THE ALL-INCLUSIVE ONENESS
How we thank the Lord for recovering the genuine oneness, the oneness that has been lost by Christianity! This oneness is all-inclusive; it includes all positive things. Division, on the contrary, includes all negative things. We have seen that when we come back to the oneness, all the godly, heavenly, spiritual things return. The reason is that all these things exist in the oneness. On the one hand, we must admit that we are still quite short and have a long way to go. On the other hand, we can testify that the Lord’s riches surely are to be found in His recovery. The unique ground of oneness is here, and all the spiritual riches are included with this ground. All the godly things and all the spiritual riches are ours on the ground of oneness.
THE TESTIMONY OF THE LORD
ON THE GROUND OF ONENESS
The testimony of the Lord today goes along with the recovery of the ground of oneness. This testimony does not depend on our efforts at self-improvement. We may make up our minds to improve ourselves, only to fall once again into failure. The Lord’s testimony does not depend on our efforts; it depends on His work within us on the ground of oneness. After we came into the church life, spontaneously the aspiration for godliness, holiness, and spirituality was stirred within us. This was not our own doing; it was altogether the Lord’s doing. Because we are on the proper ground, the ground of oneness, the Word of God is transparently open to us. This is wholly due to the Lord’s blessing on the ground of oneness. Where the recovery of the ground of oneness is, there the testimony of the Lord is also.
When God’s people in the Old Testament returned to Jerusalem, all the things pertaining to God’s testimony returned: the altar, the offerings, the temple, the feasts, and the rich enjoyment. However, those who remained in Babylon had nothing to do with the testimony of the Lord. The godly things were found not in Babylon; they were in Jerusalem, the unique place of God’s choice. Even though God’s returned people were weak or inadequate in many respects, it cannot be denied that the Lord’s testimony was with them, not with those in Babylon.
Furthermore, the return of God’s people to the ground of oneness was also used by God to bring forth Christ. Mary, the mother of the Lord Jesus, was a descendant of those who had returned from captivity. If the captives had not returned, there would not have been a way for Christ to be born in Bethlehem. There would have been no channel, no means, for Him to come forth according to the prophecies. Hence, the return from captivity in Babylon was a necessary preparation for the coming of Christ. In the same principle, I believe that the Lord’s recovery today will be used by God as a preparation for the Lord’s coming back. May the Lord fully use His recovery for the sake of His coming back!
(The Genuine Ground of Oneness, Chapter 9, by Witness Lee)
