China Insight July/August 2007

Sanbanpuren—Three Grades of Servant
Part 3: The Organization
edited by Tony Lambert, OMF Director for China Research

All sources agree that Three Grades of Servant (TGS) is a strictly hierarchical organization totally controlled by the “Great Servant” (Xu Shengguang) himself — at least until his recent execution in November 2006 for his responsibility (as claimed by the Chinese authorities) in the murder of 20 members of the rival cult, Eastern Lightning.
TGS is divided into three banci or “grades”—thus the name Three Grades of Servants. Xu claimed to find this idea in the Bible, stating that in the Old Testament there were three servants of God — Moses, Aaron and Hur. In the New Testament there were three friends of Jesus — Mary, Martha and Lazarus. Further, Jesus talked of three different amounts of talents (one, two and five) in the parable of the talents. On this extremely flimsy exegetical basis, which owes more to the Chinese love of numerology than to a true understanding of scripture, an entire elaborate cultic system has been erected.
Xu arrogated to himself the position of “Great Servant” at the top of the organization and claimed to be on a level with Moses. Below him were the “Lesser Servants,” with a rank similar to that of Joshua. Below them come the “Handmaidens” (Shizhe), responsible for TGS in one or more provinces. Then come the “Workers,” “Lesser Workers” and “Pillars of the Church” who are responsible for the cult at county level or below and for local preaching. Those who have no gifts of speaking are sent out to build up the cult’s financial empire, as barbers, car mechanics, restaurant workers etc.
In 1996 as we have seen in a previous issue of China Insight, Xu ratcheted up his authority a further notch by claiming to be the “Incarnate Master” with absolute authority over his followers. They are not allowed to go directly to God for forgiveness but must confess their sins through Xu himself who thus effectively replaced Christ as sole mediator.
TGS believers’ lives are completely controlled by Xu’s authoritarian system. They are encouraged to give everything to the cult as a mark of their salvation. Some have donated all their property and bankrupted themselves. Xu forbade marriage saying normal sexual relations within it were “dirty” and “unholy.” He ordered husbands and wives to live separately causing the break-up of many families (Recognizing Heresies). Their daily life is completely controlled by the cult. The preachers are told to go to bed at midnight and rise at 4 a.m. and every moment of the day they work for TGS without any leisure time. They are strictly forbidden from visiting their homes or families without permission (Discerning Truth from Heresies).
TGS members are not allowed to have any fellowship with other believers or other churches. Listening to gospel radio broadcasts from overseas is strictly forbidden. They are not allowed to receive preachers, even those well known to them, without Xu’s express permission.
A Culture of Violence
From 1996 onwards Xu taught “salvation from sin through beating.” When members confess their sins or transgress the cult’s regulations they must be punished by beatings. Xu and his “handmaidens” decided on the number of beatings depending on the gravity of the “sin.” The least number of beatings was set at 40, under the specious argument that as the Apostle Paul had been beaten that number of times, the TGS believers had to experience more beatings as they had not reached his level! Many are beaten 50 or even 100 times. If they are unable to bear this at one time, then they accumulate beatings which are carried over to a future occasion. This has created a climate of fear within the cult, as members trembled whenever they saw Xu. This atmosphere of terror is light years away from the true gospel of grace.
On March 12, 1999 the Chinese Ministry of Public Security issued a document identifying TGS as a cult; this was circulated nation wide. It only stated what was already well-known in many house-church circles. A respected house-church leader in Beijing revealed in April 2007 that he had been aware of Xu’s moral failings and that TGS was a cult as early as 1988, more than ten years earlier.
Also in 1999 two TGS preachers were reported to have had their legs broken by the cult when they started preaching against it (Discerning Truth). With this background of a culture of fear, intimidation and physical beating it is unsurprising that when, in 2002, a “turf war” broke out between TGS and the rival Eastern Lightning cult the former should resort to violence which resulted in the murder of 20 people. (See China Insight March-April 2007 edition for full details.)
Breaking Free
From about 1994 a house-church booklet called Recognizing Heresies, which included first-hand material denouncing TGS by a former member who had been genuinely converted to Christ, was circulated within China. Many members began to have doubts, and more than 800 TGS groups left the cult.

The author of Recognizing Heresies shares his testimony as follows:
“I am an evangelist formerly misled by TGS. I believed in the Lord in 1989, but only that he was the true God — apart from this I knew nothing of the truth of the Bible. I was told to preach by TGS, as my whole family would then be saved. If I did not it would be very hard for them to get to heaven. So out of fear of going to hell, I set out to preach what the TGS leaders told me. Many believed but I myself was unclear whether I was truly born again and saved.
“In 1993 God finally opened my blind eyes to understand the basic truths of scripture, such as justification by faith, the new birth, Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, coming again, his atonement for us etc. I began to doubt TGS teachings. But they said I was misled by false prophets and told me if I left I would never be saved and would go to hell. All my previous service and labor would be in vain. They then came to all the churches I visited and told them not to receive me or they would be cursed. A battle raged in my heart as to whether TGS was true or not. Then the Lord led me to Romans 16:17-18 [‘I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving the Lord Christ but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naïve people.’] I then understood that TGS members were exactly such people. Now I can look back and see how much I suffered under their domination, living in daily fear of being cast out. On the surface I was serving the Lord, but in reality I did everything looking to please man. I had no peace but lived in fear and trembling.”
Conclusions
In November 2004 the New York Times suggested that the violent power struggle between TGS and Eastern Lightning exposes the growing desperation of rural people feeling left out of the economic boom as the countryside falls further and further behind the cities. Corruption and the collapse of state-sponsored social services have left the rural underclass desperate for salvation. Professor Kang Xiaoguang of the Qinghua University Political Science Department has stated that evil cults are popular among rural people abandoned by the government, as they provide social services the government is not providing and give people a sense of belonging. Christians would add that a major cause of the rise of cults such as TGS is the continuing repression of genuine house churches and the lack of sound Bible training. Behind it all, Satan, the enemy of souls, seeks to cast tares into the harvest field and destroy the growing church in China.
Sources
I have sought out as many Chinese sources as possible. As the claim has been made overseas that anyone believing TGS to be a cult has been influenced by Chinese government or Three Self propaganda, I have gone out of my way to use as many Chinese house-church sources and independent journalists as possible.

Zhenli Yiduan Zhenwei Bian [Discerning Truth from Heresies], China Ministries International (CMI), Taipei, April 2000. (This book contains an excellent chapter on TGS based on first-hand research and interviews.) This chapter was published earlier as an independent article in Zhongguo Yu Fuyin (China and the Gospel), No 33, November-December 1999.

Phoenix Weekly (Hong Kong), No. 11, 2006. April 15 2006. Three extensive articles on TGS. English translation available on www.zonaeuropa.com.

Chinese Around the World, September 1999.

China Aid press release, 25 May 2004.

New York Times, 11 & 25 November 2004. Joseph Kahn interviewed local people in Jilin, site of some of the murders.

Washington Post, 28 November 2004.

Reuters, 7 July 2006.

The Guardian (UK), 8 July 2006.

New York Times, 29 November 2006. Joseph Kahn.

The Times, 30 November 2006.

Zhongguode Yiduan [China’s Heresies], Lin Xiangao, Guangzhou. Privately-printed house-church booklet, June 1996.

Renshi Yiduan [Recognizing Heresies], house-church booklet given to me in south China in 1998. An important source giving 12 pages on TGS by a former member, which according to the CMI book listed above was circulating within China from around 1994.

Letter from house-church Christian, Anhui, 12 February 1996.

Letter from Mr. Huang [former TGS leader], Ankang, Shaanxi, 21 November 1999.

Letter from house-church Christian Mr. Yang, Hunan, 30 April 2001.

Letter from house-church Christian, Mr. Li, Yunnan, 9 October 1999.

Appeal from Yunnan, Christian Communications Ltd., Hong Kong, September 2000.

Ministry of Public Security document, 10 May, 2000 – English translation published in Religion and National Security in China, published by Voice of the Martyrs and Jubilee Campaign, February 2002.