Ｆ
We must learn from the lesson of Paul to practice the Body life and to take the word of the Spirit through the members of the Body, obeying it as a word from the Head (20:23; 21:4, 7-8, 11-14).
Ｇ
We must learn from the lesson of the mistake of James and the devastating mixture of the church in Jerusalem (vv. 18-26; Matt. 22:7; 24:1-2):
１
Jeremiah spoke of the law of life that could be written upon our hearts (Jer. 31:31-34), and Paul spoke of the law of the Spirit of life in our spirit (Rom. 8:2, 4, 6), but James treasured and uplifted the law of letters (Acts 21:20).
２
Paul spoke of being crucified with Christ and being conformed to the death of Christ by the power of Christ's resurrection; it is this life that produces the Body life that consummates in the New Jerusalem (Gal. 2:20; Phil. 3:10).
３
In the light of the divine revelation, the greatest lack of James is the cross of Christ; self-cultivation does not carry out God's economy, but self-denial does.
４
James boasted that there were thousands of believing Jews in the church in Jerusalem who were zealous for the law, but Paul was zealous to gain Christ, be found in Christ, know Christ, lay hold of Christ, pursue Christ, and uplift only Christ for the fullest enjoyment of Christ (Acts 21:20; Phil. 3:6-14; Col. 1:18b).
Ｈ
We must learn from the lesson of Paul to be saved from the mixing of Judaic practices with God's New Testament economy, which is not only erroneous but also abominable in the eyes of God (Acts 21:18-27, 31, 36; Heb. 10:29).
Ｉ
We must learn from the lesson of Paul's appealing to Caesar, utilizing his Roman citizenship to save himself from his persecutors so that he might fulfill the course of his ministry (Acts 22:25-29; 23:10-11; 25:8-12; 26:32):
１
Paul was willing to sacrifice his life for the Lord, but he still endeavored to live longer that he might carry out the Lord's ministry as much as possible (20:24).
２
God in His sovereignty rescued Paul so that He might separate him from all the dangerous situations and entrapments and sent him to a quiet prison; this was to afford him a quiet environment and give him time, whether in Caesarea (24:27) or in Rome (28:16, 23, 30), so that through his last Epistles he might release exhaustively to the church throughout the generations the revelation of the mystery of God's New Testament economy that he received from the Lord.
３
The benefit and profit that the church throughout the generations has received from these Epistles will take eternity to measure (see Acts 25:11, footnote 1).
Ⅳ
All of us should follow the pattern of the apostle Paul to do the same one work universally for the unique Body (1 Cor. 3:12; 15:58; 16:10; Eph. 4:11-16):
Ａ
The work in the Lord's recovery is for the building up of the local churches unto the building up of the universal Body of Christ (2:21-22; 1 Cor. 16:10).
Ｂ
Today there are four kinds of workers:
１
The first kind is the co-workers who match the need of the ministry of God in the present age; this is a small group of people who have been dealt with by the Lord and who are in one accord.
２
The second kind is the younger co-workers; they are willing to receive the direction and to come under the coordination of the older co-workers, and they are willing to follow and to learn in humility.
３
The third kind is those who are unwilling to submit to the senior co-workers, who do not belong to the denominations, yet who are happy to remain in fellowship with us.
４
The fourth kind is the preachers and free evangelists among the denominations.
Ｃ
What we need today are the first and second kind of co-workers; concerning the third and fourth kind of co-workers, we can only let them choose their own pathway; with some people God has not assigned them to take the same way as we do, and we dare not say anything to them.
Ｄ
Whatever the situation may be, we are here to do the work that God has committed to us; we cannot interfere with others' work, and we are not here tearing down others' work.
Morning Nourishment
Acts 20:22-23 ...Behold, I am going bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing what will meet me there, except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in city after city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me.23:11 But in the night following, the Lord stood by him and said, Take courage, for as you have solemnly testified to the things concerning Me in Jerusalem, so also you must testify in Rome.
Paul's return to Jerusalem went against five instances of feeling and teaching concerning the matter. First, the Holy Spirit gave him a positive feeling, but he did not obey it. Second, the Holy Spirit gave him a restricting feeling, but again he did not listen. In every move, if we do not feel the flow, there is a problem with what we are doing. Third, Agabus gave him a prophetic warning, but Paul did not listen. Fourth, he went against the feeling of the Body. Fifth, he went against the clear word of the Lord's teaching. The Lord said that if there is persecution in one city, we should leave it and flee to another city (Matt. 10:23). Paul did not need to return to Jerusalem, he did not have any great purpose in going there, and there were sufferings awaiting him there. (Three Aspects of the Church, Book 2: The Course of the Church, p. 50)
Today's Reading
Paul's original feeling was that he needed to go to Rome. The Holy Spirit confirmed this by revealing to him that he would testify for the Lord in Rome (Acts 23:11). Ultimately, Paul did go to Rome, but not in a way of convenience. He could have gone to Rome in freedom; now he came in a different way....From this time onward, Paul's movements were greatly restricted.In spite of the inconvenience of his imprisonment, Paul learned a deep lesson and wrote many precious Epistles while in prison....Paul should have gone straight to Rome from Corinth, but the elements of oldness within him and his attachments to the ordinances became an entanglement to him, causing him to go backward to Jerusalem.
Over the past two thousand years, if the servants of the Lord had always allowed the Holy Spirit to go forward, the church would have matured long ago....If the Holy Spirit has a straight way in us, the spread of the church would not be limited by us in any way. (Three Aspects of the Church, Book 2: The Course of the Church, pp. 51, 53)
Today there are four kinds of workers. The first are the co-workers who match the need of the ministry of God in the present age. This is a small group of people who have been dealt with by the Lord and who are in one accord. The second kind are the younger co-workers. They are willing to receive the direction and to come under the coordination of the older co-workers, and they are willing to follow and to learn in humility. The third kind are those who are unwilling to submit to the senior co-workers, who do not belong to the denominations, yet who are happy to remain in fellowship with us. The fourth kind are the preachers and free evangelists among the denominations. What we need today are the first and the second kind of co-workers.
When a co-worker is in a certain place, he has to cooperate with the local church in that place. The work and the church cannot be separated one from the other. When a co-worker is working in a certain place, he is at the same time one of the local brothers. When the church assigns work to the saints, the co-workers should stand on the same ground as the local brothers and should accept assignments in the same way.
Concerning the third and the fourth kind of co-workers, we can only let them choose their own pathway. With some people, God has not assigned them to take the same way as we do, and we dare not say anything to them....We are here to do the work that God has committed to us. We cannot interfere with others' work, and we are not here tearing down others' work. (Messages Given during the Resumption of Watchman Nee's Ministry, vol. 1, pp. 147-148)
Further Reading: Messages Given during the Resumption of Watchman Nee's Ministry, vol. 1, ch. 26