In order for us to be in the reality of the Body of Christ to hasten the Lord’s return, we need to be blended; we need to be harmonized, tempered, and mingled together with the saints, losing our distinctions as we do all things through the cross and by the Spirit to minister Christ to others.
The Lord is waiting for His overcomers to be produced and live in the reality of the Body of Christ in resurrection; these ones are the bride of Christ to hasten His return and usher in the kingdom age.
He wants to end this age, and for this He needs a group of people to cooperate with Him.
He wants the whole church to live in the reality of the Body of Christ so that there would be a corporate model of a God-man living; however, the church as a whole has failed God, so He is looking for the overcomers.
May we be those who receive the Lord’s mercy today to live out the reality of the Body of Christ in resurrection so that we may be part of the bride of Christ who returns with Him to usher in His kingdom age.
A very particular aspect of being in the reality of the Body of Christ is that we are being blended together; we are no longer individualistic persons, we don’t hold on to what we have, what we are, and what we work, but we are willing to be harmonized and tempered in the Body.
For us to overcome is more than merely overcoming the world and sin; it is to love the Lord more than we love the self, and to live in the Body and for the Body.
May we be the overcomers of today, those who know and love only Christ for the reality of the Body of Christ.
And may we do this in the Body and for the Body, realizing that we are members in the Body, and whatever we do affects the Body either positively or negatively.
It’s not enough just to forsake the world and stay away from sin; we need to be blended together in the Body by doing all things in the mingled spirit, through the cross, and by the Spirit so that Christ would be ministered to the saints and the Body would be built up.
It is very important to realize that we are members in the Body, so we need to open to the other members, be willing to be touched and to touch others, so that our individualism would be dealt with, our self would be denied, and we would od everything for the Body and in the Body.
To be Blended for the Reality of the Body we need to go through the Cross and be by the Spirit to Dispense Christ and Build up the Body
In 1 Cor. 12:24-25, we are told that God has blended the Body together; He gave more abundant honor to the member that lacked, that there would be no division in the Body, but that the members would have the same care for one another.
What is this “blended” – what does it imply, what does it mean? In the church life, we may use this term, blending, quite a lot; we may have a very watered down version and understanding of this word.
We may say that we’re going to the park to have some blending, we may visit a church to blend with the saints there; we somewhat may make light of this, misapplying it.
But blending involves being adjusted, harmonized, tempered, and mingled; blending involves the loss of distinctions.
When we are being blended together, we are adjusted in the Body, harmonized in the Body, tempered in the Body, and mingled in the Body; we lose our distinctions, and we don’t stand out in anything.
To blend requires that we hand ourselves over; we don’t hold on to our distinctions, we don’t hold on to our own work and our interest, but we are willing to be harmonized, adjusted, and tempered, and we’re willing to lose our distinctions.
We may practice “our own kind of blending” but the more we do it, the more distinct we become; real blending involves losing our distinctions and being harmonized in the Body.
As we are blended together, we don’t know who is who and what is what, for only the Body is seen, and Christ is ministered for the building up of the Body.
In order for us to be blended for the reality of the Body of Christ, we have to go through the cross and be by the Spirit so that we may dispense Christ into others for the building up of the Body of Christ; this is the real meaning of being blended together.
The first time the thought of blending is brought in is Lev. 2 with the meal-offering; four elements were blended together – fine flour, oil, frankincense, and salt.
The fine flour signifies the uplifted and resurrected humanity of Christ, the oil signifies the Holy Spirit, the frankincense signifies Christ’s resurrection for the ministry of Christ, and salt signifies the cross.
In order for us to be blended together for the reality of the Body, the cross needs to be applied to our being, we need to be by the Spirit, and we need to dispense Christ to others for the building up of the Body in resurrection.
For us to be harmonized, adjusted, mingled, and tempered in the Body life, we need to go through the cross and be by the Spirit, dispensing Christ into others for the sake of the Body of Christ.
In everything we do, we should not seek the success of our work or the carrying out of our own interest; we should simply be by the Spirit, allow the cross to cross us out, and seek to dispense Christ into others, having the goal of the building up of the Body of Christ.
The result of being blended together is that the Body of Christ is built up in love, and Christ the Head is heading up all things in Him, gaining all the glory; consequently, the members in the Body enjoy the blending life of the Body, and they are built together under the Head.
May the Lord gain this among us, and may we be willing to take this way, the way of being through the cross and by the Spirit so that Christ may be dispensed for the sake of the Body.
Lord Jesus, we want to enter into the blending life of the Body, realizing that you are blending the Body together so that there would be no division but rather, all members would care for one another. Amen, Lord, we hand ourselves over to You to be blended together with the saints. Have a way to adjust us, harmonize us, temper us, and mingle us in the Body with the other members for the sake of the Body. Save us from keeping our own distinctions and focusing on our own work; may we do all things in the Body and for the Body. We want to be blended for the reality of the Body by going through the cross and being by the Spirit to dispense Christ to others for the building up of the Body of Christ! Amen, Lord, make us willing to be blended in the Body!
We are Blended Together as we Stop to Fellowship through the Cross and by the Spirit for the sake of the Body
How can we be blended together? What is the way to be blended, in a practical way? Is it merely for us to physically go to another locality and visit the saints?
Is it having fellowship via zoom or skype with other churches? For us to be blended together, we need to fellowship; before we do anything, we need to fellowship.
We need to learn to open to other members in the Body, in particular to the members that the Lord put us with, the members we coordinate within the Body.
We need to stop to fellowship; as we fellowship, we are tempered, adjusted, harmonized, and mingled together.
Since we are members of the Body, we shouldn’t do anything without fellowshipping with the other saints who are coordinating with us.
However, we may know this, but how many times did we stop? Did we stop to fellowship this week? Did we stop to seek fellowship with others?
Especially the leading brothers in the local churches need to stop and fellowship, learning to be blended together in the Body and for the Body.
We may serve in the church, we may help with this and that in the church life, but do we seek fellowship?
Do we care for how the Body feels concerning what we do, what we say, and how we serve?
How can we have the reality of the Body of Christ if we don’t even know how to stop and seek fellowship?
It is such a sad thing when a group of responsible brothers meet together often, even week after week, but they are not blended together.
For us to be blended means that we’re touched by others and that we are touching others by going through the cross, doing things by the Spirit, and doing everything to dispense Christ into others for the sake of the Body.
Blending comes through the cross and by the Spirit; we need to learn to be blended.
The more we stop and fellowship with others, the more benefits we receive. The most helpful thing in keeping the oneness of the universal Body of Christ is being blended together in the Body.
When we come to fellowship and coordinate together, though we may physically be in the meeting, we need to stand against our disposition, allow the cross to operate in our being, and learn to open in fellowship.
If we are in the fellowship meeting yet we keep quiet, not wanting others to know you for fear of being exposed or rejected, that is not blending.
The genuine blending is being willing to be touched by others and to touch them; this doesn’t mean that we should speak whatever is on our mind, nor does this mean that fighting matches are encouraged.
Rather, in our fellowship, we need to exercise our spirit, apply the cross, and minister Christ to others.
Whenever we come to a meeting, we should prepare to have something of Christ to minister to others for the sake of the Body of Christ.
The Lord may use us, but we need to be tempered and crossed out, and we need to learn how to follow the Spirit to dispense Christ to others for the sake of the Body.
We need to have a lot of transparency in our fellowship, and the cross needs to be applied to our natural being; then, the Lord will have a way, and the reality of the Body of Christ will be gained among us.
When we hand ourselves over to the Lord for the Body, being willing to allow Him to touch us in fellowship, we are blended together, and we have the reality of the Body among us; if we do this, we will have a revival in the church life.
Such a blending is not “social”; it is not socializing with others in doing this and that together, but it is the blending of the very Christ whom we all enjoy.
The blending is in the fellowship, and the fellowship is the circulation, the flow of Christ.
Our being blended together is the blending of the very Christ whom the individual members, the district churches, the co-workers, and the elders enjoy, experience, and partake of (see 1 Cor. 1:9).
When we bring the portion of Christ we enjoy, experience, and partake of to the meeting, and we’re willing to share it with others, and when we are willing to receive and enjoy the Christ that others enjoy, we enjoy the blending.
The blending is not about you or me but about the Christ in us; He needs to flow out and we need to receive the Christ in others also.
Dear Lord Jesus, teach us to stop and fellowship for the sake of the blending in the Body. Save us from doing anything without fellowshipping with the other saints who are coordinating with us. May we learn to stop, fellowship, and open to others so that we may be adjusted, harmonized, tempered, and mingled together. Make us willing to be touched by others in the fellowship. May we learn to go through the cross and do all things by the Spirit to dispense Christ for the sake of the Body. Amen, Lord, may there be a sweet flow and fellowship of Christ in all the saints in our times together. May there be the blending of the very Christ whom all the saints and the churches enjoy, experience, and partake of!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Sources of inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by James Lee for this week, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1994-1997, vol. 4, “The Divine and Mystical Realm,” ch. 6, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Vital Factors for the Lord’s Recovery of the Church Life (2021 ITERO), week 7, The Factor of Blending for the Reality of the Body of Christ.
- Hymns on this topic:
– The churches, the churches, / Upon the earth today; / Lord, stir our hearts for Thy desire, / And build us, oh, build us, / Lord, we pray. / Oh, how we need the churches, / All of them, great or small! / We need their many portions / To profit us withal. / Yes, Lord, enlarge the churches; / We love their needs to bear. / Enlarge our hearts, Lord Jesus, / In fellowship and prayer. (Hymns #1265)
– Blend us, Lord, blend us, Lord, ’til we are in one accord. / Hallelujah—the saints going on! / Blend us, Lord, blend us, Lord, open hearts we can afford. / Hallelujah—the churches go on! / As the members of / His organic Body, / We need the others to go on. / As local churches, / We do also need / One another for our going on. (Song on, Blend us, Lord, Blend us, Lord)
– Fellowship is deepened / Thru the cross of death; / Fellowship is lifted / By the Spirit’s breath. / Fellowship will free us / From our sinful self; / Fellowship will bring us / Into God Himself. (Hymns #737)
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