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Scripture Reading: 1 Cor. 14:26; Heb. 10:25; 1 Cor. 14:40
In this chapter we want to see something particular concerning the nature of our meetings. In our meetings we should break all formalities and avoid any kind of program. First Corinthians 14:26 and Hebrews 10:25 are “show windows” to show us what the meetings were like in the ancient times when the apostles were still on the earth. Through these show windows, we can see what was happening at that time. Meetings were going on yet without formalities or programs.
First Corinthians 14:26 says, “What then, brothers? Whenever you come together, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.” According to this verse, formalities are not needed in the Christian meetings. In Paul’s time there were no formalities and no programs in the meetings. When the church comes together, “each one has.” Until each one in the meeting presents what he has, no one knows what subject or subjects the meeting will cover or the order in which things will be presented. Surely in such a meeting there can be no regulation, program, or formality. We have to break all the formalities today and avoid any kind of program.
Hebrews 10:25 says, “Not abandoning our own assembling together, as the custom with some is, but exhorting one another; and so much the more as you see the day drawing near.” This verse indicates that programs are not necessary for the Christian meetings. In the Christian meeting, we all have to exhort one another. Surely this kind of meeting is without formality or any kind of program. Our meetings today should be like those in the ancient times.
In the four Gospels the Lord Jesus had many meetings in His ministry yet with no formality and no program. Stanza 4 of Hymns, #1281 says, “In the meetings, in the meetings, / On the mountain, at the shore.” This is a description of the way the Lord Jesus held His meetings. Sometimes He held His meetings on the mountain top, and quite often He held meetings on the seashore, mostly around the Sea of Galilee. We have published a book entitled How to Meet from messages given in the spring of 1969 and 1970. The light concerning many principles of meeting came to us from 1966 to 1972. Hymns, #1281 was written according to that light, but in our practice after 1972, it seems that much of this light disappeared from among us. However, in our practice of the church life at this time, the light is returning.
Today’s Christianity has fallen into a religion. A religion is composed of organization, hierarchy, formalities, and programs. In religion there is no Christ, no incarnation of the Triune God, no grace, and no reality. Rather, it is full of hierarchy with programs and formalities. As a church, whenever we come together we must be full of Christ and the incarnation of the Triune God. Then we will be filled with grace and reality, and all the grace and reality will be released by our speaking.
The speaking of Christ by the attendants of the meetings is well-speaking. The word blessing in Greek simply means “well-speaking.” Ephesians 1:3-14 is Paul’s blessing to God, and that blessing is nothing other than a well-speaking. When we come together we must speak well about our Triune God, about the Father, about the Son, and about the Spirit. Our well-speaking is our blessing.
To speak blessing is not merely to speak the word blessing. One hymn begins, “Blessing and honor and glory be Thine” (Hymns, #241). I like this short song, but I doubt that those who sing it know what the blessing is. They may only know how to sing the word blessing. I hope that some would compose a song of blessing from Ephesians 1:3-14. We need such a portion as these verses to be the real contents of our blessing. The contents of this blessing would be the well-speaking concerning our Triune God and how He has blessed us with the eternal economy of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—with the Father’s selection and predestination, the Son’s redemption, and the Spirit’s sealing and pledging. The blessing is simply the well-speaking.
When we give a testimony concerning the Lord Jesus or our experience of Him, our testimony is a blessing. When a brother gives a testimony that he has enjoyed Christ as the One who can overcome his bad temper, his testimony is a blessing to the Triune God. It is hard for a young man to overcome his temper, and it is hard for a young woman to overcome her murmuring. Philippians 2:14 says, “Do all things without murmurings and reasonings.” Murmurings are of our emotion, mostly by the sisters; reasonings are of our mind, mostly by the brothers. How can we overcome our temper, murmurings, and reasonings? These are small things, but these “gophers” are hard for us to overcome. It is very difficult for any descendant of Adam to overcome his temper. Quite often we do not know when our temper will come. Perhaps you will have a good time with the Lord with two verses, but after five minutes the “gopher” of temper will come for no apparent reason, and you will feel unhappy with your wife. The temper is the worst “gopher.”
In a meeting I could give a testimony of how I have enjoyed Christ as the temper-overcoming One. I may say, “Fifty or sixty years ago I was a strong man with a quick temper, but one day I found the secret of enjoying Christ. Because of the enjoyment of Christ, it is not easy for the gopher to come to me. The guard that keeps the gopher away is the all-inclusive, compound, life-giving Spirit who is the consummation of the processed Triune God. Every time that I call on His name, He is so real. He is not only my guard but also my safeguard. I have experienced Him much in this way.” A testimony given along this line is a blessing to the Triune God. It is a well-speaking of the all-inclusive, compound, processed, consummated, life-giving, indwelling, sevenfold intensified Spirit. This kind of testifying is a well-speaking concerning our Christ; therefore, this is our blessing to Him.
There should always be this kind of blessing in the church meetings. In the big meetings and the small meetings the saints should come together all the time to bless our Triune God, not just to sing “Blessing and honor and glory be Thine.” Each one should open his mouth to speak something concerning the Divine Trinity, something concerning our Father, concerning the Son, and concerning this all-inclusive, compound, consummated, processed, all-inclusive Spirit. We cannot exhaust such speaking.
We do have help for our speaking. We have the Bible, a hymnal, and many other publications in life. We can bring any of these publications, such as the Truth Lessons or the Life-study messages, and speak them to one another. If we speak the printed pages of these books, what a rich meeting that will be! It will be full of the light of the truth and full of the nourishment of life. What takes place in that meeting will be a long blessing out of our mouth to our Father, to His Son, and to His wonderful Spirit. This is what the Christian meeting should be. However, in today’s religion there is hierarchy, clergy, laity, programs, and formality. This is why we must have a turn.
Formalities eliminate the liberty for the attendants to function, thus annulling their functioning organ. Many of us have attended the meetings in the denominations. Our functioning organ was annulled there, and we ourselves were nearly deadened to the uttermost. This is because these meetings were filled with formalities and programs. Programs limit the function to certain attendants, thus robbing the other attendants of their opportunity to function. All the regular meetings of the church should be kept open and free for all the attendants to have an equal chance to function. We must maintain this atmosphere in our meetings until the time of our rapture.
A special gathering for a certain purpose is different from a regular church meeting. In the New Testament there are some special meetings, some special gatherings. Perhaps the church has to carry out a particular matter. The elders can call a special gathering to speak to the saints about this matter. Furthermore, if some of the saints have a burden to release a word of revelation or a word of vision, a special gathering will be needed.
Every function in the regular meeting of the church, regardless of what kind, should be done becomingly and in order (1 Cor. 14:40). There is no program and no form, but the functions should be in a decent order in a very becoming way. In this matter, do not make an offense and do not play. First Corinthians 10:7 says, “Neither become idolaters, as some of them did; as it is written, ‘The people sat down to eat and drink, and stood up to play.’” To play means to have entertainment. Whatever we do in the meetings should be for the genuine worship of God, not for fun. In the past we have had some wonderful meetings, but some of the attendants were not well-speaking but were playing in their speaking. This is wrong. You have to release your spirit, but you must be decent. You must do all things in the meeting in a decent order.
