Through their experience of the dispensing of the divine Trinity, the believers may also shepherd the saints as the flock of God according to God, that is, according to God’s nature, desire, way, and glory. In Acts 20:28 Paul says to the elders in Ephesus, “Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among whom the Holy Spirit has placed you as overseers, to shepherd the church of God, which He obtained through His own blood.” The main responsibility of the elders as overseers is not to rule over the flock but to shepherd the flock, to take all-inclusive tender care of the flock, the church of God. Shepherding the flock of God requires suffering for the Body of Christ as Christ did (Col. 1:24). This kind of shepherding with suffering will be rewarded with the unfading crown of glory (1 Pet. 5:4).
First Peter 5:2a says, “Shepherd the flock of God among you, overseeing not by way of compulsion, but willingly, according to God.” To shepherd according to God means according to God’s nature, desire, way, and glory, not according to man’s preference, interest, and purpose. The elders should not shepherd the flock according to their opinion, concepts, or likes or dislikes. Instead, they should shepherd according to God’s choice, desire, intention, and preference. The elders must shepherd the saints as the flock of God altogether according to God’s thought, feeling, will, and choice. They must shepherd according to God’s likes and dislikes.
The believers build up the church with the experiences of the processed Triune God as gold, silver, and precious stones (1 Cor. 14:4, 12; 3:12). In 1 Corinthians 3:12 Paul speaks of building “on the foundation gold, silver, precious stones.” Gold signifies the nature of the Father with all its attributes; silver, the redeeming and life-secreting Christ with all the virtues and attributes of His person and work; and precious stones, the transforming work of the Spirit with all its attributes. These precious materials are the products of our experience of the dispensing of the processed Triune God.
It is significant that Paul mentions only three categories of precious materials-gold, silver, and precious stones-for these correspond to the three of the divine Trinity. Gold, the first of the precious materials mentioned by Paul, refers to the first of the Trinity, God the Father. Gold signifies neither redemption nor transformation; instead, as a precious element, it signifies something that does not change or become corrupt in nature. Hence, gold, which always remains the same, signifies the nature of God the Father. Silver signifies the redemption accomplished by Christ the Son, the second of the Trinity. Therefore, the silver in 3:12 refers to the redemption of Christ. The precious stones are related to the transforming work of the Holy Spirit. Every precious stone is a transformed substance. Thus, precious stones indicate transformation. According to 2 Corinthians 3:18, we are transformed by the Lord Spirit. This reveals clearly that transformation is the work of the Spirit. Therefore, the third item of the precious materials mentioned in 1 Corinthians 3:12 refers to the third of the Trinity, the Spirit. We need to experience the processed Triune God as these precious materials. Then we shall be able to build the church.
The reason there is so little building among Christians today is that few believers experience the dispensing of the processed Triune God in the way of being transformed and conformed. Because the believers do not care for this experience, they are not able to build up the church. Instead of building the church, they organize denominations and groups. Although a good number of believers are in the denominations and are actually members of the church, those members have been usurped and misused to form an organization. Therefore, we need to discern the difference between the denominations, which include brothers and sisters in the Lord, and the church. Because the denominations are organizations, they are a substitute for the real church. In the Lord’s recovery we are not building up any kind of organization. We are building an organism-the Body of Christ-by being constituted of the Triune God, experiencing Him as gold, silver, and precious stones.
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