2022-5丨General Subject：Loving the Lord and Loving One Another for the Organic Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ

General Subject：Loving the Lord and Loving One Another for the Organic Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ

F. Shepherding and teaching are the essential functions among the gifted persons given by Christ as the ascended Head to the churches for the building up of His Body (John 21:15-17; Matt. 28:20; 1 Cor. 4:17b; 7:17b; 2 Cor. 11:28-29); in addition, Christ as the Head of the church also charged the apostles to appoint elders in all the local churches to carry out His shepherding of His flock (1 Tim. 3:1-7; 5:17a; 1 Pet. 5:2a) and to be apt to teach in order to strengthen the shepherding and carry out its goal (1 Tim. 3:2b; 5:17b).

John 21:15 Then when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these? He said to Him, Yes, Lord, You know that I love You. He said to him, Feed My lambs.

John 21:16 He said to him again a second time, Simon, son of John, do you love Me? He said to Him, Yes, Lord, You know that I love You. He said to him, Shepherd My sheep.

John 21:17 He said to him the third time, Simon, son of John, do you love Me? Peter was grieved that He said to him the third time, Do you love Me? And he said to Him, Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You. Jesus said to him, Feed My sheep.

Matt. 28:20 Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you all the days until the consummation of the age.

1 Cor. 4:17 Because of this I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, even as I teach everywhere in every church.

1 Cor. 7:17 However as the Lord has apportioned to each one, as God has called each one, so let him walk. And so I direct in all the churches.

2 Cor. 11:28 Apart from the things which have not been mentioned, there is this: the crowd of cares pressing upon me daily, the anxious concern for all the churches.

2 Cor. 11:29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is stumbled, and I myself do not burn?

1 Tim. 3:1 Faithful is the word: If anyone aspires to the overseership, he desires a good work.

1 Tim. 3:2 The overseer then must be without reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, of a sober mind, orderly, hospitable, apt to teach;

1 Tim. 3:3 Not an excessive drinker; not a striker, but forbearing; not contentious; not fond of money;

1 Tim. 3:4 One who manages well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity

1 Tim. 3:5 (But if one does not know how to manage his own house, how will he care for the church of God?);

1 Tim. 3:6 Not a new convert, lest being blinded with pride he fall into the judgment suffered by the devil.

1 Tim. 3:7 And he also must have a good testimony from those outside, that he may not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

1 Tim. 5:17 Let the elders who take the lead well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in word and teaching.

1 Pet. 5:2 Shepherd the flock of God among you, overseeing not under compulsion but willingly, according to God; not by seeking gain through base means but eagerly;

1 Tim. 3:2 The overseer then must be without reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, of a sober mind, orderly, hospitable, apt to teach;

Morning Nourishment

1 Pet. 5:2-3 Shepherd the flock of God among you, overseeing...willingly, according to God;...eagerly;...by becoming patterns of the flock.

1 Tim. 3:1-2 ...If anyone aspires to the overseership, he desires a good work. The overseer then must be without reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, of a sober mind, orderly, hospitable, apt to teach.

All the saints should be building members...First, the apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers perfect the saints. This means that they build up the saints. Then the perfected saints become the building members. The expression every joint [in Ephesians 4:16] refers to the specially gifted persons, such as those mentioned in verse 11, and the rich supply must be the particular supply, the supply of Christ. Further, the expression each one part refers to every member of the Body. Every member of the Body of Christ has its own measure which works for the growth of the Body. The growth of the Body is the increase of Christ in the church, which results in the building up of the Body itself in love. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 3422- 3423)

Shepherding and teaching are the essential functions in the gifts (among the gifted persons) given by Christ the ascended Head to the churches for the building up of His Body. Among the four kinds of gifted persons, the ministry of the first three, that is, of the apostles, prophets, and evangelists, depends upon shepherding. This is confirmed by the Lord’s charge to Peter in John 21:15-17...Without shepherding, the apostles, prophets, and evangelists cannot function. John 21:15 says, “Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?”... Peter said, “Lord, You know,” because he had denied the Lord three times... In restoring Peter’s love toward Him, the Lord charged him to shepherd and feed His sheep.

Peter speaks of Christ being the Shepherd and Overseer of our soul, our inner being and real person (1 Pet. 2:25). Then in 5:1-2 he tells the elders that their obligation is to shepherd God’s flock according to God. According to God means that we must live God...We have God in our understanding, in our theology, and in our teaching, but we may not live God when we are shepherding people. When we are one with God, we become God. Then we have God and are God in our shepherding of others.

In addition to the shepherding by the main function of the gifted persons, Christ as the Head of the church also charged the apostles to appoint elders (overseers) in all the local churches to carry out His shepherding of His flock (1 Tim. 3:1-7; 5:17a). The Head of the church gave many gifted persons to function in shepherding for the building up of His Body, but the Body is manifested in the local churches. The Body is universal and abstract, but the churches are located and substantial... The local shepherds are more practical. Christ as the Head of the church charged the apostles, the universal shepherds, to appoint some local elders to take care of the located churches.

The obligation of the elders in the churches is to shepherd (1 Pet. 5:2a), as Christ did and as the gifted persons do. The elders are also obligated to teach to strengthen the shepherding and carry out its goal (1 Tim. 3:2b; 5:17b) according to what Christ taught in the four Gospels and what the gifted persons taught in the Epistles. First Timothy 3:2 says that the elders must be apt to teach. This means that teaching is their habit. Some elders have a quiet disposition. These ones especially must deny themselves to be apt to teach, and to be apt to teach is to be apt to talk. This is to talk not about vain things but about the truths of God’s economy. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 5, “The Vital Groups,” pp. 113-114, 116-117)