The divine life, Christ Himself, is the essence of the church for its organic existence; Christ became the essence of the church through the release of the divine life, and we are the church as His increase, we are the many sons of God, and we are His multiplication.
We need to look at the church not merely by noticing and taking care of the practices in the church, the doctrine of the church, the necessary activities of the church, or the exterior things related to the church.
We need to see the intrinsic essence of the church for its organic existence.
This is not merely looking at the inward aspect of the church but looking at the intrinsic essence of the church, what produces the church, what builds up the church, what makes the church function, and what is the fellowship of the church.
When we look at and fellowship concerning the outward aspects of the church, the necessary activities and coordination of the church, or even the doctrine of the church, we may be led into arguments and division if we don’t focus on the intrinsic essence of the church.
We must touch the essence of the church and we must pay attention to the organic aspect of the church.
The church is not a matter of organisation or anything outward; the church is something organic, something of life, and the church is the increase of Christ in man, even the duplication, reproduction, and growth of God in man for God to have an organism, a Body for Christ, through whom He can be expressed and represented.
Therefore, we must walk in the way of life to live by the tree of life according to the spirit, not in the way of death to live by the tree of the knowledge of right and wrong according to the self.
The emphasis is life, not mere knowledge; knowledge puffs up and makes you independent, but life causes you to be dependent on the Lord and His life.
The intrinsic essence of the church is nothing else but the divine life; it is the divine life that generates the church, and all believers in Christ are members of the church as the Body of Christ because they have received the divine life in their spirit.
Our emphasis, therefore, needs to be on life, not on work; we need to focus on the divine life, enjoy the divine life, and learn to minister the divine life and live by the divine life.
This divine life is not something apart from God; rather, the divine life is the dispensing of the Triune God into us.
The Triune God went through a process to become a life-giving Spirit to dispense His life into our being so that we may be regenerated with His life and become the many members of the church as the Body of Christ.
Hallelujah, all believers in Christ have the divine life in their spirit, and they are members of the organism of the Triune God, being under the dispensing of the processed and consummated Triune God!
We are the Children of God as the Bride of Christ for His Increase by the Imparting of His Divine Life into us
When we believers in Christ were regenerated with the divine life, we were made the children of God as the bride of Christ; Christ is the Bridegroom, and we are His increase to be the bride of Christ (John 1:12-13; 3:29-30).
Our regeneration is not only for us to become the children of God but also the bride of Christ, the increase of Christ as the Bridegroom.
On one hand, we are children of God, and on the other hand, we are the counterpart of Christ.
This is seen in the type of Adam and Eve in Gen. 2:21-23. Before Eve came into existence, she was a rib of Adam, a part of Adam; according to this revelation, we can say that before the church came into existence, she was a part of Christ (Eph. 1:3-6; 1 Cor. 12:12; Rom. 12:5; cf. Acts 9:5).
In the type of Adam and Eve, we see how God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and He took one rib from his side, built a woman, and brought her to him to be his counterpart.
There is so much light in this type, for we as the church – even before the church came into existence – were a part of Christ already.
We are members of Christ and also a part of Christ. A long time ago, even before the foundation of the world, God the Father has already blessed us with every spiritual blessing.
Before the foundation of the world, God chose us in Christ to be holy and without blemish before Him in love; this is not only for us to become children of God but also the church, which is holy and without blemish.
All these things happened before the foundation of the world. God has already predestinated us unto sonship through Jesus Christ to Himself according to the good pleasure of His will.
We need to see this in our spirit; we need to realize that, as the church of God, we have been a part of Christ, and today we are the increase of Christ.
Just as Adam’s rib imparted life into Eve to make her Adam’s counterpart, so Christ’s life was imparted into us to make us His counterpart (Gen. 2:22; Heb. 7:16; 1 Cor. 15:45; Rom. 8:2).
The divine, eternal, indestructible life of Christ was imparted into us to make us the counterpart of Christ, the increase of Christ; as John the Baptist said in John 3:30, He must increase, but we must decrease, for the church is the increase of Christ.
The rib taken out of Adam to be built into Eve signifies the indestructible life of Christ (none of his bones was broken on the cross, signifying that nothing can break or destroy His resurrection life); such a life produced the church!
When the Lord Jesus was put to death, He didn’t remain to death but resurrected, and in His resurrection, He brought many saved ones with Him to make them parts of Himself, His bride, His counterpart.
Through this, He became the essence of the church, just as the rib taken from Adam was the very essence of Eve.
The rib taken out of Adam signifies the indestructible, resurrection life of Christ, and this life includes the power of Christ’s resurrection. Christ as the life-giving Spirit – the Spirit of life – is dispensed into us, just as the rib of Adam was built to become Eve; so we, like Eve, become the counterpart of Christ, that is, the church.
This is how the church is produced. This is to see things with an intrinsic view of the existence of the church.
The essence of the church is simply Christ Himself, who is the divine life – the incarnated, crucified and resurrected Christ Himself.
This is the divine life that makes us one and is our essence to make us the increase of Christ, the counterpart of Christ.
Thank You Lord for regenerating us with Your divine life to make us children of God as the bride of Christ for Your increase. Hallelujah, we are not only believers in Christ and children of God but also the increase of Christ, the counterpart of Christ, the bride of Christ! Thank You Lord for dispensing Yourself into us as the indestructible resurrection life to regenerate us and make us the church, the bride of Christ! Hallelujah, even before we were born, even before the foundation of the world, God chose us in Christ to be holy and without blemish before Him in love! Praise the Lord, we believers in Christ were in Christ and are in Christ, and we are part of Christ, even His increase to be His counterpart, His bride!
Christ became the Intrinsic Essence of the Church through the Release and Impartation of His Divine Life
How did Christ become the intrinsic essence of the church? What was the process, and how did this happen?
The Bible is full of mysterious matters, but when we pray and read the Bible under the divine light, we will see what is in God’s heart, what He is doing, and what is the intrinsic nature of things.
In John 12:24 we are told that the Lord Jesus as a grain of wheat fell into the ground through death, and in resurrection, He brought forth many grains – the many believers in Christ as the many members of the Body of Christ.
Through His death, the shell of His humanity was broken and the divine life hidden within Him was released; in His resurrection, this released divine life was imparted into the many believers in Christ to make us His reproduction.
Through His death and resurrection, Christ became the very essence of the church, for His divine life was released and imparted into His believers to make them His increase, His duplication, His reproduction, to be the church as the Body of Christ.
The life of God is Christ Himself; He is the intrinsic essence of the church.
If the divine life had only remained in God Himself or in Christ, concealed in His human body, it could have never been our life.
But God became a man not merely to “show us how to live” or to accomplish redemption; He was incarnated, lived a perfect human life, died on the cross, and was resurrected so that He can release and impart His divine life into all those who believe into Him.
Christ as the one grain of wheat fell into the ground through death, and in His resurrection, His released divine life was imparted into the millions of believers in Christ to make them His increase, His multiplication.
Hallelujah, the released divine life of Christ was imparted into us, the believers in Christ!
We are the many grains of wheat produced by Christ’s death and resurrection; we are the multiplication of Christ.
Christ became the intrinsic essence of the church through the impartation of His divine life as the Firstborn Son of God in His resurrection, so that God may have many sons as the many brothers of Christ (1 Pet. 1:3; Rom. 8:29; Heb. 2:11-12).
Through His death, the shell of His humanity was broken, and in His resurrection, He imparted His divine life into the believers in Christ to make them the many sons of God.
In His resurrection, Christ became the firstborn Son of God, He became a life-giving Spirit, and He regenerated the believers in Christ as the many sons of God.
Christ dispensed His life into us so that we, sinners who believe in Christ, would become not only Christians but also the many sons of God, the many brothers of Christ.
This is an intrinsic view of the church, for we are looking at the intrinsic essence of the church for its organic existence.
All believers in Christ were included in Christ’s resurrection; we were all resurrected in Him, with Him, and by Him.
Today we as the many brothers of Christ are sons of God and we are His increase.
We were foreknown by God to one day be conformed to the image of God’s firstborn Son.
Our entire being will be conformed to Him, and we will become the same as He is as the many sons of God! What a glorious destiny we have!
Thank You, Lord Jesus, for dying to release Your divine life and for resurrecting to impart Your life into us and regenerate us to be the many sons of God! Hallelujah, through His death the divine life was released and in His resurrection, this released divine life was imparted into us to make us children of God, the brothers of Christ! Oh Lord, we love You as the grain of wheat who didn’t remain by itself but fell into the ground and die to release and impart Your divine life and produce us as the many grains, the many sons of God, to be the church, the Body of Christ! Hallelujah, we as believers in Christ were foreknown by God to one day be conformed to the image of the firstborn Son of God! Praise the Lord!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Sources of inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by Minoru Chen for this week, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1989, vol. 4, “The Organic Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ to be the Organism of the Processed and Dispensing Triune God”, pp. 271-273, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Intrinsic and Organic Building up of the Church as the Body of Christ (2021 International Chinese-Speaking Conference), week 1, The Intrinsic Essence of the Church for Its Organic Existence.
- Hymns on this topic:
– As Eve to Adam fulness was, / So is the Church to Christ her Head; / As Eve from Adam’s being came, / The Church by Christ’s own life is bred. (Hymns #820)
– E’en as Eve is part of Adam / Taken out of him, / So the Church is Christ’s own increase / With Himself within. / As from out the buried kernel / Many grains are formed, / As the grains together blended / To a loaf are formed; / So the Church, of many Christians, / Christ doth multiply, / Him expressing as one Body, / God to glorify. (Hymns #819)
– We’re Thy total reproduction, / Thy dear Body and Thy Bride, / Thine expression and Thy fulness, / For Thee ever to abide. / We are Thy continuation, / Thy life-increase and Thy spread, / Thy full growth and Thy rich surplus, / One with Thee, our glorious Head. (Hymns #203)
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