Our work for the Lord is to teach and perfect others, so we must have a change in concept. When we teach others, we do not hold back what we know. Rather, we do our best to impart all that we know into others. We do not have secrets that we keep from the saints in fear of their excelling in the service and becoming better than us.
In spiritual matters we must give to others and not reserve anything for ourselves. The spiritual principle is that those who give more gain more. Luke 6:38 says, “Give, and it will be given to you.” Water must first flow out of a pipe in order for more water to flow in. The amount of water that flows in is determined by the amount of water that flows out. We should not say that if we give to others, we will have nothing left. The more we endeavor to give to others, the more we will be given.
In the fall of 1933 I went to Shanghai for the first time to observe and learn how to serve the Lord. At that time Brother Nee bore the responsibility for the local church in Shanghai. I had just resigned from my job and begun to serve full time. During my stay of nearly four months, Brother Nee did not conduct any special training meetings. He did not tell the serving ones what to do. During that time I had only brief fellowship with him; sometimes I went to see him, or he came to see me.
Brother Nee usually gave a message in the Lord’s Day morning meeting, and we all enjoyed listening to him. Once, about five or ten minutes before the Lord’s Day meeting, I received a note from Brother Nee that said, “Brother Witness, please give the message this morning.” The saints in the meeting had already begun to sing hymns. While they prayed, I waited for Brother Nee. When he did not show up, I had no alternative but to go up to the podium and give a message.
I did not know until later that Brother Nee stood behind the door and listened to my message. I did not see him and thought that he was not in the room. I did not know that he would ask me to speak, until I received the note. This kind of training was quite severe, but it was also beneficial to me.
On one hand, we should not be afraid to let others serve, but on the other hand, we should watch them; that is, we must oversee. Sometimes Brother Nee did not correct me directly; instead, he would speak to Sister Ruth Lee. One Lord’s Day morning I spoke on abiding in the Lord. After the message Brother Nee told Sister Lee, “Concerning abiding in the Lord, the word abiding is not so important, but the word in is very important. You must see in; otherwise, regardless of how hard you try, you cannot abide. Only when you see that you are in the Lord can you abide in the Lord.” Sister Lee received much benefit from this. Brother Nee knew that I had contact with Sister Lee and that she would convey his word to me. Later, Brother Nee wrote a hymn concerning the vine (Hymns, #561), in which the vine typifies our being in Christ. The light of the truth in this hymn is very clear. Once we see that we are “in,” we can do nothing but abide, because we are already in the Lord. If we do not see that we are already in the Lord, we will be unable to abide, no matter what we do.
Brother Nee also asked me to give gospel messages. Shortly before a meeting I received a note that said, “Brother Witness, please give the gospel message tonight.” This was shortly after I had arrived in Shanghai, and I did not understand his way of doing things. I thought that he was either too busy or sick and could not make it to the meeting and had therefore asked me to take his place. However, he was not sick. While I spoke from the podium, he stood behind the door listening to the message.
That day I received light from the Lord and spoke on John 16:8, which says, “When He comes, He will convict the world concerning sin and concerning righteousness and concerning judgment.” In that message I said that concerning sin is a matter related to being in Adam, concerning righteousness is a matter related to being in Christ, and concerning judgment is a matter related to Satan. I said that there are three main persons in the universe: Adam, Christ, and Satan. “If you are in Adam, your end will be with Satan, but when you are transferred out of Adam into Christ, your relationship with Satan is broken. Hence, today you must realize that you are in Adam and that you have no alternative but to move out of him. If you are not transferred into Christ, one day you will suffer eternal judgment with Satan. Concerning sin relates to the fact that you were born a sinner in Adam. When you are transferred into Christ, you are justified. Justification is a matter of being in Christ. If you do not make such a transfer, one day you will share God’s judgment on Satan; you will be with Satan in the lake of fire.”
A few weeks later Brother Nee and I went for a walk. While we were walking, he turned suddenly to me and said, “Brother, not many in China today know the Bible. That day your speaking on sin, righteousness, and judgment was excellent. It is not so easy to see these points.” Upon hearing this, I was shocked. I did not know that he was listening to my message. This was how he trained me; he was truly good at perfecting others.
In 1934 a turmoil arose in the church in Shanghai because of Brother Nee’s marriage. As a result of the turmoil, Brother Nee left Shanghai. One day the three elders in the church in Shanghai came to me and asked me how to handle a difficult situation. I told them that I did not know how to handle it. They said I should bear the responsibility for the church in Shanghai because before Brother Nee departed, he said that in regard to the work and all the affairs in the church in Shanghai, they should ask Brother Lee. However, Brother Nee never mentioned this to me. This was his way of training. Hence, we should not be afraid of handing things over to others. After we hand things over, we should stand behind and watch the situation. This will enable us to see how well the person is doing. On one hand, we should hand things over, and on the other hand, we should watch to see what is being done.
Learning to drive a car is a good example. When a person is learning to drive a car, his teacher sits next to him and hands the car over to him. However, the teacher is more alert than the driver. When they encounter a dangerous situation, the teacher is the first to recognize the danger. In spite of this, the teacher must allow the student to react, because the car has been handed over to him. Then the teacher may need to provide further training. If a teacher is afraid and never gives the car to a student, the student will never have the opportunity to learn to drive. Similarly, the teacher will never learn any lesson related to how to train a student.