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  • Recognizing the Theocratic Organization for Life
    The Watchtower—1954 | September 1
    • such as James, the half brother of Jesus Christ. (Acts 15:1-29; Gal. 1:18, 19; Jas. 1:1) Naturally, the governing body of the “faithful and discreet slave” class today does not include any of the twelve apostles, now long absent from the earthly scene, but it does follow the written instructions of those apostles and the other older men associated with them in writing the Christian Greek Scriptures. The theocratic governing body of today includes older, spiritually qualified men of the anointed remnant.

      16. With what is the governing body closely associated, and how is its extension throughout the earth carried on?

      16 Being adapted to modern conditions and requirements and being obliged to render to Caesar Caesar’s things, the visible theocratic organization today has a legally established service agency, the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, incorporated in 1884 under the laws of the state of Pennsylvania, United States of America. (Matt. 22:21) It is with this legal corporation that the governing body of the “faithful and discreet slave” class is closely associated for administrative, legal and publishing purposes, to see that “this good news of the kingdom” is preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations. (Matt. 24:14, NW) As the Kingdom preaching has expanded to 150 lands already, this legal corporation has branch offices in over sixty of such lands. Properly and necessarily the branches are given financial support by the original legal corporation. The Christian men put in charge of such branches are dedicated witnesses of Jehovah and are called “branch servants.” Branch servants are just that, “servants,” not bosses. All considered, our recognizing the theocratic organization today must take in our recognizing all these arrangements and provisions of Jehovah God through Jesus Christ for our day. In proof of our loyal recognition of such, we should strive to co-operate faithfully with the theocratic organization and its appointments and operating parts.

      17. Since when does Isaiah 32:1, 2 apply, and how?

      17 Since God established the Kingdom in the heavens A.D. 1914, and particularly since 1919, the prophecy of Isaiah 32:1 (RS) has applied concerning the enthroned Jesus and his appointed servants on earth: “Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes [sarimʹ, Hebrew] will rule in justice. Each will be like a hiding-place from the wind, a covert from the tempest, like streams of water in a dry place, like the shade of a great rock in a weary land.” Since “princes” or sarimʹ here means, not worldly princes, but principal theocratic men, those who are the appointed chief ones in a class or group even down to a group of ten, the “faithful and discreet slave” class would be occupying a princely position respecting the “other sheep” of Jehovah’s witnesses. The branch servants, whether members of the anointed remnant or members of the “other sheep” class, would be theocratic princes or sarimʹ in the territory under the respective branches. Any male servant appointed by the governing body and ‘ruling in justice’ among ten of Jehovah’s witnesses would be a theocratic prince or sar. Of all of Jehovah’s witnesses on earth the theocratic sarimʹ especially should recognize the theocratic organization today operating.

      18. On what basis are any retained in service as sarimʹ, and what does their ‘ruling in justice’ require?

      18 Jehovah’s theocratic King, Jesus Christ, retains in his service on earth only faithful and obedient “princes.” For them to be kept in special service the sarimʹ must recognize their Lord, Jehovah’s enthroned King, and must humble themselves under his royal hand and must rule in justice. Ruling in justice means that the sarimʹ must do right by their King Jesus Christ, must do right by the King’s “faithful and discreet slave” that has been appointed over all his earthly belongings, and must do right by the King’s other sheep, his subjects. The position of sarimʹ of the King is not the place for men to follow the custom that unfortunately held true in Israel during the period of the judges: “In those days there was no king in Israel. What was right in his own eyes was what each one was accustomed to do.” (Judg. 21:25, NW) Being examples to those among whom they serve, the sarimʹ themselves should carry out the organization instructions. This means they must carefully inform themselves on such instructions—priests of ancient Israel even used to memorize their Bible instructions—and must study them over. In that way they will get the understanding of their meaning and also of their implications, thus being able to take care of many things that are not expressly stated in the instructions. After that, to rule in justice, they will endeavor to be always in accord with organization instructions.

      19. Taking the branch servant, for instance, what is the main reason for him to recognize the organization and submit to instructions?

      19 In the case of a branch servant, for instance, he will bear in mind that the branch of a tree or vine does not bear up the main stock, but the stock is what sustains all the branches. The branch cannot operate sundered from the main stock; it must abide in it if it is to produce fruit. So it is with a branch organization. It is merely the agency of the legal corporation that provides the funds and other means of operation, and so it is financially dependent upon the original corporation. Such financial dependence in itself imposes upon the branch servant to do what he is told to do; for the funds-supplying Society is responsible to spend money on the branch and it must account to God for how it uses its funds. The theocratic contributors to the Society hold it responsible to spend the money in the wisest, most effective way. Even in this world such a procedure is counted as normal, good, sound business practice. Accordingly the branch servant must obey organization instructions and must strive to be effective in his place of service in order to bring about the most economical operation of the branch with the best and biggest results. But since he is one of the King’s sarimʹ) there should be a motive much higher than that of financial obligation and dependence, for our organization is not commercialistic. The higher motive springs from the fact that the organization is theocratic, subject to Jehovah God and ruled by him through his reigning King Jesus Christ. This is the main reason for all those dedicated to God to recognize the organization, to be submissive to it and to prove loyal to it.

  • Examples of Recognizing the Organization
    The Watchtower—1954 | September 1
    • Examples of Recognizing the Organization

      1. What Scriptural example do we have of a missionary’s recognizing the organization, and what was the outcome of this?

      CONSIDER a number of good examples of properly recognizing the theocratic organization and its governing body. Not so long after the Christian congregation was organized at Jerusalem rabid persecution by the Jewish religionists scattered the congregation from the city, except the apostles, who remained as the governing body. Philip the evangelist or missionary carried the preaching of the good news north into Samaria and succeeded in establishing a congregation in the city, the

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