In the previous chapter, we saw the lessons which Brother Nee learned through his sufferings. We have covered his suffering from poverty, from ill health, and from Christianity. His suffering from Christianity includes five items: being despised, being criticized, being opposed, being attacked, and being spoken of evilly through rumors. The most subtle and damaging item is rumors. Satan is a liar and the father of all the liars (John 8:44). A rumor is a lie. Brother Nee had to endure many rumors about him throughout his ministry. Such suffering came to him from those in Christianity.
In May of 1934, he and I were traveling together to a suburban city outside of Shanghai named Kiangwang. While he was driving, he turned to me and said, "Brother, now we have to turn to the Gentiles." He was quoting Paul's word in Acts 13:46 after being rejected by the Jews. Paul and Barnabas preached the gospel to the Jews, but the Jews rejected them and persecuted them. Since the Jews rejected Paul's ministry, he said, "Behold, we turn to the Gentiles." By 1934 when Brother Nee said this to me, his ministry had been fully rejected by Christianity. He presented his ministry to Christianity, but in return he received despising, criticizing, opposing, attacking, and rumors. Then he told me that we had to turn to the Gentiles. From that time we started to pay more attention to bringing unbelieving sinners into the church. In this chapter we want to go on to see another category of Brother Nee's sufferings.
Brother Nee's sufferings from certain ones among us were more serious than those from Christianity. As we have pointed out, the church life began in Brother Nee's hometown in 1922. In 1924 he was excommunicated by six brothers. This was carried out not just by an announcement in the meeting but by something in writing, and it happened while he was away. He related the whole story of his being excommunicated to me in detail.
He was working in the city of Hangchow, which is very close to Shanghai, when he received a letter telling him that he was excommunicated. Brother Nee told me that when he was about to react to this, the Lord checked with him, "Are you going to be in My hand, or are you going to be in your own hand?" Thus, Brother Nee had no choice in this matter. After his preaching work was finished, he returned to his hometown. Most of the brothers and sisters there were students saved through him, and they were furious about what had happened. They absolutely did not agree with what was done to Brother Nee. They went to the pier to wait for the arrival of his boat. When he arrived, they told him that he should not stand for this excommunication and that he had to do something. He was seasick from his journey, so he told them to come to his home that night to have fellowship about this matter.
That night his home was crowded with people. But before they came, he had received a word from the Lord telling him not to vindicate himself and to leave the city the next day. He told the young people gathered at his house, "I cannot do anything because the Lord will not allow me to do it. The only thing I can do is to get packed and leave the city tomorrow." They were so disappointed, and many of them wept when Brother Nee said this. He left Foochow in 1924 and went to Pagoda. Brother Nee wrote a marvelous and inspiring hymn during that time. This long hymn, which has not yet been translated into English, speaks of a man learning how to bear the cross without vindicating himself, learning how to suffer without saying anything. This is a long hymn which relates his feeling and sensation during that time.
Later he received the burden to put out the monthly magazine called The Christian. The issues of this publication covered the truths revealed in Revelation 1—3 and Genesis 1. Brother Nee wrote these under severe suffering in 1925 and 1926. At the end of this period of time, he had the burden to go to Shanghai and Nanking to start a new work there. The church in Shanghai was established at the end of 1926 and the beginning of 1927.
We need to see a principle from looking at Brother Nee's life. This principle is that the church is produced by the life of Christ through sufferings. The birth of the church is like the travail of a mother who is delivering a child. We should not think that we can go to a place to establish a church in an easy way. The church is produced by the life of Christ through someone's sufferings.