First Timothy 3 shows that the church is the house of God. A house is where one’s life is propagated, where one can express himself, and where one can find rest. The church is also the pillar and base of the truth. The truth is God being manifested in the flesh. The manifestation of God in the flesh is the “great mystery of godliness,” which causes the church to be mingled with Christ as one. Therefore, when we preach the church, we preach Christ. First Timothy 3:16 speaks of five matters: justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, and taken up in glory. These five matters show that the church is mingled with Christ and cannot be separated from Christ. The church is Christ, and Christ is the church; the two have become one. Then according to Ephesians 1, we see that the church is the Body of Christ and the fullness of the One who fills all in all.
The church, as the fullness of the One who fills all in all, has six characteristics. First, the church is not the old creation but the new creation of God’s life. Second, the church is not earthly but heavenly. Third, the church is not under the authority of Satan but is far above Satan. Fourth, the church is not in time and space but transcends time and space. Fifth, the church is not part of the “all things” but is above all things. Sixth, the church is not under all things but above all things and experiences being the head over all things with Christ. We can administrate the church only after we have seen these items clearly. Our actions, our management, our viewpoint, our discernment, our decisions, and our proposals all must be according to the four items of what the church is: the house of God, the pillar and base of the truth, the Body of Christ, and the fullness of the One who fills all in all.
As we are serving and administrating in a certain local church, do we have a strong feeling that we should not bring anything into the church that is of the old creation, that is of the earth, that is not far above Satan, and that is in time and space? Do we have a solemn feeling that because the church is heavenly and above all things, transcending time and space, that we should not bring anything of the earth and of the old creation into the church? We need to fear God, please God, and do what is according to His will. In the church everything must be according to His will, and we must reject anything that is not according to His will. When we handle a matter in the church, we should pray, “O God, what should we do to be according to Your will? We want what is according to Your will, and we reject what is not according to Your will.” What is according to God’s will can be determined by the four items of what the church is and the six characteristics of the church.
Perhaps we do not have a deep and weighty feeling regarding the four items of what the church is and the six characteristics of the church; instead, we may only feel that we must please God and obey His will in a general way. However, Ephesians 1 clearly shows the significance of the church. Hence, in all of our actions in the church, such as making decisions, handling affairs, and taking care of various matters, we must not bring in anything that is of the old creation, that is earthly, that is of time and space, that is of Satan, and that is of the flesh. This may be likened to the work of a jeweler who cannot mix any other elements with gold because he knows that he is making gold jewelry. Unless he wants to deceive people, he cannot mix in any impurities, such as bronze or silver, into the gold. Our administration of the church will be pure, and our discernment, decisions, proposals, and conduct will be purified only when we see the light concerning the church in 1 Timothy 3 and Ephesians 1.
If we have truly seen that the church is the house of God, the place where God expresses Himself, we dare not and will not speak casually when we speak concerning how to manage the affairs of the church. However, if we do not see this vision, I will express my views, you will express your feelings, and another will express his opinions whenever we discuss the affairs of the church. What is this? This is clearly not the house of God. If we have seen that the church is the house of God and that we are stewards in this house, we will not voice our opinions or speak as we please. For example, we may have a servant who knows how to do things and how to manage the affairs of the house very well. However, if he also has many ideas and opinions, we will not like to use him because our house would become his house.
If we have seen that the church is the house of God, the place where God expresses Himself, then when we touch the matters of the church, we will stop our speaking and our opinions. Everything we do must be according to this principle. The church is the house of the living God for the propagation of God’s life. When we handle church affairs, we must take this into consideration and take this as a principle. Sometimes the saints see the church only as a school for education rather than for the propagation of God’s life. All of our actions, decisions, and administration in the church must be governed by our knowledge of the church. Thus, I deeply sense before the Lord that we must first know what the church is in order for us to know how to administrate the church. When we see what the church is, our actions in the church will be governed by what we have seen. If we want to know how to conduct ourselves in the church, we must see what the church is. All of our views, methods, talents, and learning avail nothing. Our administration, our conduct, in the church must be according to our knowledge of the church.
The church is not in the old creation but in the new creation. Hence, we cannot decide things in the church according to the old creation, and we cannot observe things in the church according to the view of the old creation. The church is heavenly; therefore, we cannot decide things in the church according to an earthly view. If we decide things in the church according to an earthly view, we do not consider the church to be heavenly. I am afraid that even though many saints are clear about this truth, they may not know how to apply it.
For example, recently the church in Manila decided to buy a big piece of land, which cost about US$150,000. When construction costs were included, it was close to 250,000 dollars. However, so far they have received less than 12,500 dollars from offerings, even though the transaction of the land has been closed for a few months. Since the offerings received by the church were not sufficient, funds from other sources have been temporarily advanced to the church. Hence, the elders feel that this is a burden.
When the church in Manila first began to build a meeting hall, the typical practice was to gather a few wealthy saints, form them into a committee for the construction of the hall, and then lay the burden on them. If there was a need for 30,000 dollars, the committee members would decide that one would give 5,000, another would give 10,000, and a third would give 15,000. Then they would write and sign checks for the needed amount. When they needed to pay another 30,000 dollars, they still signed checks in the end, even though the committee brothers had prayed, “O Lord, You accomplish this for us.” One would give 10,000, another 5,000, and still another gave 15,000 to cover the required payment.
After they bought the new piece of land, the elders asked me what they should do. I told them that they did not need a committee or committee members as long as someone could handle matters in the church. I also said, “You must be clear that when you gather the brothers and sisters to pray, your prayers must be for God’s ears. If you pray with the intention of exhorting the brothers and sisters to give, this will not be acceptable.” I told them that they should not organize a construction committee or use prayers for exhortation. Hence, they received offerings of only about 12,500 dollars.
This matter stayed this way for several months, and I did not say a thing because this was not my business but the Lord’s. But because the responsible brothers could not take it for very long, they held a meeting in secret and said, “If Brother Lee will come and fellowship with a few brothers, this problem will be resolved.” When I visited the church, they did not dare speak to me in the elders’ meeting; instead, they spoke to an elderly sister who was giving me hospitality of their desire for me to speak. This sister told me later that she said, “This will not work. You want Brother Lee to speak, but if he will not say a word related to the needs in Taiwan, even though the need there is very great, how do you expect to force him to say something about the need here?” She told me the whole story.
When I was about to leave Manila, I indicated to the elders that if I wanted to organize a Chinese business association or a youth club, I could have raised the funds a long time ago. However, I could not do this in the church where I serve God and lead the children of God, because this method is earthly. Establishing a construction committee, gathering those among us who are wealthy, and splitting up the costs is the practice of the world; we cannot do this in the church. We must see before the Lord what the church is, and then, when we take any action in the church, we will be standing on the proper ground.
What I have spoken of here is in principle. The church is the house of God, the pillar and base of the truth, the Body of Christ, and the fullness of the One who fills all in all. The church is a new creation; it is not of the old creation. The church surpasses Satan; it is not under his authority. The church transcends time and space; it is not in time and space. The church is above all and is head over all things with Christ. Seeing these items will govern the way we conduct ourselves in the church. We can do many legal and proper things in the world, but we cannot do them in the church because the church is different in her nature. We must have this vision of the church; then we will conduct ourselves properly in the church.