Called to Live within the Veil and to Share in the Work of the Lord for the Body

As lovers of Christ who pursue Him and seek to gain Him so that He may gain what He is after, we are called more strongly to live within the veil through the cross after resurrection, and share in the work of the Lord by being one with Him to work with Him in and for the Body of Christ. Amen!

The entire Bible, the complete revelation of God to man, reveals to us the God of love in the universe and His economy.

The history of God’s economy is a history of the dispensing of the divine life.

Also, it is the history of the corporate people of God being built up.

Especially if we look at the book of Song of Songs we see that our relationship and history with God is one of love; in this book we see a love relationship in an excellent marriage.

In the light of the Lord’s coming, as we are preparing and making ourselves ready for His return, we need to see that we are the Lord’s lovers.

We love the Lord, we pursue Him, and we await His coming. And we do everything we can to hasten His return.

As seen in Song of Songs, there are some stages that the loving seeker passes through to eventually match the Beloved in every possible way.

In this book we see the history of love in an excellent marriage, revealing the progressive experience of an individual believer’s loving fellowship with Christ.

This loving fellowship begins on the day of our regeneration and will continue throughout our life; we need to progress in our loving fellowship with the Lord.

There are six stages of spiritual progress revealed in Song of Songs, and all the spiritual principles are contained in the first stage; they are only deepened and made more real in the succeeding stages.

In the first stage, we are drawn by the Lord every day to pursue Him for satisfaction.

In the first stage of our Christian life and loving relationship with the Lord, we build up a personal, affectionate, private, and spiritual relationship with the Lord.

This does not end when we go to the next stage; rather, we remain in this personal relationship with the Lord, loving Him day by day. Amen!

In the second stage, we as lovers of Christ are called to be delivered from the elf with its introspection through our oneness with the cross of Christ.

Then, in the third stage, we are called to live in ascension as the new creation in resurrection.

Stage by stage, we advance with the Lord, our loving relationship with Him is deepened, and we learn to live one spirit with Him for the fulfilment of His purpose.

In this article, we would like to see the fourth and fifth stages of our loving relationship with the Lord as revealed in the book of Song of Songs.

We are Called More Strongly to Live within the Veil through the Cross after Resurrection

In the fourth stage of Song of Songs, we as lovers of Christ are called more strongly to live within the veil through the cross after resurrection (see Song of Songs 5:2-6:13).

No matter how much spiritual achievement we have attained, because we are still in the old creation, we still have our flesh; so we need a stronger call.

We may touch something of ascension and we may be one with the Lord to be part of His move on the earth, being the palanquin for Christ to carry Him around, but we still need a stronger call.

We are called by the Lord to live within the veil.

By living within the veil, we as lovers of Christ are transformed into the heavenly bodies; by beholding and reflecting the Lord, we’re being transformed into His image and we shine with Him as our light (Song of Songs 6:10; 2 Cor. 3:18).

The loving seeker in Song of Songs looks forth like the dawn, she is as beautiful as the moon, and she is as clear as the son. Amen!

We are becoming spiritual and heavenly, as signified by the sun and the moon.

The Lord is the Sun of righteousness with healing in His wings; as we spend time with Him and answer His stronger call to live within the veil, we will become the same as He is, spiritual, heavenly, and shining.

We no longer live in the flesh but rather, all the shadows are over, and the morning has come.

Praise the Lord, we are one with Him as the shining One!

May we be those who hear the Lord’s call, even Him calling us more strongly to live within the veil.

May we allow the cross of Christ to operate in our being so that the flesh may be put to death, the self may be denied, and we would shine like the sun and the moon, even looking forward like the dawn!

The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until the full day.

Our path as lovers of Christ who learn to live in righteousness should be like the light of dawn.

Our path should be brighter and brighter until the full day!

May we grow in life unto maturity and have the maturity of the life of Christ.

As we grow in life unto maturity, we become the same as Christ in life, nature, expression, and function.

Song of Songs 6:13 says, Return, return, o Shulammite; return, return, that we may gaze at you.

As lovers of Christ who pursue Him and enjoy Him day by day, we will become the same as He is in every possible way.

Shulammite is the feminine form of Solomon; the overcomers become the same as Christ in life, nature, expression, and function.

Some believers may think it is too much to say that we become the same as Christ.

However, to say that we become the same as Christ and God in Their Godhead is blasphemy, but to not believe that we become the same as Christ in life, nature, expression, and function is simply to have unbelief.

As we arrive at the maturity of Christ’s life, we become the same as Christ is; we are like Him in life, nature, expression, and function, but not in the Godhead to be His reproduction and duplication to match Him for our marriage.

This is why the New Testament repeatedly uses phrases such as, In Christ, and, In the Lord.

Paul said that he could do all things in Christ (Phil. 4:13).

When we are in Christ, when we develop and maintain our loving relationship with Him spiritually, answering His stronger call to live within the veil, we will become the same as He is.

Christ is able to make us the same as He is in life, in nature, in expression, and in function to carry out His economy.

Lord Jesus, may we hear Your stronger call to live within the veil through the cross after resurrection. Save us from relying on ourselves or trusting in our ability. We want to come to You again and again and be one with You to live within the veil. May the cross deal with the flesh and may anything of the natural man be exposed and terminated. Amen, Lord, we want to live within the veil so that we as lovers of Christ may be transformed into shining ones, those who are one with You to shine You forth to others! Bring us on to maturity. We want to be in the maturity of Christ’s life so that we become the same as You are in life, nature, expression, and function, but not in the Godhead. Hallelujah, we believers in Christ are in Christ and we are learning to live, act, and do all things in the Lord! Praise the Lord, we are being made the same as Christ in His life, in His nature, in His function, and in His expression but not in His Godhead so that we may be His reproduction and duplication to match Him for our marriage! Amen, Lord, we love You!

Share in the Work of the Lord by Working together with Him in and for the Body

In the fifth stage of Song of Songs, we as lovers of Christ share in the work of the Lord (Song of Songs 7:1-13).

On one hand, we are called to live within the veil; on the other hand, we share in the Lord’s work by being one with Him for the Body.

This is a very interesting portion of Song of Songs, for here the loving seeker takes the initiative and asks her Beloved to come and go forth into the fields, lodge in the villages, rise up early for the vineyards, and work together with the Lord.

As believers in Christ who pursue Him in love and want to be one with Him, we will become mature in the life of Christ, and we will even be the same as He is in every possible way.

Then, we will have the same feeling as He has: we will share in the work of the Lord.

It may seem to us that, once we become the Shulammite, our progress reaches the highest peak, for we become the same as Christ.

But there is still something more; the Lord has many vineyards, many fields, and much work, so we as lovers of Christ share in the work of the Lord by working together with Him in and for the Body of Christ.

Song of Songs 7:11 shows that Christ’s lover wants to carry out with her Beloved the work that is for the entire world (signified by the fields) by sojourning from one place to another (lodging in the villages).

This indicates that, as we reach maturity in life and become Christ’s duplication, we will not be sectarian in carrying out the Lord’s work but rather, we keep the work open, so that others can come to sojourn there and we can go to sojourn elsewhere.

This is to keep one work in one Body.

As lovers of Christ who remain in the progressive experience of our loving relationship with the Lord, we will be one with Him to serve with Him, even share in His work, for Him to gain what He is after.

We will not serve in our own small territory, having our own work in our pocket, but we will serve in the Body and for the Body.

No matter where we are, we have to keep our work open so that others who are one with the Lord to share in His work will come and serve, and we can also go elsewhere.

To share in the work of the Lord is to work together with Him (2 Cor. 6:1).

To work together with the Lord, we need maturity in life, we need to be one with the Lord, and our work must be for His Body (Col. 1:28-29; 1 Cor. 12:12-27). Amen!

Wherever we go, our work is in and for the one Body of Christ.

We want to visit the churches, serve the Lord by being one with Him, and give Him our love in the churches for Him to gain the built-up Body.

We want to see if the vine has budded, if the blossoms are open, if the pomegranates are in bloom; there, in our sharing in the work of the Lord, we will give the Lord our love.

We will even rise up early, being diligent in our work with the Lord.

Our focus will not be to do a lot of work but to see how life grows in the saints, how life matures in them, and how we can help them grow in life, mature in life, and bring forth fruit in the maturity of life.

Especially when we come together in meetings for blending, we are very much before the Lord to sense the growth in life of the saints, minister something of Christ to them, and help them grow in life and arrive at maturity.

The Shulammite works as Solomon’s counterpart, taking care of all the vineyards (Song of Songs 8:11), the churches and the believers on the whole earth.

We must have a work that is for the entire world, not just for our local church where the Lord has placed us.

This is what the apostle Paul did by establishing local churches and then working to bring them into the full realization of the Body of Christ.

we read Rom. 16:1-24, the conclusion of the gospel of God given to Paul, we see the mentioning of many names of the saints; Paul cared for each one, prayed for each one, and wanted to labor on each one, even to blend them together.

By mentioning their names, their situations, and words of encouragement, Paul worked to bring the saints into the full realization of the Body of Christ.

May we be willing to take the initiative to rise up and share in the work of the Lord to build up His Body all over the earth!

May the Lord gain us for His need to open up the whole earth for His need, and may we preach the gospel of the kingdom to the whole inhabited earth to build up the unique Body of Christ!

Lord Jesus, we love You. We are one with You. Let us go into the vineyards, Lord, to see if the pomegranates are in bloom and if the buds are growing. Amen, Lord, we love You so much and we are so one with You that we want to share in Your work. We want to work together with You for the building up of the church as the Body of Christ. We do not want to have our personal work, our territory of work; we want to work in the Body and for the Body as Your lovers. We take You as the life and supply for our work, and we want to grow in life unto maturity. We want to be one with You and work with You for the building up of the Body. How we love You, Lord, and how we love Your Body! We love the churches and all the saints. We want all the saints to grow in life, arrive at maturity, and progress in their loving relationship with You. Amen, Lord, we give You our love as we work together with You, sharing in Your work, in the churches and for the Body!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by the brothers in the message for this week, and portions from, Life-study of Song of Songs, msgs. 1-10, by Witness Lee, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Fighting the Good Fight, Finishing the Course, Keeping the Faith, and Loving the Lord’s Appearing in Order to Receive the Reward of Christ as the Crown of Righteousness (2024 ICSC), week 4, Loving the Lord’s Appearing by Maintaining Our Love for Him according to the Intrinsic Significance of Song of Songs.
• Similar articles on this topic:
  – Enter the Veil, Come Forward to the Throne, via, New Jerusalem blog.
  – Dwelling in the holiest place and living within the veil, a portion from, Abiding in the Lord to Enjoy His Life, Chapter 6, by Witness Lee.
  – 2 Corinthians 3:18—Beholding and Reflecting the Lord with an Unveiled Face, via, Bibles for America blog.
  – Being built together with others in the church and absolutely not being individualistic, a portion from, The Building Work of God, Chapter 7, by Witness Lee.
  – The Sweetness of Taking Christ as our Person for the One New Man, via, Living to Him.
  – The Ministry of Reconciliation – From chapter three of The Ministers in the Lord’s Recovery – Genuine Ministers of the New Covenant, via, Shepherding Words.
  – Why You Need to Know the Fifth Gospel, Paul’s Gospel, via, Holding to Truth in Love.
  – A life within the veil, a portion from, The Song of Songs, Chapter 4, by Watchman Nee.
  – Life-study of Song of Songs, Message 6: Called More Strongly to Live within the Veil through the Cross after Resurrection (2), video message by W. Lee via LSM YouTube channel.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – “Within the Veil”: be this, belov’d, thy portion, / Within the secret of thy Lord to dwell; / Beholding Him, until thy face His glory, / Thy life His love, thy lips His praise shall tell. / “Within the Veil,” for only as thou gazest / Upon the matchless beauty of His face, / Canst thou become a living revelation / Of His great heart of love, His untold grace. (Hymns #642 stanzas 1-2)
  – The Shulamite, His duplication, / His counterpart has now become. / She’s the same in life and nature, / His expression to the full; / Consummated as the New Jerusalem. (Song on, Lovers of Christ, stanza 5)
  – For the Church should be our service, / ’Tis the perfect will of God; / ’Tis the only way of working / Which the Lord’s apostles trod. / For the Church should be our service, / Not our aims to satisfy; / This, the perfect will of God is, / And with it we must comply. / For ’tis God’s eternal purpose / That the Church His vessel be; / He intends that all our service / Build His Church continually. (Hymns #914 stanzas 1-2 and chorus)