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Ephesians is a book that requires revelation because the matters it speaks about are high and profound and are not according to our natural concepts or religious thoughts. For this reason we may read Ephesians once, twice, or even a hundred times without anything echoing within our being. Because we are so full of natural concepts and religious ideas, anything that corresponds with them will immediately cause an echo and find a place in our being, even if we have never heard of it beforehand. Thus, we have not paid much attention to the matters in Ephesians. By the Lord’s mercy, we have seen quite a few things from Ephesians in the past and have also released and presented these things to the saints. Nevertheless, after these things were presented, they were neglected. We have not paid much attention to them in our daily living, not to mention in the meetings.
When we are stirred up to love and seek the Lord, our heart toward Him is right. However, after some pursuing, our concepts and ideas spontaneously turn to the cultivation of our conduct, because of the lack of light and revelation. The whole human race has the natural concept of cultivating their conduct. Because religion has been influencing mankind for several thousand years, the concepts of asceticism, behavior improvement, and the cultivation of one’s conduct have penetrated all fallen people. Moreover, the Bible contains numerous passages that apparently resemble the teachings concerning cultivating one’s conduct and practicing asceticism. Hence, it is very easy for us to fall into these things. For example, when we read Brother Nee’s book The Breaking of the Outer Man and the Release of the Spirit, most of us immediately turn our attention to the breaking of the outer man and disregard the release of the spirit. Brother Nee said that the spirit cannot be released if the outer man is not broken. Thus, the outer man must be broken. When we hear this, most of us immediately focus on the breaking and forget about whether or not the spirit is released.
During the last half century, beginning with Mrs. Penn-Lewis, the teaching concerning the cross was widely propagated. Consequently, it is common for people to desire to be broken by the cross and to learn the lesson of the cross. However, the result of all the breaking and learning is rather empty. In the United States I have stayed in the homes of many typical American Christians who were zealously loving and seeking the Lord. In every home there were shelves of spiritual books, which would invariably include books by Mrs. Penn-Lewis. Some of the Christians had actually read all her books. Yet there was no cross in their practical living. Again, this confirmed my observation that merely having the teachings concerning the cross and resurrection is futile. We must be in spirit to have the reality. When we are taught matters such as practicing asceticism, being broken, and learning the lesson of the cross, we find that these things correspond to our natural concepts and are easily absorbed. However, when we are taught matters such as touching the spirit or seeing the riches of Christ, most of us are like pieces of marble that cannot easily absorb ink. Our inner concepts cannot assimilate these things. However, these are the very items that the Lord wants to recover. He will keep coming back to touch us about them.
My deep feeling is that it would be a shame in the Lord’s recovery if the church was poor and weak. Chapter 3 of Ephesians speaks of the unsearchable riches of Christ. Paul has already preached these riches to us. Thus, these unsearchable riches are already in the church. Ephesians 3 speaks not only of the unsearchable riches of Christ but also of His great power, that is, the dynamo, the exploding power, the energizing power of Christ. This great power is in us as well. Thus, we should be rich, and we also should be strengthened by this great power. Many times, however, we seem to be poor and weak, and this even becomes our boast and excuse, as well as our slogan by which to plead with others for sympathy and understanding. How pitiful this is! We all need to read Ephesians 3 concerning the unsearchable riches and the great power again. We must declare, “The church is not poor! The church is not weak! In the church are the unsearchable riches of Christ and also the great power of Christ’s resurrection, ascension, and transcendence.”
Ephesians 1 says that the church is the Body of Christ. Chapter 2 says that the church is the new man. The church is not only the Body of Christ but also the new man. We have pointed out that a person cannot be made to grow by beating him or telling him to learn certain lessons. If he is not well-fed and nourished, he will not be healthy, no matter how much he learns about health and personal hygiene or how much he exercises. If you do not give a child enough to eat and only discipline him, telling him to learn certain lessons and to exercise, you are actually helping him to die faster. For a child to grow and stay healthy, what he needs to do is not to learn certain lessons but to eat. If he is fed, he will be healthy. If a child is not fed, he cannot grow, and if he does not grow, you cannot teach him to do anything. What a person needs first is not teachings but the proper eating. The church is the Body of Christ and also the new man. The church as the Body and the new man needs to grow, and growth requires eating. This is not a doctrine. Teachings will not make a person grow. In order for a person to grow, he must eat, and he must eat adequately. There is no other way. Even an old man who does not need to grow bigger still needs to eat a large amount of food. Just as a car needs to be filled with gas for a long trip, every day I need to eat three full meals. Then I am able to work all day long with vigor.
Ephesians 1 speaks about the Body, chapter 2 speaks about the new man, and chapter 3 speaks about the unsearchable riches of Christ and His great power. This is the “gas station” of the church. The economy of God is to dispense His unsearchable riches and the great power of His resurrection into us. Do you realize that you have the unsearchable riches of Christ and His great power in you? Most of us are foolishly blind to this fact. We have often said that the Lord dwells in us. Since the Lord dwells in us, His riches and His great power must also be in us. We all have these riches and this great power in us.
The riches and the great power in chapter 3 are for the Body in chapter 1 and the new man in chapter 2. When we enjoy the riches and the power within, the church is produced. What is the church? The church is the Body and the new man. How does the church grow? The church grows by the riches of Christ, which are not only for nourishment but also for power. When a person has enough to eat, he has strength. Hence, the power comes from the riches. We must see all these points.
The church is both the Body and the new man, and it grows by the riches and the power that are in the church. Now we need to see that the members need to function. After we receive the riches and the power, our feet can walk, our hands can do things, our eyes can look at people, and our mouth can speak. When we eat well and grow, our body is able to function. Therefore, Ephesians 4 speaks about functions, telling us how every member of the Body manifests its function.
Allow me to tell you frankly that the churches in the Orient all pay too much attention to work, laying stress on doing this and doing that and hoping that by doing so the saints will be perfected. This is not the way to perfect the saints as revealed in Ephesians 4. Suppose there is a child who is small and skinny. For this child to grow, he must have ears that can hear, eyes that can see, a nose that can smell, a mouth that can eat and speak, hands that can do things, and feet that can run. However, if this little child cannot do these things, what shall we do? Suppose we divided his members into groups. We put the nose, eyes, and mouth into one group, and then we worked on them to perfect them so that the nose would learn to smell, the eyes would learn to see, and the mouth would learn to speak. Do you think this kind of perfecting by grouping would be helpful? If you left the child in this situation, he would probably live a few more days. But after all your doings, eventually he would be dead. Methods like this are merely human works. I have stated that the cultivation of our conduct, the cross, and brokenness can only produce man-made improvement, man-made godliness, man-made spirituality, and man-made victory. Now I would even say that all the groupings are also man-made.
How do we perfect our gifts? We should begin by pray-reading Ephesians 4:7-16. This is a difficult section to understand. It begins by saying that God has given grace to each one of us according to the measure of the gift of Christ. What is the gift of Christ? Every one of us who is saved is a gift given by Christ to the church. Paul was a gift given by Christ to the church, and so are you. You may say that you are only a little member, but even the little members are gifts given by Christ to the Body. When my ear itches, I can conveniently scratch it with my little finger. Thus, I have deeply realized that my little finger is truly a precious gift given to me by the Creator. Every member of our body is a gift given to us by the Creator.
Due to some recent problems with my eyes, I have begun to realize how precious my eyes are. It would be a real misery to me to lose my eyes. The Creator has given our body two little eyes as a lovely gift. Every part of our body, without exception, is a gift. Suppose we only had a piece of skin instead of a nose on our face. How miserable we would be! Thus, the nose is also a gift. Every saved person is a member of the Body of Christ, and every member is a gift given by the Head to the Body. Do not consider yourself unimportant even if you are only a little brother. The church needs little brothers like you. As a little brother you are a gift of Christ.
Each member of the body has its measure. The measure of the little finger is rather small, but the measure of the arm is larger. The eyes have a certain measure, and the ears also have a certain measure. This is the measure of the gift.
Grace was given to us according to the measure of the gift. Based on Ephesians 3, grace is the unsearchable riches of Christ plus His great power enjoyed by us. We are both the Body and the new man, and the riches of Christ and His great power are our supply. When this supply comes into us, that is grace. For example, the food we eat first reaches our stomach, and after it is digested by the stomach, the nutrients are transfused into every member of our body according to the measure of each member.
It is this supply that causes each member to become a useful and functioning member. For example, suppose there is a young brother who is small and skinny. Suppose that he can neither hear nor see clearly and that his nose and mouth do not function properly. We should not try to teach him, work on him, or perfect him. If we truly want to perfect him, every day we should feed him, not only three meals but even seven meals a day. If he is fed daily, he will grow daily. Then one day his ears will be able to hear, his eyes will be able to see, his nose will be able to smell, and he will be able to do things with his hands and walk with his feet. Every member of his body will function. If the church does not supply the believers with the riches of Christ, it is impossible for them to be perfected. Outward perfecting amounts to nothing. The genuine perfecting is accomplished by feeding the members.
How do we know that the perfecting in 4:12 is feeding? We know because growth is mentioned later in the chapter. What is the way to make a person’s body grow? There is no other way besides eating. Only eating can cause a person’s body to grow. When a person grows, every member of his body functions.
Many times we hope that the brothers and sisters will open their mouths and function in the meetings. Some of them, however, have not received any supply for two and a half years. Since they have not been fed and are not growing, they cannot function.
The sequence of the first four chapters of Ephesians is as follows. Chapter 1 is on the Body, chapter 2 is on the new man, and chapter 3 is on the supply, that is, the riches of Christ and His great power. Then in chapter 4 the functions of all the members become manifest. The functions are not manifested by receiving teachings or by outwardly learning certain lessons. The functions are manifested through the supply of grace within. Suppose a young brother is led to learn the lessons of daily being broken, bearing the cross, being pressed, and weeping. If you wanted him to stand up and speak after two years of this kind of learning, all he would be able to do would be to weep before you. He would have nothing to minister if he stood up. He would have nothing to minister or to say. Suppose, however, that he begins to enjoy the riches of Christ and experience the power of Christ daily. Then there would be no need to wait for two and a half years for him to function. In two and a half days he would come to the meeting jumping and speaking. If we want to function in the meetings, we must grow. I hope we can all see this secret.
Immediately after saying that grace was given to us according to the measure of the gift, Paul told us where the gifts come from. He said that Christ led a train of vanquished foes. This indicates that when Christ ascended to the heavens, He was like a victorious general returning triumphantly and leading a train of captives. When Christ ascended to the heavens, we did not see Him, but all the angels saw Him leading a train of captives. In this train of captives were the devil, the fallen angels, and human beings, including you and me. We must realize that we were formerly Christ’s enemies and were all in the same train with the devil and the rebellious angels. We had joined their company and were associated with them. They opposed Christ, and so did we. Christ, however, vanquished all these foes and made them captives.
Christ brought these captives with Him in His ascension and gave gifts to men. For many years I read this word but could not understand it. One day the Lord showed me that out of His train of captives He chose a group of people, among whom were Saul of Tarsus, you, and me. Then He made these captives gifts. Saul of Tarsus had been an opposer of the Lord. However, the Lord took him captive, worked on him, and made him a gift. Then He gave him to the Body, which is the church.
I believe that many of you were also opposers of Christ, but Christ captured you. Christ further selected you from the train of captives, worked on you, and gave you to the church as a gift. Then He worked on another one and gave him to the church as a gift. I can testify that fifty years ago He worked on me. At that time I was a wild horse who knew only to run hastily to the world. Nevertheless, He worked in me, and I became a captive in His train. Then He worked in me further and gave me to His church as one of His gifts.
Of course, it is not a simple matter for the Lord to give us sinners as gifts to the Body, His church. He does not simply look at you and, if He likes you, pick you up with His right hand and give you to the church with His left hand, thereby making you a gift. It is not so fast or simple. When He looks at you with His eyes, He infuses you with Himself as the Spirit. When He looks at you, the Spirit gets into you, and you become captivated by Him. Do you realize that all of us believers have been captivated by Him? I have been captivated, and I took the lead to be captivated by Him. Consider yourselves, have you not all been captivated by Him? Today many of the college students have some scientific knowledge. Since you have this knowledge, some may wonder why you are so involved with Jesus and why you go to the meeting hall every day. It is because you have been captivated! People who have not been captivated by the Lord are not able to understand what we are doing. They simply cannot understand why we can never stop reading the Bible. We have indeed been captivated by the Lord, because by His one look He has infused Himself into us as the Spirit. We cannot help behaving in this way because something has come into us. What came into us is not just life or just the Spirit. We have also received the riches of Christ and His great power. The Lord uses what we have received to work in us.
The church is the Body of Christ. The Body is sustained by Christ’s unsearchable riches and upheld by His resurrection power. Hence, we should be in the third heaven every day. Christ is on the throne, and we should also be on the throne. Even if there is a heavy burden on us, it should be a footstool underneath our feet. There should be no pain. There should be only Christ’s riches and power. This is what has been transfused into us and what makes us gifts. Some of us have been made apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some shepherds. These ones who have been made gifts in turn work together with the Head on others. This is their perfecting of the saints.
How do these ones perfect the saints? They do not tell the saints to learn certain lessons or to endure meaningless sufferings. Rather, they feed the saints and minister Christ to them. The word perfecting in the phrase for the perfecting of the saints (Eph. 4:12a) implies feeding. Perfecting can be understood as feeding. How do we know that the perfecting here refers to feeding? It is because the following verse says that we will eventually arrive at a full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, which is the church. The stature of Christ has a measure, and we all must arrive at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. In order to arrive at this stage, we must eat. We need to eat, eat, eat! If we eat, we will grow, and we will arrive at a full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. Eventually, we will no longer be little children tossed by waves and carried about by every wind of teaching in the sleight of men. Rather, we will hold to the reality, which is Christ, in love. Holding to Christ in love, we will grow up into Him in all things.
Verse 16, the last verse of this section, says that out from the Head all the Body is being joined together and knit together through every joint of the rich supply and through the operation in the measure of each one part. At this stage we have the joints of supply among us. Not only are the joints themselves fed; they can also minister to others. Then every part has its measure from which the function is produced. Finally, all the members are gifts, and all manifest their functions. The functioning of all the members causes the growth of the Body.
The members manifest their functions because they have been nourished with Christ. Once they have been nourished, their function is to help others to eat. Hence, this causes the Body to grow and build up itself in love. There is no need to have pastors or preachers. The only need is that all the members be nourished and grow. Then they can minister to others and cause the Body to grow and build itself up in love.
The key to this portion is eating. Eating affords us the supply of grace. What is the supply of grace? It is the riches of Christ and the power of His resurrection. Therefore, chapter 1 speaks of the Body, chapter 2 speaks of the new man, chapter 3 speaks of the supply, and chapter 4 speaks of the growth and the manifestation of the functions. In this way the church life is brought forth. Hence, the latter half of chapter 4 says that we should put off the old man and put on the new man to have the church life. This is produced not by being taught, by being dealt with, or by learning certain lessons. None of these things can help us. We need to enjoy the riches of Christ in our inner man and enjoy His power as our supply of grace so that each one of us may grow and so that our function may be manifested. We also need to minister to others in order to cause the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love.
