We need to grow in life unto maturity and be constituted with the truth, remaining in the apostles’ teaching, so that we may no longer be carried about by every wind of teaching; any teaching different from the revelation of God’s New Testament economy is considered to be winds of teaching.
We must avoid these different teachings and concentrate only on God’s economy concerning Christ and the church.
We may hear this teaching or that teaching, and they may sound good and scriptural; however, if they lead to questionings rather than God’s economy which is in faith, we should not spend time to investigate or study them.
May we not spend so much time and energy to pay attention to the different teachings; rather, may we simply spend our days being under the divine dispensing of the Triune God to be infused with God so that we may grow with the growth of God and build up the church as the Body of Christ.
The main content of God’s economy is nothing else but Christ (the mystery of God) and the church (the mystery of Christ); these two great mysteries are the great content of God’s New Testament economy.
All teachings need to be tested against this unique testing stone: Christ and the church; based on this we can test what is genuine from what is fake, what is healthy from what is unhealthy.
When we hear or listen to certain teaching, are we led to Christ more, or are we drawn away from Christ to doing this or that for the Lord?
After we listen to a certain speaking or teaching, are we drawn more to the building up of the church, or are we considering whether another church is better, thus being led to divisions?
Especially with the availability of everything for free online via the social media websites and via YouTube, it is so easy to listen to this or that, to watch this or that, and to be deceived into believing this or that, thus being drawn away from the central revelation in the Bible, Christ and the church.
The apostle Paul taught the same thing in all the churches, whether it was in Colossae or Laodicea, whether it was in Rome or in Judea, he spoke the same thing and taught the same thing (1 Cor. 4:17; 7:17; Col. 4:16).
We also must teach the same thing in all the churches in every country throughout the earth, realizing that the apostles’ teaching is our constitution, and our main emphasis is God’s economy.
There’s no such thing as a Chinese teaching, a German teaching, a British teaching, or an American teaching; the teaching which is according to God’s New Testament economy is uniquely one, and it teaches the same thing regardless of where you are.
When Paul wrote something to the Colossians, he told them that they would cause this letter to be read in Laodicea and that they would also read his letter to Laodicea; all the churches are under one teaching.
We don’t have our own choice and we can’t teach our own thing – we all are under one constitution in the Bible, that is, the teaching of the apostles, the teaching of God’s New Testament economy.
Growing in Life and staying in the Church Life to avoid being Tossed by Winds of Teaching
All the teachings that are different from the unique revelation of God’s New Testament economy are considered by the apostles as winds of teaching (Eph. 4:14).
We believers in Christ are children of the Lord, but we should no longer be like little children tossed by waves and carried about by every wind of teaching in the sleight of men, in craftiness with a view to a system of error.
These winds of teachings are not positive – they are negative; their goal is to share us, sway us, even to knock us down.
We need to see what kind of teaching is these winds of teaching and realize the intrinsic factor of the winds of teaching.
The expression “little children” in Eph. 4:14 refers to those believers who are young in Christ, those lacking maturity in life (1 Cor. 3:1; Eph. 4:13, 15).
Paul told the Corinthian believers that they were still infants in Christ.
After we were saved, the life of God entered into us, and we were brought into the house of God, the church; the church is not a religious organisation but the house of God, and we all are the family of God.
The life of God needs to grow in us; the building up of the church is a matter in life, it is organic, and it depends on our growth in life with the growth of God.
If we as the church of God, the Body of Christ, want to be built up, we must grow in the divine life; we can’t remain in a childish state.
There are some waves stirred up by different teachings, doctrines, concepts, and opinions sent by Satan to entice the believers in order to carry them away from Christ and the church (1 Tim. 1:3-4; Eph. 4:14).
These stir up man’s mind and thoughts; once we touch the matter of teaching, we must be very careful, for whether the church will rise or fall depends on how we handle the teachings.
Positive and healthy teachings can build up the church, but unhealthy teachings that are different from God’s economy can tear down the church.
These teachings contain words that can stir up man’s thoughts in his mind; the enemy will often use these thoughts to shoot fiery darts into man’s mind.
For example, in the garden of Eden, Satan came to tempt eve; he asked her, Did God really say that you shall not eat of any tree in the garden?
He came with a question, which stirred up the thoughts in her mind.
Once her mind was stirred up, she became not so simple anymore; she became complicated, and she followed the satanic question mark, making it hers.
Now she began to question God, for she had been swayed. Similarly, different teachings come from Satan to entice the believers to carry them away from Christ and the church.
It is difficult for infants in Christ to discern the winds of teaching; the only way to escape from the waves that are stirred up by the winds of teaching is to grow in life.
Amen, we need to grow in the divine life day by day, focusing on the healthy teaching which infuses Christ as life into us.
The safe way for us to grow in life is to stay in the proper church life with Christ and the church as the safeguard.
In the chaotic situation in today’s Christianity, you don’t really know who is right, who is wrong, who is good, who is genuine, and who is false; it is a very confusing situation. Outward situations can change, but one thing that will not change is God’s eternal economy, with the main content of Christ and the church.
Day by day we need to grow in the divine life and remain in the church life so that we may be able to discern the winds of teaching and stay away from them.
We need to daily enjoy Christ and allow Christ to be added to us more and more; we need to remain in the church life to eat, drink, and breathe Jesus.
When the element of Christ is increased in us and we are constituted with the truth in the Holy Word of God, it will be very easy for us to be able to discern what the different teachings are, and we will continue in the enjoyment of Christ for the building up of the church by holding to the Head and functioning from the Head in our measure.
Lord Jesus, save us from being little children tossed by waves and carried about by every wind of teaching in the sleight of men. Amen, Lord, grow in us. Cause us to grow in life unto maturity until we are no longer babes or infants but full-grown, being able to discern what are the winds of teaching. Save us from trying to argue or debate with the winds of teaching; keep us growing in life and enjoying You in the church life, being preserved in the eternal economy of God. Hallelujah for Christ and the church, the center and focus of the New Testament economy of God! Praise the Lord for the church life where we can eat, drink, and breathe Jesus, and where we are kept in God’s New Testament economy as the safeguard!
Seeing and Discerning the Intrinsic Factor of the Winds of Teaching and Remaining in the Teaching of the Apostles
In 1 Tim. 1:3-4 Paul speaks not of heretical teachings but of different teachings, of unending genealogies, and later he even speaks of the law and the practices of the law.
These may even be biblical things; for example, in Chronicles, there are many genealogies being listed, and in the Pentateuch, there’s a clear record of the law with all the ordinances and practices.
For us to emphasize these things in an improper atmosphere is to speak different teachings, even to have winds of teaching.
We should not misunderstand this, thinking that we cannot speak of the Old Testament or what the books of the Old Testament say.
It all depends on how we say it, what attitude we have concerning it, and what is our emphasis. If someone comes among us and keeps promoting the keeping of the Sabbath, saying that God commanded us to keep the Sabbath in the Old Testament so we should keep it on Saturday, that is different teaching.
In 1 Corinthians, for example, some said that they are of Paul, others of Cephas, others of Apollos, and others of Christ; Paul condemned all this.
Saying that you are of Paul or Apollos or Cephas is wrong, and it is also wrong to say you are of Christ, as if you are superior to the others – the others are not of Christ, but you are of Christ.
It may seem scriptural to say that we are of Christ, but saying this in an improper way is to say that you’re higher than others, you set yourself apart from others, and you are absolute for the Lord, while others are not.
To say the right words in such a way is a kind of different teaching.
We need to see the intrinsic factor of the winds of teaching for their purpose; an intrinsic factor is something hidden, something that is behind what we see or hear outwardly.
Apparently, every wind of teaching is good, even scriptural; if it were not good, no one would accept it.
However, within the winds of teaching, there’s something different that is not good.
Eph. 4:14 speaks of “the sleight of men” and “in craftiness” and “a system of error”. The sleight is of men, the system of error is of Satan; man has the sleight and Satan has the system of error.
This word, sleight, in Greek, signifies the cheating of dice players; a crafty gambler knows how to play dice in order to cheat his opponent.
If we look at the history of Christianity we can clearly see that there can be cheating and deception in so-called Christian teaching.
The winds of teaching are the devilish blowings of the evil ones; they seem positive and good, but the intrinsic factor is a system of error of Satan carried out by the sleight of men. Oh, Lord!
The purpose of the winds of teaching is to distract the believers from the eternal economy of God, overthrow their faith, and cause them to be cold toward the Lord and not clear concerning God’s economy.
Just as Saul of Tarsus used to devastate the church life (Acts 8:3), so the winds of teaching are used by Satan to devastate the church life, frustrate the building up of the Body of Christ, tear down the building up of the organic Body of Christ, and to divide the members of the Body.
When the winds of teaching come and some take heed to them, what happens is division – they will be tossed about by these winds, they leave the church life and create a sect, and after a while, they divide again and again.
Winds of teaching cause endless division in the Body of Christ, and we can clearly see this in our own history in the church life in the Lord’s recovery.
If we look at our past history, we will see that the instigators of any storm in the recovery became very divisive; they created a division, and then they divided even further among themselves.
Furthermore, with them there’s no love or kindness; what they do is full of hatred and jealousy, seeking to expose situations and people, speaking evil things about the brothers, and causing division after division and confusion after confusion. Oh, Lord Jesus!
May we see the purpose of the winds of teaching and their intrinsic factor, which is the sleight of men in craftiness with a view to bringing people into a satanic system of error!
May we remain in the apostles teaching, closely following the healthy teaching of the eternal economy of God, and discerning the winds of teaching.
May we grow in life unto maturity, diligently seek the Lord in His word according to His New Testament economy, and have a sharp and proper understanding that can penetrate the whole situation.
Thank You, Lord, for giving us a revelation of the New Testament economy of God, the content of the teaching of the apostles. Save us from focusing on anything else apart from Christ and the church. Grow in us unto maturity and keep us in the church life so that we may no longer be tossed about by the waves of teaching. May we clearly see the purpose of the winds of teaching and their intrinsic factor and may we remain in the central lane of God’s New Testament economy. May we daily enjoy Christ and remain in the proper church life to discern what the different teachings are and have a proper and sharp understanding of the situation. Amen, Lord, may nothing distract us from Christ and the church as the center of God’s economy!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Sources of inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by the brothers for this week, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1989, vol. 4, “The Organic Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ to be the Organism of the Processed and Dispensing Triune God,” pp. 322-330, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Intrinsic and Organic Building up of the Church as the Body of Christ (2021 International Chinese-Speaking Conference), week 5, The Intrinsic Factor of the Winds of Teaching for Their Evil Purpose.
- Hymns on this topic:
– Christ the Son of God and His redemptive deed / Are the saving faith which is our only creed. / All the other doctrines do not faith comprise; / Christ, His work and person, only qualifies. / All the other teachings used improperly / Are the “winds of doctrine,” spoiling unity: / Blowing saints away from Christ who is the Head, / Building not the Body, tearing down instead. (Hymns #832)
– One in body, hope, and Spirit, / One in faith, one Lord, the Son, / One baptizing, with one Father, / That the Church may thus be one; / Christ to know in all His fulness, / Unto manhood be matured, / Ne’er by winds of doctrine carried, / Nor by cunning men allured. (Hymns #823)
– The processed and consummated Triune God, / According to the good pleasure of His desire / And for the highest intention in His economy, / Is building Himself into His chosen people / And His chosen people into Himself / That He may have a constitution in Christ / As the mingling of divinity with humanity / To be His organism and the Body of Christ / As His eternal expression and the mutual abode / For the redeeming God and the redeemed man. / The ultimate consummation of this miraculous structure of treasure / Will be the New Jerusalem for eternity. (Song on, The processed and consummated Triune God)
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