The purpose of the vital groups is the increase, perfecting, and building up of the Body of Christ (Acts 2:46-47; Eph. 4:12). The vital groups are to gain the increase, finish the perfecting, and complete the building.
First, we need the increase not only of Caucasians but of all peoples. Acts 2:46-47 says, “And day by day, continuing steadfastly with one accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to house, they partook of their food with exultation and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added together day by day those who were being saved.” This is the normal standard of the Christian life. In these verses there are a number of important points. The first point is “day by day,” the second is “continuing steadfastly with one accord,” the third is “breaking bread from house to house,” and the fourth is “they partook of their food with exultation and simplicity of heart.” The believers in this verse not only enjoyed their food, but they partook of it with exultation. To exult means to praise by giving a ringing shout. The fifth point is that they praised God and had favor with all the people, and the last point is that the Lord added together those who were being saved. The increase comes from this. If we want the increase, we need to have the few things mentioned in these two verses.
In this move of the vital groups, there is no room for anyone to have his own concept or idea. We all need to pray until we drop all our concepts and opinions. In the move of the vital groups, there is no concept or idea; there is only one accord. This accord is not my accord or your accord; it is the Lord’s accord. We have only one Lord. Therefore, we should not have different opinions. In the Body there are millions of members but only one Head. There is not only one Head but also one Body. It is impossible for one Body with one Head to have different opinions.
The proper way to be a Christian is not to have opinions and divisions but to continue steadfastly with one accord in meeting in the homes, having the Lord’s table, and eating with exultation, with rejoicing and shouting. We all need to be beside ourselves. Brother Nee once said that if a Christian has never been beside himself, he is not qualified to be a Christian. As Christians we must be outside of ourselves, praising God and having favor with all the people. These are the conditions for the proper increase. In such a condition the Lord can add to the church day by day.
Ephesians 4:12 speaks of the perfecting of the saints that each one may do the unique work of the ministry, that is, to build up the Body of Christ. This is the purpose of the vital move to have the groups.
The nature of the vital groups is spiritual (Acts 13:52; 4:31b). To be spiritual means to be filled with the Holy Spirit, within and without. We need to practice to be filled every day, every morning, and even every evening. We need to pray, “Lord, fill me with Yourself.” Every morning my regular prayer is: “Lord, thank You for a good night’s rest with good sleep. Thank You for my safety, and thank You for peace. Thank You for Your forgiveness through Your grace and Your cleansing with Your precious blood. Thank You, Lord, that this cleansing brings me into Your presence, and that You are now anointing me with Yourself as the all-inclusive Spirit, who is the compound ointment. Lord, fill me now.” Such a regular prayer is not vain repetition. I eat three meals every day, and every meal is a regular meal. In the same way, I pray every day that the Lord will fill and saturate me thoroughly. We all, young and old, need to pray in such a way. This will cause us to be active, fresh, and new.
I cannot rest without seeing the saints stirred up by the Spirit and having their spirits fanned into flame. We should all be stirred up by the Lord, and we also need to fan our spirits into flame (2 Tim. 1:6). A proper Christian is one who is filled with the Spirit. We should not be “flat tires.” We should be those who are filled with the Spirit, within and without, essentially and economically. The Bible tells us that whenever the people of God come together, they should make not merely a joyful voice, but a joyful noise (Psa. 100:1). Whenever they speak, certain saints speak very solemnly. However, if they would speak exultantly, they would be normal. For this we need to be filled inwardly with the Holy Spirit.
Acts 13:52 says that the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. They were filled with the Spirit within. Then, Acts 4:31b indicates that they were also filled with the Spirit without. At that time a number of them prayed together in one accord. Eventually, they were all filled outwardly. They experienced the outpoured Spirit again. In Acts the disciples experienced the outpoured Spirit again and again (2:1-4; 4:31; 9:17; 10:44; 13:9; 19:6).