THE PROPER AGGRESSIVENESS OF THE FULL-TIME SERVING ONES

Message One
Closely Following the Vision of the Age

Scripture Reading: Prov. 29:18a; Acts 2:42; 26:19; Eph. 4:4-6; Rev. 21:2, 9-10

I. The vision that the Lord has given to His recovery is an all-inclusive vision— the all-inheriting vision of the age—Prov. 29:18a; Acts 26:19:

A. In the Bible vision denotes an extraordinary scene; it refers to a special kind of seeing—a glorious, inward seeing—and to the spiritual scenery we see from God— Ezek. 1:1, 4-28; Dan. 7:1, 9-10, 13-14.

1. In order to have a vision, we need revelation, light, and sight; everyone who serves the Lord must be a person with a vision—Eph. 1:17-18a; Acts 26:13-19.

2. The heavenly vision governs us, restricts us, controls us, directs us, preserves us, revolutionizes us, keeps us in the genuine oneness, and gives us the boldness to go on—Prov. 29:18a.

B. In every age there is the vision of that age, and we have to serve God according to the vision of the age; God’s word reveals to us that in every age He gives only one vision to man—Acts 26:19; Eph. 1:17; 3:9.

1. God only give people one vision in each age to cover the need of the age:

a. In Adam is seen God’s redemption—Gen. 3:21.

b. In Abel is seen God’s way of redemption—Gen. 4:4.

c. In Enosh is seen man’s need for God and man’s calling upon Him—Gen. 4:26.

d. In Enoch is seen one who walked with God—Gen. 5:22, 24.

e. In Noah is seen one who worked with God to build the ark—Gen. 6:8, 13-14.

f. Then in Abraham is seen God’s calling, God’s promise, justification by faith, the living by faith, and the living in fellowship with God—Gen. 12:1-7; 15:6.

g. In Isaac is seen the inheriting of grace and the rest and enjoyment; in Jacob is seen God’s selection, the transformation in life, and the maturity in life—Gen. 26:2-5, 12-14; 25:22-26; 35:10; 47:7-10.

h. In Joseph is seen the reigning aspect of the maturity in life—Gen. 47:11-27; 50:14-26.

i. Following this, we see different things in Moses, Aaron, Joshua, and the judges—Exo. 3:2-3; 25:8-9; Josh. 1:1-9.

j. In Samuel we see the voluntarily consecrated Nazarite replacing the ordained priests, ending the age of the judges, and bringing in the kingdom age—1 Sam. 1:11, 27-28.

k. When the Lord Jesus was on the earth, there was no vision besides His leading.

l. After the ascension of Lord Jesus, there was only one vision, the vision from Peter—Acts 2:18, 19, 21.

m. During the ministry of Paul, there was only one vision which was received by Paul; even Peter who was elder was also submitting to the vision of Paul—2 Peter 3:15-16; Acts 26:19; 2 Cor. 12:2-4.

2. We must serve God according to the vision of the age, so that we will be acceptable to God—Titus 1:5; 1 Tim. 1:3-4.

C. Our vision should be one that matches the age; in order for us to serve God today, our vision must extend all the way from the first vision of Adam in Genesis to the ultimate vision of John in Revelation—Gen. 2:9; Rev. 21:2.

D. The governing vision of the Bible is the Triune God working Himself into His chosen and redeemed people in order to saturate their entire being with the Divine Trinity for the producing and building up of the Body of Christ consummating in the New Jerusalem—Eph. 4:4-6; Rev. 21:2, 9-10.

II. Our one accord is in the all-inheriting vision of the age through the ministry of the age—Acts 1:14; Rom. 15:6; 1 Tim. 1:12; Acts 20:24:

A. The vision that the Lord has given us in His recovery is the ultimate consummation of all visions—the New Jerusalem; within this ultimate consummation everything is included—Rev. 21:9-10.

B. Today we can be in one accord because we have only one vision, an up-to-date, all-inheriting vision, the vision of the eternal economy of God—Prov. 29:18a.

C. Throughout the ages there were many saints who loved the Lord and who feared the Lord, but we cannot say that they all had the vision that matched their age—Acts 15:35-39; 18:24-25; 19:1-2; 21:18-21:

D. Because we are under the heavenly vision of the eternal economy of God according to the unique teaching of the apostles, we can be one in teaching (1 Cor. 4:17; 7:17; 16:1; Acts 2:42; Rom. 16:17; 1 Tim. 1:3-4; 6:3; Eph. 4:13-14), practice (1 Cor. 11:16; 14:34), thinking (Phil. 2:2; 4:2; 1 Cor. 1:10), speaking (Rom. 15:6), essence, appearance, and expression (Rev. 1:11-12) in God’s one ministry for His one move to produce one Body as His one testimony.

III. Since we have the up-to-date and ultimate vision, we should closely follow after it; we are absolutely not following a man; rather, we are following a vision; following the consummated vision which inherited the past and is up-to-date with this age; it is God’s consummate vision—Acts 26:19; Rev. 21:2, 10.

Ministry Excerpts:

Serving According to the Teaching of the Apostles

If tens of thousands of saints in six continents are all doing the one work, who then is taking the lead? It is very mysterious to say that Christ is taking the lead. In practice, the real leader is the teaching of the apostles. We all must serve according to, follow, and be based on the teaching of the apostles.

Today in the local church, we may not be too clear ourselves about what position we should take or what function we should have. But in the Body we become very clear: the hand knows where the foot is, and the nose also knows where the mouth is. Sometimes we may be the running feet. Other times we may be the working hand. Yet at another time we may be the listening ear. While our eyes may see clearly what others’ functions should be, we ourselves are often not too clear about ourselves. For instance, the sisters who live together in a “kingdom house” may not be too clear about whether they are older or younger than the others. You will be clear when you look at someone else. You know whether she is older or younger than you. It is best that we do not know too clearly. Whoever is older, I should accept her words. Whoever is younger, I should care for her. As another illustration, take eight brothers and sisters in one family. You may not be clear about your rank among them, but you know who is the oldest, who is the second oldest and who is the youngest brother. Do not care which position you are in. If someone is older than I, I would receive supply from him; if he is younger than I, I would care for and guide him. This is what we need to see and learn. (Words of Life from the 1988 Full-Time Training, ch. 8)

The New Testament Ministry

The New Testament ministry is not merely the work of Paul nor merely the work of Peter. The New Testament ministry was borne by the twelve apostles initially, then carried on by other apostles, among whom the most prominent one was Paul. After Paul there were still others. As apostles and co-workers, each of these brothers had his portion of work; yet they did not have many ministries.

One Ministry and Many Ministers

As far as we are concerned, the first time the New Testament mentions this ministry is in Acts 1:17. There it says that what the twelve apostles had was this unique ministry. Paul said in 2 Corinthians that they had received this ministry (2 Cor. 4:1). Paul and his co-workers, although there were many of them, had all received the one ministry.

The beginning of the Lord’s recovery was also this one ministry. In this ministry the most prominent one used by the Lord was Brother Watchman Nee. Besides him, there were other co-workers who were bearing the burden of the work of this ministry with him. Ephesians 4 says that Christ gave some apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some shepherds and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints unto the work of ministry (4:11-12). This shows us that this ministry includes even every perfected saint. As long as a person has a part in God’s New Testament economy and also bears the burden of this economy with all the saints, he is in this ministry.

The Ministry for the Building Up of the Body of Christ

The four kinds of gifted persons mentioned in Ephesians chapter four are for the building up of the church to be the Body of Christ. When we speak of the church, our understanding is for the most part concerning the local aspect; however, when we speak of the Body of Christ, the emphasis is on the universal aspect. There is only one Body of Christ in the universe. The Lord’s recovery is for recovering the testimony of the Body of Christ. Whoever has a part in the testimony of the Body of Christ is one who functions in the Body of Christ. It may be that many of these are not apostles, but they nevertheless have a part in the ministry borne by the apostles. They are being perfected in the Body of Christ, with each one functioning. According to Ephesians chapter four, those who build up the Body of Christ directly are not the apostles, but all the saints, that is, those members who are perfected and who are carrying out their functions. Therefore, the ministry of building up the Body of Christ can be divided into three levels: the first level is the building by Christ, the second, the building by the apostles, and the third, the direct building by the perfected saints.

The Ministry Being the Work of the Lord’s Move on the Earth

What is the ministry? Most people lack the proper understanding of the ministry. I often heard you pray in the meeting, saying, “We need to follow the ministry,” or “We need to be one with the ministry.” I doubt that you have a true understanding concerning the ministry. In the Bible, there are these two words—ministry and minister. These two are not the same. “Ministry” refers to the work of the Lord’s move on the earth, whereas “minister” refers to one who bears responsibility in the Lord’s work. We have spoken concerning this point quite thoroughly among us for many years.

A Christian Needing to Be in the Lord’s Ministry in this Age

Now we have already seen clearly that the ministry spoken of in the Bible does not refer to a person, but to God’s building work. Moreover, in God’s building ministry, there are those who take the lead in that ministry in every age. May the Lord open our eyes to see that as long as we are human beings, we should be Christians; as long as we are Christians, we should enter into the Lord’s ministry in this age.

Today there are thousands of people who believe in the Lord Jesus and are saved, but not many have entered into the Lord’s ministry of building the church. It is just like the situation in Noah’s age. There were thousands of people on the earth, but only a small number were building the ark with Noah. This is why Philippians 2:12 says, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” What Noah and those who built the ark with him were doing was to work out their own salvation. Yes, it was God who had saved them, but the ark that delivered them was built with their own hands by God’s grace. Today, we also need to be in God’s building ministry to work out our own salvation, that is, to bring our salvation to its ultimate conclusion so that we can be exalted by God in glory as the Lord Jesus was. (Words of Training for the New Way, Vol. 1, ch. 2)

Serving God According to the Complete Vision

From the time the apostle John completed the book of Revelation until today …countless numbers of Christians have been serving God. Added to this great number of Christians serving God are the Jews, who also are serving God. Of course, the Jews serve only according to the vision of the Old Testament. Some Christians are serving according to the vision revealed in the New Testament Gospels, which has to do only with the earthly ministry of Jesus. Some serve without any vision at all. In order to serve God according to the up-to-date vision, we need to come up to the level of Paul’s very last Epistles. In fact, we need to come up to the level of the epistles to the seven churches in Revelation as well as the revelation which covers all the ages, including the kingdom, the new heaven and new earth, and the ultimate consummation of the church—the New Jerusalem. Simply put, in order for us to serve God today, our vision must extend all the way from the first vision of Adam in Genesis to the ultimate vision of the manifestation of the church, the New Jerusalem. This and this alone is the complete vision. It is not until today that this vision has been fully opened to us.

In the National Palace Museum in Taipei, there is a painting on a long scroll called “The River Scene at Ching-Ming Festival.” It describes in detail the culture, life, and way of the Chinese people at the time of the painting. It is not enough to see only the first few portions of that long scroll. One has to go all the way from one end to the other end before he can have a clear picture, or “vision,” of the entire spectrum of life in China. In the same way, we have our own painting, our “River Scene at Ching-Ming,” in our service to God. It begins from Adam’s vision of the tree of life in the garden of Eden and extends all the way to the New Jerusalem with the tree of life. The New Jerusalem is the last scene of the vision. After that there is nothing more to be seen.

Who has seen this complete vision? Throughout the ages many people were serving the Lord only according to the first few scenes. I wish that all the brothers and sisters would have an enlarged and far-reaching view. I hope they will realize that all the books that we have put out cover the entire spectrum from the first scene to the last scene. We are not serving God based on the first few scenes alone. We are serving God according to the last scene which includes all the previous scenes. (Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 1: The Vision and Definite Steps for the Practice of the New Way, ch. 2)

Serving God According to the Vision of the Age

We have to see that in every age, God gives only one vision to man. In Adam is seen God’s redemption. In Abel is seen God’s way of redemption. In Enosh is seen man’s need for God and man’s calling upon Him to enjoy His riches. In Enoch is seen a redeemed one walking with God on the pathway of redemption. In Noah is seen one who walked with God and worked with God to build the ark to meet the need of that generation.

Then in Abraham is seen God’s calling, God’s promise, justification by faith, the living by faith, and the living in fellowship with God. In Isaac is seen the inheriting of grace and the rest and enjoyment. In Jacob is seen God’s selection, the transformation in life, and the maturity in life. In Joseph is seen the reigning aspect of the maturity in life. Following this, we see different things in Moses, Aaron, Joshua, and the judges. In Samuel we see the voluntarily consecrated Nazarite replacing the ordained priests, ending the age of the judges, and bringing in the kingdom age.

We must be clear that in every age there is the vision of that age. We have to serve God according to the vision of the age. Consider the age of Noah. When we read the record of the Bible, it appears as if Noah’s family, including himself, his wife, his three children, and their wives were the only ones who were serving God. Can we believe that at that time there were actually only eight people serving God, and the rest were worshipping idols and not serving God? Perhaps we have never thought about this matter. Whether or not others were serving God, one thing is certain: They were not part of those who built the ark. For this very reason their service was not recognized by God.

 Some people might ask whether at the time Noah was busily building the ark there was not a single person on earth who feared God. We can deduce from historical data that at the time of Noah it is quite possible that his one family with eight people were not the only ones serving and worshipping God. The ancient Chinese were serving and worshipping also at that time. Their way of worship was in many ways similar to that of men in the Old Testament. Confucius was five hundred years prior to Christ. He once said, “To sin against heaven is unforgivable.” In the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15, the prodigal said to his father when he returned home, “I have sinned against heaven” (v. 21). In ancient times, both the East and the West considered “heaven” a symbol for God. The reason for this is that whenever men lifted their heads heavenward, they thought about God. We can assume that in the ancient times many people sought after God and had some knowledge of God. They served God according to the knowledge they had of God. Yet we must realize that though so many people were serving, only Noah and his family of eight served with a vision, and only their service was acceptable to God. (Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 1: The Vision and Definite Steps for the Practice of the New Way, ch. 1)

Serving According to Those Who Have the Vision Being to Serve under the Vision

We see clearly from the revelation of the New Testament that when the Lord Jesus was on earth, He was acting under the vision. Outside His leading there was no vision. Others might have been in tradition or knowledge. Gamaliel was very knowledgeable; he was very familiar with God’s principles, but he was not under the vision. His speaking was not under the vision; it was a speaking that was merely words of knowledge. After the Lord’s ascension, it was Peter and his co-workers who were under the vision. We are not saying that Peter had one vision and John, James, and the other apostles had another vision. There was only one vision, which was the vision of Peter. This vision became the vision of his followers. When Paul was raised up in his ministry, he received a vision that touched the heavens, the earth, and Paradise (2 Cor. 12:2-4). Although Paul had many co-workers, no one except him saw any other vision. They all had one vision, which was the vision that Paul saw.

One Vision for One Age

There is great controversy in Christianity concerning the matter of one vision for one age. However, God’s Word reveals to us clearly that in every age there is only one vision. At the time of Abel, Cain did not worship an idol and he did not build a shrine. He was doing the same thing that Abel was doing, offering a sacrifice to God. Under the vision, however, Abel offered a sacrifice that was acceptable to God, but Cain offered his sacrifice apart from the vision. If you were born in the age of Abel, you would have had to take the way of Abel; otherwise, you would have been off from the vision and in the way of Cain. At the time of Enosh, one man was under the vision, and he called on the name of the Lord. Other people might have feared God according to other ways, but such fear was not according to the vision. In the same way, at the time of Noah there were more than eight people who feared God; there might have been a hundred or even a thousand people who feared God. They might not have sinned as others did; they might even have been serving in some way. Yet their service was not governed by a vision. Noah’s family of eight people, by serving according to Noah’s pattern, became servants who served according to a vision. What Noah saw became what they saw.

We find the same principle in the New Testament. God’s work in the New Testament is to produce and build up the church. This vision was given to Paul. For this reason, once Paul came on the scene, Peter’s ministry faded away. When Peter was old, he said, “Our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, wrote to you, as also in all his letters, speaking in them concerning these things, in which some things are hard to understand, which the unlearned and unstable twist, as also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction” (2 Pet. 3:15-16). This means that even the aged Peter had to submit to the vision of Paul. He acknowledged that Paul’s word was as precious as the Old Testament Scriptures and that believers should take heed to it. (Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 1: The Vision and Definite Steps for the Practice of the New Way, ch. 1)

The Names of All Those Who Did Not Join Themselves to Paul’s Vision Being Eventually Dropped from the Record of the Bible

Based on this, the names of all those who did not join themselves to Paul’s vision were eventually dropped from the record of the Bible. For example, Barnabas was the one who initiated Paul into the service, but because he contended with Paul, his name was eventually dropped from the Bible. Apollos was very capable at expounding the Bible, but 1 Corinthians 16 records that he told Paul that it was not at all his desire to go to Corinth and that he would go when he had opportunity. After this, the Bible no longer mentions anything concerning him. Barnabas was zealous in his service, and Apollos was capable in his exposition of the Bible, but God did not use them anymore because their service was no longer under the vision. This is a very sober matter.

We Being Not Following a Man but Following a Vision That Belongs to the Present Age

Since we have the up-to-date and ultimate vision, we should closely follow after it. We are absolutely not following a man; rather, we are following a vision. It is grossly wrong to say that we are following a certain person. We are following a vision that belongs to the present age. It is God’s consummate vision.

I would like to relate to you one fact. It is the Lord’s mercy that He has revealed to me the vision. I advise you not to follow me but to follow this vision which Brother Nee and all the servants of the Lord throughout the ages have left to us and which I have handed to you. This is indeed the vision that extends from the first scene of Adam to the last scene of the New Jerusalem. More than fifty years have passed. I have seen with my own eyes that those who take the way of the Lord’s recovery for a while and then leave do not come to a proper ending. There is only one way. All spiritual things are one. There is one God, one Lord, one Spirit, one church, one Body, one testimony, one way, one flow, and one work. If you do not take this way, you will have no way to take. (Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 1: The Vision and Definite Steps for the Practice of the New Way, ch. 2)