There is another important item from the Word that we have to realize. The churches are surely local in their administration, but they are not absolutely independent. In our history in the Lord’s recovery, we were warned by the Brethren practice of autonomy. All the states of the United States have their own administrations and governments, but they are not strictly independent. The states are separate to an extent, but this does not mean they are absolutely independent. If the states were absolutely independent, the United States would not be one country. It would become fifty countries. The local churches are not absolutely independent. When the apostles kept their hands off of the affairs of the churches, this did not mean that each local church became one independent entity. Nor did it mean that since the churches were under the teaching of the apostles, they became a federation.
In 1 Corinthians 4:17, Paul says, “Because of this I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, even as I teach everywhere in every church.” In all the churches, the apostle Paul taught the same thing. His teaching was the same universally, not varying in any place. Concerning this matter, we need to look at the seven epistles to the seven local churches in Revelation 2 and 3. The word of the Lord to one church is the word spoken by the Spirit to all the churches (Rev. 2:1, 7). At the beginning of each epistle, it is the Lord speaking to a specific church (2:1, 8, 12, 18; 3:1, 7, 14), but at the end of all the epistles, the Word says, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22). What was said by the Lord to the church in Ephesus was the word that all the churches should hear. Every epistle was a particular word to a certain church, yet this particular word should be heard and taken by all the churches.
On the one hand, the elders of the churches have the right and the position to carry out the local administration of the churches independently. On the other hand, all the churches should listen to the word that the apostles have received of God, which is the teaching of the New Testament. On the one hand, the churches are local separately. On the other hand, all the local churches are still the one Body of Christ which is an organism, not a federation which is an organization. We need to meet as local churches separately according to what the New Testament says, but all the local churches are still the one Body of Christ.
By the way, I would add a little word. In our fellowship many of us are used to saying, “Brother Lee says....” I beg you, from now on, not to say, “Brother Lee says....” Instead we should say, “First Timothy says...”; or “First Corinthians says....” From the very beginning of the Lord’s recovery in the United States, I have passed on the Lord’s word to you. You may have received the Lord’s word through my speaking, through my teaching, but what I spoke was His word. We all need to come back to the pure Word of God and discern accurately what His pure Word says.
In 1986 we had an elders’ training on the one accord (see Elders’ Training-Book 7-One Accord for the Lord’s Move, published by Living Stream Ministry). During that time I talked about the leading of the apostles and the leadership in the Lord’s ministry, but I do not feel that what I said was accurately understood by some. Because of this misunderstanding, I gave the last two messages in the summer training of 1987 on this matter (see chapters eighteen and nineteen of The God-Ordained Way to Practice the New Testament Economy published by Living Stream Ministry). In those messages, I pointed out that the leadership in the New Testament ministry in actuality is not the leadership of one controlling person. Instead, we have the leadership of one controlling revelation in the one ministry through those who bring in the revelation of the ministry. The New Testament leadership is in the teaching of the apostles.
In the four Gospels, the leadership was with the Lord Jesus. That was the leadership in a Person. The Lord Jesus was the Leader who had the leadership. In the four Gospels, the Lord Jesus sent His disciples to certain places. His disciples were to obey whatever He said. In the Acts and the Epistles, Peter and Paul were supposed to be the leaders, but for the most part, they did not send anyone anywhere to do the work. All of the going-out workers were sent by the Holy Spirit. Acts 13 tells us that Barnabas and Saul were “sent out by the Holy Spirit” (v. 4) from Antioch to the Gentiles. Of course, Paul did charge some of the younger brothers who were closely related to him, such as Timothy and Titus, to go to certain places and to do certain things (1 Cor. 4:17; Titus 1:5). He charged both Timothy and Titus to come to him, and they received these orders (2 Tim. 4:9; Titus 3:12). But there is at least one case referred to in 1 Corinthians 16:12 that we must see: “Now concerning our brother Apollos, I urged him much that he would come to you with the brothers; and it was not at all his desire to come now, but he will come whenever he has opportunity.” Paul was very burdened to help the Corinthians solve their problems, and their problems involved him and Apollos. This is why Paul expected that Apollos would go to see the Corinthians personally. Paul did not say that he charged Apollos. He said, “I urged him.” To urge someone to do something is much different from charging them. Paul said, “I urged him much...and it was not at all his desire.” Although Paul urged him, Apollos still had the liberty, the freedom, not to do it. And he did not do what Paul wanted. Apollos said that he would come whenever he had opportunity. This may seem like a small verse, but it is very important to the truth concerning the leadership. This verse is very strong to prove that Paul did not exercise any control over the work for the Lord.
Paul was not the leader in the New Testament move of God in the sense of commanding the co-workers to do things. Peter and Paul were not strict in this matter of the movement of the co-workers. If they urged a worker to do something, and he felt not to do it, there was no problem. But all the apostles were very strict in the teaching of the apostles. In 1 Timothy 1:3-4, Paul urged Timothy to remain in Ephesus to charge certain ones not to teach differently from God’s New Testament economy. The apostles would not tolerate any teaching that was different from God’s New Testament economy. The aged Apostle John, in his second Epistle, told the saints not to receive anyone who brings a teaching other than the teaching of Christ (vv. 9-10). He said that these ones went beyond the teaching of Christ. This means that they went beyond the teaching concerning Christ, which is the basic teaching of the New Testament, the teaching of the apostles. John was strict to the extent that he even charged the saints not to greet such ones. In the matter of the teaching of the apostles, the apostles were very strict. This proves that the teaching of the apostles actually is the real leadership in the New Testament.
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