In previous chapters we have seen the qualifications of the elders. In this chapter we will consider the need for the elders to renew their vision of the Lord’s recovery. We will not cover all the details of the vision but will focus on our need to have our vision refreshed and made clear.
First Timothy 3:9 says, “Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience.” Titus 1:1-2 says, “Paul, a slave of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ according to the faith of God’s chosen ones and the full knowledge of the truth, which is according to godliness, in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before the times of the ages.” Verses 9 through 11 say, “Holding to the faithful word, which is according to the teaching of the apostles, that he may be able both to exhort by the healthy teaching and to convict those who oppose. For there are many unruly men, vain talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, whose mouths must be stopped, who overthrow whole households, teaching things for the sake of base gain.” In order to have a clear view of the Lord’s recovery, we must understand the terms the mystery of the faith; the faith of God’s chosen ones; the full knowledge of the truth, which is according to godliness; the hope of eternal life; and the faithful word, which is according to the teaching of the apostles. If we review the details of these great items, our vision of the Lord’s recovery will be refreshed.
As elders, we need to fellowship with one another and contact the Lord in prayer concerning the vision of the Lord’s recovery in order to fully realize what the Lord is doing among us. Otherwise, as the years go by we may gradually lose our vision and begin to go on in a routine way. We may begin to think of the local churches as an ordinary Christian work and feel that our duty is only to come to the meetings and take care of the practical matters of the church. If this is our case, we will lose the impact. The Lord’s recovery requires our full effort. It should be our cause. Because of the great number of Christians on the earth today, some may think that being a Christian is a common thing. However, to be a Christian is a great thing. It requires much exercise, and to be in the Lord’s recovery requires even more exercise. Therefore, we need to pray that we may see the vision of the Lord’s recovery in a fresh way.
We must first see the eternal purpose of God. Although we may say that we have known this for years, our view needs to be refreshed. Second, we need to know why God is triune and why He created the universe. Then we must see why God came into man and made Himself one with man—we need to get into the depths of incarnation. We also have to consider why God lived on the earth for thirty-three and a half years as a man. This is not a small thing, but it has become common to many Christians. It is a shame to understand the four Gospels merely as a story. We need a vision concerning God’s living on the earth as a God-man. We also need a clear view of Christ’s crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension, including their meaning, accomplishment, and application to us. After His ascension the transfigured Christ descended as the life-giving Spirit. These are all items of Christ as the mystery of God.
As a result of Christ’s processes, the church was produced. We also must see what the church is. This includes many items. The church is the assembly of God’s called-out ones, the Body of Christ, the new man, the kingdom of God, the house of God, the bride of Christ, a warrior, a lampstand, and the testimony of Jesus. We need to get into all the meanings and implications of each of these items. We also need to see the universal and local aspects of the church, the various functions and services in the church, and the oneness, nature, position, life, reality, essence, and unique ground of the church. All these must be fresh and refreshing to us not only for ourselves but also so that we can help others.
We must spend time in these things until they become our burden and cause. Our purpose is not merely to preach the gospel and save the sinners, nor is it only to gather the saints in meetings to worship God, teach, and shepherd the saints. We must have the view of God’s eternal purpose, which includes Christ’s processes and His coming again as the life-giving Spirit to produce the church. Christ is the mystery of God, and as His corporate increase, the church is also a mystery—the mystery of Christ. The manifestation of God in the flesh, which is the mystery of godliness, has two steps: the first step is the individual incarnation of Christ, and the second step is the corporate manifestation of God in the church. We have to see all these things.
In addition to these aspects of Christ and the church, we also need to see the practical Christian life, including regeneration, clearance of the past, consecration, discerning the spirit from the soul, the anointing, the law of life, the sense of life, the fellowship of life, dispositional sanctification, transformation, conformation, and glorification. These experiences are for our participation in the processes of Christ and the fulfillment of God’s eternal purpose.
It would take many messages to cover all these matters, yet all the elders should have a clear and fresh view of them. Such a view will refresh us and be our cause. The first aspect of our cause includes all the items from God’s eternal purpose to the establishment of the local churches; the second aspect includes all the experiences of the Christian life from regeneration to glorification.
The elders must get into all these things and know them thoroughly so that they can hold the mystery of the faith. Each of these points is a mystery, and together they are the mystery of the faith. Even creation is a mystery. Scientists do not know the meaning of the universe. It is a mystery to them, but we know. Similarly, Christ’s processes and the experiences of the Christian life are mysteries. These are the basic items of the mystery of our faith. The elders must know these items just as all people must know basic mathematics in order to carry out crucial tasks in their daily lives.