In human society the way to teach people is to gather them together as students with a single teacher. The traditional way of meeting in Christianity is also for a number of people to come together with a Bible teacher. However, Hebrews 10:24-25 says, “And let us consider one another for inciting to love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the custom with some is, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the day drawing near.” The phrases “consider one another,” “inciting to love and good works,” and “exhorting one another” indicate that the meeting spoken of in these verses is not a meeting for one to teach and the others to listen. This is a meeting in which all the attendants are the same, inciting and exhorting each other.
Ephesians 4:11-12 says, “And He gave some apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some shepherds and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints unto the work of ministry, unto the building up of the Body of Christ.” All four categories of gifted persons perfect the saints. The evangelist may have a burden to perfect the saints in the matter of gospel preaching, to stir them up and teach the truths concerning the gospel. According to the natural way of thinking, he will ask the elders to arrange a meeting for this purpose once a week. Then each category of gifted ones will in turn arrange their own special meetings for perfecting the saints. This is not the way in which the gifted ones should perfect the saints. Rather, in a group meeting an apostle may be present, and there may also be a prophet, an evangelist, or a shepherd and teacher. Then spontaneously each one can teach in a mutual way.
In our study and experimentation, we have found that the best way to teach is to raise questions in the group meetings. By asking the proper questions and answering the questions of others, we spontaneously teach, instruct, and perfect others. In the past we prepared two sets of lesson books, Truth Lessons and Life Lessons, intending that they could be used in the home meetings and group meetings. When we prepared those lessons, we were not clear that the best way to teach mutually is to ask questions. We need to learn not only how to answer the questions of the new ones in the group meetings, but also how to ask questions. To ask questions in a proper way is even more difficult than to answer them. If we have a burden to teach a certain item, we should not teach it directly but turn this burden into a question. We may have a burden to teach the new ones about dealing with idols. However, we should not do this as a teacher. We should rather ask the saints in the group meeting how to deal with idols. This will stir up all the attendants to say something. There will be different kinds of answers with different points. Each one will say something, and all the speaking will become part of the teaching. Then a brother who knows more than the others can add something, and someone else can add even more. The result will be a very good and complete teaching concerning dealing with idols. This way of teaching by asking questions is not carried out by only one person. Rather, it gives an opportunity to all the attendants in the group meeting to function. Regardless of how much one knows and how good his speaking may be, one person’s speaking can never compare with many answers.
By attending a group meeting like this every week for one or two years, the attendants will learn much. One week someone may ask how to deal with idols. Another week someone may ask how to pray. There is no systematized way and no fixed line of subjects. Whether the persons in the meeting have been saved for twenty years or two months, they all have some experience, and they all can say something. After attending group meetings in this way for three or four years, the saints will be perfected. This is not too long to wait. A child cannot be raised overnight. He must attend elementary school for six years, junior high school for two or three years, high school for three or four years, and then college for four more years. Then, after sixteen years of education, a young person is perfected and can go out to do something in society. This is the right way to perfect others, and we must learn to take this way. We cannot accomplish anything quickly. Some churches have been established for nearly sixteen years, but because we did not practice the proper way, they have not gained much. This can be compared to allowing our children to play and fight for sixteen years without ever sending them to school. After many years they will not have an education and will not be useful. This may be our situation. We may have wasted much time. From now on we need a change in our way. To build up a society we need the begetting, feeding, teaching, and building up of the children. The church is the heavenly, spiritual society. Thus, to build up the church, we need begetting in order to gain persons for the Lord. Then we need to feed those whom we have gained, and we must also teach them and build them up.