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We have seen that the church is the Body of Christ. This Body renders supply to every member of the Body. Furthermore, this Body also renders protection to every member. This is especially important when it comes to the matter of spiritual warfare. Ephesians is a book that deals specifically with the Body of Christ. In chapter six we see that spiritual warfare is something that is related to the church, not to individuals. It is the plural you that must put on the whole armor of God, not the singular you. Satan is not afraid of individuals. He is afraid of the church. "Upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18). We must meet the devil on the ground of the Body. Even in our private prayers we should stand by faith on the ground of the Body. Many Christians fall before the foe because they stand alone. In fact, if we stand alone, we invite Satan's attack.
We must remember that the spiritual armor is for the church, not for individuals. The Body of Christ puts on the whole armor of God. In the Body every member has its specialty, and all these specialties combined together form the whole armor of God. If a brother has faith, he has the shield of faith. If another brother has the word of God, he has the sword of the Spirit. The whole armor of God is the totality of all the specialties of the members. Hence, the whole armor is for the whole church, not for individuals. Spiritual warfare is an integrated warfare of all the members; it is not the isolated warfare of individuals. A single tree can be blown down easily, but a whole forest cannot be blown down easily. Satan likes to pick out those who are without any covering as the objects of his attacks. He looks for men who are alone and isolated. Whoever is under the protection of the Body is sheltered. One function of the Body of Christ is to protect all the members. We need the covering of the Body; otherwise, we will be constantly exposed to the enemy. An isolated individual is also prone to be deceived, so we need the covering of the Body for this as well. We should consult constantly with our fellow- believers. We must not only acknowledge the need for the Body in a general way, but we should also go to our brothers and sisters in a specific way and ask for help.
The Body of Christ is a reality; it is not a doctrine or a theory. The protection of the Body is also a reality and not a doctrine. Immediately after I was saved, I read in the Bible about bearing the cross. I thought that if I memorized the verses on this subject, I would be bearing the cross and that if I forgot the verses, I would not be bearing the cross. Later, I found out that bearing the cross has nothing to do with our memory. Our memory merely retains the doctrine. If the Lord's word is life to us, nothing will affect our bearing of the cross. It does not matter whether or not we remember the word, because if the word is life to us, it has already become a law of life in us and is no longer just an outward legal ordinance to us. The same is true with the Body of Christ — it is a law of life. Once we experience this life, we are under the operation of this law of life, and we discover that the protection of the Body is a reality and not an outward law.
Soldiers hide in the trenches for their protection in physical warfare. They cannot expose their heads; to do so is dangerous. This is also true in spiritual warfare. No member should be alone, and no member should expose his head. We are merely members in the Body, and we need the protection of the brothers and sisters. When Moses lifted up his hands to pray for the Israelites, he needed the help of Aaron and Hur. With their help the Israelites prevailed over the Amalekites. If a man as strong as Moses needed the help of his brothers, how much more do we need the help of our brothers? Many people do things without consulting and praying with the brothers and sisters. They are ignorant of the protection of the Body, and the result is nothing but failure. We all must see the reality of the Body's protection, hide under its protection, and accept its safeguard.
This is the difference between one who has revelation of the Body and one who does not: The one who knows the Body merely as a truth may seek the counsel and covering of the Body, but he will do it as a matter of policy, not as a matter of life. When he thinks of it he will do it, but he can also forget about it. The one who has seen the Body as a reality and has entered experientially into the realm of the Body has no possibility of forgetting. His acting by the Body-principle is something spontaneous because it is his life.
If you are simply a believer, you can act as you please, but if you are a member of the Body, then you must allow yourself to be limited by the other members. Here we find the necessity of the cross. The cross leads to the Body, and the cross operates in the sphere of the Body. If I am quick and another is slow, I must not insist on keeping my own pace; I must allow myself to be limited by the slow member. If I am a prophet, then I must give way to the evangelist when it comes to the matter of preaching to the unsaved. I should not feel the need to preach just because I have the gift of prophecy. "To each one of us grace was given according to the measure of the gift of Christ" (Eph. 4:7). It is essential for the development of the Body that we each recognize our measure and not go beyond it. This is a basic requirement for the growth of the Body.
The Body of Christ is not only a protection to the members but a limitation to all the members. Every Christian is but one member in the Body of Christ and must accept the limitation of the Body. We should not allow ourselves to go our own way; rather, we should learn to be blended with other brothers and sisters. Individual dispositions and peculiarities have no place in the church. Every member should honor the talents of others and be faithful to his own. Moreover, every member should know his own capacity and not consider himself more highly than he should. If everyone does this, there will be no jealousy, ambition, or craving to do what others can do. In 2 Corinthians 10:14 Paul said, "For we are not extending ourselves beyond our bounds, as if we did not reach you." Yet many people have not seen their own capacity. As a result they overstep their boundaries. Those who over- step their boundaries are trampling others under their feet; they are kicking others, pressing upon others, and usurping the portion of other members. If members behave this way in the church, some will begin to monopolize while others will withdraw, and the result will be a loss to the church. We should not behave in this way. We should turn back and take our place in the Body and be limited by the Body. If we do this, the Body will be spared from damage.
The fellowship in the Body involves not only receiving help from other members but also giving help to other members. The functioning of the Body is mutual. Mutuality is the characteristic of the Body. Even when there is ministry from the pulpit, the ministry should never be one-sided. The pulpit needs the help of the congregation just as the congregation needs the help of the pulpit. Merely being a listener or an onlooker is contrary to the life of the Body. Every Christian should have a part in the meeting and render supply to other members. This kind of supply is the ministry of the members and the function of the members. It is also the fellowship of life. No member should cut himself off from this fellowship. If you stop this fellowship, life will stop flowing, and you will become a burden to the Body. If a person thinks that he does not need to say anything, and that he will be approved of and not cause any trouble as long as he simply, quietly, and politely receives from others, he does not know what the Body of Christ is. Every member has to render supply to the Body and fellowship and function in the Body. This is a law of the Body. In the physical body no member can cease functioning without there being a loss to the whole body. This is also true in the Body of Christ.
In the church meeting every member should function according to the leading of the Holy Spirit. First Corinthians 14:26 says, "What then, brothers? Whenever you come together, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation...Let all things be done for building up." In spite of this, many people come to the meetings as spectators. They are a heavy burden to the Body. The Lord told the Pharisees that if His disciples did not rejoice and praise God with great shouting, the rocks would cry out. It is abnormal to not function in the meeting, and this is not pleasing to the Lord. Every time you come to a meeting, you should enter into the fellowship. With every believer, there should be the flow of life. If you do not fellowship, you hinder God's life and kill the meeting. I have often asked those who come to the bread-breaking meeting whether they are coming as spectators or whether they are coming for fellowship. Anyone who hinders God's life is not only bringing death to the meeting but also bringing death upon himself. What do you contribute to your fellow members when the church gathers together?
If a member fails to function, not only do the other members suffer loss, but the member himself is impoverished. I am enriched by giving to others. When I quench others' thirst, my own thirst is quenched. This is like the Lord's experience with the woman in John 4. The Lord was thirsty, but His own thirst was satisfied when He took care of the spiritual thirst of the woman. When His disciples brought Him food, He said, "I have food to eat that you do not know about" (v. 32). He was ministered to by ministering to another. Whenever we try to satisfy ourselves, we end up being hungry. But whenever we satisfy others, we are fed. When we bear the burdens of others, our own burden becomes light.
Many people complain that this or that meeting is not good. They do not realize the kind of attitude that they have brought to the meeting. Whenever we stop functioning, we frustrate God's life. When we come to the meeting, we have to open our mouth, release life, and participate in the Body ministry. Once I was preaching in a place, and the meeting was very dead. But one of the sisters rendered a great help by responding to my words. She kept saying "amen" to my speaking and responded with much expression on her face, indicating that she was taking in my words. Because of her response, I was released and God's word was also released.
May the Lord show us that we all have a share in the meeting. It is not enough for us to speak about the Body; we have to express the Body in our living. The Body of Christ is not a doctrine; it is a reality in life. God wants us to enter into the Body life, not to have the doctrine of the Body. We have received the life of the Body, not a doctrine about the Body. Martin Luther did not receive the doctrine of justification by faith but the life of justification by faith. As a consequence his ministry was powerful. The justification that he spoke of was not a doctrine but a reality in life. Today we all must receive the revelation of the reality of the Body and enter into the life of the Body. Then we will see that we are members of the Body of Christ, that we need the protection and limitation of the Body, and that we need to function in the Body and supply other members so that the life of the Body will flow in an unhindered way.
