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Scripture Reading: Matt. 18:15-22; 2 Tim. 2:22; Rom. 14:17; Eph. 2:14-17; 2 Pet. 1:8
I am thankful to the Lord that He has restored this fellowship on the vital groups. This has been frustrated by Satan for more than two years. In this chapter we want to see the purpose of the vital groups in their intrinsic significance. The purpose of the vital groups is to live two kinds of lives: the kingdom life and the church life. We must repent and admit that we have defects in these two kinds of lives. Even though we may have been in the recovery for years, we have not seen that the vital groups are for living the kingdom life and the church life.
The New Testament revelation is concerning these two lives. The center of the four Gospels is the kingdom. Matthew and John are the two books that take the lead to touch the truth of the kingdom. Matthew’s main point is the kingdom of the heavens, and the main point touched by John is the kingdom of God. John, of course, is a Gospel of life, but life brings us into the kingdom of God. We are regenerated into the kingdom of God. If we are not born anew, we cannot see or enter into the kingdom of God (3:3, 5). In Acts and the Epistles the center is the church life.
When we practiced the church life in mainland China before 1949, we had only home meetings, not group meetings. This practice started in Shanghai and brought in much blessing. Then when the Lord brought us to Taiwan, we realized that just to have the home meetings was insufficient, so we began to have group meetings. The Lord’s blessing on us was rich and abounding. Some in Korea in 1958 followed us to have this practice, but instead of using the word groups, they used the word cells. The body is built up by the cells. Our practice of the group meetings in Taiwan was a great factor of increase. Within four years we increased from about three to five hundred to fifty thousand. In the United States we adopted the practice of the groups, but the groups have entered into a dormant situation. After studying our situation, we realize that our groups are not vital.
The scriptural base for our teaching concerning the practice of the vital group meetings is in Matthew 18:15-22 and 2 Timothy 2:22. Matthew 18:15-22 teaches us how to have small groups in the kingdom life. Then 2 Timothy 2:22 teaches us how to have a church life in the degradation of the church.
We need to read and consider prayerfully the Lord’s speaking in Matthew 18:15-22, which reveals how we can live the kingdom life. Verses 15 through 17 say, “Moreover if your brother sins against you, go, reprove him between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not hear you, take with you one or two more, that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to hear the church also, let him be to you just like the Gentile and the tax collector.” If this sinning one would not listen even to the church, what should we do? The text says that we should let him be to us like the Gentile and the tax collector, that is, like an unsaved person who is outside the fellowship of the church.
Verse 18 then says, “Truly I say to you, Whatever you bind on the earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on the earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” We have to see the connection between verses 17 and 18. Verse 17 is so low, saying that we should let the sinning one who will not listen to the church be to us like a Gentile and a tax collector. But verse 18 says that we should touch heaven by our binding and releasing prayer. This is the prayer of the vital group. Verse 19 says, “Again, truly I say to you that if two of you are in harmony on earth concerning any matter for which they ask, it will be done for them from My Father who is in the heavens.” This is the practice of a vital group of two or three in harmony touching the very God in heaven. These are the two or three mentioned in verse 16: “But if he does not hear you, take with you one or two more...” These are the members of a vital group.
If a brother sins against us, we need to deal with him first in love. If we cannot get through, we should bring with us one or two more to contact him. If we still cannot get through, we should tell it to the church, and if the church cannot get through, then the sinning brother will lose the fellowship of the church. But this is not all. We have to then pray in the way of binding and releasing, and we have to pray in harmony. Whatever we pray, our Father in heaven will accomplish to gain that person. Verse 20 says, “For where there are two or three gathered into My name, there am I in their midst.” This is the reality of the vital groups. These two or three are gathered into the Lord’s name for His purpose, not into their names for their purposes.
Many times we feel that a certain saint is a hopeless case, and we stop with this feeling toward him in our small groups. We always end our small group meeting in verse 17. We would not take Christ as the heavenly ladder in verse 18 to climb up to the heavens with prayer that binds Satan and looses the sinning brother. We and the church may have no way with this brother, but should we give him up? The Lord Jesus said that we should let him be to us like a Gentile and a tax collector. But the Lord went on to say that we have to bind Satan. We have to bind the binding one and release the bound one by praying together in harmony.
We should not bring in any opinions by uncovering the fallen condition of the one for whom we are praying. We have to bind the binding one, Satan, and we have to release the sinning one, the one bound by Satan, through our prayer in harmony. To be in harmony is as musical sounds in harmony. When a piano is played properly, the many keys on the piano are struck in such a way so as to produce harmonious music. When we pray in harmony for certain backsliding, sinning ones, our prayer to recover them becomes like music to the ears of the Father in heaven.
After the Lord spoke this word, Peter came to the Lord to ask Him a question. Verses 21 through 22 say, “Then Peter came and said to Him, Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times? Jesus said to him, I do not say to you, Up to seven times, but, Up to seventy times seven.” It may have been that Peter was the one against whom a brother sinned. He did not want to forgive this brother again, so he asked the Lord, “How many times should I forgive him? Seven times?” The Lord said that Peter should forgive him seventy times seven, or four hundred ninety times. If we have a spirit to forgive a sinning one up to four hundred ninety times, surely that one will be recovered. Do we who are participating in the vital groups have such a spirit?
Our vital group may be reducing instead of increasing. Where are the others? Perhaps some have become degraded or backslidden, and others are offended. We may have a reason for each one’s no longer meeting with us, but would the Lord agree with our reasoning? The Lord would ask, “Where is your brother?” In other words, the Lord would not let us give people up. We should not give up on anyone. We have to go to the Lord again and again with prayers touching heaven by binding and releasing in harmony. Heaven means God. We touch God, and God comes in to do something. This is what it means to live the kingdom life.
If someone wrongs us, we should not be offended but still love him. We should not go to others to talk about his case. Instead, we should go to him alone. We should cover his situation by going to him directly. But if he would not listen to us, we have to take with us one or two more to see him. Eventually, we may have to tell the church. This is the way of the kingdom life in Matthew 18, but we do not practice this. When people sin against us, we talk to our spouse or other saints about it. This is wrong.
The first lesson we must learn as members of the vital groups is not to uncover people’s weaknesses. The story of Ham in Genesis 9 is an illustration of this. His father Noah became drunk, and he was uncovered in his tent. Ham saw his father Noah’s nakedness and told his two brothers about it. But his brothers, Shem and Japheth, took a garment, walked backward, and covered the nakedness of their father. As a result of this, Ham was cursed, but his brothers received the blessing (vv. 20-27). In the vital groups we have to avoid this kind of uncovering talk. Our uncovering talk is a defect that will kill our vital groups. We must learn to cover others. When we become aware of someone sinning or of someone sinning against us, we should not talk to others but to the person directly. Our natural man always likes to tell others about a person’s sins or mistakes. This is wrong.
The Lord gave us the step-by-step way in Matthew 18. These steps are to go to the person alone, then with one or two others, and finally to the church. If he would not listen even to the church, would we give up? We may stop with verse 17 of Matthew 18 by simply letting him be to us like a Gentile and a tax collector. If we stop here, however, our group will be reducing instead of increasing. Following verse 17 is verse 18 where the Lord said that we have to learn to bind and to release. We have to learn to pray in harmony for a sinning one. Then the Father in heaven will perform what we ask and will be in our midst. We also have to learn to forgive others countless times. This is the reality of the vital groups.
In 1 Corinthians 5 Paul rebuked the Corinthian believers and charged them to remove an evil one from their midst (v. 13). Paul’s charge was somewhat comparable to that of the Mosaic law in the Old Testament (see Deut. 13:5; 17:7, 12; 21:21; 22:21-22, 24; 24:7). But in 2 Corinthians Paul was tender, cautious, and considerate regarding this sinful person. After Paul told the saints to remove him, he did not have the peace, so he sent Titus to see the situation. Titus brought back the good news that this evil man had repented (7:6-13). Then Paul said that the saints should forgive and comfort this one. Otherwise, they could be taken advantage of by Satan (2:6-11).
A vital group is a real representation of the church. The church should learn how to deal with a sinning one by the example of Paul. Paul did not have the peace when this sinful one was removed, so he still did something to take care of the situation. The most important thing is to cherish and forgive. To visit is to cherish. Paul sent Titus to visit Corinth in order to cherish the Corinthians. Then Paul told them to forgive. Forgiving should follow cherishing. Then we can recover and gain people.
The kingdom life is the God-man life.
In summary, what is covered in Matthew 18:15-22 unveils how to take care of a sinning brother in a vital group. You should go and reprove him between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother (v. 15). If he does not hear you, take with you one or two more, that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established (v. 16). If he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church (v. 17a). If he refuses to hear the church also, the vital group should pray by exercising the authority of the church, which is the authority of the kingdom (vv. 17b-18; 16:18-19). Such a situation is dealt with by the vital group in harmony with the Lord in their midst (18:19-20) with a forgiving spirit (vv. 21-22). By this way the vital groups live the God-man life as Christ did when He was living on the earth.
The purpose of the vital groups is also to live the church life. Second Timothy 2:22 says, “Flee youthful lusts, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” This is the way to live the church life by the vital groups.
Paul said in Romans 14:17 that the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. This kingdom life is practiced and realized in the church life.
We must live the kingdom life according to Matthew 5 through 7. Then we can live the church life.
We live the church life by pursuing righteousness. To pursue righteousness is to take care of God’s righteous way. Matthew 5:20 says that unless our righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, we shall by no means enter into the kingdom of the heavens. The kingdom is a matter of righteousness (Rom. 14:17a), and according to the Epistles, this surpassing righteousness is Christ Himself lived out from us (Phil. 3:9). We have to live out Christ as our righteousness.
To pursue faith is to take care of God’s faithfulness. Hebrews 11:6 says that without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing to God. Also, when we come to God, we must believe that God is and we are not and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. We should pursue faith, which links us with God. We must be a person linked with God.
To pursue love is to take care of God’s heart. Love maintains our relationship with others. Paul teaches in 1 Corinthians 13 that among faith, hope, and love, love is the greatest (v. 13). In 8:1 Paul says that knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. To forgive people is a matter of love. To visit people repeatedly without being disappointed or disheartened is also a matter of love.
To pursue peace is to take care of God’s peace in producing the church for our relationship with others in the church (Eph. 2:14-17; Rom. 14:17b). Ephesians 2:14 through 17 says that Christ crucified all the different ordinances in order to make peace. Our opinion is a kind of ordinance. All the ordinances have been crucified, so we can have peace. The church life in the vital groups needs peace. Christians are divided because there is no peace among them due to their many opinions and concepts. Without peace we become fruitless. We are branches of Christ as the vine tree. We should bear fruit, but fruitfulness depends upon our peace. If the branches fight one another, how can they bear fruit? Our fruit-bearing is killed by different opinions.
We pursue the Lord as righteousness, faith, love, and peace through calling on Him out of a pure heart, seeking nothing but the Lord only, without ambition or greediness. We express our opinion because we are ambitious. We want to be something in the church or be the leader in our small group. We need a pure heart to live the church life.
Such a pursuing, existing in the vital group and abounding, constitutes the vital group neither idle nor unfruitful (John 15:5, 16) unto the full knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Pet. 1:8).
Thus, the vital groups can live the normal church life, overcoming the degradation of the church, to constitute the Body of Christ for the consummation of the New Jerusalem, the goal of God’s eternal economy. If we live the kingdom life and the church life, we will overcome the degradation of the church. Today our problem is not just Satan, sin, the world, the flesh, and the self. We are facing another strong factor, that is, the degradation of the church. Actually, we were born into the degradation of the church and have been under the influence of this degradation. Second Timothy is a book dealing with the degradation of the church. It says that the saints in Asia forsook the apostle Paul (1:15). Actually, they forsook the apostolic teaching, so they began to degrade. This is why Paul wrote his second Epistle to Timothy.
We can live the normal church life and overcome the church’s degradation by exercising our regenerated spirit of power, love, and sobermindedness (v. 7). We have to fan our spirit into flame (v. 6). Our spirit of sobermindedness and power also needs to be of love. We will not let anyone go or give up on anyone when we exercise such a forgiving and loving spirit.
Also, we need to hold a pattern of the healthy words we received from the apostle, in faith and love, and guard the good deposit through the indwelling Spirit (vv. 13-14). This is the deposit of the riches of the word, which we guard with the Spirit of God who indwells us.
Second Timothy 2:15 says that we need to cut straight the word of the truth. This cutting is as a carpenter cuts a piece of wood. We should cut the word in a straight way. This is to unfold the word of God in its various parts rightly and straightly without distortion.
In order to overcome the degradation of the church, we must enjoy the Lord in our spirit as the abiding grace. Christ today is the life-giving Spirit indwelling our spirit. Second Timothy 4:22, the last verse of this Epistle, says, “The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.” Thus, the end of this Epistle on how to deal with the degradation of the church is that we must enjoy Christ in our spirit as our abiding grace. This is the way to live the church life in the vital groups under the degradation of the church.
We must live a proper kingdom life, and the kingdom life is actually the church life. Without the kingdom life there is no possibility of having the church life. The Lord said that whoever would follow Him must deny himself and bear the cross (Matt. 16:24). This is the reality of the kingdom life. It is a life of always denying ourselves in order to kill our natural man with all its preferences. Everything of the old man should go to the cross. Then we can have the kingdom life and the righteousness that surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees. This righteousness is Christ living out of us as the kingdom life, which becomes the church life.
