Our service in the church is to lead the brothers and sisters to know the Son of God with the view that Christ will increase in them and that eventually they will arrive at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. In order to arrive at such a goal, we need to pay attention to the material we use. The material that we use in order to cause people to know the Son of God and have the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ is a very important matter. For example, when a chair is made, we must pay attention to the material we use in addition to knowing size and quantity. The material we use must be the Son of God, Christ. We can cause the saints to know the Son of God only by using the Son of God as the material. We can cause the increase of Christ in the saints only by using Christ as the material. Our preaching alone will not necessarily cause the saints to know the Son of God. In order for the saints to know the Son of God, we must use the Son of God as the material; in order for the saints to have the increase of Christ in them, we must use Christ as the material.
If we preach the Bible with the teachings of Confucius and Mencius, can we cause people to know the Son of God or have the increase of Christ? We can cause people to know the Son of God only when our preaching and our utterance and eloquence are the Son of God. We cannot be loose in this matter; rather, we must grasp it firmly. A sister once told me that I should give messages on husbands loving their wives and wives submitting to their husbands, because she thought that it would be difficult for people to come into the church without such messages. Frankly speaking, if I gave messages on honoring parents, submitting to husbands, and loving wives, I could move many people to tears. However, I have not been sent to give this kind of message or to reform people’s ethics. Such messages do not cause people to have more Christ. I am not a servant of ethics; I am a slave of Christ.
Someone also wrote to me anonymously and asked me to speak concerning heaven and hell. Actually, it is much easier to speak concerning heaven and hell than to speak concerning Christ and the cross. I could speak concerning hell for eight or ten days and concerning heaven for another eight or ten days. I could incite tremendous fear in people when speaking concerning hell, and I could stir up a strong yearning when speaking concerning heaven. However, I have not been sent to speak concerning heaven or hell; rather, I have seen the Lord of glory, and I have been sent by Him. I am filled with Him, and all of my inward feeling is toward Him.
One message may differ from another message, and not every message can cause the element of Christ to increase in people. Only Christ Himself can cause people to know Christ and have Christ increase in them. If we speak to people about loving their wives, submitting to their husbands, honoring their parents, and nurturing their children, we must speak Christ into them as their love, submission, honoring, and nurturing. When a sister submits to her husband, her submission must be Christ. By loving Christ, being filled with Christ, fellowshipping with Christ, and allowing Christ to live in her and out of her, she will experience the reality of submission. This also applies to husbands; the love with which they love their wives must come from the dispensing of Christ into them. Those who fellowship with Christ and allow Christ to live in them surely will respect, love, and be considerate of their wives. The care of parents for their children should be so spiritual that it is evident that their care is Christ. Hence, the love with which husbands love their wives is Christ; a parent’s love, teaching, and care for their children should also be Christ. All of these virtues should come out of Christ. If we are filled with Christ inwardly, how can we not take care of our children? How could we not honor and be considerate of our parents? This care, honoring, and considerateness are just Christ Himself.
Our church life must be so strong that a husband’s love for his wife should enable others to see Christ, a wife’s submission should enable others to see Christ, and a child’s considerateness and honor toward his parents should enable others to see Christ. If everything is filled with Christ, then whether we are speaking about filial piety, love, or submission, others can gain Christ. It is only when we take the Son of God as the material that we can cause others to know the Son of God and to gain the Son of God. Only when we take Christ as the material can we cause others to gain Christ and know Christ.
To speak of taking Christ as the material is easy, but taking Christ as the material requires experience in practice. If we deal with our wives and husbands apart from Christ and have never learned this lesson, we will not be able to take Christ as the material. If we have learned the lesson of knowing and experiencing Christ in dealing with our wives, we will spontaneously take Christ as the material when we contact people. If we truly know the inward life of the Son of God, live in this life, take this life in dealing with our wives and husbands, and live with our wives and husbands according to this life, we will be able to fellowship with people who are encountering difficulties in dealing with their wives and husbands. Only in this way will our work have spiritual value and be effective. Otherwise, our work will bear the name of Christ, but in reality it will be only a religious work. In other words, our work will be in the name of Christ but without the reality of Christ. We must speak in the name of Christ, speak the word of Christ, and speak Christ into others.