The administration of the church and the ministry of the word, week 9, chapter 13, Sunday

THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE CHURCH

AND THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD

CHAPTER THIRTEEN:

THE FOUNDATION FOR THE BUILDING UP OF THE CHURCH

WEEK 9 - SUNDAY

Bible Reading: Matt. 23:34; Luke 8:1; 10:1; Acts 20:23

Read and Pray: "For this cause I left you in Crete, that you might set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city, as I directed you:" (Titus 1:5)

NOT GIVING UNDUE EMPHASIS TO SPIRITUALITY,

THUS NEGLECTING THE FOUNDATION OF THE CHURCH

To build a house, one needs land—a foundation for the house. Similarly, the building up of the church needs a foundation. Brother Austin-Sparks overemphasizes spirituality and neglects the foundation. May the Lord cover me with His blood as I say this: the work of Brother Austin-Sparks at Honor Oak in London is very spiritual, but because he neglects the foundation of the church, his work has no future. Those who gather at Honor Oak learn many spiritual matters and are helped spiritually. However, they have nowhere to go when they leave Honor Oak.

There was a good assembly of the Exclusive Brethren in London. D. M. Panton also had a congregation there. Since those congregations were not part of institutionalized Christianity, why did Brother Austin-Sparks separate from them and start another congregation at Honor Oak? This issue concerns the foundation.

Brother Austin-Sparks may have thought those groups were not spiritual. If those groups were not spiritual, where should the brothers who gather among them go after leaving Honor Oak? Should they go to the Presbyterian church, the Baptist church, or should they follow Brother Austin-Sparks’s pattern and start another congregation? Spirituality is relative, but the foundation is absolute.

Just as we receive help from Madame Guyon and honor her spiritual portion, we also receive help from Brother Austin-Sparks and respect his spiritual portion. However, we disagree with both concerning the foundation of the church.

We respect the spiritual portion of Brother Austin-Sparks, but we disagree with his perspective regarding the foundation of the church. We cannot accept his correction; rather, we refute his point of view. This completely concerns the truth. Those who receive help from Honor Oak have nowhere to go and no way to advance, because they have spirituality without the foundation of the church.

Therefore, those who leave Honor Oak become wanderers wherever they go in the world. We cannot allow the brothers to become wandering stars, with no definite place to go. If the churches in Taiwan seek only spirituality, they will have many problems. Brother Austin-Sparks’s emphasis on spirituality is too subjective. He may do this in Honor Oak, but he cannot correct us to take his way. Such correction would cause our work to collapse and make us the same as the denominations.

Enjoy more: Hymn 302