LESSONS ON THE GOD-ORDAINED WAY

Lesson Twenty-One

The Building Up of the Service of the Priesthood

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.

Titus 1:9 Holding to the faithful word, which is according to the teaching of the apostles, that he may be able both to exhort by the healthy teaching and to convict those who oppose.

1 Pet. 5:2-3 Shepherd the flock of God among you, overseeing not under compulsion but willingly, according to God; not by seeking gain through base means but eagerly; Nor as lording it over your allotments but by becoming patterns of the flock.

1 Pet. 5:5 In like manner, younger men, be subject to elders; and all of you gird yourselves with humility toward one another, because God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.

Acts 1:14 These all continued steadfastly with one accord in prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.

I. The practice of the local churches depending upon the apostles’ teaching and the eldership—Acts 2:42; 1 John 1:3; 1 Pet 2:5; Eph. 4:11-12:

A. The apostles’ teaching being the constitution of the New Testament—Matt. 28:19-20; Rev. 22:18-19.

B. Needing the eldership to practice the teaching of the apostles—Titus 1:5, 9.

C. A local church needing to be under the leadership of the elders and also needing to be ministered to by all the gifted saints for the perfecting of the saints—1 Pet. 5:1-3; Eph. 4:11-12.

D. The neighboring local churches being clustered as much as possible in the blending way:

1. Not only having the one accord in our own locality, but also keeping the oneness of the Body—1 Cor. 12:13; Eph. 4:3.

2. There needs to be the traffic among the churches—Col. 4:16.

II. The building up of the service of the priesthood—1 Pet. 2:5, 9:

A. The elders and co-workers staying in a local place to help with the building up of a local church directly—Acts 20:31, 18-21.

B. Building up six items of church service:

1. A proper studying of the truth—1 Tim. 2:4; Eph. 4:13.

2. Growing in life—v.13.

3. Preaching the gospel—1 Tim. 2:1-2, 4a; Matt. 28:19.

4. Children’s work—Matt. 19:14.

5. Student work—Matt. 9:37-38.

6. The gospel in the community—Acts 5:42.

C. Building up a church service fellowship meeting—Phil. 1:1; Acts 13:1-3:

1. Having service fellowship among the members of the group meeting.

2. The example of the Lord in His group meeting.

3. Making decisions according to the mind of the Spirit and the feeling of the members.

4. Being restricted by the nucleus.

5. The leadership of a small group being manifested according to the Spirit.

III. The blessing of the service of the priesthood in a local church—1 Pet. 5:2-5; Acts 1:14:

A. The elders and co-workers need to be a pattern—1 Pet. 5:1-3.

B. Be subject one to another—1Pet. 5:5.

C. One accord producing the morale and the impact—Acts 2:46-47; 1:14.

D. A testimony of perfecting.

 

Excerpts from the ministry:

THE PRACTICE OF THE LOCAL CHURCHES DEPENDING
UPON THE APOSTLES’ TEACHING AND THE ELDERSHIP

From the very beginning of the Lord’s recovery, we have seen very clearly that the practice of the local churches depends upon two things—the teaching and the eldership. The New Testament shows us clearly that the building up of Christ’s Body is based upon the apostles’ teaching (Acts 2:42). In Matthew 16:18 the Lord said, “Upon this rock I will build My church.” For centuries the interpretation of “this rock” has not been properly understood. The rock upon which the church is built is surely Christ Himself, but we need to consider the context of Matthew 16:18 to see something deeper. The Lord was asking His disciples who He was. Eventually Peter said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (v. 16). The Lord Jesus responded to Peter by telling him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in the heavens” (v. 17). The Lord was asking the disciples who He was, but eventually what came out was a revelation concerning Christ being the rock. Therefore, the rock in Matthew 16, strictly speaking, does not refer to Christ directly but to the divine revelation concerning Christ.

We can see from the Epistles that the Body of Christ, expressed through the local churches in many localities, is built upon the revelation of Christ. The apostles’ teaching is the revelation. If we only had the four Gospels and Acts without the Epistles of the apostles in the New Testament, our knowledge concerning Christ would be limited. The Gospels tell us about Christ in His incarnation, human living, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. The Epistles go on to tell us about God’s economy and His eternal plan to have the Body of Christ. (Elders’ Training Book 10, The Eldership and the God-ordained Way (2), pp. 153-154)

The Apostles’ Teaching Being the Constitution of the New Testament

We have seen that in the Old Testament, the law could be considered as the written constitution of God’s people. In the New Testament what replaced the law for God’s administration among His people? We know that Christ replaced the law, but we are referring to the aspect and sense of replacing the law in God’s administration. In the New Testament, the teaching of the apostles replaced the law. Acts 2:42 says, “and they were continuing steadfastly in the teaching and the fellowship of the apostles.” Immediately after the three thousand were saved on the day of Pentecost, they began to continue steadfastly in the teaching and the fellowship of the apostles. In the Old Testament kingdom of God, the constitution was the law, and in the New Testament kingdom of God, the constitution is the teaching of the apostles. (Elders’ Training Book 9, The Eldership and the God-ordained Way (1), p. 45)

Acts 2:42 says that all the newly saved ones were together to continue their life in the apostles’ teaching. The apostles’ teaching became the very sphere and element of the building up of the church. Ephesians 2:20 says that the church is being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets. The revelation the apostles and prophets received concerning Christ is considered the foundation upon which the church is built. The building of the church upon Christ as her foundation is according to the apostles’ and prophets’ revelation. I hope that we all can see this. (Elders’ Training Book 10, The Eldership and the God-ordained Way (2), p. 155)

Needing the Eldership to Practice the Teaching of the Apostles’

The second need for the building up of the church is the eldership. The New Testament shows us that the building up of the Body of Christ, including all the local churches, involves the gifted persons—the apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers (Eph. 4:11-12). These are the ones who give the apostles’ teaching. The building up of the Body of Christ also involves the elders. It is the elders who put the apostles’ teaching into practice. The apostles teach not only the saints in the churches but also the elders of the churches. Then the elders put the apostles’ teaching into practice. The elders should never separate themselves from the apostles’ teaching. For the building up of the church, we need the apostles’ teaching and the eldership to practice it. We may have the apostles’ teaching, but what about the proper eldership to carry it out?

The eldership is altogether a matter of shepherding. The elders should shepherd the church and take care of the church according to the apostles’ teaching. The apostles’ teaching in the New Testament shows us that Christ builds up His Body through all of His members. Ephesians 4 shows us that Christ as the ascended Head gave the gifted persons to perfect all the saints to do the same work as they do to build up the Body of Christ. This is the way that Christ takes to build up His Body. The gifted persons should not replace the other saints. They should teach and perfect the saints so that the saints can do the same thing that they do. Then all the members have a share in the building up of the Body. All the members should be put to use. Deformed Christianity puts most of the members aside and leaves the function to a special group of clergy. (Elders’ Training Book 10, The Eldership and the God-ordained Way (2), pp. 156-157)

A Local Church Needing to Be under the Leadership of the Elders
and Also Needing to be Ministered to by All the Gifted Saints
for the Perfecting of the Saints

A local church should be under the leadership of the elders and should be ministered to by all the gifted saints, such as the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the shepherds and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints that they may participate in the building up of the Body of Christ. Thus, all kinds of members of Christ can be useful in the building up of His Body, and not one will be rejected or left idle in the house of God and in the Body of Christ.

In order for the local churches to go on, they need the leadership of the elders. The New Testament reveals that the elders are not voted in by their congregations, but they are appointed by the apostles in every city, that is, in every church (Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5), according to their maturity in life. The elders are the overseers in the churches (Acts 20:17, 28; Phil. 1:1; 1 Tim. 3:1-2; Titus 1:5, 7). As overseers, the elders should look diligently after the church to be aware of the practical and spiritual situation of the church and the saints. The main responsibility of the elders as overseers is not to rule over but to shepherd, to take all-inclusive, tender care of the flock, the church of God, which He purchased with His own blood (Acts 20:28; 1 Pet. 5:2). The church as the flock of God is not the elders’ possession but God’s possession, allotted to the elders as their allotment, their portion, entrusted to them by God for their care. The elders should also take the lead in the church by becoming a pattern in preaching the gospel, in shepherding and perfecting the saints, in growing in life, in laboring in the Word, and in serving and caring for the church, so that all the saints can follow (1 Pet. 5:3).

In addition to the leadership of the elders, the local churches also need to be ministered to by all the gifted members in the Body for the perfecting of the saints that they may participate in the building up of the Body of Christ (Eph. 4:11-12, 16). In Ephesians 4:11 Paul mentioned that Christ, the Head of the church, gave four kinds of gifted persons to the Body—apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers. These four kinds of gifts were given to the Body for the perfecting of the saints, that all the saints may be equipped and furnished with organic functions and thus be able to do the direct work of building up the Body of Christ. (1993 Blending Conference Messages Concerning the Lord’s Recovery and Our Present Need, pp. 51-52)

The Neighboring Local Churches Being Clustered
As Much As Possible in the Blending Way

Hence, the neighboring local churches should be clustered as much as possible in the blending way for the spiritual benefits in the mutual building up of the Body of Christ, as the Lord Jesus clustered the seven neighboring churches in Asia.

There is only one Body in this universe. This one Body is the one church of God manifested in many localities as many local churches. Although the local churches are many in existence, they are still one universally in element, and they all express that one element. (1993 Blending Conference Messages Concerning the Lord’s Recovery and Our Present Need, p. 46)

Not Only Having the One Accord in Our Own Locality,
but Also Keeping the Oneness of the Body

If we truly see this, we will not only have the one accord in our own locality, but we will also keep the oneness of the Body, which is the oneness of the Spirit (Eph. 4:3). Before the day of Pentecost one hundred twenty saints could pray together for ten days steadfastly in one accord because they saw the base of the one Body. They saw with their own eyes the Triune God in His incarnation. They also saw Christ’s crucifixion, Christ’s resurrection, and Christ in His ascension. This is the reason that they could be in one accord. This one accord brought in the outpouring of the Spirit, which resulted in three thousand being saved on the day of Pentecost. What an increase and what a blessing came in through the one accord!

The secret of the practice of the church life is not only the one accord in the local churches but also the oneness in the universal Body. (1993 Blending Conference Messages Concerning the Lord’s Recovery and Our Present Need, pp. 46-47)

There Needs to Be the Traffic among the Churches

The leading ones and the leading seeking ones should also, if possible, visit the other churches that have advanced in the God-ordained Way, that such a visit may render some mutual help in the carrying out of the God-ordained Way. There needs to be the traffic among the churches that we may learn of others. In this way all of us will receive the mutual help in carrying out God’s ordained way to organically build up the Body of Christ. (Elders’ Training Book 10, the Eldership and the God-ordained Way (2), p. 138)

THE BUILDING UP OF THE SERVICE OF THE PRIESTHOOD

The Elders and Co-workers Staying in a Local Place to Help
with the Building Up of a Local Church Directly

If you ask me how to perfect the saints, I will tell you to read Acts 20. The way is there. First, we need to be with the saints. If I have the burden to perfect the saints in a certain locality, I need to go there, following Paul’s pattern to be there for three years. Paul even went to Ephesus and stayed there without being asked or invited by the brothers. He volunteered to stay with the Ephesians for three years. Second, we have to teach the saints everything we know concerning the counsel of God. We need to be like Paul, who did not shrink from declaring to the saints all the counsel of God (v.27). While we are staying with the saints, we have to open up all the things concerning God’s New Testament economy, His eternal plan. We would share how, according to His economy, He became a man, acquiring humanity in addition to His divinity, and how He died on the cross in a sevenfold way to solve all the problems in the universe. We would also teach many other things concerning His economy.

In addition to teaching the saints, Paul also admonished them. As an illustration of what it means to admonish, let us consider a father speaking to his son about his need to study diligently. The father might say: “I have taught you to study hard, but you are still so sloppy in doing your schoolwork. As your father, I admonish you with tears to study hard. If you do not get a degree, you will have no future. If you want to live a better life, you must study, son.” This is not to teach but to admonish. Paul was so concerned for the saints in Ephesus that his admonishing was with tears. In verse 19 Paul said that he served the Lord with tears, and in verse 31 he said that he admonished each saint with tears. (The Way to Practice the Lord’s Present Recovery, p. 26)

Building Up Six Items of Church Service

A Proper Studying of the Truth

There are a number of items that are needed for the building up of the church. This first matter is to build up a proper study of the truth. When I came to this country, I was charged by the Lord to carry out His recovery here. This was altogether something new. My first burden was to release the truth, so I traveled. I did not have the time to do other things. Many saints were brought into the recovery through the truth. The truth is our foundation, but among us the truth has not been adequately built up. Even some of the denominations have built up a study of the truth of the Bible. (Talks Concerning the Church Services, pp. 37-38)

Growing in Life and Preaching the Gospel

The second thing that needs to be built up is the growth in life. The preaching of the gospel is a third matter that must be raised up among us. The truth, the matter of life, and the gospel are three anchors which are basic for the building up of the church. If the church is not built up in the truth and in life, and is not preaching the gospel to gain people, there is no future. The church is nothing without the truth, without life, and without the gospel. The eldership in each church is first responsible to build up a locality in truth, life, and the gospel. Through the preaching of the gospel, there is the spreading of the church as the kingdom of God. (Talks Concerning the Church Services, p. 38)

Children’s Work, Student Work, and the Gospel in the Community

There are a number of subsidiary things that are also needed, such as the children’s work. The children’s meeting must be built up. In addition, we must do a work among the elementary, junior high, high school, and college age students. These four levels must be built up.

The third subsidiary item that needs building up is the gospel in the community. The community gospel is a particular item that we must build up. When I labored in the church in Chefoo from 1940 to 1943, the strongest item that was built up was the community gospel. There was no need for anyone to come and preach. It was done by the housewives. Whenever we held a conference, there was no need for the elders or the other saints to help the new converts because almost all of the attendants were neighbors of the housewives who were sisters among us. There was a strong community work built up among the saints who were mainly housewives. Immediately after every conference meeting the housewives would accompany the new converts home. During this two-mile walk home which took about thirty-five minutes, there was no talk about anything else except the messages of the conference. The housewives took the opportunity that this long walk afforded to help the others. This became a custom among us.

These six categories which include truth, life, evangelizing, the children’s work, the student work, and the community gospel work, should be our goal in the church life. The church is not here merely for ushering, preparing the bread and the wine, cleaning, vacuuming, or chair-arranging. We can hire people to do the cleaning, the lawn mowing, the tree cutting, and so forth. Then all of the saints’ time can be saved for other things which no hired ones can do. Our church service should issue in the building up of the truth, the building up of the life matters, and the building up of the gospel preaching. In addition, the church service should care for the children’s meeting. The church service should include care for the students. The student work itself has three levels including gospel preaching, feeding the new ones, and perfecting the growing ones. (Talks Concerning the Church Services, pp. 38-39)

BUILDING UP A CHURCH SERVICE FELLOWSHIP MEETING

The elders of the church may want to bring the saints together for a church service meeting every week. In this meeting the saints would be given the opportunity to share with the others who are present what aspect of service they were involved in that week. If a question is raised up, we should let all of the saints answer it. By this mutual fellowship in the church service meeting, all of the serving ones will pick up a real burden. The beginning of the meeting will be full of prayer, and all of the attendants will be on time. In such a meeting we could see the real church life with the church service. (Talks Concerning the Church Services, p. 40)

Having Service Fellowship among the Members of a Group Meeting

In our group meeting in these days, we have to pray for our work of contacting people. Then we should fellowship about the situation with our contacts, so that we can study their cases, fellowship about them, and receive the mutual help. After your study, we should pray again. This kind of practice will be very practical, useful, and vital. Then you can decide whom you should contact and by what way. We have to believe that what we are doing by the vital groups will not be in vain, because this is a very practical sowing. Surely there will be the real reaping. (The Fellowship Concerning the Urgent Need of the Vital Groups, p. 244)

All the members of the group need to work together as one person. For this they need to come together to pray: “Lord, You lead us. You show us to whom we should go to knock on their doors.” If you will pray, the Lord will lead you first to study all the acquaintances of each group member, including their relatives, neighbors, friends, classmates, and colleagues. Make a list of them and study things such as their temperament, their character, and their family situation. By doing this you will surely gain a clear view of those to whom you should go. Then you can contact them. Since they are your acquaintances, it may seem that it is easy to contact them. However, you need to find a way to contact them properly. Before you go to visit the first acquaintance, you may need to study his situation for a considerable length of time.

In the Lord’s work we take things too easily. However, no worthwhile endeavor is easy. Even to make a decision concerning whom to visit for the gospel requires a number of days’ study. (The Fellowship Concerning the Urgent Need of the Vital Groups, p. 29)

The Example of the Lord in His Group Meeting

I told them that the best example of the group meeting is found in what the Lord did in those three and a half years. We can say that for the three and a half years, He mainly established one group meeting. The nucleus of this group meeting had twelve brothers. Outside of this was a group of sisters with some other people. On the day of Pentecost, this group meeting already had one hundred twenty people. They were all perfected by the Lord Jesus during those three and a half years in that group meeting. (The Riches and Fullness of Christ and the Advanced Recovery of the Lord Today, p. 50)

Making Decisions According to the Mind of the Spirit
and the Feeling of the Members

Apparently the fellowship is the expression of the opinions of the members, but actually it is entirely a seeking after the mind of the Spirit and the will of the Lord. Thus all the fellowship is trying to find the feeling within and to be under the shining of the truth according to the word. At the end of the fellowship, the leading ones should easily touch the mind of the Spirit according to their learning before the Lord. If the feelings of the members are in big discrepancy and it is with regard to a crucial matter, then the decision should not be made in haste without discretion. This is to avoid mistakes and to avoid damage to the coordination of the nucleus. (The Ministry of the Word, Vol. 7, Meeting and Fellowship—Building Up the Serving Nucleus (Chinese), p. 960)

Being Restricted by the Nucleus

I would say that a serving unit, either big or small, should have a few people who can act as one man before the Lord. This requires each one to have genuine spirituality before the Lord and to be a genuinely broken person. In practice, you should never insist on your opinions. Sometimes insisting on opinion damages the coordination of the nucleus and that loss will be incalculable. We would rather suffer the loss of not doing a thing well than losing the nucleus. Every decision made in the nucleus should have the Amen from all the members. We need to be restricted by the nucleus.

When the nucleus is in a normal condition, no one will feel that they are carrying out a decision that was made by a certain leading one but by all the members. If we reach this condition, we will be able to say as the apostles did in Acts 15 that it “seems good to the Holy Spirit and to us.” Then every decision will bear the authority of the Lord and every member will have no problem to submit. (The Ministry of the Word, Vol. 7, Meeting and Fellowship—Building Up the Serving Nucleus (Chinese), pp. 961-962)

The Leadership of a Small Group Being Manifested According to the Spirit

Because we do not like to have any organization, we do not want to appoint leaders for the group meetings. We need to leave such matters open to the Holy Spirit. We should charge the saints to behave spiritually and to do their duty in bearing their responsibility. The leader of a small group will be manifested according to the Spirit, according to who is bearing the real burden and responsibility. For the church to go on in a prevailing way, there is the need of many group meetings. The more groups there are, the more spreading, increase, and improvement the church will have. Then the church service, the church burden, the church responsibility, will not be limited to the hands of a few elders, but will spread into the hands of many saints (The Present Advance of the Lord’s Recovery, p. 43)

THE BLESSING OF THE SERVICE OF THE PRIESTHOOD
IN A LOCAL CHURCH

The Elders and Co-workers Need to Be a Pattern

I would especially like to talk to the elders among us who are full-time. Among the saints, you have to be the examples, the living ones who get three to five people saved every six months. Then you can labor so that one or two of them will remain in the church life. It is not pleasant to see our co-workers serving the Lord full-time and yet not bringing anyone to the Lord within a year. We must labor in the gospel definitely. We have to bring forth some children by ourselves. We should be able to point to some who are our spiritual children. We have to study how to contact people ourselves. We still have much to learn in contacting people. Just to copy what others do does not work. The Lord will show us. If we are definite and desperate to gain people, we will find a way. (Elders’ Training Book 10, The Eldership and the God-ordained Way (2), pp. 147-148)

Be Subject One to Another

Hebrews 13:17 says, “Obey the ones leading you and submit to them, for they watch over your souls as those who will give account, that they may do this with joy and not groaning, for this would be unprofitable to you.” We all need to obey the leading ones. This does not mean that the elders exercise authority over us; it means that as those who are older and more experienced, they take the lead and we need to follow them. To obey means to follow.

Regarding elders, Peter says, “Nor as lording it over your allotments but by becoming patterns of the flock” (1 Pet. 5:3). The elders are to take the lead by being an example, not by lording it over the saints. If the elders see that the floor has not been vacuumed, they should not sit on the throne and summon the servants to vacuum it for them. Instead, they should take the lead to vacuum the floor and thereby set an example for others to follow.

Although the elders should not lord it over God’s flock, Peter does say, “In like manner, younger men, be subject to elders” (1 Pet. 5:5). Moreover, there are times when the older ones need to submit to the younger ones. As Peter says, “And all of you gird yourselves with humility toward one another, because God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble” (1 Pet. 5:5). Thus, not only the young ones submit to the older ones, but all, including the older ones, submit to one another in humility. What a beautiful picture this is! It is absolutely different from the natural concept of leadership in the fallen mentality. The leadership in the church is not that of Nimrod, who built the city of Babel. Rather, it is a leadership that builds up the Body. (Truth Messages, p. 34)

One Accord Producing the Morale and the Impact

In Matthew 18:19 the Lord spoke concerning two or three agreeing on something in prayer. The word “agree” in this verse is not as strong as the word “one accord.” The word in Greek for one accord, homothumadon, is strong and all-inclusive. Homo means the same and thumos means mind, will, purpose (soul, heart). The Chinese Version of the Bible translates this word into a Chinese word meaning the same mind and the same will. In Romans 15:6, the King James Version translates this word into “one mind.”

In the book of Acts the one hundred twenty prayed together in one mind, in the same mind, in the same will with the same purpose around and within the soul and the heart. Whenever we pray, we surely should exercise our spirit, but we also should be in the same mind and the same will with the same purpose around and within our soul and heart. This means that our entire being is involved. After the Lord’s ascension, the one hundred twenty became the kind of persons who were in one mind, in one will, with one purpose around their soul and heart. For them to be in one accord meant that their entire beings were one. No other book of the Bible uses the word for “one accord” as much as Acts.

In Acts the three main factors for the spreading of the gospel as an impact were prayer, the Spirit, and the Word. According to the Bible and according to history these three items are the only way for the gospel to be prevailing. I spent much time to consider whether it is not beyond the teaching of the Scriptures for the church to use a church meeting hall and church personnel to open a school rather than to use our time to contact people one on one with prayer, the Spirit, and the Word, using every inch of the meeting hall in this way for the gospel. I stressed in the past that to use other ways besides prayer, the Word, and the Spirit to promote the gospel are gimmicks.

From January 1, 1940 to December 31, 1942 I stayed in Chefoo, my hometown in mainland China. During that time, the Lord brought all the saints there into the one accord and there was a real revival with the real impact. In Shanghai, in Taiwan, and in Elden Hall in Los Angeles, I also saw the effectiveness of the one accord.

In the army the impact is the morale. What is the morale in the army? The one accord. This is why no commander of any army would allow any soldier to bring in any different thought. The soldiers all think the same thing, speak the same thing, stand for the same thing, and live for the same thing. If anyone expresses anything different and is dissenting, he will be cut off in order to keep the morale. This kind of morale cannot be seen among today’s Christians. I can testify, though, that in Chefoo from 1940 through 1942 the morale, the impact, was there. Even the outsiders in Chefoo realized this. Some told people not to go to our meeting hall because if they were to go, they would get caught. People were also told that if they wanted to be a Christian, the best place for them to go was our meeting hall. During those years we also performed the casting out of demons; even the demons told people not to go to our meeting hall. The impact was really there.

The first Epistle in the New Testament is Romans. After Paul talked so much doctrinally concerning the Christian life and church life, he told the believers in Rome that they needed to be “with one accord and with one mouth…” (15:6). One accord includes one mind, one will, and one purpose in one soul and in one heart. Then outwardly you have one mouth. Those of us who were in Los Angeles from 1963 to 1973 can recall that we were with one accord and with one mouth. Whoever came to a meeting in those years could sense and realize the impact. Because there was no dissenting or different opinion, there was the impact. (One Accord for the Lord’s Move, Elders’ Training Book 7, pp. 10-13)

A Testimony of Perfecting

In 1940 I went to Brother Watchman Nee’s training. One day when I was walking with him, he said, “Brother, we have the blueprint in our hand for the building up of the local church.” Brother Nee was building the church according to this blueprint, and I also desired to have this blueprint. For a short while, I observed how he built. After I returned to my hometown and the second world war broke out, we were separated for a number of years. I had to stay in Chefoo because of the invading Japanese army.

From 1940 to 1942, I followed the pattern which I had learned from Brother Nee. I took the lead among the elders in Chefoo to be an elder and to train them, and they all learned from me. Because I was serving full-time, I also took the lead among the deacons and deaconesses to be a deacon to serve the saints. I did the job of an elder, a deacon, an apostle, a prophet, an evangelist, and a shepherd. I took the lead in everything. Every Monday the serving ones, the co-workers, the elders, and the deacons, came together with me from eight o’clock in the morning to three-thirty in the afternoon to fellowship, learn, discuss, and be trained in the eldership, the service of the deacons, and in the visiting of different kinds of people for the gospel preaching and the care of the saints. At the end of 1942, a great revival broke forth in Chefoo, not by conferences, preaching, or teaching about revival, but as the result of the building up of the local church. The entire church was revived. Today we are short of such a perfecting work for the building up of the Body of Christ. (The Building Up of the Body of Christ, pp. 19-20)

References: Elders’ Training Book 10, The Eldership and the God-ordained Way (2), chs. 8-10; Elders’ Training Book 9, The Eldership and the God-ordained Way (1), ch. 4; 1993 Blending Conference Messages Concerning the Lord’s Recovery and Our Present Need, ch. 2; The Way to Practice the Lord’s Present Recovery, ch. 2; Talks Concerning the Church Services, ch. 5; The Ministry of the Word, Vol. 7, Meeting and Fellowship—Building Up the Serving Nucleus (Chinese); Truth Messages, ch. 3; Fellowship concerning the Urgent Need of the Vital Groups, chs. 1, 4, 7, 25; Elders’ Training Book 7, ch. 1; The Present Advance of the Lord’s Recovery, ch. 3; The Riches and Fullness of Christ and the Advanced Recovery of the Lord Today, ch. 6; The Building Up of the Body of Christ, ch. 1.