In the Body of Christ there can be no independence or individualism, for we are members of the Body, and members can’t live in detachment from the Body; every member is indispensable, and every members is precious in God’s sight.
We may know the term, The Body of Christ, but we may not be in the reality of the Body of Christ; we may know the doctrine of the Body, but we may not be in reality and practicality the Body of Christ.
In the 1930’s brother Watchman Nee went to England, being invited by some of the closed Brethren, and he was shocked, grieved, and sorrowful to see what has happened to this group.
What was once in the early 1900’s a very useful group in the Lord’s hand for God to pour out His revelation, now within a short time it became divided again and again.
He realised that, in order to keep the oneness of the Body of Christ, not having any divisions, we need to see and have the ground of oneness, the ground of locality.
Then he traveled through Europe, USA, and Canada, and came back to China, and his deep feeling was that what he has seen in Christianity was not the Body of Christ but divisions and sectarianism based on what instruments to play in the meetings, what doctrines to hold most dearly, etc…to the extent that even on the same street there were two Brethren groups who would not fellowship with each other.
So brother Nee released, The Assembly Life and Reconsidering our Mission, where he spoke concerning the fact that, if we would keep the oneness of the Body, we cannot have individualism come into the church or have any influence.
Then, the closed Brethren wrote him a letter, hoping that the churches in the Lord’s recovery would be like them, taking the way of being closed and exclusive, but brother Nee wrote back to them concerning our need to keep the oneness of the Body.
The best way to be one in the Body is to live Christ and dispense Christ, not caring for outward doctrines and practices.
As we review this matter we need to pray and consider our ways; brother Nee saw and kept the oneness of the Body, and the Lord’s recovery was kept in oneness for over 80 years now.
Because of the ground of the church and the oneness of the universal Body of Christ, we can never be divided, there is no place for individualism, and we cannot be independent from the Body of Christ.
Individualism is like a bacteria, and when the light shines from the Lord concerning the Body of Christ, individualism is eliminated.
In the Body there cannot be Independence or Individualism for we are Members one of Another
There are many members in the Body of Christ, but there is one Body; in the Body there cannot be independence or individualism, for we all are members of the Body, and the members can’t live in detachment from the Body (see 1 Cor. 12:27; Rom. 12:5; Eph. 5:30).
Every believer is a member of the Body of Christ, and every member is indispensable (1 Cor. 12:15, 21; Rom. 12:3).
In our human body the foot can’t say that, because it is not a hand, it does not belong to the Body, neither can the eye say to the hand that it doesn’t need it. We need to see that we all are members, and all members of the Body are indispensable.
If we see that we are members of the Body, we will surely treasure the Body and honor the other members of the Body (1 Cor. 12:23-24; Phil. 2:29; 1 Cor. 16:18; Judg. 9:9).
To treasure other members is to add the supply to them; in 1 Cor. 12 we see how the members of the Body which we consider less honorable we clothe with more abundant honor, for our comely members have no need. God has blended the Body together, giving more abundant honor to the members that lack.
In our meetings we need to add more honor to others, that is, add the riches of Christ to them; we shouldn’t come to the meeting as spectators or strangers but rather come with the rich supply of life to minister life to others. No member of the Body has no comeliness, and no member has no riches.
Many times we may come to the meeting and are down, having many questions, for we are going through hardships and there are things we can’t get through; then, a brother stands up to share or a sister offers a prayer, and our problem is solved and the issues are going away.
We cannot be independent from the Body – we need the Body for our supply, and in the Body there cannot be independence or individualism.
We all are members of the Body, and as long as we bear our responsibility to be a proper member who functions in the Body, we will receive and give the supply in the Body.
Being a member in the Body means that we need the portion and function of the other members in the Body; we treasure their portion and we need their function.
Wherever there is Body-revelation, there is Body-consciousness, and wherever there is Body-consciousness, individualistic thought and action are ruled out.
Because of our fallen nature, we all have individualism in us, and it is our natural tendency to separate ourselves from others. Because of our fallen nature, we can use any kind of excuse to be sectarian and divide ourselves from others.
We may look at the children and see that they like to form groups and separate themselves from others, and we may think this is so childish – but as they grow up, this doesn’t go away but rather, with the adults it is the same thing.
Independence and sectarianism is in our blood; they are deeply rooted and hidden within us. Therefore, if we are not careful in the church life, we may live in the old creation, in the old man, and we may live and serve by ourselves, and the result is that we separate ourselves from others.
Being a Christian is something individualistic, but being a member is something corporate. Being a Christian is something we do for ourselves, but being a member is something for the Body.
When we see the Body of Christ, independence and individualism are being exposed and removed, for the Body is in opposition to the self being individualistic and independent. Once we are delivered from individualism, we are spontaneously in the Body.
Lord Jesus, save us from independence and individualism. Show us a vision of the Body so that we may reject the self with its independent ways and we may be joined to the saints as members of the Body of Christ. Thank You Lord for making us members of the Body; grant us to have Body-revelation so that we may have Body-consciousness and all individualistic thought and action would be ruled out. Amen, Lord, may we treasure the Body and honor the other members, considering them as being precious and vitally necessary for our going on with You in the Body.
Seeing a Vision of the Body and Realising we are Members who cannot be Independent
The Body of Christ is not a doctrine or a teaching; the Body of Christ is not a metaphor of what the church is; the Body of Christ is a realm and a reality and a life.
Knowing the truth and the doctrine concerning the Body doesn’t mean that we are in the reality of the Body, and understanding what the Body is doesn’t mean that we live the life of the Body.
We don’t need more knowledge – we need to have revelation from God that we may know the reality of the Body of Christ and enter into the realm of the Body. Only when the Lord reveals the Body to us do we realise that we are members in the Body and that we cannot be independent or individualistic.
When we realise that we are nothing more than a member, we will no longer be proud; we will not think more highly of ourselves but rather we will treasure the other members of the Body, considering their portion and function as being higher than ours.
Everything depends upon our seeing; if we see that we are members of the Body, we will treasure and honor the other members, and we will see others’ virtues and consider them as being better than ourselves.
The Body of Christ is composed of all the believers, and every believer is a member in the Body of Christ, an indispensable part of the Body. For us to be built up in the Body, however, the self must be condemned, denied, rejected, and renounced.
Though we all are believers in Christ, we all need to be members in the Body; we are individuals, complete units, but we cannot have independence or individualism.
As believers we can love the Lord, read the Bible, consecrate ourselves to the Lord, and pursue this, but all these should not be done in and individualistic way but with the view of the Body.
We shouldn’t care only for ourselves and our spiritual growth and progress but also care for others, learning to coordinate with them. We should depend not only on the Lord but also on the Body, on the brothers and the sisters.
In Exo. 17:11-13 we see that Amalek came to fight Israel, and Joshua went out to fight with the army, while Moses went on the mountain to pray. When he was praying and lifting up his hands, Israel was prevailing, but when his hands were down, they were losing. So Moses needed Aaron and Hur to hold his hands up and support him in prayer until Joshua and the people of Israel defeated Amalek with the edge of the sword.
No matter what we do, we need to learn to depend on the brothers and the sisters. We cannot stand in prayer by ourselves, in our own strength; we need the help and support of the ones who coordinate with us.
We shouldn’t think that we can accomplish anything by ourselves; rather, as we serve and do things, we need to realise that we need the brothers and the sisters.
We see this principle also in Acts where Peter was led by the Lord to the Gentiles, but he didn’t go by himself – he went with some of the brothers; as he was preaching, the Spirit fell upon the Gentiles, and then the brothers baptised them.
Imagine if Peter went by himself – he would not have had the impact, and the brothers in Jerusalem would not believe him of what happened. Such a coordination and move in the Body became a great protection to Peter, allowing the Lord’s dispensational move to be accomplished smoothly.
May the Lord have mercy on us and grant us a vision of the Body so that we may realise we are members of the Body and we need the other members of the Body, and may we be saved from independence and individualism, realising that we cannot be independent from the Body.
Lord Jesus, grant us to see a vision of the Body of Christ and realise that we are members in the Body who cannot live independently from the Body. Lord, deliver us from our individualistic life so that we may be dependent not only on the Lord but also on the other members of the Body. Amen, Lord, may we pay the price to condemn, deny, reject, and renounce the self for the sake of the Body, for the building up of the Body of Christ. May we see our need for the Body and may we give ourselves to You for the Body, living a life with no independence or individualism.
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by the brothers for this week, and portions from, Collected Works of Watchman Nee, vol. 44, “The Mystery of Christ,” ch. 98, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Living in the Reality of the Body of Christ by Keeping the Principles of the Body (2019 ICSC), week 4, The Supply of the Body, the Members of the Body, and the Limitation of the Body.
- Hymns on this topic:
# Your faith in Christ helps me pursue; / My progress depends upon you! / As I seek Christ, with you in view, / My heart, full of prayers, is for you. / God’s heart longs, desires that we, His lovers, seek Him corp’rately. On each other spent constantly; My life is for you, yours for me. (Song on, I’m thankful that God has placed me)
# Build me, Lord, with other saints, / Independence ne’er allow, / But according to Thy plan / Fitly frame and join me now. / In experience not my boast, / Nor in gifts would be my pride; / For Thy building I give all, / That Thou may be glorified. (Hymns #839)
# I long for fellowship in spirit, / That mingled with the saints I’ll be, / Long to be saved from independence / And to be built with saints in Thee. (Hymns #847)
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