THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE CHURCH
AND THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD
Read and pray: “What is the outcome then, brothers? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. All things must be done for edification.” (1 Cor. 14:26)
GOD'S BLESSING IS IN THE ONENESS
God’s blessing for the church is in the oneness. The Holy Spirit moves in oneness, the power of the gospel is found in oneness, the authority of God dwells in oneness, the light of God is found in oneness, and the supply of the divine life is also found in oneness. However, for oneness to exist, there must be building. Without building, there is no genuine oneness. Even if there is some kind of oneness, it will not last. Only when we are built can we have genuine oneness.
We may serve together without being one. We may not try to impose our opinions and yet still not be one. Only when we are built together can oneness exist. We do not experience God’s blessing abundantly nor is His presence evident among us because there is not enough building among us. This is tremendous proof that we lack submission to authority.
We may not argue in the meetings, but we are not one because there is not much building among us. When the brothers come to the meetings, there is neither harmony nor coordination in spirit. Even those who serve are independent. This shows that we have not yet been built together.
We love the Lord and are willing to seek Him. Even though we feel uneasy when we miss the meetings, that does not show we have been built. We pray when we feel inspired and remain silent when we have no inspiration. We do not care about the condition of the brothers and are not bothered if we are isolated Christians. Although saved and attending the meetings, we remain separated and isolated. Even those who serve full time are like this. When they come to a meeting, they feel isolated and detached in spirit. This causes the spirit of the meeting to be weak.
If those who serve are in harmony, coordinated, and of the same mind, the meeting will be powerful, meaningful, and full of blessing. This proves that the presence of God is in the building. Therefore the key to God’s blessing and His presence is the building among those who serve.
A car is a good illustration. When we press the gas pedal, the car moves because it has been “built.” If we have only separate, nicely painted car parts, the car will not move because the parts have not been assembled, or “built.” Using the same picture, sometimes those who serve in a meeting are “disassembled.” They are not coordinated but independent, each doing what he thinks is right.
This shows that those who serve have not been built as one. This hinders the saints under their care from being built as well. The result is that the prayers and activities in the meetings are independent, individualistic, not corporate, and not in oneness.
A pile of good auto parts that are not assembled or coordinated is useless. Without building, the car cannot move. In 1946 I worked in Shanghai and Nanking. Every time I returned to Nanking, I saw clear oneness, whether in the singing, the prayers, or the message. In the Lord’s table meeting, all the saints in Nanking testified of the same thing. They were our letter of recommendation. Even those who only occasionally attended the meetings felt renewed.
Today I sense a spirit of independence in many meetings. Each one acts clearly in an individualistic way. We function according to our inspiration of the moment. We pray or request a hymn when we feel inspired. Yet we are disconnected and disunited. Although we do not quarrel, there is no building. Not only is there no organic building, but there is also tearing down.
For example, two brothers may have good coordination together, but when others join them, they stumble in their coordination. Because we are separate and therefore lack building, it is not easy to see God’s blessings and His presence in our midst.
It is not easy to find God’s presence in individual spirituality. His presence is manifested where there is oneness, where there is harmony. Therefore the Lord said in Matthew 18: “Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth concerning any matter that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father who is in the heavens. For where two or three are gathered together into My name, there am I in their midst” (vv. 19-20).
Without oneness among us, we cannot expect any blessing, even if we work diligently without fighting or arguing. Others may be very successful with little effort, but we will have little success no matter how much we strive.
Even if we receive God’s blessing and our work helps others to learn in life, receive spiritual instruction, and love the Lord, we still will not be able to carry out an eternal work. Our work will not produce building. It will not lead the saints to serve the Lord in love, depending on one another and becoming God’s dwelling place. He does not want people merely to be saved and become spiritual individually. He wants building.
If we are merely instructed without allowing God to do a work of building in us, we will administrate the church as elders, but our administration will lack the element of building. Being coworkers or those who minister the word, we will not result in building. Our word may bring others to salvation and to be spiritual, but it will not produce anything for building.
We may be able to gather much material for building and work with it, yet it will not be used for building with other materials. We may be able to visit people and help them become spiritual, yet there will still be no building.
May God have mercy on us to make us humble. We should not think that because we save some people for the Lord, we know how to carry out God’s work. That is not what He wants. He wants a building. Where there is building, there is oneness; where there is oneness, there is something genuine. That is what God wants.
Enjoy more: Hymn 394
"Not the individual Christians,
but a corporate entity—
God must have it for His full expression now;
Not just individual churches but the Body corporately—
Hallelujah, we are in the Body now!"
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