Beseeching.org: Prayer for the saints to see the meaning of perfecting

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Day 302: Prayer for the saints to see the meaning of perfecting

“Many saints who have regularly attended church meetings, trainings, and conferences for several years still lack growth or do not function adequately. Others function a great deal, but their functioning is not effective or fruitful. In such cases, we need to find the reason. There may be a hidden sickness or disease undermining a saint’s growth or function. Thus, part of perfecting is healing such sickness so that growth may return, function may become adequate, and there may be the rich production of fruit. Perfecting is to help the saints to grow in a definite way and to function adequately and fruitfully.”

(CWWL 1980, vol. 2, “Fellowship with Serving Ones,” ch. 4, pp. 14-16)

Beseeching.org: Prayer for a church life filled with mutuality

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Day 284: Prayer for a church life filled with mutuality

“The word mutuality is used in relation to church meetings and is the basic principle of the meetings of the church. This is shown in three portions of the Word. Colossians 3 says that we need to practice “teaching and admonishing one another” (v. 16). Teaching one another means that you teach me and that I teach you; admonishing one another means that you admonish me and I admonish you. This indicates that as believers, we should be full of mutuality when we come together. Hebrews 10:25 says that we should not abandon “our own assembling together…but exhorting one another.” Since we are the Lord’s disciples, we should not abandon proper Christian meetings. Moreover, whenever we meet, there should be mutuality. First Corinthians 14:26 says that whenever we “come together, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation.” This verse refers to the gathering of the whole church (v. 23). In such a gathering there should not be only one person speaking; rather, each one should function for building up (v. 26), that is, for mutual building up.”

(CWWL, 1988, vol. 1, “The Proper Way for Believers to Meet and to Serve,” ch. 6, p. 84)

We need to grow in life, but we also must increase in number

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The brothers and sisters who have been raised up by the Lord in these days to take the way of His recovery must realize that we must always increase in two ways. We must increase in the measure of life, and we must also increase in the number of persons. This is to increase both in quality and quantity. To be increased in the growth and measure of life is to be increased in quality. However, quality always comes out of quantity. If we do not have the quantity, how can we have the quality? We need the quantity, the increase of numbers.

It is easy for Christians to be unbalanced and go to an extreme. We need to learn to be balanced in several directions. We need to grow in life, but we also must increase in number. Life always must grow in all the churches day by day, and our numbers also must always increase. Otherwise, we are unbalanced; we are a “cake not turned” (Hosea 7:8)…

The best way to check whether a commercial business is right or wrong is to look at its accounting. We should not care for the general manager’s or director’s report; we should examine the accounting books. What are the balance, profit, loss, and liabilities of this business, and what kind of turnover has it had in the past ten years? We should look at the statistics and worksheets. In the same way, we should not say that our meetings are wonderful and everything is wonderful. If everything is wonderful for a whole year yet there is no increase, there must be something wrong. We need to check ourselves.

(CWWL, 1964, vol. 4, “Serving in the Meetings and in the Gospel,” ch. 5, pp. 116-117)

If you are a believer, you have to open up your home for meeting

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“And day by day, continuing steadfastly with one accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to house, they partook of their food with exultation and simplicity of heart, praising God and having grace with all the people. And the Lord added together day by day those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:46-47)

According to the Greek expression in Acts 2:46, they met from house to house. This indicates that they did not select some houses that would fit their purpose. They met from house to house. They included every house. Today we should have our home meetings entirely according to the Holy Spirit’s created and ordained way. According to our feeling, we may say, “How could every brother have a meeting in his home? There are so many weaker ones. Oh, we had better consider and select some stronger ones.” But we must realize that selecting is not the Holy Spirit’s way—it is the human way. In Chinese this phrase means “door after door.” This indicates no selection, no missing. Whether you are weak or strong, whether old or young, whether knowledgeable or unknowledgeable, as long as you are a believer, you meet in your home. Do you dare do this? You say yes in the meeting, but after the meeting some may say there is no way to practice this. Some would say, “We selected thirty homes, but eventually fifteen have been sifted.” If you would select in this way, I am afraid that after another period of time only twelve homes would be left that are good for the home meetings. But you have to see that at the very beginning the way created by the Holy Spirit and ordained by God was to meet in two ways, in the congregational way and in the home way, not in selected homes but in all homes. If you are a Christian, if you are a believer, you have to open up your home for meeting. This is the first pattern at the initiation of the church life.

Since the Lord has shown this, I have begun to see all the benefits of this God-created-and-ordained way. If a new one would believe in the Lord, be baptized, and right away begin to open up his home for meetings, this opening up of his home would encourage him and even uphold him. Therefore, we can see that the home meetings are the top way, the super way, and eventually the unique way to meet.

(CWWL, 1985, vol. 3, “The Home Meetings—the Unique Way for the Increase and the Building Up of the Church,” ch. 1, pp. 114).

The Christian life is both a living life and a dying life

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We are persons under the shadow of the cross of Christ. The Christian life is both a living life and a dying life. We live, but we live in the mold of the death of Christ. When the Lord Jesus lived on the earth, He was being crucified every day. Every day He lived a crucified life. We also can live such a life because we have the power of His resurrection. As we have seen, this power is the person of Christ, and Christ today is the Spirit of Jesus Christ who is in our spirit. As we remain in our spirit, we experience this power in the shadow of the death of Christ. Every day our spouse and children are the “shadows of death” to us. Our children may be very enjoyable to us at first. However, one day they may become shadows, and the more they grow, the darker the shadows may become. Eventually, our children will put us into the mold of the cross. We should simply remain there and say, “Hallelujah!”

Not only are our marriage life and family life the mold of the cross, but even the church life becomes the mold of the cross to us. Certain saints may wonder why there are hardships in the “glorious church life,” and eventually the church life may not seem so glorious to them. Every brother and sister may seem to be a “dark shadow.” This may cause some to consider moving to a new locality. However, they may discover that the church in the locality to which they move is even darker. Furthermore, if they leave the church, their situation will become darker still. We have no place to which we may escape. Every locality is a cross. This is our destiny. We have been destined to pass through the cross. Only when we are in the New Jerusalem in the new heavens and new earth will we be out of the shadow of death. In the New Jerusalem there will be no night and no shadow (Rev. 21:25). However, today there are shadows of the cross everywhere.

Praise the Lord that within us there is the power of resurrection. Paul said, “I can do all things in Him who empowers me” (Phil. 4:13). The One who empowers us is the power of resurrection. By Him we can live a life that expresses and magnifies Christ (Phil. 1:20).

(The Experience and Growth in Life, chapter 12)

Christianity is not a new set of Ten Commandments

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CHRISTIANITY IS BASED ON LIFE
What is Christianity? Christianity is life. Christianity is not a matter of asking whether something is right or wrong. Christianity is a matter of checking with the life inside us whenever we do something. What does the new life which God has given us tell us inwardly about this matter? It is very strange that many people have only seen an outward standard, the standard of good and evil. But God has not given us an outward standard. Christianity is not a new set of Ten Commandments. In Christianity we have not been brought to a new Sinai, nor has God given us a new set of rules and regulations with “Thou shalt” and “Thou shalt not.” Christianity does not require that we ask whether something is right or wrong, good or evil. On the contrary, whenever we do anything, there is a life within us which rises up to speak with us. When we feel right inwardly, when we feel the life inside of us moving, when we are strong within and sense the anointing, we know that we have life. Many times something is right and good in the eyes of man, but strangely the inner life has no response and grows cold and retreats.

Please remember, God’s Word tells us that our Christian living is based on an inner life, not an outward standard of right and wrong. Many worldly people, who are not saved, live according to the best standard of living they can attain: the principle of right and wrong. If you or I also live by the principle of right or wrong, we are the same as worldly people. Christians are different from non-Christians because we do not live by an outward standard or law. Our subject is not human morality or concepts. We do not determine whether something is right or wrong by subjecting it to human criticism or opinion. Today we have only one question: What does our inner life say? If the life is strong and active within us, we can do this; if the life is cold and retreating within us, we should not. Our principle for living is inward instead of outward. This is the only real principle of living; the others are false. People may say that many things are right to do, and I may feel that to do them is right, but what does the sense of the inner life tell us? The inner life does not agree. If we were to do them, we would not be rewarded, and if we were not to do them, there should be no shame, because they are outside of us. We can only see what is really right when the Spirit of God operates within us. If we feel that there is life inwardly, then that matter is right. If we do not feel the inward life, then the matter is wrong. Right and wrong are not decided by an outward standard but by the inner life.

(Two Principles of Living by Watchman Nee)

The Lord trusts in His members, not in spiritual “giants”

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“The Lord trusts in His members, not in spiritual “giants.” As small members in the Lord’s Body, we all are very useful to Him. Every member must work; every member must function; every member must visit others. Then we will all become vital. Do not think that by hearing a stirring message and praying for three days and three nights something miraculous will happen to us to cause us all to be vitalized. There is not such a thing. Through my study I have found out that no revival really works. But the sevenfold Spirit is now moving on this earth (Rev. 5:6). He is moving in Australia, in New Zealand, in South America, in Central America, and in North America. He is moving in many places and in many hearts. He is also moving in our hearts. If we all would realize that we do not need a great “revival” but simply need to go out to visit people, this would be much more effective than a hundred spiritual giants.

We should not trust in specially gifted persons. We should not consider them more capable than we are. In reality, we may be much greater than they are. We need to receive mercy from the Lord to labor. According to my experience, if I do not labor, I cannot be healthy. When I labor, all the illnesses become afraid of me. However, when I cease to labor, illness may come. We should not welcome sickness. Rather, we should love people. Every day we need to be beside ourselves, doing things that other people would consider foolish. Every day we need to contact people and speak to people about Christ.”

(The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups, msg. 12)

An overcomer is a vital person

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“A proper Christian should be vital. To be vital means to be living and active. Since I am a man, I must believe into Christ. If I am a Christian, I must be in the recovery. If I am in the recovery, I must be vital. If we are not vital, we may be in the church, but we are not among the overcomers. An overcomer is a vital person.”

(Introductory Word from The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups)

If the saints in a certain locality do not migrate, eventually that locality will become a “Dead Sea”

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“For some years many of the saints in this country were reluctant to migrate. But we thank the Lord that recently the saints have begun to migrate again. In the last year a number of churches have been raised up through the migrating of the saints.

The saints in all the churches should be encouraged to migrate. If the saints in a certain locality do not migrate, eventually that locality will become a “Dead Sea.” The Dead Sea is a reservoir for the water from the river Jordan. Once the water from the Jordan reaches the Dead Sea it does not proceed any farther. If the church in a particular locality is to avoid becoming such a Dead Sea, a “canal” must be dug to allow the “water” to flow out. Perhaps ten percent of the saints in a locality may migrate each year. This will allow for the necessary outflow without devastating the church. Furthermore, if water is allowed to flow out, more water will flow in.

Using the illustration of a hose, we may say that every church should be like a hose that is open at both ends. When a hose is open in this way, water is able to flow in and out. But if water is not able to flow out of a hose, nothing more will be able to flow in. How much water flows in depends on how much flows out. If we want the church to increase, there must be the outflow. Only when there is an outflow can the church in a certain locality be preserved from becoming a Dead Sea.”

(Life-study of Acts, pp. 180-181)

We need revelation to enter the realm of the Body

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THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BEING A MEMBER AND BEING A CHRISTIAN

The New Testament shows us that there is a difference between being a member and being a Christian. Being a Christian is something individualistic, whereas being a member is something corporate. Being a Christian is something one does for himself, whereas being a member is something for the Body. In the Bible there are many terms with opposite meanings, such as purity and uncleanness, holiness and commonness, victory and defeat, the Spirit and the flesh, Christ and Satan, the kingdom and the world, and glory and shame. All of these are opposites. In the same way, the Body is in opposition to the individual. Just as the Father is versus the world, the Spirit is versus the flesh, and the Lord is versus the devil, so also is the Body versus the individual. Once a man sees the Body of Christ, he is free from individualism. He will no longer live for himself but for the Body. Once I am delivered from individualism, I am spontaneously in the Body.

The Body of Christ is not a doctrine; it is a realm. It is not a teaching but a life. Many Christians seek to teach the truth of the Body, but few know the life of the Body. The Body of Christ is an experience in a totally different realm. A man can know the book of Romans without being justified. Similarly, a man can know the book of Ephesians without seeing the Body of Christ. We do not need knowledge; rather, we need revelation to know the reality of the Body of Christ and to enter the realm of the Body. Only a revelation from God will usher us into the realm of the Body, and only then will the Body of Christ become our experience.

In Acts 2 it seems as if Peter was preaching the gospel alone and that three thousand people were saved through him. But we must remember that the other eleven apostles were standing beside him. The Body of Christ was preaching the gospel; it was not the preaching of an individual. If we have the view of the Body, we will see that individualism will not bring us anywhere.

If we realize that a Christian is nothing more than a member, we will no longer be proud. Everything depends on our seeing. Those who see that they are members will surely treasure the Body and honor the other members. They will not see just their own virtues; they will readily see others as being better than themselves.

Every member has a function, and all the functions are for the Body. The function of one member is the function of the whole Body. When one member does something, the whole Body does it. When the mouth speaks, the whole body is speaking. When the hands work, the whole body is working. When the legs walk, the whole body is walking. We cannot divide the members from the body. Therefore, the movement of the members of the Body must be focused around the Body. Everything that the members do should be for the Body. Ephesians 4 says that the Body is growing into a full-grown man. It does not say that individuals are growing into full-grown men. In chapter 3 the ability to know the love of Christ and to apprehend the Lord’s breadth, length, height, and depth is with all the saints. No one can know or apprehend by himself. An individual does not have the time or the capacity to experience the love of Christ in that kind of way.

First Corinthians 12:14 through 27 speaks of two erroneous concepts that members may have: (1) “Because I am not…, I am not of the body” (v. 15). This is to despise oneself and covet the work of others. (2) “I have no need of you” (v. 21). This is to be proud of oneself, thinking that one man can be all-inclusive and despising others. Both concepts are harmful to the Body. We should not imitate other members or be covetous of other members. In this way we will not become discouraged and give up when we find that we cannot be like others. At the same time, we should not despise other members, thinking that we are better and more useful.

THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF THE BODY

In the church life, we should learn to have the consciousness of the Body. When we are at odds with the brothers and sisters, it means that we are surely at odds with God. Some Christians are like butterflies; they act independently. Others are like bees; they live and move together. The butterfly flies from flower to flower, going its own sweet way, but the bee works for the hive. The butterfly lives and works individually, but the bee has a body consciousness. We should all be like bees, having the consciousness of the Body so that we can live together with other members in the Body of Christ. Wherever there is Body-revelation, there is Body-consciousness, and wherever there is Body-consciousness, individual thought and action are automatically ruled out. Seeing Christ results in deliverance from sin; seeing the Body results in deliverance from individualism. Seeing the Body and deliverance from individualism are not two things but one. As soon as we see the Body, our life and work as individuals cease. It is not a matter of changing our attitude or conduct; revelation does the work. We cannot enter the realm of the Body by anything other than seeing. A real inward seeing settles the whole problem.

(The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, vol. 44, “The Mystery of Christ,” pp. 793-797)