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Scripture Reading: Eph. 1:22-23; 4:16; 5:21; 6:10-18
In this chapter we would like to consider a few matters related to the Body of Christ. These matters concern: (1) the protection of the Body, (2) the restriction of the Body, and (3) the supply of the Body.
The church is the Body of Christ, and every Christian is a member of this Body. The Body not only supplies all the members but protects them as well. Protection by the Body is very crucial for the members in spiritual warfare. God's children suffer the devil's attack because they are too individualistic and do not have the protection of the Body. It is foolish as well as dangerous for anyone to expose his head or exhibit himself in days of warfare. Such ones do not come under the sheltering of the Body, and they afford Satan the opportunity to attack them. Spiritual warfare is not an individual matter but the work of the church. Ephesians is on the Body of Christ. Chapter one speaks of the spiritual blessings in the heavenlies that God has given us; the result is that we see the power of the resurrection of His Son. At the same time, chapter one also shows us that the Lord Jesus is the Head of the church and that the church is the Body of Christ, the vessel which contains Him. The Christ who fills all in all also fills the church. This is why the church is exceedingly rich. Chapter two speaks of how the church is produced. Although the church is rich, it should not forget its former condition. It attains its position of riches through the saving grace of God. Chapter three is on the mystery of God, which created one new man from the Gentiles and the Jews. Chapter four is on God's building of the Body and how the Body grows. Chapter five is on the church as the Body of Christ and how we should be restricted by this Body. Chapter six is on the armor of the Body. In 6:11 "you" is plural, which means that the whole armor of God is not for individuals. This special armor is for the Body. Every member has his particular function, and when these functions are put together, we have the whole armor of God, and we can engage in spiritual warfare.
Brothers and sisters, the spiritual armor is for the church, not for individuals. You cannot deal with Satan alone; you need the church to deal with him. Other members can see what you cannot see as an individual. Other members can garrison what you cannot garrison as an individual. Satan is not afraid when you pray alone, but when a few come together to pray, Satan will tremble. Some are outstanding in their faith, and they have the shield for protection. Others are particularly gifted with God's word, and they have the sword of the Spirit. When they exercise their sword and speak God's word, you receive help. Spiritual warfare is a corporate warfare; it cannot be fought by individuals alone. If you go to battle alone, Satan's attention will be directed toward you as an individual, and he will attack you as an individual. Those who do not see the Body think that they can do everything and that they are everything. These are the ones who are most likely to fail. It is easy for a single tree to be blown down by the wind, but it is not easy for a whole forest to be blown down by the wind. Satan is seeking for those without any covering and is concentrating his attacks on these isolated and independent ones. Whoever is under the covering of the Body is under protection. One of the functions of the Body is protection. Those who are under the protection of the Body will not suffer Satan's attacks. If a man is not under the protection of the Body, he will live as if the church does not exist; he will not see the Body of Christ. If he does not encounter assaults, nothing will happen; but the minute he faces an assault, he will fall. The experience of many Christians testifies to this fact. A certain brother was physically weak because he was an individual in the Lord's eyes; he did not have the protection of the Body of Christ, and he came under the attack of Satan while he was trusting and boasting in himself. Brothers and sisters, it is extremely dangerous to expose ourselves; it is very precarious to put our trust and confidence in ourselves. A battle in the physical world requires protection, and a battle in the spiritual world also requires protection. If a brother does anything independently, even though he is a good brother, he will be setting his own trap! Many spiritual defeats and failures happen when a person is alone and does not have the covering of the Body. Brothers and sisters, we are only members in the Body, and we cannot go on without the protection of the other brothers and sisters. Even Moses' hands needed the support of Aaron and Hur (Exo. 17:12). If Moses needed support from other members, how much more do we need support!
The gates of Hades cannot overcome the church. The Lord Jesus said, "The gates of Hades shall not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18). The gates of Hades cannot prevail against the church. The Lord Jesus never said that God's children can be independent and leave the church. Spiritual warfare is not an individual matter but a matter in the Body. If we want to have protection, we have to be among the brothers and sisters. Never think that we can go to war alone; this only invites trouble. However, unless we are dealt with in our natural life, we cannot put our trust in the brothers. If the natural life is not dealt with, a man is not only incapable of trusting in God, but he is incapable of trusting in the brothers as well. No stubborn or self-trusting person can walk in the footsteps of his brothers. God is after those who know themselves. He is after those who find their protection among the brothers. The vessel God is after is the whole Body. We are only members in the Body; this is why we need the help of the Body. Those who cannot be joined to the brothers and sisters, who do whatever they want and go wherever they want, will surely end up in failure. Is there no brother or sister they can fellowship with? Is there no brother or sister they can pray with? Brothers and sisters, whenever we do not have the Body, we do not have any protection, and we fall into trouble. A battle in the physical world requires covering. Throwing away one's own covering when covering is needed is a tactical mistake; such a risk will bring in nothing but death. The same is true with spiritual warfare. Brothers and sisters, if we do not have any protection and have not encountered any danger, we can only say that God has been merciful to us; we cannot say that we comprehend spiritual tactics.
We are only one member in the Body of Christ. We should not consider ourselves to be everything. Since we are merely a member in this Body, we should accept the restriction of the Body. Brothers and sisters, if you are a hand, you must be willing to remain a hand and also to come under the restriction of the other members. You must not allow yourself as the hand to act freely. Every part of the Body has to be restricted by the Body; no part can move independently. For example, you may want to leave your house. If some members of your body are lazy and do not want to leave the house, they still have to go along with your body. You cannot have the whole body leave while one member remains in the house. The same is true with your movement as a member of the Body of Christ. You must go with other brothers and sisters.
The work of the cross not only brings us into the Body, but also the Body becomes the very realm within which the cross works. If we were here only as a congregation, we might not need the cross. However, since we are together as the Body, we cannot go on without the cross. The cross will dig away our natural life, our own activities, and any disproportionate growth. The cross is indispensable to the church; it is indispensable among Christians. Whether or not we like it, we have to communicate with other brothers and sisters because we are all in the Body. Because we are in the Body, we have to be restricted and cannot be so free. If we were not members, we could seek our personal enjoyment. Since we are members, we cannot seek our own enjoyment anymore. If we come across a troublesome brother, we need to take up the cross. The cross will test us and sift away all our mixture and uncleanness. We must come under the restriction of the Body. The restriction of the Body will take away our freedom; it will drive us to the cross. Only after the cross has wrought a deep work in us will we be able to coordinate with the brothers and sisters.
Every Christian is a member of the Body of Christ. Hence, every Christian should come under the restriction of the Body of Christ and learn to bear the cross. Some have a very strong disposition. Such a strong disposition must be broken. Some are very peculiar. Such peculiarity must also be broken. No Christian can boast of his strength or his peculiarity in the church. In the church, anything sharp, glaring, or conspicuous has to be worn away.
Spiritually, we all need to depend on the other members, and we all need the restriction of the Body. God may grant grace to some to be miracle workers, and He may grant grace to others to be gospel preachers or teachers. If you can only preach the gospel, you should be satisfied with your function of preaching the gospel and humbly accept the Bible exposition of those who have the gift of teaching. If you have the gift of teaching, you should not think that you have everything; you should also honor and receive others' work. You have to learn to be restricted and allow others to do what you cannot do yourself. You have to learn to accept others' work as well as your own. In the spiritual work, no one is free to do everything.
Brothers and sisters, have you asked God to show you the measure He has given you? You should walk in the measure that God has given you. You can only walk within your measure; you cannot walk beyond that measure. Hence, you have to find out where the boundary of your measure is and accept this boundary. If you do this, you will not be covetous, ambitious, or restless to do many other things. Paul said, "But we will not boast beyond our measure but according to the measure of the rule which the God of measure has apportioned to us, to reach even as far as you....We are not boasting beyond our measure in others' labors, but have the hope, as your faith is increasing, to be magnified in you according to our rule unto abundance, so that we may announce the gospel unto those parts beyond you, not so that we may boast in another man's rule in things already prepared" (2 Cor. 10:13, 15-16). To go beyond one's measure is to overstep others; it is to intrude upon others and to push others out. We must remember that consecration leads to submission to Christ, whereas humility leads to submission to the Body. The psalmist said, "Nor do I go about in things too great/Or too wondrous for me" (Psa. 131:1). Things too great and things too wondrous are the things that are beyond one's measure. If everyone behaves this way, and if no one exercises himself in great matters or in things too wondrous for him, every member will function according to the measure of each one part. Otherwise, some in the church will withdraw while others will take over, and the church will suffer a loss. We should return to our position in the Body and be restricted by the Body. In this way the church will not suffer any loss.
One principle of the Body is fellowship. The fellowship of the Body is not just a matter of receiving but also a matter of supplying. If you think that all you have to do is receive and behave in an orderly and quiet way without causing any trouble, you do not know what is meant by the fellowship of the Body. You have become a hindering stone, a sickness, and a burden to the Body. Brothers and sisters, you have to remember that fellowship has to do with the life of the Body. Fellowship is the principle of the Body. Every part of the Body is open to continuous circulation. Whenever any part of the Body is cut off from fellowship, it becomes dead. Whenever a part is sick, the other parts will come to its rescue. This is the law of our physical body; it is the same with the spiritual Body. The principle of the Body life is mutual supply. Whenever a member acts against this law, he brings death into the Body and becomes a burden to the Body.
Paul told the Corinthians, "Whenever you come together, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up" (1 Cor. 14:26). Many come to meetings as spectators; they are bystanders. To come to the meeting in this way is to bring death to the meeting. A meeting often dies at the hand of the bystanders. Brothers and sisters, we must supply each other not only at the bread-breaking meeting but also at the message meeting.
Every part of the Body is in circulation, and no one can be stagnant. Anyone who becomes stagnant is halting the life of God and bringing death into the Body. It is impossible to have one member stagnant without causing damage to the Body. No member can be useful without the supply of the Body. Some become hurt and decide to hide themselves and to be alone, pursuing spirituality individually. But let them try and see whether they can truly be spiritual. Life cannot become stagnant. Never think that a person can be spiritual by hiding in a place alone to have a spiritual retreat. The vessel God is after is a Body, not individuals. Those who are independent and detached from the Body will not last for long.
The Lord Jesus was thirsty one day as He sat by the well of Jacob. But the Samaritan woman was thirstier than the Lord. When the Lord gave her the living water, she was satisfied. When the disciples came back with food, the Lord was no longer hungry (John 4:5-34). When we serve others and quench their thirst, we become satisfied. When we learn to bear others' burdens, our own burden becomes light. There is no retirement in spiritual work. The Lord Jesus said, "My Father is working until now, and I also am working" (John 5:17). Whenever we stop functioning, we stop living. A Christian must supply others not only in meetings but also in his daily life and work.
May the Lord open our eyes to see the Body, to have the protection of the Body, to be restricted by the Body, and to supply others. May the Lord show each one of us that we all have a part in the meeting. It is not enough for us to speak about the Body; we have to practice the Body in our living. The Body of Christ is not a doctrine but a real life. Brothers and sisters, if we find that we can live and walk without the protection, restriction, and supply of the Body, we have not seen the revelation of the Body of Christ. After a person has received God's life, he will feel dry if he walks according to his natural life. In the same way, after one has received the revelation of the Body of Christ, he will feel wrong as soon as he walks in an individualistic way. If we do not have the revelation, it is easy for us to forget this, and we will remember it only as long as we remember the doctrine. But if we have this revelation, the revelation itself will become a law of life in us, and there will be no need to remember anything. For example, we do not have to remember to blink our eyes; spontaneously our eyes blink. If we have received the revelation of the Body of Christ, spontaneously we will feel the need for the Body; there will be no need for us to remember anything. Those who walk according to outward laws are the Jews, and those who live according to their memory are living according to the law and not according to life. If we are touched by the Lord within, and if our eyes are opened to see the Body of Christ, we will spontaneously live in the Body. Therefore, the most important thing is to have revelation. God is recovering the life of the Body rather than the doctrine of the Body. The Body of Christ is a life. The Body of Christ is a matter of experience, and we have to enter into the reality of this Body. Brothers and sisters, if we are in the Body of Christ, we will know that it is something real and concrete. We must not only understand the principle of the Body of Christ, we must also see the principle of the Body of Christ. If we see the Body, we will have the Body life spontaneously.
