THE SECOND PART: A BIRD’S-EYE VIEW OF THE NEW TESTAMENT

The Epistle of Paul to Romans

Message One
The Body of Christ in Romans

Scripture Reading: Rom. 3:23; 8:14, 29; 12:4-5; 1-16; 14:1; 15:5-7; 16:1, 4-5; 16, 20

I. The subject of Romans is the gospel of God–to make sinners sons of God to constitute the Body of Christ, which is expressed as the local churches—3:23; 8:14, 29; 12:4-5; 16:1, 4-5, 16b:

A. In His salvation God is making sinners the sons of God to be constituted the Body of Christ for the expression of Christ—8:14; 12:4-5.

B. Sons are the children of God who are in the stage of the transformation of their souls; they are growing in the divine life and also are living and walking by being led by the Spirit of God—8:14, 16; 12:2.

C. In order to be the members of the Body of Christ, we need to be conformed to the image of Christ—8:29; 12:4-5.

II. The will of God is to obtain a Body for Christ to be His fullness, His expression—Rev. 4:11; Eph. 1:5, 9; Rom. 12:2, 4-5:

A. In Romans 12 the will of God is that we whom God has chosen, redeemed, justified, sanctified, and conformed unto glorification may be members one of another to have the living of the Body of Christ—8:29-30.

B. To live the Body life is to “prove what the will of God is”—12:2, 4-5.

C. If we are proper members of the Body, acting and functioning in the church life, we will be persons in the will of God—1 Cor. 1:1-2; Eph. 1:1; 5:17.

III. We are one Body in the organic union with Christ—Rom. 12:4-5:

A. Romans 12 speaks of the Body from the angle of the organic union, from the uniting life, from the life that unites us together, not only with Christ but with all the other members of Christ—vv. 4-5.

B. 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:

1. The Body is not an organization or a society but is altogether an organism produced by the union in life that we have in Christ—John 15:1.

2. The Body 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—vv. 4-5.

IV. If we would live the Body life, a life in the reality of the Body of Christ, we need to live a grafted life—Rom. 6:5; 11:17:

A. God desires that the divine life and the human life be joined together to become one life that has one living; this union in life is a grafted life—a life in which two parties are joined and grow organically—1 Cor. 6:17; John 15:5.

B. In the grafted life we no longer live by ourselves but allow the pneumatic Christ to live in us—Gal. 2:20.

C. Through grafting we are united, mingled, and incorporated with Christ to become in Him the organic Body of Christ—John 15:1. 4-5; Rom. 12:4-5.

V. In order for the Body of Christ to he built up, we need to reign in life, that is, be under the ruling of the divine life—5:17, 21; 12:1-16:

A. Every aspect of the living of the Body life in Romans 12-16 requires us to be ruled by the divine life.

B. We can live a life of the highest virtues for the Body life only by reigning in life—12:9-12, 15-16, 18.

C. When we are reigning in life, living under the ruling of the divine life. the issue is the real and practical Body life—5 :17, 21; 12:4-5.

VI. Romans begins with the designation of Jesus Christ to be the Son of God for the mass reproduction of the many sons of God as the members of the Body of Christ, and Romans ends with the practice of the local churches as the expression of the Body of Christ—1:3-4; 8:29; 12:4-5; 16:1, 16b:

A. The local churches are the practical expression of the Body of Christ—vv. 1-5a, 16b. 23.

B. Although the churches appear in different places, they are not separate, and although they are local, they are still part of the unique universal Body of Christ—12:4-5, 16; 16:16b:

1. On the one hand, the Body of Christ is expressed in localities city by city as the local churches—Rev. 1:11.

2. On the other hand, because the fellowship of this Body is universal, these local churches are still one—1 Cor. 10:16; Eph. 4:4.

C. For the practice of the Body life, all the local churches must receive all genuine believers unconditionally, according to the way God and Christ receive them—Rom. 14:1-3; 15:5-7.

D. Romans 16 displays the real and practical Body life; here we see that all the churches and all the saints live in the universal fellowship of the Body of Christ.

E. In his greetings Paul unveiled some crucial indicators of the proper church life both in a particular local church and among the churches: serving the church. risking our lives for the church, having the church in our home, acknowledging that the church is the church of Christ, and extending hospitality to everyone in the church and being a host to all the churches—vv. 1-5a. 16b, 23.

F. We must be governed by the vision of the Body of Christ and follow in the footsteps of Paul (who took the lead in the fellowship of concern among the saints and between the churches), by bringing all the saints in all the churches into the blending life of the entire Body of Christ—vv. 1-23.

VII. When we live in the fellowship of the Body of Christ and express this Body in the local churches, the result will be God’s crushing Satan under our feet, our enjoying the grace of Christ and the peace of God, and the giving of glory to the only wise God—vv. 20, 27.

 

Ministry Excerpts:

THE SUBJECT OF ROMANS BEING THE GOSPEL OF GOD

The subject of Romans is the gospel of God. The introduction to this Epistle, 1:1-17, indicates that the gospel of God is the subject of this book. In 1:1 Paul speaks of himself as “a slave of Christ Jesus, a called apostle, separated unto the gospel of God.” In 1:9 Paul goes on to say, “God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit in the gospel of His Son.” Then in 1:15 and 16 he says, “So, for my part, I am ready to announce the gospel to you also who are in Rome. For I am not ashamed of the gospel.” Therefore, the gospel of God is the theme of this Epistle. The entire book of Romans unfolds the gospel, the glad tidings of God, in a full way. (CWWL, 1983, vol. 2, “The Divine Dispensing of the Divine Trinity”, ch. 23)

God Gaining Sons from among the Sinners So That They Can be Constituted the Body of Christ for the Expression of Christ

The apostle Paul saw that the ultimate goal of God’s purpose is to build up together the tripartite men who have been redeemed and who possess His life to be His sons into a Body for His corporate expression on earth. In other words, God wants to gain sons from among the sinners so that they can be constituted the Body of Christ for the expression of Christ. This expression appears on earth in individual localities, each unit being determined by the administrative boundaries. Although they appear in different places, they are not separate, and although they are local, they are still part of the unique universal Body of Christ. When Paul wrote this book, this thought was deeply planted in his heart and spirit.

The goal of the dispensing of the Divine Trinity within the believers is simply to have a Body expressed as the many local churches. Although there are many churches, there is nevertheless one Body. On the one hand, we have the Body of Christ, which is universal. On the other hand, the Body is expressed in various localities as local churches. Universally speaking, there is one Body. Locally speaking, there are many local churches. (CWWL, 1990, vol. 3, “A Deeper Study of the Divine Dispensing”, msg. 7)

We All Being Members of the Body of Christ, Which Depends upon the Sonship

By this you can see that on the surface [Romans] chapter 8 is on the Spirit. But under the surface, in the depth, it is a chapter on sonship, which is being carried out by the Spirit of life. Eventually, this Spirit in our spirit is the spirit of sonship. We have to see that sonship is vital and basic to the Body of Christ. I would say that the matter of the organic union is just the initiation. The organic union is the start, whereas the sonship is something that is built upon the organic union. We cannot be members of Christ if we are not sons of God. Our membership in the Body of Christ depends upon our sonship. In the house of God sonship is crucial and vital to our membership. I am sorry to say, this word membership has been altogether dirtied, defiled, spoiled, and corrupted, not only by the secular use but also by its use in Christianity. Some simply get enrolled and sprinkled with a few drops of water, and they become members. That is too cheap! We all are members of the Body of Christ; this membership depends upon the sonship.

In Matthew 16 the Lord asked Peter who He was, and Peter answered that the Lord was the Christ, the Son of the living God. Christ as the Son of the living God is for the building up of Christ. The Son of God builds up Christ, and everyone who is built into Christ must be a son of God. The Head of this Christ is the firstborn Son of God, and all the members of the Body of Christ are the many sons of God. Christ, individually and corporately, is just a collection, a composition, of sons of God. The Head of this corporate Christ is the firstborn Son of God, and the Body of this corporate Christ is the composition of so many sons of God. The sons of God are a matter of life, and the members of Christ are a matter of function. Many Christians today do not pay much attention to the Body of Christ. Even those who talk about the Body of Christ do not see that the Body of Christ comes out of the sonship.

You have to realize that to be a son of God you first need to be regenerated. We were not born sons of God; we were born sons of man, descendants of Adam. We were born sons of man; we were constituted sons of man; we were educated sons of man. Then suddenly we were reborn to be sons of God. As sons of God, we had a new start, our regeneration. Following regeneration we need reconstitution. We need both regeneration and reconstitution. You may have been regenerated, but have you been reconstituted? To be transformed and conformed is to be reconstituted. You were a son of man, and you have been regenerated to be a son of God. But today you do not live like a son of God. You still live like a son of man. You have been reborn, yet you have not been reconstituted. This reconstitution will continue to take place even to the time of the redemption of our body. (CWWL, 1980, vol. 1, “Perfecting Training”, msg. 25)

GOD’S WILL BEING NOTHING LESS THAN TO HAVE A BODY FOR HIS SON

Romans 12:1-2 tells us to present our bodies a living sacrifice and be transformed by the renewing of the mind “that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and well pleasing and perfect.” This verse speaks of “the” will of God; the King James Version renders it as “that” will of God. God does not have many wills but only one will. What is the one will? In speaking of the will of God, many Christians wrongly apply this verse. Strictly speaking, this verse indicates that the will of God is to have the church life. If we mean business with the Lord, present ourselves bodily to Him, and are willing to be transformed in our soul—our mind, emotion, and will—we will realize what God’s will is in this universe and on the earth. God’s will is nothing less than to have the church, that is, to have a Body for His Son. When we see this, we will sacrifice everything for it, because we will realize that this is the unique will. (CWWL, 1964, vol. 2, “A General Sketch of the New Testament in the Light of Christ and the Church (Part 2—Romans through Philemon)”, ch. 11)

Organic Members

First of all we have to realize that we redeemed sinners have all been made part of Christ’s Body. Also we have to realize that all the parts of Christ’s Body are organic. They are not only organic but also properly organic. The sister who received a kidney transplant passed through a lot of things. In other words, she passed through a lot of adjustment because the kidney was not properly organic. The surgeons had to do a lot of adjustment to make that kidney properly organic. To be properly organic in the Body does not mean that you simply get baptized and that you get into a so-called church, and then you become a member of the Body of Christ; rather, it means that you must be organically united with Christ. You must be a part properly planted into Christ’s Body organically. Then you will have a proper organic union with the Body of Christ. Then you will become a part of the Body. Every British subject is a member of the Church of England, but we would say strongly that that is not the church, because it is not something organic.

Regeneration Bringing Us into the Organic Union with Christ

Why does Romans 12 talk about the function of the Body? Because it talks about the Body based upon the organic union we have in Christ. In this union with Christ there is life. Dentures may be put into my mouth, but there is no organic union. The denture will not function in an organic way because there is no organic union. We have to see that Romans 12 talks about the Body of Christ from the angle of the organic union, from the uniting life, from a life that unites us together not only with Christ but also with all the other members of Christ. Today the Christians know the Bible too superficially. Many teachers talk about Romans 12, but hardly one would tell you that Romans 12 talks about the Body from the angle of the organic union.

If we could not see the organic union that we have with Christ, we could never understand what the Body is. The Body does not mean simply that you love me and I love you. That is a society. In 1963 I was invited to visit many places throughout the U.S.A. Many small groups were “hot” at that time; they all liked to hug one another. Although that did not scare me to death, that bothered me with a kind of stinking odor. That was just a kind of hugging society.

Being in the Body When We Remain in This Organic Union

When we remain in this organic union, we are in the Body. When we do not remain in this organic union, we are out of the Body. You need to check yourself for one day to see how much time you remain in this organic union. You will have to admit that you do not remain very much in this organic union. Occasionally we get there, but quite often we get out of there, so we are not in the Body. The actuality of the Body is the remaining in the organic union with Christ. If we are going to be actually living in the Body life, we must remain in the organic union with Christ. In other words, we must be remaining in Christ. So John 15 charges us to abide in Him. To abide in Him simply means to remain in this organic union. When we remain in this organic union, we are actually living in the Body. If we do not remain in this organic union with Christ, we have left the Body. As long as you say something by yourself, you have left the Body. This means that your gossip, your free talk, your loose conversation, is a strong sign that you have left the Body.

The Body is not an organization or a society. The Body is not just a bunch of Christians coming together. The Body is something that is held together by the organic union with Christ. When we remain in the organic union with Christ, we are just living in the Body. (CWWL, 1980, vol. 1, “Perfecting Training”, msg. 23)

BEING TRANSFORMED AND CONFORMED BY A GRAFTED LIFE

A grafted life is a mingled life. This grafting can be effective only if the lives to be grafted are similar. That there is a similarity between the human life and the divine life is proved by the fact that God created man in His image and according to His likeness (Gen. 1:26). He did this purposely so that the human life would be very much like the divine life. Once again we use a glove as an illustration. In form, in likeness, and in function the glove is the same as the hand. Otherwise, the hand could not fit into the glove. We are all gloves made according to the likeness of the divine hand. How we need to worship God for making us in His image and according to His likeness. Praise Him for making us vessels to contain Him! God created us in this way intentionally so that He could put His Son into us.

Because the human life and the divine life are similar, it is possible for them to be put together. This means that the divine life and the human life can be “married.” On the day we were saved we were married to Christ (Rom. 7:4). Hence, to be a Christian is not only a matter of salvation or regeneration, but also of being married to Christ. The life in Romans 8 is a grafted life, a mingling of two different yet similar lives. Transformation and conformation are by such a grafted life. Through my more than fifty years as a Christian, I have learned that the life which is transforming me and conforming me to the image of the Son of God is a grafted life. (Life-study of Romans, msg. 64)

Both of the Grafting Parts Needing to Be Cut and to Die
in Order to Have a Successful Grafting

We have been grafted into Christ, yet this Christ is the God who dwells in unapproachable light (1 Tim. 6:16). Since we cannot touch Him, how can we be grafted into Him? This is why Christ needed to pass through various processes. The first process that He went through was His becoming flesh (John 1:14) to be the seed of David (Matt. 1:1), the branch of David (Zech. 3:8; Jer. 23:5; 33:15), that we might be grafted together with Him. As human beings, we are branches, pieces of wood; in like manner, Christ came as the branch of David, as a piece of wood. He is exactly the same as we are; hence, He and we can be grafted together.

The process by which Christ became a piece of wood was not simple, and His becoming a piece of wood did not by itself mean that He could be grafted with us. A grafter knows that in order to have a successful grafting, both of the grafting parts need to be cut and to die. First, the part to be grafted has to die, and second, the part to be grafted into has to die also. Only when both sides die can the grafting be accomplished. On Christ’s side, one day, as the branch of David, He died on the cross; however, although He died in the flesh, He was resurrected in the Spirit (1 Pet. 3:18b). Through death and resurrection He became the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b). By becoming such a Spirit, Christ was ready for the grafting. On our side, as sinners, we need to repent and receive the Lord. Once we repent and receive Him, He as the life-giving Spirit enters into our spirit and puts the divine life in us. This life is a life of death and resurrection. Hence, He brings the key to death and resurrection into us who have believed in Him and have died and resurrected with Him. Thus, in this death and resurrection we are grafted together with Christ.

No Longer Living by Ourselves but Allowing the Pneumatic Christ to Live in Us

After we have been grafted together with Christ, we should no longer live by ourselves; rather, we should allow the pneumatic Christ to live in us. Furthermore, we should no longer live by our flesh or our natural being; rather, we should live by our mingled spirit, a spirit grafted with Christ. Thus, first, we are united with Him; this is a union. Then we are mingled with Him; this is a mingling. Eventually, we are incorporated with Him into an incorporation. This incorporation is the New Jerusalem, the great universal incorporation of the mingling of God and man for us to reign in eternity. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 5, “The Experience of God’s Organic Salvation Equaling Reigning in Christ’s Life”, msg. 4)

REIGNING IN LIFE

Being Ruled by the Divine Life

All the items mentioned in Romans 12 through 13 are for the living of the Body life. Each item requires us to be ruled by the divine life. All these items are small things, yet they can be done by us only when we are ruled by the divine life.

To present our bodies a living sacrifice (12:1) is a matter of reigning in life. Without reigning in life, no one can present his body a living sacrifice. When we reign in life, we are not being fashioned according to this age but are being transformed by the renewing of the mind, proving what the will of God is (v. 2).

When we are controlled by the divine life, we surely will think so as to be sober-minded, as God has apportioned to each a measure of faith (v. 3b). Our thinking about ourselves is like a wild horse. But by reigning in life, our thinking is bridled.

Often, the deacons or deaconesses may not take their proper position. This means that they are not ruled by the divine life. When they are ruled by the divine life, they will serve faithfully in their particular service (v. 7a).

As we are under the ruling of the divine life, we are able to teach, exhort, give in simplicity, lead in diligence, and show mercy in cheerfulness (vv. 7b-8). Likewise, when we are under the ruling of the divine life, we will take the lead in showing honor one to another (v. 10b).

Living a Life of the Highest Virtues by Reigning in Life

Romans 12:9-21 is a section on living a life of the highest virtues for the Body life. We must realize that in ourselves we could never practice these virtues. We can have such a living for the Body life only by reigning in life. If we check our church life, we will find that we are short in nearly every point. Romans 12:15 says, “Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.” When others are rejoicing, we may be jealous, and when others are weeping, we may despise them. To rejoice with those who rejoice and to weep with those who weep are impossible except when we are under the ruling of the divine life. Our natural life cannot make it; but by living a life under the ruling of the divine life, we are able to live the Body life with these virtues. To see the Body life built up as a practical reality, we must reign in life, and to reign in life in practice is to be under the ruling of the divine life.

God’s will is to have the Body life. Romans 13 presents some additional aspects of the life of one who is living in the Body life. As we have seen, we cannot have this kind of living in ourselves. Only by living under the ruling of the divine life can we be this kind of people. We must be subject to all authorities, realizing that they have been established under the sovereign arrangement of God. Furthermore, we must owe nothing to anyone except to love one another, loving our neighbor as ourselves. Finally, we must live a watchful life “in the day” (v. 13). One effect of our reigning in life is that we are awakened, made alert, made watchful, and not lulled to sleep by this age. We must be those who make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts but rather are awake as in the day, putting on the Lord Jesus Christ as our second garment (Psa. 45:13-14) to live Him as our subjective righteousness and to magnify Him.

God’s complete salvation is for us to reign in life by the abundance of grace (God Himself as our all-sufficient supply for our organic salvation) and of the gift of righteousness (God’s judicial redemption applied to us in a practical way). When we are all reigning in life, living under the ruling of the divine life, the issue is the real and practical Body life. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 5, “Crystallization-study of the Complete Salvation of God in Romans”, msg. 5)

Living the Church Life by Living under the Rule of the Divine Life
and Reigning in Life

To reign in life is to be under the ruling of the divine life. If we look at the life of the Lord Jesus as the God-man in His humanity on the earth, He was absolutely under the ruling of the divine life of the Father. Everything He did was under the Father’s ruling. As a man, He rejected His natural humanity and lived a human life under the restriction of the divine life of His heavenly Father. By practically being under the ruling of the divine life of the Father, He was reigning in life. This is the pattern that we should follow.

By living under the rule of the divine life, by reigning in life, we can live the church life. There is no possibility for us to live the church life if we are not under the ruling and control of the divine life. We must reign in life to live the church life. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 5, “Crystallization-study of the Complete Salvation of God in Romans”, msg. 6)

THE BOOK OF ROMANS HAVING A DEFINITE GOAL,
WHICH IS THE PRACTICE OF THE CHURCH LIFE

The book of Romans not only has a rich content regarding God’s complete salvation conveyed in His full gospel; it also has a definite goal, which is the practice of the church life. The experience of the first six aspects of being saved in the life of Christ, which we have seen in the first thirteen chapters of Romans, makes it possible to enter into the experience of the living of a proper church life in many localities. This is according to God’s desire as the good pleasure of His heart, which He arranged in eternity in His eternal economy (Eph. 3:9-11).

Our Fellowship Being Both Local and Universal

In the living of the church life in a locality, our living is local, but our fellowship should be both local and universal (vv. 1, 16b, 22-23). We should fellowship not only with the brothers and sisters in our own locality but also with the brothers and sisters in all the other localities. In this way our fellowship is universal. If I live in Yorba Linda, I should fellowship with all the churches in Southern California. The church life is both local and universal, but it is universal to a greater extent than it is local. In the churches we must exercise to have fellowship with Taipei, London, New York, Zurich, and all the churches around the globe. (CWWL, 1990, vol. 2, “To Be Saved in the Life of Christ as Revealed in Romans”, ch. 4)

Receiving People According to God and According to His Son

We should receive people according to God’s receiving, not being more narrow than God, thereby demonstrating and maintaining the oneness of the Body of Christ. Furthermore, we should receive people according to the Son of God, according to God, not according to doctrine or practice, thus maintaining a condition of absolute peace, smoothness, and order, without any deviation and discord, in the fellowship of the Body of Christ to the glory of God (Rom. 14:3; 15:7)

We have much to learn concerning receiving people according to God and according to His Son. Because of our negligence in this matter in the past, we have offended the Body of Christ and many brothers and sisters in the Lord. For this reason I had a deep repentance before the Lord. Brothers and sisters, I hope that we can see our past mistakes by getting into this chapter through pray-reading, studying, reciting, and prophesying. Of course, sectarianism in the denominations is wrong; it is something very much condemned by God. Nevertheless, those who are genuinely saved in the denominations are children of God and have been received by God. Hence, we also should receive them, but we would never participate in the division in which they are.

Romans 14:3 tells us that we should receive people according to God; this is to receive all those whom God has received. Romans 15:7 says that we should receive one another, as Christ also received us. Those whom God has received and those whom Christ has received are actually the same group of people. It is not that God receives one group of people and Christ receives another group of people. God is very liberal and not narrow. When we receive people according to God and according to His Son, Christ, we demonstrate, show forth, and maintain the oneness of the Body of Christ. If we receive people according to doctrine and practice, there is no way for the oneness of the Body of Christ to be maintained and demonstrated.

We must receive people according to the Son of God. This is to receive others according to the Son of God in His being unbiased and balanced in taking care of both the Jews and the Gentiles. Our Lord is a Lord who is balanced, without any bias. On the one hand, He is a servant of the circumcision (the Jews); on the other hand, He is a servant of the God-chosen nations (the Gentiles). What the Lord does is always balanced and even. His balanced ministry, on the one hand, enables the fellowship of the Body of Christ to be kept in absolute peace and smoothness to the glory of God and, on the other hand, causes the Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy. To glorify God is to participate in the New Jerusalem. If we do not participate in the New Jerusalem, whatever we do is not a glorifying of God but of ourselves, an expression of ourselves. It is only when we express God in the New Jerusalem that He is truly glorified in the universe. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 5, “The Experience of God’s Organic Salvation Equaling Reigning in Christ’s Life”, msg. 6)

The Fellowship of Concern Between the Churches

I believe that the Apostle Paul took the lead in the fellowship of concern among the saints and between the churches (16:1-19, 21-23). Paul initiated the fellowship of concern. He was concerned for the saints, the Lord’s servants, and for the churches. He was a brother who was altogether immersed in the fellowship of concern. All of the particular greetings recorded in Romans 16 are an evidence of his far-reaching concern. I like this chapter because it reveals that included in this fellowship of concern are the churches. This fellowship of concern was among the saints within the churches and between the churches.

In summary, we may list these five aspects of the church life: serving the church; risking our lives for the church; having the church in our home; never considering the church as anyone’s church, but acknowledging that it is the church of Christ; extending hospitality to everyone in the church and being a host to all the churches. In his greetings recorded in Romans 16, Paul unveiled the crucial indicators of the proper church life both in a particular local church and among the churches. His greetings also underscore the qualities of many of the dear saints. Thus, in Romans 16 we see the churches in localities and the details of the genuine church life expressed in the attributes and virtues of so many saints. This is a complete portrait of the ancient church life. Once again I say that in Romans we do not find the doctrine of the church; we behold the practicality of the church life. Hence, the ultimate consummation of the gospel is the church life. (Life-study of Romans, msg. 30)

In the Apostle Paul’s Setting up a Pattern

By his recommendations and greetings in 16:1-24, Paul was blending together many saints and many churches under his ministry for the practical living of the Body of Christ in the universal fellowship of the Body. In verses 17 through 19 Paul was very strict with the divisive and dissenting ones who make divisions, without compromise or yielding. In chapter 14 Paul was liberal and gracious regarding the receiving of the believers, but here he is unyielding and resolute in saying that we must turn away from those who are dissenting, who make divisions, and who make causes of stumbling. The purpose in both cases is the preserving of the Body of Christ in order that we may have the normal church life. Today there is the need for all the believers who have received the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness to practice the restriction and limitation in the divine life.

THE CONSUMMATED GOD BEING GLORIFIED IN THE HUMANITY OF THE GLORIFIED CHURCH UNDER ITS REIGNING IN LIFE

Paul afforded the God of peace a situation in which He will crush Satan under the feet of the churches by the saints’ enjoyment of the grace of Christ in the blending and the universal fellowship of the Body (16:20). Hence, Paul was carrying out, based upon the righteousness of God and through man’s obedience of faith (1:17), the mystery kept in silence in the times of the ages, concerning the complete salvation of God in the preaching of the complete gospel of God (1:1), in the fulfillment of the eternal economy of God for the glory to the only wise God through Jesus Christ (16:25-27). In the conclusion of the book of Romans, the glory to the consummated God indicates that the consummated God is glorified in the humanity of the glorified church under its reigning in life in the fulfillment of the eternal economy of God in carrying out His mystery hidden in the ages. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 5, “Crystallization-study of the Complete Salvation of God in Romans”, msg. 6)