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Scripture Reading: Rev. 1:5b-6; Rom. 15:16; John 15:2, 5, 8; Matt. 25:14-15, 19, 21, 30; Acts 2:44-45; 2 Cor. 8:12-15; 1 Cor. 16:1-2; 2 Thes. 3:8-12; 1 Cor. 9:7-14; Phil. 1:5-6; 4:15-19; Acts 20:33-35; 18:1-4; 3 John 5-8; Luke 16:9-13
In this chapter we want to fellowship concerning the most crucial and practical point of the many aspects and details concerning the matter of the believers serving the Lord full-time.
According to Revelation 1:5b-6 and Romans 15:16, all the believers are God’s priests. Christ has died for us and redeemed us to God that we may be His priests. According to Old Testament typology, priests are persons who are professional. They do not do anything except serve God all day for their entire lives. Priests are the serving ones to offer offerings to God. The New Testament priests do not offer animal sacrifices but living persons to God. In Romans 15:16 Paul says, “That I might be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, a laboring priest of the gospel of God, in order that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, having been sanctified in the Holy Spirit.” Paul served God by ministering the gospel of God to the Gentiles to offer them to God for God’s satisfaction.
The Lord also told us in John 15 that He is the vine and that all the believers are the branches of the vine. The branches of the vine tree are for the very expression, the very glorification, of the Triune God. To be a priest is to offer something to God for His satisfaction, but to be a branch of Christ, of the vine tree, is for the purpose of expressing God, of glorifying Him in what He is by bearing fruit.
Furthermore, the New Testament tells us that all the Lord’s children are His servants and even His slaves. He is our Master, He has bought us, and we are His slaves, His servants. According to Matthew 25, the Lord has given us His talents (vv. 14-15). Talents signify spiritual gifts. In the parable of the talents in Matthew 25 the man who went into another country gave one of his slaves five talents, another two talents, and another one talent. The problem was with the last slave, who received only one talent (vv. 24-26).
We must be clear that all the believers are priests, offering people to God, branches of the organic Christ to express God for His glory, and the Lord’s slaves to serve Him by making profit for His kingdom. The Lord told us that one day He will come back to settle accounts with us (v. 19). His settling accounts with us signifies His judgment at His judgment seat (2 Cor. 5:10; Rom. 14:10) where the believers’ life, conduct, and work will be judged for reward or punishment (1 Cor. 4:5; Matt. 16:27; Rev. 22:12; 1 Cor. 3:13-15). It would be good if there were a bumper sticker that said, “Christ will come to settle accounts with you.” Are you ready to give Him an account? He is the believers’ Master, and He has advised us to do business (Luke 19:13), to make profit, for Him. One day He will come to check with us about our account. How much is on the credit side and not on the debit side? This is something quite serious.
No one can make more profit than what the Lord gives. If you have received five talents, the most you can make is five. If you have received two talents, the most you can make is two. You cannot make more than the Lord gives you, but you have to make profit. Those who make profit will receive a reward to be the co-kings with Christ and to enjoy His joy in the coming kingdom (Matt. 25:21, 23). We have not enjoyed that kind of joy yet. We have had only a little taste.
The kingship and the Lord’s joy will be a reward to the faithful ones, but the unfaithful ones will be put into darkness (v. 30). When the Lord judged Pharaoh and Egypt, He sent darkness upon them (Exo. 10:21-23). When you are not in the divine light, you are in darkness. To be in darkness is a real suffering. The unfaithful slaves shall be cast into the outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matt. 25:30). This indicates a certain amount of suffering.
If we believe that the Lord’s word is trustworthy, we have to believe His word in Matthew 25. This word is as trustworthy as the word in John 3:16. In my youth I was told to recite John 3:16, but no one ever told me to recite Matthew 25:19 and 30. Christ will come to settle accounts with you, and if you are not faithful, He will put you in darkness. Paul said that if he preached the gospel voluntarily, he would have a reward (1 Cor. 9:16-17). But if we are not faithful, the Lord will surely punish us. Be certain that He will come to settle accounts with us. As saved believers, we are the serving ones in three categories—priests, branches, and slaves. If we are saved, we have to rise up to serve. The Lord is calling us to rise up to serve God as His priests, as the branches of Christ, and as the slaves of the Lord.
The branches should bear fruit. That is their profession, their job, their business, and their duty. As branches of Christ, do we bear fruit? If we do not bear fruit, we will be cut off from the vine (John 15:2, 6). To be cut off from the vine indicates that we will miss and lose the enjoyment, the fellowship, of the vine tree’s riches. If you do not bear fruit as a branch of Christ, you will be cut off and cast out, which is to be cut off from participation in the riches of the life of the vine.
Also, the branches who do not bear fruit by abiding in the vine are gathered and cast into the fire for burning (v. 6). This does not refer to eternal perdition, because in chapter 10 of John, the Lord Jesus told us definitely that whoever receives Him will have eternal life and will by no means perish (v. 28). A regenerated believer has no way to perish. There are many verses that assure us concerning the security of our salvation, but if we believers do not bear fruit, there will be a certain kind of punishment. We will first be cut off from the participation in and enjoyment of the riches of Christ and then be cast into the fire. The apostle Paul says the same thing in 1 Corinthians 3, where those believers whose Christian works are not approved by the Lord at His coming back will be saved so as through fire (v. 15). Through fire surely indicates punishment. The Bible indicates strongly that if we believers as priests of God, branches of Christ, and slaves of the Lord would not be faithful, there will be a certain punishment assigned to us. This is not what I say but what the Bible says. D. M. Panton said that many Christians may feel that they have a ticket for entering into the kingdom, but they will eventually discover that their ticket will not be honored.
We all have to rise up, but this does not mean that only the full-timers who give up their jobs are priests, branches, and slaves. All of us, even the smallest ones, are priests of God, branches of Christ, and slaves of the Lord. Therefore, we all have to rise up. When I ask you to rise up, I do not mean to rise up to be a missionary going to the mission field. We must come back to the pure Word, which tells us that we all are priests of God, branches of Christ, and slaves of the Lord. None of us can escape this fact. We have to rise up to do our duty; otherwise, we will be cut off, and we will suffer punishment.
Again, the Lord’s speaking for all of us to rise up is not just to those who can offer all their time to the Lord. In the New Testament there is no hint that those three thousand who were saved on the day of Pentecost gave up their jobs. They sold their possessions (Acts 2:45), but the Bible does not say that they gave up their jobs. Acts 18:1-3 tells us that Aquila had the trade of making tents as did the apostle Paul, who labored with him in this trade for a while. We have to realize that many New Testament priests, branches, and slaves have jobs. All the priests, branches, and slaves do not have to be full-timers who give up their jobs. Was the apostle Paul a full-timer who gave up his job? Sometimes he was, and at other times he was not. When the circumstances under God’s sovereignty allowed him to serve as a priest of the gospel with his full time, he did it. But sometimes the circumstances did not allow him to do this, so he worked with his hands making tents, not only to take care of his own need but also to take care of his co-workers’ need (20:34). In the New Testament there is not such a profession of preaching.
Practically speaking, the work of preaching the gospel can mostly be done by full-timers. To work for the preaching of the gospel on the college campuses in the United States requires full-time laborers. The recovery has been in the United States for twenty-three years, and we have discovered that the spread of the gospel of God’s New Testament economy requires a good number of full-time workers. But we all are priests who should serve God by ministering the gospel to the sinners to make them offerings to God. We all are branches who should bear fruit for the multiplication, the glorification, the expression, of God the Father. We all are slaves who have received at least one talent with which we must do business for the Lord. We are responsible for what we do with this talent, and we have to give an account to the Lord at His coming back. It is not necessary for us to be a full-time worker to go to our neighborhood. We can go to our friends, colleagues, relatives, and neighbors. All of us can preach and teach the truth in the evenings, on the weekends, and on holidays. All of us can speak for the Lord in the meetings. All this is included in the rising up and the going out. To rise up does not mean that you will be a full-time worker, and to go out does not mean that you need to be a full-time worker. If you are not a full-time worker, you can still rise up and go out.
When the full-time workers are doing much work on the college campuses, the saints who are not the full-time workers can also surely participate in that work. In 1985 some full-time workers went to Berkeley, California, and caught approximately two hundred contacts for the Lord. Then many of the saints in the Bay Area who were not full-timers picked up the burden to care for these two hundred contacts. In Taipei, Taiwan, there are at least one hundred thirty full-time workers working on the campuses. There are also approximately two hundred saints who are not full-time workers helping them. They can go with the full-time workers on the weekend to do something on the college campuses. None of us should be discouraged or disappointed if we cannot do the Lord’s work with our full time. If the Lord is not allowing us to take the full-time way, we can still rise up and go.
If the Lord is calling us to work for Him with our full time, we should not shrink back, withdraw, or try to escape from His calling and inner leading. Be at peace to follow His leading. If He leads you to take the full-time way, you have to go this way. If He keeps you in your locality to do your job to serve Him as a branch, a slave, and a priest to support the full-time work, you will be rewarded.
Paul tells us that “those who announce the gospel...live from the gospel” (1 Cor. 9:14). The ones who give up their job to serve the Lord full-time should live by announcing the gospel. But practically speaking, where will your material supply come from? When I came to the United States in the early sixties, I had no personal source of income. Some of the brothers here in the United States may have thought that the saints in the Far East were helping to take care of my living. At the same time, the saints in the Far East may have thought that since I was now in the United States, the brothers here would take care of my material supply. A brother who took care of my 1964 income tax return told me that I had received only six hundred dollars for the entire year of 1964 from the church in Los Angeles, which I was serving very much at that time. You may wonder how I lived. I lived by preaching the gospel. I do not know quite well from whom I received my material supply.
About sixty years ago the Lord began His recovery among us brothers in China, and one of the things we studied was how the Lord’s full-time servants could be taken care of. The general way practiced by many Christian groups is to raise funds through some organizational means. Then trained theological students are hired to be the ministers, pastors, preachers, or missionaries. Among so many Christian groups, however, the China Inland Mission formed by Hudson Taylor was different. Hudson Taylor did not take the organized way of raising support for himself and his fellow workers. He trusted in the Lord for his living and work. He let the Christians on this earth know that there was a work under his hand called the China Inland Mission so that whoever was burdened to give would have the opportunity. Many Christians from different denominations, from different countries, and other sources donated a lot for his work. He did not organize the money to hire people, but he told his co-workers that they were not sure how much they could receive of the Lord. All the missionaries had to go out by faith, trusting the Lord for their living. There was no promise as to what their salary would be. They did not know how much they would receive monthly, quarterly, or yearly. They were only told to go by faith, trusting the Lord. Whatever material supply was received by the China Inland Mission headquarters was sent to all the missionaries on a percentage basis. If very little material supply was received for one month, then very little was sent to all the missionaries on the field, so they had to trust in the Lord. This was the best way we saw among Christian groups to take care of the Lord’s work purely. However, we still did not feel that this way was altogether according to the way shown in the Bible.
In the Bible we see no organization, no control of money, and no hiring or firing. There is no organization and no financial center controlling and distributing the finances. All the full-time co-workers like Peter and Paul trusted the Lord to receive their supply either from the saints individually or from the churches corporately. If at any time they could not receive an adequate supply, they worked. Paul made tents for his needs and for the needs of his co-workers when the material supply was lacking. Because we made a resolution to do everything according to the Bible when we were young, we took the biblical way. The Bible does not tell us so much in clear words what to do concerning the supply of full-time workers. In the New Testament we can only find some principles and some examples. The principle is that we should not have any organization or any financial control, but we should only trust in the Lord and serve Him as priests, as branches, and as slaves. We all should serve whether we go full-time, part-time, or whether we still have a full-time job. We all have to go. We all have to serve. The ones who do not go full-time will have a job and some regular income. Then they need to spend every cent they have received under God’s sovereignty for God’s interest. This is the principle in the New Testament. We cannot find any hint that the Lord wants us to organize something to control the finances in a center to hire people. This is according to the biblical revelation in principles and in examples.
I have been serving the Lord full-time since 1933, and I have experienced the Lord’s faithfulness, the saints’ love, and the churches’ care. I also have experienced both being in poverty and having material riches. When I began the ministry in the United States twenty-three years ago, I did not have any burden to encourage any saint to go full-time. As the years progressed, some of the saints had no choice but to take the full-time way in their localities. When these ones began to serve the Lord full-time in their localities, the church spontaneously took care of their need. This does not mean, though, that they were hired by their churches.
We can realize that now there is a great need to spread the Lord’s recovery. According to the need of the present world, the truths that the Lord has shown us, and the blessing that we have received of the Lord, we surely must take a further step, even a giant step, for the spreading of the Lord’s recovery. The time has come, not only in the Far East but also in the United States, for us to rise up to take a giant step to have as many full-timers as possible to go out to spread the truth. It has been proved in Taiwan that the full-time workers’ going out to spread the truth has been much blessed by the Lord.
At the very beginning of the church life recorded in the book of Acts, the saints were, no doubt, under the Holy Spirit’s move. On the day of Pentecost at least over three thousand saints were touched by the Lord to have all things common (Acts 2:44). This was practiced for only a short time at the initiation of God’s New Testament economy; it did not continue for the long run as a practice of legality in the church life during Paul’s ministry, as proved by his words in 2 Corinthians 9 and other places. The practice to have all things common could not go on too long because there are many practical things involved. Acts 6:1 shows us that the distribution of food among them became a problem. Even under the move of the Holy Spirit, to practice having all things common was hard. The New Testament shows us that this way did not last very long. Eventually, the “full moon” of having all things common waned. In Acts 20:34 Paul tells us that he worked to take care of his needs and to take care of the ones who were with him. If all things were still common by that time, there would have been no need for Paul to work. This verse in Acts 20 shows that by that time having all things common was over.
In 1943 there was a great revival in the church in Chefoo, my hometown in China. Over the course of one hundred days, everyone donated nearly everything he owned. Some saints dared not to look at anything in their home when they returned after the meeting. Whatever they looked at, there was the urge within to give it to the church. The saints’ offering of everything eventually became a big problem to us. Nearly all the possessions of the approximately eight hundred saints in the church in Chefoo were offered to the church. Then we wondered how all the saints were going to live.
I looked to the Lord very much and considered what to do. I realized that I and the church could not bear such a burden. It seemed that the best way was for the church to keep a small part of the offerings and return the rest to the saints, telling them that from now on they should not use anything for themselves. They must use everything for the Lord, but their possessions must still be in their hands and not in the church’s hands. It was through this offering that seventy saints, including husbands, wives, and children, were sent to Inner Mongolia from Chefoo. The church supported them, giving them enough material supply to live in Inner Mongolia for three months. These seventy were all sent at the same time on one boat. Another thirty were sent to the city of Antung in Manchuria with the church supplying their daily needs for three months.
Other Christian groups throughout the course of church history also tried to practice having all things common, but no one has succeeded. What happened on the day of Pentecost with the believers having all things common was wonderful but temporary. We have seen that later Aquila had a job, and Paul, a full-time worker, worked with him in the same trade. We must realize though that the principle of having all things common still remains. It does not remain in the way practiced in Acts 2 and 4 but in the way practiced by Paul in Acts and taught by him in his Epistles.
In 2 Corinthians 8:12-15 Paul says we must give willingly according to what we have. Those who gathered much will have no excess, and those who gathered little will have no lack. The result of such giving and receiving is what Paul calls “equality” (v. 14). Equality equals having all things common, but there are different means of practicing this.
There is an old proverb that says, “There has never been a rich family that has lasted for three generations.” Every rich man wants his riches to last forever, but God is sovereign to balance the social wealth. I have seen rich people whose grandchildren become poor, and poor people whose grandchildren became rich. I have also seen rich Christians who loved the Lord in a sense, but they loved money more. Money was much greater and more important to them than God. They saved a lot of money for their grandchildren, but eventually all their grandchildren became poor mainly by squandering their riches nonsensically. It is hard to see a second generation among Christians who kept the riches of the first generation. God is sovereign to balance the social wealth.
If you want to make much money and retain it for your children and grandchildren, the end result will be a failure. The best way for us to train our children is to tell them that we give them only three kinds of assets: the Lord Jesus with His salvation, education, and morality. These are the only three things we should bequeath to our children. Let them inherit these three things. Concerning other things, it is best not to give them too much; otherwise, you will corrupt and damage them.
We must remember that God’s principle is to have equality. Even in the Old Testament there is the divine way to balance the social wealth. None of the Jews could sell their property forever. At the most, they could sell it for only fifty years. In the year of jubilee everything was returned to the original owner (Lev. 25:8-17). God’s way is to keep equality. In practice this is more practical than having all things common. Having all things common will cause many practical problems. The principle we keep is the principle of equality in 2 Corinthians 8. This is just like the receiving of manna in the Old Testament (Exo. 16:18). If you receive more, God will sovereignly arrange for you to have no excess. If you receive less, by God’s sovereignty you will have no lack. The manna that some of the children of Israel tried to save so they could have some excess “bred worms and stank” (v. 20). This is the principle of equality.
Some may feel that since God keeps equality and that we will never lack anything, there is then no need for them to do any work. Paul, however, charged the saints in Thessalonica that “if anyone does not want to work, neither should he eat” (2 Thes. 3:10b). A person should eat his own food (v. 12) and should not be burdensome to others. This means that a person should go to work and not look to others to support him.
On the other hand, the Bible encourages us to support the full-time workers. Third John 5 through 8 tells us we need to take care of, support, and send the traveling full-time workers forward on their way in a way that matches God, who is generous. If we support the full-timers, we are participating, sharing in, their work for the truth, and we become “fellow workers in the truth” (v. 8). We are not directly taking part in the full-time work, but we are indirectly sharing in the same work. The believers ought to support and undertake for the need of the brothers who work for God in His divine truth and who take nothing from the Gentiles. Therefore, if you do not have the burden to be full-time, you should make more money for the Lord’s interest. Do not work merely to support yourself, but also to support the full-time workers. Even the wives whose husbands are full-time workers could work to support their husbands and other full-timers if possible. This will be greatly blessed by the Lord.
Many of the saints in the church in Philippi were not full-time workers, but they had fellowship with Paul unto the furtherance of the gospel by supplying Paul’s daily needs (Phil. 1:5). Paul told the Philippians “that in the beginning of the gospel, when I went out from Macedonia, no church had fellowship with me in the account of giving and receiving except you only; for even in Thessalonica you sent both once and again to my need. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit which increases to your account. But I have received in full all things and abound; I have been filled, receiving from Epaphroditus the things from you, a sweet-smelling savor, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God” (4:15-18). It is by this way that the Philippians shared in the preaching of Paul’s ministry. They gave much support to Paul financially (vv. 10, 15-16) to further the preaching of the gospel and the spreading of the gospel.
In Luke 16 the Lord Jesus told us that we should be the prudent stewards to use the present money of unrighteousness to make friends for ourselves (v. 9). When we give to support the full-time workers for the furtherance of the spreading of the Lord’s truth, many will be saved. These saved ones will become our friends in the coming kingdom age. In the age to come many who were saved through our giving will welcome us into the eternal tabernacles. It would be so good if we all had many welcomers to receive us into the eternal tabernacles.
The Lord Jesus concluded His fellowship regarding the prudent steward in Luke 16 by saying that no servant can serve two masters. “You cannot serve God and mammon” (v. 13). We all have to receive this fellowship not only as a teaching but also as a warning. Thank the Lord if He has given you a high education and a high position with a very good opportunity to make a lot of money. This is really the Lord’s mercy, but be careful how you use this money. You may not be in the proper environment or have the burden or gift to be full time to preach the gospel, teach the truth, and minister life to others, yet you may have an ability, by the Lord’s sovereignty, to make a lot of money. This money needs to be spent in the Lord’s interest.
To hire people by organizations or to raise funds under a certain kind of central control is altogether man’s doing, replacing God as the Master. We cannot take this way, but we have to take the biblical way. I believe that the fellowship in this chapter can provide us with a sketch of the New Testament revelation of God’s economy in material things concerning our service to the Lord.
Now we need to practice according to what is revealed in the Bible. A number of saints should rise up to go out as full-timers. The rest of us should rise up to go to our neighbors, friends, relatives, and colleagues. At the same time we need to make money, not to be rich and not only for our living but also for the support of the full-time workers going out. This is the biblical way.
Since we are against organization and human control, we must ask how we are going to distribute all the gifts given by the saints for the support of the full-time workers. In 1958 I went to Toronto, Canada, to see the People’s Church. I was told that for every twenty members in their congregation, they sent out one missionary. Their building and furniture were very old because they saved nearly every cent for sending out missionaries. I believe that one full-time worker out of twenty saints is a good principle for us to follow. In the Old Testament one tribe out of twelve became full-time—the tribe of Levi. One out of twelve Israelites was a full-time worker. Among the one hundred twenty in Acts, at least twelve were full-time workers. This is one out of ten, in the principle of tithing. One out of twenty is five percent. We believers at least should give one-tenth of our income to the Lord in the principle of the Old Testament, and five percent of our income should be given to support full-time workers.
If we mean business with the Lord for the spreading of all the truths He has shown us, we all have to bear the burden to give five percent of our income purely, solely, and definitely separate for the full-time workers’ support. Every time you give to the Lord through the church, five percent of your income should be given to the Lord to support full-time workers for His propagation. Every church that has at least twenty members should practice this. A church smaller than twenty may still have one or two among them who are burdened to be full-time. Suppose a church can support only one full-timer, but two among them are burdened and qualified to be full-time. One of these two should not be told to go back and get a job. Some churches may have twenty members with no full-time workers. Then their five percent can be given to a church that has an extra number of full-time workers. This is done not by organization but by fellowship.
I hope that all the churches will begin to practice this regardless of whether or not they have full-time workers and regardless of how many workers they have. The leading ones should fellowship with the saints concerning giving five percent of their income for the full-time workers. Then the church should set up a separate account for the support of full-timers whether it has a full-timer or not. The funds in this account will eventually be useful. The Lord desires many full-time workers for His present move. Within 1986 I expect that all the churches in the United States would have between four and five hundred full-time workers.
If a church of one hundred saints has only three full-time workers, they should have an extra supply for two other full-time workers. Through fellowship with the other churches, they will be able to realize where there are places with full-time workers who need support. We all need to pray and seek the Lord’s leading regarding this matter. There should only be a principle set up with no regulation. The church needs to take care of the principle of setting aside five percent of the offerings for the full-time workers. But this does not exclude the saints from giving to the full-timers directly.
Among so many candidates for full-time work, a few should be encouraged to go back to their jobs because they are not so suitable, so profitable, for being full-time. Mainly they do not have the gift to teach and to preach, but they may be very good in business. The full-timers also need a high education to preach and teach the truths on the college campuses. If someone has not gotten his college degree, even though he may be qualified, he should be encouraged to go back to finish college or to do a job. Then this person could make more money to help the Lord’s work. This will not be controlled by anyone but will be observed and realized by the church in each locality. If you feel that you should go full-time, fellowship with the leading ones in your locality and with all the other full-time workers. By fellowshipping you will find out how the Lord is leading you. The leading co-workers will help in the training of the full-time workers.
I recently received a letter from a brother who told me that he did not have the way to serve the Lord full time but that he had the deep conviction and desire to be the same as the ones who were able. He said that he was ready to pour out with whatever material supply was needed and closed his letter with this statement: “A partner with you in the Lord’s recovery.” This letter was very encouraging to me.
The principle according to the New Testament is this—we trust in God. We do not control or take the way of organization, but we leave the matter of support completely in the Lord’s hands. We do not control the saints but do our best to help them, to train them, and to tell them the truth.
When Brother Nee was young and serving the Lord full time, he lived in poverty, not receiving that much support. In 1948 we had a conference in Shanghai, and Brother Nee stood up to say that he eventually started a business because nearly two hundred co-workers died of tuberculosis due to their lack of food supply. When he said this, he wept, and all of us wept in the meeting. In China any widow who remarried would be despised. Brother Nee said that his going into business was like a widow remarrying but that he did this not for himself but for his children.
Today the United States and Taiwan are rich countries, and there is no need for us to suffer the way we did in China. The saints’ incomes are more than adequate for the full-time workers’ support. We would not organize anything or put anything in our control. Instead, we leave the whole matter to the Lord. We have to pray that the Lord would bless the United States and use it for His ultimate move. Meanwhile, we should be faithful to Him in doing our jobs, not for a higher standard of living, not for bigger homes or bigger cars, but for the advancement, the furtherance, of the gospel.
