Over the past twenty years, we have had many experiences and suffered many attacks. Although we were affected to some extent by these blows, we did not give up the testimony that had been committed to us.
There were spiritual people and evangelical giants who had influence over us. We were inferior to them in terms of the power of the gospel and also in certain spiritual matters. Nevertheless, we felt that we had a testimony to uphold. At times we asked ourselves whether we were not in fact being radical. We wondered why those who were powerful in preaching the gospel and were spiritual did not pay attention to the testimony of the church.
We were tested many times in this regard. However, we can testify that we gained greater and greater clarity as we were tested. Today, God’s purpose on earth is not merely to save souls or to raise up spiritual individuals; rather, His desire is to build up His corporate testimony in every city. We were fully convinced of this.
We analyzed how to deal with the difficulties brought to us by those powerful evangelists and spiritual people who did not maintain the testimony of the church. We sought the Lord, asking what kind of attitude we should have toward them. There were indeed some men who were powerful in the gospel.
For example, Dr. John Sung was an evangelist at the time we gained clarity concerning this testimony in 1935. He went everywhere preaching the gospel. Regardless of whether his jumping, agitation, shouting, and crying came from the flesh or included something of the Spirit, wherever he went, thousands of people repented every time he preached. He was powerful in the gospel, but he always criticized us. We didn’t know what attitude to take toward him, and our co-workers considered this a serious problem.
There was also Pastor Chia, a man influential in the truth and highly regarded among theologians. Although he appreciated us, he opposed us for taking this way. A prominent theological school, the Chinese Women’s Seminary, in River Bay, Shanghai, also opposed us to the point of forbidding their students from attending our meetings in Shanghai. It was difficult to know what attitude to adopt when those who excelled in the gospel or had great spiritual influence opposed us.
In the spring of 1934, Brother Nee and I drove to River Bay. It was a long journey during which he opened his heart to me. He asked what I thought we should do since so many were against us. We could not deny that some preached the gospel very powerfully. Neither could we deny that others were indeed very spiritual: they led people to love the Lord, spoke of the way of the cross, and instructed many in the truth. Yet they rejected us. We were tested in this regard and didn’t know what attitude to take.
After much consideration, study, fellowship, and seeking the Lord, all the co-workers eventually came to the realization that we could not let go of our testimony nor abandon the ground upon which we were standing.
We could accept the gospel being preached with power and accept the spiritual aspects, including the need to be perfected in the truth and in life; however, we could by no means hesitate concerning the ground and the testimony.
We could have fellowship and share with other believers regarding spiritual matters, exchanging spiritual things with one another. We should have mutual fellowship in the gospel, in spiritual matters, and in the truth, but we could not compromise the ground of the church. We decided that this would be our attitude.
Enjoy more: Hymn 476
No comments:
Post a Comment