In Colossians 1:28 Paul continues to say, “Whom we announce...in all wisdom.” We need to learn to exercise not only one kind of wisdom but “all” wisdom, which includes various kinds of wisdom. To this end our hearts need to be enlarged. Some young ones who have taken the new way think that the older ones and those who have not taken the new way are out-of-date. This demonstrates a lack of wisdom. In the practice of the new way in the church we do not want oldness, but we also need to exercise all wisdom.
Whether the new ones should meet in the meeting hall or in the community on the Lord’s Day requires our exercise of all wisdom. Does the Lord want people to meet only in the meeting hall? Is it wrong to have several bread-breaking meetings in the community? There are two sides to this matter, so it requires us to experience all wisdom. To have all wisdom is to both break bread in the community and join the meetings in the meeting hall.
According to the New Testament, Paul gave many messages, wrote many Epistles, and did many works, but he never expected to lead the churches to become as orderly as “tofu squares.” The churches in the New Testament were all in different conditions. Someone once said that the church in Philippi was the best of all the churches. However, if we carefully consider the church in Philippi, we will not think that it was very good. Paul said, “Do all things without murmurings and reasonings” (Phil. 2:14). In such a good church as the church in Philippi there were still murmurings and reasonings. Paul exhorted the saints there to stand firm in one spirit, having one soul, and to think the same thing, the one thing (1:27; 2:2; 4:2). This proves that they were not thinking the one thing and were not of one mind, one soul, or one spirit. They had many differences, and many persons were one only with themselves. This church certainly had good points, but there were not a few shortcomings.
We cannot find a perfect and complete church in the Bible. Today as well there is not one complete and perfect church on the earth. The perfect day has not yet come. In Colossians 1:28 Paul says, “Admonishing every man and teaching every man...that we may present every man full-grown in Christ.” To be full-grown is to grow in life unto perfection. When someone is perfect, he is full-grown. Hence, those who are still on the earth today are not full-grown and are not perfect. Therefore, our hearts must be enlarged. We must announce Christ with multifarious wisdom and in all wisdom.
In our natural understanding, we may think that the churches in the apostles’ time were wonderful. However, the fact is that every church in the New Testament had its own shortcomings. Neither the church in Jerusalem nor the church in Ephesus was altogether good; both had their shortcomings. My point is that wherever you go, you should not have too many expectations. All those who believe in the Lord are lovely. They are the brothers and sisters in the Lord, so as long as they love the Lord, that is good enough. It does not matter if their prayer meeting is not conducted according to your way. It is sufficient simply that they pray to the Lord.
Therefore, we all need to have wisdom. The Chinese have a proverb: “The inner parts of the ruler are wide enough to sail in,” meaning that his capacity is so great that a boat can sail in it. First Kings 4:29 says, “And God gave Solomon wisdom and very much understanding and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the seashore.” Solomon’s heart is described as the seashore that encompasses the whole ocean. Therefore, we can never require that the church life be uniform. We should not mind the way people treat us, and we should not have our own feeling of how to break bread and how to meet. What we care for should only be Christ. We must minister Christ and receive Christ from others.
After saying that he admonished every man and taught every man in all wisdom that he might present every man full-grown in Christ, Paul said, “For which also I labor, struggling according to His operation which operates in me in power” (Col. 1:29). Struggling is a strong word. It is like the struggle of athletes in the Olympic games. Every competition requires struggling. While the athletes struggle in the games, none of them cares for his life. Likewise, when Paul worked on earth, he considered himself as that kind of person, one who did not care for his own life. Paul used the same word to tell us the kind of attitude and spirit he had while he was working on earth. He struggled without caring for anything else.
Today we need to learn how to conduct ourselves, knock on doors, speak, teach the truth, minister life, and conduct home meetings, but all the more, we need to learn that there is an intrinsic element in all these things. This intrinsic element is our inward knowledge and experience of Christ. Whether we are old or young, we all should have this intrinsic element. I hope that from today onward, we all will have such a clear vision.