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In the previous chapters we saw the vision of the church and the nature of the church. In this chapter we will consider how to carry out the vision that we have seen. We will consider the way to maintain a good testimony and a proper attitude among believers in human society. If we desire to work for the Lord and be used by Him, we must have a thorough knowledge regarding the church so that we bear a proper testimony. We must also speak the truth to others. Our problem in the past was that we had a general impression concerning the church, without knowing how to give a clear presentation of this truth. Hence, some saints misrepresented this truth, and others became confused.
Our first responsibility is to preach the gospel so that those who are not saved may know the gospel, know the Savior, have eternal life, and know salvation. The starting point of our gospel preaching is not to solve people’s problems but to reconcile them to God so that their sins may be forgiven by the Lord and so that they may receive a new life.
First Timothy 2:4 says that God desires all men to be saved and to come to the full knowledge of the truth. Hence, obtaining eternal life is only the starting point for a new believer to live the Christian life. Obtaining eternal life is not the final goal of the gospel. After a person is saved, we have to lead him step by step to know the truth. One very important item of truth in the Bible is concerning the church. This is a rather complicated item of the truth and can be compared to a tangled ball of yarn.
The situation in Christianity is chaotic, but our standing and attitude are that what we hold and practice is altogether according to the truths revealed in the Bible. We do not walk according to the outward situation, nor do we walk according to man’s need. According to what has been entrusted to us by the Lord, we insist on following absolutely the truths revealed in the Bible.
Recently I was with the president of a seminary who said that the people in the local churches are always distant from believers in the denominations. Even though he was half joking, because of his age I dared not answer carelessly. I responded that, based on the light that we received from the Lord, whatever we practice is according to the truth in the Bible. After this he was silenced.
Criticism that says that we do not cooperate with other believers is according to human sentiments and outward situations. Such criticism is not based on the truth in the Bible. As long as we can bring believers to the Word of God, they will admit that their standing is not right. Their work is according to human need; they do not bring people to the Lord’s Word. However, we bring people to the Word of God, to the truth. Our speaking is built upon this solid foundation.
The church has many aspects. First, the life and nature of the church are out of Christ. Second, the church is Christ’s Body, His expression. Third, the church is the bride of Christ. Our relationship with Christ is that of the bride; He is our Bridegroom. This is not only a matter of life but also of love. Fourth, the church is God’s house. Fifth, the church is God’s kingdom. Sixth, the church is the new man. Finally, the church is the warrior fighting for the Lord’s interest.
When we speak with believers about the church, we must tell them that the church is not a physical building or a club for various social activities or an association of people from the same region. The church is the Body of Christ, the bride of Christ, the house of God, the kingdom of God, the new man, and the warrior. We must present the nature of the church so that believers have a clear understanding of the biblical revelation of the church. Once a believer has this understanding, he has to admit that Christianity is full of division and far from this standard.
After more than two thousand years of history, Christianity has deviated from God’s original intention. Christianity today is full of divisions. According to God’s heart’s desire and His Word, the Lord has only one church, and there is only one Body of Christ, there is only one bride of Christ, there is only one house of God, there is only one kingdom of God, there is only one new man, and there is only one warrior. However, Christianity is full of divisions. At present there are more than a thousand Christian groups in Taiwan, and each group has its own practices, doctrine, and flavor. Hence, there is no oneness among them.
This is the practical situation in Christianity, and such a situation is not pleasing to God. Some believers say that it is better to have more denominations. They say that in God’s creation there are many varieties and species of flowers, grasses, and trees; hence, the church should also have many varieties. If you are a person who does not know the truth, when you hear this kind of speaking, you may think that it makes sense. As a result, some believers even ask why there should be only one kind of church. This kind of speaking is an attempt to explain the confusing situation in Christianity. However, division is strongly condemned in God’s eyes.
The first chapter of 1 Corinthians says that there were four groups of people in the church in Corinth. One group said that they were of Paul, another group said that they were of Cephas, still another group said that they were of Apollos, and the last group said that they were of Christ. Each group had its own excuse, but God did not justify any group. On the contrary, God condemned them for being fleshly (vv. 12-13; 3:3-4).
Division is an expression of the flesh. Especially after Pentecostalism was raised up in the twentieth century, Christianity has been dividing into more sects. As long as a person has a so-called “gift,” he is free to set up a so-called church. This situation can be seen everywhere. However, we must know the truth to see that this situation is absolutely not according to God’s heart’s desire. Christ does not have two Bodies. Hence, we should not have any division.
Division issues in confusion, and confusion changes the nature of the church. Bible expositors agree that the woman in Matthew 13 signifies the Catholic Church. Since the second or third century, the Catholic Church has been an organization outside of God’s economy. She has changed the church from an organism into an organization, and she has brought mixture into the church. Chapter 13 says that this woman took leaven and hid it in three measures of meal until the whole was leavened (v. 33). In the Bible leaven signifies evil things and evil doctrines. The leaven, mixture, in the Catholic Church, such as the worship of saints and relics, was taken from pagan practices. The Protestant denominations have not been delivered from this leaven. The confusion in Christianity is filled with superstition and different teachings.
Christianity is full of division; starting a so-called church is as simple as opening a restaurant. This is division. We do not condone such a situation. Furthermore, as a result of the division, there is much confusion. Division and confusion make it impossible for the Lord’s desire to be satisfied; thus, there is a need for recovery.
Even the so-called ecumenical movement merely produces a superficial unity among Christian denominations and groups; essentially, they are still divided. Brother Nee said that this kind of unity is like shaking hands over a fence. This is not the way to resolve division; neither is it the oneness that God desires. John 17 says that God desires that we may be one as the Father and the Son are one (vv. 11, 22). God does not care for a unity that is outward, superficial, political, or of human maneuvering and arrangement. Hence, we do not acknowledge the “oneness” of the ecumenical movement as the genuine oneness.
What should our practice be? The Lord has not commissioned us to build on division or to strengthen division. In the Old Testament God did not replaster a house that was plagued with leprosy. Rather, He commanded that the house be broken down (Lev. 14:44-45). In the New Testament God has no intention to improve Babylon, which represents the religious world. Instead, He calls His people to come out of her (Rev. 18:4). Hence, we must not take part in the division in Christianity.
Since we were raised up by the Lord to take His way, we need to return to the proper ground, the ground of oneness. This ground is not based on a particular teaching or a particular person but on the fact of the oneness of the Body of Christ. Since the Body of Christ is one (Eph. 4:4), our standing testifies to the universe, to the unbelievers, and to the devil that we are one. The ground of oneness is the ground of the church, and it is expressed in a locality. It is what we refer to as the ground of locality. The ground of locality is based on the ground of oneness. How do we practice this oneness? Due to physical limitations of time and space, we cannot meet with all the believers on the earth at the same time in the same place. God has revealed to us from the Bible that there is only one church in one locality; hence, we should meet together with the saints in that locality.
This is the arrangement of God in the New Testament. It is not man’s idea or man’s philosophy; it is the arrangement of God from the formation of the church. Many Christians preach the gospel and lead new believers to know the Bible, to know life, and to know the truth. However, they cannot go further because they have nothing else to say. In contrast, we go to people with a commission. Our speaking of the truth must be clear and as transparent as crystal. Our attitude toward people must not be rude, and our presentation of the truth must be proper and candid; we do not hide anything. The truth is the truth, and lies are lies. Eventually, the truth speaks for itself. We stand on the ground of oneness in our locality; this ground cannot be changed. Many children of God are not standing on this ground; they may even love the Lord more than we do and be more consecrated, more absolute, and more spiritual than we are. Nevertheless, spirituality is one thing, and the ground is another thing.
A brother asked how we can say that we are the Lord’s recovery and others are not, when he knows a brother in Christianity who reads the Bible, prays, is spiritual, and has the Lord’s presence. We must understand that having the Lord’s presence does not make us the Lord’s recovery. In Matthew 18:20 the Lord said that where there are two or three gathered into His name, there He is in their midst. This shows that the Lord’s presence is everywhere. The Bible says that the Father “causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the just and the unjust” (5:45). If the evil can receive sunshine and the unjust are watered by the rain, the children of God can have the Lord’s presence. Hence, having the Lord’s presence does not mean that you are standing on the proper ground. We must see that standing on the ground of the church and being spiritual are two separate issues.
Let us consider the history of the children of Israel. God arranged for the people of Israel to be in the good land. This was promised and ordained by God. Later, the Israelites became degraded and were taken away into captivity to Babylon for seventy years. At the fullness of the times, God brought His people back to Jerusalem and charged them to rebuild His temple on this ground. This picture typifies the experience of the New Testament believers. Now let us ask a question. Which group of people was more spiritual: those who were moved by God to return to Jerusalem or those who remained in Babylon? We should not think that those who returned to Jerusalem were more spiritual than those who remained in Babylon, because at least one person who stayed in Babylon was very spiritual, and that was Daniel. Some of those who returned to Jerusalem married Gentile wives, and others violated the law of the Sabbath (Neh. 13). Hence, the group that returned was not all that proper. Whether or not they were proper, God justified them and approved them because the Lord Jesus was born not in Babylon but in Bethlehem, that is, from among those who returned to Jerusalem. The Lord Jesus was born in the place chosen by God.
We must humbly confess that there are many of God’s children who love the Lord more than we do and are more spiritual than we are. However, this does not indicate that they are standing on the proper ground. I hope that this word will help us so that we would not merely listen to the truth concerning the church but still not know how to apply it. May the Lord help us to understand this basic truth so that in our attitude and practice we will be a proper testimony. We must know the truth so that we are not deceived by the confusion in Christianity. We thank the Lord that He has separated us. May He grant us the faithfulness and the prudence to be proper vessels in His recovery. I believe that this will bring in the Lord’s return.
We have been called by the Lord to participate in His recovery; He has placed us in His recovery. It is one thing to be in the recovery and another thing to see the recovery. Although we are taking this way, it is possible that we do not have a clear understanding of the recovery. Hence, when we encounter difficulties, problems, or warfare, we may become confused and even go astray. There have been many such incidents in the past. Even some who had been in the work for a long time went astray when they ran into problems. Hence, we should not have confidence in ourselves, thinking that we have a clear vision and that there will not be any problems. We need to receive more of His enlightening concerning the church so that we are clear. This will make us useful in the Lord’s recovery.
Let us consider how to maintain a proper relationship with Christians who do not meet with us on the one ground. Our relationship is based on the light of the truth and the sense of life. We know that God’s economy is for the Triune God to be dispensed into His chosen people so that they may be His corporate testimony on earth. We experience oneness with the Lord when He dispenses Himself into us. The more God dispenses Himself into us, the more we are mingled with Him and become one with Him. When this fact—God and man mingled as one—becomes our life and our experience, spontaneously our expression will be that the saints are one in Him. This oneness is His corporate testimony, and it is what God intends to achieve in His economy. God’s economy is to mingle Himself with us so that we are absolutely one with Him and with one another. This is what is referred to in Ephesians 1:10: “Unto the economy of the fullness of the times, to head up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth, in Him.” This is a great matter.
For this oneness we have a testimony in life and the ground in practicality. If we are one in life, we cannot be divided on the ground. Conversely, if we are divided on the ground, we cannot have the testimony of oneness. In order to have the testimony of oneness, we must be one in life and one on the ground. This proves that the ground of oneness is not merely an outward matter; it is related to life. If we know this and see this, we will treasure the ground on which we stand, and we will not be deceived to leave the ground of oneness. At the opportune time we will bring all God’s children to this ground of oneness so that they may participate in the Lord’s recovery. The ground is a crucial matter.
Since we have a heart to serve the Lord either full time or part time, we must be active and aggressive to learn the truth concerning the church. We must pursue this truth diligently. We should not only read about it and discuss it; we should also learn to present it to others. You can practice presenting it to me, and I can practice presenting it to you, until we can all present this truth logically and clearly. This will help us have a clear view concerning the ground of the church. If possible, when we contact Christians who are not on the ground, we can also speak with them. This does not mean that we should go to other groups and point out their mistakes. Our knowledge concerning the ground must be tested. Then we will be able to stand solid and firm.
While we are serving, we will inevitably encounter trials in our service or problems in our coordination. Sometimes we may face temptations. At such times our knowledge of the truth will cause us to stand firm on the ground and not be shaken. It is easy to talk about the ground, but when the environment changes, when we are faced with temptations, or when we encounter trials, it may not be easy to stand firm for the Lord’s sake.
I hope that as we review these chapters, we will study them thoroughly and have a clear understanding of the truth so that we will be able to speak this truth. Even after we have such an understanding, we will still need to ask the Lord by His mercy to grant us to be faithful so that when we encounter difficult environments or trials, we will stand firm on the ground of the church.
