If we take the proper, scriptural way, however, we can gain the increase, and we can receive a reward when the Lord comes back. This reward is in addition to our salvation. If we take the old way and do not bear fruit, the Lord will ask us to give Him an account when He returns. In the parable for faithfulness in Matthew 25, the slave did not make any profit for his master and told his master that he was a hard man. The master responded by telling this slave that he was evil and slothful (vv. 14-30). This parable speaks of the reward and punishment in the coming kingdom. The profitable slaves will enter into the enjoyment of their Lord in the coming kingdom, but the useless slaves will be cast into the outer darkness.

Whether or not we take the scriptural way in this age may determine whether or not we are rewarded in the next age. But our taking the new way or the old way does not determine our salvation. Our salvation is secured, guaranteed, and eternal. Our eternal salvation is based upon the person of Christ as the Savior and upon His work of redemption with His redeeming blood. The divine person of Christ and the redemptive work of Christ are the items of our faith. If we contend for anything other than the items of our faith (Jude 3), we will be divided, and we will even become divisive.

In order to arrive at the oneness of the faith, we have to grow. All the different doctrines and practices are like toys. The new way may be one brother's toy, and the old way may be another brother's toy. One brother has his toy, and another brother has his toy. They are babyish; they are still children. They hold on to their preferences, their likes and dislikes. The more we grow, however, the more toys we drop. When I was a young Christian, I contended for some doctrines and practices as toys. But when I grew, I dropped these toys. Today I can boast that I do not have any toys.

There are many ways to drive from Los Angeles to Washington D.C. We should not quarrel about which way to take. As long as we agree with the destination, that is all that matters. The way that we take to Washington D.C. can be likened to our toy, and the destination of Washington D.C. can be likened to our faith. We should not contend for anything other than the faith.

The Southern Baptists say that you must be immersed by them in the water in their baptistry to become a member of their denomination. The doctrine of baptism has become their toy. Today we should not care where someone is baptized, and we should never contend with people about the method of baptism. If we have seen the vision of the oneness of the faith, we will drop all the toys. We should not fight about the old way or the new way because these ways are not our faith. We must keep the oneness. The troubles come because of the immature saints being carried about by the winds of different teachings, doctrines, concepts, and opinions.

The God-ordained way, the new way, is not a toy to us in our ministry. This way is the scriptural way, the organic way, to build up the Body of Christ. I have received a burden from the Lord to tell His people that the old way annuls the functions of the members of the Body of Christ. In the old way, the Head is cut off and the parts of the Body are annulled. All that is left is a relatively small number of clergy. This is why we have to put the old way aside. We want Christ, but we do not want the religious system of Christianity. The "-anity" should be cut off, and we should only take Christ. We must come back to Christ and to His Body with all the members functioning. This is not my preference. This is the God-ordained way to build up the Body of Christ.

We all have to see that the Triune God is mingling Himself with the Body. This mingling is still going on. Furthermore, the faithful gifts—the apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers—are doing their best to perfect the saints. They are doing their best to teach the saints, to instruct them, to equip them, and to give them some direction, some way, so that they can do the work of the New Testament ministry to build up the Body of Christ. Then the whole church will be geared to function. The joints will be supplying to join the Body together and the parts will be operating to knit the Body together. Then the Body will be built solidly.

The building matches the mingling. Actually, the mingling and building are one. Without the mingling, we cannot build. Without the building, the mingling can never be consummated. The mingling and the building will result in the completed, consummated church as the Body of Christ.

I hope that we all can see this. Paul saw a vision. He had a proper, actual trance, to get out of the old concept and into the new concept. He saw all these things, and we have to thank God that what Paul saw was put down in writing. We thank the Lord for this book of Ephesians! If we did not have this book, we would have no guide, no direction, and no light concerning the details of the Body of Christ. We would not be able to see the intrinsic view of the Body of Christ. But thank the Lord that we have the guide, the direction, and the light. We can see the mingling of the processed Triune God with the regenerated believers and the building up of the Body of Christ. We can also see the oneness of the Body of Christ with the oneness of the Spirit and the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God. May the Lord have mercy upon all of us that our eyes would be fully opened to see the intrinsic view of the Body of Christ.