The elders must also be apt to teach (1 Tim. 3:2). When we begin to shepherd a brother, we may quickly discern that his need is basic knowledge of some item of the truth. If this is the case, we need to meet regularly with him for several weeks to teach him concerning the truth. This way is not too slow, nor is it a small thing. As the years go by there will be a glorious result of such labor. Any time we spend teaching the saints concerning the mystery of the faith is not a waste.
The elders need to know the items of the mystery of the faith to the extent that they can teach them to others. Then they will be apt to teach. Not every elder needs to give messages in large meetings, but every elder must be able to teach the basic items of the truth to individual saints. All the items mentioned in this chapter are basic factors of our Christian life. We should not be content with our situation simply because we see more than other Christians. We need to come back to God’s full revelation and renew our vision in order to see all these things.
The real function of the elders is to teach, and teaching is the way to shepherd. When we visit the saints to shepherd them, we must be prepared to teach them. Our teaching should not be doctrinal theology or simple Bible stories but the items of the mystery of the faith that we have covered. Sometimes the best way to teach a brother concerning a certain point is not in a meeting but by repeated personal contact over several weeks. In this way the point will not only be taught to him but also wrought into him.
We should not think that this kind of labor is slow, for it is the way to shepherd the saints in life. The Lord’s way is the way of growth by life. Paul writes, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused the growth” (1 Cor. 3:6). This is a matter of life. Paul also says, “You are God’s cultivated land” (v. 9). The local churches are fields for God to grow Christ. The way of life is not fast, but eventually we will see that it is not slow. When we have tried to be fast in the past, we have only been delayed, distracted, and defeated. If we are faithful to the way of the Lord’s recovery, we will gain the increase. If we deviate from this way, there will be no increase in the long run. The lessons of the past should be sufficient to teach us that we must take the way of life.
The elders need to pray for a vision of the Lord’s heart’s desire, eternal plan, and accomplishments in time, such as creation, incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection. They also need to pray for an understanding of why He came again as the life-giving Spirit and how and why the church was produced. Finally, they need to ask the Lord for a realization of why we are regenerated, sanctified, transformed, conformed, and glorified. We need to pray about these things, learn them, and repeat them in the presence of the Lord until they are wrought into us. This is the way for every elder to be strengthened and enabled to teach. The teaching of the elders is a matter not of skill or technique but of having a clear view of what God wants, a clear vision of the Lord’s recovery.
We have not seen this vision if we consider the Lord’s recovery to be an ordinary Christian work. The Lord’s recovery is absolutely different; it is something from deep in the heart of God and revealed in His Word. Our understanding and exposition of the Bible are different from traditional theology because we care for God’s heart’s desire, whereas traditional theology cares for religious teachings. God has shown us His heart’s desire. We all must see this vision. When we see it, it will make us absolutely different. If we see the vision of God’s heart’s desire, we will never leave the Lord’s recovery. If we do not see the vision, we will stay in the local churches as long as we feel that the meetings and the saints are good, but we may leave as soon as any suffering comes. Some have left the way of the Lord’s recovery because of unfulfilled ambition to be an elder. Our vision should cause us to realize that whether or not we are an elder, this is the Lord’s recovery.
A clear vision will safeguard us. Proverbs 29:18 says, “Where there is no vision, the people cast off restraint.” Paul says, “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision” (Acts 26:19). We must be a people with a vision. This vision should continually govern us and be our cause. Our vision, which is the mystery of the faith, comprises Christ as the mystery of God and the church as the mystery of Christ. We should never think that we know this mystery sufficiently. We need to continually review God’s full revelation in order to see this vision afresh. In every locality the elders should meet regularly to pray and fellowship about the vision and study the Bible and the ministry books to refresh their seeing of the vision.
The truths that we have seen in the Lord’s recovery, especially regarding the church, will be rejected and opposed by organized Christianity. In this sense, it is a suffering to be in the Lord’s recovery. If we were not for the Lord’s recovery, it would be easy to please others. Because we cannot compromise concerning the mystery of the faith in the Lord’s recovery, we face opposition. The elders need to know all the contents of the mystery of the faith, how to teach in order to care for the saints in the Lord’s recovery, and how to teach in order to convict the opposers. Therefore, we need a thorough review of the vision of the Lord’s recovery. For this we need to study the Bible concerning the mystery of the faith, and we need to receive help from the ministry books.