We need to learn from the mistake of James and the devastating mixture of the church in Jerusalem, not to bring any mixture in the church life, and we need to learn from the lesson of Paul to fulfil the course of our ministry before the Lord, no matter what happens.
Thank the Lord that He not only shows us what He does in a positive way through the disciples and even more, He gives us lessons to learn in order to be warned.
May we receive mercy from the Lord to be saved from Satan’s schemes to frustrate the spreading and building up of the church.
The book of Acts records the spreading of the resurrected Christ in His ascension through the disciples for the producing of the churches as the kingdom of God on the earth.
As the Lord sought to spread, the disciples of Christ, who were Jewish by nature and by constitution, hindered the Lord in His spread, for the Lord exposed their constitution and their concepts. It is the same with us today.
The Lord may want to spread to a particular area or to a particular group of people, but we may have preconceived notions about those people, we may not like particular aspects of their culture, and we may just look down on them. So the Lord may not have a way to move freely through us. Oh Lord!
The apostle Peter, for example, had to be saved from the veils of his religious traditions and old background; he thought that salvation is for the Jews and the church is for the Jews, but God wants to spread Christ to all nations. Oh Lord!
May we be saved from any cultural and religious concepts and may we remain under the heavenly vision of God’s eternal economy so that He may break through in us and flow through us.
We also need to be saved from any disputes that arise between the saints who serve the Lord, especially because of personal relationships and natural affections. Oh Lord!
May the Lord have a pure and clear way to flow in us according to His New Testament economy, and may we be saved from any natural relationships! May we remember well that we never bring our natural relationships or prefer people or groups of people in our serving the Lord.
May the Lord have a way to shine on us and expose anything and everything in us that hinders Him from spreading in us, through us, and around us.
And may we say Amen to His shining and exposing so that He may purge these things from our being.
Learning from the Mistakes of James and Paul to not bring Mixture in the Church
In Acts 21:18-21 we see that we need to learn from the mistake of James and the devastating mixture of the church in Jerusalem (Matt. 22:7; 24:1-2). James was regarded as a leading apostle in Jerusalem, mainly because of his piety due to his keeping of the law.
He made the great mistake of uplifting the Old Testament of letters; he did this under a beautiful cloak.
He treasured the law of letters through Moses, yet he called it “the perfect law of freedom” (James 1:25). We may think that this perfect law of freedom is the law of life, but actually the words “perfect” and “freedom” are a cloak to cover James’ appreciation of the law of Moses.
God doesn’t want us to keep the perfect law of freedom; rather, Jeremiah prophesied concerning the law of life that would be written in our hearts (Jer. 31:32-34), and Paul spoke of the law of the Spirit of life (Rom. 8:2).
What James spoke of was not the law of life but the law of letters. James used terms such as the law, the royal law, the perfect law of freedom, the word of truth, and the implanted word; all these refer to the same Mosaic law.
He highly appreciated the law (Acts 21:20), and by this, he brought in a mixture into the church life. Oh Lord Jesus!
When Christ came, the law is over; the law was given through Moses, and that was the age of the law, but grace came through Jesus Christ – now we’re in the age of grace (John 1:17).
We are no longer in the age of the law; we are in the age of grace, in which we don’t need to keep the law of Moses but pay attention to the law of the Spirit of life.
The apostle Paul spoke of being crucified with Christ and being conformed to the death of Christ by the power of Christ’s resurrection (Gal. 2:20; Phil. 3:10).
It is this life, a crucified life with Christ in which He lives in us and we live Christ that produces the Body life consummating in the New Jerusalem.
The Christian life is not a life of self-cultivation but a life of self-denial; self cultivation doesn’t carry out God’s economy, but self-denial does (Matt. 16:24).
Thank the Lord that our old “I” has been crucified, crossed out; now it should be no longer we who live but Christ who lives in us.
Instead of emphasizing or encouraging self-cultivation and keeping the law of Moses, we should simply live Christ; what we should know among us is just Jesus Christ, and this One crucified (1 Cor. 2:2).
We who are of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and its lusts (Gal. 5:24).
We don’t need to try harder to resist temptations; rather, we must crucify the flesh with its passions and its lusts, and we need to give up any efforts to please the Lord or fulfill the law.
May the Lord shine on us so that we would not bring any mixture into the church life.
May we learn from the lesson of James to allow the Lord to remove any appreciation for the law or religion and redirect our focus to Christ, the only One who should live in us today!
James boasted that there were myriads of believing Jews in the church in Jerusalem, who were zealous for the law (Acts 21:20).
This may sound good, but this is mixture in the church life. If you visit a local church today and the elders there tell you, Look, brother, how many saints we have, and all are zealous for the law! Oh Lord!
We need to be zealous to gain Christ, be found in Christ, know Christ, lay hold of Christ, pursue Christ, and uplift Christ for the fullest enjoyment of Christ (Phil. 3:6-14; Col. 1:18). Amen!
The greatest lack of James is the cross of Christ; the Christian perfection in James leads only to self-cultivation, but a Christian does not seek to improve himself according to the law but rather, he is conformed to the death of Christ by the power of His resurrection.
Whether we are a good man or a bad man, we have to be crossed out. No longer I but Christ. No self-cultivation but a crucified life so that Christ may live in us.
May the Lord save us from bringing any mixture into the church life today. May we not mix the word of God with our religious concepts, traditional concepts, or cultural thoughts.
May we be up-to-date with the Lord in His move on earth today, and may we be one with Him and one with the saints under the heavenly view of God’s economy.
We must learn from the lesson of Paul to be saved from the mixing of Judaic practices with God’s New Testament economy; this mixing is not only erroneous but also abominable in the eyes of God (Acts 21:18-27, 31, 36; Heb. 10:29).
It is unbelievable that Paul, who clearly saw the vision of God’s New Testament economy, did what he did in Acts 21; he was just about to mix Judaic practices with God’s New Testament economy, but God interrupted this and stopped him.
He wanted to make himself a Jew to the Jews, but this was too much to God, for this brought in mixture into the church life.
This shows that, when there’s mixture in the church life, it is easy to go along with it, even though we may have a clear vision. May the Lord have mercy on us in this matter. May we really pray to the Lord and ask Him,
Lord Jesus, save us from bringing any mixture into the church life today! Save us from bringing in anything of religious practices and traditions in the church life today. May we see a clear vision of God’s eternal economy and allow You to work Yourself into us for the building up of the church. Amen, Lord, write the law of life upon our hearts so that we may spontaneously express You. Hallelujah, we don’t need to practice self-cultivation according to the law of Moses because we have the law of the Spirit of life in our spirit! Amen, Lord, we treasure being one spirit with You and we reject any self-cultivation according to the law. May we live a crucified life today, being conformed to the death of Christ by the power of His resurrection. Amen, Lord, may it be no longer I but Christ living in us. Keep us in our spirit today. May we not try to improve ourselves or help others practice self-cultivation but simply focus on gaining Christ, knowing Christ, living Christ, and expressing Christ!
Learn from the Lesson of Paul to Do Everything it Takes to Fulfill the Course of our Ministry
Another lesson we need to learn before the Lord is the lesson of Paul’s appealing to Caesar, utilising his Roman citizenship to save himself from his persecutors so that he might fulfill the course of his ministry (Acts 22:25-29; 23:10-11; 25:8-12; 26:32).
The apostle Paul was not perfect nor did he try to perfect himself; on the one hand, he did not listen to the warning of the Spirit in the Body in going to Jerusalem, and on the other hand, he did everything it takes to fulfil his ministry.
Paul was willing to sacrifice his life for the Lord, but he still endeavoured to live longer so that he might carry out the Lord’s ministry as much as possible (Acts 20:24).
He went to Jerusalem, though he was warned by the Spirit through many members of the Body that he will be bound and imprisoned if he goes, and he was imprisoned there.
Paul loved the Lord and was willing to sacrifice his life for the Lord.
However, when he was imprisoned, he did not consider that he had finished the full course of his ministry; therefore, he utilised his Roman citizenship to save himself from the persecutors and extend his days here on earth.
The fact that Paul was imprisoned did not stop his ministry; rather, he still had much to do in the Lord and for the Lord.
God in His sovereignty rescued Paul so that He might separate him from all the dangerous situations and entrapments. God rescued Paul and sent him to a quiet prison so that Paul could have a quiet environment and time to write his epistles.
If you look at Paul’s history both in Acts and in the Epistles, we see that Paul was in Caesarea (24:27) and in Rome (28:16, 23, 30) in a quiet prison so that he would write his last Epistles.
The Lord had a way through Paul to release in an exhaustive and complete way what was on His heart for the church. How grateful we are to the Lord today for the letters that Paul wrote, for these became part of the completion of the word of God.
Paul was one with the Lord through his last Epistles to release exhaustively to the church throughout the generations the revelation of the mystery of God’s New Testament economy that he received from the Lord.
Aren’t we thankful to the Lord for the divine revelation He released through Paul? Without his completing ministry, the divine revelation in God’s word would not be complete.
May we learn from the lesson of Paul to not give up when it seems that, as a result of our not obeying the Lord’s leading in the Body, we are in a prison, in a place that limits us to the uttermost.
Many times the Lord “imprisons” certain members of His Body, putting them in a quiet place so that they would enjoy Him in a deeper way and release the divine life through them for many members of the Body to be encouraged.
May we never think that, now that we’re limited by the Lord in a particular situation or environment, our function before the Lord is over.
If we look at Paul, the benefit and profit that the church throughout the generations has received from his Epistles will take eternity to measure (Acts 25:11 and footnote 1 in the Recovery Version Bible).
Thank the Lord for Paul’s ministry from prison; it is from prison that he wrote the Epistles, composing the heart of the divine revelation – Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Galatians.
Also from prison, he wrote 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus, together with Hebrews.
We may think and prefer a nice, comfortable situation, with travelling and enjoying and preaching the gospel, but in Paul’s case, the Lord used his imprisonment to release the highest peak of the divine revelation. What a pattern this is to us, and how we all need to learn this!
Lord Jesus, we want to be one with You to fulfil the course of our ministry! We love You, Lord, and we want to go on with You, no matter what happens, for You to grow in us, flow through us, and minister to others through us. Thank You for all our situations and the environment we are in. We just open to You, Lord, and we want to afford You a way to advance in us and through us. May we not look down or be disappointed with the limiting situations we are in. May we not be discouraged when we’re put in a “prison” as a result of our disobeying Your leading in the Body. Oh Lord, may we endeavour to live longer in all situations, using all things, so that we may carry out the Lord’s ministry as much as possible! Amen, Lord, even when we’re in a quiet and limiting environment, may we enjoy You, gain You, and allow You to flow in us and through us for the building up of the church as the Body of Christ!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by the brothers, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1994-1997, vol. 2, “Crystallization-study of the Epistle of James,” chs. 1, 3-4, and 6, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, One Accord and Crucial Aspects of the Book of Acts (2025 April ITERO), week 5, Keeping Ourselves in the One Flow of the Lord’s Work for the Spreading of the Church and Receiving the Lord’s Mercy to Be Saved from Satan’s Schemes – day 5.
- Hymns on this topic:
– Not the law of letters, / But the Christ of life / God desires to give us, / Saving us from strife; / It is not some doctrine, / But ’tis Christ Himself / Who alone releases / From our sinful self. (Hymns #541 stanza 1)
– Then Thyatira comes at length: / Her mixture with the world her strength. / Fine flour leavened by the yeast, / A harlot riding on a beast. / Lord, we are mixed but hardly know; / To us this mixture fully show. / Each added thing we will refute / Until we’re wholly absolute. (Hymns #1274 stanzas 9-10)
– It’s by our mingled spirit, Lord, / That we can shine with Thee, / And be a golden lampstand now / For all the world to see. / It’s not by forms or rituals, / Mere Christianity; / It’s by our Christ enjoyed as life / We all can shine with Thee. (Hymns #1262 stanza 1)
About aGodMan
The function or principle of the law of life is to transform death into life: “For the law of the Spirit of life has freed me in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and of death.” This truth is illustrated through various cases in the Gospel of John.
Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1994-1997, vol. 2, “Crystallization-study of the Epistle of James,” pp. 361, 363
Dear brother, may the Lord save us from mixing God’s economy with anything of the natural man or religious tradition, as James did.
We don’t have a law of perfection but the law of life, and we don’t cultivate ourselves but live a crucified life for Christ to live in us.
May the Lord save us from any mixture in the church life.
We need to learn the lesson of James not to live according to the age of law, seeking Christian perfection, which issues in self-cultivation and mixture, but in the age of grace, to be conformed to the death of Christ by self-denial that Christ may live in us to bring forth the Body life to consummate in the New Jerusalem.
Yes, save us, Lord, from the law of perfection to the law of life, Amen!
In Acts 21: 18-27, we’re furnished with the lesson of Paul to be saved from the mixing of Judaic practices with God’s New Testament economy, which mixing is not only erroneous but also abominable in the eyes of God.
We see further the zeal & preoccupation of James with the law in James 1:25. The lessons of self-cultivation under keeping the law, finding short-cut solutions without God’s sovereignty, cannot produce God’s economy
The New Testament teaches us the lessons that, with the advent of Christ in the age of grace, the age of the law, given thru Moses, is over!
Our old “I,” which could not meet the demands placed on us by the law, needs to be under the cross of Christ, crucified, and be conformed thereby so Christ can live in us and bring forth the Body!
The Grace of Christ supplies the life to meet God’s need! Christ, as the law of the Spirit of is now operating in us, Amen!
May we follow the example of the apostle Paul and be zealous to gain & know Christ.
May the Lord save us from mixing the things of man with the things of God, and the things of the flesh with the things of the Spirit.
We must crucify our flesh, for it’s the crucified life that produces the BL that leads to the New Jerusalem.
It makes no difference whether we’re good/bad. We need to be crossed out.
To miss the mark of God’s New Testament economy carries grave consequences.
We must be willing to deny our self, otherwise we’ll lose our function and become lifeless like Lot’s wife.
Yes brother, my natural concept is I must improve; the divine concept is I must die.
How much we need the divine light to shine on us to show us self-cultivation is versus the power of resurrection.
In God’s economy what matters is Christ, we die to self so He can live, when we cooperate with the life-giving Spirit and the law of the Spirit of life all that we are is crossed out and all that God is produces in us the Body life! Hallelujah!
Aaaaamen. Brother, I was touched by the outline when God in His sovereignty rescued Paul from all dangerous situations and entrapments and sent him to a quiet prison.
In prison, where he has time to write many epistles.
It just reminds me of Watchman Nee.