Throughout the centuries Christians have held the natural concept that the church is merely a social organization. Actually the church is not an organization. As Paul says in his Epistles, the church is the Body of Christ. Our physical body, which is a picture of the mystical Body of Christ, is not an organization, but an organism. As an organism, it is altogether dependent upon life. When the life is gone, the body becomes a corpse, which could possibly be regarded as an organization.
The concept that the church is a social organization has caused a great deal of damage. In social organizations there is the need for certain members to be on the top, to be of the highest rank. In religion this may take the form of hierarchy. But there is no hierarchy in our physical body. No doubt, certain members are above others, but this is a matter of functional order, not of rank. For example, for the purpose of function, the nose is higher than the mouth. It would be absurd to say that the nose has a higher rank than the mouth has. In like manner, our fingers are below both our arms and shoulders. But this does not mean that the fingers have a lower rank. This is entirely a matter of order according to function. How could the fingers function if they were attached to the shoulders? Therefore, in the physical body, a picture of the living organism of the Body of Christ, there is no rank nor hierarchal order, but only order according to function.
In the past I have met some women who did not agree with Paul’s word in Ephesians 5 about wives submitting to their husbands. Likewise, they could not accept Paul’s word in 1 Corinthians 11 about the man being the head of the woman. Under the influence of the modern concept of female emancipation, they questioned why the woman had to be under the man. I answered them by pointing to the arrangement of the members in our physical body. I tried to show them that this arrangement is not a matter of rank, but a matter of function. For example, the nose is in the right place for its particular function. The same is true of all the members of the body. However, the fact that the nose is higher than the mouth in functional order does not mean that it is of a higher rank than the mouth. To consider the matter of rank with respect to the Body of Christ is to be under the influence of the fallen human concept. Many troubles and problems have been caused by this very concept.
As we consider the apostles, prophets, and elders spoken of in the New Testament, we need to drop the natural concept. If we hold to our natural concept, we shall automatically think that the apostles, prophets, and elders have a higher rank. The concept of rank is altogether a natural concept, a concept foreign to the Scriptures. The apostles, prophets, and elders carry out certain functions, but fulfilling these functions does not place them on a level above the other saints. In the Body there are many members, and these members have different functions. Although there is a difference of function, there is no difference of rank. In an organism there is no consciousness of rank. If our shoulders could speak, they would say that they have never thought of having any rank in our body; they would say that they have never regarded themselves as higher than the other members.
Some of the elders have been rather proud of their position and have expected the saints to give place to them. Other brothers have been ambitious to become elders. There is no room for such ambition in the church life. If we know the Bible, we shall realize that an elder is a slave. The thought of rank must be purged away. The apostles and elders are not high officials. On the contrary, they are those who serve Christ to the churches and to the saints.
My burden in this message is to point out that all the saints should be building members. Ephesians 4:11 says, “And He gave some apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some shepherds and teachers.” These gifted ones are not high officials with a special rank. Rather, they are given for the perfecting of the saints (v. 12). The saints need to be perfected, equipped, furnished, unto the work of ministry. This work of ministry is the building up of the Body of Christ. Because so many saints are not yet doing the work of ministry, they need the gifted ones mentioned in verse 11 to perfect them, to equip them, that they may be qualified to carry out the work of ministry for the building up of the Body of Christ. The perfecting or equipping is related both to growth in life and to training in certain skills.
The light on these verses has never been as bright and clear as it is today. We have seen that the work of ministry is simply the building up of the Body of Christ. This work should be carried out not only by the apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers, but by all the members. Hence, all the saints are building members. We are not only members who have been built up, but we are also members who build up the Body. Firstly, the apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers perfect the saints. This means that they build up the saints. Then the perfected saints become the building members. In these days the saints are being perfected. But after another period of time I expect that the saints who are being perfected now will also become the building ones.
Verse 13 says, “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.” Notice that in this verse Paul says “we,” not “you.” When Paul wrote this verse, he himself was already mature. However, he was waiting for the immature ones to grow up. In other words, he was waiting until we all arrive. Paul did not want to arrive at the destination ahead of the younger ones. Rather, he was waiting until we all arrive at three things: at the oneness of the faith, at a full-grown man, and at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. In this verse there are three phrases beginning with the word at. The fact that there is no conjunction indicates that the second is in apposition to the first and that the third is in apposition to the second. Thus, the three phrases actually refer to one thing.
Paul expected all the saints to come up to his standard and to be the same as he was. Paul was a builder, and we all should be builders also. Paul was not some great official. At most, he was simply a member of the Body. The difference between him and most of us is that Paul was a building member, whereas most of us are just builded members. Nevertheless, the day is coming, perhaps after a few years, when we all shall be building members. Then we shall all arrive at the destination together.
Verse 14 continues, “That we may be no longer babes 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.” A babe cannot be a building one. He first needs to become a builded one. For this, a spiritual babe needs to grow. If we would be a builded member and especially a building member, we must grow. Furthermore, we need to develop certain skills. In the foregoing message we pointed out that the way to perfect the saints is to feed them so that they may grow and to train them so that they may learn certain skills. The learning of skills is related to our growth in life. The more mature we are, the more we are able to be trained. For example, an older child is able to learn more skills in mathematics than a younger child. It is the growth in life that gives us the capacity to learn certain skills.
Not many Christians today pay attention to the growth in life. Furthermore, very few concentrate on the matter of training. Therefore, among most Christians today there is no growth and there is no training. This is the reason that one can attend so-called church services for many years and still remain a babe. Such a one can never do what the apostles and prophets were able to do, because he has been neither fed nor trained.
The situation in the Lord’s recovery must be altogether different from this. We need to rise up and declare that we want to grow in life and that we want to develop the necessary skills to become building members. I hope that after a few years all the saints will become building members with the growth in life and with the skills. This is what it means to be perfected, completed, equipped, and furnished.
Verse 15 says, “But holding to truth in love, we may grow up into Him in all things, Who is the Head, Christ.” This verse clearly speaks of growth. Oh, how we need to grow! It is good to be encouraged by the word that we all can do the same kind of work as was done by the apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers. We all have the potential for this, but this potential can be realized only by growth. Without growth, the potential does not mean anything. If we would grow, we need to get into the Word, feed on the Word, and exercise our spirit to pray and to receive the Lord each day. By feeding on the Word and by receiving the Lord, we shall receive the nourishment required for the growth in life.
The following verse, verse 16, reveals that the Body comes out of the Head: “Out from Whom all the Body, fitted and knit together through every joint of the supply, according to the operation in measure of each one part, causes the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love.” This verse indicates that the Body causes the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love. Here “every joint of the supply” refers to the specially gifted persons, such as those mentioned in verse 11. But “each one part” denotes the members of the Body. There is an operation in the measure of every member. This indicates that every member is a building member. The building members in this verse are those who have grown in life and who have developed the skills in function.
I am extremely burdened that we all grow in life and that we all receive training in order to function. We are here to be absolute with the Lord. The church meetings are not a time for relaxation or entertainment. The Lord needs a people who are willing to grow, to be trained, and to be disciplined. Thus, every church should set aside one evening a week for training. If we are faithful to the Lord in this matter of training, after a few years all the saints will be useful in His hand. May we be willing to say, “Lord, we want to be trained. We want to know how to grow in life in a practical way, and we want to develop all the necessary skills.”
We need training in how to speak, how to preach the gospel, and how to teach and shepherd others. Every proper Christian who is up to the Lord’s standard should be one who is sent out, who speaks for God, who preaches the gospel, and who takes care of others. We should not be those who are merely saved and who are just waiting for heaven. Such believers are actually not very different from the people in the world. In contrast, we must be those who are continually sent out to speak for the Lord. We must preach the gospel and shepherd those who are saved through our gospel preaching. If we are like this, we shall be different both from the worldly people and from most Christians. We shall be a heavenly people carrying out a heavenly commission.
Do not wait for others to be raised up to be the Lord’s servants or to do the work of ministry. We all must function as apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers. We all must be and we all can be the building members. We do not care to have some vain title or empty position. We would like to be today’s apostles and prophets in a practical way. We need to be genuine preachers of the high and rich gospel and also those who truly know how to shepherd the new ones. May we all go to the Lord in a desperate way and pray that He train us to be such members of His Body. I cannot be at rest until I see that all the saints in the Lord’s recovery are being trained in such a way. Our burden is to perfect the saints unto the work of ministry, unto the building up of the Body of Christ.
I believe that the Lord has made this vision clear to us all. Now the crucial matter is how the saints will respond. I believe that all those among us are sincere and faithful to the Lord. The only thing remaining is that we make a definite decision before Him, even a vow, that we do not want to be left behind. Rather, we want to be those who answer the Lord’s call, satisfy His desire, and make Him happy. If we are not for this, then our life on earth is meaningless.
Perhaps we can do little to help those Christians in today’s religion, but by the Lord’s mercy and grace we ourselves can be helped to become building members in reality and in practicality. We believe that even the weakest one among us can become a building member. On the one hand, the leading ones must endeavor to perfect the saints. On the other hand, the saints must make a definite decision with the Lord regarding their willingness to be trained to be building members. If we are faithful on both sides, then God will do superabundantly above all we ask or think for the sake of His economy concerning Christ and the church.
Among the building members in the Body of Christ there should be no rank. In Matthew 23:10 the Lord Jesus said, “Neither be called leaders, because One is your Leader, the Christ.” We all are brothers in the Lord, and there should be no leader among us. The Lord’s clear word is that none of us should be called the leader, for He Himself is our unique Leader.
It is quite significant that in 1 Corinthians 12:28 Paul places “helps” before “governments.” The helps refer to the service of the deacons, whereas governments denote the function of the elders. In this verse Paul purposely places the service of the deacons ahead of the function of the elders. He may have done this to impress the Corinthians with the fact that in the church there should be no concept of rank. We should not regard the governing of the elders as higher than the service of the deacons.
We have seen that in Ephesians 3 Paul said that he had been given the stewardship of the grace of God. He mentioned this with the intention of helping the saints to realize that they all are to be stewards of God’s grace. The same thought is found in 1 Peter 4:10: “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” Thus, all the saints, not just the apostles, should be stewards. The elders should not place themselves in a special category, but they should consider themselves stewards, just as all the saints are stewards.
In 1 Peter 5:3 Peter encouraged the elders not to lord it over the church as if the church were their private possession. The church is the Body of Christ; it is not the personal property of the elders. The elders, therefore, should not regard the church as their own possession. However, in certain places I have known elders who had such an attitude. They kept the church in their “pocket” as their possession and conducted themselves as if they were the “boss.” Such an attitude is utterly wrong. The elders must remember that they are stewards among a company of stewards.
As stewards, the elders should set an example for the saints to follow. In reading the Word, in prayer, in offering themselves to the Lord, in the growth in life, in the practical service of the church, and in all other things as well, they should be examples. The elders are not lords or kings; they are slaves, servants. They are also stewards of the grace of God. As such stewards, they should be models for the saints in shepherding, in teaching, and in preaching. If we are all clear about this, then there will be no problem among us as far as leadership is concerned.
Some have asked me whether or not they should submit themselves to the elders in their church. Certainly the saints should be submissive to the elders. In 1 Peter 5:5 Peter says, “Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder.” However, in the very same verse Peter goes on to say, “Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility.” This indicates that not only should the younger ones submit to the older ones, but that the older ones should also submit to the younger ones. Both the older ones and the younger ones need to be clothed with humility. For the younger to submit to the elder is somewhat difficult, but for the elder to submit to the younger is even more difficult. Nevertheless, in the church life there should be such a mutual submission.
Others have asked me if the elders have authority. This question springs from the natural concept concerning rank. If we were not under the influence of the natural concept, we would not raise this question. I repeat, in the church there is no such thing as rank. Rather, we all are stewards of the grace of God, and we submit ourselves one to another. If the Lord has placed you in the eldership, you should not be proud. Do not regard yourselves as higher than others, and do not lord it over the church as if the church were your possession. On the contrary, as a leading one, set an example for the saints to follow. When the saints see such examples established for them by the leading ones, they may say, “Lord, thank You for these good examples. We desire to follow them in praying, in reading the Word, in preaching and teaching, and in shepherding the saints.” By the setting of the example and the following of the example, we all shall eventually serve together as stewards of the manifold grace of God. This is the proper church life, where there is no organization, no rank, no hierarchy, and no clergy-laity.
In order for the church to go on in a proper way, there is the need for some brothers to take care of the administrative affairs. But this does not make them high officials with all the other saints as their subordinates. This natural concept must be dropped. There is no place for it in the kingdom of God. In the church life, which is the kingdom of God in a practical way today, we have one King, the Lord Jesus Christ, and we all are His subjects.
