BEING SPIRITUAL BY SPEAKING IN THE MEETINGS
First Corinthians 12:2 says, "Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led." If you remain silent in the meetings, you are a dumb idol. But all the attendants at a church meeting must be very spiritual. To be spiritual means to be bubbling. This is the opposite of being dumb. As those attending the meetings of the churches, we need to make a joyful noise to the Lord. This noise should not be a performance; it should be spontaneous. In this verse Paul seemed to be saying to the Corinthians, "You were Gentiles, carried away to dumb idols in the idol temple. You were dumb and made no noise because you were worshipping dumb idols. Because the idols could make no noise, you did not make any sound either. But now when you come to the church meeting, you come to the living God, to the speaking God, not to a dumb idol. Therefore, you also must speak." To speak in the meetings is to be spiritual. But if you do not speak in the church meetings, it is an indication that you are not spiritual.
Suppose three brothers who live together in the brothers’ house come to the meeting. In the meeting all three are dumb. When others pray, they do not even say amen, because they do not agree with their way of praying. When they get back home, they may speak about the meeting in a critical way. In the meeting they were dumb, but at home they are very talkative. These brothers definitely are not spiritual. However, in their own estimation they may be the most spiritual brothers in the church. Whether or not we are spiritual is tested by whether or not we speak in the meetings. Speaking in the meetings will make you spiritual.
Suppose these three brothers come to the meeting and lay aside their opinions. One says, "Lord Jesus, I love You." Simply by saying this much we all become spiritual. It means a great deal to utter something in the meeting. Hence, we all must learn to speak in the meetings. Do not be dumb. If you are dumb, it means that you worship a God who does not speak. Our God is the bubbling God, the speaking God, the One who speaks constantly. Whenever you speak concerning the Lord, you immediately release your spirit and increase your spiritual capacity.
The best way for the sisters to conquer their temper is to utter thanks and praise to the Lord in the meetings. But if the sisters are always silent in the meetings, they will find it easy to argue with their husbands at home after the meetings. If their husbands speak in the meetings, that will make them angry. But if the sisters speak in the meetings, they will be stirred up in their spirit and their temper will disappear.
To speak in the meetings is not an insignificant matter. By speaking we make the Body very practical. As a member of the Body, are you silent or bubbling? Are you one who is praising, shouting, and calling on the name of the Lord? If we all are like this, our meetings will be uplifted to the heavens. The most spiritual meeting is the meeting in which everyone speaks. In such a meeting everyone is nourished and edified.
However, when we are silent, we easily fall into our mind and begin to criticize others. Then it is easy to be in the self. When you are critical and in the self, you first kill yourself, then others, and then the meeting. Unsatisfied with this, you will go home and kill either your wife, husband, or roommate. Because certain brothers and sisters were silent in the meeting, the dumb idol got into them, and after the meeting they killed their wife or husband.
(The Spirit and the Body, Chapter 13, by Witness Lee)
