Here we have some of the elements, some of the intrinsic essences, in Paul’s part of the New Testament ministry. These are crucial points. There is no need to look for some new thought or to pick up some peculiar point to present a message different from mine. Rather, you need to develop the knowledge concerning Christ being the Son of God and the One out of the seed of David according to the flesh, and you need to give messages on these matters. There is no need for you to follow me; I am not interested in that. What I want to see is that whatever you put out is absolutely in the basic elements, the intrinsic essences, of the New Testament ministry. I hope that all of you could develop more messages than what I have ever given along this line. Such a thing would be wonderful.
Of course, I would be deeply troubled if any of you would pick up some peculiar point, some strange thought, thus clouding a message to distract people from the central line, even from the focus of God’s New Testament ministry. I would hate to see any of you do such a thing. If my vision is keen, surely it is keen in this line to detect things of this nature. Just by reading a few lines of what you have written, without reading an entire article, I can tell whether or not you are off in this matter. I do not expect you merely to repeat the messages I have given. Rather, I would hope that you could receive help from my messages and stand on my shoulders to go on further to present more things. Then I would come to you to learn of you, and I would stand on your shoulders to see something even further.
I have encouraged nearly all of you to study Greek, especially the young ones. But it was not my intention that you get into such a study to dig out some peculiar points or some strange thoughts. That is a wrong concept. It is necessary for you to keep yourself in the line and focus of the New Testament ministry. What Brother Watchman Nee and I have done is simply to lay a good foundation for the Lord’s recovery for you to stand on to go further to build upon it. We do not like to see you set something else as another foundation.
Paul told us clearly that he had laid the foundation, as a wise master builder (1 Cor. 3:10-11). He has laid the unique foundation, and no one can lay another. He warned us and cautioned us not to lay another foundation, but he encouraged us to build upon the foundation he had laid. Furthermore, he told us that we need to be careful, to take heed, how we build upon the foundation. Surely Paul did not like to see foundations laid other than the unique foundation he had already laid, nor did he like to see wood, hay, and stubble used for the building up. What we like to see is more gold, more silver, and more precious stones built upon the unique foundation. I would strongly encourage all of you brothers to continue to build. Certainly I am not jealous concerning what you may be able to do; rather, I am very much expecting to see that all of you can go further.
Nevertheless, I say again that I surely would not be happy to see any of you put out something as a foundation other than the unique foundation. Among Christians one foundation after another has been put out through the years, which are all different from the unique foundation, and different foundations are continuing to be put out. One put out the presbytery as a foundation, another put out baptism by immersion, a third put out episcopalianism, that is controlling people by the bishops, another put out tongue-speaking, and yet another put out holiness as a foundation. There are many different foundations which are all different from the unique foundation.
In such a situation we all need to be very clear that the unique foundation for the building up of the church in the New Testament ministry is Christ. There is no other foundation. Once you are clear concerning this point, you need to consider carefully what you should do. You need to keep yourself preserved all the time in this narrow field, in the field of Christ for the church. You need to do your work in the field or sphere of Christ for the church with care lest you get out of this sphere.
When I encourage you to keep yourself within the sphere of Christ for the church, I do not mean that you should not use the books of other writers for help. However, if you do not have a solid foundation laid, you may be distracted when you go to their books. It may seem that they lead you into some forest. Therefore, I hope that all of you, especially the young saints among us, will have a good foundation laid through reading and studying the Life-studies. Surely the Life-studies will help you to lay a good foundation with adequate discernment.
With such a solid foundation, I encourage you to go to some of the books of other writers. I myself use a number of books in my study and preparation for writing the notes for the Recovery Versions. When I am working with my helpers, you might find anywhere from ten to twenty or more books open on my desk while we are working. However, in using all these books, it is necessary to have the proper discernment. In a good number of cases, the first part of a sentence may be very good, but the last part is off. It is not always easy to exercise adequate discernment. Therefore, I would encourage you to take care of the matter of laying a good foundation, and then exercise yourself to be careful when you go to the books of other writers.