THE FOURTH PART: THE PATHWAY OF THE LORD’S RECOVERY

God-ordained Way

Message Eighteen
The Recovery of Prophesying as the Excelling Gift
for the Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ

Scripture Reading: 1 Cor. 14:1, 3-5, 12, 24-26, 31-32, 39; Num. 11:29; Amos 2:12b; Eph. 4:11-16

I. Prophesying is the excelling gift for the building up of the church as the Body of Christ; to prophesy in 1 Corinthians 14 is not in the sense of predicting, foretelling, but in the sense of speaking for the Lord and speaking forth the Lord to dispense Christ into people—vv. 1, 3-5, 12, 24-26, 31-32:

A. We must admit that prophesying does convey the thought of foretelling, predicting; most people, whether Christians or non-Christians, understand prophesying in this way; but we all have to see that prophesying in chapter 14 of 1 Corinthians is not used in this sense at all; the interpretation of prophesying as predicting does not fit in the context of this entire chapter—vv. 24-26.

B. The book of Isaiah the prophet has sixty-six chapters, and most of these chapters are not predicting but are speaking for the Lord; of course, Isaiah’s prophesying also includes foretelling, but his prophesying in the book of Isaiah is mainly his speaking for the Lord and speaking forth the Lord—Isa. 1.

C. The main denotation of the word prophesy both in Hebrew and in Greek is to speak for the Lord; when we speak for the Lord, even if we do not foretell, our speaking is the genuine prophesying; to prophesy is to speak God into people—1 Cor. 14:3-4.

II. Moses desired that all of God’s people would be prophets for prophesying; the apostle Paul taught that we all can prophesy, and he charged us to pursue, to desire earnestly, and to seek to prophesy—Num. 11:29; 1 Cor. 14:1, 12, 31, 39; cf. 1 Thes. 5:20:

A. God desires that each of the believers prophesy, that is, speak for and speak forth Him—Num. 11:29b; 1 Cor. 14:31.

B. Paul charges us not to despise prophesying; those who have rejected the Lord’s ministry, the Lord’s speaking, today are despising prophesying—1 Thes. 5:20; 1 Cor. 14:4.

C. To prohibit prophesying is a sin before God—Amos 2:12b; 7:12-13; Jer. 11:21.

III. Among the three functions of the prophet, the priest, and the king, the function of the prophet is the highest, because the prophets can receive and secure the word of God directly—1 Sam. 3:20; James 5:10:

A. In the Old Testament the prophets could reprove, instruct, and teach the kings, and they could also teach the priests; in the New Testament all the believers are regenerated to be priests and kings, but to be a prophet depends upon our seeking, our desiring earnestly—2 Sam. 12:1-14; Hag. 2:10-19; Mal. 1:6-2:9; 1 Pet. 2:5, 9; Rev. 1:6; 1 Cor. 14:1, 12, 39.

B. All the believers have the capacity and the obligation to prophesy (vv. 31, 24); the Spirit is always ready to speak and expects to speak with us and through us, so we must cooperate with the speaking Spirit of God by standing against our natural man with its disposition and habit—vv. 31, 24; 2 Sam. 23:2; Acts 6:10; 2 Tim. 4:2

C. Prophesying makes us overcomers; prophesying is the function of the overcomers— Rev. 1:20; 2:1, 7.

IV. According to the New Testament there are three kinds of prophets—Eph. 4:11-12; Acts 21:8-9; 1 Cor. 14:1, 31:

A. The prophets in Ephesians 4:11-12 are those particularly ordained by God for the perfecting of the saints.

B. The prophets in Acts 21:8-9 are those who can predict for God.

C. The prophets in 1 Corinthians 14 are those who speak for God and speak forth God in the meetings of the church for the church’s building up; all the believers can be this kind of prophet—vv. 1, 5, 31.

V. The proper church meeting for the building up of the church described in 1 Corinthians 14:26 is a meeting of mutuality in which “each one has,” a meeting in which we “can all prophesy one by one”, a meeting in which “he who prophesies builds up the church”; the fulfillment of this word in the Lord’s present recovery is eternally significant—vv. 3, 14:

A. First Corinthians 14:26 as a part of the holy Word needs to be fulfilled for the Body of Christ to be built up; without this organic building, the Lord’s prophecy in Matthew 16:18 cannot be fulfilled, and the church as the bride cannot be made ready for Christ as the Bridegroom.

B. To meet according to 1 Corinthians 14:26, we must desire and learn to prophesy and live a prophesying life by being revived every morning and by living an overcoming life every day—vv. 1, 12, 31; Prov. 4:18; Lam. 3:22-24; Psa. 119:147-148; Rev. 2:7; 21:7; 1 John 1:6-7.

VI. We must live a prophesying life with the following qualifications:

A. We must “bring out the precious from the worthless”—Jer. 15:19; 2 Tim. 2:20.

B. We must love the Lord, be close to Him, and be one with Him—1:8-9; Psa. 73:28a; 1 Cor. 2:9, 15; 14:31-32.

C. We must have an intimacy with God; our relationship with God must be personal, affectionate, private, and spiritual—Psa. 25:14; S. S. 1:1-4.

D. We must be those who bring every problem into the presence of God, contacting God to receive the word from God—Psa. 73:3, 17.

E. We must pray for the ministry of the word—Acts 6:4; 2:42.

F. We must be ones who are always rejoicing, unceasingly praying, giving thanks in everything, not quenching the Spirit, and not despising prophecies—1 Thes. 5:16-20.

G. We must let the word of Christ dwell in us richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in our hearts to God—Col. 3:16; 1 John 2:14.

H. We must be filled with the knowledge of God’s word to acquire an adequate divine vocabulary—Luke 1:46-55; Acts 5:20.

I. We must be filled with the consummated Spirit essentially and economically— Matt. 5:12; Acts 13:52; 4:8, 31; 13:9; 2:38; 5:32b.

VII. We must see the composition of a proper prophecy according to the way of 1 Corinthians 14—vv. 3, 14, 26:

A. The composition of a prophecy comprises the knowledge and experience of God, Christ, and spiritual things and the utterance to speak these forth—Luke 1:67-69.

B. The composition of a prophecy comprises the sight under the divine enlightenment concerning the situation and environment in which we are—vv. 67-69.

C. The composition of a prophecy comprises the instant inspiration of the Spirit that stirs up our spirit to speak—Acts 5:20-21.

D. In speaking forth a proper prophecy, we should not adhere to personal experiences, testimonies, feelings, thoughts, opinions, affections, and reactions to any persons, matters, and things—2 Cor. 4:5; 1 Cor. 1:23.

VIII. The direct building up of the organic Body of Christ is by the Body itself, that is, by all the members of Christ each functioning in his own measure, mainly in prophesying—speaking for the Lord—Eph. 4:16; 1 Cor. 14:4b, 12, 31; Heb. 10:25:

A. Today the Lord demands that we have the recovery of the meeting in mutuality, as unveiled in 1 Corinthians 14:26, by practicing Ephesians 4:11-16; we must have the perfecting of the saints by the gifts so that the saints may participate in the work of the unique ministry of the New Testament—the work of the building up of the Body of Christ.

B. The practice of Ephesians 4:11-16 is for the building up of the Body of Christ by the Body itself in the increase of the Body’s growth in the divine life.

C. This is accomplished by the wide spreading of the gospel of Christ by visiting people for the producing of the new believers, by home meetings to nourish the new believers, by group meetings to take care of the saints and teach them the truth for their edification, and by church meetings to exhibit and minister Christ to the saints for the building up of the Body of Christ by the developing and exercising of the saints’ organic functions—Eph. 4:11-16.

IX. Those of us who have seen this vision will be burdened to sacrifice ourselves as martyrs so that the Lord can have a way to fulfill Ephesians 4:11-16 for the purpose of having the building up of His organic Body through each saint being perfected to prophesy, to speak Christ, so that there will be meetings all over the earth that are full of mutuality according to 1 Corinthians 14:26.

 

Ministry Excerpts:

PROPHESYING NOT IN THE SENSE OF PREDICTING, FORETELLING, BUT IN THE SENSE OF SPEAKING FOR THE LORD, SPEAKING FORTH THE LORD, TO DISPENSE CHRIST TO PEOPLE

We have to consider what it means to prophesy. According to our natural concept, to prophesy is to merely predict, or foretell. This concept is prevailing in the Pentecostal movement. In 1963 some Pentecostal believers “prophesied” that there would be a great earthquake in Los Angeles and that the entire city would fall into the ocean. Of course, such an event did not take place. In 1964 some “prophesied” again that there would be a great earthquake, but nothing happened. The meaning of prophesying has been spoiled by the Pentecostal teaching and practice. When those in the Pentecostal movement talk about prophesying according to 1 Corinthians 14, they talk about it in a wrong way.

We must admit that prophesying does convey the thought of foretelling, predicting. Most people, whether Christians or non-Christians, understand prophesying in this way. But we all have to see that prophesying in chapter 14 of 1 Corinthians is not used in this sense at all. The interpretation of prophesying as predicting does not fit in the context of this entire chapter. Prophesying in 1 Corinthians 14 is not in the sense of predicting, foretelling, but in the sense of speaking for the Lord, speaking forth the Lord, to dispense Christ to people.

Even in the Old Testament to prophesy is not mainly to predict. The book of Isaiah the prophet has sixty-six chapters, and most of these chapters are not predicting but are speaking for the Lord. Of course, Isaiah’s prophesying also includes foretelling, but his prophesying in the book of Isaiah is mainly his speaking for the Lord and speaking forth the Lord. Chapter 1 of Isaiah, in which he rebukes the people of Israel, is a chapter of his speaking for the Lord. The main denotation of the word prophesy both in Hebrew and in Greek is to speak for the Lord. When we speak for the Lord, even if we do not foretell, our speaking is the genuine prophesying. To prophesy is to speak God into people. (CWWL, 1989, vol. 4, “The Advance of the Lord’s Recovery Today”, ch. 6)

GOD DESIRING THAT EACH OF THE BELIEVERS PROPHESY, THAT IS, SPEAK FOR AND SPEAK FORTH HIM

Moses desired all of God’s people to be prophets for prophesying (Num. 11:29b).

The apostle Paul teaches that we all can prophesy (1 Cor. 14:31). God desires that each of the believers prophesy, that is, speak for and speak forth Him.

Being Not to Despise Prophesying

Paul charges us not to despise prophesying (1 Thes. 5:20). Those who have rejected the Lord’s ministry, the Lord’s speaking, today are despising prophesying. Some opposing ones have said that we can simply read the Bible itself without the help of the Recovery Version or the Life-study messages. However, if you merely read the Bible in that way, you will not receive much. The Bible has been interpreted by the seeking saints for the past twenty centuries, beginning from the so-called church fathers, who spoke concerning the Divine Trinity. Without their interpretation, how could we understand the Trinity today? The words Trinity and triune are not written in the Bible, but the fact of the Trinity was discovered by the church fathers. They did a marvelous job concerning this matter, and through the centuries their interpretation has come to us. We need the interpreted Word.

The Recovery Version with the Life-study messages can be considered as the crystallization of the understanding of the holy Word, which the seeking saints have interpreted throughout the past twenty centuries. This is the reason that I am burdened to have the life-study of the entire Bible. If we do not understand a certain part of the book of Genesis, we can go to the Life-study of Genesis for help. We may not be able to understand the Minor Prophets today, but once the Minor Prophets are properly expounded, we will be able to enter into the divine thought in these books.

To Prohibit Prophesying As a Sin Before God

To prohibit prophesying is a sin before God (Amos 2:12b; 7:12-13; Jer. 11:21). Amaziah the priest charged Amos to stop speaking, to stop prophesying. Because of this, Amaziah suffered a curse. The Lord said through Amos that the wife of Amaziah would become a harlot and that his children would be killed (Amos 7:16-17). Those who stopped Jeremiah from prophesying also suffered calamity (Jer. 11:21-23).

TO PROPHESY IN FUNCTION BEING HIGHER THAN BEING A KING OR A PRIEST

To prophesy in function is higher than being a king or a priest. In both the Old and New Testaments, only three kinds of ministries were ordained by God—the ministries of the prophets, the priests, and the kings. In Genesis 20:7 Abraham was called a prophet. At that time among God’s people, there were no kings and no official priests. Abel, Noah, and even Abraham functioned as priests by offering sacrifices (4:4; 8:20; 12:7, 8), but the office of the priest was not ordained until Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt to Mount Sinai (Exo. 19:6). The office of the king was not ordained until Saul’s time (1 Sam. 8). In the Old Testament, God first recognized the function of the prophet, then the function of the priest, and later the function of the king.

In the New Testament all the believers are regenerated to be priests and kings (1 Pet. 2:5, 9; Rev. 1:6). We are regenerated into a royal family, and as the King’s children, we also are kings. As believers, we all are born priests and kings, but to be a prophet depends upon our seeking. First Corinthians 14:1 says, “Pursue love, and desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.” If you do not desire earnestly and seek to prophesy, you cannot be a prophet. All those who desire to prophesy are like the Nazarites in the Old Testament (Num. 6:1-21), who voluntarily separated themselves unto the Lord for the priestly service.

The Prophets Reproving, Instructing, and Teaching the Kings and Teaching the Priests

Among the three functions of the prophet, the priest, and the king, the function of the prophet is the highest. The reason for this is that all three of these functions depend upon God’s word. The kings in the Old Testament time could not receive God’s word directly. The priests could receive God’s word, but not directly. They received God’s word indirectly through the breastplate with the Urim and the Thummim (Exo. 28:30). But the prophets, even in the Old Testament time, received God’s word directly. For this reason the prophets could reprove, instruct, and teach the kings (2 Sam. 12:1-14), and they could also teach the priests (Hag. 2:10-19; Mal. 1:6—2:9). Because they can receive and secure the word of God directly, the prophets have the highest function.

According to the New Testament, there are three kinds of prophets: the prophets mentioned in Ephesians 2 and 4, the prophets mentioned in Acts 21, and the prophets mentioned in 1 Corinthians 14. Ephesians 2:20 says, “Being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets.” Ephesians 4:11-12 says, “He Himself gave some as apostles and some as prophets and some as evangelists and some as shepherds and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints unto the work of the ministry, unto the building up of the Body of Christ.” The prophets mentioned in these verses are those particularly ordained by God. The second kind of prophet is one who can predict, like Philip’s daughters (Acts 21:8-9). The third kind of prophet is one who speaks for God and speaks forth God in the meetings of the church for the church’s building up (1 Cor. 14:3-5).

In speaking of this first kind of prophet, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:29, “Are all prophets?” Not all the believers are prophets particularly ordained by God. However, all the believers can be the third kind of prophet (1 Cor. 14:1, 5, 31). First Corinthians 14:31 says, “You can all prophesy one by one.” Chapter 12 indicates that not all believers are prophets, but chapter 14 indicates that all believers can be prophets. This apparent contradiction is solved by the realization that there are different kinds of prophets. (CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 2, “The Practice of the Church Life According to the God-Ordained Way”, msg. 4)

Eventually, both the Old and New Testaments end with the overcomers. In the age of typology, the overcomers were the prophets. The prophets took care of God’s oracle first. Based upon their oracle, they did exercise, to some extent, God’s authority. A number of kings listened to the prophets. Even Nathan was the authority over David. David was the king, and Nathan was the prophet. It was not Nathan who listened to David, but David to Nathan. In this sense, Nathan was God’s authority. Thus, all the genuine prophets were overcomers.

Prophesying As the Function of the Overcomers

[In chapters two and three of Revelation] These overcomers are the fulfillment of the typology of the prophets. Therefore, when the apostle Paul speaks of how the church should meet, he stresses and uplifts prophesying (1 Cor. 14:1, 3-6, 24, 31, 39). Prophesying makes you an overcomer. Speaking Christ into people is prophesying. Prophesying is the function of the overcomers. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 1, “Living a Life according to the High Peak of God’s Revelation”, msg. 1)

Brother Nee fellowshipped with us in 1937 concerning the need to recover the church meeting of mutuality revealed in 1 Corinthians 14. This fellowship has been printed in the book entitled The Normal Christian Church Life. At that time, however, we did not find a way to replace the traditional way of one speaking and the rest listening with this scriptural practice. In 1948 Brother Nee fellowshipped with us again along these lines. These messages are printed in the book entitled Church Affairs. He told us that the so-called Sunday morning service in which one man speaks and the rest listen is unscriptural and according to the customs of the nations (2 Kings 17:8). He proposed that we put this kind of meeting aside and encourage all the saints to go out and preach the gospel on the Lord’s Day.

All of us have to pay the price to enter into the scriptural way of meeting revealed in 1 Corinthians 14. We need to practice 1 Corinthians 14:26—“Whenever you come together, each one has.” To carry out God’s New Testament economy, His eternal plan for the New Testament age, all of us who are His children should learn to exercise the capacities in the divine life He has given us.

We All Having the Capacity to Prophesy

Paul says we can all prophesy one by one (1 Cor. 14:31). This indicates that we all have the capacity to prophesy. Paul says in verses 23 and 24 that when “the whole church comes together in one place…if all prophesy.” This means that we have the obligation to prophesy. (CWWL, 1989, vol. 4, “The Advance of the Lord’s Recovery Today”, ch. 10)

OUR LEARNING TO PROPHESY BEING FOR ATTENDING THE MEETING OF MUTUALITY TO FULFILL 1 CORINTHIANS 14:26

In 1984 I realized that the Lord’s recovery had nearly come to a standstill. We had become dormant. By the Lord’s mercy He caused us to realize that we needed to get into His recovery in an ultimate way. Many scriptural truths and practices have been recovered by the Lord throughout the history of the church. Brother E. H. Broadbent in his book The Pilgrim Church traced the line of the Lord’s recovery since the second century. The Lord has recovered so much, but there is at least one thing that He has not recovered. He has not yet recovered the way to meet. The traditional way of meeting in Christianity is according to the customs of the nations (2 Kings 17:8, NASB). Brother Nee saw this fifty years ago. This matter of the scriptural way to meet has been printed in his books The Normal Christian Church Life and Church Affairs. He said that the church has to practice 1 Corinthians 14:26. This is a big item in the New Testament that needs to be recovered. Where can we see a meeting in which the Christians come together, and each one has something? In 1 Corinthians 14:26 Paul uses the word has five times—each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Brother Nee called this kind of meeting a meeting of mutuality. This is different from the customs of the nations. Whenever the nations have a gathering, only one person speaks, and the rest listen. This practice is worldly and natural.

If we are going to fulfill 1 Corinthians 14:26, we must take care of Ephesians 4:11-16. All the gifted persons have to perfect the saints. Then all the saints will do exactly what the gifted persons do, and each one part of the Body will operate. All the Body of Christ causes the growth of the Body through every part operating. The answer to how 1 Corinthians 14:26 can be fulfilled is in Ephesians 4:11-16. This should be considered as the gospel, the good news, because this is a part of the Lord’s recovery and a progression of the Lord’s recovery.

We have the assurance from the Word that 1 Corinthians 14:26 and Ephesians 4:11-16 must be fulfilled. The main thing that these two portions of the Word reveal to us is the proper church meeting for the building up of the organic Body of Christ, not for the building up of a congregation. This has to be fulfilled, and this fulfillment is a great part of the Lord’s recovery. We have to treasure this revelation and receive it as the glad tidings. We are blessed to be in the Lord’s recovery at this time. (CWWL, 1988, vol. 4, “The Excelling Gift for the Building Up of the Church”, ch. 6)

First Corinthians 14:26 as a Part of the Holy Word Being Fulfilled for the Body of Christ to Be Built up

First Corinthians 14:26 as a part of the holy Word needs to be fulfilled for the Body of Christ to be built up. The congregational way of one speaking and the rest listening cannot build up the Body of Christ. Where on this earth can we see the organic building up of the church as the Body of Christ? Without this organic building, the Lord’s prophecy in Matthew 16:18 cannot be fulfilled, and the church as the bride cannot be made ready for Christ as the Bridegroom. Some have advised me not to labor so hard at my age. One saint told me that whatever I had spoken concerning the new way is scriptural, but he did not believe it could be worked out. But within me was the thought, “If I don’t do this, how can I go to see the Lord?” Others told me that since I began to talk about the new way in 1984, the churches have been decreasing, and the condition of the churches has been going down. They told me that I needed to reconsider my way. Despite all the criticisms and hardships, I have to take care of the commission that I have received from the Lord. My burden is to pass on His word so that at least a small number of Jesus lovers would take His word and get into it. Then the Lord Jesus will have a way on this earth. I do not care about the criticisms. I care that one day I will stand before the Lord. I must care for my inner burden from the Lord.

Desiring and Learning to Prophesy

To meet according to 1 Corinthians 14:26, we must desire and learn to prophesy. Prophesying is so that others may learn; hence, to prophesy requires learning. If we say something for others to learn, we have to learn first. We learn to prophesy through experiences. We have to love the Lord, live Him, and enjoy Him. We also learn to prophesy by being equipped with the Word (2 Tim. 3:16-17). We must get into the Word and become saturated with the Word until we are one with the Word. To learn to prophesy we need to pray unceasingly (1 Thes. 5:17-20). We need to pray ourselves into the Spirit. This kind of unceasing prayer will keep us in the Spirit all the time. We must be in the Spirit; otherwise, we cannot have God’s oracle. We must be in the Spirit; otherwise, we cannot speak something divine. We learn to prophesy by living and walking by the Spirit (Gal. 5:16, 25). We also learn to prophesy by practicing. Our learning to prophesy is for attending the meeting of mutuality to fulfill 1 Corinthians 14:26.

LIVING A PROPHESYING LIFE

If we are going to prophesy, we need to live a prophesying life. First, we need to be revived every morning (Prov. 4:18; Lam. 3:22-24; Psa. 119:147-148). Proverbs 4:18 says, “The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, / Which shines brighter and brighter until the full day.” The way of the righteous is like the dawn that becomes brighter and brighter until noontime. Every twenty-four hours there is a new start, a dawn, a rising sun. This is according to the natural law in God’s creation. We have to go along with this natural law. Every morning we have to rise early to contact the Lord, to call on Him, and to be revived by Him. In Lamentations 3:22-24 Jeremiah says that the Lord’s compassions are fresh and new every morning. His compassions are like the fresh dew in the morning. Every morning we must enjoy this fresh dew to have a new start, a morning revival.

In addition to being revived every morning, we must also live an overcoming life every day (Rev. 21:7). After the morning revival we should not stop contacting the Lord. We can live a victorious life by fellowshipping with the Lord moment by moment (1 John 1:6). We also need to walk according to the spirit (Rom. 8:4b), not doing anything outside of the Spirit. We should also speak the word (the Lord) all the time. Paul charged Timothy to proclaim the word in season and out of season (2 Tim. 4:2a). We should not say, “Now is not the time for me to speak to people.” Seemingly it is out of season, but even if it is out of season, we still have to speak the word. Such a prophesying life qualifies us to prophesy.

Preparing to Prophesy in the Church Meetings on the Lord’s Day

In Taipei we gave the saints some practical fellowship concerning how to prepare to prophesy in the church meetings on the Lord’s Day. Every week they will cover a chapter of a certain book of the Bible and divide this chapter into six portions for six days. In each section for each day, they choose two or three verses for pray-reading, and they enjoy the Lord with these verses for their morning revival. We charged the saints to write down a short reminder of what the Lord inspired them with in their time with Him in the morning. At the end of the week they will have six notes of what they were inspired with during the week. On Saturday night they use these notes of their inspiration to compose a prophecy to speak for three minutes. Then they practice it in their homes. They are instructed not to be too long or too short. When they go to the church meeting on the Lord’s Day, they have something, thus fulfilling the Lord’s word in 1 Corinthians 14:26: “Each one has.” They do not trust merely in instant inspiration, but they come to the meeting prepared with the riches of Christ that they have enjoyed. Certain brothers who may be considered as “tutors” will spend time with a number of the saints after they have spoken on the Lord’s Day to give them more help, adjustment, and perfection. The saints need to be perfected to enjoy the Lord, to be saturated with the Word, to pray unceasingly, to fellowship with the Lord moment by moment, to walk in the Spirit, and to speak the Lord in the Spirit at all times. Then they need to learn how to compose a prophecy for the church meetings. I hope that we all would try to practice this for our church meetings.

If only fifteen out of fifty saints prophesy in a meeting of the church, that meeting will be in the third heavens. This is what the Lord desires. Regardless of how long a message is or how good it is, it only covers one main item. But when fifteen prophesy, different points will be covered. This prophesying will touch people’s problems in a particular way. Such speaking will not only nourish the saints but also build them up. When one person speaks, only what he has experienced of the riches of Christ is released. When fifteen people speak, the riches of Christ come out of fifteen sources, and fifteen portions of Christ are ministered.

I want to repeat again that we should not make a quick change from the old way of one man speaking to the new way of “each one has.” On the one hand, we have to remain in the old way to keep the saints. On the other hand, we have to take the time to train them and educate them in order to bring them into a full realization that the Lord today needs His saints to meet according to 1 Corinthians 14:26. Our teaching will stir up their appetite, and they will begin to desire to prophesy. They will seek to excel for the building up of the church. By this way I believe the entire church in our place, maybe within one year, will gradually have a radical change.

We have seen a clear view from the Lord concerning how to preach the gospel and how to have church meetings. We are still not completely clear regarding how to have the home meetings and small group meetings because the New Testament does not say much about this. We do know, though, from the Scriptures that the home meetings and small group meetings are greatly needed (Acts 2:46; 5:42; 12:12). First Corinthians 14 and Ephesians 4:11-16 give us a clear view regarding how to have the church meetings. We need to cooperate with the Lord and labor together with Him to see these portions of the Word fulfilled for the building up of the church as the Body of Christ. (CWWL, 1988, vol. 4, “The Excelling Gift for the Building Up of the Church”, ch. 2)

Taking the Precious Things from the Vile or Worthless

The first qualification for prophesying is to take the precious things from the vile, or worthless (Jer. 15:19). God said to Jeremiah, “If you bring out the precious from the worthless, / You will be as My mouth.” In order to speak the word of God, we have to separate all the vile, worthless things from the precious things. We have received many precious things. If we do not keep the precious things separate from the vile things, we will lose the position to be the mouthpiece of God.

Loving the Lord, Being Close to Him, and Being One with Him

To love the Lord, to be close to Him, and to be one with Him is another qualification for those who would prophesy (Jer. 1:8-9; Psa. 73:28a). All the prophets loved the Lord, were very close to the Lord, and were one with the Lord. We must have the same experience; otherwise, we cannot be prophets.

Having an Intimacy with God

The intimate counsel of Jehovah belongs to those who fear Him, and His covenant He will make known to them (Psa. 25:14). In order to prophesy, we must have an intimacy with God. Furthermore, we should not think that because we are intimate with God, we can be loose. On the contrary, we must also have a fear that matches our intimacy. In this way we are qualified to be God’s mouthpiece.

Receiving the Word from God

In Psalm 73 the psalmist was bothered at the prosperity of the wicked (v. 3). Then in verse 17 he says, “Until I went into the sanctuary of God; / Then I perceived their end.” He could not understand until he went into the sanctuary of God, that is, until he contacted God. This shows that he did not want to solve any problem apart from God. He went into the presence of God to get his problem solved; then he received the word from God.

Praying for the Ministry of the Word

In Acts 6:4 Peter said, “We will continue steadfastly in prayer and in the ministry of the word.” In order to prophesy, we must pray for the ministry of the word. Without prayer, the ministry of the word will not be enlivened and empowered.

Always Rejoicing

Another qualification for prophesying is to be one who is always rejoicing, unceasingly praying, giving thanks in everything, and not quenching the Spirit concerning prophesying (1 Thes. 5:16-20). Some of the sisters quench the Spirit simply by being quiet according to their female disposition. But we all, brothers and sisters alike, have quenched the Spirit too often. The prophesying among us should eventually become a noise. When we speak in good order, the sound is a voice. But when everyone speaks, the sound is not a voice but a noise. We first should practice to have a noise; then we gradually will be able to speak in a proper order so that our sound is a voice.

We are children of a speaking Father, so we all must speak. Many would say that they do not know how to speak. The way to learn how to speak is to speak. Some have the problem of speaking too little. Others may have the problem of speaking too much. Hence, a balance is needed in our speaking. Nevertheless, we all must speak. The most victorious, overcoming, and successful Christian is a Christian who is a speaking one. The more you speak, the more you overcome. The purpose for us all to meet together is for all of us to speak.

Letting the Word of Christ Dwell in Us Richly in All Wisdom

In order to prophesy, we must let the word of Christ dwell in us richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in our hearts to God (Col. 3:16).

Being Filled with the Spirit

To prophesy we must be filled with the Spirit. The Ephesian believers in Acts 19:6 were outwardly filled with the Spirit, and they prophesied. The Chinese version of the New Testament has a note on this verse, indicating that prophesied means “preached.” To prophesy is to speak for God, to impart the divine revelations to others.

The practice of prophesying includes at least five items: exercising your spirit, speaking with your mouth open, speaking audibly, speaking in the proper speed, and speaking with the purified and accurate word. You need to exercise your spirit in a definite way with an open mouth. To speak audibly is to speak loud enough for the entire congregation to hear. To speak in the proper speed is not to speak too slowly or too rapidly. To speak with the purified and accurate word is to speak without any wasted words, avoiding “sea stories.” (CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 2, “The Practice of the Church Life According to the God-Ordained Way”, msg. 4)

THE COMPOSITION OF A PROPHECY ACCORDING TO
THE WAY IN 1 CORINTHIANS 14

The Knowledge and Experience of God, Christ, and the Spiritual Things

The composition of a prophecy according to the way in 1 Corinthians 14 comprises, first, the knowledge and experience of God, Christ, and the spiritual things. If we are going to prophesy, we must have some knowledge and experience of God, Christ, and the spiritual things. Second, the composition of a prophecy comprises the utterance to speak forth what we know and have experienced of God, Christ, and the spiritual things. First we need the knowledge and experience; then we need the utterance, that is, the word and the expression. We can compose a brief prophecy and then practice speaking it to ourselves at home. We may even speak it to ourselves ten times. After speaking it several times, we will know how to correct and improve it. Through this kind of practice, we will have the proper utterance.

The Sight under the Divine Enlightenment concerning the Situation and Environment in Which We Are

The composition of a prophecy also comprises the sight under the divine enlightenment concerning the situation and environment in which we are. Many among us are not clear about the intrinsic contents of the present turmoil in the Lord’s recovery, and some prefer not to be clear. Their attitude is that others should be clear about the situation, but that they should take care only of enjoying Christ. Such an attitude is wrong. The church is our home and our family. If there is a turmoil in our home among our family, we cannot say, “I do not want to know about it. I simply want to enjoy.” We must have the sight to see the things taking place among us and the situation of all the saints. If we cannot see clearly, we need to pray, “Lord, show me the real situation. Shine over me and enlighten me. Give me the full enlightenment that I may know the intrinsic contents of the present situation.” We must know what is happening in the church, not so that we may take sides with one group of saints against another but so that we may know the real situation.

The Instant Inspiration of the Indwelling Spirit

The knowledge and the experience of God, Christ, and the spiritual things, the utterance to speak forth what we know and have experienced, and a clear view concerning our situation and environment are the basic preparation for our speaking. In addition, we need the instant inspiration of the indwelling Spirit that stirs up our spirit to speak. We are different from the Old Testament prophets. In the Old Testament, the saints did not have the abiding Spirit indwelling them. They had to wait until the Spirit came upon them before they could speak for the Lord (2 Chron. 15:1; Ezek. 11:5). However, the New Testament says, “The Lord be with your spirit” (2 Tim. 4:22). We do not need the Spirit to come upon us, because we always have Him in our human spirit. Therefore, we should not wait for the Spirit to come upon us; rather, we should exercise our spirit. When we exercise our spirit, the Holy Spirit who is indwelling our spirit will be moved by us, and we will have the inspiration. It is not He who moves us, but it is we who move the indwelling Spirit. If we remain clear with the Lord by confessing our failures, we will have a direct, open fellowship with Him. He is in our spirit, and we are in Him. When we come to the meeting, we need only to exercise our spirit and say, “Lord Jesus, I want to speak.” Then He will rise up, and we can speak according to our experience with the utterance we have gained and with the enlightenment that we have. If we do this, everyone will have something to speak in the Lord’s Day morning meeting.

We need to practice composing a prophecy according to the way in 1 Corinthians 14. To help us in this matter, we have prepared the book The Holy Word for Morning Revival. If we use the contents of this book with the knowledge and experience of God, Christ, and the spiritual things, the utterance to speak forth what we know and have experienced, the sight under the divine enlightenment concerning our situation, and the instant inspiration of the indwelling Spirit through the clear and open fellowship with the Lord in the exercise of our spirit, we can easily compose a prophecy and speak it in the church meeting. (CWWL, 1990, vol. 2, “The Practice of Prophesying”, msg. 1)

HAVING THE RECOVERY OF THE MEETING IN MUTUALITY BY PRACTICING EPHESIANS 4:11-16

Today the Lord demands that we have the recovery of the meeting in mutuality, as unveiled in 1 Corinthians 14:26, by practicing Ephesians 4:11-16. We must have the perfecting of the saints by the gifts so that the saints may participate in the work of the unique ministry of the New Testament—the work of the building up of the Body of Christ. The practice of Ephesians 4:11-16 is for the building up of the Body of Christ by the Body itself in the increase of the Body’s growth in the divine life. This is accomplished by the wide spreading of the gospel of Christ by visiting people for the producing of the new believers, by home meetings to nourish the new believers, by group meetings to take care of the saints and teach them the truth for their edification, and by church meetings to exhibit and minister Christ to the saints for the building up of the Body of Christ by the developing and exercising of the saints’ organic functions. (CWWL, 1988, vol. 4, “The Present Advance of the Lord’s Recovery”, ch. 6)