We need to be Cleansed from Sin and Thoroughly Deal with the Self to Live in the Body

In order for us as believers in Christ to enter into the oneness in the divine glory, the corporate expression of God, we must thoroughly deal with the self, dealing with the sin that issues from within man’s self, which is the enemy of the Body of Christ.

On the positive side, we need to be filled with the life of God and constituted with the riches of Christ so that we may overflow with these riches to supply the Body day by day.

On the negative side, we need to fully deal with the self, for the self is the enemy of the Body, and when we live in the self, we are full of leprosy, which is unclean and contaminating, being very damaging to the Body.

On the positive side, it should matter to the church whether we live or die, for our function and portion needs to be manifested for all to see, and we should be channels of life.

On the negative side, unless we deal with the self, we cannot but damage the Body of Christ, for the self is the worst enemy of the Body.

Positively, we need to aspire to be strong factors to the saints for their progress in life and their joy of the faith; we need to magnify Christ by living Him and minister Christ to others for their going on and joy of the faith.

Negatively, we cannot live in the self but rather, we need to see that the self is full of leprosy, and when we live in the self we’re unclean, not being able to build up the Body or minister life to the saints.

It is only when we fully deal with the self that we can enter into the oneness in the divine glory so that we can be the corporate expression of God.

It is not by default, by the simple fact that we are believers in Christ, that we are building members of the Body of Christ and overcomers.

We need to cooperate with the Lord and deal with the self, the greatest enemy of the Body, before we can function in the Body, build up the Body, and be built up in the Body of Christ.

If we live in the self, it will not matter to the church whether we live or die, for we are not a functioning member in the Body, nor do we dispense life.

If we live in the self, the things of God are far and distant from us, and the economy of God seems to be a lofty concept.

All the things related to God, Christ, and the church are in spirit; it is only when we exercise our mingled spirit, live in spirit, and deal with the self in a thorough way, under the Lord’s shining, that we can build up the church as the Body of Christ.

May we be reminded again and again that, as members of the Body, even when we live at home, go to work, and do the mundane things of our daily life, we need to exercise our spirit and deny the self, otherwise we are not in reality living the Body life, nor are we ministering life to the members of the Body.

The Self is the Enemy of the Body and is full of Leprosy; we need to Thoroughly Deal with the Self

If we are serious with the Lord for the building up of the church as the Body of Christ, we will not only focus on the positive side of ministering life to others for the building of the church but we will also be aware of our need to deal with the self.

When the Lord Jesus unveiled that He is building up His church (Matt. 16:18), immediately He said that the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

And the gates of Hades are not just out there, outside of us, but within us – our self, the expression of our self, the manifestation of the self, the living of the self, and everything related to the self is the gates of Hades.

Satan attacks the Body of Christ and tries to damage the Body not only from outside through persecution and evil speaking; he works from within us also, through the self.

We need to see the vision of the self, just as we need to see the vision of the Body.

As we go on with the Lord in the church life in the Lord’s recovery, we need to come to the matter of the building up of the Body.

As we seek to build up the Body, we will realize that the greatest problem and frustration to the Body is the self.

The self is the greatest frustration and opposition to the Body. If we live in the self, we cannot be in the Body or build up the Body.

When we have the self, we don’t have the Body of Christ. The self is the independent “I,” the independent “me” and “you”.

When we live in the self, when we do not live in the mingled spirit, we are not in the Body in reality; rather, we damage the Body and delay the building up of the Body of Christ.

In the Old Testament and in the New Testament we have the matter of leprosy and the leprous persons.

The leper who is infected with leprosy was an unclean person; all the days during which the infection is in him, he was unclean (Lev. 13:45-46).

He could not be among the rest of people, for he was unclean and contagious, so he had to live alone, having his dwelling outside the camp, outside the city.

Leprosy results from rebellion and disobedience; in spiritual significance, leprosy is the poison of the self-expressed through sin, for whenever we’re in the self we sin and are like a leper.

Miriam became leprous because of her rebellion against Moses and Aaron, God’s deputy authority; therefore, she became leprous (Num. 12:1-10).

Naaman’s leprosy was cleansed because he obeyed the Lord’s word (2 Kings 5:1, 9-14).

As fallen human beings, we all have become leprous in God’s eyes because of our rebellion and disobedience.

And our leprosy cannot be just cured by being cleansed this or that way, or even by bringing some offering.

There has to be a thorough dealing with leprosy, just as we need to thoroughly deal with the self so that we may build up the church as the Body of Christ.

When we live in the self, when we express the self, we are full of leprosy, and we need to isolate ourselves until we’re fully cleansed.

Leprosy signifies the serious sin that issues from within man’s self, which is the enemy of the Body.

Because the self is rebellious and disobedient to God, not being able to obey God or agree with God but always being in rebellion against God, we need to thoroughly deal with the self in order to have the Body of Christ.

When we are independent of God, when we live in the self, we are on our own, and we do not live in the Body; in a real sense, we are not living as members of the Body.

And we do not have peace, for the self never agrees with others’ self.

May the Lord have mercy on us and shine on the self, and may we have a vision of the self so that we may thoroughly deal with the self under the Lord’s light in order to live in the Body of Christ by living in our mingled spirit.

Lord Jesus, have mercy on us and unveil us to see the vision of the self and realize that the self is the enemy of the Body. May we see that our being and living in the self is damaging to the Body and does not build up the church. Oh Lord, may we realize that the self is the enemy of the Body. May we see that living in the self causes us to damage the Body and not build it up. May we be clear that the greatest problem, frustration, and opposition to the Body is the self. Amen, Lord, we come to You to be shined on by You so that we may thoroughly deal with the self under the divine light. We want to no longer live in the independent I apart from God; we want to live in the mingled spirit! May we see what the self is and deny it under the Lord’s light. May we live in the Body and for the Body, having a daily living that builds up the church as the Body of Christ and shuts any gate of Hades that attacks through the self.

How we can be Cleansed and Dealt with before God for our Fellowship with God and Man

In the Bible, a leper always typifies our fallen, sinful man; leprosy signifies the serious sin that issues from within our self.

Because of our disobedience toward God and rebellion against Him, we have all become leprous in God’s eyes, and we need to be cleansed.

The cleansing of the leper as seen in Lev. 14:2-9 shows how we can be cleansed and dealt with before God so that we may be restored to the fellowship with God and man.

The problem of a leper is not merely his outward filthiness and ugliness; it is the poison of the disease within.

Similarly, our problem today is not merely the outward acts we do or the sins we commit; our problem is the sinful nature within us, which originates from the evil life of Satan.

The cleansing of the leper as recorded in Leviticus shows how can we be cleansed and dealt with before God.

First, the leper was to be brought to the priest; actually, the priest had to go outside the camp to the leper (Lev. 14:3).

The Lord Jesus did not require us to go to Him as the priest; rather, He came outside of the camp to us, to the unclean ones, to visit us and see our condition.

We sinners cannot come into the midst of God’s people, the place where God gives His grace and manifests His glory; however, the Lord Jesus came out to where we are to examine us.

As He shines on us, we repent from our heart, and the plague of leprosy is healed in the sight of God.

Our filthiness as lepers is a sin before God, and it needs the cleansing of the sprinkling of the blood.

This sprinkling is not for the cleansing of the sinful nature but for the abolishing of all records of sin before God.

The procedure for this in the case of the leper in the Old Testament was that two birds were prepared: one to be slaughtered in an earthen vessel over running water, and the other to be kept alive, dipped in the blood, then the blood sprinkled over the leper, and the live bird to be let go.

The bird that is slaughtered is a type of the Lord Jesus who died for us on the cross, shedding His blood and suffering death on our behalf.

The living bird typifies the Lord Jesus resurrecting from the dead, and the running water typifies the eternal life of the Lord flowing free.

The Lord Jesus died for us and shed His blood, and in resurrection He is living and even flowing as living water.

When we apply His blood to our being, we are cleansed.

The blood shed by the Lord’s death and His eternal life is brought to us and made effective in us through His resurrection.

The Lord’s blood was sprinkled over us in a complete way, and it abolished all our sinful record before God to make us acceptable to God.

After we receive the Lord’s death in our stead, the blood of the Lord Jesus becomes effective upon us, and the power of His resurrection is manifested in us to set us free.

This is the way for us to be cleansed and dealt with before God from our sin and sins.

Daily we need to apply the Lord’s blood and exercise our spirit to touch Him in resurrection so that the living water may flow in us and cleanse us from our sins.

Furthermore, as we shall see, we need to thoroughly deal with the self in all its manifestations and expressions so that we may live in the Body and for the Body.

First of all, we need the cleansing of the Lord’s blood and the application of His death to the sins and offenses we have committed, and we need to enjoy the power of His resurrection to make us free.

If we confess our sins, the Lord is faithful and righteous to cleanse us of our sins and remove any unrighteousness (1 John 1:7, 9).

Then, we need to go on with the Lord to thoroughly deal with the self in all its manifestations and issues, so that we may live in the Body and for the Body in reality.

Thank You, dear Lord Jesus, for coming to die for us on the cross to shed Your blood for our sins. We come to You with all our trespasses, sins, offenses, and unrighteousnesses. Wash us and cleanse us with Your blood. May we be completely cleansed of all unrighteousness so that we may be restored to fellowship with God and with man. We apply the blood of Christ right now to all our sins, all our sinful deeds and all the issues of our sinful nature. We repent from our heart, Lord, and we want to be cleansed and healed from our sins and sinful nature. We receive Your substitutionary death and we apply Your blood. Manifest the power of Your resurrection in us to set us free from the power of sin. Amen, Lord, may our fellowship with God and with man be restored. Keep us in fellowship with God and with the saints in the Body of Christ!

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, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1953, vol. 3, “The Experience of Life,” pp. 361-365, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Knowing, Experiencing, and Living the All-inclusive Christ for the Genuine Church Life (2023 spring ITERO), week 4, entitled, Taking Christ as our Living for His Magnification and Dealing with the Self for our Oneness in the Divine Glory in the Genuine Church Life.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – O how bitter is my case! / Who this wretched slave can free, / Who deliver from this death, / To a life of victory? / Jesus shed His blood for me, / Christ is now my holiness; / I receive Him as my life / And my portion measureless. / Now I’m wholly sanctified, / Selfless, I obey His word; / Nevermore to feel ashamed / When I come before the Lord. / How transcendent is this life! / Grace thru faith He gives to me! / Praise the Lord, He heard my cry / And has made me wholly free. (Hymns #412 stanzas 6-7)
  – Blood, the emblem of redemption, / Cleansing all the sins away; / Ointment, symbol of the Spirit, / Bringing God to man for aye. / Blood doth speak of what God worketh, / Ointment, what He is for us; / By His work and by His person / God Himself is blent with us. (Hymns #265 stanzas 2-3)
  – Freed from self and Adam’s nature, / Lord, I would be built by Thee / With the saints into Thy temple, / Where Thy glory we shall see. / From peculiar traits deliver, / From my independent ways, / That a dwelling place for Thee, Lord, / We will be thru all our days. (Hymns #840 stanza 1)