Edification in Peace

Edification in Peace

“Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied.” Acts 9:31.

This is how it must be in the church in every place now, in preparation for Christ’s coming. Everyone must examine himself whether he is a disturbing element in any way because of his personal ideas and opinions.

For many years, an older brother had been causing strife and unrest in the church where he lived, but when he read an article on “Self-Assertion,” a heavenly light was kindled in his heart. The result was a radical conversion and transformation. He saw the ugliness of asserting himself in his own strength and with his own opinions. He became a humble and peaceable man, full of joy and peace; he was a blessing in the church for the rest of his days until God took him home.

All of us are evil and selfish by nature. We must become radically converted, and be born again by faith, so that we change from being troublemakers to being peacemakers. God acknowledges only the peacemakers as His children. We must pursue the things that make for peace and the edification of one another. Rom. 14:19. If we do not pursue peace and sanctification, we will not see the Lord. Heb. 12:14.

Evil suspicions are a sinister source of all unrest. A person’s imagination can get him to see and hear things just about everywhere; he imagines that everyone wants to “get him.” One can talk and talk about all those horrible things which most likely have no real basis in fact if one examined them more closely.

The church can be affected by terrible unrest if one’s marriage partner, usually the wife, fans these dangerous flames of suspicion. Such a person can think of herself as being “sharp,” and able to test the spirits—yet she is unable to judge herself.

First and foremost we must believe the word that the hidden things belong to the Lord; then there will be rest if we commit all things to Him who judges righteously.

A person who has a suspicious spirit will end up inhabiting dry and remote places, without peace, and driven by an evil conscience. Cain was a vagrant on earth because he was envious. Being without peace is one of the most terrible states to be in. On the other hand, it is great and glorious to be at rest.

There is a state of mind that is called “going around with a leader in your belly.” A person with that kind of an attitude causes much unrest. Not a single ministry in the church must be counted a robbery in a human way. God takes His servants from among those who humble themselves, who abase themselves, and gives them as gifts to the church. They are just as much at rest when they are reviled as when they are praised. They are servants, and not lords. They are free from themselves and bound to Christ.

“No one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.” 1 Cor. 12:3. If Jesus is not Lord in our lives through the power of the Holy Spirit, then the lord and prince of this world will exercise power over us by the spirit of unbelief through all the visible things that cause so much unrest.

With the help of the Holy Spirit the church is built up according to the mind and nature of Christ. It is built up with clear, prophetic words through exhortation, edification, and comfort. When the church comes together, everything is to be done for edification, and everything that is done should be done in harmony with the Scriptures. It is improper to cultivate a human tendency for making long speeches. The older ones are to work in such a way that the younger ones can grow up and become perfect in the work of the ministry. Eph. 4:12. The Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God causes the Word to be living, glorious, and blessed. Then it is easy for the elect to receive the Word, with the result that there will be growth and progress.

The church is the house and the temple of the Lord on earth; it can be built up only by the living Word of God. Everything else is hay, stubble, and straw. Every one of us is a temple of the Holy Spirit, and by the help and the power of the Holy Spirit, the Word of God, which is the only everlasting glory, is built into us. At Jesus’ soon coming all these glorious heart-temples will be united into one great, perfected, and glorious temple that will be with God for all eternity.

The fear of the Lord must be over every single gathering of the church; we must take great care that everything is done for edification. “Since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the edification of the church that you seek to excel.” 1 Cor. 14:12. For example, if someone has not received the gift of tongues in abundance, he should not serve with it at meetings, and especially not at our conferences. We are not to be carried away by our soulish feelings; whatever we say should be said according to the work of the Spirit, with all soundness and soberness. Then the tongue and the interpretation will be a blessing and for edification, and the interpretation will always be in harmony with the Word of God. If one is in doubt, it is best to be silent. A message in tongues is a prayer of praise and thanksgiving, and the interpretation will be accordingly. Paul exhorts us to pursue especially the gift of prophesying—which means that one speaks to men for edification and exhortation and comfort. 1 Cor. 14:1-3.

Babylon is the dwelling place of every evil and unclean spirit (Rev. 18:2), but the church is to be a clean dwelling place of everything that is wrought by the Holy Spirit. It is to be clean from everything that is great in man’s eyes—for all that is an abomination before God.

When Paul spoke the Word of God for the edification of the body of Christ, he spoke with fear and trembling, not with excellency of speech. He made himself as invisible as possible so that the Word of Jesus Christ, and Him crucified, could come forth with power and glory.

We should have this fear over us when we stand before the church of the living God to speak the Word of God. One can possess certain human talents when it comes to “making an appearance,” and there is no end to a person venturing out into shallowness once he becomes aware of it. Such a person is an entertaining buffoon and not a servant of God. The listeners are more occupied with the man’s many gestures than with what he says. People like that can make long speeches spiced with many funny remarks, but they do not have a message from God for the edification of the church. Precious time is being stolen; everything like that must be cleansed away. It is better to speak five prophetic words for edification, exhortation, and comfort, than come with all kinds of human showmanship.

A man of God who is free from himself and his own honor can proclaim the Word of God with zeal and joy and use his arms and legs to emphasize the message, but not himself. One is blessed and edified by such a pure and undefiled Word spoken in the zeal of the Spirit. At the same time one stands before God’s face with fear and trembling.

May our testimony be the same as Paul’s when he said in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.”

As long as our “I” is alive, all our achievements are unsavory in God’s eyes. “Here I come” must not stand up in the church to speak.

We must be on guard so that our church meetings do not become spiritually inferior because of all these things that cause unrest. May we be built up in peace, walk in the fear of the Lord, and grow with the help of the Holy Spirit.