LESSONS ON THE GOD-ORDAINED WAY

Lesson Twenty

The Prophesying (3)—The Prophesying in the Church Meetings

Scripture Reading:

1 Cor. 14:1 Pursue love, and desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.

1 Cor. 14:12 So also you, since you are zealous of spirits, seek that you may excel for the building up of the church.

Num. 11:29b Oh that all Jehovah’s people were prophets, that Jehovah would put His Spirit upon them!

Eph. 4:16 Out from whom all the Body, being joined together and being knit together through every joint of the rich supply and through the operation in the measure of each one part, causes the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love.

1 Tim. 1:3b-4 …to remain in Ephesus in order that you might charge certain ones not to teach different things Nor to give heed to myths and unending genealogies, which produce questionings rather than God’s economy, which is in faith.

1 Cor. 14:31 For you can all prophesy one by one that all may learn and all may be encouraged.

I. To prophesy being the highest function—1 Cor. 14:1, 12:

A. To prophesy in function being higher than being a king or being a priest.

B. The New Testament believers being the priests and kings by regeneration, and being the prophets by desiring earnestly and seeking—1 Cor. 14:1.

C. To prophesy being the most useful function for the building up of the church—1 Cor. 14:3-5.

II. The benefits of practicing to prophesy—Num. 11:29; 1 Cor. 12:7, 14:1, 3-4; Eph. 4:12, 16:

A. Promoting the believers’ interest in the Lord’s service—1 Cor. 14:1.

B. Developing the believers’ capacity in the divine life—Eph. 4:16b.

C. Manifesting the believers’ spiritual function to enrich the church’s service in the Lord’s economy—1 Cor. 12:7.

D. Building (edifying) the believers in life and in truth—14:3.

E. Building them up into the Body of Christ, the church—v.4.

F. Keeping the believers to live in the Body and to not be detached from the Body—Eph. 4:16a.

G. Carrying out the God-ordained Way for the building up of the Body of Christ and the annulling of the old way related to Christianity—v.12.

III. Facing various problems in our speaking for God—1 Tim. 1:3b-4; Matt. 20:25-28; 1 Cor. 1:12, 11:3:

A. Not teaching things different from God’s economy—1 Tim. 1:3.

B. Not being the head, not assuming any position, not monopolizing, and not controlling—Matt. 20:25-28; 3 John 9.

C. Not forming parties—1 Cor. 1:12.

D. Avoiding being the only one in the lead—1 Cor. 11:3.

E. Avoiding lengthy speaking in the meetings.

F. Avoiding not caring for the atmosphere and flow of the meeting.

G. Avoiding selecting hymns and Bible verses according to our taste.

H. Caring for the pleasant feeling imparted in the meeting.

I. Caring for others to be edified.

J. Closely following the Spirit.

IV. The prophesying in the church meetings—1 Cor. 14:26.

 

Excerpts from the ministry:

TO PROPHESY BEING THE HIGHEST FUNCTION

To Prophesy in Function Being Higher
than Being a King or Being a Priest

To prophesy in function is higher than being a king or a priest. In both the Old and New Testaments, only three kinds of ministries were ordained by God—the ministries of the prophets, the priests, and the kings. In Genesis 20:7 Abraham was called a prophet. At that time among God’s people, there were no kings and no official priests. Abel, Noah, and even Abraham functioned as priests by offering sacrifices (Gen. 4:4; 8:20; 12:7, 8), but the office of the priest was not ordained until Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt to Mount Sinai (Exo. 19:6). The office of the king was not ordained until Saul’s time (1 Sam. 8). In the Old Testament, God first recognized the function of the prophet, then the function of the priest, and later the function of the king. (The Practice of the Church Life According to the God-ordained Way, pp. 54-55)

The New Testament Believers Being the Priests and Kings by Regeneration,
and Being the Prophets By Desiring Earnestly and Seeking

In the New Testament, all of the believers are regenerated to be priests and kings (1 Pet. 2:5, 9: Rev. 1:6). We are regenerated into a royal family, and as the King’s children, we also are kings. As believers we all are born priests and kings, but to be a prophet depends upon our seeking. First Corinthians 14:1 says, “Pursue love, and desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.” If you do not desire earnestly and seek to prophesy, you cannot be a prophet. All those who desire to prophesy are like the Nazarites in the Old Testament (Num. 6:1-21), who voluntarily separated themselves unto the Lord for the priestly service.

Among the three functions of the prophet, the priest, and the king, the function of the prophet is the highest. (The Practice of the Church Life According to the God-ordained Way, p. 55)

To Prophesy Being the Most Useful Function for Building Up the Church

We all were born to be priests and kings, but we should not forget that another function, the function of the prophet, is waiting for us. In order to participate in this function, we must seek it. We did not receive this function by birth; therefore, to be a prophet is not our birthright. We must gain this function by our seeking. In 1 Corinthians 14:1, the word desire is a strong word. We must have a desire to speak for God. Of the three functions of the prophet, the priest, and the king, the most useful function for the building up of the church is that of the prophet. As priests, we certainly can build up the church. But 1 Corinthians 14 tells us that the most useful function for building up the church as the Body of Christ is prophesying (vv. 3-5).

To prophesy is to impart divine revelations to others. This function is higher than the function of a king or a priest. A prophet can receive and can secure the word of God directly and then speak this word for the building up of the church as the organic Body of Christ. (The Practice of the Church Life According to the God-ordained Way, pp. 56-57)

THE BENEFITS OF PRACTICING TO PROPHESY

To practice to prophesy brings in many benefits. You have to treasure your speaking for the Lord, because the Lord treasures your speaking. You have to hate your silence. In Numbers 11:29 Moses desired that all the Lord’s people would be prophets. Then in 1 Corinthians 14:31 Paul said that we all could prophesy one by one. Surely both Moses and Paul would like to see church meetings on earth in which everyone speaks for the Lord. (The Practice of the Church Life According to the God-ordained Way, p. 64)

Promoting the Believers’ Interest in the Lord’s Service

Practicing to prophesy promotes the believers’ interest in the Lord’s service (1 Cor. 14:1). Sometimes the saints are forced to speak by being asked to speak, yet this does not stir up the interest of the believers as much as when someone volunteers to speak. When you volunteer to speak, you will be stirred up to speak more. If you speak in a meeting, that meeting, to you, is in the third heaven. If you do not speak in the meeting, …you may say that the meeting was poor. The reason you say that the meeting was poor is because you did not speak. But if you had spoken in the meeting, you would say that the meeting was in the third heaven. (The Practice of the Church Life According to the God-ordained Way, pp. 64-65)

Developing the Believers’ Capacity in the Divine Life

Practicing to prophesy also develops (cultivates) the believers’ capacity in the divine life (Eph. 4:16b). A boy may have many capacities by birth, but if he were restricted to lying on a bed, these capacities could not be cultivated. When we practice prophesying, our capacity in the divine life is cultivated, developed.

The first step in learning to prophesy is to be prepared. Each Lord’s Day morning, all of the saints should come together to practice to prophesy. You have to consider what you will prophesy. For each of the messages I have given in this series, I have prepared an outline. Sometimes I prepare the outline a week in advance. When I have some free time, I pick up the outline and read it. This is part of my preparation for speaking. Sometimes I read the outline for a message before going to bed, so that if I am awakened during the night and cannot get back to sleep, I can continue my preparation. As I am preparing to speak, I may discover that I need to use certain words, so I use a dictionary in order to find the proper usage of these words. All of this is my preparation for speaking. To labor to prophesy in this way is a real cultivation of our capacity in the divine life. (The Practice of the Church Life According to the God-ordained Way, pp. 65-66)

Manifesting the Believers’ Spiritual Function
to Enrich the Church’s Service in the Lord’s Economy

Speaking manifests the believers’ spiritual function to enrich the church’s service in the Lord’s economy (1 Cor. 12:7). Without the believers’ speaking, there is no way to enrich the church’s service. If the saints do not speak, the riches of the Body of Christ will not be manifested and used. In the poor, degraded practice of Christianity, all the functions of the believers are covered. But among us in the Lord’s recovery, the believers’ spiritual function should be manifested to enrich the church’s service in the Lord’s economy. (The Practice of the Church Life According to the God-ordained Way, p. 66)

Building (Edifying) the Believers in Life and in Truth

Practicing to prophesy is for building (edifying) the believers in life and in truth (1 Cor. 14:3). Every kind of speaking should have some amount of life and truth. Silence ministers nothing of life and truth to anyone. But if you speak something for the Lord, by the Lord, in the Lord, and with the Lord, there will surely be something of life and truth in what you speak. This edifies the believers. (The Practice of the Church Life According to the God-ordained Way, p. 67)

Building Them Up into the Body of Christ, the Church

Prophesying builds the believers up into the Body of Christ, the church (1 Cor. 14:4). On a building site, there may be many pieces of material lying around, which may be close to the building but have not been built up into the building. If you have never spoken in the church meetings, you have never been practically built up into the Body. The more you speak properly for the Lord, the more you are built up into the Body. (The Practice of the Church Life According to the God-ordained Way, pp. 67-68)

Keeping the Believers to Live in the Body
and to Not Be Detached from the Body

By speaking we are built up into the Body. By speaking we are also kept so that we can live in the Body and not be detached from the Body (Eph. 4:16a). Many saints among us are detached. As long as you do not speak, you are detached. Many have never been attached because they have never spoken. This is why you should exercise to speak for the Lord. (The Practice of the Church Life According to the God-ordained Way, p. 68)

Carrying Out the God-ordained Way for the Building Up of the Body
of Christ and the Annulling of the Old Way Related to Christianity

If we practice to prophesy, we will carry out the God-ordained Way for the building up of the Body of Christ and annul the old way related to Christianity (Eph. 4:12). The way to defeat the old way of Christianity is to speak. If we have a meeting full of everyone speaking, such a meeting defeats the old way of Christianity and is the victory of the Lord’s Body. (The Practice of the Church Life According to the God-ordained Way, p. 68)

FACING VARIOUS PROBLEMS IN OUR SPEAKING FOR GOD

Not Teaching Things Different from God’s Economy

The first warning is for the co-workers. An error which we who work for the Lord most easily make is that we like to give messages according to our preference. On the one hand, we prefer to give messages which fit our taste; on the other hand, we prefer not to speak others’ messages.…Therefore, in 1 Timothy 1 Paul told Timothy, “I exhorted you …to remain in Ephesus,” and asked Timothy to especially pay attention to one thing: to “charge certain ones not to teach different things” (v. 3). In Paul’s time, the “different things” referred first to the law, which was of and according to the Old Testament. Second, they referred to the genealogies, especially the research of the Old Testament genealogies. All these are according to the Old Testament, but they are things which are different from the New Testament economy.

Then in verse 4 Paul continued to say, “Which produce questionings rather than God’s economy, which is in faith.” In other words, the “different things” taught by those people were not according to God’s economy. God’s economy is firstly Christ as the mystery of God, and secondly the church as the mystery of Christ. From the fourteen Epistles written by Paul we can see that the focus of the messages he preached was Christ and the church. Today the things being taught in Christianity may be scriptural, yet there are too many different teachings. One example is the practice of foot-washing. Foot-washing is surely according to the Bible. In America there are Christians who insist that the believers must wash each other’s feet before they break the bread; however, there are some who do not practice this, thus giving rise to debates. Some Christians often debate concerning scriptural practices such as head covering, baptism, and the Lord’s table and are therefore divided from each other. (Speaking for God, p. 104)

Not Being the Head, Not Assuming Any Position,
Not Monopolizing, and Not Controlling

The first warning is for the co-workers, and the second warning is for the elders. The common illness of the elders is that they love to be the head; they often feel that they are the owner and boss of their local church. Although no elder would say this, in reality this is exactly their feeling. This is a common sickness. (Speaking for God, p. 109-110)

Not Forming Parties

The third warning is that we must not be divided into parties, and we must not ask people to follow us. Sometimes we may hear someone saying to another, “Brother, I am on your side.” Such a word is neither spiritual nor sweet. We all have to learn not to draw others to our side and not to have any following. We also have to learn not to take sides with others. Forming parties is an act of the flesh. When the Corinthians were saying there that they were of Paul, of Apollos, of Cephas, or of Christ, Paul condemned them in his Epistle (1 Cor. 1:12). In the church there should be no factions. We are all of Christ, we are all brothers and sisters, and we are members one of another. You are my member, and I even the more am your member; we all are members of one another. Therefore, do not draw people to follow you, and do not follow anyone. This is to be absolutely condemned because it is detrimental to the church life; hence, we must surely guard against it. (Speaking for God, pp. 112-113)

Avoiding Being the Only One in the Lead

Fourth, whatever service or small group meeting we are in, we absolutely must not assume the headship. Although in every matter, it seems that someone needs to take the lead, we must avoid it by all means so that others may learn to take the lead. Even if the meeting becomes a little disorderly, it does not matter; at least it is better than we ourselves being the only one in the lead and monopolizing everything. Of course, it is not good to have the meeting in disorder. We hope that all of us will learn to trust in the Lord. Trusting in the Lord will save us from being disorderly. In the church there is only one Head—our Lord Jesus (11:3). Besides Him, we have no other head. (Speaking for God, p. 113)

Avoiding Lengthy Speaking in the Meetings

Fifth, we must avoid speaking too many times or too long in the meetings. We must care for the sense of the meeting. For instance, if someone speaks eight times in a meeting, thus occupying most of the meeting time, this would be inappropriate. Furthermore, do not give a long discourse when speaking. Some may speak just once in the meeting, yet their speaking lasts thirty-five minutes; this is also not proper. We should also not pray long prayers in the prayer meeting. When a prayer is long, it kills the meeting. Once there was a brother is Shanghai who would always be present whenever there was a meeting, and whenever he was present, would always pray, and whenever he prayed, would always pray long. Whenever the saints saw him coming to the meeting, they were all worried and troubled, and whenever he opened his mouth, everybody simply could not stand it. (Speaking for God, pp. 113-114)

Avoiding Not Caring for the Atmosphere and Flow of the Meeting

Sixth, we must avoid not caring for the atmosphere and flow of the meeting. The Christian meeting has a flow, an atmosphere. What is the atmosphere of a meeting? For instance, the meeting today may be a wedding meeting, so the atmosphere of course is very joyous. Yet if someone comes in with sadness all over his face, then that would be rather inappropriate. Conversely, if we attend a funeral service, and everyone there is so sober, yet some of the attendants are very joyful, then that would also be improper. When we say that there is a flow of the meeting, we mean that there is a center of fellowship in the meeting. One of the saints may be quiet in the meeting most of the time, but once he decides to open his mouth, he always speaks something contrary to the atmosphere of the meeting. When everyone is fellowshipping in joy, he rebukes; when everyone is sharing about something sad, he laughs. This is to not care for the atmosphere and to not follow the flow of the meeting.

We have said already that the Christian meeting may be likened to a basketball game. Each team has five players, so there are ten people playing in the game, but they have only one ball and can use only that ball. This is the rule. However, one of the players may simply ignore this rule, so while the game is going on, he is playing with another ball by himself on the side and is even enjoying it. The same situation is frequently seen in the meeting. A certain brother may stand up and speak something of his own and may go on speaking until it is impossible for the meeting to proceed, yet he continues to enjoy his own speaking, caring neither for the atmosphere nor the flow of the meeting. We must not do this. We all love the Lord, the church, and the meetings. Yet when we come to the meeting we must care for the atmosphere and the flow of the meeting. We must not put on a one-man show, not caring for others’ feelings; this will easily bring in death. (Speaking for God, pp. 114-115)

Avoiding Selecting Hymns and Bible Verses According to Our Own Taste

Seventh, we need to learn how to select hymns and Bible verses. When we select hymns and Bible verses, we must not do it according to our own taste. Whenever we come to a meeting, we should refrain from selecting our favorite hymn or Bible verse—the verse or hymn that we always select, regardless of whether the wind is blowing, the rain is coming down, or the sky is clear. We have to learn to sense the atmosphere of the meeting and to care for the flow of the meeting. We must not care only for our favorite hymn and favorite verse. For this we must be familiar with the hymns and study the Bible well so that we can meet the need of the meeting. I hope that the young people would especially be familiar with the hymns and Bible passages so that you would be able to use them skillfully. Then when you come into the meeting, as soon as you detect the atmosphere of the meeting, you will be able to select a hymn or a portion of the Word which is fitting to that kind of atmosphere. (Speaking for God, pp. 115-116)

Caring for the Pleasant Feeling Imparted in the Meeting

Eighth, we have to care for the pleasant feeling which the meeting imparts to people. A meeting must give people a kind of pleasant feeling, causing people to feel that this meeting is sweet. If in our meeting we act in a rough manner, we will lose the sense of sweetness. In the meeting we have to do everything in good order and in an orderly manner so that we may manifest the sweet and pleasant feeling of God’s people meeting together with God in His presence. We need to maintain such a pleasant feeling in our meetings. (Speaking for God, p. 116)

Caring for Others to Be Edified

In addition, we should avoid doing and speaking anything habitually without caring about whether or not others are edified. (Speaking for God, p. 116)

Closely Following the Spirit

To conclude, in the matter of speaking for God, we must closely follow the Spirit. If we closely follow the Spirit, then the various problems mentioned above will be readily solved.

These points are merely introductory. I hope that we all would go before the Lord to see if there are any other matters that are improper or inappropriate. We must avoid all improper matters, not only in the meeting but even in the church life and in our homes. Our actions and behavior must be profitable to the church, must edify that saints, and must enable the way of the Lord to be gloriously released. If we do everything properly, then when we speak for the Lord, we will win people’s respect, and the way of the Lord will spontaneously be glorified. If in our practice we would actively go forth to release the word of the Lord on the positive side, while avoiding all these problems on the negative side, then the Lord will surely have a way on the earth. (Speaking for God, pp. 116-117)

THE PROPHESYING IN THE CHURCH MEETINGS

According to our experience, however, it is hard to have the whole church come together every week. On the Lord’s Day morning about five thousand saints in the church in Taipei meet. If they all met together in the same place, very few of the saints would be able to speak in the meeting. Thus, the church in Taipei has over one hundred district meetings with about fifty saints in each meeting. We can come together in bigger groups of at least fifty saints on the Lord’s Day. When we come together, there should not be a definite speaker. This meeting should be full of mutuality according to the practice of 1 Corinthians 14:26—”each one has.” This meeting is the best time for the saints to prophesy, to speak for the Lord, to speak the Lord into others. In the district meetings in Taipei, the saints are practicing to prophesy—each one who speaks does not occupy more than three minutes. That means at least twenty saints can prophesy in an hour. (The Excelling Gift for the Building Up of the Church, p. 57)

References: The Practice of the Church Life According to the God-ordained Way, chs. 4-7, 9; Speaking for God, ch. 6; The Excelling Gift for the Building Up of the Church, ch. 4.