Message Two—The Lord’s Body Comprising All the Genuine Believers in Christianity and the Catholic Church
Eph. 4:4 One Body and one Spirit, even as also you were called in one hope of your calling.
Rom. 15:7 Therefore receive one another, as Christ also received you to the glory of God.
Being One in Life
Today there are many different backgrounds of the saints. Some have a Presbyterian background, some have a Baptist background, and some have other kinds of background. But regardless of the background, if they are saved, they all have the same faith, for they all believe in the same Lord Jesus Christ. They all have been redeemed by the same blood; therefore, they all have the same life within. We all are one in this all-comprehensive faith.
Fellowship is based upon this oneness. We have fellowship with one another because we all have the same divine life, we all have the same Lord, and we all have the same redemption. Do not ask what kind of baptism others have had. Do not talk about all those doctrines. As long as they are saints who are not sinful according to 1 Corinthians 5, we must recognize all of them as dear brothers and sisters. We believe in the Lord Jesus, and they do also. We have the same divine life as they. We have been redeemed by the blood of Christ, and they also have been redeemed by His blood. We are all the same.
We may be quite different from other Christians in background and in many other things. They may not believe in partial rapture, and we may be for it. But regardless in which kind of rapture we believe, as long as we believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, who was incarnated as a man, died on the cross for our sins, and resurrected from the dead, we are all redeemed, justified, regenerated and saved. We all have the divine life within us. Therefore, we are all one Body. It is based upon this that we have fellowship with one another. We may speak somewhat regarding certain things, but we must not go too far, and we must not argue. We must base our fellowship only on the Lord Himself. (CWWL, 1968, vol. 1, “The Practical Expression of the Church,” ch. 12)
The Lord’s Body Comprising All the Genuine Believers
From the very beginning we realized that despite the divisions, organizations, and traditions, there were a great number of genuine Christians scattered in these divisions. We saw that the Lord’s Body comprises all these genuine believers. Even in the Catholic Church we saw a number of genuine believers, and we also considered them as members of the church and as our dear brothers and sisters. On the one hand, we began to meet by ourselves, and we fully realized that the dear, genuine believers who were scattered in the Catholic Church and the Protestant denominations were our brothers. We recognized them and we loved them. We realized that the Lord’s Body as the church of God did not only comprise us but also all the genuine believers, of which we were a small part.
We surely recognize that all the genuine believers are our brothers and sisters in the Lord. Also, we fully admit that we are not the only members of the Body of Christ. We are just a small part, just as the returned captives in the Old Testament were just a small remnant of all the chosen people of God. In addition, we are open to all the dear Christians. If time allowed and if they were open to us, I would take the lead to go and share the truth with them. We do love all the Lord’s children and like to share with them all the truths that we have received of the Lord and that we have experienced and enjoyed.
Being Open to All the Saints
Our attitude is that we are open to all the saints. We do not consider that we only are the members of the Body of Christ. The most we consider is that we are members of the Body of Christ who have come back to the original, unique ground of oneness and who are standing here as God’s remnant. The difference between other Christians and us is that they still remain there in their captivity, while we have come back to the proper, unique ground of oneness. We are open to all the believers, but we would not take the place of captivity where they remain. We could not join them in that place, because it is a place of captivity, full of divisions, organizations, and traditions.
We all need to have a clear view concerning the Lord’s practice in His recovery. Then we can have a proper attitude. We should never be sectarian, and we should always be open to all people. We should not only be open to all the Christians but also be open to all the unbelievers. Because we have received the Lord’s mercy and we are now a people bearing God’s testimony in His truth and in His life, we must learn to be open at all times to every Christian, teaching the truth and ministering the life supply to them. When you meet other Christians, do not be bothered that they are Christians in the divisions. Do not change your attitude, but still be open to them. Present the truth and minister life to them. Try not to consider, think, or feel that they are different from the saints who are with us, because they also are our fellow believers in Christ.
Bearing the Genuine Testimony of Jesus
we should never try to proselytize Christians from the divisions. We must always do our best, on the other hand, to preach the gospel, teach the truth, and minister life. Let other Christians have their own choice regarding the matter of the church. The Lord’s testimony does not depend upon a big number but upon the reality of His life. Even though we may have a small number, if we live the reality of the life of Christ, this is the testimony of Jesus. Even if we had twenty million saints among us, without the reality of the life of Christ, there would be no testimony; this does not mean anything. This is why I feel that we should not pay that much attention to the numerical increase. I believe that if we really live a life of Christ as our reality, the increase will come. We should live such a testimony. Then all the churches over the whole earth will bear the same testimony and will carry the same New Testament ministry to establish the same New Testament church as the Body of Christ. Then wherever people go, they will see the same thing. They will see different peoples, different races, different ranks, and different societies meeting together, bearing the same testimony, and always speaking the same thing. They will see people speaking the same thing in many different languages and bearing the genuine testimony of Jesus. Even though we may have a small number, this is still something prevailing in the eyes of God. (CWWL, 1984, vol. 2, “Elders’ Training, Book 4: Other Crucial Matters concerning the Practice of the Lord’s Recovery,” ch. 11)
