How we need to function in the Body for the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love!
As we grow up into the Head in life, our function will come out from the Head for the building up of the Body; the building up of the Body of Christ under His headship is in love and by love.
God’s will is to head all things in Christ through the church; for this to take place, we as believers in Christ need to be headed up in Christ.
The way we are headed up in Christ is first by acknowledging the headship of Christ, taking Him as the Head, and enthroning Him in our being.
We also need to grow up into Christ, the Head, in all things; in both big and small things, we need to grow up into Christ, the Head. Our growth in life is actually Christ growing in us.
In Himself God doesn’t need to grow, but in us He needs to grow; the organic building up of the Body is the growth of the Body, which is the growth of God.
God needs to increase in all the members of the Body of Christ; as Christ increases in us, we grow up into Christ, the Head, and this is the building up of the Body of Christ.
As growing members of the Body, we are building members of the Body.
All the Body grows and is built up together; the Body causes the growth of the Body, and the growth of the Body is actually the increase of of God as life in all the members.
And the key for our growth in life is paying attention to our mingled spirit and exercising our spirit.
Hallelujah for our spirit! When we pay attention to our spirit and exercise our spirit, everything of God’s economy becomes real to us.
In our spirit we can see that God has an economy; we apprehend and understand what we see of God’s economy, and we are infused with the desire of God’s heart.
In our spirit we are unveiled to see what has been hidden throughout the ages: the mysterious economy of God, the dispensing of the Triune God into man to gain a corporate expression, a mutual dwelling place of God and man, consummating in the New Jerusalem!
When we are filled in spirit, we will be full of praising to the Lord, we will sing and speak to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, and we are spontaneously submissive to one another!
Even more, when we enjoy the Lord and exercise our spirit, we not only partake of His riches, but we participate in the spiritual warfare; the enemy is not the people around us but in the spiritual realm, and when we pray in spirit, we fight the battle and stand one spirit with the Lord, in His victory, and in the Body!
Growing in Christ and Ministering Christ into Others for the Growth of the Body unto its Building up
As we believers in Christ grow up into the Head in life, our function will come out from the Head for the building up of the Body of Christ (Eph. 4:16; Col. 2:19).
We need to allow Christ to be the Head in everything and grow up into Him in all things; then, we will be supplied with the riches of His life, and we will receive something from Him to transfuse into the other members of the Body (1 Cor. 14:4; John 7:37-39).
When we drink of the Lord as the living water, He not only quenches our thirst – He also flows out of us and into others with rivers of living waters so that others’ thirst may be quenched!
First we grow up into Him in all things, and then from Him we receive something, a supply of life, which is not just for us but for all the saints, for all the members of the Body.
For us to build up the Body of Christ is for us to minister Christ as the life-giving Spirit into the saints for their growth into Christ (2 Cor. 3:6, 8).
The Lord Jesus said in Matt. 16:18 that He will build His church; how does He do it?
It is by all the members of the Body functioning in their measure, in particular by the prophesying of the saints unto the building up of the church (1 Cor. 14:4).
When we speak the Lord into one another, He increases in us, and we grow up into Him in all things; we are then headed up in Him.
So we must enjoy Christ, take Him as our Head, and receive the rich supply from Him; then, we must help the saints learn to enjoy the Lord and be nourished by the Lord so that they can grow (Phil. 1:25; 2 Cor. 1:24).
May we be a channel of supply to others, just as Paul was to the saints; may it matter to the Lord and to the church whether we live or die, and may we a factor for the growth in life and the enjoyment of the Lord of all the saints!
We need to be such ones that not only enjoy the Lord personally but also are contagious in their enjoyment of the Lord, so that the saints would be inspired and encouraged to enjoy the Lord with us and like us! Amen!
Under the headship of Christ all the Body causes the growth of the Body of Christ (Eph. 4:15-16).
How does the Body grow? According to Ephesians, the Body builds itself up and grows through every joint of the rich supply (vv. 11-12) and through the operation in the measure of each one part (vv. 7-8).
The growth of the Body is first through the joints of the rich supply; these are the gifts given by the Head, the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the shepherds and teachers.
These are joined together by the sinews (Col. 2:19) for their rich supply to every member of the Body of Christ.
The growth of the Body is also through the operation in the measure of each one part; each member of the Body causes the Body to grow by its growth and function in the Body.
Whether great or small, whether hidden or visible, and whether significant or seemingly insignificant, all the members of the Body of Christ have a measure to operate in the Body of Christ, a measure in which they grow to build up the Body.
The Lord is doing the building and the blending of the Body, and the Body is joined, fitted together for the building up of the Body, the growth of the Body.
Praise the Lord, we all as the members of the Body of Christ need to grow in life, grow into the Head, and we need to function in our measure to build up the Body of Christ!
Lord Jesus, we allow You to be the Head in everything so that we may grow up into You in all things for us to be supplied with the riches of Your life and dispense You into others in the Body! Amen, Lord, we want to enjoy You not only for ourselves but also for others – we want to minister Christ as the life-giving Spirit into the saints for their growth into Christ unto the building up of the Body of Christ! May we all learn to enjoy the Lord and function in our measure in the Body so that we may cause the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love! Amen, Lord, may all the members of the Body grow in life and be perfected to function in their measure for the building up of the Body!
The Building up of the Body of Christ through Ever Member Functioning is in Love and by Love
The most excellent way for us to do anything and to be anything for the building up of the Body of Christ is love (1 Cor. 12:31 – 13:13). Nothing but love can keep us in a proper relationship with the Lord Jesus!
The building up of the Body of Christ under His headship is in love and by love.
We may have all the knowledge and we may be quite eloquent, but if we don’t have love, we are like a “sounding brass” and a “clanging cymbal”; we have lots of words but we utter sounds without life.
We want to minister life to people, and we want be built up in the Body in love, not merely by knowledge or zeal.
The goal of the book of Ephesians is to bring us into love as God’s inner substance (1 John 4:8, 16) so that we may enjoy God as love and enjoy His presence in the sweetness of the divine love, and thereby love others even as Christ did (Eph. 5:25; 6:24; 1:4; 3:17; 4:2, 15-16; 5:2).
Again and again in Ephesians we see “in love” and “by love”; for us to be headed up in Christ, for us to receive and enjoy God’s dispensing into us and cooperate to dispense God into others, we need to be filled with God as love!
And everything we do and say in the church life should be in love and by love! Knowledge merely puffs us up, but love builds us up (1 Cor. 8:1); this refers to the building up of the corporate Body of Christ under the headship of Christ.
How can we do all things in love? We are not able to diligently love our spouse and our family members – how can we do all things in love in the church life?
This love is not the natural love; it is the divine love, it is God Himself as love being poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit.
We need to realize that love is the most excellent way for us to build up the church; love is the most excellent way for us to prophesy and to teach others (1 Cor. 12:31) and for us to do anything!
We need to not only love the Lord but also allow Him to fill us with His love so that we love the saints, love everybody, and even love our enemies!
We must be perfect even as our heavenly Father is perfect (Matt. 5:48) by loving both the evil ones and the good ones without discrimination.
Because we are sons of God having the life and nature of God, we are His species; His life is in us, His love can be expressed through us, and we can love all men!
And in the church life we don’t have a “police station” to “arrest people”, neither do we have a “law court” to “judge people”. Rather, the church is a loving home to raise up the believers as children of God.
The church is also a hospital to heal and recover the sick ones; the Lord didn’t come to call the healthy ones but the sick ones, and He is among us as the One who cares for such ones through all the saints.
The church is a school to teach and edify the unlearned ones who don’t have much understanding; we don’t have “great teachers” in the church life, but the Lord is our Teacher, we learn from Him, and we practice teaching one another in love through much shepherding.
May we all be one with the Lord to raise up the saints, to heal the saints, to recover the saints, and to teach others in love!
Dear Lord Jesus, we love You! We give ourselves to You, Lord, to just love You and be filled with Your love, so that You in us may love all the saints and even all men. Amen, Lord, we want to take the most excellent way – love – to build up the church as the Body of Christ under Your headship. Amen, may there be much building up in love and by love in the church life! Save us Lord from merely having a lot of knowledge with no love! Keep us in a loving relationship with You, Lord, enjoying You as love and enjoying Your presence in the sweetness of the divine love so that we may love others even as You did!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by Ed Marks for this week, and portions from, CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 5, “The Vital Groups,” ch. 8, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Will of God (2020 spring ITERO), week 2, Knowing and Participating in God’s Great and Lofty Will to Head Up All Things in Christ.
- Hymns on this topic:
– But holding to truth in love / We may grow up in all things / Into Him who is the Head / Christ is the Head / Out from Whom all the Body / Being joined together and / Being knit together through / Ev’ry joint of the rich supply / And through the operation / In the measure of each one part / of each one part / Causes the growth of the Body unto the / building up of itself in love, / in love, in love. (Scripture song)
– ’Tis by serving in the Body / Riches of the Head we share; / ’Tis by functioning as members / Christ’s full measure we will bear. / To the Head fast holding ever, / That we may together grow, / From the Head supplies incoming / Thru us to the Body flow. (Hymns #913)
– Knitting and supplying, / Bearing much in grace; / Not a trace of discord, / Christ is giv’n His place. / We, the Church, His Body, / He, the Head, the Son; / By the Spirit’s flowing, / We are joined in one. (Hymns #854)
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