Gifted Persons Perfect the Saints to Function for the Building up of the Body of Christ

Christ gave gifts to the Body, and the gifted persons perfect the saints, nourishing them according to the tree of life and perfecting them in their function, so that the perfected saints may do the work of the ministry unto the building up of the Body of Christ.

It is amazing to realize that the Body of Christ builds itself up in love.

Yes, Christ said, I will build My church (Matt. 16:18), but the way He does it is by first regenerating us to make us members of the Body, and then perfecting us not directly but through the gifted members so that we may build up the Body in love.

Christ went through a long process that involved a universal travelling – He descended to become a man, descended even further to go to Hades through His death, ascended to the earth through resurrection, and ascended to the highest point in the universe through His ascension.

Through His universal travelling, Christ fills all things; also, in His ascension, He led a train of vanquished foes, the ex-captives of Satan, to the Father and gave them as gifts.

The Father was very pleased; He beheld us in love, and He gave us to the Son as gifts.

Then, the Son gave us as gifts to the Body of Christ. We who were the rebellious ones were taken captive by Christ through the preaching of the gospel, and He gave us as gifts to the Body of Christ. Hallelujah!

Each and every member of the Body, no matter how young or old, is a gift to the Body of Christ.

And in particular, Christ gave some specific gifts to the Body, some gifted members; these were not given to function to a greater extent, more than others, but to perfect the saints so that these perfected saints would do what the gifted persons do, thus building up the Body of Christ.

All of this is in love. The Body builds itself up in love. It is not in or by teachings but in love that the Body builds itself up.

May we be those who love the Lord in incorruptibility by giving ourselves to the Lord to enjoy Him and be richly supplied, and by being open to the perfecting of the gifts in the Body so that we may do the work of the ministry, that is, to build up the Body of Christ directly.

When we love the Lord in incorruptibility, we are a real gift to the Body.

When we love the Lord in incorruptibility, we keep our being open to the Lord for His divine dispensing and to the Body for the perfecting that we need so that we may function for the building up of the Body. Amen, may we be such ones!

The Gifted persons Perfect the Saints in the Divine Dispensing for them to do what they do for the Direct Building up of the Body of Christ

The intrinsic building up of the organic Body of Christ is not by the gifted persons given by the Head functioning more than any other member, and thus “building up the church”.

Rather, the building up of the Body of Christ is by the gifted persons’ perfecting of the saints in the divine dispensing so that all the saints may be able to do the work of the New Testament ministry, which is the building up of the Body of Christ (Eph. 4:11-12).

The gifted persons perfect the saints in the divine dispensing so that the saints may be able to do the work of the New Testament ministry, the direct building up of the Body of Christ.

The Lord Jesus as the Head of the Body has sovereignly placed certain gifts in the Body; these gifts, however, are not for them to over-function or show off, nor are they to create their own ministry and “church” but to perfect the saints.

The gifted persons need to perfect the saints not by mainly teaching them what to do, establishing schools to train them, or setting up perfecting courses for the saints to enrol and practice.

The gifted persons perfect the saints to do what the gifted persons do for the building up of the Body of Christ.

First, they nourish the saints. They nourish them according to the tree of life so that the saints may be richly supplied for their growth in life (Gen. 2:9; 1 Cor. 3:2, 6).

The gifted persons are full of Christ, and they minister the life supply to the saints to be inwardly nourished and supplied; when the saints are supplied with the tree of life, they are open to being perfected and are able to function according to their being perfected.

The gifted persons perfect the saints according to each one’s measure so that the saints may do what the gifted persons do for the direct building up of the Body of Christ (Matt. 16:18; Eph. 4:11-12; cf. 1 Tim. 1:16; 4:12).

The apostles perfect the saints by visiting the churches (Acts 15:36, 40-41; 20:20, 31), by writing epistles to the churches (Col. 4:16; 1 Cor. 1:2), and by assigning their co-workers to stay in certain places to perfect the saints (1 Tim. 1:3-4; 3:15; Titus 1:5).

The apostles have a particular function in the Body which they do, but they also perfect the saints so that they are little apostles, sent ones, who function as the apostles do but in their measure, for the building up of the Body of Christ.

The prophets perfect the saints by teaching them to speak the Lord into people, by speaking in the meetings to set up a model, and by helping the saints to live a prophesying life by being revived every morning and overcoming every day (Acts 13:1; 1 Cor. 14:31; Prov. 4:18).

Each one of the saints can prophesy for the building up of the church; however, in order to prophesy, that is, to speak for the Lord and to speak the Lord forth, the saints need to be perfected.

They need to be inwardly supplied and nourished with the word of life, be revived every morning, and live an overcoming life every day.

We all need to be perfected to live in a romantic union with the Lord and develop our faith and love; then, when we meet with others, we will have inspiration from the Lord and we will have something to speak.

The evangelists are those who have the gift of preaching the gospel; they do not only need to preach the gospel but also perfect the saints to do the same thing.

The evangelists perfect the saints by stirring them up to be burning in the gospel-preaching spirit.

The evangelists teach the saints with the gospel truths and train them to preach the gospel.

They help the saints to be equipped with the power of the economical Spirit, and they set an example of loving the sinners and praying for them.

As we are being perfected by the evangelists, we can do the work of an evangelist and preach the gospel in our measure, in the situation where the Lord put us (2 Tim. 4:5).

The shepherd-teachers perfect the saints by shepherding—feeding and nourishing the young saints and teaching the growing saints (Acts 11:25-26; 13:1).

The shepherds and teachers – two sides of the one function of a gift in the Body – perfect the saints by feeding them, nourishing them, and teaching the growing saints.

By being perfected in such a way, the saints can also shepherd others and teach them with the healthy teaching, the New Testament economy of God.

The Lord needs to recover such perfecting of the saints by the gifted persons so that the saints may function in their measure, as they are being perfected, to build up the Body of Christ directly.

The result of this perfecting and the perfected saints functioning in their measure is that we will arrive at the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, at a full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Eph. 4:13; John 17:23).

Also, we will no longer be little children tossed by waves and carried about by every wind of teaching in the sleight of men, in craftiness with a view to a satanic system of error.

As we are being perfected to function in the Body in our measure, doing the work of an apostle, prophet, evangelist, and shepherd and teacher, we will all arrive at the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God.

Our faith will be perfected, we will be one, and no matter what wind of teaching would come in the sleight of men, we will remain strong in the healthy teaching of God’s eternal economy. Hallelujah!

Lord Jesus, we open to Your divine dispensing and we open to being perfected in our function by the gifted persons in the Body so that we may do the work of the ministry unto the building up of the Body of Christ. Amen, Lord, keep us open to the nourishing and supplying both in our personal touch with You and in the meetings of the church so that we may be able to be perfected to function in the church for the Body. Yes, Lord, gain the building up of the Body of Christ by the functioning of all the perfected members! May all the saints be perfected to do the work of an apostle, an evangelist, a prophet, and a shepherd-teacher. May we all learn to be revived every morning and live an overcoming life every day, remaining in the romantic relationship and union with You throughout the day. May we be stirred up to be burning in the gospel-preaching spirit and be constituted with the gospel truths. Amen, Lord, may we all be open to the feeding and nourishing in the Body and to the healthy teaching so that we may shepherd others and teach them the truth. Lord, perfect us and perfect all the saints until we all arrive at the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God! Amen, may we all arrive at a full-grown man and at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ!

We are Perfected to Grow in Life and become Skillful in Function for the Building up of the Body

The Greek word for “perfecting” in Eph. 4:12 also means “completing,” “equipping,” or “supplying the functions”; the way for us to be perfected is to grow in life and to become skilful in function.

When some hear that they need to be perfected so that they may function, they may ask themselves who are the gifts that can perfect them and what does it mean to be perfected.

First of all, the gifts in the Body are not something that is outwardly ordained by man or visible in an obvious way, but they are manifested by their function in the Body.

Some saints, though they may not have gone through “spiritual training” or “Bible seminary”, simply function and are manifested to be a gift in the Body; this is not outward, in an official way, but in their function in life.

Such ones need to not only function in their measure but also learn to perfect the saints to also function the way they do, but in the saints’ measure and according to their capacity.

The way for us to be perfected is first to grow in life and then to become skilful in function.

Just as a child grows and, out of the life that he has and in which he grows, many functions come out, and he is being trained and perfected and equipped to function, so we need to grow in the divine life and be open to being perfected so that we may develop spiritual skills for our function.

For a saint to be perfected is to be completed, equipped, and furnished.

This starts by supplying the saints with life, bringing them to the tree of life to eat the Lord and enjoy Him as their life supply.

Then, as they grow in life by being nourished with the tree of life, they can be perfected in their function so that they become skilful in function for the building up of the Body of Christ.

Many times, however, what we see in Christianity is that there’s perfecting without the supply.

We cannot function without the proper supply, and we cannot have the supply if there’s no one who enjoys Christ and ministers Him as the tree of life.

It is only by growing in life unto maturity that we can be perfected to be skilful in function for the building up of the Body of Christ.

May we be those who daily enjoy Christ, partake of Him, and take in the life supply.

Also, may we be those who feed others by supplying them with the riches of Christ.

Then, may we be open to the Lord in the Body so that we may be perfected in our function, acquiring the skills needed for our function in the Body for the building up of the Body.

The unique work of the building up of the Body of Christ is not mainly the responsibility of the gifted persons; rather, it is mainly the responsibility of the saints, you and me, who are being perfected to function in the Body.

Both those who are gifted and those who are not as gifted, everyone is a gift to the Body, and everyone needs to be perfected to grow in life and become skilful in function.

We grow in life by eating Christ as the tree of life and we become skilful in function by practicing to function in the Body.

Lord Jesus, we want to be perfected to function in the Body for the building up of the Body! Amen, Lord, may we grow in life and become skilful in function. Keep us eating the tree of life and partaking of the life supply so that we may be enabled to function in the Body according to our measure. Amen, Lord, we want to do our part in the building up of the Body. Save us from relying on the gifted persons to do all the work of the building up of the Body. Recover our function, Lord, and recover the function of all the members of the Body! May all the saints be perfected to grow in life and become skilful in function so that each one would function in a perfected way for the building up of the church as the Body of Christ!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Sources of inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by the brothers in the message, and portions from, The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 3420-3422, by Witness Lee, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Loving the Lord and loving one another for the organic building up of the church as the Body of Christ (2022 fall ITERO), week 4, entitled, The Organic Body of Christ Building itself up in Love.
• Further reading on this topic:
  – Perfecting the saints to exercise their own function (portion from, One Body, One Spirit, and One New Man, by W. Lee).
  – The saints being perfected by the perfecting gifts with the life supply as the nourishment for the growth in life (portion from, Lesson Book, Level 5: The Church—The Vision and Building Up of the Church, by W. Lee).
  – The perfecting work of the gifted persons (portion from, The Exercise and Practice of the God-Ordained Way, by W. Lee).
  – Portion from, The Intrinsic and Organic Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ – Week 3, via, the church in NYC.
  – Prayer for the saints to be perfected by the prophets and to learn to perfect others to prophesy, portion via, Beseeching.
  – Selected Ministry on the Apostles’ Ongoing Role in Established Churches, portion via, Shepherding Words.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – All the gifted persons given / To the Body by the Head / Are to aid the Church’s building, / That to fulness she be led. / All the gifts and all the functions, / All the spirit’s power shown, / All the ministries are given / For the Church and that alone. (Hymns #914 stanza 3-4)
  – The work must be the fruit of life, / Born thru the Spirit’s flowing; / As branches of the Lord, the vine, / Fruit bearing, life bestowing. / ’Tis Christ Himself thru us to work, / Himself as life expressing, / And all the riches of His life / To others manifesting. (Hymns #910 stanza 2)
  – Holding Christ, as members growing, / Each his function must observe; / Christ receiving, Christ partaking, / To His Body Christ we serve. / Fellowship and testimony, / Ministry and worship too, / In all helps and ministrations / Christ is all our service true. (Hymns #912 stanzas 4-5)