As believers in Christ and members of the Body of Christ, we need to bring all the local churches into the fellowship of the Body of Christ and bring all the saints into the blending life of the entire Body of Christ.
For this, we need to enter into the blending life of the Body of Christ by having fellowship not only with the Lord but also with the saints, and in particular, we need to learn to fellowship among the churches in the unique relationship of the churches, the fellowship of the divine life.
May the Lord teach us and guide us to pay attention to the divine fellowship, learning the lesson of stopping to fellowship again and again.
Our whole life with our service and living in the church life should be in the divine fellowship. We first need to fellowship with the Lord, and we also need to fellowship with the saints; we need to exercise our spirit and open up to the saints, and we also need to fellowship with saints in other localities to be blended together.
The divine fellowship in the Body of Christ blends us together; this means that, as we fellowship with the Lord and with the saints, we are adjusted, harmonized, tempered, and mingled together in the Body of Christ.
We may think we are OK, we are doing well, and the church in our locality is going on quite well; however, we still need to fellowship and blend, so that all distinctions would be removed and we would be blended in the Body.
The way for us to live in the Body of Christ and express the reality of living in the Body of Christ is living in the divine fellowship; this will also cause us to keep the oneness of the Spirit.
In our human body, there cannot be isolation, neither is one organ or member more prominent than the other; God has blended the body together, and all members are in the circulation of the blood in the body.
Similarly, in the Body of Christ, there is the blending of all the members of the Body and of all the local churches by means of the flow of the divine life, the flow of the Spirit, which brings all the members into the blending of the Body for the building up of the Body.
In the local churches, we enjoy the Lord and we also learn to blend with the saints among the churches and on the whole earth.
We may have a certain need in our locality, and by means of the traffic and fellowship among the churches, the Lord is able to cover our need and solve our problem in the blending life of the entire Body of Christ.
The divine fellowship restricts us, for we are stopped from doing what we want to do so that we may fellowship in the Body, but at the same time this fellowship brings us the rich supply of the Head through the members, and we are also protected in the Body.
Being Brought into the Fellowship of the Body of Christ and into the Blending Life of the Entire Body of Christ
We need to follow the pattern of the apostle Paul and learn from the Lord Jesus to blend the churches so that we may be all brought into the blending life of the entire Body of Christ.
The Lord Jesus blended the seven churches in Asia (see Rev. 1-3) when He wrote to them together and to each one of them an epistle individually in Revelation.
On one hand, He wrote each church an epistle; on the other hand, He put all seven epistles as one total epistle and sent it to each one of the seven churches.
There is one church, but this one church is expressed in these seven localities as the local churches; through His speaking to each of the churches and to them all together, the Lord blended them.
In the Lord’s eyes, there is one Body, and all the local churches are the expression of this one Body for the practical existence of the church on earth.
The apostle Paul also blended the churches when he wrote the book of Colossians and said that the saints in Laodicea should also read it, and the saints in Colossae should read what he wrote to the Laodiceans.
Similarly, in Rom. 14-16, Paul brought the local churches into the fellowship of the Body of Christ.
He told the saints to take heed and hold fast to the essential truth, which is the unique truth of God’s economy, and not insist on any secondary truths.
Some may eat only vegetables because of their conscience, while others may hold one day greater than others; we need to not despise them but receive them as the Lord has received us. We need to receive one another even as the Lord has received us.
In Rom. 16 in particular, Paul spent the whole chapter greeting the saints and the church, including many individuals; he mentioned at least twenty-eight brothers and sisters by name.
Through his greetings, the saints were brought into the blending life of the entire Body of Christ.
In his greetings we also see some commendations; he commended Phoebe, and he let them know how Prisca and Aquilla risked their own necks for him and his ministry.
Through Paul’s recommendations and greetings, the saints and the local churches were brought into the fellowship of the Body of Christ.
We need to imitate the apostle to bring the local churches into the fellowship of the Body of Christ and follow in his footsteps to bring all the saints into the blending life of the entire Body of Christ.
We are quite short of greeting one another in the church life, especially as we blend among the churches, and we are short in commending and recommending others.
Among the local churches, we need to be brought into the fellowship of the Body and into the blending life of the entire Body of Christ.
One way to do it is by recommendations.
When a certain church receives a blessing, they should also share it with others; one local church may gain much increase by preaching the gospel, so we should recommend it and learn from them.
A local church may enjoy very much the matter of entering into the truth, and we should recommend this; another church may receive a certain blessing from the Lord, and we all can recommend it for this to become a blessing to all the churches.
The more we love the Lord, advance with Him, and learn to serve in the church life, the more we realize how unsuitable we are to be built up, and the more we repent, allowing the Lord to apply the cross to us so that we may be blended with the saints.
As we allow the Lord to apply the cross to our being, we can enter into the blending life of the entire Body of Christ.
The more we experience the cross and we are being blended together, we can enter into the fellowship of the Body, and we will pray for all the churches to be blended into one.
There is a great need for the blending of all the local churches, all the saints involved in the gospel activities, all the saints involved in the campus work or the children work; we all need to enter into the blending life of the entire Body of Christ.
It is easy for saints who speak different languages to misunderstand each other; it is easy for condemnation and suspicion to come among us because of different languages and cultures.
But the more we are blended with the saints and the churches, the more we discover that all the local churches on earth love the Lord Jesus, are being built up together, follow the Lord’s leading, enjoy the ministry, and want to be blended. Hallelujah!
It is through the fellowship of the Body and the blending in the Body that all misunderstandings and estrangements are removed, and we are brought into the genuine oneness of the Body!
Lord Jesus, bring all the local churches into the fellowship of the Body of Christ. Bring all the saints into the blending life of the entire Body of Christ. May we be open to You and to one another in the Body so that we may be infused with You and be blended with the saints for the building up of the Body. Amen, Lord Jesus, how much we need You and Your cross, for we are not suitable materials for Your building in our natural man! We open to You and we allow You to operate in us to cross us out, so that whatever we do would be through the cross and by the Spirit for the ministering of Christ to build up the church. Amen, Lord, blend us together in the Body. Have Your way to remove all the differences, misunderstandings, and enstrangements through our remaining in the fellowship of the divine life in all the local churches!
Living in the Local Churches and being Blended together to be Ushered in the Reality of the Body of Christ
As we live the church life in the local churches, we must have the reality of the fellowship and blending of the Body of Christ.
If we don’t have this, regardless of how much we pursue the Lord and how simple and humble we are, sooner or later there will be problems among us.
Our need today is to live in the local churches and be blended together to be ushered into the reality of the Body of Christ.
No matter how humble, simple, and diligent we are in pursuing the Lord, without the fellowship of the Body of Christ, without being blended together as we live in the local churches, we will eventually have problems.
Some believers may travel from locality to locality, from church to church, for they are seeking a church that would match their preference and taste.
Such an attitude is offensive – it offends the Body of Christ.
We shouldn’t put any demands on the church where we are; on the contrary, we need to humble ourselves and submit ourselves to the church where we are.
We need to do our best to avoid any discord, for even a little leaven leavens the whole lump (1 Cor. 5:6-7).
As we live the church life in the local church where the Lord placed us, we must be in the one accord with all the saints, having no opinion; also, we must keep the oneness in the universal Body of Christ.
How rich and how sweet is the Lord to us in the church life when we remain on the ground of oneness, we exercise our spirit to enjoy the Lord with the saints, and remain in the one accord with the saints as we live in the reality of the fellowship and blending of the Body of Christ!
If we have the reality of the fellowship and blending of the Body of Christ, we will be governed by the vision of the Body!
Furthermore, we will follow in the footsteps of the apostle by bringing all the saints in all the churches into the blending life of the entire Body of Christ! Amen!
For this, we need to be in the reality of the blending in our daily living; the purpose of blending is that we all would be ushered into the reality of the Body of Christ.
Yes, we do live our Christian life and church life in the local church, and we do treasure the local church; however, the local churches are the procedure used by God to bring us into the Body of Christ!
The Lord uses the local churches, not as a goal in itself but for us to be in the reality of the Body of Christ!
We need to be in the local churches and live in the reality of the Body of Christ through the fellowship and blending in the Body.
We all treasure the local churches for the purpose of being ushered into the reality of the Body of Christ.
In the local churches, we practice preaching the gospel to beget new believers, visit the new believers in their homes to nourish them, teach them and perfect them so that they may function, and prophesy for the building up of the Body.
As we labor in the local churches together with the saints in one accord, we want to be in the fellowship and blending of the Body so that we may become the overcomers, those who live in the principle of the Body and do everything for the building up of the Body!
Lord Jesus, we yearn to be in the reality of the fellowship and blending of the Body of Christ as we live and serve in the church life! Amen, Lord, we treasure the local churches, for it is here that we can touch the reality of the Body of Christ. Bring us on with You, Lord, and usher us into the blending life of the entire Body of Christ. Produce us as Your overcomers, those who not only live a daily church life in the local churches but also live, work, and speak for the building up of the Body! Amen, Lord, gain a group of overcomers who is being blended together into one, those who regard the Body, care for the Body, and do everything for the building up of the Body!
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, 1994-1997, vol. 1, The Practical Points concerning Blending, chs. 1, 3-5, 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.
- Recommended further reading: Speaking to the Entire Body of Christ (via afaithfulword.org).
- Hymns on this topic:
– Hallelujah for the blending! / It’s the way to live today. / So we’re standing and proclaiming, / “In the church is where we’ll stay.” / We see what God is recovering / What a sight it is to see! / What a treasure He is building, / It’s His Body corporately. (Song on, Oh, how we enjoy the blending)
– Oh, how we need the churches, / All of them, great or small! / We need their many portions / To profit us withal. / Yes, Lord, enlarge the churches; / We love their needs to bear. / Enlarge our hearts, Lord Jesus, / In fellowship and prayer. (Hymns #1265)
– To maintain the sweet communion, / Brotherly love; / Fellowship and healing union, / Brotherly love. / Love believing for the brothers, / Hoping all things for the others, / Suffering all with one another, / Brotherly love. (Hymns #1277)
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