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In this chapter we will consider the relationship that a serving one should have with his community. God did not make man to exist alone. Even a billionaire who lives by himself in a mansion will feel that life is meaningless without a community.
Those who have a heart to serve the Lord full time should know that humans are gregarious. It is impossible for us to live apart from a community. The propagation and multiplication of mankind depend on communities. There is no possibility for the human race to multiply, propagate, and develop without communities. Everything in human life, even the bad things, is developed in communities. Since humans cannot live apart from communities, sociologists study how to utilize the strong points and avoid the shortcomings of communities in order to develop a proper social arrangement.
Just as humans cannot live apart from a community, so Christians also cannot live apart from a “community,” the church. The word church is a translation of the Greek word ekklesia, which implies an assembly. According to God’s ordination, we cannot live apart from a community as humans, and we cannot stay away from the church as Christians. Once we are in a community, relationships are developed spontaneously. In human society in general, such contact produces more evil things than good things. A believer, however, has a relationship with another “community,” the church. These two kinds of relationships require two different kinds of contact. A person who serves the Lord must have a proper relationship and proper contact with those both in society and in the church.
Every person is born into a community. He has parents, who are above him, and siblings and cousins, who are on the same level with him. When he begins school, he will have teachers, who are above him, and classmates, who are at his level and above or below him. When he begins to work, he will have relationships with his boss and colleagues. Later, when he gets married and has children, he will have many relatives. This is a description of relationships in human communities. I once told a married brother that he should not be unhappy with his in-laws. It is good enough for him to be satisfied with his wife. If he considers the situation of his in-laws, he is only looking for trouble. All young females desire to marry a husband who is not influenced by his parents and has a good education and a good job with a good income so that their life will not be entangled with problems from their in-laws. This is often only wishful thinking, because it is difficult for a person to limit the extent of his human relationships. Since God created us and saved us, we should learn to have a proper relationship and proper contact with others in society and in the church.
The first relationship in a community is the relationship between males and females. This relationship exceeds that of a parent and child. God did not first create a parent and then a child. He first created a male and then a female, and only through them were descendants brought forth. The relationships within a community began with the descendants of Adam and Eve, but the first relationship was that of a male and a female. This is also a very personal relationship. A parent-child relationship is not a matter of our own choice, but the male-female relationship involves a choice. We must be clear concerning this and keep a dividing line between male and female. We should not think that we cannot be influenced to make a wrong choice because we have a regenerated spirit. Our body is fallen and is still the flesh. Romans 7 says that nothing good dwells in our flesh and that sin dwells in our flesh (vv. 17-18).
John 1:14 says that the Lord Jesus as the Word became flesh. The flesh belongs to sin, yet the Son of God became flesh. How can this be? The proper answer is in Romans 8:3, which says, “God, sending His own Son in the likeness of the flesh of sin and concerning sin, condemned sin in the flesh.” This verse says that although the Lord Jesus became flesh, He was only in the likeness of the flesh of sin and did not have the sin of the flesh. This was typified by the bronze serpent lifted up by Moses for the sinful Israelites (Num. 21:9; John 3:14). The bronze serpent was in the form, the likeness, of a serpent, but it did not have the poison of the serpent. This bronze serpent bore God’s judgment for the poisoned Israelites and dealt with the serpents that poisoned them. Although Christ did not have the flesh of sin, He was crucified in the flesh. Thus, through His death on the cross God condemned sin, which was brought by Satan into man’s flesh. Only the Lord Jesus was without the flesh of sin. The Bible does not say that man is spirit. It says that man has a spirit (Job 32:8) and that man is flesh (Gen. 6:3). Since man is flesh, it is necessary to keep the differences between males and females. We should never abolish such differences.
Colossians 3:11 says, “Where there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free man, but Christ is all and in all.” 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.” If we read these two verses carefully, we will discover that they do not mention males or females. However, Galatians 3:28 says, “There cannot be Jew nor Greek, there cannot be slave nor free man, there cannot be male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” On the one hand, in Christ there are no differences between males and females. On the other hand, although we are the new man, in the church life the differences between males and females are still present. We have a spirit, but we also have the flesh. Hence, we must keep the dividing line between males and females in our community and also in the church life.
When we share and testify in the meetings, the sisters should always remember that they are females and that whatever they do should be done with modesty, that is, shamefastness. Modesty, or shamefastness, is a female virtue (1 Tim. 2:9). The Bible says that if a woman prays or prophesies with her head uncovered, she disgraces her head (1 Cor. 11:5). This does not mean that the brothers can act immodestly. Both males and females should have a proper shamefastness. The more modest we are, the higher the standard of morality we will have and the greater will be our protection. A proper person should be very modest and be limited in the places he goes, the people he knows, and the things he says. The basic principle of the Christian life is to walk according to the Spirit. When we walk according to the Spirit, we will have no need for anyone to teach us, but His anointing will teach us concerning all things (1 John 2:27).
The saints who have a heart to serve full time should learn the lesson of not being careless when contacting people and being careful concerning the setting in which they contact people. In particular, the sisters should not forget that they are females when they contact people; they are not free to speak carelessly. Otherwise, their contacting people will bring them many problems. Not only will they suffer loss, but they will also cause the Lord’s name to suffer shame. In human communities as well as in the church, we must remember that there is a difference between males and females. It is wrong to speak with a person of the opposite sex when we are alone in a room. We must have a third person present there. This is not only a virtue but also a great protection.
The two greatest temptations in human life are related to money and to relationships between males and females. We should never think that since we have the Spirit of the Lord and we walk according to the Spirit, we will not encounter temptations related to these two dangers. These two dangers always exist and will follow us until we are taken by the Lord. Throughout the centuries countless servants of the Lord have been destroyed by these two things, even after serving faithfully for ten, twenty, or even forty years. Therefore, while you are still young, you must learn to regard these two things as poisonous snakes and wild beasts. We should never think that we could never be overcome by these temptations. Few people, if any, can overcome the temptation of money. When money is not in our hand, we do not know how great a temptation it is. Only when money comes into our possession do we realize its tempting power. The Bible calls money “unrighteous mammon” (Luke 16:9, 11). This shows that money is unrighteous.
It is impossible for a person living in this world to not have contact with society. It is also impossible for a Christian living in the church life to not have contact with the brothers and sisters. Sins come from contact; fewer contacts result in fewer sins. According to the teaching in the Bible, we must always remember our position when we contact others. Those who serve the Lord contact people all day long. Hence, we must maintain a proper relationship with those whom we contact. In this way we will have longevity of life in our service. This is the most basic lesson that a full-time serving one must learn.
