THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE CHURCH
AND THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD
CHAPTER FOURTEEN:
THE RESTORATION OF THE CHURCH'S GROUND
WEEK 10 – WEDNESDAY
Bible Reading: Eph. 4:11–16
Read and pray: “To the church of God which is in Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both theirs and ours.” (1 Cor. 1:2)
CONCERNING BROTHER
T. AUSTIN-SPARKS
Our relationship with Brother T. Austin-Sparks was not based on the ground of the church; rather, it was based on spiritual aspects. We were certain of God’s desire for us in the East, but we also felt that we should receive supply from other ministries. Even though they had no clear ground, standing, or background, these ministries still had a portion in the spiritual ministry. This principle applies both to those who are still alive and to those who have already passed away.
Madame Guyon, for example, had a spiritual ministry, yet she was Catholic. The fact that she was within Catholicism should not be a reason to reject the spiritual supply from her portion. However, this does not mean that we would receive the peculiar elements of Catholicism.
According to this principle, we should receive supply from Dr. F. B. Meyer, Andrew Murray, and Mrs. Jessie Penn-Lewis. We received all the spiritual riches we could find in books written throughout the centuries that spoke concerning the gospel, the divine life, or the truth. Yet we rejected their ground—that is, the organizational institution they represented—because it did not correspond to our testimony and could even damage it.
Brother Nee had fellowship with Brother Austin-Sparks concerning this matter. Brother Nee also did his best to receive spiritual help from the group around Brother Austin-Sparks, but the ground of the church was not a factor in our relationship with him.
For this reason, since Brother Nee had already said that Brother Austin-Sparks was not as clear as we were regarding the ground of the church, we did not ask him what his standing was concerning it.
OUR ATTITUDE TOWARD
BROTHER AUSTIN-SPARKS
The group around Brother Austin-Sparks in London had already left the denominations. Therefore, his position was clearer than Andrew Murray’s and more developed in this regard than Dr. Meyer’s and Mrs. Penn-Lewis’s. Thus, on the positive side, he was practically blameless. On the negative side, however, he was not as definite as we were in the East.
We had already understood that the ground of the church is one and that there should be only one church in each city. We were very clear on this point from the beginning. Even though we were different from Brother Austin-Sparks regarding the ground, this did not lead us to reject him or his spiritual supply.
Our attitude was to receive the spiritual supply from all the ministries the Lord had given to His church throughout the centuries, regardless of their position or background. We would not be influenced by their background. This was our attitude.
Since Brother Austin-Sparks’s vision differed from ours concerning the ground, Brother Nee said it was not yet the time to invite him. And not only that—Brother Austin-Sparks had a certain spiritual influence on some, and thus, had he been invited to visit China, it would have caused problems.
We were only able to understand this later. I mention this so that we may understand our testimony and what the proper attitude should be concerning this testimony.
Enjoy more: Hymn 123
“In Remembrance of Him”
No comments:
Post a Comment