I do not believe that the Lord will use the gifts very much in His recovery. He will reveal Himself to the seeking ones as life, and this life will be expressed in love. It is not a human kind of love. This love is simply God Himself, living in us and expressed through us.
We must abandon the concept that gifts are the only requirement for the building up of the church. Gifts alone and, even more, the teachings cannot build up the church. Teaching divides and causes division. Every denomination has been established by a teacher. Church history shows that whenever and wherever there was a great teacher, there was a division. Teaching divides, but love unites and builds up. The only thing that builds up is love. But the love of which we are speaking and the love the Bible teaches is not human love. This love is God Himself; so to realize this love, we must relinquish all other things. We should not trust in anything but love for the building up of the church. We should not put our trust in gifts or teachings.
Some have been teaching for years, but where is one genuine church built up by teaching? Christianity is not new; it has been here for centuries. But where is the church built up by teachings? History shows that teachings and gifts have not been effective in the building up of the church. We should never put our trust in these things, but rather in love. The Lord be merciful to us that we may drop all distracting things and come back to love-just love. We all must realize that nothing can build up the church but love. Ephesians 4:16 tells us it is in love that the Body builds itself up. But the problem is that we are so religious and natural. We still have the concept that we need teachings.
Others condemn us and say that we are exclusive and do not accept all ministries. But if we were to invite the best speakers on earth to come and speak to us, the church would simply be a mess. Suppose we have twelve good, spiritual, sound and fundamental teachers speak to us every month for a year. I am afraid that by the next year, the church will be gone. Only love edifies and builds up the church. It is not merely the gifts, the teachings or the ministries that build up the church; it is love.
First Corinthians 13 says that even if I know mysteries and have all knowledge and prophecy, yet without love, I am nothing. As far as the building up of the Body is concerned, without love I am nothing. These things alone cannot build up the Body. We must all change our concept so that we do not put so much trust in teachings. The Body can only be built up in love. If we would love, we must give up many things of the teachings and gifts. We should not trust in anything more than love.
Look at the situation today. Where is the church that is built up by teaching? In the past nineteen years of experience in Formosa, those who thought they had a gift of teaching became troublemakers. There was not one exception. They proclaimed that they had the gift, but they did not help the work much. The work was mostly carried on by those who did not claim to have a gift. They just learned to serve the Lord by being what they were. They did not consider themselves as gifted persons, but just served the Lord in love. Thus, we see that it is not the gift, but love. All the churches on the island of Formosa do not have much trust in gifts, because by past experience they saw that all the trouble came from the so-called gifted persons.
If we are going to practice the church life, our concept must be one hundred percent turned. Do not trust much in any teaching or gift. They do not work so well. The real building comes from love, simply love. We must drop the concept that teachings, gifts and other things can help much in the building up of the church.
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