While it may be easy for people to affirm that what they do is constructive and that they will not touch anything destructive, they may find that there are practical problems in carrying out their work. We do not want to speak of others’ faults, but according to what we know, the background of every group can become a problem in the work. For example, when the brother we are speaking of first came to Taipei, he met in a certain group for a few years. We are very clear about the background of this group. If we had wanted to speak of others’ faults, we would have told him a long time ago about the mistakes of that group. However, we waited until recently to share some facts with him, but only because he sought to have fellowship with us.
First, the founder of the group was a classmate of mine. He came from the same province as I. Originally, he intended to take the Brethren assembly as his base for establishing a Christian group in China. In the end, he did not succeed. In 1942 he came to Chefoo from Tsinan, the capital city of the province of Shantung. He cooperated with the Japanese military police to form a Christian organization that demanded that all Christian groups join it. We refused to join. Later, two of their representatives came to see me and said, “Are you ready to be a martyr? Are you ready to sacrifice yourself?” Nevertheless, I stood firm to reject them. When the Japanese military police decided to send some police to coerce me, my former classmate told them that he would see if I could be persuaded to join them, but if I should refuse, they should send the police. What kind of person is this? Why would the Japanese military police receive his suggestions?
Second, after he came to Taiwan, he still used the name Brethren Assembly. Upon learning of this, I inquired of him concerning this designation. He told me that when he came to Taipei, he had searched everywhere and could not find a place that was gathered into the Lord’s name; hence, he adopted the designation of Brethren. Was it ethical to do this?
Third, once he preached in Tamsui and said that I had come to Taiwan to establish churches and that because of this, he also came to Taiwan to establish churches. Now he seeks to copy whatever we do. The group under his leadership also copies whatever we do.
Fourth, he later went to Singapore and told the responsible ones in Singapore that he belonged to the local church. The brothers there were very happy, so they invited him to preach. Later when the brothers became clear, they closed the door to him. He then established another group. With this kind of history, how can we feel at peace concerning his group? Seemingly, they love the Lord and are spiritual, but we are clear concerning their actual situation, and we surely cannot confirm the work of anyone working with them.
Many of the terms they adopt at present have been used by us in the recent years, and they were not formerly found in the Chinese language. For instance, the term the coordination of the Body is used almost exclusively by us. Although such terms are used almost exclusively by us, we would like others to also use them. However, this group opposes us to the uttermost, yet they borrow our terms. If you were directly involved, how would you feel? You can ask them concerning this matter. Did they receive these terms in their prayer or from their reading of the Scriptures? I have seen them do this same thing in mainland China. They imitate us completely without trying to conceal anything.
My conclusion is that the matter of the work is intricate. For example, in a human body, muscles and blood vessels all grow together in a coordinated way. Likewise, the work and the ground are interrelated. We must have a clear vision regarding this. Today it may seem that we always speak concerning the ground, and it may also seem that we are speaking of something abstract. However, if we do not speak concerning the local ground, we will have problems. If we do not pay attention to this matter, Satan will bring in mixture. We cannot be loose concerning the matter of the ground. Once we become loose, we will not be able to accomplish anything.
Let me use an illustration. If I offer tea to people, no one can hold the tea in his hands. A person needs a cup to hold the tea. Nevertheless, it seems that some people are so “extraordinary” that they attempt to drink tea without a cup. In other words, they hold themselves to be so “transcendent” that they consider it unspiritual to talk of the ground of the church or to mention the matter. This kind of transcendence is impractical because it provides no way to hold real spiritual content.
Some people may agree with us on many matters and want to labor with us; however, they may not want the ground. As a result, they remain in their own group. This is not forthright. If they think that their ground is right, they should remain and labor there. If their ground is not right, however, we cannot agree with their way. Our work has come to a turning point. If there is no place to contain the work, the work will not have a future.
Brother T. Austin-Sparks wrote us a letter of praise, saying that we have a condition and situation that cannot be found even in Honor Oak. Although he praised us for our condition, he also sought to disrupt our situation. This is paradoxical. This can be compared to someone appreciating the tea within a teapot while simultaneously trying to break the teapot. Without a teapot, how can the tea be contained? It is useless to do this.
It is difficult to fellowship concerning these matters because the main points are delicate. If we do not pay attention to the ground of the church, we will suffer loss in every respect. I hope that the brothers and sisters will pray for me. I am afraid that if I do not handle the matter properly, the brothers and sisters will not receive the benefit. All the meetings among us must be strengthened. The ground of the church is but the base for the practical expression of the church. When we come together to meet, we must express Christ. Where is Christ? He is in the fellowship, in our loving one another, and in the prayer. Hence, we must be strengthened in these aspects.
There are many brothers and sisters in Taipei who are indifferent. The reason they come to meet with us is that our meeting place is close to their home. They come to the meeting but do not receive an impression concerning why the Lord put them here. Because they do not have such a realization, we must continue to labor. It is futile to fight merely for the ground. We fight for the ground so that the church of God as the Body of Christ and the house of God can be expressed practically. Our prayer meetings should be for fighting the spiritual warfare and for doing “business.” On one hand, it is like going to a battlefield; on the other hand, it is like going to an office. If the saints come to the prayer meeting and sense that it is plain and boring, this kind of situation is not acceptable.
In 1940 for the first time in China the whole church went out to preach the gospel. The meetings began on Chinese New Year. In the evening of the two days before the gospel meeting, the whole church fasted and prayed. It was the warfare of the church. Those who were there can testify that all the saints came to pray girded at their waist. They put on the whole armor of God and aggressively took the offensive against the enemy. When the day came to preach the gospel, the morale was very strong, and we were as one person.
Let us take a look at the disciples’ prayer in Acts 4. It says that they lifted up their voice with one accord to God in prayer. After they prayed, the place in which they were gathered was shaken, and they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness (vv. 24-31). Today the contents of our prayer meetings are not sufficiently rich. Outwardly, it has become somewhat like a Sunday service. This is not right, and God does not bless this. We must deal with the Lord, we must be desperate, and we must labor intensely to turn this situation around.
Although we always pay attention to the matter of the ground of the church, the ground of the church is for the expression of the universal Body of Christ and for the expression of the things in the spiritual realm. We must strive for genuine spiritual experiences. We should not make the local ground just a matter of doctrine; rather, we should stand on the local ground as the base for rich spiritual experiences. This is difficult to realize. The local ground is not merely a doctrine for someone to preach. The Brethren constantly fought over doctrines. All such fighting only makes people weary. Today many of the messages released from the podium allow people to sleep peacefully after listening to them. However, when we release messages, we need to stir people up. Perhaps they may think that they have not gained anything, yet when they go home they will not be able to sleep, because something in them will not sleep peacefully. This should be our attitude.