All right, heavenly Father, as we gather together in the name of Your Son, our Lord Jesus, it is the cry of our heart that You will once again reveal Your Son to us, because we do need Him. We have tasted Him, and it has increased our hunger for Him.
O Father, we ask that by Your Spirit You will reveal Him, and all that is concerning Him, to us. Give us the spirit of wisdom and revelation, and enlighten the eyes of our hearts, that we may know Him; and to know Him is life eternal.
O Father, we gather here this afternoon. You know how we depend upon You, because it is impossible for us to know these things unless You reveal them to us. How we pray and thank You that it is Your good pleasure to reveal Your Son to us. On the basis of this, we come here.
We ask that we may not hear what men have to say, but that we may hear what You have to say concerning Your Son and concerning Your purpose. O Lord, anoint us with Your holy anointing, both the speaker and the hearers, that we may be taken up by one Spirit. O Lord, we look unto You. We desire to see You and to give glory to You. We ask in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.
We have been fellowshipping together on this main thought of fullness. We find that this is the thought which was uppermost in the heart of the apostle Paul when he wrote his letter to the Colossians. It is the mind of the Spirit to draw our attention to this matter of fullness.
The purpose of God concerning His own people is fullness. He never wants us to stop short of that and be content with anything less than the fullness which is His thought concerning us.
We have also mentioned that this fullness of God is found, and can only be found, in God’s Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. For all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Him, and nowhere else.
And then we have seen that the Word tells us, “Ye are complete in Him.” I think we have no question, no doubt, that all the fullness of the Godhead has its permanent home in Christ. I believe we all agree with that. We all believe that, and we can all accept it, even though sometimes, unknowingly, we may act differently.
But when we come to the next clause, “Ye are complete in Him”—you are made full in Him—I think here we have some problems. All the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Christ. It is a fact, an eternal fact, and we do not doubt it. But here He says, “Ye are complete in Him,” not, “Ye shall be complete in heaven,” or, “You will be complete in Him,” but, “Ye are complete in Him,” as if it is already an accomplished fact.
If all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Christ, then that fullness also dwells in us, because Christ dwells in us. You are complete in Him. Why? It is because of our union with Christ. He in whom dwells all the fullness of God is now in us, and we are in Him. We are united as one. Because of this union with Christ, all that is His is ours. His fullness is our fullness.
On the basis of our union with Christ, this fullness is made ours. But, on the other hand, so far as our experience is concerned, we may find difficulties. As to our position, as to our union with Christ, this is true. But when we come down to our daily experience, when we meet many affairs, when we are put into different circumstances, and when we are faced with different problems, difficulties, and needs, we begin to feel that we are not full.
On the contrary, we often feel ourselves to be empty, little, weak, insufficient, unable to cope with our situation. We are not experiencing the fullness that is in Christ—the fullness of His love.
Very often, when we meet difficult brothers and sisters, we find that our love seems to be tested beyond our measure. We can love those who are lovely; everybody loves those who are lovely. But when God puts some difficult brother or sister together with us, we find it pretty hard. Our love is not full and overflowing. We can bear with them sometimes, but to be kind to them, and even to love them to the full, we come short.
You remember Peter saying to the Lord, “If my brother sin against me seven times, and I forgive him seven times, will that be enough?” We know that this was a very difficult thing for Peter. For Peter to forgive his brother seven times was quite a big thing.
I often wonder, when Peter came to the Lord and said, “If my brother offend me seven times,” whether it was Peter who had offended his brother. It seems to me that his brother Andrew was so good-natured, while Peter was of such a nature that he could easily offend people. And when he offended people, he would think that he was the offended one. Have you ever met such people? Maybe you can find one in yourself.
Peter thought that his brother offended him because his brother did not go his way. Probably Peter was very impetuous, quick, and fast, and his brother could not go along with him as fast as he did. Peter was not happy. He thought that he was offended, and said, “All right, I forgive you.” Very generous!
For seven times he did it. But before the eighth time came, he wanted to be prepared for it, so he asked the Lord, “Now, is that enough?” If the Lord had said it was enough, then when the eighth time came, Peter would have given his brother a check.
So, brothers and sisters, you find that Peter discovered that his love, even toward his own brother, was very limited. It was not full. In many similar situations, we find that our grace is not sufficient and our power is weak. We find in many situations that we are not made full in Him. It does not seem to be a reality in our experience.
According to our position, because of our union with Christ, we are complete in Him. All His fullness is ours. His love is ours. His kindness is ours. His grace is ours. His life is ours. His power is ours. Everything that is His, which is always full, is ours and is full. That is our position. But when we come to experience, you find it is a different story.
It is by way of the cross that we enter into the progressive experience of the fullness which is in Christ. Every occasion, every problem, every difficulty, every situation—whether it is a difficult brother or a difficult sister, whatever it may be—all these are under the hand of the Spirit of God.
The Spirit of God orders and arranges all our happenings in order that, through all these things, we may learn the lesson of the cross. As we learn the lesson of the cross, we experience the fullness that is in Christ.
Is it not true that sometimes, when your love is tested beyond your measure, before it reaches beyond your measure it is your love—your experience, what you have in yourself? You may have quite a lot, perhaps seven times. But when you are tested beyond your measure, you are exhausted of your own resources. You can only cast yourself upon the Lord and look to Him: “Lord, unless You love through me, I just cannot love anymore.”
Dear brothers and sisters, very often you find that this is the very time when you begin to experience the fullness of His love. It is by way of the cross that we enter into the experience of the fullness of Christ. This is a gradual, progressive, painful process. Are we willing to go this way of the cross?
This afternoon, God willing, we would like to fellowship together concerning the recipients of the fullness of God. We know from the letter to the Colossians that by Christ all created things are to be reconciled to God.
Some versions, as I mentioned before, say, “Through Him to reconcile all things unto Himself”—that is, unto God. Some versions render it, “To reconcile all things unto itself”—that is, unto the fullness of God.
Having made peace through the blood of His cross, through Him to reconcile all things unto Himself; through Him, I say, whether things upon the earth, or things in the heavens.
And you, being in time past alienated and enemies in your mind in your evil works, yet now hath He reconciled
in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy and without blemish and unreprovable before Him.—Colossians 1:20-22
It is true that by Christ all things, whether things in heaven or things on earth, shall be reconciled to God and brought back to the fullness of God. The day shall come when all things shall manifest the glory of God, because the knowledge of the Lord shall fill the earth as the waters cover the sea.
Everything shall speak of the glory of God, and everything shall reflect the fullness of God. Everything shall be brought back to God’s fullness. Instead of presenting a picture of vanity, waste, emptiness, and corruption, one day all things shall be reconciled to the fullness of God. We are looking forward to that day.
But man, especially man, will be reconciled to God’s fullness in a very special way. Why? Because man is not only the vessel of the fullness that is in Christ; man is also the instrument in God’s hand to bring all things to the fullness of God.
You remember Romans 8. We mentioned it yesterday. In Romans 8, it says that the whole creation is now under vanity.
For the creation was subjected to vanity, not of its own will, but by reason of Him who subjected it, in hope.
—Romans 8:20
I do not know how you interpret this verse, or interpret this “Him.” But, to my understanding—and if I am wrong, I am open to correction—you find here that the whole creation has been made subject to vanity.
One day all created things entered into vanity. They were put under vanity. They became purposeless. How did creation enter into vanity? Not of its own will. The mountains, the rivers, the birds, the fishes, the animals, the flowers—all created things were made subject to vanity, not of their own will. They did not want it.
But by reason of him who subjected it. To my understanding, I think that “him” here is Adam. Because man sinned against God, sin entered into the world through one man. Because of that, the whole creation entered into vanity with that man.
After God had created man, God put the heaven, the earth, and the sea into the hand of man. Man was to have dominion over the fowls of the air, the fishes of the sea, and all the creeping things and animals on the land. Man was made the ruler of this world. So when man sinned against God, he brought all things with him into vanity.
All created beings were not willing for that. They were not happy about it, but they could not help it, because they were brought into corruption through man. Therefore, the whole creation is now hoping for one thing:
That the creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of God.
—Romans 8:21
Because it was through man that the whole creation was brought into the bondage of corruption, their only hope is also in man: that one day, when the sons of God shall be manifested, when God shall bring man into glory, the whole creation shall be liberated and brought into the fullness of God.
So, dear brothers and sisters, the whole creation is groaning today. The whole creation is in travail, waiting for the revealing of the sons of God. This is the meaning and the message of Romans 8.
We find that man is in a very peculiar position in relation to the fullness of God. The whole creation will be brought into the fullness of God in a passive way. It was not by its will that it entered into bondage; neither shall it be by its will that it enters into the fullness of God. It will be brought into the fullness of God in a passive, mechanical way.
But not with man. We find that it was man’s will that brought himself into vanity. In like manner, it is through the active cooperation of man with God that man may not only be filled with the fullness of God, but may also be used by God to bring all things to the fullness of God. This is the difference.
We do not enter into the fullness of God in a mechanical or passive way. Man enters into the fullness of God in an active, cooperative way. This is the divine thought. It is also through man that all things shall be brought to the fullness that is in God.
Of course, we know that this man is first found in Christ. Writing to this world, it is said that in Him all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily. This is first true in Christ. In Christ, you find that He is filled with the fullness of God; and it is by His cross that He releases the fullness of God to us.
This is true first in Christ, but it is to be continued by His body. Christ is the Head. He is a corporate Person. If it is true with the Head, it shall be true with the body.
May we read a few portions of Scripture?
And He is the head of the body, the church.
—Colossians 1:18
The mystery which hath been hid from all ages and generations: but now hath it been manifested to His saints,
to whom God was pleased to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.—Colossians 1:26-27
As therefore ye received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him,
rooted and builded up in Him, and established in your faith, even as ye were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
Take heed lest there shall be any one that maketh spoil of you through his philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ:
for in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily,
and in Him ye are made full.—Colossians 2:6-10
We omit the word “not” and make the next verse positive:
Holding fast the Head, from whom all the body, being supplied and knit together through the joints and bands, increaseth with the increase of God.
—Colossians 2:19
Lie not one to another; seeing that ye have put off the old man with his doings,
and have put on the new man, that is being renewed unto knowledge after the image of Him that created him:
where there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bondman, freeman: but Christ is all, and in all.—Colossians 3:9-11
We know that the apostle Paul, in a very special way, was given the knowledge of the mystery of Christ. He tells us himself, both in the letter to the Ephesians and in the letter to the Colossians, that if we have read what he has written, we can see that grace was given to him to know the mystery of Christ.
This mystery had been hidden throughout the ages and generations. Nobody knew anything about it. It was there in the heart of God even before the foundation of the world, and yet throughout the ages and generations nobody had received revelation concerning this mystery. But Paul said that, by the grace of God, this mystery was made known to him.
It is called the mystery of Christ. Now, what is this mystery of Christ? What is the mystery that was hidden throughout the ages and generations but is now revealed to us through the apostles and prophets, and in a very special way through the apostle Paul?
Paul uses different expressions to describe this mystery. In Ephesians, he says that we Gentiles, who were aliens and had no part in God, are now made fellow heirs, fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus.
In Colossians he says that the mystery is “the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” He tries to use various expressions.
But, dear brothers and sisters, personally I feel there is one word that seems able to sum up what Paul desires to present before us concerning this mystery of Christ. This is a very special word that Paul uses. You do not see it in other writings, but you find this word especially prominent in Paul’s writings. That word is the body.
What is the mystery of Christ? The mystery of Christ is His body. That is the truth. It seems as if the body sums up all that Paul desires to communicate to us concerning that mystery which was made known to him by the Father.
Before we try to see what His body really means, I think we have to go back to the very beginning. In the very beginning of the history of man, you find that this thought of the body is already there. It is not something invented later; it was conceived in the heart of God even before the foundation of the world.
We go back to the book of Genesis. There, in the first chapter, God said:
Let us make man in Our image, after Our likeness.
—Genesis 1:26
And God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.
—Genesis 1:27
This is a great mystery. God created man in His image. If you put a capital letter to this “Man,” it may help us to understand. This is the Man in God’s heart—the Man. God created Man, capital “M”; then it says, “In the image of God created He him,” small “h.” Adam was created in the image of God.
Now, of course, this is not a perfect and exact image. Only Christ is the exact image of the invisible God. But Adam was created in the image of God. If you like, you can put it another way: Adam, being created in the image of God, had the fullness of God in him. Of course, we know that in Adam it was imperfect, but we use him as a type.
Then the Bible tells us, “Male and female created He them.” According to the thought of God, the man in God’s heart is not an individual being. The man in God’s thought is a corporate being.
The individual alone, though he bears the image of God and may be filled with the fullness of God, is still not the man of God’s heart. It must be a corporate being—male and female. When you put male and female together, you find a man according to God.
God put Adam to sleep, for it was not good for man to be alone. God put man to sleep, and then took something out of him. In some versions, it says one of his ribs. God took something out of Adam and built the rib into a woman.
Then God woke Adam and brought the woman to him. When Adam saw the woman, he immediately said:
This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh.
—Genesis 2:23
They became one. Now, of course, we know that Adam and Eve are only a type, a shadow. The real relationship is shown in Christ and His church. If you turn to Ephesians 5, you will find that Christ is the Man, the male; and the church, which is His body, is the woman.
Christ, the Son, the eternal Son, is the exact image of the invisible God. In Himself is all the fullness of God, complete and perfect. That is Christ. But God said, “It is not good for man to be alone.”
O dear brothers and sisters, it is not good for Christ to be alone—not because Christ lacks anything in Himself. All the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Him, and He lacks nothing. But according to the purpose of God, something needs to be completed. It is not good for Him to be alone.
Christ is full of the fullness of the Godhead, but it is not good for Him to be alone. So God says, “I will make Him a help meet for Him.” We all know the story. God put Christ to sleep. There on the cross our Lord was put to death, and out of His side flowed water and blood. That life, that blood, which came out of Christ, God used to build the church—to build His body.
Adam, in type, is the head, and Eve is his body. They are one man. Here you find Christ as the Head, because He is the source, the spring, the governing principle, the supply, and the ruling power. Christ is the Head.
But out of the riches, the fullness, of the Head, the body is built, in order that the body may share the fullness in the Head and may be used to express the Head. So, dear brothers and sisters, you find that it is God’s thought that the fullness in Christ will be shared by the body, which is His church.
If only we pause for a moment and go back to our history, we cannot but be amazed at the mercy of God. Who were we? In the letter to the Colossians, Paul makes it very clear who we are.
We had offended God. We had sinned against God. We were not perfect; we were not good people. We were offenders, criminals in the eyes of God, and yet He forgave us.
We were alienated, enemies in our minds by wicked works. Not only had we offended Him, but we made Him our enemy. Dear brothers and sisters, this is always true: the one who offends people makes the offended person his enemy.
It should not be that way. If you offend anyone, you are the guilty person; yet somehow you become so twisted in your mind that you make him the guilty person. That is the human mind and its disposition. We had offended against God, and yet we considered God our enemy. We were enemies to God. We hated Him. Our mind was darkened and our heart was hardened. This was our condition.
Yet He quickened us together from death and gave us a new life, that we might be joined to Him in one spirit. We were a people under the curse of the law. There was no hope for us, and yet He took the handwriting away, put it out of the way, nailing it to the cross, that we might have free access to His throne of grace. What mercy!
We were captives under the power of darkness. We had no liberty, no freedom. We were under pressure, and yet He delivered us, that we might triumph in Christ.
Now, brothers and sisters, if only we go back and remember what we were once upon a time, and what grace, love, and mercy have brought us to Him, we cannot but bow and worship the One who so loved us and gave Himself for us.
It is marvelous that we should be His body, that we should be the vessel of His fullness, that we should experience His fullness, and that we should express His fullness. It is marvelous.
But more than that, when you think of the fact that it is not just one man, one woman, or one person who is saved, delivered, equipped, and brought into such privilege, but that we who are many, with so many differences, have been brought together and made one body—that is too marvelous to describe.
It is not that you, one person, are the body of Christ. It is that we, the many—all who are redeemed, all who have been brought into the kingdom, all who are born of God—God has put us together and made us one body. We are members one of another. That is marvelous.
Before the Day of Pentecost, we find 120 disciples gathered in the upper room. They were praying, preparing themselves for the coming of the Holy Spirit. There you find a congregation of 120 individual Christians.
Their spirituality was an individual spirituality. There were 120 spiritual people gathered together in that room, praying and waiting. That must have been a wonderful sight. But that was not wonderful enough.
When the Spirit of God came upon them, they were baptized by one Spirit into one body. In other words, it was no longer a congregation of 120 individuals, but a body of 120 members. There is a great difference.
You may gather 120 people together to become a congregation. If those 120 people love the Lord and are spiritually minded, we may imagine that they could have a good time. They can pray together, talk together, and enjoy fellowship together.
But this is not what God wants. What God wants is that these 120 individuals should be joined together into one body—120 members, all of them members one of another. It is in that one body that the fullness of Christ is contained and expressed.
Dear brothers and sisters, the thought of God is always corporate. God is not after spiritual men and women as individuals. No matter how spiritual you are, you are limited.
If we want to know the length, the breadth, the depth, and the height of the love of Christ, we have to apprehend it with all the saints. That is God’s will. God is not looking for spiritual giants in themselves. God is looking for a body—a spiritual body, a mystical body of Christ.
A body has many members, but all these members are organically joined together and united into one. It is in that body that the fullness of Christ is found.
Where can you find fullness in a person? You may find something of Christ in some believers. You may find faith in Abraham. You may find patience in Job. But if you want to find the fullness of Christ, where can you find it?
Abraham would say, “It is not in me. I know a little of God, but it is not in me.” Job would say, “It is not in me.” Where can we find the fullness of Christ? It is neither in you nor in me nor in anybody individually, but it is in us corporately.
God’s thought is a corporate new man: Christ the Head, and we, the many, the body. We are to contain His fullness.
The church, which is His body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all.
—Ephesians 1:22-23
That is where you find the fullness. There you find that there is neither Greek nor Jew, neither bondman nor freeman, neither barbarian nor Scythian, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision; but Christ is all, and in all.
We have so many differences. At the table we may all look alike, but by nationality there may be different nationalities. A little girl may be born in this country of Chinese ancestry, and she is an American, very proud to be an American. My wife and I may be there too, naturalized Americans, while the rest are Chinese. Someone might say, “There are two nationalities around this table: Americans and Chinese.”
But I say, neither Chinese nor American. In this world you find so many distinctions. These distinctions make up this world. If you take these distinctions away, the world is taken away. People take great pride in these distinctions.
You may look down upon people belonging to another group or distinction, but when you talk to them you find that they are looking down upon you. We take great pride in those things which make us what we are.
Jew and Greek are not merely labels. Being Greek or being Jew goes deep into the life of man. It includes racial distinctions, nationalism, social distinctions, culture—civilized and uncivilized—and religious background, represented by circumcision and uncircumcision.
Just think for a moment of all these natural differences. Yet the Spirit of God has baptized us into one body. Outwardly, these distinctions may continue. My skin may still be yellow, but inwardly those distinctions cannot be found, because there is neither Jew nor Gentile, but Christ is all and in all.
I do not see in my brother a yellow man; I see Christ in my brother. I do not see my brother merely as an educated person; I see a man in Christ.
O dear brothers and sisters, when we think of what God has done in us as individuals, it is wonderful. Sometimes I wonder, as Paul said, “By the grace of God I am what I am.” It is a wonder. Yet the wonder of wonders is that God has put us together into one body, and there the fullness of Christ is found. We are the recipients of this fullness.
If you want to know anything about fullness, you have to find your brothers and sisters. You cannot live alone. The fullness of Christ is in the body, and it is by this body that all things shall be brought into fullness.
First of all, dear brothers and sisters, we need to ask God to give us body consciousness. Yes, we are conscious of Christ. I also feel that our consciousness of Christ is not sufficient. Very often our self-consciousness overcomes our Christ-consciousness.
This can be easily illustrated. When brothers and sisters come together for prayer, you find that many are so conscious of themselves that they just cannot pray. Or they may be so conscious of others that they cannot pray. Our consciousness of Christ is not enough.
O that we may be conscious of Christ! If we are conscious of Christ, then we are free from many bondages. But, dear brothers and sisters, we need also to be conscious of the body.
Are you an individual? We are all born individuals. Are you seeking spirituality? What is the motive behind your pursuit of spiritual things? Is it that you may become a spiritual giant?
There is no place for individualism in the body of Christ. It is true that we do not lose our identity, our individual identity. We do not lose that, and we will never lose it. Yet the spirit of individualism must be crucified.
O dear brothers and sisters, it is very difficult. We are so individualistic: my idea, my way, my thinking, my opinion, my wisdom, my experience. My “I” and my “me” are always the best, and we try to dominate all the others.
Yes, we say that we need Christ. Oh yes, we need Him. Without Him we can do nothing. That is true. But does it ever come to our minds that we need our brothers and sisters?
How often we feel that if we did not have our brothers and sisters, we could go faster. They are trouble to us. How we wish that some brother or sister would move away and leave us alone! Then we could go on very fast spiritually.
Dear brothers and sisters, do we have that consciousness that we need our brothers and sisters? Without Christ, we cannot live. Without our brothers and sisters, can we live? We will be in a barren land, in dry ground, in death. O, we need our brothers and sisters.
It is only among our brothers and sisters that we find the fullness that is in Christ. So first of all, may the Lord enlighten our understanding and open our hearts that we may see: God wants a body. The Son, Christ the Head, needs a body.
I can never forget when our dear brother T. Austin-Sparks once used an illustration while speaking to young people. That illustration has stayed with me. If you know Brother Sparks, you know that he was very expressive—not like me.
He said that when you come to a home and knock at the door, someone comes and opens it for you. When you meet that person, you ask, “May I come in?” If the man standing there merely says, “You may come in,” you may not be sure whether he really wants you to enter.
But if that man, as he speaks, leans forward, uses his hands, and gestures as though trying to pull you in, then you know he wants you. He used that illustration to tell us that it takes a body to express the head.
How true that is. Christ the Head needs a body to express Himself. When that is expressed, there is no more doubt. You know what I mean.
Christ requires a body to contain His fullness and to express His glory, that the world may see that He is sent by the Father. But it takes the body to do that.
Are we conscious of the body? Do we desire to see that body grow? Are we living in the body? To have the body idea in your mind is one thing, but to live in the body is another thing. It is by living in the body that you really know the fullness of God.
Are we open to that? Do we see the need of that? This is God’s need. It is more than your need or mine; it is God’s need. How Christ nourishes and cherishes His body, that He may complete and perfect His body!
When the body is perfected, it will be presented to Him and made ready for Him. This is what you find in Ephesians. Eve is the body. The body is built, and when it is built it is brought to Adam and becomes one with Adam. So Ephesians 5 tells us that today we are His body, but when that body is completed, we shall be presented to Christ and be His bride.
O, how important is this body of Christ!
How can we live in the reality of this body? I will just briefly mention two things.
First, if we really want to see the body and live in the body, we must first of all hold fast the Head. You cannot have the body if you are not holding fast the Head.
If we do not hold fast the Head, the whole body disintegrates. Out from the Head, the whole body is united into one. O dear brothers and sisters, we need to know more of the headship of Christ.
We, as individual members, need to know what it means for Christ to be the Head of everyone. If Christ is to be our Head, we have to deny our own man. That is the reason why Romans 12 says:
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service.
—Romans 12:1
We must present our bodies as a living sacrifice. That is, we must lay ourselves on the altar and give up our rights to Christ. When we do that, in Romans 12 a body appears.
In Romans 12:1, “present your bodies” is plural. Every one of us must present his body. Then, in Romans 12:4-5, another body comes into view, singular: the body of Christ. If we desire to see the body of Christ and live in the body of Christ, first of all we must each be subject to that Head.
This is not only as individuals. Wherever God has sovereignly put us together, there in our midst we must learn to know the headship of Christ. You are not the head. I am not the head. None of us is the head. Christ is the Head. We must hold fast the Head.
The second thing is that we must learn how to be related to one another. Because we are related, we can minister to one another.
Dear brothers and sisters, the greatest need among God’s people today is relatedness. If we are not related to the Head and to one another, we are like those 120 believers before the Day of Pentecost. We can be together, and yet be unrelated.
Each may be very spiritual. When you look at different brothers and sisters, you can find no fault with them. Sometimes, when I see brothers and sisters and count them one by one, I say, “This is a good brother. That is a good sister. This brother is good. That sister is good.” When I look at them one by one, they love the Lord. They all love the Lord, and they are all good.
But somehow, when all these good and spiritual brothers and sisters are put together, there are lots of problems—lots of problems. Can you say it is because of this brother, that he is the cause of everything? No, you cannot say that. It seems as if everybody is involved.
You may have a congregation of one hundred members, but it is a congregation that is unrelated. Because they are unrelated, they cannot minister one to another, and the fullness of Christ is not expressed.
But, on the other hand, if you find a company of believers in whom, by the grace of God, the cross works in their midst—the cross cutting this off and cutting that off—they may not appear as spiritual as others in other places, and yet you find these brothers and sisters being brought together in such relatedness.
This can only happen when the cross is working. Very often we find brothers and sisters who have been together for years, and through all those years, many times they have thought of falling apart. They say, “We just cannot go on together. We are always at odds with each other. We cannot agree. We fight. We quarrel. We try to roll up our beds and leave.” But somehow, they cannot move.
No matter how, they stick together. God brings them through deep waters, and out of such experiences their relatedness begins to be forged. They begin to see how they need one another, even the most difficult one—and usually the most difficult one is myself.
We need one another. In that way we are organically united. It is not by agreement that we are formed into one. It is in proper relationship that we minister to one another according to the measure that He has given us.
When that happens, the body shall increase with the increase of God. This is what God wants. It is in the body that the fullness of Christ is expressed.
May we be enlightened. May we see the need of Christ. It is not good for Him to be alone. He needs a body, and we are His body. May we truly know the reality of living in the body of Christ. This will constitute our testimony to the world.
May two or three of us lead us in prayer.