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In this chapter I want to fellowship with you about how to grow in life.
In the last chapter we saw that the genuine building is the growth in life. In the language of the New Testament, to be built is to grow. Most Christians, however, consider growth as merely a matter of improvement. But it is possible to have a great deal of improvement without any growth. The growth in life is the addition of Christ as life into our being. Not only Christians but even unbelievers may improve as their natural life matures. For example, as a young person grows from a teenager to a man in his late twenties, he will improve. But this improvement is not the growth in life. Many Christians have been helped to improve themselves by listening to sermons. Although sermons may help people to improve, they do not help them to grow in life. According to the Bible, to grow is to have more of Christ wrought into our being. The growth in life is simply the increase of Christ in our being.
For the building of the church, the growth in life is urgently needed. If we do not have this growth, we cannot have any building. The growth in life is the real building. This building is not a matter of having someone above you, below you, or beside you. Take the example of Aquila and Priscilla, who were one with the other saints wherever they were. Aquila and Priscilla could be one with others because they had considerable growth in life.
The degree to which we can be one with the saints depends upon the growth in life we have. You may be one with certain saints that are close to you. But if you do not have the proper growth in life, you will not be able to be one with the saints in another locality if you move there. This inability to be one with saints in a new locality proves that you do not have the growth in life. If you have the genuine growth in life, you will be one with the saints wherever you may be.
The more we grow in life, the more we are built. If you have the real growth in life, you will be able to be built together with others whom you have not met before. When you come together with them, there will be no problems because you all have had the growth in life. To repeat, the real growth in life is the building, and the genuine building is a spiritual matter in life since the building of God’s house is absolutely not material but spiritual. I must strongly emphasize the fact that the house of God, the church today, is not a physical entity but a spiritual entity. How much we have been built into the church depends upon how much we have grown in life. Many have been Christians for years but do not have any growth. Thus, there are problems whenever they come together.
In a family we have brothers and sisters but no special friends. Likewise, in the church we have only brothers and sisters, not any friends. Nevertheless, some may still want to have friends among the brothers and sisters. In a sense, they are one with their friends because their friends suit their taste, choice, and preference. However, if they move to another place that does not match their taste, they will not be one with anyone. But if you have the growth in life, wherever you may go, you will be one with the saints. This oneness is the building.
Some brothers always want their own preference. If they cannot get it in one place, they will move to another and to still another. I have seen saints who moved from one church to another trying to find their preference. With them there was no growth in life. Because there was no growth in life, wherever they went, there was no oneness. They simply could not be one with others. But suppose you have the genuine growth in life. Even in a church where the situation is the most difficult, you will still be able to be one. If you cannot be one in the place where you are, do not think that by moving elsewhere you will be able to be one. If you should move to another place, you may find it worse than the place you left. This may cause you to go to even a third place. Nevertheless, the situation will be the same. Do not move to a certain place in order to have your choice. Instead, stay in the difficult place, the place where you can have the growth in life. Actually, it is not a matter of the place but of the growth in life. I say again that if you have the growth in life, you will be able to be one with the saints. This is the building. By this we see that the genuine building is the growth in life.
Because the building is the growth in life, it is important that we know how to grow in life. In this chapter I have the burden to share about this matter in a very practical way. Throughout the years we have greatly emphasized, perhaps overemphasized, the corporate aspect of the Christian life. We have laid great stress upon coming together to meet, to pray, and to read the Word. However, I am concerned that many, especially the young people in corporate living situations, do not have a private time of prayer. They have only the corporate prayer. I admit that no private time of prayer can replace the corporate time. The blessing, help, and life we receive in the meetings cannot be found elsewhere. Nevertheless, we need to remember that in the things pertaining to life there are always two aspects. In the Christian life there is the individual side and the corporate side, and neither can replace the other. We must have both. Furthermore, these two sides should be evenly balanced.
Among us there is a shortage in the matter of having a private time to contact the Lord. Many simply do not have a private prayer life. Most of the brothers and sisters who are over forty-five or fifty do have such a private prayer life. But most of the younger brothers and sisters, especially those in corporate living, do not. I am very concerned about this, for it is a matter that affects their growth in life. If you do not go to the Lord directly and privately by yourself, your dealing with the Lord will not be very practical or detailed.
Ephesians, a book that presents such a high vision concerning the church, also encourages us to pray. In chapter 1 Paul gives us the vision concerning God’s well-speaking that produces the church. But there must be the prayer to follow this vision. Hence, Paul prayed that we would have a spirit of wisdom and revelation. Without prayer, the vision is not adequate. Many of us have seen the vision of God’s purpose concerning the church. But we also need to pray, both corporately and individually.
We all need to have a private time with the Lord. This needs to be built up into a daily habit. The best time for such a private time with the Lord is in the morning. Some who leave for work very early, however, may need to choose another time of the day. Nevertheless, we all need to set aside time for the Lord daily, preferably at least thirty minutes.
During this time you should go to the Lord and pray, not for so many affairs or business matters but to contact the Lord, asking Him to examine you, to enlighten you, and to expose your situation in His light. As the Lord enlightens you, you will need to confess one item after another. When we do not come to the light, we do not see the uncleanness, especially the offenses on our conscience. But when we are enlightened, we are aware of all the dirt. We need to confess everything exposed by the Lord’s light. Once, I made a confession to the Lord that lasted more than two hours. The more I confessed, the more I needed to confess. After I confessed one thing, I had to confess another, and then another. To confess is the best way to contact the Lord in prayer for the genuine growth in life. The more we are dealt with by the Lord, the more He will be wrought into our being. This is what it means to grow.
In order to grow we must first contact the Lord in our time of private prayer. I encourage all the saints, especially the young people, to build up such a habit. Every day you must have a time of prayer. Sometimes you may pray for the church or for the Lord’s recovery, if you are burdened to do so. You may also pray concerning your affairs. But the primary matter is to pray for the Lord’s enlightenment, exposing, and examining. Ask the Lord to show you what is within you and ask Him to deal with you. You should say, “Lord, expose through Your light my real situation and condition.” If you pray like this, the light will come, and you will be dealt with. Then whatever you pray will not be a performance but a genuine prayer from your cleansed spirit.
During our private time with the Lord, we should also read and study the Bible. I am concerned that many of the young people do not read the Bible or study it. Yes, you may read the Bible in times of corporate fellowship or in the meetings. But you also need to have a private time to read the Word. You need to lay a good foundation in the Word of God by reading through it consecutively from Genesis to Revelation. Read book after book without selection, choice, or preference. Try to read the Bible through once every year or every two years. It is important to build up the habit of reading and studying the Word.
Ephesians 6:17 and 18 cover both the matter of prayer and the word. These verses tell us to receive the word by means of all prayer. This refers to pray-reading, or, at least, to reading the Bible prayerfully. We need to pray and to read the Word, putting these things together.
Along with prayer and reading the Word, we should also read some spiritual books or Life-study messages. It may not be adequate to read the messages just once. I can testify that although I give the messages, I am nourished by reading the printed messages again and again. I do not care who prepared the food, whether I prepared it or someone else did. As long as it is food, I take it and I am nourished by it.
In our eating we need variety. For example, for breakfast it is not sufficient to have toast and milk every morning. My breakfast includes more than twenty items, a real variety of food. This rich nourishment makes me very energetic. The principle is the same in reading spiritual books. Along with reading the Bible, we need to develop the habit of reading some profitable and nourishing spiritual books, doing this in a very balanced way and not eating too much at one time. Rather, it is better to eat several times a day. You may read four pages of a message at one time and then read more later in the day or the next day. In reading spiritual books, do not try to take in too much at once. If you build up the habit of reading the Word and spiritual books, you will be healthy spiritually and you will grow.
We also grow by being enlightened by the Lord. Whether through prayer or reading the Word, the most important thing is to be enlightened by the Lord. If you pray, study the Bible, and read spiritual books for several days without receiving any light, you have some problem. In every time of prayer and reading the Word, we should receive light, because the Word of God is light. If you take the Word without receiving light, there must be a problem within. There can be no problem with the Word, for the Word is light. Because you do not receive light, you need to ask the Lord to show you what is wrong, to show you why you have not been receiving light from Him. When you receive light on certain matters, accept the light and confess to the Lord immediately without excusing yourself. Make a thorough confession according to the Lord’s light.
The last item I would mention is being filled with the Lord. In Ephesians 3 Paul prayed that the Father would strengthen us with power through His Spirit into our inner man, that Christ may make His home in our hearts, that we may be filled unto all the fullness of God. In Ephesians 5:18 Paul tells us not to be drunk with wine but to be filled in our spirit. We need to be filled in spirit with the fullness of God. The way to be filled is the same as the way to grow in life: to pray properly, to take the Word of God, to read some nourishing spiritual books, and to be enlightened. If we pray, read the Word, and are enlightened, we will spontaneously and immediately be filled with the Lord, and the Lord will be added to us. This is the growth in life.
Although we may see the highest vision, the vision presented in the book of Ephesians, without a private time of prayer, reading the Word, being enlightened, and being filled with the Lord, the vision will fade away. It will be something that we enjoy for a moment, and then it will disappear. If we want all the visions we have seen to be wrought in our being, we need to have a private time with the Lord to pray, to read the Word, to read some nourishing messages, to be enlightened, and to be filled with the Lord. Then we will grow in life.
