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Additional Quotes about the Local Church by Watchman Nee and Witness Lee
The second part begins after we break bread. The Lord does not want us to stop once we have come to Him. We must receive the Lord, but it does not stop there. It is wonderful that the Father received us when we received the Lord. We have to be clear about this. Through the gospel, we receive the Lord, not the Father. The Bible does not say that we should receive the Father. It always says that we should receive the Son. Nevertheless, we ourselves are received by the Father. Because we receive the Son, the Father considers us acceptable. To receive the Son is the first half of salvation. When the Father receives us, salvation is complete. The Son is the One we receive; this is the first half. God is the One who receives us; this completes the other half. Hence, after breaking the bread, we go to the Father. We have received and met the Lord. Now He brings us to the Father. This is the second part of our bread-breaking meeting. We should go to God and praise Him in this part of the meeting.
Psalm 22 has two sections. The first section is from verse 1 through verse 21, which speaks of how the Lord bore our shame, how He suffered pain, and how He was forsaken by the Father. This section refers to the Lord’s death for us on the cross. The second section begins from verse 22 and continues until the end. This section speaks of the Lord leading His many “brothers” in their praise to God in the midst of the assembly. In other words, the first section is our remembrance of the Lord, and the second section is the Lord bringing us to the Father to praise Him.
On the day the Lord Jesus resurrected, He said to Mary, “I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God” (John 20:17). In earlier chapters in the Gospel of John, the Lord Jesus addressed the Father as “My Father” or just “Father.” But here He says, “My Father and your Father.” When we receive the Lord’s death and resurrection into us, His Father becomes our Father. The three parables in Luke 15 show us the good Shepherd and then the loving Father. The good Shepherd comes to seek us, whereas the loving Father waits for us at home. The good Shepherd left His home to seek the lost sheep, but the loving Father accepts us at home. We have met the good Shepherd. Now we are going to meet the Father. Therefore, during the second part of the meeting, all hymns and prayers should be directed toward the Father. We meet the Son during the first part of the bread-breaking meeting. During the second part, the Lord brings us to the Father. The Holy Spirit is the One who conducts the meeting, and He always conducts us this way in this meeting. The leading of the Holy Spirit will not go against the principle of salvation. We need to learn to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. If we give Him the freedom, He will lead us in such a way.
Hebrews 2 shows us that the Lord Jesus is bringing many sons into glory. When the Lord Jesus was on earth, He was the only begotten Son of God; He was the only One. But He died and resurrected. Now we have received Him and have become God’s sons. The Lord Jesus is the firstborn Son, and we are the many sons. Verse 12 says, “In the midst of the church I will sing hymns of praise to You.” The meeting spoken of in Hebrews 2 is the meeting of the firstborn Son with the many sons singing praises to the Father. The second part of the bread-breaking meeting is precisely this meeting of the firstborn Son with the many sons. We should learn to raise our spirit to the peak in this part of the meeting. The second part of the bread-breaking meeting is the best time on earth for us to sing praises to the Father. We need to learn to raise our spirits to the height in this section of the meeting.
God is enthroned “upon the praises of Israel” (Psa. 22:3). The more the church of God praises, the more it touches the throne. The more a person praises, the more he knows the throne. Let us read together one stanza of a hymn:
Father, to Thee a joyful song we raise
With all Thine own;
And in Thy presence sound a note of praise
To Thee alone;
Bro’t nigh, bro’t home to Thee—O wondrous grace,
That gives us now with Thine own Son our place.
(Hymns, #52)
This is a very good hymn. It touches the sentiment of the Son leading many sons to the praise of the Father. It is difficult to find another song like this one.
The meeting spoken of in Hebrews 2 is the best meeting. Today we are learning a little. One day, when we are in heaven, we will meet to our delight and satisfaction. But before we enter into glory, we should experience the firstborn Son leading many sons to praise the Father and experience praising the Father in the midst of the church. This is the highest peak that a church meeting can ever reach. It is something very glorious.
(Watchman Nee, Collected Works, Set 3, Vol. 48, 201-203)
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