Hold to the Faithful Word according to the Apostles’ Teaching and Speak the Healthy Teaching

We need to be those who are holding to the faithful word, which is according to the teaching of the apostles; as we hold to the faithful word of the apostles’ teaching, we reject any different teachings and speak only God’s economy for the building up of the church.

What is the apostles’ teaching and why is it so important to us in the church life today?

In 1 Tim. 1:3-4 Paul told Timothy, his young co-worker, to remain in Ephesus so that he may charge certain ones not to teach differently.

There were certain ones in Ephesus who taught things related to myths, unending genealogies, and the law; such teachings were not necessarily heretical, but they were different, and they produced questionings rather than God’s economy, which is in faith.

The teaching of the apostles is the entire revelation of God’s economy in the New Testament, and these teachings are the healthy words of the Lord Jesus.

The apostles learned these words from the Lord; they followed the Lord and were led by the Spirit of reality to speak more concerning the Lord Jesus and the kingdom of God.

In particular, the apostles’ teaching is concerning the person of Christ and His redemptive work (2 John 9-11); it is also the teaching concerning God’s economy in faith (1 Tim. 1:3-4).

God’s economy is not so that we Christians may have “a mission field” for preaching the gospel, neither is it that we would have a Bible school to teach the truths.

Rather, we all need to know and remain in the healthy words of God’s economy, for the economy of God is to dispense the Triune God into His chosen and redeemed people to be their life and everything so that they would be regenerated and transformed into the proper material for the building up of the Body of Christ! Amen!

In His economy – according to the entire divine revelation in the Bible – God intends to impart Himself into us, His chosen people, so that He may become our life and everything; the result is that we are regenerated and transformed to be members of the Body of Christ for the corporate expression of God.

This is how God gains a corporate expression on the earth in many localities with a view to building up the coming New Jerusalem for His eternal expressions.

We need to know the teaching of the apostles, hold to the faithful word of the apostles’ teaching, and even limit ourselves to speaking only concerning God’s economy, never emphasizing anything that is different from this.

If we limit ourselves to remain in, enjoy, speak, and teach the teaching concerning God’s economy, we will be kept in oneness, and we will have one way for one goal, for our work and living will be for the building up of the church as the Body of Christ.

Being those who Hold to the Faithful Word according to the Apostles’ Teaching and who Speak the Healthy Teaching of God’s Economy

Paul exhorted Titus to hold to the faithful word, which is according to the teaching of the apostles, so that he may be able both to exhort by the healthy teaching and to convict those who oppose (Titus 1:9).

The teaching referred to in this verse is the apostles’ teaching (Acts 2:42) which eventually became the New Testament.

The churches were established according to the teaching of the apostles and were following their teaching.

The order of the churches was maintained by the faithful word, which was given according to the apostles’ teaching.

The teaching of the apostles is like the constitution in a country which keeps the country on a firm foundation; whether the president of a country is on one or the other side of the political spectrum, everyone needs to uphold and obey the constitution of the country.

The apostles’ teaching is the constitution in the Bible; therefore, we need to lay down our opinions, preferences, and thoughts, and simply hold to the faithful word according to the apostles’ teaching, whether we like it not, for this is our constitution today.

We can’t violate this constitution regardless of how long we have been saved or how high our spiritual condition is; when we come to the apostles’ teaching, we need to hold fast to the faithful word, for such a word can safeguard us.

And when we speak, we must speak the things that are fitting to the healthy teaching of the apostles, the teaching of God’s economy (Titus 2:1, 7-8; 1 Tim. 1:4).

This doesn’t mean that, whenever we say something for the Lord, we need to mention the term “God’s economy” or “the apostles’ teaching”; rather, we need to realize that the teaching of the apostles is the entire divine revelation in the New Testament, and it speaks concerning the desire of God’s heart, His economy, and this should be our focus.

In our Christian life and church life, we must be in the realm of the economy of God to dispense Himself into man to become man’s life, content, and everything, so that man would become a member of the Body of Christ, a part of God’s corporate expression.

The teaching of the apostles is healthy and organic; it is not just a sound or good teaching but a healthy teaching, imparting life and keeping us healthy.

Some teachings are quite good, teaching man to improve oneself and better oneself; these may be good teachings but they are not the healthy teaching.

The healthy teaching of the apostles dispenses the nourishment of life into us and makes us children of God; it also inoculates us against any spiritual poison.

As we hold to the faithful word according to the apostles’ teaching, we are inwardly supplied and also inoculated; it is a healthy and organic teaching.

When we are spiritually healthy and filled with the healthy teaching of the economy of God, we will easily discern when we hear a teaching that is different, for such teaching leads to questionings rather than God’s economy, which is in faith.

When we do not hold to the faithful word according to the apostles’ teaching, disorder comes into the church, and degradation and decline creep in.

But when we hold to the faithful word according to the teaching of the apostles and speak the healthy teaching, we will be kept in oneness, order, and peace, and life is ministered for the saints to be nourished and be healthy spiritually for the building up of the Body.

Lord Jesus, we hold to the faithful word according to the teaching of the apostles so that we may be able both to exhort and convict. Amen, Lord, we lay down our own opinions and preferences and simply hold to the teaching of the apostles, the divine revelation in the New Testament concerning the economy of God. We want that our speaking would be fitting to the healthy teaching of the apostles, the teaching of God’s economy. We put aside and forsake any different teachings and we simply hold to the faithful word of the teaching of God’s economy. Amen, Lord, dispense Yourself into us for our transformation into precious materials suitable for the building up of the church as the Body of Christ consummating in the New Jerusalem!

Countering the Disorder in the Church by Holding to the Faithful Word taught in the Churches according to the Apostles’ Teaching

The disorder in the church is due mainly to deviation from the apostles’ teaching; to counter this, we must hold to the faithful word taught in the churches according to the apostles’ teaching.

This faithful word according to the teaching of the apostles is not just a sound teaching or pure teaching or doctrine; it is a healthy teaching, which is always related to life, being able to either nourish us or to heal us.

The crucial point of the healthy teaching concerns the Triune God who was processed and consummated to dispense Himself as the Spirit into us, His chosen ones, so that we may be brought into an organic union with Him and receive all that He is into our being to be made sons of God and members of Christ.

The result is that we become the Body of Christ to express Him, the One in whom the fullness of God dwells. Such a deeper truth of the divine revelation is not seen in Christianity today; even those who have a sound teaching do not speak of this intrinsic matter.

We are not here to study the word in a superficial way; we are not here to be superstitious concerning the word of God.

Rather, we are here to minister Christ and the church for the fulfilment of the eternal economy of God.

Satan, however, comes in with a lot of falsehoods and distractions, and nowhere in Christianity can we see some who hold to the faithful word of the apostles’ teaching, neither do we hear concerning the eternal economy of God.

We need to return to the divine revelation in the word of God and hold to the faithful word taught in the churches according to the apostles teaching so that we may maintain the order in the church and be built up as the Body of Christ.

And when we meet with other brothers and sisters, we simply need to minister the all-inclusive Christ and the church as the Body of Christ to them.

We desire to not only be saved but also come to the full knowledge of the truth; at the same time, we want to help all those who pursue the Lord to come to the full knowledge of the truth.

We thank and praise the Lord for His continual speaking among us in the church life in the Lord’s recovery, and in particular, we thank Him for the seven feasts that trumpet the teaching of the apostles according to the up-to-date burden and need.

For us to be preserved in oneness following the apostles’ teaching up to this day is not a small matter.

The seven feasts, the Lord’s speaking in an up-to-date way, is keeping us in oneness, for our holding to the faithful word keeps us healthy and going on together in one accord.

Today we have been preserved by the Lord in almost ten thousand local churches around the world, on all six continents; we follow not a person or a teaching but the Lord Himself with His present speaking.

We are not here to maintain some kind of arrangement of a way of doing things; we are here because the Lord is speaking to us and He is keeping us in the apostles’ teaching, in the oneness.

In a darkened and confused situation, we need to cleave to the enlightening and ordering word in the New Testament – the apostles’ teaching (Acts 2:42).

We cannot go along with man’s ideas, with some rudimentary teachings of the world, or with certain one’s philosophies; your view will always be different from mine, people will invent new things, but we want to return to the pure word in the Bible and remain in the apostles’ teaching.

We must avoid differing teachings and concentrate on God’s economy concerning Christ and the church (1 Tim. 1:3-4; Eph. 3:9; 5:32).

May the Lord have mercy on us that we would not spend time or energy to pay attention to the different teachings; may we focus on God’s economy concerning Christ and the church, and may we hold to the faithful word of the apostles’ teaching.

Thank You, Lord, for coming as God becoming man to be processed and become a life-imparting all-inclusive Spirit to dispense Yourself into us! Hallelujah, we were brought into an organic union with the Lord to receive the divine transfusion and be sons of God and members of Christ! Praise the Lord, we are now the Body to express Christ, the One in whom the fullness of God dwells today! Amen, Lord, we want to hold to the faithful word according to the teaching of the apostles, remain in the healthy teaching, and minister life to others for the building up of the church. We choose to avoid differing teachings and concentrate only on God’s economy concerning Christ and the church!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Sources of inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by the brothers for this week, and portions from, Life-study of Titus, pp. 16-20 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Intrinsic and Organic Building up of the Church as the Body of Christ (2021 International Chinese-Speaking Conference), week 5, The Intrinsic Factor of the Winds of Teaching for Their Evil Purpose.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – God has called us for His purpose, / His economy so glorious, / For which He was fully processed; / Consummated now is He! / As the Spirit, He indwells us; / As our God allotted portion, / Working out His full salvation, / Making us the same as He is. / Oh, may a clear, controlling vision of / The Lord’s economy direct my heart. (Song on, God has called us for His purpose)
  – But we would hold to this reality, / Our Jesus Christ in us our all to be, / Enjoying all He is abundantly, / Content to have this One eternally. (Hymns #1202)
  – The faith which once for all was giv’n / Unto the saints of old, / Has been committed unto us / To guard, defend, and hold. / And we know whom we have believed / And are persuaded that He is able / To guard, through the Holy Spirit, / Our deposit to that day. (Hymns #1285)