The best way to carry out Paul's charge to Timothy of teaching others is by the regular group meetings. If a church is large, a number of regular group meetings could be established. If I am a person like Timothy who is able to teach and apt to teach (1 Tim. 3:2), I should visit the group meetings. In a certain group of fifteen meeting together, there may be seven who are very promising. I should spend more time with that group meeting. I should not go to be the teacher of that meeting, but I should function as one of the attendants in the meeting. In a meeting which lasts an hour and a half, there may be fifteen to twenty minutes in which I can take the opportunity to say something. No matter what the subject is or what question is raised, I should have something to say according to the subject or question. In this way, I am very flexible, living, fresh, and new.
This kind of practice depends upon our capacity, and our capacity depends upon our learning. If our learning is limited, we will not have the ability to be flexible in asking and answering questions in the group meetings. If someone were to ask a question in the group meeting concerning the meaning of the divine dispensing, our ability to answer such a question would depend upon our learning. In order to give a proper answer, we need to learn. If we practice to be living, to be open to one another in fellowship, to have the mutual care, mutual intercession, and mutual shepherding, but do not have the capacity to perfect the saints through the mutual teaching, our group meetings will not reach the goal. The group meetings do not just depend upon the new ones alone. Many times the new ones are wonderful, but not all of the time. We need those who are capable in teaching. If we bring several new ones together in a group meeting and no one is there who is capable in teaching, the result will not be very promising.
In the practice of the group meetings, perfecting others through teaching requires the most learning. This perfecting is mentioned in Ephesians 4:12. This perfecting by the apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherd-teachers can only be carried out thoroughly in the group meetings. I believe that the proper meeting which gives us the way to carry out the perfecting is the group meeting. The proper church life needs the group meetings. Without a proper group meeting, we cannot live a proper church life. Eighty percent of the proper church life depends upon the group meetings. The condition of the group meeting is entirely up to each member of the group. If each member does well, the group meeting will be very good. If the members do not do well, the group meeting will collapse.
We all have to pay the price to learn many things concerning the group meetings. According to my observation, both in Taipei and in this country, the biggest shortcoming among us is our unwillingness to learn. Even if we are willing to learn, there is the need to pay the price. To do anything, a price must be paid. We must have a heart full of willingness to learn and to practice the group meetings. As Christians, we need to love the Lord and live a life of morning revival and daily victory. We also need to preach the gospel to get sinners saved and baptized. Then we need to care for these new believers. We also need to live the normal church life in our locality. In order to take care of these matters, we need a willingness in our heart to pay the price. Without such willingness, it is impossible to practice the above things.
The more we go back to the Bible to study the Christian life and Christian service, the more we see that God's ordained way will make us very busy. No one can be idle and take God's ordained way. The Lord has shown us His way, but the practice is lacking. To enter into the practice, we must have the willingness and the paying of the price. I do not expect that all of the saints will practice the God-ordained way, but I do expect that at least one-third of the saints will practice the Lord's way. If just one-third of the saints practice the Lord's way honestly and faithfully with a pure motive and heart, the Lord will see the success. In order to fully enter into the God-ordained way, we must learn a lot. We must learn to get out of our natural habit and learn to be living and open. We have to learn the Word and experience the truth, accumulating a good deposit within us. We must also learn how to take the opportunity to practice what we have learned. Then we will receive the benefit, and the church will be built up.