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As we follow the Lord on the pathway to glory, we experience rejection, the lack of necessities, and the storm on the sea. After this, we face the accusations from religion. In this message we shall see how the Lord dealt with the accusations of the traditional religionists (Matt. 15:1-20).
Matthew 15:1 and 2 say, “Then there came to Jesus from Jerusalem Pharisees and scribes, saying, Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.” Although the Lord had forsaken the rejecting religionists, they still would not cease to trouble Him. They came to Him from their religious center, Jerusalem, in order to discover His faults. However, their troubling afforded Him another opportunity to reveal the truth about how to be really clean (vv. 10-11, 15-20). The Pharisees and scribes asked the Lord Jesus why His disciples transgressed the tradition of the elders. This reveals that the disciples did not keep the old traditions in following the Lord. They cared only for the heavenly King’s presence, not for anything else.
The elders spoken of in verse 2 were not the elders of the people, but the people of ancient times, those of bygone generations. In the past, some of those who claimed to be for God had certain practices, and their practices eventually became the traditions that were observed by the Jews when the Lord Jesus was on earth. For example, certain of the ancients adopted the regulation of washing their hands whenever they ate. At the time of the Lord Jesus, this was a tradition. However, it was not a commandment in the Bible. Nothing commanded by God could ever become a tradition, for God’s word is always fresh. A tradition, on the contrary, is something invented or initiated by man.
Some of the opposers have said that we should return to the so-called historic church and follow the traditional practices. Recently, a group of so-called fundamental Christians even published an article appealing to Christians to return to the historic church. But the historic church has adopted many regulations that are absolutely unscriptural, and it has made many decisions regarding things not found in the Bible. Consider, for example, the worship of Mary, which was sanctioned by the Council of Ephesus. There are more traditions in Christendom today than in Judaism when the Lord Jesus was on earth. Traditions are very prevailing in Christendom today. The traditional celebration of Christmas is an example. One of our critics has said that the origin of Christmas is not pagan. He even denied the fact that the Christmas tree is pagan. The Christmas tree is pagan, evil, and idolatrous. There can be no reconciliation between the Lord’s living testimony and the traditional church. We are opposed because we, as the disciples following the Lord today, would not keep such traditions.
Verse 3 says, “And He answered and said to them, Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?” The Jewish religionists accused the Lord’s disciples of transgressing their tradition, but the Lord condemned them for transgressing the commandment of God because of their tradition. They ignored God’s commandment by caring for their tradition. In principle, the religious people today do the same. In many ways both the Roman Catholic Church and the Protestant denominations make void the word of God because of their traditions.
In verse 4 the Lord continued, “For God said, Honor your father and mother; and, he who speaks evil of father or mother, let him die the death.” The Lord’s dealing with the Pharisees and scribes here not only condemned them for making void the word of God because of their tradition, but also implied that man should honor his parents. God in His government among men has ordained that man should honor his parents. Among the ten commandments (Exo. 20:12), He has made this the first commandment concerning human relationships. Fallen human nature, however, always attempts to ignore the parents, that is, to rebel against God’s government. The Lord as the heavenly King, in order to bring man back to God’s government, emphasized that man should honor his parents. This corresponds to His word in the constitution of the kingdom of the heavens concerning the fulfillment of the law (5:17-19). Hence, the Apostle also emphasized this matter strongly (Eph. 6:1-3; Col. 3:20). We the kingdom people must honor our parents and not excuse ourselves as the Jewish religionists did. Any excuse indicates that we are not under the heavenly ruling, but that we are following our fallen human nature and the rebellious trend of today’s generation.
In the Lord Jesus’ encounter with the Pharisees, the Lord did not care for the traditions. On the contrary, He referred them to the word of God. In principle, we are doing the same today. Men are still making void God’s word by means of their tradition, and we are being accused today of not keeping the traditions. Recently, one of our opposers twisted 1 Thessalonians 5:23, a verse that speaks of the three parts of man — the spirit and soul and body. He said that in this verse the Greek word translated “and” could also be rendered “even.” But if we use “even” for the Greek conjunction in this verse, the spirit, soul, and body would equal one another. This is like a doctor saying that a person’s legs are the same as his stomach and the stomach as the heart. What medical quackery that would be! In Christendom many still insist on the traditions, and in the so-called churches these traditions are very prevailing. But the Lord has raised us up to come back to the pure Word. We do not care for man’s tradition, teaching, or practice. This has offended some, and we have been accused of damaging the “church.” But the “church” we are accused of damaging is not actually the church; rather, it is the traditional church, the denominations, the sects.
Praise the Lord for the record in Matthew 15! All the aspects of this record coincide with our situation today. The Lord Jesus and His followers were accused by the traditionalists, and today we are accused by the religionists. In answering those who accused His disciples, the Lord seemed to say, “You Pharisees accuse My disciples of breaking your traditions. You need to see that you have broken God’s commandment by holding to your tradition, and you continue to break it.” In this way the Lord brought them back to the pure Word, telling them what was the commandment of God and what was man’s tradition. It is the same today. We are accused of not following the historic church, that is, of not following the traditions. We answer that we must come back to the pure Word and not care for the traditions of the historic church. In the various councils and creeds of the historic church, there is no mention of the seven Spirits. This means that if we follow the traditional concept of the Trinity, we shall neglect the seven Spirits. Our critics say, “You don’t honor the ancient councils which formulated the creeds regarding the Trinity.” We respond, “We don’t follow the creeds. They are man’s teaching and tradition. Instead, we come back to the pure Word. In the Bible we find something more than what is included in the creeds, for the Bible speaks of the seven Spirits. Can you find a word about the seven Spirits in your creed?” This is merely one illustration of the gap between the Lord’s recovery and traditional Christianity. This gap exists because the recovery is based wholly upon the pure Word, whereas Christianity is filled with traditions.
In verses 7 and 8 the Lord Jesus said, “Hypocrites! Isaiah has well prophesied concerning you, saying, This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me.” The heavenly ruling of the kingdom requires inward reality, not mere outward practice, in that it deals with the real condition of the heart, not the expression of the lips. The tradition of the Pharisees was outward, but the Lord’s concern was for something inward. Some in today’s religion oppose us because they are for the outward things. They do not know the inner life or the subjective truths. Some claim that because Christ is in the heavens, He cannot actually dwell in us but He is merely represented in us by the Holy Spirit. This indicates that they do not have the subjective Christ; they have only the objective Christ. But we in the Lord’s recovery have both the objective Christ and the subjective Christ. Those who teach that Christ is merely represented in us do so because they believe that in the Godhead the Father, Son, and Spirit are three separate individuals. Because the Son is in the heavens, they insist that it is impossible for Him to be in us. Those who argue this way are in practice tritheists. They believe in the one-in-three, but not in the three-in-one. However, in the Bible there is not a hint to indicate that the three in the Godhead are separate. On the contrary, the Lord Jesus said to Philip, “Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me?” (John 14:10). In the same verse the Lord continued by saying, “The words which I speak to you, I do not speak from Myself; but the Father Who abides in Me, He does His works.” This verse reveals that when the Son speaks, the Father works.
John 7:29 says, “I know Him, because I am from Him, and He sent Me,” and John 15:26 says, “But when the Comforter comes, Whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of reality Who proceeds from the Father, He will testify concerning Me.” The Greek preposition rendered “from” in these verses and in John 6:46 has the meaning of “from with.” The Son is sent not only from the Father, but also from with the Father. In John 15:26 the Lord says that He will send the Spirit from with the Father. According to the human concept, the Spirit is sent from the Father, and the Father remains in the heavens. However, the Spirit of reality is sent by the Son, not only from the Father, but also with the Father. The Comforter comes from the Father and with the Father. The Father is the source. When the Spirit comes from the source, it does not mean He leaves the source, but that the source comes with Him. This Spirit, sent by the Son and coming with the Father, will testify concerning the Son. The three of the Godhead are three-in-one. The Father, the Son, and the Spirit are not three separate Gods, but the one unique God. This is the correct understanding of the Triune God according to the pure Word of God. However, those who hold the traditional concept of the Trinity in actuality have three Gods.
Those who say that Christ is not in us cannot have subjective experiences of Christ. How can they experience Him subjectively if they do not believe that Christ today is the life-giving Spirit indwelling our spirit? Because they lack the subjective experience of Christ, they accuse us of being heretical. Furthermore, they deny the fact, revealed in 2 Peter 1:4, that the believers are partakers of the divine nature. They teach that in this verse the phrase “divine nature” does not mean divine nature, but divine virtue. They also claim that to have the divine nature is to become God Himself. Furthermore, they accuse us of teaching evolution into God. Yes, we do say that we have the divine nature, because we have been born of our God. How ridiculous to say that a son does not have the nature of his father! Because we have been born of the divine Father, we certainly have His life with His nature. But this does not mean that we become or are becoming God Himself. According to the pure Word, we also say that the church today is the manifestation of God in the flesh (1 Tim. 3:15-16). Because we say this according to the Bible, we are again accused of making ourselves God and of teaching evolution into God. We are actually accused of making the church the fourth member of the Godhead! How evil is this charge!
In October, 1977, an international conference was held in Taipei. From January of that year I began to seek the Lord concerning the subject on which I should speak during that conference. By the first of October, I still had no idea what the subject would be. When asked about it, I could only say, “I don’t know.” But on October 2, 1977, a speech against us was delivered before a large congregation. Many of our brothers and sisters attended that meeting and gave us a report concerning it. Upon hearing their report, I immediately realized that I should speak on the subjective experiences of Christ. I realized that those opposing us do not know anything about the subjective experience of Christ. They care only for objective knowledge and doctrine of the Bible, of Christ, and of the church. Thus, I was burdened to tell all the churches represented in the conference that we need to experience Christ in a subjective way.
The problem between the Pharisees and the Lord Jesus and His followers was that the Pharisees cared only for outward tradition, ritual, and practice, for example, the washing of hands. They cared nothing whatever for inward reality. Therefore, the Lord Jesus pointed them to the inward matter of the heart. The Lord seemed to say, “Don’t care for this outward practice of washing of hands. The dirt that needs to be cleansed away is within you.” In the Lord’s recovery today we likewise do not care for outward things; rather, we care for inward reality.
In 1968 many saints in Los Angeles were stirred up to be buried in the water. As a result, a number of opposers condemned me for teaching rebaptism. However, I did not teach this. But I was happy to see the saints who felt they were old bury themselves in the water. Certainly this is much better than attending a casino. Certain Christians in Hong Kong played Mah-Jongg, and the pastors did not condemn it. However, when some leaped into the water to bury themselves, the pastors said that this was heretical. Today many of those who were buried in the water are very much with the Lord. The Lord cares for inward reality, not for the outward practice. To those who criticized the ones who were baptized again, I said, “The children of Israel crossed the Red Sea, which is clearly a type of baptism (1 Cor. 10:1, 2). But later they crossed the Jordan River. Was that not a burial? The children of Israel had to pass the River Jordan because they had become old. If, after they passed through the Red Sea, they had been faithful to the Lord and had entered into the good land, there would have been no need to cross the Jordan. But because of their unbelief and their years of wandering in the wilderness, they became old. Hence, they needed to bury the oldness and to be renewed by passing through the River Jordan. Twelve stones were buried in the river to represent the old Israel, and twelve stones were brought out of the river and set on the land to represent the renewed Israel. Yes, you were baptized years ago, but since that time you have been wandering in the wilderness. You need to be buried and renewed.” The Lord does not care for outward rituals or regulations; He cares only for inward reality.
Because the Lord cares for inward reality, we are not concerned about the outward way of having our meetings. It means very little whether the meeting is loud or quiet. We care only for the inward experience of Christ, for inward reality. It is an insignificant matter whether our hands are dirty; it is the condition of our inward parts that is important.
Verse 8 says, “This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me.” Those who follow the traditions may honor the Lord outwardly with their lips, but their heart is far away from God. The outward practice of the traditions seemingly is for God. Actually, however, the inward being of so many who follow the traditions is not for God. Do you believe the majority of Christians observe Christmas for God? Apparently they may be; actually, in the practice of Christmas, the heart of many is not for the Lord. They have the appearance, but not the reality. They have an outward professing lip, but their heart is away from the Lord. In the Lord’s recovery we are not talking without inward reality. If we speak without reality, we are more than pitiful. Tradition is a matter of utterance from the lips without reality in the heart.
Verse 9 says, “But in vain do they worship Me, teaching as teachings the commandments of men.” This reveals that some worship to God may be in vain. The main cause of this is the teaching of the commandments of men. We must worship God according to His word, which is the truth. Many of those who condemn our meetings for being too noisy have no heart for God. Again I say, in the eyes of God it is not a matter of the outward appearance, but a matter of the inward reality, not a matter of what we say, but a matter of what we are. Consider the so-called Christian services in which solos are sung by beautiful young ladies in short skirts. Where is the heart of many who are listening to them? It may be in fornication. Why are not these solos sung by old ladies instead of by attractive young women? Is this the worship of God? No, it is an abomination to our holy God! But our noise is not an abomination to Him. Let us make a joyful noise to the Lord (Psa. 100:1) from the spirit. We like to shout, “Praise the Lord! Amen! Jesus is Lord!” We do not care for the outward appearance; we care for the inward reality.
In verse 11 the Lord said that it is not “that which enters into the mouth” that “defiles the man, but that which goes out of the mouth, this defiles the man.” In the kingdom of the heavens defilement is not of material things but of moral matters. Material things have nothing to do with the heavenly ruling, but moral matters do. All the evils that issue from the heart prove that we are not under the heavenly ruling.
In verse 13 the Lord said, “And He answered and said, Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted shall be rooted up.” This word of the heavenly King indicates that the hypocritical Pharisees were not planted by the heavenly Father. By their rejection of the heavenly King, they were uprooted from the kingdom of the heavens.
Verse 14 says, “Leave them alone; they are blind leaders of the blind; and if a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.” The self-righteous and arrogant religionists thought they were clear concerning the way to serve God, not realizing that they were blind leaders of the blind. Their eyes were veiled by their religious traditions; hence, they could not see Christ and the reality of God’s economy that they might enter into the kingdom of the heavens. Their blindness led them to fall into a pit.
Those who follow the traditions are blind leaders of the blind. This is true today. Many opposers are also blind leaders of the blind. They may claim to know the Bible, but actually they are completely blind and have no light at all. Hence, they lead others into blindness. I feel very sad about all those who are being misled. I appeal to your conscience and ask this question: Can you deny that there is some amount of reality in the Lord’s recovery? In the recovery genuine help has been rendered to assist you to experience Christ in a subjective way and to enjoy Him. I think that you all can say from your conscience that never before and in no other place were you helped so much to enjoy Christ. Nevertheless, a number are opposing us. But they have missed the blessing and enjoyment. As the Lord Jesus said, these blind leaders have not been planted by the Father. Rather, they are self-assuming ones, not God-planted ones. Their blindness will cause them to be uprooted. Their follies, quackery, and errors will uproot them.
Again we see that we are following the same way taken by the Lord Jesus and His disciples. They suffered rejection, experienced the lack of necessities, faced the stormy sea, and were accused by the traditionalists and religionists. It is the same with us today. This is the pathway to glory.
