Being Perfected to do the Work of the Ministry unto the Building up of the Body of Christ

The Lord has given 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; we need to grow in life unto maturity and be perfected in our function so that we may accomplish our ministry, doing the work of the ministry for the building up of the Body. Amen!

This week we have been looking in depth at the matter of fully accomplishing our ministry; this is the charge Paul gave Timothy, and this is the charge we all have from the Lord today in the Body of Christ.

This, however, does not mean that we need to accomplish our ministry apart from the Body, doing the best we can in our own eyes to serve God according to the talent He gave us, thus creating our own ministry or Christian group.

In God’s eyes, there is just one ministry.

For instance, when Judas had to be replaced, the apostles said, “to take the place of this ministry and apostleship” (Acts 1:24-25).

There is one ministry, one apostleship.

The apostles are many, the disciples of Christ are many, but there is one ministry.

We all have this ministry, for we have been shown mercy by the Lord; therefore, we should not lose heart.

There is one corporate ministry, and each one of us has their personal ministry as part of this corporate ministry.

It is God who makes us sufficient as ministers of a new covenant. He constitutes us, He calls us, He appoints us, and He counts us faithful for the ministry.

When we speak of “ministry” we don’t mean that God wants us to be a pastor or a leader; our ministry is our function in the Body.

Just as every member of our physical body has his own function and portion, and each member is absolutely necessary for the proper functioning of the body, so the Body of Christ has many members and the function of every member is vitally necessary for the proper functioning of the Body of Christ.

We need to come back to the pure revelation in God’s word regarding our ministry in the Body and for the Body.

On the personal side, we need to spend time with the Lord daily, enjoy Him, fellowship with Him, and experience Him.

On the corporate side, we have a ministry, and our ministry is for the building up of the Body.

We need to take heed to our ministry so that we may accomplish it. We need to fully accomplish our ministry, filling up the full measure of our ministry.

As we do this, as we function in our measure, we need to realize that our function is in the Body and for the Body.

We accept others’ ministry, their function, and we together function for the building up of the church as the Body of Christ.

May the Lord enlighten us concerning the matter of having a ministry given to us by the Lord, which ministry is for the building up of the church as the Body of Christ.

And may we stay away from any ministry that does not build up the Body.

If there is a ministry out there that does things and speaks things that sound very scriptural, but builds a certain denomination or Christian group, we cannot accept such a ministry, for it is not the ministry of the New Testament. Oh, Lord.

May we be under the Lord’s shining in this matter and may we remain under the hearing of the faith, being richly nourished with the healthy words of God’s eternal economy so that we may be healthy, functioning members in the Body of Christ!

Being Perfected unto the Work of the Ministry unto the Building up of the Body of Christ

Many Christians hesitate or draw back when they hear that they have a ministry and they need to fully accomplish their ministry, for they do not know what is their ministry and they don’t know how to accomplish it.

What is your ministry? How should you carry out your ministry for the building up of the Body of Christ?

Eph. 4:11-12 gives us the key; Christ as the Head of the Body has given some gifts to the Body – apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers – to perfect the saints unto the work of the ministry unto the building up of the Body.

There are many gifted persons, but they all have one ministry; they minister Christ into the saints and perfect the saints for the building up of the church.

This is the unique ministry in the New Testament economy (2 Cor. 4:1; 1 Tim. 1:12).

However, the gifted persons do not replace the function of the saints; they don’t overfunction and let everyone watch them and support them.

Rather, Christ gave some as apostles and some as prophets and some as evangelists and some as shepherds and teachers for the perfecting of the saints unto the work of the ministry unto the building up of the Body of Christ. Amen!

The secret to functioning in our measure, and fully accomplishing our ministry, is being perfected by the gifted and more mature ones so that we may function in our measure.

The apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers are not here to function instead of all the saints, have a great ministry that the saints can enjoy and that’s it.

The gifted members are here to perfect the saints so that the perfected saints will do the work of the ministry.

The work of the ministry results in and has the purpose of building up of the Body of Christ. The work of the ministry is with the view to building up the church.

What the gifted persons do as the work of the ministry must be for the building up of the Body of Christ.

This building up of the Body, however, is not accomplished or carried out by the gifted members directly; it is carried out by the saints who are being perfected.

The Lord is so wise; He knows that the more gifted a person is, the more he will function and he will replace the others’ function.

So He ordained that the gifted persons would perfect the saints unto the work of the ministry unto the building up of the Body of Christ.

The building up of the Body is the work not only of the apostles and the other gifted ones but also of all the perfected saints.

This is why we should not neglect or despise our function in the Body.

We should not say that, since we can’t function in the measure of brother so-and-so, our function is not needed in the Body.

Rather, we need to open to the Lord to be perfected by Him through the gifted members of the Body so that we may function in our measure, thus fully accomplishing our ministry unto the work of the ministry, unto the building up of the Body of Christ.

Thank the Lord that He has given us some gifts in the Body, and these gifted persons perfect the saints for the saints to function and build up the Body directly.

The gifted persons perfect the saints by nourishing them according to the tree of life with the life supply for their growth in life (Gen. 2:9; 1 Cor. 3:2, 6).

The gifted persons perfect the saints so that the saints may do what they do, that is, so that the saints may function in the same way they do, but in the saints’ measure, for the building up of the Body.

For example, the apostles carry out their ministry and then 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).

This is what Paul did as an apostle; he didn’t just carry out his ministry but also perfected the saints by visiting the churches, writing them epistles, and assigning some to be his co-workers to perfect the saints in particular places.

The prophets function in their measure and they also 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).

The prophets speak for the building up of the church, and they also perfect the saints to live a prophesying life daily and speak in the meetings of the church to directly build up the Body of Christ. Amen!

The evangelists carry out their ministry to preach the gospel and help people saved; also, they perfect the saints.

The evangelists perfect the saints by stirring them up to be burning in the gospel-preaching spirit, by teaching them with gospel truths, by training them to preach the gospel, by helping the saints to be equipped with the power of the economical Spirit, and by setting up an example of loving the sinners and praying for them (2 Tim. 4:5).

In this way the evangelists do not over-function and thus replace the saints’ function; rather, they perfect the saints to do what they do, have the same heart for people as they have, and do the work of an evangelist so that the saints may do the work of the ministry unto the building up of the Body of Christ.

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

On one hand, the shepherd-teachers shepherd the saints and help them feel comfortable so that they would also perfect the saints, teaching them and helping them shepherd and teach others.

The result of such a perfecting work done by the gifted persons is that we will all arrive at the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, at a full-grown man, and at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Eph. 4:13; John 17:23).

This is what the Lord desires, this is what He is working out in His Body, and this is what He is recovering today – the ministry of every member in the Body as they are being perfected by the gifted persons to do the work of the ministry unto the building up of the Body of Christ.

Lord Jesus, we open to being perfected unto the work of the ministry, unto the building up of the Body of Christ. Amen, Lord Jesus, we open to You and to the gifted persons in the Body so that we may be perfected to function in our measure and therefore fully accomplish our ministry. Save us from thinking that our portion in the Body is not necessary. Save us from being lazy in functioning in the Body, and save us from over-functioning in the church life. May we open to be perfected to do the work of an evangelist, a prophet, an apostle, and a shepherd-teacher. May we allow You to perfect us through the gifted members so that we may function in our measure unto the work of the ministry unto the building up of the Body of Christ. Amen, Lord, release the perfecting of the saints in the Body so that we may all function in our measure until we all arrive at the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God! Amen, Lord, may we all arrive at a full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ!

Pay Attention to Life and to Function: Grow in Life and being Perfected to Function in our Measure

In order for us to be perfected so that we may fully accomplish our ministry for the building up of the Body of Christ, we need to pay attention to life and function.

We need to grow in life day by day and we need to become skillful in function. Both of these are necessary.

We cannot function in the Body simply by having the skills to function but without having the growth in life necessary for our function.

In other words, if we don’t grow in life and we don’t have the necessary enjoyment and experience of Christ, no matter how skilful we are, we cannot function properly.

We need to come to the Lord in His word day by day to eat and drink Him in the word, partaking of the guileless milk of the word (1 Pet. 2:2), eat the word of righteousness as solid food (Heb. 5:12-14), and eat the Lord Jesus in His word so that we live because of Him (John 6:57).

Day by day we need to partake of the Lord’s riches, enjoy Him, and call on His name to breathe Him in.

In all our situations we need to learn to contact the Lord, keeping our vessel open to Him so that He would dispense more of what He is into us.

As we do this, as we let the Lord as the word dwell in us richly (Col. 3:16) and are nourished by the healthy words (1 Tim. 4:6) so that we may grow in life day by day.

We need to take the word of God into us by means of all prayer and petition (Eph. 6:17-18) and allow the word of God to divide our soul from our spirit (Heb. 4:12) so that we may be spiritual persons.

As we contact the Lord daily, properly come to Him in His word to partake of His riches, and live one spirit with the Lord in all things, the Lord grows in us and we grow in the Lord.

This is the basis of our function.

Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth will speak; as we enjoy the Lord daily and experience Him, there will be an overflow – the function, the ministry, will result from our growth in life.

Also, we need to be perfected in our function so that we may do the work of the ministry unto the building up of the Body.

We need to not just attend the meetings but learn from the gifted ones, even allow the Lord to perfect us in the way we speak, the way we function, and the way we behave ourselves so that we may be skilful in function.

There needs to be the completing, equipping, and furnishing; this is to be perfected by the Lord through the gifted persons.

May we open to the Lord and to the Body of Christ so that, on the one hand, we may grow in life day by day, and on the other hand, we would be perfected in our function unto the work of the ministry unto the building up of the Body of Christ.

Only by growing in life can we be completed and perfected.

Just as the children need to have a certain growth in life for them to understand and apprehend things at school and therefore be perfected, so we need to grow in life day by day so that we may be equipped, furnished, and completed by being perfected by the gifted persons for our ministry.

The perfecting of the saints is unto the work of the ministry, and the work of the ministry is unto the building up of the Body of Christ (Eph. 4:12, 16).

May we bring this to the Lord in prayer so that He would work it out in us and we would cooperate with Him!

Lord Jesus, we want to grow in life and be perfected in our function unto the work of the ministry unto the building up of the Body of Christ. Amen, Lord, grow in us today. Cause Your life in us to grow. We call on Your name to breathe You in. We read and pray Your word to be richly supplied and nourished with Your element. Grow in us today. Work Yourself into us. Keep us open to Your divine dispensing in all the things we do today. We love You, Lord, and we allow You to grow in our being so that we may grow in life unto maturity. We open to You and we open to the fellow members in the Body so that we may grow in life and be perfected in our function. May there be a completing, equipping, and furnishing work going on in our being. Grow in us and grow in all the saints so that we may be perfected to function in the Body for the building up of the Body. May we all be open to You to allow You to grow in us and perfect us through 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!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by the brothers in the message for this week, The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 3420-3422, by Witness Lee, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Being a Vessel unto Honor, a Fully Equipped Man of God, by being Empowered in the Grace which is in Christ Jesus to Fully Accomplish our Ministry in the Unique Ministry of God’s Economy (2024 April ITERO), week 8, “Fully Accomplish Your Ministry”.
• Similar articles on this topic:
  – Building up the organic Body of Christ – needing Christ as the Head, a portion from, Messages Given to the Working Saints, Chapter 1, by Witness Lee.
  – How Can We Be Strengthened in Our Faith? More via, Bibles for America blog.
  – The Building Up of the Body of Christ, Message 2: The Saints’ Direct Building of the Body of Christ, video message via, LSM Youtube channel.
  – The Ministry of the New Testament (1), article via, Living to Him.
  – The building up of the Body, a portion from, New Believers Series: Body of Christ, The #24, Chapter 1, by Watchman Nee.
  – The New Man Spreads into our Mind by the Spirit’s Renewing, via, New Jerusalem blog.
  – Christ, the Cross, and the Church, via, Shepherding Words.
  – My Personal Testimony – Pursuing Christ, Living the Church Life, and Enjoying the Ministry, via, Holding to Truth in Love.
  – Arriving at three things, a portion from, Life-Study of Ephesians, Chapter 43.
  – The saints being perfected by the perfecting gifts with the life supply as the nourishment for the growth in life, a portion from, Lesson Book, Level 5: The Church—The Vision and Building Up of the Church, Chapter 14, by Witness Lee.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – All the gifts and all the functions, / All the spirit’s power shown, / All the ministries are given / For the Church and that alone. / All the preaching of the Gospel, / All the teaching ministry, / Every other kind of service / For the church alone should be. / Ministry is for the Churches, / Not the Church for ministry; / All the lampstands are the Churches, / Not a form of ministry. (Hymns #914 stanzas 4-6)
  – In our ministry and service, / From the Body, our supply; / If detached and isolated, / Out of function we will die. / ’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 stanzas 5-7)
  – 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)