What It Means To Be One With The Ministry

And 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 - Ephesians 4:11-12.

Of which I became a minister according to the stewardship of God, which was given to me for you, to complete the word of God, the mystery which has been hidden from the ages and from the generations but now has been manifested to His saints - Colossians 1:25-26.

To reveal His Son in me that I might announce Him as the gospel among the Gentiles, immediately I did not confer with flesh and blood - Galatians 1:16.

But rise up and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a minister and a witness both of the things in which you have seen Me and of the things in which I will appear to you; delivering you from the people and from the Gentiles, to whom I send you, to open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light and from the authority of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me - Acts 26:16-18.

If we desire to be one with the ministry, we must have a certain understanding and exercise. If we do not know the Triune God, His economy, His New Testament ministry, our spirit, or how to be spiritual, and if we do not understand how weighty is the matter of prophesying, our speaking cannot be one with the ministry, but will rather be something of vanity, or even worse. Memorizing messages, for instance, cannot cause us to be one with the ministry. Being one with the ministry implies something much higher and deeper than this!

All Ministies Part of the New Testament Ministry
Any ministry must be one with the ministry. When we say Brother Lee's ministry is the ministry, we must understand this to mean that his ministry conveys the Lord's ministry. According to the Bible, in the New Testament age everyone's ministry is part of the Lord's ministry, though everyone fulfills his part in this ministry at different levels, in different areas, and in varying degrees of measure. Therefore, we should not say that, except for Brother Lee, no one has any ministry. This is a mistaken concept.

There is only one ministry in this universe, and this one ministry is sufficient to carry out all that God desires in His economy. In this ministry there are apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherd-teachers who function as the constituted gifts for the work of ministry. We all are in this ministry, and we all are part of it. If the Lord leads you to preach the gospel and save someone from off of the street, you are both one with the ministry and also exercising your ministry. The Lord desires to get people saved and you are actually getting them saved. Hence, in preaching the gospel, you are one with the Lord, one with His ministry.

Why do we desire to be one with the ministry of Brother Witness Lee? It is because we are assured that he is doing the work of the New Testament ministry. We cannot say that none besides Brother Lee has a ministry. But we may say that Brother Lee's ministry is one with the ministry of the Lord Jesus, out of that unique ministry, in accordance with it, united with it, supplying it, and ultimately carrying it.

If the ministries we exercise are not of the Lord, then our ministries are indeed not ministries at all. If you preach the gospel, then your preaching should be done to fulfill your ministry. We believe in Jesus, preach Him as our Savior, and proclaim the baptism of repentance. When we minister such things, we are carrying out the New Testament ministry. Yet apart from the Lord Jesus, we don't have any ministry. Our ministry must be one with the Lord's ministry, and thus also one with Brother Lee's ministry.

There are no other ministries to be fulfilled among us, for the Lord only has one ministry today. To preach the gospel is the work of the Lord's New Testament ministry. To help people love the Lord is the work of the Lord's New Testament ministry. To help people pursue Christ is the work of the Lord's New Testament ministry. To minister the Lord's word to the gathered saints is also the work of the Lord's New Testament ministry. What you fulfill is your ministry, yet your ministry must be one with the Lord's unique ministry.

The Word of the Ministry as the Oracle of the Lord
In these years, the Lord leads and shepherds His church through Brother Nee and Brother Lee's ministry. We have to realize that they function as the oracles of the Lord.

The Riches of the Ministry Providing the Foundation of Our Spiritual Understanding
Once a brother invited us for supper. While we were at his home he complained, "I don't understand what Brother Lee is doing. He simply speaks the same material over and over again, but just in different ways." It was difficult to know how to respond. If we were to say, "Brother Lee is repetitive for our sake," it might have given the impression that he had little to say, but if we answered, "He doesn't repeat," then we would not be telling the truth. So a brother simply said, "Yes, he does." I know he didn't agree with the brother's criticism, but he didn't know how else to answer. Therefore I said, "I have been in the recovery since 1953. I can tell you that in these forty years the ministry of Brother Lee has been continuously growing and advancing."

This is true. In the 1950s, when Brother Lee was in Taiwan, he mainly followed Brother Nee's ministry, and his messages basically drew from the riches of Brother Nee. Although he himself developed during those years, his speaking was primarily out of what Watchman Nee had spoken. Then, in the 1960s, he realized that all the riches must be substantiated in the Spirit, so he began to speak strongly about the Spirit. His understanding then was not as complete as it is today. He didn't speak, for instance, about the all-inclusive, sevenfold, intensified, compound, indwelling, and consummated Spirit, but he had seen that the last Adam became a life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b) and that today the Lord is the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:17).

Then in the 1970s, Brother Lee began the Life-Study of the Bible and began to speak the economy of God. In the 1980s, he focused on the economy of God being fulfilled through the dispensing of the divine life, and he also spoke much about the church life, especially about the need to dispense life to one another and to love one another. The result of this was the practice of the new way. In the 1990s, he helped us to experience God's organic salvation through the dispensing of the divine life. He also helped us to see that we must live in the divine and mystical realm as God-men.

Throughout all the years I have known him, Brother Lee has continued to fulfill his ministry according to what the Lord has committed to him. He continues to advance today, as does his ministry.

When he leads us into something further, however, he does not depart from what he has seen previously. Sometimes our problem is that we think that Brother Lee leaves behind what he had, in order to go forward. Thus, many brothers who strive to get into his present leading tend to disregard the riches he has released previously.

This is true about the riches that have been delivered to us through Brother Nee's ministry as well. If you are not familiar with Brother Nee's riches, it will be difficult for you to apprehend why Brother Lee leads the churches as he does today. If you know Watchman Nee's ministry, then you will know the Spirit, and you will not be led astray. For example, Pentecostals, though they seem to know the Spirit, easily go astray, for they do not have what Brother Nee taught us as a base.

Receiving the Riches of the Ministry in Spirit
If you do not know the Spirit, you will only know God's economy in the way of knowledge. Apart from the Spirit, there is no way for you to minister God's economy or to dispense life. Life dispensing substantiates God's economy. If you desire to live in the economy of God, you must live in the dispensing of life. Life dispensing is the reality of the church life.

If we feel tired and frustrated in our serving life, the problem is not with our methods but with the dispensation of life. Why is it difficult for us to receive life? It may be that we do not understand God's economy. And why don't we understand God's economy? It may be because we have a problem with our spirit.

Some saints have been in the recovery for many years, but practically speaking their spirit is dull and dead because they have lost their basic commitment. To use our current terminology, they have been "processed" but not "consummated." We should not take up the most recent things the Lord commits to us by departing from the things He committed to us previously. We have to realize that the words of the apostles are the oracle of the Lord. The riches of Brother Nee and Brother Lee are the oracle of the Lord. The Lord still uses the ministry of His ministers as His oracle today.

Do not assume that Brother Lee's present leading somehow replaces what he has seen previously. No! That is not the case. Recently Brother Lee said, "Don't talk about the local churches now." I am afraid some took that to mean that we should abandon the matter of the local churches. When he said, "You must be one with the ministry," I was nervous, and when he said, "Don't talk about being one with the ministry anymore," I became even more nervous, because if we are not one with the ministry, we have nothing. We should not misunderstand Brother Lee. Brother Lee never said we should abandon the local ground; what he said was that if we say we see the local church and yet do not see the Body, our local ground is not real. We cannot deny the local ground of the church, for it is a truth in the Bible.

We should pay attention to Brother Lee's latest messages because they represent the present word of the Lord to His church and the present leading of the Lord for the church. But we must have a comprehensive understanding of what the Lord has spoken through His servants. We should have an accurate and balanced view of the word of the ministry, for the Lord uses the ministry as His oracle.

The Word of the Ministry as the Word of Revelation
We must also realize that the word of the ministry is a matter of revelation. The oracle of the Lord is something revealed. If it were not so, men would be able to arrive at it simply by means of study.
I knew a brother who received a Ph.D. from a good university. He afterwards worked in a large company and was in charge of an important department. He had a good salary and a large budget to work with. In the eyes of those in the Chinese culture, he had attained everything. One day, however, he felt so empty that he decided to study theology, and upon graduation he became a pastor. Later on, one of the committee members in his denomination voted against him in the yearly meeting, so he felt to quit his pastorship. He stayed on in a small group and preached the gospel there. At that time he met us and was willing to fellowship with us. However, he had a deep-rooted concept that he was called to work for the Lord as a "minister." In the churches, however, we are all just brothers, and if someone doesn't know how to be a brother, he has no way to go on. That brother had a hard time learning just to be a brother. Finally, however, he was delivered from his old concept and began to serve the Lord among a group of saints. But then he had another strange idea. He went to Brother Lee and told him that he wished to give his congregation to Brother Lee. I told the brother, "Don't bring in troubles. Just be simple and follow the Lord." (Sometimes Brother Lee comes under attack simply because saints who do not possess revelation get him into trouble. If we want to be in the church life, we should be simple rather than complicated.) I have rarely seen saints as consecrated or as accomplished as this brother. It would seem that even the Lord would be happy with such a one, yet he suffered and struggled because he lacked revelation.

Receiving the Revelation by Means of Spirit
Although we live in an environment rich in revelation, we do not necessarily always grow well. For instance, after a conference, few are able to say much about what they heard. Some might be able to recite the banners or the outline, but I do not have such a good memory. If I can repeat something, it is not from my memory but from my constitution. I cannot remember the messages from different conferences. However, what I do receive grows within me and produces something rich. That which I receive is by means of revelation.

The words of Brother Lee in his ministry are words of revelation. If you have this understanding, you will know that the way to approach his ministry is essentially not by memorization or mental study. We should study and memorize, but do not consider yourself to have understood after you have mastered the material in this way, for that is definitely not the case. We cannot arrive at what was ministered merely through study and memorization, for it is a word of revelation.

Acquiring Vision through Revelation
The Lord has bestowed upon us revelation upon revelation through His servants Brother Nee and Brother Lee. All the riches of the Lord's servants are riches of revelation. We have to pursue these riches and give ourselves to spend time in them. However, if we do not receive them by way of revelation, our pursuing will not be adequate. These riches must be received by means of revelation.

Thus we have to receive the word of the ministry by means of our spirit, for the word of the ministry is based upon revelation, and revelation is related to our spirit. First the Holy Spirit will make our spirit alive and then He will grant us revelation. When we have received something by way of revelation, our life and existence will be changed by what we have seen. What we possess as a result of revelation is vision. This vision is the view that becomes the controlling factor in our life. This is the process by which the Holy Spirit constitutes us with the truth.

How do we receive vision? It is by means of the accumulation of revelation. To have some amount of revelation does not mean that we necessarily possess a controlling vision. The word of the ministry brings in revelation according to the vision of the speaking one. On our part, we must receive what is being revealed in spirit, for as we do, the revelations will eventually accumulate to the point that they produce a vision within us.

If we want to have vision, first, our spirit itself must be alive; second, we must receive revelation in spirit; and third, we must be constituted with what was revealed. Eventually, the constitution of all our revelations becomes our vision.
Without vision, our life has no direction, and we do not know what to do with our life. Vision regulates our life. If we desire to have direction in our life, we must have a vision.

Where does vision come from? It comes by means of revelation. It does not come from just one revelation, but from revelation upon revelation until something is constituted into us to become a vision.
Brother Lee's vision consists of layer upon layer of accumulated revelations. His speaking is the word of revelation according to the rich vision he possesses.

Vision Ushering In Higher Revelation
Acquiring vision requires repeated experiences of revelation. This is totally a matter in our spirit. If our spirit is alive, strong, and anointed, we will experience revelation. The accumulation of such revelation produces vision. According to the vision we possess, we will receive yet higher revelations, and in turn, the higher the revelations we receive, the higher our vision will become.

Our life should be a life of receiving revelation and vision. The more revelation and vision we receive in spirit, the deeper and broader we ourselves become.

A true servant of the Lord speaks out of his visions and revelations. Even a young believer has experienced believing into the Lord Jesus as a sinner for salvation, the cleansing of the Lord's precious blood for the forgiveness of sins, and calling on the Lord's name and receiving the Lord. Once the Lord has entered, he experiences dying with the Lord and being buried with the Lord. He also experiences being released from the bondage of Satan, sin, and the world. These things become his vision. In fact, most of Christianity possesses this vision. Some may add, "The Lord loves me, and I love Him." This is the vision of the majority of believers. Do not think, however, that this is low or shallow. Only those who possess such vision can tell others that they are sinners, that the Lord loves them, and that they need to be born again. Only those who really see this vision can be saved and love the Lord. Even today when I tell someone that he is a sinner and needs to be regenerated, it is still based upon this vision. You may be able to preach to others if you merely have knowledge, but a person can be saved and love the Lord only when he has seen something. If you possess such vision, you can tell people that they are sinners and they need to be born again.

Today, Brother Lee's vision has become much higher, and his speaking is what is of revelation according to his vision. When we spiritually receive his words, we are able also to see what he sees in our spirit. Ultimately the accumulation of the revelations we receive will become our vision as well. This is why we must realize that the word of the ministry is the word of revelation.

If you do not receive the ministry with your spirit, its teaching cannot truly become yours. You must use your spirit to touch the word of the ministry. You must enjoy the word of the ministry in your spirit. You must use your spirit to dwell in, read, touch, and experience the word of the ministry. It will then have a way to produce the inspirations, the life supply, the regulating power, and the driving force for your service.

All this is just a matter of being in spirit. If I receive the word of the ministry in spirit, then I shall be one with the ministry. Apart from spiritual revelation, however, the word of the ministry becomes mere doctrine.

The Present Speaking of the Ministry as the Present Leading of the Church
Why do I say that we must pay close attention to Brother Lee's recent sharing? It is because the speaking of the Lord's servant is the Lord's speaking to the church today, and it is how He leads His church today.