Hebrews 13:17 says, “Obey the ones leading you and submit to them.” God’s Word is clear. You should submit to all those who are before you and who are leading you. You cannot choose the ones you like and submit only to them. If you only listen to one brother’s word and refuse another’s word, this is not real submission. It is not difficult to only listen to one brother. For a person to learn submission, he must learn to submit to all the ones who are before him, not only to those who are immediately above him. He must learn to submit to those leading him, not only to the elderly who are particularly gifted and used by the Lord. You must always seek out those who are before you.
In the coming days, when you go to other localities, three or five of you will be gathered together. The first question you should ask is: To whom should I submit? You should submit to those who are before you. When three or five brothers gather together even for two or three hours, spontaneously one will be manifested to be God’s appointed leader. You must submit to this one. The characteristic of a Christian is submission, not work. The characteristic of a Christian is the acknowledgment of all the leading ones. When five or six brothers are together, it is a sweet thing to see them all standing on the proper ground. As soon as you sit down with ten or twenty brothers, you should immediately identify those who are ahead of you. Once you identify them, you should submit to them.
“Obey the ones leading you and submit to them.” This is because “they watch over your souls as those who will render an account, that they may do this with joy and not groaning; for this would be unprofitable to you.” Anyone who is ahead of you is concerned about your soul; he has to render an account for your soul. You should submit to this person before God.
First Thessalonians 5:12-13 says, “Furthermore we ask you, brothers, to acknowledge those who labor among you and take the lead among you in the Lord and admonish you, and to regard them most highly in love because of their work.” Some people have a responsibility in the Lord to take care of you and to lead you. You should honor and regard them highly. They are the ones to submit to. A Christian who has no one to submit to in this world is a strange person. Every Christian should find many who are ahead of him, who are weighty spiritually and who can render him spiritual guidance. He should submit to them.
If we do this, we will maintain the right principle in the church. God cannot find this principle in Satan, the world, or the whole universe. This principle is the principle of submission. We must all learn this basic lesson in the church. The world has rejected this principle. God must now secure it in the church. The underlying basic principle in the church is submission.
We have seen that the oneness of the Body is authority itself. We have also seen that one person, two or three persons, or a local church, can represent the Body of Christ. Finally, we have seen that the elders in the Lord, those who take the lead among us, also represent the Body of Christ. All of these constitute God’s authority. They are the deputy authority of God among us, and we must submit to them and honor them. We must inquire of them and listen to them. If we practice this, the Lord’s name and His word will be magnified in our midst, and we will be Philadelphia indeed.