THE THIRD PART: 24 CRUCIAL LINES IN THE BIBLE
The Body of Christ
Message Ten—Living in the Unique Fellowship of the Body of Christ
Scripture Reading: Eph. 4:1-6; John 17:6, 11; 14-23; Acts 2:42; 1 John 1:3; 1 Cor. 10:16-17
I. The Body of Christ is uniquely one universally—Eph. 4:4-6:
A. The Body of Christ, being organic, is undivided and indivisible, as Christ is—1 Cor. 1:13a:
B. The oneness of the Body of Christ is of the divine, uncreated life; therefore, this oneness is divinely organic and full of life—John 17:3; 1:4; 1 John 5:11-12.
C. The unique oneness of the Body of Christ is “the oneness of the Spirit”—Eph. 4:3:
D. The oneness of the Body of Christ is actually the triune, organic, living God Himself—Eph. 4:4-6:
E. Because the Body of Christ is the mingling of the Triune God with His redeemed and transformed people, the Body itself is the oneness—vv. 3-6.
F. All the believers should be in the divine and mystical realm of the pneumatic Christ and the consummated Spirit to be mingled with the Triune God for the keeping of the oneness—John 17:21-23; Eph. 4:3.
II. Since the Body of Christ is uniquely one universally, the fellowship of the Body of Christ is also uniquely one universally—Acts 2:42; 1 John 1:3, 7; 1 Cor. 10:16-17:
A. Just as there is the circulation of blood in the human body, so there is a circulation in the Body of Christ—a circulation which the New Testament calls fellowship—1 John 1:3, 7.
B. The fellowship of the Body of Christ is the stream of the divine life; as the stream of the divine life flows within us, there is the fellowship of the Body of Christ—Acts 2:42; 1 John 1:3, 7.
C. The divine fellowship is the reality of living in the Body of Christ; by being restricted in this fellowship, the Body of Christ is kept in oneness—1 Cor. 1:9; 12:12-13, 27.
D. The unique fellowship of the Body of Christ is related to the unique oneness of the Body of Christ—6:17; 10:16-17; 12:20:
1. The fellowship, the circulation, of the divine life in the Body brings all the members of the Body into oneness—Eph. 4:3-6.
2. This oneness is the oneness of the Spirit and also the oneness of the Body of Christ—vv. 3-4; 1 Cor. 12:12-13.
3. The unique fellowship is the genuine oneness of the Body of Christ as the unique ground for the believers to be kept one in Christ—Eph. 4:3-6.
E. The fellowship among the churches is the fellowship of the Body of Christ—1 Cor. 10:16-17:
1. Because there is one Spirit, there is only one Body, and there is only one circulation of life in the Body; this circulation is the fellowship of the Body of Christ—Eph. 4:4; 1 John 1:3, 7.
2. A local church is a part of the unique Body of Christ, and the fellowship of the Body is universally one; in fellowship there is no separation—Rev. 1:11; 2:7a.
3. No church or region should isolate itself from the fellowship of the Body.
4. The local churches should fellowship with all the genuine local churches on the whole earth to keep the fellowship of the Body of Christ—Col. 4:16.
5. Among all the churches that compose the one universal Body of Christ, there is no organization, but there is the fellowship of the Body of Christ—Phil. 1:5.
F. Whenever we come to the Lord’s table, we come to practice the fellowship of the Body—1 Cor. 10:16-17; 11:24-26:
1. The Lord’s Table is a testimony that we who belong to Christ are one.
2. If we isolate ourselves from the fellowship of the Body, we are not qualified to partake of the Lord’s body, because the loaf on the table in the Lord’s supper signified the entire Body of Christ.
3. As we enjoy Christ in partaking of His blood and body at His table, we express and practice the fellowship of the Body of Christ, the unique fellowship among the churches—Act 2:42; 1 John 1:3, 7; Phil. 1:5; 2:1.
III. The fellowship of the Body of Christ is the blending of the Body of Christ —1 Cor. 12:24; Eph. 1:23; 3:8-10; 1:9-10; Rev. 21:2:
A. God has blended the Body together the word blended also means adjusted, harmonized, tempered, and mingled—1 Cor. 12:24.
B. Fellowship adjusts us, fellowship harmonizes us, fellowship tempers us, and fellowship mingles us—cf. 10:16-17.
C. In order to be adjusted, harmonized, tempered, and mingled in the Body life, we have to go through the cross and be by the Spirit, dispensing Christ to others for the sake of the Body of Christ.
D. We should not do anything without fellowshipping with the other saints who are coordinating with us; in our coordination in the church life, in the Lord’s work, we all have to learn not to do anything without fellowship.
E. Blending means that when we are about to do something, we always stop to fellowship with others.
F. Such a blending is not social but the blending of the very Christ whom the individual members, the district churches, the co-workers, and the elders enjoy, experience, and partake of.
G. The blending is for the building up of the universal Body of Christ to consummate the New Jerusalem as the final goal of God’s economy according to His good pleasure—1 Cor. 12:24; Eph. 1:23; 3:8-10; 1:9-10; Rev. 21:2
Ministry Excerpts:
THE DIVINE CONSTITUTION OF THE TRIUNE GOD
WITH THE BELIEVERS IN CHRIST
The Body of Christ is the divine constitution of the Triune God with the believers in Christ. Ephesians 4:4-6 shows us the constitution of the three divine persons with all His chosen people. So we have the one Body, one Spirit, one Lord, and one God and Father mingled together.
A MINGLING OF
DIVINITY WITH HUMANITY
The Body of Christ is a mingling of the Divine Trinity with all His chosen human beings. It is a mingling of divinity with humanity.
AN ORGANISM BOTH DIVINE AND
HUMAN, TO EXPRESS CHRIST
The Body of Christ is an organism. On the one hand, it is divine. On the other hand, it is human to express the divine and human Christ, who is both the complete God and the perfect man.
THIS UNIQUE BODY OF CHRIST IS EXPRESSED IN MANY LOCAL CHURCHES
We need to be the same with Christ. We should enjoy the riches of Christ until we become the fullness of Christ. When we are full of the riches, this fullness overflows. A cup may have water within it, but we cannot see the water. But if the cup is filled to the brim with water, it overflows with water. This overflow is the fullness, the expression, of the water. We need to be filled with Christ until we overflow with Him. This overflow is the fullness, and the fullness is the expression. The organic and unique Body of Christ expressed in many local churches.
The organic Body is undivided and it is also indivisible (1 Cor. 1:13a). It is not autonomous. This unique Body of Christ is expressed in many local churches (Rev. 1:11) in the divine oneness as it is with the Triune God (John 17:11, 21, 23) and in the divine nature, element, essence, expression, function, and testimony. There are many churches, yet they have one divine nature, one divine element, one divine essence, one divine expression, one divine function, and one divine testimony because they are one Body. This is why I say that our troubles are due to not seeing the Body. If we have seen the Body, there will be no problem. The principle and practice of the one Body are kept by the believers in the practical one accord (Acts 1:14; 2:46; 4:24; 5:12; 15:25; Rom. 15:6).
KEEPING THE DIVINE ONENESS
OF THE BODY OF CHRIST
The divine oneness of the Body of Christ should be kept both in the local churches as the local expressions of the Body and in the universal source and substance. In every way we should keep the divine oneness of the Body of Christ.
ONE CRUCIAL POINT OF THE LORD’S RECOVERY
IN THE CONSUMMATING AGE
The genuine oneness of the Body of Christ is one crucial point of the Lord’s recovery in this consummating age. The Lord is going to consummate His economy, so to keep the oneness is very crucial. (The Issue of the Dispensing of the Processed Trinity and the Transmitting of the Transcending Christ, msg.6)
FELLOWSHIP IS CRUCIAL IN THE BODY OF CHRIST
As we consider the fellowship among the churches, we need to realize that the churches are the Body of Christ. There are many churches, yet one Body.
Just as there is the circulation of blood in the human body, so there is a kind of circulation in the Body of Christ, a circulation which the New Testament calls fellowship. The circulation of blood in the human body is the life-pulse of the body. We may say that this circulation is the fellowship of the human body. The body cannot live without this circulation, this fellowship. Likewise, fellowship is crucial in the Body of Christ.
Fellowship is a common participation, a joint participation. Therefore, to have fellowship is to have a corporate participation in something. The fellowship of the divine life is the issue and flow of the divine life. Because the divine life is organic, rich, moving, and active, it has a particular issue, a certain kind of outcome. The issue, the outcome, of the divine life is the fellowship of life.
Fellowship is related to oneness. Just as the circulation of blood in the human body causes all the members of the body to be one, so the fellowship of the divine life in the Body of Christ causes the Body to be one. If any member of our physical body does not participate adequately in the circulation of blood in the body, that member will become unhealthy. The way to cure such a problem is to bring that member back into the circulation of the blood. The principle is the same with the fellowship of the Body of Christ. All those who believe in Christ Jesus, who have received Him as Redeemer, Savior, and life supply, have the divine life. This divine life has a circulation; that is, the divine life circulates within all of us. This circulation of the divine life in the Body brings all the members of the Body into oneness. This oneness is called the oneness of the Spirit; it is also the oneness of the Body. As long as we have the divine life flowing within us, we are in this oneness, the oneness of the Body, the oneness among all the saints. This oneness includes not only the believers but also the Triune God. This is the fellowship among the churches. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 203)
THE BODY
The apostle used the expression the body instead of the body of the Lord. This may imply the fact that, in addition to the physical body of the Lord (v. 24), there is the mystical Body of Christ (Eph. 4:4). Therefore, when we participate in the Lord’s table, we must discern whether the bread on the table signifies the one Body of Christ or any division of man (any denomination). In discerning the Body of Christ, we should not partake of the bread in any division or with any divisive spirit. Our participation in the Lord’s table must be the unique fellowship of His unique Body without any division in practice or in spirit. (Holy Bible Recovery Version, 1 Cor. 11:29, footnote 3)
THE BLENDING OF THE UNIVERSAL BODY OF CHRIST
God Having Blended the Body Together
God has blended the Body together (1 Cor. 12:24). The word blended also means adjusted, harmonized, tempered, and mingled. God has blended the Body, adjusted the Body, harmonized the Body, tempered the Body, and mingled the Body. The Greek word for blended implies the losing of distinctions. One brother’s distinction may be quickness, and another’s may be slowness. But in the Body life the slowness disappears and the quickness is taken away. All such distinctions are gone. God has blended all the believers of all different races and colors. Who can make the blacks and the whites lose their distinctions? Only God can do this. A husband and a wife can have the harmony in their marriage life only by losing their distinctions.
In order to be harmonized, blended, adjusted, mingled, and tempered in the Body life, we have to go through the cross and be by the Spirit, dispensing Christ to others for the sake of the Body of Christ. The co-workers and elders must learn to be crossed out. Whatever we do should be by the Spirit to dispense Christ. Also, what we do should not be for our interest and according to our taste but for the church. As long as we practice these points, we will have the blending.
All of these points mean that we should fellowship. When a co-worker does anything, he should fellowship with the other co-workers. An elder should fellowship with the other elders. Fellowship tempers us; fellowship adjusts us; fellowship harmonizes us; and fellowship mingles us. We should forget about whether we are slow or quick and just fellowship with others. We should not do anything without fellowshipping with the other saints who are coordinating with us. Fellowship requires us to stop when we are about to do something. In our coordination in the church life, in the Lord’s work, we all have to learn not to do anything without fellowship.
When we blend together, we have the cross and the Spirit. Without the cross and the Spirit, all that we have is the flesh with division. It is not easy to be crucified and to do all things by the Spirit in ourselves. This is why we must learn to be blended. Blending requires us to be crossed out. Blending requires us to be by the Spirit to dispense Christ and to do everything for the sake of His Body.
We may come together without much blending because everyone stays in themselves. They are afraid to offend others and make mistakes, so they keep quiet. This is the manner of man according to the flesh. When we come together, we should experience the terminating of the cross. Then we should learn how to follow the Spirit, how to dispense Christ, and how to say and do something for the benefit of the Body. That will change the entire atmosphere of the meeting and will temper the atmosphere. Blending is not a matter of being quiet or talkative but a matter of being tempered. We can be in harmony, because we have been tempered. Eventually, the distinctions will all be gone. Blending means to lose the distinctions. We all have to pay some price to practice the blending. A group of elders may meet together often without being blended. To be blended means that you are touched by others and that you are touching others. But you should touch others in a blending way. Go through the cross, do things by the Spirit, and do everything to dispense Christ for His Body’s sake. We should not come to a blending meeting to be silent. We have to prepare ourselves to say something for the Lord. The Lord may use you, but you need to be tempered and crossed out, and you need to learn how to follow the Spirit to dispense Christ for His Body’s sake.
When I was only about twenty-seven years old, a church was raised up in my hometown. I learned to do everything through the cross and by the Spirit to minister Christ for His Body. Because I was young, I prayed the prayer of Solomon: “Lord, give me the wisdom to go out and to come in among Your people” (2 Chron. 1:10), and the Lord answered me. Through the years, I have learned to be blended among the saints.
The Blending Not Being Social
Such a blending is not social but the blending of the very Christ whom the individual members, the district churches, the co-workers, and the elders enjoy, experience, and partake of.
For the Building Up of the Body of Christ
to Consummate the New Jerusalem
The blending is for the building up of the universal Body of Christ (Eph. 1:23) to consummate the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:2) as the final goal of God’s economy according to His good pleasure (Eph. 3:8-10; 1:9-10). (The Divine and Mystical Realm, ch. 6)