In this chapter we first want to see the real and scriptural way for the elders to shepherd the churches. I am burdened for this because we have had a change in our practice of the church life. The Lord's mercy has brought us through to our present situation. Even though I still expect to see more, I feel comforted that the Lord has brought His recovery into His ordained way. No one can deny that we are now in a changed situation.
But we need to see that for the fulfillment of the Lord's ordained way, the eldership is crucial. Whether the new way will be a success or a failure all depends upon the eldership. The eldership is the key point, the crucial point. We need to see what the eldership should be and what the eldership should do in the Lord's ordained way. I have the burden in this chapter to present a real need in the present situation in the Lord's ordained way.
From the very beginning of the Lord's recovery, we have seen very clearly that the practice of the local churches depends upon two things—the teaching and the eldership. The New Testament shows us clearly that the building up of Christ's Body is based upon the apostles' teaching (Acts 2:42). In Matthew 16:18 the Lord said, "Upon this rock I will build My church." For centuries the interpretation of "this rock" has not been properly understood. The rock upon which the church is built is surely Christ Himself, but we need to consider the context of Matthew 16:18 to see something deeper. The Lord was asking His disciples who He was. Eventually Peter said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (v. 16). The Lord Jesus responded to Peter by telling him, "Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in the heavens" (v. 17). The Lord was asking the disciples who He was, but eventually what came out was a revelation concerning Christ being the rock. Therefore, the rock in Matthew 16, strictly speaking, does not refer to Christ directly but to the divine revelation concerning Christ.
We can see from the Epistles that the Body of Christ, expressed through the local churches in many localities, is built upon the revelation of Christ. The apostles' teaching is the revelation. If we only had the four Gospels and Acts without the Epistles of the apostles in the New Testament, our knowledge concerning Christ would be limited. The Gospels tell us about Christ in His incarnation, human living, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. The Epistles go on to tell us about God's economy and His eternal plan to have the Body of Christ.