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Scripture Reading: Eph. 4:11-13, 15-16; 1 Cor. 12:13-14, 22-25; Rom. 12:1-8
Ephesians 4:11-13 says, “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.” According to the original language, the phrase a full-grown man refers to a perfect, complete, and mature man. This full-grown man is the Body of Christ in the preceding verse. Hence, the growth implied in the word full-grown is the building up in verse 12.
Verses 15 and 16 say, “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.” The word itself refers to the Body, the church. The church must endeavor to build itself up in love.
First Corinthians 12:13-14 says, “In one Spirit we were all baptized into one Body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and were all given to drink one Spirit. For the body is not one member but many.” Ephesians 4:16 says that the Body builds itself up in love, whereas 1 Corinthians 12:13 says that we become the Body by being baptized in one Spirit.
Verses 22 through 25 say, “The members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. And those members of the body which we consider to be less honorable, these we clothe with more abundant honor; and our uncomely members come to have more abundant comeliness, but our comely members have no need. But God has blended the body together, giving more abundant honor to the member that lacked, that there would be no division in the body, but that the members would have the same care for one another.” These verses say that God has blended, coordinated, the Body together.
Romans 12:1-8 says, “I exhort you therefore, brothers, through the compassions of God to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be fashioned according to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and well pleasing and perfect. For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think, but to think so as to be sober-minded, as God has apportioned to each a measure of faith. For just as in one body we have many members, and all the members do not have the same function, so we who are many are one Body in Christ, and individually members one of another. And having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; or service, let us be faithful in that service; or he who teaches, in that teaching; or he who exhorts, in that exhortation; he who gives, in simplicity; he who leads, in diligence; he who shows mercy, in cheerfulness.” Our consecration and functioning in the church are for the building up of the Body.
These portions of Scripture show that the goal of God’s work in this age is the building. God gives the church various gifts, such as apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers for this building up (Eph. 4:11-12). He pours out the Holy Spirit upon the saints also for this building up. Even His giving some saints the small service of having the heart and the ability to give to the needy in the church is for the building up of the Body (Rom. 12:8; 1 Cor. 12:28). In other words, not only the work done by the gifts—the apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers—is for God’s building, but even the activities in our ordinary spiritual life, including exhorting, giving, showing mercy, and helping, are for the building up of the Body.
For a long time I have had the feeling before the Lord that although God’s children are touching many spiritual things, they do not have any consciousness related to building. For example, many people zealously preach the gospel, but they do not have a consciousness of the need for building up the Body of Christ. They simply feel that they must preach salvation in order to save sinners, who are destined to be in the lake of fire. These believers do not sense that God wants them to preach the gospel in order to prepare materials for the building up of the Body of Christ.
In the book of Haggai God commanded the people of Israel to “go up to the mountain and bring wood and build the house” (1:8). Hence, when the Israelites cut down trees, they were clear within that what they were doing was for the building of the holy temple. Likewise, Ephesians 4 shows that the various God-given gifts are for the building up of the Body of Christ. The apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers all work to build up the Body of Christ. Hence, if someone were to ask why we are preaching the gospel, we should reply, “We are finding materials for God. Through preaching the gospel, we are gathering stones and cedars as material for God’s building.”
All of God’s children should have such a vision. We should not consider this to be a small matter. We are not merely disputing over certain terms and expressions. Saving sinners is not the same as gathering materials; it is not merely a matter of saving people. A person’s work is controlled by his concepts. If we have the realization that obtaining materials for God’s building is the goal of preaching the gospel, we will not be satisfied merely with seeing a person get saved. We will understand that it is not sufficient for him to merely be saved; he must become material for God’s building. We will know that God saves persons for the purpose of building them into the church. Being built into the church is the primary matter, and all other matters are secondary. Hence, our purpose in preaching the gospel should not be merely for people to be blessed but for materials to be collected for God’s building. As long as we have this concept, we will focus on making those whom we lead to salvation into building material for the church. The concept of building is a great matter.
People do not have the concept of building up the Body of Christ when they preach the gospel or do the work of edification; they aim only at making believers proper. This is a shortcoming. The saints who serve are willing to help others, but do they have the concept that they are doing a building work? I am afraid that most of us do not have such a realization. Perhaps some feel that a brother needs to be visited because he has not been meeting for a few weeks, and his condition is poor. Such a concept is merely to make the brother a “meeting” Christian by bringing him back to the meetings. However, we should have the concept that this brother has not yet been built up. He is a stone that is still lying by the wayside and has not been built up into God’s dwelling place. Hence, we should spend the time and the effort to bring him back so that he may be built together with all the saints in the church. We need to have the understanding that edification and visitation are related to building.
We should have such an understanding of building not only when we preach the gospel and visit the saints but also when we give messages for the edification of the saints. Our purpose in giving a message concerning the cross is not merely because the saints do not know the flesh. Our purpose is not for the saints to be edified and willing to receive the dealing of the cross. Rather, we should give such a message with the thought of building up, hoping that the fleshly saints would know the cross and receive the breaking of the cross so that they may be built into the church.
If we are enlightened by God to see the vision of the church, we will also have the goal of building when we offer something for the needy saints. The reason we help a brother, love him, and make up his lack with a material offering is not merely that he would be a good believer but that he would be built up in the church and be a functioning member in the Body of Christ. In this way our service will help the saints to see that although believers are members of the Body of Christ, there is a difference between being a believer and being a member. A believer can do a number of things on his own, but a member cannot do anything individualistically. Every member must be built up into the Body and coordinated together with others.
Ephesians 4:11-12 is of great significance in the Scriptures. “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 building up of the Body of Christ.” When I saw the light in this portion, I wrote the following sentence in my Bible: “May the Lord have mercy on me that henceforth all my work would be for the building up of the Body of Christ.” May the Lord cause all of us to see this light. God desires that our gospel preaching and messages would be for the building up of the Body of Christ. It is also for the building up of the Body of Christ that He pours out the Holy Spirit and gives various ministries and gifts. We need to have God’s concept. Everything is for His building, that is, for the building up of the Body of Christ.
A person who does not have the consciousness of building may do the same work as a person who is controlled by a vision of the building, but the results of their work will be very different. Perhaps some would say, “When we save a soul and gain one more stone by preaching the gospel, are we not doing the work of building? When we give a message of edification that causes those who were formerly cold to become zealous and those who were spiritually sick to be recovered as useful material, are we not doing the work of building? We might not declare it, but we are building.” I would like to point out that without a consciousness of the building, our work will not issue in the building. If we have the vision of the building, the light of this vision will govern us. Wherever we go, this light will shine and control our walk and our work. As a result, the building of God will be brought in.
We should never think that the building is an insignificant matter. Those who do not know the building may preach the gospel with zeal, consecrate themselves to live for the Lord, and learn to live a spiritual life, but they will not be built up. Such ones do not sense the importance of being built up, nor do they regard the building as something important. As such, they cannot produce the building that God desires. A person will always consider his experience as being important. A person who has experienced salvation will consider salvation to be important. A person who has consecrated himself to live for the Lord will consider a consecrated living to be important. A person who has learned spiritual lessons and lives in the spirit will consider spirituality to be important. Likewise, a person who has been built up will consider being built up to be important. We must have a realization of the building, and we must also be genuinely built up. Then our work will not merely lead people to salvation, to love the Lord, or to live for the Lord, nor will we merely lead them to learn to be spiritual and live before God.
This can be likened to building a house. Building a house requires many workers involved with different tasks. Even though every person may have a different task, they share the same goal and know that their various tasks are all to build the house. It is not sufficient to cut the wood properly or to gather materials; the house needs to be built. Do we have such an understanding of the building in our service? Is our service controlled by the building? This is a serious matter.
If we are controlled by the building, our spiritual experiences and our service will be different. If we see the need for the building, it will be easy for us to be subdued and to receive the breaking of the cross. For example, it is helpful to exhort two responsible brothers who are not in harmony to learn the lesson of bearing one another, of being broken, and of dealing with the self. However, if these two brothers see the vision of God’s building and see that their discord opposes and destroys God’s plan, they will be subdued. They will be broken without someone speaking to them about being broken. They will be put to death by the cross without someone speaking to them about the killing of the cross, and they will bear one another. Instead of destroying the building, they will be subdued—in spite of their opinions, personal views, and inability to coordinate with others—when they see that what God wants to do today is the building.
We are not contending about the use of a certain expression, nor are we insisting on a certain matter. Our burden is that we all need to know and see this crucial vision. The vision of the building must shine continually on us like a great light. This vision must also restrict us so that we would always take the building as our goal in whatever we do. Our service does not matter, nor does the responsibility that we bear in the church matter. Whether we speak a few words in the meeting or visit the saints in their homes, our goal is the same—God’s building.
We need to be controlled by the building and to experience the benefits of being built up. Only those who have experienced the building up will have a zeal that lasts. Those who are not willing to be built up will become cold or backslidden, even if they were initially zealous. Those who are individualistic will eventually become cold and indifferent, even if they were full of love in the beginning. A person who is built up has everything; he not only has love and power but also the presence of God. Hence, it does not matter whether the church in a certain place has brothers who can give messages. The bringing in of God’s blessing does not depend on having brothers who can give messages but on the saints being built up together. Ephesians 2:22 says, “In whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in spirit.” God’s dwelling place depends on our being built up together. God cannot dwell in us if we are not built up together. But once we are built up together, He will come and dwell in us. When He dwells in us, we will lack nothing.
Some of the district meetings in the church in Taipei are very good. These districts do not have brothers who can give messages, but the number of saints in the meetings has increased. These districts have increased because there is coordination in harmony and in oneness and because there is an atmosphere of loving one another. In other words, there is building up. This proves that as long as we have the building up, we will have God’s blessing. If we would be built up, the number in every district would double after a year. Once we are built up together, the blessing will come.
In John 17 the Lord Jesus prayed to the Father, “That they may be perfected into one, that the world may know that You have sent Me” (v. 23). People in the world will know the Lord and believe in Him when they see the believers built up into one. On the day of Pentecost there were about one hundred and twenty of the Lord’s disciples who came together as one man (Acts 1:14-15). Therefore, when they spoke, people were pricked in their hearts and repented (2:37). This repentance was the result of the power of Christ and the reality of the church being with the disciples.
On the contrary, the saints in a church or a district meeting may be filled with opinions, murmuring, and criticism, even if they do not utter anything out loud. For example, a brother may purse his lips while listening to a message, or he might shake his head while a sister is praying and then utter a prayer in subtle opposition after her. In such situations that lack building up, people cannot be saved. The gospel preached in such a situation will not be effective. However, if the saints are built up, there will be a different outcome. We may stutter when we preach the gospel, but people will sense a power that constrains them to repent. This is a wonderful situation.
I must solemnly testify that the blessing among us was brought in because of the harmony among the saints. It is wrong to think that the blessing among us was brought in by those who give good messages. Even if the brothers can give the best messages, there will not be any blessing if they are always in discord. It is also wrong to think that the blessing among us was brought in because the brothers are capable of administrating the church. Rather, the blessing was brought in through the harmonious coordination among the brothers. If there would be more harmony and more building up among the brothers in all places, the number of saved ones would increase, and the saints would receive more help. These blessings are the result of having God’s presence.
After the Israelites worshipped the golden calf in the wilderness, Jehovah said to Moses, “Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst” (Exo. 33:3). However, Moses said, “If Your presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. For how then shall it be known that I have found favor in Your sight, I and Your people? Is it not by Your going with us, so that we, I and Your people, are distinct from all the other people who are on the face of the earth?” (vv. 15-16). Moses seemed to be saying that God had to be with them and to go with them no matter the circumstance and that they would not go up unless He went with them. Therefore, what matters among God’s children is His presence, not how right or good something may be. If the Lord’s presence is with us, everything will be good. His presence is a real test. Having His presence proves that the Spirit has built us together into God’s dwelling place. God’s presence is in the building. This is a great blessing, and we serve in the church in order to obtain this blessing.
I hope that the responsible saints will see the vision of the building of the church. The building must be in our loving the Lord, our consecration, and our spirituality. Everything is for the building. If a brother is so spiritual that he cannot be built up with others, his spirituality is not genuine and should be thrown away; he is better off without that spirituality. If a brother claims that he is receiving the breaking of the cross but becomes more individualistic and isolated and eventually cannot coordinate with anyone, his “breaking” is false. Our loving the Lord and living for Him and our spirituality and brokenness can be genuine only when we are built up.
All our spiritual experiences must be measured by the building. Only the experiences that can bring in the building up are proper. Even if our experiences are very good, they are not proper if they cannot bring in the building up. Many Christians know how to pray, but some may prefer to pray alone because they think that others are not as advanced in the matter of prayer. Such prayers are surely improper and may cause problems. We should be able to pray with anyone. If we can pray only with those who have received spiritual training, we have a problem.
Can we ask a brother who loves the world and a brother who is quick-tempered to pray with us for the gospel? Can we simply pray with them for the gospel, while avoiding any teaching related to not loving the world and not losing one’s temper? Many so-called spiritual saints cannot do this. If our spirit is closed and we cannot pray with those who love the world or with those who are quick-tempered, then we are not broken. If we are really broken, we would be able to pray with Demas, who loved the present age (2 Tim. 4:10). A person who has learned the lesson, loves the Lord, fears Him, and lives before Him would be able to pray with a weak brother without thinking that this brother is weak. If we would pray with a weak brother for the gospel, he would be revived without our exhortation. This is the building up; this is the Body. The Body clothes the uncomely members with more abundant honor. God is pleased to give more honor and comeliness to such members (1 Cor. 12:23-24).
God does not necessarily hear our prayers when we pray with those whom we highly regard. We may pray for the revival of the church, but the church falls into a low situation instead. However, He hears our prayers when we pray with the saints who are considered to be weak. If we ask for the revival of the church, the church will be revived. Those who are experienced know not to seek to pray only with so-called spiritual saints. We should look for the saints who are considered to be uncomely and pray with them. Then the gospel will be powerful, and sinners will be saved. If we are built up, we will treat everyone the same, whether or not they are comely. We cannot be individualistic; we must pray with the saints. We should not pray only with those who match our taste; we should be able to pray with any saint.
The more we are built up, the more we can fellowship and pray with any saint, and the church will be blessed. If two responsible brothers cannot pray with other saints, that church will “close its doors” after a few years. God’s blessing depends on His presence, and His presence depends on the building up of the church. He will not bless our individual spirituality; He will only bless the Body that He is building. We may consider someone to be unacceptable, but God would say, “This one is in the Body.” We may consider someone as unsatisfactory, but God would say, “I have blended him in the Body.”
God cannot bestow His blessing on the earth, because we are not willing to be built up. We hope to receive God’s blessing individually, but He is not focused on blessing individuals. His desire is to build up the Body of Christ. We want to be spiritual individually and to read the Bible. However, regardless of how much effort we exert, we cannot read the Bible well if we are not built up.
If a brother decides to stay home and read the Bible by himself instead of meeting in a district with brothers who work as janitors or have limited education, he will not understand much in his reading, and he will eventually stop reading the Bible after a few months. However, if he reads the Bible with those brothers, the Holy Spirit will speak to him, and he will be enlightened to understand what he could not understand when he read by himself. This is marvelous. We pay attention to being blessed individually, but God does not focus on blessing individuals. His blessing is upon His house, the Body of Christ. I speak often to God’s children, but I can testify that my speaking would be greatly reduced without the children of God. My speaking is for God’s children. God’s focus is not to bless individuals but to bless the church.
This does not mean that we can neglect our spirituality. Every serving one should learn to live before the Lord, follow Him in the spirit, and fellowship with Him. However, we need to remember that God does not bless individual spirituality. This is according to His ordination. If we see this vision, we will fall down before Him and say, “Have mercy upon me. Regardless of the condition of the brothers, I must be built up with them. Whether or not they are spiritually advanced, I must coordinate with them. I will accept the Body that You have blended.”
Our common problem is that we often feel that what God has arranged for others is better than what He has arranged for us. For example, Mrs. Chang may say that Mrs. Lee’s husband is better, and Mrs. Lee may say that Mrs. Wang’s husband is better. The brothers may also say that others have a better wife. Similarly, the saints in the church in Taipei may think that the church in Kaohsiung is better, and those in the church in Kaohsiung may think that the church in Taipei is better. However, it is not a matter of being good or bad; everyone and everything is arranged by God. We need to trust Him, for He cannot make a mistake. Whatever He arranges is the best situation. If we do not accept His arrangement, we will forsake and reject the building, and our condition will match Haggai 1: “Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled-up houses, while this house lies waste?...You have sown much, but you bring in little; you eat, but there is no satisfaction; you drink, but there is no being filled with drink; you dress yourselves, but there is no warmth in doing so; and he who earns wages, earns wages to put them into a bag with holes” (vv. 4, 6). This means that we will labor much, but the harvest will be little or nothing at all. However, when we are built up together with the saints, the Lord’s blessing will flood in and be poured out among us.
While we are serving, we want the church to be blessed, and we also want to bring in the Lord’s blessing. The unique condition for bringing in the blessing is for the saints to be built up together. When we are built up, His blessing will come.
The nature of the work of the Holy Spirit is building, and the goal of His work is also building. The goal of His preaching the gospel through us is to have the building. We may not appreciate the building when we preach the gospel, but the Holy Spirit is working for the building. The Spirit does not allow a believer to be detached from the Christian community. The life a person receives at salvation requires him to be related with other Christians and to attend Christian meetings. This is the nature of the work of the Holy Spirit, and it is for the building. The Holy Spirit always joins every new believer, without exception, to other Christians. Hence, the goal of the Spirit’s work in us is the building.
In church history the mystics were a group of believers who highly regarded spirituality. However, because they did not know the nature or goal of the Spirit’s work, they focused on personal spirituality and came to an end. They went to mountains and caves in pursuit of God; they forsook everything and spent all their time to read the Bible, pray, meditate on God’s Word, and exercise to be spiritual, but they did not have any results. This indicates that their way was not effective; the Holy Spirit was not working in their pursuit of spiritual cultivation. The nature and goal of whatever the Holy Spirit does in us are the building.
If the Holy Spirit enlightens us in our personal Bible reading, He will require us to fellowship what we see with the other saints. However, the Holy Spirit will not confirm our desire to display the flesh. If we disobey the urging of the Holy Spirit by not fellowshipping with others and by keeping the light we have received to ourselves, we will feel uncomfortable, and the light will diminish. However, if we fellowship the light we have received with the saints, the light will become brighter, because the Holy Spirit is working for the building so that we would be joined with the saints. If we would obey His urging and fellowship more, we will be enriched. The Holy Spirit urges and compels us to be joined with the saints by fellowshipping with them regarding all our spiritual experiences, including the breaking of the cross, the knowledge of resurrection, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. This is a law.
Although in the past we did not emphasize the building up, there was still some building up among us, because this is the nature of the work of the Holy Spirit. We received God’s blessing because of the building carried out by the Holy Spirit. However, we restricted the Holy Spirit because we did not see the matter of building and did not take the building as our goal. We need to actively cooperate with the Holy Spirit for the building.
We need to renew our consecration to the Lord for the building. The book of Romans speaks of consecration in chapter 6 and in chapter 12. In chapter 6 consecration is for us to experience dying with Christ and being released from sin (vv. 6-13). In chapter 12 consecration is for the coordination of the Body, for our being built into the Body (vv. 1-8).
We must consecrate ourselves again if we want to receive the vision of being built up in the Body. We must say, “Lord, I give myself to You again. I am offering myself once again for the vision that You have shown me. I want to be built up, so I consecrate myself for Your building work. I have consecrated myself for other things, but now I consecrate myself for You to do Your building work in me. I want to be built up together with all the saints in the church.” May the Spirit lead us to have a renewed consecration for the building, and may He have the freedom to do the work of building in us.
