THE FOURTH SERIES:
THE PATHWAY OF THE LORD’S RECOVERY

The Unique Work in God’s Economy
Message Seven—Being the Overcomers Who Keep Every Principle of the Body of Christ

Scripture Reading: Eph. 4:3-6; Phil. 1:19; 1 Cor. 12:12-22; Col. 2:19; Rom. 15:6; Psa. 133

I. The Lord’s recovery is to build up Zion; as the highlight and beauty of the holy city, New Jerusalem, Zion typifies the overcomers as the reality of the Body of Christ, the high peak, the center, the uplifting, the strengthening, the enriching, the beauty, and the reality of the church—Psa. 48:2, 11-12; 50:2; 20:2; 53:6a:

A. The overcomers as Zion consummate the building up of the Body in the local churches to bring in the consummated holy city, New Jerusalem, the Holy of Holies as God’s dwelling place in eternity—Rev. 2:7; 21:1-3, 16, 22.

B. The overcomers are Body conscious and Body centered; they are daily saved in Christ’s life by the Spirit through the work of the cross from every aspect of the self, the enemy of the Body—Rom. 5:10; Matt. 16:24.

II. The overcomers see the Body, know the Body, care for the Body, honor the Body, and do the work of the Body; they keep every principle of the Body of Christ for the full expression of Christ—Eph. 1:22-23; 3:18-19; 4:1-6:

A. We must see the crystallized significance of the Body of Christ; this crystallized significance is that the Triune God and His chosen and redeemed people are constituted into one entity, which is the Body of Christ—Eph. 4:4-6:

1. The oneness of the Body is the oneness of the Triune God, and the coordination of the Body is the coordination of the Triune God—John 17:21; Eph. 4:3-6; Matt. 12:28; Heb. 9:14; Psa. 133.

2. This oneness and coordination are in the Spirit, who is the reality of the Triune God and of the Body; since this Spirit is in our spirit, whatever we are, whatever we have, and whatever we do must be by the Spirit in our spirit for the Body—John 16:13-15; Phil. 3:3; Rom. 1:9; Eph. 4:1-4a.

B. We must receive and enjoy the supply of the Body—Phil. 1:19; Col. 2:19:

1. Because the Head is Christ, and the Body is also Christ, to refuse the help of our fellow members is to refuse the help of Christ; therefore, we must allow the members of the Body to minister to our needs—1 Cor. 12:12-22.

2. The prayer of the Body renders the life supply, the supple of the Body, to the members in need so that they may live Christ for His magnification—Phil. 1:19-20; Acts 12:5, 12; Eph. 6:18-20.

3. The fellowship of the Body renders the life supply, the supply of the Body, to the members in need so that they may enjoy Christ as the light of life for His glorification—1 John 1:3-5; John 1:4-5; Phil. 2:15.

C. We must experience the protection, limitation, and ministry of the Body—Exo. 17:11-13; Acts 9:25:

1. The Body of Christ puts on the whole armor of God, which is the totality of all the specialties of the members; spiritual warfare is an integrated warfare of all the members, not the isolated warfare of individuals, so we must all hide under the Body’s protection and accept its safeguard—Eph. 6:10-20; 2 Cor. 11:33; Deut. 32:30b.

2. As members of the Body, we must see our position in the Body and allow ourselves to be limited by the other members; we must be delivered from our individualistic life and function in the Body according to God’s will and measure—1 Cor. 12:14-22; Eph. 4:7, 16; 2 Cor. 10:13-15.

3. As members of the Body, we should fellowship and function in the Body to be channels of life to supply the other members; this kind of supply is the ministry, the function, of the members so that the life of the Body can flow in an unhindered way—1 John 1:3; Rom. 12:5; 1 Cor. 14:4b, 31.

D. We must honor Christ as the Head of the Body, the authority in the Body; the authority of the Head is the oneness of the Body—Col. 1:18; 2:19; Eph. 4:15-16:

1. The Lord has given us His life of submission to the Father; when we are filled with Christ as the Spirit of life, we are filled with Him as our submission—John 5:19, 30; 7:18; Phil. 2:5-8; Rom. 8:2; cf. Exo. 21:1-6.

2. The Spirit is the “nerve fiber” of the Body of Christ, carrying the thoughts of the Head to all the members; when we yield to the authority of the Spirit, we are yielding to the Head—Rom. 8:27, 6; 1 Cor. 2:16; Eph. 4:30.

3. Since the Christ we enjoy as our everything is the Head of the Body, the more we enjoy Him, the more we become Body conscious and the more we love the other members of the Body—Col. 1:4, 8; 2:19.

4. Since we are members of the Body of Christ, we should have a feeling for the Body, taking the feeling of the Head as our own feeling—Phil. 1:8; 1 Cor. 12:25b-26.

5. Only the Lord is our Head, and only He has the authority to direct the moves of the members of His Body—Acts 2:36; Col. 1:17-18.

6. Because Christ is our Head, we do not exalt ourselves and do not seek to please ourselves or others; we seek to please Him alone—2 Cor. 4:5; 5:9.

7. We hold Christ as our Head by giving Him the preeminence in all things and staying intimately connected to Him by consulting Him in all things, growing up into the Head in all things for the growth of the Body, and functioning out from the Head by all means for the supply of the Body—Col. 2:19; Eph. 4:15-16.

8. The mutual relationship of the members of the Body passes through the Head first; thus, when we hold the Head, we cannot have a natural relationship or special fellowship with any individual or group—1 Cor. 1:12-13.

9. When we hold the Head, we are blended together, and our relationship with the Body is out from the Head in the divine oneness—1 Cor. 12:24-25; Phil. 2:2.

III. Everything we have is in the Body, through the Body, and for the Body; may the Lord have mercy upon us and grace us in making a resolution to be the overcomers who keep every principle of the Body for the building up of the Body to consummate the New Jerusalem—Judg. 5:15-16; Rev. 21:2.