Ⅴ
In their fellowship with one another, the elders need to be restricted in their speaking—John 6:63; Acts 6:10:
A
Those who cover others' sins, defects, and shortcomings enjoy, gain, and receive blessing, but uncovering brings in a curse—Prov. 10:12; James 5:19-20; Gen. 9:21-27.
B
The elders need to realize that in their shepherding, they have to cover others' sins, not to take account of others' evils—1 Cor. 13:5-7.
C
Love covers all things, not only the good things but also the bad things; whoever uncovers the defects, shortcomings, and sins of the members of the church is disqualified from the eldership—cf. Matt. 24:49.
D
The elders should not speak reviling words (to revile is to rebuke or criticize harshly or abusively; to assail with abusive language); those who take in reviling words bear the same responsibility as those who speak reviling words; in order for the church to maintain the oneness, the brothers and sisters must withstand reviling words—1 Cor. 6:10; cf. Num. 6:6; Lev. 5:3.
E
The consciousness of sin comes from knowing God; in the same way, the consciousness of reviling words comes from the knowledge of the Body; reviling words are opposed to the testimony of the Body—1 Cor. 1:10.
F
God will never entrust authority to those who by nature like to criticize others; the elders, on the one hand, should have a clear sight over the people with much discernment, and on the other hand, they should be blind spiritually—Eph. 4:29-32.
Ⅵ
The organic maintenance of the golden lampstand is Christ's heavenly ministry to cherish the churches in His humanity and nourish the churches in His divinity to produce the overcomers through His organic shepherding—Rev. 1:13; 2:7; John 10:11, 14; 1 Pet. 2:25; 5:4; Heb. 13:20.
Ⅶ
The goal of Christ's wonderful shepherding in His heavenly ministry is to build up the New Jerusalem for the accomplishment of the eternal economy of God; for eternity we will enjoy the Lamb, who is in the midst of the throne, shepherding us and continually guiding us to springs of waters of life—Rev. 7:13-17.
Morning Nourishment
Psa. 32:1 Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven; whose sin is covered.1 Cor. 13:4-5 Love suffers long. Love is kind; it is not jealous. Love does not brag and is not puffed up; it does not behave unbecomingly and does not seek its own things; it is not provoked and does not take account of evil.
Nearly everyone loves a good person, but… if a brother is led astray from the truth to attend the denominations or go to the movies, our small group may feel that we do not need him, and we do not accept him because he is not qualified. This is not love; this is hate. Love covers many sins….To uncover is not love. Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sins [Prov. 10:12]. We would rather be like the sons of Noah who covered their father’s nakedness, which was due to his drunkenness…. Covering brings in blessing, but uncovering brings in a curse. This is not a small matter. Those who uncover suffer the curse, but those who cover others’ sins, defects, and shortcomings enjoy, gain, and receive blessing. Cover a multitude of sins in James 5:20 is an Old Testament expression used by James to indicate that turning an erring brother back is to cover his sins so that he is not condemned. Cover…sins here equals sins… forgiven in verse 15, as in Psalm[s] 32:1…[and] 85:2. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 5, “A Word of Love to the Co-workers, Elders, Lovers, and Seekers of the Lord,” pp. 15-16)
Today’s Reading
Love is not jealous, is not provoked, does not take account of evil, covers all things, endures all things, never falls away, and is the greatest (1 Cor. 13:4-8, 13). Jealousy is in our nature. Also, love is not provoked. People are easily provoked because of the shortage of love. Regardless of how much we are rebuked, we will not be provoked if we are filled with the divine love. Love does not take account of evil. We have to confess that we have taken account of other people’s evil. Some wives have a record, an account, of their husband’s failures and defects. This record may not be written, but it is in their mind.The elders need to realize that in their shepherding, they have to cover others’ sins, to not take account of others’ evils. Love covers all things, not only the good things but also the bad things. Whoever uncovers the defects, shortcomings, and sins of the members of the church is disqualified from the eldership. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 5, “The Vital Groups,” pp. 123-124)
Both 2 Peter and Jude speak of the matter of reviling. Reviling is done through our speaking….Those who take in reviling words bear the same responsibility as those who speak reviling words…. In order for the church to maintain the oneness, the brothers and sisters have to withstand reviling words.
The consciousness of sin comes from knowing God. In the same way, the consciousness of reviling words comes from the knowledge of the Body. Reviling words are opposed to the testimony of the Body.
We need to be a person who has been taught by God and who is under control. Only those who do not speak carelessly or express their opinions carelessly can hope to be used by God. Only these ones can represent the Head. Only such people can lead the brothers and sisters on in the way ahead of them. God will never entrust authority to those who by nature like to criticize…. If you are a person with your head removed, you immediately sense when others’ heads have asserted themselves…. You know it because you have been judged in this matter already…. If a brother has been dealt with in these two things, that is, in the matter of speaking and in learning not to assume headship, there is no difficulty in the exercise of authority. Those who cause problems in these two matters do not know what the Body is. (Messages Given during the Resumption of Watchman Nee’s Ministry, 1st ed., vol. 2, pp. 505-507, 509-510)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 5, “The Vital Groups,” ch. 8; Messages Given during the Resumption of Watchman Nee’s Ministry, 1st ed., vol. 2, ch. 66