THE BODY OF CHRIST
Scripture Reading: Eph. 3:4-6; Col. 3:4-11; Rom. 12:3-5
THE CHURCH BEING THE BODY OF CHRIST
In this message we will speak on the Body of Christ. In the New Testament, Paul was the only apostle who used
the expression the Body of Christ to denote the church. In other places in the New Testament, the church is called the temple
of God, the household of God, etc. But Paul specifically said that the church is the Body of Christ. The subject here is not
us becoming the sons of God or becoming Christians. We are talking about how the church becomes the Body of Christ. We can
say that the church is Christ in a different form. Christ was the only begotten Son of God. Now He has become the Firstborn.
Christ plus all the sons—the church—is the one Body. There are no individual persons in the church; there is only
Christ in the church. Anything that issues from Christ is the church. The church comes fully out of Christ and is one with
Christ. There is no need for a Christian to do anything or change anything in order to be in Christ. As long as a man is regenerated,
he is in Christ and becomes a part of the Body of Christ.
THE BODY OF CHRIST BEING A MATTER OF LIFE
The church as the Body of Christ is absolutely a matter of life. The church as the Body of Christ is not a
doctrine; it is of life. A man cannot become a part of the Body of Christ just by understanding it. He becomes a part of the
Body of Christ through regeneration. This is absolutely a matter of life; it has nothing to do with knowledge or doctrine.
As Christians we need very much to see the Body of Christ. But the only way we can see the Body of Christ is by God's revelation.
We cannot understand the Body of Christ with our mind. Even if we have all the knowledge there is about the Body of Christ,
we still may not have seen the Body of Christ or touched the reality of the Body. Only those who have received revelation
from God will see the Body of Christ, and only they will enter the reality of the Body.
Romans 12 tells us that the church is the Body of Christ, but it does not explain how the church becomes the
Body of Christ. In order to understand how the church becomes the Body of Christ, we have to understand Romans 5 through 8.
Chapter five tells us that all men are joined to Adam and that man derives his life from Adam. Through Adam's fall, all men
have become sinners and have been joined to the old man. Chapter six tells us that the old man has to be dealt with; it has
to be crucified with Christ. Through Christ's redemption, we have died and resurrected. Chapter seven says that a man should
no longer live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. Chapter eight goes on to explain how we live according
to the Spirit.
THE BODY OF CHRIST BEING THE CONSUMMATION OF THE WORK OF THE CROSS
The consummation of the work of the cross is the church. The work of the cross goes as far as the Body of
Christ and consummates with the Body of Christ. Hence, the knowledge of the cross brings us to the knowledge of the Body of
Christ. The cross brings a man to a state of weakness and inability, one in which he totally loses hope in the old creation.
When he is brought to this point, he is delivered in a real way from the old creation and brought into the new creation. Everything
in the old creation has been condemned and terminated by the cross. The Body of Christ is the new creation; it has nothing
to do with the old creation. If we resort to human methods, tactics, and skills (which we have used in the past) to deal with
the affairs of the church, the result will only be disastrous. God does not approve of anything that is from the old creation,
and He will not allow anything from the old creation to remain in the new creation. Everything of the old creation must pass
through the cross and remain on the cross. The church has no use for anything that comes from the old man. The church only
takes that which issues from Christ.
When man fell, he fell because of his own concepts, choices, and judgments. Therefore, God will not allow
anything that issues from the old creation to gain the upper hand. The "backbone" of the natural man must be broken; the hollow
of his thigh must be touched. Before he will submit to God, he must be crippled and fall flat on his face. This is what God
is doing in the new creation. He is smashing everything of the old creation, and He is constituting us with everything that
issues from Christ so that we can become the Body of Christ in practicality. I saw the evil of man's flesh twelve years ago
in Philippians 3, Romans 5, and John 5. For seven months I was hesitant to make any move at all, because I knew that everything
that issued from the flesh would be rejected by God. God wants to remove everything in man that is from the flesh. God's children
must first deal with the natural life. If they deal with their natural life, they will be in the Body spontaneously, because
the Body of Christ is composed of everything that issues from Christ. Nothing of the old man can remain in the Body. As soon
as a man passes through the experience in Romans 5 through 8, he can enter into the experience of Romans 12.
Today the church is divided because Christians are living in the wrong realm and the wrong sphere. Christians
are not living in the new creation or in the reality of the Body of Christ. They are living only in the superficiality of
doctrines, which belongs to man's natural life and is part of man's oldness. If every Christian was willing to be dealt with
and to leave the natural things and the old creation behind, and if every one of them was willing to live in the reality of
the Body of Christ, there would be no more divisions. May the Lord be merciful to us to see what the Body of Christ is. May
the work of the cross usher us into the Body of Christ.
Taken from the works of Watchman Nee
