THE FOURTH SERIES:
THE PATHWAY OF THE LORD’S RECOVERY
Crucial Principles in the Administration of the Church
Message Twelve—Practicing the Church Life According to
the Framework of God-ordained Way
Scripture Reading: Rom. 15:16; 1 Thes. 2:7; Eph. 4:11-12; 1 Cor. 14:31
I. God’s eternal purpose is to have a Body for Christ; the steps to achieve this goal lies in our begetting by preaching the gospel, nourishing by home meetings, teaching by group meetings and building up by church meetings—Rom. 15:16; 1 Thes. 2:7; Eph. 4:11-12; 1 Cor. 14:3-5: (The New Testament Priests of the Gospel, msg. 2)
A. Begetting—preaching the gospel and saving the sinners—Rom. 15:16: (The Organic Practice of the New Way, msg. 1; 2002 ITEROS, Evening sessions, msg. 2)
1. Being one with the Lord and not fearing difficulties. (The Organic Practice of the New Way, msg. 5)
2. “Go therefore and disciple all the nations”—Matt. 28:19.
B. Nourishing—feeding the Lord’s sheep—1 Thes. 2:7, 11: (The Organic Practice of the New Way, msg. 1; 2002 ITEROS, Evening sessions, msg. 2)
1. Feeding the new believers, as a nursing mother would cherish her own children—v. 7. (The Practical and Organic Building Up of the Church, ch. 3)
2. Newborn babies need special care. (The Organic Practice of the New Way, msg. 2)
C. Teaching—perfecting the saints to build up the Body of Christ—Eph. 4:11-12: (The Organic Practice of the New Way, msg. 1; 2002 ITEROS, Evening sessions, msg. 2)
1. In the small group meetings, the believers have mutual fellowship and intercession, mutual care and shepherding, mutual teaching and studying of the truth, and mutual instruction in the pursuit of the growth in the spiritual life, for the promotion of the preaching of the gospel, the care for the new ones, the conducting of the small group meetings, and all other kinds of service in the church life. (The New Testament Priests of the Gospel, msg. 10)
2. The small group meetings are the main part of the life and service of the church. (The New Testament Priests of the Gospel, msg. 10)
D. Building—speaking for the Lord to build up the church through prophesying—1 Cor. 14:31: (The Organic Practice of the New Way, msg. 1; 2002 ITEROS, Evening sessions, msg. 2)
1. To speak for God and to speck forth God and to supply Christ to others. (The Life-study of 1 Corinthians, msg. 61)
2. To speak the words for building up, encouragement and consolation for the building up of the church—vv. 3-5. (The Organic Practice of the New Way, msg. 1)
II. The new way is the scriptural way of meeting and serving to build up the Body of Christ—Acts 2:42; 5:42; Eph. 4:12: (Elders’ Training, Book 09: The Eldership and the God-Ordained Way (1), ch. 7)
A. We must build up a new habit to contact people, changing from big meetings in the meeting hall to the meetings in the homes, not inviting people to come but going to people’s home. (The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups, msg. 7; Bearing Remaining Fruit, msg. 20; The Proper Way for Believers to Meet and to Serve, msg. 4)
B. The success of the new way hinges on bringing the saints into the truth, bringing the church to the homes, and having the outreach of the gospel through our daily living—1 Tim. 2:4; Acts 2:42; 5:42; 2 Tim. 4:2. (Bearing Remaining Fruit, msg. 4; Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 1: The Vision and Definite Steps for the Practice of the New Way, msg 10; Preaching the Gospel in the Way of Life, ch. 9)
C. The way the Lord is leading us is to preach the gospel widely, to retain the new ones, and to perfect the new ones—Eph. 4:12. (Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 1: The Vision and Definite Steps for the Practice of the New Way, msg. 12; Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 5: Concerning Various Aspects of Church Service, msg. 11; Bearing Remaining Fruit, msg.21; The Perfecting of the Saints and the Building Up of the House of God, msg. 4)
III. The crucial point of the God-ordained way is the group meetings; therefore, we must endeavor to build up the group meetings; when the group meetings are built up strongly, the church will also be very strong—1 Cor. 14:26; Acts 2:46-47: (The Exercise and Practice of the God-Ordained Way, msg. 29)
A. Brothers and sister in a small group need to build up and support one another. (Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 4: The Increase and Spread of the Church, msg. 6)
B. Recovering dormant and lost saints. (Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 4: The Increase and Spread of the Church, msg. 6)
C. Preaching the gospel to relatives, friends, and neighbors. (Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 4: The Increase and Spread of the Church, msg. 6)
IV. “No church or leading one should prohibit others from taking this way; we should not criticize, condemn, or oppose the new way; all the leaders of the churches around the globe should say ‘Amen’ to this way, whether or not they agree with it.” (The God-ordained Way to Practice the New Testament Economy, ch. 15)