Suppose a brother comes among us and begins to rebuke the churches in the recovery for their failure to practice foot-washing. The Lord Jesus Himself set us an example of this in John 13 and specifically told us that we ought to wash one another’s feet (v. 14). This is a New Testament teaching. Would you say this is part of God’s economy or that it is teaching differently? We can be sure that foot-washing, even though it is found in the New Testament, is not part of God’s economy because it ministers questions. Once we begin to consider foot-washing, we open the door to endless questions. Should brothers and sisters wash each other’s feet? Should the sisters’ foot-washing be done openly in the hall or in private rooms? How frequently should it be done? The result of these questions which arise is that we are distracted from prayer and from contacting the Lord and begin to discuss all the varied opinions on the merits of foot-washing and how it should be practiced. I trust that you can see that even some New Testament matters are not part of God’s economy and may in fact damage it.
Another brother, in his studies of the New Testament, may come to the conclusion that grape juice, not wine, should be used at the Lord’s table. Suppose, after the breaking of bread, he should give a message exhorting us to use grape juice instead of wine. Wine may encourage a weaker one to drink. Should we heed his exhortation? But he may scarcely finish speaking when another brother may stand up and say that grape juice was unknown in ancient times, that according to the word of the whole Bible, there was only wine. We could further add that the Lord, in Matthew 26:29, did not use the term wine but rather “the fruit of the vine.” Do you see the questions that are engendered by such talk? It does not minister life but rather causes disputations. Let us learn to avoid opinions and matters that would stir up others’ opinions. Learn not to speak differently.
Avoid anything that might distract God’s people from His economy. The one ministry dispenses God into the believers that He may be their life, nature, and being. This chosen people form the Body of Christ, the church. Do not add to this central thought of God your concept or opinion. Do not refer to different flows among us; a flow is a concept. Do not think in terms of an old way and a new way. Concentrate on God’s economy.
In a time of degradation in the church, it is important that all the saints know the truth. Thus this term is used more than ten times in these two Epistles. The church is the pillar and base of the truth (1 Tim. 3:15); as such, all of us must be clear about the truth of the headship of Christ. Is not that headship disregarded by organized Christianity? Several years ago I read a booklet by Dr. A. W. Tozer of the Christian and Missionary Alliance. Entitled “The Waning Authority of Christ in the Churches,” it discusses how little Christ and His authority are esteemed by the denominations and other Christian groups, though they pay lip service to the doctrine of His lordship.
Among us these past few years there have been indications that we too do not see the significance of Christ’s headship. An effort was made to organize all the churches in the recovery under an international coordination. It may seem wonderful to have such “oneness,” but actually this was a subtlety to gain control of all the churches, thus taking the headship away from Christ and putting it in the hands of the “coordinator,” who in essence would be a pope. Such a hierarchical setup robs the saints of their personal contact with God.
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