Apparently, the book of Hebrews does not touch the matter of the church. Actually, it is absolutely for the church, because the church is the consummation of God’s economy. In Heb. 2 we clearly see that the resurrected Christ with His uplifted humanity is for the church. According to 2:12, after His resurrection Christ came back to His brothers and, in the midst of the church, He sang hymns of praise unto the Father. In this verse the church is clearly and definitely mentioned in a very deep way. By this we see that Hebrews is not only a book on Christ; it is a book on Christ for the church.
Heb. 10:25 says not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together. As we have pointed out, for the Hebrew believers to forsake the assembling of themselves together with the saints meant that they were forsaking the new covenant way. When the believers assembled themselves together in ancient times, that assembly was the practical and actual church.
As we have seen, in Heb. 12:18-24, we have a contrast between the sight of the old covenant and the scene of the new covenant. In the scene of the new covenant, we see Mount Zion, God’s holy city, the myriads of celebrating angels, and the church of the firstborn ones. The church is the center of this scene. After the mention of the church, we have the justifying God, the justified spirits of the ancient saints, and Jesus, the Mediator of the better covenant with His precious blood that speaks better than that of Abel. By this we can see that the church is the focus of the scenery of the new covenant.
In this message we come to chapter thirteen. Although the word church is not found in this chapter, the entire chapter is concerned with the church life. The experiences of Christ (Heb. 13:8-15) and the ten practical virtues (Heb. 13:1-7, 16-19) covered here are for the church. Nearly everything mentioned in verses 1 through 7 and 16 through 19, such as brotherly love and hospitality, is for the church life, not just for the Christian life. If we would have the proper church life, we need all ten of these virtues. Let us now consider each of them.
Verse 1 says, “Let brotherly love continue.” No one can say that brotherly love is not for the church life. If we were not in the church life, we would not need brotherly love, for we would be far away from one another and would not need to love one another. But because we have been flocked together, we need brotherly love to continue.
Every local church passes through a honeymoon period. I believe that all the churches in the United States and Canada have passed through their honeymoon. After the honeymoon is over, every newly married couple will eventually have a collision. In order to stay married, we must have the marriage love. In the church we need brotherly love, and in our families we need marriage love.
First Corinthians 13:13 says, “And now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love” (Gk.). According to this verse, love is the greatest virtue. It is also the most excellent way (1 Cor. 12:31, Gk.). The most excellent way is not the way of gifts or teachings but the way of love. Love is the most excellent way because it is the expression of life (1 Cor. 13:1). Love is just life appearing in another form. In 1 Corinthians 8:1, Paul says, “Knowledge puffeth up, but love buildeth up” (Gk.). If we would be built together, we must have brotherly love.
Verse 2 says, “Do not be forgetful of hospitality, for through this some have entertained angels without knowing it.” How we need hospitality in the church life in the Lord’s recovery today. No one can estimate how much hospitality has built up the Lord’s testimony since the beginning of the Lord’s recovery in this country. Hospitality truly edifies. It brings much new blood into the fellowship of the Body. How we thank the Lord for this! In Romans 12:13 we are told to pursue hospitality, and in 1 Timothy 3:2, Titus 1:8, and 1 Peter 4:9 (Gk.) we are admonished to be hospitable. Among us, brotherly love should continue and hospitality should not be forgotten.
Verse 3 says, “Remember the prisoners as bound with them, and those who are ill-treated as being yourselves also in the body.” Remembering the suffering members is undoubtedly for the church life. If we remember the suffering members, it means that we are living in the Body and have the sense of the Body. When one member suffers, all the members sense it and suffer with him (1 Cor. 12:26). This is the Body life. Hence, to remember the suffering ones is a function in the Body, in the church life.
Verse 4 says, “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and the bed undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge.” Apparently this is unrelated to the church life. However, marriage is a very important factor in the church life. Whether a church is sound and healthy or loses its element and essence is very much dependent upon the marriage life. Do not consider the matter of marriage to be a light thing. We must hold it in honor. This means that we must possess our body, our vessel, in sanctification and honor (1 Thes. 4:3-4), that “no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter” (1 Thes. 4:6). In the church life, the brothers and sisters must contact one another in a holy way. This means that we honor our marriage and others’ marriage. To honor marriage means to possess our body in sanctification and honor and to flee fornication.
In the church life, contacts between the brothers and sisters are unavoidable. Hence, for our protection from falling into defilement, we must hold marriage in honor and not behave loosely. This is a matter which seriously affects our birthright in God’s economy. Reuben lost it due to his defilement (Gen. 49:3-4; 1 Chron. 5:1), and Joseph received it because of his purity (1 Chron. 5:1; Gen. 39:7-12). God will judge fornicators and adulterers, and the church also must judge them (1 Cor. 5:1-2, 11-13). Nothing damages the saints and the church life so much as this defilement.
Verse 4 says that God will judge the fornicators and adulterers. Hebrews is a book concerning God’s holiness. The holy God will never tolerate any defilement among us. He will judge His people (10:30; 12:23).
Verse 5 says, “Let your way of life be without love of money, being satisfied with your circumstances.” Surely money-lovers cannot enter into the reality of the church life. Every money-lover is a Judas, a traitor, betraying the Lord, the Lord’s testimony, and the church life. It is impossible for such a person to live the church life.
Verse 5 also tells us to be satisfied with our circumstances, for the Lord has said, “I will by no means cease to uphold you, neither by any means will I forsake you.” We must be satisfied with whatever we have and with whatever circumstances we are in, knowing that we have the Lord and that we can trust in Him for our living. We should always be satisfied with our circumstances that we may not be distracted from the church life by mammon. Since we have the Lord as our helper, we should be content and at peace that we may be fully kept in the enjoyment of the church life.
By the Lord’s mercy and grace, I, an old man, can give a strong word of testimony to the young people. I can assure you that you have no need to worry about your living. Our God is our Father, and He knows all we need. I can still remember the day when the Lord forced me to give up my job for His ministry. I had been struggling with the Lord about this for approximately three weeks. On that last day, August 23, 1933, I went to the Lord at midnight. Before that time, I had received from Him the word in Matthew 6:33, which says that if we seek God’s kingdom and righteousness, the Lord will add to us whatever we need for our daily living. That night I went to the Lord to make a thorough deal with Him about whether it was His will that I leave my job for the sake of full-time ministry. But when I went to Him, He did not give me time to pray. He just rebuked me, telling me that He had already given me a word from Matthew 6. The Lord said, “If you believe it, take it. If you don’t believe it, that’s all.” Suddenly I had the feeling that the Lord had left me and that His presence was gone. I was unable to pray any further. I could not even say, “In the name of the Lord Jesus, Amen.” As I was kneeling there, I wept and said, “Okay, Lord, I take Your word.” From that day until now, I have never lacked anything. The Lord knows our need. We may have the peace to sacrifice everything for the Lord and for the church life, not worrying about our living. As long as we enter within the veil and go outside the camp, the Lord will take care of our needs. He is our Helper and He never forsakes us. Our responsibility is to live in the Holy of Holies. Our life is in Him, and our living is in His hands. Praise Him that He is so living and real!
Verse 7 says, “Remember the ones leading you, who have spoken to you the word of God, and considering the issue of their manner of life, imitate their faith.” This is essential in the church life. Verse 7 is a continuation of verses 5 and 6. Their “manner of life” here must refer to the way of life pursued by those ministers of the word of God — without love of money and being satisfied with their circumstances. Their “faith” must refer to the fact that they trusted in the Lord, who is their Helper, for their living. The word which they ministered and the life which they lived should all be Christ, and their faith should be the faith in Christ, of which Christ is both the Author and Perfecter (12:2). Such a manner of life and such a faith are surely worthy of imitation by the believers.
The ministers of the word of God should have a manner of life that issues in an example of faith for the church members, the receivers of the word of God, to imitate. Then the church members will not only receive the word they minister, but also imitate their faith expressed in their manner of life. Their manner of life should be that of trusting in the Lord for all their needs. How different this is from the worldly manner of life! As the believers consider the issue of the manner of life of those who minister the word of God to them, they will be influenced to imitate their faith in God.
Verse 16 says, “Do not be forgetful doing good and sharing with others, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.” This verse speaks of doing good. This is not the good of good and evil; it is the good in God’s economy. Doing good according to God’s economy, which is a sacrifice well-pleasing to God, is according to God’s working within us (Eph. 2:10; Phil. 2:13), that is, according to the working of the law of life. Our outward doing good must be according to the inward working of the law of life.
Verse 16 also speaks of sharing with others. This is necessary for a proper church life. It is really improper if in the church some needy saints are not well cared for. This means that the sharing with others is absent or inadequate. Sharing with others is also a sacrifice well-pleasing to God. Its purpose is to supply the want of the needy saints for equality (2 Cor. 8:14-15). Those who have more than they need should share with those who have less than they need. When those who have more share with those who have less, there will be an equality among us. This is similar to the gathering of manna by the children of Israel in the wilderness. In those days, “He that had gathered much had nothing over; and he that had gathered little had no lack” (2 Cor. 8:15; Exo. 16:18). As a result, there was equality among the children of Israel.
Verse 17 says, “Obey the ones leading you and submit to them, for they watch over your souls as those who will give account, that they may do this with joy and not groaning, for this would be unprofitable to you.” I have heard of many so-called spiritual people who say that as long as we have the Spirit, we all are leading ones and we do not need anyone to lead us. They say that it is wrong to have leaders among us. According to them, having leading ones means to have an organization with a hierarchy and a pope. We must be balanced in this matter. We thank the Lord that in His recovery during the past fifty years there have always been the proper leading ones among the churches for the keeping of the order in God’s house.
In every household there are, in addition to the parents, the older brothers and sisters. Suppose there are six children in a family. Spontaneously, each one of them knows his order. When the oldest brother speaks, all the others listen to him. But if the third brother would presume to be the oldest brother, all the others would refuse to listen to him. If we would maintain a good order in the house of God, we must have the leading ones, and all the saints must obey them and submit to them. This is necessary for the building up of the church.
This matter of leadership, however, should not be too official. For example, in a family there is no need for the oldest child to say, “I am the number one child, and you all must realize that I am the leader of the children in this family. Since I have this position, I am God’s deputy authority.” I am sorry that the leaders of many Christian groups have utilized the book, Spiritual Authority, written by Brother Nee. They have used this book to build up their empire, saying, “I am the spiritual authority here. According to Watchman Nee’s book, you all must listen to me.” Some time ago, three young men came from a certain place to visit the elders of the church in Anaheim. They rebuked the elders, saying, “Are you elders? You don’t know how to be elders. We are elders.” These young men, all of whom were in their early twenties, were just boy elders, having been established by some self-appointed king. They were not true elders; they were actors.
If a brother is truly an elder, everyone will realize it, and he will have no need to assume any authority. If you are the oldest child in a family, all the other children realize this. There is no need to exercise yourself to assume authority. Rather, you should take loving care of your younger brothers and sisters. Likewise, the elders in the churches should not assume authority but take loving care of the saints. Elders, forget your authority. On their side, the saints must obey you and submit themselves to you. On your side, however, you should not assume authority. Nothing is uglier than assuming authority. We should simply be what we are without assuming anything. Nevertheless, in the house of God and for the building up of the Body of Christ, we must have a beautiful order among us.
Verses 18 and 19 say, “Pray for us, for we are persuaded that we have a good conscience, desiring in all things to conduct ourselves rightly. And I beseech you much more to do this that I may be restored to you more quickly.” Praying for the apostles is also an aspect of the church life. To pray for the apostles is not to pray in a personal and private way; it is to pray for the ministry and to participate in the Lord’s move for the fulfilling of God’s purpose. I thank God for the prayer meetings in Anaheim. Every week we spend a long time praying for the Lord’s move on earth and for the fulfilling of His purpose.
As we consider these ten virtues, we see that they are all necessary for the church life and should be practiced among us.
