Oh, we pray and thank Thee because Thou hast said, “I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” Oh, how we praise and thank Thee, because it is Thou Thyself who wilt build the church. We praise and thank Thee that Thou dost build Thy church upon this rock and upon nothing else.
How we praise and thank Thee that, even though the gates of Hades are opened, yet they shall not prevail. Oh, we do pray, and we do worship Thee together this morning as we enter into our fellowship. We praise and thank Thee because we know that Thou hast conquered. We know that Thou art going to get what Thou desirest.
We only ask Thee to open our eyes, that we may see. We do pray that, by Thy Holy Spirit, we may be led into all truth, in Thy precious name. Amen.
We have been worshipping this morning on this most important matter of the church.
By the grace of God, we see that the church was conceived in the mind of God even before the foundation of the world. It is His eternal purpose, His purpose in Christ Jesus. It is a mystery which has been hidden through the ages, waiting for the time of its revelation.
But that does not mean that God has not, through the ages, given hints here and there. Therefore, we find in the Old Testament many types which show us what the church really is.
Of course, during Old Testament times, people were not able to understand these things. All that they could see was history. But, brothers and sisters, after we have received revelation by the Spirit and look back into the Old Testament, we find here and there clear indications of what God has in His heart and what He has purposed.
I think our hearts are really filled by the thought that, even in Eve, we can see the glory and the beauty of the church.
The day has come for this mystery to be unveiled. We know that it began to be unveiled when our Lord Jesus came into this world.
Oh, dear brothers and sisters, we are now coming to the period of the revelation of the mystery that was hidden in the past. Yesterday morning, we saw that the church is not merely an external thing. The church is actually a fellowship in the Spirit.
It is not something that man can organize. It is not something that is merely outward. The church is a fellowship in Christ Jesus by the Spirit. Unless you know something of the Spirit and know the Holy Spirit, there is no possibility of seeing the church or entering into the reality of the church.
I was born in a Christian family. My father was a very devout Christian. He loved the Lord very much, and he tried to bring up his children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
I remember, when I was a boy, we always had family devotions. Every evening my father would gather all the family together in the sitting room. He would open the Bible and read a portion from the Word. Then we would all kneel down, and he would lead us in prayer. I can never forget that.
I also remember that, when I grew up, there was a day when I formally joined the church. I joined the Methodist Church. I became a member, an active member, of that church.
I can also remember how, even before I was saved, I started to preach. I would go to my father’s study, where he had many books and commentaries, and I would use one that appealed to me. I translated it into Chinese, paraphrased it, and preached it.
Oh, I took great pride in my first preaching. I can still remember it, even though it was many years ago. I found great satisfaction in teaching. I was waiting for praise, but no praise came. I was quite disappointed. I thought I had done very well.
Before I was saved, prayer was more difficult. I went to my father’s study and found a book on prayer. I read stories of how God had answered prayer, and that evening I told the people how God answered prayer. I quoted the stories, and then I asked the people to kneel down and pray.
Some of my high-school classmates and some teachers were there. I told them, “We are before God. We should be reverent.” But I am afraid that, except perhaps one, none of us believed in the Lord. Some of my fellow students began to laugh. They thought it was a joke.
I belonged to the church. I was active in the church. I thought I was a good church member. But, dear brothers and sisters, I have to tell you: if this was before the day I was saved, I was not saved. I did not know the Lord.
I knew the Lord only in an outward way, but I did not know the Lord personally. It was not until the Lord, in His mercy, saved me that I began to know Him.
That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
— John 3:6
When I was born of the Spirit, spiritual revelation began to come. At first, it came in a personal way. Gradually, gradually, the Lord in His mercy began to open up this corporate lesson of our faith. The Lord began to show me what His church really is.
Do you know, brothers and sisters, what the church is? The church is not an outward organization. The church is not an institution. The church is not a building. What is the church?
The word ekklesia means “the called-out ones,” an assembly of those who have been called out. God has called us out of every nation, tribe, tongue, and people, and He has gathered us together unto the name of our Lord Jesus.
The church is not an organization. It is the fellowship of the called-out ones, a fellowship in Christ Jesus. The church is not a building; the church is not an organization. The church is an organism. It is organic.
We do not intend to dwell very long on this matter, because we would like to share something else with you. But from the very beginning we must make it very clear that the church, which was in the mind of God before the foundation of the world and was revealed through our Lord Jesus Christ, is not an organization.
The church is a living organism, an assembly of the called-out ones. Now we would like to know: How does the church come into being? Let us read a few words.
A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but when she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for the joy that a man is born into the world.
— John 16:21
He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied.
— Isaiah 53:11
These all with one accord continued stedfastly in prayer, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brethren.
— Acts 1:14
And when the day of Pentecost was now come, they were all together in one place.
And suddenly there came from heaven a sound as of the rushing of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
And there appeared unto them tongues parting asunder, like as of fire; and it sat upon each one of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
— Acts 2:1-4
My little children, of whom I am again in travail until Christ be formed in you.
— Galatians 4:19
The church is an organic entity. Anything organic has to be born. The church is not organized because it is not a human production. The church must be born because it is a living organism.
I do desire that brothers and sisters will have this very deeply in their hearts. What is the church? How does it come about? The church is not something that comes about by organizing it. It is an organism, and it has to be born.
Nobody can organize a church. You may organize a club, but you cannot organize a church. The church must be born.
In this matter, you find the principle in John 16. When a woman is about to give birth, she has grief. She goes through pain and travail. But when the child is born, she remembers the anguish no more because of the joy that a man has been born into the world.
Dear brothers and sisters, this is a principle. It applies not only to the natural realm, but it is even more true in the spiritual realm. How is the church born? It is born through the travail of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I would like you to read the book The Glorious Church. Unfortunately, we do not have it here, so perhaps you will have to wait until you go home to get the book. But just to help you a little and whet your appetite for that portion, let us consider Eve as a type of the church.
How did Eve come into being? How was she brought into the world? You find that Adam was created directly by the hand of God. God formed Adam out of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. Adam was created by the hand of God.
But woman was not created in that way. First of all, God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him.” Eve was created for Adam’s sake.
Adam is a type of Christ. Sometimes Adam is a type of Christ, but here he is especially a type of Christ, and Eve is a type of the church.
Eve did not come directly from the earth. God put Adam into a deep sleep and took something out of him. Then He formed that which He had taken from Adam into a woman.
God put Adam into a deep sleep. This was the first surgery. God is the great Surgeon. He took a rib from Adam’s side. Something was taken out of Adam, and that which was taken out became the material from which Eve was built.
Dear brothers and sisters, here you find the first type of how the church comes into being. First, Christ must die. God put His beloved Son into death. Out of that death, life was given, and God formed the church.
What is the material for the building of the church? It is that which comes out of Christ. Just as Eve came out of Adam, so the church comes out of Christ. The church needs to be built. “I will build My church.”
But, dear brothers and sisters, there is a great difference. Adam was put into a deep sleep. Something was taken from his side, yet he had no pain and no sorrow. But our Lord Jesus did not merely enter into a peaceful sleep. He died in agony.
You have to remember this: the church is not a product of organization. The church is the product of love. The church was in the heart of God before the foundation of the world, but in order for the church to come into this world, Christ had to come and die.
In Ephesians 5, you find that Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for it. Yes, dear brothers and sisters, Christ had to die for the church. The church was produced through His death.
It is the thought of God, the church, that is above and beyond our natural understanding. For the church, Christ must die. He gave us life through His death.
But unfortunately, sin entered the world. In Genesis 3, God said to the woman:
I will greatly multiply thy pain and thy travail; in pain thou shalt bring forth children.
— Genesis 3:16
This is one of the results of the fall. In the type, the woman is brought forth from the man; but because of sin, the bringing forth of children is accompanied by travail. There is opposition between the type and the antitype.
When sin entered into the world, it brought in great death. Look at Calvary’s cross, and you see the travail of His soul. Our Lord Jesus on the cross was not in a peaceful sleep. His death was an agonizing death.
Oh, dear brothers and sisters, if you read Psalm 22, you find more than the historical account of the crucifixion. The Gospels give us the history, and they give us glimpses of the sufferings of the cross. But Psalm 22 brings us into the inward experience of the Divine One who was dying.
My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?
— Psalm 22:1
There you find Him describing the feeling of His heart and the condition of His body. His bones were out of joint. His tongue cleaved to His jaws. He was poured out like water. He was surrounded by bulls. He was pierced, mocked, and despised.
Why was it so agonizing? Why did He have to die in such a way? It was because of sin. Yet it was also for the church. Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it.
But, dear brothers and sisters, the travail of our Lord did not begin at Calvary. You can go back to the Garden of Gethsemane. There you find in Scripture how He was sorrowful even unto death.
He came to the Father and said:
My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass away from Me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt.
— Matthew 26:39
He was in such agony that an angel came and strengthened Him. Otherwise, it seemed that He might die there in the garden. That was the travail.
Throughout the three and a half years of His ministry, He was with His disciples. Oh, dear brothers and sisters, you do not know how difficult it was for Him to communicate Himself to them. They could not understand Him.
The Lord said, “I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!” He longed to go to the cross. He longed for that baptism of death to be accomplished.
Through incarnation, the Lord Jesus joined Himself to us, that we might be joined to Him. The Bible tells us that He is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. The church was already in His mind in eternity past.
Oh, young brothers and sisters, if you have gone through much for a child, how much you will love that child! A child represents the travail of the mother. No wonder our Lord loves the church, because He has gone through so much for her.
I do not know how to explain it fully. I only know this: the church is born through His travail. The Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world in order to bring the church into being.
But there is a difference between natural birth and spiritual birth. In natural birth, it is the mother who bears the travail, while the child does nothing. But in the spiritual realm, the church is brought forth through the travail of our Lord, and we also are called to enter into fellowship with His travail.
It is God’s good pleasure that the Spirit should bring us into the knowledge of what it cost Him. The church is born through the travail of Christ, and the Lord wants us to know something of that travail together with Him.
If something comes to you easily, without your going through anything, you may not treasure it. But when you have gone through travail with the Lord, you know how precious the church is.
The Lord wants us to go through the travail together with Him, of course in a very small measure. Through this we are brought nearer to Him, we learn to look up, and we are brought together as the church.
We may say, “Let us get together. Let us form a church.” But a congregation is not necessarily a church. People must be born again. Even if all are born again, it does not mean that they simply come together and immediately have the church in reality.
Whether there are two or three, or two hundred, if people merely come together, that does not mean that they have the church. How is the church produced? We have to go through the travail of Christ.
Sometimes we think of the church too cheaply. We think it is easy to have a church. But, dear brothers and sisters, the church is not an organization. The church is an organism. It has to be born.
When our Lord Jesus came into this world, as you read the four Gospels, you find that He began to call disciples. “Come and follow Me.” He began to teach them.
Sometimes His teaching seemed too difficult, and the disciples said, “This is a hard saying; who can hear it?” Then the Lord said to the twelve, “Would ye also go away?”
Peter answered, “Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life.” The Lord Jesus was gradually, gradually preparing His disciples.
Sometimes I wonder why the Lord gathered such a company around Himself. To us, those twelve people seem to be the worst combination we could ever imagine. Sometimes, in times of discouragement and disappointment, we look around and say, “Lord, why did You bring such a company together?”
We think, “If only You had made a better selection, we would be a better church. Things would be much smoother and easier.” But as you travel, you find that every company thinks that it has the worst combination.
But, dear brothers and sisters, let me tell you one thing: you do not have the worst combination. The Lord chose the twelve after He had prayed all night. No wonder He prayed the whole night!
If you and I had been in that position, we might never have come down from the mountain. Yet the Lord chose them. Twelve is a perfect number, but it seemed to be the most difficult combination that could be found.
Our Lord had so much trouble with these people. Even to the very end, they were difficult. He taught and taught and taught, but they did not understand. For three and a half years, the Lord was patiently working with them.
Sometimes the Lord was very direct with them. Sometimes He even spoke in a way that seemed sharp. You remember when they asked Peter, “Doth not your Master pay the half-shekel?” Peter quickly answered, “Yes.”
When Peter came into the house, the Lord asked him a question. Then He told Peter to go to the sea, cast a hook, take the first fish that came up, and open its mouth. There he would find the money for the tax.
Why did the Lord take Peter through such an experience? He could have put the money directly in Peter’s hand. But there had to be a lesson for Peter. “Go and fish.”
I know some of you brothers and sisters are good fishermen. In my whole life, I think I went fishing only once, and it was for about ten minutes. I do not have the patience to sit there and wait for fish. But the Lord was patiently dealing with His people.
The Lord brought His disciples with Him into the garden. Even though they did not learn the lesson, the Lord brought them with Him. He could easily have left them in the upper room while He went into the garden alone to pray.
If it were you, perhaps you would have done that. Why bring all the disciples into the garden? What was the use of asking Peter, James, and John to watch with Him? Yet He said, “Watch with Me.”
Very often, when we are involved in serving the Lord, we may have the same temptation. We may ask, “What is the use of asking all the brothers and sisters to come and serve?” It might seem easier just to do it ourselves.
But that is not the church. The church is something into which all must be brought. That is why the Lord patiently brought His people into the garden. He went forward a little and left them there, saying, “Watch.” They did not even try.
But here you find the principle: the Lord was leading them through the garden. In a spiritual way, He was leading them through the cross. Even though they did not yet understand, the cross had made an impression upon their lives.
Then the Lord led them into resurrection. They did not understand resurrection merely by hearing about it; they had to experience it.
For forty days after His resurrection, the Lord appeared and disappeared. He was adjusting their relationship with Him. It was no longer to be upon natural ground; it was to become a spiritual relationship.
Then the Lord said, “Wait.” After they had seen the risen Lord, they entered into the city. There, in the upper room, they gave themselves with one accord to prayer.
You remember that the Lord appeared to more than five hundred brethren. I do not know whether that refers exactly to this time or not, but the Lord did appear to five hundred. Yet, on the day of Pentecost, there were only one hundred and twenty gathered in the upper room.
I cannot understand how anyone could see the Lord ascending in glory and then go home. You would think they could not go away. But gradually, perhaps day after day, one by one slipped away. When the day of Pentecost came, there were only one hundred and twenty.
Is there not a lesson for us? How easy it is for us to gather a crowd and say, “We are all for the Lord. Let us come together. We are going to have a church.” Do you have a church? No.
How was the church brought forth? The church was brought forth through the continual prayer of these one hundred and twenty people. These one hundred and twenty people continued with one accord in prayer for ten days.
That was not easy. During those ten days, they did not merely pray; they were adjusted. They prayed in the presence of God. God’s light shone upon them and exposed whatever needed to be adjusted. Then they made the adjustments.
Brothers and sisters, it is not merely praying much. It is praying with adjustment. These people travailed in prayer. Then, on the day of Pentecost, the answer came from heaven.
When a woman is about to give birth, there comes a final travail. Here you find a heavenly travail, and the answer came. The Spirit came from heaven, and the church was brought forth.
Dear brothers and sisters, when you return home, where is the church? Do you really love the Lord? Do you really love the truth? Are you willing to enter into this travail?
Do not worry if people go away. You can take many things away from those who are caught up with Christ, but you cannot take the church away from them. The church is not only precious to Christ; it is precious to those who have travailed with Him.
This is the only way for the church to be brought into reality. If this was true on the day of Pentecost, it is true today. Two or three, or many people, may come together, but that does not necessarily mean that they have the church.
You may have a congregation. People may come and go; that is inevitable. Do not be disappointed. Only those who are caught up with Christ and with the purpose of God cannot go away. They have no place to go. They have to be there.
For them, the church is in the depth of their hearts. It comes from the travail of their souls.
No travail, no birth; no birth, no church. May the Lord be gracious to us.