Seeing that there is one Body in the universe and the local churches are the expression of the universal church in their particular locality, we need to practice the church life by having the consciousness of the Body of Christ. Amen!
It is amazing and wonderful to see how God designed and ordained the Body of Christ; when we see the Body, we will care for the Body, we will do everything in and for the Body, and we will have the consciousness of the Body in everything we do.
On one hand, the church is universal, transcending time and space; on the other hand, this universal church is expressed in each locality as the church in that locality, the local church.
We touch the local church, and by being in the local church, we enjoy and experience the universal church.
However, when we have the consciousness of the Body, the universal church, we will realize that God wants to build the Body of Christ and not merely the local church, so we will live under such a vision and realization.
Every local church is part of the unique, universal Body of Christ; every local church is a local expression of the universal Body.
We could say, therefore, that the church takes the ground of the locality as its ground for its existence; the church is not merely a concept, a doctrine, or a spiritual principle – the church is the Body of Christ, and it can be touched and experienced as we live in the local church life.
It is interesting to notice in the New Testament, however, that there is no “Pauline” church or “the church of Peter” or anything like that; the church is not named after a certain doctrine or person – it is the church of God and in God, and it is the church in a particular locality.
This simplifies everything and makes it all clear, for if we live in a locality, we simply should meet as the church in that locality.
We may travel for business or holiday and go to a different country and another locality; on the Lord’s day or even during the week, we meet with the church that is in that locality.
This settles all problems of difference of opinions, likes or dislikes, doctrines, and names – the church is one (for there is one God, one Christ, and one Spirit, and there is one Word of God), and in each locality, there is a local church as the local expression of the universal church.
As we live the local church life, however, we need to have the consciousness of the Body of Christ, for we are not merely in the local church but also members of the Body of Christ, which is universal.
Practicing the Church Life by taking the Feeling of the Head and having the Consciousness of the Body of Christ
In our practicing of the church life, we need to take the feeling of the Head, Christ, and we also need to have the consciousness of the Body of Christ.
We are not only believers in Christ and sons of God; we are also members of the Body of Christ, and as members, we need to have a feeling for the Body.
Paul had such a feeling; in Phil. 1:8 he said, I long after you all in the inward parts of Christ Jesus.
Paul had inward parts and feelings, but he took the inward parts of Christ as his own inward parts in caring for the church.
In our living and practicing the church life, we need to take the feeling of Christ, the Head; He is our Head, and He gives us a certain sense and feeling concerning the saints and concerning the Body.
We need to take care of one another in the church life realizing that we are under Christ as the Head, and we need to take the feeling of Christ, the Head, as our own feeling. This is very necessary for us to live the Body life in the church life.
As we take the feeling of the Head in practicing the church life, we should do this in the principle of caring for the Body.
In 1 Cor. 15:25-26, we see that the members have the same care for one another, and when one member suffers, all the members suffer with it, and when one member is glorified, all the members rejoice with it.
In order for us to have the Body life, we must be full of feeling for the Body, taking the feeling of the Head as our own feeling (Rom. 12:15; 1 Cor. 12:26-27; Acts 9:4-5).
If we as members of the Body have the feeling of the Head in everything and care for the Body, we will take the Body as the rule in our mind, thoughts, words, and actions (Eph. 4:15-16; Col. 2:19).
In ourselves, we care only for ourselves and our immediate relatives and friends; when we contact the Lord, however, and take Him as the Head, He fills us with a feeling and care for the Body.
The more we enjoy the Lord, the more we become conscious of the Body of Christ; our enjoyment of Christ causes us to become conscious of the Body of Christ (Col. 2:16-17, 19).
We need to not only meet in and as the local church but do so by having the consciousness of the Body of Christ.
This requires that we deny ourselves and identify ourselves with the Body (Matt. 16:24; Rom. 12:4-5, 15; 1 Cor. 1:2; 12:12-27); if we do this, the life we live will be the Body life, and the Lord will gain the expression of the Body (Eph. 4:15-16; 1:22-23).
If we do not know the Body and do not care for the Body, we will make many mistakes and even cause problems and turmoils in the church life.
The lack of seeing the Body and caring for the Body is the main source of problems, divisions, and turmoils in the church life.
We need to realize that, just as all the members of our physical body have a feeling for the body and do not do anything apart from the body, so we as members of the Body of Christ should have a consciousness of the Body of Christ and do everything in the Body and for the Body.
This doesn’t mean that we should check with other members of the Body concerning what we wear and where we go; rather, this means that we have a consciousness, a realization, and a proper consideration for the Body of Christ as we live the church life.
As we are practicing the church life in the local churches, we need to be those who are full of feeling for the Body, living the church life with the consciousness of the Body of Christ.
Lord Jesus, we come to You to enjoy You and take You as our Head; You are the Head of the Body, and we are members of Your Body. Amen, Lord, we take Your feeling as the Head to be our own feeling for the Body. Impart Yourself into us and cause Your feelings and inward parts to become our feelings and inward parts in our care for one another in the church life. Amen, Lord, keep us in Your enjoyment so that we may become conscious of the Body and have a proper consideration of the Body. We want to take the feeling of the Head in everything we do and care for the Body. May the Body be the rule in our mind, thoughts, words, and actions. Amen, Lord, we want to live and practice the local church life having the consciousness of the Body of Christ.
Seeing the Body, doing everything in the Body, and having a Proper Consideration of the Body
Whatever we believers in Christ do and say involves the Body; as members of the Body, all our actions affect the Body, so we need to have a proper consideration of the Body (2 Cor. 8:21; Eph. 4:16).
When brother Watchman Nee taught about the Body of Christ, he said that, whatever we do, we have to consider how the churches would feel about it.
We may be practicing the church life in a certain locality, but all our actions and doings affect the Body of Christ.
We should never forget that we are members of the Body, and the Body is NOT just one local church but many local churches, even all the local churches on the whole earth.
The local church where the Lord placed us is not a “local Body” but a local expression of the universal Body of Christ.
And the Body is of Christ, being constituted by the Triune God with all the believers on the earth, with all the local churches.
Whatever we do involves the Body; we need to live the church life and have our daily living with the consciousness of the Body of Christ.
We shouldn’t do anything without taking care of the Body (1 Cor. 12;27); rather, we should consider how the Body would feel about what we are doing, and how the Body will react.
The biggest problem, however, is our lack of seeing the Body, knowing the Body, and caring for the Body.
If we see the Body, we will care for the Body, we will do everything for the Body, and we will live with the consciousness of the Body, being full of a proper consideration of the Body.
How we behave ourselves depends upon the degree of our seeing the Body.
We are here on earth not merely as Christians or as believers in Christ; even if we seem to be isolated and with not many saints around us, we are members of the Body, and we are here for the Body.
We are here as those who are saved, regenerated, and grafted into Christ to be part of His corporate expression.
Without the backing of the Body of Christ, we have no way to practice the local churches.
If we practice the local church life and yet neglect the view of the Body, we become a sect, a local sect.
The recovery is for the Body, not for any individual or for any individual local church; when we do something, we need to have a consciousness of the Body, considering how will the Body react, how will the recovery react.
Having a vision of the Body will limit us from doing things that damage the Body, and our seeing of the Body will cause us to do all things for the building up of the Body.
However, simply being in the church life for decades does not mean that we see the Body; merely practicing the church life for a longer period of time doesn’t automatically mean that we know the Body.
We need to come back to the truth, practice the truth, and take care of the Body. Sometimes the Body is strong and sometimes it is weak – but it is still the Body.
If we take care of the proper order in the Body, having a proper consideration of the Body, the Body will be built up and become stronger.
However, if we are in one accord only in our local church but do not care for the other churches, this kind of one accord is a sect, a division (Acts 1:14; 15:24).
If we take care of the Body and are concerned for the Body, there will be NO problems.
May we be the Lord’s overcomers of today, those who see the Body, care for the Body, keep the principles of the Body, and know the Body, doing all things for the building up of the Body.
The Lord needs some who would open to Him and allow Him to infuse them with Himself, His own feeling for the Body, and produce them to be the overcomers who see the Body, know the Body, and care for the Body. May we be such ones.
Lord Jesus, You need the overcomers, those who know the Body and care for the Body. We give ourselves to You: produce us as Your overcomers. Infuse us with Your feeling and care for the Body so that we may do all things with consideration of the Body. Save us from doing things apart from the fellowship of the Body. Fill us with the consciousness of the Body so that we may live and practice the church life by having the Body in view. We come back to the truth and take care of the proper order in the Body so that the Body would be built up and become stronger. May we see the Body, care for the Body, and do everything in the Body and for the Body. May there be a consideration in us for the Body as we do this and that. Amen, Lord, we want to take care of the Body and be concerned for the Body in all the things we do and say.
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Sources of inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by Mark Raabe for this week, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1993, vol. 2, “The Problems Causing the Turmoils in the Church Life,” pp. 99-100, 107-108, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Vital Factors for the Lord’s Recovery of the Church Life (2021 ITERO), week 3, The Factor of the Church Being in the Triune God, the Local Churches Being Expressions of the Body of Christ, and the Believers Practicing the Church Life in the Consciousness of the Body.
- Hymns on this topic:
– As in a team we’d never / Act independently, / But in coordination, / Each would dependent be; / Not acting by our choosing / But following the flow, / Distraction never bringing, / The Spirit’s way we’d know. (Hymns #867)
– Your faith in Christ helps me pursue; / My progress depends upon you! / As I seek Christ, with you in view, / My heart, full of prayers, is for you. / 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)
– 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. (Hymns #913)
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