THE THIRD PART: 24 CRUCIAL LINES IN THE BIBLE

The Body of Christ
Message Four—The Recovery of the All-inclusive Oneness of the Body of Christ

Scripture Reading: John 17:11, 21, 23; Deut. 12:5-8, 11-14, 18, 21, 26-27; 14:22-23; 16:16

I. The oneness in the Bible is an all-inclusive oneness for the expression of God as the mystery of godliness to carry out the desire of God’s heart, and division is an all-inclusive division for the expression of Satan as the mystery of lawlessness to carry out the scheme of Satan’s plot—John 17:11, 21, 23; 1 Tim. 3:15-16a; 2 Thes. 2:3, 7-8; 1 John 3:4; cf. 2 Cor. 2:10-11:

A. The oneness of the Triune God, which is the oneness of the Body of Christ, includes all that Christ is to us in and for God’s economy; the practice of this oneness, the one accord, is the master key to every blessing in the New Testament—Psa. 133; Eph. 4:1-6; Acts 1:14; 1 Cor. 1:9-10; Phil. 1:27; 2:2.

B. The division of Satan, which is the division of Babylon the Great, includes every negative thing and is like a great tree deeply rooted and settled in the earth, flourishing with its branches in which Satan’s evil spirits with the evil persons and things motivated by him are lodged—Matt. 13:31-32, 4, 19; Gen. 11:1-9; Rev. 17:1-6; 18:2; John 17:15.

C. The main symptom of Satan and his world is “the evil” of division (v. 15); the main attribute of the Triune God and His dwelling place is “the blessing” of oneness (Psa. 133:3; cf. Gen. 12:2; Gal. 3:14).

D. Day by day we have to move out of ourselves with “the evil” of division and into the divine “Us,” the Triune God as the blessing of oneness, and we have to remain in Him for His corporate expression; if we continually touch the Word and allow the Spirit to touch us day by day, we shall be sanctified by moving out of ourselves, our old lodging place, and into the Triune God, our new lodging place—John 17:15, 17, 21; 15:5; Eph. 5:26.

II. The Lord’s recovery is the recovery of God’s original intention for man to be God’s expression, His testimony, which is the recovery of the all-inclusive oneness of the Body of Christ as the enlarged oneness of the coinhering Triune God—Gen. 1:26; Isa. 43:7; John 17:11, 21, 23; 2 Cor. 3:8-9, 18-4:1; Eph. 4:4-6, 11-13:

A. The Old Testament speaks of nine great men plus the tabernacle and the temple for the recovery of God’s expression, His testimony—Gen. 3:15, 20-21; 4:4-8, 26; 5:22-24; 6:9, 14; 7:7; 12:1-3; 25:5; 26:4; 28:12-14, 16-19; 47:7-23; Exo. 40:34-35; 1 Sam. 4:3, 21-22; 1 Kings 8:1-11, 48.

B. The New Testament speaks of one unique man who was God’s tabernacle and God’s temple plus the church as the enlargement of this unique man to consummate in the New Jerusalem as the ultimate consummation of the tabernacle and temple for the recovery of God’s expression, His testimony, which is the testimony of Jesus—John 1:14; 2:19-22; Eph. 2:14-15, 21-22; Col. 3:10-11; 1 Cor. 3:16-17; 2 Cor. 6:16; 1 Tim. 3:15; Rev. 1:2, 9; 19:10; 21:2-3, 22.

III. The three major items of the Lord’s recovery can be seen in the types of the tabernacle and the priesthood for God’s expression, His testimony:

A.　The Lord’s recovery of the enjoyment of Christ as everything to us can be seen with all the aspects of the furniture of the tabernacle and the offerings—John 1:14, 29; 2:19-22; 4:24; 14:6; Psa. 43:4a; 84:3, 5, 7, 11.

B. The Lord’s recovery of the functioning of all the members of the Body of Christ can be seen with all the aspects of the serving priesthood—Exo. 19:4-6; 28:1-2; 29:1, 4, 9-10; Lev. 8:14-28; 1 Pet. 2:5, 9; Rom. 15:16; Rev. 1:6; 22:3.

C. The Lord’s recovery of the oneness of the Body of Christ, which is our oneness in the Triune God, can be seen with the oneness of the standing boards of the tabernacle in the overlaying gold and by the uniting bars—Exo. 26:26-30:

1. Only when the boards (typifying the believers) were adequately overlaid with gold (typifying the Triune God) were they perfected into one; the Lord’s recovery consists of God overlaying His recovered people with Himself for His expression, His testimony, His building, His glory—John 17:17, 21, 23; Col. 2:19; Phil. 3:8-9.

2. The uniting bars signify not the Holy Spirit alone but the Holy Spirit mingled with our human spirit, the mingled spirit; we are intrinsically and organically united when our spirit cooperates with the uniting Spirit, thus allowing the Spirit to pass through us as the crossing Spirit to join us to other believers—Rom. 8:16; 1 Cor. 6:17; Eph. 4:1-4a; cf. Matt. 16:24.

IV. In the Bible there are four great chapters on the all-inclusive oneness:

A. Deuteronomy 12 reveals the unique place of God’s choice for keeping the oneness.

B. Psalm 133 reveals the blessing of life under the anointing oil and the watering dew on the ground of oneness.

C. John 17 reveals the believers’ oneness incorporated with the oneness of the Triune God for the expression of the processed and mingled Triune God.

D. Ephesians 4 reveals the oneness of the Body of Christ being the mingling of the processed and consummated Triune God with the believers.

V. Deuteronomy 12 reveals the enjoyment of Christ with God at the unique place of God’s choice for the keeping of the all-inclusive oneness of God’s people—vv. 5-8, 11-14, 17-18, 21, 26; cf. 1 Cor. 10:6, 11; Rom. 15:4:

A. The children of Israel were not allowed to worship God and enjoy the offerings they presented to God in the place of their choice (Deut. 12:8, 13, 17); they were to worship God in the place of His choice, the place where His name, His habitation, and His altar were (vv. 5-6), by bringing their tithes, offerings, and sacrifices to Him there (vv. 5, 11, 14, 18, 21, 26-27; 14:22-23; 15:19-20; 16:16).

B. The place of God’s unique choice for His worship in Deuteronomy 12 signifies our meeting on the ground of locality for the expression of the one Body in prac-ticality (signified by Jerusalem) and for the reality of the one Body in actuality (signified by Zion within Jerusalem)—Psa. 48:2; 50:2; Rev. 1:11; 2:7.

C. The revelation in the New Testament concerning the worship of God corresponds to the revelation in Deuteronomy 12 in the following ways:

1. The people of God should always be one; there should be no divisions among them—Psa. 133; John 17:11, 21-23; 1 Cor. 1:10; Eph. 4:3.

2.　The unique name into which God’s people should gather is the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, the reality of which is the Spirit; to be designated by any other name is to be denominated, divided; this is spiritual fornication— Matt. 18:20; 1 Cor. 1:12; 12:3; Rev. 3:8.

3. In the New Testament God’s habitation, His dwelling place, is particularly located in our mingled spirit, our human spirit regenerated and indwelt by the divine Spirit; in our meeting for the worship of God, we must exercise our spirit and do everything in our spirit—John 4:21-24; 1 Cor. 14:15.

4. In our worship of God we must have the genuine application of the cross of Christ, signified by the altar, by rejecting the flesh, the self, and the natural life and worshipping God with Christ and Christ alone—Psa. 43:4a; Matt. 16:24; Gal. 2:20.

5. The place that God has chosen for His worship is a place full of the enjoy-ment of the riches of Christ and a place full of rejoicing—Deut. 12:7, 12, 18; 14:23; Eph. 3:8; Phil. 4:4; 1 Cor. 14:3, 4b, 26, 31.

VI. Wherever we may be, we should be gathered into the Lord’s name, in our spirit, and with the cross; if we all do this, we all will meet in the same place, although we meet in different localities; this one place is the ground of the unique oneness—Deut. 12:5-6; Jer. 32:39:

A. Apparently, we are divided by geography, for we meet in separate cities all over the world on the scriptural ground of locality—the practice of having one church for one city, one city with only one church—Acts 8:1; 13:1; Rev. 1:11.

B. Actually, in spite of geographical separation, we all meet in the same place—in the name of the Lord Jesus, in our mingled spirit, and with the cross; this is the oneness, and this is the ground for the proper worship of God:

1. Many Christians are divided by their preference; in the Lord’s recovery we must not be for our preference but for the Lord’s presence as the Spirit of reality, the reality of His name—Matt. 18:20; 1 Cor. 1:10; Exo. 33:14.

2. The fulfillment of the type in Deuteronomy 12 is not a matter of a geographical place but a matter of our spirit—John 4:21-24.

3. At the entrance of the church there is the cross, and in order to meet as the church, we must experience the cross for the crucifying of the self, for the overthrowing of “reasonings and every high thing rising up against the knowledge of God,” and for the exalting of Christ alone so that He may be all in all for God’s expression and the unique testimony of His all-inclusive oneness—Matt. 16:24; 1 Cor. 2:2; 2 Cor. 10:3-5; Col. 1:10, 18b; 3:10-11.

 

Ministry Excerpts:

NO MORE DIVISION

God’s four great acts are related to creation, election, the new creation, and the New Jerusalem in the new heaven and new earth. Apart from God, the only proper source in the universe, there is another source, Satan, with another element and issue. By the time of the New Jerusalem, this source, element, and issue will all be cast into the lake of fire. Therefore, in the new heaven and new earth God will be the unique source, and only His element and issue will remain. For this reason, in the new universe there will be no division. There will be no more death, no more sorrow, no more crying, no more pain, and no more darkness. We can go on to say that in the new heaven and new earth there will be no more sin, worldliness, flesh, self, or Satan. There will be no negative things whatever. This means that there will be no more division.

Division is all-inclusive. It comprises such negative things as Satan, sin, worldliness, the flesh, the self, the old man, and evil temper. If we are enlightened concerning the nature of division, we shall see that it includes every negative thing. Do not think that division stands by itself and that it is not related to such things as the flesh, the self, and worldliness. Division is not only related to all negative things; it includes all negative things.

Just as division is all-inclusive, so, in the same principle, oneness is all-inclusive. It includes God, Christ, and the Spirit. Ephesians 4:3-6 indicates this. In the oneness revealed in these verses, we have God the Father, Christ the Lord, and the Spirit as the giver of life. This oneness includes such positive things as our regenerated spirit and our transformed and renewed mind. Everything positive is included in the proper oneness. (The Genuine Ground of Oneness, msg. 3)

THIS BAR BEING RELATED TO THE ONENESS
OF THE SPIRIT SPOKEN OF IN EPHESIANS 4:3

The Spirit is both the rings and the bars. These bars are made of acacia wood (v. 26) for the connecting strength and overlaid with gold (v. 29) for uniting. This is related to the oneness of the Spirit spoken of in Ephesians 4:3.

There were five bars on each of three sides, north, south, and west. Five, the number of responsibility, is composed of four plus one. This signifies the initial Spirit becoming the uniting Spirit bearing responsibility in resurrection by the Triune God. Concerning the bars, we have three times five—five bars on three sides. This signifies responsibility in resurrection by the Triune God. Furthermore, on each side, the middle bar went from end to end. Thus, there were five bars in three lines. Here again we have five in three, signifying responsibility in the Triune God in resurrection.

The standing of the boards is a matter of silver for redemption, and the uniting of the boards is a matter of gold signifying the divinity of Christ. Christ’s redemption is related to His work, but His divinity is related to His Person. We stand on Christ’s redemptive work, and we are united by His divine Person. Therefore, with the boards of the tabernacle we see both the Person and work of Christ. His Person is divine, and His work is redemptive. Today as the church, we are one entity, one building, for God’s habitation, because we stand on the silver of Christ’s redemptive work and are united by the gold of His divine Person.

The uniting bars were made of acacia wood. In Ephesians 4 the oneness of the Spirit is mentioned in the context of human virtues such as humility and love. These virtues are signified by acacia wood. The oneness of the Spirit not only involves Christ’s divinity, but also includes His humanity. For God’s building we must have humility, kindness, and love which are according to Christ’s standard. In other words, if we would be the acacia wood within the uniting bars, we must be Jesusly human. Then we shall have real oneness. Whereas the rings are purely of gold, the bars are of two natures—acacia wood overlaid with gold. This indicates that the uniting Spirit is mingled with the virtues of our redeemed and uplifted humanity. (Life-study of Exodus, msg. 98)

ONLY ONE NAME

According to the type in Deuteronomy 12:3, we must destroy all the places and all the names. Furthermore, every pagan practice that has been adopted by Christianity must be eliminated. There is no room for such things in the church. The book The Two Babylons proves that Catholicism has assimilated many elements of paganism. For example, Christmas and Easter both have a pagan origin. Aspects of paganism are found not only in Catholicism, but even in many of the denominations. Spiritually speaking, we must destroy all the places, images, and names. For this reason, there can be no reconciliation between the Lord’s recovery and the denominations with their high mountains, hills, and trees for the worship of idols. Furthermore, we ourselves must be careful not to have any mountains, hills, or trees. We should have only Christ and only the unique place chosen by God for keeping oneness.

LEARNING TO FEAR GOD

God does not allow us the freedom to choose the place of worship. In this matter we must fear Him and simply come to the place of His choice. If we exercise the right to make our own choice, we follow the way of the heathen, the way of the nations. According to Deuteronomy 12, the children of Israel were to destroy all the places where the pagans worshipped their idols. In principle, we must do the same thing when we come to the church life. The choice of the place of worship is altogether the Lord’s; it is not a matter of our preference. If we act according to our preference, we indulge our lust, for we satisfy our own desire regarding the place of worship. To behave in this way is to be like a woman who becomes involved with a man other than her husband. This is fornication. Just as a woman is limited to one man in marriage, so we are limited to the one place of God’s choice as far as the corporate worship of God is concerned. We all must learn to fear the Lord our God. With respect to Christian meetings, we must fear God and do only what is according to His choice. God commands us to destroy all other worship centers and to go only to the place chosen by Him.

THE LORD’S MOST THOROUGH DEALING

When we go to the place of God’s choice, we experience the Lord’s most thorough dealing with us. We are forced to be one with our brothers in Christ. Sometimes we may not desire to see a certain brother. Although we may attend the meetings of the church, we may try our best to avoid him. If we seek to avoid the presence of a certain brother, we shall not be able to enjoy the top portion of Christ. We need to be thoroughly subdued. We should pray, “Lord, have mercy on me so that I may be right with my brother. I want to have no problem with him and to enjoy being in his presence.” This illustrates the fact that when we come to the place of God’s choice, we are dealt with by Him to the uttermost.

Suppose one Israelite had a problem with another and as a result did everything possible to avoid him. However, three times a year all the Israelite males were required to go up to Jerusalem. Those who refused were to be cut off from the fellowship of God’s people. Eventually, any problem between the Israelites had to be settled. Otherwise, there would have been no way for them to come together in oneness on Mount Zion to worship God. As they ascended Mount Zion, the Israelites had to chant the words of Psalm 133: “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in oneness” (Heb.). Therefore, the unique place of God’s choice preserved the oneness of His people. As long as the children of Israel followed God’s choice, they had no alternative except to be one.

THE PLACE WHERE THE LORD HAS PUT HIS NAME

Now we come to the matter of how to discern the place of God’s choice. The first principle is that the place chosen by God must not have any name other than the name of God and Christ. Any place that has a name other than the name of Christ is not the place chosen by God. In Deuteronomy 12 God charged the people to destroy all the places with all the names. No name was allowed to remain. However, the unique place of God’s choice was the place where the Lord put His own name. Hence, the place to which we are to go is the unique place where the Lord has put His name. For this reason, as we meet together in the church, we meet only in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. In Matthew 18 the Lord Jesus speaks of us being gathered together into His name. Whenever we come together, we must come into His name. We should not adopt such denominational names as Methodist, Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Lutheran, or Baptist. All those names must be destroyed.

GOD’S DWELLING PLACE

The second principle is that the unique place of God’s choice must be God’s habitation, God’s dwelling place. Ephesians 2:22 helps us to understand the significance of this principle for us today. In this verse we are told that God’s dwelling place is our spirit. This means that the very place of God’s choice is our spirit. Therefore, we discern God’s chosen place by the name and by the human spirit. Today God’s habitation is in our spirit.

Suppose we neglect or ignore the spirit and live instead in the realm of the mind, emotion, and will. This will make it difficult for others to recognize that we are in the place of God’s choice. The place God has chosen is the spirit. In the church life we should not be known or characterized by the expression of opinion, but by the exercise of the spirit. To go to the place of God’s habitation is to go to the spirit.

A PLACE OF ENJOYMENT

Third, the place God has chosen is a place of enjoyment. In Deuteronomy 12 the word eat is used a number of times. Verse 7 indicates that in the place God has chosen we shall “eat before the Lord.” In verse 18 we see that the tithe of the produce of the good land and the firstlings of the herd and of the flock were to be eaten before the Lord in the place of His choice. These references to eating point to enjoyment. Therefore, the place God has chosen is a place of enjoyment. If in a particular place we do not sense the enjoyment of the Lord, we should question whether or not it is the place God has chosen. Where do we find the riches of Christ typified by the produce of the good land? At the times of the yearly feasts, the riches of the good land were to be found at Mount Zion in Jerusalem. According to the principle, today we may discern the place of God’s choice by the enjoyment of the riches of Christ. The place of God’s choice is characterized by this enjoyment.

A PLACE OF REJOICING

Finally, the place God has chosen is a place of rejoicing. Deuteronomy 12:12 and 18 speak of rejoicing before the Lord. This rejoicing is related to the eating of the firstfruits and of the firstlings. To rejoice is not simply to be happy. It is possible to be happy silently, but in order to rejoice we must utter something or make a joyful noise. The house of God is a place of rejoicing. The place where His people gather together must be not only a place of joy, but also of rejoicing.

In this portion of the Word we have four ways to discern a proper and genuine church. A genuine church is where there is the unique name, the name of Christ. Furthermore, it is a place where the human spirit is prevailing, where the riches of Christ are enjoyed, and where we rejoice before the Lord. When the riches of Christ become our enjoyment, we shall spontaneously be filled with joy and rejoice. Therefore, in the church life we have the name of the Lord and the exercise of the spirit. We also enjoy the riches of Christ and rejoice in the Lord. This is the place of God’s choice, the unique place He has chosen for keeping oneness. (The Genuine Ground of Oneness, msg. 4)