LESSONS ON THE GOD-ORDAINED WAY
Lesson Six
The Goal of the God-ordained Way—
the Building Up of the Body of Christ
Through Everyone Functioning
Scripture Reading:
1 Pet. 2:5 You yourselves also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house into a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
1 Pet. 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people acquired for a possession, so that you may tell out the virtues of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
Rom 15:16 That I might be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, a laboring priest of the gospel of God, in order that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, having been sanctified in the Holy Spirit.
Matt. 28:19-20 Go therefore and disciple all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you all the days until the consummation of the age.
1 Cor 14:26 What then, brothers? Whenever you come together, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.
1 Cor 14:31 For you can all prophesy one by one that all may learn and all may be encouraged.
I. The whole Body serving being the greatest recovery today—1 Pet. 2:9:
A. The priesthood is a universal priesthood.
B. The way today being for the whole Body to serve.
II. The priesthood in the New Testament being universal—Rev. 1:5b-6:
A. Due to their rebellion and failure, most of the Israelites lost the priesthood.
B. In the New Testament, God reiterated His intention to make every one of His children a member of the priesthood—1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Tim. 4:2.
C. Everyone being recovered to preach the gospel and to serve as priests of the gospel—Rom. 15:16.
D. Living uniquely for the gospel.
E. Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness.
III. The universal priesthood of the New Testament — 1 Peter 2:5; Rom. 15: 16; Rev. 5:9-10a:
A. Everyone preaching the gospel—Matt. 28:19:
1. No more service by the clergy alone; but every believer preaching the gospel instead.
2. Everyone personally fulfilling his service as a priest of the gospel—Rom. 15:16.
B. Everyone attending the home and group meetings—Heb. 10:24-25.
C. Everyone prophesying for the Lord—1 Cor. 14:26, 31.
D. Prophesying to build up the church is the goal of the ministry of the New Testament gospel priest.
IV. Three steps of God’s New Testament priesthood of the gospel—Eph 4:13:
A. Preaching the gospel to save and bring in the sinners—Rom. 15:16.
B. Perfecting the newly saved people that they would offer themselves up—Rom. 12:1-2.
C. Laboring to warn and taught in all wisdom until these believers became mature in Christ; then present them full-grown—Col. 1:28-29.
V. Everyone taking the new way to accomplish God’s New Testament economy—Matt. 28:19-20:
A. The way ordained by the Scripture matches the nature of the Body of Christ and the principles of the Body—Eph. 4:16.
B. The nature of the new way is to bring God into man to be mingled with man that man may become the Body of Christ—John 20:21-23.
VI. Taking the home as the center to bring in the functioning of all the members—Philem. 2b.
Excerpts from the ministry:
THE WHOLE BODY SERVING BEING THE GREATEST RECOVERY TODAY
The Priesthood is a Universal Priesthood
We have to see that if the one-talented ones do not rise up to serve, there is no way for the church to go on. The priesthood is a universal priesthood. This is the greatest recovery of this century. Many people think that the matter of service is the work of a few people, but true service is that in which the whole Body is involved. As long as this matter is not fully recovered, we have to go on speaking.
The priests are the ones who serve God. Those who serve God are called the priests. They may do a lot of other works, but none of those works can be considered true service. Only one thing is true service, and that is to dwell in the temple. In the Old Testament, there was the tabernacle. After the tabernacle, there was the temple. Within the temple, there was the dwelling of the priests. The book of Psalms mentions seven or eight times the matter of dwelling in the house of Jehovah. The work of the priests was to go to God on behalf of men and to go to men on behalf of God. In order for God to be among men, to dwell with men, and to find rest among men, He has to have the priests. Only when God secures the priests will He find a resting place. (Messages Given During The Resumption of Watchman Nee’s Ministry, Vol. 2, pp. 338-339)
The Way Today Being for the Whole Body to Serve
Today not everyone is serving yet. Only when the priests and the people become one entity is there the church. Our service today is only the service of three or five people; it is not the service of the whole Body. We have become the Jewish nation of today, with only one tribe serving, while the other eleven tribes rely on the service of the Levites. Other than the “Levites”, no one else is qualified to serve any longer. Yet God’s desire is that the whole Body would serve.
My co-worker brothers, no matter how prevailing your ministry is, how many gifts you have, and how useful and strong you are, as long as you replace others’ service, you are Nicolaitans! Not only do you have nothing to boast of; you have to confess your sin instead. Personal godliness not only does nothing to build up the church; it actually tears down the church. The way of the work, the proper way, is to help every brother and sister to do the work himself or herself. It is not a question of much service or little service. It is a question of everyone serving. Unless we are all serving together, we are not the church. This is our way today. It has to be the church that is working. It has to be the church that is preaching the gospel. It has to be the church that is saving the souls. No matter how well you work, as long as you are replacing others, you are one of the Nicolaitans. With you there is only the ministry; there is no church. Even if you are a so-called spiritual giant or a revival evangelist, if you do not bring in the service of the whole Body, whatever you do, you are a failure. (Messages Given During The Resumption of Watchman Nee’s Ministry, Vol. 2, p. 341)
THE PRIESTHOOD IN THE NEW TESTAMENT BEING UNIVERSAL
Due to Their Rebellion and Failure,
Most of the Israelites Lost the Priesthood
When we came into the Lord’s recovery, from the beginning we saw clearly that God’s intention is for all His people to fulfill the duty of the priesthood. In the Old Testament, God saved the children of Israel out of Egypt, saying, “I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto Myself….and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation” (Exo. 19:4, 6). God’s desire was for the nation of Israel to be a kingdom of priests in which every individual was a priest. Unfortunately, due to their rebellion and failure, most of the Israelites lost the priesthood. Originally, God ordained that the whole nation of Israel were to be priests. Later, only the house of Aaron became the priests. Those of the tribe of Levi were made only helpers to the priests in miscellaneous affairs. Because of this, in the Old Testament there was a separation between the clergy, which were the priests, and the ordinary people.
In the New Testament, we see in 1 Peter 2 that “you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for a possession” (v. 9). Revelation chapter one also says clearly that “[He] loves us and has loosed us from our sins by His blood, and made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father” (vv. 5-6). We who are saved and are cleansed by the precious blood of the Lord are separated by God specifically to be His priests. For this reason, in the New Testament, God reiterated His intention to make every one of His children a member of the priesthood. Unfortunately, the failure of God’s people in the Old Testament was repeated by His people in the New Testament. In the Old Testament, the people of Israel lost the priesthood due to their failure. As a result, God had to change His way of making the whole nation the priests to one of making the house of Aaron the priests. In the New Testament age, the separation between the clergy and the laity has gradually become a custom and a tradition. This is something man-made and is not pleasing to God. In Christianity today, the terms clergy and laity are very frequently used and are subjects which are often talked about by people. (The New Testament Priests of the Gospel, pp. 8-9)
In the New Testament, God Reiterated His Intention to Make
Every One of His Children a Member of the Priesthood
We have seen that the Lord’s ordained way always matches the economy that He is after. We have also seen that God’s New Testament economy is to have every saved person be a priest. The New Testament priesthood is universal. There should not be only a group of people who are priests while the others are not. Instead, everyone should be a priest. It does not matter how young you are. As long as you are a saved person, having the Lord’s life, you are a member of the Body of Christ and therefore a priest. To the Lord, you are His member. To God, you are His priest. Also, a priest is one who is joined to God as one. God has entered into us and has brought us into Him. We mutually abide in each other. We and God and God and we have become one. By this, we become a people who belong to God and who serve God. (p. 46)
Everyone Being Recovered to Preach the Gospel
and to Serve as Priests of the Gospel
We have to realize that today’s Christianity is degraded. It has fallen away from God’s ordained way. For example, the gospel campaign meetings where one speaks and all listen have killed the gospel-preaching function in all the saints. Although the saints are still willing to participate in the gospel work, they cannot preach nor do they have the opportunity to preach. Instead, they can only participate in some Levitical services, such as moving the chairs, cleaning the windows, vacuuming the carpets, and inviting people to come to love feasts. Eventually, no one can preach the gospel. Everything depends on one speaker. The rest just listen. This is indeed wrong. (p. 49)
Living Uniquely for the Gospel
My intention is to impress you that in the universe and today on this earth there is something called the gospel which we are reminded and commanded to live for. The Lord commanded us to live for this gospel uniquely. What are we living on this earth for? Do we live for our profession or for our job to make a lot of money? What is man living for? Poor human society has so much activity but no goal. Do we have a goal? Our goal is the gospel, and our gospel is the Triune God processed to be the very Spirit within us as our salvation, as our life, as our life supply, and as our all-inclusive enjoyment. (Being Desperate and Living Uniquely for the Gospel, (p. 2)
Seek First His Kingdom and His Righteousness
Each one of us needs to wake up to be serious, to live uniquely for the gospel. When you say that you live uniquely for the gospel, you have to consider the standard of your living. Regardless of how much money you make, it should not uplift the standard. The uplifted standard will not only waste your money but also waste your time. You will spend a lot of money and waste your time and energy. Then surely you will have no time to go out. If you have a bigger lawn, either you have to mow it or you have to hire others to do it. Thus, your money, energy, and time will all be wasted. Forget about having a higher standard of living. Every week save two hours to go out. I do not mean that you should not mow your lawn or take care of your house and belongings. But knocking on doors two or three hours a week is first. Let us all do this first. Then if there is any time left, go out a second time for two or three hours. We must live uniquely for the gospel. If you are faithful to the Lord by living uniquely for His gospel, the Lord will bless. He will bless your job or your business. He will take care of you. He will fulfill His promise in Matthew 6:33. If you seek His kingdom and His righteousness, He will give you His kingdom and His righteousness with an addition of all your daily necessities. (p. 38)
THE UNIVERSAL PRIESTHOOD OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
Everyone Preaching the Gospel
The priesthood that God ordained for everyone is one in which all the saved ones are priests. Moreover, the foremost offering in the New Testament is the offering of the saved sinners to God. This is the first function of the priests of the New Testament.
For this reason, after the coming of the New Testament age, God revealed to the last priest of the Old Testament, John the Baptist, that he was not to offer up bulls and goats anymore. Instead, he should offer up sinners in Christ. After this, the Lord Jesus came. He was also a real priest. He continued to bring sinners to salvation. The Lord Jesus also sent out disciples to preach the gospel. First, He sent out the twelve (Luke 6:12-16). Then He sent out seventy (Luke 10:1-24). After His resurrection the Lord said to the disciples, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and disciple all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 28:18b, 19). The Lord sent us to all the nations to preach the gospel to every man, baptizing them into Himself, and offering them up as sacrifices to God. In the Epistles Paul also said that he “should be a minister of Christ Jesus to the nations, ministering as a priest the gospel of God, that the offering of the nations might be acceptable, having been sanctified in the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 15:16). Paul was a priest of the gospel of God. He offered up the saved Gentiles as offerings to God. (The New Testament Priests of the Gospel, pp. 40-41)
No More Service by the Clergy Alone
but Every Believer Preaching the Gospel Instead
We still may have natural concepts. We may think that since Brother Paul was the number one apostle, he was surely capable of preaching the gospel. But since we are neither an apostle nor a prophet, we cannot preach the gospel. To preach the gospel we have to invite a gospel giant to come to us and have him speak to everyone. This is very unscriptural and does not match the nature of God’s ordained way in the New Testament. God ordains in the New Testament that every one of the believers should preach the gospel.
However, the church has become fallen. As a result, the organic function of many believers is killed. All have become incapable of preaching the gospel. Only a few have become capable in preaching the gospel and serving as a priest. The result is a clerical system. Most believers are laymen who come only for the worship services, sitting in the pews without functioning at all. This kills the arrangement and ordination of God. For the past two thousand years many Christians have become incapable of serving God.
(The New Testament Priests of the Gospel, p. 41)
Everyone Personally Fulfilling His Service
as a Priest of the Gospel
I believe that from [today] on, everyone will see clearly that every believer is a New Testament priest of the gospel and must personally preach the gospel by visiting people through knocking on doors, that the sinners may be saved and may be offered up to God as sacrifices. We are like the branches of the vine sent by the Lord to go forth to bear fruit. This work cannot be replaced by anyone else’s labor. This is ordained by God, and this is the way revealed in the Bible. As priests of the gospel, we should go and preach the gospel. Whether we are capable or not, this is our destiny. No one will preach the gospel for us, or bear fruit for us. The fruit of others are on their own accounts.
Since we are the branches of the Lord, we must personally bear fruit to God. This is our duty. This is also our glory. As 1 Peter 2:9 says, we are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, for the telling out of the virtues of Him who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. If we labor according to the Bible, struggling and striving as Paul did for the gospel, perhaps hundreds of thousands of sinners will have been saved by us when we see the Lord. This is not a small thing. This will accomplish the eternal purpose of the Lord and will realize His economy among us. May the Lord be merciful to us, deliver us out of the old way that kills the organic functions, and bring us into this new way that takes us out of death into life. (The New Testament Priests of the Gospel, pp. 92-93)
Everyone Attending the Home and Group Meetings
In Colossians 1:28 Paul said, “Warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man full-grown in Christ.” To be presented full-grown is similar to being picked as ripe fruit in an orchard during harvest time. This whole process of growth is included in the home meetings, the group meetings, and the district meetings. In the end, through these different meetings we will be perfected step by step until we can finally be presented to God full-grown. (The New Testament Priests of the Gospel, p. 43)
Everyone Prophesying for the Lord
Today we have to see that we are all New Testament priests. Everyone needs to preach the gospel. Everyone has to attend the home meetings and group meetings. Everyone must prophesy. When we prophesy, we have to exercise our spirit. There must be not only the revelation and the light; there must be the inspiration also. In this way Christ will be spoken into others. Only when all these things are put into practice can the universal priesthood be realized. (The New Testament Priests of the Gospel, p. 43)
Prophesying to Build Up the Church is the Goal
of the Ministry of the New Testament Gospel Priest
Again I say, the way the Bible shows us is that each one of us should go to preach the gospel that others may be regenerated, made alive, and then be nourished, taught, and perfected to know the truth and to have the experience of life. Gradually they also will be able to testify and prophesy for the Lord, ministering Christ to others that the church may be built up organically.
Thus, we see that prophesying to build up the church is the consummation, as well as the goal, of the ministry of the New Testament priests of the gospel. If only we had the willingness to practice, I believe we all could do it. Each time when we meet, we practice to speak with everyone speaking, and the more we speak, the more we are able to speak. The word is rich among us and even in each of us, but it has been buried in the past. By this word I am digging it out again. I wish that we would earnestly pursue toward this goal. I truly regard this matter highly, just as Paul does in 1 Corinthians 14. Therefore, I also encourage us all to earnestly desire prophesying and even that we all can prophesy. In this way the function of every member can be manifested, and the riches of the Body of Christ can be released from every member. Eventually, the Body of Christ will be built up for the accomplishment of God’s New Testament economy. (The Ministry of the New Testament Priests of the Gospel, p. 40)
THREE STEPS OF GOD’S NEW TESTAMENT PRIESTHOOD OF THE GOSPEL
Ephesians 4 tells us that Paul desired that all the saints would arrive at a full-grown man (v. 13). He desired that all the saints would be perfected and be able to do the work of the ministry, for the building up of the Body of Christ. There are three steps to Paul’s work as a priest of the gospel. First, he preached the gospel to save and bring in the sinners. Second, he perfected the newly saved people that they would offer themselves up. Third, he warned and taught in all wisdom until these believers became mature in Christ; then he presented them full-grown. For this he labored.
Preaching The Gospel to Save and Bring in the Sinners
The first group of apostles set up by the Lord were the first, group of priests of the gospel. After them, the most outstanding one was the Apostle Paul. In Romans chapter fifteen he said that he was “a minister of Christ Jesus to the nations, ministering as a priest the gospel of God, that the offering of the nations might be acceptable, haying been sanctified in the Holy Spirit” (v. 16). Paul saved the Gentile sinners one by one, and offered them up to God. This was the first step.
Perfecting the newly saved people that they would offer themselves up
The second step was for Paul to meet in the homes of the newly saved believers. We can see this from the book of Romans. First, in chapter one Paul talked about the content of the gospel. After that, in chapters two and three, there is the initial gospel for the home meetings. Following that, from chapter four to chapter eleven, he talked about the walk of a believer in Christ. This was probably a message for a small group meeting of the local saints. Then, in chapter twelve, in verses 4 and 5, he said that as there are many members in one body, and all the members do not have the same function, so also we all are one Body in Christ, and severally members one of another. Possibly this is a development from the group meeting to the district meeting. Here, Paul encouraged the saints to prophesy in the meetings. He said, “And having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us exercise them accordingly: whether prophecy, according to the proportion of faith” (v. 6).
Laboring to warn and taught in all wisdom until these believers became mature in Christ; then present them full-grown
Paul did not cover prophesying in chapter one. In chapter one, he talked about everyone having sinned and being in need of the gospel. In chapter two, he talked about the Jews having sinned. In chapter three, he talked about all having sinned and come short of the glory of God (v. 23). In chapter four, he talked about circumcision. In chapter five, he talked about the different inheritances in Adam and in Christ. Chapter by chapter, he went on to expound and teach the Roman believers. By chapter twelve, he mentioned prophesying. We can say that Paul began in Romans with the preaching of the gospel, proceeded on to the home meetings, then to the group meetings, and finally ended with the district meetings. He was helping the ones under his teaching to prophesy in the meetings.
It is as if Paul was saying: “Formerly I brought you the gospel of salvation and offered you to God as sacrifices. Now you have been nourished and have grown through the home meetings. You have also attended the group meetings and have been perfected there. Now you have to prophesy in the meetings, offering yourselves up as living sacrifices.” Paul led the believers under his care to present themselves as living sacrifices. He also presented these perfected saints full-grown in Christ to God in all wisdom. “Whom we announce, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man full-grown in Christ; for which also I labor, struggling according to His operation which operates in me in power” (Col. 1:28-29).
EVERYONE TAKING THE NEW WAY
TO ACCOMPLISH GOD’S NEW TESTAMENT ECONOMY
The way ordained by the Scripture matches the nature
of the Body of Christ And the Principles of the Body
The new way that the Lord has shown us is a way ordained by Scripture. Everything that He commands us to do matches the nature of His Body and the principles of the Body. Either we forget about the preaching of the gospel, or we have to do it together as a Body. In the same way, we either forget about the home meetings, or everyone has to do it together. Even if you cannot take care of two each week, at least you can take care of one every two weeks. To care for some is always better than not caring for any! A church where everyone is functioning will not only beget new ones, but it will also retain, sustain, and maintain them. In caring for the new ones there is the need not only to support them spiritually and in prayer, but also the need to care for them physically and in their employment. This is the way to perfect people. In the end everyone will become children of a well-educated family. Everyone who is brought up in this church will be able to preach the gospel and to take care of new ones. They will all have home meetings and will be able to care for new ones. They will also be able to have small group meetings to keep and perfect the new ones so that all will be built up together. Eventually, everyone will be able to prophesy. As long as we are willing to practice these things and the more we do them, the more we will become capable and skillful.
In His New Testament economy, God desires to have a Body. This Body must have new ones. We hope that there will be more and more new ones added to the church. By this the meetings will be higher and richer. To achieve this, every member has to function. Everyone has to go out to preach the gospel. After people are baptized, everyone has to nourish. Do not be afraid that your legs will be tired of going to the home meetings. Every one of us should go out to establish the new ones and bring them to the small group meetings. After this we should bring them to the Lord’s Day morning meetings so that they would be cared for and perfected. After half a year, those who are under your care will be able to do the same thing that you do. By then you can divide the small group and renew the cycle all over again. Go out again to knock on doors and bring people to salvation. Set up more home meetings and group meetings. By going on continuously in this way, the church will have the increase and spread.
The nature of the new way is to bring God into man to be mingled
with man that man may become the Body of Christ
The new way is not just a method; it is a matter of nature. The nature of the new way is to bring God into man to be mingled with man that man may become the Body of Christ. To arrive at this point we must gain the new ones, feeding them and leading them to prophesy. Outwardly speaking, all these are methods. But these methods match the inward nature of the new way. Today whether it is preaching the gospel, nourishing others, attending home and group meetings, or prophesying in the meetings, all are moves of the Body. In the end the Body of Christ is produced and God’s New Testament economy will be accomplished. (The New Testament Priests of the Gospel, pp. 29-31)
TAKING THE HOME AS THE CENTER
TO BRING IN THE FUNCTIONING OF ALL THE MEMBERS
We can bring everyone into function by taking the home as the center. According to the modern way of life, no household hires a cook to do all the cooking for the family. If there are such households, they are a small minority. More than thirty years ago, it was very easy to hire servants to keep house and do the cooking. Now, due to the increase in the cost of labor, almost every household cooks for itself and does all the housework itself. The result is that the households are becoming stronger and stronger. Today when Christians consider spiritual devotion and edification, they have to hire a speaker to hold an edification meeting or they do not know how to go on. We hope that after going through a thorough change of system, we will no longer have the thought of hiring a speaker because everyone will be able to speak and carry out all the service in the meetings. This kind of meeting will certainly be strong and rich. If the saints are willing to change their concept and receive the practice of changing the system, I believe that after just a few years all will be drawn by the home meetings. Moreover, everyone will feel that a large meeting in which one person speaks and everyone else listens has lost its flavor. In the past we listened to one person speaking in the meeting hall. After listening for all those years, even though we cannot say that the messages we heard were the conventional sermons of ordinary Christianity, we can say that they were the “conventional” teachings of the local churches. In a few years, however, I believe that in Taipei we will have several thousand homes in which there are meetings and activities. The participants in these meetings will all be able to speak and function and even their children will be able to lead others to sing hymns. (The Furtherance of the New Way for the Lord’s Recovery, p. 63)
References: The Resumption of Watchman Nee’s Ministry, Vol. 2, chs. 47; The New Testament Priests of the Gospel, chs. 1, 3, 4, 7; Being Desperate and Living Uniquely for the Gospel, ch. 3; The Ministry of the New Testament Priests of the Gospel, ch. 4; The Furtherance of the New Way for the Lord’s Recovery, ch. 5.
