At this point I need to say a frank and honest word about the degraded condition of today’s Christianity. Christianity has become degraded largely because of the influence of the natural concept. According to the natural concept, in any group or society there should be ranks among the people, with some of a higher rank and others of a lower rank. Ignatius, one of the great church fathers, a good teacher and a pious man, made the mistake of saying that bishops are higher than elders. He said that the authority of the elders is local, but that the authority of the bishops is regional. Through such a concept the seed of hierarchy was sown. As the hierarchy developed, there were not only bishops, but also archbishops, cardinals, and, at the top, the pope. After the Reformation, this hierarchy was not abolished. Rather, it continued in various forms in the Protestant denominations, and it still exists today.
The concept of a hierarchy or a pyramid arrangement among the believers, fits into the natural concept. But if we have the light from the clear revelation in the New Testament, we shall see that the church is not a pyramid; it is a living organism, the Body, with Christ as the unique Head. In Matthew 23:8-10 the Lord Jesus said, “But you, do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone your father on the earth; for One is your Father, He Who is in the heavens. Neither be called leaders, because One is your Leader, the Christ.” Nevertheless, according to the natural concept, the twelve apostles are regarded as being above all the other saints. However, if you study the New Testament carefully, you will not find very much difference between the twelve apostles and all the other disciples. The grace in the New Testament is not given uniquely to the twelve apostles, but generally to all the disciples. In John 17 the Lord Jesus prayed, not for the apostles, but for the disciples. Furthermore, in chapter twenty of John, the Lord appeared on the day of His resurrection to the disciples. On the day of Pentecost one hundred twenty were together praying. The Spirit poured out on the day of Pentecost was poured out upon all the disciples, not just upon the apostles.
In the New Testament economy there is no thought of hierarchy. On the contrary, God’s economy in the New Testament makes all the believers of the same rank. This is the reason that the Lord Jesus said that we all are brothers and that only Christ is our Leader, Guide, Instructor, and Director. Although God’s economy puts all believers in Christ on the same level, the natural concept is that in the church, as in any social group or organization, there should be a special class of leaders.
Due to the influence of this concept, a great mistake was made in the history of the church. According to the traditional view of church history, the first century is regarded as the apostolic age. This concept is erroneous. The apostolic age includes the entire New Testament age. Is the present age not part of the apostolic age? If it is not, then what age is it—the age of the clergy or the age of the hierarchy? If we are enlightened by the revelation in the New Testament, we shall see that the whole New Testament age is the apostolic age.
Some have said that the apostolic age is over and that it is impossible to have apostles today. In his early ministry, Brother Nee was not yet entirely free from the influence of this concept. In The Assembly Life, a book published in 1934, Brother Nee said that there are no official elders, only “unofficial” elders. Furthermore, he said that there are no apostles today, but that there is a group of people who are doing the work of apostles, such as preaching the gospel and establishing churches. Brother Nee admitted that those who do the work of apostles today do not have the holiness, the power, nor the victory of the apostles. Nevertheless, as Brother Nee remarked, God is using people to work for Him in every locality in a way similar to the way He used the apostles in the first century. In the past it was the apostles who established churches, but today it is those who are doing the work of the apostles who establish churches in various localities. Brother Nee pointed out that these ones are not worthy to be compared to the apostles nor even to be called apostles, but that they are nonetheless doing part of the work of the apostles. These are the people God is using in the midst of the degraded situation of the church today. In that book published in 1934 Brother Nee realized that certain people were doing the work of apostles, but he did not dare to call them apostles. However, he called them “unofficial” apostles who appointed “unofficial” elders in the local assemblies.
Three years later, in 1937, Brother Nee saw from the New Testament that it is erroneous to say that the apostolic age is over and that there can be no apostles today. Therefore, he published the book entitled The Normal Christian Church Life, where he boldly said that there are still apostles today. When this book was published about forty years ago, we had seen only part of the light on this matter and on matters related to it. Now, in the light of chapters three and four of Ephesians, we see that all the saints can do the same kind of work as the early apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers did.