As the many members of the one universal Body of Christ, those standing on the genuine ground of oneness, we all need to take the lead to function in our measure and not go beyond our measure. We need to allow the other members of the Body to limit us and to help us function in our proper measure.
God has placed us all the members of the Body even as He willed (1 Cor. 12:18). We all have a portion in the Body, a measure of life that can be dispensed into the Body for the building up, and we need to learn to function in our measure.
We need to speak according to our measure of faith allotted to us by God and according to the leading of the Spirit.
every member of the Body has his own place
We are not “elected to be somebody” in the church – Christ the Head is the One who decides, He sets us in our special place in the Body of Christ, and He points us to our special function (see Rom. 12:4; 1 Cor. 12:15-17). We should not covet others’ function nor should we despise our own, and we should not despise others’ function while thinking more highly of ourselves.
Each one of us members have our own place in the Body – specially assigned to us by God, which we should accept and respect. Since each of the members of the Body have a special function and assignment by the Head, every member is necessary and important (1 Cor. 12:21).
No matter what I think about myself or what I want to be in the Body of Christ, I have a definite place, assignment, and position given to me by God in the Body of Christ. Every member of the Body has a particular portion – a specific function – with which he serves the Body.
What is your portion in the Body? What is your place and your function in the Body? You may not know now, but as you function in the measure the Lord gave you and as you allow the other members of the Body to limit you in your measure, your function will be manifested.
We need to be open to the Lord and to the Body to be perfected in our measure and to know our place in the Body.
recognizing our measure and not going beyond it
In the human body when a certain member over-grows or is over-developed, the result is something abnormal and even strange. It is the same in the Body of Christ – for the proper growth and development of the Body we need to recognize our measure and do not go beyond it (see Eph. 4:7, 16).
As the Lord is faithful to expose us, in the church life and through the saints, when we go beyond the measure He allotted us, we need to be willing to be limited by our measure (Rom. 12:3, 6).
We should function in the Body only in the measure of the faith given to us by God, and not overstep or go beyond it. Lord, cause us to know the order in the Body and our measure in the Body!
“We must be willing to be limited to our measure. As soon as we go beyond it, we go beyond the authority of the Head and move out from under the anointing. When we go beyond our measure, we interfere with the order of the Body. The Body of Christ is an organic life; it operates without any human arrangement. All the members must receive life from the Head and function in proper order. If our relationship with the Head is proper, we will keep our place in the Body spontaneously.” (Watchman Nee, The Mystery of Christ, pp. 44-45)
Oh, Lord! We may not be like the denominations or the human religious organizations who may select their “spiritual leaders” according to their education, background, social status, knowledge, eloquence, talent, or intelligence, but what about our functioning in the Body?
As members of the Body we need to come to the Lord daily and seek revelation from Him that we may have the necessary experiences of Christ so that we can have something to supply the other members of the Body! Also, as we minister Christ to others, as we learn to speak one with the Lord, we need to know the order in the Body, which is God’s assigned pattern in the Body, so as to function in our measure!
not thinking more highly of ourselves
The more one knows the Lord, the more one knows the Word, and the more one experiences life and enjoys the Lord, the more he is tempted to think a little more highly of himself than he ought to think.
Romans 12:3 clearly says, Not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think, but to think so as to be sober-minded, as God has apportioned to each a measure of faith.
Brother Lee puts makes it so simple – if you think that you are bigger than the Apostle Paul in the quantity of faith, you are crazy! If you think you are bigger than the elders in your locality in the quantity of faith, you do not think sober-minded but a little too highly of yourself than you ought to.
God has allotted to us the same faith in quality, and we all have the same wonderful faith, which is our organic union with the Lord. But at the same time God has apportioned faith to us according to our measure – the matter of the quantity of faith apportioned to us by God depends upon how we grow.
Firstly, God allotted us the same faith in quality, and then He apportioned faith to us in quantity. God’s apportioning of the faith and the increase of our measure of faith depends upon our attitude. If we are not sober-minded but think more highly of ourselves, God would not increase the measure of our faith but He may probably even decrease it.
Oh, Lord Jesus! How much we need to continually humble ourselves, accept God’s dealing, allow His cross to operate in us, and let the other members of the Body to limit us and show us what our proper function and our exact measure is….
Lord Jesus, have mercy on us that we may see our place in the Body and we would function in our measure as members of the Body. Lord, we want to allow the other members to limit us that we may keep the order in the Body. Save us from going beyond our measure. May we always stay within Your apportioning, the measure given to us by You that we may function properly. Lord, make us a factor of building up of the Body.
References and Further Reading
- Sharing inspired from, The Mystery of Christ (by Watchman Nee, see chapter 8), and, Crystallization-study of the Epistle to the Romans (by Witness Lee, see msg. 1), as quoted in, the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Taking the Lead as Elders and Responsible Ones, week 7.
- Hymns on this topic:
# I want to encourage you all, / Without your supply I would fall. / Never think that your Christ is small. / Christ needs you, and so do we all.
# In experience not my boast, / Nor in gifts would be my pride; / For Thy building I give all, / That Thou may be glorified.
# Limit, Lord, my independence, / Let me to Thy Body turn; / Not just seeking light from heaven, / But the church’s sense to learn.
About aGodMan
We need the Lord's mercy to see that there's an order in the Body, that we have a specific place and function in the Body, and that we should function in the measure that God apportioned to us in the Body. We shouldn't think more highly of ourselves when it comes to functioning in the Body of Christ, neither should we despise our function as being "too small and insignificant". Every member of the Body has a particular portion with which he serves the Body, and each has its own function!
If we are sober minded when it comes to God's apportioning us our function in our measure, the Lord can increase our measure. But if we think more highly of ourselves, the Lord "stands against the proud but gives grace to the humble!" How much we need to humble ourselves before the Lord, accept His dealings, and allow Him to perfect us in our function, showing us what our measure is in the building up of the Body of Christ!
Wow, looking at your post, I have a long way to go. Keep pressing on brother!
amen, brother, we all have a long way to go. I am so happy the Lord has a way to continually show us our measure in the Body – so that we would grow and function properly, normally, and for the building up!
PS. Looking forward to the upcoming training. Almost done with the life-study of the Minor Prophets 🙂