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Scripture Reading: Rom. 12:4-5
Brothers and sisters, we know that we are believers. But how many of us know that we are not just believers but members as well? We know that part of the Adamic life is sinful and natural, and we have to deal with both of these things. However, we also have to deal with the individualistic life. What is the individualistic life? It is the life that exists independently, lives independently, and acts independently. It is the life which lives as if it is the only life on this earth. This individualistic life frustrates us from being blended into the Body of Christ. We must realize that the opposite of the Body is individualism. In order to be blended into the Body, we have to be delivered from our individualism.
The Body of Christ is not a doctrine; it is something that we have to enter into. If we do not enter into the Body, we will not know the Body. Those who are saved can easily spot those who are not yet saved. In the same way, those who are in the Body can easily spot those who are not in the Body. At the time you were saved, you did not merely hear the doctrine of salvation; you saw Christ as a vibrant life. Some are in the Body of Christ already, while others are not in it. Brothers and sisters, when you were saved, you were brought into a new realm. After you entered that new realm, you clearly could see the condition of those who were not saved. In the same way, those who are living in the Body clearly see the condition of those who are not in the Body. Those who are not in the Body of Christ feel that they are the only person living on the earth and that they are everything. A man can understand the book of Romans and still not be saved. In the same way, a man can understand the book of Ephesians and still not see the Body of Christ. We are delivered from sin, and we are in Christ. It is true that we are saved, but we need another salvation that delivers us from individualism into the Body of Christ.
It is all right for us to live as individuals, but it is not all right for us to be individualistic. God allows us to be individuals, but He does not allow us to be individualistic. Before we enter the Body of Christ, we are saturated with individualism; even our spiritual pursuit is based on our individualism. Why do we want to be holy? We want to be holy for ourselves. Why do we want power? We want power for ourselves. Why do we want fruit for our work? We want fruit for ourselves. Why do we pursue the kingdom? We pursue it because we ourselves want to gain it. Why are we seeking? We are seeking for ourselves. Everything is centered around "ourselves." But this is not the Body. This is individualism. On the day of Pentecost, three thousand people were saved. We may think that it would be wonderful if we could save three thousand in one day and bear so much fruit, but we have to remember that eleven apostles also stood up together with Peter. Did the other apostles say, "Peter can save men, and so can we. Is Peter the only one who can have a platform and who can save men?" We know, of course, that no such words were spoken. God is not after individual vessels; He is after a corporate vessel. Those who have genuinely seen the Body of Christ are not jealous of others. It does not matter who is doing the work. Everything is in the Body and has nothing to do with individuals.
Therefore, we must consider ourselves not only as believers but also as members. I am a member; therefore, I am not the whole or even the half. I am only a small part of the Body. If you see the Body and see that you are only a member, this will be a great salvation to you. In the past you might have considered everything in an individualistic way. Your work was an individual work, and your life was an individual life. Everything was individual. When you see the Body, you are spontaneously delivered from individualism. You see Christ, and then you are saved. In the same principle, you see the Body, and then you are spontaneously delivered from individualism to become a member. You do not look at a situation that confronts you and then deliberate whether or not you should act according to the principle of the Body. Rather, you receive the vision and revelation and are brought into the Body. Then spontaneously you act according to the principle of the Body. Once your natural life is dealt with, you spontaneously see that you are a member.
What does being a member mean? It means that all of our work and living are based on the Body; the Body is the unit of operation. When my hands work, it is not my hands that are working, but my body that is working. When my feet walk, it is not my feet that are walking, but my body that is walking. Every move of the members has the Body as its unit of operation. What one member does is what the whole Body does. When the members walk, the Body is walking. Nothing that the members do is for themselves. Everything that the members do is for the Body. Every move of the members is based on the Body, not on the members. We are happy if God puts us in the first place, and equally happy even if He puts us in the last place. Only the ones who do not see the Body can be proud, and only they can be jealous of others.
We have to see the relationship between the members and the Body. A member cannot replace the Body; yet it can affect the Body. Even our personal failures or uncleanness affect the Body. Although no one knows or sees our own personal, hidden failures, the devil knows and sees. When a member fails, the Body is affected. Therefore, our pursuit of a life of love, holiness, and spiritual growth is something for the Body.
Brothers and sisters, we should ask ourselves, "Are we independent persons, or are we members? Are we merely believers, or are we members?" Brothers and sisters, it is true that we are Christians, but when we contact others, we may be at odds with them in less than five minutes; we cannot be one with them. This proves that we are not living as a member. The Lord is not satisfied with this. May He give us light so that we will have a clear vision of this. Once we see the Body, spontaneously we will be delivered from individualism, and spontaneously we will become living members.
If our individualism is not smashed, God cannot secure a vessel to fulfill His plan or express the fullness of Christ. God wants a Body to be His vessel. Yet this vessel can only be realized when all the members are joined together as a Body; anything less falls short of God's goal.
Every member has a part in the service of the Body of Christ. Everyone who belongs to the Lord has his portion and has Christ living within. Everyone has received something special, and this becomes the special portion of his service. We serve the Body with what we have received of Christ.
Our portion of service in the Body of Christ is based on our knowledge of Christ. This knowledge is not a common knowledge; common knowledge is not enough. Only by having a specific knowledge of Christ can we have a specific ministry to serve the Body of Christ. Our special service is based on our special knowledge of Christ. We can only serve after we have learned something that others have not learned, something special from the Lord, some special knowledge of Christ. The eyes see, the ears hear, and the nose smells. Every part has a special function. It is not necessary for all the members to see, hear, or smell. Yet every member has something special that they can do; that is their ministry. What is our special ministry? It is what we have learned from the Lord, what we have acquired in a particular way from Him. Once we have a special knowledge of Christ, that knowledge becomes our particular ministry. Only those who have a special ministry can serve the Body and cause the Body to grow. Only that which comes from above can cause the Body to grow. Only after we have learned something from the Lord can we transmit the life of the Head to the Body, and only then can we supply the church with what it does not have. Therefore, every member must press on continually and must receive from the Lord what the Body has not yet received and transmit that to the Body of Christ. Today the Lord is seeking men into whom He can dispense His life and through whom the life of the Body can grow. Through these ones the church will receive a measure of life which it has not yet received. The measure of the church's stature will increase, and they will become a channel of life to the Body. When the life which they have received from the Lord flows out to others, the stature of the Body of Christ grows. God is increasing the stature of the Body of Christ through the members.
The meaning of serving the Body of Christ is to receive life from the Head for the supply of the Body. It is to transmit the life that is in the Head to the church. When the eyes see, the body sees. The eyes supply the body with their seeing; this is what it means to serve as members. The hands cannot detect the smell of an object; it takes the nose to serve the body with its smelling function. Smell is the specific ministry of the nose. The ears serve the body with their hearing. Hearing is the specific ministry of the ears. The result of the work of every ministry is the growth of the stature of the Body. In other words, it is the Body gaining more of Christ. The ministry of the members is the ministry of Christ to the church; it is to dispense Christ to others.
Service in the Body of Christ is based on the knowledge of Christ, and this knowledge does not come from doctrines; rather, it comes from the experience of life. One great problem is that many people replace life with doctrines. Doctrines are useless. Even if one becomes very familiar with doctrines and can recite and speak about them, he can still be completely blind and ignorant. A man does not receive help through understanding doctrines. Understanding doctrines only provides more thoughts for the mind. God needs life to express the doctrines. God first gives us life, and then He gives us the doctrines. This is true in both the Old Testament and New Testament.
God first gained Abraham as a man of faith. When others see Abraham, they see the doctrine of faith. Abel saw that man could not come to God without the shedding of blood. Hence, Abel carries with him the doctrine of justification in the blood (Rom. 5:9).
First there is life, and then there is the doctrine. First there is the problem, and then there is the solution. First there is the experience, and then there is the doctrine. Martin Luther went through painful experiences in search of justification. One day God showed him that man is justified by faith. Through faith he was justified. Later we were given the doctrine of justification by faith. First there is life, and then there is doctrine.
We must never spend all our time in researching, analyzing, or studying doctrines. These are works of reeds; they will not help us when we are faced with real difficulties. The only things that will be of any use to us are the experiences that God brings us through. Experience must come first; then doctrine can follow.
The New Testament begins with the Gospels. The Epistles are after the Gospels. The Gospels tell us what Christ did, and the Epistles explain the reasons. First there are the experiences of Christ, and then there are the doctrines of Christ. First we have the life of Christ, and then we have the teachings of Christ.
If a man does not have a special knowledge of Christ, he cannot have a ministry. A man will have a ministry only after he receives something special from Christ. Whatever special function a member has becomes the ministry of that member. The hand has its special functions, and these special functions become its ministry. God allows all kinds of pain, discipline, and trial to come upon us in order to constitute us with His word and so that we can have something to give to the Body. Other than Christ and other than life, nothing will minister to the Body of Christ. Christ is life, and the church will be built up only when Christ is supplied to it. Those who do not have life can kill a prayer meeting even when they say, "Amen." In contrast, those who have life can supply a prayer meeting with a simple word of "Amen." When a person of life sits in a meeting, others will feel the life. The measure of knowledge of Christ determines the amount of life supplied to the church.
Today God is looking for men. He wants to deposit great measures of Christ's life into them so that they can become a supply to others. Life requires a channel. God wants man to become a channel of life, through whom life can be transmitted to the Body. If life stops in you, you will not be able to supply others with life, and the church will suffer loss. You will be spreading death, not supplying life to the church. Failures of individuals invariably cause damage to the church. This is why all the members suffer when one member suffers in the Body of Christ. You may fail or neglect your prayer in your private room, but the Body will be the one who suffers. Every member affects everyone else. We must not live by ourselves; we must hold to the Head and seek fellowship. Before we make any decision, we should first seek fellowship. Everything has to be in the Body, through the Body, and for the Body. We should do things in the Body and not as individuals. We should do things through the Body and not through individuals, and we should do things for the Body and not for individuals. May God open our eyes to see the Body, and may we serve the church with our ministry, a ministry which comes from our knowledge of Christ.
