Loving the Lord by Doing the Work of the Ministry to Build up the Body of Christ

We need to love the Lord in incorruptibility by doing the work of the ministry for the building up of the Body of Christ; the work of the building up of the Body of Christ, as seen in Eph. 4, is eternal and glorious. Amen!

Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians unveils the highest revelation concerning Christ and the church, for in it the church is revealed to be the Body of Christ, the one new man, the warrior fighting the battle for God, and the bride of Christ.

If we dig into all the high and wonderful aspects of the church revealed in Ephesians, our appreciation and experience of the church and the church life will be very much uplifted.

However, such a high and amazing revelation concerning the church ends with Paul’s exhortation that we love the Lord Jesus in incorruptibility so that we enjoy the grace of the Lord (Eph. 6:24).

On one hand, this is an encouragement to all of us, for we love the Lord. We need to love Him more, even love Him in incorruptibility.

On the other hand, however, this is a warning or a prophecy concerning what happened in the church in Ephesus because they lost their first love.

Later in 2 Tim. 1:15 Paul said that all those in Asia had turned away from him, that is, turned away from his ministry.

In Rev. 2-3, the Lord sent seven epistles to the seven churches in Asia, and the first epistle was to the church in Ephesus.

In this epistle the Lord said that He has one thing against this particular church, which was a leading church in Asia: they lost their first love. Oh, Lord Jesus!

Paul exhorted them to love the Lord in incorruptibility, but they did not continue in this love; therefore, they lost their first love, though they still had works for the Lord.

The loss of their first love toward the Lord is linked to the fact that they left the ministry of the apostle Paul, which ministry betrothed them to Christ (2 Cor. 11:2-3).

The genuine ministry of the New Testament causes us to love the Lord more, and it betroths us to Christ as our unique Husband.

There are other ministries, but the unique ministry of the New Testament is the ministry that builds up the Body of Christ, while other ministries may help us in this or that way but may not build up the Body. Oh, Lord Jesus!

May we be those who love the Lord in incorruptibility, those who enjoy Him with the saints in the word and in the ministry, so that we may be preserved in the love that is incorrupted and incorruptible!

We need to Love the Lord in Incorruptibility by Doing the Work of the ministry to Build up the Body of Christ

The revelation of the church in the Epistle to the Ephesians has two main aspects: first is the work of the ministry to build up the Body of Christ, and the second is our spiritual life, which comprises many spiritual experiences that enable us to live a life that matches the church life.

The revelation of the church in Ephesians is so high, but the way to carry out the practical building work is very simple and also very balanced.

There are two aspects: doing the work of the ministry and having a proper spiritual life that matches the church life.

We need to love the Lord in incorruptibility by doing the work of the ministry to build up the Body of Christ.

Eph. 4:11-12 says that Christ, the Head of the Body, gave some gifts to the Body for the perfecting of the saints unto the work of the ministry, unto the building up of the Body of Christ.

Christ gave gifts to the church; He gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, and some as shepherds and teachers.

These gifts were given to the church NOT to replace the members of the Body and function in a greater measure, thus being manifested as gifts, but to perfect the saints.

The apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers are gifts given by the Lord Jesus as the Head of the Body so that we, the members of the Body, may be perfected by them to function as they do, but in our measure.

This is to do the work of the ministry to build up the Body of Christ.

This word, ministry, may be somewhat intimidating to many Christians, for they may associate it with what the pastors or evangelists or preachers do, that is, doing a great Christian work for God.

But this is not what Paul was talking about. Paul speaks of the saints, all the saints, being perfected by the gifts unto the work of the ministry for the building up of the Body of Christ.

The ministry belongs to the saints, not just to some elite or professional class. The fulfilment of this portion in Eph. 4 is not yet fulfilled, but it is being fulfilled.

There’s a prevailing trend in Christianity that has nothing to do with Eph. 4, for there are some talented and gifted preachers, evangelists, pastors, or whatever else they call themselves, and they function in a great measure, while most Christians just sit down and listen.

They are following man’s way, man’s tradition, not the word of God. Eph. 4:11-16 must be fulfilled before the Lord returns.

We need to be those who love the Lord in incorruptibility by doing the work of the ministry for the building up of the Body of Christ.

Every believer is very important in the Body, for every believer is a member of the Body of Christ.

Every believer in Christ needs to be perfected by the gifted members to function in his measure unto the work of the ministry unto the building up of the Body of Christ.

We shouldn’t think that we’re too weak or too small to function in the Body; every member that is seemingly weak or small is critical and absolutely necessary for the building up of the Body of Christ.

Every believer is important and needed as a member of the Body.

What is needed today is not more great works for God outwardly, more gospel preaching to hundreds of thousands, or more televangelists who can reach millions via TV or the internet.

What is needed is the organic building up of the Body of Christ not directly by Christ as the Head or by the gifted persons but by ALL the members of the Body – you and me – who are being perfected to function as the gifted persons do.

Each one of the members of the Body of Christ needs to rise up and be willing to be perfected to function in his measure so that they do the work of the ministry unto the building up of the Body of Christ.

This is how we love the Lord in incorruptibility: by being willing to be perfected by the gifted members to function in our measure.

We need to love the Lord in incorruptibility by doing the work of the ministry unto the building up of the Body of Christ.

May we be willing to be perfected. May we be willing to be those who function in the Body to build up the Body directly.

Lord Jesus, we want to love You in incorruptibility by being willing to be perfected to function in the Body unto the work of the ministry unto the building up of the Body of Christ! Amen, Lord, we are willing to be perfected. We open to You and to the gifted members in the Body to be perfected to function in the Body. Save us from not functioning in our measure in the Body. Save us from being spectators in the church, waiting for others to function and being passive about our function. Oh Lord, recover this among us. Recover the organic building up of the Body by all the members of the Body being perfected to function in their measure! Release the perfecting of the members of the Body. Release the function of the members. Gain the building up of the Body!

The Work for the Building up of the Body of Christ is Eternal and Glorious!

When we hear that we need to be perfected by the gifted members to function in the Body of Christ as they do, we may think that we don’t know any gifted members, so how can we be perfected, and how can we function.

We need to realize, however, that as members of the Body of Christ, we need to love the Lord in the incorruptible things related to Christ and the church.

We need to love the Lord in incorruptibility by being willing to be perfected to do the work of the ministry unto the building up of the Body of Christ.

One day we will stand before the Lord and we will give an account to Him concerning how did we love Him and what we did to build up the Body.

Therefore, today we need to endeavour to learn how to shepherd the new believers, how to perfect the saints, how to function for the building up of the church, and how to build up the Body of Christ.

We need to give ourselves to love the Lord in incorruptibility by working to directly build up the Body of Christ.

The building up of the Body of Christ is something that is glorious and eternal; whatever we do in oneness with the Lord for the building up of the church is an eternal and glorious work.

The building up of the Body of Christ comprises preaching the gospel, shepherding the new believers, perfecting the saints, and leading the saints to prophesy, even ourselves prophesying for the building up of the church.

First, we need to visit others with the gospel to bring them into the Triune God (Matt. 28:19; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:47; John 15:5; cf. 2 Tim. 1:10), offering them as sacrifices to God (Rom. 15:16).

We may not be able to gather many people and speak to a large crowd concerning the gospel, but we can visit our neighbours, relatives, friends, and acquaintances with the gospel and, in their living room, we can lead them to salvation.

Then, we need to shepherd the new believers in home meetings (John 15:16; 21:15-17), nourishing them and helping them to grow so that they can offer themselves as living sacrifices to God (1 Pet. 2:2; Rom. 12:1).

Our preaching the gospel is not just to win souls or to evangelize: we are priests of the gospel to present sinners as sacrifices to God.

After someone is saved, we shouldn’t just “invite them to the church”; we need to learn to shepherd them in their home and in the home meetings.

We need to nourish them with the milk of the word of God and help them to grow in life day by day as they contact the Lord and have the experiences of Christ.

Furthermore, we need to perfect the saints in group meetings so that they may do the work of the ministry unto the organic building up of the Body of Christ (Eph. 4:11-16; Heb. 10:24-25).

Growing in life is good, and loving to be in the home meetings is wonderful, but there’s the need for perfecting unto the work of the ministry unto the building up of the Body of Christ.

We may not be a great gift given to the Body in an outward way, but we can learn to be one with the Lord to perfect the saints in the group meetings so that they may do the work of the ministry unto the building up of the Body.

Finally, we need to lead the saints to prophesy, that is, speak for God and speak forth God; they need to prophesy one by one in the church meetings for the organic building up of the church (1 Cor. 14:3, 4b, 12, 26, 31).

After growing in life by being nourished, after being perfected to function in the group meetings, the saints need to be perfected to speak in the meetings of the church, that is, to speak for God, so that they build up the Body of Christ directly.

The work that the Bible reveals to be for the building up of the Body of Christ – preaching the gospel, nourishing and shepherding the saints, perfecting the saints, and prophesying for the building up of the church – is eternal, glorious, and weighty.

We should not take this in an outward, common way, or as a routine or practice; we should not merely know “the mechanics” of the God-ordained way to meet and serve but do a weighty, eternal, and glorious work as we love the Lord in incorruptibility.

We need to bring people into the Triune God, shepherd them in their homes and in the home meetings, perfect them, and help them to prophesy to build up the church; this is the work of the ministry unto the building up of the Body of Christ.

This is the organic service of the Body of Christ, which is also the organic service of the New Testament priesthood of the gospel (1 Pet. 2:5, 9), in which we have to be like the apostle Paul, who laboured and struggled in all wisdom to present every man full-grown in Christ to God (Col. 1:28-29).

May we be such ones and may we do such work for the building up of the Body of Christ, loving the Lord Jesus in incorruptibility.

Lord Jesus, we want to give Your our love in an incorruptible way by doing the eternal and glorious work of building up of the Body of Christ! We love You, Lord, and we want to visit others with the gospel to bring them into the Triune God, offering them as sacrifices to God! We love You, Lord, and we want to shepherd the new believers in the home meetings, nourishing them and helping them to grow in life! Amen, Lord, we love You and we give ourselves to perfect the saints in group meetings that they may do the work of the ministry unto the organic building up of the Body of Christ! We love You, dear Lord, and we want to lead others to prophesy, to speak for God, in the church meetings for the building up of the church! We want to love You in incorruptibility by labouring and struggling in all wisdom to present every man full-grown in Christ to God!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Sources of inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by brother James Lee in the message, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1988, vol. 1, pp. 557-574, 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 3, entitled, Loving the Lord Jesus in Incorruptibility.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – As the members we’ve been quickened / Not as individuals free; / We must always serve together, / All related mutually. / Living stones, we’re built together / And a house for God must be, / As the holy priesthood serving, / In a blessed harmony. (Hymns #913, stanzas 2-3)
  – 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 stanzas 3-4)
  – The Lord gave gifts to the churches, / Precious saints who love the Lord. / First apostles and prophets, / Speaking forth Christ as the word! / Then He gave some gifts as evangelists, / Who proclaim the gospel of Christ! / There are shepherd-teachers, feeding the saints. / But Lord, who am I? / Lord, I’m ready and willing to be perfected by You, / Through the saints all around me, to build Your Body too! (Song on, Lord, I’m Ready and Willing to be Perfected)