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In 1 Corinthians 12:12-14 we see two main things: the Spirit and the Body. The Body actually comes out of the Spirit. First Corinthians 12:13 says, “In one Spirit we were all baptized into one Body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and were all given to drink one Spirit.” We, as the many members, have all been baptized in one Spirit into one Body, and now we are all drinking of this one Spirit. The Body has come out of the one Spirit, and now the Body is drinking of this one Spirit.
I am burdened that everyone in the Lord’s recovery would see the Spirit and the Body. Christianity has missed the mark because it does not care at all for the Body, nor does it care for the Spirit in the proper way. Many have talked about the Spirit, and since World War II there has been much talk about the Body. Actually, these believers do not care for the Body. If we care for the Body, we must care for the proper oneness, the genuine unity. The Body is one. There is one Head and one Body, one Christ and one church. The Body does not refer to a group of believers who come together for a specific purpose. That is a social gathering, not the Body. Whenever we speak of the Body, we must have a deep sense of realizing that the Body is uniquely one. The Body is not only one in a locality but one in the universe. If we are in a division, not caring for the oneness of the Body, we do not know what the Body is.
In this chapter I would first like to say a word concerning the Spirit. Many among us have come to see that religion is not something positive, but I am concerned that some still have a wrong understanding of what it means to be religious. Many of those who would tell others that they are too religious are not clear themselves regarding what religion is. Religion is something related to God and to the service and worship of God yet having nothing to do with God the Spirit. Although a certain thing related to God may be very good, it is religion as long as it is not related to the Spirit. Take the example of prayer. If you pray to the Lord without praying in the Spirit, your prayer has nothing to do with the Spirit and hence is something of religion. The same is true with studying the Bible. If your reading and study of the Bible have nothing to do with the Spirit, they are a religion. To be religious is not a matter of doing things in a particular way or of being old as opposed to being young. To be religious is to do something for God apart from the Spirit. The best thing done for God becomes a religion if it has nothing to do with the Spirit. I am burdened that all those in the Lord’s recovery may be clear about what religion is.
Let us consider a number of verses in the book of Acts pertaining to the Spirit. At the beginning of Acts, the one hundred twenty did not form anything, start anything, initiate anything, or intend to do anything. Rather, they prayed again and again for ten days (1:14). Their prayer was absolutely in the Spirit. Then, to their surprise, the Spirit was poured out upon them, and they became a people wholly in the Spirit. From that time onward, whatever they did, whatever they said, and wherever they went was utterly a matter in the Spirit. On the day of Pentecost, when Peter stood up with the eleven and spoke, he did not speak without the Spirit. Rather, Peter was filled with the Spirit. When Peter spoke to the religious leaders in Acts 4, he was again filled with the Holy Spirit (v. 8).
Stephen was also a man filled with the Holy Spirit (6:5). No one was able to withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke (v. 10). Stephen was a person living, speaking, and ministering in the Spirit.
Philip preached the gospel in the Spirit. Philip did not determine to do this preaching or make a decision to do so. He was simply living and walking in the Spirit. Thus, when the Spirit told him to go to the Ethiopian in the chariot, Philip ran to him (8:29-30). After Philip had preached the gospel to the eunuch and had baptized him, he did not intend to go away. The Spirit, however, “caught Philip away” (v. 39). Where Philip, an evangelist, was to go did not depend on his decision; instead, it depended upon the leading of the Spirit. The Spirit led Philip to preach the gospel to the eunuch, and it was the Spirit who caught Philip away after he had preached to him.
All of us, especially the young people, must be impressed that in the Spirit there is no such thing as a movement. The Spirit must take the lead, the Spirit must do the work, the Spirit must do the speaking, and the Spirit must even do our living. We, the people in the church, must be those absolutely saturated with the Spirit and absolutely one with the Spirit. If so, then whatever we say is the Spirit’s speaking, whatever we do is the Spirit’s doing, and whatever work we do is the Spirit’s working. In the book of Acts we do not see any kind of movement. Instead, we see the leading, working, and speaking of the Spirit.
In the whole book of Acts there was, strictly speaking, just one conference, and that took place in Acts 15. This is very different from today’s Christianity, where conferences are held one after another to decide what to do and where to send people. In Christianity the sending out of people depends upon decisions made at a conference. This is a movement. In the book of Acts, however, we do not see such conferences. In Acts the apostles did not gather together to discuss and to make decisions. They did not ask questions such as, “Where is the need? Where should we go? How many should we send?” Nothing took place according to man-made decisions; rather, everything was according to the living Spirit. The way Peter behaved and worked was not dependent upon Peter; it was due to the Holy Spirit. What Stephen and Philip did was not the result of a decision made at a conference. No, they were in the Spirit, and the Spirit took the lead in all things. It was the same with the apostle Paul. In Acts 13 the prophets and teachers at Antioch did not call a conference and discuss matters. No, they prayed and fasted, and as they were praying, the Holy Spirit spoke to them, saying, “Set apart for Me now Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them” (v. 2). Again, there was neither a discussion nor a decision but the speaking of the Holy Spirit.
By these examples we can see that in the book of Acts there is nothing of a movement. There is just the living move of the living person of Jesus, and this living person is the Holy Spirit. When Barnabas and Paul were confronting a magician, a false prophet, we are told that Paul was filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak to him (13:9-10). Acts 13:2 mentions Barnabas before Paul. However, it was Paul who took the lead to speak. Barnabas and Paul did not hold a conference in which Barnabas said, “Paul, you have studied at the feet of Gamaliel, and you are more learned than I. Now that we are on our mission, let us make the decision that from now on you will be the speaker and I will be the helper.” Instead of the record of such a discussion, we are simply told that in a certain situation Paul was spontaneously filled with the Spirit and took the lead to speak. There was no human discussion or decision; rather, there was the move of the living person, the Holy Spirit. If we had been Barnabas or Paul, we would have discussed who should be the speaker. But the one who was filled with the Spirit did the speaking. If you have the Spirit, you may speak. But if you do not have the Spirit, you should be quiet.
The only conference in the book of Acts took place in chapter 15. The apostles and elders came together to take care of a certain matter. Acts 15:28 says, “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us.” Whenever we have a conference, we must have the assurance that whatever we decide is the decision of the Spirit. We must be able to say, “It seems good to the Holy Spirit and to us.” I read the Bible for years without ever paying any attention to this verse. The decision made in chapter 15 was not made only by the apostles and the elders with the whole church; it was made also by the Holy Spirit, and the apostles and elders followed the Spirit to make a decision. Hence, it was a decision made by the Holy Spirit and the apostles and elders.
We must learn from the experience of the apostles and elders in Acts 15 never to make decisions on our own. Furthermore, we should not make suggestions to others or give instructions to them. None of us is qualified to do this. At the time of the Acts, Peter, Paul, and the other apostles were not qualified by themselves to make decisions or give instructions. Then what about us? We must honor the Lord. We are not the Lord or the Master, and we are not the Lord of the harvest. Only the Lord Jesus is the Lord of the harvest. He is the Master, and we must honor Him by not making decisions in ourselves. Suppose I am your servant, and you are my master. Suppose that without you I make certain decisions and then give instructions to others, making decisions for them as well. This would be a great insult to you. You are the master, but who am I? Nevertheless, we have all transgressed in this respect in the past, for a lot of decisions have been made among us. Some decisions were made by individuals, and others by groups. In certain cases some even made decisions for others. But where is the Lord? When we make decisions in this way, it seems that there is no Lord among us. It seems that we do not have the Spirit but only ourselves to depend on. We make decisions and we give instructions. Instead of doing this, we must pray, fast, and wait on the Lord. We need to honor Him. He is our Master, and we are His slaves. We should say to Him, “Lord, You are my Master. I am neither qualified nor do I have the position and the authority to make decisions or give orders to others. Lord, I am waiting on You. I want to know Your will and Your heart. Lord, I want to know what You want me to do and what You want my fellow workers to do. Lord, I ask You what You want the churches to do.” We all must have this attitude; otherwise, we shall insult the Lord, and eventually He will give us up.
This is exactly the situation in today’s Christianity, and this is the reason Christianity has lost the Lord’s presence. Many of those in Christianity have made themselves the Lord of the harvest, the masters of the work. They hire some, lay off some, give orders, and make decisions. They form mission boards, hold conferences, and make decisions about where to send their workers. We must not repeat the tragedy of the history of Christianity.
Although the Lord has burdened us to go to the campuses, we should not turn this into a movement. Any decisions that you make by yourself for others are an insult to the Spirit. If you have done this, you must repent and, if necessary, ask the others to forgive you because you gave them instructions about what they should do. None of us should ever tell others where they should go. What an insult this is to the Lord! Who are you? Who authorized you to make suggestions to others? You need to help the others to contact the Lord. Young brothers and sisters, you need to pray. Yes, we are burdened and led of the Lord to work on the campuses. But the young people must bring this matter to the Lord, pray, and offer themselves to the Lord once again, saying, “Lord, I want to go on with You. Lord, where do You want me to go?” Everyone must pray until he is clear about the Lord’s leading. Do not expect others to instruct you where you should go. That is organization, religion. Every one of us, from the leaders to the least among us, must be brought into the presence of the Lord to contact Him. Yes, the Lord is moving to the campuses, but perhaps in His sovereignty He will not allow you to go. He may lead hundreds of others to go, but He may tell you to stay where you are. This will be a proof that what is taking place among us is not a movement but absolutely a matter of the Lord’s leading.
We all must go into the presence of the Lord and pray for some time. For years I have been learning this lesson and practicing it. We are not in any kind of movement. Everything must be brought into the presence of the Lord. I cannot go to the Lord for you; you must go to the Lord yourself. We all must learn this lesson that no one can go to the Lord for someone else. That is the clergy-laity hierarchy. If I can go to the Lord, then you can go to the Lord also. Even the newest one among us, the one most recently saved, must still go to the Lord Himself. Eventually, we all shall be able to say, “I am going to this place because I have inquired of the Lord, and He has led me to go there.” But you must never go somewhere because a certain brother has encouraged you to do so. Never tell anyone where he should go. Instead, you must have the assurance that the Lord is leading. Otherwise, we shall be in a movement, and there will be no spiritual value in what we do. Do not expect to be clear after one day. You may not even be clear after ten days. A number of times I was not clear concerning the Lord’s leading even after a hundred days. Every day I prayed and said, “Lord, have mercy on me.” Finally, one day the clearance came, and I knew the Lord’s leading. Whenever I have acted upon such a leading of the Lord, I have never regretted it.
God’s New Testament economy is a matter of the Spirit. Acts 16:6 says that Paul and those with him were “forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.” When they were trying to go into Bithynia, the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them (v. 7). However, Paul and his companions did not hold a conference to discuss the situation. Rather, as Paul was waiting on the Lord, he saw a vision by night. Acts 16:9 says, “A vision appeared to Paul during the night: A certain man, a Macedonian, was standing and entreating him and saying, Come over into Macedonia and help us.” Paul and his companions concluded that the Lord was calling them to preach the gospel to the Macedonians (v. 10). Even after seeing the vision, Paul might have wondered whether or not the Lord was leading them to Macedonia. By this we see that the apostles walked and worked not according to their own decisions but only according to the Lord’s leading. However, the tragedy of today’s Christianity is that so many do not have the Lord’s presence and do not care for the leading of the Lord. For all practical purposes, they exalt themselves to be the Lord.
The tragic history of Christianity must not be repeated among us. We must not insult the Lord and offend Him by not caring for His leading. We do not agree with any man-made decision. Everyone in the Lord’s recovery must go directly to the Lord and pray. If anyone asked me where he should go, I would give him just one word—pray. Pray until you are clear, and then go. Do not ask me or anyone else what you should do. None of us is the Lord. Only Jesus Christ is the Lord. I cannot speak on His behalf and tell you where you should go. You must inquire of Him, “Lord, where should I go?” If you do not get the Lord’s leading, do not go to others and ask them to tell you what you should do.
Do not say, as if it were a mere slogan, “I am following the flow.” The real flow is the Lord Himself. How wrong it is to stir up a movement! That is an insult to the Lord. It is an offense to Him. There must never be a movement among us in the Lord’s recovery. Do not use the word flow as a cloak to disguise a movement. When some of you speak of the flow, you actually mean a movement. To create a movement and then to encourage others to follow it is to make a tremendous mistake. Again I say, concerning any move you make in the Lord’s recovery, you must go directly to the Lord Himself and pray. I long to see that after some months of prayer, spontaneously, without a discussion or a conference, a number will be burdened to go to Phoenix and others to certain other places. If the angels ask why you have come there, you will then be able to say, “Angels, don’t you know that the Lord has sent me here?” You will have authority. But if you say that a certain brother has sent you there, that will mean nothing. It will have no weight whatever. What any man says about where you should go means nothing. You must have the assurance that the Lord is sending you. And do not say, “I have come here because I followed the flow.” Perhaps after a year you will regret that you followed the so-called flow, for you never had any assurance from the Lord. You must be able to say, “I am here because the Lord sent me here. He asked me to come to this place, and He wanted me here.” We all must be clear concerning the Lord’s leading to this extent. None of us should give any instructions to others or make decisions for others.
Now is the time for us to have a genuine turn before the Lord. You must say, “Lord, we don’t want to offend You or insult You. We want to honor You by waiting on You for Your leading.” This is the Lord’s recovery, not a repetition of the pitiful history of Christianity. Do not take orders from anyone, and do not give orders to anyone. Go to the Lord and pray. This is the proper way.
Suppose the leading ones, after much prayer, are truly burdened about a certain matter. What they should do then is through fellowship pass on their burden to the saints and ask the saints to pray. Eventually, the saints will receive a personal leading from the Lord, and they may move accordingly. In this way no one will be individualistic or rebellious. This is why we have the Body. We have both the Spirit on the one hand and the Body on the other hand. The Spirit and the Body keep us in balance. You need to check whether or not the leading you have from the Lord corresponds to the feeling of the Body. We need to be balanced.
When some hear about being balanced by the Body, they may think that this matter of balance will produce the same result as if the leading ones made the decision and told them where to go. It is possible that the outward result may be the same, but the inward nature is absolutely different. Suppose I am a leading one and make decisions for others. After making the decision, I then tell the others to what place they should move. This is an insult to the Lord. If I were to do this, there would be no need for the others to pray. Instead, they would simply act on my word. To do this is to usurp the position of the Lord and to make myself the Lord. This is the greatest insult to the Lord. Instead of doing this, I should say, “Brothers, I feel burdened of the Lord to share with you that some of you may need to move to a certain city. I ask you to please pray thoroughly about this matter.” Eventually, some may be burdened by the Lord and led of Him to go to that place. Others, however, may be burdened to go to a different place. After you have received a burden from the Lord, you need to take care of the Body. Thus, we take care of both sides, the side of the Spirit and the side of the Body.
You may wonder where the Body is in a practical way. The Body is in the fellowship, and this fellowship is in oneness. It is not a partial fellowship or fellowship relating to a division or an opinion. No, it is the fellowship of the Body. Fellowship follows prayer. After you have had prayer and fellowship, then you will be clear regarding the Lord’s leading.
Some may say, “The result is exactly the same as if there were no prayer or fellowship. It is the same as if someone gave me an order to go somewhere. If that is the case, then why should we pray and have fellowship?” We must pray and fellowship in order to honor the Lord. If we do not pray and have the proper fellowship with others, we insult the Lord and usurp His position. Furthermore, if you move to a place without prayer and fellowship, you will be shaken when the tests, afflictions, and persecutions come. You may say, “Brother So-and-so sent us here. Perhaps he made a mistake. We should not follow a man.” However, if you pray and fellowship, you honor the Lord, and you will also have the assurance that it is the Lord who is leading you. Then after you move to a certain place, you will have the assurance that the Lord sent you there, and you will never regret your move, no matter what the outward situation may be. You will be so assured that your being there is the Lord’s will and leading that you will be ready to die there. You will not only have the assurance; you will also be strengthened and endued with authority. You will be able to say, “Affliction and persecution, stay away. We have been sent here by the Lord of heaven and earth.” Because you have been sent by the Lord, not by any man, you will have the authority to pray. I hope you can all see the difference between being sent by the Lord and being sent by man.
In the Body the young ones, the middle-aged ones, and the elderly ones are all one. Any dissenting between the young ones and the older ones is absolutely wrong. It is not of the Body. Yes, the young saints who are burdened for the campuses need to be free to have their own meetings, and the older ones should not interfere with them or make suggestions to them. However, we still need to have fellowship. The older ones need the fellowship of the younger ones, and the younger ones even the more need the fellowship of the older ones. We must always maintain a pleasant atmosphere and a good spirit. In Los Angeles there may be three halls, but there should be one pleasant spirit with a very sweet oneness. The young ones must be faithful to go to the campuses for the Lord’s testimony, and the older ones, not interfering with the young ones, should pray for them, stand behind them, support them, and strengthen them. The young ones should also respect the older ones and seek their help, prayers, and wise counsel. If this is the case, what a pleasant situation there will be among us!
The Body is one. No matter how many halls a certain church may have, there is still one church in that locality. The church in Taipei, for example, has at least seventeen halls. Counting only those who are seniors in college or who have recently graduated, the number of serving young people is over one thousand. These one thousand serving ones are scattered throughout the seventeen halls. Nevertheless, they all are one. Two years ago, by the Lord’s mercy, so many of the older ones who were elders, deacons, and deaconesses resigned from their service for the Lord’s purpose. Approximately eight hundred of these older ones, many of whom had been in the church since the beginning in 1948, resigned, allowing the young people to take up their places of service. After a year and a half the young people came up. They are absolutely one with the older ones. They respect the older ones, and the older ones love them, pray for them, stand with them, support them, and sustain them. They all are one. What a pleasant atmosphere there is in the church in Taipei! What a testimony this is to the whole earth!
Young people, we are not a movement, and we are not merely for any type of campus work. We are only for the Lord’s recovery. If you were to offer me the whole world, I would say, “I don’t want it. I only want the Lord’s recovery.” It is absolutely wrong to offend the recovery by damaging the oneness. We are not for a movement or for a work; we are for the Lord’s recovery, which is based upon oneness. If we lose our oneness, we are no longer the recovery. Rather, we become a part of today’s Christianity. The thing that most distinguishes us from Christianity is the unique oneness. We care for this oneness. Never allow the work on the campuses to damage the oneness. It is a terribly serious matter to damage the Lord’s recovery by breaking the oneness.
The oneness about which we are speaking is the universal oneness of the Body. We do not practice oneness simply among ourselves but with all believers. We love all believers in Christ, including those in the Catholic Church and in all the denominations and free groups. Although we love all Christians, we do not care to participate in their divisions. Whether or not they want to be one with us in the unique oneness depends on them. But even if they do not desire this, we still love them. We should not do anything that causes division. Rather, we would sacrifice anything and everything for the sake of keeping the unique oneness. We would never tolerate anything that would cause a separation or a division. We do not care for numbers—we care for oneness. We do not want to have a large number yet be full of divisions. It is better to have just five hundred who continuously keep the oneness.
Yes, the young people need to go to the campuses for the Lord’s purpose. But this must not be a movement, and it must not in any way cause division among us. We look to the Lord that He would grant us the grace we need for this. We would abandon anything that would cause a division or even give the slightest impression of division. We do not care for any work, for any movement, or even for any increase. We care only for the unique oneness of the Body. Although the number may be small, we are in the reality of this oneness. But if we lose the oneness, we lose the reality of the Lord’s recovery.
In the churches and with the saints we must care for two elements: the Spirit and the Body. We must ask, “Is this the Spirit?” and, “Is this for the Body, or does this cause division?” We must be certain that what we are doing is in the Spirit and that it takes care of the oneness. We do not want to become a movement that cares nothing for the Spirit; neither do we want to be a repetition of the division and confusion of Christianity that does not care for the unique oneness. We look to the Lord for His mercy and grace that we may always care for the Spirit and the Body. The Body is expressed in a practical way in the unique oneness. We care for this oneness, not merely in our locality but in the whole earth. We must avoid anything that would cause division among the saints or among the churches. Again I say, we care only for the Lord’s recovery, and the Lord’s recovery is absolutely a matter in the Spirit and in the unique oneness. May the Lord grant us His mercy and grace that we may be kept in His recovery. Otherwise, we shall be a repetition of the pitiful history of Christianity. May the Lord have mercy upon us so that we would not become such a repetition. We all need to pray earnestly for the Lord’s recovery; we need to pray earnestly that we would be kept in the Spirit and in the unique oneness. To be in the Spirit and in the unique oneness of the Body is to be kept in the Lord’s recovery.
