The Lord’s recovery is not primarily a matter of doctrine. In the recovery today we are concerned for the experience of Christ and for the practice of the proper church life.
Martin Luther took the way of the state church. In this he made a mistake. It is a serious mistake for the government and the church to be mixed together. Approximately two hundred years after the Reformation, the Lord began the recovery of the church life under Zinzendorf and the Moravian brothers. In the following century, the Lord raised up the brothers in Great Britain for the further practice of the church life. At first, their experience was wonderful, and Brother Nee even considered it the fulfillment of the prophecy concerning the church in Philadelphia. However, eventually there was a division, mainly because different opinions regarding the Lord’s coming were held by two outstanding Brethren teachers, John Nelson Darby and Benjamin Newton. If Darby and Newton had had the light concerning oneness, they would not have argued about the Lord’s coming, but would have maintained the oneness of the church. The division between Darby and Newton was followed by many other divisions. I know of a Brethren assembly that was divided over the use of a musical instrument.
Today Christians are divided over many things, for example, over the method of baptism or over baptizing people in the name of Jesus or in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Because there has been so much division caused by debates over doctrine, we need to emphasize the fact that the primary concern in the Lord’s recovery today is not doctrine. This does not mean, however, that we do not study the Bible. We study the Bible and know it very well. But our primary concern is the recovery of Christ as life and of the church as our living. We are for the recovery of Christ and the church, not for the recovery of doctrines regarding head covering, foot washing, or the method of immersion. If anyone still wants to dissent regarding doctrine, the church in the Lord’s recovery is not the place for him. He should meet with those whose doctrine he finds acceptable.
We are here as the Lord’s recovery, not as part of today’s Christianity. The church is the redeemed, saved, forgiven, and regenerated people who have Christ as their life and who come together to express Christ in oneness. This is according to God’s economy for the fulfillment of His eternal purpose. Throughout the centuries, the church has become degraded. Therefore, the Lord has raised up a testimony at the end of this age to recover the proper church life. In the church life we live by Christ as our life and come together in oneness to express Him.
The Lord does not require the believers to be uniform in doctrine. Chapter fourteen of Romans proves this strongly. Concerning eating and the keeping of days, Paul’s attitude in this chapter was liberal. In verse 6 Paul said, “He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God.” In these matters the saints were not to judge one another. On the contrary, they were to receive one another. Verse 3 says, “Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats, for God has received him.” Regarding the receiving of believers, Paul said, “Wherefore receive one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God” (Rom. 15:7). God receives the believers no matter what they eat, and we also should receive them. The same is true with respect to the keeping of certain days. We should receive one another, not criticize one another or debate with one another. We all need to have a gracious and liberal attitude.
Suppose someone criticizes the church meetings for being too noisy and claims that noisy meetings are contrary to the verse in 1 Corinthians 14 which tells us to do all things decently and in order. One who holds such an opinion should go to a place he regards as decent and orderly. If we impose our views upon others, we shall cause division. If you speak in tongues, you should not insist that others do so. Such a demand will cause division.
In Romans 15:5 Paul exhorts us “to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus.” We cannot be likeminded in doctrine; we can be likeminded only according to Christ. Apart from Christ, believers from different cultures and with different dispositions cannot be likeminded. A brother may not even be likeminded with his wife. Although we may not be likeminded concerning so many things, we can be likeminded concerning Christ and the church. We are one in Christ, and we are one for the church. The Lord can testify that my wife and I do not have different opinions regarding Christ and the church.
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