Rom. 12:4-5 For just as in one body we have many members, and all the members do not have the same function, So we who are many are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
Knowing the Body
Everyone who is saved is a member of the Body of Christ. Is the life in each one of us, then, a life pertaining to the members or to the Body? The Bible and our experience prove that though each one of us is a member of Christ, the life in each one of us is not a member life but a Body life. It is this life that joins us together to become the Body of Christ; or, to say it more precisely and emphatically, it is this life that mingles with us to become the Body of Christ.
We cannot, however, experience this before the difficulties of the self have been entirely dealt with. If we are still living according to the flesh, in ourselves, and serving the Lord in our natural ability, the life of the Body, which is Christ Himself in us, has no way of being manifested, and there is no way for us to know the Body. The more we live by the flesh, the less we feel the need for the support of the Body. If we live by our self-opinion, we find no need for the sustaining of the church. If we serve with our natural ability, we sense no need for the coordination of the members. Only when our flesh has been dealt with, the self-opinion has been broken, and the natural life has been smashed, will the life within cause us to realize that we are simply members of the Body and that the life in us cannot be independent. Hence, this life requires us to have fellowship with all other members and be joined to them, and it also brings us into that fellowship and the experience of being joined together. It is at this time that we begin to know a little concerning the Body and become qualified to engage in spiritual warfare.
Proofs that We Know the Body
The first proof of knowing the Body is that we cannot be individualistic. All those, therefore, who can still be individualistic do not know the Body, and all those with a true knowledge of the Body definitely cannot be individualistic.
The second proof of our knowing the Body is the ability to discern whether others are in the Body or not. One who has come to know the Body not only lives in the Body in a very practical way but also can clearly discern whether or not others are living in the Body. But if we have not reached the fourth stage and do not know the Body, we then have no way of discerning others.
The third proof of our knowing the Body is the recognition of authority. Authority is simply the authority of Christ the Head, which is revealed in the order of the Body. All those who have learned their lessons can recognize the authority of the Head over the Body and can rest in their own order in a very natural and satisfactory manner. This kind of people recognize authority and know the Body. (The Experience of Life, msg. 15)
Having the Consciousness of the Body
in Our Service in Coordination
In our service to God we must be brought by God to the point where we have the consciousness of the Body and do not serve individually but in coordination with the brothers and sisters. We must be brought to a point where the brothers’ move is our move, and our move is the brothers’ move. Regardless of the circumstance we are in, our feeling should always be that what the brothers are doing is no different from what we are doing. The two should be the same.
Not only so, whenever there is a problem in our coordination with the Body, we should sense it immediately. When our coordination with all the members is normal, we may not have much feeling that we are in coordination. This is similar to the coordination in our body. In a normal situation the members of our body do not have much feeling about each other’s existence. However, when a certain member has a problem, then there is a consciousness. Therefore, if we sense the existence of a certain member, then that member must have a problem. When we are particularly conscious of our eyes, something must be wrong with our eyes. (Being Apt to Teach and Holding the Mystery of the Faith, msg. 5)
Needing Fellowship and Coordination
in the Body and in Life
If we lose the principle of coordination and dependence in the Body, we will not be strong in our administration of the church and ministry of the word. Once we lose this principle, we will not have much blessing. Our coordination should not become mechanical, and we should not work only when it is our turn. We should have the feeling that we cannot do anything without others, that we truly need one another. If we come together and assign work, with each doing only his own work, our situation is similar to the division of labor in a civic organization or a large institution. This lack of the flavor of coordination among the members of the Body must be dealt with.
What does it mean to see the Body? The greatest indication that we see the Body is that we cannot be independent. We feel that we need the Body, that we need the brothers and sisters. (The Administration of the Church and the Ministry of the Word, msg. 2)
Being Harmonized, Blended, Adjusted, Mingled,
and Tempered in the Body Life
God has blended the Body together (1 Cor. 12:24). The word blended also means “adjusted,” “harmonized,” “tempered,” and “mingled.” 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. 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. (The Divine and Mystical Realm, ch. 6)
