We have now finished the seven mysteries mentioned in 1 John: (1) life; (2) fellowship; (3) abiding; (4) the anointing; (5) the divine birth; (6) the divine seed; and (7) the water, the blood, and the Spirit. If we are in the reality of these mysteries, there will be seven things which characterize us.
There should be growth in the church life. It is all too common for Christians to remain the same year after year. If we are still the way we were ten years ago, all of us will be on the same level as far as life is concerned. This is a poor situation and indicates a lack of growth. Among us there should be fathers, young men, and little children.
If you were saved some years ago, you should not still be a babe, only able to call, “Abba, Father.” You should be strong, having the Word of God abide in you and overcoming the wicked one (1 John 2:14). By the nourishing, watering, enlightening word in the Bible, you should be able to testify how you have been strengthened and that all worldly things are under your feet. Have you reached such a stage?
In the church life we should be able to see three stages of growth. New ones should be born in our midst-little children, who know the Father (2:13). As in a family, we love, care for, and protect these little ones, who are lively and even sometimes naughty. But we need also those on another level-young men, strong enough to fight the enemy and guard the church against any attacks. They should be strong in the Word, able to resist the world, the satanic system which frustrates people from God’s purpose and from enjoying Him. Finally, we must also have those on the highest level-the fathers, who keep going back to the beginning.
That which was from the beginning is the eternal life. The Son of God as the life-giving Spirit is the origin of all things. The origin of the church, of holiness, of our new birth, and of our growth is life. Because of their experience, the fathers in the church have learned to stay with life. When others go to them to argue about doctrines or to get help with a problem in their family relationships, the fathers always bring these inquiring ones back to life.
To have these three levels in the church life is one issue of the seven mysteries we have been considering. We shall see in the church some lively and living new ones, some strong, vigilant young men, and some fathers rich in life.
Another issue will be a strong testimony that the One who is in us is greater than the one in the world. We shall hear testimonies of victory, which declare to the whole universe that the Triune God who is within us is greater than the evil one, Satan, who is in the world. These victories in our family life, in our school life, and among the older ones are the outcome of the seven mysteries. We shall all realize that the dear One who abides in us far outweighs Satan. This victorious testimony could not be if the church is merely for doctrine. We can testify that our God is the greatest because we have experienced Him in these seven ways.
Thirdly, there will be no place for the world. Without being exhorted not to love the world, the church will nonetheless find that the world has no hold on it. Because it contains the divine seed of life, the church will have no part in the world. The distinction goes further than not loving the world.
“Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world....He that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not” (1 John 5:4, 18). The keeping or guarding mentioned here is mainly from the world. The world is a satanic system which has ensnared everyone, including Christians. The only way out of this trap is by the life germ within us.
There was a pastor of over twenty-five years’ experience who was helped by the ministry and began to know life. Some of the sisters in the church talked with his wife and tried to be of help to her. One of them gave a testimony of being restrained by the Lord when she went shopping. She picked up one item and then another, and both times she had a sense within that she should put them back. On hearing this testimony, the pastor’s wife was troubled. Although she had been a Christian for many years, she had never heard of such an experience. She concluded that the sisters must have been told by Brother Lee that they should not buy certain things!
I tell you this story to illustrate that you may pastor a congregation for years and preach sermons to them out of the Bible, yet after all your labors they may still know very little about life. Is not such a congregation trapped in the world, even as secular people are?
If the church is practicing the seven mysteries, on the other hand, they will be filled with life. They will hear the little word “no” time after time. When they go for a haircut, or when they go shopping, a voice within will say no to what they want. One of the most common words the Lord says to them is “no.” When they eventually agree with this no and go along with the inner constraint, they will have an amen within. Then their response will be, “Praise the Lord!”
From what comes this inner speaking? From life. There is no outward regulation, but Someone is within. This life is the substance of these mysteries. As the life grows, we shall be rescued from the world. Yet rescue is not the best word here. We shall rather rise above, or grow out of, the world. We are the calamus plant, shooting out of the muddy situation into the clear sky. This is resurrection. When we look down from the heavens, we shall see how small, how pathetic, and how unlovely the world is. We shall wonder how we could ever have thought it attractive. Thus, the whole church will rise up from the world.
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