Explanation Of The Nature And History Of This Ministry

Firstly, there is the fact that Christ's exaltation and reign is not just a personal matter where He is concerned. When, at length, Satan and his hosts are disppossessed of the heavenlies and cast down, it will be done through and by the Church in union with Christ as its sovereign head, and it will be that Church--head and members--that will take the place of that deposed kingdnm to fulful the governmental purpose which they have usurped and evilly exercised in God's universe. The Lord Jesus will reign and govern through His Church in that age to come.

Then, as being all-of-a-piece with this inclusive purpose, several other things became clear to us. It is the church which is of primary concern to the Lord in this dispensation. Everything is related to that in His mind and activity. This means, among other things, that all unrelatedness and independence, all that is merely personal, sectional, exclusive or separate must certainly fail to reach God's full end or to have His seal upon it beyond a certain point. It must inevitably stop short and be spiritually limited. Every Divine provision is unto the securing and perfecting of the Body (Eph.4:14), and individuals can only reach fulness in a related way. If this is true then other things follow.

The Church must be on heavenly, not earthly ground. Earthly ground will provide contradictions of some sort. Anything, which is, by its position, interest, relationship or title, on earthly ground, as distinguishing between the Lord's people, is a contradiction of the Church as the Body of Christ. None of this obtains in the heavenlies, and its existence here means spiritual weakness in face of the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenlies, It was horne in upon us with increasing clearness and strength that consistency with this light demanded that we must forsake all partisan or sectarian ground-indeed, all ground other than that of Christ universal in all born-again children of God-and take the position, with all artificial barriers down, that all such are "one new man in Christ". How could we honestly stand upon and for that affirmed fact and then expect people to 'join' some particular historical section of Christians, when the Church is not historical but eternal, issuing from the eternal counsels of God and continuing unto "the ages of the ages"?

The change of position involved us in immediate and growing misunderstandings, misconceptions, misrepresentations, ostracism, and "evil report", being "everywhere spoken against". The first thing said, and which cost us the loss of some valued friends, was that the way that we were taking put all those who did not take the same course in the wrong. This was, of course, rather a superficial and cheap way out of a difficulty, for the same could be said of anyone or anything that departed from tradition or common acceptance in any realm whatsoever, and not least of the Lord and His apostles.

For many years we adhered to an imposed silence and refusal to try to explain, lest such a course should seem like self-vindication or self-defence.

As time has gone on and the ministry has spread so extensively, making us so widely known, the misapprehensions have gained in measure and strength. Hence, largely in response to the appeal of friends and the necessity of the situation, we are seeking herewith at least to clarify the position, and, if possible, correct mistaken conclusions to which some have come, either by reasom of their own inability to grasp the true situation, or, maybe, because of the way in which we ourselves have put some matters.

So we return to, or pursue this matter of the church. Taken out of the general or immediate context certain paragraphs in our books could be made to mean quite the contrary to our intention. To begin with, we have always made the comparative the basis of any statement. That is, we have always made the matter one of comparison and contrast with what God would really have if He had His full way. Few would contend that the situation in Christianity is as God would have it. If He had His mind expressed, what so many Christian leaders call `our unhappy divisions', and what the `World Council of Churches' has described as 'these man-made divisions 'and ` man's disorder', would not exist.

We have pronounced this situation as wrong and not according to God's mind, and have said--and do say--that these denominational divisions are a menace to spiritual fulness and a hindrance to the full purpose of God. They mean positive spiritual limitation. We believe that this situation would never have come about but for a low and weak level of spiritual life. When the tide is full the dividing `breakwaters' disappear and lose their meaning. When it is low, they stand out stark. The difference between the natural and the spiritual is that in the one they are a necessity, in the other an exposure of tragedy, If, for some reason--an evangelistic campaign, or a spiritual-life convention--the tide rises, then we forget, for the time being, our divisions. When Christ becomes the all-dominating Object, then `things' lose their importance. We have said that this is how it ought to be normally and not extraordinarily.

But when we have said this, and all that we could say of this kind, there remain some other points which call for explanation. They mostly come under and out of the matter of Church order.

We have intimated that behind this ministry, and largely as the occasion and venue of it, there is a company of the Lord's people who regularly meet at Honor Oak, London. We believe that the 'order' of gathering, procedure, and ministry is as near to what the Apostles sought to have as our present light permits. We do not claim to have "yet attained", neither do we account ourselves as "yet perfect". but, being open to the Lord, we are adjustable to any further leadings of the Holy Spirit. But here again is a matter which to us is of great importance, although it denotes another difference.

We have never followed a pattern discovered on earth. Either we were in culpable ignorance, blissful blindness, or providential innocence, but we knew not of the same order obtaining already. So far as we were concerned it seemed as though the Lord was beginning with us at zero. Neither had we studied the New Testament with the object of trying to formulate a New Testament church or its order. We have since come to believe that the New Testament does not give a full and final pattern for reproduction and imitation.

Thus, having set aside all the former system of organized Christianity, we committed ourselves to the principle of the organic. No `order was `set up', no officers or ministries were appointed. We left it with the Lord to make manifest by `gift' and anointing who were chosen of Him for oversight and ministry. The one-man ministry has never emerged. The `overseers' have never been chosen by vote or selection, and certainly not by the expressed desire of any leader. No committees or offcial bodies have ever existed in any part of the work. Things in the main have issued from prayer. We are very conscious that mistakes have been made, but the result of these has only served to re-emphasize the above principles.

Baptism of believers by immersion has clearly become the only way by which testimony to union with Christ in death and resurrection can truly and rightly be given. The Lord's Table is seen to be the combination of all the Christian testimonies, i.e., Christ's death for us; our death in Him; the oneness of all believers in and with Him as "one loaf" (1 Cor.10:17); and the "blessed hope" of his coming again.

We also feel that the Spirit's way of bearing testimony to the oneness of the Body of Christ is by a simple act of `laying-on of hands' by representative members (`elders') of the Church, particularly in the case of the newly baptized. This is what we believe the Scriptures mean in this connection.

Reverting to the matter of `Church' association or connection, let two things be said with strong emphasis. One: we sincerely recognise the sovereignty of God over all that we do not believe to be His first and full will. While the `sects' and denominations, 'missions' and institutions are a departure from the Holy Spirit's original way and intention, God has undoubtedly blessed and used these in a very real way and has sovereignly done great work through faithful men and women. We thank God that it is so, and pray that every means possible of use may have His blessing upon it. This is not said in any patronising or superior spirit; God forbid. Any reserve is only because we feel that there has been much delay, limitation, and weakness due to the departure from the first and full position of the first years of the Church's life, and because of a heart-burden for a return thereto. We cannot accept the present `disorder' as all that the Lord would or could have, and this may involve us in the charge of being 'reactionary .

A second thing is that, believing so strongly, as we do that everything must proceed from the Lord by the Spirit and not be of man, we could never advise or influence people to leave their `church', `mission', or connection. This we have never done, but have carefully avoided doing. Some have mistakenly felt that we meant that they should do so and have done it. Others have acted under very definite exercise before the Lord. We feel very strongly that this matter musr be one which involves the spiritual life, and that it should have no less an issue at stake than the walk with God. On the same principle we have never felt that it was our business to try to duplicate or reproduce this spiritual `order' by bringing into being churches in other places. This could easily have been done, but we have held back. Churches, we believe, must be the spontaneous result of a work of the Spirit and must be `born' just as the individual believer is born from above. We may yet have to have clearer light and further leading on this matter, but this is as far as we have seen at present.

One other practical point must receive a mention. It is true that we have always believed that the main purpose for which this ministry was raised up was the feeding, instructing, and helping of the Lord's people, so that they might do His work more effectively. This has proved to be true, and the Lord has wonderfully enabled and supplied unto this. But let it be clearly understood that, however true this may be, we recognise without question that a great and essential part of the Church's business is that of bringing Christ to the unsaved. If unsaved ones were not continually being brought `into the Kingdom' among us and through this ministry, we should be most distressed, and should seek earnestly that the Lord would show us the reason why. Hence we do seek, by very definite ways and means, both at home and in other lands, to bring souls to the Saviour. Many have gone from us, during the years, into many parts of the world with this specific burden on their hearts. But, even so, evangelism is a related matter and not an end in itself. We repeat: It is the Church which is the primary and inclusive concern of the Lord in this dispensation.

As the years have passed we have found that, without premeditation, we havc been increasingly occupied with God's one end-the fulness of Christ, and the ministry in all its aspects has had this as its focal center. What an immense range and wealth there is in that clause: "to sum up all things in Christ"! Yes, it is Christ and His fulness! An adequate apprehension of Him will emancipate us from all smallness, earthboundness, and time-serving.

There are other aspects of this ministrv which have given rise to misapprension, but I trust that this much that has been written here will--at least--show that there is a meaning to it which is not that given by some, and a meaning of no small importance to all who seek the truth.

To sum up, we feel very strongly and positively that the Word of God throughout shows that God would have that at the end which corresponds with His thoughts at the beginning. There is ever and anon a call-back to "first love", "first works" and 'beginnings'. With Israel this is the clear burden of the Prophets. Before the Apostles had gone they were under obligation to re-emphasize first principles and to warn regarding departure. This, surely, is the burden of so much that they wrote. It is impossible to read John's letters and the first chapters of the Revelation, and to miss this meaning. The Lord never finally abandons His first position and revealed full mind. He may, in sovereignty, use all that He can as fully as He can, but if what obtains is other or less than that which He has shown to be His mind, there will be severe limitations and weaknessess.

Such limitations should give deep exercise of heart and lead to serious enquiry, and we believe that there are in fact many indications of such exercise and concern at this time. If the Bible is to be our guide, and if we are to take Church history seriously, then both of these make one thing clear. It is that, however long the Lord may bear with or sovereignly use the less, He at length forces the issue of the absolute by suffering and shaking and overthrowing, and by compelling to the essential, the spiritual, the intrinsic, and the full. This may be the great lesson that China should teach, and it will--at the end---be much more far-reaching. The fulness of Christ; the full and accurate thought of God; the true way of the Spirit-- these are not ultimately optional. The vindication may await the time of the big testing and shaking, but it will as surely come, as did that of Jeremiah, Paul, and others: some even in our own generation.

What we have written above has been but our testimony. We do not give it as a Statement of doctrine, `Principles and Practice', to which we expect anyone to conform, or as a basis of fellowship. The Spirit of God must bear witness to the truth in any unprejudiced and open heart, and we are quite content to have it so.

It was after years of Bible teaching, evangelical ministry, missionary enterprise, and varied Christian activities that the Lord brought us, in His own effective way, to see, as we had not seen before--

            MENU:

• Christian Maturity
• GospelSmith.com
• Maschil
• George Warnock