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Scripture Reading: 1 Cor. 1:10; Phil. 1:27; 2:1-2; 4:2; 1 Tim. 1:3-7
First Corinthians 1:10 says, “Now I beseech you, brothers, through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be attuned in the same mind and in the same opinion.” First we have the same mind, then we have the same opinion, and eventually we speak the same thing.
Philippians 1:27 says, “Only, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, that whether coming and seeing you or being absent, I may hear of the things concerning you, that you stand firm in one spirit, with one soul striving together along with the faith of the gospel.” This verse proves that the spirit is different from the soul. As the leading part of the soul, the mind represents the soul. To have one soul is to be of the same mind. We may be in one spirit, but to be of the same soul is a further matter.
Verses 1 and 2 of chapter 2 say, “If there is therefore any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of spirit, if any tenderheartedness and compassions, make my joy full, that you think the same thing, having the same love, joined in soul, thinking the one thing.” Paul’s thought was that if the Philippians desired to give him any encouragement and consolation, if they had any fellowship with him, and if they had a heart of tenderheartedness and compassions toward him, they should make his joy full by thinking the same thing. If those brothers and sisters had not thought the same thing, Paul could not have been happy, and he would have had no encouragement and consolation.
In verse 2 Paul also speaks of having the same love. We may love others, but our love may be different for different persons. In this verse Paul once again mentions the soul, saying that the Philippians should be joined in soul. Then in 4:2 he says, “I exhort Euodias, and I exhort Syntyche, to think the same thing in the Lord.”
First Timothy 1:3-4 says, “Even as I exhorted you, when I was going into Macedonia, to remain in Ephesus in order that you might charge certain ones not to teach different things nor to give heed to myths and unending genealogies, which produce questionings rather than God’s economy, which is in faith.” The root of the word economy in Greek is house. God’s economy is the building economics of God, the building arrangement, or stewardship, of God. It is God’s stewardship for the purpose of building. The different teachings Paul speaks of minister questions rather than the building economics of God, which is in faith.
Verses 5 through 7 continue, “But the end of the charge is love out of a pure heart and out of a good conscience and out of unfeigned faith; from which things some, having misaimed, have turned aside to vain talking, desiring to be teachers of the law, though they understand neither the things that they say, nor concerning what they confidently affirm.” To be a teacher of the Old Testament law is in contrast to being “a good minister of Christ Jesus” as mentioned in 4:6, one who is nourished, not merely taught, with the words of the faith and of the good teaching. The teachers of the law teach people the law, but the ministers of Christ minister Christ to people. According to the above verses, in the first century, even in the days of the apostles, some Christians were teaching things that seemed very scriptural but were different from the teaching of the apostles.
The law and the genealogies of the Old Testament are both scriptural, but these teachings are different from that of the apostle Paul. The central thought of the teaching of the apostle Paul can be seen in his fourteen Epistles from Romans through Hebrews. The subject of all these Epistles, written by the same apostle, is simply the building economics of God with Christ as life as the center and content and with the church as the vessel, the building, the house, to contain and express this very Christ. This is the central thought of all the teaching of the apostle. However, in his time there were other teachers, teaching things that seemed to be scriptural but were very different from his teaching. Because the apostle encountered this problem, he asked Timothy to stay at Ephesus to charge certain ones not to teach differently. Due to these different teachings, some misaimed and turned aside from Christ, the church, and the Body life to the so-called scriptural teachings of the law and the genealogies.
In this chapter I would like to emphasize three points: one mind, one opinion, and one speaking. The mind is the source, and from the mind we have a certain opinion. Then we speak whatever we have in our mind as an opinion. We should once again remember that man is a tripartite being, as illustrated by three concentric circles. We all have been regenerated in the spirit, represented by the innermost circle. Because of this, Christians have little problem being one in the spirit. We are all of the same spirit. Our problem, however, is with our mind and our speaking.
Christians use the two eyes of their body to read the Bible, and they exercise their mind to understand it. However, not many exercise their spirit when they read the Bible. We have the same problem concerning the oneness. Christians mainly use their mind to have too many opinions, and then they use their body to speak too much. Whenever our mind is not under the control of the spirit, we use our mouth too loosely. The problem among the Lord’s children is not in their spirit. In our spirit we all have the oneness of the Spirit. The problem is with our mind and with our speaking.
Our speaking always causes the problems. First Corinthians 1:10 says, “That you all speak the same thing and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be attuned in the same mind and in the same opinion.” Both in 1 Corinthians and in Philippians the apostle Paul deals with the divisive factors of the mind, the opinion, and speaking. If we all learn the lesson to bring our mind under the control of the spirit, we will see a difference. Much of our speaking will be swallowed up.
I have a very heavy burden in my spirit concerning these things. The more a businessman carries out his line of work, the more he considers it and learns from experience. In the same principle, we have been in the Lord’s work for more than thirty years, always considering our situation and studying the Word of God, history, and biographies. We have studied the Bible and history, compared them to our present situation, and examined the situation according to our experience. Because of this, we have a certain amount of learning and realization. The more we have learned, the more we are very concerned for the Lord’s children. The practical building up of the church depends upon our oneness. If we have divisions rather than oneness, there can be no building. Instead, we will have only a tearing down.
About ten years ago in Taiwan a very spiritual brother with a high spiritual ministry came among us. We respected him very much, and we honored his ministry. Because we received much help from him, we arranged a meeting with him and about one hundred young co-workers, most of whom were under my training. While we were fellowshipping, he suddenly said, “I am disappointed with the way you have your Lord’s table.” In his opinion we should have had one person to preside over the meeting. He said, “You are too loose. Everyone behaves according to his or her feeling.” I was surprised and dismayed by this speaking. I had invited him there to help the work. If he had seen something that was not fitting, the best and most proper way to deal with it would have been to speak privately about it.
Later, I was invited to his place of meeting, and I stayed there for four weeks, attending the Lord’s table meetings. He stood up to begin the meeting, and he announced the hymn, offered a prayer, read the Bible, and spoke a word. Then he offered a blessing for the bread, called for the deacons, and passed one plate to each of them. After the deacons took the plates to the attendants, everyone held the bread in their hand and waited. Finally, he himself picked up a piece of the bread and said, “Now let us eat.” Then he offered another blessing for the cup in the same way, he passed the trays of cups to the deacons, and again everyone waited until he took a cup and said, “Now let us drink.” After he offered another prayer, a time of “public worship” began in which certain others prayed. After about ten minutes he announced, “Now the public worship is over.” When this brother was among us, he told us that he was disappointed with our table meeting. If I would have spoken in the same way, I too would have said that I was very disappointed with his meeting. Nevertheless, we all practice the Lord’s table meeting in a certain way. In Taiwan the churches practice one way, and in other places others practice in a different way. We cannot say absolutely which is the right way.
We may also use baptism to illustrate the problem of oneness. We all practice baptism, but some baptize by immersion, some by sprinkling, and some even baptize by waving a flag over people. A brother from Manila once asked me what words we speak when we baptize people. He told me that one group insists on saying, “I baptize you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,” but another group insists on saying, “I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” These two groups contended with each other over this issue. This illustrates that simply in this one matter alone there are many opinions. Some brothers among us baptize without saying much; they only say, “Hallelujah!” In other places the brothers baptize in the name of the Lord, in the name of Christ, or in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Some brothers like to speak more, so they say, “Brother, I baptize you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God,” or, “I baptize you in the name of the Triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” All of these ways are good.
In addition to contending over the name into which we baptize, others consider what kind of water to use. Some insist on baptizing in the sea, and others in the river, yet others baptize in a swimming pool. Moreover, some argue about how many times to immerse people. Some immerse once, but others immerse three times, once each for the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
One brother strongly told me that we should not baptize in water at all. He said that water baptism is dispensationally over and that today we need only the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Shortly afterward in another place, a sister stood up in the middle of my message and said, “Tell me, do you baptize people with water? Without water baptism no one can be saved.” One says that water baptism is dispensationally over, but another says that without it no one can be saved. The issues affecting the oneness among the Lord’s children seem endless.
We need to learn the lessons from history. According to history, all the denominations arose because someone began to stress a particular teaching or practice. This is the reason why in almost every city today there are many different denominations. The practice of different churches, what is emphasized in them, and their outstanding features may even be according to the natural disposition of the leading ones there. If a local church has been raised up under a certain kind of practice, we should be wise and not speak differently against its practice. Some may ask, “What then shall I do? It seems that I can do nothing there.” This is not the case. There are many things we can do. We can go along with the church to preach the gospel and bring people to the Lord. We can help the saints to know the Lord more in life and in the spirit without referring to particular practices or bringing in our own practice. Then we also can pray and wait. At a certain time the Lord may open the way to speak about a certain practice. Still, we should not stress it, and we should always be watchful as to whether or not our speaking will cause trouble. If our speaking causes trouble, we must stay silent. Otherwise, we can try to minister something in a positive way.
In my ministry I often tell people that man is a trichotomy, a person of three parts. However, in a local church that meets on the proper ground, the brothers and sisters may have been raised up under a ministry that teaches dichotomy. If I go to such a church, by the Lord’s mercy and grace I will not speak a word about trichotomy. I will simply go along with the church in a positive way. I will simply say, “Brothers, we need to love the Lord. We have been regenerated in our spirit, so now we have to contact the Lord by exercising our spirit.” Some may come to me and ask, “What about the difference between the spirit and soul?” However, due to the atmosphere in that church I would say only, “Brothers, forget about this. As long as we love the Lord and honor Him, everything is all right.” I can still do many things to help the church there. If I have the measure and the stature, I can minister the riches of Christ to the saints without mentioning trichotomy and, even the more, without opposing dichotomy.
As long as the saints in a certain place are one in the Lord’s life and in the church as His expression, they are the church on the proper ground. We must recognize this fact, and we must respect their situation. If we go to them openly or even privately to tell them that dichotomy is incorrect and to show them trichotomy in 1 Thessalonians 5:23, we are wrong. We may be right doctrinally, but we are wrong practically, and we will damage the church. We must not do this.
I have been in the United States for more than three years, and I have visited many places. By the Lord’s mercy, I did not correct, adjust, make proposals, or speak differently from them. Even when some have asked me to speak about a certain matter, I simply ministered something of Christ positively to help the church to go on. This does not mean that I agree with all the practices in every place. If a certain church were under my hand, its practice might be completely different. If the “car” were in my hand, I would drive it in a different way. However, it is not my car, so I should not be a backseat driver.
I first learned this lesson when I stayed with Brother Watchman Nee. I watched and observed how he conducted himself. He never made differing proposals to a local church, and he never adjusted or corrected them. He once told me, “Brother Lee, what good is it to adjust others? On the whole earth we cannot find one group of Christians that was ever successfully adjusted. It is impossible to adjust others, and it is foolish to try.” Consider yourself as an example. Are you willing to be adjusted?
If someone is driving a car, he does not want someone else to be a backseat driver. To say nothing about someone else’s driving means that we have learned the proper lesson. Someone who is patient about everything else may be unable to be patient with a backseat driver. That is why Watchman Nee told me that it is foolish to adjust others. Not one person on this earth wants to be adjusted. He said, “Brother Lee, be patient. The wisest thing is to let people go. Then they will learn the lesson, and later they will come back to ask you for help.”
I was a learner under Brother Nee’s hand at that time, but many times when I saw the things happening around us, I was unable to be patient. I asked him, “Do you agree with this? Why don’t you speak a word about it? If you say something, people will receive it.” Brother Nee replied, “You are wrong. Even if the Lord Jesus came to speak a word, they would not receive it. You should not try to be higher than the Lord Jesus. Let them go their way. One day they will learn the lesson.” I have come to realize that this is the truth. We cannot help others by adjusting them; we can only create problems in this way. If we adjust people, we will never see a profit. We will see only a loss to others and to ourselves.
If we go to a certain place to minister, we should always remember to avoid adjusting people. Then our ministry will be preserved, and we will not be involved in problems. We will keep a position to minister something positive, and our ministry will not be damaged. People will not be troubled by us. Instead, what they receive from us will be something positive as a gain and a profit. However, if we do adjust people, sooner or later we will damage them and our ministry. The doors for our ministry will be closed, and we will lose our position to minister. The more we try to adjust people, the more we lose our credit with them, and they will have no confidence in us. If we avoid adjusting others and always help them positively, we will build up a strong confidence among them. This will help them and us also.
Wherever we go, we need to recognize the facts of history, respect the present situation in that place, and go along with the church in a positive way. Then perhaps an opening will be prepared for us to minister something further. Still, we need to be very wise and careful, always on the alert not to create trouble. The Scriptures show us the principle that the building of the house of God requires peace. David was unable to carry out the building of the temple because in his time there was no peace. When there is no peace and harmony, it is impossible to build up the house of God. We should not try to say who is right and who is wrong about an issue. As long as we create trouble, we may be right in doctrine, but we are wrong in our way.
As we have said, if we go to a place where dichotomy is taught, we should not speak against it, and we should not insist on trichotomy. However, if certain ones who teach dichotomy come to our locality, they also should recognize the facts and respect the present situation among us. In the past three years the Lord has raised up a church here through the ministry. This ministry cannot avoid speaking about trichotomy, because we have learned and experienced this fact, and it is through this ministry that the church here has been built up.
Therefore, those who come to us should recognize the situation with the church and the ministry, whether or not they agree with trichotomy. They should not speak against trichotomy, but they should go along with the church here in a positive way. There will still be many opportunities to help the church by ministering. They can help the church to preach the gospel, for example. There will always be openings for a positive ministering. There are forty-five minutes for speaking after the Lord’s table meeting every Lord’s Day. If someone has an abundance of life in Christ, and he is very much in the spirit, he may take five minutes to stand and speak a word to minister life to others. There is no need to say trichotomy is wrong and dichotomy is right. He may simply minister something of the love of Christ, our love toward Christ, and the way to fellowship with the Lord and touch Him. In this way he will enrich the meeting without raising up any problems. He will be a witness of light and life.
If someone has learned something of Christ in his spirit and has a real surplus of Christ, he can offer a prayer in the Lord’s table meeting. In only a few minutes the whole congregation can be helped. Once when Brother Nee attended the Keswick Convention, he was asked to offer a prayer. That prayer uplifted the entire congregation to the extent that no one paid attention to the message afterward. After the meeting everyone talked about that prayer. This illustrates that even one prayer can help people very much. If we have a portion of Christ, there is no need to try to change the way of a church in a certain place. We can still minister what we have gained of Christ. Even if there is no opening for ministering in the meeting, we can still visit the brothers in their homes, not to speak something different from the teaching in that place but to minister life to everyone in every family. In this way we will edify, build up, and enrich the church.
