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Wherever the co-workers are, they must perfect the saints. If the co-workers replace the saints instead of perfecting them, the church will not be built up. To perfect the saints is to build up the church. In order to perfect the saints, we do not work by ourselves; instead, we work with the saints to teach them to do what we do. Our goal is to perfect the saints until they can replace us. Initially, we work by ourselves, but after a while the saints are able to work with us and are even better than we are. In the process of perfecting the saints, we pass responsibility to them. Initially, we are responsible for the work, but after a while the saints are responsible. When the saints are responsible for the work, we can leave. This sounds simple, but the principle is crucial. The result of this type of work is the building up of the church.
According to my observation, our work is short in perfecting the saints. In other words, the element of working with others to perfect them is inadequate. There is another matter that we need to consider seriously before the Lord. When we came to Taiwan, we took the way of a co-worker serving in a locality for a long time to take care of the church. We took this way because it was convenient. This may have been the right way for us to take in the past, but to continue the work in this way may create problems.
Even though it is beneficial for a co-worker to stay in one place for a long time, there are also disadvantages. The longer a co-worker stays in one place, the more likely he is to replace the saints in their function. In other words, a greater part of his work will result in replacing the saints rather than perfecting them.
Furthermore, some co-workers tend to become isolated or even peculiar after they stay in a place for a long time, because they do things by themselves and are not balanced by others. They lack a balanced view of the churches and other co-workers because they have made decisions and have led and encouraged the saints by themselves.
On the one hand, there may be some loss when a co-worker travels frequently, but on the other hand, there is much benefit. The more a co-worker travels, the more he sees, and the broader his view becomes. A broader view is often a balancing factor and a salvation. A co-worker who stays in one place is bound to become local, narrow, shallow, and peculiar in his view. Hence, it is easy for him not to be balanced. A co-worker also becomes more subjective the longer he stays in one place. According to our present practice, most places have one main co-worker. It would not be good for this co-worker to become subjective. A person who is subjective becomes peculiar and has a narrow view. In all the places that I have visited, I have rarely met a co-worker who has a very broad view. When we travel, our view is enlarged, and we are balanced by others.
Moreover, when a co-worker stays in one place, the local saints have less of an opportunity to receive fellowship from other gifts. When the supply in a locality always comes from one gift, it is not easy for the saints to receive the supply from other gifts.
In spite of these considerations, it is difficult for us to decide how to deal with this matter. We do not know how the Lord will lead us. It may be that instead of staying in one place, some of the co-workers should travel frequently to fellowship with and supply the saints. But there are still advantages for a co-worker to serve in one place. A co-worker who stays in one place will bear more responsibility and is more likely to carry out specific burdens in a locality. In contrast, a co-worker who travels all the time may end up with no responsibility and no specific burden. Both sides have their merits and disadvantages.
We need to evaluate every aspect of our situation. Some co-workers might stay in one place for a long period, and others might spend more time to visit different localities. Regardless of whether we stay in one place or travel frequently, our goal must be to perfect the saints. Some brothers may say that since they are co-workers, what they do perfects the saints. This may be true, but even the pastors and preachers in the denominations say that their work is to perfect the believers. Their perfecting, however, is different from ours. When we refer to perfecting the saints, we are referring to the perfecting in Ephesians 4:12 that enables the perfected saints to take part in the work of the ministry to build up the church. This is not what Christianity refers to when they speak of edification. Many believers in Christianity are edified by their pastors or preachers, but they are not perfected. The perfecting that we speak of is not merely to edify the believers; it is more than edification, because it has the element of building.
To edify means to make something better, that is, to improve it. Edification also implies that something is made useful. Building, however, does not mean only to make something better and useful but also to build something as part of a house. Suppose we have some wood. We should work on it not only to make it smooth; we should also use it as a beam or a pillar in a house. It should be built as part of a house. This is the meaning of perfecting in Ephesians 4:12.
We stopped using the term edification meeting and started saying building meeting, because we are not merely edifying the saints. A person who makes wood or stone sculptures is doing a work of edification. After carving, edifying, the wood or stone, it is put on display for people to admire. This kind of work is incomplete. Most of the work in Christianity of preaching the gospel and holding revivals and Bible studies merely edifies the believers to improve them. This work does not contain much perfecting or building. As a result, many Christians receive spiritual edification and are beautiful, but they are not built up.
We can cut a precious stone and make it beautiful for people to appreciate, but this does not mean that the stone has been built into a building. Some believers are qualified to be admired by the church or by Christianity, but they cannot coordinate with others to become the dwelling place of God in spirit. They cannot be built. They are individual Christians who are good and beautiful, but they cannot be built up with other believers to function and serve in coordination.
There is a big difference between edification and building. We do not want merely spiritual brothers and sisters who are individuals in the district meetings. Rather, we want every meeting to have brothers and sisters who are perfected to exercise their function and are built up. We still need to learn in this matter.
We should not understand this to be something organizational and think that we need to learn to arrange and organize the district meetings. It is vain to organize the district meetings, because organizing is not building. The work that we are speaking of should be done in every locality and in every meeting. We have learned something from the Lord, and we know how to work, but while we are working, we need to perfect others so that they are built up. Then every saint can be responsible and manifest his function. He can also coordinate with other saints. This is the way that the church will be able to develop and expand and will be able to meet the many aspects of the Lord’s need locally.
If there is a need to preach the gospel, a local church that is built up can preach the gospel. The church will also be able to support, shepherd, and care for new believers. There will be a genuine expression of the Body in that locality such that the saints who desire to learn to serve will be in the coordination. This church is the house of God, where God’s people belong and have a home. These are the obvious functions of a church that is built up. There are also still deeper functions. All the functions result from a group of brothers and sisters who are perfected and built up in a locality. Therefore, we should not despise perfecting and building up.
There are no spiritual giants among us. Every one of us is a nobody. If we compare what we have with what is in Christianity outwardly, we will see that we have very little, and our condition is far from satisfactory. We truly feel that we are short in many matters; we are inadequate in many matters. Therefore, God can bless us only in a limited way. Nevertheless, the blessing that we receive is more than what other Christian groups receive.
Take the church in Taipei for example. Even though the district meetings are weak, the church was able to establish twenty-nine meetings where numerous brothers and sisters meet and serve together regularly. We once notified the saints that we would hold a conference the next day, and more than two thousand saints attended the conference. In contrast, many Christian organizations may use advertisements but still have only two or three hundred people in a conference. What is the source of our blessing? We are blessed, not because we have spiritual giants or famous preachers but because we have the elements of coordination and building. If we remove the elements of coordination and building, our situation will be more desolate than the situation in Christianity.
We are being blessed because we pay attention to coordination and building. The little amount of coordination and building among us causes God to bless us. Coordination and building uphold God’s blessing. This fellowship is to strengthen our impression of building. The co-workers may consider that it is sufficient to have the tree of life, but this is not enough.
I have been in the Lord’s work for at least twenty-five years, and I have suffered much during this time. Therefore, as soon as a situation arises, I know whether it will be a gain or a loss. For example, because I knew that we would suffer a great loss when Brother T. Austin-Sparks was here last spring, I tried to prevent anything from happening. I acknowledge that Brother T. Austin-Sparks is spiritual. It is difficult to find another person on the earth today who is as spiritual as he is. Hence, for the past thirty years Brother Nee, some saints, and I have appreciated him. We also spent the past thirty years observing him, and we wonder whether his understanding of the Body of Christ is appropriate.
The treasure and the earthen vessel (2 Cor. 4:7) must match. The container is important. Hence, we spent quite some time last year to stress the ground of the church. This is also the reason that we are fellowshipping concerning the building up of the church. If the ground and the building up of the church are not proper, there will be no result to our work, and the Lord’s blessing will not remain. We cannot let this happen. Therefore, the blessing and the container must match.
If our intention is to form a separate group in Christianity and thereby become a sect, we deserve to be cursed; the Lord will never bless us. We also deserve to be cursed if we always dispute with other believers and try to be different. However, because the church is in a state of confusion, we must find the way to obtain God’s blessing and find the proper ground that will retain God’s blessing. Moreover, we have to find a way for the believers who stand on this ground to be built up so that God’s blessing will not leak out.
We cannot change the condition of Christianity. God allows this state of confusion to exist, and we cannot change it. Any intention to change this is foolishness. However, since we desire to follow the Lord, live in His presence, and be useful to Him, we must find a way to retain what we know and have experienced. We need the ground and the building up to keep the blessing that we have gained. Otherwise, the fruit of all our labor will disappear.
We must not labor in a foolish way. Our work can be compared to drawing water out of a well with a bucket. If we pour the water on the ground, it will disappear. Therefore, we need to consider how to bring in the blessing, the proper ground that contains the blessing, and the building that preserves the blessing.
God’s blessing, which is among us, has much to do with our way and the ground on which we stand. It is also related to our service in coordination. Without our way, our ground, and our service in coordination, we would not have God’s blessing. However, if the building up and coordination among us were stronger, there would be at least five thousand saints in the meetings.
Even though we do not emphasize the result of our work, it would be better to have five thousand saints who can hear the messages that are being released instead of two thousand saints. It would even be better for ten thousand saints to hear these messages. We do not desire a large crowd, but we nonetheless want the word of God to reach many people. Therefore, it is important that we know how to keep the believers after they are saved. We have baptized between seven and eight thousand people, but only one-fourth of this number were in the conference. This shows that the coordination and building up among us are weak. If our coordination were strong, about five thousand saints would attend the conferences.
In comparison with other Christian groups, we have received more of God’s blessing. But our numbers are an indication of our weakness and inadequateness. The blessing that we receive is because of our coordination. Even though our coordination is inadequate, we still have a measure of coordination. Other believers do not have God’s blessing because they do not have this coordination. We are blessed by God because we have some coordination and building, even if they are weak. We thank the Lord for this.
The work has many aspects. There is nothing that has only one aspect. For example, there are many aspects to be considered in order to build a house. A house cannot consist of only walls with no windows; neither can a house have windows and doors in every wall. It is not a simple matter to plan where the doors and windows should be. This also applies to spiritual work. We should not think that it is good enough to lead the saints to be spiritual. We need to be spiritual, but we also need coordination. Our most obvious need is the perfecting of the saints for the work of the ministry to build up the Body of Christ. This is the most important aspect of the work.
If I always did everything by myself and did not perfect the saints, what would be the result? There would be only thirty to fifty saints who would be helped to be spiritual, and they would eventually become spiritual antiques. They would be beautiful and spiritual Christians who are useful only for exhibition. If there were a Christian exhibition, my work might be the best display. However, my work would have no usefulness in the building. This is the reason that I did not labor in this way.
When we began the work, we took the way of perfecting the saints. If there were an exhibition, none of the saints would be good enough to display, because our work is not for exhibition. We had only poor quality materials that we patched together. However, we thank the Lord that even though the materials were poor and unsightly, thousands of believers, when patched together, learned to serve the Lord and bring in the blessing. This is the right principle for our work.
We must see this principle and hold it. This does not mean that we do not need to be spiritual but that in whatever we do, we must learn to perfect others. We must perfect the saints whenever we do something. Our gifts and capacity vary, but we must still grasp this principle so that the brothers and sisters under our leading will learn to do whatever we can do. Let me repeat, we may differ in our gifts and capacity, but it is not right for the brothers and sisters under our leading not to understand what we do. The principle of our work must be to bring the saints who are under our leading to do whatever we can do, even if they do not have our capacity or know as much as we do.
Just like the apostle Paul in Acts 20:27, in our labor we should not shrink from declaring all the counsel of God to the saints. We should declare all that we know to the saints and teach them everything that we can do. We should not have any reservation. We want the saints to know what we know and to be better at doing what we do. This is what it means to perfect others. We must hold on to this principle when we labor. The result will be the building up of the church.
When the church in a locality is built up, we can leave. While we are with the church, it has one extra pair of hands to help. When we leave, the church lacks only one pair of hands. This is not a serious lack. Whether we are present or absent, the church service continues. The service in the church must not stop when we leave. This is not like the situation in some groups in Christianity where the Sunday worship stops when the pastor leaves. Our labor must not have this result. A strong church and a strong service must remain when we leave a locality. This is the right kind of work according to the proper principle.
This type of work will force us to learn many things and to change our old ways. We should never be content with merely leading people to salvation and helping them to love the Lord. While we lead people to salvation and to love the Lord, we must grasp every opportunity to teach them everything that we can do in order to perfect them and make them useful vessels. We should work with the saints individually and make them useful vessels so that they may function according to their measure. This is to build them up. Furthermore, they will be able to coordinate with other saints in the service. If we labor in this way, we are a proper co-worker who is doing a good work. Then the Lord can gain a corporate vessel in the locality where we labor. This corporate vessel has a capacity that is larger and more useful than ours. The spiritual issue and blessing of such labor are unlimited. We are one person, but the issue is a church that comes out of our labor and continual perfecting of the saints. We must see this principle and learn to work according to this way.
We have to be clear concerning the building in Ephesians 4. Verse 13 clearly says that the building is for us to arrive at the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God so that we have the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. Thus, as we perfect the saints, we cause them to know the Son of God and to have the increase of the stature of Christ. We perfect the saints with the tree of life, the living God, and with the resurrected Christ, the Son of God.
Therefore, there must be no lack in our knowledge and experience of the tree of life. If we do not experience the tree of life, breathe the living God, and know and appropriate the riches of Christ, the Son of God, we will not be able to build others with these items. The number of messages that we can give does not matter. What matters is how much we can dispense the riches of Christ into the saints, give them the tree of life to eat, and help them to breathe the living God. This requires us to experience these things first; otherwise, how can we lead others to know and enjoy these things?
Verse 15 says that we should lead all the saints, ourselves included, to hold to truth in love and to “grow up into Him in all things, who is the Head, Christ.” In other words, perfecting is not only a matter of life but also of authority. To “grow up into Him” indicates the aspect of life, and to “grow up into...the Head, Christ” indicates the aspect of authority. In all things means that in every item of our daily life we live in Christ, we breathe God, we eat the tree of life, and we enjoy the Son of God. Formerly, we were outside of Christ. After our salvation we may be in Christ in certain things, but in other things we are still outside of Him. Now we need to grow up into Christ in all things. This is growth. In all things we should breathe, eat, drink, and enjoy Christ. In the end we submit to Christ’s authority in whatever things we have grown up into Him. This is because the One into whom we grow is the Head of the church and our Head.
Our work should be according to our experience. We need to learn to always enjoy and absorb God, live in His life, and enjoy His riches. As we grow into Him in one item after another, we submit to His authority as the Head. Because we bring everything under the ruling, the authority, of the Head, when we labor to perfect and lead the saints, we will spontaneously lead them to grow up into God, that is, to enjoy and absorb God in everything. As the saints are joined to God in all things, they will spontaneously bring every matter under the authority of the Head and submit to the authority of the Head. This is the kind of work that we should do.
Our work is to perfect the saints so that they can be built, function, and be responsible. The content and element of our work, however, must be God, the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, who is the Son of God, and the life and authority of the Head. The issue of such a work will make the church the Body of Christ and will cause the church to build itself up in love.
The brothers and sisters who serve in the localities must know that in our service and labor there must be the elements of God and the stature of the fullness of Christ. These elements cause our work to be solid. We should never be satisfied and proud because we lead many people to salvation. We should not be satisfied because we are able to deliver good and interesting messages that supply the saints. Neither should we be satisfied because we lead the saints to be in one accord, to love one another, to zealously pursue the Lord, and to serve in oneness. These are not sufficient. These things are good according to the concept in Christianity, but we should not be satisfied with these things.
Our work is to help the saints to enjoy God, know the Son of God, and grow unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. In everything we lead the saints into the life and authority of the Head, Christ. We must be impressed with this. At the same time, we perfect and build up the saints. Then the saints in the locality where we labor will not only know how to absorb and enjoy God, to grow in Christ, to touch the divine life in everything, and to submit to God’s authority, but they will also be perfected and built up to be the church. They will be a supply so that the Body of Christ can be built up in love.
Whether we remain in the locality or leave, there will be a corporate entity that is full of God, has a measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, and is full of the life and authority of the Head. There will also be a good coordination, and many will be perfected and built up to exercise their function to do the work of the ministry to build up the Body of Christ. Whether we stay in that locality, are raptured, or leave, the church will be built up. This is the work that we should do.
Hence, we must be delivered from our old concepts. We may have the concept that the place where we labor is our field, as if the church is our personal enterprise. We must drop this concept. We do not have a personal field, and no church is our personal enterprise. The content of our work must always cause the saints to gain God; in everything we must lead the saints to breathe God, to enter into the life of Christ, and to submit to the authority of the Head. Our work must also perfect and build up the saints.
If we labor in this way, it will not matter whether we stay in a locality or leave. There will always be a group of believers who are built up in a solid way. This is the kind of work that we are doing. If we do not work in this way, we will either become a resident pastor or a traveling evangelist. If we labor in only one place, we become resident pastors, and if we travel to different localities, we will be traveling evangelists.
Every day I pray, “Lord, I do not want to be a resident pastor or a traveling evangelist.” When people ask me what I do, I say that I am neither a resident pastor nor a traveling evangelist; I just work according to my portion. In simple terms, my portion is to impart God into the saints and perfect them so that they can be built up. If we can all do this, it will not matter whether we stay or leave. What matters is the content of our work and how we work. Whether we stay in one place or travel to many places is insignificant if we work God into others and perfect them. This is the crux of all our problems.
Christianity is in a poor condition, but we have received mercy from the Lord to see the New Jerusalem. God has brought us to a high mountain to see the New Jerusalem. He has brought us also to the wilderness to see the condition of Christianity. The contrast between the New Jerusalem and Christianity gives me a heavy burden. Furthermore, the situation in our meetings and the condition of the serving ones make my burden heavier.
May the Lord have mercy on us and show us a clear vision that surpasses the condition of Christianity and meets His need. Then our work will be of value in this age. Otherwise, we will merely be resident pastors and traveling evangelists. When we truly see a vision, our work will excel; it will not be low. We will be neither a resident pastor nor a traveling evangelist; rather, we will be ministers appointed by God. We will have a portion, and we will work according to our portion.
We must see these two crucial points. First, we must minister God and Christ. Second, we must perfect and build up the saints. If we neglect both or either one of these points, our service is not up to the standard. Instead of being a co-worker in the present age, we will merely be a preacher in traditional Christianity. These two points are serious: on the one hand, we minister God, and on the other hand, everything that we do is to perfect and build up the saints.
If we can grasp these two points, the churches will have a future, and our work will be of value and surpass the situation in Christianity. Instead of being traditional Christians in Christianity, we will be co-workers in the present age who have a clear vision of what the Lord desires to do in this age. We must be strong and always impart God into others and lead them to enjoy the riches of Christ. We must also perfect and build them up. Then the place where we labor will have the increase of God, it will not lack the building, and there will be the continuous perfecting and building up. A vessel will be built up that can bring in and contain God’s blessing and distribute it to others. This is what we should do today.
We must understand that the Lord did not raise us up to fight with other believers concerning the interpretation of the truth or even concerning spiritual matters. The Lord raised us up and blessed us for the building up of the church. We should fight the good fight and engage in spiritual warfare for the building up of the church.
