The Supply of the Body is the Bountiful Supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ

The supply of the Body of Christ is the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, typified by the compound ointment, the holy anointing oil; the compound Spirit is in and for the Body and for the priestly service that build up the Body.

This week we come to three further principles of the Body, that is, The Supply of the Body, the Members of the Body, and the Limitation of the Body.

Our seeing of the Body of Christ and our longing for the Body of Christ has to increase more and more, for this is what the Lord desires to have in this age today. What the Lord wants has to become what we want, and it has to be the meaning of our Christian life.

The Lord has brought us into His recovery and He has placed us in the local churches for the purpose of building up the Body of Christ. The Body of Christ is not a doctrine to us – it is a reality, so we are willing to consecrate ourselves to the Lord for the reality of the Body of Christ to increase more and more, for the Lord’s return to be hastened.

The Lord wants to gain the reality of the Body of Christ, and we need to keep the principles of the Body of Christ.

Just as in our physical body there are some organic principles, some inward laws, so the Body of Christ as a living organism has some principles. In our human body there are some laws of our digestive system, our metabolism, etc and we need to periodically go and have a physical check-up to see how well we are doing.

To have the reality of the Body of Christ we need to come to the Lord and allow Him to shine on us and see “how well are we doing” according to the principles of the Body of Christ.

Is there a manifestation of the oneness of the Body of Christ among us? Do we keep the oneness of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace?

Are we being conformed to the death of Christ in our experience day by day? Is the cross operating in us and among us for the reality of the Body of Christ?

Is there a proper circulation in the Body of Christ, and is there the fellowship among the churches for the Spirit to flow among the churches?

May the Lord have mercy on us and shine on us so that we may be brought up to His standard concerning the Body of Christ, so that we may be His organic Body in reality on earth today.

Under the Lord’s light we need to see the organic principles of the Body and realise how much reality of the Body we have, and we need to cooperate with the Lord to be brought further into the reality of the Body of Christ.

The Supply of the Body of Christ is the Bountiful Supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ

A principle of the Body is the supply of the Body; the supply of the Body of Christ is the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, typified by the compound ointment, the holy anointing oil (see Phil. 1:19-21; Exo. 30:23-25).

In Phil. 1:19 Paul testified that he knew that this – his situation – will turn out to salvation through the saints’ petition and the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

What is this “Spirit of Jesus Christ”? God’s Spirit is one; yet here we find a particular title, the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

In Gen. 1 in God’s creation we see that the Spirit of God is actively moving; at the beginning of the Gospels we see that God became flesh and the Spirit is called “the Holy Spirit”, for He sanctified the humanity so that God may be incarnated.

This God-man Jesus not only lived a God-man life on earth but also went to the cross, died, and resurrected from the dead.

The Spirit of Jesus Christ is a compound title referring to His humanity, His human living, and His crucifixion (all these are referred to by “the Spirit of Jesus”), and His resurrection, His being made Lord and Christ (these are referred to by “the Spirit of Christ”).

This Spirit is a bountiful supply to supply us bountifully with whatever we need.

The expression for “bountiful supply” in Greek refers to the choragus, the leader of the chorus, who has the duty of supply all the needs of everyone who is in the chorus; whether food, shelter, medicine, etc, the choragus would take care of it.

Paul used such a word to describe how the Spirit of Jesus Christ has become our bountiful supply. The supply of the Body is the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

This bountiful supply is typified by the holy anointing oil in Exo. 30, which God commanded Moses to make in a specific way and anoint all the utensils and the tabernacle with all that is related to it.

There was one hin of olive oil (a type of the Spirit), compounded with four kinds of spices: myrrh, cinnamon, calamus, and cassia.

All these spices typify the rich elements in the Spirit of Jesus Christ; in Him we have the Spirit together with Christ’s humanity (typified by the four spices), compounded with the sweetness and effectiveness of His death (signified by myrrh and cinnamon), the power and effectiveness of His resurrection (signified by the calamus and cassia).

Myrrh was a spice used for burial, and it signifies the preciousness of the death of Christ; in the universe everything related to death is corrupted, defiling, and stinky, but Christ’s death is precious and sweet.

Cinnamon signifies the effectiveness of His death. Calamus is a reed growing from marshy places, signifying the power of His resurrection, and cassia was used as a repellent for snakes and insects, signifying the effectiveness of the Lord’s resurrection.

The supply of the Body is the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, and this supply is compounded with the Spirit, the uplifted humanity of Jesus, the Lord’s death with its sweetness and effectiveness, and the Lord’s resurrection with its power and efficacy. Hallelujah!

Thank You Lord for the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, the supply of the Body! Amen, Lord, we want to remain in the Body to enjoy the supply of the Body of Christ. Amen, Lord, we need Your supply in the Body. We need all that You are, a compound of divinity, the Spirit, humanity, death with its sweetness and effectiveness, and resurrection with its power and efficacy. Amen, Lord Jesus, we believe that our situation will turn out to our salvation through the petition of the saints and the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ!

The Bountiful Supply of the Spirit is in and for the Body and for the Priestly Service in the Body

The holy ointment which God told Moses to make in a specific way was not for all of the people of Israel but in particular for the tabernacle with all its utensils, and for the priests serving in the tabernacle.

In other words, the compound Spirit is in and for the Body and for the priestly service that builds up the Body (Rom. 15:16; 1 Pet. 2:5, 9).

Psa. 133 confirms this; here we see how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity; it is like the fine oil upon the head that ran down upon the beard, and ran down upon the hem of Aaron’s garments.

Our oneness in the church life is likened to the inestimable goodness (how good…) of the precious ointment on the head of Aaron and to the incalculable pleasantness (how pleasant it is…) of the dew of Hermon on the mountains of Zion.

The ointment is for the Body – it is not for individuals; if we are separated and detached from the Body, we cannot experience the anointing.

If we are individualistic, if we are not one with the brothers and the sisters, and if we don’t dwell together in unity but rather are separate, we cannot enjoy the rich compound Spirit flowing and anointing us.

The apostle Paul exemplifies one who lived in the Body and enjoyed the bountiful supply of the Spirit in the Body; physically, he was in a Roman prison, but in spirit, he was in the Body, being bountifully supplied by the anointing Spirit.

Paul realised that he was a member of the Body, and as such, the anointing was there for him to partake of.

The bountiful supply of the Spirit is the supply of the Body, and when we are in the Body in a practical way, we enjoy this supply.

However, as we often experience, we may not be properly related to the saints, and we may not function in our priestly service; then, we may need some prayer, so we ask someone to pray with us and for us…and this prayer may have little effect.

One of the main reasons for lack of effectiveness in our prayer for one another is that we may stand apart from the Body.

When we do not stand in the Body, our prayer will be dry and our intercession is ineffective, for the anointing is not upon us individually but upon the Body of Christ.

Because so many Christians are cut off from the Body and from the priestly service, it is extremely difficult for them to share the bountiful supply of the Spirit.

But if we are one with the Lord in the Body and we function as priests in the priesthood for the building up of the church, we enjoy the bountiful supply of the Spirit, that is, the holy anointing oil which supplies us bountifully.

When we are one with the church and stay in our priestly service, we enjoy the rich anointing of the all-inclusive Spirit.

At such times, even a little praying or calling on the name of the Lord, perhaps even saying Amen, causes us to enjoy this anointing.

If we have a problem with the church and we don’t want to serve as priests, we don’t have the anointing.

We may think we can enjoy the Lord at home, for He is everywhere…but eventually our enjoyment will dry up. As long as we remain in the Body and serve as priests, the supply is ours.

Lord Jesus, we want to simply remain in the Body and serve as priests for the building up of the Body, and we want to enjoy the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Hallelujah, the compound Spirit is not for individuals but in and for the Body and for the priestly service that builds up the Body! Lord, we are one with You, we are one with the church, and we serve You as priests in the church life; now the rich anointing of the all-inclusive Spirit is ours! Hallelujah! We praise You, Lord Jesus!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by the brothers for this week, and portions from, Life-study of Philippians, msgs. 5, 33 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Living in the Reality of the Body of Christ by Keeping the Principles of the Body (2019 ICSC), week 4, The Supply of the Body, the Members of the Body, and the Limitation of the Body.
• Hymns on this topic:
  # Pure myrrh and cinnamon, / Calamus and cassia— / These are Thy elements, / Jesus my Lord! / In olive oil they’re blent / In wondrous measurement— / O what an ointment this, / Anointing us! / Four-in-one mingled, / Compounded Spirit, / Sweet with Christ’s suffering death, / Full of the fragrance / Of resurrection— / O what an ointment flows / In spirit, Lord! (Hymns #1116)
  # Jesus Christ, the Spirit, / All-inclusive cure, / Is a compound ointment, / Life-giving and pure; / By His sweet anointing / All are sanctified; / For the church, the Spirit / Is intensified. (Song on, The Central Line in the Bible)
  # Behold how good and how pleasant it is, / For brethren to dwell together in unity! / Behold how good and how pleasant it is, / For brethren to dwell together in unity! / It is like the precious ointment upon the head, / That ran down upon the beard, / Even Aaron’s beard: / That went down to the skirts of his garments. (Hymns #1339)