like a bird that is locked in a cage and not allowed to fly. This is truly a suffering to the bird. A characteristic of the bird’s life is to fly. If a bird is released from a cage and allowed to fly freely, it will surely enjoy flying and have a wonderful time. Likewise, the more a Christian serves, the more he feels released inwardly, because a characteristic of the life of Christ is to serve.
Acts 3:13 and 26 and 4:27 and 30 show that Christ is the Servant of God. Philippians 2:7 says that when the Lord became a man, He took the form of a slave. We often say that our Lord is the Lord of all, but we forget that He is also a Servant. When He was on earth, He was a Servant. Among the four Gospels, the Gospel of Mark speaks particularly of Him as a Servant. In 10:45 the Lord said clearly that He did not come to be served, but to serve. This shows a characteristic of His life. If we serve according to this characteristic, we will feel comfortable, free, released, and joyful within. On the contrary, if we do not allow this characteristic of serving to freely operate in us, we will definitely be unhappy.
Every believer has had this experience. If we do not serve the Lord, we have no inward joy. Serving the Lord is troublesome and may at times be burdensome, yet we inwardly feel joyful and comfortable because this is a matter of life. This can be compared to eating. Our need to eat adds many troubles to our human life. It would be wonderful if we did not need to eat. However, we must eat because it is a characteristic of life, a necessity of life. It is the same with serving the Lord. Although it is not simple or easy to serve the Lord, it is more of a suffering when we do not serve Him. This is because serving is a matter of life, a requirement of life, and a characteristic of life.
Serving the Lord is also a matter of the heart, a matter of desire. When we speak concerning the heart, the desire to serve the Lord, we must first speak of the Lord’s love. One who is genuinely saved has tasted the Lord’s love. Even an indifferent Christian, a backsliding believer, has been touched by the Lord’s love. According to the Chinese Union Version, in 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 the apostle Paul says that as we consider how the Lord died for all, His love will motivate us and cause us to no longer live to ourselves but to Him. This story of love can never be quenched in a Christian, and it always stirs our heart, our desire, so that we cannot help but serve God.
Moreover, in Romans 12:1 the apostle Paul says, “I exhort you...through the compassions of God to present your bodies a living sacrifice...to God, which is your reasonable service.” To serve God in this way is reasonable; it is logical and rational, because we are people saved by grace and loved by God. Who does not have a desire to repay God for the grace he has received? Who can withhold his response to being loved by God? Since we have received the Lord’s grace and love, we spontaneously have a response of love in our heart and are willing to present ourselves to the Lord to serve Him.
For this reason our serving the Lord is also a matter of our heart. Every believer has felt the Lord’s love within him and has been motivated by this love. Therefore, there is a spontaneous response in us to want to serve God and live for Him. There is no reluctance to serve in this life, and there should not be any reluctance in us.
The Lord never forces or compels us to do anything. He asks us to serve Him by stirring our heart with His gentle love so that we would serve Him willingly. When the Lord appeared to Peter at the Sea of Tiberias and asked Peter to serve Him, He asked him three times, “Do you love Me?” (John 21:15-17). It was by this love that the Lord attracted and motivated Peter to rise up and serve Him by shepherding His sheep. The Lord did not come to force Peter to serve Him; rather, He motivated and attracted Peter inwardly with love. His love was the factor that made it impossible for Peter not to serve Him.
Therefore, serving the Lord involves our status, a requirement of life, and the desire of our heart. These three points show that it is perfectly right and reasonable for us to serve the Lord. As far as our status and position are concerned, we are priests. Our occupation should be to serve God. If we do not serve God, we have the wrong occupation. This is similar to a doctor who does not see patients but instead sweeps the streets. His occupation has completely changed. As far as the divine life within us is concerned, there is a characteristic of service. The more we live by this life, the more we will serve. This is a wonderful matter. Furthermore, as the Lord’s love motivates us, we have a heart for Him, and we desire to serve Him. Hence, it is logical and reasonable from every aspect for us to serve the Lord.
There is also the practice of service. We now have the status, the standing, to serve, the life to serve, and the desire to serve because of the Lord’s love. But how do we actually serve?
In whatever we do, we need a proper ground, a proper setting. For example, a school is the proper setting for a teacher, a courtroom is the proper setting for a lawyer, a hospital is the proper setting for a doctor, and a workplace is the proper setting for an engineer. Similarly, to serve God, we must be in the church. The church is the proper setting for us to serve God. Without the church and without being in the church, our service would have no setting and would be aimless. For example, without the church where can we take someone whom we have led to salvation? We cannot tell him to simply pray and read the Bible at home. This is inadequate. How can we shepherd a person and lead him to serve the Lord after he is saved? The church alone is the answer to this question. The church is the proper setting to render the proper service. Hence, our service must be in the church. If we desire to serve the Lord, we must resolve the matter of the church and be in the church.
It is pitiful, however, that the church as the setting for service has been damaged by Satan. The situation of the church today is confusing, making it difficult for those who have risen up to love and serve God to know where they should serve and where they should bring the fruit of their service. It seems that there is no place for them to give themselves to. This is today’s pitiful condition. This is the reason we spoke concerning knowing the church in the previous lessons. According to what was spoken in those lessons, we must identify the proper church and be in such a church to serve God. If there is not a proper church in the place where we are, we must be faithful so that through us the Lord can raise up a church in that place that is according to His heart’s desire and on the proper ground. In this way there is the ground for us to serve, and a situation is opened up for all God’s children to have a place where they can give themselves to serve.
In order to serve God, we also need to be in the Body. In fact, to be in the church is to be in the Body because the church is the Body of Christ. However, there is a slight difference. With respect to serving in the church, the emphasis is on the setting for service, but with respect to serving in the Body, the emphasis is on the coordination in service. If we have the setting, we will not be aimless, and if we have the coordination, we will not be individualistic. If we do not serve in the church, we are a person without a proper setting, serving aimlessly, and if we do not serve in the Body, we are a person who is without coordination, serving individualistically.
It is a suffering and even an abnormal and terrifying thing for a member of a body, be it a hand, a foot, an ear, or an eye, to be individualistic and detached from the body. If a detached hand were placed in front of us, we would be terrified. When we shake hands with others, however, we think that the hand we are holding is lovely. But if a detached hand was put in front of us, we would definitely be scared. When a hand is attached to the body, it is lovely, but when this hand is detached from the body, it is terrifying. Certain believers today are hands that are detached from the Body of Christ. Such ones are truly terrifying! The loveliest members can become the most terrifying ones if they are detached from the Body.
A member that is outside of the Body is not only terrifying but also useless. Any member that is detached has lost its function. Hence, if we desire to be useful persons and manifest our function in the church, we must be joined to the Body and coordinate with all the brothers and sisters. We must see that we are merely one of many members in the Body. Any function we may have depends upon the other members. Hence, no one can boast.
There is a story concerning the eyes boasting to the feet, saying, “If it were not for me, how could you see?” The feet on the ground refused to give in and said, “Do not boast. If it were not for my standing up, you would have already fallen down.” Therefore, the eyes cannot boast to the feet, and neither can the feet boast to the eyes. Both must learn to be humble. Even though every member has something to boast of, the members actually have nothing to boast of, because they are all mutually dependent.
Twenty years ago in northern China I had some experiences regarding coordination. We were having intensive gospel activities during the Chinese New Year. Although it was not on a large scale, we truly had authority, power, and God’s presence. I was responsible to speak in the meetings. Because of the heavy burden and solemnity of the occasion, my entire being was poured out for the speaking. After speaking twice a day, I was completely exhausted, not even having the strength to speak once I went home. Other than taking three meals, I could do nothing other than lie down. I did not even have the strength to pray. Although I could not pray myself, I did not feel any lack. My spirit felt that there was much prayer. I knew that many brothers and sisters were praying, and I stood on their prayers, applied their prayers, and relied on their prayers. I deeply felt that there was a prayer group upholding me with their prayers when I stood up to speak.
Anyone who attended those gospel meetings would admit that the gospel messages were not conveyed merely with words but with power and authority. The Holy Spirit was truly working, and there were many signs and wonders. Often people repented because their hidden sins were made manifest through the messages. This kind of power and authority came from the coordination of the Body. Although the burden of delivering the messages was heavy, the entire Body was in coordination, supplying and supporting the speaking one; hence, the speaking was altogether living and able to pierce into men’s deepest part like a sword. Through those gospel activities I truly experienced the need and impact of the coordination of the Body. In serving the Lord, we need the proper setting, and we need to learn to coordinate. The setting is the church, and the coordination is in the Body. As soon as we coordinate with the members of the Body, our beauty and function will be manifested.
Our service must be fully according to the Spirit, not according to the letter (2 Cor. 3:6). This requires our utmost attention when we serve the Lord.
Serving according to the Spirit, not according to the letter, means to constantly live before the Lord in spirit. In whatever we do in our service, whether dusting the chairs or cleaning the windows, we must follow the Spirit and live before the Lord. We should not do it in a mechanical way, merely coming to the meeting hall every Lord’s Day to clean chairs. We should touch the Spirit within even concerning the time we should go to clean. If we practice this, we will have many good experiences. For example, a brother may have the habit of cleaning chairs at seven thirty every Lord’s Day morning, but he may sense in his spirit one day to go at seven o’clock. When he arrives at the meeting hall, he may see a brother who has been saved for one week and fellowship with him. Such fellowship will be a great help to the newly saved brother. Hence, this service is not merely the cleaning of chairs but a service according to the Spirit in the New Testament, which issues from following the Spirit.
Although our service is in the church and in the Body, it is neither aimless nor individualistic. We should not serve according to dead letters and regulations, being bound by many rules and arrangements. Our service should be in the Spirit and should be living. However, this does not mean that as long as we are in the Spirit, we can violate the principles in the church. These two aspects are not contradictory. A genuine church will not add bondage to people. A local church that binds people and prevents them from having a living service according to the Spirit should be adjusted.
Seemingly, serving in the church and in the Body is a matter of regulation and is incompatible with and contrary to serving in the Spirit. When we actually serve, however, we will realize that there is nothing incompatible or contrary in this service. The more we serve by the Spirit, the more we are in the Body and the more we are in the church. On the contrary, if we do not care for the sense of the Spirit but serve merely by the letter, thinking that we are in the church and in the Body, we will become a most opinionated person and will be unable to get along with others. Therefore, we must learn to live in the Spirit and serve by the Spirit. The more we serve in this way, the more we are on the ground of the church and in the coordination of the Body. This is what the Lord desires. These three items work together without any conflict or contradiction.
Serving in the church, in the Body, according to the Spirit, and not according to the letter is the practice of service. If we pay attention to these three matters in our service, the practice of our service will be perfect. On the one hand, we have the status of a priest. We are persons who serve God, having a serving life and a heart to serve. On the other hand, in our practice we serve in the church, in the Body, and according to the sense in the Spirit and by the Spirit. These conditions make our service lovely and glorious.
Our service to God is not a performance but a living. Actors may have a life that is totally different from when they are performing. They may act humble on the stage but be proud in their living. They may act nice and kind on the stage but be ferocious in their living. Therefore, living and acting can be two entirely different matters. This should not apply to us who serve God. Our living should be consistent with our service. Our service should be our living, and our living should be our service. On the one hand, serving God should be our occupation; on the other hand, serving God should be our living. For example, one who serves God does not preach the gospel only when the church preaches the gospel; he preaches the gospel in his daily life. He is not affected even if the church is not preaching the gospel, because he preaches the gospel to everyone he meets.
Therefore, in principle, there are not some Christians who are devoted to serving God and others who are not. There is no such distinction. The normal condition of a believer should be that he serves God every day. A brother who is a teacher should serve God when he is teaching, and a brother who is a doctor should serve God when he is attending his patients. The entire living of a normal Christian should be devoted to the service of God. Therefore, we should never say that only full-timers serve God. There is no such thing. All the brothers, whether they are teachers, doctors, laborers, servants, or rickshaw pullers, should devote themselves to serve God.
Hence, no one should consider preaching as an occupation by which one can earn a living. We do not earn our living by serving God; rather, we are living to serve God. If God takes care of our living, we do not need to set aside the time, strength, and energy to earn a living, but if God does not give us this kind of provision, we should set aside the time, strength, and energy to work in order to support our living according to His leading. However, even this kind of work is a part of our service. Therefore, among us there is no distinction between those who, so to speak, serve God with their full time and those who do not. We must all serve God with our time. Serving God is our living as well as our main occupation. Occupations for earning a living, such as being a teacher or a doctor, are only side jobs. Even sisters who do housework, being wives and mothers, should serve God and testify for Him.
When people say, “Brother Lee, you are serving God,” I always reply, “If only I am serving God, then whom do you serve?” Dear brothers and sisters, we should not have a fallen and religious concept that some people should serve God but others do not need to serve God. We should all be devoted to the service of the Lord. Serving the Lord is our living and our main occupation.
The goals of our service are preaching the gospel to save sinners, ministering Christ, and building up the church. Whether we are cleaning the meeting hall, ushering, offering material riches, visiting gospel friends, or visiting the saints, the goals of these services are preaching the gospel to save sinners, ministering Christ, and building up the church. In serving the Lord, we should not seek our own gain or have any personal expectations. We should simply learn to preach the gospel so that sinners can be saved, and minister Christ to others so that the Body of Christ, which is the church of God, can be built up. We should respect and treasure everything that is profitable for these goals, and we should despise and reject anything that is contrary to them.
Our goals in serving the Lord consist of only these three points. We hope that the gospel of the Lord will be spread and that precious souls will be saved, that the glorious Christ will be ministered to people and become their riches, and that the church of God will be built up in every place. We do not have any other goals apart from these, and we are willing to give our all and pour out our all. If we can attain these goals, we will be joyful and glorious.
What can we give ourselves to other than preaching the gospel to save sinners, ministering the glorious Christ for others’ enjoyment, and building up the Body of Christ? What is more worthy than this? These are the goals of our service. The whole world cannot be given in exchange for these goals, and the glory and riches of the world cannot be compared to them. The Lord Jesus said that it is not profitable for a man to gain the whole world but forfeit his soul-life (Mark 8:36). The world is not worth the value of one soul, yet the goal of our service is to save thousands of souls. Our service is much more glorious and worthwhile. Furthermore, we can also minister the glorious Christ to others and build up His mystical Body. This is glorious as well. This is worthy of our service. It is worthy of our paying the price. May we all bow down and say to the Lord, “Lord, allow us to serve. We kneel before You and implore You to let us serve, because this is a glorious and valuable matter, which will last for eternity!”
