Being Faithful to God and being Matched with Others in our Service to God in the Body

The central and crucial point of the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, the recovery books, is the proper and adequate leadership as seen with Nehemiah; in serving the Lord we need to be found faithful and we need to be willing to be matched with others to be the proper representation of the Body of Christ.

We thank and praise the Lord for opening to us the matter of leadership in the church life according to God’s New Testament economy.

Leadership in the church is not what we see today in the world; leadership is actually being a slave, serving others in the Lord, and ministering Christ to others for the building up of the church.

In the church life, we follow not a person as a leader but a vision, the vision of God’s eternal economy as unveiled in the New Testament.

This vision brought us into the church life in the Lord’s recovery, and it is this vision that keeps us here.

There may be the need for a leadership to rise up and take care of certain things or charge certain ones not to teach differently, but if we follow a man, we need to realize that people change, so we may stray from the truth.

Sometimes there may be a storm in the church life, and those who take this way may not take this way anymore, because they follow a man, not a vision.

One time brother Nee was sad because a storm was raised concerning his marriage in Hang Chow, so brother Lee went to comfort him.

The way brother Lee comforted him was by telling him that he takes this way not because of brother Nee but because he saw the vision; he followed brother Nee because brother Nee followed the vision.

And even if brother Nee would not take this way, brother Lee will still take this way.

Sometimes storms in the church life affect the saints, and some stop taking the way of the Lord’s recovery.

But we need to realize that, by the Lord’s mercy, we still take this way not because we are better or more spiritual but because we have seen the heavenly vision and we cannot be disobedient to this vision (Acts 26:19).

People change. Even those who helped us to be saved and come into the church life may change.

However, the vision never changes.

Rather, the vision is ever fresh and new, and it needs to be refreshed and renewed in us.

We follow not a person but a vision; we follow the heavenly vision of God’s eternal economy, and we are here and remain in the oneness of the Body because this vision governs us, restricts us, and directs us.

We received a lot of benefits and spiritual help from the brothers that went before us, and so much of the word of God has been opened up by brothers Watchman Nee and Witness Lee, but we do not follow persons but the vision that they have seen and have opened up to us.

May we have a heart for the Lord to pursue Him, gain Him, experience Him, and be found in Him, and may we remain under the fresh unveiling of the heavenly vision so that we may be those who remain on the Way for the building up of the church as the Body of Christ.

Seeing the Proper and Adequate Leadership and being Faithful in our Service to God

The central and crucial point of the recovery books – Ezra and Nehemiah – is the proper and adequate leadership.

We may think that the central and crucial point of these books is the rebuilding of the house of God and the temple of God, but what we see as a crucial and central point is the pattern of Nehemiah (Neh. 8:1-10).

When the remnant of the children of Israel returned to the good land to rebuild the house and city of Jerusalem, they had a few leaders.

First, there was Zerubbabel, who was of the royal family, and Ezra, who was of the priestly family.

Then, there was Nehemiah, who was of a common family.

These three were the top ones among all leaders in the history of Israel, and Nehemiah stands out among them.

He was a common man, having no rank, and his family did not have a high standing in society.

He did not have a high profession; though he served in the palace of the king of Persia, he was just a household servant.

But with Nehemiah, we see the proper and adequate leadership.

We can even say that Nehemiah was the best example of a proper and adequate leader among the people of God in the Old Testament, even in the whole of human history, for he cared not for himself but for God’s interest, and he was fully for God and for his people.

In the Lord’s recovery, we have the leadership of the one controlling vision in the one ministry through those who bring in the vision.

Paul saw the vision of God’s economy, and he wrote the epistles to unveil this vision to the saints so that we may also have such a vision today (Eph. 3:3-5, 9; Col. 1:24-29).

May we be those who are faithful in our service to God by remaining under the vision of God’s eternal economy.

We have received this vision through some faithful ones who brought it to us, and now we are those who serve God under the vision of God’s economy.

The apostle Paul received the heavenly vision directly from God, but we all receive it through another member of the Body.

Paul said that he and his co-workers were “servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God” (1 Cor. 4:1).

This is what we are. We are co-workers with the Lord; we are servants of Christ and, as we serve the Lord being governed by the heavenly vision, we are stewards of the mysteries of Christ.

We are stewards of God, those who dispense the heavenly vision of the mysteries of God to the believers around us.

These mysteries are Christ as the mystery of God and the church as the mystery of Christ (Col. 2:2; Eph. 3:4; 5:32).

This dispensing service, the stewardship, is the ministry of the apostles (3:2, 8-9).

As stewards of God, we need to be found faithful (1 Cor. 4:2).

Like Paul, we need to be shown mercy by the Lord to be faithful (7::25; 1 Tim. 1:12) so that we may be faithful slaves.

We want to be the faithful slaves of God who habitually give the household of God spiritual food, ministering the word of God and Christ as the life supply to the believers in the church (Matt. 24:45-47).

In the church life we need to not only help one another to enjoy the Lord and be in the meetings but even more, we need to minister the word of God and Christ to be the life supply to the believers so that they may grow in life and function in their measure in the Body.

We want to be those who are faithful over the Lord’s work in this age so that we may participate in the Lord’s joy in the next age.

May we realize that the Lord’s appraisal and reward are not related to the size and quantity of our work but to our faithfulness in using His gift to the fullest extent (25:21-23; Rev. 3:8).

May we learn from the pattern of Ezra and Nehemiah.

Only under the leadership of faithful persons such as Ezra and Nehemiah could Israel be reconstituted to be the testimony of God, the expression of God on earth, a people absolutely different from the Gentile nations.

This is a type of what God wants the church to be today (Neh. 13:14, 29-31; 1 Tim. 3:15).

Lord Jesus, thank You for unveiling us to see a vision of God’s eternal economy concerning Christ and the church. Keep us under the governing and controlling vision of God’s economy in our daily Christian life and our service in the church life. Thank You for making us servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. May our speaking and our service dispense the heavenly vision of the mysteries of God to the believers in Christ. May we be faithful to God to dispense Christ as the mystery of God and the church as the mystery of Christ into others. Amen, Lord, we want to be faithful in our service to You. May we be those who are shown mercy by the Lord to be faithful, habitually giving the saints spiritual food! May we be those who minister the word of God and Christ as the life supply to the believers in the church. Amen, Lord, we want to be faithful over the Lord’s work in this age so that we may participate in the Lord’s joy in the next age! May we be faithful to use the gift the Lord gave us to the fullest extent!

The Need to be Matched with Others for the Proper Representation of the Body of Christ

One particular thing in the proper and adequate leadership of Nehemiah is that he saw the need for Ezra to reconstitute the people of God with the word of God.

Nehemiah knew that, without Ezra, he could not reconstitute the people of Israel, so he asked for Ezra’s help in this matter.

In reconstituting the nation, Nehemiah realized that he didn’t know God’s word.

Ezra was renowned for his knowledge of the Word of God, and Nehemiah was willing to turn to him for help.

He was willing to ask for help in the matter that he knew the people needed help but he himself was not qualified to help with.

We need to realize that, in the service of God, we are not all-inclusive; we have our portion, and we need others’ help.

According to the divine principle, the proper representation of the Body is always by those who are matched with others.

Two wonderful examples of being matched with others can be seen in Exo. 4:14-16 and 1 Cor. 1:1.

God prepared Moses, dealt with him, and commissioned him to go and speak His word to Pharaoh and deliver the people of Israel out of Egypt.

However, God did not allow Moses to be individualistic; He paired him with Aaron, his older brother.

Moses needed Aaron; God prepared Aaron for Moses and Moses for Aaron in the commission God gave to Moses.

We need to realize that, if we have been called by the Lord, we need to be matched with others for the service the Lord wants to entrust us with.

The Lord Jesus never sent His disciples one by one but two by two; He paired them up together so that they would preach the gospel and heal others in His name two by two.

Similarly with the apostle Paul, when he went out for the gospel, he was paired up either with Barnabas, Silas, or others.

When he wrote the book of 1 Corinthians, he said in 1 Cor. 1:1, Paul, a called apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, and Sosthenes the brother.

Who is Sosthenes? We don’t know, but Paul was matched with him to write the epistle.

Timothy, Barnabas, or Silas were not present, so Paul was paired with Sosthenes the brother in writing one of the books of the New Testament.

If we are truly called by the Lord, we need to be willing to be matched with others to serve God.

If we act individualistically in the Lord’s service, we do not serve according to the divine principle.

Being individualistic in our service violates the principle of the Body.

We need to move and act according to the principle of corporateness, always having at least one other member of the Body to be matched with.

The Body of Christ is corporate, collective, and it cannot be represented by individuals; the proper representation of the Body is in being matched with others.

Being matched with others is something difficult because the Lord is sovereign in arranging for someone who is different from us to be matched with us.

In Moses’ case, he was matched with his older brother, but he was to take the lead; it must have been very difficult for Aaron to do this.

The Lord often arranges a difficult match for us; we may think the Lord made a mistake, but such a match is actually a great help.

Without being matched with others, we would have no restriction, no protection, and no safeguard.

Many times it is beyond our understanding how God arranges for us to be matched with others, but it is in the best way for us and for the Body.

In order for us to properly represent the Body of Christ, we need to be willing to be matched with others in the Body in our service.

We do not “hire” others nor are we “fired” if we don’t want to cooperate; we are being matched with others for the Lord to have a proper representation of His Body in us and through us.

By means of such matching, God’s commission is carried out.

For us to work for the Lord alone is to be individualistic, but to be sent forth with another is to be sent according to the principle of the Body (Luke 10:1; Acts 13:1-3; Rom. 12:5; 1 Thes. 1:1).

In the Lord’s recovery, there’s an urgent need for the true work of building up the Body; however, this building work can be carried out only by co-workers who have been matched (Phil. 2:19-22).

Thank the Lord that this is what He is gaining among us today – brothers who serve as fellow slaves in a blended way.

This is the Lord’s sovereign provision for His Body and the up-to-date way to fulfil the Lord’s ministry.

Thank You, dear Lord Jesus, for placing us in the Body as members one of another. Thank You for giving each one of us a function and a measure to serve and work in the Body for the building up of the Body. May we be willing to be matched with others in our service in the Body. Save us from being individualistic in our service. Save us from not being matched with others in our service. May we be willing to serve as fellow slaves with the saints in a blended way for the building up of the Body. Amen, Lord, may our service to the Lord be according to the principle of the Body. May we be willing to be matched with others in our service so that there would be a proper representation of the Body among us and through us. Amen, Lord, may we see our need for others. May we see the need to be matched with others, and may we not reject God’s sovereign arrangement in our being matched with others in our service.

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by Ricky Acosta in the message for this week, and portions from, Life-study of Exodus, msg. 9 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization-study of 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther (2022 winter training), week 10, entitled, The Central and Crucial Point of the Recovery Books of Ezra and Nehemiah — the Proper and Adequate Leadership in the Lord’s Recovery.
• Further reading on this topic:
  – The Vision of the Age, the Ministry of the Age, and the Minister of the Age, article via, A faithful word.
  – The need in service and the way of service, a portion via, Messages Given During the Resumption of Watchman Nee’s Ministry (2 volume set), Chapter 61, by Watchman Nee/Witness Lee.
  – Witness Lee and Watchman Nee, Two Ministers with One Ministry, article via, Holding to Truth.
  – An Open Letter from the Local Churches and Living Stream Ministry concerning the Teachings of Witness Lee.
  – God-Given Companions and the Principle of the Body, sharing via, Living to Him.
  – Behold How Good and How Pleasant it is for Brethren to Dwell Together in Unity (Psalms 133:1), a testimony via, Church in Palo Alto.
  – The whole Body serving – Church Service Being Absolutely under the Sovereignty of the Holy Spirit, a portion via, Messages Given During the Resumption of Watchman Nee’s Ministry (2 volume set), Chapter 47, by Watchman Nee/Witness Lee.
  – A life of service and prayer, article via, Affirmation and Critique.
  – The Vision of the Age, the Ministry of the Age, and the Minister of the Age, article via, Shepherding Words.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – Build me, Lord, with other saints, / Independence ne’er allow, / But according to Thy plan / Fitly frame and join me now. / In experience not my boast, / Nor in gifts would be my pride; / For Thy building I give all, / That Thou may be glorified. (Hymns #839 stanza 5)
  – I long for fellowship in spirit, / That mingled with the saints I’ll be, / Long to be saved from independence / And to be built with saints in Thee. / I long for fellowship in spirit, / That opened shall my spirit be, / Long to be rescued from seclusion, / And with the saints to worship Thee. (Hymns #847 stanzas 1-2)
  – Limit, Lord, my independence, / Let me to Thy Body turn; / Not just seeking light from heaven, / But the church’s sense to learn. / May we be the stones for building / Not the formless, useless clay, / Gain in us Thy heart’s desire / Corporately Thyself display. (Hymns #1225 stanza 4)