[zeek]

Originally Posted by Eph

What is your relationship with your physical father? In my Asian culture, we never hug. Good parents provide "passive" necessity such as food and money. So when the "spiritual fathers" show up, our emotion needs are met. That cultural factor might explain why the local church is prospering in Taiwan and China now.

"Filial" 孝順 is not a western concept, it is completely a Chinese one. It has 5000 years of meaning in it. So when I heard the new term "spiritual father", it caught my attention deeply. It gave you this feeling mixed of solemn, owe, fear, gratefullness, foreign, mysterial, etc. My heart was captured by the teachings of the "spiritual fathers." They are of Christ.

Here is Witness Lee on the "spiritual fathers"

'The children of Israel were numbered by the families and their leaders, that is, by the source of life and under its leadership (authority). The families refer to the source of life. In our spiritual history, there should be a source of life. Even in the church life today, we must have a family. Who brought you to Christ? Who begot you in Christ? In other words, who is your spiritual father? In this matter, the Bible is balanced. Of course, God is our divine Father. Nevertheless, Paul told the Corinthian believers that they might have had "ten thousand guides in Christ, yet not many fathers," for in Christ Jesus he had begotten them through the gospel (1 Cor. 4:15), imparting the divine life into them so that they became children of God and members of Christ. Thus, those believers belonged to Paul's "family." They did not hear the gospel, repent, and believe apart from him as their spiritual father, their source. As believers in Christ, we all have three kinds of fathers: a fleshly father, a spiritual father, and the divine Father. Today's numbering depends on the source of life." [ Life-Study of Numbers]

Here is Lee on Watchman Nee as his spiritual father:

"Let me tell you a story concerning my own experience. For a period of six years, from 1942 to 1948, Brother Watchman Nee was out of his ministry. Because of the work of the Devil in China, there was a spiritual storm that kept Watchman from ministering. He and I were separated during the war. After the war, in 1946, I was invited to come from the north to the capital city in the south. When some of the co-workers who were involved in that storm against Brother Nee and who also knew me very well came from afar to meet with me, they said, "Brother Lee, can you say that Brother Nee has ever been wrong?" I replied, "Brothers, whether he is wrong or right is not my business. You must admit one thing—that we all owe very much to Brother Nee. We all must admit that he was just like a father to us all. If he was not a father to you, I must testify strongly that, in the Lord's economy, he certainly was a father to me. Before I met with Brother Nee, I knew nothing of the Lord's economy. He is my spiritual father, and my spiritual being came out of him." Then I told the brothers the story of Noah. I said, "Brothers, look at Noah's case. Was Noah wrong? Certainly he was wrong. But, it is not a matter of whether Noah was right or wrong; it is all a matter of from where we have received our being. Was Noah not our father? If he was your neighbor and not your father, it would be another story. But remember that you derived your being from him. He is your father. Whatever you are and whatever you obtained has come out of him. This involves you with the divine government. Brothers, I didn't see the thing for which people condemn Brother Nee. Even if I did see that he was wrong, I have no position to say anything about his wrongdoing, because he is my spiritual father and my spiritual being came out of him. I could never say anything against him. I am under God's government. Brothers, you must consider that it is not a small thing to be against our spiritual father. When you were not against Brother Nee, what was your inner feeling?" They all admitted that they felt so much life. When I asked, "How about now?" they responded, "We have to admit that we are just dead. We have no anointing or watering within. We are dried up." Then I said, "Brothers, you should listen to this real sensation. Don't care for your mental analysis. According to your mental analysis, Brother Nee is condemned, but as long as you condemn him, you are dead. The more you condemn him, the more dead you are." Immediately, the brothers turned and were saved from their dead situation." [Life-Study of Genesis]