Speaking and Teaching the Economy of God Preserves us in the Oneness and One Accord

The only way we can practice the one accord and thus keep the oneness of the Spirit in the practical church life is to emphasize and speak only one thing: God’s economy, the eternal economy of God. All other things can bring in divisions, even good teachings.

But when we have the apostles’ teaching, the ministry of the new covenant, as the only thing we care for, then we all are one, for we all speak the same thing.

The content of God’s economy is the wonderful, all-inclusive Christ; Christ Himself in His full ministry of incarnation, inclusion, and intensification is the divine economy.

Hallelujah, today God is recovering Christ as our everything and the church as our living, and we are learning to practice the one accord by seeking Christ, pursuing Him, desiring to gain Him and experience Him deeper in a more subjective way, and focusing only on God’s economy!

As we focus on Christ both personally and together as the church, the One who is the centrality and universality in God’s economy becomes the preeminent and all-filling one in our experience, and He in us makes us one.

The only way we can really be one is not by having the same opinions, set of doctrines, outward practices, creed, or ideas; the only way for us to be in one accord is to be perfected into one and thus be brought into the enlarged oneness of the Triune God.

Only God Himself is one; apart from Him everything and everyone is in division, and when we are in God focusing on Christ and speaking only God’s economy, we are one in a practical way. May we be those who focus on ONE THING: the subjective knowledge and experience of Christ, the One who is God’s delight and our satisfaction, the One who is everything to God and man.

When we focus on Christ and take Him as our life and person, we become the Body of Christ and the members of the one new man; we then speak the same thing in one accord, and the Lord has an increase on the earth.

May we be those who take Christ as our person, allowing Him to make His home in our heart and become the dweller in our being, the One who speaks and decides everything so that the Lord would gain what He is after, an increase in man.

It is only the Unique Ministry of God’s Economy that Builds up and Never Divides

In Christianity today there are many ministries, denominations, Christian groups, local churches, sects, and all kinds of independent groups; they all claim that the Bible is their standing, and most of what they teach is based on the word of God.

However, all these ministries do not result in the building up of the Body of Christ but rather in divisions; those who follow a certain ministry form a “church” based on that ministry that does not have fellowship with other believers in the Body.

The Apostle Paul charged the Corinthians to speak the same thing so that there would be no divisions among them, but that they would be attuned in the same mind and in the same opinion (1 Cor. 1:10).

The opposite is true today in Christianity, and the Lord wants to bring us back to this “same thing” – the one thing, the one ministry that builds up the Body of Christ and never divides; this unique ministry is the ministry of God’s economy.

There are many good teachings in the Bible, which are emphasized by different Christian groups, such as the way to meet, Bible teaching and study, they way to baptize, the way to edify the saints, how to help others to be spiritual, how to claim and receive God’s blessing, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the gifts of the Spirit, foot washing, keeping the Sabbath rest, and helping others to grow in life.

However, if we teach these things and emphasize them apart from God’s economy, they can lead to division in the Body of Christ. It is good to know how to preach the gospel and to be burden to evangelize, but doing this apart from God’s economy which is in faith leads to division.

Something from the Bible such as evangelism is altogether right. However, if you do these things and teach them apart from God’s economy, you are divisive….To teach the Bible and to preach the gospel are not pagan. They are altogether right and altogether scriptural, but we must be on the alert as to whether or not we are divisive. Whatever you teach should not be measured by whether it is wrong or right. It must be measured by whether it is divisive or not. Only one kind of ministry builds up and never divides—this is the unique ministry of God’s economy. We must be reminded that Paul left Timothy in Ephesus with a charge to tell certain ones not to teach differently and that what they teach should be related to God’s economy. (Witness Lee, Elders’ Training, Book 3: The Way to Carry Out the Vision, p. 45)

This is a warning to us since we can overemphasize one aspect of the truth and yet not speak of God’s economy, or we can emphasize a certain life practice to contact the Lord without touching God’s economy, and so we may become yet another division in the Body.

We should not have the assurance that, as long as we teach things scripturally, everything is alright; the only one ministry which always builds up, edifies, and perfects with no destruction or division at all is the ministry of God’s economy.

When we emphasize, teach, and focus on God’s economy with Christ as its centrality and universality, we are kept in the oneness of the Body, and the one accord is practiced among us; then, the Lord can come and bless us with His up-to-date speaking for the increase of Christ.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with preaching the gospel or teaching the Bible or baptizing people, but doing these things and emphasizing them without focusing on God’s economy may lead to dissension and division in the Body of Christ.

May we be those who focus only on God’s economy, not overemphasizing any other aspect in the Bible, so that we may be kept in oneness and practice the one accord in the church life.

Lord Jesus, thank You for bringing us under the ministry of God’s economy, the unique ministry that builds up and never divides. We want to focus only on God’s economy, on God’s dispensing of Himself into us to make us members of the Body of Christ for the increase of Christ to consummate the New Jerusalem. Lord, we want to focus on You, the centrality and universality of God’s economy, and care only for You as the most lovely, preeminent, all-inclusive, excellent, and all-filling One! Lord Jesus, we love You!

Being Preserved in the Eternal Oneness for the One New Man by Teaching the Same Thing, the Economy of God

Human pride always likes to make the self different from others. You may speak one thing, but I would never speak what you speak because of my pride. I want to speak something different from what you speak, something new and something better. This is the self, and this is fleshly pride. (W. Lee, The Divine Economy, p. 124)

Because of pride – which comes from the flesh – many Bible expositors insist on speaking something different from others so that they would have a “unique ministry” that is for “the building up of the Body of Christ”. But the only way we can be preserved in the eternal oneness for the one new man is to teach the same thing, which is the economy of God (Rom. 15:6).

We need to care for one thing – God’s economy – with the wonderful person of Christ; God’s economy is simply God in Christ as the Spirit increasing Himself in us to build up the church, the Body of Christ, consummating in the New Jerusalem.

When we care for this ONE THING, the economy of God, with ONE PERSON, the all-inclusive Christ, our self is dealt with, our pride is put aside, our flesh is crucified, and we are practice the one accord to be and bring in the increase of Christ.

The only way we can be preserved in the Lord’s recovery, His up-to-date move, is by remaining under and in the unique ministry of the New Testament, the ministry of the economy of God.

If we teach something so lightly, even in a concealed way, that is different from God’s economy, we sow the seed which will grow up in division. We don’t know what Apollo and Peter taught specifically, but the believers in Corinth were saying, I am of Apollo, and I am of Cephas… It is easy to sow seeds of dissension and division.

We need to be preserved in the eternal oneness of the one new man by teaching the same thing: God’s economy. God’s economy is His household law, His household administration, government, and management, to dispense all the riches of His being into His people so that He may have a house to express Himself, which is the church, the Body of Christ.

Paul’s ministry was centred on the economy of God (Col. 1:25; 1 Cor. 9:17), but the different teachings of the dissenting ones were used by God’s enemy to distract His people from His economy (1 Tim. 1:3-4).

The ministry of the new covenant is to minister the Triune God into His people as life and life supply to produce members of Christ to form the Body to express the Triune God; this is the New Testament economy of God, and this is what we should emphasize, speak, and teach.

If we teach anything – even good things, scriptural things, and spiritual things – which are even a little bit apart from God’s economy, division will come in, and Satan will have a way to damage the Body of Christ.

We need to be on the alert to speak the one thing with one opinion in the same mind, which is the economy of God, to be preserved in the eternal oneness for the one new man.

Lord Jesus, we want to be kept and preserved in the eternal oneness for the one new man by teaching and speaking the same thing: the economy of God! Hallelujah, God has an economy to dispense Himself into us to make us the members of the Body of Christ, the increase of Christ! Lord, may nothing distract us from Your economy. May our ministry and speaking be focused on the ministry of God’s economy, the unique ministry that builds up the church and never divides. We want to speak and teach the same thing, the economy of God, to be preserved in the eternal oneness for the one new man!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by brother R.S. for this week, and portions from Elders’ Training, Book 3: The Way to Carry Out the Vision, chs. 4, 12 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Increase of Christ for the Building up of the Church (2016 Memorial day Weekend Conference), week 4 / msg. 4, The Increase of Christ for the Increase and Spread of the Church through the One Accord with Prayer, the Spirit, the Word, and the Homes.
• All Bible verses are taken from, Holy Bible Recovery Version.
• 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. (Song on God’s calling of us)
  # The full ministry of Christ / Is carried out in three stages / For the fulfillment of God’s eternal economy. (Song on the full ministry of Christ)
  # Not religion, even / Christianity, / Can fulfill God’s purpose / Or economy; / But ‘tis Christ within us / As our all in all / Satisfies God’s wishes, / And His plan withal. (Hymns #541)