Perhaps you are wondering how we can enjoy this fellowship. We can enjoy it simply by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus. However, if we say that we are of Paul, we are actually calling on the name of Paul. To say that we are of a certain person means that we are calling on the name of that person. Every name other than the name of Christ must be set aside, and we must exalt only one name—the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, the name of the wonderful One into whose fellowship God has called us. The way to enjoy this fellowship is to call on the Lord’s name. The more we call on the name of the Lord, the more we enjoy the fellowship into which we have been called. To repeat a matter we have emphasized earlier, we have been called by God to call on the name of the Lord Jesus. By calling on His name we enjoy His fellowship and participate in it. How wonderful! I urge all the saints to learn to call on the name of the Lord Jesus.
It is crucial that the saints in the Lord’s recovery learn not to have any preferences. The saints in a particular church should not prefer one elder over another. All such preferences must be condemned. I also wish to make it emphatically clear that you must not prefer Witness Lee or prefer to be in the place where the ministry is located. Some have asked me if I intend to move elsewhere. Those who inquired of me concerning this went on to say that they intended to move there also. This is a personal preference, and it must be condemned. There should be no preference for Witness Lee or for the ministry. Our only preference should be Christ. We all should be able to say that our preference is the all-inclusive and extensive Christ.
Some may say, “You may prefer a certain brother or even prefer the ministry, but I prefer Christ.” Even this preference is wrong, for it is actually a preference for a very narrow Christ, not the all-inclusive Christ revealed in the writings of Paul. This narrow Christ may be your Christ, but it is not Paul’s Christ. Far from being narrow, Paul’s Christ is universally extensive.
We also should not have any preference with respect to churches. We should not prefer our local church above others, or some other local church above the church in our locality. We should be content to simply be in the church in the place where God has put us according to His sovereign arrangement. Yes, 1:2 does speak of the church of God which is in Corinth. But in this verse Paul goes on to mention every place. We should be willing to be in the church of God anywhere. If the wind of the Spirit blows you to a certain locality, you should simply be in the church there, without any preference. If after a period of time the spiritual wind blows you to another city, you should be equally content to be in the church there. Regarding churches, we should not have any preference. We should never say that we prefer the church in our locality or in some other locality. Rather, we should be able to say, “My preference is only in Christ. I am willing for the wind to blow me in any direction, for in every place Christ is the same.”
We should not have the concept that we can enjoy Christ more in a particular locality than we can somewhere else. We should not think, for example, that we can enjoy more of Christ in that place where the ministry may be located. Actually, if the Lord sends you to a certain city, perhaps for the start of the church life there, you may have more enjoyment of Christ in that place than if you are in the city where the ministry is located. However, if you go to this city out of a preference for that place, you are wrong. Do not go anywhere because of your preference. Instead, simply allow the Lord to lead you in any move you make.
If all Christians preferred only the all-inclusive Christ, the entire world would be subdued. Even a region such as Southern California, a place people consider an entertainment center, would be subdued by us. In addition, New England, a region sometimes considered the graveyard of religion, would also be enlivened through the saints’ enjoyment of Christ.
I am burdened that we all understand what the Lord’s recovery really is. God’s intention in His recovery is to recover Christ as everything. It is to recover Christ as the unique center of God’s economy and as everything to us as our portion for our enjoyment.
As we consider the Epistle of 1 Corinthians, we see that here Paul gives us an illustration. This does not mean, however, that we should follow the Corinthians in their way of having the Christian life, the church life, and the Body life. On the contrary, it means that we should not complain about the church in our locality. We should not think that the local church where we are is inferior and that, according to our preference, we should move to a place where we imagine the church life is better. We need to see that wherever we may be, the actual church life is like that described in 1 Corinthians. Since we are all in such a situation, what should we do? First, we must drop every name other than the name of Christ. We should drop the names of any persons or servants of God whom we may prefer, and we should also lay aside all denominational names. Furthermore, we must turn from all doctrines and practices and take Christ, the unique center of God’s economy, as our everything.
In the first nine verses Paul lays as the foundation Christ, the unique center. In this unique center we have a unique and all-inclusive fellowship and enjoyment, the fellowship of Christ. In 1:10 Paul begins to deal with the eleven problems found in 1 Corinthians. In dealing with all these problems, Paul makes it very clear that the unique solution to all problems in the church is Christ and His cross. The only answer is Christ and Him crucified. By pointing to such a unique solution to the problems in the church in Corinth, and to the problems in every local church as well, Paul uplifted Christ and exalted Him. Paul was crystal clear that the only solution to our problems is Christ and the cross. Therefore, with 1:1-9 as a good foundation, we can begin to appreciate Christ and the cross as the unique solution to all problems in the church.