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To each one of us grace was given according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Therefore the Scripture says, “Having ascended to the height, He led captive those taken captive and gave gifts to men.” (Now this, “He ascended,” what is it except that He also descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended, He is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens that He might fill all things.) And He Himself gave some as apostles and some as prophets and some as evangelists and some as shepherds and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints unto the work of the ministry, unto the building up of the Body of Christ, until we all arrive at the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, at a full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, that we may be no longer little children tossed by waves and carried about by every wind of teaching in the sleight of men, in craftiness with a view to a system of error, but holding to truth in love, we may grow up into Him in all things, who is the Head, Christ, out from whom all the Body, being joined together and being knit together through every joint of the rich supply and through the operation in the measure of each one part, causes the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love. (Eph. 4:7-16)
To have a proper expression of the church, we need the proper function. What has caused the shortage of the church life is that the church has no function. We must realize that all the divisions with their forms, knowledge, and doctrines work together to damage the function of the church. When a physical body is divided, how can it function? When the Body is split, all the functions are gone. The subtlety of Satan is simply to kill the function of the Body. As long as we are divided, we are through as far as function is concerned.
The forms in today’s Christianity kill the function of the church. Nearly all the members of different denominations have become pew members. There is no function; so they are called laymen, which means that they do not function. They consider that they are not the experts. This is the subtlety of the enemy.
When knowledge, teachings, and doctrines replace life, there is no function. We may have much knowledge but be short of life. When the Body is short of life, it is difficult to function. Function requires the growth in life. If a person does not grow, it is impossible for his body to function. Therefore, knowledge, doctrines, and teachings kill the functions of the Body. The Bible says, “The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” (2 Cor. 3:6). If you are killed, how can you function? This is why we say again and again that we must turn from doctrine to the Spirit. The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. As long as we have life, we will grow, and the more we grow, the more we will function.
Oh, the subtlety of the enemy! He uses divisions, forms, doctrines, teachings, and knowledge to kill the functions of the Body and to paralyze it. This makes the Body useless and meaningless. This is the real situation of today’s Christianity. All Christianity is paralyzed because there is no function.
But, praise the Lord, in His recovery He is recovering all the functions of the Body in the local churches. Without the functions in the local church, the local church is without meaning. If believers come together without functioning, what is that? It is certainly not the church. In the practical church life there is a desperate need of functioning. We need the functions of all the brothers and sisters. All who partake of the church life must be functioning members. When everyone functions, we will have a strong, living, practical, and aggressive church life.
The proper building up of the church life depends upon our functioning. Suppose five hundred brothers and sisters are meeting in Los Angeles on the church ground, and ninety-nine percent of them fail to function. They are simply pew members, and only five brothers who are professional do all the functioning. I do not know what to say about this kind of situation. Perhaps they are on the church ground, but they are paralyzed on the church ground. They must be a social group, a religious society, or a kind of organization, for the people are put together without functioning. Just a group of people is an organization. It is not an organism until all the members are functioning and growing together. Then it will be an organism instead of an organization and a Body instead of a group. I hate to hear people call us a group. It is a shame if we are just a group. We must realize that we are a Body. What is a body? A body is an organism with all its members functioning in a living way. While I am speaking, not only is my mouth exercised, but my whole body is functioning. This is the body, not a group of bones put together. It is a shame to be called a group. We must be a living Body.
Suppose fifty percent of the members of my body function, and the other fifty percent are not functioning. What kind of body is this? It is paralyzed. With but one shoulder out of function, the body feels very awkward. Even if only a little finger does not function, the body feels the inconvenience. If you do not believe me, cut off your little finger, and you will see how awkward it is. All the members need to function, and then we will have a living, strong, and aggressive local church. All the members of the Body must function. We do not have a pastor, but we have everyone functioning. We have brothers functioning, and we have sisters functioning. We all need to function, for without functioning, we cannot have a proper church life.
How can we function? As we have mentioned previously, oneness is first, life is second, and fellowship is third. This is why we must repudiate, renounce, and reject all divisions. The Lord will honor this. We must come back to the oneness, and we must grow in life. Then we must have the proper fellowship. Today there are mainly two kinds of believers: one kind is in the denominations including the Roman Catholic Church, and the other is composed of those who are out of the divisions and on the proper ground. We must know how to deal with these two kinds of believers—this is the fellowship. We must know how to fellowship with the saints in the different denominations including the Roman Catholic Church, and we must know even more how to fellowship with the believers who are standing on the proper ground to fight the battle for the Lord’s kingdom.
It is based upon the oneness, the life, and the fellowship that we function, and the real function is the real building up. The local church is built up by the function of all the members. In Ephesians 4:7-16 we see that the Head does not build up the local church, which is the expression of the Body of Christ, directly. He builds the local church through the gifted persons such as the apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers. Moreover, even the gifted persons do not build up the Body directly. They build up the church indirectly through all the members. Eventually, it is only the members who build up the church directly.
Therefore, if the brothers and sisters do not function, the members are not building. Then how can the church be built up? It is impossible. The Head would not do it, and the gifted persons should not do it. If they do, they become the clergy. The building must come from the functioning of all the members of the Body.
In these few verses in Ephesians 4, many matters are covered. First of all, verse 8 speaks of the victory gained by the Head. Without this victory Christ the Head has no position to give gifts to the Body so that we can have the different functions. Ephesians 4:8 says that Christ has led captive those taken captive. Do you know what this means? It is rather difficult to understand. This is not an adequate translation; it gives the impression, mistakenly, that Christ has brought back those who have been captured by Satan. This is not the right meaning. The Amplified New Testament gives the best rendering: “Therefore it is said, When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive [He led a train of vanquished foes] and He bestowed gifts on men.” This means that Christ has captured all of His enemies. He won the victory on the cross and defeated Satan and all His enemies. Then after resurrection, while He was ascending into the heavens, He led a train of vanquished foes who had been defeated by Him. This is the right meaning of this verse. Then He had the position to give gifts to the Body.
However, we must apply this principle to ourselves. Has Christ defeated you? I am afraid that Christ has not defeated you, so you cannot be led in His train of defeated foes. You will not let Christ have the victory. Christ is victorious in the whole universe but not in you, because you have not been subdued by Him. This is why you do not function.
Some may ask, “How can I function in the Body?” From Ephesians we see that you must first be subdued by Christ. You must be conquered by Christ. If you have not been conquered and subdued by Christ, you cannot have any function. You must pray from the depth of your being, “Lord, I surrender. I am defeated by You. I am captured by You.” If you really mean this, the Lord will become so living to you, and you will become so living in the meetings.
Sometimes, some of the brothers do not pray in the meetings. If we ask them why they do not pray, they may give us this excuse or that. But the real reason is because they have not been captured by Christ. If they will surrender to Christ and let Him lead them in His train of defeated foes, they will be the first to pray in the meetings.
We all need to be defeated, captured, and gained by Christ. If we have been captured by Christ, He has the ground to give us the gifts; but if we still have not surrendered to Him to be captured by Him, He has no ground to give us the gifts. We must be willing to surrender and be captured by Him. We must be the first foe in His train of defeated ones. Then He will have the ground to give us the gifts.
The gift is the basis for the function. The function comes out of the gift. Ephesians 4:11 says, “He Himself gave some as apostles and some as prophets and some as evangelists and some as shepherds and teachers.” Perhaps the Lord’s intention is to establish you as a teacher in the church, but to this very day He cannot do it because you will not give Him the position. You still are not captured by Him. You still are not subdued by Him. You still have not surrendered to Him. Though He intends to establish you as a teacher in the church, you will not give Him the ground to do it. When you are willing to be subdued and captured by Him, you will give Him the ground to give you the gift and establish you as a teacher.
For the gift we need the grace, and the grace is given according to the gift. With the gift is the capacity to receive the grace. The grace is the life; so to have the capacity as a teacher, we need to grow. Our two eyes and our two arms are gifts to our body, but the capacity of the eyes to receive blood is much smaller than that of the arms. This means that blood is given according to the capacity of the members. This is the meaning of Ephesians 4:7: “To each one of us grace was given according to the measure of the gift of Christ.” The grace is given according to the measure of the gift. If you are a bigger gift, you have a larger capacity to receive the grace. If you are a smaller gift, you have a smaller capacity to receive the grace. Grace is the life supply. A boy has two eyes, but he needs to grow. To grow means to receive more supply. When his two eyes are full of the life supply, they will be full of the growth in life. It is this growth in life that will afford the function to his eyes. First, we must be captured by Christ; then the gift will be given to us. Then we need to grow in life. The more we grow in life, the more we will receive the life supply, and the more this life supply will afford us the function.
Suppose a brother has been captured by Christ and has given Christ the authority to establish him as a teacher, but after this he does not grow. Then he is a teacher who cannot function so well. It is just the same as the boy’s eyes: his eyes will not function so well if he is short of the life supply. Here a brother has been established by the Head, but he cannot function adequately because he is short of life. But suppose this brother, by holding the reality, begins to grow into the Head in all things (v. 15). Then he will not only be a teacher, but a teacher full of life. This rich, abundant life will afford him a rich function.
If we compare Ephesians 4 to Psalm 68, we see that there was a battle fought by Christ in the universe, and Christ has defeated all His enemies. He led all the defeated foes in His victory train while He was ascending to the heavens. Therefore, He has gained the ground to fill all things in the universe. Christ has gained the ground in the universe, but has He gained the ground in you? You must be captured by Him. You must be defeated and fully taken over by Him. Then He will have the ground in you to make you a gift.
The gift in Ephesians 4 differs from the gift in Romans 12. In Romans 12 the gift is the ability, but in Ephesians 4 the gift is the person as a member of the Body. All the members are gifts to the Body. My little finger is a real gift to my body. Without it I am short of something. Without my two eyes I lack the ability to see. The two eyes are gifts to my body. The Lord has given my body two eyes that I may see, and He has given two legs that I may stand. In like manner, all the members of the Body of Christ, the church, are gifts to the church. Every member is a gift, but this gift must be established by the Head by being captured by Him. The Lord’s intention is to give you as a gift to the Body, but if you would not be captured by Him, He can never establish you as a gift. Not until you are willing to be captured by Him will He have the ground and standing to make you such a gift.
There is a real shortage in the elders of nearly every local church. There are not many efficient elders. Why is this? It is because so many dear brothers would not be captured by the Head. They may pay the price to give up the denominations and come back to Jerusalem to take the ground of oneness in the local church. But when they come to this point, they must be captured by the Head. They must be absolutely defeated and taken over by the Head. But so many are not willing. They say, “Lord, wait a little while; I am not ready yet.” They may not say this outwardly, but this is their feeling within.
We may pay the price to take the way of the church life, but when we come to the matter of being subdued by the Lord, a real quarrel exists between us and the Lord. This is the reason that so many dear ones are not able to function in the local churches. You may say that a certain brother is a good brother. Yes, he is a good brother. You may say that he loves the Lord. Yes, to a certain extent he loves the Lord. But why is he not able to function? It is simply because the Lord has not yet gained the victory in him. He must give the ground to the Lord, and then he must grow. It is only by being captured by the Lord that the Lord will establish this brother as an elder. Then by the growth in life, the function of an elder will be manifested. The living function will be manifested because he has been captured by the Head and is growing in Him.
Do not think that the elders in the church must be persons with certain natural qualifications and capabilities. No, that is not what the church needs; that is what worldly organizations need. Worldly organizations need someone with a capable and clever mind and a good character. Some may say that this kind of person would make a good elder. But he is not a good elder; he can only be a good chairman in a certain society. He is a good manager, but he is not a good elder for the church.
In 1944 the war in China was nearly ended. There was a man who was highly educated and qualified in government work and whom some of the brothers were trying to bring to the Lord. It was quite probable that he would be saved. Then the brothers told Brother Watchman Nee that if such a man with his qualifications were saved, surely he would be the best for the church. But Brother Nee said, “No, he is only good for government work. He is not good for the church.” What the church needs is not capable or qualified men. They can build up the tower of Babel, but they cannot build up the church of Christ.
What the church needs are those who have been captured, subdued, conquered, fully possessed by Christ, and then are growing in Him in all things. Do not think that you can do things satisfactorily if you hold responsibility in the church. You may do everything right, but you are not the proper person to hold responsibility, because you have never been captured by Christ nor grown into Him. To do things right is one thing, but to have the flow of life is another.
One day in 1948 the church in Shanghai had a large love feast. There was a sister serving who was exceedingly capable; she did everything right. But you could only sense her capability; you could not sense much life in her. She was so capable in doing things. She would really be good for the Y.W.C.A., but she was not so good for the church.
It is not the capability that matters but the life expressed. In the church it is not doing things rightly that is required but the rich flowing out of life. This is all the church needs. The church needs a group of elders who are full of life. Some of the brothers must be willing to be fully captured by Christ and to grow in Him all the time. The flow of life from these brothers is the function.
This is why I stress again and again that we must not care for what is right and what is wrong. We must not care for the teachings or regulations. Regardless of how much you know or regulate, there still may be no life. We are an organism, not an organization. We are a building with living functions, not a brick building without life. What the church requires is the flow of life, for the function of all the members is in this flow. When you come to the meeting of the church and pray something regarding the Lord, all the brothers and sisters must sense the flow of life. When you go to visit a family, perhaps you will not say much, but if life flows out, you will water and refresh them. This is the function, and this function requires the ground given to the Head and the growth in life. We all must be captured and possessed by Christ and grow in life so that we may function.
Regardless of how great a gift you are, you cannot replace the members. You are just a part of the Body; you cannot replace the Body. If you have the gift of an apostle or prophet, you should not substitute or replace all the other members. What you should do is perfect them. All the apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers are given for the perfecting of the saints. Then the saints must function to build the church. In Ephesians 4:12 there is one for and two untos: “For the perfecting of the saints unto the work of the ministry, unto the building up of the Body of Christ.” If you have the gift of an apostle or prophet, you should not replace the saints but do a perfecting work to perfect the saints. The perfecting of the saints is unto the work of the ministry.
Let me illustrate in this way. Suppose you are a gift as a prophet or apostle to the church. Before you came, all the brothers simply did not know how to pray in the meetings. Yet, after you came, you are the only one who prays in the meetings. All the brothers and sisters appreciate your prayers so much. We must be clear that this substitution and replacement is wrong. Perhaps before you came, many of them would not pray in the meetings. But if you would perfect them properly, after a certain time everyone would be praying in the meetings. You come not to replace but to perfect them to function.
It is not easy to change our concept. I believe that today some brothers and sisters are settled already. They think, “Let Brother Brown do this, or let Brother Smith do that, or let Brother Jones handle that.” This is wrong. All the gifted persons must perfect the saints unto the work of the ministry, unto the building up of the Body. Those who take the lead must be extremely careful not to do anything to replace or substitute others.
Ephesians 4:16 says, “Out from whom all the Body.” The supply comes out from Christ, into whom we have grown as our Head. We have grown into Him, and now something flows out from Him. The into in verse 15 goes along with the out from in verse 16. First, we must grow into Him; then out from Him will come something to build the Body. Out from Him the whole Body fitly joins together, the joints supply, and every part has a measure. This means that every member has a measure. That is why we must grow and grow and grow, and this is why we stress life again and again. We all must grow into the Head; then out from the Head we will receive something to minister to the Body for the building up of the local church.
We must forsake the concept that we are coming to the meeting simply to get help from the gifted persons. This is something from our background. If we are going to have a proper church life, we must give up the clergy-laity system, give up ourselves to let Christ take over, and give up the concept that we come to the meetings to receive help from those who are gifted. I should come to the meeting as a member of the Body who has grown into the Head so that out from Him I have something to minister to the Body. Then, while I am ministering to the Body, I will also receive the ministry from the other members. This is the function that builds up the church.
When I was in Pittsburgh in 1964, a brother said, “O Brother Lee, in this modern day we need experts in every business; so for the church service we also need experts. We need some brothers to be full time experts; the rest simply do not have the time to take care of the church service. We are busy with our education and occupations, and the sisters are busy with their families and homes. We do need some experts for the church service.” But I told this brother that this is the clergy of the denominations, not the priesthood of the local church.
Some may say, “It is too hard to be a member in the local church. You must give yourself to be captured by Christ and grow. You also must give up the concept of getting help from others but go to the meetings to minister something yourself. This is too much. I cannot go this way. I like to be an easy Christian. I work five days a week, and when Sunday comes I need to rest a while. I want to go to a church where I can sit to enjoy others’ ministry. That is the time for the experts to do their job and for me to enjoy their work. I do not like your kind of church. I must give up this and give up that; I have to do this, and I have to do that. It is simply too much.”
I sympathize with those who say this, but there is no other way. To them it is a hard job, but to us it is a real enjoyment. It is an enjoyment to give up ourselves; it is an enjoyment to be captured and gained by Christ; and it is an enjoyment to come to the meetings to minister something of Christ as life to others. Some may say that this is difficult, but we say that it is our best enjoyment. It all depends upon the concept we have, and it also depends upon the taste we have. If we have a taste for the organizational way of sitting and listening, we cannot have the proper church life. Our taste must be for the living function of all the members of the Body in the local church. When all of the members function, we will become a living organism, fighting the battle for the Lord’s recovery. Otherwise, we simply have a group of brothers and sisters as a kind of organization.
May the Lord be merciful to us so that we all may be so willing and aggressive to have the proper functions in the church.
