Now, shall we read together in 1 Corinthians 12, from verse 12? I am going to read in the version by J. B. Phillips.
As the human body, which has many parts, is a unity, and those parts, despite their multiplicity, constitute one single body, so it is with Christ.
For we were all baptized by the Spirit into one body, whether we were Jews, Greeks, slaves, or freemen; and we have all had experience of the same Spirit.
Now the body is not one member, but many.
If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” does that alter the fact that the foot is a part of the body? Or if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” does that mean that the ear really is not a part of the body?
After all, if the body were all one eye, for example, where would be the sense of hearing? Or if it were all one ear, where would be the sense of smell?
But God has arranged all the parts in the one body according to His design. For if everything were concentrated in one part, how could there be a body at all?
Very good point. If everything were concentrated in one part, how could there be a body at all?
That is, there are many parts, but only one body, so that the eye cannot say to the hand, “I do not need you,” nor again can the head say to the feet, “I do not need you.”
On the contrary, those parts of the body which have no obvious function are the more essential to health.
And to those parts of the body which seem to us to be less deserving of notice, we have to allow the highest honour of function. The parts which do not look beautiful have a deeper beauty in the work they do, while the parts which look beautiful may not be at all essential to life.
But God has harmonised the whole body by giving importance of function to the parts which lack apparent importance, that the body should work together as a whole, with all the members in sympathetic relationship with one another.
So it happens that if one member suffers, all the other members suffer with it. And if one member is honoured, all the members share a common joy.
Now you are, together, the body of Christ, and individually you are members of Him. And in His church, God has appointed, first, some to be His messengers; secondly, some to be preachers of power; thirdly, teachers. After them, He has appointed workers of spiritual power, men with gifts of healing, helpers, organisers, and those with the gift of speaking in tongues.
As we look at the body of Christ, do we find all are His messengers, all are preachers, or all teachers? All able to heal? All able to speak with tongues, or all able to interpret the tongues? No. We find God’s distribution of gifts is on the same principle of harmony that He has shown in the human body.
You should set your hearts on the best spiritual gifts. But I shall show you a way which surpasses them all.
Now, last week we ended on the point of the fellowship of Christ. If you take your notes, you will see on the last page the points that we covered in this matter of the fellowship of Christ.
We asked ourselves the question, “Why are you, or why am I, at Halford House?” Although we cannot now go over it all, you have it here in the notes. To sum it up, we have said that we believe the Lord is out to recover something of the nature of His church before the Lord Jesus returns. Therefore, He has led us to take what we have called the ground of the body of Christ.
We have said that this means, in practice and in its outworking, firstly, the absolute headship of Jesus Christ in, over, and through His people by the Holy Spirit. That is the first thing.
The second thing was the church, His body, a heavenly thing and therefore inexplicable on the natural level. Then the third point: the church, His body, an organism and not an organisation.
The fourth point, which we dealt with—or began to deal with—last week, was this: the church, His body, the fellowship of Christ.
Now, this word fellowship, which is used quite a lot in the New Testament, is often not understood by Christians. Where it is understood, it is often not given its full depth of meaning.
It is not to do with externals. It does not mean just a little bit of spiritual chatter, a few helpful words, or an informal gathering where perhaps we discuss some problem. That is fellowship; it is included in the word fellowship. But fellowship is not just that. It is not to do with mere externals or anything merely superficial.
This matter of fellowship is absolutely fundamental and essential.
We started last week from 1 Corinthians 1:9:
God is faithful, through Whom ye were called into the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
The fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. The word fellowship comes from a root meaning to have everything in common—things in common. It really means partnership, sharing, participation in.
God is faithful, through Whom you were called into participation in His Son. Now, if you think about that, that could be—and surely is—the theme of the first Corinthian letter: participation in His Son.
That is what this twelfth chapter is all about. It is what the eleventh chapter is all about, what the fourteenth chapter is all about, and what the fifteenth chapter is all about. All those problems about immorality, lawsuits, factions, and division are settled on this basis: all of you at Corinth are participants in Jesus Christ. You are all sharing the Lord Jesus Christ. That is the fellowship that you have been called into.
The figure of the body, which we find in 1 Corinthians 12, is the perfect example of what this word fellowship means. My body is a fellowship. I have thousands of parts in my body—some visible, many invisible; some important, some not so important.
They do not all occupy the same position. They do not all have the same function. Yet every single one of them shares one head, one life, and one entity. It is as simple as that.
My body is a fellowship. Every one of the members—parts—of my body has been called into participation in Lance Lambert. Every one of the members in your body has been called, not into participation in me, but into participation in you. That is what this fellowship of Christ is all about.
I am not going to go over any more of last week. What I want to take up this evening is just the point where we ended: the church is a body, not a member. The body has many members; it is not one member.
It was never meant to be, as we said last week, a one-man show or a one-man band. In many places, so-called churches are merely an appendage to the preacher. The preacher is the vital, all-important member. In fact, everything is concentrated on him.
So we can say, “If everything is concentrated on one member, where is the body?” But that is precisely what happens in so many so-called churches. The church is an appendage. Really, the church consists of a platform for a ministry, a pulpit for a proclamation of a message, and everything is dependent upon that pulpit, platform, or person who occupies it.
The church is just a kind of context, if you like—a necessary surrounding for that ministry and office. But this is not what the New Testament says. That is not the fellowship of Christ. That is not the body. That is one member, perhaps an important member, but only one member. Where are all the other members?
Nor is the church one member doing everything. Neither is it a few elite members doing everything while the rest remain a bunch of spectators—sort of gazers-on—who pass judgement on how well everything is being done, or how badly. That is not the church either.
There is absolutely no scriptural warrant whatsoever in the Word of God for the division or distinction made between clergy and laity. In the New Testament, that is.
In the Old Testament, that could be argued for, though even there you cannot take it too far. Originally, it was the firstborn of every family who was to be priest. Then the tribe of Levi was chosen instead of the firstborn. That whole tribe only represented the whole nation.
However, when you come to the New Testament, there is no such thing as a tribe of Levi representing the whole nation—a kind of Aaronic priesthood that represents the church before God. No, on the contrary, in the New Testament we discover that every single child of God is a priest.
We believe in the priesthood of all believers. Every single born-again believer is constituted, by his spiritual birth, a priest unto God. This is simply putting the term body into another figure. We are all priests.
Every single one of us has not only the right of access to God at all times, of communion with God at all times, and of touching the throne of God at all times, but every single one of us born of God has the right to serve the Lord. Indeed, I would say more than that: we have the duty and responsibility to serve the Lord.
We are priests unto God. Turn to 1 Peter 2. Verse 5:
Ye also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
Verse 9:
But ye are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession.
A royal priesthood. This is the verse upon which the priesthood of all believers is based. I suppose it is true that, in some form or another, all the Reformed churches accept the priesthood of all believers. But it is what we mean by the priesthood of all believers where there is so much difference.
The majority, while saying that they believe in the priesthood of all believers, still only relegate it—and I do not like to use that word, for it is tremendous—to access to God at all times. In other words, every believer has the right of access to God.
We say this is not scriptural. Not only has every single believer the right of access to God, but he has the right to lead God’s children in worship, praise, and prayer. He has the right to contribute in the service of God. He has a duty and responsibility to build up the body of Christ, the church of God.
Turn to Revelation 1:6:
He made us to be a kingdom, to be priests unto His God and Father; to Him be the glory and the dominion for ever and ever.
He made us to be a kingdom. We all are in the kingdom, are we not? Is it only ministers and pastors who are in the kingdom? Are they the only ones who have been made the kingdom? Of course not. We all accept that every one of us is born into the kingdom of God. Then we are all priests as well.
Revelation 5:10 says:
And madest them to be unto our God a kingdom and priests; and they reign upon the earth.
It is not just something in the future.
If you turn back to Matthew 23, we have, I think, a commentary upon the priesthood of all believers—one that tends to be rather an embarrassment to many in Christian circles.
But be not ye called Rabbi: for One is your Teacher, and all ye are brethren.
And call no man your father on the earth: for One is your Father, even He Who is in heaven.
Neither be ye called masters: for One is your Master, even the Christ.
But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.
And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be humbled; and whosoever shall humble himself shall be exalted.
When you think of the practice amongst us Christians in Christendom generally, including evangelicals, you cannot say that this command of our Lord is, in fact, adhered to.
We have reverends and right reverends, very reverends, and much else that I will not go into. Amongst evangelicals, we do not go up to “His Holiness,” but all the rest we have.
We also have collars turned back to front, now very much in fashion once more. All of which means we distinguish people. We seek to give them a distinctive mark. We make a difference between them and the rest of the members.
I am told by many who do not agree with priestly dress, and all the rest, that they wear this kind of thing because it helps them get into hospitals. My idea, brethren, is that if that is the only reason for wearing a collar around the other way, what happens to people like me? Poor little saints like myself and others get into hospitals just as easily.
I am told that people in the street—these bad boys—always find it easier to talk to someone who has a clerical collar on. Well, I wish they would talk to the bad boys and find out whether that is really true.
The fact of the matter is, you can make every excuse in the world, but the Word of God is absolutely plain. There is absolutely no ground at all in the New Testament for making a distinction between clergy and laity. On the contrary, as I have said, Scripture is quite clear, dogmatically and emphatically stated: the priesthood of all believers.
Now let me say this. There is no shadow of doubt that there are anointed ministries and functions—gifts to the church—as stated in Ephesians 4.
And He gave some apostles; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers.
And again, 1 Corinthians 12:28:
God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly teachers.
There is absolutely no shadow of doubt that within the church of God there are anointed ministries. Yet it is just as clear that these do not in any way detract from the priesthood of all believers. None at all.
You can have the greatest apostle, but he does not for one single moment detract from the priesthood of all believers. Every single one has as much right to go into the presence of God and as much right to serve God.
Do not let us think for one single moment that an apostle has greater right to serve the Lord than the least of God’s children. We are all priests.
If we turn to Romans 12, we find a very interesting light thrown on this subject, which I do not think is often realised. We have here sacrificial ministry. It is priestly service, really, that is in mind.
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.
This is what the priest did. It was the priest who conducted spiritually intelligent worship, if you like, in the tabernacle. He was the one who received the sacrifices. Here, you are yourself the sacrifice, and you are the priest.
Out of this priestly service comes the church. You see what the apostle Paul says in verse 3:
But I say, through the grace that was given me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but so to think as to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to each man a measure of faith.
Each man—each man—not one left out.
For even as we have many members in one body, and all the members have not the same office: so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and severally members one of another.
And having gifts differing according to the grace that was given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of our faith; or ministry, let us give ourselves to our ministry; or he that teacheth, to his teaching; or he that exhorteth, to his exhorting; he that giveth, let him do it with liberality; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness.
It seems rather interesting to me that out of this priestly service, at the very beginning, you have the church immediately.
If you turn to Hebrews 10:19, you have the same thing again:
Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by the way which He dedicated for us, a new and living way, through the veil, that is to say, His flesh; and having a great High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in fulness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and having our body washed with pure water.
That is the laver as you went into the tent of meeting.
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope that it waver not; for He is faithful that promised: and let us consider one another to provoke unto love and good works; not forsaking our own assembling together, as the custom of some is, but exhorting one another; and so much the more, as ye see the day drawing nigh.
Priestly service. The church is the body of Christ, the fellowship of Christ, in which every member is a priest and has something of Christ to offer in some way, together with responsibility for and toward every other member of the body.
One day, every single one of us must give account to God for the responsibility that was given to us for the church. Let not one single person in this room think that I will one day have to give account for the whole flock and for your well-being. I must give account for the ministry entrusted to me.
If I am a teacher, I ought to live in greater fear, because more is required of me. The higher the office and the greater the function, the more will be required. But let no one think that one day he will stand before the Lord as a kind of spectator and watch everyone else being asked to give account.
Every single one of you is directly responsible to the Head of the body for the rest of the body. That is what we mean by the priesthood of all believers, or the membership of the body. It is as simple as that.
Thus, each member shares not only the privilege and security of a common salvation and a common Head, but we also share its discipline and responsibilities. Discipline, because we are related to the Head and therefore related one to another.
The way we treat each other, the way we care for each other, the way we go through with each other—all are part of that discipline for which one day we must give answer and account.
It is not, therefore, one member, nor a few members, trying to do the work of the whole body. Nor is it all the members trying to be one function. It is each member in his or her place, functioning by the life of God within them.
Let me put it this way: each member has something of Christ that the others have not got. Most do not believe this, but it is absolutely true.
Every single member—every one of us constituted a priest unto God—has something of Christ which the others have not got. You may not be able to see it, but your temperament is not the same as someone else’s. Are you precisely the same in the way you look at things and feel about things? Of course not.
It is a matter of temperament, constitution, and background. The Lord has deposited something of Christ in you, and that something of Christ comes through what you are. So you have something to offer, something to contribute, that no one else has got.
You must contribute what you have of Christ for the increase, growth, and fullness of the body. That is why one day you and I have got to give account.
The fullness of the body is dependent upon the contribution of each single member. The growth of the body is dependent upon the contribution of each single member. The multiplication, if you like—the increase—is all part of this matter. It is all dependent on our contributing what we have.
Let us look at the Scripture we read together in Phillips, 1 Corinthians 12. It is the best commentary on what I am seeking to say.
I am not, of course, talking about everyone necessarily contributing on a Sunday morning or at a prayer gathering. That is impossible, of course; we understand that. But what we are saying is that everyone has a part to play. Even if you do not open your mouth, you can be contributing something—or not.
Some people open their mouths when they should keep them shut. They would contribute far more if they kept their mouths shut. Others would contribute much more if they opened their mouths and let out what is in them. Let me say that.
Here is what it says about the body: the ear cannot do without the eye, the foot cannot do without the hand, and every part of the body is necessary. It is not that the body cannot function without a hand, but that it is that much less practical. It is not that the body cannot do without a foot, but it is that much less practical.
It is false to say that the church cannot do without you. In one sense it can, so let no one get big ideas. But the church will be just that less full. Now, is that not important?
You can still live without hands or feet, but you cannot do a lot. The fullness of the body has been hampered.
Sometimes there is heaviness or dullness. Do not always blame whoever is leading or speaking, because so often the dullness in the heavens is due to paralysis in a certain amount of the body. It makes for heaviness, just like a body that has not got hands. Do you understand what we are trying to get at?
Each one has got to yield himself or herself—now listen, here comes the crunch—to the rest.
As the apostle Paul said once of certain people in Corinth, “First you gave yourselves to the Lord, and then you gave yourselves to us.” You have the same thing, really, in the Lord’s teaching on marriage: giving oneself to one another.
You must yield to one another. Each member must yield himself or herself, and all that he or she has of Christ, be it great or little, to the rest.
It is in the measure in which we hold back, or fail to contribute what we have of Christ—just allowing ourselves to be carried along by the momentum of the life in the rest of the body—that we restrict ourselves, frustrate the Lord’s purpose, and hold back the building up of the body of Christ.
That is a serious thing. I do not know whether you have ever realised it before: it is in the measure in which each member fails to contribute that there is his own limitation.
So often we argue like this: “If I had more of the Lord, I would contribute.” But the devil is so clever. He has caught you. He will get you on that line and you will never get a little bit more. You will just be static for the next forty years, if the Lord tarry—and if He tarries, fifty—because the devil has got you on it.
It is in the measure in which we contribute that we ourselves grow, because we belong to each other. By being born into the family of God, we are constituted not only members of Christ, but members one of another.
If you do not build me up and I do not build you up, I am not building myself up. I have to build you up; you have to build me up. We are to build one another. As we do that, the body develops and grows.
Do not let anyone think that he should spend his time building himself up. That is what many think: “I have got to build myself up so that I have got something.” What the Lord gives you is for the rest, not to be put into the shop window in an exhibitionist way. The Lord preserve us from that kind of thing.
But when you have been given something, it is for the whole. Sometimes it cannot be shared. Do you realise that? There are some things that should never see daylight, yet their value goes through the whole body. This is because you are not holding it for yourself. Something that has come to you is for the rest.
If you turn to Ephesians 4, let us see how the Word puts it clearly. Ephesians 4:16:
From Whom all the body fitly framed and knit together through that which every joint supplieth, according to the working in due measure of each several part, maketh the increase of the body unto the building up of itself in love.
I want one phrase: “the increase of the body.” That is the operative thing. The increase of the body unto the building up of itself.
How does it make this increase of the body unto its building up? According to the working in due measure of each several part.
It builds itself up and increases according to the working in due measure of each several part. Due measure simply means right measure. The Lord does not expect you to give any more than you have been constituted spiritually to give. Thank God for that.
But woe betide you if you are not giving what the Lord has constituted you to give. That is the point. Some people run beyond themselves; other people never get there.
In due measure. Do you know the phrase “in due time”? The Lord was born in due time—the right time, absolutely on the dot. In due measure. The Lord does not expect you to go right beyond yourself and be extravagant. He expects there to be a working in due measure.
Of each several part—not just me, or someone else, but each several part—according to the working. You have not only got a right to function; it may be a small function or a big function.
You all know what happens when a little joint goes wrong. A little joint in my finger can go wrong. It is only a small thing. It might say, “Well, I am not the knee. What does it matter? They all despise me here. I am only the little finger—the top joint in the little finger. I am not the knee, the thigh, the elbow, or even the wrist.”
Well, what happens? I am not a medical person, but a kind of arthritis sets in. Arthritis in that top joint can give a lot of pain. That little, tiny joint which has refused to work starts to upset the body.
It does not stop the whole body from working, but it makes itself felt because it is not working. So, if you are not working, you are making yourself felt. Some of you have got that false modesty: “Oh, not me.” You are making yourself felt more than if you worked.
If you really gave what you had of the Lord, we would not feel your presence; you would flow in beautifully. There is some kind of spiritual psychology in this. I have a shrewd suspicion that this is why a lot of people do not give what they have: they like to feel that they are at least making some kind of impression somewhere.
When the whole body is functioning, you are not conscious of all the parts of your body. It is only when they stop functioning, or something is wrong, that you become conscious of them. There is a blockage or a stiffness; something is not flowing as it ought to.
According to the working in due measure of each several part, the body makes increase unto the building up of itself. How wonderful it is when the body just builds itself up.
This is what the priesthood of all believers means. This is what it means to be members of Christ and members one of another. We can build ourselves up.
If the communists came, we had to be scattered, we could not meet here, and this place was taken away from us, the body should still be able to build itself up. If we do not get into that way now, God help us when those days come.
That is the whole point of why we felt so strongly about open times. We have got to learn how to build each other up without dependence upon the big brother, that big brother, or someone else—but all together.
That kind of thing can go down to the catacombs. It can go down anywhere, or up anywhere. We can just build each other; the body can build itself up. But do not think this will suddenly happen. Stiff joints will not suddenly become workable. You and I have got to know the Lord in experience now.
In Colossians 2:19, you have the same thing again:
And not 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.
I want you to note, “increaseth with the increase of God.” The whole body increases with the increase of God. Then note, “being supplied through the joints and bands.” The bands are the muscles; the joints are the bones.
That is how things are supplied. It increases with the increase of God, being supplied through the joints and bands. You are a joint, or perhaps you are a band. I do not know; I have not even sorted that one out for myself.
But if something is not being supplied through you—now listen, what does that mean? It means you receive something in order to supply it. You take something in order to pass it on.
If my elbow or the muscles here said, “Now we are going to be a Dead Sea. We are going to be a dead end. We are fed up passing things on. They do not value us down that end anyway, so we are not going to give any more,” what happens? From my elbow downward, something starts to go wrong with that whole part.
The strange thing is, neither will this be happy, because this has been constituted to take and give, take and give. You, as a child of God, were never constituted to be a Dead Sea—to take all and give nothing out.
You have been constituted to take and give. Get the order right. You take and give; you take and give; you take and give. That is the telephone. Take and give.
You have been spiritually constituted to take and give. First, you must take. Do not try to give what you have not taken. Some Christians, when they first become Christians, try to give, give, give, give, give—and, oh dear, do we not suffer? They give what they have never received.
In the end, what do they end up doing? Giving themselves, and we all know it.
But if first you receive, however young you are, you have something of the Lord. You have received; pass it on. You are a joint, a band, or a muscle, if you like. You have something to pass on to the rest.
My body—every part of it—is constituted on this principle: it is interdependent and interrelated. No single part lives to itself. It lives for the rest; it receives through the rest, and it gives to the rest.
This is the principle of the church. It is the fellowship of Christ. It is participation, common participation in Him. We all participate in Him; we all share Him, if you like. We have all got something of Him to take and give. It is vitally necessary to the welfare of the whole body that we take and give, take and give, all the time.
Let me put it this way again. The church is called, in Ephesians 1:22-23, the fullness of Christ. I have never failed to be amazed by this.
Gave Him to be Head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all.
This is most extraordinary. Note carefully that the Lord Jesus is not called the fullness of the church. That is what you might think. But it says the body is the fullness of Him Who fills all in all.
It is perfectly true that He fills all in all, but the body is His fullness. It almost seems blasphemous to say that the body of Christ—the church of God—is the fullness of Him Who fills all in all. Yet that is what it says.
If you understand what I have been saying about the body—the church—as the fellowship of Christ, you begin to understand what it means.
My head finds in the body its fullness. If I had only a head, I would be very cramped. I could think and speak—I am talking figuratively, of course—but I would be very limited.
Supposing my head said, “Pick up the Bible.” I could not do it. Supposing my head said, “I do feel thirsty; I would like a glass of water.” I could not do it.
My head finds its fullness in the hands and arms. I take up the glass. My head is finding its fullness in my hand. My head is expressing itself in the body. Therefore, the body is the fullness of the head.
Again, if my head said, “Now then, I would like to go outside the door,” my feet do the job. My head finds its fullness in the legs and feet. They do the job; they obey the mind of the head. In this sense, the head finds its fullness in the legs and feet.
So it is true to say that the body is the fullness of its head. Your body is the fullness of your head because your body is the means of carrying out the will and mind of your head—the means by which you express feeling, desire, thought, and heart.
Now, it takes the whole body, each member in fellowship with the rest, for the outworking of God’s will and purpose and the expression of His mind and thought.
Is that not challenging? We talk so much: “Lord, let Your will be done. Lord, we want to see Your purpose fulfilled.” But sometimes we say it and the Lord says, “What can I do? They ask Me to do this, but half of them are just being carried. What can I do?”
For the recovery of the church and the rebuilding of the church, it requires that all of us—each member—be in fellowship with the rest of the body and holding fast to the Head. When that happens, the will of God is done.
Every time the Lord touches us in that way, things get done instantly. We are all appalled—overwhelmed, that is the better word. In an instant, things that have held up for so long are just touched.
It is all a matter of this. Ephesians 3:10-11 says:
To the intent that now unto the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places might be made known through the church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The Lord is manifesting and expressing His wisdom—His manifold wisdom—through the body, the fullness of Him Who fills all in all. Again, you have the same thing. It is Christ Who fills all in all: every joint, every band, each several part, filled by Him.
As we are filled by Him, we become His fullness. We become the means by which He can touch situations: He can touch a person in the office, a person in the home, friends, unseen powers, and things on the other side of the world. He can do this, that, and the other because the whole body is working as He wants.
The fellowship of Christ. It is marvellous grace that God should call us unworthy sinners His fullness. Incredible.
But it is more than even that: each member finds its fullness in the rest. This is something we find very hard at first to swallow, but it is absolutely true.
Christ fills all in all, but He fills us so wonderfully that not one of us can be spiritually self-sufficient. We need Him in the rest.
This is the line along which the devil always presses people. If I may say so, it is nearly always the people who have the most whom the devil presses to get them uncovered. Along what line? “Oh, spiritually self-sufficient.”
There are tragedies in the history of the recovery of the church, in all its phases, along this very line. We have to learn this simple lesson: the greatest apostle has not got everything in the body.
We have become so used to the teaching, “Christ is my all,” which is absolutely right, that we tend to think in terms of being spiritually self-sufficient. But you cannot be. You cannot be.
From this line grows this idea—though we would never mention it—this kind of idea: “I am infallible. The Lord has spoken, and I know.” Such people are always proved wrong, again and again.
It is simply because we cannot accept the verdict of the church. We have the idea that somehow the Lord speaks to me, and that is that. The rest must accept it. But it does not matter who you are.
One of the most interesting queries in the New Testament is whether the apostle Paul should ever have gone up to Jerusalem. We could spend the whole evening discussing it, but we cannot.
Paul was a great apostle—perhaps, it would not be unfair to say, the greatest. Yet he shaved his head, took a vow, and went off to keep Passover in the temple. The apostle Paul—the man who told us that the temple was fulfilled and finished with—took a Nazarite vow, an Old Testament vow, and went off to Jerusalem.
Along the road, in one place, the church wept in his presence and pleaded with him, “Do not go up.” But the apostle Paul, it says, was minded to go up. I do not know whether Luke, who was very loyal to Paul, put that word minded in a very kind but firm way. He was not merely minded to go up; he went.
Then, in another meeting of the church, a prophet came up, bound his hands with Paul’s girdle, and said, “So this awaits you if you go up.” Paul said, “I care not what awaits me. I will go up.”
What did he do? He went up, and then he took Timothy into the temple. You know the story: there was a terrible riot, and the apostle Paul realised a lifelong ambition. He got a free ticket to Rome.
It was not quite the way he had expected to visit the saints in Rome or minister to them, but that is how he got there. Now, I know that is a query and speculation. Some people would say it is absolutely wrong to suggest that this was not the will of God. But it is an interesting sideline—more than an interesting sideline.
It is the danger of great ministries and great anointing: when somehow we cannot accept the rest of the body. God help us, all of us, in this matter. It is absolutely important.
Every single one of us finds fullness in the whole. I have not got everything, but I find what I lack in the rest. You have not got everything; you find what you lack in the rest. The Lord has so gifted us that even the greatest ministries are still, in some way, dependent on the rest.
In 1 Corinthians 12:4-7, we read:
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.
But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit to profit withal.
Not everyone is given the same thing. The Spirit of God manifests Himself in one and then another, as He wills. Oh, if only we were open and ready for the Holy Spirit to manifest Himself like that.
Not only in these things, but in every way. The fact is, it is for profit with all. One finds his fullness in the rest; another finds his fullness in the rest. He does not have it all in himself.
That is why, in 1 Corinthians 14, the apostle Paul says, “If one of you speaks, let it be in turn.” If one has something, let the other be quiet. Do not let anyone think he is infallible and go on and on because he thinks he has got it and the rest must put up with it. Let him be quiet, and let the next one come in.
That is the body. These little practical things are so important.
You have it in that same chapter, verses 24 and 25, about God tempering the body so that each part needs the rest. You have it in Ephesians 3:18-19, which is a beautiful passage:
That ye may be strong to apprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge.
No one saint can do it. The only way to explore the breadth, height, length, and depth of what is ours in Christ is with all the saints. You cannot know the love of Christ merely by yourself, but with all the saints.
Think of it: one day, when we are in glory, the whole lot will be gathered there. We shall have the thief from the cross, Mary Magdalene, the apostle Paul, and so many others down the ages, all with a glorious story to tell of the love of Christ—how He found them, what He did for them, and how He redeemed them.
With all the saints. It would not be to the glory of God if I had only a story and said to everyone, “Now, shut up everyone. I am going to tell my story, and I do not want to hear anyone else.” Think of the volume of praise from all those.
Then it says that you may be filled unto all the fullness of God. How can we, one little person, be filled unto all the fullness of God? Why, even all of us together will be swallowed up by the fullness of God. It is tremendous when you see it this way.
Have you ever seen that strange little verse in Colossians 3:15?
And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to the which also ye were called in one body; and be ye thankful.
Has anyone ever thought of that connection? “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which also ye were called in one body.” In other words, let the peace of God in the whole arbitrate. That is the word I like, anyway. Let the peace of God arbitrate in your heart, to which you were called in one body.
It is a church matter. Security. You find your security in the rest. Let the peace of God rule in your hearts, telling you whether to go this way, that way, or not. But do not forget the body. That is your security.
This matter of fellowship is one of the basic principles of the church. Fellowship of the true and full kind is the hallmark of the presence of the church in its practical outworking.
You can always tell the presence of the church in its practical outworking by the manifestation of this true fellowship—this sense of belonging. With all the difficulties, failings, and problems, there is this sense of belonging and this sense of a building work.
If we have taken the ground of the body of Christ, we must recognise the freedom of the Holy Spirit to use whom He will, how He will, in the building up of the body.
Let me say that once more. In this matter of the fellowship of Christ, if we have taken the ground of the body of Christ, we must recognise the freedom of the Holy Spirit to use whom He will, how He will, and when He will, in the building up of the body of Christ.
I am sure this will raise a lot of questions. Let me qualify this by saying that this principle can be expressed in different ways, but it is absolutely essential. In the end, it is a matter of the headship of Christ in His people.
If the Lord wants to use this one, He must be able to. If He wants to use that one, He must be able to use him when He will have him. But that does not mean, as some people think, that every time ought to be an open time.
Let me say this very clearly, because it needs to be said. I believe the Brethren made a great mistake in thinking that every gathering should be a free-for-all.
The principle is this: the Holy Spirit must be sovereign in the matter of whom He uses, how He uses, and when He uses. But there is such a thing as oversight. There is such a thing as the headship of Christ expressed and vested in brethren. There is such a thing as objective.
If a time is a time of prayer, I have been in prayer meetings conducted on the principle of a free-for-all. You sit and wait. Someone suggests a hymn; someone suggests another hymn. Then someone has a little word of praise; someone gives a little reading. Someone says they have had a letter from someone and reads it out. In the end, you do not know where you are.
You really do not know where you are. We have to ask ourselves the question: is that what the Lord wants?
To me, a prayer time has got to be conducted like a military operation. But the principle—the sovereignty of the Holy Spirit—is that the one whom He wants to lead should lead. In a prayer meeting, anyway, we are all taking part.
Do you understand what I am trying to drive at? It is the objective which is the point. I have been in these other things where there has been such a loss. I think I spoke to some of you on the training course about this matter. I have even been in an open-air meeting conducted on this principle—the worst fiasco I have ever been in in my life. Tragic.
It is a complete misunderstanding of a principle. The result is always the same: especially those who have life in them are groaning about it.
Why do you think so many of the Brethren pour into Baptist churches and other free churches to listen to good preachers? I can tell you of one place in Glasgow where half the evening congregation of Brethren deserted their own place to go and listen to a good Church of Scotland preacher.
How is it that people who believe in the freedom of the Holy Spirit and everything else can darken the door of such a place? Because they are entirely fed up with this lax, loose, dull, dreary thing that goes through and gets nowhere.
The recognition of the freedom of the Holy Spirit must not be confused with a free-for-all. It is the objective of a time that determines how, or whether, a time should be entirely open.
Let me put it another way. Place must be given in the life of the church for the exercise and expression of all the members of Christ under Christ’s headship.
Whether it is once a week, twice a week, or whatever it is, place must be given. In other words, we are absolutely free and open for all to take part as the Lord leads.
But if you are going out fishing, you have got to be led. If there is going to be evangelism, it has got to be led. If you are going to have a prayer time, it must be shared—surely it must be shared. Let us be free for the Lord to use whom He will, but certain things have got to be done in order that we can get down to the real thing: prayer and the warfare of the service.
The principle behind it is recognition of the absolute sovereignty of the Holy Spirit. That is why we should always pray for those with responsibility, that in times which are not open, they may really know the mind of the Lord and be kept from mistakes.
As far as the open time goes, you have it in 1 Corinthians 14:26-33:
What is it then, brethren? When ye come together, each one hath a psalm, hath a teaching, hath a revelation, hath a tongue, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.
If any man speaketh in a tongue, let it be by two, or at the most three, and that in turn; and let one interpret. But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church.
And let the prophets speak by two or three, and let the others discern. But if a revelation be made to another sitting by, let the first keep silence. For ye all can prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be exhorted. And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.
That simply means there is no such thing as disorderly, uncontrolled frenzy. The spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.
It is different, of course, when the Holy Spirit really comes, sometimes like a bomb—almost, not upon people, but like a flood. That is different. But generally speaking, as it says here in the gatherings of the church, there is spiritual intelligence exercised.
How can a person who has a tongue keep silent if we have the idea that it suddenly bursts out of him and he cannot help it? If there is no interpreter, he has got to keep silent. In other words, there is a certain amount of spiritual intelligence.
You have precisely the same thing in 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22:
Quench not the Spirit; despise not prophesyings; prove all things; hold fast that which is good; abstain from every form of evil.
It is self-explanatory. The greater ministries in Ephesians 4:11—apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, and evangelists—must be given scope for the building up of the body of Christ. But the ordinary members of the body must also be given ample scope, so that the body may build itself up in love.
When you get the notes, you will find the Scriptures. I think it is important for us to understand the principle that lies behind all that we have been saying.
Sometimes we tend to feel that when the Lord gives us something, we have got to keep our hands on it, otherwise it will be lost. This is where we must trust in the sovereignty of the Holy Spirit.
Oh, how I wish sometimes that people would not give a long reading and then a long prayer, or a long expression, another hymn, and all the rest. This is not the body; it actually arrests the body.
We should only follow a reading with prayer when we are convinced it is the exception, not the rule—unless it is in a prayer meeting when we are standing on a particular sentence or verse. Otherwise, give over to the body. Give over to the body.
Two or three times I have known someone to be reading, and such a kindling has come into my heart, only for it to be killed by the same person going on. Have you not found that? Killed. Yet it was so of God. The person who gave something so much of God killed it.
How is that possible? Because they did not recognise the principle of fellowship—the membership of the body. This is the whole problem of infallibility again. Let go. Let go.
Give your something and let go. See if the Holy Spirit takes it up. Do not think that you are everything. Let go and let the Holy Spirit do it. If He does not, perhaps you were wrong. But if it really was of God, you will be rekindled again to take up that matter.
You have such a lot of blessing once you let go in this matter. It is a wonderful thing when the Holy Spirit sweeps in and leads a company.
You hear a portion of the Word, and someone takes it up in prayer, and then another, and another. The other matter is like a person speaking in a tongue and giving the interpretation himself. You always feel a little suspicious of it: are they trying to put something over?
But when someone speaks and someone else interprets, there is a wonderful witness. In the mouth of two, it shall be established. That is the body.
So suffer that little word. It is all to do with the fellowship of Christ. We have each got something. In the gathering, the Holy Spirit wants to manifest Himself.
We are all used to this in prayer. How do you pray? It is not merely a dead sort of thing. Something comes into your heart and you say, “I must pray about that. I feel I must.” And you pray.
Then it moves on, and while you are praying, if it really is alive, someone else is kindled. I forgive the word kindled, but it is the best word, I think. Then someone else is kindled, and another. Why do we do that in prayer and not in anything else?
The time on Sunday morning should be just the same. The most glorious times we have are when someone comes in with something, then something else, and then something else, and we move on together. Oh, that is wonderful.
The most wonderful times we have had, surely, when we have found the Lord’s mind, are when the Lord spoke to this one, then that one, then another, and another—and the thing is nailed down. It cannot be clearer.
Someone says to me, “Yes, but just wait. If you let go of something the Lord has really given you, it could be lost, could it not?” Well, that is precisely what happens in prayer, does it not?
In a prayer meeting, someone young may come in, and, oh dear, the thread is lost. What has got to happen? We have got to trust the Holy Spirit to come right in and bring us back.
It is not the fault of that young one. They simply did not understand. They said something, thought of something, and we were off the rails. Then we get back onto the rails again.
The Lord is not the least bit bothered about young ones, or anyone else, when it is not malicious. Of course, when He has one of those blockages, that is a problem to the Lord. But when people merely make mistakes, thank God for people who make mistakes.
It is better to have people jumping in where angels fear to tread than to have everyone sitting there waiting to become so spiritual—and it never happens.
I must finish. It is important that we should see that there is one simple law which harmonises this great variety and diversity of gift and function in the fellowship of Christ.
As I think you have seen, there is a tremendous difference of ministry, gift, function, and position in the body of Christ. Yet there is one simple little law which, if obeyed, harmonises everything, keeps us all in the way of life, and sees that the objective of it all is accomplished.
It is the simple law—the standard by which we can judge every work and contribution—contained in 1 Corinthians 14:26:
Let all things be done unto building up.
That is only a simple little word, but it is the principle which harmonises everything. The Lord says, “Let us have it all.” But the thing that harmonises everything is building up.
Everything that is exhibitionist is destructive. Anything that is merely a person trying to put over an opinion is destructive. Everything that is someone merely trying to influence people is destructive.
Let all things be done unto building up. If you read the notes, you will find one or two references for that, and also one in Romans 14. It is the standard by which we can judge everything.
Now, do you not think it is a wonderful thing that every single one of us is a member of His body? Some of you have been on the road for years—spiritually, I mean—and others have only been saved for a year.
Yet the young one is no less a member than the older saint. He is as much a member as they are, and he is as much a priest as they are. He may not have as much experience, but he is as much a priest.
That is rather wonderful, is it not? Everyone has something to give. The Lord is not concerned with everything being perfect or with a beautiful liturgy. What He wants is a flow.
There should be a working in due measure of each several part—not only the great ministries from one brother or another through the whole, but the whole family building itself up by that which every joint and band supplies.
May the Lord help us in this little study to see. Shall we pray?
Dear Lord, we do commit this to Thee. We do need Thy help; Lord, Thou knowest that. We do praise Thee that Thou hast made us members of Thyself and members one of another.
Lord, help us in this matter. We want to be released, Lord, from all that holds us back. Thou hast said that grace has been given to each one of us according to the gift of Christ.
Lord, oh, that we might use that grace which is given to give, to minister what Thou hast given us of the Lord Jesus Christ, in due measure.
Lord, we bring our cry to Thee. O Father, wilt Thou release the flow of Thy life through us all? We pray that where there is blockage, Thou wouldst give light upon it, Lord, to each one.
If it is because we are not giving what we are receiving, Lord, help us. If there is some issue, Lord, some shadow that is holding us back and spoiling things, give us grace to come right through it, we pray.
But we do pray that there may be a wonderful free way for Thyself to build up Thine own through every single one. We ask it in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.