Message Five—Entering into the Ministry of the Age to Be in One Accord for the Building Up of the Unique Body of Christ(with sources)

THE THIRD PART: 24 CRUCIAL LINES IN THE BIBLE

The Body of Christ

Message Five
Entering into the Ministry of the Age to Be in One Accord
for the Building Up of the Unique Body of Christ

Scripture Reading: Gen. 6:14-16; Matt. 16:18; Acts 26:19; Prov. 29:18a; 2 Kings 2:1-14; Acts 1:14; Eph. 4:11-12; 1 Cor. 4:17

I. The particular recovery and work that God is doing in one age is the ministry of that age—Gen. 6:14-16; Matt. 16:18: 

A. In the Old Testament, Noah had the ministry of that age to build the ark, Moses had the ministry of that age to build the tabernacle, and David and Solomon had the ministry of that age to build the temple. 

B. In the New Testament, the ministry of the Lord Jesus is to build up the church as the Body of Christ—Matt. 16:18.

C. The many gifted persons produced in the Lord’s ascension have only one ministry, that is, to minister Christ for the building up of the Body of Christ, the church; this building up is not accomplished directly by the gifted ones but by the saints who have been perfected by the gifted ones—Eph. 4:11-12. 

D. “In God’s building ministry, there are those who take the lead in that ministry in every age. May the Lord open our eyes to see that as long as we are human beings, we should be Christians; as long as we are Christians, we should enter into the Lord’s ministry in this age” (Words of Training for the New Way, vol. 1, p. 23). 

II. Elisha’s following of Elijah from Gilgal to Bethel, from Bethel to Jericho, and from Jericho to the river Jordan shows that in order to enter into the ministry of the New Testament age, we must follow the Lord through four crucial places—2 Kings 2:1-14: 

A. Elijah is a type of the Old Testament age with the Old Testament economy, and Elisha is a type of the New Testament age with the New Testament economy. 

B. The age was changed by passing through four places:  

1. Gilgal is the place where God’s people were circumcised to deal with their flesh—Josh. 5:2-9; Gal. 5:24; Phil. 3:3. 

2. Bethel is the place to give up the world and turn to God absolutely, taking God as everything—Gen. 12:8; 1 John 2:15-17. 

3. Jericho, the first city that Joshua and the people of Israel had to defeat when they entered into the good land, signifies God’s enemy, Satan—Josh. 6; Rev. 12:11.

4. The river Jordan, where the New Testament baptism began, signifies death—Matt. 3:5-6; Rom. 6:3-4; Gal. 2:20. 

C. In order for the age to be changed from the Old Testament to the New Testament in our experience, we must deal with our flesh (5:24; Phil. 3:3), give up the world and turn to God (James 4:4; 1 John 2:15-17), defeat Satan (Eph. 6:10-20; Rev. 12:11), and pass through death (Rom. 6:3-4; Gal. 2:20). 

D. We need to be co-workers who are dealt with by the Lord and who are in one accord to match the need of the ministry of the age—Acts 1:14; cf. Judg. 7. 

III. Our one accord is in the all-inheriting vision of the age through the ministry of the age—Acts 26:19; 1:14; Rom. 15:6; 1 Tim. 1:12; Acts 20:24: 

A. In every age there is the vision of that age, and we need to serve God according to the vision of the age; God’s Word reveals to us that in every age He gives only one vision to man—26:19; Eph. 1:17; 3:9. 

B. Our vision should be one that matches the age; in order for us to serve God today, our vision must extend all the way from the first vision of Adam in Genesis to the ultimate vision of John in Revelation—Gen. 2:9; Rev. 21:2. 

C. The vision that the Lord has given us in His recovery is the ultimate consummation of all visions—the New Jerusalem; within this ultimate con-summation everything is included—vv. 9-10. 

D. Today we can be in one accord because we have only one vision, an up-to-date, all-inheriting vision, the vision of the eternal economy of God; where there is no vision, the people cast off restraint because there is no one accord—Prov. 29:18a. 

E. Throughout the ages there were many saints who loved the Lord and who feared the Lord, but we cannot say that they all had the vision that matched their age—Acts 15:35-39; 18:24-25; 19:1-2; 21:18-21. 

F. We all need to be in the up-to-date vision, having one viewpoint with one heart and one way—Jer. 32:39: 

1. We should all have one heart—to love God, to seek God, to live God, and to be constituted with God that we may be His expression—Eph. 3:17a. 

2. We should all have one way—the Triune God as the inner law of life with its divine capacity—Jer. 31:33-34; John 14:6. 

G. To be with one accord is to be one in our whole being and results in our being one in our outward speaking—Rom. 15:6: 

1. Whenever we are in one accord, we speak the same thing; we speak with one mouth—1 Cor. 1:10; Phil. 2:2. 

2. The only way to be with one accord and one mouth is to allow Christ the room to be everything in our heart and in our mouth that God may be glorified—Eph. 3:17a. 

IV. The leadership in the New Testament ministry is the leadership of the controlling, God-given revelation of God’s economy—Acts 26:19: 

A. You should not do a work to attract people to follow you; such a one who makes himself attractive is wrong, and if you are attracted to follow him, you help him to be wrong, destroying yourself and him—cf. 2 Cor. 4:5. 

B. In the Lord’s work we should beware of the ambition to get a place or a district for our work, captivating people to be our private co-workers; our fallen disposition by birth likes to captivate people—1 Cor. 11:19; Gal. 5:19-20. 

C. “It is grossly wrong to say that we are following a certain person. We are following a vision that belongs to the present age. It is God’s consummate vision” (The Vision of the Age, pp. 49-50). 

V. Because we are under the heavenly vision of the eternal economy of God according to the unique teaching of the apostles, we can be one in teaching, practice, thinking, speaking, essence, appearance, and expression in God’s one ministry for His one move to produce one Body as His one testimony—1 Cor. 4:17; 7:17; 16:1; Acts 2:42; Rom. 16:17; 1 Tim. 1:3-4; 6:3; Eph. 4:13-14; 1 Cor. 11:16; 14:33b-34; Phil. 2:2; 4:2; 1 Cor. 1:10; Rom. 15:6; Rev. 1:11-12.

Ministry Excerpts:

THE MINISTRY OF THE AGE

The Ministry Being the Work
of the Lord’s Move on the Earth

What is the ministry? Most people lack the proper understanding of the ministry. I often heard you pray in the meeting, saying, “We need to follow the ministry,” or “We need to be one with the ministry.” I doubt that you have a true understanding concerning the ministry. In the Bible, there are these two words—ministry and minister. These two are not the same. “Ministry” refers to the work of the Lord’s move on the earth, whereas “minister” refers to one who bears responsibility in the Lord’s work. We have spoken concerning this point quite thoroughly among us for many years.

The Ministry in the Old Testament

Throughout the generations there has been the work of the Lord’s move. In the Old Testament, during Noah’s age, the Lord’s move was the building of the ark. This work of building the ark was the ministry in Noah’s age. Noah was the chief minister in that ministry. However, just by Noah alone, there was no way to build the ark. At that time, there must have been some who built the ark together with Noah. The work of building the ark was the ministry in that age. Do you think that in that ministry there were two or more different works, or two or more groups of different people, or two or more different leaderships? Certainly not; otherwise, the ark could never have been built.

The problems of Christianity in the past two thousand years have been due to too many “ministries.” Every denomination and every sect say that they are building the church of Christ. Many chapels have a piece of foundation stone inscribed with the words, “Christ Jesus, our foundation.” One Jesus Christ is divided up into many foundations. This is the crucial point of all the problems.

The Bible shows us very clearly that in Noah’s age there was only one ministry; yet many ministers were there together building the ark. This does not mean that every minister was a master builder. Only Noah was the leader in the ministry of building the ark.

During the age of Moses, God desired to build the tabernacle with its furniture, the most important of which was the ark. Moses himself alone could not have built all those things, but he had the ministry of building the tabernacle, which was the work to fulfill God’s unique purpose. In this ministry, there was not only Moses himself; Moses was one of many ministers, and, undeniably, he was the leading one in that ministry. If there had been other leaders besides Moses, there would have been confusion in that situation.

During the age of David and Solomon, God desired to build the temple. The building of the temple was not merely a work, but a ministry. At that time, there were not two different ministries building the temple; hence, there were not two different leaderships. In David’s age, it was David who was taking the lead. After David passed away, Solomon was the one taking the lead. However, anyone who had a part in the ministry of building the temple, including the stone-cutters and stone-movers, was a minister in that ministry.

The Ministry in the New Testament

In the New Testament, the Lord Jesus came and He said, “On this rock I will build My church” (Matt. 16:18). The first one who participated in the ministry of building the church was the Lord Jesus. The Lord’s ministry was to build up the Body of Christ. For this, He chose twelve apostles and brought them into the ministry of building the church. Afterward, He also brought in other apostles, among whom the most prominent was Paul.

Since in every age there has been the work of ministry, it stands to reason that in this age also there should be the continuation of the Lord’s ministry. We cannot deny that on the earth today there is the Lord’s building. The Lord has been building throughout the generations, and He will continue to build until His building work is fully completed, when the New Jerusalem descends from heaven.

A Christian Needing to Be
in the Lord’s Ministry in This Age

Now we have already seen clearly that the ministry spoken of in the Bible does not refer to a person, but to God’s building work. Moreover, in God’s building ministry, there are those who take the lead in that ministry in every age. May the Lord open our eyes to see that as long as we are human beings, we should be Christians; as long as we are Christians, we should enter into the Lord’s ministry in this age.

Today there are thousands of people who believe in the Lord Jesus and are saved, but not many have entered into the Lord’s ministry of building the church. It is just like the situation in Noah’s age. There were thousands of people on the earth, but only a small number were building the ark with Noah. This is why Philippians 2:12 says, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” What Noah and those who built the ark with him were doing was to work out their own salvation. Yes, it was God who had saved them, but the ark that delivered them was built with their own hands by God’s grace. Today, we also need to be in God’s building ministry to work out our own salvation, that is, to bring our salvation to its ultimate conclusion so that we can be exalted by God in glory as the Lord Jesus was. (CWWL, 1987, vol. 2, “Words of Training for the New Way,” msg. 2)

In the Old Testament both Solomon and David represented the Lord. The two persons represented the one ministry in two separate ways. In the Old Testament there were many ministries. After Moses, the judges were raised up. After that, there was Solomon, the kings, and the prophets. After the Israelites were taken into captivity, the vessels for the recovery were raised up. The Old Testament is filled with different kinds of ministries. In every age there is the ministry of that age. These ministries of the ages are different from the local ministers. Luther was a minister of his age. Darby was also a minister of his age. In every age the Lord has special things that He wants to accomplish. He has His own recoveries and His own works to do. The particular recovery and work that He does in one age is the ministry of that age.

Forsaking the Past Ministries

Jonathan stood between Saul and David. He was one man standing between two ministries. He should have followed the second ministry. However, because Jonathan’s relationship with the first ministry was too deep, he could not disentangle himself. In order to catch up with the ministry of the age, there is the need for us to see the vision. Michal was married to David, yet she did not see anything. She only saw David’s condition before God, and she could not tolerate it. As a result, she was left behind (2 Sam. 6:16, 20-23).

All Being a Matter of God’s Mercy

It is God’s mercy that a person can see and come into contact with the ministry of that age. Yet it is altogether a different thing for a man to take up the courage to forsake the past ministry. It is a precious thing to see, and it is a blessed thing to come into contact with something. Yet whether or not one can set aside his past ministry is entirely up to God’s mercy. (CWWN, vol. 57, “The Resumption of Watchman Nee’s Ministry,” msg. 25)

NOW IN THE AGE
OF THE NEW TESTAMENT OF CHRIST

Elijah Being a Type of the Old Testament Age,
and Elisha Being a Type of the New Testament Age

Elijah and Elisha are both types with much spiritual significance. Elijah is a type of the Old Testament age, and Elisha is a type of the New Testament age. The age was changed by passing through four places — Gilgal, Bethel, Jericho, and the river Jordan.

Gilgal was a place where God’s people dealt with their flesh (Josh. 5:2-9). The children of those who came out of Egypt had not been circumcised, indicating that their flesh had never been dealt with. When they crossed the Jordan to begin fighting to gain the good land, they first dealt with their flesh by being circumcised at Gilgal.

From Gilgal Elijah and Elisha went to Bethel. In Genesis 12, when Abraham came out of Chaldea (giving up the world) and came to Bethel, he built an altar to offer everything to God. This indicates that Bethel is the place to give up the world and turn to God absolutely, taking God as everything.

Elijah then led Elisha to Jericho. The first city that Joshua and the people of Israel had to defeat when they entered into the good land was Jericho. Jericho signifies the head of God’s enemy, Satan.

Finally, Elijah and Elisha went to the river Jordan, which signifies death. The New Testament baptism, putting people into death, began from the Jordan (Matt. 3:5-6, 13). To cross the river Jordan, Elijah struck the water with his mantle. Elijah’s mantle typifies the outpoured Spirit, the Spirit of power. The Spirit of power, which some Bible teachers call the “mantle Spirit,” dealt with the river of death so that the way was opened for Elijah and Elisha to cross over.

Dealing with Our Flesh,
Giving up the World and Turning to God,
Defeating Satan, and Passing through Death

As we consider the significance of all these types, we see that in order for the age to be changed from the Old Testament to the New Testament, we must deal with our flesh, give up the world and turn to God, defeat Satan, and pass through death.

For three and a half years the Lord Jesus brought His disciples from the dealing with the flesh (Gilgal), to the giving up of the world (Bethel), to the defeating of Satan, the head of the demons (Jericho). Eventually, the Lord Jesus brought His disciples to the river Jordan. The one hundred twenty who were praying in Acts 1 had all been brought to the Jordan to die with Christ and to be buried with Him. I believe that, as a result, they no longer treasured what they were or what they could do but had torn this “into two pieces.” Through all these steps, they were in a position to receive the mantle of Elijah, the power from on high. Therefore, on the day of Pentecost the Spirit of power came upon them. Today we are those who are following the Lord Jesus from Gilgal to Bethel, from Bethel to Jericho, and from Jericho to the Jordan. Through all these steps we enter into a new age, the age of the New Testament, where Christ is doing gracious things.

Elijah’s rapture typified the termination of the Old Testament age in God’s economy. But Elijah himself was not terminated. He was taken up into heaven to await the next age to see Elisha (Christ) doing many gracious and sweet things. We are now in the age of the New Testament of Christ, who did and is still doing everything graciously. (Life-study of Kings, msg. 12)

BEING IN ONE ACCORD
BECAUSE WE HAVE ONLY ONE VISION AND ONE VIEW

Serving God according to the Vision of the Age

We must be clear that in every age there is the vision of that age. We have to serve God according to the vision of the age. Consider the age of Noah. When we read the record of the Bible, it appears as if Noah’s family, including himself, his wife, his three children, and their wives, were the only ones who were serving God. Can we believe that at that time there were actually only eight people serving God, and the rest were worshipping idols and not serving God? Perhaps we have never thought about this matter. Whether or not others were serving God, one thing is certain: they were not part of those who built the ark. For this very reason their service was not recognized by God.

Today many Christians criticize us, saying, “You are too proud. How can you negate all the denominations and all the Christians and say that only you have the vision?” Some brothers and sisters on occasion have been asked by others, “You say that the pastors are wrong, the pope is wrong, and everyone is wrong. Are you the only people who are not wrong? Are you the only ones who are right in following what you are following?” I believe sometimes such winds would even cause you to question yourselves. However, if we are clear concerning the vision in the Bible, we will have the confidence to say that we are in fact those who serve by following a vision. (CWWL, 1986, vol. 2, “The Vision of the Age,” msg. 1)

Serving God according to the Complete Vision

From the time the apostle John completed the book of Revelation until today, nineteen centuries have passed. During the past nineteen hundred years, countless numbers of Christians have been serving God. Added to this great number of Christians serving God are the Jews, who also are serving God. Of course, the Jews serve only according to the vision of the Old Testament. Some Christians are serving according to the vision revealed in the New Testament Gospels, which has to do only with the earthly ministry of Jesus. Some serve without any vision at all. In order to serve God according to the up-to-date vision, we need to come up to the level of Paul’s very last Epistles. In fact, we need to come up to the level of the epistles to the seven churches in Revelation as well as the revelation that covers all the ages, including the kingdom, the new heaven and new earth, and the ultimate consummation of the church—the New Jerusalem. Simply put, in order for us to serve God today, our vision must extend all the way from the first vision of Adam in Genesis to the ultimate vision of the manifestation of the church, the New Jerusalem. This and this alone is the complete vision. It is not until today that this vision has been fully opened to us.

Closely following
the completed vision of this age

Since we have the up-to-date and ultimate vision, we should closely follow after it. We are absolutely not following a man; rather, we are following a vision. It is grossly wrong to say that we are following a certain person. We are following a vision that belongs to the present age. It is God’s consummate vision.

I would like to relate to you one fact. It is the Lord’s mercy that He has revealed to me the vision. I advise you not to follow me but to follow this vision which Brother Nee and all the servants of the Lord throughout the ages have left to us and which I have handed to you. This is indeed the vision that extends from the first scene of Adam to the last scene of the New Jerusalem. More than fifty years have passed. I have seen with my own eyes that those who take the way of the Lord’s recovery for a while and then leave do not come to a proper ending. There is only one way. All spiritual things are one. There is one God, one Lord, one Spirit, one church, one Body, one testimony, one way, one flow, and one work. If you do not take this way, you will have no way to take.

I hope that you will clearly see the vision of the Lord’s recovery and will follow this vision. You are not following me as a person. Sister Faith Chang can testify for me. She witnessed how I followed Brother Nee absolutely, yet I was not following the person; I was following the vision that he saw. In that age, the vision that came up to God’s standard was the vision that Brother Nee saw. If you remained in that vision, you were serving according to the vision. If you did not remain in that vision, you were not serving according to the vision. Today Brother Nee has passed away. I have no intention to make a new beginning, but the Lord has commissioned me with this ministry. I can only take the lead willingly and obediently. The vision that I have brought to you today is God’s vision for this age. If you remain in this vision, you are serving according to the vision. If you do not remain in this vision, you should be aware of what your end will be.

Therefore, you are not following a man; rather, you are standing with the Lord’s ministry. You are following a vision, a vision that matches the age, a vision that inherits all that was in the past and a vision that is all-inclusive. It is up to date, and yet it builds on the past. If you remain in the book of Acts, you may have inherited everything prior to that time, but you are not up to date. Today as we stand here and ponder the revelations unveiled in the Lord’s recovery, as we read the publications that are released among us, we can see that they cover everything from the church to God’s economy to the New Jerusalem in the new heaven and new earth. This is a bountiful and all-sufficient vision. If you remain in this vision, you are serving according to the vision. If you are not in this vision, you could still be an Apollos, expounding the Scriptures in a powerful way; you could still be a Barnabas, visiting the churches; you could still be a James, serving piously; and you could even be a Peter, who served as the leading apostle. However, you would not be in the vision.

The Genuine One Accord

Where there is no vision, the people cast off restraint, because there is no one accord. It is true that many people love the Lord and serve God, but everyone has his opinion and his own vision. As a result, there is no way to have the one accord. This is the reason that Christianity has become so weak. God’s people are divided and split apart. There are divisions everywhere. Although everyone says that he loves the Lord, there is no clear vision, and men are “carried about by every wind” (Eph. 4:14). Some among us also doubt, saying, “Are we the only ones who are right? Do not others also preach the gospel? Do they not also bring men to the Lord and edify them? Consider the aged James. He was more pious than Paul or Brother Nee. How can we say that he did not have a vision?”

Recently while we were translating the New Testament Recovery Version, I used two Catholic translations among my references. In some expressions we felt that these Catholic translations are not bad. I joked with my helpers, saying, “In this sentence, let us follow the Catholic Church.” My point is this: Although James was pious to the uttermost in Jerusalem, we cannot conclude from this that his pathway was the right one. We cannot conclude from this that he possessed the vision that matched the age. No, we must be clear what the genuine vision is.

I believe this word will answer many questions in your heart. Although we are far behind many people in their zeal for preaching the gospel, although many people are more zealous and more burning in spirit than we are, and although we are poor, the vision is still with us. I truly hope that the young workers among us and the trainees would exercise themselves unto godliness. It does not mean that once we have the vision, we do not need to have godliness anymore, yet I hope that you would remember that godliness alone cannot match the vision. We certainly need to exercise ourselves unto godliness; we should not be loose, and our personality and character, should be noble. But this does not mean that once we have a noble character, we are in the vision. In other words, our vision should be one that matches the age. It should also be one that includes everything that has gone before us. It should include the godliness of the Jews, the zeal of the evangelicals, and the genuine service. Only then will we be able to practice an all-inclusive church life, the church life Paul revealed to us (Rom. 14). We are not divided into sects, and we do not impose any special practice on anyone. We only live an all-inclusive church life. If we do this, we will have the genuine one accord. (CWWL, 1986, vol. 2, “The Vision of the Age,” msg. 2)

HAVING ONLY ONE VIEWPOINT,
SPEAKING THE SAME THING WITH ONE HEART,
ONE MOUTH, ONE VOICE, AND ONE TONE,
AND SERVING THE LORD TOGETHER

Beginning in 1984 I called three urgent conferences of the co-workers and elders. In my opening word I pointed out that among us there is the tendency of division. By this I meant that quite a few capable co-workers in the Lord’s recovery liked to keep their district as their empire, and they liked to attract people to be their particular co-workers. We are all co-workers generally, but some became particular co-workers with certain attracting ones. Therefore, I warned you all. After my speaking, one of the co-workers stood to confess that this was the case. However, at that time I realized that his confession was not strong enough. It was very weak, and today he has become a problem in the Lord’s recovery. He still claims that he is in the recovery, and he still takes the ground of locality. He protests that his meeting is a local church, and he declares that he is one with Brother Lee. He accepts my ministry, and he receives standing orders of the books of the Living Stream Ministry even until today. Recently, he spoke to me for close to one hour to explain his stand. I told him I felt that it was not the Lord’s timing to respond to him at that time. Later, after further consideration with the Lord, I felt that I had received a clear word and that it was the Lord’s timing to respond. I felt to tell him, “You are a division, and whatever you do in your place is a division because you cut your meeting off from all the churches in the recovery. Moreover, you like to visit the rebellious ones and stand with them. You should realize that all the churches are one Body. You cannot stand alone, separate from the other churches. If you do, you are a division.”

Our Fallen Disposition by Birth
Always Liking to Captivate People

Our fallen disposition by birth always likes to captivate people. If someone can do a work for the Lord, he may like to attract people. He may like to charm them and captivate them, and if he succeeds in captivating others, the captivated ones become members of his little party. In the Lord’s recovery there is the possibility of having such a party. If you have the opportunity and the time, you may do this. You have not done this because you have not had the opportunity, the condition, and the situation, but when you do have the opportunity, you may do it. This is the first “underground gopher” that damages the Lord’s recovery. You may have been damaged by this. Within you there may be this very strong hidden “gopher.” I consider this as the first problem. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 5, “A Word of Love to the Co-workers, Elders, Lovers, and Seekers of the Lord,” ch. 3)

Being Careful in Following Any Co-Worker
Whom We Appreciate and to Whom We Are Attracted

You must be careful in following any co-worker whom you appreciate and to whom you are attracted. If you do not appreciate a person, you will not follow him. First, you appreciate someone, and then you are attracted to him. I have seen this among us here in America. I have spoken a word of love directly to these kinds of brothers. I have warned them to not do this kind of work. Wherever you go, you may become the superior one. You may be good; there is nothing wrong with that. You do have a capacity that might be higher than others’. However, you should avoid doing a work to attract people to follow you. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 5, “A Word of Love to the Co-workers, Elders, Lovers, and Seekers of the Lord,” ch. 4)

Today we can be in one accord because we have only one vision and one view. We are all in this up-to-date, all-inheriting vision. We have only one viewpoint. We speak the same thing with one heart, one mouth, one voice, and one tone, serving the Lord together. The result is a power that will become our strong morale and our impact. This is our strength. Once the Lord’s recovery possesses this power, there will be the glory of increase and multiplication. Today our situation is not yet to that point; it is not yet at the peak. Although we do not have many major contentions, we do have some small complaints and criticisms. These things lower our morale.

Speaking the Same Thing, Thinking the Same Thing,
and Pressing on in One Accord

When I returned to Taiwan in 1984, there was no morale at all because the one accord was gone. The goal was gone, and the vision had become blurred. At the present time we hope that the Lord would be merciful to us. We want to recover our morale, beginning from Taiwan. We want to recover our vision. We want to have the one accord, and we want to see clearly that there is only this one way. The churches in the Lord’s recovery should have the Lord’s testimony and a definite standing. Today there is still much ground for us to cover in the spreading of the Lord’s churches. We have to preach the gospel everywhere, build up the small groups, and teach the truth. With this goal in view, we should have no arguments and no different opinions. We should speak the same thing, think the same thing, and press on in one accord. Not only should the churches in Taiwan do this, but all the churches in all the continents throughout the earth should do this. If we do this, the power will be great. The Lord will surely grant us an open door because this is the way that the Lord wants to take today. 

Ephesians 4:17-32 gives us a picture of a life that can carry out the work of the ministry to build up the Body of Christ. There is much, much hope, promise, and potential that all the churches in the Lord’s recovery could be built up in this way. May the Lord bring us into the reality of the one Body built up by one ministry with thousands of saints perfected to live a life that is adequate and qualified to do the work of the building up of the Body of Christ. (CWWL, 1988, vol. 3, “The Body of Christ,” ch. 4)