This morning I was impressed with these simple principles of the Body of Christ as unveiled in 1 Cor. 12:24,
But our comely members have no need. But God has blended the body together, giving more abundant honor to the member that lacked.
What does it mean that God has blended the Body together? It means that God adjusted the Body together, harmonized the Body together, tempered the Body together, and mingled the Body together. To be blended means literally to lose any distinction – some may be quick by disposition, others may be slow, but through the blending of the Body, they all lose their distincion and are being tempered.
In the Body life both the slowness and the quickness are being taken away. In this blending of the members in the Body, any distinctions between us are being taken away, blended away – any cultural difference, dispositional difference, racial difference, etc. In order for us to be blended and tempered in the Body life, we have to go through the cross and by the Spirit, dispensing Christ to others for the sake of the Body of Christ.
We all need to learn to be crossed out – whatever we do in the Body should be by the Spirit for the dispensing of Christ. Also, everything we do should be not for our own interest or purpose, but for the church.
This really shows us that we need to have more fellowship. We need to fellowship – whenever we do something or are about to go somewhere/do something, we need to fellowship. Fellowship about everything in the church life with the saints we coordinate with – fellowship tempers us, adjusts us, harmonizes us, and mingles us.
Fellowship does in a practical way what God intends to do in the Body – fellowship is the blending of the members. Do not do anything in the church life, no matter how simple or quickly to do it is, without fellowshipping with the other saints that are coordinating with you! Fellowship requires us to stop when we are about to do something – stop and fellowship.
You may think you don’t need others to do something for the Lord/in the church life since it is so simple to take care of that particular matter – but still stop and fellowship. In our coordination in the church life, in the Lord’s work, we all need to learn to never do anything without fellowship. When we fellowship, we receive many benefits – we receive much needed help from the other members of the Body.
We are being tempered, encouraged, supplied, blended, adjusted, and harmonized. Most of all, we are being built up with the others in the Spirit as the Body of Christ. Fellowship in the Spirit with the other members builds up the Body of Christ practically.
Even in the meetings, sometimes it happens that we may come together without much blending because everyone stays in themselves. We just love to be in ourselves, so we wait for others to do something or say something – we may even be afraid to offend others and make mistakes, so we keep quiet. BUT – this is according to the flesh, according to the natural way!
When we meet together, we need to learn to deny ourselves, experience the terminating of the cross, and just exercise our spirit! Exercise the spirit to follow the Spirit, dispense Christ, and say or do things for the building up of the Body of Christ! When we all do this, when we all open to the Lord to be dealt with by Him and deal with Him, when we’re crossed out and exercise our spirit to function and fellowship, this will change the atmosphere in the church life and this will be a benefit for the Body of Christ.
It’s not about being loud, outspoken, or talkative; neither is it about being quiet and shy – it is a matter of being tempered by the Lord, not acting or living according to our disposition but according to the Spirit in our spirit spreading through our soul and enriching / uplifting the faculties created by God – to build up the Body of Christ! In this way, we can be in harmony and can have the one accord because we are tempered and the distinctions are gone!
O, Lord, blend us! Build us Lord with the other saints! Independence never allow, but according to Your plan – fitly frame and blend us now! Remind us, Lord, that in everything we would have fellowship! We don’t want to remain the same or do things in and by ourselves – we want to be tempered! Lord, we need to be adjusted! Do it in us, Lord, through our stopping to have fellowship!
