Being True Spiritual Men doing All things in the Body for the Recovery of the Body Testimony

The Lord today is recovering the most difficult thing, which is the fulfillment of Eph. 4:11-14; God’s ultimate work is the recovery of the Body testimony – not merely the pursuit of spirituality individualistically but the corporate testimony of Jesus.

We all as believers in Christ are members of the organic Body of Christ, and each one of us has a particular function in our measure; our function needs to be exercised for the building up of the Body of Christ.

There has never been a time like this in church history, in which we all as the one-talented members of the Body of Christ are being perfected to function in the Body for the building up of the Body.

Many have gone before us and have become patterns to us of those who not only function in their measure but also perfect others to function in their measure. May we give ourselves to the Lord for His need in this age today.

Martin Luther was one who cooperated with God in the age he lived in; in the age of Reformation, God used him to recover the excellent truth of justification by faith.

Such a truth was there in the Bible from the beginning, but Martin Luther uncovered it and brought it to light.

Later, in the 1700s the Moravian Brethren were raised up; the Lord used Count Zinzendorf in a wonderful way, and the church life was recovered in an initial way.

Furthermore, the Lord used the Moravian brethren to spread the truth of initial salvation to many countries around the world.

Later there were some who recovered Christ as our inner life; people such as Madam Guyon and Father Fenelon had a reaction to the deadness of the state churches, and they focused on Christ as our inner life.

This involves having an organic union with the Lord and the denial of the self.

Then the Lord raised up the Wesley brothers – John Wesley and Charles Wesley; then, He raised up John Whitefield, who preached the gospel in open air to thousands of people.

In the 19th century the Lord raised up some saints in Dublin, Ireland; they were simply calling one another, brothers, so others called them “the British Brethren”.

The main one among them was J. N. Darby, who was used by the Lord to translate the Bible into French, German, and English, and he also wrote a whole synopsis of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation.

The Lord raised Hudson Taylor, who sacrificed everything, including his life, to preach the gospel to mainland China, even in the interior of mainland China.

The Lord also raised George Muller in England; he had an orphanage and operated it purely by faith, and the Lord took care of him in a marvellous way.

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the Lord raised Jesse Penn Lewis, who preached the truth of the cross.

Then in the 1900s, the Lord raised Watchman Nee; he wrote, The Normal Christian Faith, The Normal Christian Life, and The Normal Christian Church Life.

He was involved in the recovery, the restoration, and the return to a normal condition of what the church should be in faith, in Christian life, and in the church life.

Later the Lord raised a close co-worker of Watchman Nee, Witness Lee, whom the Lord sent to the USA, and he had an enlarged view of God’s economy and the Body of Christ.

Now it is our turn – we are not “spiritual giants” but rather, we’re members of the Body, and at the end of this age the Lord wants to use us to be those who meet His need and live a life for His good pleasure.

God’s Ultimate Work is the Recovery of the Body Testimony as seen in Eph. 4:11-16

Brothers Watchman Nee and Witness Lee are patterns to us not only in diving into the truth and digging to find out the deeper meaning and application of the Word of God but also in perfecting the saints so that the saints would do the work of the building up of the church.

The Lord today is recovering the most difficult thing – His ultimate work is the recovery of the Body testimony as seen Eph. 4:11-16.

There has never been a time like this in the history of the church in which we have so much truth, so many local churches, and so many opportunities to be perfected and be members of the Body who function in their measure for the building up of the Body.

The Lord today has raised up some gifts, those who have a greater capacity and ability in the church, but these gifts are not for them to replace the saints and do a great work for God but rather, to perfect the saints.

There’s the need for all the saints to be perfected; we need to open to the Lord and open to the perfecting of the gifted members, even present ourselves to the Lord and to the church to be perfected in our function.

The church is the Body of Christ, and as the Body, the church builds itself up in love; the way this happens is by the function of each and every member of the Body.

The saints are the many members of the Body, and the saints are being perfected unto the work of the ministry, unto the building up of the Body of Christ, until we all arrive at the oneness of the faith (Eph. 4:12-13).

The work of the New Testament ministry is not to build up a great mega-church here and another great ministry there; it is to build up the Body of Christ.

God’s original intention to which we are brought back to us that the Body of Christ would be built up so that the bride of Christ may be prepared to bring the Lord back with His kingdom, for us to rule and reign with Him as His co-kings for one thousand years, which will be our wedding day.

This will consummate in the New Jerusalem, the bride of Christ, for us to live a married life with the Lord for eternity.

For the grand purpose of God to be fulfilled, for Him to gain the New Jerusalem, He needs to have the recovery of the Body testimony as seen in Eph. 4; He needs to recover this in this age, so that He may gain the built-up Body becoming the Bride who brings Him back.

When it comes to matters such as the new heaven, the new earth, and the lake of fire, we don’t have to worry about these, for the Lord will take care of these; what we need to pray for and cooperate with the Lord for is the building up of the church.

We need to actively participate in God’s ultimate work, the recovery of the Body testimony in this age.

We believe there will be a day when God’s recovery will reach this ultimate stage.

If we look around in Christianity today, we see so much confusion and division; there are many kinds of ministries, and the situation is very complicated.

How can oneness be recovered? How can the function of all the members be recovered?

We trust in God for His ultimate work of recovery, knowing that the ultimate among His works of recovery may very well be the recovery of the Body testimony.

He wants to bring us back to the beginning, to the divine revelation in His word. May we cooperate with Him and pray,

Lord Jesus, we want to participate and be one with You in your ultimate work of the recovery of the Body testimony on earth today. We give ourselves to You, Lord, to be recovered back to Your original intention. Bring us back to the beginning and recover us to what You reveal in Your word concerning the church as the Body of Christ. Amen, Lord, may there be the perfecting of the saints unto the work of the ministry unto the building up of the Body of Christ, until we all arrive at the oneness of the faith! Release the perfecting of the saints. May the perfected and equipped saints function in their measure for the building up of the church. Amen, Lord, bring us back to the normal and original situation in the Body where the Body builds itself up in love by the function of all the members!

Being True Spiritual Men Governed by their Spirit and doing All things in, through, and for the Body

Many loving seekers of the Lord seek spirituality; throughout the history of the church, there are the genuine believers who have a spiritual pursuit.

And it is good for us to be spiritual, but having spiritual pursuit can actually damage us and bring us into division if we do not do it in the sphere of the Body of Christ.

If we seek spirituality and desire to be spiritual but do not do this in the Body and for the Body, we will eventually end up creating yet another division in the Body.

Many have been severely damaged by so-called “spiritual pursuit”; though it seems there’s nothing wrong with spiritual pursuit, having such a pursuit can lead us to division unless we do it in the Body and for the Body.

For example, the Lord raised up Mrs. Jesse Penn-Lewis, who was a person with high spiritual attainment; she saw very much concerning the experience of the death of Christ in a subjective way.

At one point, she gained a young co-worker named T. Austin-Sparks, and they worked together for a short time; then, he left and started his own meeting and ministry, not being able to “be spiritual” together with sister Penn-Lewis.

Mrs. Peen-Lewis felt there was no need of actual water baptism for baptism, as long as someone is baptized in the Holy Spirit; furthermore, she spiritualized the Lord’s Table also.

Mrs. Penn-Lewis knew the subjective experience of the Lord’s death, and T. Austin-Sparks saw the resurrection of Christ and the resurrection life.

However, because he had his own spiritual knowledge and felt that his spiritual knowledge was higher than that of Mrs. Penn-Lewis, he left and started his own work; there was even a sense of rivalry between them.

Both of them were “spiritual” but they could not be “spiritual” together.

Although T. Austin-Sparks was “spiritual,” he was shallow in his understanding of the church; because he did not have a sufficient understanding of the church (the oneness of the church and the ground of the church), during his second and final visit to Taiwan, he expressed dissenting views, and the loss brought about by this was ten times, even fifty times, greater than the help he rendered.

In other words, he was very spiritual, he rendered much spiritual help to the believers, but the result of his work is that division was brought into the church.

He sought spirituality, he experienced truly something of the Lord, but when he ministered to others, division was brought into the Body, and saints wanted to seek more spirituality instead of seeking to experience Christ for the church.

We surely need to be genuine spiritual men, those who are dominated, governed, and directed by our mingled spirit; we need to be those who are moved by our spirit, those ruled, controlled, and led by our spirit (Rom. 6:4, 6).

However, our being spiritual has to be in the realm of the Body and for the Body.

We need to be those who live according to our mingled spirit and who do all things in the Body, through the Body, and for the Body of Christ.

For us to be true spiritual men, we need to be in the mingled spirit and be diligent to keep the oneness of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace (Eph. 4:3; 1 Cor. 2:14-15; 3:1, 3).

May we be true spiritual men today, those who actively participate in God’s work of recovery of the Body testimony, those who live in the mingled spirit and do all things in the Body and for the Body.

Lord Jesus, save us from having a spiritual pursuit that is not in and for the Body. May we be true spiritual men who are led and governed by the spirit and who do all things in the Body and for the Body. Bring us up-to-date with You – make us those who not only exercise their spirit to experience Christ but who also live in the church as the Body of Christ, seeking to keep the oneness of the Body! Amen, Lord, we want to be diligent to keep the oneness of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace! Keep us in our mingled spirit, Lord, and keep us in the Body. May we live Christ for the church, and may we experience Christ for the building up of the Body of Christ, for God’s ultimate work of recovery of the Body testimony on earth today!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Sources of inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, a message by bro. Ed Marks on this topic, and portions from, Messages Given during the Resumption of Watchman Nee’s Ministry, 2nd ed., vol. 1, chs. 46-47, 53, 55, 61, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Meeting God’s Need and Present needs in the Lord’s Recovery, week 2, God’s Good Pleasure.
• Recommended further reading:
  – Thus we must be built together, / In position minister; / For the basis of our service / Is the body character. / In our ministry and service, / From the Body, our supply; / If detached and isolated, / Out of function we will die. (Hymns #913)
  – All the gifted persons given / To the Body by the Head / Are to aid the Church’s building, / That to fulness she be led. / All the gifts and all the functions, / All the spirit’s power shown, / All the ministries are given / For the Church and that alone. (Hymns #914)
  – 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)