Informal Apostles & Elders

[Churchwork]

Discussing the regional work of apostles (the workers) working from regional centers, travelling to church localities, giving the gospel, and training elders.

The regional work of informal apostles (the workers) - whom are no longer formally the apostles of the first century apostolic age but, nonetheless, they shall do the same work (Acts being the only book of the Bible that was incomplete without an ending - not to say the 66 books are not the complete Word of God - which is to mean we are to write the last act of the book of Acts and God foreknew we would need to).


Apostles Set Up Elders Though Not Always
Apostles for a Region of Churches with No Set Meeting Place

Observe a worker’s (apostle's) travels for the Lord concerns the appointment of responsible brothers. Not every worker can appoint elders. Paul asked Timothy and Titus to set up elders, but apparently he did not call Mark, Silas, Luke, Demas, and others to do so. Some of us are to be hands, but not eyes. Think of yourself for a moment as a hand. Can a hand after much consideration determine whether a pillar is white? Even if it were to deliberate for five days, it could never figure out the color. It would have to ask the eye to see and determine. Those of us who are hands or ears but not eyes, let us be mindful of the fact that it is easy to set up a responsible brother, but it will be most troublesome to ask him to step down because of our own carelessness in having appointed him. How the entire Church suffers greatly in this respect. For this reason, we must not appoint responsible brothers carelessly. Paul called Timothy to seek for the faithful ones. This indeed is not a light area of concern.


The Work Is Regional

Among several things which have been shown to us, the first is the important principle of region or area. Whereas the. churches are local, the Work, we have come to see, is regional. To us this is something which has become crystal clear from the Scriptures. To put the matter differently, a church is in one locality, whereas for purposes of the Work, many such localities together form one region. This is evident from the New Testament, although ten, or even five years ago, we did not have the light to see it. It is apparent to us now that the Twelve worked in one region, while Paul, Silas, Timothy and Barnabas worked in another—or in more than one. And if we study the Epistles we shall discern a number of such different regions. Let us note also the words in 2 Corinthians 10, where we find Paul writing of his labors as follows: "Now we will not boast out of measure, but according to the measure of the rule which the God of measure has apportioned to us, to reach to you also" (v.13 Darby). He seems here to allude to the matter of appointed spheres of work, as though God drew a circle for them and drew another circle for another group of His servants, and that within these limits was to be found the sphere of work of a particular company of workers.

This, therefore, is the difference of operation, as we see it, between the church and the Work: that the Work is regional, but the churches are not. No church can exercise jurisdiction over other localities, for its authority is essentially local. The sphere of the Work, on the other hand, is wider and embraces several localities in a single area or field.

At one time we tended to confuse the sphere of the Work with the locality of the church. Today we see clearly that the Work comprises a number of localities, and that its sphere of operation is wide. For example, we find Peter and John cooperating as a team or unit in the Work of one region, while Paul and Timothy labor together as another unit in a different region. The different groups of workers maintain contact and have fellowship with one another, yet they equally have their respective working areas within which they move.



The Region Has a Center

We come now to a second principle. Each region, we find, has a center; whereas the churches, of course, have no such center. The church in Jerusalem cannot—as a "central church"—rule the church in Samaria. No local church can control another local church, nor can one church control several churches. The widest scope of a church’s authority is its locality; no more. There is no such thing as a regional church or an association of churches. The Church has neither regional council nor headquarters. But with the Work it is otherwise. The Work has a region and the region has a center, and that is why in the book of Acts we see Jerusalem as a center and Antioch as another center.

This will help to explain what may until now have been a problem to some of us. If we have not yet seen that the Work is centralized in this way, then we shall probably have found Jerusalem a difficulty to us rather than a help. We have not understood its special character. While the whole New Testament confirms that the Church—in its practical expression—is local, nevertheless there seems something special to be learned from both Jerusalem and Antioch. What we have come to realize today is that the church in Antioch is one thing, while a Work taking Antioch as its center is another. From the standpoint of the churches, Jerusalem and Antioch are of an equal level with, say, Samaria; but from the standpoint of the Work, Jerusalem is a center and Antioch is also a center.

At the beginning of Acts the Lord’s promise is that, when the Spirit is come, they shall witness "in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth" (1.8). Here Jerusalem is distinctly a working center in the divine plan. Again, in the thirteenth chapter, there emerges a new beginning at Antioch. The Holy Spirit makes a new departure, and from there men arise and go forth to work in other places. Thus Antioch is constituted another center of the Work. It was the Spirit who made a beginning at Jerusalem, and now it is the Spirit who makes a beginning at Antioch.

In Jerusalem Peter, we must remind ourselves, was an elder. Here is something of value we have discovered through reconsidering Jerusalem. In days past we have stressed Peter as apostle, but have overlooked Peter as elder. In Jerusalem he had a double ministry. With regard to that city he was—like James and John—an elder of the church; but with regard to the whole Work that was centered there, he was an apostle and so were they. For this reason, when writing to the church at Antioch they wrote as "apostles and elders" (Acts 15.23). How otherwise could elders in Jerusalem write a letter giving command to the church in Antioch? Are they elders who write? But there are also elders among those to whom they write! Going outside their locality as elders, they would automatically become involved in a conflict of authority. If, however, they were not only elders but also apostles, then the letter they sent to Antioch in fact carried the weight of the Spirit’s witness, both in the church at Jerusalem and in the Lord’s Work through the apostles.

So today we see how the Work of God operates regionally. God would have His Work in an area centered in one place, from which workers go and to which they return. In the local churches it is elders who bear responsibility; but in a regional center of the Work, there are not only elders as such but also workers bearing responsibility jointly with them.

Scripture gives no support for the common practice of assigning a worker to a given locality for work and for government there. Unless he migrates to that locality and becomes a resident elder of the church there, a worker should settle in his Jerusalem. For two thousand years Peter has been blamed for not leaving Jerusalem, and some have even suggested that it was because Peter and John remained there that persecution fell upon the Jerusalem church. There is no basis in the Bible for this view, and the Lord tells us plainly that it is "because ye are not of the world" that "the world hateth you" (John 15.19). No, neither by travel nor by staying at home shall we avoid the persecution which comes when we begin to follow the Lord. That is certain!

But on this question of going and returning, we can be assured that Peter was in his right place. He went to Samaria, for in Samaria was the Work of God; but from there he returned to Jerusalem. He went also to Caesarea; but once again he came back to Jerusalem. All this was because Jerusalem was his center, whereas Samaria was only one of the cities in that region of the Work. Thus it was that the fellow workers, moving from place to place through the region, set out from Jerusalem and returned there repeatedly.

When we come to the choice of a center for the Work, we must be quite clear that this is a matter not for man but for God. Only He can decide the place, and only the Holy Spirit can initiate the Work. Human judgment and initiative have no part in this. We cannot consult together to choose a site for Jerusalem. Only the Jerusalem of the Spirit’s choice is Jerusalem indeed.

So Peter moves to and from Jerusalem. Later, Paul moves to and from Antioch. They do not settle permanently in other places, but always return to their starting point. Their work is carried on within definite bounds or regions or spheres—call them what you will—and from divinely chosen centers. For each group of workers in any place, it is "according to the measure of the rule which God has apportioned."

We should never appoint a worker from outside as elder of a local church. It was only in Jerusalem that Peter was an elder as well as an apostle. If you are resident in a place, you may be both elder and apostle simultaneously in that place, but nowhere else. You may go out as a worker to help other churches, but you must return. It is wrong for you not to return. Like Paul you may take a large circuit and come back, or like Peter you may go out and return directly. Either is correct; but you must return. Paul came back to Antioch, Peter to Jerusalem; this is the Lord’s word, and it could not be plainer. (Church Affairs, CFP, W. Nee)

[Churchwork]

Informal Apostles & Elders

Discuss Biblical locality (http://www3.telus.net/trbrooks/whichchurch.htm) (Acts 14.23, 8.1; 1 Cor. 1.2; Rev. 1.4, 2.1, 8, 12, 18; 3.1, 7, 14) and the special Work (Acts 13.2) of the Ministry (Eph. 4.11-12) which precedes the existence of church locales. Study Assembly Life (http://www3.telus.net/trbrooks/AssemblyLife.pdf) (pdf). Discuss various types of meetings in the practice of fellowship at a designated weekly meeting place within walking distance! In a Biblical locality - a city, town - there are many meeting places, and each meeting place is about fifty to one hundred brothers and sisters (1 Kings 18.4) and as many as 3000 to 5000 (Acts 2) in congested areas. An Elder of a meeting place takes care of a meeting place with its various types of meetings.

Though there may not be the title of elders today, there nevertheless are men in every place who are like elders and who do the work of the eldership. They act as informal or unofficial elders. Yet the question still remains, How are they raised up? Who asks them to act as elders informally? We must answer that they are appointed by the informal apostles.

Though this question of apostles remains controversial, there is nonetheless a class of people today who are performing the works of apostles—such works as preaching the gospel and establishing churches. They confess that they fall short of the holiness, power, victory and labor of the apostles because they can only do a small portion—perhaps one thousandth—of the works of the early apostles. Yet God uses these people in our day to labor in various places just as He used the apostles in the earlier days. Formerly it was these apostles who established churches everywhere, but now it is these informal apostles who do such work. We admit they are far inferior to the early apostles, that they are not worthy to be called apostles; nevertheless, we cannot but acknowledge them as doing part of the apostolic work. These men are those whom God uses in today’s ruinous state of the Church as apostles.

There is another aspect of informal as mentioned in Spirit of the Gospel,

Only the relationship between friends is something informal and conducted on the basis of the same or equal position. A good father is not only that to his son but he is also his son’s friend. A judge usually stands opposite to a criminal, yet some judges may even become criminals’ friends.

And meetings themselves if too rigid lose the quality of "informal meetings," as noted in Revive Thy Work by Watchman Nee.

[Churchwork]

How do we return to the first love that was lost in the first century?

First, we must know what that first love was in Christ. The apostles were directly commissioned by God to appoint elders of a locality whom in turn approved the elders of meeting places within a locality. Such was the harmony in the Ephesus first century church period. This was the spiritual arrangement set by God, which means any model that has more levels or less levels in the Work than this, is not abiding in Biblical locality.

To reclaim this first love that was lost we again need 12 apostles who will find agreement and from that agreement, more apostles will follow to do the regional work of appointing elders for localities.

It is that simple. The bottleneck is we don't have the 12 in agreement yet. That is the mission of these forums is to find them.

The 19th question is unique, the only one of its kind. The purpose is to require responsible elders to give their meeting place on the Meeting Place Finder map selflessly because the forums are designed for the Finder, not the other way around. Because an elder in doing the work for the body of Christ wants to remain selfless, they choose not to be a member of the forums if they are unable to, for whatever reason, submit their meeting place for the body of Christ to find a place to fellowship, found through the internet.

[Churchwork]

The Ministry of God's Word (http://www3.telus.net/trbrooks/MOGW.pdf) - contents and ministry of the Word.

[Churchwork]

Raising Up of Workers

The first matter we wish to inquire into today is how a worker is raised up. Principally we will consider two different situations. The first happens where there is a local assembly. Where this is the situation, any brother who has the burden to work abroad needs to have the consent of all the brethren with whom he meets as well as to bear his personal responsibility before God. This can be likened to a finger of the hand which cannot move individually but must move only with the whole human body. It needs the sanction of the entire body before it can move. Today we see Christ as the Head of the Church, with the Church therefore constituting His body. So wherever there is a local assembly, there is always the need of getting the consent of the brethren. Take, for example, the situation to be found in Acts 13. There we see an assembly of believers situated in Antioch, and so we find that the Holy Spirit sent forth Paul and Barnabas through the local church there.

But where no local assembly exists, the situation is quite different. If there is no local gathering of believers, then a person who desires to go forth to work must bear his own responsibility directly before the Lord because an expression of the Body of Christ is not manifested there. In Acts 11, before the church in Antioch was established, Paul and Barnabas are found bearing responsibility directly before God. But later on, after the local church was formed at Antioch, the Holy Spirit is seen sending out prophets and teachers through the local expression of the Body of Christ. For by that time the work of Paul and Barnabas was no longer only a matter before God, it must now also be a matter in the church. There at Antioch the disciples laid hands on them and sent them out. The laying on of hands is for the purpose of showing sympathy and expressing union. Through this laying on of hands in the local assembly at Antioch, all the brethren joined with Paul and Barnabas in their mission. In essence, therefore, the going forth of these two was the going forth of the body of believers there. Yet it must be understood that such laying on of hands at Antioch was something vastly different from the practice we find nowadays called ordination. The latter is a form of human traditions, and is totally foreign to the Scriptures.

The sending out of Paul and Barnabas was for the sake of doing the work the Holy Spirit sent them to do. This was the first missionary work in history. In this sending forth, the Holy Spirit has absolute sovereignty. A local church cannot send out men on its own. The sending out of the local church is the acceding to the movement of the Holy Spirit and the executing of His order.

In Acts 15 we read about another excursion contemplated. In verse 40, however, we notice the separation of the footsteps between Paul and Barnabas. Paul had suggested the journey, but Barnabas had insisted on taking Mark whom Paul deemed to be inappropriate for the task. There thus had arisen a sharp contention. Whereupon Barnabas decided to take Mark with him, but Paul took Silas with him and went a different way. It should be noted, though, that it is recorded in verse 40 that "Paul . . . [was] being commended by the brethren to the grace of the Lord." Here, then, lies the difference between these two men. Paul was sent forth by the church, but Barnabas was not. Paul was commended by the brethren to the grace of the Lord, whereas Barnabas was not. In this conflict, the local expression of the Body of Christ stood on Paul’s side. And as a consequence, we shall find that after chapter 15 Barnabas is no longer mentioned in the Acts narrative, thus proving that the Holy recognizes and ratifies the sending of the local expression of the Body of Christ.

In the instance before us now under discussion, we must note that Mark was passive, for he was a young worker under training. Hence his responsibility was not as great as that of Barnabas. Later, however, Mark was restored by God, and was once again brought back to the work by Him. But what about Barnabas? He was gone from the scene and never returned to the work of God. The Book of Acts never mentioned him again thereafter. Now if any of you should be tempted to say, "If others can, why can’t I? Since a certain brother has gone to a certain place, why can I not go away, too?", then beware that that other brother of whom you speak is sent out properly in the context of the local church, whereas your going out will be strictly on your own. The difference lies just there. You cannot argue that if God could use him He could use you too. For God could indeed use him because he is sent out in the local body of believers, but He cannot use you. Do not fancy that God cannot lay any of us aside. He most certainly can lay us aside just as He laid aside Barnabas. How very clear and plain is the record found in the Book of Acts. For after this incident, the Holy Spirit ceased to mention Barnabas in the narrative.

A worker may do a work individually, but his movement must be in the church. This was the case at Pentecost: "Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and spake forth . . ." (Acts 2.14) The "standing up" here is plural in number in the original Greek, whereas the "lifted up his voice" is in the singular number. Though only one man spoke, the eleven stood behind in support. Let us therefore realize that we too need the support of our brethren when we work.

Here we must learn the lesson of obedience. Both those who send and those who are sent need to learn obedience. Only in the spirit of obedience can people recognize the voice of the Holy Spirit. The criterion of any work is not approval but obedience. It is not because you approve of a certain brother that you therefore send him out. Many a time we may not approve the idea of a particular brother but we have to let him go, for the question lies not in approval but in obedience. Only in the obedient can the Holy Spirit find His outlet.

Now as the worker is sent forth he becomes an apostle, for an apostle is merely a sent-out worker. Paul was an apostle. What is the difference between an elder and an apostle? According to the word of God, an elder is immobile whereas an apostle is mobile. An elder is for a specific locality, but an apostle is for the entire Body. Paul was never an elder; he was only an apostle. Peter and John, though, were both elders and apostles. When they were in Jerusalem, they were elders of the church there. Yet besides being elders in Jerusalem, they were also apostles sent abroad. Because they were elders, they had the authority of local supervision. On the other hand, the responsibility of an apostle is to do the work committed to him abroad—he does not have the responsibility of overseeing in his own locality. I trust we are all clear on this distinction. When we talk about eldership we have reference to a locality; when we talk about apostleship we have in mind the whole earth. Yet it is possible for one person to perform both these functions—that is to say, to bear the responsibility of the local oversight as well as to bear the responsibility of the work of a wider sphere. In my own case, for example, my work on the one hand is serving workers at various places and on the other hand bearing responsibility with the other responsible brothers locally in my town.


The Confirmation of Workers

Let us now see who the workers are. How do we confirm a worker?

First, workers must have spiritual gifts. Gifts are of various kinds. Preaching the gospel is one kind, to be a prophet is another, and to be a pastor or teacher is still another kind. Different gifts result in different operations. The gift of an evangelist is towards the outsiders; the gift of a teacher is to decide on doctrine; and the gift of a pastor is to shepherd people—nourishing the spiritual life of the believers, causing that life to grow, and helping to solve all kinds of personal problems.

The more a worker is equipped with the above-mentioned gifts the better. A worker must at least possess one gift.

How do we know if a person has any gift? If you have a gift, the brethren who meet with you should be able to bear witness to the fact and confirm it. For this reason, the confirmation of gift is with the local body, which is able to sense it out. Whether your gift is that of an evangelist or that of a teacher, the body will perceive it. Even if you are not fully occupied with the ministry of God’s word, you still could possess the above-mentioned gifts and thus do the work accordingly. For these gifts must be possessed by the workers, though they are not exclusively theirs.

Many think that if they are unsuccessful in working at one place they could change to another place and succeed. The fact of the matter is that the problem does not rest on locality. If a person is unable to work in one place, he is equally unable to do so in another. The issue is whether the person has a particular gift. A person not gifted is without gift at any place.

Second, a worker though gifted is nonetheless unable to work if his life is poor. For work depends on not only gift but also grace. It requires sufficient grace more than adequate gift. Although the result of a work is much related to gift, even so, it has more direct connection with the worker himself. Engaging in the same type of work, people with different grace will produce very different results. For the grace upon a person determines the work he accomplishes. It does not mean that the one who is without grace cannot lead others to Christ; in fact, he may be quite effective in winning souls since he has the gift of preaching the gospel; but due to the lack of life in him, the more work he does the more destruction he brings in. Today many workers build on the one hand and demolish on the other. The explanation for this lies in the lack of life.

As recorded in Acts 16.2, the brethren reported well of Timothy; and hence we find in verse 3 that Paul took him in the journey. This is the witness of the brethren. Timothy is not only confirmed in one place, he is confirmed by the brethren belonging to two places. If your condition before the Lord is good and you have sufficient grace, the brethren who meet with you shall surely testify concerning you. And not only those who are spiritual, even the not-so-spiritual shall testify for you.


Concerning Letters of Recommendation

Finally, let us touch briefly concerning the letter of recommendation. Paul mentioned this matter to the Corinthian believers (see 2 Cor. 3.1). So we see that the New Testament does indeed deal with this subject. When believers travel to new places they have the need of letters of recommendation. Paul in his Epistle reminded the Corinthian believers that he had no need of such a letter. This was because he had a relationship with them. So that he is an exception. But for ordinary believers such a letter is essential. For it serves two purposes: (1) in causing you to be known; and (2) in preventing false brethren from coming in. Every letter of recommendation should be signed by three persons to assure its authenticity. Ordinary letters of recommendation are best written by the local elders or responsible brothers. There are at least three different kinds of letters:

(1) To recommend a certain person to partake in the breaking of bread, confirming him to be a brother or sister in the Lord.

(2) To recommend a certain person as one who walks in the same straight path.

(3) To recommend a certain person as not only walking in the same acceptable path but as also having a particular gift, thus providing an opening for ministry.

Upon receipt of a letter of recommendation, the local responsible brothers should acknowledge such letter by writing to the place where the letter originated. For the sake of convenience, such letters of recommendation and their appropriate reply could be prepared and printed beforehand for ready use. When brethren come from abroad or go abroad, let such letters of recommendation be given so as to facilitate the receiving of such at the table of the Lord.

[Churchwork]

Boundary of a Local Assembly (http://www3.telus.net/trbrooks/bodyofchrist.htm)


We will now deal with the subject of the boundary of the local assembly—that is to say, how far-reaching is the sphere of a local assembly?

The authority of the elders, which we have mentioned before, is to be exercised within the local assembly, because elders are established for the local assembly. Their position and function are all related to the local assembly. Elders in Shanghai are not elders in Nanking or Peking. Whereas the gifts of God are for the whole Church, the offices are for the local assembly. There are no super elders who can control assemblies other than their local one. Elders can only govern a local assembly.

How extensive is the border of a local assembly? How large a place is required to form a local assembly? Please note that the Bible never divides the Church according to region, nor does it even place several churches under a regional church. Although there are seven churches in Asia being mentioned in Revelation, we do not find in God’s word that Ephesus or Philadelphia had been chosen to control the other six churches. We only see seven churches represented by seven golden lampstands. In the Old Testament record there is mentioned the one lampstand with seven branches; but here in Revelation are seven lampstands—not one with seven branches but seven lampstands representing seven separate churches, each emitting light and each bearing responsibility directly to Christ. Whichever church it may be, it accepts the rule of Christ and not the control of other churches. Each lampstand is independent in government, without it being managed by other lampstands. Each is responsible to its high priest, the Son of man who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands. None of them is subject to any of the other churches. Though they are seven churches, they do not join to form a united church and make themselves answerable to a regional or annual conference. We may say that each is a “congregation” which takes a locality as its limit.

The Bible usually takes a city, the smallest executive governmental area, as the boundary of a local assembly. A local assembly is the unit of the Church in God’s word. It does not join with other assemblies and make the resulting larger church a central church. In other words, in the eyes of God, He has not made Rome as the central church. He never makes any local assembly the center of the churches to be in control of other assemblies. There is no center on earth in God’s government. Even Jerusalem was not a center to the early churches.

This did not rule out the existence of regions in the biblical record. Some places were so similar in conditions and needs that they would receive the same treatment in the record. For instance, it is said of Paul that he “passed through the upper country” (Acts 19.1); again, “from Jerusalem, and round about even unto Illyricum” (Rom. 15.19). These are regions. Galatia, too, was not a single city, but a province. And hence the Bible mentions “the churches of Galatia” (1 Cor. 16.1). The book of Revelation records the seven churches in Asia, since Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea were all located in the region of Asia. Asia is a region; Galatia is a province. Let us be clear that although the need, testimony and service of these local assemblies were closely akin to each other, no one church assumed a superior organization and authority over the other nearby churches. Some may think of Jerusalem as having been “the mother church.” Actually there is no such thing as a mother church. To put it another way, each local assembly is locally governed, it being directly accountable to Christ and not answerable to any other organization or assembly. This is to say, in short, that a local assembly is to be the only—yea, is to be the highest and lowest—organization in a locality. There is nothing lower or higher than a local assembly. Since there is no higher court above it to which to appeal, it is the highest organization in a locality. And because it is the lowest unit of the church on earth, there is nothing lower.

The Bible does not endorse a centralized Rome that controls all the local assemblies. This is because Christ in heaven reserves for himself the position of being the Head. Each and every local church must maintain the testimony of the body of Christ, since each is a miniature manifestation of Christ’s body. Each must be directly responsible to Christ and not to any other assembly. Each is under the rule of Christ and not under the control of any other organization.

God purposely set Jerusalem aside lest people would misconstrue that the Church on earth needed a center. He sent apostles out from Antioch (Acts 13) and not out from Jerusalem in order to avoid the misunderstanding that the church in Jerusalem was the mother church with all the other churches serving as her branches. Let us therefore never consider the assembly at Shanghai as the mother church. The assemblies in various localities are subject to Christ directly and not to any other assembly.

This truth concerning the independence of the local assembly is a balance to the truth of the inter-relatedness of the various assemblies in the body life. For God will not tell one assembly not to do something but then tell another assembly to do that very thing. He will guide one assembly in the same way as He guides other assemblies. We earlier saw how the Gentile churches were to imitate the churches in Judea. We also saw earlier how God ordains His churches not to move independently but to keep unity by paying attention to the movement of the body of Christ: for example, whoever has been excommunicated by one assembly should not be received by another assembly. One assembly is bound together with the other assemblies in that it should not act independently. It is not of God that any assembly should move freely on its own without considering the other assemblies. Yet, there is the other side of truth which declares that each assembly is directly responsible to the Head. How easy for us to go off-balance, but truth must be kept in balance.

Sometimes we may fall into the way of Rome. Whatever Rome decides, all the Roman Catholics must obey. But this is not the balance of truth. What we need is to accept the restraint of the other assemblies in that we agree to march forward together in matters of truth and on the other hand to see that we each are directly responsible to the Head. The churches mentioned in Revelation chapters 2 and 3 (Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea) have their own golden lampstands respectively. Each is positioned in its own stand; none of them is somebody else’s stand. Each maintains its own place and is accountable to God. And hence the Lord reprimands as well as commends Ephesus itself—He does not put the blame of Ephesus on Smyrna nor transfer the virtue of Ephesus to Smyrna. No church is responsible for any other church, and no church stands by the other church, because all are directly responsible to the Lord and all accept His rule. At the same time, however, God’s word declares this: “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches” (Rev. 2.7). This illustrates the balance of truth.

On the one hand, the message is addressed to the angel of the church at Ephesus; but at the end of the message to Ephesus, it is said to be spoken as well to the churches. At the beginning of each of the seven letters, the letter is addressed to the particular angel of the individual churches respectively, but at the end of each letter it is made clear that each letter is for all the churches to hear. It commences with an individual church being directly responsible to God; it concludes with every other church needing to hear the word which God declares to each of the other churches. This indicates how all the churches must keep that which one church receives. As to the responsibility of each church, every one is individually responsible to God; as to the movement of all the churches, there needs to be a concerted action. This explains why the letter is sent to Ephesus but why it is also applicable to all the other churches. Such is the balance of truth.

In the Bible God has ordained that the lowest unit of the Church on earth is the local assembly, which at the same time is equally the highest. Every local assembly is a miniature manifestation of the Church universal. There is nothing larger or smaller than it. We need to be careful that whatever we do in Shanghai may be in step with all the churches in China. We need to seek not only to maintain the same step with all the churches in China but also to take the same step with all the local assemblies of the world. Nevertheless, whatever action the church in Shanghai takes, it is directly responsible to God. It is not to be controlled by any other organization. So far as the authority of the church in Shanghai is concerned, nothing is higher than the eldership. This is the boundary which God has ordained. In each city, there is the plurality of elders, but these elders may only govern the local assembly there and not extend their government to assemblies elsewhere. The boundary set by God is to appoint elders in every city; consequently, the authority of the elders cannot extend beyond the city limits. The Bible advocates the local assembly which is then governed only locally. May we maintain this balance of moving together with other assemblies as well as bearing responsibility directly towards God as a local assembly.


The Border of a Local Assembly

Concerning the border of a local assembly, in the New Testament God makes the city to be its boundary. So that the maximum sphere of a local assembly is a city and nothing larger than a city. In the biblical record, there is no church that controls a region, a province, or a county. The city always marks the limit of the church. A city was originally the aggregate of people who lived in the same locality. Let us realize that due to today’s complicated life we have such divisions as county, township, village, and so forth. In the olden days, wherever the people congregated and lived and were protected—that was considered a city (Gen. 4.17). For various reasons, they lived in the city. In the first part of Genesis we find nothing smaller than the city. At the time when Joshua apportioned the land to the Hebrew people, we notice that the place where people lived was still called a city, only now sometimes villages were also mentioned (see Joshua 18.28). When the Lord Jesus sent out His disciples to preach the gospel, they were sent to cities (see Matt. 10). This is because in the biblical account a city was viewed as the lowest unit of the aggregate of people.

Thus the boundary of a local assembly in the Scriptures is according to the limit of such a city. Ephesus, Corinth, and Thessalonica, for example, were all such cities. The border of a local church never exceeds the limit of a city. The province of Asia was such a large area that it had seven churches. Galatia was a region, and hence the phrase “the churches in Galatia” was used. Corinth, on the other hand, was only a city, and so the whole church assembled together there (1 Cor. 14.23). The church in Corinth is but one church. Throughout the New Testament we see that all the local assemblies take the particular city limits as their border.

How wise is the way of God in keeping believers from confusion. For if He were to take the nation as the boundary of the church, the border of the church would then frequently be changed because a nation would fall and thus would the boundary of the church be altered. If God were to use the province as the boundary of the church, the border of the church would also be subject to change since provincial lines can often be altered too.

Would not all these cause confusion? Instead, God in His word used neither province nor nation nor other political division as the unit of church boundary. He took instead the city or village as the church boundary because its border and name are not easily changed. We see national, regional, and provincial borders and names frequently altered, but the names and borders of cities and villages are the least influenced by political change. The names of many villages have remained the same for hundreds of years. Many cities may be ceded to other nations, yet they still remain as civic entities because they are the most durable of political units. For this reason, God has ordained the city limits to be the border of the local assembly. Although we have mentioned the village as a variant unit of church border, in actual fact the village is but a miniature city. Hence God’s thought is still the city.

God makes cities the permanent unit of the local assembly. There is great profit in dividing church lines by this method without setting some higher control above it. For if there is sin or failure in one local assembly, it will not contaminate the other assemblies elsewhere. Had God put seven or eight churches under the authority of a few men, the failure of one or two among these men would undoubtedly have affected all these churches. If He had established a center in the province of Asia to control all seven of its churches, the failure of the center would have dragged all the other seven churches down with it. But these seven churches in Asia were respectively responsible to the Lord. Though five of them failed, there were yet Smyrna and Philadelphia which remained faithful. In this way God was able to preserve the weak and the good from the sinful and improper.


Dividing by City Line

What God first created was a garden—the Garden of Eden—and not a city. But what He finally is to obtain is to be the New Jerusalem, which is a city. So that the thought of the city was manifested only after the fall of man had occurred. Before man’s fall, trees such as the tree of life and other fruit-bearing trees were planted in the Garden. And a living stream flowed out of the Garden. But since the fall of man, the work of God has ever been to transform the garden into a city. For a garden seems to have neither boundary nor protection. God purposely builds the city for the sake of protection as well as for boundary. It is to be separated, thus forbidding sin to enter its precincts. God has the city in mind not only for today, but also for the time of the millennium. The Scriptures make clear that some believers will rule five cities, some will rule over ten cities. And even at the time of the New Heaven and the New Earth, God still focuses on the city. For at that time there will be the city of New Jerusalem. He thus lifts up the city because it has a boundary, is separated, distinguishable, easily governed and not easily confused.

Wherever some believers are gathered together in a city, this gathering becomes the local assembly. Other assemblies in other cities cannot interfere with these saints’ local affairs. The border of a local assembly is as extensive as the limits of the city. Its boundary, therefore, follows the line of the governmental extent of the city. For God has not left to the brethren or to the elders to decide on its border. The responsibility of the church is to adopt the city or village as determined by the government. The dimension of a city is the dimension of a local assembly. Cities vary in their sizes. Some like Nineveh require a three days’ journey to traverse its city limits. Some are like Jerusalem whose radius is only about two miles (John 11.18, “fifteen furlongs”). Bethany is another place, but it does not belong to the city of Jerusalem. Although Jerusalem and Bethany are closely adjacent to each other, the first is a city which has its own border and the second is a village which likewise has its own border. And thus the Bible divides them according to their political divisions. In spite of the fact that some localities are larger while some are smaller, the church cannot make its own division but must follow the political or governmental division. For God uses the governmental division as the accepted dimension of today’s local assembly.


How to Meet Separately in One City

We have seen how the assembly in the Scriptures takes a city or a village as its unit. In Shanghai, for example, we meet in two different places—Wen Teh Lane and Gordon Lane. What is the relationship between these two meetings? Before we deal with this question, let us first consider how the Bible solves this problem when there are too many people meeting in one city. On the Day of Pentecost, three thousand souls were added to the church in Jerusalem. Later on, five thousand were saved. There were consequently many believers in Jerusalem. Jerusalem was different from Corinth. In the latter city not too many people were saved, and hence the entire church could be assembled together in one place (1 Cor. 14.23).

But in Jerusalem the entire church could not assemble together in one place because there were too many believers: first, three thousand, then an additional five thousand, and finally those who were being saved daily! They did not have such a huge facility. So that we see that even though they were all together as one, they broke bread in “homes” (see Acts 2.46). This was the difference between the church in Corinth and the church in Jerusalem. In Corinth they met in one place because they were comparatively few in number. In Jerusalem, however, they met in many “homes” because they were too many in number. Accordingly, when there are too many people in a local assembly, they may meet in many “homes.” This is how it is shown to us in the book of Acts.

The people of a local assembly may meet in different homes, but they are still one church. For instance, if in Jerusalem people met in scores of places, can it be said that in Jerusalem there was one church or that there were scores of churches? The answer of the Bible is: there is but one church. For let us recall that God uses the entire city (no matter its size) as the border of the local assembly. The church in a city is always singular in number. In Jerusalem there was only one church. Though there may have been scores of meeting places, the government of the church in Jerusalem was nevertheless one. It had the same group of elders and deacons. The elders in the church in Jerusalem may have functioned as elders in these “homes,” but they could not go to Samaria and function as elders there. This is because a local assembly takes the city as its boundary. Now this is our situation in Shanghai. According to the legal political division, Shanghai is but one city, and therefore there is but one church. Both the Wen Teh Lane meeting and the Gordon Lane meeting must together be reckoned as one church. When the number of a local assembly is increased, people can meet in different places. Some may ask what number should be reached before there are separate meetings? What is the limitation? Let us recall the incident of the distribution of the loaves by our Lord. Before He multiplied the loaves to feed the five thousand men, He caused the multitude to “sit down in companies, about fifty each” (Luke 9.14). “And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties” (Mark 6.40). In my opinion, since we are the Lord’s sheep, it is easier to be fed by dividing into companies of fifties or hundreds. Such division has several advantages.

(1) The apostles in the early days of Acts did not have money to build a large meeting hall. So they followed the principle of “home meetings” though not necessarily dividing into fifties and hundreds. Thus there was no difficulty in their finding places to meet. We today would rather not have a large central place but instead divide ourselves into fifties and hundreds.

(2) Having hundreds or thousands gathered together to break bread would have been time-consuming and also there would have been no cup and no loaf big enough for such a huge number of people. So it is evident that the many who were saved in the early days did not break bread all in one place. Even in our own day when we ourselves sometimes have two to three hundred people breaking bread together, it would take us one to two hours. Some people can wait but many may not have the strength to wait so long.

(3) For several hundreds assembling together, it is rather difficult to have good fellowship due to the limitation of time. On each occasion a person may know and fellowship with only one or two others. But by that method it would take months and months before a person could fellowship with all. How can the assembly grow in such a way? If, however, there are only fifty or a hundred gathered together, it is relatively easy to fellowship with one another, and it enhances the growth of the believers. It is also easier for the responsible brothers to take care of all the brethren. When the number becomes too large, it is difficult to give good care. This is therefore a principle we should practice.

It was for this reason, among others, that last year we started to meet in Gordon Lane as well as at Wen Teh Lane. Yet the meeting in Gordon Lane and the meeting in Wen Teh Lane are not two churches but are one church—one entire fellowship—meeting in two “homes.” The responsible brothers in Wen Teh Lane are the same as those in Gordon Lane. When a brother travels from Shanghai to Nanking, he needs to have a letter of recommendation. But for him to go to Gordon Lane from Wen Teh Lane and vice versa, he does not need such a letter.


Concerning City Limits and Suburbs

“And the children of Israel gave unto the Levites out of their inheritance, according to the commandment of Jehovah, these cities with their suburbs” (Joshua 21.3). This passage speaks of cities with their suburbs. “Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field” (Deut. 28.3). This passage speaks of city and field. From the Old Testament record it is understood that every city had its suburbs as well as its fields. These suburbs and fields surrounded the city for the sake of providing the city with necessities. The food the city consumed came from the suburbs and fields. The city obviously could not exist by itself. In addition, the city had to be responsible for its suburbs and fields. Likewise today, the church in the city should bear responsibility not only for the city but also for the suburbs and fields. Whether it is preaching the gospel or building up the saints, the church in the city should take care of its suburbs and fields; for the latter support the former, and cause the number in the assembly to increase. In other words, the people in the church of the city should also take care of the people in its suburbs and fields. When people are saved in the suburbs, and they are not able to meet by themselves, bring them to the city to meet. This will support the meeting in the city and make it stronger. But after the brethren from the suburbs increase in number, and they have also learned to meet, let them become another “home” or even make the suburb as another “city” unit and begin a new assembly.


Questions

(1) Should we practice the laying on of hands today?

The Bible does mention the laying on of hands, but it is not the same as what people call laying on of hands today. Nowadays, it is always viewed as a case of the “better” laying hands on the “lesser.” But in the Scriptures there is equally the view that the “lesser” can lay hands on the “better” as well as the “better” can lay hands on the “lesser.” As recorded in Acts 8, when the apostles Peter and John laid hands on the Samaritan believers, what they did was a case of the “better” laying hands on the “lesser.” But Acts 13 tells us that in the church at Antioch, when several prophets and teachers ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said to them: “Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them” (v.2b). So they laid hands on Barnabas and Saul and sent them away. Now we know from this same passage that Paul and Barnabas were apostles, but they had hands of the prophets and teachers laid on them. Yet in Ephesians 4 the apostles are listed first, then the prophets and the teachers. And hence in Acts 13 we find the “lesser” laid hands on the “better.”

The biblical conception of the laying on of hands is not what people today usually think of—the latter being an action of the “better” performed on the “lesser.” In the Scriptures, laying on of hands is but an expression of fellowship, sympathy and union. The laying on of hands spoken of in Acts 8 shows that the Samaritans were also joined to the body of Christ even as their baptism testified to their being joined to the death of Christ. The laying on of hands told of in Acts 13 indicates that the church was united with Barnabas and Paul and was in full agreement and fellowship with them. Their going out was the going out of the whole church. Such kind of laying on of hands exhibits to us that it was not only Barnabas and Paul who went abroad to preach the gospel but that the whole church at Antioch went forth with them. So that what the two apostles did was related to the entire church at Antioch. Their laying on of hands spoke not only of their fellowship with the ones who received this token (Paul and Barnabas) but also of the fellowship of the ones who received the laying on of hands with the whole church at Antioch. If anyone would go out from one locality to work for the Lord, it is best if he is sent out by the laying on of hands.

Let us be careful in our wiping out all the traditions of men from Scriptural teaching just as people cleanse dust from the glass. Some do not wipe the dust off but instead break the glass because it is filled with dust. Many may suggest that since we talk about elders and deacons and the laying on of hands we are not different from any denomination. Let us see that there is actually nothing wrong with these things in themselves; but what is wrong is that which men have added on to them. Our purpose today is not to destroy the works of the denominations but to restore the things which God had originally ordained. We cannot forsake biblical realities because of human adulteration. We instead ought to ask if God has so commanded. When I go out to do spiritual work, how many times I expect the brethren to lay hands on me to show that I do not go out alone but that the entire church sends me out. They are one with me.

(2) When Paul laid hands on Timothy, he imparted a gift to Timothy. Is a gift received through the laying on of hands?

What is a gift? It is the ability of a member. In other words, if you are an eye in the body, your gift is seeing; if you are an ear in the body, your gift is hearing. When a person is joined to the body of Christ, he immediately receives a gift. Why, then, did the apostle lay hands on Timothy? In representing the body of Christ, the apostle recognized that Timothy was also a member of that body. It pleases God that such laying on of hands will activate a gift in the person. What Acts 13 expresses is also the union of the body of Christ, although it is not for the manifestation of gifts but for the demonstration of the principle of our working together. Never can prophets and teachers impart gifts to apostles. I believe the laying on of hands should be continued. Nevertheless, Paul warned Timothy to “lay hands hastily on no man, neither be partaker of other men’s sins: keep thyself pure” (1 Tim. 5.22). Hebrews tells us to “not lay again a foundation” (6.1). Both baptism and laying on of hands are included in that foundation. And hence, if we neglect the laying on of hands there will be some flaw in the foundation.

(3) How about receiving people to the breaking of bread? “Him that is weak in faith receive ye” (Rom. 14.1). “Wherefore receive ye one another, even as Christ also received you” (Rom. 15.7). Receiving people is but a part of the procedure. The main question is whether or not there is faith itself, not merely how strong or weak their faith is. The other question is, Will God accept them? We need to know if God will accept them or not. We cannot accept those whom God does not accept.

Concerning this matter of receiving, I would like to mention a few things here:

(a) People who come with letters of recommendation. We should accept all who come with letters of recommendation, though we need to discern where these letters come from. Letters which come from places where their stand on the Christian faith is doubtful cannot be taken at their face value. We cannot accept people simply on the basis of these letters. But with respect to letters from places where their faith is known, we can believe and also accept the people recommended. We must believe that what these places do are what we too will do.

(b) People introduced by two or three witnesses. We can accept people who are introduced by two or three brethren. The problem lies in people who are passing by or in visitors who break bread with us only once. In my opinion, it is best if two or three brothers can talk with them to find out if they are saved before receiving them.

(c) There are a few things we ought to know before receiving anyone to break bread:

(1) if that person is saved;

(2) if he has committed any of the sins mentioned in 1 Corinthians 5 which are grounds for excommunication;

(3) if he knows that the breaking of bread is not only to remember the Lord but also to discern the body of Christ.

Numbers (1) and (2) are conditions, for a person must be saved and clean before he can partake of the bread. Number (3) is a teaching, the instruction of which he ought to have, that he may stand on the ground of the body of Christ. Otherwise, he will eat and drink judgment to himself.

If a person is saved and he has not committed the sins of 1 Corinthians 5, and even though he may not be able to discern the body, he still can be received, because we must receive those who are weak in faith. However, we should be faithful in instructing people to discern the body, yet without making it a condition for receiving people because this will make us a sect.

(4) After a person is saved, must he be baptized before he can take the bread?

In the case of a newly saved person, it is better for that one to first be baptized and then to break bread. In the Bible we do not find recorded any names of people who have believed for some time but were not baptized. For believing and baptism were simply joined together. Never was a person saved but kept from baptism for several months. Furthermore, we cannot make baptism a condition for breaking bread. Some are only sprinkled and do not know that baptism is a testimony. We ought to receive such people for they belong to God. We must not make baptism a condition for receiving people; we can only take it as a teaching. We cannot excommunicate people who are not baptized. When they truly see the cross, they will obey the truth and be baptized.

[Churchwork]

Women Apostles (http://www3.telus.net/trbrooks/womenapostles.htm) and Women Elders (http://www3.telus.net/trbrooks/womenelders.htm)

[Churchwork]

The Preaching of Young Workers

Many a time today’s problem of the church begins with people’s desire for more gifts. They assume that they have a certain gift, whereas in actuality they may not possess that particular gift. And so they spoil the work in their hands. They mean well, but they have simply not been given that gift; and hence they are unable to accomplish it. It is just like one who may have the gift of a teacher but he cannot do other works: he can only fulfill his portion of work in deciding on the truth of the Scriptures or maintaining that truth or discovering new truth. As another example, a person with the gift of an evangelist can only do his work of evangelizing: he cannot be a substitute for the teacher in teaching or deciding on truth: he can only fulfill his own part.

The problem today lies in the fact that few if any in the whole world stand in their proper place and are satisfied with their own position. The evangelist wants to be a teacher, and the teacher desires to be an evangelist. Everyone admires being what he is not. What is this? Is it not the manifestation of the flesh, the inclination of the natural man? Yet in the Body of Christ each member has his distinct function. The ear cannot be a substitute for the eye, nor the eye the ear. Even should the ear be located on the eye, the ear still remains an ear, for it cannot see. Here we discern the necessity of standing firmly in one’s own position. Each one of us must learn to stand in his own place.

Personally speaking, young workers need not only be subject to the older workers but also to know what is God’s appointed place for them. By recognizing your given place you will not fall into the flesh, thus saving the work. Naturally, in the event that a young worker truly has the gift of teaching while the older workers around him lack that gift, then under such circumstances the older workers need to submit to the younger worker and accept his given gift. Nevertheless, each young worker should try to find someone more mature from whom he may learn obedience. There must be some older workers to whom he can be subject. Paul told Timothy to "abide thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them" (2 Tim. 3.14). Timothy needed to find out from whom he had learned. He had to go and find the worker who was ahead of him.

A young worker must learn to accept unreasonable dealings. He should understand what unreasonable submission is. For true submission does not argue: if there be reasoning, then obedience is gone. In the work of God, no one can be independent nor can he escape submission. The young need indeed to be submissive; but then, too, the older is not to be an exception either. We cannot afford to be independent. If God should reveal a new truth to a brother, that brother must go forward in the spirit of mutual submission. He must not take any independent action.

[Churchwork]

There is the Abrahamic Covenant, the Old Covenant of the Law with the nation of Israel, and the New Covenant in the dispensation of grace. There are several covenants below these major ones.


The Age of:

1. Innocence - Adam
2. Conscience - After man sinned, up to the flood
3. Government - After the flood, man allowed to eat meat, death penalty instituted
4. Promise - Abraham up to Moses and the giving of the Law
5. Law - Moses to the cross
6. Grace - The cross to the Millennial Kingdom
7. Millennial Kingdom - A 1000 year reign of Christ on earth centered in Jerusalem


The Book of Acts Goes On


And Paul abode two whole years in his own hired dwelling, and received all that went in unto him, preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness, none forbidding him. (Acts 28.30-31)

Saying, What thou seest, write in a book and send it to the seven churches: unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamum, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And having turned I saw seven golden candlesticks; . . The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks are seven churches. (Rev. 1.11-12,20)
The Bible is a composite of 66 books. Of these 66, many—with respect to their subject matter—are obviously concluded at the end of their reading. For example, the book of Genesis has 50 chapters. When you read to the very last chapter, you instinctively feel that that is the end. Matthew has 28 chapters and you sense quite naturally when you come to its final chapter that it is truly the end. The same feeling comes to you after you have read Romans chapter 16 or Revelation chapter 22.

But there is one very special book in the Bible about which you could not say you have reached the end. You can say that it is the end of the matter with regard to many of the other 65 books of the Bible, but about this particular book you cannot. And that is the book of Acts. When you arrive at chapter 28, you are surprised that it should close so abruptly. You really sense it is not yet concluded. And as a matter of historical fact, this book of Acts truly has no end, because what it speaks about is indeed still going on. The record of the acts of the apostles of the first century may be concluded, but the record of the apostles of all succeeding centuries has not been completed. Up to the present moment, in fact, you continue to read about the acts of God’s apostles. In short, the book of Acts has not yet been finished.
"My Father worketh even until now," declared the Lord, "and I work" (John 5.17). This tells us the fact that ever since the rebellion of Satan and the fall of man God has been working until now, and so also has the Son been at work. How about what we find in the Acts? Let me say that the book of Acts is not a record of the work of Paul nor of the work of Peter; it is the record of the work of God. Who can say that after the time of Acts 28 God labors no more? Who can dare say that the work of the Lord comes to an end at Acts 28?

This book has no conclusion. After the period of chapter 28, God still has many vessels who do His work. The labor of the Lord continues on; it does not stop there. Paul’s life did not end after his two years’ work in Rome. So far as his entire life is concerned, after his stay in Rome for those two years, he was released from prison and was able to visit new places as well as some old ones. He was later taken captive and was finally martyred. These events were not set down in the book of Acts. We need to note that Peter and Paul and John were three important persons in the church of God, yet none of their concluding periods of life was ever recorded fully in the Scriptures. Can we accurately say, then, that the book of Acts is ended?

How can the testimony of God ever be fully written? It is truly without end. Neither a chapter 29 nor a chapter 30 nor even up to a 100th chapter will or can ever be written. New things would need to be added on all the time if the writing were to go on. For this reason, therefore, Acts must stop abruptly at chapter 28. Nevertheless, though nothing is further recorded after that chapter, the work of God has continued onward. The work of the first century did not reach its zenith. If the work that God has accomplished during these 4,000 years were to be consummated at the end of an Acts 28, then we would now be at the bottom of the mountain and God’s work would have by now greatly declined. But nothing of this sort has happened. For the Lord plainly declares, "My Father worketh even until now, and I work."

Let us not assume that the work of God reached its zenith at the time of Paul or at the time of Martin Luther. The first century did not conclude God’s work, and neither did the sixteenth century terminate His work. The Lord’s work shall proceed forth until the kingdom age, and even to the new heaven and the new earth will it still go on without end. And if we believe as well as know this truth, we shall praise God.

People often commit this error: they think that they live in the worst period of the church. People at the time of Martin Luther thought so; people at the time of John Wesley also thought this. We would say, however, that the era of Martin Luther was very good, and that the period of John Wesley was likewise very good. Perhaps fifty years from now, people will even say that the time we live in today was good. We are fearful lest men stop working, but let us understand that God will never cease working. Each year He knows what He will do. Each year He knows how far He will go. Each year He will accomplish what He has purposed to do. Daily will God go on; He always advances. Hallelujah, the Lord continually moves forward!

We must see that whenever God moves forward He always has His vessels. In the period of the book of Acts, He had His vessels. At the time of Martin Luther, He had His vessels. And during the time of John Wesley, He likewise had His vessels. In each period of spiritual revival, God has had His own vessels. Where, then, it should be asked, are God’s vessels today? Unquestionably the Father works until now, but who among men continue to cooperate with Him? Who will say, as did the Lord Jesus, "and I work"? This becomes a serious question.

If at this point we are given a little light by God so as to see a little of His reality, we shall come to acknowledge that the vessel which God today seeks for is the very one which He in the beginning has always had in mind—which is His church. In other words, the vessel which God ultimately looks for today is not an individual one, rather it is corporate in nature. And if He indeed needs a corporate vessel today, we will immediately realize that unless His children are brought to see what is the body of Christ and what is body life, they will be useless in the Lord’s work and will not be able to arrive at God’s aim.

The first chapter of Revelation tells us that the church is the golden candlestick. God in His word not only says the church is golden, He also says that the church is the golden candlestick. If the church is only golden, she cannot satisfy God’s heart. Why does God say the church is the golden candlestick? Because the golden candlestick serves the purpose of spreading the light so that the light may shine far and wide. God wants the church to be a shining vessel, a vessel of testimony. From the very beginning He has ordained the church to be a candlestick. Not one certain person, but the entire church. In the divine view the church is a candlestick. It is therefore not enough for it simply to be golden, which means that everything about it is of God: it must also shine for God and testify for Him as the golden candlestick.

The church exists for the testimony of God. If it is not golden, it is not the church. Yet if it is not also a candlestick, it is still not the church. If there be no life within, it cannot be the church; but then, too, if there be no testimony within, it will not be the church either. The church must understand what God expects to do and to obtain in this age. She will be a golden candlestick if she sees what the testimony of God on earth is today.
May we reiterate quite simply here, that the work of God proceeds onward, that the Lord still looks for the suitable vessel, and that His vessel today is the same as that which was true at the beginning—which is to say, that it is not something individual but something collective in nature: in other words, the church.

People will perhaps ask concerning the overcomers in the church. True, the church is in great need of overcomers; but the testimony of these overcomers is for the benefit of the corporate entity, not for that of the personal. Overcomers are not a class of people who deem themselves to be superior, esteeming themselves as better than the others and pushing them aside. Not so. They instead work for the entire body. They do the work, and the whole church receives the benefit. Overcomers are not for themselves; rather, they stand on the ground of the church and bring it to maturity. Hence the victory of the overcomers becomes also the victory of the whole church.

Now since the vessel God needs is a corporate one, we must learn to live the body life. And to live out body life we must deny our natural life. We must receive deep dealings from God. Being dealt with by Him and having learned obedience and fellowship, we may have the privilege of being His vessel.

[Churchwork]

The Work (http://www3.telus.net/trbrooks/rethinkingthework.htm)

Apostles who have direct commission from God in the Ministry (Eph. 4.11) for the Church appoint Elders to take care of a whole Biblical locality who oversee the Elders of many meeting places within.

"And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon it was, to the threshold of the house: and he called to the man clothed in linen [overcomers, Rev. 7.9, 19.14], who had the writer's inkhorn by his side. And Jehovah said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry over all the abominations that are done in the midst thereof...and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity...but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary ...And, behold, the man clothed with linen, which [had] the inkhorn by his side, reported the matter, saying, I have done as thou hast commanded me" (Ez. 9.3-4,6,11).

Before there can be Elders of a locality (other than Apostles who are also Elders) appointed by Apostles of a region of churches, first there must be at least Twelve Apostles in agreement to show solidarity as it was in the first century by this time, agreeing to the 37 questions or the questions the Twelve agree upon in agreement with the Word.

Once enough Elders of meeting places give their meeting places on the Meeting Place Finder for the Body of Christ, out of some of those Elders will arise Apostles directly commissioned by God so that the Ministry (http://biblocality.com/forums/rules.php#ministry) (Eph. 4.11) has Twelve Apostles with more to follow.

Then, and this is the vital point, we shall travel to localities, in groups of two or three, in a pronounced fashion to appoint Elders of localities whom we can find that agree with us. The Elders of a locality will also place their meeting place on the map, in addition to taking care of all the meeting places in their locality.

One by one, they will approve of all the meeting places according to God's design, because the meeting places themselves are right before God with Elders who agree with these questions put before them in agreement with the Word. This is how we know they are abiding in God's will and authentic, for not disagreeing with the truth.

Elders a relative term-it simply means those who are more spiritually equipped to take care of their jurisdiction of a locality or a meeting place.

And this will not work if women are not equal as Apostles (http://www3.telus.net/trbrooks/womenapostles.htm) and as Elders (http://www3.telus.net/trbrooks/womenelders.htm).


Spiritual Authority (http://www3.telus.net/trbrooks/Authority.htm)

5 Deeper Truths (http://biblocality.com/forums/misc.php?do=cfrules#five):
1) Biblical locality
2) Partial rapture
3) OSAS armnian - God predestinates by foreknowing (Rom. 8.29) of our free-choice (John 3.16,18) made in His image (Gen. 1.26,27): a conditional election, unlimited atonement, resistible grace, for the preservation of the saints. This is love.
4) Tripartite man and woman
5) Restoration of Creation - the restoration gap

There are many others, but these five form the foundational truths of the Scriptures upon Christ's substitution (justification by faith), co-death identification, and sanctification (sanctification by faith and consecration, that is, the believer is not only justified, but is made holy before God by separating himself).

The three items in the ark of testimony were the manna (typifies salvation), the two tablets (the Word), and Aaron's rod (the Holy Spirit). By the time of Solomon's temple, similar to today, things were so luxurious, somewhere along the line a priest removed the manna of salvation and Aaron's rod or the Holy Spirit from the temple. The pretentious worship of the Word was because of being without salvation or God's Spirit, so the Word was all for naught in the hands of the priests, similar to today. All three must be present: the Word, authentic salvation and the Spirit - Comforter of truth.


Explaining These Truths Chronologically
Contrast the Problems of Church History in the 7 Church Periods (http://www3.telus.net/trbrooks/7churches.htm) with the Solutions Below

(1) There began the commencement of recovery, refusing papal authority at the time of Martin Luther. The time from Clement to Augustine truths were very unclear and dim. It was out of this papal system the heretical teaching of historicalism came (amillennialism, preterisms, and post-millennialism).

(2) Prominently next was voluntary poverty. There should be only two classes of people in the Church - the naturally poor and voluntarily poor. Francis of Assisi was a catholic who sold all to give to the poor. Count Von Zinzendorf in Saxony, Germany (18th century) opened up his wealth to the Moravian church. From this church more missionaries have sent out than any other. Then there was Sister Eva who who also chose voluntary poverty. What followed was many in Great Britain who sold all they had and followed the Lord. And then many Brethren (1828) became poor voluntarily. The issue of money must be resolved. As God is the creator of all things, Satan tries to unify and unite all things into one thing - money, that is, the mammon of unrighteousness. All mammon is unrighteous, not just the love of money. If you do acquire the mammon of unrighteousness, use that wealth to gain friends to receive your reward in heaven. The one thing we need to be careful of though is not to give mammon to unrighteous hands.

(3) Can you see the deficiency of the Reformation (Luther brought in the power of politics to help protest, not realizing such power would end up damaging the Church instead of helping her; so, came about national churches, an unequal yoking of together of politics and believers)? As well, Luther himself was confused about and unable to reconcile his held beliefs of resistible grace and total depravity. These two teachings are irreconcilable. If you can resist grace to not be saved, then you are not totally deprave, for if you were totally deprave, you could not resist God drawing. Ergo, calvinism is a lie because total depravity is a lie. James Arminius gave the truth of these mistaken assumptions of calvinism so that we have OSAS arminian's 5 points showing us the way of God's salvation. Luther also changed his mind from limited atonement to unlimited atonement (that was a positive move), and his writings were unclear on whether he believed in conditional or unconditional election. This is reflective of Luther's frustration being unable to reconcile total depravity and resistible grace. Consequently, Luther, lacking clarity, avoided this matter as much as possible.

(4) The nonconformists. The rise of independent churches found national churches too dissatisfying. The error of independent churches, regional churches, national churches, person churches, doctrinal churches, ethnic churches still remained. During this time, we see those coming out of the worldly churches. Even still, God's way is not independent church (see 14).

(5) The believer's equality (Mennonites revealed this) and baptism: rejecting sacerdotalism and accepting rebaptizers (anabaptists), which rejects the premise of infant baptism. As a result those in this recovery were severely persecuted. Nonetheless, this was still mostly to do with external recovery.

(6) The inner life. Madame Guyon, Father (later Archbishop) Fenelon, and others developed this area of spiritual life. They were accused of being mystics, but they in fact were the most spiritual of their day. Men could not understand them, so the accusers found their accusing word to accuse them with - mystics. God also raised up the Pietists and the Quetists who had a deeper inner spiritual life. Then the Puritans with their inner life began to diminish greatly as exhibited by believing in calvinism. The "Mayflower" was the now famous ship that carried these emigrants from Holland and England to America corrupting it with the pride of calvinism.

(7) Heavenly calling (the Brethren taught this-the goal does not lay in the reforming of society or expect an earthly blessing since the world will soon pass and all on earth will be judged. This was a radical departure in the church by the 19th century). The problem with the Brethren movement was but one, when having such an abundance of the truth objectively, there can be a lack of subjective experience. Leading Bible expositors among them were J. N. Darby and F. W. Grant who believed the church to be in ruin. The heavenly calling countered the social reform efforts stemming from the false teaching of post-millennialism.

(8) Partial rapture and restoration of creation in the six summary days. During the 19th century, Robert Govett recovered the teaching of first rapture according to readiness (Rev. 3.10, Luke 21.36) and the last trumpet harvest (1 Thess. 4.15-17, 1 Cor. 15.50-52) of those who are alive and left to be raised with those asleep. G. H. Pember recovered the teaching of the sin of the inhabitants of earth's earliest ages when Lucifer fell, brought 1/3 of the angels with him and ruled over earth and what we now call demons; these demons were cast into the deep when God made ("became," same word used in Gen. 2.17, 19.28) it a desolate waste. Sometime later God restored what was already there in the six days which represent a summary of this period of restoration.

(9) Sanctification (sanctification by faith and consecration, that is, the believer is not only justified, but is made holy before God by separating himself). This began with John Wesley. His lacking was having no faith God can give eternal life at new birth. But, he did accept the first four points of osas arminian. After Wesley came Robert Pearsall Smith, husband of Mrs. Hannah Smith who wrote The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life. The Keswick movement (Evan Hopkins of England, Theodore Monod of France and Smith) also taught the same. Andrew Murray was also raised up in this area. These brothers stabilized the work of recovery. Frances Ridley Havergal's hyms also expounded on sanctification.

(10) The crucifixion of the old man. Darby noted putting off the fleshly man as well as sins of the flesh from the old creation. Jessie-Penn Lewis was also raised up to proclaim the truth of the cross. We are not just dead to sins, but dead to self. Anyone not dead to self, it is illegal for them to be married to Christ. The cross puts them away (Gal. 2.20) and whoever is not dead to sin is a dead old man (Rom. 6.6). We are dead to the law (Rom. 7.4) so we can be married to Christ.

(11) The truth of resurrection (what death can't hold, is part of resurrection life in the new creation). Margaret E. Barber also found agreement in what T. Austin Sparks taught on resurrection life. However, what Sparks lacked was the acceptance in a deeper way the body life (i.e. Biblical locality). These writings were recorded in the "Overcomer" magazine.

(12) Kingdom reality (and global prayer effectiveness for the church). This was exhibited in the Welsh Revival. In 1901-2 a great stirring broke out through the instrumentality of Evan Roberts. That revival surpasses all in the past history of the Church. None compared to it. He was not a good preacher, but Jessie-Penn Lewis taught him English as well as by J.C. Williams. Through his education many were saved through Evan Roberts. He was not an eloquent man, yet his impact was magnificent. When he spoke something real always came out. The Boxer Rebellion that killed tens of thousands of saints, increased global prayer. Quite notably Evan Roberts stood out in this regard in helping bring about this prayer. Many were sent to this oppressed land through such global prayers. Kingdom reality is a geographical occupation of the land, wherein a greater percentage of the population is Christian. God wishes His kingdom to come on earth,

"Thy kingdom come. Thy will be [B]done in earth, as [it is] in heaven...But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matt. 6.10,33).

(13) Spiritual warfare. Still today the most authoritative book on spiritual warfare is Jessie Penn-Lewis's book The War on the Saints, which was co-authored by Evan Roberts. Through this book, spiritual warfare was released to the church by the dividing of spirit, soul and body (Heb. 4.12; 1 Thess. 5.23). Such light had not been seen for almost 2000 years in Ephesians 6 for since then believers had failed to experience these truths to this extent.

(14) Women Elders (http://www3.telus.net/trbrooks/womenelders.htm). Through church history, women have not commonly been thought of as being elders, though Paul never said women could not be elders of a meeting place or a Biblical locality. How sad that would be if that were true, that not even one women on the whole planet could be an Apostle for a region, an Elder of a locality or an Elder of a meeting place. Rather, what Paul taught was that women are emotional which can affect judgment. But, this past century women have taken on greater responsibility, to vote and to take on any position in government. This reflects not a recovery of women as Elders in the Church, but women coming into a place of responsibility as they mature and overcome in Christ. We already know of an example in Scripture where a woman was an Apostle ("Junia", Romans 16.15), but due to society and tradition, there were no noted women Elders in the first century, though I am certain there were some as Paul did not say there could not be any. God speaks according to the times. For example, God would never again send an Abraham's son to be sacrificed (such sacrifices were the norm in the world), nor would God teach that men could divorce for no reason at all (due to the fact staying in the marriage would actually make the situation worse). Praise the Lord, what has occurred in the past century in the Church, more women elders, has brought about positive changes directly because Christian women walk more by the principle of their spirits' intuitive conscience in communion with God, and not by oscillating emotion! Many fleshly Christians still want to live under the RCC or other male-centric systems, but such an attitude is not permitted in the leading move of the Church today. Let us never forget, "So God created man in his [own] image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them" (Gen. 1.26). Men who conveniently want to subjugate women in the Church will have no part in Revival for the truth in the Church.

(15) Unity of the church (the Brethren taught this) in oneness (which reveals and shows the church is in ruin today), or the body life (i.e. Biblical locality). Hence, the name of this forum: Biblocality (http://www3.telus.net/trbrooks/biblocality.htm) Christian Forums. The apostles are commissioned by God directly on how to set up the churches (http://www3.telus.net/trbrooks/churchsetup.htm) by appointing elders to take care of Biblical localities. This has been forgotten since the first church period of Ephesus, when this first love began to be lost. This call today for the Church was raised up by Watchman Nee (1901-1972). Before Christ can return, the body life must be in place where the churches are founded on the apostles and the prophets, to not divide the Church any other way. What has happened in the past century regarding Biblical locality?

(a) Watchman Nee (http://www3.telus.net/trbrooks/WNwho.htm) (CFP, CLC; not LSM) raised up this truth.
(b) The number of apostles abiding in this truth were 400 in China during the first half of the 20th century, but it dropped to 200 apostles in Nee's day.
(c) Nee was martyred in jail the last 20 years of his life. Are you going to stand up with me to reclaim Biblical locality?
(d) The little flock (some in the Church) with God's directly commissioned apostles remained in this truth through the ensuing decades.
(e) Satan entered to squash this work of God. Satan entered the heart of a "tare" (a man) during the 50's and 60's to counterfeit Biblical locality. This facsimile (LSM) and replicatory effort did much damage to the Church to keep it in ruin.
(f) The little flock with their Biblical apostles separated themselves from the deception and person in (e). That deception was several false teachings and a central-hub to Biblical locality. This is wrong, since in the Bible we see the Church has no hierarchy beyond the regional work of apostles.
(g) There has been a stalemate ever since then; the Church, which had a leading movement within of the little flock, as a whole does not want to move forward but remains divided. This is why it is so vital to establish twelve in agreement to reclaim the first love that was lost.
(h) The moderators of this forum have read about these things and testify they are true by the Holy Spirit.
(i) We now wait for twelve apostles to come together on this basis, to ask questions of apostles to be sure of their authority in the Ministry of the Work in agreement for all apostles to agree to because they are directly commissioned by God, and therefore, would agree.
(j) Prophecy: when the twelve regional apostles come together in agreement, this foundation, will cause them to go forth to set the example, for other regional apostles to appoint elders to take care of Biblical localities, using the Meeting Place Finder.
(k) Once many meeting places begin in earnest, the Meeting Place Finder can be placed on any website. The meeting places in it will be exactly the same no matter what website the Finder is on. The purpose of Biblocality Forums is to facilitate through the 12 apostles the questionnaire for themselves and apostles to follow for proper authority and submission in the Church. Under no circumstances is there to be advertising. The apostles must abide in "voluntary poverty," and the Meeting Place Finder is never to be anything more than a meeting place finder (that is, it must be without a central-hub - even databases should be maintained regionally by the apostles - just as the regional work of apostles do not exceed their regional scope, and Biblical localities do not have jurisdiction over other localities).
May the Lord of harvest fill the lack to replace the "needed (http://www3.telus.net/trbrooks/12informalapostles.htm)" to "are sent forth"!

[Churchwork]

The Needs of the Workers

Before we look at the needs of the workers, let us mention first this matter of offerings. A Christian’s offering is not just for the sake of supporting workers as individual believers but is for the reason of supplying the needs of those who work for the Lord. In other words, it is not because a certain person is a worker that he is therefore being supported. He is supported because he serves the Lord. He as an individual person is one thing, and he who is in the work is another. So long as he works for the Lord, he deserves to be supported. The issue lies not in whether or not he is financially well, but rather whether he is working for the Lord. He who works for the Lord is worthy to be supported. It is similar to the matter of paying a taxi driver, wherein we would never ask whether he is poor or rich. His poverty or abundance has nothing to do with it. It is simply that for his labor he must quite naturally receive his wages. Nobody can say that because a certain worker has money he therefore need not be supported. Not so. Once there was someone who was thinking of giving an offering to brother Bright, a co-worker of Dr. Scofield; but then he heard a person beside him say that the Lord could supply brother Bright’s need. With the result that he withdrew his offering and left brother Bright in want. Let us see that the offering of a believer is not decided on the basis of the poverty of the worker. If support is given on the basis of poverty, such support is not an offering but is an expression of alms giving.

To present an offering is the least a person who has received grace must do. Without this, he is useless before God. His having received grace ought to produce the result of offering up all he has to the Lord. It is quite irregular for the one who has received grace to withhold offering. This is because as one’s heart is touched by God that one’s purse will decidedly be offered up. How can a person’s heart be touched by God and yet his possessions not be touched? Offering is the clear evidence that our all has been touched by God, and thus there will be love flowing out from us. A person who fails to offer has no outflow of love.

In this world today there are only two gods: the one is Mammon (riches, wealth, possessions, etc.), and the other is the true God. If we do not love God, we must love Mammon. But when we love God, our heart is expanded and we just give. We have a believer in our midst who for twenty years met in a certain church without ever greeting anybody. But then he commenced giving an offering, and immediately his entire being was transformed. Formerly I dared not speak or report on the matter of offerings, but now I have turned myself around on this issue because I realize that this matter of offering up of our substance is a way to receive more grace. The more a person offers up, the more fully he receives of God’s grace. And what I have said here today to you workers I say to all local churches.

Now let us see how offerings ought to be managed locally. Out of the offerings received by the assembly, a portion should be taken to support workers—both those locally and those abroad. This is for the purpose of expressing fellowship. In Philippians 4 we read how Paul commended the grace the Philippians believers had exhibited in their conduct. For they had continuously had fellowship with the apostle in their financial gift-giving. The situation of the Corinthian believers, though, was just the opposite. Because a problem existed between them and Paul in fellowship, Paul would rather do what he felt compelled to write in 2 Corinthians 11.8 ("I robbed other churches, taking wages of them") rather than be a burden to the Corinthian believers. And why? Because fellowship between them was a problem. But where there is fellowship—as in the case of Paul with the Philippians—there is offering.

Thank God, the brethren in some localities have received grace in this matter. You workers abroad, please do not misconstrue that the assembly in one of these localities is so rich that it always sends out gifts. The reason why it is able to send out gifts is because the workers in that particular locality receive less local support. This constitutes the grace of the assembly.

Offerings can be given by contacting the Apostle for your region of churches or the Elder of your locality, and they can forward the gift onto the worker you wish to give the gift to.


The Way a Worker Manages Finance

(1) A worker should not let people know that he is poor. For a worker lives by faith, not by philanthropy. It is a shameful thing to let people know about his poverty in order to receive supply. A worker must possess a proper attitude in receiving supplies. He represents God in receiving offerings from a brother. He stands on God’s side, and therefore he must not give people a deplorable feeling. When Paul mentioned this matter of finance, the impression he gave was honorable and decent. Such is the right attitude each and every worker must have.

(2) Among the workers themselves, whenever there is a surplus in supply, it needs to be distributed. Do not by this action be afraid of being misunderstood as rich and wealthy. Then, too, for your personal family livelihood, some short-term savings is a principle agreeable to the word of God. The Book of Proverbs contains such teaching and exhorts us to do so.

(3) The spending of money should be planned. Many tend to buy unnecessary things when they have excess funds. Such behavior will hinder God’s giving. The use of money should be planned according to a budget. The things to be purchased need to be well considered before God. Do not buy carelessly, and do not spend wastefully.

(4) A worker must not fall into debt. A servant of God would rather die than ask for money. If he does not have the faith for his livelihood, then he should seek some other "employment" by which to support himself. If he has faith in God to sustain his living, he will not stretch forth his hand towards man.


The Principle of Manna

Today Gods wants us to live according to the manna principle, which is this: "he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack" (Ex. 16.18). This is not just the record of the Old Testament. The New Testament, too, teaches this principle (2 Cor. 8.15). Much or little is equally wrong. If in an assembly some brothers have no means to maintain their living, either the church there or some individuals should help them. The local church cannot look upon the plight of unemployed brethren without its helping them the best way it can. This does not, of course, include those who refuse to work. People who are unwilling to work should not be helped; only those who are willing to work ought to be assisted.

Furthermore, to those brothers who work but earn less than is sufficient for their livelihood, the local church must also render help. In the early Church, this principle was observed by the apostles.

As regards the order of rendering help and assistance, the local assembly must first take care of the brothers and sisters within the local church, and then help the poor outside. If a believer has near relatives who need help, he should help them first before he helps other people.

Do not offer aid casually without careful consideration. A person who is naturally "hand loose" in his giving is not blessed because he gives more. For he who would be "hand loose" is also carelessly loose in other things of God. We need to learn to be responsible offerers and not "hand loosers."

A believer’s offering of assistance does not end with his giving out funds. He must in addition live a proper life before God so that his giving will be blessed. Thank God, not all are Lazarus, and not all are the rich man. What God wants is neither a Lazarus nor a rich man, but the offerings of those who live worthily before Him. The flesh commits either one of two sins before the Lord—either exercising "severity to the body" as Paul spoke of in Colossians 2.23, or else exercising overindulgence to the body. What God ordains is neither severity nor indulgence to the body but the living of a godly life before Him. Any surplus funds should be freely distributed.

http://biblocality.com/forums/images/misc/progress.gif

[Churchwork]

Priestly Ministry


Concerning priestly ministry, I believe the first thing to do is to set forth the basic underlying principle, which is, that all God’s children are priests and all should therefore serve God. If we are governed by this principle, we shall see how to help all the brothers and sisters to function as priests in their local assemblies. In other words, we shall seek how to arrange spiritual activities so that the entire body of believers—both beginners and those who have trusted the Lord for a number of years—may participate. We will now spend a little time together finding out what are the various spiritual endeavors in a local assembly the brothers and sisters can all take part in.


Several Spiritual Activities All Believers Should Do

A few things to begin with which all the local brothers and sisters can participate in are the following:

(1) Preach the gospel.

(2) Visit those who profess to have received the gospel they have heard, and lead them into the right path of being Christians.

(3) Visit new Christians. They have believed, and have been led into the right path; now they need to be helped to go on.

(4) Take care of special needs. In the church there are many such needs. Some have family problems, some are sick. Some experience distress, some have funerals, and some have weddings. All these should have the help of the church. We may put all such activities under the general heading of "care visitation." This is a kind of work in which all the brothers and sisters can be involved.

(5) Care for saints who go abroad or come from abroad. I look upon this kind of service as being a very important one. For after we issue letters of recommendation to brothers and sisters who go to other localities, we still need to look after them. And with regard to people who come from outside, we must provide them special care as well.

Let us take up each of these various works one at a time.

(1) Preaching the gospel. Let us notice that among the ministers of God’s word whom the Lord sets up in the Church is the evangelist (Eph. 4.11). But Paul exhorts Timothy to "do the work of an evangelist" (2 Tim. 4.5). By comparing these two passages, we shall see that some people are called by God to be evangelists whereas some may not be evangelists and yet they are to do the work of an evangelist. In other words, the evangelist must preach the gospel, but whoever is not an evangelist should nevertheless do the work of an evangelist. An evangelist is a special "gift-person" from God given to the Church. If God calls you to be an evangelist, you should preach the gospel with singleness of heart and bring people to the Church. If God has not appointed you as an evangelist, you and all God’s other children should nonetheless "do the work of an evangelist"—even as the word of the Lord has indicated.

To put it another way, "the work of an evangelist" is to be done by those who cannot do it as well as by those who can. This work must be carried on universally. Young people like Timothy should do it. Everybody else should do it.

For this reason, encourage the entire assembly of brothers and sisters to spend time in doing the work of an evangelist. We should never be lazy and forget the sinners, nor should we simply let a few carry on this work alone. Let all the brothers and sisters be reminded that they all are priests and all must therefore serve God.

(2) Gospel care. This is also what we ought to do before God. We expect all the brothers and sisters to learn responsibility in this area too.

This responsibility starts with bringing unbelievers to the meeting and does not cease until they are baptized. The work of gospel visitation includes bringing people from home, school, hospital or office to the meeting, and looking after them until they know the Lord themselves and are baptized.


Bring People to Gospel Meeting

Have the brothers and sisters bring people to gospel meetings. Do not have them bring too many at one time. Though it is good to bring more, yet in order to take care of them properly it is better that only three or four persons be brought each time. This is not a rule, but probably four is a good maximum number. This does not mean that if there is opportunity to bring more, people cannot bring them. In case they wish to bring more, have them seek out the responsible brothers and ask them to arrange some other brothers and sisters to share their responsibility.


Sit with Them

Let us discuss how we should take care of the friends in a gospel meeting. If you bring four people, seat two of them on each of your two sides. When the Bible is read, find the place in the Scriptures for them. When singing, find the hymn for them also. Do not treat them as geniuses. Since they may never have sung hymns or read the Bible before, you must help them.

During the preaching, if someone does not understand, explain it in a whisper. When G. Paget Wilkes was preaching in Shanghai, he told the following joke. An Englishman went to Japan and preached the gospel in a large public auditorium. Many people were there that day. At one point the English preacher said to his audience, "You all know, of course, how the children of Israel came out of Egypt." Paget Wilkes hurriedly went up to him and whispered that he might have to spend two hours to explain to the people who these Israelites were and what the exodus was all about! From this story we should realize that there are many things our unbelieving friends may not understand. Although we cannot spend two hours as humorously suggested by Paget Wilkes to explain, we may at least use two or three sentences to do so.


Strengthen and Help the Preaching with Prayer

The greatest work any of the brethren can do is to support the gospel preaching. For the preaching of the gospel is not for believers to hear or to criticize. It is aimed at the sinners. So that while you sit by the people you have invited, and as you sense that certain words spoken carry a great impact, or that the spirit of the preacher is being released, you should silently pray, saying something like the following: "O Lord, send this word into people’s hearts. Use this word to save this person. Lord, use this word to save even these two people." Thus you add weight to the word preached with such prayer. And you also pray for the people in your care.


Accept Seating Arrangement

Some who have not brought anyone to the gospel meeting may help by taking care of those who have brought more. It will be good if all the brothers and sisters sit either on one side or at the back, or stand near the door so that the brothers in charge of care that day may make the necessary arrangements. The friends from outside who attend need to be escorted. They are coming to hear the gospel, hence we can keep them company. Even if they are not brought in by you, you can still be one of those who sit with them. Gospel care is therefore twofold in nature: one is to bring people in, the other is to take care of them in the meeting. We who are responsible for the management of the church must so work until all the brothers and sisters are serving in the assembly.


At Time of Drawing Net

At each gospel meeting, there should be "the drawing of the net" so to speak. To cast a net is one thing, to draw a net is another. When the gospel net begins to be drawn in either by asking people to raise their hands or to accept the Lord, brothers and sisters need to join in and help. The ways of drawing in the net are varied. There is much liberty as to the ways, so long as the net is eventually drawn. At that time, there are many things one can do. Some hitherto unconverted ones need a little nudging and then they will come in. Others need to be pushed and then they fall in. Brethren should pray on the one hand and persuade on the other. If you know for sure that your friend’s refusal to stand up is due to pride, then you should exhort him to humble himself. Or if you know it is the love of the world that hinders him from standing up, you can plead with him by saying, "Why do you still long for the world? Why will you wait until the next time? If you feel you are ready, do not wait".


Do Not Wait Till Four Months Later

One matter which is of great importance in the preaching of the gospel is this: do not wait till four months later. Many people involved in gospel preaching have the wrong concept of waiting four months; but the Lord Jesus declares this to us: "Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh the harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields, that they are white already unto harvest" (John 4.35). How very strange is the Lord’s answer here. We need to see that the harvest of the gospel far exceeds human expectation. Do not be so foolish as to imagine that there must necessarily be four months until harvest once the seed is sown. The Lord Jesus views it differently here, for He says that whenever you sow, you may harvest immediately! There is no such "four months’ principle" in His thinking!

Some people may appear to be totally ignorant. Yet keep in mind that whether their understanding is opened or not does not depend on you but on the enlightening of the Holy Spirit. I know of at least a few brothers who pretended to believe but who nonetheless ended up being really saved. We therefore must encourage them in season and out.


After the Meeting

After the meeting is over, brethren can stay with their friends, praying with them and conversing with them. Bring them to the Lord, lead them in prayer, and help them to accept Christ. Then you can obtain from them their names and addresses. Be sure the address is correct, since this will save the time of those who do gospel visitation. If possible, ask them when they will be free and what will be the most convenient time to visit them. Write all this information down quickly lest they get bored. Then give the record to the responsible brothers as reference for future visitation.


Instill Need and Knowledge

Some people accept Christ out of felt needs, but they do not have any gospel knowledge. Other people have gospel knowledge but they do not sense need. Still others have both need and knowledge, yet they cannot make a decision at once. All these people must be helped. Create need for those who feel no need, supply knowledge to those who have no knowledge, and help the hesitant ones in making a decision.


Tell Them of Baptism

After people have been brought clearly to the Lord, they should be informed immediately of baptism. Look after them, seek them out many times until they are brought to the place where they are ready to be baptized.


Before Meeting Begins

Another thing to be added here is that sometimes it may be embarrassing for people in a gospel meeting. For example, long before the gospel meeting has ever started people may already be sitting there. Some of them may come as much as an hour early. I can assure you that there are two places where time seems unbearably long: one is in hell, the other is in the church. For the one who goes to hell, he finds time intolerably long there. But to the unsaved who come to church, he too feels that time is terribly long. If these people come early and the gospel is not being preached yet, they may go away or they may sit there wondering what it is all about. At times I have a deep feeling inside me as I have looked out at the faces of the people sitting there waiting: they have always appeared to me to be like sheep without a shepherd. They surely need to be taken care of before the meeting starts.

One of the ways they can be taken care of is to not let the unbelievers sit together. Instead, try to arrange at the beginning to have one or two believers sitting on either side of them. All who participate in such work must be fully equipped with tracts, gospel messages, and a Bible. If because of our neglect these unbelievers just sit there unattended, even the most enthusiastic among them will turn cold.


All Function As Priests

None of the work already described can at all be accomplished without the entire body of believers participating in it. Show the brethren they all are priests, and that accordingly everyone has something to do. This will make the gospel meeting strong, for this will be the entire church preaching the gospel rather than just the few. Unless all are involved, where is the church?


As Many As Are Priests

Let me underscore what we have said before, that as many as are the people who serve, so that many are the people in the church—as many as are priests, so that many are the people of God. Do not invert the order and say that as many as are the people of God so that many are priests. That is the wrong order. It should instead be: as many there are who serve, so just that many are the people of God.


Functionless Members

When I was in England, a brother once said to me: "Many in the body are functioning members, but many others are functionless members." To this I replied, "According to the Bible, all are functioning members, there is none functionless. If there is any who is functionless, that one probably is the appendix." My response caused that brother to laugh. But is it not true that in the thinking of many brethren some members in the body of Christ have functions while some other members have no function at all? But may I ask this, Where in the physical body is there a functionless member? Where can you find any? Let me answer that in the whole body, the only functionless member to be found is probably the appendix. Can it be that in the spiritual body the appendix happens to be you? Let me remind you that all members have functions. And so it follows that as many as are functioning members, that many are the members in the body of Christ.


We Are a Priesthood

Let us correct our thinking here. Today we must see that service pertains to the whole church. It is the church preaching the gospel and not just a few brethren. Priesthood includes all the brothers and sisters. As many brethren as are serving, just that many are there who are brethren in the church. Let it be that the number of those who serve determines the number of brethren who are in the church. We cannot let it be that only a few serve among five thousand brethren or even among just a thousand brethren. We cannot allow any non-functioning members. All are members of the body of Christ; and therefore each of the brethren must be reminded that he or she has his or her function; none can be functionless. This fundamental principle must be seen and maintained. Otherwise, this work that we are about is not New Testament work. It is but a modified form of Catholicism—a system of limited priesthood. Since all are priests, we all belong to the priesthood.

(3) Care for the beginners.


Meeting for Beginners

After a person has believed and been baptized, he should be brought into a series of meetings for beginners. In such meetings, a special subject involving one single aspect of basic truth and conduct will be presented every week.


Help and Care

After a person starts to come to the beginners meetings, he should be assigned a more advanced brother to take care of him. How will that brother take care of him? By helping him to enter into every subject lesson experientially.

In case of absence, the advanced brother should go and give him the lesson(s) he missed. Whenever he attends the beginners meeting, the advanced one should find out afterwards if he understands what has been taught. On this point, let me share my feeling with you workers, especially with those of you who are ministers of God’s word. I think we all have had that painful, shameful, and even indignant experience of having preached a rather deep message in a meeting, but later as you made contact with the brethren you discovered that your message had been like the wind which blows over the roof—it did not touch the ears of the audience. If you do not believe this is true, then you should try to encourage them to ask questions after you have finished speaking. I have often observed that asking questions reflects the condition of the hearer, while giving a message reflects the condition of the preacher. How frequently it is that when a most spiritual message has been given it has fallen a thousand miles distant from the mind of the hearers.
For this reason, do not assume that people understand what they hear. These beginners must be visited and helped until they clearly understand these words.


Beginners to Look After Unbelievers

All the beginners should be engaged in looking after unbelievers. Put a few stronger saints in their midst to help them do the work. Show them that since they have believed in the Lord, they are now priests of God, and all priests are to serve. How well these beginners shall serve will depend on how well they are helped.


Be a Foreman

Today it is no longer the workers who go out to work, it is instead the workers who help others to work. If the worker always does the work, he can never finish the work. I repeat, if you go out to work, if you yourself only work, you are a failure. Paul not only works with his hands, he also is a foreman. Learn to work and learn to be a foreman. Learn to train other brothers and sisters to work.

(4) Care for special needs. In this regard do not have too many brothers and sisters involved. In gospel work, in gospel care, in care for beginners—almost all the brethren should be mobilized. But caring for special needs is a different matter. It should be done by a few brothers and sisters who carry spiritual weight before the Lord.

When a brother encounters difficulty, let him be helped by these few. In case of joy or sorrow, again let these few help and pray with such ones. Or if there is a family problem, let these few pray and comfort them. Or if there is need for relief, let it be done through these few brothers and sisters.
As soon as brothers and sisters hear of anything of this nature, notify those who are responsible for special needs. They will distribute money to the poor, send food to the hungry, give clothes to the naked, render comfort to the troubled. They will visit prisons, pray for the sick, and help solve problems for the family.


A Foolish Concept

I do not know when this foolish concept commenced, but many seem to have the thought that the church ought not to have any problems. But do not forget that from the time of the early apostles the Church of God has encountered many difficulties. Do not fancy such difficulties as being abnormal for the local church. The Church since the apostolic days has been marked by many, not a few, tight situations.

Let us recall that not long after the day of Pentecost, there occurred the affair of Ananias and Sapphira. This was followed closely by the matter regarding the Hellenistic widows. Not many days after that, Stephen was martyred; and then Peter was jailed. Such problems have continued on without ceasing. So that from ancient times till now, the history of the Church has been full of obstacles and problems.

In this regard, we need to look more closely at the seven Asian churches mentioned in Revelation: five of these local churches were corrupted and seemed to have no difficulty; yet one of them received no reprimand—even the church in Smyrna, but it was a suffering, "martyr" church; and there was one church among them that was praised by God—Philadelphia; but interestingly, the Lord said to it, "Thou didst keep the word of my patience" (Rev. 3.10). That is the word of the Lord the Church of God is always to keep—not the word of success, but the word of patience and "steadfastness" (margin). A local church must pass through many difficult times requiring patience in the face of many problems and hardships. Only a worldly church will meet with less hardship. A true church will encounter many problems and some defeats.

So never say if a local church is always peaceful and uneventful that that is the sole evidence of the blessing of the Lord. What usually happens is that it is blessed on the one hand and encounters difficulties on the other. A church may undergo many hardships, yet still have the Lord’s blessing.

(5) Care for those who move and for the brethren from abroad. When a brother has departed for another locality, the writing of a letter of recommendation on his behalf is not the last responsibility of the church. At the very least, there should be some people responsible for corresponding with him to keep him informed on the condition of the local assembly as well as to supply him with the gist of the messages spoken during his absence. For quite a long period of time I felt ashamed and as though I had sinned, as I thought of the many brothers and sisters who over the past five years had gone to other places without anyone having corresponded with them. We could not and did not know how they had fared.

Let us today see that whenever a brother or sister goes out from us, there should be one or several of the brethren taking up responsibility to do some correspondence: a letter a week or a letter every other week or at least a letter a month. In that letter inform the brother or sister of the condition of the church and of the other brothers and sisters. If we send out ten letters of recommendation today, we must find two or three people to take up the responsibility of corresponding with those ten or so who go out. No matter how busy we are, we must correspond; for this is a service unto the Lord. And in writing such letters, they should not be just chit-chat, but a summary of the spiritual condition of the church. And in so doing, we will be blessed by God, and all the brethren who go out may perhaps stand even more firmly in the Lord.

Another thing which can be done is to send to them the gist of any special message given during the week. It is not necessary to relay the whole message but simply give the central thought. Nor is it needful to record all the messages spoken during the month but to share merely the essential points. This will at least supply the needs of the absentees. Some may have gone to places where they have no fellowship or perhaps they are lonely and in precarious situations. Except they are kept by God, they have no way to grow. How can they grow if they receive no supply? Therefore, such sharing of the principal thoughts of messages will help stabilize the spiritual condition of these brethren.



Write to Local Assembly As Follow-Up

I often consider the writing of a letter of recommendation as not being the last thing for us to do. So far as the church is concerned, after a month or two a letter should be written to that local assembly where the brother or sister goes, making an inquiry about him or her and asking for a reply. In the letter, such questions as the following should be included: What is the current spiritual condition of that particular brother or sister? How do you help him or her to grow? How do you take care of the person? Let me say that the lazy church will find itself unable to answer such questions as these. Frequently people are lazy, and sometimes churches may be lazy too. Laziness is what we are fearful of. Let me say, in addition, however, that such letters as the above will awaken some of the churches from their laziness, for they must answer them.


Take Care of Brethren Coming from Outside

Brethren from abroad need to be taken care of too. I hope there will be many people in the assembly serving in this area, for this also is to be included in the various priestly functions of the church.

Let those who are responsible for taking care of the absentees take care of the brethren from abroad as well. And why? Because they read the reply letters from other assemblies, and this thus enables them to know the problems of those who have gone out from those same assemblies. It is therefore most convenient for them to take care of the brethren from abroad.

Such care does not need to be prolonged beyond two or three months since by that time these brethren from abroad will have now become local brethren. As local brothers and sisters, they should by that time have begun to fulfill their local functions.

I wonder if you have now seen what is the ministry of the church? The local church is to serve in all of these areas. These five areas which we have just discussed pertain to the spiritual side of the church. There are many other miscellaneous things which can be added to this list, but these that have been mentioned already are only meant to serve as a suggestive outline, but even these few need to be done well.


THE WAY OF SERVICE
Rather Not Have Sunday Morning Preaching

I do not know if you have ever thought about what I am going to say next, but I would like to have a heart-to-heart talk with you all. Are you able to see that perhaps the Protestant churches currently put too great an emphasis on Sunday preaching? I for one consider this emphasis as contributing to today’s problem. I hope you will think very carefully on whether you would like to maintain such Sunday preaching. I myself would rather have no Sunday preaching if I could witness the fact of every brother and sister busily serving: if I could see everybody involved at the time when the gospel is preached; if I could see everyone engaged in gospel care, if I could see everyone taking part in harvesting, and after harvesting, everyone participating in gospel visitation; and if I could see that the various kinds of needs were being met by brothers and sisters assuming their responsibilities to meet them. This that I have just described is the church. Let me illustrate it in this way. Suppose in a certain locality, the Sunday preaching is very strong but not all the body is serving. That is Protestantism. If only four or five brothers are active there and the rest of the body is passive, that is the priestly system of the Roman Catholic Church or the pastoral system of the Protestant churches. It is certainly not the church as God would have it.


No Non-functioning Member

Our future lies in the whole church serving. I hope all the brethren will pay special attention to this rule. Although this vision may easily be forgotten because of much activity, we must put it before ourselves each time we go out to work. With vision we can work. Without vision we cannot work. Brothers and sisters must rise up and serve. We need not be anxious about the greatness of outward difficulties or the amount of people’s resistance. The real issue lies in whether we have truly seen the way of service. If we are clear, let us focus our entire strength on it. And never mind the number of people, as long as all of them serve; for it is bewildering if in an assembly of, say, two thousand people, only five hundred serve and the rest do not. Let us see that if there are five hundred brethren in a local church, all five hundred of them must serve. (The Church and the Work: Church Affairs, Volume III, CFP white covers, 37-52, by Watchman Nee.)

[Churchwork]

The Relationship and Position of a Worker to the Local Assembly

According to the Scriptures an assembly should have three kinds of people: (1) those who believe in the Lord are basic to an assembly. Each and every assembly must at least have this kind of people; (2) those who serve in physical things. Theirs is mainly the mundane works such as managing various affairs for the brothers and sisters, together with assisting in the managing of church affairs. This group of people is called "deacons" in the Bible, and include both male and female; and (3) there are several brothers whose work is to be responsible for all the major matters of the assembly such as leading the meeting, deciding on issues, caring for the brethren, and dealing with the outside. This group of people is called "elders" in the Bible.

All three kinds of people should be present in an assembly. Here we include no worker because he has no special position in the local church. Since a worker is not someone special in the assembly, he must belong to one of the three kinds of people just now mentioned. He does not form a fourth kind of person in the local church.

The relationship among these three kinds of people may be illustrated as follows: Suppose the brethren in a certain locality need to build a meeting place. At the beginning the elders would make the decision on the matter. Then they would notify the brethren and designate various responsibilities to the deacons, who in turn would invite brothers and sisters with related professions to proceed with the job. At the most, the worker might contribute his part to the project; he could never control the whole work. He differs from the other believers only in his being able to bear more of a load. Such is the relationship between the worker and the local church.

As regards the position of what we today call "workers," it is no different from that of the apostles in the early days. They indeed have the work of the apostles today, but they do not have the authority of the apostles. Nonetheless, if a worker receives a special burden or commission from God, the local church should show its sympathy and support the work. We cannot find in the Bible any instance in which the local assembly disapproved of the burden of the apostle or in which the local church controlled the work of the apostle. The work of God would suffer greatly if such were ever the case.


The Relationship between the Older and the Younger Workers

What is the nature of the relationship between the older and younger workers? According to the Scriptures, the latecomers should submit to the early comers: "the younger be subject unto the elder" (1 Peter 5.5). It is quite evident that Paul led Silas, Timothy, Titus and others. The latter clearly accepted the leading of Paul and also submitted to him.

Today two types of situations are found in the denominations. One extreme is that a worker is totally controlled and bound by the people above him. All decisions are made by human will. The other extreme is that with the so-called free-lance evangelists, they move independently and alone, eating their own food and preaching their own gospel, and are under the control and restraint of no one. Neither of these two kinds of people really knows the way of the Lord. For the first kind puts sovereignty into the hands of men. They do not recognize the Lord. The second kind of people holds sovereignty in their own hands and likewise fail to acknowledge the Lord. To place full sovereignty into the hands of the Lord alone, we must break away from both extremes. A worker must not be controlled financially by man nor can he surrender the authority of the Lord to other people.

Acts 8 tells us that Peter and John were sent by the Jerusalem church to preach in Samaria. Their footsteps were constrained by the local church. A worker is one who is under restraint. Many misconstrue a spiritual man to be one without restraint.

As regards the fulfillment of young people, the Bible does not bear any evidence of having offered or promoted the establishment of a theological seminary. Although we find in the Old Testament that some did set up a school for prophets, the fact of the matter is that no recognizable prophet had ever been produced by that school. Studying theology does not make one a worker. The training of a worker comes by way of the path of following and of obedience.

Timothy and Silas followed Paul. The Scriptures provide us with a system of apprenticeship, not a system of scholarship. Unless a young worker learns well in the area of obedience he is not able to learn well in any other area. This is of tremendous importance. Before a young worker becomes useful he must be pressed under the hand of God. Each one who has ever been used of God has gone through strict discipline. This you can readily see, for example, in Paul’s letters to Timothy. How very strict were Paul’s instructions to this young worker. He was neither casual nor indulgent towards Timothy.

[AlwaysLoved]

Apostles, since they are first, are included with these workers with spiritual abilities in 1 Cor. 12.28, but apostles don't have an apostolic gift, since no such thing exists.

"And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, divers kinds of tongues" (1 Cor. 12.28).


Ministry and Gift

Apostles belong to the Ministry, but they are quite different from the prophets, evangelists and teachers, because unlike these three, it is not their gifts that determine their office; i.e. they are not constituted apostles by receiving an apostolic gift.

It is important to note that apostleship is an office, not a gift. An office is what one receives as the result of a commission: a gift is what one receives on the basis of grace. "I was appointed . . . an apostle" (1 Tim. 2.7). "I was appointed . . . an apostle" (2 Tim. 1.11). We see here that apostles are commissioned. Being an apostle, therefore, is not something which is subject to receiving an apostolic gift but is that which is subject to receiving an apostolic commission.

What is the difference between office and gift? Whatever is commissioned is office and whatever speaks of enabling is gift. Natural gifts are what we naturally possess, whilst spiritual gifts are what we possess through the Holy Spirit. Office is the result of commission. Apostleship is an office. This is clearly told of in both First and Second Timothy.

It is not that an apostle is not gifted, but that his giftings, whatever they may be, are not the reason for his being an apostle. She or he is an apostle because of the direct commission from God and is not based on ability or gifts.


The Personal Gift of the Apostle

Who are the apostles, then? Apostles are those gifted persons whom God has chosen to be His fitted vessels by sending them out to preach the Word and to build up the Church. They are those gifted ones who have received a special office, they being appointed by God to travel around for the work of the Ministry. Although apostleship is an office, the apostles without doubt have their personal gifts.

An apostle may be a prophet or a teacher. Should he exercise his gift of prophecy or teaching in the local church, he does so in the capacity of a prophet or a teacher; but when he exercises his gifts in different places, he does so in the capacity of an apostle. The implication of apostleship is being sent by God to exercise gifts of ministry in different places. It is immaterial to his office what personal gift an apostle has, but it is essential to his office that he be sent of God. An apostle can exercise his spiritual gifts in any place, but he cannot exercise his apostolic gifts, because an apostle is such by office, not by gift.

Nevertheless, apostles do have personal gifts for their ministry. "Now there were at Antioch, in the church that was there, prophets and teachers, Barnabas, and Symeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen the foster-brother of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. And as they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them" (Acts 13.1-2). These five men all had the gifts of prophecy and teaching—a miraculous gift and a gift of grace.

From that company of five two were sent by the Spirit to other parts, and three were left at Antioch. The two sent out were thereafter called apostles. They received no apostolic gift, but they did receive an apostolic commission. It was their gifts that qualified them to be prophets and teachers, but it was their commission that qualified them to be apostles. The three who remained in Antioch were still prophets and teachers, not apostles, simply because they had not been sent out by the Spirit; the two became apostles, not because they had received any gift in addition to the gift of prophecy and teaching, but because they additionally received an office as a result of their commission. The gifts of all five were just the same, but the two received a Divine commission in addition to their gifts, and that qualified them for apostolic ministry.

In the beginning, the Lord Jesus called twelve disciples to Himself and gave them authority to cast out unclean spirits and to heal all manner of disease. Then the Scriptures follow this up by saying that this same group of men, now sent forth by the Lord, were called apostles (Matt. 10.1,2,5). The gift they received was a miraculous one, but the office they received was the apostleship. It was not because they became apostles that they were given a special apostolic gift. A mathematician, for example, is skilful in mathematics, though he may not necessarily be a professor of mathematics. He will not become a professor of mathematics until he is employed by a university. To have the knowledge of mathematics is an ability, to be a professor of mathematics is a position. Gift is spiritual ability, whilst apostleship is a position. If a person has gift but is not sent forth by God, he is not an apostle, just as a mathematician is not a professor until he is engaged to be such. Accordingly, apostles are not identified as such by their having any ability but by their having a special position. A professor must have ability, but his having ability does not guarantee him a position. Paul and Barnabas had the same gifts as Lucius, Symeon and Manaen; nevertheless, they became apostles and obtained a special position because they were commissioned by God.

[JoeAdame]

Greetings!

I enjoyed reading your post. Most important, I totally agree with the points you have written.

I am looking forward to read your other posts.

God Bless!

JoeAdame

[Churchwork]

The basic idea is the body of Christ is not divided by denominations, for there are no denominations in Scripture, so don't say "I of Cephas" or "I of Apollos", nor even "I of Christ". The latter is like saying one is non-denom or a congregationalist. What is most important, the Bible always has in view the church as a city of believers, e.g. church of Ephesus in the churches of Asia Minor, church of Antioch in the churches of Syria, or church of Dallas in the churches of Texas. There are reasons for this (to prevent the flesh from extending itself past the locality as it would spread in a denom). It's an amazing revelation the Bible never violates this principle. So using googlemaps, I want to have a Meeting Place Finder on this basis, where Apostles work in those region of churches and appoint Elders of localities and identify their meeting places on the map.

"And when they had appointed for them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they had believed. But we will not glory beyond our measure, but according to the measure of the province which God apportioned to us as a measure, to reach even unto you. For this reason I left you in a region of churches, that you should set in order the things which remain, and appoint elders for every city as I directed you...without taking sides or showing special favor to anyone. Never be in a hurry about appointing an elder" (Acts 14.23, 2 Cor. 10.13, Titus 1.5, 1 Tim. 5.22).

Rev. 2.1-7: "hast tried them which say they are apostles" (v.2); commend not to seek power of "Nicolaitans" (v.6 - those who conquer the people); "thou hast left thy first love" (v.4) of Biblical locality, for this is the way it was in the first century church period of Ephesus.

The Bible gives the simplest guideline concerning the church. It is clear and unconfused. If we read the beginning verses of the epistles, the Acts, and the first chapter of Revelation, we meet such names as “the church which was in Jerusalem” (Acts 8:1), “the church of God which is at Corinth” (1 Cor. 1:2; 2 Cor. 1:1), and “the seven churches that are in Asia” (Rev. 1:4), which are the church in Ephesus, the church in Smyrna, the church in Pergamum, the church in Thyatira, the church in Sardis, the church in Philadelphia, and the church in Laodicea (Rev. 2:1, 8, 12, 18; 3:1, 7, 14). In the Bible the churches are divided, but what makes the division? One and only one rule divides the church. Anyone can see the answer, for it is crystal clear.

However, neither should the scope of the church exceed that of a locality. In reading the Bible, we find “the churches of Galatia” (Gal. 1:2), “the churches of Asia” (1 Cor. 16:19; see also Rev. 1:4), and “the churches . . . throughout all Judea” (Acts 9:31 Authorized Version). There were many churches in Judea, in Galatia, and in Asia; hence in Acts they were called the churches in Judea, in Galatians the churches in Galatia, and in Revelation the churches in Asia. Judea was originally a nation, but at that time it had become a Roman province. The various churches in the different localities of that province could not be combined to form one church, so the record in Acts terms them the churches throughout Judea. Galatia was also a Roman province, not just a city. There were a number of churches in that place too; consequently the plural of the word “church” was used to designate the churches in Galatia. These churches were not named “The Church in Galatia,” thus showing that the church should not be bigger in boundary than a locality. In the same vein, the churches in Asia were mentioned not in the singular but in the plural form. Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea were seven localities in Asia. They were not united together as one big church; rather they remained seven churches.

"Being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief corner stone" (Eph. 2.20).
“Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?" (Amos 3.3). "Have you tried them which say they are apostles" (Rev. 2.2)? We will bring together 12 Apostles, with more to follow in agreement, which God "hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation" (2 Cor. 5.18).

Peter being an Apostle for the churches of Judea, he was also an Elder for the church of Jerusalem. In speaking to "the elders [of various localities] which are among you," "a word to you who are elders in the churches. I, too, am an elder" (1 Peter 5.1). Take "care for the flock of God" (v.2) in your locality and in approving the Elders of a meeting places. The church, which is usually younger, ought to "submit yourselves unto the elder" and "accept the authority of the elders" (v.5), both Elders of a locality and Elders of meeting places. Peter said, "I plan to keep reminding you of these things...Yes, I believe I should keep reminding you of these things as long as I live...So I will work hard to make things clear to you. I want you to remember them long after I am gone" (2 Peter 1.12-15) "He is especially hard on those...who despise authority" (2.10), even the authority of the Apostles and Elders.

"Hast tried them which say they are apostles...God hath set some in the church, first apostles" (Rev. 2.2, 1 Cor. 12.28).

[Finestwheat]

Are the Apostles in Today's Church? (http://www.ntrf.org/articles/article_detail.php?PRKey=1)

Most evangelicals reject outright the idea that there could be apostles today. One reason for this is because the Twelve were personally handpicked by Jesus to represent Him. They also were instructed directly by Jesus. No one alive today meets those qualifications. Another reason that evangelicals do not believe in modern apostles lies in the unique authority vested in such men. Jesus told the Twelve, “He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me” (Mt 10:40). During the Last Supper, Jesus exclusively promised the Twelve that the Holy Spirit “will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (Jn 14:26). Accordingly, after Jesus’ ascension, the early believers devoted themselves not to what Jesus had said but rather “to the apostles’ teaching” (Ac 2:42). This was because the apostles’ teaching was identical to Jesus’ teaching.

When Paul visited the brothers in Galatia, they welcomed him “as if [he] were Christ Jesus Himself” (Ga 4:14). Indeed, the apostles consciously realized their unique authority as Jesus’ representatives. In writing to the Corinthians, Paul said, “if anybody thinks he is a prophet or spiritually gifted, let him acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord’s command” (1Co 14:37). Speaking directly to the Twelve, Jesus said, “if they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also” (Jn 15:20b). It is no wonder that few have been bold enough to claim the mantle of modern apostleship!

However, further data comes to light when one examines all the New Testament data on the apostles. Paul wrote that our resurrected Lord appeared to “the Twelve” and later to “all the apostles” (1Co 15:3-8). Are “all the apostles” different from “the Twelve”? Matthew 10:2-4 gives a listing (by name) of the “twelve apostles” and yet 1 Thessalonians 1:1 and 2:6 also refer to Paul, Silas and Timothy as “apostles.” Romans 16:7 may refer to two more apostles, Andronious and Junias. In Acts 14:14, Luke referred to Barnabas as an “apostle.” Finally, James (the Lord’s brother) certainly seems to have been grouped as an apostle in Galatians 1:18-19 and 2:9. In what sense were all these other people “apostles”?

In Scripture there were essentially two types of apostles. Foremost there were those apostles who had physically seen the resurrected Lord Jesus, who had been personally chosen by Jesus to represent Him, and who had been trained directly by Jesus (1Co 15:8-9, Ga 1:11-2:10). This first group consisted of the spiritual heavyweights. They were the norm for doctrine and practice in the early church. It was they who wrote or approved all books now in the New Testament canon of Scripture. Whereas this first type of apostle was prepared and sent out by Jesus in person, the second type of apostle was prepared and sent out by Jesus in Spirit and carried much less authority (Ac 13:1-3; 2Co 8:23; Php 2:25). Not having been trained by Jesus when He was on the earth, the second type of apostle merely studied and repeated what the first type of apostle taught (1Co 4:16-17; 1Ti 3:14-15; 2Ti 2:2; Tit 1:5). [Even so they were directly commissioned by Jesus by the Spirit.]

The word apostle in our English Bible is a transliteration of the Greek apostolos. The actual translation would be something like “envoy, ambassador, messenger, sent one.”1 The verb apostello carries the notion of “to send with a particular purpose,” thus, apostolos would mean “one commissioned” or “accredited messenger.”2 When translating the New Testament from Greek into Latin, the translators rendered apostolos with the Latin root missio (the basis for our “missionary”). Did you ever notice that the word missionary is nowhere to be found in an English Bible? Yet virtually every evangelical believes in missionaries. This is because missionary is the dynamic equivalent of apostolos. The justification for the existence of contemporary missionaries lies in the New Testament patterns of and teachings about the existence of apostles.

Thus, while there are not likely to be anymore of the first type of apostle, modern church planters certainly do correspond to the second type of apostle. That is, they have been sent out by the Holy Spirit to evangelize and to plant churches. Church planters are truly apostles in the secondary sense, and they are as much needed today as they were in the first century.

Granted that there is indeed a New Testament pattern to justify the existence of church planters today, how should our modern apostles carry out their ministries? Based on Acts 1-7, 8:12, 15:1-2 (cp. Ga 1:11, 1:18, 2:1, 2:9) and 21:17-18, it appears that most of the Twelve worked out of Jerusalem for at least seventeen years (it was their base of operations). While there, the apostles devoted their time to evangelizing the lost in Jerusalem and to teaching the saved. They also occasionally took short missionary journeys while based out of Jerusalem (Ac 8:14, 25). By the time Paul went there, however, they seem to have left (Ac 21:17-18). Only James was still present. However, looking again to the New Testament, it becomes obvious that near constant movement characterized many of the other apostles. They itinerated, preached the Gospel and organized churches. Rarely did these traveling apostles settle down permanently in one place.

Occasional training stops were made in strategic locations, but then the circuit continued. For instance, Paul spent one and a half years in Corinth (Ac 18:11), two years in Ephesus (Ac 19:8-10), and two years in Rome (Ac 28:31). He managed to resist the temptation of staying any longer. Similarly, Paul told the apostle Timothy to “stay in Ephesus so that [he] might command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer” (1Ti 1:3); but once that job was done Paul wrote for him to “do your best to get here before winter” (2Ti 4:21). Despite what is commonly supposed, Timothy was an apostle to Ephesus, not a pastor there. Another example is Titus, left in Crete to “straighten out what was left unfinished” and to “appoint elders in every town” (Tit 1:5); once this was accomplished Titus was to join Paul at Nicopolis (Tit 3:12).

What objectives did the early apostles have that motivated their travels? One was evangelism. In discussing the rights of apostles, Paul referred to apostles as “those who preach the gospel” (1Co 9:14). Similarly, Timothy was charged to “do the work of an evangelist” (2Ti 4:5). Even a cursory reading of Acts will show this to be an important function for apostles.

Another objective of those sent out by the church was to organize and strengthen the newly converted. This was partially the reason for the one or two year stays. Ephesians 4:11-13 tells us that God gave apostles “to prepare God’s people for works of service.” Paul planned a visit to Ephesus, but in case he was delayed he wrote instructions so that they would “know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household” (1Ti 3:15). Timothy’s job was to “entrust” the truth to “reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others” (2Ti 2:2).

A major difference between an elder and an apostle is that a elder’s sphere of service is concentrated in the local church, whereas an apostle’s field is universal and temporary. Once an apostle has trained and appointed elders, he moves on. From then on, it is up to the elders to teach the church and train future elders, with occasional help from apostles who pass by.

Under the Holy Spirit’s guidance, no words recorded in Scripture are accidental or without importance. All written there is for our profit. Just as we ignore New Testament patterns for ecclesiology to our peril, so also to disregard New Testament apostolic practices is unwise. The existence of mobile, traveling, itinerant church workers is a New Testament pattern. Virtually every church mentioned in the New Testament was started by apostolic teams, and continued on in relationship with these teams for years after their founding. Blood circulates all over the body, bringing in oxygen and taking away impurities. Itinerant church workers are to the new church as the blood is to the body. Their ministry is a part of God’s design for growing, healthy first generation churches. The New Testament pattern is for existing churches to support church planters who will start new congregations in unchurched areas. We still need the ministry of such men today. These modern apostles can also serve existing churches by helping ground them in sound doctrine and practice. In this sense they serve as seminary professors on wheels, training and equipping church leaders in their local settings (1Ti 1:3; 3:14-15; 4:1-6, 13; 2Ti 1:13; 2:1-2, 14; 4:1-5; Tit 1:5; 2:1-15).

Twenty-first century apostles are to be servants of the church, not lords over it. Though they will naturally have the influential authority of an elder over the churches they begin, a modern apostle is really no higher in rank than any elder. Modern apostles are not like the Twelve of old. It must be remembered that the faith was “once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). No “new” teaching is needed. No essential theology has been withheld from the church. Thus, a church planter’s teaching must be in harmony with the previous revelation from the Twelve. No doubt there will occasionally arise false apostles, and because of this we must be like the Ephesians who “tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false” (Re 2:2).

It is not likely that we shall ever again encounter an apostle in the sense that the Twelve were apostles. However, the church always has had and will continue to have apostles in the sense that Barnabas, Timothy, Titus, and Epaphroditus were apostles. That is, church planters sent out to evangelize, start churches, train and appoint leaders, and then move on to another location.

Apostolic bands were integral to the spread and maturity of the early church. Their existence and ministry is a New Testament pattern. They evangelized, made disciples, taught, organized, and appointed elders. Can you start a church without an apostle present? Yes. Can an existing church function without apostolic input? Yes. Can a church elect its own elders? Yes. Yet all this is much easier if apostolic workers are around to draw upon.

Summary

What the church does not need are:

1. So-called apostles who try to lord over (rule) the local church. Apostles are to be servants of the church (Col 1:25, 2Co 13:4). The apostles are to strengthen local leadership, not supplant it. In fact, apostles should be accountable to the leadership of the local church.

2. Apostles who dominate the meetings of the local church, and who try to turn it into a one man show. Apostles are to be like coaches, not players. The church “belongs” to the brothers, not to the apostles.

3. Parasites on the church. Apostles do have the right to support, but ought to be able and willing to work secularly if need be.

4. Apostles who peddle the Word of God, charging for their services.

What the church does need is for you to:

1. Pray for God to raise up modern day apostles of the church who will plant Biblical house churches, Matthew 9:37-38. [Elders of a city locality.]

2. Pray for those who are already doing evangelistic work, Ephesians 6:19-20, Colossians 4:2-4.

3. Give to support full time apostles (and evangelists), 1 Corinthians 9:14.

4. Be open to the ministry and input of apostles. The influence of itinerant church workers can keep a house church from becoming ingrown. Isolated groups can easily lose sight of God’s desire for the church to evangelize and reach out to the lost. [Houses initially but the goal is an Elder of a locality which is the NT pattern.]


— Steve Atkerson
Revised 10/08/08

Notes

1 (New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, Brown, Vol. 1, 126).
2 (New Bible Dictionary, Davis, 57-60).