The last point which John testified for Christ is that He is the Bridegroom (John 3:29). This is something related to the church. John was clear concerning who the Lord was, but John’s disciples were not clear. They became quite concerned when they saw that more and more people went to Jesus instead of to John; therefore they came and told John what was happening. It was their feeling that the people should come to John. Nevertheless, John told them, “I said, I am not the Christ....He who has the bride is the bridegroom....He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:28-30). What John was saying to his disciples was that Jesus is the Christ. Not only should others go to Jesus, but his own disciples should go to Him also. It was as if John was saying, “Do not come to me. I am not the Christ; He is. I am not the Bridegroom; He is. I must decrease, but He must increase to have the bride, which is the church.”
When John said, “He must increase, but I must decrease,” this means that Christ must have the church as His increase. The church is the increase of Christ. The bride is the increase of the Bridegroom. We all must decrease in order that Christ might increase to have the church. Today it is as if many would not allow Christ to have the church. If we keep our work for the Lord in our own hands as our own increase, we will not allow Christ to have the increase. However, He who has the bride is the Bridegroom. The church must be for Christ.
The ultimate issue of John’s ministry was the increase of Christ, but John was decreased to nothing. Throughout the centuries, all the genuine servants raised up by the Lord have eventually been put away. The Apostle Paul labored abundantly. His ministry was indeed wonderful, but eventually he was put into prison and then martyred. He was simply cut off. Christ received the increase, but the Apostle Paul was decreased to nothing.
All of us today know the name of Brother Watchman Nee. His ministry has been very much blessed by the Lord. Nevertheless, where is he now? He has been in prison for over eighteen years. From his ministry, Christ has the increase! Watchman Nee was simply decreased to nothing, and Christ has increased quite much. This is completely different from the way of those who glory over their own ministry. If the Christian workers receive the increase themselves, Christ is forced to decrease. This is wrong. The more we work for the Lord, the more we will be put away, and even the sooner we may be put away.
Suppose there are two brothers here who are planning to migrate to Chicago to spread the church life. They need to be willing to be put away after something has been brought forth in Chicago. We all need to learn the lesson of being decreased. Our work should not be our increase, but Christ’s. Our work must be His increase and our decrease.
We need to consider what happened to John the Baptist after he said that he must decrease and Christ must increase. First he was put into prison, and then he was tested. In Matthew 11, he sent some of his disciples to Jesus to ask Him if He was really the Messiah. John was somewhat challenging Jesus by saying, in effect, “If You are the Messiah, why do You not rescue me from prison?” Neither the disciples of John nor the disciples of Jesus knew the intent of John’s inquiry. John’s question was, “Are You the coming One, or should we expect someone else?” (Matt. 11:3). No one else understood, but the Lord Jesus understood. Therefore He answered, “Go, report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised, and the poor have the gospel preached to them; and blessed is he who shall not be stumbled in Me” (Matt. 11:4-6).
The Lord was telling John that He did many miraculous things; yet He would do nothing for John. “Blessed is he who shall not be stumbled in Me.” The Lord was telling John to be careful, and not to be stumbled. What John asked, no one understood but Jesus. When Jesus answered, no one understood but John. All the others were messengers, sending and bringing the messages back and forth. They simply could not understand what these two were talking about. Jesus understood what John meant, and John understood what Jesus meant. Therefore John, in a sense, could have said, “Lord, I understand. You must increase, and I must decrease.” A little later, John was beheaded.
This is the Lord’s way to serve. We need to tell people to repent for the kingdom of heaven and to be under the heavenly ruling. We need to testify also that Jesus is the Son of God, the Lamb of God, and the Baptizer in the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, eventually He becomes the Bridegroom, and whatever we have worked out will become His bride, the church, which is His increase. He must increase, and we must decrease. Are you willing to serve the Lord in this way? This is the way to have the church. We should not labor with some expectation of a reward at our retirement, for the church will reward us with a decrease. He must increase, and we must decrease.