Christianity has Christ only in name and very little in reality. Instead of Christ, Christianity is composed mainly of four categories of things. The first category is concepts, doctrines, and teachings. The second category is certain ways, such as ways to preach the gospel. Many Christian groups use worldly music, dramas, movies, and other ways to preach the gospel. The third category is various activities and movements. The final category of things that compose today’s Christianity is organizations. If these four categories of things were removed from Christianity, there would be little left. This is the regrettable situation among God’s people today. Christ is altogether missing from Christianity (Rev. 3:20).
Near the end of his life A. W. Tozer, a faithful servant of the Lord in the Christian and Missionary Alliance, wrote an article entitled “The Waning Authority of Christ in the Churches.” In it he described church boards discussing ways to work for the Lord and preach the gospel yet not giving Christ a place in their decisions. Tozer said that in Christianity today Christ is “little more than a beloved symbol.” Only the name of Christ, not His person, has a position in Christianity. There are many doctrines concerning Christ and many activities for the work of Christ, but Christ Himself is missing.
The church as the Body of Christ is nothing other than Christ. Therefore, there is a desperate need today for a recovery of Christ as our everything. In the Lord’s recovery Christ is our only concept, doctrine, and teaching. Furthermore, Christ is our way. In John 14:6 the Lord said, “I am the way.” Christ, not rock music or dramas, is our way. Furthermore, Christ, not any kind of movement, is our activity. The church is not an organization. Rather, the church is an organism, the Body of Christ, which is Christ Himself. In the Lord’s recovery there is nothing but Christ. Colossians 3:10-11 says, “Put on the new man...where there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free man, but Christ is all and in all.” In the new man, the church, Christ is all. Because Christ, as everything in the church, has been lost and missed in Christianity, the Lord has come in to recover this crucial matter. The Lord has a recovery in order to recover Christ as everything to the church.
Now that we have seen what the Lord’s recovery is in principle, let us apply this principle. Some illustrations may help us to understand the practical application of the Lord’s recovery being the recovery of Christ as everything to us.
In Christianity today gospel preaching is carried out by certain methods. These methods include rock music, dramas, and movies. However, the Bible does not give us a method to preach the gospel. Rather, the Bible likens gospel preaching to fruit-bearing. The Lord said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. He who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). The branches of a vine bear fruit simply by living the vine, growing the vine, and producing the vine. As branches of Christ, we should preach Christ not by rock music, dramas, or any other method, but by living Christ, growing Christ, and producing Christ. When the branches abide in the vine, the life-juice of the vine flows into the branches, resulting in an overflow of life from within the branches. This overflow becomes fruit. Fruit is simply the overflow, or outflow, of the inner life. Thus, the way to preach the gospel is not by any kind of activity but by a daily life of living Christ, growing Christ, and producing Christ.
Approximately twenty-five years ago a group of young people came from the United States to Taiwan to preach the gospel by playing basketball. A large number of Taiwanese young people were attracted to see the Americans play basketball, and perhaps a few were brought to Christ. Because today is the age of grace, anyone who believes in the Lord will be saved (3:16; Rom. 10:9). Salvation in the age of grace may be likened to rain coming through an opening in a roof. Regardless of who is under the roof, whether it is a band of bank robbers or a person with the highest morality, the rain will come in wherever there is an opening, but no rain will come in if there is no opening. In the age of grace, regardless of what ways are used to attract people to hear the gospel, people can be saved if they open to receive the Lord.
Suppose there are three young Christians who are zealous for the gospel. After praying, they may begin to consider the best way to preach the gospel. One may say, “We need guitars.” Another may say, “We need trumpets.” The third one may say, “We need tambourines.” Eventually, they may decide that they need to have a band or an orchestra in order to attract a group of young people to hear the gospel. After preaching the gospel in this way on a Saturday and perhaps even bringing some to Christ, one of the three young Christians may go to a movie theater during the week. Another one may go to a bar, and the third one to a dance club. This may be their daily life. When the next Saturday comes, they may once again preach the gospel by using music to attract some young people. They may still be very zealous for gospel preaching. They may even bring some people they met at the theater, the bar, and the dance club to hear the gospel. The Bible says that everything is produced according to its kind (Gen. 1:11-12, 21, 24-25). However, these young Christians are not according to their kind. On one hand, they are Christian preachers; on the other hand, they are persons who visit defiling places. We cannot expect God to bestow His blessing upon this kind of situation.
A brother may speak often to his relatives and friends concerning the Lord’s recovery and the church, but if he goes to movie theaters and bars, his relatives and friends will look down on his living, and his testimony will spontaneously lose its impact. However, if the brother lives a Christian life with a high standard, pursuing only Christ, although his relatives and friends may outwardly criticize him as being religious or legalistic, deep in their heart they will admire him. Their conscience will testify that he is a genuine lover of Jesus and that his speaking is sincere. The Lord will use his living to touch their hearts. Perhaps one year one of his relatives will turn to the Lord. The next year a schoolmate may turn to the Lord. The third year one of his friends may turn to the Lord. The rate of bearing one fruit per year is not too slow. If we all lived this way and brought one person to Christ per year, we would have a hundred percent increase every year. Moreover, most of those we gain in this way will become remaining fruit.
Rather than gimmicks, dramas, or rock music, we need a proper testimony in our living. Moreover, we need to love the Lord with our whole being, live Christ, and unceasingly pray. This is the way of the Lord’s recovery, the recovery of Christ in an absolute way. We need to be clear that in the Lord’s recovery we do not accept anything other than Christ. We have no ways and no concepts but only Christ. We have no method to preach the gospel; we only live Christ, pray, love Christ, and love others. Through the testimony of our daily living, many of our relatives, friends, neighbors, classmates, and colleagues will eventually turn to the Lord. Then the church, which is a lampstand shining over the dark worldly society (Rev. 1:12, 20), will increase. This is the Lord’s way of fruit-bearing. If instead of the Lord’s way we take the low way of joining unbelievers in worldly activities in order to preach the gospel to them, even our gospel contacts will inwardly criticize us and mock us. We must maintain the standard of having a proper testimony by living Christ.