We should not expect the church to change; rather, there should be a change in us. Outward changes are useless; we need an inward change in our being. The Head needs to work in us; He desires to deal with us. Without being dealt with, we cannot coordinate with others. Many young saints, thinking that the church in their locality is not good, continually desire to move to another locality. But when they move, they realize that their previous locality was better. The problem is not outside but inside, that is, in themselves.
Although we are saved, we are still intact, whole, and unbroken. If we are “round,” we want our church to be “round” so that we can fit in perfectly; however, this is impossible. If we are “round,” God would put us in a “square” church; if we are “square,” the church will be a “round” church. This is God’s work of breaking and dealing. Therefore, the co-workers and responsible brothers coordinating in a church must pass through the dealing of the cross.
The coordination in the church needs to go through breaking and dealing; only a person who has been broken and dealt with knows his place and order in the Body. He knows what God’s arrangement is in the Body, and he knows that he is under the Head and also under certain members. A person who has learned this lesson is broken by God and knows his place and order in the Body. He would not dare to compete or even have the thought of competing. He would confess as sin any thought to surpass those who are placed before him. He has the Spirit and life, or we may say he has the ruling of authority in him that causes him to know his place and order in the Body. Under God’s arrangement, he submits to the members as a hand submits to the shoulder and the arm.
It is very simple to know which brother or sister is in authority; we do not need others to tell us. If, after arguing with a certain brother or sister, you immediately sense that the fellowship in you has stopped, the anointing is gone, and you are unsure of yourself, then that person is your authority. We should never take the authority in the church as something similar to the authority in the world. The authority in the church is spiritual and of life. Some people can criticize and slander the apostles freely and still be at peace and at ease, but those who have received grace, after speaking a few words of criticism or judgment, can no longer pray. Therefore, this is not a matter of man’s work; it is entirely an inward matter. To determine whether a person is the authority placed by God over us, we merely need to disobey or oppose him a little, and we will know. If there is any restlessness and uneasiness in us that frustrates our prayer, we have touched authority—that person is our authority to whom we should submit. We do not submit simply because he is an elder, a co-worker, or because he is older. Rather, our submission is altogether a matter of coordination and a matter of order.
If we can submit to an older saint, we should also be able to submit to the saints around us. God’s arrangement often places us under the saints around us. We are all happy and willing to be in subjection to the Lord Jesus; however, it is not easy for us to be in subjection to the brothers and sisters around us. We may think that we would fully submit to the brother next to us if he were the apostle Paul, but since he is the same as we are, it is very difficult for us to submit to him. However, as soon as we refuse to submit, our prayer is not sweet, our fellowship is not clear, and everything within us is in a state of confusion. Hence, if we cannot submit to the member next to us, we cannot submit to the Head. Many times, the members placed next to us are the same as we are, yet they often are our authority. This is a real test to us.
Some people say, “It is too troublesome to be a Christian. When there are no Christians around us, we feel lonely, but when there are Christians around us, it is troublesome because they are a bondage to us.” This is a wrong concept. The brothers and sisters do not bind us; neither are they a problem to us. Rather, our problems are because we do not want to be broken, and we are hardened toward the Lord, not submitting to His authority. If we do not submit to the authority of the brother placed next to us by God, we cannot get through with the Head and will be unable to pray. We must realize that if we offend the authority in the members, we offend the authority of the Head. Every member has the authority of the Head. We should realize that those who are more advanced and deeper in the Lord than we are have a measure of authority that is of the Head.
This is not a matter of teaching. As long as we live in the divine life, we will spontaneously have these experiences. Our coordination is not strong because we do not sufficiently know the authority of the Head. There are often difficulties in our coordination because we offend this authority. We may replace our submission to authority with our patience and tolerance, or our submission to authority may be full of a worldly flavor. This indicates that we are not submitting to the authority of the Head by accepting His breaking. We need to submit to the authority of the Head and also to the authority in the brothers and sisters. If we realize God’s arrangement and the authority of the Head in the brothers and sisters, and if we would submit to the Head and to the brothers and sisters, we will spontaneously be fitly joined and knit together with others to have a strong coordination.