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The New Testament reveals clearly that when the church is degraded, we need to walk not only by the Spirit but also in the truth. The last two Epistles of John were written after degradation had come into the church life. John lived longer than the other apostles, and these Epistles were written near the end of his life, much later than 1 and 2 Timothy. At that time the church had already sunk deeply into degradation. It is significant that in these Epistles John does not mention the Spirit. However, he speaks of the truth again and again. For example, he says, “The elder to the chosen lady and to her children, whom I love in truthfulness, and not only I but also all those who know the truth, for the sake of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever” (2 John 1-2). In verse 2 John specifically mentions the truth abiding in us. This shows the importance of truth during a time of degradation. Then John goes on to say, “I rejoiced greatly at the brothers’ coming and testifying to your steadfastness in the truth, even as you walk in truth. I have no greater joy than these things, that I hear that my children are walking in the truth” (3 John 3-4). Especially when the church is degraded, we need to walk in the truth. During times of degradation, there is nothing but darkness. Thus, there is the urgent need for light. If we walk in darkness, we may be injured. You could very easily get hurt if you walk on an unlighted street at night. The Bible reveals that truth is of crucial importance during the degradation of the church. We need to know the truth and to walk in the truth.
In 1 and 2 Timothy the apostle Paul began to emphasize the truth. Although truth is mentioned frequently in these Epistles, the Spirit is rarely mentioned. As we have pointed out, in 2 and 3 John the Spirit is not mentioned at all, although the other writings of the apostle John reveal that he was absolutely for life and the Spirit.
Recently, some have said that we should only drink the Spirit and not take the word of the ministry. One person has even suggested that eventually some may no longer use the Bible. This is the subtlety of the enemy. In times of darkness and degradation we need the Word to shine forth with the truth. The truth must be our guide. However, those who have been deceived are saying that we should not take the principles of the Word. This means that they do not receive the truth, and it exposes the fact that they are not in the way of the truth but in the way of darkness.
In 2 Timothy 2:15 Paul issued a charge: “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, an unashamed workman, cutting straight the word of the truth.” Every Bible student pays attention to this verse. When I was young, the Brethren teachers stressed the importance of cutting straight the word of the truth. Paul charged Timothy in this way because the truth regarding any matter is not found all in one place in the Bible. Rather, it is found throughout various books of the Bible, with a part in one place and another part in a different place. In His wisdom the Lord reveals the truth in this way. Perhaps He did this so that those who are careless will have difficulty knowing the truth. To know the truth we must be diligent. Hence, Paul charged Timothy to “be diligent.”
Some say that we should not be strict or legal in studying the Word. They insist that we should read the Bible only when we are inspired by the Spirit to do so. This is like saying that there is no need to eat three meals a day but a need to eat only when the Spirit inspires us. This means that if there is no inspiration, we should not eat. Paul, on the contrary, charges us to be diligent. If we are truly diligent to present ourselves approved to God, then when we read the Word, we will find the truth revealed in one place after another, like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. We need to put all these pieces together in order to see the picture, the vision. According to Isaiah 28:13, the word of the Lord is “rule upon rule, rule upon rule; / Line upon line, line upon line; / Here a little, there a little.” This means that we find the truth a little at a time.
In reading the Bible and in knowing the truth, I am very aggressive, more aggressive and more diligent than I was years ago. Because I am so diligent to get into the depths of the Word, sometimes my wife must call me several times before I come to breakfast. The Word is like an inexhaustible gold mine; I am always finding something new in it. We all need to be diligent to get into the Word.
Paul’s charge about cutting straight the word of the truth was spoken to Timothy, a young co-worker, one who had been commissioned by Paul to help the churches. If you would be such a servant of the Lord, you need to be diligent to present yourself approved to God in knowing the truth and in cutting straight the word of the truth. The first qualification of one commissioned to help the churches is the proper knowledge of the word of the truth. No doubt, the cutting straight of the word of the truth is not only for our personal understanding of the Bible but also for teaching others. We need to learn how to put all the puzzle pieces together in order to make a clear picture for others to see. Many Christians have read through the Bible without seeing the picture. They have the pieces but no way to put them together. We all need to get into the Word, find the pieces, and put them together so that others may see the picture. This is to cut straight the word of the truth.
In this chapter we need to cut straight the word concerning leadership in the New Testament economy. The meaning of leadership in the Bible is completely different from our natural concept. What the Lord said about leadership in Matthew 20:20-28 and 23:8, 10, and 11 shatters the human thought of leadership. According to the natural, human concept, a leader is higher than others. But in these chapters the Lord said that whoever wants to be great among His people must be a slave. Thus, the Lord’s concept of leadership is the opposite of the natural concept. Yes, there is a need for leaders among the Lord’s children today. These leaders, however, need to realize that, in God’s New Testament economy, leadership means slavery. If you would be a leader among the Lord’s children, you must be a slave.
If we are genuine and honest, we will admit that we love leadership but not slavery. Such is the human heart. Even the young sisters like to be leaders. If they cannot be number one, or at least be number two, they are disappointed. Do not bring the natural concept of leadership into your reading of the Bible. In the Bible, I repeat, leadership means slavery. If you are truly a slave among the Lord’s people, you must be willing to clean the restroom, vacuum the floor, arrange the chairs, and serve as an usher. How different this is from the worldly view of leadership! In the Lord’s recovery we should not ask for the janitor when we see the need for cleaning. Rather, we should all serve as janitors. Let us drop our natural concept of leadership and return to the pure Word.
According to God’s economy, there is just one leader among His people—the Lord Jesus Christ: “Neither be called instructors, because One is your Instructor, the Christ” (Matt. 23:10). Anyone who considers me the leader in the Lord’s recovery is not practicing the truth. If anyone asks you who is the leader in the church, you need to say that the leader is Christ. To answer in this way indicates that we know the truth and practice the truth. If someone claims that Witness Lee is the leader, you need to tell him, “Witness Lee is our slave.”
The Catholic Church claims that Peter was appointed by Christ to be the unique leader. The New Testament, however, reveals otherwise. Yes, in the Gospels and the first part of Acts Peter is first, and his name is mentioned first. But Galatians 2:9 says, “Perceiving the grace given to me, James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars.” Here Peter (Cephas) is mentioned not first but second. When Peter stood up with the eleven on the day of Pentecost, he was as strong as a lion. However, in Galatians 2 he was cowardly, for when the brothers came from James, Peter refused to eat with the Gentiles. Prior to that time, he practiced the truth concerning eating with Gentile believers according to the vision he received in Acts 10. But when the brothers came from James, he no longer practiced the truth in this matter. When Paul saw that Peter and the others did not walk in a straightforward way in relation to the truth of the gospel, he rebuked Peter before them all (Gal. 2:14). Through his weakness Peter was damaging the truth of the gospel, the truth that both the Gentile believers and the Jewish believers are the same. This indicates that in Galatians 2 Peter’s spiritual capacity had diminished. Peter was not backslidden, but his spiritual capacity was less than that of James. For this reason, in Galatians 2:9 the name of James is mentioned before the name of Peter. Furthermore, the fact that brothers came “from James” indicates that James represented the church in Jerusalem.
Another indication that James, and not Peter, represented the church in Jerusalem is seen in Acts 21:17 and 18: “When we had come to Jerusalem, the brothers welcomed us gladly. And on the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present.” Here we are told that Paul and his co-workers went not to Peter but to James, for all the elders, including Peter, were in James’s home. James was the one who represented the church in that city.
A further indication of this is seen in the conference held in Acts 15. In this conference of apostles and elders, Peter spoke first and then Paul. In a conference the leading one does not speak first but last. The final word in this conference was given by James, as indicated by these words: “When they finished speaking, James answered, saying, Men, brothers, listen to me” (v. 13). Then in verse 19 James gave his decision: “Therefore I judge that we do not harass those from the Gentiles who are turning to God.” When we put all these verses together, we see that Peter was not the unique leader in the New Testament. When Catholics claim that Peter was such a leader, we need to know how to cut straight the word regarding this so that we can present a clear picture to them.
In God’s New Testament economy the leadership among His children is not official, permanent, or organizational. Rather, leadership depends upon spiritual capacity. The one with the greatest capacity is the leader. At one time that capacity may be with a certain brother, but at another time it may be with a different brother. On the day of Pentecost the greatest capacity was with Peter, but in Acts 15 it was with James.
The relationship between Barnabas and Paul further illustrates this principle. Acts 13:2 says, “As they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Set apart for Me now Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Here we see that Barnabas is named before Paul (Saul). But when they were on their mission, Paul spontaneously took the lead (v. 9) because he had the greater spiritual capacity. It was Barnabas who brought Paul to Antioch, and as long as they were in Antioch, he took the lead. But Barnabas did not argue with Paul when Paul took the lead on the mission. Barnabas did not say, “Paul, stand back. Don’t forget that my name was mentioned first when we were called. Why are you taking the lead?” Because Barnabas realized that Paul’s capacity was greater than his, he did not argue with him over taking the lead.
All these cases prove that the leadership among God’s children today should not be official, permanent, or organizational. On the contrary, it depends always upon spiritual capacity. God ordained it this way in order to set aside the human concept of leadership. In the Old Testament the kings succeeded one another. There were never three or four kings at the same time. But in the New Testament the Lord appointed not one apostle but twelve. Later, He added others, such as Paul, Barnabas, and Timothy. I believe that there were many apostles. If not, in 2 Corinthians 11:13 how could there be false apostles? Moreover, in every local church there are always a number of elders. The plurality in the eldership indicates that actually there is no fixed leadership in the church.
The reason I mention this matter now is that during the past few years someone presumed to be the leader of the Lord’s recovery not only in this country but throughout the world. If the saints had been clear about the truth concerning leadership and had practiced the truth, no one would have accepted such a claim. If we are clear about the truth and practice the truth, from now on no one will dare say that he is the leader.
To consider me the leader in the Lord’s recovery is to not be clear about the real situation; it is against the practice of the truth. During the years I have been with you, I have never assumed to be the leader. I have not given orders either to the churches or to the saints concerning what they should do. On the contrary, many times elders of various churches have begged me to tell them what to do. I always told them to go to the Lord in prayer and let Him lead them. There is no organized leadership in the Lord’s recovery. When we left the denominations long ago, we mainly left the hierarchy, the organization. We all must hate hierarchy and never accept it in any form. Nevertheless, during the past few years, a hierarchy began to creep in and assume leadership. Because so many were in darkness and did not practice the truth, this was tolerated. Now we must all know the truth regarding this matter. We must be under the shining of the light and full of truth.
Suppose someone claims to be appointed the leader in the recovery. We should not take his word; instead, we should go to the one who is said to have appointed him. If a janitor who works in the White House claims that the president has given him an order concerning you, do not take the janitor’s word for it. Instead, contact the president and ask him about it. You should not follow the janitor’s order simply because he comes in the name of the president. If you take the janitor’s word blindly, you cannot help but be deceived, for you are in darkness and are short of the truth. You should never do anything or believe anything because the claim is made that a certain brother says so. What matters is what the Lord says and what the Bible teaches, not what a brother says. How we must learn the truth and practice the truth concerning this!
I was with Brother Nee for years. We never considered him the official leader, and he never regarded himself in this way. Whenever someone thought of Brother Nee as the leader and came to him for instructions, Brother Nee would never say a word. Only when a person came to him for fellowship would he open himself to share something. He never assumed that he was the official leader. Likewise, I do not regard myself as the official leader in the Lord’s recovery today.
The New Testament reveals that all the children of God are one Body. Although there are many members, there is just one Head. However, according to our natural concept, there are many subheads. We regard the shoulders, the arms, the hands, and the fingers as subheads. Nevertheless, there is one head who gives orders to all the members directly, not through subheads. In the Lord’s recovery there is no organization; there is just one organism, the Body. Therefore, there are no subheads of any kind. Do not regard the arms or the shoulders as subheads. The Body has one unique Head—Christ. If our vision concerning the leadership is clear, no one will be able to deceive us. Once again I say that although the foundation of life has solidly been laid among us, there is still the need for the Lord to raise up the pillar of the truth upon the bulwark of the truth. Once this pillar has been raised up, nothing contrary to the truth will be able to creep into the church life.
Young people, you do not realize how much hope and expectation I have for you. We do not know how long it will be before the Lord comes back. There is a need for all of us, especially the young people, to learn the truth and to practice it. It is not sufficient merely to seek the Lord, to love the Lord, and to grow in life. We also need to learn the truth. There may be a time when all of us will need to rise up for the sake of the truth.
Even the young sisters must know the truth and practice it. Recently, some sisters were poisoned and distracted from the Lord’s recovery. If they had been helped to know the truth, they all would have been preserved. These sisters were very good in life, but they were deceived because they were short of the truth. They did not have the shining of the light. Light is with God the Father. When this light shines upon us, it becomes the truth. Therefore, when we are under this shining, we walk in the light and in the truth. However, when there is no shining of the light, we are in darkness. If we all learn the truth, none of us will ever be drugged or deceived.
We have seen one aspect of the truth concerning leadership, the aspect that in God’s New Testament economy there is no official, permanent leadership. Now we need to consider another aspect. Hebrews 13:17 says, “Obey the ones leading you and submit to them, for they watch over your souls as those who will render an account, that they may do this with joy and not groaning; for this would be unprofitable to you.” We all need to obey the leading ones. This does not mean that the elders exercise authority over us; it means that as those who are older and more experienced, they take the lead, and we need to follow them. To obey means to follow.
Regarding elders, Peter says, “Nor as lording it over your allotments but by becoming patterns of the flock” (1 Pet. 5:3). The elders are to take the lead by being patterns, not by lording it over the saints. If the elders see that the floor has not been vacuumed, they should not sit on the throne and summon the servants to vacuum it for them. Instead, they should take the lead to vacuum the floor and thereby set an example for others to follow.
Although the elders should not lord it over God’s flock, Peter does say, “Younger men, be subject to elders” (v. 5). Moreover, there are times when the older ones need to submit to the younger ones. As Peter says, “All of you gird yourselves with humility toward one another” (v. 5). Thus, not only the young ones submit to the older ones, but all, including the older ones, submit to one another in humility. What a beautiful picture this is! It is absolutely different from the natural concept of leadership in the fallen mentality. The leadership in the church is not that of Nimrod, who built the city of Babel. Rather, it is a leadership that builds up the Body.
Finally, we need to say a word about apostles. Do apostles have authority? According to my knowledge of the New Testament, the apostles have no authority in themselves to control the churches. Only the word ministered by them has authority. If the churches and the saints go on according to the Word, according to God’s oracle, the apostles have no authority to touch the churches. But if a church goes astray or is misled, then the apostles have the obligation and responsibility to deal with the situation according to God’s word, which has authority. Therefore, Paul says, “What do you want? Should I come to you with a rod or in love and a spirit of meekness?” (1 Cor. 4:21). He also told them that he was present in spirit to deal with the sinful one among them and to cast him out (5:3-5). The authority of apostles is spiritual and is in their ministry of the word. They have no authority in position to interfere with the church affairs.
Among the children of God in today’s New Testament economy, there is actually no leadership in the natural sense. There is no official, permanent, organizational leader among the apostles. The same is true regarding the elders in a local church. Furthermore, all the churches are on the same level; there is no unifying organization. Likewise, all the regions, districts, and areas of the work are on the same level. Therefore, all the apostles, all the local churches, all the elders, and all the regions of the work are on the same level. There is no organization, no hierarchy, and no official, permanent leader. Rather, we all respect and honor the headship of the Lord Jesus Christ. If we see this, we will be cutting straight the word of the truth concerning leadership among God’s people today.
