For the one new man to come into existence practically and function properly, we all need to grow in the divine life unto maturity and we need to be perfected in our function so that all the perfected members of the Body would build up the Body by functioning in their measure.
There may be thousands of churches on earth, but where is the reality of the Body of Christ? There may be tens of thousands of believers, but where is the one new man in reality and practicality?
There may be a good arrangement in the church life, and the saints may be serving and helping with many practical things, but where is the arriving unto the full-grown man for the one new man to come into existence practically?
We need to pray that the Lord would put in us a longing and even a desperation that He would grow in us and grow in all the saints for the one new man to come into existence for the fulfilment of God’s purpose.
Outwardly the Lord has arranged so many things for the one new man to come into existence practically, but there has to be an intrinsic inward reality; there’s a highway that we need to walk on, and we need to have an earnest desire for the Lord to do this in us, so that we may be brought unto maturity for the new man.
For the one new man we all need to arrive at a full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
For this, maturity in life is necessary; we need to be brought on to maturity so that we may arrive at maturity in life and arrive at a full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
How can we arrive at a full-grown man? It is by growing up into Christ in all things; we should no longer be children tossed about by waves of teachings but we should have Christ increase in us in all things until we arrive at a full-grown man.
In all things – both small and great – we need to let Christ grow in us, taking Him as our life and person so that we may grow unto maturity.
Our growth is also in the Body and for the Body; the Christ into whom we grow is the Head of the Body, so our growth is in the Body and for the Body, and as we grow we are fitted in the Body wherever we are and whatever we do.
Actually, our growth in life into Christ is the growing with the growth of God; true growth is nothing but the increase of God in us, the addition of God to our being.
On one hand we need to grow in Christ in all things, and on the other hand we need to be perfected in our function so that the new man would be perfect functionally.
Growing in Christ, Being Saturated with Christ, and being Perfected to Function in the Body
The New Testament shows us that the very Christ who was incarnated, crucified, and resurrected and has ascended to the third heaven has come into us as the life-giving Spirit to regenerate us and make us members of the Body of Christ.
As members of the Body we have Christ as the Spirit working within us to constitute us into functioning members of the Body.
On one hand we ourselves need to grow in the divine life by enjoying the Lord, contacting Him, having fellowship with Him, and allowing Him to grow in us.
On the other hand, He makes His home in our heart and saturates us with Himself.
As the Lord saturates us with His element, we are sanctified in our nature, we are purified in our heart, we are nourished and cherished, and we are transformed.
The result is not only that we grow in life but that we also become perfected functionally, that is, we start to function in our measure. The result of growing in Christ and being saturated with Him is that we are being perfected to function in the Body.
The Lord has given some gifts to the Body, and these gifts perfect the many saints so that these perfected saints would build up the Body directly.
The Body is not built up directly by the Head or by the gifts mentioned in Eph. 4:11; the Body is built up directly by the members that were perfected by the gifted saints to function in their measure.
May we be those who experience Christ and grow in Him; the more we grow in Him, the more there is a sphere, a realm, in which we can function.
The degree to which we can minister Christ depends on the degree to which we have experienced Christ. The more we experience Christ, the more we can minister Him to others. The more we minister Christ, the more others will be nourished.
There’s a vital need for Christ to be wrought into our being. The more we as the members of the Body are saturated with Christ, the more we become in reality parts of the Body that have a particular measure of function.
The more we are saturated with the Lord, the more we can function in our measure in the Body, and as we function properly, the Body will grow.
Praise the Lord for opening His word to us and revealing to us that we all need to grow in Christ, experience Christ, be saturated with Christ, and be perfected to function in the Body according to our measure!
When all the members of the Body function in the Body, Satan will tremble and the Lord’s return is hastened.
Our functioning is in the Body and according to the measure that God has given us; we should function in the Body and in the way of coordination, not individualistically.
Lord Jesus, thank You for going through a process to come into us and make us members of the Body. Amen, Lord Jesus, we want to cooperate with Your inner operation so that we may be constituted into functioning members of the Body. Make Your home in our heart. Saturate us with Yourself so that we may be sanctified, purified, nourished, cherished, and transformed. Amen, Lord Jesus, we open to Your inner operating and to the perfecting of the gifted members so that we may become perfected functionally for the building up of the Body of Christ!
All the Saints need to be perfected to Function in their Measure for the Building Up of the Body
Paul’s word in Eph. 4 concerning the gifted members and the saints being perfected indicates that God’s intention is to have every believer be able to do the things that the gifted persons do.
The apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the shepherds and teachers are not given by the Head to replace the function of all the other saints.
They are not the “professional Christians” that should function to the uttermost while all the believers appreciate them and let them do their work. Rather, every believer should be able to do the work of an apostle, a prophet, an evangelist, and a shepherd and teacher.
Unfortunately, in today’s Christianity we see something completely different; what we see today is that a certain group of people are the clerical class, doing “the holy service”, while the rest of the believers are the laity, the ones who listen and not really function.
Such a philosophy and practice actually annuls the spiritual, organic function of all the believers.
We need to realise that, just as a human being by birth has a certain capacities that need to be develop through exercise and practice, so as believers in Christ there’s a capacity in the divine life which, through practice and exercise, can be developed.
In the human life we have the capacity of hearing, seeing, smelling, speaking, walking, etc; all these are in us by birth, but we need to practice them and develop them.
Similarly in the spiritual life, we are born of God with certain capacities, one of which is to function by speaking to build up the church.
The traditional practice in Christianity annuls the capacity in the divine life that the believers possess and enjoy; such a practice robs the believers of the opportunities to function.
But praise the Lord, in the church life we are learning not only how to enjoy the Lord, grow in life, experience Christ, and let Him make His home in our heart, but we are also being perfected to function in our measure for the building up of the Body of Christ.
In His recovery the Lord desires to recover the perfecting of all the members of the Body of Christ (Eph. 4:11-16).
Paul’s thought concerning the perfecting of the saints is that God’s intention is to have every believer able to do the things that the gifted persons do.
The Lord wants to recover the perfecting of the saints so that each one part of the Body of Christ may do the work of the ministry by operating in its measure for the building up of the organic Body of Christ.
Paul labored for this; he labored and struggled according to the operation which operated in him in power, so that he would present every man full-grown in Christ.
When the one new man was created in our spirit through regeneration, it was complete as far as the organs are concerned; however, because the one new man has not yet been complete in function, there’s a need for us to grow in life and be renewed, and we need to be perfected to function in our measure (Col. 2:19; 3:10; Eph. 4:11-16, 23-24).
The growth of the new man results in the function of the new man. As long as the new man is short of growth and renewing, it will be lacking in function.
The one new man needs to grow and develop; as a result, the one new man will perfect in function.
Right now, because of the shortage of growth, the new man cannot function properly. But we are in the process of being perfected to function in our measure!
The New Jerusalem will be the final consummation of the universal new man (see Rev. 21:2, 10). When we are in the New Jerusalem, we will enjoy the life of the universal one new man.
Today in the church life we may have a foretaste of the consummation of the one new man by setting our mind on the things above and by giving a free way for the new man in our spirit to spread into our whole being (Col. 3:1-2; Eph. 4:23-24).
Lord Jesus, recover the perfecting of all the members of the Body of Christ that all may function in their measure for the building up of the Body! May each part of the Body of Christ grow in life and be perfected by the gifted members so that they may do the work of the ministry by operating in its measure for the building up of the organic Body of Christ! We give ourselves to You, Lord, that we may grow in life, have the increase of the element of God in us, be perfected in our function in the Body, and operate in our measure for the building up of the Body! Amen, Lord Jesus, may the one new man be completed in function by our growing in life and being renewed!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by bro. James Lee for this week, and portions from, Life-study of Ephesians, msg. 93 (Witness by Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The One New Man Fulfilling God’s Purpose in Creating Man (2019 fall ITERO), week 5, Laboring according to God’s Operation to Present Every Believer Full-grown in Christ for the Function and Consummation of the One New Man.
- Hymns on this topic:
– Many gifts the Lord has given, / That His Body He may build, / That the saints may be perfected / And their ministry fulfilled. / Thus we must put off the old man / That we may put on the new; / Thus, renewed in mind and spirit, / We will bear God’s image true. (Hymns #823)
– 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)
– 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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