Cultivating the Sense of Christ’s Life within us to have the Sense of the Body

As members of the Body of Christ, we need to have the consciousness of the Body and a feeling for the Body, that is, we need to exercise and cultivate the sense of Christ’s life within us until it becomes the universal sense of the Body of Christ.

In our physical body there is a lot of feeling; sometimes we feel hungry, and so we have to eat so that our stomach can be filled and our digestive system can impart the food to all the members.

Sometimes we feel pain in a certain part of our body, and the whole body feels the pain. At other times, certain parts of our body are satisfied and full of joy, so the whole body is satisfied and full of joy.

In our human body there’s a lot of feeling, an inner sense, which gives us an idea where the problems are, and what the need is. It is similar with the Body of Christ.

The more we as members of the Body cultivate the inner sense of Christ’s life within us, the more we will be conscious of the Body, the more we will have a feeling for the Body, and the more we will sense what is happening in the Body of Christ.

The more we as members of the Body live in the inward parts of Christ Jesus, the greater will be our consciousness of the Body of Christ and the stronger will be our feeling for the Body of Christ.

But if we live our life in our natural man and do not pay attention to the inner sense of the life of Christ in us, we may just go through outward activities in the church life yet without the sense of the Body or the feeling of the Body. Oh Lord Jesus!

If we are conscious of the Body, we will have a response – we will pray, we will fellowship, and we will even intercede for the needs of the Body.

Many times what is needed in the Body is the growth in life of all the members of the Body, so when we contact the Lord and cultivate the inner sense of Christ’s life, we may simply ask the Lord for the growth in life of all the saints.

At other times there’s an inner sense that some saints need the bountiful supply of the Spirit; we may not know what their exact situation is, and we may not feel from the Lord to call them and ask them what’s going on, so all we can do is pray that the Spirit of Jesus Christ would bountifully supply them.

If we have the sense of the Body and are conscious of the Body, we will realise that we are members of the Body and thus depend on other members, we will not live as individuals or apart from the Body, and we will care for other saints in the Body, being full of feeling for them before the Lord.

Receiving the Lord’s Breaking to have the Sense of the Body of Christ Enlarged in us

Just as in our human body there’s a sense, the sense of the body, so in the Body of Christ there’s a sense, the sense of the Body of Christ; this sense is very mysterious.

The sense of the Body is a universal sense, but when we receive the divine life in us with its sense, we limit this sense.

God’s life is universal, God’s Spirit is universal, and the sense of the Body is also universal, but unless we receive the Lord’s breaking and cultivate this sense, the sense of the Body is limited in us.

The sense of the Body is of the whole Body of Christ, in us it depends on whether we limit this sense or we receive the Lord’s breaking so that this sense would be enlarged. When we were regenerated, this sense caused us to realise our real condition and our need for salvation.

Then, the more lessons we learn with the Lord and the more we are broken, the more this sense will increase in us, so that we may be able to care for others, care for the church, and care for the Lord’s work.

The more we experience the Lord’s breaking by learning the deeper lessons of the cross and being delivered from ourselves, the more we will discover and enjoy the universal sense of the Body of Christ.

The more we live in ourselves, for ourselves, and by ourselves, the less sense we have for the Body; however, the more we receive the Lord’s breaking and learn the lessons before Him, the more the sense of the Body will increase in us.

Christ is the body, the reality, of all the shadows (Col. 2:17), and this Christ is not only universally vast and all-inclusive, but He is also the Head of the Body, the church (v. 19).

This means that, when we really enjoy Christ, we will become conscious of the Body and we will have a feeling for the Body. Our enjoyment of Christ causes us to become conscious of the Body and have the sense of the Body.

The saints who are individualistic are those who do not consistently enjoy the Lord, for whenever we enjoy Christ, He brings into the Body and gives us a sense of the Body.

If we really touch the Lord in the morning, we will desire to be with the saints in the evening so that we may together enjoy Christ and be built up in Him.

It’s not normal to enjoy the Lord during the day yet neglect the meetings with the saints in the evening; rather, as we enjoy the Lord in the morning and contact Him throughout the day, we will have the sense of the Body enlarged in us, and we will desire to meet with the saints in the evening.

Sometimes our environment may not allow us to attend some meetings of the church, but if we really enjoy the Lord and allow Him to break us, we will have the sense of the Body enlarged in us, and our whole being will be in the church meeting. The consciousness of the Body of Christ comes from the enjoyment of Christ.

Lord Jesus, we no longer want to limit the sense of the Body in us. We want to receive the breaking of the outer man and learn the lessons before You so that the sense of the Body of Christ would be enlarged in us. Amen, Lord, may we be delivered from ourselves and have the sense of the Body be enlarged in us until it becomes a universal sense. We want to really enjoy You day by day so that we may be Body-conscious. Save us from being individualistic and make us those have a normal Christian life of enjoy Christ in the morning and throughout the day, then being with the saints in the evening practicing the church life with the consciousness of the Body!

Cultivating and Exercising the Sense of Christ’s Life within us to have the Consciousness of the Body

What is the consciousness of the Body, how can we have such a consciousness, and how can we have the feeling of the Body? As believers in Christ we were regenerated with the life of God, and the overflow of the life of Christ is the expression of the Body of Christ.

The consciousness of the Body is nothing else but the sense of Christ’s life within us. Initially this sense caused us to sense our condition before the Lord, and as we exercise this sense, it will cause us to sense others’ condition before the Lord and to be conscious of matters related to the Body of Christ.

Our need is to constantly exercise, cultivate, train and use the sense of the Body in us, so that we may detect any problems in the Body and pray, and we may also receive the supply in the Body.

Newly saved believers may sense their condition and situation before God, and as they pay attention to this inner sense, it will develop and increase to enable him to sense the condition of the meeting, the service in the church, and the Lord’s work.

The reason we are not so full of feeling concerning the situation of other saints, the service in the church, and the Lord’s work is that we have not given the Lord our full cooperation to cultivate, train, and exercise the sense of Christ’s life within us.

We need to have the sense of the Body enlarged in us until it reaches all the members of the Body and it senses the problems in the Body.

If we use and exercise often the sense of the Body, and if we love God and care for the church, the sense of the Body in us will increase and be enlarged.

We will sense when our fellow members are in difficulty and we will pray for them; we will sense when others are weak and we will bear them before the Lord; we will sense when other members are happy or victorious, and we will rejoice with them.

The burden of the saints becomes our burden, we sense their experience and it also becomes ours, and we join in with the saints to bear their difficulties in the Body.

This is actually the sense of Christ, the Head, being reproduced in us, the members, so that we may bear one another, feel for one another, depend on one another, and be conscious of the Body.

The consciousness of the Body of Christ is the sense of Christ’s life within us (Col. 3:4, 15; Rom. 8:2, 6, 10-11; 12:4-5). If we exercise this sense, it will cause us to be conscious of matters related to the Body (v. 15).

If we cultivate this sense, it will enable us to detect problems in the Body. Our human body knows what part of our body doesn’t function normally or is in pain; we may drop something heavy on our little toe, but the whole feels the pain and hurries to care for the toe.

This is similar to what is happening in the Body of Christ. If we exercise this sense often and love the Lord and care for the church, this sense will become the sense, the consciousness, of the Body (see 2 Cor. 11:28-29).

But if we’re not conscious of the Body, all kinds of things are going on, prayers are not offered, saints are not shepherded, and battles are not fought, because very few are aware of what’s really going on in the Body…

Lord Jesus, we want to cooperate with You to cultivate and exercise the sense of Christ’s life within us so that we may have the feeling of the Body, the consciousness of the Body. Lord, make us normal members of Your Body, those who have a sense of the Body and are conscious of the Body to weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice in the Body. May the sense of the Body be enlarged in us, Lord, so that we may sense the condition of the meeting, the service of the church, and the Lord’s work, caring for the saints as the members of the Body in the Body.

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by Ron Kangas for this week, and portions from, The Church as the Body of Christ, ch. 19 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Reality of the Body of Christ (2018 Thanksgiving Conference), week 5, Living in the Reality of the Body of Christ by Living in the Inward Parts of Christ Jesus.
• Hymns on this topic:
  # Through the years, Thy saints have sought Thee, / Longing for reality; / Gazing upward, searching inward, / Thirsting for the sight of Thee. / Now reveal that Christ in heaven, / Is the Body manifest; / And the Christ who dwells within us / As the Body is expressed. (Hymns #1225)
  # Living in the Body, / Body life is known, / Living by the Spirit / Christ is fully grown; / By organic union / Members cultivate / Body-conscious living, / Age to consummate. (Song on, The Central Line in the Bible)
  # How sweet, how heav’nly is the sight, / When those who love the Lord / In one another’s peace delight, / And so fulfill His Word: / When each can feel his brother’s sigh, / And with him bear a part; / When sorrow flows from eye to eye, / And joy from heart to heart. (Hymns #857)