Lights in the world (3)

What is the witness of Christians in the world?

Christian Chen

"Husbands love your wives just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify her and cleanse her by the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself, a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing but that she should be holy and without blemish" (Ephesians 5: 25-27).

According to this scripture, we know that Christ will present the church to himself; and according to Paul, it will be a glorious church. When the church is glorious, it means that it is in the phase of the full moon, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but holy and blameless.

At this time, by the grace of the Lord, we want to know how the Holy Spirit has been working throughout the history of the church; when the church was in a terrible state of declension and had fallen into the Babylonian captivity, how did the Holy Spirit accomplish the work of recovery.

Thyatira

In the previous message we said that in the last 33 years of the first century, the church began to decline, and to five of the seven churches in Revelation the Lord says: "Repent." The church was growing old, she had wrinkles and blemishes. Therefore, among the seven churches, some were still in the condition of full moon, and others were in the stage of the new moon. They are still called ‘the church’, they are still represented by a golden lampstand, and that lampstand was in the heavenly places. But its function as a church was gone. The moon was there, but the world could not see its light.

Thyatira was one of the examples. Thyatira does not only represent a local church in the first century. The Holy Spirit also uses the condition of Thyatira to prophetically represent the state of the church in a period in its history: the Dark Ages. How do we know that the church reached this state? Because the promise of the Lord to the overcomers in the church in Thyatira is that they will be given the morning star as their reward. You see the morning star when the night is at its darkest point.

When the church was still in the Dark Ages, there was a famous bishop, the Bishop of Wurzburg. Being a bishop, he should have known the word of life very well; however, listen to what he said: "I thank heaven that I've never read the letters of St. Paul, because if I had, I would have become a heretic like Martin Luther." His comment is representative of the condition of the church at that time. If Paul had heard that statement, he would have said: "I have labored in vain."

At that time, the church generally was in deep darkness. When the church is in the new moon phase, one thing is certain: the word of life has somehow been lost.

Perhaps we know the story of Thomas Aquinas, the great theologian. One day he traveled to Rome, and the pope invited him to visit the cathedral. Pointing to the gold and silver in the ceiling and walls He made this comment: "Do you remember that our first pope, Peter said ‘I have no gold or silver’." The pope then said: "Our first pope said that, but today we no longer have to say that. Look at the ceiling, look at the walls; now we have gold and silver. "But Thomas Aquinas replied, "Yes, now we have gold and silver, but can we say: In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, I command you, rise up and walk? We have gold and silver, but we no longer have that power. "

When we talk about the church in the Dark Ages, we can mention thousands of things that were in opposition to the word of God. But the greatest tragedy is that the word of life was lost and people no longer knew what salvation was.

What did they know about salvation? They had been taught, not what the Bible says, but what the church said. The teaching was that there were two kinds of sin: mortal sin and venial sin. A mortal sin was worthy of death, but a venial sin could be forgiven.  Mortal sin leads to hell; you would go through the eternal fire. Contrary to what the bible says, they were taught that good men went to heaven, bad men went to hell, and if anyone was half good and half bad, they would go to a place called purgatory. The fire in purgatory would purify your soul until it was fit to see God.

Now, how long did you have to spend in purgatory? According to some calculations made in the eleventh century, each person, on average, commits 30 venial sins a day. For every venial sin, you should spend a day in purgatory. If a person reached 60 years old, do you know how many years he would spend there? One thousand eight hundred years!

We suffer in this world but remember that 1 day of suffering in purgatory is actually equivalent to 1000 days of suffering in this world. So how could you get out of purgatory? You needed to find someone who had ‘merit’: the saints, popes, martyrs, who had accumulated many merits, which they put in the 'bank' of the church, so that those merits could be distributed among the people, and thus, some sins could be forgiven.

Then, assuming that someone should be 1800 years in purgatory, through these merits, you could probably only reduce that time by about five years. So in that situation, how would you deal with your salvation? There were several methods: praying the rosary, attending Mass, going on a pilgrimage to Rome, and other things like that.

Is this the word of life? Where does this kind of concept come from? These people are not Buddhist, they do not belong to the religion of Babylon. They are so called 'Christians'. They had the Bible, but had no access to it. No one was sure of his salvation. They had to work, had to shed many tears, they had to sweat to gain their salvation.

At the time of Martin Luther, the church had fallen into such a condition that they began selling 'indulgences'. If someone bought an indulgence, some of their sins could be forgiven. There is a real story about this. One person once bought an indulgence by which his sins were forgiven. With the document in his hands, he went and stole the box where the money from the indulgences was kept, because his sins were forgiven!

At that time people were given the impression that if they gave their money by way of indulgences then many of their family members would be freed from purgatory.

The church had fallen to its lowest state. When we really study the history of the church at that time, every page causes us shame. Now, according to Chapters 2 and 3 of Revelation, this was represented by the church in Thyatira.

Luther

At that time, Martin Luther was a professor of theology at the university. But before that, his conscience always troubled him. He knew that he, in his own condition, was always under the wrath of God. This was his spiritual condition; he knew he was a sinner and he wanted to do something to quiet his conscience.

One day there was a thunderstorm that seemed to break out directly above his head, and he was so frightened that he hid in the field. Luther was very superstitious and depended on the merits of Saint Anne, so he said, "Help me, Saint Anne, and I promise to become a monk." After that incident, he kept his promise.

As a monk he set out to do good things and mistreated his own body, thinking he was going to accumulate some kind of merit so that he could be saved. Behind the door of the monastery, he was separated from the world and he should already have been a saint. However, despite being behind the closed door of the monastery he discovered that he was still a sinner and this greatly distressed him.

One day, Luther decided to visit Rome. This visit to Rome was another way that some sins could be forgiven. At that time there was a very famous staircase, called Pilate’s staircase. According to tradition, the staircase had been in Jerusalem, and it was thought that Jesus had been tried there, and that the blood of Jesus was still on the staircase.  Many so-called devout Christians used to climb it and weep for their sins, thinking that in this way they would be forgiven.

Now Luther strongly believed that you had to do good works to gain your salvation. However, in the middle of his ascent up the staircase, (which was done crawling on one’s knees), after many tears and much sweating, Luther heard a voice from heaven: "The just shall live by faith" (Hab. 2: 4). The heavenly light shone forth upon Martin Luther!

Thank God, through Martin Luther we not only have an open Bible, but he also translated it into German and this is one of the best translations from the original. He said: "When I translate Moses, I will give people the impression that Moses is a German, not a Jew." Now the Bible was no longer chained and everyone could understand it. Moses was like one of us, someone who we could identify with. Now we can come so close to the fountain of life, we can study the bible and know that we are justified by faith. We become the children of God and can begin to grow to be mature enough to take care of our Father's business; how are we able to fulfil the will of God?

If someone remains a baby, how can they do the will of God? We need to grow, and the word of life is necessary for our growth. Thank God, through Luther, John Calvin, Zwingli, and others the Lord was able to shed forth His light and change everything.

At this time it is not yet the full moon; but at least we have a quarter of the moon. Later, God was going to do a greater work. As God was working throughout history, after another two hundred years, not only do we have one quarter but half of the moon. Do you see that? That is how God began His work of recovery.

When there was a new moon, you couldn’t see anything; the whole word of life was lost, paradise was lost. But, thank God, through the wonderful work of Luther, Calvin and others, our eyes were opened. Today we all have an open Bible. How wonderful it is! We can come once again to the fountain of life. Thank God for that.

Furthermore, we begin to see that we have been justified by faith, through the blood of our Lord Jesus, and not only that but also, through John Calvin, we know that everything is by grace. We are totally helpless, and totally hopeless; from head to toe, we are like lepers. Everything is by the grace of God.

The justification and the priesthood

Through Martin Luther, we saw not only justification by faith. He also made another major discovery in the word of God, the priesthood of all believers.

What does that mean? That between God and man there is no intermediary class, as in the Old Testament. In Judaism, there was a priest who used to take the offerings to the altar. The priests became an intermediary class between God and man.  But, thank God, when we turn back to the Bible, it is so clear that all who are purchased by the precious blood of our Lord Jesus are the priests that God has today.

We are all priests, and everyone is supposed to serve God. By His blood, we dare to come into his presence. What do we mean by justification by faith? We are able to stand in the presence of God without being destroyed. If you see justification by faith, you automatically know who you are. You can check with the Bible. In Revelation and in many other passages we discover that we are all priests.

If we study the history of the church, in the beginning, everyone knew that they were priests. In North Africa, there was a very famous father of the Church: Tertullian. He said: "are we lay-people not priests also?". Do you see that? Even in the time of Tertullian! Another father of the church in Alexandria, called Origen, said: "Do you not know that to all of you believers too, that is, the whole church of God, the priesthood has been given?".

Justification by faith and the priesthood of all believers, go hand in hand. If these two pillars are established, the problem is solved.

In the structure of the church in olden times, a middle class of priests, were responsible for two 'sacraments': the celebration of Mass and baptism. So who was able to celebrate Mass and baptisms? Only they could do it; they were very important people. So for those who wanted to go into the presence of God they had to do it via this organized structure. Now, this whole structure would collapse if you insisted on justification by faith and the priesthood of all believers.

Sometimes we try to be reformers, and think we have to recover church order. Now, you can restore order in the church, because that's easier, it's a technical thing. If you are a good organizer, you can put everything in order. If you say ‘now there will be no middle class, everyone is the same’, so you will end up with a church order much like the brethren churches.

The problem is this: If all you care about is the restoration of order in the church, then all you need is to be a good organizer. When the word of life is being recovered, the problem of church order will already be solved. It is not by doctrine. Because if we hold fast the word of life, and it is full, then the testimony will also be full. That's what happened with Martin Luther and many others.

A church within the church

But Luther found some problems, and he experienced great inner pain because of them. He knew the truth of the church. He knew that the church was constituted only of born-again Christians. However, there was no way out because the Reformation had been aided by political power. Previously, all those born in the Roman Empire, belonged to the church. Now, all who were born in Germany, were Lutherans.

Luther knew the word of life. But due to outside interference, he could not do all that had been entrusted to him. Then he had a wish: "One day there will be a church within the church, an invisible church within that which is visible". The so-called visible church included the unbelievers, but the invisible only born-again Christians.

This was a famous statement of Martin Luther’s: "A church within the church." This tells us that he clearly saw what had been revealed in the Bible; however, he could not reach this ideal. But later we see that God Himself could reach it. God will always accomplish what He wants. But at least two pillars were restored here: - justification by faith and the priesthood of all believers.

Again I say, to see something, is one thing; but to do the will of God is another thing. The vision we receive is greater than our reality. So it was with Martin Luther, and so it is with each of us. Just because you see so much doesn’t mean necessarily mean that you’re in the reality of what you see. That's what happened in the sixteenth century:  you could see justification by faith; This was the first phase of the restoration of God. Yet you couldn’t see the full moon, only a quarter of the moon. Thank God! It was a wonderful beginning. If we hadn’t had that, we would still be in darkness today.

The worship of the church

When we speak of justification by faith and the priesthood of all believers, we normally apply them to our individual lives. But these two principles also apply to the life of the church.

When we speak of justification by faith it means that each one of us, by the grace of God, by the blood of our Lord Jesus is qualified to remain in the presence of God, and this speaks of the worship of the church. When we refer to the life of the church, behind the principle of justification by faith lies our worship. How are we going to worship? According to our Lord Jesus we were not to worship in Jerusalem nor on the mountain of Samaritans. Jesus said: "We know what we worship,” meaning that the other type was false worship; it belonged to pagan worship.

Of course, the Jews knew about worship, knew who God was. But why then did Jesus say, "... the hour is coming when you will worship neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem"? What did Jerusalem mean? The temple of God was there; If you wanted to worship, you went to Jerusalem. Look at the whole system: priest, high-priest who killed all the animals, sacrifice, blood, altar, holy place, holy of holies.  The whole system of Judaism represented their worship. When they spoke of worship they meant the Old Testament system of worship. Why? Because we’re all sinners, far from God and they didn’t dare go into the presence of God; they needed a priest to go into His presence on their behalf. However, because of justification by faith, we, by the precious blood of our Lord Jesus are able to stand in the presence of God. In the holiest of holies, we can behold His glory with open face.

Is this still Old Testament worship? No. The Lord said, "The time shall come ...". After Jesus died for us on the cross, he opened a new and living way for you and me. At any time, we can come into His presence. Jesus said that His Heavenly Father is seeking true worshipers. In Greek, the word 'true' is not a contrast between true and false. There are two words that can be translated as 'true'. One relates to the truth in contrast to falsehood. But in this passage, the word 'true' is the opposite of ‘shadow’. This means that in the Old Testament, all that worship was nothing but a shadow; but now, in the New Testament, if we are in the presence of God, that is true worship. The Bible says, "... they will worship in spirit and in truth."

Paul says: "You are the temple of God." Outwardly, we have a body, which is like the outer court (of the temple); then our soul can be compared to the Holy Place, and our spirit can be compared to the Holy of Holies. So when we worship God in spirit it means that we are already in the holy of holies. What is that? Justification by faith and the priesthood of all believers! This is New Testament worship.

Worship in the Old Testament characterized Judaism; New Testament worship characterized the New Testament church. Thus, justification by faith, on the one hand, applies to individuals, and on the other hand, the church in general.

Now, I forgot to mention something that happened in the seventeenth century. Normally, people needed a cathedral, a tall building, that would help them enter the presence of God . But, thank God, in the seventeenth century, God raised up a man named George Fox and many other brothers known as 'Quakers'. They saw some sort of an inner light. The Lord said, "I am the light of the world; Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."

Now, the light of life is an inner light, and represents the life given by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit dwells in our spirit. So then, we don’t need a large building or a program of worship when we worship God. The Lord has already given us the light to perfect everything. Martin Luther was the pioneer, who laid the foundation, but he did not fully establish it. His vision was greater than his practical experience.

But thank God that He raised up the Quakers. Although they did go to some unhealthy extremes, even so, we have to remember this very important point that God wants to teach us through them. When they moved to Boston, the Puritans pursued them, cutting off their ears and gouging out their eyes. However, they still went onwards. Thank God, today we see what they saw in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Zinzendorf and sanctification by faith

When we get to the eighteenth century and the first half of the nineteenth century, there are three names that stand out: Zinzendorf, John Wesley and John Nelson Darby. We can also add the name George Fox. In the second period we are talking about, we see that the Lord raised up another group of people, who wanted to advance one step further.

Who was Zinzendorf? He was a German nobleman, like the young ruler in the bible. That young ruler was rich, but when Jesus told him, "Follow me," he said "No". However, here's another rich young man, and he said "Yes" to his Master. The Lord really used him for the work of recovery to bring the church from the crescent moon to the half-moon phase. We thank God for him.

One of the most famous liberal theologians, called Karl Barth (1886-1968), made an important point about Zinzendorf. This comment is very interesting, because it doesn’t come from the evangelical circle, but from outside. He said, "Probably Zinzendorf is the only genuine Christo-centric believer of the modern age." Zinzendorf had a motto: "I have one passion, and it is Jesus, only Jesus." When he was only 6 years old, he used to write a love letter every day to Jesus. If you study his history, you will find that he was a man undoubtedly centered in Jesus Christ.

Another writer made a very interesting comment: "Zinzendorf was Martin Luther come back to life." Do you remember that Luther had a dream of a true church within the visible church? Who made that dream possible? In the times of Zinzendorf, there was a great revival in Germany, and the people involved in it were called 'pietists'. They gathered together in a home, studied the Bible, prayed together and had wonderful fellowship. The pietists never set out to form a church different from the Lutheran Church. They were within the Lutheran church.  Today we talk about cell churches. Now, according to church history, who were the first to practice this sort of cell church? The pietists.

Normally, when people went to church, they sat down, heard the message, they stood up and sang a hymn, they prayed, and then they went home. Everything was very passive. Only one or two members were active. Now, was the church the body of Christ? In theory, yes. But in reality, where was the body? They knew the theory of justification by faith, but they did not act according to that truth.

However, the pietists were different, and because they really believed in justification by faith, they came to the presence of the Lord, studied the Bible, prayed together and had a wonderful communion with Christ. They began to absorb the power and grace resulting from that communion, and then they had the strength to live a holy life, a life of separation from the world. By themselves, they could never live a holy life. However, because they were in a new position in the presence of God, they were strengthened, and out of this communion they received power to live a wonderful and holy life.

Zinzendorf was Luther come back to life; this is true as far as the pietists were concerned. There was a great revival in the Lutheran Church, and they had wonderful fellowship not only composed of Lutherans, but also of other sections of the church. They never said, "We are Lutherans, and you are not" but "We are just brothers." They had wonderful fellowship where the love for the body of Christ was manifested and it is not surprising that they were so alive. Here we can see not only justification by faith but also sanctification by faith.

The Wesley brothers

One day, John Wesley traveled to America as a missionary, and there was a storm at sea. He was very afraid, but he discovered there were twenty-six German brothers and sisters in the lower cabin of the ship. They were Moravians, brothers and sisters who met with Zinzendorf. Wesley discovered that although he was a great man of the church, those simple people had something he did not possess. This had such an impact on his life that when he returned to London, he found salvation in the assembly hall of the Moravian Brethren.

When John and Charles Wesley were saved, the Lord used them to light the fire of revival in England. The influence of this movement, which was called ‘The Holiness Movement ' was very great. When these people saw the light, they wanted to live a holy life, and because of their testimony, all of England was changed. Otherwise the same thing would have happened in England as it happened in France. In France there was a terrible, bloody revolution. Why wasn’t there something similar in England? Because God used John and Charles Wesley to bring that great revival.

Then the testimony of the church was so bright, it was almost three-quarters of the moon. The whole of England had been shaken. Also, the influence of the holiness movement was so great that the Pentecostal movement and the Salvation Army came from there. That is sanctification by faith. Thank God, even though there were some extremes with which we cannot agree, it is clear that in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the Lord did a wonderful work.

Sanctification by faith applies to individuals. However, if you abide in the word of life, the church problems will also be solved. Now, what does it mean to pursue holiness? That means that you are seeking to be delivered from the power of sin. That you no longer remain in sin, and you can live a victorious life. The holy life is a separate life. If we are separated from the flesh then we live a holy life. That’s sanctification by faith.

The same thing is true of the church. When she becomes secularized and becomes part of the world, which we see happening in 1 Corinthians. Some brothers said, "I am of Apollos," others, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Cephas". What did Paul have to say about that? "You are fleshly." And not only that. "Not only are you fleshly, but that is also the pattern of this world: division after division."  In the Greek world, some were followers of Plato, others followed Aristotle. They were divided. But Paul said to the church in Corinth, "How is it possible that the world has entered into your midst?".

John Darby

What is the church? The church is heavenly, therefore, it ought to be separated from the world. But if we are in the flesh, if we are worldly, the consequence is division after division. At the time of John Darby, you can see how the body of Christ was divided. Thank God for Darby. On the one hand, he saw that the church is heavenly; it has nothing to do with the world. He also saw that the church is holy, and has nothing to do with evil. Separated from the world and separated from evil, then the church can be kept holy and as one.

To divide the church is to divide the body of Christ. That is sin, that’s a corporate sin. If you drink a lot of wine, you hurt your body, and that is sin because you are hurting your body. However, if you divide the body of Christ it is corporate sin. How can we be free of sectarianism? The only way is to separate ourselves from evil and recognize that being divided is a sin. If we live a holy life, we have to allow the work of the cross to deal with our sin. That is the way to unity, to keep the church holy.

At the time of John Nelson Darby, he applied the same principle to the life of the church, and found a way in which the church could meet with simplicity, in unity and in holiness. However, again there were unhealthy extremes there, because they emphasized the principle of separation to a greater extent than the principle of union.

We must remember that we are the body of Christ; we all belong to Christ. That is the principle of union. No one can separate us. We must accept those whom Christ has already accepted. However, they insisted on the principle of separation rather than the principle of union. When they saw that some were in the denominations, they said, "You are associated with evil; therefore we have nothing to do with you, we don’t want to have fellowship with you. " They wanted to keep the church pure, and this is where ‘exclusivism’ entered in. They cut off those whom Jesus Christ had received. That was a tragedy.

Suppose my family lives in very poor conditions, and suppose that my daughter is very sweet, but  she has some sort of parasite. My wife loves my daughter. That does not mean she loves the parasite too; she hates that parasite and will try to deal with it, but she loves her daughter. God hates sin, but He loves the sinner. So, brothers, if we insist on the principle of separation, we may keep the church pure, but the church will become smaller and smaller. The church must embrace all Christians who have been born again.

Glorification by faith

In that one hundred and fifty year period we have sanctification by faith. Finally, since the second half of the nineteenth century to the present time, we find that the Holy Spirit has gone one step further. From the half-moon phase, now he wants to reach three quarters of the moon. Justification by faith has been restored, then sanctification by faith but the Holy Spirit had yet to go on to do further work which is glorification by faith.

Glorification by faith means that the Lord will return very soon. Then we will be mature, because many sons will be manifested. When they shine, they shine as the sons who are being transformed into the image of Christ. We can see that the Holy Spirit has really restored these truths in the last two hundred and fifty years.

Govett and the "truth of the kingdom"

Now when we talk about this, we should mention three names. Before this, we must mention Robert Govett (1813-1901). His ministry was only recognized in the second half of the nineteenth century.

When we arrived at the time of Darby, we not only saw justification and sanctification by faith, but the word of truth had come to such a point that it was almost completely full. However, there were two theological systems: Reformed theology and dispensational theology. It was Darby who really gave us the understanding of the latter and of course the reformed theology came from John Calvin. Both are based on the word of God; but, somehow, they couldn’t be reconciled. They both believed the Bible, every word inspired by God Himself. Now if that's true, these theologies should be the same. So why then can the two not be reconciled with each other? We believe in the whole Bible, we do not follow a particular teaching system.

Then came Robert Govett. The Lord really used him. Now, somehow, when he opened up the word of God, we can see that the whole Bible embraces not only Reformed theology, but also dispensational theology. If you put everything in the Bible together, you will see a glorious truth called 'the truth of the kingdom.' Remember, if you really know the kingdom, all that was apparently contradictory becomes harmonious.

Undoubtedly, Govett was one of the great servants of God, raised up by God Himself. Charles Spurgeon made the following comment about him: "Mr. Govett wrote a hundred years before his own time, and the day will come when his works will be treasured as sifted gold." Spurgeon's prophecy was fulfilled. Today, if you want to get Govett’s book on Revelation, it is almost impossible. In the United States there are only a hundred copies, each worth a hundred dollars. There are two volumes, each more voluminous than the Bible.

His book on Revelation is probably the best one there is. Dr. Wilbur Smith, a professor at Fuller Theological School (USA), said, "One of the most profound works on Revelation I know is the book of Robert Govett. My own opinion is that he brings to his interpretation of the text a more thorough understanding of the Scriptures in their bearing on the last book of the bible than any other writer of his generation. "

Once, when brother Watchman Nee gave a presentation on the book of Revelation in the city of Shanghai, brother Stephen Kaung wanted to edit the whole message and put it into a book. But brother Nee said, "Oh, you don’t need to do that; just buy the book by Robert Govett on Revelation! "

There was another comment about Govett by Dr. Cyril J. Barber: "Few men could compare with him in originality of thought. He also possessed a very orderly and disciplined mind, and could trace a theme through scripture with unerring logic".

Finally, I have to quote a former professor of Cambridge University who talked about Govett’s writings (Dr Clark, The New International Dictionary of the Christian Church): "His writings are extensive, of varying quality, often marked by a high level of scholarship, a superbly logical approach, extraordinary originality and complete faithfulness to biblical revelation. " And now, carefully hear his final verdict: "By far, Govett was the best theologian". In other words, Robert Govett was the best systematic theologian. Thank God for obtaining such a vessel.

By the Holy Spirit, this brother was able to go back to the word of God. On the one hand, he embraced Reformed Theology, and on the other, he accepted Dispensational Theology. In the Bible, there is no contradiction. How is that possible? A glorious truth came out of that study. Through Govett, the church discovered a truth that had been lost. In the time of the full moon, in the time of Paul, that truth was there, but it was then lost. But it is very important because this truth of the kingdom has to do with our maturity, our sonship and our kingship. Thank God, he really used this brother Govett to help us understand glorification by faith.

Keswick Convention

In the late nineteenth century in England, the Lord used an important convention or conference, the Keswick Conference. Those brothers and sisters had a burden for a deeper life, they wanted to grow to maturity. Not just to live a holy life, but to be transformed into the image of Christ.
T. Austin-Sparks and Watchman Nee

And more than that, at the beginning of the twentieth century in England, the Lord raised up another servant of God, T. Austin-Sparks, considered probably the most spiritual and Christ-centered man in these twenty centuries. Anyone who knows his writings would probably agree. Brother Watchman Nee considered him a spiritual mentor. He made a comment to his co-workers, saying he had been influenced by two people who were around at the same time as he was. One was sister Margaret Barber. He said of her, "I wish she were still alive, then the church wouldn’t be in the condition it is today." And then he said, "When I traveled to Europe, I found someone who really did remind me of sister Barber, and that was T. Austin-Sparks'.

T. Austin-Sparks has been regarded as a prophet of the twentieth century along with A.W. Tozer. When you study his writings, you find something very great. When you study the writings of systematic theology you discover that it is logical, systematic; but it is topical. We have theology, about God himself; Christology, about Christ; pneumatology, on the Holy Spirit. This is systematic theology.

When God raised up T. Austin-Sparks, of course he knew systematic theology very well. However, behind all these various topics, there was something like a silver line, able to connect and unify all of these topics around a central thought. That's one of his wonderful discoveries. No other systematic theologian could do that. His discovery was the eternal will of God. Because of that, we not only know the will of God in the plural, but the singular, eternal will of God, so that we no longer see the Bible from the earthly point of view, but from a heavenly perspective.

Although the revelation that Austin-Sparks had was great, sometimes it was too abstract. Who brought it down to earth? That was Watchman Nee’s ministry, who spoke about the church as the body of Christ. Undoubtedly, Austin-Sparks saw the vision of the Epistle to the Ephesians - the church is the body of Christ, the fullness. It is clear, that is the universal church.  However, the emphasis of Watchman Nee was on Chapter 12 of 1 Corinthians: "You are the body of Christ." "You who meet in Corinth, you are the body of Christ."

Thank God, in the twentieth century, the Lord raised up someone like Austin-Sparks, but He also raised up someone like Watchman Nee. His logic, his mind, was almost equal to that of Robert Govett. However, on the other hand, his deep insight was definitely influenced by Austin-Sparks.

D.L .Moody said, "If you want to give the cake to the children, do not put it too high so that they cannot reach it and don’t put it too low that it’s too easy to get it. You must put it at the right height." Watchman Nee had that gift. He was able to put the word of God in such a way that it became very real and very practical.

You know his book "The Normal Christian Life." From a theological point of view, this book actually covers the theory of salvation. However, why has this book became a classic? Because he put something that was difficult to understand in the theological classroom, into words that could be understood by farmers and peasants who he preached to in China.

The restoration of the testimony

So in the last 150 years, through the ministries of Robert Govett, T. Austin-Sparks and Watchman Nee, and the Keswick Conferences, our eyes have been awakened. Now we can see not only justification by faith and sanctification by faith, but also glorification by faith. We are being transformed into the image of Christ.

God is working towards the full moon. I cannot say that we have already reached that stage, but we have seen how the Lord has worked in the past six hundred years. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, justification by faith. Then, in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, sanctification by faith. Finally, in the nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first centuries, glorification by faith. When we put all of this together, we see that the word of life is being wonderfully recovered.

Now, only the Holy Spirit can lead us into the reality, helping us to grow and making this real in our lives. In this way, before the Lord's return, He will present Himself a glorious church. A church that has no glory in herself, but when she contemplates her Master, absorbing the glory, then she will be transformed into His likeness, from glory to glory.

Then, by the grace of God, we will shine like the moon in the universe, holding fast the word of life and the apostle Paul will rejoice in the day of Christ, that he had not run or labored in vain. This is the recovery of the Lord’s testimony. May the Lord speak to our hearts.

A summary of the message given at the 2nd International Conference, Santiago de Chile, in September 2005.

Copyright © AGUAS VIVAS | CHILE 2007