Search
I would like to call your attention to one matter. You may use the Life-study messages and the Recovery Version in the small groups, but when you use the footnotes, you should not be too rigid. This is because some footnotes are there to explain the meaning of certain words. For instance, in explaining the word holy in Romans 1:2, footnote 3 mentions several terms, such as holiness, saints, and sanctified. In a small group meeting, you should not bring out all these terms. As long as you understand that holy means to be separated unto God, it is enough. Some footnotes were written in detail because we need to base the explanation of a word on a proper source and cannot explain it without any foundation. When you use the Life-study messages in the small groups, the less you explain the meaning of the words the better. If some saints desire to know more, they can study by themselves.
Life-study messages may contain some words of explanation, which you do not need to read through in their entirety. Therefore, before a meeting we must spend time in the Life-study message that will be covered. As we are preparing the message, we can mark the parts that we feel should be used in the meeting. We must find the major points, and then during the meeting the saints can read a few sections related to the central point. There may be the need to explain some points to help enliven the meeting. If the message is read rigidly, the atmosphere of the meeting will be stiff, and it will be difficult for the saints to have a taste for the message and to enter into the enjoyment.
After the major points are read and the central point is emphasized with a brief explanation, there can be some spontaneous fellowship. We all must exercise in this matter. We should not be overconfident and think that this is not important. In this new beginning with the small groups in the church, we all need to exercise. Whether we are a full-timer, a part-timer, an elder, or a deacon, we must exercise in the small groups.
Before every small group meeting, we must be diligent to read the text and the footnotes in the Recovery Version and also the related portion in the Life-study messages. If we practice marking the places that should be used in the meeting, after six months to a year, we will be experienced and proficient. We should not go to the small group to give an inspirational message; rather, we should learn to apply the material that we have.
Some may think that this practice is regulated and not according to the Spirit. However, it is not simple to do things according to the Spirit. In the fellowship meeting of a small group, we must always have the Lord’s word; otherwise, there is no focus. We are not experienced enough to speak without preparation; therefore, we need to prepare the material. We cannot find material that is as complete as the Recovery Version and the Life-study messages. However, we do not need to be a tape recorder and mechanically recite what is in the books. Rather, we should be chefs that use the material in the books to prepare a delicious dish. We even do not need to buy groceries, because all the material is found in the footnotes of the Recovery Version and in the Life-studies. We only need to study to determine what portions in the Life-study should be used in the meeting.
The footnotes of the Recovery Version and the Life-study messages are in our hands. There is no stipulation that we can use only one message; we simply need to pray concerning which paragraphs to use. From a message of fifteen pages, we might select only three pages to read in the meeting. As we fellowship with the saints, we can explain certain portions. In this way the message becomes living, full of light, and full of the life supply. If every small group would pursue and enter into the truth in this way, it will be easier for the elders to lead the church, and the church will advance.
Suppose we use the Life-study of Romans. The content is rich and inexhaustible, but when we release the light from the truth and supply the riches of life in the small group, we do not have to present every point. As long as there is some light and some of the riches of life are supplied, our goal is achieved. We do not need to learn the entire book of Romans as if we were a theologian. The food that we need is in the Life-study of Romans. We can select portions from the Life-study for the saints to read. Even if the saints do not understand the Epistle to the Romans, as they continue to attend the meetings, they will be enlightened and supplied with life from the riches in the book of Romans. In this way, the goal of the small group meeting will be attained. This brief instruction requires our practice.
We will now consider how to have the bread-breaking meeting. We may think that we are experienced, but the structure of our meetings is not definite and clear. Every meeting should have a structure, and the bread-breaking meeting is no exception. The focus of the bread-breaking meeting is the remembrance of the Lord, but it is not to remember the Lord’s death—it is to remember the Lord Himself (1 Cor. 11:24-25). When we remember the Lord, we are declaring His death (v. 26); that is, we display, exhibit, the Lord’s death. However, we do not remember the Lord’s death; instead, we remember the Lord Himself.
Remembering the Lord is to enjoy the Lord. In the night that the Lord Jesus was betrayed, He “took bread, and having given thanks, He broke it and said, This is My body, which is given for you; this do unto the remembrance of Me” (vv. 23b-24). These verses show that to remember the Lord is to eat the Lord. Verse 25 says, “Similarly also the cup after they had dined, saying, This cup is the new covenant established in My blood; this do, as often as you drink it, unto the remembrance of Me.” The focus of remembering the Lord is the enjoyment of the Lord, who became flesh, passed through death and resurrection, and ascended. In the bread-breaking meeting there are two symbols on the table: the bread, signifying the Lord’s body, and the cup, signifying the Lord’s blood. The fact that the body and the blood are separated signifies the Lord’s death. Hence, in the bread-breaking meeting, we remember the incarnated Lord, who passed through human living on the earth and entered into death. Then He resurrected, ascended to the heights, and became the life-giving Spirit to produce us, the many sons of God, as His Body. We remember the Lord by enjoying Him as such a Lord. This should be the center of our hymns and prayers.
I attended a bread-breaking meeting in which a sister called the hymn “Revive Thy work, O Lord!” (Hymns, #797). This hymn is not appropriate for the bread-breaking meeting. Perhaps the sister had a feeling for the hymn because the church was promoting the burden of preaching the gospel and gaining people. However, when we come to the bread-breaking meeting to remember the Lord, we should remember the Lord and enjoy Him. As we enjoy Him, He is enjoying us; if we do not enjoy Him, He cannot enjoy us. The more we enjoy Him, the more He enjoys us. Hence, we must remember that in the bread-breaking meeting we should not think of anything other than the Lord. This is something we all must learn.
The more experienced saints should spontaneously express a proper pattern in the bread-breaking meeting; otherwise, less experienced saints will not maintain the focus of the meeting. The more experienced saints should bear the responsibility for the direction of the meeting.
In every meeting there is always the operating of the Spirit; nevertheless, the Holy Spirit still needs an outlet. Sometimes the outlet is through prayers and praises, and other times it is through the hymns. Last year in a training in Irving, Texas, we had a bread-breaking meeting. In that meeting I sensed that the Spirit was operating, and I waited, but no one made a move. Therefore, I called Hymns, #132: “Lo! in heaven Jesus sitting, / Christ the Lord is there enthroned; / As the man by God exalted, / With God’s glory He is crowned.” As soon as this hymn was sung, the entire meeting was released, and we were in the heavens.
In every bread-breaking meeting there is a need for the more experienced saints to follow the operation of the Holy Spirit and to lead the meeting according to this operation. The church is like a family with many generations meeting together. The older saints should not constantly reminisce about the old days, saying that it was like such and such “in the early days.” Neither should the younger ones be at a loss concerning the structure of the meetings. The more experienced saints should learn how to “steer” the meeting. This is different from controlling. It is to be at the “helm” of a meeting and to steer it in an appropriate direction. This is not control.
If the experienced saints in the church can be at the “helm” of the bread-breaking meeting, the meeting will progress steadily according to a proper pattern. Then the saints, including those who have been recently recovered back to the church life as well as those who have been newly saved, will be under the nurturing and cultivating of the pattern in the meetings, and they will be raised up in their experience.
The pattern of remembering the Lord in a local church is our family inheritance. The first section of the bread-breaking meeting is to remember the Lord, and the second section is to worship the Father. According to Matthew 26:30, after the Lord Jesus established His supper, He led the disciples to sing a hymn. This means that after leading the disciples to remember Him, the Lord led them to worship the Father. Hebrews 2:12 says, “I will declare Your name to My brothers; in the midst of the church I will sing hymns of praise to You.” This clearly points out that in the Lord’s resurrection, He is leading His many brothers to worship the Father. We should not be indifferent concerning the second section, in which we worship the Father. We should spend ten to fifteen minutes to properly worship the Father with prayer, praises, and hymns. During the second section of the meeting, we should take the Father as the center.
After there has been much worship and praise to the Father, it is inappropriate to call a hymn concerning the Lord’s precious blood. Hymns concerning the Lord’s precious blood should be sung while the Lord is remembered and not during the worship of the Father. It may be that a newly recovered saint, who has an appreciation for the Lord’s precious blood and does not know the difference between praising the Lord and worshipping the Father, calls the hymn. In this case we should sing the hymn and not change it; otherwise, he may not come to another meeting. As he continues to attend the meetings, he will understand the difference between praising the Lord and worshipping the Father.
When we give a testimony in the bread-breaking meeting, we must learn to sense the atmosphere of the meeting and not interrupt it. The meeting may progress to a stage where it requires prayer. If our spirit is keen, when someone begins to pray, we will realize the need for more prayer. We should not call another hymn, because this will dissipate the atmosphere of prayer, and it will be difficult to continue the prayer after singing a hymn. Therefore, we must develop a spirit of prayer.
To give a testimony during the bread-breaking meeting, one must follow the flow of the Spirit. This does not mean that you should not give a testimony before the bread or the cup is passed but that you must have the assurance your testimony will not interrupt the meeting. If you do not have the assurance, it is better to wait until after the remembrance of the Lord and the worship of the Father before you give a testimony. The bread-breaking meeting usually lasts about one and a half to two hours after which there is still twenty to thirty minutes for the brothers and sisters to fellowship.
If we expect the number of saints in the church to increase twofold, the number of small groups should also increase twofold. At present there are three hundred sixty groups; a twofold increase means an increase of another three hundred sixty groups. Every month we should add thirty groups. The responsible brothers in the twenty-one halls should begin to prepare and plan how to divide the halls into districts and groups. As the number of saints increases, there is the need to add more groups. There is also the need to decide which groups should come together in districts to break bread. Besides this, there should also be a way to keep attendance so that we know who comes to the meetings regularly. We should also consider where the groups should meet.
I hope that all the halls will consider and observe this matter so that you may know which groups should be combined together to have a bread-breaking meeting, how many bread-breaking meetings there should be, and where the meetings can be held. In addition to the bread-breaking meeting, we also need prayer meetings. There are twenty-one halls in the church in Taipei, but there are only seven hundred saints in the prayer meetings. Hence, we should also consider which groups should be combined. The responsible ones in the halls and the experienced saints in the groups must consider how to carry out the bread-breaking meeting as well as the prayer meeting in the groups. Not every small group will have a prayer meeting.
We have considered the two sections of the bread-breaking meeting: the remembrance of the Lord and the worship of the Father. We will now consider the person of the Trinity. There is an essential and an economical aspect of the Triune God. Due to the fact that some theologians did not have a clear view concerning these two aspects, the essential aspect and the economical aspect of the Triune God, great mistakes have been made in church history.
Based on the revelation of the Bible, Bible teachers throughout the centuries have used the noun Trinity and the adjective Triune. Since human language is based on human culture, if there is no culture, words will not be produced to match it. For example, two hundred years ago there was no telephone; thus, the word telephone did not exist. With the invention of the telephone, a word was produced. In recent years the culture of computers has pervaded society, and as a result, many terms associated with computers were created to express and transmit this culture. In the same way, much progress has been made in studying the truths in the Bible; therefore, there is a need to create new terms to express these truths.
On the one hand, the Bible shows that God is one; on the other hand, the Bible shows the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. Are the Father, the Son, and the Spirit three persons? This is truly not easy to explain, because the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are distinct but inseparable. If we separate Them, we have three Gods. This is the teaching of tritheism.
The Father, the Son, and the Spirit cannot be separated. Isaiah 9:6 says, “A child is born to us, / A Son is given to us; /...His name will be called / Wonderful Counselor, / Mighty God, / Eternal Father.” The child who was born to us is the Mighty God, and the Son who was given to us is the Eternal Father. First Corinthians 15:45 says that Christ the Son, who passed through death and resurrection, is the last Adam who became the life-giving Spirit. Second Corinthians 3:17 also says that the Lord is the Spirit. By putting these verses together, we see that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are one.
Some people overstress the aspect of God being three and deny the aspect of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit being one. Hence, they fall into the error of tritheism. Orthodox theologians have seen that God is one and yet has the aspect of being three. Hence, they invented the term Trinity. The Trinity is a mystery that no one can clearly explain. Bible scholars and theologians over the centuries all agree that God is one, but there is indeed the aspect of His being three. Although they have spent a great deal of time to study the Trinity, they cannot clearly differentiate between His being one and His being three, but they all admit that God is one yet three.
The three of the Triune God are distinct but inseparable. On the one hand, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are distinct, but on the other hand, the Son is the Father, and the Son is also the Spirit; the three are inseparable. The Lord Jesus said, “I am in the Father and the Father is in Me” (John 14:10). He also said, “I and the Father are one” (10:30). Although the Son and the Father are one, there is still a distinction of “I” and “the Father.” There is a distinction between the Father and the Son, but we cannot separate the two, because the two are one and cannot be separated. How are the Father and the Son distinct? And to what extent are They distinct? It is difficult to explain clearly. Orthodox theologians only say that God is three and yet one and that there is a distinction between the three. If we say that there is no distinction between the three, we will fall into the error of modalism.
With regard to the essential aspect of the Triune God, He is revealed as one, and with regard to the economical aspect, He is revealed as three. Economically, the Father and the Son are distinct, but essentially, the Father and the Son are one. The essential aspect refers to His existence, whereas the economical aspect refers to His move. Based on the verses that we quoted from the Scriptures, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are one. The Son is the Father, and the Son is the Spirit. In essence the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are one.
Tritheists stress the aspect of God being three but neglect the aspect of God being one. They quote verses such as Matthew 3:16-17 and John 17:1 to prove that the Father and the Son are distinct and separate. However, these verses refer to the economical aspect of the Triune God. The Father, the Son, and the Spirit are economically distinct but essentially one.
On the Lord’s Day we break bread to remember the Lord, and we follow the Son to worship the Father. This is economical. Are the Father, the Son, or the Spirit in us? The answer is that all three are in us, but the three are one. This is essential. As we worship the Father, we are following the Son, the firstborn Son of God, who is leading many sons to worship the Father; this is economical. When we worship, there is a distinction between the Son and the Father. This is not a matter of essence; it is related to God in His economy. After we remember the Lord, we follow Him to worship the Father. This is not with regard to the essential Trinity but with regard to His move in His economy. In God’s move there is a distinction between the Father and the Son. The Son was crucified on the cross, because crucifixion is a move in God’s economy. However, according to His existence, the Son is not merely the Son; the Son is also the Father and the Spirit (Col. 1:19; 2:9). Economically, the One who was crucified was the Son; essentially, however, the Triune God was crucified.
