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THE IMPORTANCE OF THE BUILDING OF THE CHURCH FOR THE TESTIMONY OF THE CHURCH
I. THE BUILDING OF THE CHURCH BEING RELATED TO THREE PAIRS OF THINGS
The Lord’s words in Matthew 16 seem to be very simple, yet several things are very important. The most important is the Lord’s mention of the church. In speaking of the church, the Lord also brought up the building of the church. He said, “Upon this rock I will build My church.” His speaking is related to the building of the church that He desires. In order to have the church, that is, to have the building of the church, He spoke of several related matters: (1) the gates of Hades, (2) the keys of the kingdom of the heavens, (3) Satan, (4) the cross, (5) the will of men, and (6) the will of God. [The Chinese Union Version translates Matthew 16:23: “You are mindful of the will of men and not mindful of the will of God.”] When the Lord spoke of these six matters, they were presented as three opposite pairs. The gates of Hades and the keys of the kingdom of the heavens are the opposite of each other. Just as Hades is versus the kingdom of the heavens, the gates of Hades are versus the keys of the kingdom of the heavens. This is the first pair. In the next pair, Satan and the cross are also the opposite of each other. Wherever the cross is, Satan has no place. Satan hates the cross and is also afraid of the cross. On the one hand, he wanted to put the Lord to death on the cross; on the other hand, he now fears the cross. This is because he knows that the cross is the place where he was dealt with, where he was finished off. So Satan and the cross are also a pair. Lastly, the will of men and the will of God are versus each other. Therefore, the six things spoken of by the Lord form three pairs.
These three pairs are revealed along with the building of the church; hence, they are related to the building of the church. The matter of the keys of the kingdom of the heavens dealing with the gates of Hades depends on the building of the church. The matter of the cross dealing with Satan depends on the building of the church. The matter of the will of God prevailing over the will of men also depends on the building of the church. All of these related matters depend on the building of the church. If the building of the church is successful, the gates of Hades will be defeated, and the keys of the kingdom of the heavens will be victorious. If the building of the church is successful, the cross will gain its place, and Satan will lose his ground. If the building of the church is successful, the will of men will be nullified, and the will of God will be fulfilled.
The universe today is a story of things in opposition to each other. There is not harmony but contradiction and conflict in the universe. The gates of Hades are in conflict with the keys of the kingdom of the heavens; Satan is in conflict with the cross; and the will of men is in conflict with the will of God. All of these matters are related to the building of the church; they all hinge on the church being built by the Lord. If our eyes are opened, we will see that the building of the church is an exceedingly great matter in the universe. The end of Hades and the spread of the kingdom of the heavens depend on the building of the church. Whether Satan can carry out his work, or whether the cross can accomplish its goal, whether the will of men can be renounced, or whether the will of God can be fulfilled all depend on the building of the church.
II. THE BUILDING OF THE CHURCH BEING A WARFARE
The building of the church is a matter of warfare. It is a conflict between two kingdoms and two wills. On one side, there is Hades, which is the kingdom of Satan, and on the other side, there is the kingdom of the heavens, which is the kingdom of God. On one side, the will of men is ruling and reigning; on the other side, the will of God is gaining ground and being fulfilled. The battle between these two kingdoms and between these two wills is tied to the building of the church. The building of the church is altogether related to this warfare.
Regrettably, in the church today almost none of the believers know of this spiritual warfare; this is due to weakness in life, lack of spiritual strength, and insufficient clarity in the light of the truth. Many think that preaching the gospel is simply preaching the gospel, that ministering the word is simply ministering the word, and that edifying the believers is simply edifying the believers. But when we do these things, we are not simply doing a work; we also are engaging in a warfare. This is because the entire matter of the building of the church on earth is a warfare. Please read the record in the first few chapters of Acts. As soon as the Lord began to build the church on the day of Pentecost, warfare began. If we compare the words in Matthew 16:18-19 with the record in Acts chapters 2 through 4, we can see that the words in Matthew were fulfilled in Acts. In Acts the Lord built the church upon Himself as the rock. As the Son of God, He died, resurrected, ascended to the right hand of God, and was made Lord and Christ by God. Therefore, He is the trustworthy rock established by God. At Pentecost, through the Holy Spirit who was given to men, He transformed men of clay into living stones, and He built these stones upon Himself as the rock. Where is this One who is the rock? He is in the heavens. As the rock in the heavens, He is the foundation of the building of the church. He is building the church upon Himself as the foundation in the heavens. This building began from the day of Pentecost, and once the building began, Hades was shaken. In Acts chapters 2 through 4 we can see that Hades was shaken. The gates of Hades were opened. Hades, however, actively attacked the church in order to drag the church that was being built by Christ into death. But since the church had the keys of the kingdom of the heavens and thus had authority, it was able to bind what was bound in the heavens and loose what was loosed in the heavens. The church had authority, and the church fought and won the victory.
Today when people speak of preaching the gospel, they like to refer to the situation at the time of Pentecost. However, they do not see that on the day of Pentecost there was not only the preaching of the gospel but also the fighting of a spiritual warfare. There was a battle between the gates of Hades and the keys of the kingdom of the heavens. The cause of this battle was the building of the church. At the coming of Pentecost, living stones were produced, and they were built on the rock which is in the heavens. As soon as this building began, Hades started to attack the church. However, the church was full of the authority of the kingdom of the heavens, and it was able to overcome the attacks of Hades. It is a pity that this authority has been lost in the church today! The church is weak and pitiful in gospel preaching. Sometimes the church uses worldly methods, such as advertisements, promotions, and propaganda, and even uses material wealth, position, education, and other ways to entice people into receiving the gospel. In this way the church has become mean and base. This kind of situation proves that the church has fallen into the hand of the gates of Hades. Hence, when the church preaches the gospel, Hades is not moved. It seems as if there is no opposition from Satan and no spiritual battle in the church in such a pitiful condition. Since the church has lost her authority and her heavenly nature, she also has lost the power of her testimony.
However, if the condition of the church is proper, the gates of Hades will be shaken whenever the gospel is preached. Even if Hades will not open its gates, the church can shake it until the gates are opened. Whenever the church works for the Lord, the gates of Hades are shaken. This is an unalterable principle. From Acts 7 we see spiritual warfare wherever the footsteps of the preaching of the gospel reached. Wherever a church was raised up, the gates of Hades were shaken. In the entire record of the book of Acts, wherever a church was raised up, Satan was there to oppose, but he was also shaken.
Every child of God must see that the church is a matter involving two kingdoms. It involves Hades and the kingdom of the heavens, Satan and God, Satan and the cross, and the will of men and the will of God. The building of the church is a matter of warfare. The building of the church deals with and defeats Satan, Satan’s kingdom, Hades, and the gates of Hades. The building of the church also brings in the kingdom of God and the authority of the kingdom of the heavens. This brings people under the rule of God and accomplishes the will of God.
May the Lord have mercy upon us! In these last days we cannot have merely empty talk concerning the ground of the church. The ground of the church depends on the testimony of the church. If the church loses her testimony, she loses her ground. Moreover, the testimony of the church depends on her being heavenly and living out Christ. Whenever the church loses her heavenly position and does not live out Christ, the church loses her testimony and authority, thereby falling into the hand of the gates of Hades.
III. THE BUILDING OF THE CHURCH BEING A GREAT MATTER
The church is a great thing, and the building of the church is also a great and important matter. The entire New Testament concerns the church, the building of the church, and matters related to the building of the church. The entire New Testament is needed in order to explain the gates of Hades, Satan, and the will of men, and the keys of the kingdom of the heavens, the cross, and the will of God. We need to read through the New Testament to know what it means for the gates of Hades to deal with the church, to know what it means for Satan to hinder men from receiving the cross, and to know what it means for the will of men to be against the will of God. We need to read the New Testament thoroughly in order to understand the keys of the kingdom of the heavens, to know what it means to bring in the authority of the kingdom of the heavens, and to know what it means to place people under the rule of the kingdom of the heavens. We also need to read the New Testament thoroughly to know that there are three wills in the universe—the will of God, the will of men, and the will of Satan. When the will of men stands on Satan’s side, there is no way for the will of God to be carried out. When the will of men stands on God’s side, the will of Satan is defeated. These three things can be found in these few simple sentences in Matthew 16. The Lord said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan!…for you are mindful of the will of men and not mindful of the will of God” (Chinese Union Version). All three parties—Satan, men, and God—are here. The will of God, the will of men, and the trouble-making of Satan are present. The Lord spoke of these three matters because He had just spoken of the church and the building of the church, and the building of the church is related to these three matters. The building of the church determines whether men’s will is standing with God’s will or Satan’s will, whether men’s will is in subjection to God or in captivity to Satan. All of these points are manifested through the building of the church.
IV. THE BUILDING OF THE CHURCH BEING A SEVERE TEST
O brothers, the church is a great test, and the building of the church is a strict standard of measure! Many children of God are full of zeal for the Lord but are not under God’s will. Many servants of the Lord work diligently but are not in the will of God. This judgment can be made because they pay attention only to their work and neglect the church; they expand their work but are short of the building. Thus, their volumes of work do not pass the test of the building of the church.
We must see that all our work must be for the building up of the Body of Christ, which is the church. Building is an exceedingly great word in the Scriptures. Through all the ages and in all the generations God has been doing a work of building. His charge to preach the gospel is for the building, and His instructions to edify the believers are also for the building. Furthermore, He gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, and some as shepherds and teachers for the building, that is, for the building up of the church as the Body of Christ. But it is a pity that today many of those who fervently serve the Lord are not building up the church; instead, they are tearing it down. Today much of the work of preaching the gospel and even some of the work of edifying the believers is not building the church but damaging and tearing it down.
Therefore, the matter of building the church is a severe test to every one of us who serves the Lord. We do not need to exert great effort to examine our work and service. All we need to do is consider the church and use it as a test, a check, to find out whether the nature of our living, our work, and our service is related to building the church or tearing it down instead. Brothers and sisters, if we put the church aside, we may consider many works, such as preaching the gospel, saving souls, and edifying the believers, to be praiseworthy. But if we consider the church as a measure to test our works, we will immediately see that many of these works concern only the will of men rather than the will of God. Such works are still under the hand of Satan, and they are even used by Satan to damage the will of God, that is, to damage the building of the church.
V. THE NEED OF BEING BUILT
In Matthew 16:18, build and church are important words: “You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church.” In addition, 1 Peter 2:4-5 says, “Coming to Him, a living stone,… you yourselves also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house.” These words speak of the importance of building.
As saved ones, we all admit that once we were clay but that we have become stones because of the Lord’s salvation. However, it is not enough simply to be stones; we still need to be built. No doubt, we are living stones, but a question remains: “Have we been built?” This is a serious question. If we have been built, then we, as stones, cannot be independent. Instead, we need to be dealt with and joined together with other stones.
Brothers and sisters, we must ask ourselves, “Have I been built? Am I connected with others? Am I in coordination with others? Or am I a stone, independent and isolated?” Although someone may be a gem, a diamond that is exceedingly beautiful and very precious, he still may be all alone, in isolation, and not built with others. This is not what a Christian should be. The real meaning of being a Christian lies not only in beauty but even more in building. Building is first; beauty is second. There are many brothers and sisters who still have not been built with others, who still prefer to be individually spiritual, pursuing the Lord independently, working alone, preaching alone, and being alone. I do not know how many among the children of God have a consciousness of togetherness, a consciousness of coordination, saying, “It is not enough that I am individually spiritual; the brothers and sisters must also be spiritual with me. I am not happy, nor do I feel beautiful when I am the only one who is spiritual. There is beauty only when the brothers, the sisters, and I are spiritual together. It is not enough to preach well by myself. Rather, the situation is good and effective only when I serve God together with my co-workers, my brothers and sisters.”
When the meetings are always the same, the atmosphere is the same, the condition is the same, and the result is the same, a brother may think that everything would be marvelous if only he were the one speaking. This is a pitiful situation. Since this brother is not the speaker, however, he may have a different feeling and may even criticize, saying, “Not many have come to the meeting, the atmosphere is depressing, and some even fall asleep.” This is an individualistic feeling, a selfish feeling, a pitiful feeling. Although this brother is serving together with others, he has not been built together with them. If our service is like this, it cannot shake the gates of Hades, and we should not expect such messages to be effective and powerful. Our preaching will not be able to rescue the people who are being held in Hades, and our preaching will not be able to release sinners, nor even release believers. We, thus, will have no way to open the gates of the heavenly kingdom and usher people into the kingdom of the heavens to be under its ruling. Look at our flesh! Look at our selfishness! Look at our peculiarity! Look at our individualism! Look at our independence! Look at our self-justification and condemnation of others! All of these conditions prove that we have not been released but are still being held by the gates of Hades. Consequently, we will have no way to release others from the gates of Hades, much less lead them to be under the ruling of the heavens.
I feel that the Lord has burdened me to stress the matter of the building of the church. Brothers and sisters, have we been built? Are we individualistic, or are we coordinated together with the saints? Our strong points, our good qualities, do not count; the only thing that counts is being built with others. Certainly believers who lust after sinful things and love the world have no way to be built with others. But sadly, even the so-called spiritual believers who are spiritually peculiar, spiritually special, or super-spiritual have no way to be built with others. Satan, being crafty, really knows how to work. If he cannot hold someone back, he will push him forward; if he cannot cause someone to fall short, he will cause him to reach beyond. Hence, today in the church and in the service, it is not easy to see built-up believers and real coordination.
Sometimes I find a group of brothers and sisters who study the Bible together, and in the atmosphere among them I sense that each one cares only about his own studies. On the one hand, it is good that each one is studying well, but on the other hand, if a person has been built, dealt with, and is in coordination, he will have a different concept. It is not a matter of whether I study well but a matter of whether I study well with the brothers and sisters. It is not a matter of everything being fine as long as I study the Bible well, as long as I am spiritual, and as long as I can pray. No, rather it should be that the brothers and sisters and I study the Bible together, are spiritual together, pray together, and serve together. Brothers and sisters, when the saints around us are not serving properly, do we feel a heavy burden? If we do, our situation is right. If we do not, we have not yet been built up nor dealt with by the cross; thus, the gates of Hades cannot be shaken nor can the gates of the kingdom of the heavens be opened through us. Although we serve and work, we are serving and working according to our own will. We are caring for our own will rather than God’s will. Therefore, Satan has nothing to fear in us, nor can God accomplish anything through us.
However, if we have been built, the situation is different. The degree of our being built determines the measure of the nature, testimony, and element of the church in us. Only the part of us that has been built is the church. Whatever has not been built is not the church. We should never think that because we are saved, we are the church. Stones are not necessarily a house. Independent stones are merely stones, not a house. Only stones which have been built together are a house. We must ask ourselves, “Have I been built or not? Am I individualistic or corporate? Have I been dealt with, or am I still the same? Have I been broken, or am I still whole? Am I in coordination with others, or am I eccentric and in isolation?” If there is no building, there is no church. If there is no building, there are only individual Christians who are saved, but there is no church. Without building, there are only individual stones, but there is no house. To have the house, that is, to have the church, there must be building. Without building, there is no testimony of the church; without the testimony of the church, there is no ground of the church.
Brothers and sisters, in these last days God intends to recover this matter. God wants to recover not only the ground and the testimony of the church but also the building of the church. Whoever receives grace and mercy will bow his head and say, “Lord, have mercy on me, and have mercy also on my brothers and sisters. Build in us.”
We must see that to be saved is one thing, but to be built is another. To be called by the Lord is one thing, but to be built by Him is another. To be placed in the Lord’s hand is one thing, but to be willing to be broken in His hand is another. To be brothers together is one thing, but to be built with one another, to be built together, is another. For all to serve together is one thing, but for all to be coordinated is another. We need to be broken, dealt with, and delivered from our seclusion. We must see to such an extent that we cannot live, be a Christian, serve God, manage the church, preach the gospel, or edify the saints by ourself. We must see to such an extent that we need others in every step of our actions and in every aspect of our living. Without others, we should be paralyzed. Without others, it should be hard for us to walk even one inch. We need to realize this to such an extent in order to be built with others.
Today’s situation is not like this. Instead, we seemingly say, “It would be easier if there were no brothers and sisters; then I would be able to display all my abilities. It will be more convenient for me when everyone else is gone, and I am doing everything. The brothers and sisters are either a nuisance or a hindrance to me.” I am afraid that some of the brothers and sisters often have this kind of feeling. They feel that it is pleasant to pray alone, wonderful to read the Word alone, convenient to serve the Lord alone, and enjoyable to preach the gospel alone. They also feel that it is troublesome to have the church life because the brothers are annoying and the sisters are burdensome. There are stumbling stones in front and entanglements behind. Do you have this kind of feeling? If you do, you must realize that you are a person without mercy bestowed on you. You are a natural person, and you have not yet received a revelation. You have not yet seen the light, and you have not yet been delivered from your self. A person who has been dealt with, who truly knows the testimony of the church, can no longer be individualistic and secluded. He cannot go on without the brothers and sisters. He cannot work without coordination. He cannot even be a Christian without being together with other Christians. This is not a doctrine. One day the Lord will bring you to such a point and open your eyes to see that you need to be built.
A brother once asked me, “The teaching of the Lord Jesus on the mountain is ‘when you pray, shut your door.’ Whenever I shut the door, I can pray for two hours, but whenever I kneel down with the brothers, I cannot pray two sentences. Why is this?” The only reason for this is because he was used to being independent and secluded. He never depended on others. He lacked dependence in his spiritual life. He did not feel a need for his fellow members. He could be independent, pray by himself, and even read the Scriptures by himself.
Brothers and sisters, forgive me for speaking of my own experiences. Many times when I knelt down to pray, I longed to seek out a few brothers to pray with me after praying only a few sentences. Sometimes I needed a number of brothers and sisters to pray with me in order for the burden within me to be discharged. I could not do it alone. Sometimes I could not understand a chapter of the Bible, no matter how much time I spent reading it. Then I realized that I had to seek out some brothers. It was not enough to find one brother; I had to find several brothers to study together. Amazingly, I was able to understand what I read in a short period of time when I studied with the brothers.
If we really know the church, we will see that the church is a built-up entity, not merely something put together. The church is not put together with many believers, all of whom are in their original condition. Rather, the church is built with believers who have been dealt with and broken. Without building, there are stones, but there is no house. Without building, there are believers, but there is no church. Without building, the testimony, the ground, the warfare, and the victory are not possible. Without building, there is no defeat of Satan, nor is there the ruling of the heavens. Therefore, the building of the church is crucial to the testimony of the church. To have the testimony of the church, there must be the building of the church. And to have the building of the church, we need to be built. May the Lord have mercy on us!