The book of 1 Corinthians tells us that Christ was made a life-giving Spirit. This is wonderful! If He were not such a life-giving Spirit, all that He is would just be objective to us. But now He is the Spirit dwelling within our spirit, so that we can be one with Him in spirit. By taking Christ as everything in our spirit, we can have a proper life, we can enjoy Him all the day. This life is for the meeting, and the meeting is for the building up of the church.
In today’s Christianity the concept regarding Christian meetings is that they are to worship God. I do not say that this is wrong; I admit that there is a sense in which Christian meetings are to worship God. But we must realize that the best worship that we can render to God is to build up the church. The real worship that God desires is the building up of the church. This is the main purpose of the meetings.
Since, then, the meetings are for the building up of the church, what must we do in the meetings? If we read through 1 Corinthians again and again, and let us be reminded that this is practically the only book in the New Testament dealing with meetings, we will come to the conclusion that to build up the church we must prophesy. For us to prophesy as Christians is so easy. But do not use the dictionary of today’s Christianity. By seeing the context of the entire book of 1 Corinthians, we realize what it means to prophesy. Yes, it does mean to predict something in a miraculous way, but this is not the main, primary meaning of the word “prophesy” in this book. In 1 Corinthians, to prophesy means to speak something for Christ. If to prophesy means only to predict some future occurrence, how could this build up the church? But in chapter fourteen of this book, we see repeatedly that prophesying is a matter of building up the church. Therefore, it must not be a kind of prediction, but a kind of ministry of Christ. We must take the context of the whole book. Paul said in chapter two, “When I came to you, I determined not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ” (vv. 1, 2). In other words, Paul, in order to build up the church in Corinth, determined not to know anything among them but Christ. And Paul, that the church in Corinth may be built up, admonished them to prophesy (14:1, 5, 24, 31). By putting these two points together, we get the right meaning of prophesying in this book. It is simply to minister Christ to others that the church might be built up.
If in the meeting I predict that in 1970 certain things will happen, in 1971 certain other things will happen, and then in 1972, etc., etc., could this kind of prophecy edify the church? It would simply create gossip, and there would be no life in the church. That kind of prophecy does not build up the church. You cannot pluck the word “prophesy” from 1 Corinthians and say that it means to predict. You must read the whole book. Consider the entire ministry of the Apostle Paul. How much predicting did he do? Did he prophesy? Yes, he prophesied very much. His prophecy was mainly the ministry of Christ. He told the Corinthians in effect, “When I come to you, I determine not to know anything but Christ; now you must follow me, you must follow me to prophesy in this way, not in a miraculous way, but in the way of ministering Christ to others that the church may be built up.”
We all need a proper dictionary. I have just shown you the dictionary composed by the Apostle Paul. We all can (1 Cor. 14:31, Greek) and we all must prophesy in the meetings by speaking something for Christ. Do not say that you are “chicken.” We all must be “lions” in prophesying for Christ. It is rather difficult for me to gossip, but it is so easy to say something for Christ my Lord. “O Lord Jesus, O Lord Jesus, how good You are, Hallelujah! Amen!”
Now we must see that whatever we speak for Christ, whatever we do in the meeting, must be a demonstration of the spirit. This is quite important. Christ can never be ministered to others without the demonstration of our spirit. I’m sorry to say that when some dear ones rise to speak in the meetings, there is no ministry of Christ because there is no demonstration of the spirit. That kind of speaking kills the meeting. When I see dear ones like that standing up, I am really frightened.
The Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2:1-4 that when he came to the Corinthians, his speech and his preaching “was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of spirit and of power.” This means that when he came to the Corinthians to minister Christ to them, by his speaking, by his preaching, he did not exercise his mind to use excellent words in an enticing way; rather, he exercised his spirit. His speaking was a real demonstration of his spirit. You may say that this kind of demonstration must be miraculous. But read chapter fourteen, verse 6, “Now, brethren, if I come unto you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you, except I shall speak to you either by revelation, or by knowledge, or by prophesying, or by doctrine?” This means that he did not come to them to speak in tongues, but to speak with clear, understandable words, in an ordinary way. He came to speak just the knowledge, just the doctrine, just the prophesying; yet with this ordinary speaking there was the demonstration of the spirit. We need to put these two verses together: chapter two, verse 4 and chapter fourteen, verse 6. By linking these two verses and indeed the whole book, we see what the Apostle Paul means by the demonstration of the spirit. Chapter two, verse 4, with chapter fourteen, verse 6, proves that it does not mean something miraculous and supernatural. Paul did not preach in that way; he preached in an ordinary way with ordinary words; yet his speaking was the demonstration of the spirit.
We all must learn to say something for Christ in the meeting with a demonstration of the spirit. We have to exercise this, we have to do this. There is no excuse. We cannot say that we were born timid, that we do not have a loud voice, or that we are not so eloquent. Second Timothy 1:7 says that God has not given us a “spirit of fear” or, according to a better translation, a “spirit of cowardice.” God has given us a “spirit of power.” Do not say you do not have a loud voice—everyone has a loud voice. I do not believe that when your house is on fire, you will announce quietly to the neighbors that your house is burning down. You will cry, “Fire! fire!” Then we will see what kind of a voice you have. Do not say anything about eloquence—we do not need eloquence. We can say much for Christ without eloquence.
The proper way to meet together is this: We must take Christ as our everything, realizing that He is the life-giving Spirit today in our spirit; therefore, we must be in the spirit, exercising our spirit continuously. Then we will experience Christ, partake of Christ, and enjoy Christ in a wonderful way. As such persons, when we come together, we will not meet for the religious worship of today’s Christianity, but for the building up of the church by ministering Christ one to another with demonstration of the spirit. In this way, there can be no system of clergy or laity. Are you a clergyman or a layman? You should be neither. Praise the Lord, we are simply members of the Body and parts of the priesthood. This means that we all must prophesy. When the whole church comes together, all can prophesy one by one (1 Cor. 14:23, 24, 31), because everyone has something of Christ to share with the others.
I have been much exercised in recent days to find a way whereby all the Lord’s children may function one by one in the meetings. To the present day in the local churches, the brothers and sisters are not all functioning among us. So many are still taking advantage of others. So many are still spectators and not participators. This troubles me greatly. If we do not come to the meeting, that is another thing. But if we do come, we must function one by one. If we are not functioning, we are not scriptural. “Ye can all prophesy one by one” (1 Cor. 14:31, Greek). There is no escape, there is no exception; all must take part. And whenever anyone stands to prophesy, there should be a demonstration of the spirit. This is the proper way to meet.