After our body is presented, it is essential that our mind be renewed (Rom. 12:2). There are many different kinds of people in the church, and according to our nature, we all have some peculiarities. The church involves the gathering of hundreds and even thousands of people. If our mind is not being renewed, the church will be in constant turmoil. Thank the Lord that we have one life and are one person. Hence, we have one mind; that is, we have the mind of Christ as our mind. Having the mind of Christ is related to being transformed by the renewing of the mind.
The Lord also requires us to not be fashioned according to this age (v. 2), that is, to not be overly fashionable. Whenever a saint pursues being modern or fashionable, he is finished with the church life. To put off the old man is to put off the fashion of this age; to put on the new man is to put on the church life. No saint who is fashionable can serve God in the church, because this fashionableness is just the devil in disguise. Whoever is fashionable is on the devil’s side. It is very easy for saints who desire to be fashionable to damage the church.
The Lord has had mercy upon the churches, and the spirits of the saints have been strong. For this reason the church has not been influenced by fashionable things. Whenever something fashionable is brought in, the spirits of the saints do not respond. None of the saints should have the thought of being fashionable. Once they become fashionable, their experience of the church life is finished. However, this does not mean we will have the church life if we make ourselves look old-fashioned. We should not focus on not being modern and fashionable or on being old-fashioned. We should simply put on the new man. This will keep us from being fashioned according to this age.
Finally, our spirit should be burning (v. 11). In order to be burning in spirit, we need to call, “O Lord!” If we call for ten minutes, our spirit will be burning. The Lord is the real and living Spirit. As we call, He, as a consuming fire, will burn in us, causing us to be on fire. Service involves our body being presented in time, our mind being transformed, and our spirit being burning.
The principle of service is to supply others with life. Since life is Christ, to supply life means to supply Christ. When we visit and contact an unbelieving friend, we should supply him with Christ as if we were a conduit for electricity or a carrier of germs. This is not too much to say, because even the apostle Paul was accused of being a “pest” (cf. Acts 24:5). Paul was full of “germs”; wherever he went, he passed on “germs” to others. We should all be equipped with such a skill. If we have been teaching in a school for two years and our school has not caught a “Jesus-epidemic,” we must not be proper Christians. If we are proper Christians, people around us will be supplied with the germs of a “Jesus-epidemic.”
If there are ten colleagues in your office and nothing has changed for them related to the gospel in two years, you must be a defeated Christian. If you are a normal Christian, the colleagues in your office would be infected with a “Jesus-germ” after only a few months. We should be full of germs, but it seems as if our germs have been killed by the devil. Many Christians are so “sanitary” that they have no effect on others. Some have worked in an office for two years, yet their colleagues still do not know that they are Christians. Some have taught in a school for four years, but their students still do not know that their teacher believes in Jesus. Too many of our “germs” have been killed by the devil.
We should be full of spiritual “germs.” We have the divine life, and we should supply this life to others; that is, we should impart this life as “germs” so that others will be “infected.” Not only should we impart these “germs” to unbelievers but also to the saints. With only a little contact, some saints quickly become burning. This contact can include praying with them, fellowshipping with them, pray-reading with them, and inviting them for a meal. Such a result does not depend on our ability to speak but on the amount of “germs” that we supply. Those who infect others with “germs” are usually unaware of it. It is not a matter of being eloquent but a matter of having an ample supply of “germs.”
Since we have a desire to serve the Lord, I hope that we would exercise in three matters. First, we need to exercise in the matter of our meetings; this does not mean attending the meetings but knowing how function to in the meetings. We need to learn to sing hymns, read the Bible, pray-read, testify, share, and fellowship with one another. Second, we need to exercise to preach the gospel. This is the fruit-bearing referred to by the Lord in John 15:2 and 16. At the end of the Gospel of Matthew, the Lord Jesus said, “Go and disciple all the nations” (28:19); at the end of the Gospel of Mark, He said, “Go therefore into all the world and proclaim the gospel” (16:15); and at the end of the Gospel of Luke, He spoke of proclaiming “repentance for forgiveness of sins...to all the nations” (24:47). However, there is no similar command in the Gospel of John. This does not mean, however, that the Lord did not speak of preaching the gospel in the Gospel of John. Because the focus of the Gospel of John is on life, the Lord referred to the multiplication of life rather than speaking directly about preaching the gospel. In the Gospel of John, the Lord said that we are branches of the vine and that we should go forth to bear fruit. Hence, the fruit-bearing spoken of in chapter 15 is actually the preaching of the gospel, the supplying of life. The life of Christ, the life of the vine, is in us. When we go and impart this life to our friends and relatives, they will become a part of the vine tree; that is, they will become fruit on the vine tree. We all should exercise to bear fruit that remains.
If we set aside two hours each week for preaching the gospel and continue to come together related to this burden, we will learn how to best use this time. We may write to our relatives or friends, call them on the phone, pay them a visit, mail them some spiritual literature, or invite them for a meal. When we invite them, we can also invite some saints. There are many ways to proceed. In short, we must spend time on them. Of course, in regard to these ways, the indispensable point is our need for prayer in order to mention their names before the throne of grace.
Third, we must exercise to feed the Lord’s lambs, which the Lord Jesus spoke of in John 21. Chapter 15 is on bearing fruit by preaching the gospel, and chapter 21 is on feeding the lambs by taking care of the young, tender saints. As far as preaching the gospel is concerned, the church is doing quite well. We baptize close to a thousand every year. Regrettably, however, after baptizing these ones, we fall short of feeding them. In other words, we have the bearing of fruit in John 15, but we do not have the feeding of the lambs in John 21. For this reason not many of our lambs remain over the years. We must learn to preach the gospel, and we must learn to feed the lambs.
In chapter 21, verses 15 through 17 say, “Then when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these? He said to Him, Yes, Lord, You know that I love You. He said to him, Feed My lambs. He said to him again a second time, Simon, son of John, do you love Me? He said to Him, Yes, Lord, You know that I love You. He said to him, Shepherd My sheep. He said to him the third time, Simon, son of John, do you love Me? Peter was grieved that He said to him the third time, Do you love Me? And he said to Him, Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You. Jesus said to him, Feed My sheep.” In this portion the Lord responded to Peter’s answers three times, and He emphasized different things each time. The first time He used the word feed, the second time shepherd, and the third time feed again. Similarly, in His first response He used the word lambs, the second time sheep, and the third time sheep again. Lambs need to be fed, whereas sheep are slightly larger and thus require shepherding as well as feeding.
Feeding is somewhat different than shepherding. Mothers know that young babies need only to be fed. As they grow, however, they need shepherding; that is, they need to be instructed and taught to perform some tasks. When people are saved, they need to be fed with the words of the Bible, the bread of life. However, as they grow, they need to be shepherded. Shepherding includes leading, guiding, and instructing. However, if we desire to lead them further, they will need more than just shepherding. This is the reason that the Lord ended by saying, “Feed My sheep.” In our shepherding there should also be feeding. In this way new believers will proceed on the right track.