BEING CONCERNED FOR THE FULL-TIME BROTHERS AND SISTERS
I am concerned about the more than two hundred full-timers who are here. I care for this matter very much because it is a matter of great importance to me. You have graduated from college; you are young and have a great future, yet you have given up everything to trust the Lord and learn to serve Him. This is of great value, even if there is only one full-timer, not to mention two hundred. Since there are two hundred of you, I feel that I have so much in my heart that I want to do, yet my strength is very limited. I would like to be with you all the time for ten years to do nothing else but study the Bible. I believe this would make my heart happy, and I would be satisfied. I would have two hundred disciples to study with me for ten years. This would be a tremendous thing.
However, after weighing the situation, I feel that I cannot let this work go. During these few days I have been tossing back and forth, even in my sleep at night. What is the reason? I visited Australia in April of 1971. At that time there were no churches in Australia, although there were several churches in New Zealand. It has been fourteen and a half years since my last visit, and now there are twelve churches that have been raised up in Australia. Recently, I received a letter from Australia saying, “Now is the time that you should come.” Thus there is a turmoil in my heart. Although I would only spend a week in Australia, it would make a great difference here whether I go or not. Whether or not I can spare this one week depends on the work here. I really would like to stay here to do something with you two hundred full-timers. I also hope that the number of full-time brothers and sisters will increase to five hundred. Five hundred full-time brothers and sisters could be produced on the island of Taiwan each year. Because of the need for my going to Australia, I have to work harder.
In the previous messages I spoke on the way to know God’s Word. You should have more fellowship on the points in those messages. They are all basic principles. After that I continued to speak on the five major theological problems that were ignored and misunderstood throughout history. In the last message I gave you two major problems: God’s economy and God’s dispensing. I do not believe that you have thoroughly understood the previous message. But I hope that after this week is over, the young people, especially those brothers and sisters who are full-timers, will make an effort to study these two major problems. When you study, you need to search out all the books in the Gospel Book Room that are related to God’s economy and God’s dispensing. Study together to enter into these two very basic truths.
In this message I will give you three more topics. The first topic is the divine Trinity, that is, the Triune God. The second topic is the God-man Jesus. This topic is related to Christ’s person, to what is called Christology in theology. The third topic is the mingling of God and man.
Ever since the passing away of the apostles, beginning from the second century, the questions of the Triune God and Christ’s person have been the focal points of debates. These debates have continued even until today. Although there are many inaccuracies in these debates, some of the debaters are scholars who have had very deep insights. We can say that today we inherit what they have seen, and we stand on their shoulders. However, the Lord has been merciful to us and has enlightened us during these years. On the one hand we inherited something from them, and on the other hand we have been enlightened further. What I have given you in the outline of this message is a product of what we inherited and what we ourselves have seen. It is very simple and yet very accurate. You are still young, and you should not enter into these debates, because once you get into them you will find yourself in a maze that you cannot escape. I have passed through this. Therefore, based on what others have seen through the debates in the past, plus the light that we have received, I have written the crucial points in the outline.
(The Full Knowledge of the Word of God, Chapter 5, by Witness Lee)
