LESSONS ON THE GOD-ORDAINED WAY

Lesson Thirty-One

The Inclusiveness and the Importance of the God-ordained Way

Scripture Reading:

Heb. 10:20 Which entrance He initiated for us as a new and living way through the veil, that is, His flesh.

Acts 2:42 And they continued steadfastly in the teaching and the fellowship of the apostles, in the breaking of bread and the prayers.

Acts 2:46 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.

Eph. 4:11-12 And He Himself gave some as apostles and some as prophets and some as evangelists and some as shepherds and teachers, For the perfecting of the saints unto the work of the ministry, unto the building up of the Body of Christ.

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 Cor. 3:13-14 The work of each will become manifest; for the day will declare it, because it is revealed by fire, and the fire itself will prove each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built upon the foundation remains, he will receive a reward.

I. The inclusiveness of the new way—Heb 10:20, Acts 2:42, 46:

A. In the objective aspect of the truth—Christ, the Spirit, life, and the church—Col. 3:4a; John 15:4-5; 1 Cor. 15:45b; Exo. 30:23-25; John 14:17; Phil. 1:19-21a; Eph. 1:23, 4:1-6.

B. In the subjective aspect of practice—begetting, nourishing, perfecting, and building up—John 15:16; 1 Thes. 2:7; Eph. 4:12; 1 Cor. 14:31.

C. The new way being God’s ordained way of practicing God’s New Testament economy—Luke 10:3-6.

D. The new way being a way of death and resurrection—Heb. 10:20:

1. The new way being a way that people can be revived—2 Cor 4:16.

2. The God ordained way developing each one’s gift, function, and capacity of life—1 Cor. 3:6, 14:31.

E. The new way being the God-ordained and scriptural way to practice the church life—Acts 2:46, 5:42; 1 Cor. 14:26.

II. The importance of the new way—Eph. 4:11-12, Eph. 4:16, 1 Cor. 3:13-14:

A. To the Lord :

1. The new way being the way of the organic building up of the Body of Christ—John 15:5; Eph. 4:16.

2. Only such a group of people who are constituted as the Lord’s bride through practicing the new way being able to bring in the Lord’s return—John 3:29a; Rev. 21:2, 22:17.

B. To the Lord’s recovery:

1. The God-ordained way to meet being a crucial item which has not yet been recovered—1 Cor. 14:26; Heb. 10:25.

2. The God-ordained way to practice the New Testament economy being the unique way and the most effective way.

C. To the Lord’s ministry: If we reject the God-ordained way, the Lord’s ministry will stop—Matt. 13:45-46; Luke 8:18.

D. To us:

1. The Lord is coming, and we will meet Him and give an account to Him—Matt. 25:19, 23; 2 Cor. 5:10; 1 Cor. 3:13-14.

2. Being hopeful, positive, enduring, and endeavoring concerning the new way—Col. 1:29.

 

Excerpts from the ministry:

THE INCLUSIVENESS OF THE NEW WAY

When we began to take this way, we were not quite sure of the way of doing things; however, we have seen quite clearly the principle and the emphasis. I held on to one thing: the principle cannot be changed, and the emphasis cannot be shifted; the truth is forever the truth. My principle and emphasis are Christ, the Spirit, Life, and the church. Although my voice for changing the system and walking the new way was very high and strong, I walked very firmly in a stable way. I walked slowly, step by step, according to my evaluation of the church’s situation and the pace of the brothers. I was like a cook, busy working in the kitchen every day, preparing to put forth a feast. Therefore, I hope that no one will be anxious. You cannot require that we succeed within three years in this change of the system which has not been successfully accomplished within the last fifty years. You need to wait patiently and broaden your view. You also need to listen accurately and should not assume that your understanding is the same as what I spoke. I found that the people outside the training were not clear, or misunderstood, or had too many opinions concerning the change of the system. Even with those who were in the training, there were areas where they did not listen accurately, or understand adequately.…Therefore, now I feel compelled to present the inclusiveness of the new way in its entirety so that you can have a complete view. (Words of Training for the New Way, Vol. 2, p. 29)

In the Objective Aspect of the Truth—
Christ, the Spirit, Life, and the Church

We should realize that the Lord’s recovery is to recover Christ, the Spirit, life, and the Church. Christ is the embodiment and expression of the Triune God; He is the all-inclusive God-man. Concerning this point, Hymns #501 has given a simple, clear, and appropriate description. The Spirit is the ultimate expression of the Triune God. The theology in Christianity has separated God into three Persons: the Father being one Person, the Son being one Person, and the Spirit being another Person. But we see from the Bible that Christ is the embodiment of God and is not separate from the Father. He Himself says, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30). Then, again, He says, “You, Father, are in Me and I in You” (John 17:21). The Bible also says that the Holy Spirit is the reality of the Son (John 14:17-20; 1 John 5:6). Hence, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are one. This Triune God has passed through incarnation, human living, crucifixion, and resurrection from the dead, and He has become the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45). Therefore, now the Lord is the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:17). At the end of the Bible it says, “The Spirit and the bride say, Come!” (Rev. 22:17). The Spirit here is the ultimate expression of the processed Triune God. Moreover, life is simply Christ, and life is also the Spirit. In John 14, Christ says, “I am the life.” This Christ who is life, having passed through the processes to become the life-giving Spirit, entered into us to be the life that we enjoy. Romans 8:2 speaks of “the Spirit of life.” This term joins life together with the Spirit, which indicates that everything related to life is contained within the Spirit. Life belongs to the Spirit; and the Spirit is of life. These two are one in reality. Hence, Christ is the Spirit, and the Spirit is life. The Spirit entering into us is the Triune God being our eternal and incorruptible life. When this life is gained by us, the result is the producing of the church, and the ultimate consummation of the church is the New Jerusalem. The sixty-six books of the entire Bible begin with God, the Triune God, and consummate in the New Jerusalem. And the New Jerusalem is the ultimate manifestation of the mingling of the processed Triune God with the redeemed and transformed tripartite man.

This is our vision, and it is the objective truth in the Lord’s recovery. I have released over two thousand messages concerning Christ, the Spirit, life, and the church. These messages have also been published as books. I hope that the younger generation and the newcomers to the Lord’s recovery would spend time to study these messages. (Words of Training for the New Way, Vol. 2, pp. 30-31)

In the Subjective Aspect of Practice—
Begetting, Nourishing, Perfecting, and Building Up

We have already covered the new way in the objective aspect of the truth. Concerning the subjective aspect of practice, the first item is preaching the gospel. Every saved one is willing to preach the gospel.

Up to this point, you can realize that the new way is not merely knocking on doors for preaching the gospel, nor does it stop at building up home meetings. The new way further requires us to be living persons who can speak and also listen. Hence, we all need to have a spiritual and victorious living, live in spirit moment by moment, walk according to the Spirit, and be burning in spirit. Eventually, all these are not for ourselves, but for the establishing of the local churches for the building up of the Body of Christ, which is the universal church. This is the practice of the new way in the subjective aspect. This begins with the dispensing of the Triune God into people that they may receive Him, call upon His name, and be baptized into His name. It continues with the feeding and caring for people and the establishing of home meetings in their homes to eventually build up the local churches.

May we all see that the new way is the way of the Lord’s recovery. The new way is inclusive. It starts with knocking on doors for preaching the gospel to dispense the Triune God into people; then it continues with establishing home meetings in the believers’ homes, with speaking to one another and listening to one another, for the building up of the local churches. When we are building the local churches in this way, we are building up the Body of Christ, the universal church. I hope that you all can listen to this word completely, thoroughly, and comprehensively. When you return to your respective localities to speak, you must also speak completely, thoroughly, and comprehensively. May the Lord have mercy on us! (Words of Training for the New Way, Vol. 2, pp. 31, 38-39)

The New Way Being God’s Ordained Way
of Practicing God’s New Testament Economy

The Lord’s new way is a dream that we all need to be brought into. I have been dreaming this dream, and my burden is to bring you into this dream. We all have to bear the responsibility and the burden to bring this dream to the whole earth. If we are faithful by the Lord’s mercy to practice the New Testament economy according to the God-ordained Way, we will see the fulfillment of this dream.

In order for us to practice the New Testament economy, we need to see the divine economy. This economy is clearly revealed in the holy Word (1 Tim. 1:4; Eph. 1:10; 3:9; Col. 1:25; 1 Cor. 9:17). The center of the entire New Testament is God’s divine economy. God’s economy is God’s plan, His divine arrangement, to dispense Himself into His chosen people. Our going out to visit people by knocking on their doors is for this economy and should be linked with the divine economy. Since the Lord brought me to the United States in the early sixties, every message I have given has touched this point of God’s economy. I was sent to the United States by being linked to this economy, and I did not do anything that was independent of this economy.

When we go out, we must hold on to the concept and deep feeling that we are going out to visit people for God’s economy. Without knocking on people’s doors, it would be hard for us to seek the sons of peace for God’s eternal economy (Luke 10:3-6). God’s eternal economy involves and includes millions of sons of peace. These sons of peace need us to go to visit them in their homes. We go to knock on people’s doors by having ourselves linked to the divine economy, linked to eternity, linked to the heavenlies. We need a clear vision and deep impression concerning God’s economy, which involves the completion of Christ and the propagation of the pneumatic Christ for the producing of the church (Eph. 3:6-11). (The God-ordained Way to Practice the New Testament Economy, pp. 7-8)

The New Way Being a Way of Death and Resurrection

Hebrews 10:20 says, “By a new and living way, which he dedicated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh.” The veil here is a type of the flesh of Christ. When the flesh of Christ was crucified on the cross, this veil was rent, and a new and living way was open for us. This way is now prepared in the new creation and is ready for us to walk on. For the same reason, our flesh has to be broken, and we have to deny our soul life. Only then can we walk on this new way in resurrection. Everything that is in the old creation is old. Only by being in the new creation can there be newness. If we preach the gospel by the old creation and serve God by the flesh, our way is an old way. But whenever we preach the gospel and serve God by the new creation, that is, by our spirit, we have the new way.

What then is the new way? The new way is the way of death and resurrection. This way requires that we deny ourselves. By this, we would not be in ourselves, the natural realm, the old creation, or the flesh, but would be fully in the new creation and in life. This is the new way. The secret of the new way is death and resurrection. The natural man cannot take this way. Much less can the flesh take it. It is wrong for a man to assume that, just because he has a higher education or has lived through all the sufferings of the human life, he is qualified to preach the gospel. If we have this thought, even if we say that we are taking the new way, in reality we are not in the new way, because everything we do is in the old creation. The service in the new way requires that we deny the self, the flesh, and the natural strength. (The Organic Practice of the New Way, pp. 61-62)

The New Way Being a Way that People Can be Revived

The way of meeting in the Bible and the way which we are entering aggressively and practicing carefully is the way to be genuinely revived. In the denominations or in our past way of meeting, people were required to attend the Lord’s Day service but were not required to be revived. There were some who were responsible for singing, some for praying, and some for preaching, so those who attended the meeting did not need to do anything; they just needed to be there. If someone were to quarrel at home or even commit a great sin, he could still go to the Lord’s Day morning service. There was a responsible brother in a denomination; the dining table in his home was for the Lord’s table in the morning and for mah-jongg after the meeting. The old way of meeting does not require people to be overcoming and spiritual.

Today if we want to take the way of the recovery as revealed in the Bible, we have to be overcoming and love the Lord. In other words, we must fellowship with the Lord every moment, live in the spirit every day, and walk according to the spirit. Otherwise, when we come to the meeting, it will be a meeting where one person speaks and everyone listens. Just imagine if in a meeting, you are down, and I am also down; some just quarreled with their family at home, and some had gone to play mah-jongg the day before; in a case like this, how could we function?

The scriptural way is what God has ordained. The God-ordained way requires us to be spiritual and overcoming in our living. In the past the brother who stood at the podium was in fear and trembling every Friday because he was afraid that if he were not overcoming and spiritual because he had lost his temper, he would not be able to speak on the Lord’s Day. But after he spoke the message in that Lord’s Day meeting, his whole being would be relaxed, casual, and free. The new way today, however, requires not merely one person to “stand at the podium,” but it requires everyone to “stand at the podium.” Everyone has to function in the meeting; at least everyone has to pray. We all have this kind of experience: if we quarreled with our family and threw chopsticks at a meal time, when we came to the meeting, not only could we not say anything, we could not even call, “O Lord.” Even some people did not have the boldness to come to the meeting. This is our situation.

The meeting revealed in the Bible is where everyone functions: prays, sings, speaks, and testifies; this requires us to live in the spirit. We must be those who love the Lord, who are consecrated, who fellowship with the Lord, and who walk according to the spirit. If we have any offense toward others in our conscience, we have to confess it before the Lord immediately and confess it to the ones we offended and make reconciliation. Only then can we recover the fellowship and thus function in the meeting. Hence, this way is one that requires us to be revived. (Being Up-to-date for the Rebuilding of the Temple (Chinese), pp. 153-154)

The God-Ordained Way Developing Each One’s Gift,
Function, and Capacity of Life

The God-ordained way, negatively speaking, kills and annuls the traditional way. But positively, the God-ordained way develops each one’s life gift, life function, and life capacity. As long as you are a Christian, you have the eternal life, and this life has the highest capacity, ability, gift, talent, and function. But we need to see that the growth and spreading of life is gradual. For example, the grass in our yards grows and spreads gradually. If we sow grass seeds in our yard today and go back to see it the next day, it seems that the yard is about the same. Every day for many days it seems the same. But eventually, after a number of months, a beautiful lawn full of green grass will cover our yard.

The spreading of life needs a certain amount of time and labor. If you do not till the ground, sow the seed, water, and add fertilizer, the seeds may not grow well. You cannot just sow the seed, go home to sleep, and expect that the seeds will grow properly. In a sense, the seeds grow on their own, but in another sense, there is still the need of proper care, fertilizing, and watering. Paul said, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God made to grow” (1 Cor. 3:6). Thus, there is the need of proper, adequate labor with a sufficient amount of patience. (Messages to the Trainees in Fall 1990, p. 97)

The New Way Being the God-ordained and Scriptural Way
to Practice the Church Life

I would like to point out three verses that are very crucial. Acts 2:46 tells us that the early Christians broke bread from house to house. The Greek text also can mean that they broke bread “according to their homes.” Acts 5:42 tells us that the early apostles went from house to house to do two things: to preach and to teach Christ as the gospel. Their gospel was not a theology nor mere doctrine. Their gospel was a living person, the very Christ, whom the Jewish religion at that time opposed to the uttermost. They preached this opposed One as the gospel and they also taught. These two verses are critical. Another crucial verse is 1 Corinthians 14:26. This verse tells us that when the church comes together, each one should have something. This one has a psalm, another one has a teaching, another one has a revelation, etc.

By these three verses, we can see the real situation and the real condition of the believers’ meetings in the early days of the church. This situation and condition cannot be seen in today’s Christianity. Even we ourselves are very short of this God-ordained way to practice the church life. First, the early believers practiced the church life according to their homes. This means that the church life at that time was in the believers’ homes. Second, when the whole church came together, it was not a meeting in which one person spoke and the rest listened. Their church meetings were full of mutuality. Each one should have something of the Lord to share with the others for the building up of the church. Such meetings of mutuality cannot be seen in today’s Christianity, and it is hard to see them prevailing among us.

This is why by October of 1984, I was forced to reconsider what is in the Bible, what we are doing, and what we see in today’s Christianity. My eyes were once more enlightened to see God’s ordained way to build up the Body of Christ. Surely Christianity has deviated from this way. We also have deviated to a certain extent because we have not fully practiced what is recorded in the holy Word. Thus, I was strong to make a decision that we needed to have a great change, a revolutionary change. (Elders’ Training Book 9, The Eldership and the God-ordained Way (1), pp. 19-20)

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE NEW WAY

To the Lord

The New Way Being the Way
of the Organic Building Up of the Body of Christ

The Lord has expected this organic building for almost two thousand years, but what is being practiced in today’s Christianity is the traditional clergy-laity system. The mass of the believers are so-called laymen. Here are two ways for us to choose from—the old way of the clergy and the laity or the new way of the organic building up of the Body of Christ through every joint of the rich supply and through the operation in measure of each one part. We all must take the new, scriptural way. For this new way we all have to labor diligently, especially the leading ones and the co-workers. It is not acceptable to prepare a message to speak once a week, and then take it easy the rest of the week to have leisure time.

Some have said that we should forget about the work and come back to the enjoyment of Christ, but we need to realize that the enjoyment of Christ always has an issue. If a branch of the vine tree is really and richly enjoying the life juice from the tree, surely the branch will bear fruit (John 15:5). If the branch has not borne fruit for years, it has probably already been cut off (15:2a, 6). A person may think that he is enjoying Christ, but actually he may be cut off from the enjoyment of Christ. He may be self-deceived. Have we been enjoying Christ year after year? Where is out fruit? When I returned to Taipei in 1984, they only had three thousand in attendance at the Lord’s table. Today they have five thousand at the table. They also have thousands of new ones that they are caring for in home meetings and small group meetings. The saints and churches who have practiced visiting people in their homes with the gospel have testified of the fruitfulness of this way. Can we give a testimony in a definite way of the fruit that we have borne?

If the way that I have presented to you is ordained by God and is according to the Scriptures, we have to practice it at any cost. Then the Lord will have a way with us to finish His recovery. Otherwise, we may force Him to drop us and go to others. The Lord dropped others in His move and came to us sixty years ago, but where are we today? The gifted ones—the leading ones and the co-workers—need to perfect the needy saints, not by speaking to them as a congregation but by visiting them in their homes. Some of the older co-workers may feel that they have become useless now that we are changing to the new way. Actually, if the older ones pick up the new way, they will become more useful. Their years of experience are needed for the perfecting of the saints. If we do not go along with the tide of the Spirit in this age, however, we will become dropouts. Time does not wait for us. This is why the New Testament tells us to redeem the time (Eph. 5:16). (The Way to Practice the Lord’s Present Recovery, pp. 32-33)

Only Such a Group of People Who Are Constituted As the Lord’s Bride
through Practicing the New Way Being Able to Bring in the Lord’s Return

In this age the Lord has certainly revealed all the visions in the New Testament to us, enabling us to clearly see God’s economy. Now we should be faithful to go out door-knocking to gain some for this economy and to feed the new ones for this economy by teaching them the truth. On the other hand, we ourselves must live in this economy. In this way, we will have such a group of people under the light of the truth who are being taught, cultivated, and supplied and who in their daily lives live Christ, express Him, and have become one spirit with Him, living in the spirit and walking by the spirit. This is what the Lord wants to obtain today. When the Lord returns, these ones will be the bride for Him to gain and the firstfruits who are raptured first. It is such a group of people who can cause the Lord to have a desire to come back. Where is the bride today? If the bride is not prepared, how can He come? If He were to come anyway, would He not come in vain? Only such a group of people who are constituted as the Lord’s bride through practicing the new way will be able to bring in the Lord’s return. I hope that we all will see this vision clearly.

We must be reminded here that we are going on in the way of recovery, beginning with the step of door-knocking. If we knock on the door of a Catholic or a Christian, we should never try to change them. No matter how much they praise, welcome, or admire you, they will almost always return to their own fold. Nevertheless, we must be broad and do our best to help them. Our strength, however, must be focused on the unbelievers or on the newly saved ones, setting up meetings in their homes and bringing them to know the truth. If we faithfully practice according to the principles we have fellowshipped, then in a year we will certainly double our number. (The Furtherance of the New Way for the Lord’s Recovery, pp. 37-38)

To the Lord’s Recovery

The God-ordained Way to Meet Being a Crucial Item
Which Has Not Yet Been Recovered

If we mean business with the Lord for His recovery, we have to remember that the God-ordained Way to meet is a crucial item which has not yet been recovered. First Corinthians 14:26 says, “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.” Where can we see that this verse has been fulfilled? Even with the Brethren, a century ago, this was not fully recovered. Where can we see the fulfillment of Hebrews 10:25, which says, “Not abandoning our own assembling together, as the custom with some is, but exhorting one another; and so much the more as you see the day drawing near”? These two verses are the Lord’s words in His holy revelation. In Matthew 24:35 the Lord said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words shall by no means pass away.” Whatever the Lord has spoken, sooner or later, will be fulfilled. I have the full assurance that the Lord’s words in 1 Corinthians 14:26 and Hebrews 10:25 will be fulfilled. If He does not do it in our time, He will do it in the future.

I have been serving the Lord in His ministry for exactly fifty-five years. I began to practice the church life in my home in 1932. By 1984, fifty-two years later, I realized that I must do something for the Lord to see the churches brought into His ordained way. I have a burden to carry this out at any risk. I have not been attacked by the enemy at any time in my entire life as I have at this time, but by His mercy I am standing here. I only care for God’s burden. Whether I could see His present burden come to pass or not, only He knows. I only care for one thing—I have to finish my course; I have to discharge my burden.

The recovery of 1 Corinthians 14:26 and Hebrews 10:25 is a great thing. I only care for this burden. If I could not speak to all the saints on this earth, at least I could speak to a part of them. I must discharge my burden. I desire to sacrifice everything for this burden, even my life. I do not care for my life. I only care for this burden. There is a Chinese proverb which says, “I will do it to the uttermost until I die.” This is my feeling. (Elders’ Training Book 9, The Eldership and the God-ordained Way (1), pp. 36-37)

The God-ordained Way to Practice the New Testament Economy
Being the Unique Way and the Most Effective Way

Recently one young sister among us went out to visit people for close to a week without getting anyone baptized. She fasted, repented, and cried out to the Lord for a breakthrough. When she went out the next evening, she baptized six people. Her fasting prayer was heard by the Lord, and she gained six new ones. The God-ordained Way to practice the New Testament economy is the unique way, the biblical way, and the most effective way.

If we love the Lord and do not want to take the Lord’s new way, we are foolish. The Lord Jesus did tell us, however, that no one who has drunk the old wine desires the new, for he says that the old is better (Luke 5:39). Actually, the new wine is better. When we get into the taste of knocking on doors to turn people to believe and be baptized, we will become addicted to this gospel service. When we establish home meetings and see the new ones growing in the divine life, we will be happy. These new ones whom we have baptized will be like our children whom we love and care for. We will be like nursing mothers (1 Thes. 2:7) who enjoy seeing their children grow. One leading one in the United States who was a trainee in the full-time training in Taipei told me he became addicted to knocking on people’s doors to get them baptized and to setting up and having home meetings. (The God-ordained Way to Practice the New Testament Economy, pp. 145-146)

To the Lord’s Ministry:
If We Reject the God-ordained Way, the Lord’s Ministry Will Stop

When the Lord’s recovery began among us, we gathered from Brother Nee all the studies he had accumulated from church history concerning the New Testament way of Christian service. We practiced what we saw from the New Testament. Then because of the Lord’s mercy, we gradually found out that what we were practicing was not so complete. We had many deficiencies. Brother Nee started to restudy the Bible beginning in 1931 for the purpose of seeing more concerning how to meet, how to serve, how to function, and how to preach the gospel. In recent years, especially in the last four and a half years, I have also studied the Word concerning these matters. Today I believe that we are here with the result of all our study. We have studied the New Testament book by book, chapter by chapter, and verse by verse. We cannot find any more verses concerning how to meet, how to serve, how to function, and how to preach. We have nearly exhausted the study of the New Testament concerning the scriptural way of Christian service. If we are wise and would receive the Lord’s mercy, we will see that this is what the Lord wants to do today. This is strategic. This move of the Lord is like a tide.

We must also realize that the goal of the opposition today is twofold: to oppose the God-ordained Way and to smear, to put down, and to put aside my ministry. Dear saints, suppose that today we put the God-ordained way aside and we put this ministry aside. What is left here today if we do this? If we reject the God-ordained way, we have no way to go on. I know that if I do not take this way, my ministry will stop. The Lord showed me this ordained way. If I would not take it or pass it on to the saints, I am finished in the ministry. I have nothing to say. The speaking of God stops in me. I want to convince you not to drop this way or reject this way. I love all of you because you love the Lord and the truth. You have sacrificed a lot to take this way. But I am a little concerned that you might be somewhat influenced to be hesitant about taking the God-ordained way. We must be like the wise merchant mentioned in Matthew 13 who sold everything to buy the pearl of great price. (Elders’ Training Book 9, The Eldership and the God-ordained Way (1), pp. 150-151)

To Us

The Lord is Coming, and We Will Have to Meet Him
and Give an Account to Him

In the past several years many messages have been given regarding the new way, which is actually the God-ordained way to meet and to serve. Through all these messages the God-ordained way has been made very clear to us. At first there was a certain amount of opposition and criticism against the new way, but now there is not much opposition. Almost all the leading ones in the churches in the Lord’s recovery are very clear concerning the new way. However, in relation to the practicing of the new way, we can see many “clouds,” but we have not yet seen the “rain.” The new way has been made clear to us, yet our response has not been quick, adequate, and prevailing.

Many dear saints have a heart to take the new way, but they feel that it is not easy to do so. It is wrong to say that the new way does not work. The new way does work. In a sense, however, it is not easy to take the new way. Christianity has made every believer idle. When a person first enters into Christianity, he may be busy for a short while. Certain denominations require that a new member learn a number of doctrines and pass an examination before he can be baptized. However, after being baptized, a believer may become idle for the rest of his life. All that may be required of such a believer is that he come to the Sunday morning service, leave an offering, and behave properly. By the Lord’s mercy and grace, however, there are still a number of seeking ones in Christianity who realize that they are in a situation that is inadequate. This is true especially among those who love to read the Bible. In reading the Bible they discover that they are lacking many spiritual things. They may go to their pastor for help, but many pastors may only quench their seeking, because the pastors themselves have no way to go on.

We must go to get people saved; we must “get married” in order to bring forth children. After bringing forth children, we need to feed, nourish, and cherish our babes. Then we must perfect them and build them up to speak the word of Christ, to speak Christ, and speak forth Christ to others, that is, to prophesy. If we have such a practice according to the New Testament teaching, no one among us will be idle. However, I am concerned that many of the saints are idle. We may not realize the seriousness of our situation, but one day we will. The Lord said, “Do business until I come.” If the Lord would return today and ask us to settle our account with Him, we all would be very serious. The Lord is coming, and we will have to meet Him and give an account to Him (Matt. 25:19; 2 Cor. 5:10). However, today many of the saints are at peace. The new way is a troubling way, not a peacemaking way. We must realize that the new way does not give us rest; rather, it causes us to be busy. (The Practice of the Group Meetings, pp. 61-64)

Being Hopeful, Positive, Enduring, and Endeavoring Concerning the New Way

We all should have much faith and maintain a heart of endurance, being hopeful in the Lord and hopeful concerning His new way. In the last days of this age the Lord will fully recover these four things among us—the New Testament priesthood of the gospel, the organic function of the believers, the perfecting in Ephesians 4, and the prophesying in 1 Corinthians 14. We need to be positive but not anxious. We all have our old background and old upbringing which are not easy to discard and replace with something new. Therefore, we should not be too hasty to have a success but should rather proceed slowly with a right heart and endurance. At the same time, those who have already entered into the new way should not despise those who have not yet entered, and neither should those who have not yet entered oppose those who have entered. We all should love one another, bear one another, and wait for one another. Do not forget that whichever way we are in, we are all those who believe in the Lord, who love Him, and who are for Him. However, it makes a difference which way we take. If we take the right way, the results will be great; if we take the wrong way, the results will be small, and this will be a frustration to the Lord. Therefore, as much as we can, we should turn to the proper way.

We must endeavor to go on with the Lord. The Lord knows our problems and our circumstances. He can be our supply and strength and day after day bring us to the right way. We also should consider one another and pray for one another, without criticizing, despising, or opposing, but only loving, exhorting, and supporting one another. We all should endeavor together to do our best. (The Church Life in the Lord’s Recovery Today, pp. 46-47)

References: Words of Training for the New Way, Vol. 2, ch. 15; The God-ordained Way to Practice the New Testament Economy, chs. 1, 16; The Organic Practice of the New Way, ch. 5; Being Up-to-date for the Rebuilding of the Temple (Chinese), ch. 14; Messages to the Trainees in Fall 1990, ch. 14; Elders’ Training Book 9, The Eldership and the God-ordained Way (1), chs. 2-3, 11; The Way to Practice the Lord’s Present Recovery, ch. 2; The Furtherance of the New Way for the Lord’s Recovery, ch. 2; The Practice of the Group Meetings, ch. 8; The Church Life in the Lord’s Recovery Today, ch. 4.