We Practice the Fellowship of the Body when we Come to the Lord’s Table and Eat the Bread

There is only one Body in this universe, and in all the local churches we express it here on earth; when we come to the Lord’s table, we come to practice the fellowship of the Body, for by eating the one bread we testify that we all are one!

On one hand each one of us as believers in Christ are connected to Christ in spirit, and there’s a flow of the divine life in our being; the more we touch the Lord and spend time with Him, opening to Him and letting Him speak to us and in us, the more we enjoy the flow of life.

On the other hand, there’s a flow in the Body of Christ, a circulation of the divine life, a fellowship among the churches; the more we fellowship among the churches in the blending, the more we practice the fellowship of the Body of Christ.

The Lord’s recovery is based on the truth that Christ has only one Body, and this one Body of Christ is expressed as the local churches; each local church is a local expression of the universal Body of Christ at that time in that particular locality.

As we learn to fellowship with the Lord and with one another, we enjoy the circulation of the divine life in the Body of Christ, and we practice the fellowship.

Just as there’s an uninterrupted circulation of blood in our human body, so there needs to be an uninterrupted fellowship in the Body of Christ, and the circulation of the divine life in our being and in the Body has to be constantly maintained.

The matter of fellowship is a mystery, for it issues from the divine life, which is a mystery; for us to take care of the Body of Christ is to take care of the flow, the circulation in the Body of Christ.

As members of the Body, it should be normal for us to fellowship with the Lord and to fellowship with the fellow members of the Body, for we are one Body in Christ, and there’s only one circulation of life in the Body.

The problems in our physical body are taken care of by the proper circulation of the blood; the problems in the Body of Christ are taken care by the proper circulation of the divine life.

As long as we take care of the flow of life, the circulation of the divine life, any problems are taken care of, and the supply is there.

The solution to all the problems in the church life is Christ and His cross; as long as we are under the constant transmission and dispensing of Christ and the cross by the Spirit in our spirit, we are inwardly supplied, any problems are dealt with, and we practice the fellowship in the Body of Christ.

The Circulation of the Spirit – the Fellowship of the Body – is Universally One!

The fellowship of the Body of Christ is the circulation, the current, of the Spirit; when the Spirit is circulating within the Body of Christ and among all the members, all the elements included in the Spirit are applied to our being.

The Spirit that flows in the Body of Christ is not merely the Holy Spirit but the Spirit, the all-inclusive, compound, life-giving Spirit which includes Christ’s divinity, His person, His death, and His resurrection.

The Spirit today is “the blood” in the Body of Christ; if there were no blood in our body, the body would be dried up and die – in a similar way, if the Body of Christ didn’t have the Spirit, it would be like a corpse.

The fellowship of the Body is simply the circulation, the current of the Spirit, and this Spirit is so rich! The Spirit has been consummated, compounded, and mingled, and now this Spirit is dispensing!

In this Spirit is all that Christ is, has, and has attained and obtained, including His all-terminating death, His empowering resurrection, and His ascension. As long as we enjoy the circulation of the Spirit by exercising our spirit, this Spirit comes into us and deals with any problem.

Just as the medicine knows where to go once it is taken into us, so that Spirit applies the elements included in it to the right part of our being.

This circulation of the Spirit – the fellowship of the Body – is one; every local church is part of the Body of Christ, and the fellowship of the Body is universally one. In this fellowship of the Body there is no separation (see Rev. 1:11; 2:7a).

There may be distinctions between the church in one locality and the church in another locality, but it is the same church – there is no separation! Because the fellowship of the Body is universally one, no church or region should isolate itself from the fellowship of the Body.

If a church or a region isolates itself from the fellowship of the Body of Christ, there will be darkness, confusion, division, and death.

The result of a local church cutting itself off from the fellowship of the Body – the circulation of the Spirit – is spiritual stroke, spiritual heart attack; if this cutting off is for a long period of time, we will have a gangrene.

This is why today we need to learn to be blended and have much fellowship among the local churches, so that we may practice the fellowship of the Body and enjoy the circulation of the Spirit.

This should be a warning to us, and we should pay careful attention to the crucial matter of the one fellowship among the churches. As we fellowship with the Lord, with the saints, and among the churches, the circulation of the Spirit will bring us all into oneness, and we will be the one Body of Christ for His expression.

Lord, keep us in the circulation of the Spirit in the Body of Christ so that we may enjoy and experience You in Your person, Your death, and Your resurrection. Keep us in fellowship with You, with the saints, and in fellowship among the churches so that we may practice the fellowship of the Body. Hallelujah, there is one Body in this universe, there is one fellowship of the Body, and there is no separation! Amen! Lord, we want to keep ourselves in this unique circulation of the Spirit so that we may enjoy all that You are and be brought into oneness.

We Practice the Fellowship of the Body when we Come to the Lord’s Table and Eat the Bread

A very simple yet enjoyable expression of practicing the fellowship of the Body is the Lord’s table; whenever we come to the Lord’s table, we come to practice the fellowship of the Body (see 1 Cor. 10:16-17).

The Lord’s table is a testimony that we who belong to Christ are one: there’s one bread on the table, and we are one Body of Christ; we partake of the one bread to be the one Body of Christ.

Our joint partaking of the one bread makes us all one; our partaking of Christ makes us all His one Body, for the very Christ whom we enjoy and of whom we all partake constitutes us His one Body.

But if we isolate ourselves from the fellowship of the Body, we’re not qualified to partake of the Lord’s body, because the loaf on the table signifies the entire Body of Christ.

On one hand, the bread on the table at the Lord’s Table meeting signifies the Lord’s physical body sacrificed for us on the cross, but another aspect of this bread is the one Body of Christ.

When we come together to partake of the Lord’s table, we need to realize that the bread on the table signifies all the churches as the one Body of Christ. When we partake of the bread on the table we practice the fellowship of the Body of Christ, and we identify ourselves organically with all the Body of Christ.

However, we need to not only partake of the one bread, but be one with all the local churches on earth and practice the fellowship among the churches in reality.

Among all the churches that compose the one universal Body of Christ there’s no organization, but there’s the fellowship of the Body of Christ. The Body of Christ is not an organization; the Body of Christ is an organism, and we realize the Body by fellowship.

The divine fellowship is the reality of living in the Body of Christ. How do we know we live in the Body? It is by being in fellowship. The divine fellowship should rule us and restrict us, and we will be kept in oneness.

When we are restricted by the divine fellowship, the Body of Christ is kept in oneness, and the work of the ministry is going on. The divine fellowship is the reality of living in the Body of Christ (see 1 Cor. 1:9; 12:12-13, 27), and we practice the fellowship of the Body when we come to the Lord’s table and eat the bread.

The reality of the Body is what the Lord wants to gain today, at the end of this age; He wants to gain a group of perfected God-men who live in the Body to build up the reality of the Body of Christ.

What can make this happen? Fellowship. May the Lord shepherd us into more and more real and genuine fellowship in the genuine church life.

Lord Jesus, we want to keep the oneness of the Body, learn to fellowship among the churches, and practice the fellowship of the Body when we come to the Lord’s table to eat the bread. Praise the Lord, there’s one bread on the table, and we who eat of this bread are the one Body of Christ, one with Christ the Head and one with all the other local churches in the Body of Christ. Thank You Lord, we can partake of You and of Your Body at Your table, thus showing our oneness to all! Praise the Lord!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by Mark Raabe for this week, and portions from, The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 2179-2181, 2186 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Genuine Church Life (2017 Thanksgiving Conference), week 4, Fellowship — the Reality of the Church Life.
• Hymns on this topic:
  # Do you see the Lord is coming / For the church for whom He died? / In the churches He’s preparing / Now His holy, chosen Bride. (Hymns #1257)
  # We’re gathered here, O Lord, as Thy one Body: / Though we be many, yet we all are one. / We share Thy life and own that we are members, / And thus within, in life we all are one. / There is one Body in this universe, / And we express it here on earth; / We stand as one in each locality / For all to see, for all to see. (Hymns #1107)
  # We’re eating the bread of His body once broken / As now we’re enjoying His Body made one: / One loaf on the table—one Body, we’re able / To testify to all that the Lord’s made us one. (Hymns #1106)