The reason we initiated the lawsuit was to fight for the reputation of the Lord’s recovery. The changes made by the slanderers turned our teaching into the heresy of modalism. I have said repeatedly that we are not modalists. Although we say that the Son is the Father (Isa. 9:6) and that the Son became the Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b), this is the teaching concerning the Trinity, not the teaching of modalism. In America, some teach modalism while others teach tritheism. But the Lord’s recovery is very balanced; we advocate neither modalism nor tritheism but emphasize the Trinity and speak in great detail about the essential Trinity and the economical Trinity. This may be quite new to the average theologian and professor in seminaries in America. In order to get a deeper understanding of this truth, some young brothers purposely have dived into all the theology from the age of the church fathers to the present time and found out all the truths related to the Divine Trinity. [448]

Christianity has already been on the earth for two thousand years. Perhaps one day many of our young people will go to the West, especially to America, for propagation. We know that in America there is a lot of trouble when it comes to truth. It is a place where truth easily gives rise to debate. Therefore, every one of us has to study the truth in depth so that when the time comes, we can show our real aptitude.

First Being Equipped with the Truth

In order to go forth to work for the Lord, first we must equip ourselves that we may be enriched in the knowledge of the truth. If we do this, whenever we speak, we will be able to present the truth clearly and reasonably, and those who hear us will also be convinced. The present world has been polluted by Christianity for more than one thousand years, so the truth of God has no way to spread. Therefore, today we all have to receive the commission to spread the truth throughout the world. This is not an easy thing. It is not like in the past when the Western missionaries came to China. At that time the Chinese people were like blank sheets of paper toward Christianity. The missionaries just hired some poor or low-class people by giving them candy or money. They asked them to cook meals or sweep the floor for them, and then they preached a little sermon to them. But today we cannot do that when we go to South America, Europe, or Africa. Because all these places have already been fully polluted by Christianity, when we go, we must be familiar with the truth and have much learning in the matter of service so that we may be able to meet the need.

As those who serve the Lord, we must be equipped in these two matters: the growth in life and the familiarity with the truth. Therefore, we should be diligent not only in reading the Bible but also in reading the spiritual books. We have to spend time to study every page of every book that has been published from the time of Brother Nee until this day. We have to try our best to make good use of our time, reading a little bit even after every meal. We have to practice this to the extent that we have a book in hand all the time. Even before bedtime we should study a little more.

If we are willing to spend all our effort, all our heart, and all our time to study the truth, we will be able to lay a very good foundation within two years. In addition, we should learn to serve. Young [449] people have to be trained, either for two years or for four years. During this training period, other than all the required courses, all the spiritual publications must be considered extracurricular reading and be studied with diligence. It is a great loss to miss even one of them. This will help you to be equipped in the truth so that when you go out to preach, you will be very fluent in speaking and able to speak without any difficulty at all. Do not learn the truth only on the surface; rather, learn it to the extent that you not only know how to speak the truth but also how to speak it with great skill.

In order to be familiar with the truth, we must read the Bible thoroughly and read many spiritual books. It is neither a boast nor a deception to say that all the books in the Lord’s recovery are the extracts of the truths in Christianity. They are the crystallization of the study of the Bible and the spiritual life-experiences of Christians throughout the last two thousand years. Hence, we should endeavor to enter into all these spiritual riches and not waste our time or money on other unnecessary pursuits. We should save all our time and money in order to spend them on studying the Bible and spiritual books. In this way, after a few years of study we will have a thorough grasp of the truth.

To meet the great need of the Lord’s recovery all over the earth, we must cooperate with the Lord’s move by observing the outward situation on the one hand and being led by the Lord within on the other. Prior to this, however, we have to be equipped with the truth. This is a very crucial matter.