What is the way for such an enjoyment? It is simply by keeping the unity. So many today excuse themselves by saying that it was easy in the time of the Apostles, but now it is not so easy. They say that it is impossible to keep the unity; so we must not talk about it; it is enough to talk about the Lord Jesus and help others to know Him. They even say that the more we speak about unity, the more divisions we will have. But if we are not in the unity, we will be short of the ointment and the dew. Then it will be difficult for the Lord to command the blessing of life.
How can we keep the unity? We must see that the unity of the Body is the unity of the Spirit. The very Spirit Himself is the unity. To keep the unity simply means to keep the Spirit. We can only keep what we already have; so the unity of the Spirit is already here. We only need to keep it.
But how can we keep the unity? According to the record of the New Testament, to keep the unity in Jerusalem was easy, for there were no other divisions. And to keep the unity in Antioch was also easy. But to keep the unity in Corinth was not so easy. The church in Corinth was divided into four groups: one of Paul, another of Cephas, another of Apollos, and another “of Christ.” All of these four groups were composed of real believers. In such a situation, how could they keep the unity? If we were to keep the unity with those that were of Paul, would that be the proper unity? They may love us, and we may love them, but it would not be the proper unity. It would be unity on the ground of Paul, not on the ground of unity.
In Old Testament times, Jerusalem was the place chosen by God for His people to worship. But they were all carried away to Babylon. Suppose we were one of those in Babylon; would we be in the proper unity? It may be real, but it would not be proper because the ground is wrong; it is the wrong place. Only the place which the Lord chooses is the proper ground of unity.
If we went to the group of Cephas or Apollos, or even to the one that is “of Christ,” the result would be the same. Regardless of how much we love them and are one with them, the ground is wrong. It may be real, but it is wrong. Paul says that these are divisions!
So first of all, we must know the unity, and we must know the proper unity. It is impossible to keep the proper unity in Babylon or in any of those divisive groups in Corinth. We must come back to Jerusalem, i.e., the ground of locality. If we are in Babylon, we must come back to Jerusalem. If we are in one of the divisive groups in Corinth, we must come back to the ground of unity in Corinth. It is impossible to have the proper unity in any divisive group. We must come back to the one unique ground of unity.
Perhaps you are by yourself. What should you do? First of all, you must get out of Babylon. Do not say that since you are alone, it is better to wait until the Lord brings others to join you. If you take this attitude, you will surely have to wait. This means that you are not absolute. If you are absolute, you will realize that it is impossible to keep the proper unity in any kind of divisive group, regardless of how spiritual you are. You must keep yourself from anything divisive and come back to the ground of unity. If you are really absolute and mean business with the Lord, you will experience the Lord commanding the blessing of life upon you.
When we have the unity, there the Lord commands the blessing. Then we have the enjoyment of the ointment and the dew of life. What has happened in Los Angeles is really a testimony of this. Since the brothers began to take the standing of unity here on the ground of locality, there has been such an enjoyment of the ointment and the dew! I can never forget the first conference in Los Angeles in December of 1962. The first time we sang “Oh, What a Life! Oh, What a Peace!” the roof nearly rose to the sky! There were only about 70 of us, but such a blessing of life! In all of these past years, I believe the brothers and sisters have tasted the commanding of the Lord’s blessing.
Do not be afraid that you will be alone. You must be faithful to Him and be absolute for the unity. Just pray, “Lord, be merciful to me. I must take this standing of the local ground. I am not for the ground of any division, but for the ground of the local church.” If you take care of the standing of unity, the Lord will take care of the commanded blessing. The Lord will raise up others to meet with you. Then you can testify to the whole universe of the blessing of unity. The number may be small, but the unity will be real and proper.
The brothers and sisters here can testify by His mercy and grace that we have the real brotherly love. It is not that we encourage the brothers to love. We simply have the love. This is the real unity of Philadelphia. The Lord opens the door, and no one can shut it.
In 1932, when the Lord raised us up in North China, we were nearly all young in years. Most of us were under thirty. We began to meet on a very small scale, and the denominational leaders said, “Let them play. It will not last long.” But in less than ten years, that little testimony spread throughout North China. We have heard the same thing in this country. Just recently someone said that the local church will not work here in America. But let us wait and see. It all depends upon our absoluteness and our faithfulness to the Lord.
If this matter is our business, it means nothing. But if it is His business, it is not a small thing. The local church is indeed the King’s business; so we must take a stand. Of course, some will oppose us. Nevertheless, we must take the Lord’s way of unity. And if we take this way, we must be absolute. If you do not feel burdened to take this way, I do not encourage you to take it. If you feel that you have peace in going along with the denominations, just do it. But if you are going to take the way of the ground of unity, do it in an absolute way. Do not do it lightly. We must mean business with the Lord.
We are in the Lord’s recovery, and the time is short. Luke 21:24 says that Jerusalem will be trodden under the feet of the Gentiles until the fullness of the time of the Gentiles. But Jerusalem has already been returned. I really believe that the Lord will do a quick work. We must be wise. Therefore, I believe that all the scattered brothers and sisters should come together to one or more centers. Even the students had better not study in a place without a church. The place to study is where there is a prevailing church. We must not put our studies first, but the church life. Even our jobs do not matter. As long as we can make a living, let us be concentrated. Then we can declare to the whole world and to Satan the fact of our unity. The ointment will flow and the dew will come down, and we will see the Lord commanding His blessing. Even the gates of Hades will not be able to stand against us.
I do believe that this is the strategic way. First of all we must be concentrated, and then equipped to bear the testimony and give the enemy the shame. Then we will go out to spread the unity of the church life to other cities.
This is the way to keep the unity. We must leave all the divisive groups and take the ground of unity. And we must seek the Lord’s leading for us to be concentrated together. Of course, no one controls this matter. We all must seek the Lord’s guidance. Perhaps the Lord will lead some to meet here in Los Angeles, or with those in Akron, or with those in Houston. We all must seek the Lord’s leading concerning this matter. It is only on the ground of unity that we have the ointment and the dew with the commanded blessing of life.
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