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The
Body of Christ: A Reality
Watchman Nee
Translator's
Preface
"And gave Him [Christ] to be
head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him that
fills all in all" (Eph. 1:22,23). As Christ the Head is a reality, so the
church as the body of Christ is a reality. To many,
however, the body of Christ is a vague, nebulous and abstract term. It is
merely a beautiful concept or a noble theory. It is not a living reality as is
presented in the Scriptures. The time has come, and now is, that all who seek
the Lord should enter into a new understanding of the body of Christ. We need
to see that the body of Christ is a life which we live in. It ought to become
our daily experience.
In this little volume of
collected messages selected for the unity of their subject matter and given by
the author through years of faithful ministry, Watchman Nee attempts to show us
the reality of the body of Christ. He proves to us that the body of Christ is
founded on life and life consciousness. It is built on a living relationship
among its members as well as with its head. This body is governed by its own
laws, and blessed are those who discover these laws
and follow them. To them the body of Christ is indeed a living reality.
May God grant to all who read
this book wisdom and strength for living in the reality of the body of Christ.
1. Life and
Consciousness
In Him was
life; and the life was the light of men. (Jn. 1:4)
So then,
brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. (Rom.
8:12)
And whether
one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or one member is honored,
all the members rejoice with it. (1 Cor. 12:26)
From the human standpoint, life
seems to be rather intangible and quite abstract. How can anyone present life
in such manner as to cause people to recognize that it in fact is life? We
cannot take life as such and explain it to others,
neither can others explain it to us. Nevertheless, we may all know and
recognize this life through the feeling of life's consciousness, which to us is
far more substantial. Now by the same token, the life which God has given to
the Christian believer can likewise be known by its consciousness. Although we
cannot take hold of such divine life and show it to ourselves or to other
people, we nonetheless know we have this new life because there is
within us an altogether new consciousness.
Consciousness of God's Life
After a person has accepted the
Lord we say he not only is saved but also has been regenerated. This means that
this man is now born of God. He has received a new life from Him. Yet this is
something difficult to explain. How does he know he has the life of God? How
will other people know he has divine life? How will the church recognize that
he has the life of God? The presence of divine life is proven through life's
consciousness. If the life of God is in him, the consciousness of that life
must be in him as well.
What is life's consciousness? A
Christian who is occasionally overcome by sin feels most uncomfortable. And
this is one facet of consciousness. He feels restless when he sins. He
immediately senses a veil between him and God after he has sinned and instantly
loses his inner joy. Such manifestations as these are facets of life's
consciousness, for because the life of God hates sin, therefore a person who
has God's life must also have a certain feeling against sin. The very fact of
his possessing this life's sense proves he possesses such life.
Suppose a man says he has
confessed he is a sinner and has also accepted the Lord Jesus as his Savior,
but he never has any sense against sin. Is this man born again? In such a case,
if he should commit any sin, someone has to go to his home and tell him that
what he has done is wrong before he will ever acknowledge that he has indeed done
wrong. When a person asks him why he commits such a wrong, he will ignorantly
answer, Why can't I do it? When a second time he is
informed that he has committed another sin, he again will confess that he has
done something wrong. Yet not long afterwards he commits another sin, and
someone is once more obliged to tell him of this transgression before he once
again acknowledges his sin, and someone is once more obliged to tell him of
this transgression before he once again acknowledges this wrong. Here, it is
not that he does not listen to his prompter's word; as a matter of fact he is
quite obedient to the other person's word. The problem is, though, that he
himself has no spiritual consciousness. Can it therefore be said that such a
person has God's life if he is utterly void of any spiritual awareness and that
others have to feel for him? If he has the life of God, he should have its
consciousness with him. It is absolutely impossible for a person to have
spiritual life and yet not have the consciousness of that life. The life of God
is not something nebulous, nor is it abstract; it is very concrete and
substantial. And how do we know it is substantial? Because
such life has its own consciousness.
Having the life of God, a person
is not only, negatively speaking, aware of sins but he also, positively
speaking, knows God: for what we receive is not the spirit of a bond-slave but
the spirit of sonship. We just naturally feel that
God is very approachable and that calling Him "Abba, Father" is most
sweet (Gal. 4:6). The Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are
children of God (Rom. 8:16). Knowing God as Father is therefore the inner
consciousness of this life.
Some people merely have doctrinal
understanding; they have never met God; and they are therefore afraid of Him
whom they cannot touch. They do not have any life relationship with God, and
the Holy Spirit has not borne witness with their spirit that they are God's
children. They cannot cry out of their spirit, Abba, Father. Such people may pray,
though in their prayer they neither sense the distance of sin nor the nearness
of the Lord. They do not have the feeling of the awfulness of sin nor the
intimacy of God. They have no relationship with Him because they have not yet
received new life from Him. Hence they do not feel that God is near, nor do
they sense that Christ has already removed the wall of partition between them
and God. In short, they do not have the consciousness of being the children of
God. They may confess that they are Christians, but their feeling before God is
inadequate. Though with their mouth they may say, "Heavenly Father,"
there is no such sensation within them. Only the presence of such a
consciousness proves the existence of such a life. Now if there has never been
such an awareness, how can anyone say that there is
such life within them?
Body Consciousness a Facet of Life's
Consciousness
The same is true with regard to
the body of Christ. Many brothers and sisters ask: How can I say I have seen
the body of Christ? On what ground may I assert that I have lived out the life
of the body of Christ? Our answer is simple: all who know the life of the body
of Christ will have the consciousness of the body of Christ. If you have really
seen the body, you cannot but have body consciousness - because the life in you
being a reality and an experience, it cannot fail to show forth its
consciousness. You perceive the body of Christ not only as a principle or as a
teaching but you discover that the body of Christ is a matter of real inward
consciousness.
"And whether one member
suffers, all the members suffer with it; or one member is honored, all the
members rejoice with it" (1 Cor. 12:26).
Suffering is a sensation, so is rejoicing a sensation. Although the members are
many, the life is one, and so, too, the consciousness is one.
Let us take the example of a
person who may have had installed in his body an artificial leg. Now although
it may appear to be almost the same as the other real leg, it nevertheless has
no life in it. It therefore has no body consciousness; for when other members
suffer, this artificial leg does not feel anything - when other members
rejoice, the artificial limb senses no elation. All the other members have the
same awareness because they all possess the one common life. The artificial leg
alone has no awareness because there is not that life in it.
Life cannot be simulated, nor
does it need to be. If there is life there is no need to pretend; if there is
not life there is no possibility to pretend. The most distinctive expression of
life is its consciousness. Hence a Christian who sees the body life will
invariably have body consciousness with other members of the body.
The Teaching of the Body vs. Its Reality
In spiritual things, knowing
doctrine without having consciousness is of no avail. Someone, for instance,
may say that lying is a sin which he should not commit because he has been told
by other people that a Christian should not tell lies. The real issue here is
not a matter of whether or not it is right to lie, rather is it s a question of
whether he is inwardly aware of it or not when he tells a lie. If he has no
inward consciousness that his lying is a sin, then
however much he may confess with his mouth that lying is a sin, it does not
help him at all. He may say on the one hand that a person should not lie but on
the other hand he constantly lies. What is special with those who have God's
life is that when they lie outwardly, they feel bad inwardly - not because they
know doctrinally that lying is wrong, but because they feel uncomfortable
inwardly if they do lie. This is what being called a Christian really
signifies. What characterizes a Christian is an inward awareness of this life
consciousness of which we have been speaking. He who has no life and no inner
consciousness is not a Christian. Outward rules are merely standards, not life.
Let it be said that it is totally
inadequate for a person to say, "I know the teaching of the body of
Christ, therefore I must not move independently"; he needs also to have an
inner consciousness of such a teaching. Suppose he says with his mouth that he
should not be independent and yet when he acts independently he fails to be
aware of such independence; he is thereby proven to have never truly seen the
body of Christ. This does not mean he has not heard the teaching of the body of
Christ: it simply indicates that he has not seen its reality.
Hearing the teaching and seeing
the reality of the body of Christ belong to two totally different realms.
Hearing the teaching of the body is merely an outward understanding of a
principle, whereas seeing the body of Christ produces a consciousness within.
It is similar to the situation in which merely hearing the doctrine of
salvation only gives the person the knowledge of how God saves sinners, but
that inwardly accepting the Lord Jesus as Savior creates within that person an
awareness of God as well as a consciousness of sin. What a difference between
the two! Consequently, we should not overlook this matter of life consciousness
(it not simply being an outward sensation, but an inward feeling too). Such
consciousness is life's expression. The presence or absence of this
consciousness reveals the reality or unreality within. It gives us insight into
whether or not there is the life of Christ within.
Life's consciousness is
distinctive in that it enables you to know spontaneously without the need of
being told. It is too late if you must be told before you know. What would
happen if every Christian needed to be told what sin is and what should not be
done? What if, in this event, nobody is at your side? What if you forget after
being told? Oh, let us see that a Christian does not act according to what he
hears from people without, but he is motivated by what he is told from within. Within
him is a life - an inner light, an inner consciousness. It comes from the inner
shining of God's light: it comes from the life inside and not from outside
information.
When we are born again we receive
a very real life. We thus have within us a very real consciousness. The reality
of such consciousness proves the reality of divine life. Let us ask God to be
merciful to us that we may always touch this life consciousness and live
therein. Let us also ask God to give us rich consciousness so that we may have
a sensitive awareness in all things: that we may be aware of God, of sin, of
the body of Christ, and of all spiritual realities. May God lead our way and
glorify His own name!
2. The
Consciousness of the Body of Christ
For I say,
through the grace that was given me, to every man that is among you, not to
think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but so to think soberly,
according as God has dealt to each man a measure of faith. For even as we have
many members in one body, and all the members have not the same office: so we,
who are many, are one body in Christ, and severally members one of another. (
In the previous chapter we came
to understand a little how consciousness reveals life. Here we will continue further
so that we may understand what the consciousness of the body of Christ exactly
is.
Love the Brethren
Let us first approach it from the
standpoint of love. One thing is quite marvelous when we contemplate this
verse: "We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we
love the brethren" (1 Jn. 3:14). All who have
passed out of death into life love one another. All who have become members of
the same spiritual body love one another. Such love comes from life and it
flows spontaneously. Could a person be considered a child of God if, after
answering affirmatively in a church meeting that he is a Christian and after
being reminded that as a Christian he ought to love other Christians, he then
says, "I will start to love other Christians tomorrow if you say so"?
Oh let us see that everyone who is truly born from above and has the life of
God spontaneously loves all who are members together with him in the body of
Christ. Whether he is reminded or not, he has a consciousness
of loving the brethren. He unquestionably needs many times to be
reminded of loving the brethren. Yet this reminder does not add anything to him
which is not already within him, it instead merely stirs up into more fervency
what is already present in him. If the love of God is present in a person, the
love of the brethren is there. And if God's love is absent, brotherly love is
not there. It is that simple. Nothing can be created or manufactured. When a believer meets another person who belongs to God he
strangely but quite naturally loves him because he has that inner consciousness
within him which must express itself in love towards that other person.
Once a son was
born to a brother in Christ. He was asked, "Now that you have become a father, do you love
your son?" His answer was: "A week before I was to be a father, I
kept thinking how I should love my son. But as soon as my son was born - the
moment I saw him - my heart quite naturally when out to him and I simply loved
him." We see here how human love springs from a consciousness inside, it
is not taught from outside. Likewise, all the children of God who are bought
with the blood of the Lamb and receive God's life and are baptized into the
body of Christ cannot help but be moved from within to
love one another as members of the same body.
Oftentimes when you meet an
individual who is truly of the Lord, your heart goes out to him as soon as you
learn he is a Christian, regardless whether he comes from abroad or is a native
citizen, whether he is highly civilized or uncultured, or regardless of what
race or profession he may be. Love is an inner consciousness. If you are in the
same spiritual body, you naturally have this kind of consciousness.
No Division
One who has seen the body of
Christ and who thus possesses the consciousness of the body feels unbearable
inside when he does anything which may cause division or separate God's
children. For he loves all who belong to God and cannot divide His children.
Love is natural to the body of Christ, whereas division is most unnatural. It
is just as in the case with our two hands: no matter for how many reasons one
hand may be raised against the other hand, there is no
way to sever their relationship: division is simply impossible.
Perhaps a person is proud of
himself for being one who has left a sect and thus deems himself to be a person
who knows the body of Christ. As a matter of fact, however, leaving a
denomination is not necessarily the same as, or an indication of, seeing the
body of Christ. It is quite true that whoever discerns the body is delivered
from denominationalism. But who can claim he has apprehended the body of Christ
simply because he has left a denomination? Outwardly many have left a
denomination, yet they simply set up another kind for themselves elsewhere. Their
leaving the denomination merely demonstrates their own latent feeling of
superiority; they fail to comprehend that all the members of the body are their
brothers and sisters and therefore all are loving. For
this reason, let us realize that all sectarian spirit, divisive attitude,
outward action, or inward thought which separate God's children are the
unfailing signs of not knowing the body of Christ.
The body of Christ will deliver
us from sect and sectarianism; it will also save us from self and individualism.
How sad that the life principle of many is not the body but the individual
self. We may discover this principle of individualism in many areas. For
example, in a prayer meeting someone can only pray by himself, since he cannot
pray with other people. His physical body may kneel together with others, yet
his consciousness is circumscribed by his own self. When he prays, he
wishes other people to listen to him; but when others pray, he will not
listen to them. He has no inner response to another's prayer, and he is unable
to offer up an amen. His consciousness is
disconnect4ed from the consciousness of other people. Hence he prays his
prayers and lets the others pray their prayers. There appears to be no
relationship between his prayers and those of the others. When he comes to the
meeting he seems to do so only for the sake of uttering whatever words are pent
up within him, and thereafter feels that his job is done. He does not care what
prayer burden or consciousness others present may have. This is the rule of
individualism, not the principle of the body. In point of fact he has not seen
the body, and thus he cannot cooperate with other people before God.
Sometimes three or five, even ten
or twenty brethren at a meeting will all speak only whatever concerns
themselves, without showing any interest in the affairs of the others or
listening to the others' thoughts. Or, as the case might be, as you or others
sit with such a person as has been described, he may talk with animation for an
hour or two about his own business; but when you or the others talk, he does
not pay the slightest attention - for if you ask him afterwards, he evidences
the fact that he hardly seems to have heard anything. In small things such as
these, you can tell if a person has truly discerned the body of Christ.
The plague of individualism can
grow from simply expressing one person's individualism to that of several
people. You may notice in the church that three or five, perhaps even eight or
nine persons will sometimes form a small circle. Only these few are of one mind
and love one another. They do not fit in with the other brothers and sisters.
This indicates that they too have not perceived the body of Christ. The church
is one, it cannot be severed. If a person has really know
the body, he cannot endorse any kind of individualism. He cannot form a party
or any small circle.
If you have genuinely experienced
the body of Christ you will be conscious of something wrong whenever you begin
to show your individualism, and obviously you dare not take any action. Or
else, when you or several others should make a wrong move, this body
consciousness will cause you to be aware of being disconnected from the other
children of God, thus preventing you from proceeding further. There is something
in you which restrains, speaks, reproves, warns, or hinders. This consciousness
of life can deliver all of us from any taint of division.
Deliver From Independent Work
If we have body consciousness we
will comprehend immediately that the body is one. Thus, in spiritual work, it
cannot be individualistic in its scope. In order to participate rightly in the
Lord's work, it is imperative that we deal with this matter of independent
labor. In the thinking of some people, a person must lay his own hand on things
or else that person will consider those things to be good for nothing. Whatever
is done by him is deemed as having spiritual value; what is not done by
him has no value at all. When he preaches and nobody is saved, he feels
depressed. When he preaches and people are saved, he shows pleasant surprise.
This is because he looks at the work as his own personal labor. But the moment
God's children perceive the oneness of the body, they
immediately comprehend the oneness of the work. They instant they see that the
body is one, they are delivered from their individual
endeavor since they now see the work of the body. This does not imply that a
person can no longer labor as an individual. It simply means that he can no
longer consider work as belonging solely to himself. Whether the work is done
by him or not is no problem anymore, so long as it is done by someone.
As Christians, we should admire
and seek for spiritual things, but we ought not have
any emulative pretensions nor any trace of jealousy. Our attitude individually
towards spiritual work should be: What I can do I hope others can also do; and
what I cannot do I wish someone else can do; I would like to do more as well as
I would expect other people to do more. How I need to realize that I can only
be a single vessel in the work; I cannot monopolize it. I dare not consider the
work and its result as altogether mine. If I insist that everything must be
done by me, I have not apprehended the body. The moment I apprehend the body,
immediately I realize that both my labor and that of others mean gain to the
head as well as to the body. And let all glory be to the Lord and all blessing
be to the church.
The Lord distributes His work to
all, and everyone has his share. We must not think of ourselves more highly than
we ought to think. We should be faithful to the portion which the Lord has
given each of us; but we should also respect the portion He gives to others.
Many young people possess a kind of competitive attitude in which they are
always comparing what they have with that which others do not have and what
they do not have with that which others have. Actually, such comparison is
absurd. How can we add a chair to a table? Are they one or two? A table plus a
chair equals a table and a chair. If we are asked which is better, the hand or
the eye, we can only answer that the hand and the eye are both good. He who has
seen the body recognizes the functions of all the members. He looks at himself
as only one among many members. He will not project himself to a distinctive
position in order to compare himself favorably with others or even to occupy
another's place.
As soon as a Christian inwardly
discerns the body of Christ he has no way or justification to be either proud
or jealous. Since the body is one, it makes no difference whether the work is
done by him or by others. Whether by him or by other people, all glory goes to
the Lord and all blessings flow to the church. If anyone sees the body of
Christ, there will naturally be within him this consciousness: that the body is
one, and therefore the work is one.
See the Need for Fellowship
He who sees the body of Christ
most spontaneously sees not only the stupidity of independent action but the
need for fellowship as well. Fellowship is not an external exercise in social
intercourse; it is the spontaneous demand of body life. What is erroneously but
commonly assumed to be fellowship by God's children is a visiting of homes of
some brothers and sisters at times of leisure and chit-chatting with them a
while. In actuality, fellowship means realizing the total inadequacy of my own
self. I am desirous of doing all things with the other members of the body.
Although for doing many things I am not able to gather all the brothers and
sisters in the church, I still can do them with two or three brothers and/or
sisters according to the principle of the body.
Oftentimes we need to learn
fellowship in prayer, to learn fellowship in difficulties, to learn fellowship
in seeking God's will, to learn fellowship concerning our future, and to learn
fellowship regarding God's word. What fellowship means is that, knowing that I
am inadequate in the matter of prayer, I seek out two or three others to pray
with me. I by myself am incompetent in solving difficulties, hence I ask two or
three brethren to deal with the situations together with me. Alone I am unable
to know God's will, therefore I solicit the help of two or three others. I in
myself am rather confused as to my future,
consequently I request two or three brothers and sisters to fellowship and
decide with me what my future should be. I cannot understand God's word alone,
so now I study the word of God with two or three brothers and sisters who have
spiritual discernment to help me (and not just ask those to help me who are affectionate towards me). I am inadequate, and hence I
need the help of other brethren.
The body of Christ is a life, and
there is therefore also a consciousness involved. You yourself will become
conscious or aware of the fact that without fellowship you cannot live.
Learn to Be a Member
If a person has body
consciousness he at once recognizes his place in the body; that is to day, he
sees himself as being one of its members. Each member has his distinctive usefulness.
A member of a physical body is different from a body cell. Lacking a cell does
not matter much, but the lack of a member in a body is unthinkable. Of course, a cell has its use, but please note that the Bible in its
use of the analogy of the human body says that we are members of the
body of Christ, not cells. How pitiful that the conditions of many Christians
are like those of cells in the human body instead of members. Such a person
seems to have no specific use in the body of Christ,
neither does he fulfill his part. In any given church meeting his presence does
not appear to add anything to the body of Christ, and his absence does not give
the appearance to the body that it is lacking in anything. He has not
discharged his function in the body because he has never seen the body. When he
is with brothers and sisters he never knows his ministry, neither does he even
realize what he should do. Were he to perceive the body he could not help but
see himself as a member. Were he to perceive the body, he would know that it
will suffer loss if he does not supply life to it.
No one can be passive in a
meeting. Each person is a member of the body, and consequently no one can come
to a meeting as a passive spectator. As we gather together we pray because we
realize we are mutual members of the body of Christ. Whether uttered or
unuttered, we nonetheless pray, for we want to supply life to the body.
Some Christians are
life-supplying members. When they attend a meeting, even if they do not open
their mouths, their very presence lifts the meeting; for they are there
supplying life, they are there swallowing up death. Once anyone discerns the
body of Christ, he cannot fail to recognize himself as a member of the body.
Because we are members of the
body of Christ and members each in its part, we must seek how to help the body
in gaining life and strength. In any gathering, even if we do not open our
mouths, we may pray silently. Even though we may not speak, we can still look
to God. This is body consciousness. If we have seen the body, we cannot say we
are a person of no consequence. We will rather say: I am a member of the body,
and hence I have a duty to perform. I have a wo0rd which I should speak, I have a prayer which I should utter. When I come to
the meeting I must do whatever God wants me to do. I cannot afford to be a
spectator. Such things as these are what we will say or do if we truly
apprehend the body. And as we all function, the life of the entire gathering
will swallow up all death. Many meetings fail to exhibit such power to overcome
death for there are too many spectators.
Submit to Authority
If you really see the body of
Christ you are conscious of the loveliness of God's children, of the error of
division, of the need for fellowship, and of the responsibility in you as a
member of the body of Christ. All these facets of awareness are because of body
consciousness. Moreover, as you are aware that you are in the body, you must
become equally aware that you are under the authority of the Head. For whoever
knows the life of the body of Christ and is conscious of being a body member
will invariable sense the authority of the Head, who is Christ Jesus the Lord.
We must not only submit to the direct
authority of the Head, we need also to submit to the indirect authority
of the Head. My physical hand is under the direct authority of the head of my
body, but when my arm moves, my hand moves together with my arm - for my hand
submits to the head through the arm. Consequently, whoever sees the body of
Christ sees also the authority which God has set in the body of Christ for him
to submit to.
Sometimes when you are told by
someone in the church to do a certain thing, you do not sense it is the Lord's
will for you after you have prayed about it. And so you do not do it, and you
feel happy. You know it is right for you to listen to the Lord's word rather
than to man's word. On the other hand, is there an instance when you become
aware that if you do not listen to your brother or sister you come into
conflict with the Lord? Is there one time, or even a number of times, wherein
you have the sense that one or more of the brethren who know the Lord have been
placed by Him in the position of representing His authority and that if you
enter into controversy with them you are in controversy with the Lord? If you
truly perceive the authority of the Head, you will also perceive that one or
more members of the body are ahead of you, and that to them you must learn to
submit. Hence you recognize not only the Head but also those whom God has set
in the body to represent the Head. If you are at odds with them, you will also
be at odds with God.
If our eyes have been opened by
the Lord to recognize the body, we will also recognize authority. When we
behold the human body, why is it that all parts work so harmoniously as to
reveal the fact that the entire body is one? This is because there is authority
in the body. If there is no authority the entire body will be thrown into
confusion. Suppose, for example, that the stomach is hungry for food, but that
the mouth refuses to eat; what will happen to that man? The entire body will
suffer if but one of its parts refuses to obey its authority. Or again, take
the example of cancer, which we know is a most serious disease. How does cancer
arise in the body? It is due to a few cells which develop themselves
independently and not according to the law of the body. The body does not
require them to develop in such a way, yet they insist on growing abnormally.
They absorb many useful nutrients by which to supply their own growth. They
only mind their own development: they do not care if the body does not need
such growth: they do not obey the authority of the body but act independently
on their own. Now the larger they grow, the more damage the body incurs. With the result that a few insubordinate cells may cause death to
the entire body.
It is clear from the above
observations that authority is the law of the human body, and insubordination
to it is symptomatic of disease in the body. Equally true will this be in the
spiritual body of Christ. If a person does not know what authority is, how can
he say he knows the body of Christ? Let us see that the one who knows the body
can discern - even when only three or five people are assembled together - who
among those assembled is his authority; because there is manifested in their
midst the authority of the Head to which he needs to submit. How natural and
how beautiful it is in the human body for the fingers to submit to the wrist,
the wrist to the arm, the arm to the shoulder, and so on. And this same beauty
can be displayed in the body of Christ.
Certain Christians are so
careless in action as well as in speech that they will not listen to anyone.
They seem to regard themselves as being the greatest to such an extent that
they fail to recognize anyone to whom they could submit. This proves that such
believers have never known the restraint of the body nor have ever submitted to
the authority of the Head. May God have mercy on such members.
If we have genuinely been dealt with by the Lord and if our flesh has received
such dealings as to have had the backbone of the natural life broken, we will
immediately acknowledge how neither our hands nor our mouth have unlimited
freedom - since all are under the control of the body - and how we cannot fail
to submit ourselves to the authority which God has set in the body of Christ.
May we not remain merely in the
realm of teaching on this matter, but be truly led of God to know and to
experience the body of Christ. May this body consciousness in its many facets
always follow us so that we have no way to do anything according to our own
will, or to live carelessly through our days. Thus
shall we receive rich supply through this body, and we will be able to manifest
the testimony of the Lord.
3. Hold Fast
the Head
And He put
all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him to be Head over all
things to the church. (Eph. 1:22)
But speaking
truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him, who
is the Head, even Christ; from whom all the body fitly framed and knit together
through that which every joint supplies, according to the effective working by
which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of
itself in love. (Eph. 4:15-16)
And not
holding fast the Head, from whom all the body, being supplied and knit together
through the joints and bands, increases with the increase of God. (Col. 2:19)
One
In order to make Christ the Head
of all things, God first made Him the Head of the church. After being made the
Head of the church, Christ will later have His authority extended to be Head
over all things. His future position in the universe is closely related to His
place today in the church. For Christ to be Head over all things, God wants Him
first to be such among His children - that is, in the church which is His body.
How exceedingly important a subject is this matter.
Christ being the Head of the
church and the church being the body of Christ, the whole body is thus summed
up in the Head. If our human body is separated from the head, that
automatically means death to our body. All the movements of a person are
governed by the head. Whenever the head is wounded and thereby loses its
effectiveness, the activities of the body stop and the body ends in death; for
the head is the central control of the life of the body. Now the word of God
declares that he who has the Son of God has life (1 Jn.
5:12). A Christian receives life from the Lord Jesus, who is the Son of God;
yet this life never leaves the Lord. He who has the Son has life, but this
life, says God's word, is in the Son (1 Jn. 5:11),
and not even for a moment has this life left the Son. Hence, apart from the
Lord Jesus we just cannot live.
Let us understand that God has
not apportioned to us a small amount of Christ so that we may take that portion
and go away. No, God has given the total Christ to us and has joined us
intimately with His Son. All the power of our existence rests in Christ. In the
event we lose communication with the Lord because we have departed from Him, we
instantly become lifeless. Thus, though a Christian receives life from Christ,
it remains in the Lord. We have received life, yet this life and the head are
inseparable. Upon our accepting Him, we still must live in Him. Though we have
received Him, we are yet to depend on Him. Accordingly, we cannot be
independent in anything. The Lord alone is head, and He is the sole resource of
our life.
Two
Christ is the life of the body;
He also is its authority as the Head. Because life is in Him, authority too is
in Him. He is our life, therefore He has authority; and when we obey His
authority, we have life. Hence if we see what is the body of
Christ, we cannot avoid accepting the control of the Head, since a body
with its members is not able to move at will but does so only at the order of
the head. If there is no command from the head there is no movement in the
body. No member of the body can take its own initiative, but must be governed
by the head. Where life is, there is authority. True authority is life. And
since the Lord controls our life, He has authority over us.
Anyone who confesses with his
mouth that he knows body life ought to ask himself if he has subjected himself
to the Lord's authority. Whether or not he is in subjection to the authority of
the Head proves whether or not he really knows the life of the body. The
attitude of some people to the word of God is: "This is what the Lord has
indeed said, but I think..." Who allows any of us to say "But"?
Who gives us such an authority to say "But"? In the world, if anyone
does not follow the order of his superior he is deemed an insubordinate person.
Since Christ is the Head and we are not, we have no right not to obey the Lord.
What is meant by
"follow"? To follow signifies that the way I tread and the place
where I go are all decided by someone else. We are following the Lord;
therefore we have no authority to decide our own path. The body in its relation
to the Head can only obey and follow. If we wish to live out the life of the
body of Christ we must cover our own head; that is to say, we must not have our
personal opinion, egoistic will or selfish thought. We can only obey the Lord
and let Him be the Head. The Lord alone is in that position; nobody else can
be. I cannot be the head, neither can anyone else in the church be, for the
body has only one head and is in subjection to that Head, which is Christ. We
all must therefore obey Him.
Unfortunately, there appears to
be in the church too many heads, too many human leaders, too many men's ways
and regulations. Too often man aspires to be the authority. While Christ is
Head in heaven, man wants to be head on earth. When the thought of the earthly
head happens to agree with that of the heavenly One, we obey Christ. But when
the earthly head disagrees with the heavenly One, we disobey Christ. How wrong
is this entire system!
Have you ever said to the Lord:
"O Lord, You are my Head. I have no right to
decide anything, nor have I authority to make any choice of my own. May You deliver me from trying to be head as well as deliver me
from other people who set themselves up as head." Each one of us needs to
learn how to accept the command of God: Christ is Head, and therefore no one
can follow his own will. To be subdued by the Lord and then to capitulate to
Him should be a basic experience of every Christian.
We learn from Acts 2 that when
Peter proclaimed the gospel he said this: "God has made Him both Lord and
Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified" (Acts 2:36). He opened his mouth
and declared that Christ is Lord. Christ is not only Savior, He is firstly
Lord: we need Him to be Lord to us. And because we have sinned, He must also be
our Savior.
Take a look at the experience of
Paul at his conversion. While he was on the way to
Three
Let us realize that we all must
hold fast the Head. To do this means to acknowledge that Christ alone is Head.
It means absolute obedience to His authority. "My grow up in all things
into Him, who is the Head, even Christ; from whom all the body fitly framed and
knit together through that which every joint supplies, according to the working
in due measure of each several part, makes the increase of the body unto the
building up of itself in love" (Eph. 4:15,16). From this passage we learn
that the members of the body of Christ are fitly framed and knit together
because all hold fast the head and live out the life of the body. This does not
suggest that God wants you to pay attention only to the one who sits next to
you, but that He preeminently wants you to have a proper relationship with the
Lord. If you maintain such a relationship with the Head you will have a good
relationship with other body members. All matters between you and your brothers
and sisters may be easily solved if you can submit yourself to the Head. If you
have no controversy with the Lord you will have no problem with any brother or
sister.
Whether or not you can
successfully live out the life of the body rests on your relationship with the
Head. Let us see that we did not become Christians because we found other
Christians agreeable, nor are we successful as believers because we have
mastered some kind of Christian technique. We became Christians because we know
Christ. And the way we continue to live successfully as Christians is the way
we were born as Christians. We were so born by having a relationship with the
Head, and we continue as Christians by maintaining a proper relationship with
the Head - who is Christ the Lord.
This is not to insinuate that
Christians do not need to have fellowship with one another; no, it simply
affirms that the fellowship among believers is based on their relationship to
Christ. We need to fellowship with one another because the Christ who dwells in
me and the Christ who dwells in you are inseparable. The Christ who indwells me
is not a fragmentary, but a whole, Christ. Christ in you and Christ in me -
this is the Christ that is the basis of our fellowship. Aside from Him we have
nothing with which to fellowship. Even though the education we each receive and
the environment and natural talent we individually have are all different,
there is still one thing common to all of us, which is the indwelling Christ.
Since the Christ in us is the same, we can fellowship with one another. Not
because a certain person has ability or good temper or is gentle or considerate
do you have fellowship with that one. Not at all. If
your fellowship is based on people, you are not holding fast the Head - but on
the contrary, your fellowship will be according to the kind of communication
which Absalom had with the people of
The fellowship between Christians
ought to be that which is related to Christ. We have no basis for fellowship
outside of the Head. Our fellowship is both normal and profitable if all of us
hold fast the Head. Otherwise, fellowship will be marred. How far will you go
as a Christian? Will you follow the Lord to the end? If someone draws back and
falls away, will not your fellowship with him be affected? All of us must
follow the Lord the entire way in order to maintain full fellowship, which only
the mutual holding fast of the Head can accomplish.
Four
What are the conditions for
holding fast the Head? On the one hand we must let the cross deal deeply with
the flesh and its natural life and on the other hand we need to learn to walk according
to the Spirit. Thus shall we enjoy a wholesome body fellowship.
Without the dealing of the natural life by the cross we cannot live out the
body life.
The book of Revelation reveals a
company of people who follow the Lamb wheresoever He
goes (see Rev. 14:1-5). Can we say we follow the Lamb anywhere He goes? Let us
never forget that the cross is the instrument of fellowship. It deals with our flesh, it breaks down our self-life so that we may follow
the Lamb wherever He leads. If we have no hindrance before the Lord, we will
present no obstruction to the church. If our relationship with the Head is
proper, our relationship with the body will also be proper. For let us clearly
understand that every member has a direct relationship with the Head. In the
physical body, for example, if the left hand should be hurt, it will be the
head which order the right hand to help. The right hand makes no direct move by
itself. So is it with the body of Christ. The inter-relatedness of its members
comes in every instance through the Head. When one member goes to help a
brother, if he holds fast the Head it is for the Lord's sake and not for the
sake of mere human friendship. By holding fast the Head we will be spared from
maintaining a direct relationship with anyone, and thus we will not harbor any
special affinity towards a few. To do otherwise will bring in division or party
spirit.
Now God does not permit division
or party in the church. What is party? A party is formed when a few Christians
establish direct intercourse among themselves through the technique of
bypassing the Head. They maintain a special affinity towards each other which
does not originate with the Head. This is party. Yet what is even worse than a
party is a sect. Some people are so close and so naturally attracted to one
another that the form a sectarian group. But if brethren will hold fast the
Head their hearts will be as large as that of the Head. Brethren should indeed
love one another; yet this mutual love has a foundation which belongs to the
entire body of Christ. Loving one another must encompass all members in the
body. That which falls short of the boundary of the body is not permitted by
God. Only by holding fast the Head can Christians love one another without
falling into parties and sects.
4. The Service
of the Member
For even as
we have many members in one body, and all the members have not the same office
[function]: so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and severally members
one of another. (
One
How many of us who are Christians
know that we are not only believers but also members of the body of Christ? We
ought to understand that in the Adamic life there is
not just the sinful or the natural which needs to be dealt with, the
individualistic temper must also be dealt with. What do we mean by the
individualistic character in the Adamic life? It is
that attitude of life which insists on maintaining my independent existence, my
independent living, or my individual action as though I were the only one
living in the world. This kind of life hinders us from entering into the
reality of the body of Christ. We should know that the antithesis of the body
is the individual. For us to enter into the reality of the body, we must be
delivered from individualism.
The body of Christ is not just a
teaching. The body of Christ needs to be entered into experientially. Whoever
has not entered in does not know what is within. He who is saved can easily
detect whoever is saved or not; in like manner, the one who has already entered
into the reality of the body of Christ may also discern quickly whether others
have entered into the reality of it or not. When you are saved you have not
only heard the doctrine of salvation but also seen that Christ is the living
life. In salvation you enter a new realm. And after being in this new realm you
are able to discern clearly the situation of the unsaved in retrospect.
Similarly, those who truly live in the body of Christ may vividly perceive the
conditions of all who have not lived in the body. People may understand the
book of Romans and not be saved; likewise, men may appreciate the letter of
Ephesians and not know the body of Christ. When you forsake sin and enter into
Christ, you are saved. But you need to be delivered from being individualistic in
order to enter experientially into the body of Christ.
God permits us to be individuals,
but He does not allow us to be individualistic. Before we enter experientially
into the body of Christ we are full of individualism. Even our spiritual
pursuit is inspired by this trait. Why seek for holiness? That
I myself may be holy. Why desire for power? That I
personally may have power. Why look for fruits of labor? That I individually may have fruits. Why wish for the
kingdom? That I myself may possess the kingdom.
Everything is bound up with "I." This is not the body; this is
individualism.
Just as Peter
at Pentecost had saved in one day three thousand people, so I dream of saving
three thousand in one day that I too may produce many fruits. Yet we need to recall that the eleven
other apostles stood up with Peter. Did the other apostles ever jealously
complain, saying that if Peter could save many people, they too should be able
to do the same? Or did Peter ever build up in his mind a high tower of
boasting, saying that he could save people whom others could not? We know that
no such thing ever happened. For God does not look for an individual vessel but
is out to get a corporate one. If you truly see the body of Christ you will
neither be jealous nor proud. Whether the work is done by you or by me or by
others makes no difference. All of this is a body matter, nothing is purely
individual.
We therefore need to see
ourselves not only as believer but even more so as members. I am a member;
hence I am not the whole - not even the half - but only a small part of
Christ's body. It is unquestionably a tremendous deliverance to see the body
and to recognize oneself as only a member. Formerly many things were centered
on our individual selves. Whether it was work or living, all was highly
individualistic. One day when we discerned the body we were naturally delivered
from individualism. In salvation we first see Christ and then we are saved. By
the same token, we first see the body and then quite naturally we are delivered
from individualism and become members of the body in reality. Not in the sense
that we outwardly say we will act according to the principle of the body when
we are faced with a situation, but in the sense of acting according to the
principle of the body because we have received the revelation and have entered
experientially into the body of Christ. With the natural life being dealt with,
we spontaneously perceive that we are members.
How do I live as a member of the
body of Christ? The body must be taken as the unit and boundary of all my works
and living. In the physical realm, when my hand works, it is not my hand but my
body which works; when my feet walk, it is not my feet but my body which walks.
A physical member never does anything for its own self; whatever it does is for
the sake of the body. So too is this true in the spiritual realm. All the
actions of a member of the body of Christ are governed by the body of Christ,
not by the individual member himself. Whether God puts me in first or in last place,
it is equally acceptable with me. For only the one who does not see, know, and
experience the body of Christ will be proud or jealous.
We must realize the relationship
which exists between the member and the body. A member cannot be a substitute
for the entire body, yet it can affect the whole body. Personal defeat and
personal unholiness will influence it. Secret failure
of an individual may not be known by men, but the devil knows it. Hidden defeat
of a single person may not be perceived by others, yet the evil spirits know
it. The defeat of one member touches the whole church. For this reason, we must
seek after a life of life: it is for the entire body. We must pursue after a
holy life: for this also is for the body's sake. We must desire spiritual progress:
but it too is for the sake of the body.
Let us seriously ask ourselves:
Am I an independent individualist? Or am I a member of the body? Am I just a
believer? Or am I also a member? You are without doubt a Christian, but if you cannot
be with other people for five minutes without having some trouble or finding
yourself incompatible with others, how can you demonstrate that you live as a
member? The Lord will not be satisfied with such kind of living. May God give
us light that we may clearly perceive the body of Christ.
And having perceived it, we will naturally be delivered from individualism and
will spontaneously live as members.
Two
Each member has his part in
serving the body of Christ. Everyone who belongs to the Lord has his portion.
He has Christ within, and what he has in Christ has a characteristic of its
own. It is this characteristic which becomes the distinctive feature of that
one's service. To serve the church is to serve with what one obtains in Christ.
The portion of service which we
have in the body of Christ is based on our knowledge of Him. Yet this is not a
common knowledge, because a common knowledge of Christ is inadequate. Only a
specific knowledge of Him will constitute a specific ministry in serving the body
of Christ. Hence specific service is based on specific knowledge of the Lord.
Having learned what others have not learned, you receive from the Lord a
specific lesson, and with this specific knowledge of Him you may serve. In the
human body, for example, the eyes can see, the ears can hear, and the nose can
smell. They all have their own functions, and thus each has its own portion. Similarly with the members of the body of Christ. Not every
member can see or hear or smell; but each member has his own special ability.
This, then, is that member's ministry.
What is your specific ministry? That which you learn especially from the Lord, that which you
specifically receive from Him. Only specific ministry can serve the
church and cause the latter to increase. Only what comes from above is able to
make for the increase of the body. Whatever you have learned before the Lord is
what you may transmit of the life of the Head to the body and what you may
supply to the church which she does not already have. Hence each member needs
to seek earnestly from the Lord what the church has never possessed so as to
transmit this to the body of Christ. Today the Lord is looking for those people
in whom life is given and by whom the work of the increase of the life of the
body might be done. They are used to supply life to the church which she has
never known before, to increase the measure of the stature of the Lord, and to
be the channel of the life to the body. From them the life which they receive
from the Lord flows into the church, thus causing the
increase of the stature of the body of Christ.
To serve the body of Christ means
to supply to it the life which a member receives from the Head; that is to say,
he supplies the life of the Head to the church. When the eyes of a seeing
member see, the entire body is able to see. In other words, that member of the
body of Christ who has insight into spiritual things becomes the eyes of the
body so as to supply seeing to the body. Hands cannot by the sense of touch
discern the odor of a thing; but the nose can; it serves the body with its
ability to smell. And thus smelling becomes the specific ministry of the nose
to the body. Ears, too, serve the body, but with hearing. So hearing is the
specific ministry of that member of the body of Christ who can serve as the
body's ears. And such can be called the service of the member. And the result
of the operation of each such service will be to increase the strength of the
body, causing the latter to gain more of Christ. Hence the service or ministry
of the member is to serve the church with Christ, thus imparting Christ to
others.
The service to the body of Christ
is based on knowledge of Christ; and this knowledge comes from life experience,
not from doctrine. Man often substitutes life with doctrine or teaching. This
is a big mistake, since doctrine is of no avail in itself. People may hear a
teaching till they can recite it or even speak on it, yet their understanding
is not opened because they do not really see. People are not helped simply
because they know teaching. Knowing the teaching at most only adds more
thoughts to the mind. God wants to demonstrate a doctrine with life. He
therefore first gives life and then the doctrine. This is true from the Old
Testament to the New. For instance, God obtained the man Abraham to be the
father of faith. Everyone who beholds the life of Abraham can see the doctrine
of faith. Or as another example, Abel realized that without the blood no one
could approach God. And hence Abel's life represents the teaching of being
justified by the blood of Christ (see
In the New Testament, we find the
same thing. Please note that the Gospels precede the Epistles. The Gospels
first relate what Christ has done, and only then do the later Epistles explain
what actually has transpired. First the experience of Christ,
then the doctrine of Christ. First the life of Christ,
then the teaching of Christ.
First life,
then doctrine. First a problem, then the solution. First an
experience, then the teaching. Martin Luther went through much suffering and
hardship, yet he did not obtain justification. Not until one day God showed him
that justification is by faith. Only by faith was he finally justified; and
thereafter he presented the teaching of justification by faith. First the life, then the applicable doctrine.
Let us not spend too much time in
examining, analyzing, and researching a doctrine. All these are like reeds
which will not support you when encountering real life difficulties. It is God
who carries you through. First experience, then the doctrine.
If a person does not have a
special experiential knowledge of Christ, that person does not have a ministry.
It is through receiving in life something particular from Him that a ministry
is formed. The characteristic of a member is the ministry or service of that
member. The hand, for instance, has its particular characteristic,
hence the latter becomes its ministry to the body. All sufferings, all
disciplines, and all trials are used by God to incorporate His word in us that
we may have something with which to supply the church. Apart from Christ, aside
from life, there is nothing of service to the body of Christ. Christ is life:
it is with Him that we supply the church for its building up. The one who has
no life brings death to a meeting even if that one only says an
amen in a prayer meeting. But the one who has life is able to supply
life to the prayer meeting even if that one merely says an
amen. Sitting with a person with life will cause people to sense the
life in him. The measure of one's knowledge of Christ is the measure with which
a member can supply the church with life.
Today God is seeking for people
in whom He can deposit an abundant portion of the life of Christ so that they
may supply others. Life needs a channel. And God wants man to be that channel
of life. He will use man to transmit the life to the body of Christ. If life
stops in you or me, we will not be able to supply life to others and the church
will suffer loss. For instead of supplying life we will spread death in the
church. There is never a personal defeat which does not adversely affect the
church. As a consequence, in the body of Christ, when one member suffers all
the members suffer with that member. Even if a member is defeated in his room,
such as in the matter of neglecting prayer, the body will surely suffer. Every
member may influence others. Hence let us not live to ourselves. Let us hold
fast the Head and seek fellowship. Before we make certain decisions let us have
fellowship. All is in, through, and for the body - not in, through, or for the
individual. May God cause us to see the body. May He
also use our ministry to serve the church according to our real knowledge of Christ.
5. The Function
and Harmony of the Members
For even as
we have many members in one body, and all the members have not the same office
[function]: so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and severally members
one of another. (
For the
perfecting of the saints, unto the work of ministering, unto the building up of
the body of Christ: till we all attain unto the unity of the faith, and of the
knowledge of the Son of God, unto a fullgrown man,
unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. (Eph. 4:12,13)
But speaking
the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him, who is the Head, even
Christ; from whom all the body fitly framed and knit together through that
which every joint supplies, according to the working in due measure of each
several part, makes the increase of the body unto the building up of itself in
love. (Eph. 4:15,16)
The Function of the Members
To the one who lives for the Lord
and is delivered from self, the most important part of his external life is
that he might manifest his function in the church. Most certain is it that each
member in the body of Christ has his place. If you as a member fail to express
your function, it only proves that outwardly you have not lived for the Lord
nor inwardly have you been delivered from yourself. Had you truly been
delivered from your own self, you would have spontaneously exhibited your
particular office in the church. You as a brother or you as a sister each have
a measure or portion of a particular function in the church. However much you
may feel you have been delivered from your self and are living for the Lord,
your feeling is not only inaccurate but also a deception if you cannot manifest
your function as a member in the church. If in fact you have been
delivered from yourself and truly are living for the Lord, one thing in your
life will be most certain, which is, that you will automatically manifest in
the body that portion of a special function or office which you have as a
brother or a sister.
Never for a moment think that
because the grace you have received is so insignificant
you therefore have no place in the church. As long as you are a member, you
have a definite function. There is no one having the life of God who is not a
member of the body of Christ, and no member is so small as to have no function
of his own. The less than the least of the members still has his function in
the body, and that particular function cannot be replaced by any other member.
No matter how tiny is that function, no one else can substitute it. Not even
the greatest function in the body can stand in for the smallest one: none can take the place of the other: you cannot be a
substitute for me, nor can I be a substitute for you. Oh, if we could see this
we would leap for joy!
In this connection, please notice
that the Gospels of the New Testament are written by four different persons.
When you read the Gospel according to Matthew, you see one aspect of Christ; in
reading the Gospel according to Mark, you discern another side of Christ; in
reading the Gospel according to Luke, still another aspect of the holiness of
Christ is in view; and reading the Gospel according to John, yet another facet
of the glory of Christ is seen. Moreover, if you read Peter's epistles, there
is given still another presentation of Christ; and in perusing the epistles of John,
you must confess that his description of the glorious beauty of Christ excels
anything that has ever been written. From all this it must be concluded that
our Lord is so great that it requires believers of all ages and from all
nations to express Him. Do please understand that the outflow of life is the
expression of Christ; and the body of Christ is where this life is manifested
in all of its varied beauty and glory through the body's members.
Life, we must see, is a unit
whole, but it is expressed by means of various offices or functions as it is
manifested through different members. When this life of Christ flows to the earts, there is hearing; when it flows to the eyes, there
is seeing; when it flows to the feet, there is walking; when it flows to the
mouth, there is speaking; and when it flows to the teeth, there is chewing.
This life is indeed one, yet the functions are many; and though of many
functions, they are still from the one life. That which flows into you and into
me is the same life of Christ, but the functions operative in you and in me are
different.
Frequently, what one brother can
do, no one else can do it in quite the same way. With respect to a certain
matter in the church, you must seek out a certain brother; whereas with respect
to another matter, you must seek out a particular sister. But just you change
the brother or the sister and the result will be that that matter will not be
done. As a particular member in the body, you have your specific office. And
the office which is operative in you as the life of Christ flows into you is
something which no other person can be a substitute for. Regardless of how
small you as a member are, you have your place
Brethren may test themselves in
this matter quite simply: If today in a local assembly you have yet to manifest
your function - and not because of the smallness of your function but because
your presence or absence in the church seems rather optional - then this is
sufficient proof that neither outwardly do you live for the Lord nor inwardly
is your life delivered from self. This is a very concrete test.
Satan's Work of Disintegration
We ought to know that in order to
spread His gospel, do His work, and fulfill His will on earth,
the Lord must use His body. Neither His will nor His way can be realized
through one person, since the Lord does not work through one man but through
the church. The vessel God will use is the church, not an individual. The life
and power of Christ find their richest manifestation through the body of
Christ. For this reason, Satan takes great pains to try to effect the
"disintegration" of the body of Christ. This becomes his number one
task. If we take note of this, we will readily realize how severe is this Satanic work of "disintegration"; suspicion arises
among brothers and sisters, misunderstanding is easily created. This is Satan
doing his disintegrating work. One of us is blaming a brother, and the latter
is murmuring against a sister. Yet if the cause is investigated, there is
nothing serious about it at all. This too is Satan performing his work of
tearing down the body. Satan introduces God's children to divide; he cause them to disintegrate as a body. The work of God is to
make us one body, but the work of Satan is to cause us to be torn asunder.
Satan uses our corrupted flesh, our stubborn self, and the world which we covet
to carry out his work of destruction. Hence actually the serious problem here
does not lie in our not having the flesh dealt with, nor in our not laying down
ourselves, neither in our living according to the world - but it rests upon the
fact that it is Satan who will use these weaknesses of ours to do the work of
tearing and dividing. If these elements are permitted to remain in our lives, we
clearly make room for Satan to work his work of disintegration.
What, in truth, is our
understanding of oneness? Quite simply, oneness is God Himself. Why is this so?
Because when all of us set aside the things outside of God and begin to live in
Him, then God who is in us becomes the oneness. Oneness is when God has His
absolute place in us. Oneness is when He alone is in all, when He fills all.
When the children of God are filled with God, they harmonize with one another.
As a matter of fact, Satan, in his attempt to effect the disintegration of us
as a body, does not need to stir up opinions and strife among us so long as he
is able to plant some impurity in us or something else which takes the place of
God. As an illustration of this, have you ever noticed how people mix concrete?
If there is some clay blended with the sand, the cement will not firmly
congeal. Now for Satan to destroy our oneness in the body, he needs to no
nothing but spread a little mud - that which is incompatible with the life of
God in us - and we as a body shall disintegrate. Neither opinions nor strifes are necessary, merely the spreading of a little mud
in us is enough. We continue to break bread and drink the cup, but we may be
divided nonetheless.
The body of Christ is basically not
a doctrine, neither is it a kind of arrangement, but it essentially is life.
What is the church? The church is not just a doctrine according to the
Scriptures; neither is it just a method according to the Scriptures; but
basically it is a life, even the manifestation of the life in Christ. Oneness
is not grounded in anything else but in life. Satan needs only to mix some
impurities into us and into others secretly; so that though among us all there
is not the slightest clamor of opinions or the slightest indication of strife,
nevertheless, unknowingly the body is already undergoing disintegration. May
the Lord have mercy on us by the filtering out of all impurities from us. O Lord, by the cross and the Holy Spirit, do filter us
out!
How we all need to inquire as to
what place does our own inclination and desires have in us: What place does our
own goal have in us? Or do we let the life of Christ occupy the absolute
position in us? Oh how we all need to return to God! We do not need outward
revival. We have but one need, which is, to turn inwardly to God and let Him
cleanse us and purify us with the cross and the Holy Spirit. By the filtering
of the cross and the Holy Spirit, we hope and pray we may be cleansed from all
the impurities which Satan has mixed into us. May the Lord have mercy upon us
so that we may not put our confidence in ourselves, for even that sense in us
of being right may be used by Satan to work the work of disintegration.
We should learn to come to God for enlightening, we
should learn to go among brothers and sisters for correction. We must be
willing to pay any cost and accept the dealing of the cross in order that we
may truly manifest our functions as members in the church.
Do we not continually say we love
the Lord? Do we not say we have consecrated ourselves to Him? Then we must not
preserve ourselves, neither should we be afraid of paying any cost; but we
should allow the Lord to cleanse us from all the impurities which are
incompatible so that the life of Christ may be expressed through us and that we
may manifest in our life our various functions as body members as well as live
out the testimony of body of Christ.
6. Obeying the
Law of the body of Christ
They
therefore that were scattered abroad went about preaching the word. And Philip
went down to the city of
But when they
believed Philip preaching good tidings concerning the
Now when the
apostles that were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the world of
God, they sent unto them Peter and John: who, when they were come down, prayed
for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit: for as yet it was fallen
upon none of them: only they had been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.
Then they laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. (Acts
8:14-17)
Lay hands
hastily on no man, neither be partaker of other men's sins: keep yourself pure.
(1 Tim. 5:22)
Neglect not
the gift that is in you, which was given you by prophecy, with the laying on of
the hands of the presbytery. (1 Tim. 4:14)
For which
cause I put you in remembrance that you stir up the gift of God, which is in
you through the laying on of my hands. (2 Tim. 1:6)
Is anyone
among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray
over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: and the prayer of faith
shall raise him up; and if he has committed sins, it shall be forgiven him.
Confess therefore your sins one to another, and pray one for another, that you
may be healed. The supplication of a righteous man avails much in its working.
(Jas. 5:14-16)
And as he
journeyed, it came to pass that he drew near to
And if your
brother sin against you, go, show him his fault
between you and him alone: if he hears you, you have gained your brother. But
if he hear you not, take with you one or two more,
that at the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And
if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church: and if he refuses to hear
the church also, let him be unto you as the Gentile and the publican. (Mt.
18:15-17)
If we wish to live the life of
the body of Christ, we must first receive the revelation of the body of Christ.
Without such revelation we will never cease to move individualistically. Some
people deem the seeing of the body of Christ as not a surprising thing at all,
but let us realize that we cannot speak empty words. For if anyone has really
apprehended the body of Christ he must readily acknowledge that it has its own
inherent law according to which he must live continually. Anyone who has seen
Christ will not trust in his good deeds for salvation. By the same token, a
person who says he has seen the body of Christ and yet continually acts
independently by not holding fast the Head has never received the revelation of
the body. For had he truly received such revelation, he would
be bound to change. He would seek out fellowship and would learn
submission.
The Authority of Life
No member has any authority, for
authority rests only in the Head. It is a serious mistake for a member to claim
he has such authority in himself. A member does not possess direct authority;
he has only the authority delegated to him by the Head. And this authority is
not something positional, it is wholly of life. Such authority does not come
through "appointment" but by "being": If a member is not an
eye, the body has no way to appoint him as its eye. If he is not a hand, the
body cannot make him a hand through appointment. He has the authority of
holding or of seeing only because he can hold or see. And as he functions along
that line, people receive help.
It is a serious blunder if, in a
church, authority becomes a matter of position and not of life - if a person is
appointed because of his social position and not because of his spirituality.
The word of God plainly shows us that authority is in life, not in position or
background. Authority in a person is established in living, not in ordination.
In his personal and corporate life he has experienced dealings in practical
matters and has learned what other people have yet to learn. In the body of
Christ, all authorities are out of life.
Although in a local assembly God
has His appointment, even so, such appointment is not according to position,
but according to life. When life and appointment agree, you must submit;
otherwise, life will cease and you will be dislocated from the body - thus
signifying that you do not hold fast the Head. If something is wrong between
you and another member, you cannot say you have a normal relationship with the
Head. If you have wronged another member of the body, you subsequently may not
forget any teaching and you may even continue to carry on a work of ministry as
usual, but you lose the word of life. Some brethren may have believed in the
Lord for three years now. Yet how much real progress have they made? What is
most pitiful is that though their courtesy and knowledge may have appeared to
have increased, the life of the body of Christ in them has not increased.
Hence in the church we need to
learn how to submit to one another. If members do not mutually submit, the life
mentioned in Romans 8 will not be able to be manifested. On the contrary,
brethren will feel as though air were leaking out of
them - they can hardly go on. But to those who have discerned the body of
Christ, they consider submission to be a most joyful thing.
In Acts 8 we have a case which
illustrates the law of the body. When the church at
Being so mightily used by the
Lord, Philip, had he wished to, could have proudly declared that though in
What is the meaning of the
incident of the laying on of hands? The book of Leviticus tells us that during
the offering of a sacrifice hands of the one doing the offering were laid on
the head of the animal sacrifice. What does this laying hands
on the sacrifice represent? Only the bullocks which had hands laid on them
could be offered up; the rest of the bullocks in the world could not be
offered. Why? Simply this, that the lying of hands on the bullock joins the one
who lays hands and the bullock into one. The bullock becomes the offerer. In offering up the bullock, the offerer actually offers up himself. As
the bullock is accepted, so too is he accepted. And hence, the basic
meaning of the laying on of hands is union.
The New Testament also mentions
the laying on of hands a number of times. One place is found in 1 Timothy:
"Lay hands hastily on no man, neither be partaker of other men's sins:
keep yourself pure" (1 Tim. 5:22). Since the laying on of hands is a being
joined together of other men's sins if he is not careful in doing so. Laying on of hands means union, which in turn means
fellowship. In the Old Testament times, at the commissioning of kings and
priests, hands were laid on their heads as well as oil was poured on their
heads. Consequently, the laying on of hands means, firstly, the bringing of men
under the anointing of the head, and secondly, the bringing of them into the
fellowship of the body.
Today, in the church, the
apostles are the representative members of the body of Christ. They also represent
the authority of Christ. As the apostles laid hands on the believers in
How we need to see that the Holy
Spirit is the Spirit of the one body. And if so, then it is basically wrong to
seek the Holy Spirit for the sake of one's own self. Why is it that some people
are deceived? Why, for example, are some believers the recipients of evil
spirits? It is because of their individualism - because of their not
apprehending the body. The kind of vessel which the Lord
looks for today is a corporate one, not an individual one. Individual
work and individual fruit can never fully satisfy the Lord's heart, neither
will they ever attain to God's ultimate aim. The principle of the laying on of
hands must be in every work. In such laying on of
hands is the recognition of union. In the laying on of hands is the
acknowledgment of fellowship. In the laying on of hands is the confession of
one body.
"Wherefore leaving the
doctrine of the first principles of Christ, let us press on to perfection; not
laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward
God, of the teaching of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of
resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment" (Heb. 6:1,2). Here we
find six matters which constitute the doctrine of the first principles of
Christ, and these six can be divided into three groups of two each: namely,
that the first group includes two actions; the second, two external
testimonies; and the third, two teachings concerning the future. Repentance
from dead works and faith towards God are two actions; baptism and the laying
on of hands represent two external testimonies; and the resurrection of the
dead and eternal judgment form two teachings with respect to the future. It is
interesting that we today do not neglect five of these six, but the one
concerning the laying on of hands we do overlook. Even though the4 Bible does
not have an explicit command about the laying on of hands, we cannot deny the
fact that people who were saved during the apostolic days received the laying
on of hands immediately after they were baptized. Baptism is unto Christ, the
laying on of hands is unto the body. In the laying on of hands, a believer
testifies as to his relationship with the body as well as to his relationship
with Christ. It speaks of the fact that he is to submit to the authority of the
head and not to act independently, that he is to deny individualism in work as
well as in living.
"Where one member
suffers," says Paul, "all the members suffer with it; or if one
member is honored, all the members rejoice with it" (1 Cor.
12:26). With the laying on of hands, a believer is giving testimony to his
having been delivered from individualism and his having become a member of the
body of Christ. When a person receives the laying on of hands, he does so for
the sake of desiring to stand in proper place in the body.
Imparting Gift Through
the Laying On of Hands
"I put you in remembrance,"
said Paul to Timothy, "that you stir up the gift of God, which is in you
through the laying on of my hands" (2 Tim. 1:6). What is meant here is
that the gift young Timothy received when he had experienced the laying on of
hands must be stirred up and revived. Moreover, elsewhere Paul said this to
Timothy: "Neglect not the gift that is in you, which was given to you by
prophecy, with the laying on of hands of the presbytery" (1 Tim. 4:14). In
the instance referred to here, the apostle plus the eldership had imparted a
gift to Timothy by prophecy. The one who gives a gift is of course the divine
Anointing. When Paul and the elders laid hands on Timothy and prayed, God gave
to one of them a prophetic prayer which predicted what kind of person Timothy
would be in the future. And this prayer regulated the giving of the gift. When
one who has had deep experience with the Lord lays his hands on people, the
content of his prayer shall become the characteristic of the person who
receives the laying on of hands. For here the authority of the Head is
transmitted through a representative member, and thus a proper gift is granted
to the one who receives the laying on of hands.
All who have had the laying on of
hands should see that thereafter they have become a part of the body:
thereafter they will not seek spirituality for their personal profit but for
the good of the body. From now on, whether the Lord uses them or uses somebody
else makes no difference. They will not be jealous when another member is being
used. Oh how many works are done on an individual basis, oh how much seeking is
for personal spiritual profit! May God deliver us from all these even as He has
delivered us from sin.
Pray With Anointing
"Is any among you sick? Let
him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing
him with oil in the name of the Lord" (Jas. 5:14). This verse should be
read together with a passage in 1 Corinthians 11: "He that eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment unto himself, if he does
not discern the body. For this cause many among you are weak and sickly, and
not a few sleep" (1 Cor. 11:29,30).
There are many reasons for sickness: some are due to the violation of natural
physiological laws, but some are due to the violation of the law of the body of
Christ. If a Christian does not discern the body, he will be subject to
weakness and sickness. For sickness of this kind, he must ask the elders to
come. These elders are appointed by God in the local assembly. They are
representative members. They represent the body of Christ in the locality. They
will come and anoint the sick with oil.
"...the precious oil upon
the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard; that came down upon
the skirt of his garments" (Psa. 133:2). In the
olden days of the priesthood the oil was poured on Aaron the high priest's head
and it then flowed from his head to the skirt of his garments. The Oil of God
is upon the head of Christ, for the Holy Spirit is given to the Son. And thus
Christians receive the anointing under the headship of Christ their High
Priest. Why must this sick person ask the elders to come and anoint him with
oil? When a person is sick, you may readily recognize what his sickness is by
knowing the medicine which the doctor has prescribed or given him. Here in
James the apostle has told us what God has prescribed for the one who is sick. He is to ask the elders to come and anoint him with
oil. Anointing with oil is what is prescribed for this person's sickness? So why then this prescription? It is simply because he has
lost the anointing. Had he stood in the proper place as a member should have,
he would not have lost the anointing and would not have therefore fallen sick.
But because he does not discern the body, therefore he is sick. Under such a
circumstance, what will the elders do? They will bring the sick one back under
the Head and cause him to return to the body. If the believer lives in the
body, he will not lose the anointing; but if he walks out of the body, he will
either be sick or become dead. Do let us understand from this that it is well
if we really discern the life of the body and live therein.
The sickness mentioned in James 5
is thus a special kind of sickness. How do we know his sickness is a special
one and not a general one? Because in the following verse the apostle writes
this: "And the prayer of faith shall save him that is sick, and the Lord
shall raise him up; and if he has committed sins, it shall be forgiven
him" (Jas. 5:15). What sin has he committed? Here his sin must have been
the leaving of the body of Christ. Had the sin he committed been of a personal
nature, all he would have needed to have done was to have trusted the precious
Blood, and if necessary to have confessed it to any other people involved and
had it dealt with. And he then would have been forgiven. He would not need to
ask the elders to come and anoint him with oil in order to receive such
forgiveness. The anointing with oil by the elders cannot get rid of sin: it is
the Blood that washes sin away. Nevertheless, what is written here is that
"if he has committed sins, it shall be forgiven him"; and this
forgiveness comes through the prayer of the elders. Hence this sin is different
from the ordinary kind. This is the sin of disharmony with the body. Such kind
of sin will not be forgiven even if he himself prays to God. He needs the
brethren, he needs the elders to come and pray for him. Only then will he be
forgiven. He needs the help of others.
The next verse is very special:
"Confess therefore your sins one to another, and pray one for another,
that you may be healed. The supplication of a righteous man avails much in its
working" (Jas. 5:16). Why does it mention here to "confess therefore
your sins one to another"? Simply because there is something wrong in the
body of Christ and there is therefore the need to confess sins one to another.
The sick one must confess his sins to the elders, and vice versa. This shows us
that when one member is wrong, the entire body is responsible. In the body of
Christ, if one member is sick, then the elders of the entire church have their
responsibility. Perhaps the elders do not show enough love or care. They need
to confess this sin. The sick person, of course, must also confess his sin -
the sin of being independent and of being out of touch with the body.
They must not only confess one to
another, but also "pray one for another": the elders will again pray
for the sick, and the sick will pray for the elders. This sufficiently shows
the need for love and humility in the church. When a person falls away from the
body, he is not only sick physically but also sick spiritually. For whenever he
is out of touch with the body, he is out from under the anointing. How
important it is for him to see the need of returning to the anointing and to
the body.
The Revelation Paul Received at Repentance
Acts 9 shows us that at the time
of Paul's repentance the revelation he received contained two aspects. As he
traveled on the road to
Paul was a man greatly used by
God. Yet on the road to
Note what happened to Paul:
"And Saul arose from the ground; and when his eyes were opened, he saw
nothing; and they led him by the hand, and brought him into