Satan’s deception is to kill the organic function of the members of Christ through religious service, to replace the church as the organism of the Triune God through religious organization, and to counterfeit the Body of Christ as the fullness and expression of the Triune God through religious association. The service in Christianity today is almost entirely religious. When a person becomes a member, all he needs to do is to listen to sermons and give money. Eventually, his organic function as a member of Christ is annulled. Moreover, the religious organization has replaced the church as the organism of the Triune God, and the religious association has become a counterfeit to the organic Body of Christ.
Satan’s confusion comes, first, by his using a few specially gifted ones to preach the gospel, thereby despising the function of every believer as a component of God’s priesthood of the gospel. When man exalts the gospel preaching of the gospel giants, the function of thousands of believers as God’s priesthood of the gospel is despised. Today, many believers cannot preach the gospel. This is true even among us. They can zealously invite people to come to gospel meetings, but after the message, they still have to find some gifted ones to talk to their friends. This is the result of honoring the few gifted ones while despising the corporate priesthood. The New Testament priests that God is after are a priesthood and a corporate entity. The word priesthood is difficult to translate into Chinese. This is why the Chinese Union Version translated it only as “priest” without the “hood” (1 Pet. 2:5, 9). But this is to miss a great truth. Our own Chinese translation, however, has taken great pains to bring out this distinction. The New Testament priests do not exist as individuals. Rather, they function as a priesthood. Therefore, there will surely be a despising of the priesthood of the gospel whenever the gift of gospel preaching of single individuals is too highly honored.
Second, Satan’s confusion comes when he uses a few clergy to shepherd and care for new believers, thereby denying the spiritual organic function of every believer in nourishing and caring for one another. God’s economy is for every believer to nourish and care for the new believers and for one another (1 Cor. 12:25). However, Satan’s confusion is to have a few clergy to shepherd and care for the new ones. “Shepherds” in Ephesians 4:11 has been translated by some as “pastors.” Man’s concept today is that a doctor is needed for illness, a lawyer is needed for a lawsuit, and a pastor is needed for help in prayer and supplication. Many Christians cannot even pray. They ask a pastor to come and pray for them. But the Bible shows us that many brothers and sisters, even all of us, are shepherds. Hence, the way of using a few clergy to shepherd and care for the new believers is a denial of the spiritual organic function of every believer in nourishing and caring for one another.
Third, Satan’s confusion comes when professional teachers are used to teach and edify the saints, thereby replacing the work of each saint being perfected to perfect others unto the work of the New Testament ministry of the building up of the Body of Christ. God’s economy is for the gifted ones to perfect the saints that the latter would all participate in the work of the building up of the Body of Christ (Eph. 4:11-16). But the practice in Christianity is to employ the professional teachers to teach and edify the saints. In this way, the work of each saint being perfected to perfect others unto the work of the building up of the Body of Christ is replaced.
Fourth, Satan’s confusion comes when prophesying and speaking for the Lord are regarded as the exclusive gift of a few people, and the fact that every believer can and should be a prophet speaking for the Lord is not recognized. This was also the case among us in the past. As a result, we suffered greatly during the past forty years. If we had taken the proper view and way forty years ago when we began our work here, I believe most of the brothers and sisters would be able to prophesy by now.
Using a few specially gifted ones for the preaching of the gospel, using a few clergy to shepherd and care for new believers, using professional teachers to teach and edify the saints, and regarding prophesying and the speaking for the Lord as the exclusive gift of a few people are the confusion of Satan. They make everyone unclear. Now we have to expose Satan’s confusion and rise up together to attack Satan, the evil one. The above describes the crooked way that Satan has used throughout the ages to damage and confuse the God-ordained, proper way for saints to meet and to serve God. It is not an evil way. But it is a crooked way. It makes us crooked. Hence, we have to expose it.