Spiritual Authority by Watchman Nee

[Ohio]

Here is an example of the extreme views W. Nee purported concerning "Delegated Function being Deputy Authority." -- Collected Works Vol 47, pg 175 ...

No one dares to say that he would not submit to the Lord's authority. But there is also the authority of the members in coordination that we have to submit to. We have to realize that all the members are joined together. If we do not receive help from other members, we are in rebellion. Sometimes the Lord uses one member directly. At other times, the Lord uses a member to supply another member. When the head directs the eyes to see, the whole body takes the seeing of the eyes as its own seeing because when the eyes see, the whole body sees. This delegated function, which is deputy authority, is also the authority of the Head. If any other members think that they can see for themselves, they are in rebellion. We cannot be so foolish as to think that we are almighty.

Twice in this short section, Nee uses examples of members not "submitting" to one another, and jumps to the extreme, citing they are "in rebellion." The apostle Paul's premier teaching on this subject -- First Corinthians -- with the host of problems they manifested among their members -- never once mentioned this sin of "rebellion." Yes, Paul taught us that we need the other members of the body, but he never introduced such condemnations upon their shortcomings.

Just cracking this book again, randomly opening to this section, gives me a peephole into the extremes of the Recovery system I once lived in. With such a "foundation" in the Recovery as this, one can easily understand how minor differences between leaders can easily rise to the level of spewing epithets like "rebel" and "leper." Teachings such as this can easily be used by abusive leaders.

The primary message of the New Testament, however, is not that we must find another member to submit to, rather that we must love the Lord and submit to Him. The whole law is not summarized in "submit to thy neighbor," but to "love thy neighbor."

Nee's extreme teachings have distorted the message of the gospel by introducing Chinese customs and culture. While they apparently sound spiritual and scriptural, we must look at the fruit. Teachings on submission and authority have produced ruling dynasties in China for millennia, and one might conclude that LSM had similar motives for the church of God. While these teachings and strict authoritarian rule of law might result in a well-ordered society, they do so by producing slaves of their citizens.