Since we emphasize the need to set aside doctrine for the building up of the church, you may wonder what we do with the Bible. We should not approach the Scriptures mainly for the purpose of gaining knowledge. On the contrary, we should use the Bible for spiritual nourishment. According to 6:17 and 18, we should take the Word of God by means of all prayer. In Matthew 4:4 the Lord Jesus said to the Devil who was tempting Him, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out through the mouth of God.” This indicates that the Lord Jesus took the word of God in the Scriptures as His bread and lived on it. The word that proceeds out through the mouth of God is for nourishment, not primarily for knowledge. Therefore, when we contact the Word, we should exercise not only our mind but especially our spirit to take in the Word as nourishment.
Recently I turned once again to the book of Isaiah. In the past I acquired a good deal of knowledge of this book. But as I read Isaiah this time, I did not do so mainly for knowledge, but for nourishment. Isaiah 1:3 says, “The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib.” The fact that a crib is related to eating indicates that the book of Isaiah has the concept of nourishment. Once again I say that we should not take the Word of God just as knowledge; we should take it as food to nourish us. The best way to take the Word as nourishment is by pray-reading.
If we care for doctrine, we shall be divided. We in the Lord’s recovery need to be clear that we are not for ordinances or for doctrine, but for the living Spirit, who is the reality of Christ. If we are faithful to care for the reality of Christ and not for doctrines or ordinances, we shall not be divided.
In the past certain divisive ones have been among us. They stayed for a while, but then began to insist on a particular doctrine. Because we refused to give place to their doctrine, they left. We have been and still are standing only for Christ and the church, not for any particular doctrine.
When we say that we are for the living Spirit and not for doctrine, this does not mean that we do not believe in the Bible. We believe the Bible at least as much as other Christians do, if not more. But we do not take the Bible as dead letters. To us, the Word is living. If through 1 Corinthians 11 some sisters are touched by the Lord to put on a head covering, we are thankful and appreciative, but we would not make this into a doctrine of head covering. In the same principle, if certain brothers and sisters feel that they are old and desire to be buried, we are willing to accommodate them. But we do not make a doctrine of being baptized more than once. The same holds true regarding the burning of things that are worldly or improper. If some are led of the Lord to burn certain articles, they are free to do so. But they should not make this matter of burning into a doctrine. In fact, not even Christ and the church are mere doctrines to us. Rather, Christ and the church are a marvelous reality.
I realize that more and more the going on of the Lord in His recovery will be with the young people. No doubt the spread of the recovery in this country and elsewhere will be mainly with them. Therefore, in the presence of the Lord, I would charge the young people with the importance of realizing that in the recovery we are not for ordinances or for doctrine, but only for the life-giving Spirit as the reality of Christ. We do not take the Bible as a book of doctrine in letters. Rather, we take the Word as spirit and life. In Ephesians 2 there is the contrast between ordinances and the Spirit, and in chapter four there is the contrast between doctrine and the reality of Christ that produces the growth in life for the building up of the Body. Ordinances are a wall that separates, whereas doctrine is a wind that carries people away from the building up of the Body. In both chapter two and chapter four Paul is concerned with the building up of the church. When we are for the Spirit, we shall be built up as God’s habitation in our spirit. In like manner, if we are for the reality of Christ, we shall have the growth in life for the building up of the Body in love. Therefore, we in the Lord’s recovery must proclaim that we do not care for ordinances or for doctrine. We take the Word as revelation and nourishment, but we do not care for doctrine. We know that through the past several centuries God’s people have been divided and even denominated by doctrine and ordinances. Therefore, we care only for the Spirit and for the reality of Christ.