Read part 1 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒. Read part 2 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒.
Now we have the church life. But what is the nature of this life? Where did it come from? How can we maintain it? The church life didn’t originate from us, so we have no way to maintain or upkeep this life. We didn’t invent this or engineer this church life; no, this church life is founded on an eternal Life with all the qualities and essence of that Life. We are able to have this church life because it is based upon a very victorious, very powerful, very vital, very overcoming reality. To serve in this church life — to serve in this era — we need a dispensational consecration, one founded in this victorious life that enables us to carry out a dispensational change.
Today, we are pioneering a new era in our church life together. We have done away with outward religious forms and rituals. We’ve been stripped to the bone until all that is left is the core of this ministry. We have no building, no pastors, no entertainment program — we have no children’s service, no physical bread and wine, no conferences, no trainings or even “meetings.” Together, we have seen that life at work should not be separate from our life at home or with the saints. We have closed all the backdoors and eliminated many outward taboos that only regulate externally without regulating or touching our condition inwardly. Together, we are learning that there are far too many holes and corners for us to hide in religion, or even in our old form of the church life. Together, we have developed a sensitivity to His word and experienced an updated, timely speaking. As a result, a brand new Bible opened up to us — and it is precious. And we are constantly leaving behind the old and stretching forward to the new as He reveals Himself moment by moment. We are confronted by each other to live unto a high calling — to take a difficult but rich and rewarding path unto the ultimate calling given to human beings. Although we come from very different backgrounds and experiences, we all come to the same concluding meaning of our life, coming out of the worldly, individualistic existences to become one body today.
Where are we going next? Now that we have come to this stage, how can we grow and spread — as the Lord is calling us to do from our current condition? The time has come for us to witness — to spread and to shine forth this beautiful living! The world puts the church in a box, defining what it is and what it can do. It is a category — something immediately recognizable and easy to accept. But is that what the church is? It is easier to follow what is expected of us — to do what makes sense in the religious or worldly eyes. But daring to shed those outward systems, and daring to witness and live out our life, requires a real, true, dispensational condition. There is no badge or degree that will affirm this condition; it has to come from within us.
Today, if we dare to live this life, we need a sustaining power. It does not come from us or from our effort — or even from our good hearts. Today, each one of us needs to be consecrated fully with no “back doors.” What truly sustains His church is our individual consecration because, ultimately, we are His means on the earth today. If we believe this, then we should give up our trying and our religious concepts and consecrate! We may think our biggest problems in the church today are sin, the world, human failures, and fleshliness. Yes, these are problems. But out of all the challenges we face, the biggest challenge is ourselves. It is not sin, it is not the world — it is not even our failures or our flesh. Sin itself is not a problem; it is something personified from these things that makes the sinner. When we refuse to give up our own concepts and opinions, even and especially the most moral, good ones, we personify the evil one and inhibit the growth of the body. Oftentimes the most moral- or righteous-looking ones damage the church the most. This is what the church is facing today. What a great warning! If we decide to live this life, we need to close all of our back doors — both “good” and “bad.”
For the true believer, closing the back doors is simple. Consecrate. Today! If we can carry the Lord’s dispensational calling and dispensational condition to carry out a dispensational change, we certainly need a dispensational consecration. Consecration is the basic and crucial prerequisite that qualifies a servant of God to serve with longevity and with quality. In Romans 12:1-2, Paul talks about presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice. Only in a condition of true consecration can we fulfill this calling. This calling must be refreshed in us through the condition and vitality of our everyday presence before the Lord, before each other, and before the world, so that these words can sound out and shine as a beacon in this twisted and evil age. We need a group of bright people to speak something high, overcoming, and undeniable — to preach the one, true gospel for humankind. Who represents a true humanity on the earth today? Not the current worldly, fallen society. These representatives must be bright and vital. They must be consecrated ones. They must have a subjective experience of Christ that lifts them out of religion, that makes them real, that makes them vulnerable, that makes them overcoming — truly human, not religious clerks or workers. They must display a true humanity in reality, which can only be recovered through a true and thorough consecration. This is the calling of the church today.
(Above is part 3 of a series compiled from notes of fellowship taken from gatherings at the end of 2018 and compiled into a booklet entitled “The calling and condition of God’s people in the church today.”)