We use authority to serve the brothers and sisters, not to govern them. Authority is just one part of our service. I hope all the leading ones of the home meetings would take note of this. Authority is related to your ministry; it is in fact one of your many ministries. It is not for governing others but for supplying others. In a certain matter other brothers may not see, but we see; they may not understand, but we can understand. Since we understand God’s heart’s desire, we can tell them of God’s desire, saying, “Brothers, you should not do this in such a way; I know this will not do. If you do it, you will violate God’s authority. You must give up this matter.” This is not exercising authority to govern the brothers, but exercising it with a view to supply and serve them. Before the Lord, we are learning to be an outlet for the Holy Spirit’s authority to supply the brothers. We are not governing them. We are learning to let God’s authority come out as a supply; we are not here to establish our own authority.

Regardless of what kind of position a brother may have, whether he is an overseer, an apostle, or a deacon, he loses and ruins the ground of the church in its entirety whenever he establishes or manifests his own authority. The ground of the church is entirely established upon the authority of the Holy Spirit. Whenever His authority is offended, the ground of the church is gone, and problems arise.

When the whole church is under the authority of the Holy Spirit, it is like the Lord’s own body given to Him by Mary when He was on this earth. He can speak, listen, and walk as He wishes. The body which Mary prepared for the Lord could not have been more appropriate. His body cooperated with Him to such an extent that it was as if such a body did not exist at all and that the Lord Himself was acting alone. It was so harmonious, so united, so free of problems and conflicts. His hands were never unavailable when they were needed, His eyes never malfunctioned when they were called upon to see, His tongue was never tied when it needed to speak, and His mind was never absent when it needed to think. The church likewise can reach such a level that it is as if it does not exist at all and that Christ is acting alone. The Lord can exercise Himself spontaneously and pass through such an outlet freely. It can be in such harmony, such oneness, and such spontaneity that it is as if the Lord is not passing through it at all. The authority of the Holy Spirit passes through the church so freely and harmoniously that it is as if He has not passed through the church at all. When the authority of the Holy Spirit is able to operate so completely, there is the church. Whenever there is resistance or hindrance, that is not the church. Whenever the Holy Spirit cannot move, whenever individuals stand out, there is some problem and the church is damaged. In such a case, it can no longer be considered the church.

Now I want to go back to today‘s question. There are many so-called denominational churches. The Lord has not given us the freedom to criticize them. However, we do confess that there are many elderly brothers among us who have come out of the denominations. They know the histories. Many other brothers came out of the world and sin. They do not know how much man’s opinions, decisions, methods, organizations, names, and traditions are in the groups that use the name of the Lord. I do not wish to say more about this. From the beginning when we were called out by the Lord, we insisted on a fundamental ground-that is, we must obey and establish the authority of the Holy Spirit in the church and destroy our own authority. I ask the Lord to forgive me for saying this, because the authority of the Holy Spirit does not need to be established by man. Excuse me for using the following illustration for the sake of the younger brothers. If I release a tiger in the streets, is it necessary to send guards to protect it? No, the tiger does not need any guards; it can protect itself. Likewise, the Holy Spirit does not need our support. The authority of the Holy Spirit is in the church. It does not need our zeal to establish it. The only thing needed in God’s children is their willingness to consecrate and yield themselves to Him so that the authority of the Holy Spirit can come out of them unceasingly. It is now a matter of whether or not we are willing to consecrate ourselves. Whenever God’s children disobey, the authority of the Holy Spirit cannot come out. The basic matter today is whether or not we have consecrated ourselves adequately.

I hope that we will consecrate ourselves afresh to the Lord for the authority of the Holy Spirit. We must pray, “Lord, You are the Head in the church. Grant me the grace that I may not be one who hinders or resists. May I have nothing of my own.” We must realize that whenever we bring anything of our own into the church, regardless of how good it is, something extra has been added to the church, and there is a hindrance. My body can only consist of its own members. I cannot allow the things of others to be added to my body. Even the best things of others cannot be put into my body. What is of my body must be my own. The things of others may be precious, but once they are added to my body they may be poisonous. We must learn before God not to bring our own things into the church. Some of them may be very good, but if they are not of the Holy Spirit, they cannot be brought into the church. Once they are in the church, the church loses its ground. In the church there is only one Holy Spirit, one authority, one power, one fellowship, one name. Anything that is brought into the church which is not of the Holy Spirit will ruin the church ground, and then there is no more church.
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