Will you please turn to 1 Corinthians 12? We will read verses 1 through 3, verses 12 and 13, and verse 27.
But concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.
Ye know that when ye were Gentiles ye were led away unto those dumb idols, howsoever ye might be led.
Wherefore I make known unto you, that no man speaking in the Spirit of God saith, Jesus is anathema; and no man can say, Jesus is Lord, but in the Holy Spirit.
For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of the body, being many, are one body; so also is Christ.
For in one Spirit were we all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether bond or free; and were all made to drink of one Spirit.
Now ye are the body of Christ, and severally members thereof.
First Corinthians 12 is often thought of as a chapter on spiritual gifts, or spiritual manifestations. Now, it is true that in this chapter we find spiritual manifestations—the manifestations of the Holy Spirit through gifts in the members of the body of Christ.
But as we read the first verse, we find that this chapter, as well as the succeeding chapters—from chapter 12 at least through chapter 15, if not chapter 16—is under the same heading: concerning spirituals.
Of course, in English it would be very awkward to say, “Concerning spiritual.” Spiritual what? That is the reason translators try to put in some words to fill the gap. According to their understanding, such words are put in. Therefore, in your Bible, you may find these words in parentheses or italics, to show that they are not in the original text, but have been added by the translator to complete the meaning.
In the original, it simply says, “Concerning spirituals.” If you translate the word literally, it is “concerning spirituals,” or “concerning spirituality.”
From chapters 1 through 11, Paul wrote to the Corinthian believers to correct certain conditions and situations in their midst. In other words, Paul was dealing with carnality—the lack of spirituality among the Corinthian believers. Many things were done in the flesh: fleshly, carnal things.
Now, beginning with chapter 12, Paul turns to another subject: concerning spirituals, concerning spirituality. He is instructing them concerning the positive side of the life of the church.
Under this heading of spirituals or spirituality, a number of things are mentioned. In chapter 12, even though gifts are mentioned, they are mentioned in connection with something more basic than gifts: the body.
In chapter 12, we find the body of Christ. Being the body of Christ, the Holy Spirit manifests Himself through the body by giving these gifts. In chapter 13, we find the law of the body, which is love. In chapter 14, we find the operation and functioning of these gifts in the body. In chapter 15, we find resurrection, because the life of the body is a resurrection life.
In these chapters Paul is touching spiritual realities and dealing with spirituality. As you deal with spiritual realities, you find one thing that is basic to our understanding of spirituality: the body of Christ.
Here in verse 27 we find: “Now ye are Christ’s body, and severally members thereof.” Ye are Christ’s body.
You know, dear brothers and sisters, our body is very important, because without a body you cannot express yourself.
In the case of our Lord Jesus, God so loved the world. But how could He express His love to the world in a way that could be understood? God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.
The only begotten Son of God had to come into this world to become a man. In other words, the Word had to become flesh. He had to take upon Himself a body, and it was in that body that He declared God and His love to us.
You remember Hebrews 10, which is a quotation from Psalm 40:
Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not,
But a body didst thou prepare for me;
Then said I, Lo, I am come
(In the roll of the book it is written of me)
To do thy will, O God.
In other words, the Son of God took upon Himself the body of a man. With that body, He was able to do all the will of God. With that body, He was able to express and manifest the love of God. With that body, He was able to teach and do things that revealed God to us. It was in that same body that He atoned for our sins.
Think: if He did not have a body, if He did not take upon Himself such a body, how could He manifest and express, in concrete ways, His love, His wisdom, His righteousness, and His holiness? How could we see Him, hear Him, or touch Him? He is beyond us.
Therefore, it was in a body that God enabled us to see Him, hear Him, and touch Him. In that body He fulfilled all the will of God and accomplished the work of salvation. How important that body was to our Lord Jesus.
But we know that this body was crucified on Calvary’s cross. It was broken. Then, on the day of resurrection, when our Lord Jesus was raised from the dead, He took upon Himself a spiritual body. With that spiritual body, He ascended to heaven and is now at the right hand of the Father.
Yet, even though He is now in heaven in a spiritual body, He left behind on earth still a body.
On the day of Pentecost, when the 120 believers were in the upper room, the Holy Spirit came upon them. In one Spirit they were baptized into one body.
From that day onward, Christ, who is now in heaven, has been able to continue to do and to teach as He did when He was in the human flesh.
That is the reason for the book of Acts. Sometimes we call it The Acts of the Apostles, but in the original manuscript there was no such title. People who collected the Bible felt that a title had to be supplied. Reading Acts, they found first the acts of the apostle Peter, then the acts of the apostle Paul, along with the other apostles; therefore, they called it The Acts of the Apostles.
But in Acts 1:1, Luke says concerning the former treatise—that is, the Gospel according to Luke—that it concerned all that the Lord Jesus began both to do and to teach.
In the Gospels, we find what our Lord Jesus began to do and to teach through the body which He took upon Himself from the womb of the virgin Mary. But the book of Acts records what He continues to do and to teach.
He continues still in a body, but now in a corporate body called the church. Through this body called the church, He is able to continue to do and to teach. He is able to carry out all the will of God. Through this body, He is to be seen, heard, and touched, as He was two thousand years ago in that physical body.
So, dear brothers and sisters, here we find a statement of supreme importance: Ye are the body of Christ.
It does not say, “You shall be the body of Christ.” It does not say, “You are going to be the body of Christ.” Here is a spiritual reality, a fact, an eternal fact: you are the body of Christ.
Now, do we really realize what we are? Sometimes we become too familiar with terms, and when we become too familiar with them, they begin to lose their meaning. But this is a matter of tremendous, vital importance.
The “ye” includes not only the Corinthian believers; it includes us who believe in the Lord Jesus. It includes all those who are redeemed of the Lord. In one Spirit we have all been baptized into one body, and we are the body of Christ.
Brothers and sisters, do you really think in these terms—that we are the body of Christ?
Naturally speaking, we are all individualistic—very individualistic. We are all individuals, and because we are individuals, it is easy for us to think in individualistic terms.
Even in our pursuit of spiritual things, we tend to think individualistically: “What will I get? What can I get from the Lord?” Even in the pursuit of gifts, we ask, “What gift can I have and display?”
The Corinthian believers had the same problem. They were highly individualistic, and because they were highly individualistic, it was difficult for corporate life to be expressed.
Now, brothers and sisters, it is true that we are all individuals. But we also need to see that we are the body of Christ. We are Christ’s body. We have to think in corporate terms instead of individualistic terms. We need to be delivered from individualism.
The only way we can be delivered from it is through the working of the cross, that we may truly be brought into the corporate reality and begin to realize that we are the body of Christ—not in the future, not something to arrive at, but even now.
Whether you understand it or not, whether you realize it or not, whether you are living in it or not, does not change this eternal fact. It is something Christ has done. Christ is the Baptizer, and He has baptized us in the Holy Spirit into one body. He has done it.
Because it is something He has done, it is a fact: we are the body of Christ.
Just think what an honor and privilege it is to be the body of Christ.
Suppose you were the body of the president of the United States. All that is in the mind of the president, all that he wants to do, would be carried out through that body. How important that body would be.
But, dear brothers and sisters, we are the body of Christ. It is much more honorable than being the body of the president of the United States. Whatever is in Christ today is to be carried out, expressed, and manifested through us as His body.
If we fail Him as His body, then He cannot be seen, heard, or touched. He remains abstract, untouchable, intangible, and nothing of His will can be done on earth as it is in heaven. Think of that.
On the one hand, how honorable and glorious it is to be the body of Christ. Yet, on the other hand, how terrible it is if we fail Him. Brothers and sisters, do we realize that?
Do we know that we are the body of Christ? Paul even said that if you corrupt the body, God will destroy you, because that body is of such tremendous importance to Christ the Head.
Christ is to be expressed through us together. Christ is to be seen, heard, and touched by the world through us as His body.
What if we misrepresent Him? What if we sin against this body? Sometimes we think of sin only in individualistic terms. If I steal something or do something wrong, I think of it simply as my own sin. Even in the matter of sin, our whole idea is individualistic.
But have we ever considered that we may sin against the body of Christ? Of course, we know that we dare not sin against Christ. Who dares to sin against Christ? We know how serious the consequences would be.
Yet does it ever enter our minds that it is just as serious if we sin against the body of Christ? Saul persecuted the disciples, the followers of our Lord Jesus. On the road to Damascus, the Lord met him and said, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?”
In other words, touching the body is touching the Head. Sinning against the body is sinning against the Head. But, dear brothers and sisters, how careless we are. We think it is serious to sin against Christ, but we do not think too much of sinning against the body.
If the Lord opens our eyes to see the body of Christ as the vessel and instrument through which Christ is to express Himself, would we not think twice before doing anything that might hurt the body?
Many years ago, I think it was in 1938 or 1939, our brother Watchman Nee was in England. He visited a dear saint of God who was then over ninety years old. He was the writer of the booklet Safety, Certainty, and Enjoyment.
Aside from the Bible, Safety, Certainty, and Enjoyment had, at one time, one of the largest circulations. Many people came to the knowledge of Christ through that book, written by George Cutting.
At that time George Cutting was in his nineties and very feeble. He was in bed, and most of the time he was in a kind of unconsciousness. But from time to time he woke to consciousness.
Our brother visited him and sat by his bedside, waiting for him to wake up. When George Cutting woke up and saw our brother sitting there, he said, “I cannot do without Him, and He cannot do without me.” Then he repeated it and went into unconsciousness again.
“I cannot do without Him.” Who is “Him”? Of course, Christ. I cannot do without Christ.
Brothers and sisters, I believe you agree with him. We cannot do without the Lord Jesus. He is the vine; we are the branches. “Apart from me ye can do nothing.” How important it is for us to realize that.
Sometimes things have to happen before we realize it. We think we can do without Him. We think that there are many things we can do all right. The Lord says, “Try it out.” We try and try, and finally we realize that it is true: I cannot do without Him.
How glorious it is that we cannot do without Christ. We need to realize that.
But George Cutting also said, “He cannot do without me.” Now, who are you? Are you that important to Christ? Certainly, without you He can do many things—so we may think. But George Cutting said, “I cannot do without Him, but He cannot do without me.”
Brothers and sisters, if you see that we are the body of Christ, then you begin to see that it is true: we cannot do without Him. The body cannot do without the Head. But equally true, the Head cannot do without the body.
We are the body of Christ. What can He do if He does not have us? He will not be able to speak through us, teach through us, or do anything through us today. He will not be able to bring in His kingdom today, glorify the Father today, or fulfill the work He desires to do today. He would be limited, hindered, and blocked.
Oh, brothers and sisters, what an honor it is to think that we are Christ’s body. He cannot do without us.
If He depends so much on us, is that not serious? Can we play with this idea of the body of Christ?
Thank God, on the one hand, that today many people have begun to have the concept of the body of Christ. Ten years ago, very few people even had this concept. Now, among Christians, many at least have some concept of the body of Christ.
Thank God for that concept. But the body of Christ is more than a concept. If you only have a concept of the body of Christ, you will not be in the reality of it.
You may have the concept, yet it remains vague, nebulous, and abstract. It may have nothing to do with your daily life. You can live on as an individualist while holding a concept of the body, and it does not seem to bother you at all.
But, brothers and sisters, the body of Christ should be a consciousness. It should not remain merely a concept in your mind; it must become a consciousness in your heart. In other words, we need body consciousness.
A consciousness is not something you can manufacture. You do not hear a message on the body of Christ and then acquire that consciousness. You may receive the concept, but consciousness must come by revelation—by revelation.
How much we need, as the body of Christ, to receive revelation from above that we are the body of Christ. As you receive that revelation, consciousness is born in your heart. Once that consciousness grows within you, it begins to direct, control, govern, and regulate your life.
How does that revelation come? We know from Scripture that revelation comes in two ways.
Sometimes revelation comes as you wait before the Lord. In His light you see light. As you wait upon the Lord, seek His face, and seek Him, the Holy Spirit at times reveals His Word to you. His Word becomes living and real to you. That is revelation.
Sometimes we receive this consciousness through direct revelation of the Holy Spirit. But at other times—perhaps more often—revelation comes after the Holy Spirit has disciplined us.
He leads us into circumstances, and through the working of those circumstances He begins to break us to the point where we begin to see the body of Christ. Through circumstances, He breaks down our individualism.
You know how strong we are as individualists. We are able to go through much and say we do not need our brothers and sisters; we can go alone. But it takes circumstances to break down that individualism. Then we begin to see that we are not alone, but are in the body of Christ.
Sometimes through the discipline of the Holy Spirit we are brought into revelation. But, brothers and sisters, do not be content merely with the concept of the body of Christ. If that is all you have, it does not operate. You may live in contradiction to the very concept of the body of Christ and not know it.
Once you are given revelation, and the revelation is deepened, the consciousness is within you. It is almost like a subconsciousness—more than merely conscious. Whenever you say something or do something, somehow within you there is a check, a restraint, or a constraint.
Are you building up the body, or are you tearing down the body?
Sometimes we may say things casually. But if you have body consciousness, it may stop you and ask, “Will what you say hurt the body? Will it build the body?”
Sometimes you may do something to your brothers and sisters and think nothing about it. But if you have body consciousness, it will stop you, and you will begin to wonder whether you are building the body or destroying it.
Brothers and sisters, we need to be before the Lord that He may give us consciousness of the body of Christ. Only after we have that body consciousness do we begin to live in the body.
Now, we are in the body; remember this: we are the body, whether conscious of it or unconscious of it. But if you are conscious of it, you live in the body. If you are not conscious of it, you live in yourself. That is the difference.
Paul continues: “And severally members thereof.”
With human beings, it is our tendency to go to extremes. It is very difficult for us to be balanced. We either go to one extreme or swing to the other.
Sometimes we are so individualistic that we can think only of ourselves as individuals. We cannot see the body of Christ. All we can see is “my Lord and I.” We say, “I do not care about you, brothers and sisters. It is just a matter of my Lord and I.” Sometimes we take that position and think it is spiritual.
That individualism has to be broken. You have to see that it is more than “my Lord and I.” It is our Lord and us.
Yet when people begin to see this, they tend to swing to the other extreme. Everything becomes corporate; there is nothing individual. I call it the tyranny of the body.
They wipe out personalities and individuals, and everything is corporate. Everything is the body. In other words, the body controls everything. But, as a matter of fact, it is not the body controlling everything; it is one member or a few members using the body to control everybody.
How serious that can be. It gives no liberty to individuals. It tries to make everyone uniform. Everybody must be the same. That is not the body; that is a lump of meat.
Being a body means there are many members, and all the members are different. Paul said, “Members in particular.” In other words, we are not all alike. We are all different members.
So far as life is concerned, there is one life, because the life in the body is one life. The life in my hand is the same life that is in my stomach. So far as life is concerned, the life in the body is only one.
You cannot have two lives in the same body. If you have two lives in the same body, then it is civil war. That is the problem with many Christians: they have civil war all the time. They have the life of Christ in them, and their Adamic life is still there; thus there is continual conflict.
Corporately, it is the same. In the body of Christ there is only one life: the life of Christ. If you allow any other life to intrude into that body, you have problems and trouble.
That is why, in the body of Christ, no other life can be allowed to enter. Only the life of Christ prevails. All other lives must be cut off by the cross.
The body of Christ means the death of our self-life. If we try to put ourselves into the body, immediately there is more than one life. If there is more than one life, that body cannot live.
So far as the body is concerned, there is only one life: the unity of the life of the body. We are one because we have one life. That is the unity of the body of Christ.
But so far as functions are concerned, we are members one of another. We are members in particular. Everyone is different.
Variety. Diversity. God does not love uniformity; He loves variety, because only with diversity can there be a true corporate expression.
God has put us in the body of Christ as members in particular. Every one of us is different.
Sometimes you hear people say, “We do not allow differences here.” What do you mean, you do not allow differences?
If you speak of life, yes: in the body there is no allowance for a difference in kind. It has to be the life of Christ. There may be different degrees, but not a different kind of life. There can be only one life.
But other than life, brothers and sisters, the body of Christ has to allow differences, because God made it that way. If you do not allow differences, you cut across the very meaning of the body of Christ.
We are members in particular. God not only made every one of us physically different—there are no two persons exactly alike—but we are also different in our souls.
I often say that our temperament is the shape of our soul. Our soul has a shape, and that is our temperament. Some people are born slow; others are born quick. Some are careful; others are more bold. These temperaments are neutral.
You cannot judge one temperament as bad and another as good. They are neutral. God made them that way. But these temperaments need to be controlled and mellowed by the Holy Spirit, by the life of Christ. Then they are all useful.
If these temperaments are under your own control and used by you, they are harmful, whether you are slow or quick.
God made us so differently. The same thing is found in 1 Corinthians 12:
Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
And there are diversities of ministrations, and the same Lord.
And there are diversities of workings, but the same God, who worketh all things in all.
So far as the functions of the body are concerned, we are members in particular. We are all different. Yet behind all these differences there is unity.
Whether the Holy Spirit is manifested in one member or another, in one gift or another gift, it is still the manifestation of one Spirit. There are many services, yet there is one Lord. There are many operations, yet the power behind them is one God. It is unity in diversity.
Brothers and sisters, remember: we have to allow differences. Do not try to make everybody the same, doing the same thing in exactly the same way. It cannot be done, and it is not the will of God.
We have to be what we are—what God has made us, what the Holy Spirit has given to us as His manifestation. Be faithful in that. Do not try to imitate. Do not try to copy. Just be what God has made you to be.
Unless we are in that position, we will not be able to manifest Christ as His body.
Dear brothers and sisters, we need balance. On the one hand, we are the body of Christ. We have to think in corporate terms. Whatever we do, whatever we say, in our actions and reactions, we cannot think that we are alone.
Sometimes we think, “Well, I am alone. It will not affect anybody else.” No, you are not alone, because we are the body of Christ. Whether you are in a meeting, at home, in the office, or in your bedroom, you are not alone. You are the body of Christ.
That should govern our actions and reactions, our speech, our works, and everything. We are the body of Christ.
Yet, on the other hand, this does not mean that we are no longer individuals. Even in the body of Christ, we are individual members. You are you, and I am I. We are all different.
Even in eternity, individualism will be gone, but individuality will remain. The twelve foundations of the holy city bear the names of the apostles, and these foundation stones are different. They are not the same stones—twelve different stones, all expressing Christ.
It is Christ in Peter, Christ in John, Christ in James, and Christ in Paul. Brothers and sisters, remember this: we need to maintain the fact that we are the body of Christ.
When we see that we are the body of Christ, we realize that we cannot do without Him and He cannot do without us. When we see that we are members in particular, we begin to see that we cannot do without our brothers and sisters, and our brothers and sisters cannot do without us.
Are we conscious of this? Are we conscious that we cannot do without our brothers and sisters? Are we conscious that our brothers and sisters cannot do without us?
In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul illustrates this point. The eye cannot say to the ear, “I have no need of thee.” The eye may be in front, and the ear may be at the side, but the eye needs the ear.
Sometimes you see because you hear first. You hear something, turn around, and see it. If you never hear, by the time you see it, it may be too late.
The same is true with the hand and the feet. The hand may say, “I can hold things.” All right, but how far can you reach without the help of the feet? You can reach only a very limited distance. You need your feet to help you fulfill your function.
The function of the hand is to grasp and hold, but for it to fulfill that function fully, it needs the help of the other members.
On the one hand, we are members in particular, and because we are members in particular, we have our special functions. Yet in order fully to fulfill those special functions, we need the help of the other members.
Without the other members, no matter how faithfully you work yourself to death, what you can do is very little and very limited. Like the hand, where can you reach without the feet? Very little. You cannot fulfill your function.
So, brothers and sisters, we need to have the consciousness: “I need my brothers and sisters. I cannot do without them.” But at the same time, they cannot do without me.
Sometimes we think, “Who am I? I am just a little brother. I am just a little sister. These big brothers and big sisters—the church cannot do without them. But I am only a little brother or little sister. If I am here, nobody notices; if I am absent, nobody misses me.”
We may say, “If I pray, it does not add anything to the prayers. If I keep quiet, it does not take anything away. If I praise, the Lord is not worshipped better; if I do not, the Lord is not worshipped less.” No, brothers and sisters.
Instead of thinking in that way, reverse it. Say, “Brothers and sisters, do not look down on me. However small I may be, you cannot do without me.”
You may think that saying, “Who am I? Surely you can do without me,” is humble and spiritual. No, that is carnal. To be truly spiritually minded, you have to see that your brothers and sisters cannot do without you.
A body cannot do without any member. If one member suffers, the whole body suffers. If one member is glorified, the whole body rejoices.
It is true—very true. Sometimes you think, “Well, if I am absent, it is all right.” No, it is not all right. If you are absent, the body suffers.
Sometimes you think, “If I do not function, I have only one talent. I will wrap it up and leave it there. Nobody will notice.” No. The body needs every member.
We have to come to this consciousness: as I cannot do without Christ, and Christ cannot do without me, so I cannot do without my brothers and sisters, and my brothers and sisters cannot do without me.
Finally, how do we come into this body?
In 1 Corinthians 12, we read that in one Spirit we were baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether bond or free.
This is the meaning of baptism in the Holy Spirit. Today there is much confusion about that term: What is baptism in the Holy Spirit, or with the Holy Spirit?
As you read Scripture, you find that baptism with the Holy Spirit was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost and in the house of Cornelius. On the day of Pentecost, the 120 were baptized in one Spirit into one body. But on the day of Pentecost they were all Jews. Therefore, it had to be repeated in the house of Cornelius.
In the house of Cornelius, Gentiles were gathered there. The Holy Spirit fell upon them, and they were baptized in the same Spirit into the same body. Why? Because they were Gentiles.
Thus, baptism in or with the Holy Spirit was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost and in the house of Cornelius. It is historical.
When we believe in the Lord Jesus, not only has the Holy Spirit regenerated us—he that is born of the Spirit is spirit—but on the day we believe in the Lord Jesus, we are born of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit renews our spirit, makes it a new spirit, and comes to dwell within us.
That is personal. But at the same time, the Holy Spirit has done something corporate of which we may not be aware: He has baptized us into the body of Christ.
It is already done. It can be easily proven. Immediately after you believe in the Lord Jesus, when you meet another Christian, you immediately sense a bond. Where does that bond come from? It is because you are members of the same body.
Brothers and sisters, this is the meaning of baptism in the Holy Spirit: we were baptized into one body. When you believe in the Lord Jesus, you are not only regenerated as an individual; you are baptized into the body corporately. It is done.
But why is it that, though we are one body and in the body, we often do not have the consciousness or live in the reality of the body of Christ? I think it is because we do not read on.
For in one Spirit were we all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether bond or free; and were all made to drink of one Spirit.
There is the key. So far as being in the body is concerned, we come into the body by baptism in the Holy Spirit. Yes, it is done. But we are all made to drink of one Spirit.
In other words, we are not only baptized in the Spirit; we are to drink of the Spirit.
Suppose you are baptized in a river. Water is all around you; you are surrounded by water. But if you are to drink the water, you must take it within. You do not drink water by pouring it on your head. You do not drink water merely by immersing your body in it.
That is baptism. But when you drink, you open your mouth and let the water come within you.
Baptism is wonderful, but drinking is daily. We need to drink day by day. You cannot say, “I drank three days ago.” You cannot live on that. You have to drink continuously—continuously.
The trouble is that we are in the body, but if we do not drink of the Spirit—if we do not draw upon the Spirit of God, depend upon the Spirit of God, live by the Spirit of God, walk by the Spirit, do things according to the Spirit, and remain in the Spirit—then the body of Christ is not real to us.
If you are in the flesh, yourself is real. But if you are in the Spirit, the body is real.
When you live in the flesh, only yourself is real. Nothing else is real. But if you drink of the Spirit, obey the Holy Spirit, and live according to the Holy Spirit, then what happens?
At the beginning of the chapter it says that no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. If you really live in the Holy Spirit, then Jesus is Lord in your life. In other words, He is the Head.
Being the Head, and holding fast the Head, you live in the body. That is the secret. We cannot live in the body apart from the Holy Spirit, because it is by the law of the Spirit of life that we are able to live at all, individually or corporately.
That is why Paul said, “Be filled with the Spirit.” To be filled with the Spirit means to be continuously filled, continuously ruled by Him.
If we are continuously under the rule of the Holy Spirit, we say, “Jesus is Lord.” Saying, “Jesus is Lord,” does not mean merely saying it with your lips. You cannot say, “Jesus is Lord,” in reality except when you live in the Holy Spirit.
Then Jesus is Lord, and with Him as your Lord, you are able to live as members in His body.
Brothers and sisters, this is just a reminder. As we find in Scripture, we need to be reminded. Peter said, in effect, “I know you know these things, but I feel it is my duty to remind you.”
Sometimes we need to be reminded that we are Christ’s body, and members in particular. Live by the Spirit, and you will live in the reality of the body.
Oh, heavenly Father, we do praise and thank Thee that this is something glorious which Thou hast accomplished. It is through Thy redemptive, finished work on the cross that Thou hast taken to Thyself today a corporate life and hast put us in that body, setting us there as members one of another.
This is something which Thou hast done. Oh, how we praise and thank Thee that nothing can change it.
But, Lord, we do want to be conscious of it, to really express this body and to function as members in that body. We ask that Thou wilt open our eyes and bring us into that consciousness.
May it not be something that we have to think about in order to live it, but may it become something so supernaturally natural within us that we are subconsciously conscious of it.
Lord, we pray that we may really be members one of another in Thy body, that Thou mayest be seen, heard, touched, lived, and expressed; that Thou mayest accomplish whatever needs to be done on earth as it is in heaven.
So we offer ourselves to Thee. Amen.