THE INTRINSIC AND ORGANIC BUILDING UP OF THE CHURCH AS THE BODY OF CHRIST
Message One
The Intrinsic Essence of the Church for Its Organic Existence
Scripture Reading: 1 John 1:2; John 1:12-13; 3:29-30; 12:24; Gen. 2:21-23; 1 Cor. 12:12, 28
I. The intrinsic essence of the church is the divine life, which generates the church—1 John 1:2; 5:1:
A. The intrinsic essence of the church is the divine life, the indestructible life, which the processed Triune God has dispensed into us and is now dispensing into us; this divine life is actually the processed and now-dispensing Triune God—John 14:6; 10:10b; 1 Cor. 15:45b; Rom. 8:2, 10, 6, 11; 2 Cor. 5:4:
1. The divine life generates us by the regeneration of the Spirit in our spirit; the divine Spirit begets the human spirit, and these two spirits are mingled as one—John 3:3, 5-6; Rom. 8:16; 1 Cor. 6:17.
2. When we are regenerated, we are made the children of God as the bride of Christ, who is the Bridegroom, for His increase, as typified by Eve as the counterpart to Adam—John 1:12-13; 3:29-30; Gen. 2:21-23:
a. Before Eve came into existence, she was a rib of Adam, a part of Adam; according to this revelation, we can say that before the church came into existence, she was a part of Christ; just as the members of our physical body are parts of us, the members of Christ are parts of Christ—vv. 21-23; Eph. 1:3-6; 1 Cor. 12:12; Rom. 12:5; cf. Acts 9:5.
b. Just as Adam’s rib imparted life into Eve to make her Adam’s counterpart, so Christ’s eternal, divine, indestructible life imparts life into us to make us His counterpart—Gen. 2:22; Heb. 7:16; 1 Cor. 15:45b; Rom. 8:2.
B. Christ became the intrinsic essence of the church through the release of His divine life as the one grain of wheat falling into the ground and dying there for His multiplication—John 12:24; Luke 12:49-50.
C. Christ became the intrinsic essence of the church through the impartation of His divine life as the firstborn Son of God in His resurrection, that God may have many sons as the many brothers of Christ—1 Pet. 1:3; Rom. 8:29; Heb. 2:11-12.
D. The many brothers of Christ are His many branches grafted into Him, the true vine in the universe, to bear much fruit for His enlargement in His spreading so that they might express the Triune God as His organism; when the branches of the vine receive a sufficient supply of the life-giving Spirit as the life-juice of Christ, they bear fruit as the overflow of the inner life supply—John 15:1, 4-5, 16, 8; Rom. 11:17, 24.
E. This organism of the Triune God is the organic Body of Christ, constituted with His many brothers as the many members of His organic Body—Eph. 1:22-23; Rom. 12:5.
II. We need to see and experience the organic existence of the church—Eph. 1:17:
A. The church exists in the universe as the one universal church of God for His universal expression, the fullness of God—1 Cor. 10:32; 12:28; Eph. 3:19b.
B. The church is spreading in many localities on the earth as the many local churches to be His local expressions—Rev. 1:4, 11:
1. In 1 Corinthians 12:28 Paul puts apostles (who are universal), prophets and teachers (who are both universal and local), and deacons and elders (who are local) all together; this means that the word church in this verse implies the universal church and all the local churches.
2. In the eyes of God the universal church and all the local churches are just “the church”; the processed and now-dispensing Triune God is one, and He is the very essence of the church; therefore, this church, in both its universal and local aspects, is one church.
C. When we come back to the intrinsic essence of the church for its organic existence, we will not talk wrongly about the erroneous teaching that the local churches could be different from one another; all the churches are the unique, one organism of the processed and dispensing Triune God.
D. According to the Scriptures, the practical, sevenfold oneness is for us to be (1) one in teaching (1 Cor. 4:17; 7:17; 16:1; Acts 2:42; Rom. 16:17; 1 Tim. 1:3-4; 6:3; Eph. 4:13-14), (2) one in practice (1 Cor. 11:16; 14:33b-34), (3) one in thinking (Phil. 2:2, 5-8; 4:2; 1 Cor. 1:10), (4) one in speaking (Rom. 15:6; 1 Cor. 1:10), and (5, 6, & 7) one in essence, appearance, and expression (Rev. 1:11-12).
III. We must continuously exercise our spirit (1 Tim. 4:7) and turn our heart to the Lord (2 Cor. 3:16-18) in order to stay on the way of life in the reality of the intrinsic essence of the church for its organic existence:
A. We must walk in the way of life to live by the tree of life according to the spirit, not in the way of death to live by the tree of the knowledge of right and wrong according to the self—Gen. 2:9; Rom. 8:4, 6; 2 Cor. 2:13; Matt. 16:24.
B. We stay on the way of life by loving the Lord to the uttermost; to believe in the Lord is to receive Him as life; to love the Lord is to enjoy Him as life—Mark 12:30; S. S. 1:4a.
C. The love between us and the Lord depends on our thoughts:
1. In 2 Corinthians 11:2 Paul says that he betrothed us to one husband to present us as a pure virgin to Christ with a proper love toward Him in order to enjoy Him; then in verse 3 Paul tells us that it is possible for our thoughts to be corrupted from the simplicity and the purity toward Christ.
2. The following symptoms of problems with man’s thoughts are all hindrances to the enjoyment of Christ as life:
a. The first symptom of problems with man’s thoughts is having hardened thoughts—3:14.
b. The second symptom of problems with man’s thoughts is being blinded by Satan—4:4.
c. The third symptom of problems with man’s thoughts is rebellion—10:4-5.
d. The fourth symptom of problems with man’s thoughts is corruption—11:3.
3. We should pray, “O Lord, search my thoughts, and rescue my thoughts so that they can focus solely and entirely on You”—Rom. 8:6; Psa. 139:23-24.
4. To enjoy Christ as the intrinsic essence of the church, we must have a burning love toward Him by giving Him the first place in all things—Rev. 2:4-5, 7; Col. 1:18b; Rom. 12:11; 2 Tim. 1:6-7.
D. May we continuously receive the merciful compassions of our God (Heb. 4:16; Luke 1:78-79) so that we may remain on the way of life, the line of life, and in the maintenance of life by enjoying Christ as the tree of life in the flow of life for God’s building in life by our growth in life; this is for us to remain in the intrinsic essence of the church for its organic existence (Gen. 2:9; Rev. 22:1-2; Rom. 8:6; Eph. 4:15-16; Col. 2:19; John 6:57, 63; 7:38-39; 20:22).