We need to perfect the saints as the apostles do. Paul is a wonderful pattern to us of what an apostle should do. In 1 Thessalonians 2:11 we see that Paul exhorted the believers, consoled them, and testified to them as a father. Acts 20:20 and 27 tell us that Paul taught the believers publicly and from house to house, not shrinking from declaring to them all the counsel of God. Acts 20:31 says that Paul admonished each one of the believers with tears night and day. Paul spent much time to tell the Ephesians concerning God’s eternal economy. He even wrote a marvelous Epistle to them of six chapters telling them about the counsel of God’s will (Eph. 1:11). Paul did not just teach the saints publicly in big meetings, but he also went to all the homes of the believers, admonishing each one of them with tears night and day. “Night and day” means that the apostle was available to the saints according to their convenience. If the saints did not have the time during the day, Paul would go to them in the night. If they did not have the time in the night, he would go to them in the day. Paul was available to the saints, and he was flexible to visit the saints according to their convenience. Paul said that during the three years he was with the saints in Ephesus, he did not cease admonishing them. We all have to learn from Paul’s example.
On the one hand, all of us need to be perfected to do the work of the ministry. On the other hand, we have to realize that many of us have received some perfecting in our years in the church life. Actually, the church meetings are meetings of perfecting. All of us have been equipped to a certain degree, and we have been furnished with some knowledge of the Bible and with some experiences of Christ. Now we have to begin to do the same thing as the gifted ones do.
After we baptize some, we need to go back and have home meetings with them. When we go to visit the newly baptized ones, we should not shepherd them and teach them in the traditional, natural, and old way. We should not go to them in the type of a preacher. When we come to their door, we may be singing the chorus of a hymn, and we can ask them to join us. Of course, in the real situation everything will be living, flexible, and spontaneous. In our fellowship with them, we need to help them to talk about their enjoyment and experience of Christ and the enlightenment they have received from the Word.
We should not meet with them in a formal way. We need to talk with them in a living way to meet their need. We can use what they say to bring up a subject in a spontaneous way. Sometimes we may have a lesson from the Truth Lessons or Life Lessons, but we should not come to the home meeting merely to teach that lesson. In our talk with the new ones, they may bring up a subject that is so fitting with the lesson that we choose. We can talk with them about the contents of that message and at a certain point, let them read a certain paragraph. We do not need to speak too much, perhaps only fifteen minutes to give them one point. This is the teaching of the truth. In this way, gradually, the new ones can be fully established in two or three months. They will continually come to the meeting, and they will not be led astray by other groups. Spontaneously, we can group them with some other new ones in the neighborhood. Three or four families grouped together can become a small group.
In this small group meeting we can have fellowship together and prayer. Perhaps one person would say, “Brothers, one brother is not among us because he was in a car accident.” Based upon this brother’s report we can pray. After this prayer, we can have some fellowship. Then we will know the real situation of all the members of the group. After listening to the fellowship, we can realize that a certain brother may have difficulties in his financial situation. Then we can pray for him and take care of him. This brings in the mutual care.
Some of the new ones may ask some questions that will give an opportunity for the teaching of the truth. One brother may say that he used to smoke before he got saved, but now he does not have the peace to smoke. He may ask why this is the case. This opens up a door for us to teach the truth. We can tell him that he does not have the taste to smoke anymore because the Lord Jesus is in him. Many members in the group can share something on this point. We can help this new brother to follow the inner anointing. We can point out to him that his inner sensation and feeling of not having the peace to smoke is of the Lord and that this is the Lord’s moving in him, the inner anointing.
We need to break all formalities and arrangements and avoid any kind of program. The small group meeting should be very living and flexible. We need to meet in these small groups week after week. After about one year of meeting in this way, everyone can be edified and perfected. Everyone will be growing in life and will be advancing in the knowledge of the biblical truths. After a year of these group meetings, we can encourage the new ones to bear the burden to carry out the church life. We may say, “Brothers, we have been meeting this way for about one year. Now we all have to go out to get new ones. Maybe ten of us can go out to gain people. After we gain these new ones, we can raise them up in the same way that we were raised up. We can have home meetings with them and group them together for small group meetings.” In this way the church will be increased from one generation of saints to another generation. One small group meeting can branch out into eleven small group meetings. Ten of the saints can go out to carry out the same work of saving sinners, having home meetings with them, and forming them into group meetings. In this way everyone will be occupied in the Lord’s service, and spontaneously the entire church will be the universal priesthood.
In the past, we did not see clearly the scriptural way to carry out the Lord’s recovery. As a result, we did a lot of groping in our service. If I do not know where the light switch is in a room, all I can do is grope in the darkness. But if I know where the switch is and turn it on, I can do things in an efficient way. Because the Lord has shown us His scriptural way to practice the church life, we will be successful if we rise up to cooperate with the Lord. Within three or four years, we will see the increase of the church and the evidence of the growth in life. After about a year, the new ones can be perfected to repeat our work. This is the reality of the gifted ones perfecting the saints unto the work of the ministry, which is the unique ministry of the New Testament to build up the Body of Christ.