THE PRACTICE HANDBOOK FOR THE DISTRICT SERVING ONES

Series One
Basic Principles for the District Serving Ones

Message One
Serving in the Oneness of the Body

Eph. 4:3-4   Being diligent to keep the oneness of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace: One Body and one Spirit, even as also you were called in one hope of your calling.

12      For the perfecting of the saints unto the work of the ministry, unto the building up of the Body of Christ.

 

THE FOUR-LEVEL MEANING
OF GOD’S NEW TESTAMENT ECONOMY

The First Level—the Teaching of the Apostles

In this chapter we shall see that only the teaching of the apostles can stand in God’s New Testament economy, and it will stand unto eternity. We must remember that the church is built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets. The law as the main body of the Old Testament was supplemented by the prophets. The main body of the New Testament is the apostles, and the prophets also serve as a supplement. The principle in both is the same. This is the first level of the meaning of God’s New Testament economy.

The Second Level—the Ministry of the New Testament

The second level of the meaning of God’s New Testament economy is the ministry of the New Testament. Second Corinthians 4:1 says, “Therefore having this ministry as we have been shown mercy.” The Old Testament ministry is one of death and condemnation since the Old Testament brings in condemnation and kills (Rom. 5:13, 18, 20-21). The ministry of the teaching of the apostles brings in justification and gives life (v. 18). What we all have received is this unique ministry.

The Third Level—the Body of Christ

In Ephesians 4:11-12 Paul says that different gifted persons perfect the saints unto the work of the ministry, unto the building up of the Body of Christ. This is the third level of meaning.

The Fourth Level—the Churches of God

The Body of Christ is universal, and the churches are expressed in different localities. This is the fourth level of meaning.

Serving in the Oneness of the Four Levels

Today in the Lord’s recovery our way, our service, our work, and our meetings are all based on these four levels. Furthermore, there is one teaching of the apostles, one ministry of the New Testament, one Body of Christ, and one church. This is the oneness of the four levels. Ephesians 4:4 says that the Body is one. Revelation 1 proves that the church in a locality is also one (v. 11); in each of the seven cities there was only one church (2:1, 8, 12, 18; 3:1, 7, 14). We in the Lord’s recovery today need to realize and be clear about this. If today we want to serve the Lord for our entire life, we need to serve in the teaching of the apostles, the New Testament ministry, the Body of Christ, and the churches of God.

The New Testament ministry is building the church of God and the local churches, that is, the Body of Christ today. Therefore, our work is the work of the New Testament ministry. We are not like some Christians who just do odd jobs. The work of the New Testament ministry is the building up of the Body of Christ according to the teaching of the apostles. Therefore, we need to see that our service is in the oneness of the four levels—in the local churches, in the Body of Christ, in the New Testament ministry, and in the teaching of the apostles. Hence, our service cannot be two. It has to be one. The work we do is also one and cannot be more than one.

The Teaching of the Apostles
Being God’s New Testament Economy

The New Testament shows us that these mysteries were mainly revealed to the apostle Paul. Hence, he says he had received from God a ministry and a commission, that is, to complete the word of God (Col. 1:25b). The teaching of the apostles started in the Gospels and was developed in Acts, the Epistles, and Revelation. In other words, the teaching of the apostles is the entire New Testament. There is only one law in the Old Testament—the law of Moses; there is only one teaching in the New Testament—the teaching of the apostles.

This teaching started when the Lord Jesus brought up the twelve disciples. Hence, we often see the Lord teaching the disciples in the Gospels. Then in Matthew 28, after the Lord resurrected, He charged the disciples to preach the gospel and to disciple the nations, baptizing them into the Triune God, and “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” Then He said, “I am with you all the days” (v. 20). Therefore, the teaching of the apostles started with the Lord Jesus’ teaching to the disciples, especially to the twelve apostles, and ended with the revelation that John received on the island of Patmos. Consequently, Revelation says that the revelation of God’s New Testament has been completed, and none is able to add to nor take away from it (22:18-19). Revelation 22 is a closing word. The teaching of God’s New Testament economy starts from the Gospel of Matthew through the Gospel of John and continues through Revelation; the whole teaching has already been revealed completely. (CWWL, 1988, vol. 2, “Words of Life from the 1988 Full-Time Training,” msg. 8)

THE BODY OF CHRIST BEING A REALITY

Some Bible teachers consider the Body of Christ spoken of by Paul as an illustration or a figure of speech. But according to the important verses in the New Testament concerning the Body of Christ as cited in this chapter, we can see clearly that the Body of Christ is not a figure of speech but a reality. In the universe there is definitely a Body—not your body or my body—but the Body of Christ. This is a fact. Hence, 1 Corinthians 11:29 says, “If he does not discern the body.” The Bible translators in early days did not understand the meaning. Therefore, the Chinese Union Version adds the phrase the Lord’s to make the translation read, “If he does not discern the Lord’s body.” Actually, it should be translated as, “If he does not discern the body.” What Paul meant to tell us here is that there is something unique in the universe that we need to discern, that is, the Body of Christ. The Body of Christ is a unique thing; it is not a figure of speech but a reality, an existing fact.

THE ECONOMY OF GOD
BEING TO OBTAIN THE BODY OF CHRIST

God’s economy is God’s administration, and God’s administration is God’s plan, arrangement, intention, and work. The goal of God’s economy is the Body of Christ. Some would say, “God wants sinners like me. God loves me, and God wants me.” This is not wrong, but this is a nearsighted view. Not only does God want you and me; God wants everyone. God wants the Chinese; He also wants the Japanese. God loves all the people in the world.

In the universe God did something extremely unusual. He scattered those whom He had chosen and predestinated before the ages among different tongues, tribes, peoples, and nations. Every one of them has an unusual temperament, a peculiar character. There is no need to speak of the problems between nations or between classes, problems that make it difficult for people to live together; even between next-door neighbors or husbands and wives, there are many problems that make it difficult for them to live together. However, the wonderful thing is that God also sent the Holy Spirit to gather us one by one and put us together so that we have no way to escape being mingled and built together. (CWWL, 1987, vol. 2, “Words of Training for the New Way,” msg. 5)

ONE BODY IN THE UNIVERSE

The Body of Christ is unique. In the whole universe there is just one Body of Christ (Eph. 4:4a). The church as the Body of Christ is also God’s family, God’s house (2:19; 1 Tim. 3:15). As God’s family, as the house of God, the church is uniquely one. Furthermore, the church as the Body of Christ is the wife of Christ (Eph. 5:23-25). For a man to have two wives or two families is a shame. Our Lord has only one Body, one family, one household, which is His home, and one wife.

There is one Body in the universe, and this Body is the new man (2:15). This truth abolishes all the differences among us, making us one in Christ. In Christ and in the Body life there are no racial differences. Instead, Christ is all the members and in all the members (Col. 3:11; 1 Cor. 12:12).

ONE CHURCH IN ONE CITY

The oneness of the Body of Christ is kept and expressed by each local church in its locality. In the practice of the church life there is only one church in one city (Acts 8:1a; 13:1a; Rev. 1:11). The local churches are the local expressions of the one Body of Christ in the universe. There should not be more than one local expression of the one Body of Christ in a locality.

THE BASE OF THE ONENESS OF THE CHURCH

Now we need to see the base of the oneness of the church. This base is of four items: the seven factors of our Christian faith, the oneness of the Spirit, the oneness of the Divine Trinity, and the oneness for which the Lord prayed.

The Seven Factors of Our Christian Faith

The base of the oneness of the church is the seven factors of our Christian faith (Eph. 4:4-6, 13). In Ephesians 4:4-6 Paul presents these seven factors, which are seven “ones.” Then in verse 13 he says that we believers need to be perfected until we all arrive at the oneness of the faith. This shows that the seven “ones” listed in verses 4 through 6 are the seven factors of our Christian faith.

The Oneness of the Spirit

The second base of the oneness of the church is the oneness of the Spirit (v. 3b). The oneness of the Spirit simply means that the oneness is the Spirit. The Spirit Himself, who is the essence of the Body, is the oneness. Therefore, we Christians should not be divided. How can we divide the indwelling Spirit? This is impossible. How can we divide the inner essence of the church? This is impossible.

The Oneness of the Divine Trinity

The third base of the oneness of the church is the oneness of the Divine Trinity. In John 17:21 the Lord said, “That they all may be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us.” The oneness the Lord was speaking of here is the oneness among the Divine Trinity. The Lord prayed that we would be one just as the Triune God is one.

The three of the Triune God are one. The Father is in the Son, the Son is in the Father, and both the Father and the Son are in the Spirit. Now we are in the Triune God, in the divine “Us.” Eventually, we all are in this One. We are in the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. This does not make us God, but we must declare the fact that we are one with our God. Eventually, we must have the boldness and the full assurance to say that we are one with God because we are in God and God is in us.

In John 17:22 the Lord prayed, “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, even as We are one.” We Christians, we believers, should be one just as the three persons of the Godhead are one. The glory which was given to the Son by the Father was given by the Son to us so that we might be one in this glory to express God. God wants all His believers to be one in the divine glory. The oneness of the Divine Trinity is the base of our oneness today.

The Oneness That the Lord Prayed for

The fourth base of the oneness of the church is the oneness that the Lord prayed for. This shows us the contents of the oneness of the Divine Trinity.

We are the Father’s children, having Him as our life and enjoying Him in the sanctifying word, which separates us from anything that is other than the Father. Now we are here in His divine glory. This is why we are one. When we quarrel, we have to realize that we are outside of the Father’s life, not in the Father’s sanctifying word, and not in the Father’s divine glory. We need to remain in the Father’s life, in His word, and in His glory. The oneness is here. As long as we remain in the Father’s life, word, and glory, we are one. When we are in the meetings of the church and of the ministry, we have the sense that we are one, but in our relationships with one another outside the meetings, this oneness may disappear. When are we really one? We are really one when we are in the Father’s life, in His word, and in His glory.

Now we have seen the base of the oneness of the church in its four aspects: the seven factors of our Christian faith; the oneness of the Spirit, who is the essence of the Body; the oneness of the Divine Trinity, and the oneness for which the Lord prayed, which is constituted with the Father’s life, His word, and His glory. This is the base of the oneness. If we have this as the base of our oneness, we will never be, can never be, and should never be divided.

THE PRACTICE OF THE ONENESS—WITH ONE ACCORD

Now we need to see the practice of the oneness, which is with one accord (Acts 1:14; 2:46; 4:24; 5:12; 15:25; Rom. 15:6). In the Gospel of John the Lord stressed the oneness, but in the book of Acts He stressed the one accord. Acts is not a book of teaching but a book of practice. When the apostles and the believers practiced the church life, they practiced it in one accord. To be in one accord is to be in harmony. When we practice the church life, we must practice being in harmony. To say Amen to one another in our speaking for the Lord and in our pursuit of the Lord is to be in harmony.

DIVISION BEING HERETICAL, SECTARIAN

Division is versus oneness. In order for us to practice the oneness of the Body of Christ, we need to realize that division is heretical, sectarian (Gal. 5:20b-21a). Denying the person of Christ in His divinity and humanity and division are the only two items that can be considered as heretical. Wrong teachings apart from division and heresy cannot be considered heretical. A wrong teaching, such as baptism by sprinkling instead of immersion, cannot be considered heretical. This is because such wrong teachings do not affect the seven factors of our Christian faith. Some who practice baptism in a different way than immersion still have God as their Father and Jesus Christ as their Lord. They still have the Spirit. They have the same hope and the genuine faith. They also believe that baptism separates people, so they have the significance of the one baptism. The forms that we practice may differ, but the significance remains the same. (CWWL, 1990, vol. 2, “Messages to the Trainees in Fall 1990,” msg. 17)

BEING DILIGENT TO KEEP THE ONENESS OF THE SPIRIT

In the practicality of the local churches, it is inevitable for there to be conflicting opinions that cause problems among the saints. Hence, the apostle Paul exhorts the saints to be diligent to keep the oneness of the Spirit. Ephesians 4:3-6 says, “Being diligent to keep the oneness of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace: one Body and one Spirit, even as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” One is mentioned seven times in these verses: one Body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God. The base of these seven ones is the Triune God-the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. The Father is the Originator, the Son is the Accomplisher, and the Spirit is the Executor. The Father, the Son, the Spirit, and the Body constitute a four-in-one entity. Faith and baptism join us to the Lord so that we can have one hope. Keeping the oneness of the Body of Christ is crucial in order to prevent divisions in the church. Many believers do not have a proper view in this matter Views and opinions are the basis for establishing names other than Christ and are causes of divisions outside this absolute oneness. (CWWL, 1970, vol. 3, “The Church Life in Spirit and Truthfulness,” msg. 21)

THE APOSTLE’S EXHORTATION

We have the Triune God within us, and the Lord is answering His prayer to keep us and make us one. Based upon the Lord’s desire, the apostle Paul exhorts the saints in Ephesus concerning their walk. He exhorts them to keep the oneness of the Spirit. In the church, in the oneness of the Triune God, the saints should walk worthily of the Father’s selection and predestination. Paul says, “I beseech you therefore, I, the prisoner in the Lord, to walk worthily of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, bearing one another in love” (Eph. 4:1-2). We need to be lowly and meek, to suffer long, and to bear one another in love. To walk worthily of God’s calling, we need to be “diligent to keep the oneness of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace” (v. 3). Our mind, our will, and our emotion need to be attuned to the Spirit (1 Cor. 1:10) to keep the oneness of the Spirit. (CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 2, “Five Emphases in the Lord’s Recovery,” ch. 1)

THE NEED TO SEE THE VISION OF THE BODY OF CHRIST

Beginning with this message, I hope that the Lord will grant us grace that we can see the Body of Christ. This is something that has never been talked about in human history or human culture outside of the Bible. We need to see the vision of the Body of Christ. A vision is a view, but it is not common. Rather, it is extraordinary, unusual, something that man does not ordinarily see nor is able to see. Every one of us who is saved, especially everyone who loves the Lord, follows the Lord, and learns to live to Him and serve Him, needs to see such a vision.

TO BE A UNIVERSAL CHRISTIAN

Formerly, you could be a Christian in a locality with your door closed and not be bothered with the brothers and sisters in other places. Today, however, for you to be a Christian, it is not sufficient to be a national Christian, nor even an international Christian; you need to be a universal Christian.

Three years ago when I came back to Taiwan to change the system, I had no intention of letting the American brothers know what I was doing. I told them to allow me first to go back to Taiwan, and that whatever I did there, they would gradually find out. But they followed right behind and came all the way to Taiwan. Some even volunteered to come to serve, to help in such things as digging the tunnel, plastering walls, and working in the kitchen. I had never thought so many brothers and sisters would come, nor that there would be so many intermarriages between Chinese and Americans, as well as between Chinese and Japanese. From a human viewpoint, I did not like it, because I felt that some were married too quickly. However, on the other hand, I thought that this may be the Lord’s will for the purpose of mingling everyone together. First Corinthians 12:18 says, “But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, even as He willed.” Right now we are all placed here. Also, verse 24 says, “God has blended the body together.” Not only did God place us together, but He also blended us together. All that God has done is for obtaining a Body.

BROADENING OUR VIEW

When we look back to see the two thousand years of history, we feel that it is very meaningful. Before the Lord Jesus was born, God caused the Roman Empire to be raised up so that many of the prophecies in the Bible could be fulfilled. Both the Lord’s birth and His death were related to the raising up of the Roman Empire. If there had been no Roman Empire, the Lord would not have been born in Bethlehem and yet have grown up in Nazareth. If the Lord had not been born during the age of the Roman Empire, He would not have been crucified, because the Jewish people did not have this kind of death sentence. Not only so, God also connected all the regions around the Mediterranean Sea together through the Roman Empire repairing the highway from Rome to Palestine. There was also the aspect of language, in that Greek became the common written and spoken language. It was after all these things were prepared that Paul came out to preach the gospel.

When Paul came out to preach the gospel, he was not in Judea. Rather, he traveled around the Mediterranean Sea with a broad view. This was why in his Epistles he said that in this new man “there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free man, but Christ is all and in all” (Col. 3:11). In those days there were these problems among different groups of people. But in the new man these differences do not exist. In the new man everything is Christ.

Today, after two thousand years, God has brought this world to a blended stage so that there are almost no distinctions between East and West. Taiwan has large quantities of goods made in the United States, and the United States also has large quantities of goods made in Taiwan. Both the East and West are blended together. Today, if you want to be a Christian, you cannot be merely a Chinese Christian. Even the more, especially today in taking the way of the recovery, we cannot be like that. We must broaden our view. Today the Lord desires to have His Body. It does not matter whether you are willing or not; He simply likes to group all of us together. Therefore, we all have to see that the former era has already passed. From now on, the broader our view, the better. (CWWL, 1987, vol. 2, “Words of Training for the New Way,” msg. 5)

We Being All Simply Members

According to our experience, if we love the Lord Jesus, live by Him, and are willing to be transformed by Him, there will be the demand within us to meet and fellowship with other saints. Every Christian has been regenerated to be a member of one Body, and thus he is not a complete person in himself. Although humanly we are a complete person with a head, eyes, ears, hands, and so forth, spiritually, as a member of the Body of Christ, we are not complete in ourselves. We are all simply members. For example, the eye in itself is not complete, because an eye can only see; it cannot hear or walk. Similarly, the ears can hear but cannot pick anything up. In order to pass anything to a person, we must put it in his hand; we cannot pass it to his ears. No member of the body is complete in itself Hence, as a member of the Body of Christ, you cannot say to me, “Brother Lee, you can do this, and I too can do it.” No. You are an eye, but I am an ear; you can see, but you cannot hear, and I can hear, but I cannot see. Hence, if I wish to see, I must come to you, and if you wish to hear, you must come to me. We all need one another, and none of us should be proud. Even if the apostle Paul were here, I could say to him, “Brother Paul, you have something that I do not have, and I have something that you do not have. Per- haps you are the arm and I am merely a little finger, but I can do things that you cannot do.” Therefore, because we are members, we should not be proud, and neither should we be so humble that we consider ourselves nothing. Regardless of how small we may be, we are still members, and as members, we need others and they need us. (CWWL, 1970, vol. 3, “The Church Life in Spirit and Truthfulness,” ch. 9) 

The Blending Life of the Entire Body of Christ

Following in the apostle’s footsteps to bring us into the blending life of the entire Body of Christ by recommendations and greetings in order that the God of peace may crush Satan under our feet and we may enjoy the rich grace of Christ—vv. 1-16, 21-24, 20.

Carrying out the mystery kept in silence in the times of the ages concerning the complete salvation of God in the fulfillment of the eternal economy of God for the Gentiles to have the obedience of faith unto glory to the only wise God through Jesus Christ—vv. 25-27.

In this chapter, the third chapter on reigning in life, we want to see our reigning in life in imitating the apostle to bring the local churches into the fellowship of the Body of Christ and in following in the apostle’s footsteps to bring all the saints into the blending life of the entire Body of Christ. In this chapter our particular stress is on the universal fellowship of the church, the Body of Christ.

The Fellowship of the Body of Christ

The last three chapters of Romans show that we need to reign in life particularly in two crucial matters. The first matter is in imitating the apostle to bring the local churches into the fellowship of the Body of Christ (14:3; 15:7-9, 25-33); the second matter is in following in the apostle’s footsteps to bring all the saints into the blending life of the entire Body of Christ (ch. 16).

I hope that we all can see that reigning in life is not a matter of position; rather, it is a practical living. All the things mentioned in Romans 14 through 16 are related to reigning in life in our practical living. To experience reigning in life, first, we must imitate the apostle in bringing the local churches into the fellowship of the Body of Christ. It is only by practically entering into the fellowship of the Body of Christ that we can have the genuine experience of reigning in life. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 5, “The Experience of God’s Organic Salvation Equaling Reigning in Christ’s Life,” msg. 6)

PRACTICING TO MINGLE WITH OTHERS

Since we have seen the vision of the Body of Christ, we need to have our practice according to this vision. We need to start practicing in small areas by first mingling with the brothers and sisters next to us. I can testify to you that I love brothers and sisters of every kind. I love those who are quick, and I also love those who are slow. I love those who are compatible with me, and I love even the more those who are not compatible with me. In these days we are translating the Chinese Recovery Version of the New Testament. Although I am more than eighty years old, I am a quick-tempered and aggressive person. Nearly all my helpers are around thirty years of age. From my viewpoint, every one of them is slow motioned, making it necessary for me to pull them along. I do not like their slowness. It seems that many times I should have been upset, but I could not be. I said to myself, “These people are all slow motioned. To press them to be as fast as you is an impossible task. You have to accommodate them.” Therefore, I am learning to be slower, accompanying them to read slowly. This does not mean that I have been affected by them. This is mingling.

THE BETTER THE MINGLING, THE MORE THE BLESSING

What God is doing today is to obtain the Body of Christ, not merely you as an individual nor merely the church in a locality nor merely the church in a country. He wants to obtain the church in the entire universe. Since this is the case, in our church life today we need to be mingled with all the brothers and sisters on the earth. The more successful the mingling, the better it is. Whoever cannot be mingled with others will eventually be disqualified by the age. In today’s age you cannot be an isolated Christian.

I have to congratulate all of you who came to the training center because it is impossible for you to get so much mingling in any other place. I wish that each one of you could come to stay in the training center for one hundred twenty days and be burned by the fire of the training center. If you do not have the grace, the light, or this vision of the Body, then the training center is a place of suffering to you. However, if you have the vision, then the training center is not only a place for training you but also a place for perfecting you.

I hope that you can understand, receive, and at the same time broaden your view. I am not exhorting you to be patient, to condescend, to humble yourself, or to love others as yourself. Those things are trite expressions. Rather, it is my desire that you see the light, broaden your view, and realize that we are in God’s eternal economy, that you would allow God to have the Body of Christ on the earth. From now on, not only are we who are in Taipei in one accord, but the entire recovery of the Lord in the whole universe is also one. We are the one Body of Christ. Concerning this point, I have had very clear light all along. In the past three years in Taiwan, I also have gained a considerable amount of experience and realization. In these three years the Lord has definitely done something in our midst that has broadened us. Everyone’s view has been broadened. It is not enough for us merely to have a local view, nor is it enough to have an international view. We must have a universal view. We need to see that Christ is after a Body, and God will prepare a Body for Christ. (CWWL, 1987, vol. 2, “Words of Training for the New Way,” msg. 5)