This Sunday evening, October 7, 1970, we are gathered together again.
Some of you may remember that two months ago we began fellowship on the first few chapters of 1 Corinthians. Of all Paul’s letters, especially 1 Corinthians is perhaps the most practical.
By that, I did not mean that the other letters are not practical. Sometimes, you know, we have a concept that the more spiritual something is, the less practical it is. But of course, we know that is a wrong concept, because spirituality and practicality stay together. They do not contradict each other. The more spiritual something is, the more practical it should be.
In fact, in his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul deals with practical issues of life, both individually and collectively. That is the reason we say that 1 Corinthians is the most practical of Paul’s letters. It deals with practical issues in the practical life of the believers and the church.
Yet behind all these problems, and behind all the solutions for these problems, you find great spiritual principles being applied. In other words, Paul is not merely dealing with different problems and trying to solve them; he is applying great spiritual principles to solve these various problems.
So, when we study 1 Corinthians, I hope that, on the one hand, we may see these problems; and yet, on the other hand, we may find out what principle, or principles, are being applied in a practical way to solve the problem.
Two months ago, we considered the first problem, and that is the matter of unity among God’s people. You know, the Corinthian believers did not even bother to ask Paul about this question. They had such a problem in their midst. Some said, “I am of Paul”; some said, “I am of Apollos”; some said, “I am of Cephas”; and others said, “I am of Christ,” in a very special way.
They had this problem among them, yet they did not even bother to ask Paul about it. But Paul considered this the most important problem in the midst of the Corinthian church. So, in his letter to the Corinthians, he deals with this matter.
There is a great principle involved, and the great principle is this: “Is Christ divided?”
Here you have a problem. God’s people are not united; God’s people are divided. Even though outwardly they are still together, yet mentally, in their attitudes, they are already divided into parties. Some are of Paul, some are of Apollos, some are of Cephas, and so on.
Paul asks, “Is Christ divided?” If we can answer this question rightly, then the problem is solved.
Is Christ divided? If Christ is divided, if Christ is divisible, then there is room for the people of God to be divided. There is room for parties in the church. There is room for people to say, “I am of Paul,” “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas.”
But if Christ is not divided, then it is absolutely impossible for the church of God, for God’s people, to be divided in true reality. It is not permitted. It cannot be. It should never be. Because if we do that, we are trying to divide Christ.
Why were the people in the church at Corinth divided? The reason is that their eyes had shifted from Christ to men. When your eyes are set upon men—even great servants of God, ministers of Christ, men of such stature as Paul, Peter, and Apollos—if you set your eyes on men instead of on Christ, you are divided. Men always divide, and they fight, you know.
So, brothers and sisters, here you find that in this matter of unity, it actually comes down to a very basic principle: Jesus Christ must be central. If all our eyes are on Him, we cannot be divided, because Christ is one. But if our eyes are distracted to persons, division will result.
So here you find the first principle in dealing with this matter of unity.
Tonight, I would like to enter into another matter. I do not know why I should go into this, but somehow I feel led to do so.
Let us read 1 Corinthians 5. In a sense, this is the most intensive test in the whole Bible.
It is actually reported that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not even among the Gentiles, that one of you hath his father’s wife.
And ye are puffed up, and did not rather mourn, that he that had done this deed might be taken away from among you.
For I verily, being absent in body but present in spirit, have already as though I were present judged him that hath so wrought this thing,
in the name of our Lord Jesus, ye being gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus,
to deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?
Purge out the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, even as ye are unleavened. For our Passover also hath been sacrificed, even Christ:
wherefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
I wrote unto you in my epistle to have no company with fornicators;
not at all meaning with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous and extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world:
but as it is, I wrote unto you not to keep company, if any man that is named a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such a one, no, not to eat.
For what have I to do with judging them that are without? Do not ye judge them that are within?
But them that are without God judgeth. Put away the wicked man from among yourselves.— 1 Corinthians 5:1-13
In the church at Corinth, someone had committed a serious thing—something that was not even named among the Gentiles. Can you think of that? Someone in the church at Corinth had committed such an unnatural thing that even among the Gentiles it was unheard of.
And when such a thing happened, the one who had committed it continued in fellowship as usual. Nothing happened. The rest of the church allowed this thing to remain among them. They did not deal with it. Everything went on as usual.
Now, that was the situation there: something very serious, something that affected the testimony of Jesus in the church, something that touched the very testimony of Christ. Yet the one who had committed the sin and the rest of the people in the church simply tolerated it and allowed the whole thing to remain and go on as usual.
No, no, no, no. Probably they had developed a mentality: “We are no longer under law; we are under grace.” And by grace, to them, it meant that you could do anything you liked. In other words, it was an abuse of grace.
They allowed this thing to go on as if there were nothing wrong. They closed their eyes, and probably they even boasted of themselves as being highly spiritual. They were not touched by emotions. They were very tolerant. They were very liberal. Outwardly, it appeared as if they were very loving. They felt that they were above everything. Oh, they could tolerate anything; they were able to be so liberal.
Probably that was their attitude. And because of that, Paul, who had such concern before God, wrote to them very sternly: “Do you not know that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?”
Do you not know that Christ is our Passover? We have already had our Passover. We are now within the feast of unleavened bread. When you keep the feast with unleavened bread, there cannot be any leaven during those seven days.
Now, I believe, brothers and sisters, you know the background. The children of Israel were in Egypt, with no hope of deliverance. They labored under heavy burdens. They cried to the Lord, and the Lord heard their cry.
But Pharaoh would not let them go. His heart was hardened against God. Finally, God used the Passover lamb to deliver the children of Israel out of his hand.
Who can deliver us out of the hand of Satan? Only the Passover Lamb. It is Christ who was sacrificed for us. Because He was sacrificed for us, we are delivered out of the hand of Satan.
But immediately following the Passover, there were seven days of unleavened bread. During those seven days, there was to be no leaven within the borders of Israel. If there was any leaven left, that man would be cut off from the commonwealth of Israel. They had to keep the feast with unleavened bread, the bread of sincerity and truth, and not with malice and wickedness.
Now, brothers and sisters, the church is now keeping the feast of unleavened bread. We have had our Passover—Christ. We have received the Passover Lamb. Now we are in the seven days of unleavened bread. Seven is a complete number.
In other words, the church is to live through all her days on earth as keeping the feast of unleavened bread. We are to be pure, to be sincere, to be true. There should not be any wickedness or sin remaining in the church, undoubtedly and unjudged.
In the Corinthian church, there was leaven. If that leaven was not purged out, it would leaven the whole lump—the whole church. Because of that, Paul advised them to purge it out, to drive out that wickedness.
Paul tried to stir up the Corinthians, that the church would rise up to deal with it. And thank God, if you read 2 Corinthians, you find that the church listened to Paul’s exhortation. They rose up to deal with this matter, and it brought that man to repentance.
Then, in 2 Corinthians, Paul had to deal with another thing. They became so severe that even after the man had repented, they would not let him come back. So Paul said, in effect, “He has suffered enough. Now you must forgive him and receive him, because he has repented.”
But this is not what is in my heart for tonight. What is in my heart for tonight is this: there is a great principle which, if it is not understood and applied, destroys the very testimony of the church. That principle is discipline.
You know, when we hear the word “discipline,” we tend to rebel against even the mention of it. We want freedom, and by freedom we mean freedom from being disciplined. We want to be free to do anything we like and to get by without any consequence. That is our concept of freedom or liberty.
That kind of freedom is popular today. But, dear brothers and sisters, if there is no discipline, there is no church. If there is no discipline in the church, you do not have a church.
If everyone is free to do whatever he likes, and can get by without any discipline, then you do not have a family. If in a family there is no discipline whatsoever, you do not have a family; you do not have a home. The whole thing is disintegrated.
If there is no discipline in a nation, it is anarchy. There is no order. And if there is no discipline in the church, you do not have a church.
In the church at Corinth, these people were so intellectual. They wanted liberty. They thought they had found liberty in Christ, and in their false wisdom they believed they were free from anybody’s interference. They thought they were free to do anything.
They did not like discipline. They did not have discipline, and they did not apply discipline. That is a false witness to the church. If this is not corrected, the whole church will be destroyed.
So, this is what I feel tonight: a burden to share with you, brothers and sisters, concerning this matter of discipline. Is it not true that today, among God’s people, discipline is scarcely felt? Almost everyone is left on his own. So there is no discipline.
Brothers and sisters are often afraid that they may offend somebody. It appears very loving, but you know, because there is no discipline, there is no strength and there is no growth.
In the Scriptures, you have Christian discipline. Of course, we are not talking about personal discipline. That is a personal matter. A Christian who knows no discipline personally never grows up; he remains a babe. It is discipline that builds up your character.
But we are not talking about personal discipline. We are talking more about discipline in relation to one another in the church. According to the Word of God, discipline can come from three different sources. In other words, there are three different areas of discipline.
Let us call them, for the time being:
Fatherly discipline is discipline that comes from the Father. In Hebrews 12, you find this matter of fatherly discipline.
And ye have forgotten the exhortation which reasoneth with you as with sons,
My son, regard not lightly the chastening of the Lord,
Nor faint when thou art reproved of Him;
For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth,
And scourgeth every son whom He receiveth.
It is for chastening that ye endure; God dealeth with you as with sons;
For what son is there whom his father chasteneth not?
But if ye are without chastening, whereof all have been made partakers,
Then are ye bastards, and not sons.
Furthermore, we had the fathers of our flesh to chasten us, and we gave them reverence:
Shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed good to them;
But He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness.
All chastening seemeth for the present to be not joyous but grievous;
Yet afterward it yieldeth peaceable fruit unto them that have been exercised thereby, even the fruit of righteousness.— Hebrews 12:5-11
Here you find the discipline of the Father. The Father is disciplining His sons.
“My son, regard not lightly the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art reproved of Him.” These are the two wrong attitudes we can have when the Father disciplines us.
We may either despise it. In other words, we do not care. We do not listen. We do not take it seriously. We reject it. We will not learn the lesson. Even though He disciplines us, we despise it and consider it as nothing. So the lesson is not learned. You can harden your heart against the discipline of the Father.
Or you can faint under the discipline. “Oh, that is too much. You are too hard. God, You are really too severe. Why do You treat me like this?” And you faint.
Is that not true sometimes? When the Father disciplines us, brothers and sisters, do not despise His discipline. Learn to submit yourself under His discipline. Look at His face and learn. Do not faint, because He will not allow more than we can bear.
For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth,
And scourgeth every son whom He receiveth.— Hebrews 12:6
The reason why the Father disciplines the child is because of His love for the child. I think this is something we need to understand. When we are under discipline, we tend to think that the Father does not love us.
When a father disciplines his son, the son may feel, “My father hates me. Therefore, he does all this to me.” No, no, no. The father chastens because he loves. He scourges because he cares, because he receives.
If He does not love you, if He does not care about your spiritual welfare, then He will not do this. God conducts Himself toward you as toward a son. If He does not discipline you, then you are not a son. It is the privilege of a son to be disciplined by the Father.
And the discipline of the Father comes to us today through the Holy Spirit. That is to say, the Holy Spirit uses our circumstances and brings us under His discipline.
Human fathers discipline their sons because they want them to become men. Yet, no matter how much a human father loves, there may be selfishness and error in him. Sometimes human discipline is not always right.
But our heavenly Father is not like that. He is the God of all wisdom and all love. He will never do wrong. He will never go wrong.
During the time of discipline, it is not pleasant. To be chastened is not pleasant at all. So the Bible says that chastening, at the time, seems not to be a matter of joy but of grief. When a person is being disciplined, it is a time of grief, not joy. So far as our natural life is concerned, it is painful. So far as our soul is concerned, we are under difficulty.
But there is a good reason for it. Why? Because the Father’s purpose is that we may become partakers of His holiness.
We receive the life of Christ, you know, and this life of Christ in us has a holy nature. But this holy nature in us will not become our character unless we go through the discipline of the Father.
You have His holy nature in you, but you are not made a partaker of His holiness in a practical sense until you have been disciplined. In other words, this nature does not become your character until you have been disciplined.
It is discipline that builds up. It is discipline that makes children into grown-up sons. So, brothers and sisters, here is a whole area of discipline: it is the discipline of the Father.
Why does He discipline? Love. Love. It may not appear to be so, but it is. And the end result is that we are conformed to the image of Christ. That is to say, the character of Christ is built within us.
So that should be our attitude when we are under the discipline of the Father.
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time;
casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He careth for you.— 1 Peter 5:6-7
When a person is under the disciplining hand of the Father, his attitude should be: “Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God.” God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble.
Basically, it is the heavenly Father who disciplines us. Because He is our Father, He is above us. The higher disciplines the lower.
But, you know, among God’s people in the church, some are little children, some are young men, and some are fathers. So we need to apply this principle a little further.
There is a class among the Lord’s people whom we may call fathers. What do we mean by fathers? It simply means that among God’s people, the Lord may raise some who are more mature. They are mature in relation to other brothers and sisters, and they are fathers to them.
Paul says to the Corinthians, “You have ten thousand tutors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers.” Paul became a father to them through the gospel. You may have many instructors, but you may have only one father.
In 1 Corinthians, you find Paul disciplining the church there as a father to the Corinthians. He said, “What will ye? Shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of gentleness?” In other words, here you find apostolic authority.
Paul was the one to whom the Lord had entrusted these believers. Because they were his children in the faith, he was like a father to them. Out of his love for them, he gave them very strong words, warning them that if they did not deal with their problems, he would come with a rod.
Can you say that Paul did not love the Corinthian believers because he was strict with them? They might have thought that love meant allowing them to do anything, that everything should be open. But, brothers and sisters, can you say that is love? It is not love.
Paul loved them so much and cared for them so much that he could not see them going down and down and down. He who loves will deal honestly. He will not flatter or deceive. He will deal frankly and honestly for their good.
This fatherly discipline requires spiritual stature. The problem today is that we either do not care, or we have no person of such spiritual stature who can be fathers to us.
Brothers and sisters, a father is very important—very important.
I can never forget. I think it was 1940. I was in Hong Kong, and my father went to India for a conference. While he was in India, my grandfather passed away in Shanghai. My father loved my grandfather very much.
Because my grandfather was ill, my father had at one time considered not going to India. But when my grandfather got better, he felt it was all right for him to go to the conference. So he went. But while he was in India, my grandfather passed away.
Of course, my family did not dare to tell my father the news. So they asked me to tell him when he came back. His ship passed by Hong Kong, and I was to tell him the news.
I remember very clearly. My wife and I, together with my brother, went to the pier to meet my father. He was high up on the ship, and we were standing below. In China, when a relative dies, we wear a black band around the arm. Suddenly, he noticed that.
So he called down and asked, “Who has died?” Of course, he knew it was my grandfather too. He was deeply moved. We took him from the boat for a few hours, took him to our home, and let him rest there.
I can never forget what he said to me. At that moment, it did not register deeply; it seemed very common. He said, “Son, I no longer have a father.”
Of course, my grandfather had died, and he no longer had a father. It seemed so common, you know. It did not register then, but I remembered the words.
Then, years later, the news came from Shanghai that my father had passed away. When I heard that, I remembered what my father had said: “I no longer have a father.” My heart was broken.
Why? Having a father to take care of you is precious. A father watches over you. A father disciplines you. He cares so much that he is strict with you and honest with you. He will not flatter you. He will not deceive you. But he will deal with you frankly and honestly for your good.
Brothers and sisters, I believe that in the church today there are almost no people of such spiritual stature as fathers to us. Oh, that we might have people like Paul and like John!
But not everybody can be a father. You may have ten thousand instructors. Many are only instructors. They can instruct us, but they cannot discipline, because they themselves have not learned the lessons.
Do not try to go out and discipline others as if you were a father to them. When you reach that spiritual stature, yes. But if you do not have that spiritual stature, do not do it. Do not do it. It will not work.
Oh, how we need to ask the Lord to raise up in the church people with spiritual stature. It is not merely a matter of discipline. Behind discipline there is love; there is care; there are all these things behind it. And because you have such love behind it, you find it is for good—very good.
Now, if we do not have spiritual people like fathers to us, does it mean there is no discipline forever? Are we all on the same level, so that you cannot discipline me and I cannot discipline you?
There is another kind of discipline. We call it brotherly discipline. Brotherly discipline means that you are on the same level. It is not like a father coming down to a son. You are more or less on the same level.
But it so happens that, at a particular moment or in a particular instance, you are in a better position. That is all. It does not mean that you are really better; but in that particular case, you are in a better position.
Let us read Matthew 18:15-16.
And if thy brother sin against thee, go, reprove him between thee and him alone:
if he hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
But if he hear thee not, take with thee one or two more, that at the mouth of two witnesses or three every word may be established.— Matthew 18:15-16
If your brother sins against you, you are equal; you are brothers and sisters. But sometimes your brother sins against you. What do we usually do?
Probably the best we do is say, “Well, he is my brother. So what can I do to my brother? Why should I discipline him? I will try to forgive him.” We consider ourselves very gracious.
I do not remember the exact words, but I think I read something in the writings of G. Campbell Morgan. In commenting on this verse, he said something like this: the church has not practiced this.
We think that if our brother sins against us, our first reaction probably is, “You are my brother, and you sin against me? I cannot believe it. If you were an unbeliever, of course you would not know anything better. But if you are my brother, why should I forgive you? You ought to know better.”
Then our second reaction may be, “After all, he is my brother, so let me forgive him. Let me try to forget.” Probably that is as far as we go.
Is there any discipline? Notice, notice: we are exhorted to exercise discipline upon one another.
If your brother sins against you, go. Reprove him between you and him alone.
You go. You take the initiative. You do not wait and say, “It is my brother who sinned against me, so he should come. Why should I come? He should come and apologize.”
But the Bible says that you go. Why? Because he will not come. He is the one who sins. He is the one in darkness, and being in darkness, he does not know. He will remain in darkness if you do not go and reprove him and open his eyes.
Will you allow your brother to live in darkness? That is not love. So here you find that brotherly discipline comes from love. It is not that your brother sins against you, and therefore you go to him to vindicate yourself, saying, “Brother, you have sinned against me.” No, no. Do not do that.
It is because you love your brother so much. You see your brother in darkness. You are not considering yourself; you are considering your brother. Because you love your brother so much, you cannot allow him to remain in darkness. He does not know that he has sinned. His fellowship with the Lord will be interrupted.
Therefore, out of love, you go. You take the initiative. You take the trouble. Discipline is very troublesome. You take the trouble to go and point it out to him. But remember: between you and him alone.
When our brother sins against us, where do we go? We do go—but we go to other brothers and sisters. We let everybody know except that brother. Then you make the matter worse.
But the Bible says, “You go to that brother.” You reprove him out of love, not out of irritation, and try to restore him.
If he does not listen, your duty is not finished yet. He may not listen to you because you two are on the same level. Go and get one or two more witnesses. Of course, the one or two are not merely people who take your side.
If you choose those who automatically stand with you, your brother will never listen. There must be one or two brothers of spiritual stature whom that brother will respect. If he does not respect you, perhaps he will respect these brothers.
So get one or two others and go a second time. That is the second step. You go a second time and try to restore your brother.
Brothers and sisters, this is brotherly discipline: one brother disciplines another brother, seeking to restore him to the Lord, not to ruin the relationship.
But today we lack this very much. We say we love our brothers, but do we go to this trouble? We are afraid of being misunderstood. We think, “He may feel offended.” So we leave it as an open case.
In Galatians 2, you remember that Peter came to Antioch. Peter was a man who had received revelation from God that what God had cleansed, no man should call common. For that reason, he went to Cornelius’s house.
In other words, Peter had received revelation that in Christ there is neither Jew nor Gentile. So, when he came to Antioch, he mingled with the Gentiles. He ate with the Gentiles according to the truth of the gospel.
But some brothers came from Jerusalem, from James. James was very strict in keeping the law. When these brothers came, Peter became afraid. He thought, “What will the brothers think when they see Peter eating with the Gentiles?” So suddenly he withdrew and separated himself from the Gentile believers.
Because Peter did that, even Barnabas was carried away. And you know what? Paul withstood Peter to his face publicly. Paul did not talk about him behind his back. Paul withstood him faithfully and said, in effect, “What are you doing? Is this not contrary to the truth of the gospel?”
Why did Paul do it openly? Because it was a matter done openly. Therefore, it was not merely a private matter between Paul and Peter.
Yet Paul had no jurisdiction, as it were, and no authority over Peter, nor did Peter have authority over Paul. One was an apostle to the Jews; the other was an apostle to the Gentiles. In that sense, they were on the same level. Yet Paul could discipline Peter out of love and out of the truth.
Thank God Peter accepted it. Peter was delivered. When Peter wrote his letter, he even referred to “our beloved brother Paul,” saying that Paul wrote many things which were hard to understand, but that they were the Word of God.
Dear brothers and sisters, on the part of the brother who exercises discipline, there should be love. And on the side of the brother being disciplined, there must be willingness to submit to one another.
This is something almost unseen today in the church. Why? Lack of love. Lack of love.
If we truly love one another with a pure love, how can we allow a brother or sister to remain in darkness? You are concerned. You are not only praying for him; you do everything you can to restore his life.
Peter was challenged by the younger Paul, you know. Peter might have said, “Who are you, Paul? When I was following the Lord, you did not know Him.” If Peter had taken that attitude, what would have happened?
Oh, how we need to submit ourselves, as Paul says, one to another. Do not think that because you are more senior, therefore it must be you who disciplines the other, and never the other way around.
Maybe in a certain instance your brother is able to help you. In more instances, you may be able to help your brother because you are more mature than he is. Yet there is still the possibility of your being helped by a younger brother. How beautiful!
Lastly, there is what we call church discipline. Church discipline is the final step in the matter of discipline.
In the church there may be people whom God has raised up to care for our spiritual welfare as fathers. But if a person despises and rejects brotherly discipline, then what happens? As a last resort, according to Matthew 18, you tell it to the church.
The church will discipline that person. If he does not listen to the church, then you regard him as a Gentile and a publican. In other words, he is put out of fellowship.
Why put him out of fellowship? For the sake of bringing him to repentance, that he may come back.
It may not be so clear today, but I believe that in the early days, when a person was saved, God delivered him out of the world and brought him into the church. His whole life relationship was changed. He no longer belonged to the world; he belonged to the family of God.
If he was set aside from fellowship, he was all alone. He could not go back to the world, and he was out of fellowship in the church. That brought him to shame and repentance.
So here you find in Matthew 18 that church discipline is the last resort. It is not done because of hatred. No. It is an attempt to bring him to repentance through discipline, because he cannot live by himself. We desire that he will come back.
In 1 Corinthians 5, you find true church discipline. Here is something universally known and serious. It is not merely a human matter. The church allowed it to continue as if nothing had happened. So Paul said, “Purge out the old leaven.”
The church has to rise up and have confidence before God, having sensitivity before God. Purge out the leaven. Drive out the wicked man. Deliver him to Satan.
Is it to destroy him? No. It is for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved. His flesh may be destroyed, but his spirit may be saved. If there is repentance, even his body may be saved. And in 2 Corinthians, you find that this brother was restored.
In Titus 3, you have the same thing. If anyone is heretical, after a first and second admonition, if he does not listen, reject him.
In 2 Thessalonians 3, you have the same principle. If anyone will not work and does not listen, have no company with him, that he may be ashamed. Do not regard him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.
So you find discipline in the Bible. But, brothers and sisters, today there is almost no discipline in the church. That is because there is a lack of spiritual authority. You cannot discipline without authority. If there is no spiritual authority, who will listen?
Oh, that God would restore spiritual authority in the church—not traditional authority, but spiritual authority. If there is spiritual authority in the church, the church can exercise discipline. Discipline is a sure way to establish the church.
So here you find in the Bible three areas:
If you have these disciplines functioning in the church, brothers and sisters, there will be safety and also protection. Many people will not dare to sin because they know they will be disciplined.
Oh, thank the Lord. May He have mercy upon His church. Mercy, mercy.
When we talk about discipline, it is not because we want merely to exercise discipline or merely to speak about it. Above all, do not forget that it is for the sake of the building up of the church.
We pray that Thou wilt restore discipline in the church here. Thou wilt raise up people with spiritual stature who can be fathers. Thou wilt raise up brothers and sisters with such brotherly love that we may restore one another.
Oh, Thou wilt provide the church with such spiritual authority that discipline will be respected and people will be restored. Oh, Lord, restore discipline in the church. We ask in the precious name of our Lord. Amen.