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In 1 Corinthians 12:31 Paul says, “Earnestly desire the greater gifts.” Although Paul does not tell us to reject the lesser gifts, he says to earnestly desire the greater gifts because they are more profitable for the Body life. Thus, we all must learn to desire the greater gifts. By reading 1 Corinthians 12 we can easily see that the greater gifts are those related to the apostles, the prophets, and the teachers. These are the speaking gifts. Furthermore, in 1 Corinthians 14:5 Paul says that prophecy is more profitable to the church than speaking in tongues. In chapter 14 Paul is trying to impress us that we should care more for prophecy than for speaking in tongues. Just the opposite is seen, however, in today’s charismatic movement. In the charismatic movement, speaking in tongues, which is the tail, becomes the head.
In 1 Corinthians 12:31 Paul also says, “Moreover I show to you a most excellent way.” We should not only desire the greater gifts but also practice the gifts according to the most excellent way. To have the greater gifts is one thing, and to practice them according to the most excellent way is another. You may have the greater gifts, but you may not have the most excellent way of practicing them. In this chapter I have the burden to fellowship regarding the most excellent way to practice the gifts.
The most excellent way is, of course, revealed in 1 Corinthians 13, which is the direct continuation of chapter 12. First Corinthians 13:1 says, “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels but do not have love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.” Sounding brass and clanging cymbals are sounds without life. Thus, to become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal means to function without life. We need to pray to the Lord, “Lord, show me the difference between function and life. Show me that it is possible to make sounds yet not have any life.” Paul goes on to say that it is possible to have the gift of prophecy, to know all mysteries and all knowledge, and to have the faith so as to remove mountains, and yet not have love. If we have all these without love, we are nothing of life. Furthermore, we may give material things to the poor and even deliver up our body to be burned and still have no profit, because we do not have love (v. 3). By this we see that we may have many gifts and functions yet still be short of life.
In 1 Corinthians 1:7 Paul said that the Corinthians did not lack in any gift. However, in 3:1 he said, “I, brothers, was not able to speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to fleshy, as to infants in Christ.” Paul told the Corinthians that they were not only childish but even babyish. Babies always have more toys. Who do you think has the most toys—a little baby, a middle-aged person, or an elderly person? Obviously, the babies have the most toys, for toys are made for babies and children. If you read 1 Corinthians carefully, you will see that Paul’s concept was that playing with the gifts is like playing with toys. You may ask, “Where is the verse saying that the Corinthians were like children playing with toys?” Of course, no verse says this explicitly. But if you consider the whole book, you will realize that this is exactly Paul’s meaning.
In 1 Corinthians 1:7 Paul told them that they did not lack in any gift; in 3:1 he said that they were babyish; and in 13:11 he said, “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I thought as a child, I reasoned as a child; since I have become a man, I have done away with childish things.” What did Paul mean by childish things? If you read chapters 12, 13, and 14, you will have to admit that the childish things are the gifts. Some who oppose speaking in tongues claim that it is childish. However, the childish things in 13:11 refer not only to speaking in tongues but also to prophecy, to teaching, and even to the three leading gifts of apostles, prophets, and teachers. If you play with these things, to you they become childish things. Paul seemed to be saying, “You Corinthians are playing with the gifts just as children play with toys. To you, prophecy, teaching, speaking in tongues, healing, and miracles are all toys. To you these have become childish things.” Where can you find a group of Christians in which no one plays with toys? Such a group does not exist, because Christians everywhere play with toys. If we are honest and fair, we shall admit that this is also true with us.
Whether or not we play with toys depends upon the growth of life. No matter how much the young ones say that they do not play with toys, the fact is that they do play with them. When I checked with my eight-year-old grandson, he said that he was a good boy, that he behaved himself, and that he did his homework. He also told me that he enjoys reading the Bible, and he then proceeded to read me the first eighteen verses of John 1. I was happy that he could read all the words so well. But immediately after talking with me, he began to show off by walking on the sofa and the coffee table. The more I asked him to stop, the more he went on. To him, everything is a toy. When he helps me water the planters in the yard, he plays with the water pot and the planter. Nevertheless, I am not angry with him, because I realize that he is a child who likes to play and to make a toy out of everything. If he did not play with things, it would indicate that he was ill, for the only time little boys do not feel like playing is when they are sick.
The young people in the church need to realize that they are still playing with toys. When they hear this, they may be disappointed and say, “Brother Lee has said that we are children playing with toys. Let us forget about the meetings and stay home.” If you do this, it is an indication that you are ill. Instead of staying home you should come to the meetings and play with your toys. Do not be disappointed to learn that you are still a child. I am happy to see the young ones playing with toys. When I see my grandchildren at play, I am happy to know that they are strong, active, and normal. Likewise, I am happy to see you play with toys in the meetings. However, I would not be pleased if the elders were to play with toys, because they are past the age of playing with toys. It is healthy for children to play. If you forbid them to play, you will kill them. It is the same in the church life today. We need to encourage the young ones to go ahead and play with their toys in the meetings. We realize that when they function in the meeting, it is like playing with a toy. However, for the older ones to play in such a way would be wrong.
We in the church are not an army or a school but a large family including those of every age. Therefore, in the meetings there must be activities for all ages. Those who play with toys should not be unhappy with the older ones. The playing ones are the young ones, the fresh ones, the young people who have been saved a very short time. They need to be able to play in the meeting. In order to give them the opportunity to do so, we need to conduct the meetings in a family way.
However, there is still the need for the growth in life. After speaking of so many things in chapter 12, the apostle Paul tells us to desire the greater gifts. Then he says that he will show us the most excellent way. The most excellent way to practice the gifts is the way of love. The way of love is the way of life, for love is the expression of life.
As we have seen, speaking in tongues, miracles, and healings may become childish things. It all depends upon the measure of the growth in life found in the practice of these gifts. As my grandson was reading John 1, he was being very playful. But I did not condemn him. On the contrary, I was happy. But if one of the elders would read John 1 in such a playful manner, I would be exceedingly displeased. In the Body life we need the growth in life, and we need to function in the growth of life. Although I like to see the young ones functioning in a playful way in the meetings, I would be displeased to see the older ones functioning in this way. If you do not have the growth in life, it will be impossible for you not to play. Because your age is the age of playing with toys, there will be no other way for you to do things.
Some mothers exercise strict control over their children. The first year I came to Los Angeles, I observed some mothers who had their little ones with them in the meetings. Whenever the little ones acted up, the mothers disciplined them. In a sense, I agree with this type of chastening. But in another sense, I do not agree with it, because you cannot change the age of a little “monkey” by discipline. No matter what you do to him, he will still be a “monkey.” The little “monkey” needs time to grow. If you do not allow the little children to play, you will kill them. But those who are my age, over seventy, are not naughty. Rather, we like to have more time to rest.
Function is related to age. If we are not at the proper age, we cannot have the best practice, even if we have the best gifts. Without being at the right age, it is difficult to have the proper practice. Thus, we all need to grow. I thank the Lord that in His recovery He has gained many, especially many young people. But I am burdened to tell you that you need to grow. You cannot have an adequate practice unless you grow. If you are still childish, your practice will be abnormal. The most excellent way to function is the way of the growth in life. This is the way of love.
Do not think that love is a simple matter. No, in order to love, we must have a mature, normal, properly balanced life. You cannot expect a child five years old to love properly. Children fight with each other one minute and love each other the next. Their love fluctuates. This is not the love required in the Bible. The Bible requires a permanent love, a remaining love, a balanced, adjusted, proper love. If we would have such a balanced love, we need the proper growth in life. We need to be impressed with the need for the growth in life for the Body life.
Suppose you visit my home and find there only my wife and several children under the age of five. What kind of family would that be? However, if you visit my family, you will find at least three generations there: the grandparents, who are the older ones; the parents, who are middle-aged; and the children. This is what we want to see in the Lord’s recovery. Whenever we come together, we should see some elderly ones, some middle-aged ones, some young people, and some children.
By using this illustration I want to emphasize the need for us to seek the proper growth in life, the life that is expressed in love. Proper love is maintained through the growth in life. This means that real love is expressed and maintained in maturity. If, among the saints in the Body, there are a good number who are mature, there will be a balanced love among us. If we do not love properly, this means that we are not balanced or that we have not reached the standard of the growth in life. But if we are of the proper age, there will definitely be a balanced love among us.
In the New Testament we have not only 1 Corinthians but also 2 Corinthians. Whenever there are two books of a certain kind in the New Testament, the second is more vital than the first. For example, 2 Corinthians is more vital than 1 Corinthians, 2 Timothy is more vital than 1 Timothy, and 2 Thessalonians is more vital than 1 Thessalonians. Thus, we should not stop with 1 Corinthians but should go on to 2 Corinthians. Second Corinthians does not take care of your gifts; it deals with you. In this book what matters is how much you have been anointed and sealed (1:21-22).
In 2 Corinthians 3:3 the apostle Paul likens us to an epistle: “Since you are being manifested that you are a letter of Christ ministered by us, inscribed not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tablets of stone but in tablets of hearts of flesh.” It is not a matter of how many gifts we have but of how much we have been written upon. What is important is that we are an epistle of Christ, an epistle that speaks for Christ and that ministers Christ to others. How much of Christ has been written on you by the Spirit of the living God? The living Spirit must be constantly writing something of Christ upon you. Throughout the past years a great deal may have been written into your being by the Spirit. If so, then you are not an epistle of just two or three pages but perhaps of a hundred pages. If anyone begins to read you as an epistle of Christ, it will take him several hours to finish. As he reads you, he will say, “Certainly this man has a great deal of Christ. He is a person full of Christ.” However, some of you may just have three or four words written on you. This is what you are as an epistle of Christ.
In 2 Corinthians the apostle Paul no longer had the thought of gifts. Rather, he turned the attention of the church in Corinth to the need to have Christ written into the being of all the saints. Something of Christ must be inscribed into our being, not with ink but with the living Spirit. Everything that is written into you is written by the Spirit. If a great deal of the Spirit has been inscribed into your being, you will not always need to function. Sometimes you simply need to let others read you. In 2 Corinthians it is not a matter of functioning but a matter of being read by others. When others come to you, will they find something of Christ in your being that they can read? We all need to have Christ written into our being by the life-giving Spirit. If in the meetings there are none who have Christ written into them, you will have the sense that the meeting is empty. But if even one with Christ written upon him is present, the meeting will be enriched. Such a one does not need to say anything or do anything. Simply by being present he enriches the meeting, because a great deal of Christ has been written upon him by the living Spirit. We need to go on from 1 Corinthians, the first stage, to 2 Corinthians, the second stage. In 1 Corinthians it is a matter of function; in 2 Corinthians it is a matter of Christ written upon us.
In 2 Corinthians 3 Paul first likens us to an epistle in which people can read Christ and then to a mirror with an unveiled face that beholds and reflects Christ. As an epistle, we need to be written upon. But as a mirror, we need to reflect. How much of Christ has been written into you, and how much do you reflect Christ? If you reflect Christ, there is not always the need for you to stand up and function in the meetings. (This does not mean, however, that I am saying you should not function.) If Christ has been written into you and if you with an unveiled face have been looking to Christ day by day, in the meeting you will be a mirror reflecting Him. When people look at you, they will see Christ. This is not a matter of functioning but of reflecting. Reflection is much more than function. However, in today’s religion people know only a little of the matter of function; they do not care for reflection.
When we come to the meetings, we need to reflect Christ. This is not a matter of gifts but a matter of growth. As we grow in Christ, more of Him will be written into our being by the living Spirit. Whatever has been written upon us will be reflected from us. Thus, we are not only an epistle but also a mirror reflecting Christ. Today Christ needs epistles and mirrors. He needs many epistles with Christ written on them by the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit so that people may read Christ on them. We are the living epistles. At the same time, we need to be bright, unveiled mirrors reflecting the very Christ who has been written into our being. This will strengthen, uplift, and enrich the Body life. We need such a Body life, a Body life not only according to 1 Corinthians but also according to 2 Corinthians.
Many Christians cannot differentiate Romans 12 from 1 Corinthians 12. To them, Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12 are the same, for both speak of the Body life. Romans 12, however, is much more advanced than 1 Corinthians 12 because the Body life there in Romans 12 comes after transformation. After 1 Corinthians 12 we have 2 Corinthians 3, where we find the matter of transformation. This indicates that in the two Epistles to the Corinthians transformation is mentioned after the Body life. In other words, in the Corinthian Epistles the Body life is practiced before transformation. However, Romans 12 is different, because there transformation comes first, and then the practice of the Body life follows.
Seemingly, 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12 are talking about the same thing. But both the condition and the stage are different. First Corinthians 12 is before transformation, and Romans 12 is after transformation. Before transformation, in 1 Corinthians 12, Paul mentions the miraculous things and gifts such as speaking in tongues and interpretation. But after transformation, in Romans 12, he says not a word regarding miracles, healings, tongues, or the interpretation of tongues. This indicates that to drop these things is a great advance. In 1 Corinthians 12 there are many toys, but in Romans 12 there are no toys. The more we grow, the fewer toys we have. The dear ones in 1 Corinthians were very young, still at the age of playing with toys. But those described in Romans 12 are more mature, more advanced, and have no toys.
The crucial matter here is transformation. To repeat, the church life in 1 Corinthians is before transformation, but the church life in Romans 12 is with transformation. This reveals the fact that we need to advance by being transformed so that we may have a solid church life with fewer toys. In the childish Body life there are many toys, things such as healings, miracles, and tongues. But in the solid church life, in which there has been a good deal of transformation, there will not be many toys. We expect that the churches in the Lord’s recovery will grow through transformation. We all should grow by having Christ written upon us by the life-giving Spirit. Then we shall be epistles full of Christ for others to read. Furthermore, because Christ has been impressed upon us, we shall reflect Him, and people will see Christ by looking at us. Thus, we shall be Christ’s epistles for people to read and His mirrors reflecting Him so that others may see Him. This is a church life that has advanced in the expression of Christ. This is a more solid church life, with many who have been transformed for the Body life. If we cannot see this today, I expect to see it in the future. Nevertheless, I hope that even today in all the churches there will be more epistles and mirrors, not only children playing with toys. Many are in 1 Corinthians playing with toys, but others are in 2 Corinthians. They are epistles in which others can read Christ and mirrors reflecting Christ to others. This is the Body life.
We all need to be ambitious to be made long epistles for Christ. We need to pray, “Lord, make me a long epistle, even more than two hundred pages long. Lord, let others read You in me. Lord, I am ambitious that whenever I come to the meeting, people will see Your reflection in me.” If you are such a reflection of Christ, you will not need to stand up or say a word. Even if you just sit there in the meeting, you will reflect Christ and radiate something of Christ into the whole meeting. I have known brothers and sisters whose simple coming and sitting in the meeting uplifts that meeting. How the meetings are enriched by their presence! But when they are not present, the meetings are empty. We need some saints who enrich the meetings in this way. If all the rich ones were taken away from the church, nothing would remain. But when the rich ones are in the church life, the church is solid, weighty, and full of life. We need the epistles and the mirrors. We need a great deal of transformation so that we can be transferred from 1 Corinthians 12 to Romans 12. The Body life must advance from 1 Corinthians 12 to Romans 12 through the process of transformation.
This transformation requires that our body be presented and that our spirit be burning (Rom. 12:1, 11). Romans 12 refers to the body, the soul, and the spirit. For the Body life our body must be presented, our soul must be transformed, and our spirit must be set on fire. You may love the church and present your body to the church, but you may not have much transformation in your soul. Your mind may be natural, and your concepts may be old. You need to be transformed and renewed in your soul. It is also possible to have transformation but yet be cold in your spirit. In order to advance in the Body life, we need our body presented both to the Lord and to the Body. We should present our body to the Lord for the Body. We also need our mind to be renewed so that our soul may be transformed. Finally, our spirit must be set on fire. If we have all these things, we shall have a proper and solid Body life.
Such a Body life is not simply a matter of uplifting the inferior ones, of lowering the superior ones, of tempering the members, adorning the uncomely members, and of strengthening the weaker members. This is too superficial. If we care only about the head, the tail, and the proper sequence, we are being too outward. We need a solid church life with much transformation. For this, we need to have our body presented, our soul transformed, and our spirit burning. This means that we need to be transferred from 1 Corinthians 12 to Romans 12. Then we shall not have as many toys, and we shall not care for the miraculous things. This is what the Lord desires in His recovery. I realize that this will not take place overnight and that it cannot be accomplished by a mushrooming development. Nevertheless, I have been burdened to share with you a view of what is to come in the future. We all need to have such a view.
