The Church and the Work

Additional Quotes about the Local Church by Witness Lee and Watchman Nee

In answering his fellow co-workers’ questions, Watchmen Nee remarked that the work belongs to God and that God uses all the believers that are given to him. This was in reference to a worker who felt that the demand of the work before him was beyond his own capacity. The following three questions are answered by Watchman Nee:

Brother Weigh: I have three questions. First, I feel that my spiritual condition does not match what I know, what I teach, or what I have heard. Second, I feel that it is very hard to have some spiritual weight or worth. In the past, I was satisfied as long as I had a work to occupy me or a platform for me to speak. For example, when the church in Hong Kong began to meet in the new building, I was very satisfied. Now I feel that I am not able to meet the demand. Of course, I must admit that Hong Kong is not a place where an ordinary person can work, but I should not live in the realm of my own concepts. Third, I do not feel that I have the ability to take the lead in the work of the entire south China region. It would be better to find some stronger brothers to come and take the lead in the work here.

Watchman Nee: First, let us talk about the work here. Let me point out that while ability has some relationship to work, the correlation is not absolute. The work belongs to God, and God works according to His own principle. His principle is to use whatever is available. In using men, God can only use those who are available, not those who are not available. We should not expect some who are not available to come. If a local church only has blind, lame, and deaf ones, we should be satisfied that such ones would rise up. The Lord has given a gift to every saved person. Even the blind, lame, and deaf have one talent. It is a matter of how to draw out their talents. Perhaps a few people in the church have five talents, but we almost have to wait for a hundred years before we can come across a few of these great gifts. However, if we add five one-talented ones together, we will have the same amount of gift as the five-talented one. Today our job is to stir up all the one-talented ones. We have to draw out everyone’s portion.

(Watchman Nee, Collected Works, Set 3, Vol. 61, 29-30)

How can the church offerings be received in the church meetings practically? Watchman Nee says:

All the money that the brothers and sisters designate for a local church should be placed in the church offering box. What is designated for the poor brothers should be marked clearly as such. What is designated for individuals or for the work in another region should likewise be clearly marked. You can separate the offerings for local use and for the work by using two offering boxes, or the two can go into the same offering box. The church has full liberty to distribute these offerings in whatever way it chooses, and individuals have full liberty to give according to their faith.

(Watchman Nee and Witness Lee, Resumption, 592-593)

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