The New Testament priesthood is universal; it is not just for a minority of people. This means that every saved person is a priest. Everyone needs to offer up sinners as sacrifices. Although in the past we were in one accord to arouse the whole church to preach the gospel, most of the brothers and sisters were not priests of the gospel. They were only there serving as Levites. They served only in ushering, inviting, cleaning, and chair arranging. Only the few brothers who delivered messages were the priests. Hence, the old way of preaching the gospel kills the universal priesthood of the New Testament.
Today when we help all the brothers and sisters to be priests, we have to help them all to preach the gospel. Everyone has to go out to save people directly. No one can replace anyone else. This is what is illustrated in John 15. The Lord is the true vine, and we are branches of that vine. Those branches that do not bear fruit are cut off (vv. 1-2). The cutting off here does not refer to eternal perdition. Rather, it refers to the loss of the rich enjoyment in Christ.
Hence, we have to see that today the need is not to change the method of gospel preaching. Because the gospel preaching in the old way kills the priesthood of the saints and replaces the universal priesthood with a few priests, we have to turn from such error. This is an error in the system and in nature. In order for us to recover the universal priesthood of believers in the New Testament, everyone has to go preach the gospel and be a priest. The first offering that we have to offer in Christ is the saved sinner. Only by doing so can we be the New Testament priests of the gospel.
I mentioned in the conference in Kaohsiung last week the reason why we must annul the gatherings of one man speaking and all listening and must have the small group gatherings instead. I would like to repeat this matter based on the New Testament.
John chapter four records the Lord’s conversation with a dishonorable Samaritan woman (vv. 5-26). The woman was very clever. When the Lord touched the matter of her sins, she immediately turned the conversation from the five husbands to the matter of religious worship. She said, “Our fathers worshipped in this mountain, and you say that in Jerusalem is the place where men must worship” (v. 20). The Lord answered her, saying, “An hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem shall you worship the Father....the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and reality” (vv. 21-23). The Lord was revealing to her that the worship in the Old Testament was a matter of a physical place, but now the New Testament has come. The New Testament worship is a matter of the human spirit. Only when we are in spirit and in reality can God gain the true worship. Unfortunately, Christianity has become degraded; those in it have not worshipped and served in the spirit. Hence, we have to recover the New Testament worship.
We have received light from the Lord to see that the New Testament worship is not a matter of religious service. It should not have any set time or place and should have no set program or procedures. Paul said in Philippians 3:3 that we serve in Christ by the Spirit of God.
Our coming together tonight is not just for a worship service nor is it merely a meeting. We are coming by the Spirit of God. We have to exercise our spirit to sing, praise, pray, and speak for the Lord. Strictly speaking, our meeting should not begin at the scheduled time. Rather, it should begin from the time that we leave our home for the meeting. It should even begin from the time of our morning revival. During the whole day we should live in this condition of praise, revival, and renewal. In the evening when we come to the meeting and even before we come to the meeting, we begin to sing and praise. When the brothers and sisters gradually arrive, some sooner and others later, they all begin to exercise their spirits. This kind of serving by the Spirit of God is not a worship service. Rather, it is the proper way to worship according to the New Testament.
The reason that we have to change the system today is not merely to change a method and replace the big meetings with small meetings. Rather, it is because the big meetings with one speaker do not match the nature of God’s New Testament economy. This is why we have to change the system. God’s economy in the New Testament is for everyone to be saved, regenerated, and enlivened in his spirit. From the day that one is saved, he should be a revived person, praising and singing all the time. When he comes to the meeting, he should be able to exercise his spirit and serve by the Spirit of God.
In the small group meeting, every one of us should either sing or pray. Some should also spontaneously give some testimonies. Some can raise questions for discussion so that one another’s needs can be met. There should be fellowship and prayer for one another which include shepherding and care. In this way, it will not be just a meeting but a communal living of the Christians. It will not be a big community but a small community. Only then will we truly be delivered from the religious system to realize God’s desire.