The Experience and Enjoyment of Christ in the Local Churches
The Experience and Enjoyment of Christ in the Local Churches |
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Experiencing Christ in the Local Church3. Experiencing the Humanity of Jesus for the Building up of the Church In building the church, what we are is much more important than our gifts and our Bible knowledge. Thus, there is a great need for each of us to be constituted with the humanity of Jesus. Below, Witness Lee comments on our need to feed on the humanity of Jesus to grow and become useful gifts for the building up of the church: For the building up of the local church today, we need the standing boards, the uniting bars, and all the members to be the proper gifts by being constituted with the humanity of Jesus. Not only must we be standing up and united, but also we must be useful. Every member among us must be useful. We are all gifts to the Body, so we must function in a useful way. How can this be done? Only by being constituted with the humanity of Jesus…. In the past, we thought that if we had certain kinds of gifts and manifestations with the baptism of the Holy Spirit and if we had a certain amount of Bible knowledge with proper training, then surely we would be useful. This may be of some use, but eventually what we do without Jesus’ humanity will be torn down by what we are. Brother Watchman Nee used to tell us that some people build up twelve inches by what they do, but tear down fourteen inches by what they are. This means that they tear down more than they build up. Hence, it is better for them not to do anything. We may build up a certain amount by our Bible doctrine and knowledge, but we will damage more than we build up because of our shortage of the humanity of Jesus. In the church life, we need the humanity of Jesus much more than the gifts, the so-called baptism, or the knowledge of the Bible. Today the Lord Jesus is constituting certain members of His Body into the proper gifts to the Body, and He is doing this by the way of His humanity. He has received gifts in man and in the position of man. Therefore, the fastest way for us to grow is by feeding on the humanity of Jesus. It is not by having gifts or Bible knowledge, although it is not my purpose to oppose these things. The fastest way for Christians to grow is by feeding upon Christ’s humanity…. Those who bear responsibility in a local church should not demand so much from the younger ones. Instead, they must labor on the land, produce the grain, make the flour, and prepare the meal offering for the tent of meeting. Then the remainder will be for all the priests to feed upon. Thus all the infant priests will grow into useful gifts for the Body. The real need for today’s church life is not teachings but the humanity of Jesus. Ephesians 4:15 tells us to hold truth, which means the reality: “But holding to truth in love, we may grow up into Him in all things, Who is the Head, Christ.” The reality is mainly in the humanity of Jesus. Jesus is the reality, and we must grow up into Him in everything. We must grow up into the Head in all things in our daily walk by holding the humanity of Jesus. For Christ to receive gifts in man means that we must hold to His humanity in order to enjoy the reality and grow into useful gifts to the Body. As we grow we are able to function. This is why Ephesians 4:16 says that out from the Head the whole Body is fitted and knit together by the joints of supply according to the operation in measure of every part. This makes for the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love. (Witness Lee, Christ as the Reality, 114, 116-117) 4. The Abundant Spirit of Life Brought in by the Application of the Death of Christ Solving All the Problems in the Church Concerning the secret of living a victorious life in the church, Witness Lee says: The problems in the church life are solved when we have an abundance of the Spirit of life. The problems between us and others and between us and God are due to our shortage of the Spirit of life. The reason we are short of the Spirit of life is that we are lacking in applying the death of Christ to our present situation. If most of the saints in a local church do not apply the death of Christ, that church will have many problems. But if we apply the death of Christ to ourselves, this application will bring in the living water to supply our need and solve our problems. Then, with our need supplied and our problems solved, we will live a victorious life in the church. (Witness Lee, LS of Numbers, 223) | ||||