Some brothers and sisters may think that as long as there is a church, there is authority. Actually, it is not this simple. The standard of the church is quite high and strict. The standard of the church requires that we abandon sin, the world, and the flesh; it also requires our complete termination. Although there are opinions among the churches in Taiwan, generally speaking, the saints are in one accord. However, we should still confess that we have not touched much authority.
We have not touched enough authority in the churches, because there is too much of our forbearance, patience, meekness, gentleness, or any other human virtues in the church. These virtues are all out of man and belong to man. It is possible for all of these positive virtues to simply be the elements of man. If this is our situation, God’s salvation in us is still superficial and lacks depth. Our person, our self, must be subdued, broken, and crossed out by God because we still have many things in us that are not built upon Christ as the rock and instead are outside of Christ.
When there are elements outside of Christ that are present in us, there is no authority. We may have good things, gain the praises of others, be gentle and mild, and even be zealous in our work yet have no authority. Authority is in the church, and the church is upheld by Christ. In other words, the church is built upon Christ, and Christ Himself is the material for the building of the church. The extent to which the element of “man” is present in the church is the extent to which authority is diminished. The amount of the element of Christ in us determines the amount of authority we have. Some may think that if they pray much, they will have authority; this is wrong. They might receive some power after much prayer, but they cannot receive authority. Real power lies in authority. Please remember, authority issues from what is built upon Christ; the amount of authority that we have depends upon how much we have been built upon Christ.
To be built upon Christ is to build with Christ as the material. The amount of authority present in the church depends upon how much the church is built with Christ as the material. We must not only put aside the bad things in us; we must put aside even the good things. We must learn to be dealt with and broken by God. This should not be simply a matter of doctrine but a matter of experience. As the Lord enlightens us, He will touch us little by little, showing us that some things that are good and correct in us are not built upon Christ; that is, they are not built with Christ as the material, and they are not built up by Christ from within us. They may be good, but they still come out of us, not Christ.
Some saints say that it is difficult to be in one accord because the more capable ones do not have much regard for them. Even if there was such a “one accord,” it would not be worth anything. The real one accord depends upon how much we have been touched by God; if our capability, weakness, ability, and inability have been touched by God, there will be the real one accord. Only the part of our being that has been built upon Christ, that is, built with Christ as the material, is of real value. Only the part of our being that has been broken by God is related to the church, and only in this part is there authority—a sphere in which God rules.
Theoretically, all saints should be very clear concerning this point. However, after serving in the church for a period of time, we will see that we still have the element of the self. We may not seem to have much sin, the world, or even the flesh, yet the elements of our very being are present in us. The Lord must show us that our being is the greatest enemy of Christ and the greatest obstacle to Christ; we prevent God’s authority from being expressed, and we nullify the church so that it cannot be formed.
A certain local church has been generally commended to be truly wonderful, and we also feel that it is quite good when we go there; however, it does not have much of the element of Christ. What does this mean? It means that although the church is good, all of the things there contain the element of man. Although they are not bad things, they all contain the element of man. We sense that man rather than Christ is there and that the church there is built with man rather than with Christ as the material.
We all need to learn to pass through the cross and be filtered by the cross. When we feel that God is touching us, we should have dealings according to that feeling; this is valuable. We should let the Lord deal with us when we have a feeling about a certain matter. As we are experiencing God and serving Him, we may have the feeling that He is touching something within us, making us aware of a particular element of our self. He shows us something that is not built by Christ, not built with Christ, and not built upon Christ. If we do not neglect this feeling, the light within us will become brighter. If we can take a further step to deal with this feeling, we will be delivered. We may experience this at critical junctures in our life as God takes us through these situations. Even if we fall and cannot get up, the grace of God will come to be our supply to enable us to stand up once more.
Regrettably, when God enlightens us and touches our feeling, we are often negligent and let the feeling pass in a light way. This is the reason, to a large extent, that the services and activities in the churches are still full of the elements of man. Not many have been touched by God or have prostrated themselves before God. We should be willing to say, “Lord, forgive me. This is of me; I am using myself as the material. I am neither building upon Christ nor through Christ.” If we would say this more often, all the churches would be different. Any church in which we can touch God’s authority is a real church, a church that is built with Christ. There is no church if the saints in a locality are not built by Christ, upon Christ, and with Christ. They may meet together and conduct activities, but the reality of the church is not present.
If the reality of the church is not present, there is no authority. We cannot separate the church from Christ, nor can we separate the church from authority. Only when we touch Christ and live Him out will the church be present. Only when we allow Christ to be built up within us will the church be real. These are words of experience, not doctrinal expressions. Doctrinally speaking, the church always exists; however, experientially speaking, the church does not exist if we are built only with items of the self, items of man, and not with Christ. We do not need to be stirred up in our flesh or to be involved in disputes to nullify the church; as long as we build with the self, the church is not present. When the church is not present, authority also is not present, and people will be unable to touch authority in the church. May the Lord show us that there can be authority only in the church that is built through Christ, by Christ, and with Christ as the material.
In addition, we need to pay special attention to one matter. Since our meeting together is a time of blessing, we often sense some excitement; it is difficult to totally avoid a lively atmosphere, because we are human. However, we need to bear in mind that this liveliness, this excitement, is often a veil to keep us from being enlightened. In Matthew 11:29 the Lord wanted us to be meek and lowly in heart, to take His yoke, and to learn from Him. When we gather together, we must not be too excited, because this can easily cause us to be loose. Just as we drop our personal duties and household chores to come together to meet, seek God, and learn something of God, we should be willing to avoid unnecessary conversations that can become distractions. Of course, this does not mean that we should neglect any real spiritual needs.
Being enlightened depends on God’s mercy; it may not come by our asking. Nevertheless, we need to bear some responsibility for being enlightened. On a clear sunny day, some receive sunshine, but others do not. Receiving sunshine is man’s responsibility. If we are overly excited, talk too much, or are too lively, we build a “high wall” that prevents “sunlight” from shining in. We must all learn to be calm. Of course, this does not mean that no one can pray loudly, but we should be careful if our voice causes discomfort in others’ spirit. The Chinese often say that poetry is the most beautiful form of writing; in spiritual matters, prayers and praises are the most beautiful things. Words of praise are beautiful words, but words of anger are ugly words. If our voice is too loud or too high, it will disturb the spirit. The spirit is the most tender and delicate part within man. If impulsive things come out of a released emotion, the spirit will not be released. However, when we are in the spirit and touch the spirit, there will be an echo of this spirit deep within the saints.
Hopefully, this word will help us realize that we lose the Lord’s blessing because we are often distracted. When we attend meetings in various localities, we should not spend much time shopping or visiting relatives and friends. These things may offend the Lord and cause us to lose the Lord’s blessing. We will lose the Lord’s blessing if all of our time is spent shopping or visiting our relatives and friends. We need to understand that our willing and our running do not change God’s mercy. Rather, we need to bear some responsibility to be in a condition that is conducive to being shown mercy. May the Lord grant us His grace.