Raising Up of Workers

The first matter we wish to inquire into today is how a worker is raised up. Principally we will consider two different situations. The first happens where there is a local assembly. Where this is the situation, any brother who has the burden to work abroad needs to have the consent of all the brethren with whom he meets as well as to bear his personal responsibility before God. This can be likened to a finger of the hand which cannot move individually but must move only with the whole human body. It needs the sanction of the entire body before it can move. Today we see Christ as the Head of the Church, with the Church therefore constituting His body. So wherever there is a local assembly, there is always the need of getting the consent of the brethren. Take, for example, the situation to be found in Acts 13. There we see an assembly of believers situated in Antioch, and so we find that the Holy Spirit sent forth Paul and Barnabas through the local church there.

But where no local assembly exists, the situation is quite different. If there is no local gathering of believers, then a person who desires to go forth to work must bear his own responsibility directly before the Lord because an expression of the Body of Christ is not manifested there. In Acts 11, before the church in Antioch was established, Paul and Barnabas are found bearing responsibility directly before God. But later on, after the local church was formed at Antioch, the Holy Spirit is seen sending out prophets and teachers through the local expression of the Body of Christ. For by that time the work of Paul and Barnabas was no longer only a matter before God, it must now also be a matter in the church. There at Antioch the disciples laid hands on them and sent them out. The laying on of hands is for the purpose of showing sympathy and expressing union. Through this laying on of hands in the local assembly at Antioch, all the brethren joined with Paul and Barnabas in their mission. In essence, therefore, the going forth of these two was the going forth of the body of believers there. Yet it must be understood that such laying on of hands at Antioch was something vastly different from the practice we find nowadays called ordination. The latter is a form of human traditions, and is totally foreign to the Scriptures.

The sending out of Paul and Barnabas was for the sake of doing the work the Holy Spirit sent them to do. This was the first missionary work in history. In this sending forth, the Holy Spirit has absolute sovereignty. A local church cannot send out men on its own. The sending out of the local church is the acceding to the movement of the Holy Spirit and the executing of His order.

In Acts 15 we read about another excursion contemplated. In verse 40, however, we notice the separation of the footsteps between Paul and Barnabas. Paul had suggested the journey, but Barnabas had insisted on taking Mark whom Paul deemed to be inappropriate for the task. There thus had arisen a sharp contention. Whereupon Barnabas decided to take Mark with him, but Paul took Silas with him and went a different way. It should be noted, though, that it is recorded in verse 40 that "Paul . . . [was] being commended by the brethren to the grace of the Lord." Here, then, lies the difference between these two men. Paul was sent forth by the church, but Barnabas was not. Paul was commended by the brethren to the grace of the Lord, whereas Barnabas was not. In this conflict, the local expression of the Body of Christ stood on Paul’s side. And as a consequence, we shall find that after chapter 15 Barnabas is no longer mentioned in the Acts narrative, thus proving that the Holy recognizes and ratifies the sending of the local expression of the Body of Christ.

In the instance before us now under discussion, we must note that Mark was passive, for he was a young worker under training. Hence his responsibility was not as great as that of Barnabas. Later, however, Mark was restored by God, and was once again brought back to the work by Him. But what about Barnabas? He was gone from the scene and never returned to the work of God. The Book of Acts never mentioned him again thereafter. Now if any of you should be tempted to say, "If others can, why can’t I? Since a certain brother has gone to a certain place, why can I not go away, too?", then beware that that other brother of whom you speak is sent out properly in the context of the local church, whereas your going out will be strictly on your own. The difference lies just there. You cannot argue that if God could use him He could use you too. For God could indeed use him because he is sent out in the local body of believers, but He cannot use you. Do not fancy that God cannot lay any of us aside. He most certainly can lay us aside just as He laid aside Barnabas. How very clear and plain is the record found in the Book of Acts. For after this incident, the Holy Spirit ceased to mention Barnabas in the narrative.

A worker may do a work individually, but his movement must be in the church. This was the case at Pentecost: "Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and spake forth . . ." (Acts 2.14) The "standing up" here is plural in number in the original Greek, whereas the "lifted up his voice" is in the singular number. Though only one man spoke, the eleven stood behind in support. Let us therefore realize that we too need the support of our brethren when we work.

Here we must learn the lesson of obedience. Both those who send and those who are sent need to learn obedience. Only in the spirit of obedience can people recognize the voice of the Holy Spirit. The criterion of any work is not approval but obedience. It is not because you approve of a certain brother that you therefore send him out. Many a time we may not approve the idea of a particular brother but we have to let him go, for the question lies not in approval but in obedience. Only in the obedient can the Holy Spirit find His outlet.

Now as the worker is sent forth he becomes an apostle, for an apostle is merely a sent-out worker. Paul was an apostle. What is the difference between an elder and an apostle? According to the word of God, an elder is immobile whereas an apostle is mobile. An elder is for a specific locality, but an apostle is for the entire Body. Paul was never an elder; he was only an apostle. Peter and John, though, were both elders and apostles. When they were in Jerusalem, they were elders of the church there. Yet besides being elders in Jerusalem, they were also apostles sent abroad. Because they were elders, they had the authority of local supervision. On the other hand, the responsibility of an apostle is to do the work committed to him abroad—he does not have the responsibility of overseeing in his own locality. I trust we are all clear on this distinction. When we talk about eldership we have reference to a locality; when we talk about apostleship we have in mind the whole earth. Yet it is possible for one person to perform both these functions—that is to say, to bear the responsibility of the local oversight as well as to bear the responsibility of the work of a wider sphere. In my own case, for example, my work on the one hand is serving workers at various places and on the other hand bearing responsibility with the other responsible brothers locally in my town.

The Confirmation of Workers

Let us now see who the workers are. How do we confirm a worker?

First, workers must have spiritual gifts. Gifts are of various kinds. Preaching the gospel is one kind, to be a prophet is another, and to be a pastor or teacher is still another kind. Different gifts result in different operations. The gift of an evangelist is towards the outsiders; the gift of a teacher is to decide on doctrine; and the gift of a pastor is to shepherd people—nourishing the spiritual life of the believers, causing that life to grow, and helping to solve all kinds of personal problems.

The more a worker is equipped with the above-mentioned gifts the better. A worker must at least possess one gift.

How do we know if a person has any gift? If you have a gift, the brethren who meet with you should be able to bear witness to the fact and confirm it. For this reason, the confirmation of gift is with the local body, which is able to sense it out. Whether your gift is that of an evangelist or that of a teacher, the body will perceive it. Even if you are not fully occupied with the ministry of God’s word, you still could possess the above-mentioned gifts and thus do the work accordingly. For these gifts must be possessed by the workers, though they are not exclusively theirs.

Many think that if they are unsuccessful in working at one place they could change to another place and succeed. The fact of the matter is that the problem does not rest on locality. If a person is unable to work in one place, he is equally unable to do so in another. The issue is whether the person has a particular gift. A person not gifted is without gift at any place.

Second, a worker though gifted is nonetheless unable to work if his life is poor. For work depends on not only gift but also grace. It requires sufficient grace more than adequate gift. Although the result of a work is much related to gift, even so, it has more direct connection with the worker himself. Engaging in the same type of work, people with different grace will produce very different results. For the grace upon a person determines the work he accomplishes. It does not mean that the one who is without grace cannot lead others to Christ; in fact, he may be quite effective in winning souls since he has the gift of preaching the gospel; but due to the lack of life in him, the more work he does the more destruction he brings in. Today many workers build on the one hand and demolish on the other. The explanation for this lies in the lack of life.

As recorded in Acts 16.2, the brethren reported well of Timothy; and hence we find in verse 3 that Paul took him in the journey. This is the witness of the brethren. Timothy is not only confirmed in one place, he is confirmed by the brethren belonging to two places. If your condition before the Lord is good and you have sufficient grace, the brethren who meet with you shall surely testify concerning you. And not only those who are spiritual, even the not-so-spiritual shall testify for you.

Concerning Letters of Recommendation

Finally, let us touch briefly concerning the letter of recommendation. Paul mentioned this matter to the Corinthian believers (see 2 Cor. 3.1). So we see that the New Testament does indeed deal with this subject. When believers travel to new places they have the need of letters of recommendation. Paul in his Epistle reminded the Corinthian believers that he had no need of such a letter. This was because he had a relationship with them. So that he is an exception. But for ordinary believers such a letter is essential. For it serves two purposes: (1) in causing you to be known; and (2) in preventing false brethren from coming in. Every letter of recommendation should be signed by three persons to assure its authenticity. Ordinary letters of recommendation are best written by the local elders or responsible brothers. There are at least three different kinds of letters:

(1) To recommend a certain person to partake in the breaking of bread, confirming him to be a brother or sister in the Lord.

(2) To recommend a certain person as one who walks in the same straight path.

(3) To recommend a certain person as not only walking in the same acceptable path but as also having a particular gift, thus providing an opening for ministry.

Upon receipt of a letter of recommendation, the local responsible brothers should acknowledge such letter by writing to the place where the letter originated. For the sake of convenience, such letters of recommendation and their appropriate reply could be prepared and printed beforehand for ready use. When brethren come from abroad or go abroad, let such letters of recommendation be given so as to facilitate the receiving of such at the table of the Lord.