Evening Meeting, October 2, 1972 — Richmond, Virginia
Ministry given through Stephen Kaung
O my Heavenly Father, I always pray, thanking You for gathering us together here unto the name of Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. There is no name that is nobler or higher than this name. Unto this name, Lord, we gladly bow our knees, and we gladly confess that Jesus is Lord.
O Lord, we do desire that, as we gather together unto Thyself, Thou wilt reveal Thyself to us, as Thou hast promised Thy disciples. Thou wilt manifest Thyself to those who love Thee. We praise and thank Thee because Thou hast put love in our hearts. We do love Thee, and we desire that Thou wilt manifest Thyself tonight to us in a new way, in a living way.
Lord, all that we need is Thyself. We want the Lord more than anything else. We commit ourselves to Thee for this evening, trusting Thy Holy Spirit to open Thy Word to us and lead us into Thy truth, that we may be unto the praise of Thy blessedness. In the name of our Lord Jesus, we pray. Amen.
Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and the rest of the apostles, Brethren, what shall we do?
And Peter said unto them, Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
For to you is the promise, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call unto Him.
And with many other words he testified, and exhorted them, saying, Save yourselves from this crooked generation.
They then that received his word were baptized: and there were added unto them in that day about three thousand souls.
And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and the prayers.
And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.
And all that believed were together, and had all things common;
and they sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all, according as any man had need.
And day by day, continuing stedfastly with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread at home, they took their food with gladness and singleness of heart,
praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to them day by day those that were saved.
And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and soul: and not one of them said that aught of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.
And with great power gave the apostles their witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.
For neither was there among them any that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,
and laid them at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto each, according as any one had need.
That is all we need for tonight.
We mentioned in the very beginning that the Book of Acts is the continuation of the Gospel according to Luke, because it is the same writer whom God used to give us these two books in the New Testament.
In the Gospel according to Luke, it is the Lord Jesus beginning to do and to speak. But in the Book of Acts, it is the same Lord Jesus continuing to do and to speak.
The only difference is this: in the Gospel according to Luke, it is the doing and speaking of our Lord Jesus in His own Person, in that body which He put upon Himself when He came into this world. But in the Book of Acts, He is speaking and doing in a mystical corporate Body.
Therefore, it is very important for us to know this Body that our Lord Jesus has and is using to continue His speaking and His doing. This Body, we all know, is the Body of Christ—the church of the living God.
In Acts 1, we see the travail during those fifty days between the resurrection of our Lord Jesus and Pentecost. You will find that there were fifty days, and these fifty days can be divided into two parts: forty days and ten days.
During the forty days, the Lord Jesus appeared to His disciples living, and He taught them the things concerning the kingdom of God. Then, during the next ten days, one hundred and twenty people gave themselves to continued prayer, waiting upon the Lord for the promise of the Father.
Those fifty days were very significant days. We would like to call these days the days of travail. The Lord Jesus travailed, and these one hundred and twenty people travailed with Him, for the bringing forth of something most essential to His continuing speaking and doing. We know that this is the church, the Body of Christ.
This morning we mentioned the birth of the church. Again, we emphasize that a congregation can be organized, but a church must be born.
On the day of Pentecost, a tremendous thing happened. We often are attracted to the spectacular, the visible; but we often overlook the essential, the unseen. Very often, you will find that what is seen is only that which accompanies the unseen, and it is the unseen that is the reality.
On the day of Pentecost, there was the sound; there was the sight of tongues parting as fire. But what people saw and heard actually pointed to one thing: the exaltation of our Lord. Peter said that what they saw and heard testified to one thing—that God had made this Jesus both Christ and Lord.
The baptism in the Holy Spirit gives us two things. One is the exaltation of the Lord; the other is the forming of the Body, the church.
For in one Spirit were we all baptized into one body.
— 1 Corinthians 12:13
So, dear brothers and sisters, on the day of Pentecost, through the baptism in the Holy Spirit, the Lord baptized His people into one Body under one Head. That is the church.
These one hundred and twenty people, when you looked at them individually, may we say they were all living. Every one of them was a spiritual child of God; there was no doubt there. And these one hundred and twenty people were together as a congregation, together.
Yet something more had to be done. Every one of them had the indwelling Holy Spirit. Without the indwelling Holy Spirit, they would not have been able to stay together for ten days and give themselves to continued prayer. Yet there was something new that had to be done—not only He in each one of them, but among them and between them.
It was by the baptism in the Holy Spirit that these one hundred and twenty people were baptized into one Body, one hundred and twenty members. This is the meaning of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. We are made one Body, members one of another, under the Headship of a living Head with a living Body.
Because the Body is living, the Head is able to speak and to do through that Body. This is Pentecost. In order that we may be living, functioning members, Christ gives gifts, because with these gifts we may minister one to another for the building up of the Body in love.
This evening, we would like to consider the next step. We have seen the travail that brought in the birth; we have seen the birth of the Body. The next thing, naturally, will be the life of the Body, or the life of the church.
One thing for which we have to thank the Lord is that, when you read the Bible, you find that God often shows us life before He gives us teaching. God often demonstrates first before He teaches us.
There is a definite advantage in that. Why? Because if we are taught first, we will try to manufacture something. We are told something, so we go and make it. God does not teach us first; He demonstrates it first.
That is the reason why you have the four Gospels before the Book of Acts, and you have the Book of Acts before the Epistles. In the Book of Acts, you do not have much teaching, but you have a demonstration of life. In the Epistles, you have teaching that explains that life.
When you read the display of the early church, what you see in the beginning is a demonstration. Here a Body is born; a church is born by the agency of the Holy Spirit. Now, how does that Body live? How does that church live? You do not see much teaching about it, but you see a great demonstration.
The one hundred and twenty people, as we said, had a very good background. They had a long history with the Lord. After they were merged into one Body, we could expect a wonderful Body life.
But just as these one hundred and twenty people were beginning to live as one Body, because they were one, three thousand were added. That was a problem.
These three thousand were not as mature as the one hundred and twenty. They were Jews; they knew the Old Testament. They might have had some little contact with the Lord while He was on earth—that was possible. But if you compare the three thousand with the one hundred and twenty, there was a great gap between them.
Humanly speaking, the one hundred and twenty might have said, “Now wait a minute. You are not fit to come in. Let us, the one hundred and twenty people, live that Body life because we are ready for it. If you come in right away, you will dilute everything. It will become very difficult.”
But the wonderful thing is this: in the Body there are big members and small members. In the family of God, there are fathers, young men, and little children. So, in the very beginning of church life, you find fathers, young men, and many babies.
These babies were very sound believers. Even though they might have heard the doctrine for the first time, they cried, “What shall we do? What shall we do?” They were pricked in their hearts. They did not know what to do.
Peter and the eleven apostles said, “Now, this is what you should do: repent, and be baptized, each one of you, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Peter, with many other words, exhorted them to be saved from that perverse generation. Those who received his word—the word “received” is the same as “accepted”—received it in a complete way. They repented, they were baptized, they received the gift of the Holy Spirit, and they were saved from this crooked generation.
You find these three thousand living members of the Body right away. Very often we think that those who are mature can function, but those who are newly saved should wait for years before opening their mouths. But here you find the Body of Christ immediately: the old and the young, the mature and the new, merged together in the Spirit in one Body.
Every member is living, and every member is conscious of the function of the Body. They all function, but they also grow.
The Bible says that they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and the prayers. The “they” here does not refer merely to the one hundred and twenty. It refers to the first church of three thousand one hundred and twenty. In other words, it refers to every child of God at that time in the church.
They all continued steadfastly. They were all absorbed in the teaching and fellowship. That was how they lived.
What is the teaching of the apostles? The teaching of the apostles is none other than the teaching of Christ.
You remember that our Lord Jesus, before He ascended, said in Matthew 28 that they were to go into all the world, make disciples of all nations, baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all things whatsoever He had commanded them.
Paul said to the Corinthians, “What I delivered unto you is what I received from the Lord.” It does not mean that the apostles could teach whatever they liked, as though each apostle had his own special teaching. Not at all. The apostles taught nothing but the teaching of Christ.
In other words, the Lord Jesus taught His people through the apostles. Their teaching did not come from men, nor did it come from the wisdom of men. Their teaching came by revelation.
They taught what they received from the Lord by revelation. What they taught was what they themselves had seen and what they themselves had experienced. Their teaching was not merely doctrine; it was not merely theory. Their teaching was living word.
Because their teaching was such, those who received it did not receive it as the word of men, but as the Word of God. It was not merely a theory in their minds; they abode in the teaching. In other words, they practiced it.
The teaching of the apostles is teaching found in the Bible, but made living and quickened by the Holy Spirit. The ministry of the apostles is a living ministration, and because of that, their teaching has power.
Those who received them received them in the Spirit, so that the Word worked in their lives. It was not something that passed merely from one mind to another mind; it was something from one spirit to another spirit. It was the impartation of Christ and the receiving of Christ, and by that they grew.
That is the teaching of the apostles. All these people continued steadfastly in the teaching of the apostles. But together with that was the fellowship of the apostles.
What is the fellowship of the apostles? Did the apostles form an exclusive club called “the apostles’ fellowship”? Not at all. The apostles joined the exclusive fellowship of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
You know, if you read the first epistle of John, what did our brother John say?
That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you also, that ye also may have fellowship with us:
yea, and our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.
— 1 John 1:3
And you remember 1 Corinthians 1:9. Paul said that we are called into the fellowship of God’s Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
In other words, the fellowship of the apostles is not a man-made fellowship. The fellowship of the apostles is the fellowship of the Son, Jesus Christ. It is the fellowship between the Father and the Son in the Holy Spirit.
Oh, that is the most exclusive fellowship in the whole universe. The membership is very exclusive: the Father, the Son, and the Spirit—that is all.
The fellowship which the Father and the Son have in the Spirit is glorious. They share everything because They are one. They work in harmony, They work in love, They work in one purpose. There are no reservations, no drawing back—open and free, committed one to another, perfectly harmonious and glorious.
There are no shadows, no darkness, no jealousy, no suspicion, no fear. Oh, the fellowship of the Son with the Father in the Spirit is glorious.
But then the Father and the Son agreed, “Let Us enlarge Our exclusive fellowship. Let Us include man in Our family. Let them share with Us what We have.”
That is why the Lord Jesus came into this world. He came to seek members for that fellowship. He came to open the door of His fellowship with the Father. Through His death and resurrection, He told the disciples, “I ascend unto My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.”
How did the apostles join that fellowship? Not by official means or a name. They joined the fellowship because God set them in Christ. Being in Christ, they were in that fellowship.
That is the fellowship of the apostles. They had fellowship with the Lord Jesus, fellowship with the Son, fellowship with the Father in the Spirit. What fellowship they had!
Then you remember our Lord’s prayer in John 17:
Neither for these only do I pray, but for them also that believe on Me through their word;
that they may all be one; even as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee.
— John 17:20–21
The apostles extended their fellowship to us. By preaching the gospel to us, we too are drawn into that fellowship of the Father and the Son, Jesus Christ. That is the fellowship of the apostles.
As the teaching of the apostles is not another teaching, but the teaching of Christ—the whole teaching of Christ—so the fellowship of the apostles is not a different fellowship, but the fellowship of God’s Son, Jesus Christ.
Teaching refers to truth; fellowship refers to grace. When we continue steadfastly in the teaching of the apostles, we receive all the truth that is in Christ.
As Paul says in Ephesians, “Ye did not so learn Christ; if so be that ye heard Him, and were taught in Him, even as truth is in Jesus.” The truth is in Christ, because only in Christ is there the “Yea” and the “Amen.” That is the teaching of the apostles which we have received.
But at the same time, there is fellowship: a sharing, a common participation, a partnership, a communion. That is the fellowship of the apostles.
The teaching that we hold cannot be greater or more than the teaching of the apostles. The fellowship that we maintain should not be bigger or smaller than the fellowship of the apostles.
If we continue steadfastly in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles, we are living in the Body. If we exceed it or limit it, we are not living in the Body.
That is how the Body lives. The Body lives in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles. They receive all the truth that is in Christ—not just one truth, not merely a few truths, and not many things added to it, but the truth that is in Christ as delivered by the apostles. They have fellowship with one another in the Body. The ground of fellowship is the ground of the Body.
The teaching and fellowship of the apostles are especially demonstrated in the breaking of bread and the prayers.
What is the breaking of bread? On the night in which He was betrayed, the Lord Jesus gathered His own around Him. Toward the end of the Passover feast, He took bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to the disciples.
This is My body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of Me.
— Luke 22:19
Afterwards, He took the cup, gave thanks, and passed it to the disciples, saying:
This cup is the new covenant in My blood, even that which is poured out for you.
— Luke 22:20
Since that day, the believers have remembered the Lord. In the early church, they broke bread every day. Is that not wonderful?
In the breaking of bread, there is a symbol of their remembering the Lord. In other words, the breaking of bread in the early church became the very symbol of their life. Their life was centered upon Christ.
Their life was completely dependent upon Christ. Christ was their life, their sustenance. They lived because of Him, and they expressed their love toward the Lord.
This is the teaching and fellowship expressed in the breaking of bread.
Some people ask me what version of the Bible I use. Sometimes I hesitate to mention it because it is not a popular version. It happens that I use the translation by J. N. Darby.
If you know anything about Darby, you know that he lived in nineteenth-century England. With some helpers, he translated the Bible from Greek and Hebrew into German, French, and English.
Do you know what they did when they were translating the Bible? They broke bread every day. The reason was that, while they were occupied with the translation, there was much mental work. They were afraid that by being so occupied with mental work, they might be drawn away from the Lord.
Therefore, they broke bread every day in order that their hearts might be kept by the love of Christ.
Today, sometimes we take communion as a formality. Some do it four times a year, some once a month, and some once a week. But we often take it merely as a ritual, a ceremony, a Christian ceremony, or a little sacrament.
Dear brothers and sisters, to the early church this was not so. This was the way they expressed how they continued steadfastly in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles. This was the way they expressed that their lives were centered upon Christ. This was the way they kept their hearts loving Christ. This was the way they kept themselves always in gratitude and worship.
So the early church continued steadfastly in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles, in the breaking of bread, and in prayer. Christ was the center of all their teaching. Christ was the center of all their fellowship.
If any teaching or doctrine is not centered upon Christ, soon it will become something opposing Christ. Whatever the teaching or doctrine may be, however correct you may think it is, if it is not centered upon Christ, it will degenerate into something else.
And if fellowship is not centered upon Christ, it degenerates into something else. Fellowship is not merely talking nonsense. It is not criticizing this one and that one, talking behind one another’s backs. That is not fellowship.
No, fellowship is centered upon Christ. It is the Spirit of Christ. In the breaking of bread, you find that it is a symbol of their being Christ-centered.
As one saint of God said, “I have only one passion in this world, and that passion is Jesus.”
Not only did they break bread; they also prayed. There are two things that Christians regret very much today: one is the breaking of bread, and the other is prayer.
In Christianity, somehow, some people say, “Well, we have too much, so we do it once a month.” That is too much. “We do it once a season.” That is too much. “We limit it to Easter and Christmas.”
And look at the prayer meeting. When a preacher is teaching, the place is filled. But when it comes to the prayer meeting, there are very few. Some have no prayer meeting at all.
The early believers came together. They did not come together in order to be one; they were one, therefore they came together.
This togetherness is more than physical togetherness. It is Body togetherness. They knew they were related to one another. They knew they could not live without the others. They had to be together.
Our dear brother Watchman Nee once visited an elderly brother, George Cutting, the one who wrote Safety, Certainty, and Enjoyment. That is a wonderful booklet. Many, many people were helped by that little booklet.
Our brother went to England purposely to visit this elderly brother, who was then in his nineties. His mind was not too clear at that time. He would wake up and be very clear for a few minutes, then again he would lapse into a kind of unconsciousness.
When our brother returned, he told us that he sat there with the elderly brother. The old brother would wake up and say, “He cannot do without me. I cannot do without you. I cannot do without Him. You cannot do without me.” Of course, he was referring to the Lord.
We often say, “We cannot do without Him.” But do we know that He cannot do without us? This brother knew.
Our brother said, “It is true. We cannot do without Him; He cannot do without us. But neither can you do without me, and I cannot do without you.”
How much are we conscious of the Body? How much do we really know that, as we cannot do without Him, we cannot do without our brothers and sisters? We have to be together.
They had all things common. No one said, “This is mine.” Everything was at the disposal of the others.
Was there any teaching that required them to do that? They were so delivered from the spirit of selfishness, self-protectiveness, and self-interest. They were so full of the love of Christ that they could not say, “This is mine.”
There is a very strong urge in our flesh, and that is self. We want to protect; we want to claim something as ours. You see that even in a little child: “Oh, this toy is mine. You cannot touch it. It is mine.”
Self-protectiveness is a fallen instinct of man. It is expressed in a great way or in a small way, but it is there. It is the expression of individualism.
But when the grace of God comes in such a way, when the love of Christ so fills people, they are completely delivered from individualism.
Not that they cease to be individuals. They are still individuals. They have not lost their individuality. But they are delivered from individualism. That is the Body.
The spirit of self-possessiveness is gone. They share everything in common.
Strictly speaking, this does not mean a communal life in the modern sense. In this country, there seems to be a movement among young people, among those who have been touched by the Lord, who long to live a communal life or a community life.
Therefore, you find many communes organized, many communal groups organized, and many so-called Christian communities being formed. Now, brothers and sisters, do not misunderstand me. Let me try to explain what is in my heart.
On the one hand, you find that the church is a community. We share everything with one another. Everything is in common. But remember, this is the whole church—not merely a few special people organized into a commune or a community.
I believe that the desire is right. But trying to organize an exclusive commune or exclusive community life is not the answer. This is what the church ought to be—not merely something for a few people.
The desire is right, but we must remember that it is not something that we go out and organize. It is not a teaching that we try to copy. It is the love of Christ within us that gives us Body consciousness—that we are one with the brothers and sisters in one Body.
As a matter of fact, because there were so many poor people at that time, many sold their properties and laid the proceeds at the apostles’ feet, that distribution might be made to each according to need.
But it was all voluntary. It was not something that everyone had to do. Even those who had not sold their property opened their homes for the church. Otherwise, if they had all sold their property, the church would have had no place in which to meet.
So do not think that I am trying to say that you must simply do this. It is not something organized. It is not something manufactured. It is spontaneous. It is the expression of the love of Christ and the consciousness of the Body of Christ.
Several years ago, I went to Israel and visited a few kibbutzim. You know, these kibbutzim were communities. People came together, lived together, ate together, and worked together. They did not possess anything personally; everything belonged to that kibbutz.
Naturally, seeing the division and selfishness in mankind, such a thing is understandable. But that is not it. It is not a copy. It is not something involuntary, or even voluntary but organized. It is the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
As you go on in the Book of Acts, you find that the apostles never said, “Every one of you must sell your property and give it to the church.” Never.
Even in the case of Ananias and Sapphira, they sold their property, held back part of the money, and gave the rest to the apostles. Peter said that while the property remained, it was theirs; nobody forced them. Even after they sold it, the money was still theirs. But why did they deceive the Holy Spirit?
In other words, it is purely a matter of the Spirit. He is the One who constrains.
Brothers and sisters, that is the way they lived in the early days. That is the life of the church. That is God-honoring.
Finally, they lived every day in the temple, and they broke bread from house to house, eating their food with joy and thankfulness, praising the Lord, finding favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily.
The first church life is an assembling life. They assembled together every day. Now, probably you would say, “That is impossible.” Yes, but the principle is there.
Not forsaking our own assembling together, as the custom of some is, but exhorting one another.
— Hebrews 10:25
How we need to come together to encourage one another in the Lord. We need that. Even though we may not be able to meet every day, we should meet as often as we can.
The Body life of the church is an assembling life. We come together to worship the Lord, to exhort one another, and to build up one another.
They praised God and found favor with all the people. They had a good testimony before the world.
So, brothers and sisters, when you read the early chapters of the Book of Acts, they give us a demonstration of the life of the church in the early days.
The Spirit of God is living. Do not try to make everything uniform because the early church was that way, and then try to copy it. His ways are different everywhere, but the principles remain.
We are not saying, “Here is a pattern; now copy it.” We are saying that the Holy Spirit has shown us a pattern full of divine principles. Let us be led by the Spirit into practice.
You will find that every place will be different, and yet, at the bottom, the principles are the same.
May the Lord recover such a life to us today.
Our Heavenly Father, we praise and thank Thee for the demonstration of Thy life in the church. Lord, Thy life is in us. May it be unhindered, and by the quickening of the Holy Spirit, may there be expressions coming forth spontaneously to the praise and glory of Thy name.
Lord, we have heard these things. Now it is up to Thee to work them out in us. We do not dare to stretch out our arms and try to organize anything, but we commit ourselves to Thee for what Thy Spirit desires. In the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.