We need to have a sense, a consciousness, of the Body of Christ as the one new man, and we need to recognize our measure, not go beyond it, be blended with others, not consider ourselves more highly than others, but have a Body-consciousness and allow the Body to rule out any individualistic thought and action, appreciating the function of other members.
All believers in Christ have the divine life in their spirit, and by means of this life, they are the members of the Body of Christ.
As members of the Body of Christ, we all have a function in the Body, just as all the members of our physical body have a function in the body.
No matter how small or insignificant we think that we are in the Body, our function and portion is vitally needed for the building up and functioning of the Body of Christ.
For example, in our human body we have some organs that are quite small and, seemingly, they are quite hidden or even not seen; every member, however, is needed, and the function of each member is greatly cherished.
We may not be able to do a lot with our pinky finger, but we may be able to scratch an itchy ear; even that little thing is very useful.
As members of the Body, we should not be jealous of the others’ function in the Body while despising our own function, neither should we look down on others while uplifting our own portion and function in the Body.
Rather, we need to realize that we all should function in the Body in our measure. In order for us to build up the Body of Christ, we all need to function, for the Body builds itself up in love – by the joints of the rich supply and through the operation of each one part.
On one hand, Christ is the One who builds up the church; on the other hand, the Body builds itself up in love.
When every member in the Body functions in its measure, operates, and supplies, the Body builds itself up in love.
We need to have the reality of this in the church life today. Praise the Lord, we are all members of the Body of Christ, and every believer is indispensable!
There’s no higher member or lower member, neither is there a member that is more important or less important than others; rather, in the Body of Christ we are all members, and even though we may have a different measure or function, we are all absolutely necessary.
No member of the Body can live without the other members, much less despise them, just as the hand in our human body cannot live without the eyes, and the eyes need the hands and the feet.
No member in the Body can live without other members, and no member is more important than others; rather, the Head is the most important, and all the members are being headed up in the Head.
Having a Sense of the Body as the One New Man, Recognizing our Measure, and Not Going beyond it in the Body
In Col. 4:7-17 Paul didn’t just conclude his epistle by greeting so-and-so and the church in a particular place; rather all these names that he mentioned there indicate that with him there was a sense of the Body as the one new man.
With Paul, there was a consciousness of the Body of Christ as the one new man, so in his writing he blended the saints together – he blended the homes, the saints, the elders, the serving ones, and the churches together, simply by writing them letters and greeting them.
All these names also show that there should be no differences among the churches; in Paul’s eyes, what he wrote to the Colossians was also for the Laodiceans, and what he wrote to the Laodiceans, it was also for the Colossians.
In Paul’s mentioning of the names in Col. 4:7-17, we see such a good fellowship, oneness, harmony, and intimate contact!
There were many different members of the Body, but they were all blended together. In our human body, there are many different members, and some are closer to each other while others are farther apart; together, the body acts and moves in oneness and harmony, in an intimate contact.
Paul charged Tychicus to make known to the Colossian believers all that concerned him, because of his consciousness of the Body as the one new man.
To Paul, this supply in the Body was very real and necessary, and the supply is not meant for any individual alone but for the whole Body!
Whether we are a member with a larger measure of Christ (like Paul was) or a member with a lesser measure, we all need the portion of supply in the Body.
Paul charged Tychicus to let the Colossians know the things concerning him, perhaps they would pray for him, and he would receive the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
We all need to pray for one another in the Body, having the sense of the Body of Christ as the one new man; our prayer is heard by Christ, the Head of the Body, and He sends the supply where it is needed.
For example, Paul was brought into the fellowship of the Body through Ananias, a member of the Body that was mentioned only once; even such a small member in the Body is so useful to the Lord.
So it is essential for us to recognize our measure in the Body and not go beyond it; for the growth and development of the Body, each member of the Body needs to know its measure and function in its measure (1 Cor. 12:15-18; 2 Cor. 10:13-14).
Furthermore, we all should learn to be blended with other brothers and sisters, for we are members one of another in the Body as the one new man.
The blending in the Body, the fellowship and traffic among the churches and the saints, this blends us all together. We all need to recognize our measure in the Body and not function less than our measure nor beyond our measure.
We all need to be reminded that we can’t be alone; we cannot be individualistic or independent members of the Body.
The measure that we have in the Body is not for us but for the whole Body to benefit; it is beautiful when our measure is used in the context of the Body life!
When an individual gift in the Body is exercised outside of the realm of the Body, it becomes something ugly; beauty is when all the members function as a Body in a blended way.
Thank You, Lord, for blending the whole Body together and for giving each one of us a measure according to which we can function in the Body and for the Body. May we have a sense of the Body as the one new man, realizing that we all need to be blended together for the building up of the Body of Christ. Amen, Lord, bring us into a sweet fellowship, oneness, harmony, and intimate contact with the saints so that we may be built up together in the Body. May our daily life be with the consciousness of the Body as the one new man. May each one of us recognize our measure and not go beyond it! Amen, Lord, thank You for our measure in the Body. We exercise our spirit and we exercise our portion in the Body to build up the Body in the measure that You have allotted to us!
Body-revelation leads to Body-Consciousness: we need the Function of the other Members!
When we have the revelation of the Body of Christ, we will also have Body-consciousness, realizing that we each have our own capacity, and we need the function of the other members of the Body.
Every member in the Body has a certain capacity, and no member should consider himself more highly than he ought, for if it does, he will have jealousy or ambition.
If we realize what is our capacity and function in the Body of Christ, we will not consider ourselves more highly than we ought; if we all do this, there will not be any jealousy, ambition, or craving to do what others can do (Phil. 2:2-4; Rom.1 2:1-5).
Sometimes we may be jealous of a brother, just because of his function or his measure, which we also want to have; that jealousy is not good for us, for it makes us very unhealthy, and it will take some time to rise above it.
It is not easy to get out of jealousy of others’ function, and once our jealousy is exposed, we will also see that we have ambition that we want to be better than others…or at least as good as the others are.
There’s something in us that wants to put on a show, so that others may appreciate us or look up to us.
Once we have Body-revelation, we are brought into Body-consciousness, and nothing kills pride and ambition as the Body does.
Once we see the Body, pride and ambition are killed.
The revelation of the Body will cause us to think of ourselves in a sober way, not thinking more highly of ourselves than we ought to think.
Wherever there’s Body-revelation, there is Body-consciousness, and wherever there is Body-consciousness, individualistic thought and action are ruled out.
It is not by making a note and reminding ourselves that we shouldn’t be individualistic but depend on the Body; it is a spontaneous result of the revelation of the Body.
If we want to know the Body, we need to be delivered not only from our sinful life and our natural life but also from our individualistic life.
We can be delivered from our natural life and our sinful life by seeing a revelation of Christ, which exposes us and causes us to deal with anything sinful and natural.
Seeing Christ results in deliverance from sin, and seeing the Body results in deliverance from individualism.
The only way for us to enter into the realm of the Body is by seeing the Body, for Body-revelation issues in Body-consciousness.
The day that we really see the Body of Christ is like being saved a second time; once we see the Lord, we are saved, and once we see the Body, it is as if we’re saved all over again.
Seeing the Body and having Body-consciousness issues in the realization that, what we do not know, another member of the Body will know; what we cannot do, another member can do, and what we cannot see, another member of the Body will see (1 Cor. 12:17-22).
As members of the Body we have our own function and measure, and we don’t know everything, we can’t do everything, and we can’t see everything.
Rather, we need the other members of the Body to see, know, and do many things, for we’re not “all-inclusive members of the Body”.
However, if we refuse the help of our fellow members, we are refusing the help of Christ, for Christ the Head is expressed and He reaches us through His members to help us. Sooner or later, all individualistic Christians will dry up.
The whole Body of Christ is built up through the interdependence among the members (1 Cor. 12:12).
The Lord doesn’t come to us directly to supply us, just as the supply to the members of our human body is not directly from the head or the heart but through many other members.
For us to receive the supply, we need not only the Lord but also the fellowship with other members, for in this fellowship we receive the supply.
Paul was a mature member of the Body, yet he said that even the prison will turn out to his salvation – not only through the bountiful supply of the Spirit but also through the petitions of the saints.
The reason we are still loving the Lord and meeting with the saints is that we are in the Body, with the members, where we can receive the supply; we are not here because we are that strong but because of the Body. Amen!
We are in the Body, together with the other members, and even if we feel like we’re dry and don’t have a way to go on, we can ask others to intercede for us, and we can get through (Eph. 1:16; Col. 1:9; Phil. 1:19; 1 Thes. 5:25; 2 Thes. 3:1; Col. 4:3; Heb. 13:18).
In the Body, as we are becoming more and more Body-conscious, we pray for one another, we keep one another in prayers daily, and we are sustained, supplied, and strengthened to go on with the Lord.
Lord, grant us to have Body-revelation so that we may have Body-consciousness and all individualistic thought and action may be ruled out. Amen, grant us to have a clear vision of the Body of Christ so that we may be delivered from individualism. Thank You for placing us in the Body to be members who depend on the Head and also on the fellow members in the Body. Hallelujah, what we don’t know, another member of the Body will know, and what we can’t do, another member of the Body can do! Thank You, Lord for supplying us not only directly in our fellowship with You but also indirectly through the members of the Body! May we be saved from our independence and individualism as we realize that we depend on the brothers and sisters to intercede for us before we can get through and go on in the Lord!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Sources of inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by Minoru Chen for this week, and portions from, Collected Works of Watchman Nee, vol. 44, “The Mystery of Christ,” chs. 99-100, 103-104, 106, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Christian Life, the Church Life, the Consummation of the Age, and the Coming of the Lord (2020 fall ITERO), week 6, Entering into the Intrinsic Significance of the Reality of the Body of Christ — the Highest Peak in God’s Economy and the Top Revelation of the Bible.
- Hymns on this topic:
– I long for fellowship in spirit, / That mingled with the saints I’ll be, / Long to be saved from independence / And to be built with saints in Thee. (Hymns #847)
– Build me, Lord, with other saints, / Independence ne’er allow, / But according to Thy plan / Fitly frame and join me now. / In experience not my boast, / Nor in gifts would be my pride; / For Thy building I give all, / That Thou may be glorified. (Hymns #839)
– I’m thankful that God has placed me / With you to build up His Body. / Christ in you is the hope for me! / You also need Christ lived in me. / I live, if you stand firm in the Lord. / You live, if I stand firm in the Lord. / My going on is for you, / Your going on is for me, / Not sep’rate entities, / I need you saints desp’rately! (Song on, I’m thankful that God has placed me)
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