When we all are living in Christ as our life, Christ is the oneness

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“We may talk about oneness, but we all need to realize that the genuine oneness is nothing less than Christ Himself as our life in a practical way. Christ is the oneness, the unity. When I am living in Christ as my life and not in myself, I have the oneness, and I am in the oneness. When we all are living in Christ as our life, Christ is the oneness. If this is our situation, then we have the reality of the Body, and then we are also equipped for the service. Romans 12 stresses that without the Body we cannot serve, because each of us is only one member.”

(To Serve in the Human Spirit, chapter 1)

To bear the cross means to refrain from doing what you have the power to do

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“To bear the cross means that you refrain from doing what you have the power to do. You are qualified and empowered to do everything necessary to fulfill your desire, yet you refrain from doing so. A person like this is the strongest person. The strongest person is not the one who is able to do something, but the one who is able not to do what he has the power to do. This self-denial is the unique way to usher in God’s kingdom and to realize the kingdom life. As we shall see in the next message, the kingdom life came in through Joseph’s ability not to do what he had the power to do. We need to be such people today.

There is no doubt that, in ourselves, we cannot be such people. Our life is not the kind of life that has the power not to do what it is able to do. When we have the opportunity to do something, we simply do it. But the life of Christ has the power not to do what it is capable of doing. This fact is the key to the four Gospels and to the life of the Lord Jesus. Often He had the position, the power, and the right environment to do many things, but he also had the power not to do those things. For example, He could have asked the Father to send twelve legions of angels to rescue Him; yet He had the strength not to do this (Matt. 26:53). This life of self-denial, of bearing the cross, is the life that ushers in the kingdom.”

(Life-Study of Genesis, Chapter 119, Section 7)

Four crucial points

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“Concerning the spiritual and divine things for the church, we must keep in mind four crucial points. First, we must go through the cross. Our native flavor should be crossed out by Christ. Both the Americans and the Chinese should be crossed out. In the church there is room for no natural person, but Christ is all and in all (Col. 3: 11). On the cross both the Jews and the Gentiles were crossed out. Second, everything should be by the Spirit. Third, this is to dispense Christ to others. Fourth, everything is for the building up of the church. In other words, whatever we do should be through the cross and by the Spirit to dispense Christ to others for the building up of the church as the Body of Christ.”

(CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 4, “The Divine and Mystical Realm,” p. 157)

Our Need to Study the Hymnal (from “Having this Ministry…” March 2023, issue no. 18)

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Originally posted at https://newsletters.lsm.org/having-this-ministry/issues/Mar2023-018/study-hymnal.html

“This may come as a surprise to some of our readers, but the hymnal in the Lord’s recovery was compiled not only for singing. Because it is a storehouse of biblical truth, the hymnal is intended also to be studied closely and learned thoroughly. As Brother Lee observed, “The study of this hymnal alone is the study of the highest theology in the Lord’s recovery.”

The hymnal that the Lord has given to us has enriched our meeting life immeasurably by providing us with the most profound biblical truths in singable form. It would be hard to imagine our meetings without the invigorating corporate singing that we all enjoy. Nevertheless, if we use the hymnal only for singing in the meetings, then we are missing the opportunity to enjoy its many riches in full. To be sure, the hymns are meant for singing, but they are also meant for careful study.

The Bible itself contains many musical compositions that are intended as much for study as they are for singing. The Psalms, of course, are songs that were sung by the children of Israel for various occasions, but even the New Testament contains hymns. When we study, for example, Romans 11:33-36 and 1 Timothy 3:16, we are studying what some have understood to be hymns sung by the early church. The apostle Paul surely included these compositions with the intention that they would be studied for the revelation that they contain. To study hymns, therefore, is to follow a biblical precedent.

Brother Lee had a strong burden that we would study our hymnal to learn the highest theology. He also strongly encouraged the saints to learn the hymnal’s table of contents thoroughly to know all the categories and subcategories of the truth according to which the hymns are arranged. The following excerpts from his ministry give a sense of how seriously he viewed the study of the hymnal for the saints’ ongoing apprehension of and constitution with the truth.

Our hymns were written not according to our own ideas but according to the truths in the Bible. To explain the biblical truths is not an easy matter. To express the truths in poems and lyrics requires even the more that we have a thorough understanding of the truths. If we desire to study and pursue the profound truths in the Bible, we must do it by using our hymnal along with the Bible and by being assisted by the Life-studies and spiritual books. Sometimes even one line of a hymn is full of the riches of the truth…The study of this hymnal alone is the study of the highest theology in the Lord’s recovery. To study the table of contents of our hymnal until we thoroughly understand it and find the basis of the biblical truth of each hymn would require at least four years. Our spiritual books and Life-studies are the expressions of the truths in written words, and hymns are the conversion of the words into poems and lyrics. To compose hymns is to reach the peak, to arrive at the ultimate point, of the study of the truth. (The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1984, vol. 1, “The Four Crucial Elements of the Bible—Christ, the Spirit, Life, and the Church,” p. 223)

A person who spends several years to study this hymnal will attain a certain level of theological knowledge even if he does not study theology. Even the table of contents, with the different kinds of hymns and their categories, shows that the theological knowledge contained in the hymnal is quite rich. (CWWL, 1984, vol. 4, “Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 3: The Future of the Lord’s Recovery and the Building Up of the Organic Service,” p.114)

In our hymnal we have 1,080 hymns. We collected all the best hymns from the Christian writings. From more than ten thousand hymns, we selected only about eight hundred. After the selection, I did my best to classify them into a table of contents for the hymnal. I would ask the young people to study it. This table occupies four and a half pages with thirty categories of hymns. In these thirty categories there are more than four hundred items. Within the category of Experience of Christ there are thirty-two items. These items are the riches of Christ. (CWWL, 1985, vol. 3, “The Divine Speaking,” pp. 284-285)

One reason why the hymnal was published in English was “to show the Christians in America that we understand the truth, that our theology is comprehensive and balanced, and that we have included the best hymns from various groups” (CWWL, 1984, vol. 4, “Speaking Christ for the Building Up of the Body of Christ,” p. 114). In fact, some of the hymns were included more for study than they were for singing, as Brother Lee helped us to realize:

We composed our main hymnal with so many hymns to show others that we in the Lord’s recovery have the knowledge of the truth. We put many hymns into the hymnal mainly for our knowledge of the truth and not for our singing. (CWWL, 1988, vol. 1, “Speaking Christ for the Building Up of the Body of Christ,” p. 186)

As just one example of the breadth and depth of the truth embodied in any topic in the hymnal, Brother Lee points out how much there is on the matter of the church that requires our careful study:

In the table of contents of our hymnal there is a category called “The Church.” It covers the church as the mystery of Christ, the increase of Christ, the fullness of Christ, the vessel of Christ, and the lampstand of Christ. It also covers the church’s general definition, course, faith, unity, foundation, building, attraction, coordination, and fellowship. Hymns, #824 is on the general definition of the church, whereas #852 is on the attraction of the church. Perhaps many of us have been in the church life for a number of years, yet we are still not clear about the definition of the church, nor do we know what kind of price we need to pay when we are attracted by the church. These two hymns reveal to us these two aspects of the truth. I hope that we all can earnestly study the truths contained in our hymns. (CWWL, 1984, vol. 1, “The Four Crucial Elements of the Bible—Christ, the Spirit, Life, and the Church,” pp. 223-224)

As we continue to use our hymnal for the enjoyment of Christ in song, may the Lord grant us a renewed appreciation for the hymnal as a necessary tool for our study of the truth. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for providing us with another resource through which we can know the truth and be brought deeply into the enjoyment of Your unsearchable riches!”

The price we pay by migrating cannot compare with the Christ we will gain

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‘To move for the Lord involves a certain cost. Moving involves not only our jobs, our businesses, our homes, our families, our schooling, and other matters but also the paying of a price. We must consider what we are on the earth for. We are here not for our job, schooling, or home but for the Lord’s recovery. Therefore, it is worthwhile to pay the price to move.

The price we pay by migrating cannot compare with the Christ we will gain. When you pay one hundred dollars in order to buy a diamond that is worth one thousand dollars, you do not feel that you are paying too high a price. Likewise, if we pay the price to move for the Lord’s present testimony, we will gain the unsearchably rich Christ as our everything. We may say that this is to strike a “holy bargain” (Hymns, #473).

The day of the Lord’s coming back is approaching. Since the day of His return is very close, we should not waste our time seeking individualistic spirituality. Instead, we should enter into the flow of the Body of Christ. It is worthwhile to enter into this flow. By entering into the Lord’s flow, we will gain Christ as our everything. Everything depends on His flow. We should not worry about our future, for it is in the Lord’s hands. If we enter into His flow, He will take care of our future.’

(The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1969, vol. 3, The Lord’s Recovery of the Church Life, chapter 6)

There must be the overcomers standing in the position of the church to do God’s work

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“When the Lord Jesus died, all the power of Satan was destroyed. But what can actually cause Satan to lose his power in heaven? All of his power can be brought to an end by God’s children on earth repeatedly dealing with him, instance after instance. When the demons have been subdued many times in the name of the Lord Jesus, Satan will be cast down.

Suppose that we have a balance that is used for weighing. On one side of the balance there is Satan. Since we do not know how much Satan weighs, we must keep adding weight on the other side of the scale. Each time we deal with Satan we add more weight to the other side. When the weight is increased to a certain point, Satan will be moved. In the beginning, as we continue to add weight to the other side, it is seemingly of no use. But each addition of weight is valuable. Finally, when the last amount of weight is added, the balance will start to move. We do not know who will add the last amount of weight, but all the weight, that which is added in the beginning and that which is added at the end, produces the effect. The work of the church is to resist the work of Satan so that together we can cast out the demons. This is why Satan will do anything in his power to hinder us from being overcomers.

Casting out demons does not necessarily mean that when we encounter a demon we should confront him. Casting out demons means that we cast out all the work and power of the demon. We lay hold of the authority of the Lord and stand fast in our position. One brother adds a little weight, and another brother adds a little more weight. Then one day Satan will be cast down from heaven. God does not work directly by His own hand to cause Satan to fall from heaven. It would be very easy for Him to do this work, but He does not. He has entrusted this work to the church. Oh, how pitifully the church has failed in this matter and been unable to do it! This is why there must be the overcomers standing in the position of the church to do God’s work. When the overcomers stand in the church’s position and do the work which the church should have done, the result will be: “Now has come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ.” The man-child in Revelation 12 consists of the overcomers who stand on behalf of the church. Therefore, as soon as the man-child is caught up, Satan is cast down from heaven and the kingdom comes.”

(From The Glorious Church, chapter 4)

Christian service is a matter of life and in the Body

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THE GROWTH IN LIFE
First we have the aspect of life, then the aspect of service. We have the life matter settled first, then, based on that fact, we have the matter of service. Without life and the adequate growth in life, we cannot have the service. The little children can do many things, but they cannot serve, because they simply do not have the adequate growth in life.

To serve the Lord, the growth in life is required. The service is not mentioned in Romans 6 or 7. It is not mentioned until chapter twelve, where sinners have been redeemed, justified, and delivered from the old nature, and they are walking in the spirit. They have the real growth in life. Now they are the practical and functioning members of the Body. The Christian service is an issue of the growth of life.

If you don’t have life, you cannot serve. Even if you have life, but are short of the growth in life, still young, childish, even like a babe, you cannot serve. The service requires life and the growth of life, the maturity of life. It is a life matter, and it is a matter of the growth in life. We cannot serve the Lord without growing in the life of the Lord. This is something very basic. This is why we have been stressing the matter of life in view of our expectation of having a church life with the service. Without the growth in life, there is no possibility for the church to be built up. And without the building up of the church, there is no possibility of having the church service, the Christian service.

SERVICE IN THE BODY

The Christian service is a matter of life and in the Body. It is a matter in the Body and a matter of the Body. You cannot serve the Lord as an individual Christian. To serve the Lord, you must realize that the Lord’s service is something in the Body.

Every believer is a member of the Body, a part of the Body. An individual is not the Body. A member of the Body cannot function without the Body. The hand is good, quite useful, but if it is cut off from the body, it becomes not only dead, but also ugly, terrible, and even terrifying. You may love to shake my hand, but if this hand were detached from the body, it would be terrible.

Today many Christians are detached, separated from the Body. They are disembodied members. The members of the body are beautiful as long as they are attached where they belong in the body, but in any other place they are terrible. How sad it is that many Christians today are like ears that have been detached and put on the shoulders. How could they serve the Lord? How could we serve the Lord without being built up together as members of the Body? It is impossible.

I am not speaking on this point according to knowledge or doctrine. By the mercy of the Lord, I can testify to you from my experience that for many years I have simply been unable to serve the Lord without the Body. It is impossible to serve the Lord without the Body, without the church life, without the church practice.

The Body life is in Romans 12, and the church service is in this Body life with the members of the Body, of the church, functioning, serving. This matter is very clear in the Word. We need to check ourselves to see whether or not we have a real Body life. If not, we are wandering saints. If you say that you are in the Body, you have to consider seriously where the Body is, practically speaking. If we could give up the service of the Lord, there would be no need for us to talk about the Body, the church life. But if we do have the sincere heart to serve the Lord, we must realize that the service is in the Body.

(The Service of the Priesthood)

Love is necessary to care for the members so that the Body may be built up

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“I have pointed out that there are certain brothers and sisters who apparently do not have any gifts. However, they are absolutely for the Body. To be for the Body is a matter of love, and to care for the members of the Body requires love. If we do not have love, how can we care for others? Love is necessary to care for the members so that the Body may be built up. Thus, love is the greatest gift. Nothing edifies people as much as love does. Love is a spiritual antibiotic. If there is love in a local church, there will be no need to worry about spiritual diseases. Love is the best medicine to cure such diseases. Love is a gift, even the greatest gift.”

(Life Study of 1 Corinthians, message 60)

Sometimes singing a hymn is even better than praying

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“The right way to exercise our spirit is to pray, but sometimes singing a hymn is even better than praying. The more we sing, the more our spirit will be released and strengthened, and the more our mind will be focused, our will subdued, and our emotions purified.”

(The Exercise of Our Spirit for the Release of the Spirit, chapter 2, section 2)