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: (2006 ST, msg. 8)
A. The Body of Christ, being organic, is undivided and indivisible, as Christ is—1 Cor. 1:13a: (2006 ST, msg. 8)
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. (2006 ST, msg. 8)
C. The unique oneness of the Body of Christ is “the oneness of the Spirit”—Eph. 4:3: (2006 ST, msg. 8)
D. The oneness of the Body of Christ is actually the triune, organic, living God Himself—Eph. 4:4-6: (2006 ST, msg. 8)
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. (2006 ST, msg. 8)
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. (2006 ST, msg. 8)
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: (2006 ST, msg. 8)
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. (2006 ST, msg. 8)
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. (2006 ST, msg. 8)
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. (2006 ST, msg. 8)
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: (2006 ST, msg. 8)
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. (2006 ST, msg. 8)
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. (2006 ST, msg. 8)
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. (2006 ST, msg. 8)
E. The fellowship among the churches is the fellowship of the Body of Christ—1 Cor. 10:16-17: (2006 ST, msg. 8)
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. (2006 ST, msg. 8)
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. (2006 ST, msg. 8)
3. No church or region should isolate itself from the fellowship of the Body. (2006 ST, msg. 8)
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. (2006 ST, msg. 8)
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. (2006 ST, msg. 8)
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: (2006 ST, msg. 8)
1. The Lord’s Table is a testimony that we who belong to Christ are one. (2006 ST, msg. 8)
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. (2006 ST, msg. 8)
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. (2006 ST, msg. 8)
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: (2010 ITERO-S, msg. 8)
A. God has blended the Body together the word blended also means adjusted, harmonized, tempered, and mingled—1 Cor. 12:24. (2010 ITERO-S, msg. 8)
B. Fellowship adjusts us, fellowship harmonizes us, fellowship tempers us, and fellowship mingles us—cf. 10:16-17. (2010 ITERO-S, msg. 8)
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. (2010 ITERO-S, msg. 8)
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. (2010 ITERO-S, msg. 8)
E. Blending means that when we are about to do something, we always stop to fellowship with others. (2010 ITERO-S, msg. 8)
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. (2010 ITERO-S, msg. 8)
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 (2010 ITERO-S, msg. 8)