Today God is taking the way of the recovery of the oneness of the Body of Christ. In order to have the oneness of the Body, there must first be the life of the Head and then the authority of the Head. Without the life of the Head, there is no Body. Likewise, without the authority of the Head, there is no oneness of the Body. We must allow the life of the Head to rule so that the Body can become one. God requires that we submit not only to Him, but also to all His deputy authorities. All the members have to learn to submit to one another. The Body is one. The Head and the Body are also one. God’s will can be accomplished only when the authority of the Head prevails. God wants the church be the kingdom of God.
A servant of God will eventually encounter authority in the universe, in his community, in his home, or in the church. If a man has never met God’s authority, how can he submit to God? This is not a matter of doctrine or teaching. If it is, it will still be abstract to us. Some think that submission to authority is a very difficult thing. But it is not difficult when one meets God. Unless God’s mercy is upon us, no one can submit to God’s authority. For this reason, there should be a few points for us to learn:
(1)There must be a spirit of submission.
(2)There must be the training in submission. Some people are like savages; they cannot come under any submission. We have appointed a housekeeper for every household with the hope that we would all learn submission. [Translator’s Note: This refers to the dormitories of the training in which these messages were delivered.] Everyone should receive training by standing in the proper position. One who has learned the lesson or who has been trained will not feel restricted no matter where he is placed. He will spontaneously live out submission without any difficulty.
(3)One must learn to be a deputy authority. A worker of God must not only learn submission to authority; he must also learn to be God’s deputy authority in the church and in the home. If God entrusts him with many things, and if he has learned to submit under God’s authority, he will not feel boastful about anything. However, some who have learned to submit to others find that they do not know how to be the authority when they are brought by God to a place to work. Therefore, not only do we have to learn to submit to authority, but we also have to learn to be the authority and to stand in the proper position. On the one hand, the church suffers because many do not submit. On the other hand, the church suffers because many do not know how to be the authority by standing in the proper position.
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