We need to see and enter into the intrinsic fellowship of the churches, which is the flow of the eternal life within, through, and among all the members of the Body of Christ, the circulation in the Body of Christ.
This week in our morning revival we come to the main topic of, The Intrinsic Fellowship of the Churches for their Organic Relationship.
What we are looking at is the intrinsic and organic aspects of the church as the Body of Christ.
The building up of the church as the Body of Christ is intrinsic as well as organic; the church has an intrinsic essence, which is the divine life of the Triune God.
The intrinsic essence of the church as the Body of Christ is the divine life, that is, the processed and dispensing Triune God.
This divine life grows, and the growth of this life within us is the intrinsic growth of the church for the organic increase of the church as the Body of Christ.
The issue of our growth in life is the building up of the Body of Christ, which is the intrinsic building up of the church.
This building up of the church is for all the members of the Body of Christ to manifest their organic function; the organic function of the members of the Body is in the local churches, the local expressions of the one Body of Christ.
The Body of Christ is one universally, and this unique Body is expressed in many local churches, one church in each locality, for the organic function of all the saints to be manifested.
The church is the Body of Christ, but in practicality and procedure, this Body needs to be expressed in the local churches.
For this to take place, we need the intrinsic fellowship of the churches, so that all the churches would be brought into an organic relationship.
The many local churches on earth are the one Body of Christ; this is not something organisational but organic.
And we enter into the reality of the Body of Christ by remaining in the fellowship of the churches, which is the flow of the divine life within all the saints, among all the saints, and through all the saints for the organic relationship of all the members in the Body.
The Body of Christ is actually the intrinsic significance of the church; the Body of Christ is an organism, having both divinity and humanity mingled together.
This organic Body is undivided and indivisible, for it is the organism of the Triune God, who Himself is one and cannot be divided.
The church is the Body of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23); there may be many local churches on the earth, yet we all are one Body.
If we consider ourselves to be individual churches or individual believers, we are through; we cannot be independent as believers in Christ, and there cannot be independence, separation, or autonomous units in the Body.
The Fellowship is the Flow of the Divine Life within, through, and among all the Members of the Body
May the Lord grant us to see a vision of the intrinsic fellowship of the churches, which is nothing else but the flow of the eternal life within, through, and among all the members of the Body of Christ.
This word, fellowship, in Greek, is koinonia, which means, joint participation, common participation.
For many Christians, to have fellowship is to have some sort of worship together and socialize with one another; this word has been very much spoiled in our understanding and practice today.
We must drop such a degraded concept and understand what fellowship means according to the pure Word of God.
According to John 1:1-4, the intrinsic fellowship of the churches is the flow of the divine life among and through all the members of the Body of Christ.
Such a fellowship is illustrated by the flow of the water of life proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb in the New Jerusalem (Rev. 22:1).
The divine life is the intrinsic essence of the church; this life is the processed and consummated Triune God who is continually dispensing Himself into us.
Our God is a flowing Triune God, and He continually flows in us, among us, and through us.
This flow of life is the intrinsic fellowship of the churches.
In the New Jerusalem we see the throne of God and of the Lamb in the middle of the city, at the top, and out of this throne flows a river of water of life, bright as crystal.
This flow of water of life is the divine fellowship, the intrinsic fellowship of the churches.
God in the Lamb is sitting on the throne, and out of Him flows a river of water of life; here we see the flowing Triune God – God the Father is in Christ the Son as the Lamb, and the Spirit flows out as a river of water of life, the life-giving Spirit.
This river is flowing in the middle of the street of pure gold within the city of New Jerusalem; along both sides of this river grows the tree of life.
Here we see various aspects of the divine fellowship.
How do we know we are in the fellowship of the churches, the flow of the divine life?
First, we must be under the throne of God; we must be those who are under the ruling of the throne.
This ruling of the throne is through the divine nature in us, signified by the street of pure gold.
God rules in us not by rules and regulations outwardly which we keep, but by the divine life which rules and reigns within us.
And as we are ruled by God, there’s a flow of life, a river of water of life flowing to quench our thirst, and there’s a tree of life bringing us the rich supply of Christ.
The entire New Jerusalem can be our experience in miniature today; it is not merely a place we are going in the future but something we can experience today.
In particular, we need to experience the divine fellowship as signified by the river of water of life flowing out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
This fellowship of the divine life is unique, just as there is one unique street in the city.
The city of New Jerusalem has four sides and three gates on each side; whatever gate one may come in through, he will get on the unique street, which leads to the throne of God.
No matter how we get into the Body of Christ, we all end up on this unique street, which is the fellowship of the divine life, the flow of life.
And in this fellowship, we enjoy the flowing of the water of life and the supply of the divine life. Hallelujah, what a fellowship!
Lord Jesus, grant us to see a vision of the intrinsic fellowship among the churches so that we may enter into this fellowship today. Amen, Lord, may we remain in the flow of the eternal life within, through, and among all the members of the organic Body of Christ. Flow in us, Lord, and supply us with life. We want to live according to the divine nature in us so that we may be brought under Your rule and we may enjoy the flow of the eternal life. Amen, Lord, may we remain in this unique fellowship of life so that we may enjoy the flow of life and the supply of life in the Body of Christ. Hallelujah, we have the Triune God flowing in us as the Spirit, we are supplied by Christ as the tree of life, and we are under the rule of God as we remain in the fellowship of life!
The Fellowship is the Circulation in the Body of Christ, just as there is the Circulation of Blood in the Human Body
1 John 1:1-4 tells us that John the apostle reports to us what he has seen and heard so that we may have fellowship with the apostles, and our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ.
He has seen something of the eternal life, for life was manifested; now he reports to us the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us.
This reporting of what they have seen and heard is so that we may have fellowship with the apostles, and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.
The apostles saw life, touched life, enjoyed life, and they reported to us concerning the Son as life so that we may share in this fellowship with them.
The result is that the apostles are happy to see that the believers have what they have, which is fellowship with the Father and the Son.
This fellowship is of the divine life and it is the divine life flowing in us and among us.
The fellowship of life, which is the fellowship among the churches, is the issue of the eternal life and it is actually the flow of the eternal life within all the believers who have received and possess the divine life.
A good illustration for us to understand this fellowship is the circulation of blood in our human body.
Just as there is the circulation of blood in the human body, so there is a circulation in the Body of Christ, which the New Testament calls fellowship (1 John 1:3, 7).
Our human body has many members, but there is one body, and the body is kept in oneness by the flow of blood in our entire body.
How can our human body be kept in oneness? There are many members, joints, tissues, and organs – what can keep them in oneness? It is the unique flow of blood throughout our body.
There’s no “local blood” – there is the circulation of blood from one member to the other, and the blood circulates everywhere to keep all members supplied to function in their measure.
The blood circulates from one part of the body to the other, and it circulates back and forth; the arm can’t say that it has its own blood, neither can the leg say that it has its own circulation of blood.
Similarly, in the Body of Christ, there are many members, but all the members of the Body are one (Rom. 12:5) in the circulation in the Body of Christ, which is the fellowship of life.
In the Body of Christ, there is a unique circulation, the fellowship of the eternal life; we need to experience this life as the circulating and flowing life in us.
This divine life flows from one member to another, it flows among all members, and it becomes the supply to the whole Body.
The apostles received something from God, some revelation concerning the divine life, and they reported it to us, so that we may also have fellowship with them, and this fellowship is with God and with all the members in the Body of Christ.
What we receive from the apostles is the fellowship of the apostles, and we are also brought into this fellowship, which is the fellowship with the Triune God.
This is the unique circulation of the Body.
What keeps us one in the Body of Christ is the circulation of the Body, the flow of the divine life, which the New Testament calls fellowship.
Lord Jesus, cause us to see the circulation of the divine life in the Body of Christ. May we realize that there is only one circulation – one flow of life in the Body, and we all have this flow of eternal life in us! Hallelujah, all believers in Christ have the flow of life in them, and this flow, this fellowship, keeps us in oneness! Amen, Lord Jesus, we want to remain in the circulation of the divine life in the Body of Christ so that we may be supplied to function in our measure for the building up of the Body of Christ! May we all experience and enjoy this life as the circulating and flowing divine life in us, flowing within us and among us to become the supply to the whole Body of Christ!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Sources of inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by the brothers 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,” ch. 4, 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 4, The Intrinsic Fellowship of the Churches for Their Organic Relationship.
- Hymns on this topic:
– Now Thy flowing life, Lord, / Doth enlighten me, / Bringing in the spirit / Fellowship with Thee; / All my need supplying, / Making Thy demand, / Leading me to cleansing / And in Thee to stand. (Hymns #841)
– River of living water, / River that flows from the throne, / Fellowship giving and making / God’s own authority known. / River of living water, / Fellowship freely bestows; / Bringing authority with it, / Through every place where it flows. (Hymns #984)
– Out from the throne of God and the Lamb / Flows midst the street a living stream, / And on its banks, on either side, / The tree of life is thriving seen. / This signifies the life of God / Not just for food or water flows, / But carries God’s authority / As it throughout the city goes. (Hymns #979)
