Message Six—The Consciousness of the Body of Christ(with sources)

THE THIRD PART: 24 CRUCIAL LINES IN THE BIBLE

The Body of Christ
Message Six—The Consciousness of the Body of Christ

Scripture Reading: 1 Cor. 12:26-27; 2 Cor. 11:28-29; Col. 2:19; Rom. 12:4-5, 15; Phil. 1:8

I. According to the teaching of the Bible and our spiritual experience, there is something called the consciousness of the Body of Christ—1 Cor. 12:26-27; 2 Cor. 11:28-29:

A. As members of the Body of Christ, we need to have the consciousness of the Body and a feeling for the Body—1 Cor. 12:26-27; Phil. 1:8.

B. In order to live the Body life, we need to be conscious of the Body of Christ—Rom. 12:4-5, 15.

II. The consciousness of the Body of Christ is the sense of Christ’s life within us—Col. 3:4, 15; Rom. 8:2, 6, 10-11; 12:4-5:

A. The mystical Body of Christ is formed by Christ as life in each of us, mingled with us—Col. 3:4; 2:19:

1. If we are still living in our own life, we cannot know this life which mingles with us to form the Body of Christ—Matt. 16:24; 1 Cor. 2:14; 3:1-3; 12:12-27; Eph. 4:13-16.

2. The Bible and our experience prove that, though each one of us is a member of the Body of Christ, the life in each one of us is not a member life but a Body life—1 John 5:11-12; Rom. 12:4-5.

3. In the Body of Christ, when one member is joined to the Body or is having fellowship with the Body, his life is the life of the Body, and the life of the Body is his life—1 John 1:1-3.

4. This life mingles with us to become the Body of Christ—Rom. 8:10; 12:4-5.

B. Concerning the consciousness of the Body of Christ, we need to begin with the sense of the divine life within us—8:6:

1. This sense originates from the Spirit of God and from God’s life in our spirit—vv. 2, 10.

2. The divine life within has feelings, and our regenerated spirit also has feelings—vv. 6, 16; 2 Cor. 2:13.

3. This sense is called the sense of life, and it is also the consciousness of the Body of Christ—Rom. 12:15; 1 Cor. 12:26-27.

4. If we exercise this sense, it will cause us to be conscious of matters related to the Body—Rom. 12:15.

5. If we cultivate this sense, it will enable us to detect problems in the Body.

6. If we exercise this sense often and if we love the Lord and care for the church, this sense will become the sense, the consciousness, of the Body—2 Cor. 11:28-29.

C. Because of self-consideration and love for our particular work, our inner sense is suppressed; this shows that our sense of being in the Body is not adequate and that we still remain in ourselves—Phil. 2:21.

D. If we have the sense of the Body, when others suffer or are blessed, we will identify with them and feel the same hardship or blessing—1 Cor. 12:26-27.

III. The consciousness of the Body of Christ comes from the organic union with Christ, the enjoyment of Christ, and the living in the inward parts of Christ—Rom. 12:4-5; Col. 2:16-19; Phil. 1:8:

A. We may cultivate the consciousness of the Body of Christ by living in the organic union with Christ—Rom. 12:4-5:

1. Romans 12 speaks of the Body from the angle of the organic union, from the uniting life, from a life that unites us together, not only with Christ but with all the other members of Christ.

2. We are one Body in Christ, having an organic union with Him; this union makes us one in life with Christ and with all the other members of His Body—vv. 4-5:

a. The Body is an organism produced by the union in life that we have in Christ; it is something that is held together in the organic union with Christ, and the actuality of the Body is the remaining in the organic union with Christ—John 15:1; Rom. 12:4-5.

b. If we would live in the reality of the Body of Christ, we need to live a grafted life; in the grafted life we no longer live by ourselves but allow the pneumatic Christ to live in us, and He causes us to become conscious of the Body of Christ—6:5; 11:17; Gal. 2:20.

B. We may cultivate the consciousness of the Body of Christ by enjoying the all-inclusive Christ, who is the Head of the Body—Col. 2:16-19:

1. The precious, all-inclusive Christ whom we enjoy is the Head of the Body—1 Cor. 10:3-4; John 20:22; Col. 1:18; 2:19:

a. What we enjoy of Christ is actually something of Him as the Head; thus, when we enjoy Christ, we hold Him as the Head—vv. 10, 16-17.

b. The enjoyment of Christ causes Him to be our Head subjectively and experientially—Eph. 3:8, 17; 4:15.

2. When we enjoy Christ, He, the Head, causes us to become conscious of the Body—Col. 2:19; 3:15:

a. The more we enjoy Christ, the more we will realize experientially that the Christ we enjoy is the Head of the Body.

b. This realization will make us conscious of the Body and cause us to love all the members of the Body—vv. 12-14.

3. The Christ we enjoy is the Head who causes us to be conscious of the Body; therefore, the issue of enjoying Christ and holding Him as the Head is that we have the consciousness of the Body of Christ—2:16-19.

C. We may cultivate the consciousness of the Body of Christ by living in the inward parts of Christ—Phil. 1:8; Col. 3:10-12, 15; Philem. 7, 12, 20:

1. Paul took the inward parts of Christ Jesus as his own inward parts in caring for the church—Phil. 1:8:

a. Paul took care of the Body of Christ by taking Christ’s feeling as his own feeling—cf. Acts 9:4-5.

b. Christ’s feeling for the Body became Paul’s feeling for the Body.

c. Like Paul, we should take the feeling of the Head as our own feeling.

2. If we a Body-consciousness and care for the Body, we will take the Body as the rule in our thoughts and actions—Eph. 4:15-16.

IV. The consciousness of the Body of Christ is closely related to our frame of mind—Col. 2:18; 3:2; Rom. 12:2-3; Eph. 4:23:

A. Our frame of mind is our perception of things and is very critical; when there is the proper and thorough perception of matters, the frame of mind is normal.

B. If we do not have an adequate understanding of the Body of Christ, our frame of mind is not proper, and we will not be able to have the common recognition of the Body of Christ—Rom. 12:4-5; Eph. 4:22-24.

V. The Body of Christ is universal, the divine life within us is universal, and the sense of the Body is also universal—1 Cor. 12:26-27; 2 Cor. 11:28-29:

A. Once the divine life and the Spirit enter into us, we should have a universal sense—the consciousness of the Body—Rom. 8:2, 10-11; 12:4-5, 15.

B. The sense of the Body is a universal matter, but this sense has been restricted in us because of our own feelings and views—Prov. 14:10; 2 Cor. 6:11-13.

C. The more we experience the Lord’s breaking and are delivered from ourselves, the more we will discover that the sense of the Body, the consciousness of the Body, is universal, and we will live in the Body and care for the Body in the consciousness of the Body of Christ—11:28-29.

Ministry Excerpts:

WHAT IS THE CONSCIOUSNESS
OF THE BODY?

Let us now consider what is meant by the consciousness of the Body. Although we cannot find this exact expression in the Bible, according to the teaching of the Bible and our experience, there is something called the consciousness of the Body. First Corinthians 12:26-27 says, “Whether one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or one member is glorified, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are the Body of Christ, and members individually.” In addition, 2 Corinthians 11:28-29 says, “Apart from the things which have not been mentioned, there is this: the crowd of cares pressing upon me daily, the anxious concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is stumbled, and I myself do not burn?” These two references cover a scope that is both great and small. The smaller scope is presented in 1 Corinthians 12, which speaks of all the members suffering with a member who is suffering and of all the members rejoicing with a member who is glorified (v. 26). This clearly refers to the sense in the Body. This is easy to understand if we consider our body. If someone hits us on our ear, our ear feels pain, and the other members of our body also feel pain. It is not possible for only the ear to feel pain while the other members have no feeling. This is very easy to understand.

The greater scope is presented in 2 Corinthians 11:28-29, in which the apostle Paul speaks of his anxious concern for all the churches. His anxiety and even his weakness were a matter of consciousness. When a church was weak, the apostle felt it; when a church had problems, the apostle became anxious. The apostle felt this way concerning the churches and concerning the individual saints. He bore all the churches and had feelings for everything that happened to the churches.

The Epistles written by the apostle Paul, including Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, and those addressed to individuals, show his keen sense toward the churches and the saints. Since he bore the churches and the saints, he could sense matters related to the churches and the saints. This is the consciousness of the Body. Second Corinthians 11 shows a great and broad consciousness; 1 Corinthians 12 shows a small and focused consciousness.

NEEDING TO BEGIN WITH THE SENSE OF THE SPIRITUAL LIFE

Concerning the consciousness of the Body, we need to begin with the sense of the spiritual life. We have spoken much concerning the sense of the spiritual life. We pointed out that the divine life within us has feelings, and our regenerated spirit also has feelings. This is based on Romans 8:6: “The mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace.” This verse clearly speaks of an inner sense. It is very simple to know whether a person’s mind is set on the spirit; we simply need to ask him if he has peace within. This peace is a matter of sense. If a person sets his mind on the spirit, he will sense ease, comfort, and peace within.

The divine life is truly a matter of sense. A person who sets his mind on the spirit will sense satisfaction, strength, brightness, freshness, and liveliness. This means that his inward being touches life. Whenever we set our mind on the flesh, we become dry and darkened within; this is death. Therefore, this is truly a matter of sense.

The divine life and our regenerated spirit have consciousness. Every form of life has a consciousness; anything without consciousness is not a living organism and has no life. As long as it is a living organism, the life in it has consciousness. The higher the life, the keener is its sense. We, the regenerated ones, have received the life of God, which has the keenest and richest feelings. Moreover, our regenerated spirit is not only mingled with the life of God; it is also indwelt by the Spirit of God. Our regenerated spirit is the three-in-one spirit referred to in Romans 8—our spirit mingled with God’s life and with God’s Spirit. God’s Spirit enters into our spirit with God’s life and mingles with our spirit. Therefore, our spirit is not only a living spirit but also a strong and enriched spirit.

The sense of life in our spirit, or the spiritual sense, is keen and rich. This spiritual sense of life within us is often the standard for our spiritual actions and the test of our spiritual living. It tests whether we are living in the Lord or in ourselves, and whether our mind is set on the spirit or on the flesh. There is no need for someone to tell us, because we have a sense within. We do not need others to tell us whether our speaking for the Lord is according to the spirit or according to the flesh; the sense in us will let us know. This sense can be compared to a thermometer. When we test ourselves with this thermometer, we will know where we are and our true condition.

CULTIVATING A CONSCIOUSNESS OF THE BODY

We need to cultivate a consciousness of the Body by fellowshipping more with the Lord. Our inner sense will spontaneously be developed as we fellowship more with the Lord. Furthermore, if we add obedience to this fellowship, our inner sense will become keener and richer. When a feeling comes, we should closely follow that feeling. If the inner sense desires us to stop, we should stop; if it desires us to go, we should go. In this way, our inner sense will become keen and enriched. Our inner sense is developed through our fellowship with the Lord and our obedience to Him. Therefore, we should always exercise this sense. This means that we must always use this sense when we touch spiritual matters.

EXERCISING TO HAVE A KEEN SENSE

Everyone who serves God, everyone who serves sinners, and everyone who administrates the church must exercise to have a keen sense. If we do not exercise, we will not be of much spiritual use. We must admit that often the help we render to people is in faith; we do not need to be so clear. In fact, our being clear concerning the condition of people actually hinders us from helping them. At the same time, we cannot be foolish. When people come to us, we should be able to discern their condition in three to five sentences. Even if they describe a certain condition, our spirit should be able to sense their real situation. This kind of exercise is necessary. Although we are outwardly listening when we contact a brother or sister, inwardly we should be exercised to sense their true situation.

The overflow of the life of Christ is the expression of the Body of Christ. The consciousness of the Body is the sense of Christ’s life within us. If we use this sense often, it will cause us not only to sense our own condition before the Lord but cause us also to sense others’ condition before the Lord and to be conscious of matters related to the Body. If we constantly exercise, cultivate, train, and use this sense, it will enable us to detect the problems in the Body.

If we use and exercise this sense often and if we love God and care for the church, this sense will become the sense of the Body. We will sense when our fellow members are in difficulty, when they are weak, happy, or victorious in the Lord, and we will share the same feelings with them. We sense their burden so that their burden becomes ours, we sense their experience so that their experience becomes ours, and we sense their difficulties so that their difficulties becomes ours. In this way we will be in one Body.

BEARING THE BURDEN TOGETHER IN THE BODY

When we exercise the consciousness of the Body, a good situation will develop. A member who is in a difficult situation will not bear his burden alone, but his fellow members will bear the burden with him. We will no longer pray for someone simply because he asks us; rather, we will pray out of the burden in the Body. Sometimes one person’s prayer is not enough; there is truly the need for the prayer of the Body, but this prayer is still spontaneous. For example, a person who is Body conscious can sense that a certain brother has a difficulty and a certain sister has a heavy burden. The sense of the brother’s difficulty is communicated into him, and the sense of the sister’s being pressed is also added to his spirit. He shares the same feeling with the brother and sister. This feeling presses him and forces him to go before the Lord to pray for the brother and sister. This intercession is an intercession that comes from the sense of the Body. There is such a thing in the Body that proves whether we are weak or strong inwardly and also proves the extent of our concern for the children of God, the members of Christ.

If we look at ourselves from this perspective, we must admit that our service is weak because our sense of the Body is weak and poor. We may see a brother who is pressed, yet the others who live with him have no feeling of being pressed. A sister might not be able to get through a crisis, yet none of those who live with her have the same feeling. This means that we are not normal in the Body; we have not yet touched the reality of the Body. This shows that the element of the Body is not adequate among us, and we do not live in Christ enough when we are together. Therefore, although we may be living together, we may not be conscious of others’ burdens. One may be fasting due to a spiritual crisis, yet others can be eating peacefully. This is an abnormal situation. This shows that there is a real problem, a great shortage, among us. We cannot match the sense of the Body; we lack the sense of the Body.

WHEN A PERSON HAS A DIFFICULTY,
EVERYONE ELSE SHOULD FEEL THE SAME WAY;
WHEN A PERSON REJOICES,
EVERYONE ALSO REJOICES TOGETHER

If our condition is proper, we should have a feeling of being troubled and pressed when a brother who serves with us is unable to get through a spiritual crisis or solve a spiritual problem. If a member is suffering, his fellow members should suffer with him. If he is suffering and we are not suffering, there is a problem with us. If our condition is normal, it should be that as he is suffering, we are also suffering; when he has a burden, we also have a burden; and when he is in a crisis, we are also in a crisis. When his crisis is over and his spirit is released, our spirit will be released; when he is happy, we will be happy. We will have the same feeling. This is the Body. It is not possible for the foot to feel comfortable while the hand is suffering; this can never happen. When a member of the Body suffers, all the members feel uncomfortable. It should also be like this when we serve together. When a person has a difficulty, everyone else should feel the same way; when a person rejoices, everyone also rejoices together. This is the normal condition.

If someone hits my hand, all the other members of my body can sense it. If they cannot sense it, something is wrong with my body. Many times when something is wrong among us, we still care only about ourselves, loving our particular work, guarding our attachments to the world, and tolerating the sins within us. Because of our self-consideration, our inner sense is suppressed, and even if we had a sense, we would ignore it. We often ignore the sense of the Body when it comes to us and forcibly suppress it, because we are busy taking care of our own situations. This condition is altogether abnormal.

Many saints among us are in the midst of tremendous hardships, yet those who serve with them have no feeling for them, and no one bears the burden with them. We do not pray too much for them, and when we do pray, our prayers are superficial. We do not touch the burden, and we do not have a feeling of pain within. We do not have a sense of being troubled and pressed. This shows that our sense of being in the Body is not adequate and that we still remain in ourselves.

THE SENSE OF THE BODY BEING UNIVERSAL

The sense of the Body is very mysterious. If we allow this sense to be enlarged, it will become a universal sense. Strictly speaking, this sense is already universal, but when it comes into us, we limit it. Christ’s life is universal, and God’s Spirit is also universal. Once this life and Spirit enter into us, we should have a universal sense. This sense is great and far-reaching, but when it enters into us, we limit it. At our salvation this sense caused us to realize our own condition. However, because we have not been broken very much, this sense cannot come out of us. Gradually, according to the lessons we learn, the more we are broken, the more this sense will increase so that we can begin to care for others, for the church, and for the Lord’s work. The more we experience the Lord’s breaking, learning the deeper lessons and being delivered from ourselves, the more we will discover that this sense is universal.

Have we ever rejoiced for a local church other than our own? We are often shut up within ourselves, and when we see another local church being blessed, we do not rejoice with them. Even if we do rejoice, our rejoicing is stingy, not generous. After the saints in Keelung learn that Tamsui has a nice meeting hall, they may say, “Praise the Lord,” but they are not that happy. Even though the church in Sanchung has built a nice meeting hall, the brothers in other places do not feel very happy. Such things happen among us. This shows that we are not in the Body, and we do not have a sense of the Body experientially.

If we have the sense of the Body, whenever any member in the Body of Christ is blessed, regardless of whether it is our locality, we will be very happy because another church has been blessed. Regardless of whether it is our local church, as long as the saints have hardships or have been blessed, we will identify with them and feel the same hardship or blessing. If we can reach this stage, the sense within us toward the Body will be rich. It will no longer be local but extra-local. The supply to the Body of Christ from this kind of sense is indescribable.

THE BODY BEING UNIVERSAL

If we can bring the universal riches to the Body of Christ, our usefulness to the Body is universal. Thus, we may serve in one place, but the effect is universal, not merely local. We are often shut up in ourselves. Even when we come out of ourselves, we remain in our locality and do not allow the Lord to enlarge us. The Body is universal, and the life within us is universal. The Spirit within us is universal, the sense within us is universal, and the supply is universal. It does not matter what locality is blessed. If the Body of Christ is blessed, we rejoice, and if the Body of Christ has a problem, we feel the pain. Like Paul, we should be able to say, “Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is stumbled, and I myself do not burn?” (2 Cor. 11:29). We feel this way because the anxious concern for all the churches is upon us. This is not merely a matter of an individual member; it is a matter of all the churches. This sense will save us and cause the Body to be supplied. (The Church as the Body of Christ, msg. 17)