After baptizing people, we must bear the burden to care for them. If we baptize them, we will be like nursing mothers, loving them and considering them as little babes. We need to go back to them as soon as possible and then continue to go back to them again and again until they are established. These home meetings are for their nourishing and cherishing.
Then we can bring the new ones who live in the same neighborhood together for a small group gathering of perhaps twelve to twenty saints. In that small group, we have to do everything to help them and fellowship with them. We can open up ourselves to them and allow them to open up themselves to us. Then we can have some prayer with them. We can ask them to care for us, and tell them that we will care for them. Then we will have the mutual care as Christian brothers and sisters. The small group gathering will be a time for this mutual care. This kind of Christian care is the warm cherishing. When a mother puts her child into her bosom, she is cherishing him. In the small group gatherings, we also need to teach the saints, giving them particular instructions concerning their daily life. This will help them to grow in life.
Therefore, in the small group meetings, we can fellowship with the new ones, pray for them, take care of them, teach them, and give them instructions for their growth in life. After half a year, these new ones will grow up and can be raised up to bear some burden to do what we are doing. They can be perfected to preach the gospel, to take care of home meetings, and to have small group meetings. Through the begetting, the nourishing, and the perfecting, the church can be multiplied repeatedly.
To carry out these crucial matters, we need to love the Lord. Even if we feel that we do not love the Lord Jesus, His love is within us because we have been saved by Him. The divine love of Jesus is a hidden factor within us. We should sincerely pray: “Lord Jesus, I don’t love You. Forgive me. Have mercy upon me. I want to love You. Make me love You. Constrain me with Your love for me to love You.” Then the Lord will answer this prayer, and we will begin to love Him. When we touch the Lord directly, we get stirred up from within to love Him. Because we love Him, we have to cooperate with Him to accomplish His desire for the organic building up of His Body.
We need to come out of old, traditional Christianity. We need to be up to date with the Lord. The means of transportation on the earth has improved tremendously throughout history. Why would we travel by a mule wagon when we can take a 747? We need to pick up the best way to practice the church life, which is the scriptural way. We have to preach the gospel to sinners, have home meetings with them in their homes, and group them together to have small group gatherings where the mutual care and building can take place for them to grow in life and learn the truths. After six months to a year, they will be able to repeat our work to do the work of the New Testament ministry, which is to build up the Body of Christ organically.
If we rise up to take care of these three crucial matters— begetting, nourishing, and perfecting—the atmosphere, the situation, the condition, and the environment of the entire church life will be changed and improved in every way. All of us must rise up to do the work of the apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers. According to the New Testament, all the believers are priests (1 Pet. 2:5, 9; Rev. 1:6). Paul told us in Romans 15:16 that he ministered as a priest of the gospel of God, that the offering of the nations might be acceptable, having been sanctified in the Holy Spirit. To preach the gospel is to offer the nations as a sacrifice to God for His satisfaction. This is altogether different from the practice of Christianity. We have no clergy or laity because we are all priests. We should all function as apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers so that we can see the reality of the building up of the Body of Christ.
Now we want to go on to see the fourth crucial matter for the organic building up of the Body of Christ—prophesying. First Corinthians 14 is an extraordinary chapter in the Bible because the entire chapter exalts prophesying. Verse one says, “Pursue love, and desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but rather that you may prophesy.” Verse 39 says, “Therefore, my brothers, desire earnestly to prophesy.” Verse 12 says, “Since you are zealots of spiritual gifts, seek that you may excel to the building up of the church.” The Greek word for “excel” may also be translated “abound.” “Excel” is the best translation because it is used in the way of comparison. Paul’s evaluation of speaking in tongues is low because it does not build up the Body of Christ. To prophesy, however, builds up the church as the Body of Christ. It excels all the other spiritual gifts, and it is the particular gift for the organic building up of the church (vv. 4-5). This is why Paul promotes and exalts the gift of prophesying.
The great lack among us is the building up of the Body of Christ. For us to be together is one thing, but to be built up is another thing. Togetherness is like the piling up of the building materials. The materials need to be fitted and built together for the building. The spiritual building up is accomplished by our prophesying. First Corinthians 14 is a unique chapter that talks about the building up of the church (vv. 4-5, 12, 26), and the unique excelling gift for this building is prophesying. Since we love the Lord and love the church, we must learn to prophesy.