We have seen very clearly that the New Testament service is simply to bring forth Christ. Whatever we do today in the New Testament service should bring forth Christ to others. The first case of bringing forth Christ to others is the birth of Jesus. In this case we see the basic principle of the coordination of Mary with Joseph. For such a coordination in the New Testament service, we all need to be either a Mary or a Joseph. We may bring forth Christ in life, yet we may not have the position; therefore, we need others to position us. Without seeing this matter, we cannot bring forth Christ to others.
In these days many brothers and sisters have been migrating to other cities to spread the church life. When we go to another city, we should keep in mind that we need such a coordination, the coordination in life and the coordination in position. We need to worship God for His sovereignty in bringing Mary to Joseph and preparing Joseph for Mary, in order that, in such a coordination, Christ might be brought forth to the human race. By this coordination many promises of the Old Testament regarding Christ have been fulfilled. He was born of a virgin, He was the seed of the woman, He was the seed of Abraham, He was the seed of Isaac, He was the seed of Jacob, He was the seed of Judah, He was the Branch, He was the sprout of Jesse, He was the son of David, He was born in Bethlehem, He fled to Egypt, He came back to the land of Israel, and He settled in Nazareth to be called a Nazarene. All these promises and prophecies were fulfilled by this one coordination.
How can we fulfill God’s purpose on the earth today? There is no other way but by coordination. Whether we are a Mary or a Joseph, we need to coordinate together to bring forth Christ to man.
At the age of twelve, the Lord changed the situation with His family. Before this time, He was under the hand of Mary and Joseph, who had become accustomed to caring for Him. However, when He was twelve, the Lord indicated that Mary and Joseph should keep their hands off. (Twelve is a number meaning completeness.) In addition, when He began His ministry, at the time of the first miracle in Cana, the Lord did not call Mary His mother, but He called her, “Woman” (John 2:4). It was hard for Mary to learn this lesson.
At another time when the Lord was ministering, Mary and her other sons came secretly. Someone told the Lord that His mother was there, and the Lord immediately indicated that Mary was not His mother and that her sons were not His brothers. Only those who do the will of His Father are His mother and His brothers (Matt. 12:46-50). In the following chapter, Matthew 13, the people said that they all knew His father, His mother, and all His brothers and sisters (vv. 55-56). This may indicate that the family of the Lord Jesus more or less followed Him and would not give up until He was put on the cross.
This account is not merely a story, but a lesson for us to learn. When we are faithful to the Lord to bring forth Christ, it is really difficult for us to keep our hands off what we have brought forth. You may be used by the Lord to raise up a church, but eventually that church may become your favorite child. Nevertheless, when that church has come to maturity, you need to keep your hands off. This is the lesson, and it is not so easy. How easy it is to refer to something as “my church” and “my work.” It is rather difficult for any one of us to keep our hands off the work that we have accomplished for the Lord. After learning the lesson of coordination, this is the next lesson we need to learn. We need to keep our hands off the work; otherwise, it will be damaged.
From the beginning to the end, Mary needed to learn this one lesson. We should not think it is easy to keep our hands off the work that the Lord has accomplished through us. When we help some saints to grow in life and eventually they have matured, will we be able to keep our hands off? It is not easy, but we all need to learn this lesson. This is the New Testament way to serve the Lord. In coordination we all should be faithful; in accomplishment we all need to keep our hands off. The Apostle Paul accomplished much work in building up so many local churches, but eventually he was imprisoned. Whether he was willing or not, his hands were kept off the local churches he had raised up.